《Bu Tian Gang》 CH 1 A train bound for spring. Even the destination was fitting: Changchun*. *The name of the city means ¡°long spring¡±. Sitting by the aisle, Dong Zhi felt that he must¡¯ve been braindead1 for choosing a hard seat2 on the train for a trip that lasted 32 hours. As it was almost midnight, it was dark outside with no scenery to see. He didn¡¯t know when he fell asleep, but he suddenly woke up feeling the urge to pee. He was about to go to the restroom when a man with a slightly hunched back and gray hair walked past him. The person entered the restroom, immediately locking the door. 1The phrase use here is head caught by the door. It refers to a person having a broken brain, stupid, idiotic, ect. 2Type of seat installed on passenger trains in China¡¯s railway lines. They have the lowest comfort but cheapest fare. This is what they look like. Being lazy, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother walking any further towards the restroom. He sat still, waiting for the other party to come out, while he played on his phone, bored. Before he left, he expected that the internet on the train would be overused, overloading the system, so he specifically bought an 8G data package. As he entered the game, someone on the world chat called out wanting to form a team. He immediately joined and when he finished the match, half an hour had already passed. The restroom door was still closed. During the gap between playing his game, he didn¡¯t forget to look up a few times. The person who entered before him haven¡¯t left since he went in. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t sure what that person was doing inside so he had stayed to watch for half an hour. He decided to knock on the door. Not only did he wanted to use the toilet, he was also afraid that something might¡¯ve happened to the old man inside. Despite knocking a few times, no one answered. ¡®Did he faint in there?¡¯ Dong Zhi thought as he had a bad premonition. It just so happened a train attendant who was on night patrol passed by. He quickly stopped the other party and explained the situation. The attendant frowned and started knocking on the door calling to the person. Unable to hold it in any longer, Dong Zhi trotted all the way to the restroom on the other end of the train carriage. By the time he got back, the attendant was still knocking on the door. He realized that something was wrong. Judging from the situation, if the person inside wasn¡¯t unconscious or deaf, he should be able to hear the ruckus. The attendant also had similar thoughts and immediately used her walkie-talkie to call another attendant over who brought the key to open the door. There weren¡¯t many people in the carriage this late at night. Most were either asleep on their seats, while some played cards in groups of twos and threes. Some, who were extremely bored, came over to watch the commotion. When the door finally opened, the onlookers were all stunned. There was no one there! The attendant¡¯s first thought was that Dong Zhi was lying, but she couldn¡¯t help feeling that something was off. If no one had really entered, why was the door locked? The train was running at high speed, and it was unlikely that anyone would jump from it. Even if someone did, it was impossible as the restroom window was locked! Dong Zhi affirmed: ¡°I saw that man go in with my own eyes!¡± The attendant wondered: ¡°Could it be that he came out and you didn¡¯t catch it?¡± But that still didn¡¯t explain how the door was locked. Everyone shared confused looks as the attendant muttered, trying to find a reasonable answer: ¡°Maybe the lock was broken!¡± Dong Zhi subconsciously looked behind his seat. There weren¡¯t many people in this train section and the lights were dim. Some were sleeping, some were playing cards, and some were watching movies with headphones on, but none of them looked like the old man he had seen. Was it because the light was too dark that he couldn¡¯t see clearly? Or perhaps the other person had gone to a different train section? This event was too strange. Dong Zhi returned to his seat and kept looking in the direction of the restroom from time to time. As time passed, several passengers had come and in out of it as usual. There was no one on his neighboring seat and the passenger on the opposite side had gotten off at the previous stop. There were a few scattered young people who wanted to play fight the landlord. They happened to see that his area had many empty seats, so they came over and asked if they could use them and invited him to play with them. Dong Zhi was usually a lively person, but after witnessing the scene just now, he had a strange feeling in his heart. He wanted to contemplate by himself, so he politely declined. He picked up the school bag that was laying in the seat next to him and put it on the ground, generously vacating the space. The group of young people came over bringing cards and snacks. They all quickly became acquainted. Dong Zhi learned that they were students who gathered together on pleasure trip as they were nearing their graduation. ¡°I thought you were younger than us!¡± A tall and handsome boy showed a look of surprise when he heard that Dong Zhi was already in the work force for several years. The contours of Dong Zhi¡¯s face were soft, and his hair was supple. This kind of appearance was very versatile. He¡¯ll look small when he¡¯s young and remain that way even when he gets older. The highlight was his skin, that was even fairer than that of a girl¡¯s. Dong Zhi was used to this so he had long become numb to it. He simply smiled and didn¡¯t refute any words. The scene of the old man walking past him subconsciously appeared in his mind. How can someone just disappear out of thin air? Was there some kind of alternative-dimensional passage in the toilet that no one could see? He kept thinking about it, little by little, until his head started nodding off unconsciously. The girl playing cards beside him saw this and hurriedly shush, causing everyone¡¯s laughter to suddenly become quieter. The sleeper tilted his head, leaning it against the train¡¯s window. His eyelashes casted shallow shadows on his eyes and his eyebrows curled even when his eyes were closed, as if he was laughing. Unfortunately, this tranquility did not last long. The train passed an uneven track, and the slightly loud vibration caused the back of his head to hit the edge of the window. With a groaned, he rubbed his head and woke up, still half-asleep, giving off a dazed and innocent look. The girl who was sitting to the opposite side of him saw this and thought it was cute and funny. She couldn¡¯t help but laughed. The cards in her hand fell to the ground and one slipped under Dong Zhi¡¯s foot. He bent over to pick it up and when he flipped the card over, he saw it was the ¡°joker¡±. Suddenly, struck by inspiration, he returned the card and took out a pen and paper from his backpack and started to walk around with them in hand. ¡°What are you sketching?¡± The boy sitting near him asked when he looked at the paper. ¡°Water ghost*.¡± He didn¡¯t raise his head as he answered, the tip of his pen flying quickly. *Clarity: the card that Dong Zhi picked up is the joker but is also referred to as ¡°ghost¡± so that¡¯s why he suddenly got the inspiration. A monster on all fours with a hideous face slowly appeared on the paper. He wasn¡¯t just showing off his skills on a whim. Before he embarked on this journey, his job was a game artist. This job was even more difficult than a game programmer. After working for three years, the colleagues in his department slowly left, one by one, and eventually even the main artist deserted, resulting in the ambitious Dong Zhi being promoted to his position to replace him. However, this promotion wasn¡¯t because of luck or skills. It was all due to the project manager of their department being a particularly difficult person. They were working on a mobile game related to ancient Chinese mythology and he wanted them to add cute elements to it. When the art prints came out, the project manager instantly disliked it saying it wasn¡¯t classical enough. After multiple iteration, the artists who had to worked overtime for several months in a row wanted to pull out their hair. They were almost driven crazy by him that they switched jobs. Now, even Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t stand it anymore. When the other party asked them to change the manuscript for the nth time, he threw the pen at the fat manager¡¯s face and promptly resigned. Despite after resigning, he still had a few drafts that needed to be handed over. One was a ¡°water ghost¡± that was a copy of the mini boss of the beginning of the game. Recalling this, Dong Zhi mood improved, and he hummed a little song. The boy nearby became interested and asked: ¡°Is this called a water ghost?¡± ¡°The official name is Water Monkey1.¡± Dong Zhi explained: ¡°It¡¯s specially designed to pull people into the water while they are swimming and take their place. It is a bit like the kappa2 in Japanese legend.¡± 1(Ë®ºï×Ó) Legendary creature that lives in a water and looks like an ape. They¡¯re commonly known as water ghosts/water lion ghost/water corpses in folklore. See the lore in my Kinky Thoughts. 2An amphibious demon (yokai) found in Japanese folklore. They are depicted as green, human-like beings with webbed hands and feet and have a turtle like carapace on their back. He used his pen to carefully outline the eyes of the water monkey. With these gloomy eyes added, the overall appearance of the monster immediately appeared. The train shuttled quickly, and the changes in light and shadow brought from outside the window were reflected on his drawing that added an extra eeriness to the drawing. ¡°This doesn¡¯t seem right.¡± The boy said suddenly. Dong Zhi doubted: ¡®What could be wrong with it?¡¯ The boy stretched out his hand, pointed to the monkey¡¯s head and said: ¡°The top part of the head should be dug out. It should still be empty.¡± Dong Zhi was perplexed. He asked casually: ¡°Why is it empty?¡± ¡°Because it hasn¡¯t sucked a brain yet. Only by sucking someone¡¯s brain can he take on a more human-like look. Otherwise, how can he be a substitute for the human?¡± Hearing the boy¡¯s explanation gave Dong Zhi goosebumps. He turned his head to look up at the boy. The boy was grinning at him, showing off a row of pearly white teeth that gave him an indescribable weirdness. ¡°Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Seeing that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t answer, the boy leaned over and asked again. Somehow, Dong Zhi suddenly noticed that there was a thin red line on the boy¡¯s forehead that extended from one side to the other. It was as if his head had undergone suture surgery. His mouth suddenly became dry, and his hands and feet went numb. When the boy was about to come closer, Dong Zhi pushed him away coldly and jumped away. He suddenly opened his eyes! A dream? Dong Zhi stared at the few young people who were still playing cards in front of him, speechless. The group was also taken aback by him suddenly jolting awake. One of the boy who looked like the one he talked to in his dream asked: ¡°Are you alright?¡± Dong Zhi stared at his forehead. There were a few pimples but no red line. He then looked at the water monkey he painted before he fell asleep. It was staring back at him with wide open eyes. ¡°It¡¯s a bit stuffy here. I¡¯ll go walk for a bit.¡± Dong Zhi was unsettled. He quickly stuffed the pen and paper into his backpack, made a casual excuse, picked up his backpack and got up. The boy quickly made way for him as everyone looked at his hurried back feeling confused. Dong Zhi told himself not to think too much but he couldn¡¯t help feeling there was an evil feeling on this train. After passing through two train sections, he finally found a carriage that was more crowded. When he saw a vacant seat, he walked over. ¡°Hello, is anyone sitting here?¡± The bearded man who was playing a game quickly raised his head and glanced at him, and said: ¡°No, feel free!¡± The man was five big and three rough*. His masculinity was overflowing and his sense of security for Dong Zhi arose spontaneously. *(Îå´óÈý´Ö) Idiom describing a person who is tall and stout with a burly body. Out of the corner of his eyes, Dong Zhi saw that the man was playing the exact same game he was working on before his resignation. The game was called and the setting was in the where it integrated gods, buddhas, and demons in the world. The game quickly became popular after its launched, occupying the top of the games leaderboard. *Compilation of mythic geography and beasts. It¡¯s largely a famous geographical and cultural account of pre-Qin China as well as a collection of Chinese mythology. The game revenue determined the allowances of the department¡¯s employees. Therefore, for the past three years, despite the exhausting work, his salary and benefits weren¡¯t bad. He made enough to feed an entire family and even had enough left over to put away. If it wasn¡¯t for this, he wouldn¡¯t have been able to put up with the aberration of the project manager. Let alone surviving for three years, he would have abandoned ship in less than one. ¡°This lineup can¡¯t beat Zhurong*. You have to replace the summoner!¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but suggested. *Sometimes referred to as Madam Zhurong, is a fictional character from the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. She claims descent from the Chinese fire deity Zhurong, from whom she acquires her name. Zhurong is the only woman in the novel who participates in fighting and battles against Shu forces alongside her husband. The man was scolded severely by the people in his team because they lost the team battle. He was angered hearing Dong Zhi¡¯s words so he snided: ¡°You do it then!¡± Dong Zhi gladly welcomed his challenge. He took the man¡¯s phone and started to change the equipment and summoning beasts. He then formed a team and entered the dungeon. His movements were proficient and fluent making him look like an otaku* with no social life. *A person who is obsessed with computers or particular aspects of popular culture to the detriment of their social skills. The man was in awe: ¡°Big bro, which district are you in? Can you let me hug your thigh*?¡± *(±§´óÍÈ) Means someone is trying to curry favor with someone else. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry: ¡°We¡¯re in the same district, so you can add me as a friend.¡± After some idle talk, Dong Zhi learned that the other man¡¯s name was He Yu, and that he too was heading to Changchun but for a business trip. He Yu complained: ¡°They¡¯re making me travel thousands of miles and didn¡¯t even bother getting a plane ticket. The least they could do was get something better than a train ticket for a hard seat!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless: ¡®What kind of company could be so cheap?!¡¯ ¡°Your leader should be in this carriage, right? Be careful or he might overhear you.¡± He Yu rolled his eyes: ¡°It¡¯s fine. He¡¯s on the soft sleeper!¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but sympathize with him. This company seemed to be even worse than his department. ¡°Dong Zhi, is a very interesting name.¡± He Yu said, ¡°Is your surname really Dong? Is there really such a surname like that?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Of course. I¡¯m named Dong Zhi1 because of my surname. It¡¯s easy to remember. I also happened to be born on the day of the winter solstice2. Isn¡¯t that a coincidence?¡± 1His name, translated, is Winter [Dong] (¶¬) Solstice [Zhi] (ÖÁ). 2Shortest day of the year. He Yu raised his head and gave him a meaningful look, then nodded: ¡°How coincidental.¡± After chatting and playing games for a while, the lingering fear he had gradually disappeared. Dong Zhi remembered that he hadn¡¯t finished his sketch yet and took it out of his backpack. When He Yu saw the painting, he let out a sigh: ¡°Your artwork is similar to the style of !¡± Dong Zhi continued drawing as he painted the nails on the water monkey and replied without raising his head: ¡°Yes, I¡¯m the artist for it. My public screen name is Dong Dong Qiang.¡± He Yu mouth dropped, looking quite incredulous. Only after Dong Zhi showed him the all the drawings with his signature on them that he had stored on his phone did He Yu finally believed him. ¡°Great God, please let me worship you!¡± He hugged Dong Zhi abruptly: ¡°Oh my god, I¡¯m touching a living god! A man who was dozing on the opposite side of them woke up and gave them a look as if saying: ¡°it turns out to be a pair of gays.¡± Dong Zhi thought it was hilarious and wanted to push He Yu away, but he had hugged him too tightly that the push barely made him budge. He Yu looked happy: ¡°God treats me well. Although there is a stingy and mean leader, he has given me the opportunity to meet a great God!¡± He hurriedly took out pen and paper from the schoolbag next to him, and said with starry eyes: ¡°Great God, can I get you sign a few times for me?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°How many times?¡± He Yu: ¡°Can I have one signature per page?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He looked at the blank notebook that have at least a thousand pages, quietly signed five times, then closed it and handed it back. He Yu began to elaborate on his admiration for the Dong Zhi: ¡°I like the heroines you draw, especially the immortal*. That little lolita is so cute. Fans of the game even made a fan video. Have you seen it? The background music they used¡­¡± *(ÏÉ) Xian is used to describe an immortal but can also refer to as a fairy or other mythical beings (see the Wikipedia). Dong Zhi was happy. It¡¯s not like he didn¡¯t know was popular. He just didn¡¯t expect he would be sought after by its fans. In addition to feeling embarrassed, he also felt relieved that the overtime he put in the past few years had not been in vain. After finishing up the draft for the water monkey and instructing He Yu on a few game strategies, Dong Zhi said: ¡°I¡¯m a little hungry. I think I¡¯ll go to the dining car. Do you also want something to eat?¡± He Yu was very attentive to his idol: ¡°I¡¯ll go buy it!¡± Seeing that he hadn¡¯t finished his PvP* match, Dong Zhi refused: ¡°It¡¯s okay. I also want to go for a walk. Just finish this team battle, or you¡¯ll be scolded by your teammates again.¡± *Player vs player. He Yu thought about it and replied: ¡°Please God, help me out and buy me some instant noodles. I¡¯ll transfer money to you through mobile later.¡± Dong Zhi laughed and said: ¡°Alright let me add you*.¡± *Clarity: I think he means like adding him as a friend to WeChat or QQ or whatever app that¡¯s popular in China nowadays. He Yu¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°Then can you also sign on the instant noodles packaging?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ After getting away from the autograph fanatic, he walked towards the dining car. Along the way, he saw a few passengers, who, like him, couldn¡¯t sleep in the middle of the night and was strolling around. There were others who were dozing off in their seats or watching movies. Most of the lights in the carriage were turned off as the remaining ones casted dim shadows as he move forward. They disappeared and reappeared from time to time under the looming lights. The train had shook slightly causing Dong Zhi to slow down and support himself on the wall. Suddenly, he saw his shadow raise its left hand and wave at him as if to say hello. The author has something to say: The start of a new novel! The first 99 comments in the new chapter today will receive a red envelope! Kinky Thoughts: The start of a new project! I am a big fan of this author¡¯s work. This is a supernatural modern danmei that deals with ghost/demon busting (I think). It involves a lot of Chinese mythological things so there¡¯s a lore glossary as reference that I¡¯ll add to as I translate. I¡¯m not fully sure what it¡¯s all about yet as I¡¯m reading it as I translate but you can read the summary on the project page to get an idea. Note: is also known as . This is also the name of the department that Dong Zhi eventually joins. I have decided to translate it as The Department of Exorcism to make it more succinct. I strongly recommend you read the author¡¯s other works. My favorites are: The Fourteenth Year of Chenghua and Peerless. I also heard good things of Thousand Autumns and Estranged, but I haven¡¯t had the chance to read them yet. As this project is a lot harder to translate, and my main focus is still on Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day, releases will probably be once or twice a week, at least until I finish with YRILGPED. ¡ª Water Monkey Lore: [Water Monkeys usually live in the water, and sometimes go ashore, and are more common in wild water sources such as mountain ponds and reservoirs. Water monkeys are dependent on water and lose their limbs within ten minutes of being out of water. In the water, the water monkey¡¯s strength is several times stronger than that of humans, so once they pull you in, it become life-threatening. According to legends, water monkeys have a huge and mysterious power in the water. They can dig through different ponds and river underwater. They catch drowning people and drag them to the bottom. Some say they like to drink human blood and eat human fingernails and eyeballs.] CH 2 Dong Zhi suddenly turned his head. Nothing. There was no one there. In this instance, he had to mobilize all his willpower to resist the urge to scream. Taking a deep breath, he looked at the ground again. His shadow was still a shadow. At most it only trembled slightly as the train moved forward. The scene he¡¯d just witnessed was like a blur. Dong Zhi calmed down. His palms were sweaty leaving behind slippery wet traces on areas that he touched. He hurriedly quickened his steps and dared not look at the ground again. The dining car was brightly lit and there were small groups of people sitting inside. He subconsciously felt relief seeing this. He ordered a bowl of braised beef noodles and bought instant noodles and some snacks for He Yu. As he was about to walk to an empty seat, a child suddenly fell out of the seat next to him, falling in front of him, startling him. He quickly put down his things and rushed to help the child. ¡°Little girl, are you okay?¡± The little girl looked no more than six or seven. Her hair was in a pair of braids, and she had an apple face underneath her neat looking bangs. Hearing Dong Zhi¡¯s words, she slowly shook her head. Dong Zhi looked down at her knee. There didn¡¯t seem to be any scrapes. A young woman hastily ran over: ¡°Tongtong!¡± The little girl turned around and opened her arms letting the young woman pick her up. From this action, it was obvious what kind of relationship they had. Dong Zhi was afraid that the other party would misunderstand so he promptly explained: ¡°The little girl fell down just now so I rushed over to help her.¡± The young woman wasn¡¯t angry but instead thanked him repeatedly. She chided the child for being naughty in her absence. She had wanted to order food, but shortly after leaving this happened. Dong Shi: ¡°It just so happens I¡¯m here waiting for my order. I can help you watch her for a while.¡± The young woman gave him a grateful look and thanked him repeatedly. She put her daughter on the seat opposite of him and instructed her to listen to the big brother while she goes to order food. The little girl was very quiet, not ¡°naughty¡± at all like what her mother said. She and Dong Zhi stared wide-eyed at each other, without a single word being said. Dong Zhi felt the atmosphere was getting awkward. Thankfully, at this moment, a train attendant brought over his braised beef noodles and the young woman had also returned. ¡°Thank you so much. I came with Tongtong alone. Sometimes I get negligent and can¡¯t take care of her. Thankfully there are always kind-hearted people like you along the way!¡± The young woman gave him a bottle of mineral water without saying a word. Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s okay. Tongtong was very good.¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you being too obedient?¡± The young woman smiled bitterly: ¡°Truth is, Tongtong has autism. Her father divorced me because of it. I¡¯m usually busy with work and finally had time for a vacation. I wanted to take Tongtong out so we can have fun, hoping she could see the landscape and perhaps her condition will improve.¡± The little girl was very well-behaved. She took the noodle soup from her mother and ate it spoonful by spoonful. Her movements were a bit slow, but she wasn¡¯t spoiled like other children who were picky and would refuse to eat this or that. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but sympathize. ¡°Where are you heading?¡± Dong Zhi asked. ¡°Changchun.¡± The young woman said: ¡°It has a nice name. I always wanted to go, but I never had time since I got married. Then I had Tongtong¡­ If I have more opportunities, I want to take her to many more places.¡± ¡°I¡¯m going to Changchun too. If Sister Xu needs anything, feel free to contact me.¡± After finishing his bowl of noodles, he exchanged contact information with the young woman. Her name was Xu Wan*, and she certainly lives up to it. She was gentle and beautiful. Unfortunately, her fate was unlucky. *Xu (Íð) means gentle. I¡¯m not sure if Wan (Íð) has any significance. By itself it means winding/similar. Xu Wan repeatedly thanked him, her face full of gratitude. When he got up to leave, she asked her daughter to say goodbye to the big brother. Tongtong seemed to understand as she obediently slowly raised her hand and waved to him. Seeing this made Dong Zhi recall the shadow that he¡¯d witnessed earlier. His heart was inexplicably covered by a weird haze. Bidding farewell to the mother-daughter duo, he walked back with the items He Yu requested. After passing through a carriage, he suddenly felt something was amiss. The surroundings were dimmer than the previous carriage, and there was not even a single night light on. He saw a few people around. ¡­¡­Few? Casting his gaze, he saw that there were people sitting sparsely on both sides of the aisle. Oddly though, no one was sleeping, or playing games on their phones, or even talking and laughing. They all sat upright, their pose stiff, indescribably eerie. Using the light from his phone, Dong Zhi shined it to take a closer look. The people had blank expressions and their eyes were wide open, just like¡­ wax figures or the living dead. His imagination made him shudder and quickly turn around, wanting to return back to the dining car. Before he had a chance to move, he found that the original dining carriage behind him had completely disappeared, replaced by an equally deep and dark train passage. What the hell?! Dong Zhi¡¯s heartbeat intensified as he accelerated his steps. He kept moving forward but the carriage seemed to be unending. The light from the passengers¡¯ phone illuminated their expressionless and lifeless features, and their faces started to glow a weird cyan color. He dared not make a single sound and stopped breathing entirely for fear that a hand would suddenly reach out and grab him. After walking for what seemed like hours, he finally saw a faint light in front of him. Dong Zhi was overcome with joy as he quickly scampered towards it. Sure enough, there was someone standing there, the figure looked familiar. Dong Zhi recognized it instantly and was jubilant. ¡°He Yu!¡± He Yu was squatting on the ground with his back to him. He was holding a lantern, looking forward. When he saw Dong Zhi running over, he turned his head and raised his finger to shush, motioning him to keep quiet. Encountering an acquaintance slightly eased Dong Zhi¡¯s fear. ¡°Why are you here? Are you also trapped here? This place is so strange. We need to find a way out!¡± Dong Zhi said while pulling on him. ¡°Wait, look at this lantern!¡± He Yu said. ¡°What about it?¡± Dong Zhi looked at the small, gray-yellow lantern in his hand. The candlelight inside was faintly quivering as if it was about to be extinguished. ¡°This human skin lantern is about to break.¡± He Yu said with a mysterious expression. ¡°A what lantern?¡± Dong Zhi thought there was something wrong with his ears. He Yu said: ¡°After a person dies, if you chisel a small hole in his skull* and pour mercury in, guess what happens?¡± *(ÌìÁé¸Ç) [Tianling gai] Heavenly lid. Refers to the bone on the top of the head of humans or animals or the skull. Dong Zhi felt a chill rise from the soles of his feet. He couldn¡¯t help but back away slowly, muttering: ¡°What happens?¡± He Yu got up and looked at him, showing a contented smile: ¡°Bury a person in the ground, and in seven, seven, forty-nine days*, you can peel off their skin completely.¡± *Originated from Buddhism. It¡¯s the traditional Chinese funeral ritual where it¡¯s held every seven days after a person¡¯s death. Seven days are one period, with a maximum of seven periods totaling up to forty-nine days. The belief is the person goes through the 7 halls of the undead world to be judged by the 7 kings of the underworld and based on their karma would either be reincarnated or be immediately casted to hell after the 49th day. Dong Zhi smiled dryly: ¡°Nonsense, how is this possible?¡± ¡°Why is it impossible? I have done it before!¡± He Yu seemed to be unhappy with his retort. His face sank and his eyes widened. The faint light from the lantern reflected his face which looked peculiarly treacherous. ¡°But a pair of human skins can only make one lantern at most. My lantern is about to break, so I¡¯ll just use you for my next one!¡± After he finished speaking, he let out a hehe. The hairs all over Dong Zhi¡¯s body stood straight up. He couldn¡¯t bear it any longer. He threw the mineral water bottle that he had taken just a few sips of at his opponent fiercely, then turned around and ran! He Yu reached out and grabbed the top of his head, seemingly unhappy. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t dodge his grasp and was caught by him. He became wide-eyed, his mouth slightly ajar, and fear clenched his heart tightly. He suddenly discovered that once a person¡¯s fear reached the extreme, they couldn¡¯t even scream for help. In the next moment, his head was pulled by He Yu. ¡®It¡¯s over, I¡¯m going to be made into a human skin lantern!¡¯ Dong Zhi thought as he felt a sudden chill on his forehead. It was like ice water was dripping on his glabella, penetrating the skin going straight to the center of his heart, causing him to shiver violently. His eyes lit up as the surrounding scenery changed. There was no dark and gloomy carriage, or wax-like figures of the living dead, and no encounters with He Yu carrying a human-skin lantern. There stood only one mysterious man. Dong Zhi was panting, sweating profusely. His face was pale. His mouth opened and closed but no words came out. He felt like a dehydrated frog. The mysterious man had a pair of beautiful peach blossom eyes. They looked calm and unwavering, as if the wind and rain wouldn¡¯t be able to make any waves*. *Refers to the inability to withstand pressure or setbacks. In this context not being able to make any waves refers to being calm or of smooth procession. Looking at him, Dong Zhi felt the portrait he had painted previously, which were lauded as the golden ratio of facial features*, were instantly overshadowed. *The gold standard to determine whether something is beautiful or not based on their face. The solitary light illuminates itself, and the liver and gallbladder are full of ice and snow*. He had completely forgotten the dangerous situation he was in as this passage popped into his mind unconsciously. *A passage from Zhang Xioxiang¡¯s ¡°Nian Nujio: Crossing of Donting¡±. Solitary light refers to the moonlight. Liver and gallbladder are full of ice and snow is a metaphor for a heart as pure as ice and snow. The whole work expresses the author¡¯s noble, loyal, and heroic spirit. Was this a living person? Dong Zhi stared at the man in a daze but felt no fear. Seeing the other party dumbfounded, the man frowned slightly. He stretched out with his slender finger and pinched Dong Zhi¡¯s chin steadily as he tilted it up. His warm breath wafted over, giving a fragrant smell of ice and snow, pulling back Dong Zhi¡¯s sanity. His face was hot, and he subconsciously wanted to retreat, but he couldn¡¯t break away from the man¡¯s hold. The man had squeezed his chin tightly causing it to ache. At this time, the man took the initiative to let go and bent over to pick up the mineral water bottle that Dong Zhi had just thrown away. Looking around, Dong Zhi noticed that there were passengers scattered around, looking at them strangely. They didn¡¯t have stiff expressions, like the wax-figure that looked like zombies. He breathed a sigh of relief but didn¡¯t dare completely relax. ¡°Is this water bottle yours?¡± The man asked. His voice was neither high or deep, unlike the mellow tone that was commonly used to describe a nice voice. Being so close, Dong Zhi recalled the cologne he had smelled. The scent was like a mixture of fresh moss after the rain and the magnificence of a pond full of lotuses. It was unforgettable. Everything about this man, from his smell to his sudden appearance was full of mysterious charm. Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°I just bought it in the dining car¡­ Oh, wait. I helped a passenger watch her child, and she bought me it as thanks.¡± What happened just now was too bizarre. He vaguely realized that if it weren¡¯t for this man just now, he probably wouldn¡¯t have woken up from that awful nightmare. He hurriedly thanked the other party and asked: ¡°What happened just now? Is there any issue with the water bottle?¡± The man snorted but didn¡¯t answer. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit annoyed. He noticed that the man was heavily focused on the water bottle in his hand, as if he was watching a ticking time bomb. He couldn¡¯t refrain and asked again: ¡°Who are you? Just now, on my forehead¡­¡± Before he had the chance to finish, He Yu came running over. ¡°Boss!¡± A smiling face accompanied He Yu as he called out in a flattering voice. The man glanced at him: ¡°I told you to stay on No. 6. Where did you go?¡± He Yu scratched his head: ¡°Just to the bathroom. When I heard movement here, I came as soon as possible.¡± The man sneered: ¡°By the time you arrive, the day lily will be cold*! Do you know what to do when we go back?¡± *(»Æ»¨²Ë¶¼Á¹) Original saying is cucumbers are cold but now has become day lily will be cold. It¡¯s a ridiculed criticism of people who are late or things done late. He Yu looked dejected: ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll write it in my review.¡± He looked at the Dong Zhi again: ¡°Why are you here? Are you okay?¡± Dong Zhi had flashbacks from what he just experienced so he remained alert. He forced a smile and said nothing. The man said to He Yu: ¡°You stay and solve this matter.¡± Solve what? Are they going to kill people? Dong Zhi was startled. Seeing the man leave, he was about to turn around and slip away when He Yu grabbed him by the collar. He Yu stepped forward and wrapped an arm around his shoulder giving him a silly grin: ¡°Big brother, let¡¯s talk!¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing to talk about.¡± Dong Zhi tried to keep calm. He Yu asked suspiciously: ¡°What did you see just now? Why are you suddenly afraid of me?¡± The current He Yu was bright and cheerful, with a righteous face, which was a stark contrast to the treacherous and dark demeanor of his counterpart in the illusion. Dong Zhi asked cautiously: ¡°Do you use human skin lanterns?¡± ¡°What human skin lanterns?¡± He Yu was inexplicable. It didn¡¯t seem like he was a fake. Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief, and briefly described what he encountered after leaving the dining carriage. He Yu touched his chin: ¡°There should be something wrong with that water bottle.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°What?¡± He Yu nodded: ¡°Do you want to hear the truth or the lie?¡± Dong Zhi asked, ¡°What¡¯s the lie?¡± He Yu said: ¡°The lie is that you were drugged and what you saw were just delusions and hallucinations.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What about the truth?¡± He Yu: ¡°The truth is that the bottle of water is filled with demonic energy, and you drank it. Drinking it will put you in a state of confusion and cause hallucinations.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­The lie seems to be more credible.¡± He Yu shrugged: ¡°People always like to deceive themselves. You can believe whatever you like!¡± He pointed to himself and said aggrievedly: ¡°Look at me carefully. Do I really look like a bad person?¡± ¡®100% yes.¡¯ Dong Zhi thought silently. He watched Sister Xu buy that water bottle with his very own eyes. It took only a few minutes tops to go back and forth. When it arrived in his hand, it was still brand new and unopened. Besides, what would be the point of drugging him? Robbery? Theft? No matter how you look at him, he wasn¡¯t a good target. He was at a loss thinking about all the strange occurrences he had encountered since stepping into this train. The passenger who disappeared out of thin air in the restroom, the dream he had in the middle of the night, and just now, the hallucinations. He was positive he was mentally stable and had no inherited psychological illness, so there was only one possible explanation. What He Yu said was true. Blinking his eyes, as if coming to this realization, Dong Zhi asked cautiously: ¡°I drank that water filled with demonic energy¡­ will I be okay?¡± He Yu: ¡°Of course not. It will take root in your stomach and slowly grow inside it until it bursts out! You¡¯ll be dead by then.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly recalled the scene in the movie *. His body suddenly became cold. *This is the infamous scene he¡¯s referring to. Warning: bloody and gory. Viewer discretion is advised. He tremblingly asked: ¡°Really?¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°Of course not! How funny that you can believe this kind of lies only children would fall for!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ ¡°Alright, alright!¡± He Yu reached out and rubbed his hair, as if consoling a silly child: ¡°But I didn¡¯t lie to you. Even if you drink that whole bottle of water, you¡¯ll be fine. There¡¯s not much evil in there. The boss has already helped you resolve it just now, so there won¡¯t be any sequela!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t intend to pay any more attention to He Yu. Having his head rubbed had dissipated his anger. He gave in to his curiosity and asked: ¡°What the hell is going on in this train? Who are you guys?¡± Kinky Thoughts: Happy Lunar New Year! 6 chapters incoming. Seeing how chapter 2 is, I would garner that this book is not for the faint-hearted. It is after all about exorcising demons and ghosts. I have not fully read the book so I cannot give advance warning on what to watch out for (like gore, violence, ect.) but you can judge for yourself if this is suitable for your taste. To me, this is right up my alley. Big plus that we get some gay action too! CH 3 He Yu took him back to where they were sitting before, pulled out a work permit and sneakily showed it to him as if they were having some kind of underground meeting. It reads: Special Administration Bureau, Work No. 2491, He Yu. Dong Zhi was dazed for a moment, then suddenly a flash of inspiration struck: ¡°Are you from the Exorcism Department?¡± He Yu took back the card and smiled: ¡°Exorcism Department? It¡¯s a queer name, but not uncommon to call it that. We just got news that there¡¯s something weird on this train, so we came to track it down.¡± He comforted again: ¡°But it¡¯s not a big deal. Don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll handle it.¡± Hearing these words made Dong Zhi inexplicably nervous: ¡°Then will I lose my memory?¡± He Yu was baffled: ¡°Huh?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°It¡¯s like the American movie and drama where people who see aliens or some unknown creatures get their memory wiped out by the memory stick. When they get photographed by it, they become amnesiac and don¡¯t remember anything.¡± He Yu became interested: ¡°Is there such a movie? What¡¯s it called? I¡¯ll watch it later!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°It¡¯s called . There are three movies. There¡¯s also an American drama series called that¡¯s also like it. They¡¯re both quite famous.¡± He Yu scratched his nose: ¡°I¡¯ve been in the mountains practicing cultivation for some time now. I recently went down two years ago and use most of my free time for games. I haven¡¯t seen this kind of memory stick* you mentioned, but just because I haven¡¯t seen it, doesn¡¯t mean the Americans don¡¯t have it. Last time I went abroad, I saw a lot of advanced equipment that the General Bureau said they¡¯ll introduce us to, so I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on!¡± *The instrument they are referring to is the neuralyzer from . Although Dong Zhi was interested in what he was saying, hearing him digress the conversation thousands of miles, he hurriedly pulled the topic back: ¡°So you won¡¯t forcibly erase the memory of witnesses? What if it leaks out?¡± He Yu shrugged, giving him a nonchalant expression: ¡°Someone has to believe it first. If you tell someone that you saw monsters from drinking demonic energy that made you hallucinate, do you think others will believe it? They¡¯ll all think you¡¯re a lunatic!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ What he said made much sense that he couldn¡¯t refute it. If someone were to tell him half an hour ago that there were demons and ghosts on this train, even he would think the other party had a few screws loose. Pretending to be calm, he couldn¡¯t hold back his curiosity and asked: ¡°What are those things? Why did they appear on the train?¡± He originally wanted to ask the identity of the man but guessing that the other party was He Yu¡¯s leader, and finding his question to be too abrupt, before he echoed the words, he reluctantly changed it to a different question. He Yu spoke truthfully: ¡°I¡¯m not sure yet. There may be people involved that are manipulating them from behind the scenes, but these things have nothing to do with you. It¡¯s better not to know too much, so you won¡¯t have nightmares.¡± Dong Zhi blinked: ¡°Apart from me, has anyone else encountered such a strange thing on this train? What if I run into it again?¡± ¡°So far, you¡¯re the only one affected.¡± He Yu thought about it and said: ¡°Here, I¡¯ll give you a protective talisman*.¡± *(ƽ°²·û) could also be refer to as a peace charm. It¡¯s an amulet that is said in ancient times could be used to make soldiers invulnerable and to seek peace to protect the body and spirit. Now it¡¯s usually used as a token of love and blessings conveyed to relatives and family. After he finished speaking, he opened his backpack and rummaged through it. Dong Zhi stared at the fluffy Rilakkuma backpack, with a pair of cute mung bean eyes that looked back at him. ¡°This backpack belongs to you?¡± ¡°Yeah, what¡¯s the matter?¡± He Yu asked rhetorically, without looking up. ¡°I thought it belonged to your girlfriend.¡± Dong Zhi laughed dryly. The picture of a burly man like him carrying a cute bear bag was a sight to behold. He Yu said faintly: ¡°I also want a girlfriend. I heard that the girls in game companies are very beautiful. Will you introduce me?¡± Dong Zhi scratched his head: ¡°If I could introduce you, I wouldn¡¯t be a single dog.¡± He Yu searched for a long time but couldn¡¯t find anything. He started sweating profusely: ¡°I obviously put it in before I left! I didn¡¯t use it as toilet paper like last time! It¡¯s over, I¡¯m going to be scolded by the boss again!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He suddenly felt that He Yu¡¯s talisman might have limited effect. ¡°Forget it, forget it!¡± He Yu took out a pen and a cinnabar box: ¡°I didn¡¯t bring yellow paper, so let¡¯s try this first. Do you have paper?¡± Can this be solved this simply? Dong Zhi took out a stack of blank draft papers from his backpack. ¡°Is white paper okay?¡± ¡°Yes, but the effect is a bit worse.¡± He Yu took one, folded it in half, cut it into about one-third of its original size, put it on the table, straightened it, opened the cinnabar box, dipped a brush in it, held his breath, and lowered his head to write down a string of characters. Since Dong Zhi was an art student, he was naturally sensitive to various patterns. He found that the patterns He Yu was writing seemed meaningless at first glance. Circles were connected to other circles. Looking closely, they seemed as if they were connecting one endless universe after another. He Yu¡¯s serious expression made him look as if he was creating some kind of masterpiece. It was relatively quiet as it was late in the night. There were still many people whispering, and the noise of the wheel rolling on train tracks made He Yu distracted as he was muttering to himself so softly that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t make out what he was saying. The moment when the last stroke was made, He Yu quickly bit his finger and flicked it on the talisman. His movement was too fast that all Dong Zhi saw was blood splattering on the cinnabar strokes, and it seemed to be accompanied by a faint flash of golden light, that quickly disappeared. He Yu had drawn the talisman in one go, taking less than a minute, but it looked as if he had taken much longer. ¡°Alright!¡± He took a deep breath, wiped off the sweat on his forehead, dried the talisman, folded it into an equilateral triangle, and handed it to the Dong Zhi. ¡°This is the sunlight1 talisman, the most common kind of exorcism amulet. If you put it on your body, you can keep the mind2 clear and it won¡¯t be invaded by evil spirits.¡± He Yu scratched his head, ¡°Originally, writing on yellow paper has the best effect, but since we don¡¯t have any, this will have to do. I have used my blood to amplify it, which can somewhat make up for its lack of strength. Keep it with you at all times, even when you use the bathroom.¡± 1Mingguang (Ã÷¹â) = means daylight but can also refer to as the sun/bright/sunlight. 2Lingtai (Áę́) = what ancient cultivators call for the middle area of the forehead. It refers to the heart and mind. Since he had good intentions, Dong Zhi thanked him solemnly and put the talisman in his pocket. Seemingly unconcerned, He Yu took out his phone and started playing games again while chatting with him about the game development and settings. Feeling bored, Dong Zhi thought about the talisman He Yu had drawn and doodled casually on his sketch pad. He Yu saw it from the corner of his eyes and gave a chuckle. Dong Zhi had managed to sketch the talisman that he had painstakingly drawn. He had drawn something that had such complex characters so casually. Although it didn¡¯t look exactly the same, nor have the potency, it was still enough to surprise He Yu. ¡°It took me a full day to learn how to draw that talisman, yet you did it in a single glance!¡± ¡°Well, I am an art major.¡± Dong Zhi was a little smug, but retained his modesty, as he blinked his eyes up and down innocently. He Yu was both envious and jealous: ¡°Fortunately, you are not under my master. Otherwise, I¡¯ll be scolded by him every day!¡± Just after he finished speaking, his heart moved: ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll teach you the trick of drawing the sunlight talisman. Next time, you can use yellow paper and cinnabar to draw by yourself.¡± Dong Zhi was eager but hesitantly asked: ¡°Isn¡¯t this revealing your sect master¡¯s secrets?¡± He Yu waved his hand very forthright: ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just a talisman. Who made you my favorite game artist!¡± ¡°People have heads and feet, and talismans are the same. They are divided into the talisman¡¯s head, stomach, gallbladder, and feet*. They are indispensable for subduing demons. They also ward off demons and keep your family safe. Some are royal decrees and others can even invite gods. You have to add the god you want to invite but each sect has their own secrets, so the talismans are different between sects even if the function is the same.¡± *See Kinky Thoughts. He Yu rambled on and then told him the trick of drawing talismans. ¡°Painting runes often fail. If you don¡¯t practice internal kung fu1, you can do more with less effort. Just now, you were able to draw the outline of the pattern but you¡¯re still far away from injecting into the talisman. I¡¯ll draw the sunlight talisman again for you later. When you return, keep practicing it. Remember, when you draw talismans, you must keep your qi2 down in your dantian3 and make sure your mind is united¡­¡± 1Neija kung fu occupied with spiritual, mental or qi-related aspects, as opposed to an ¡°external¡± approach focused on physiological aspects. 2Vital force forming part of any living entity. It¡¯s usually translated as energy. 3Refers to the focal points for meditative and exercise techniques. Dong Zhi humbly asked: ¡°Where is the dantian and how do I keep my qi down?¡± He Yu thought for a bit then said: ¡°It¡¯s like the feeling of brewing up a fart but you don¡¯t let it out.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He Yu said: ¡°The talisman drawn by ordinary people are empty with no abilities, but if you can really draw this rune in its original form, even if it¡¯s empty, it will be enough to deter small demons and monsters. If you encounter such a situation next time, and the talisman fails, you can still bite your finger and draw a sunlight talisman against the air. As long as you visualize it in your mind, the power could be even greater.¡± Having said that, he paused, turned his head and asked Dong Zhi: ¡°Are you still a virgin?¡± This was something Dong Zhi did not want to answer. He Yu smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and winked: ¡°I get it. I get it! Then it¡¯s even better. You should pay attention to your birthday.¡± Dong Zhi was confused: ¡°What about my birthday?¡± He Yu said: ¡°During the time of the winter solstice, the yin diminishes while the yang grows. In other words, it¡¯s just the time to take advantage of both. There is typically no issue in this; however, unexpectedly you share the same name of ¡®Winter Solstice¡¯. If I¡¯m not mistaken, your fate* shows a similar negation between yin and yang, which seek equilibrium. In terms of misfortune, you¡¯re not the worst as there are many worser than you. However, for those with bad intentions, your fate isn¡¯t completely useless for exploiting.¡± *¡°Fate¡± is referring to Ba-Zi which means ¡°eight characters¡±. You can read more about it by going to the Wikipedia and see my Kinky Thoughts on the lore. Thanks to Lingmu, Tiny Teo, and 0 braincells for helping me with this paragraph. He didn¡¯t continue further, but he would rather believe something¡¯s there than not. Dong Zhi continuously nodded as he was humbly being taught. Seeing his well-behaved appearance, He Yu couldn¡¯t help but rustle his hair: ¡°Good.¡± Then he felt embarrassed and grinned: ¡°I have a problem. I can¡¯t stand it when I see a cute little fluffy animal.¡± The corner of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°Where am I fluffy?¡± He Yu said confidently: ¡°Your hair!¡± ¡ª Dong Zhi drew the talisman several times according to He Yu¡¯s drawing. They became smoother and better overtime as he repeatedly practiced. Even He Yu felt that he was very talented and couldn¡¯t help but secretly pity. ¡°If you had been seen by my master ten years earlier, I think you would be my junior brother.¡± Dong Zhi became curious: ¡°Is there really that kind of hermit master nowadays? What sect are you from? Where do you usually live in seclusion? Mount Emei and Qingcheng Mountain are now crowded with tourists daily, so how can you practice cultivation?¡± Usually he¡¯s reserved, but when triggered, he could talk endlessly. This was amplified when it¡¯s a conversation between acquaintances. Thankfully, He Yu was also a talker himself, so the two hit it off. Since the questions didn¡¯t involve any of his sect¡¯s secrets, He Yu didn¡¯t plan to lie so he honestly said: ¡°Our sect is called the Hezao sect¡­¡± Before he could continue, Dong Zhi made a sound interrupting him. ¡°I just saw Sister Xu and her daughter!¡± He Yu got up and said: ¡°Where?¡± Dong Zhi pointed to the passage of the carriage in front of him: ¡°They just walked over. They looked very familiar so it should be them!¡± ¡°You wait for me here. I¡¯ll come back as soon as I investigate! Don¡¯t move!¡± He Yu left in an instant without saying another word. The train was still moving at high speed, causing the light and shadow from outside the window to flicker and overlap, giving a trance-like feeling of traveling through time and space. Inspiration surged in Dong Zhi as he listened to the gorgeous voice of Cai Qin from *, that he couldn¡¯t control himself but to take a pen and sketch on draft paper. *Theme song of the movie . Written by Bu Sifan, composed by Dou Peng, and sung by Cai Qin. A train attendant was pushing a mobile dining cart along the aisle. As the wheels came into contact with the floor of the carriage, it created little trembles. ¡°Drinks, snacks, fruits, chips, instant noodles here.¡± Since boarding the train, he had heard this kind of shouting every three to five minutes, so his ears have grown calluses1, and he usually didn¡¯t bother lifting his head. However, in this moment, the gods sent ghost2, and he raised his head to look. 1Refers to hearing the same sentences or thing too much that calluses grow when you keep hearing it (like hands that get calluses from working it too much). 2Idiom that refers to doing something unconsciously that you were not expecting to do. The attendant seemed a little familiar. Dong Zhi had a good memory, almost photographic, that he easily remembers things within a few seconds. Wasn¡¯t this the attendant that was on duty when he was in the dining carriage? But how come she¡¯s pushing a mobile dining cart here? Usually, the work of a mobile dining cart and a fixed dining carriage were not done by the same person! As he was thinking this, the attendant gave him a glance, and their eyes met. Under the dim light, her eyes were unusually strange, and the corners of her mouth were slightly upturned, as if she was smiling directly at him, causing his scalp to become completely numb! Kinky Thoughts: Ba-Zi (Four Pillars of Destiny) Source Four Pillars of Destiny is a Chinese term that comprises of four elements of a person¡¯s destiny or fate. The four components are taken from the moment of birth. They are the year, month, day, and time (hour). Each of these elements are important in Chinese astrology, the zodiac, and fortune telling. Ten Heavenly Stems are the yin and yang components of the Five Elements: Yang Wood, Yin Wood, Yang Fire, Yin Fire, Yang Earth, Yin Earth, Yang Metal, Yin Metal, Yang Water, Yin Water. The Twelve Earthly Branches are more popularly represented by the twelve animals of the Zodiac: Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Goat, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, Pig. The culture of Chinese Fortune Telling (Öлª¼ªÏéÎÄ»¯ Zh¨­nghu¨¢ j¨ªxi¨¢ng w¨¦nhu¨¤) is based on five principles that to the skilled can be judged from the balance found in the Eight Characters determined by the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches that are associated with the time and date of your birth. The five principles are: ¡ª The talisman is composed of five elements: Since ancient times there have been many talisman sects. Each worships its ancestors differently, and because of this, the ciphers of the talismans are also different. So, while they may represent the same thing, they are drawn differently. Different types of talismans vary according to their sect. Generally, they are used to invite gods, dispatch troops, or as ¡°decrees¡±. CH 4 Dong Zhi calmed down and looked over at the attendant again only to find that she had already moved on, looking at others, as if nothing was wrong. Someone sitting in the front seat had asked for a bottle of water and was checking out. As the train attendant handed the bottle over, Dong Zhi almost screamed. Illuminated by the night light, vague shadows reflected on the top of the carriage. The shadows casted on the parties were moving completely differently than the person they were reflecting. Suddenly one slowly appeared three-dimensionally as it reached towards the top of the person¡¯s seat! The originally flat shadow had now reached the top of the front seat and turned into a substantial black mist that penetrated down. It was about to touch the passenger sitting in the front seat, yet no one around noticed it at all. In horror, without a second thought, Dong Zhi reached for his sunlight talisman that was in his pocket and threw it at the black mist! The moment the talisman penetrated the black mist, a cloud of light burst out, creating a brief bright flash before dissipating. The talisman exploded with the black mist, as both turned into powder and disappeared without a trace. The attendant suddenly turned to glare at Dong Zhi, the smile on her face gone, replaced with a shuddering distortion of ferocity. Her eyes were filled with overflowing resentment. She pushed the dining cart forward as a mass of people rushed over! Before he had the chance to grasp the situation, his shoulders were firmly grabbed. Pain instantly seared through his clothes and flesh, directly reaching his bones. His vision became blurry as if covered in a bloody fog. He hallucinated that his entire shoulder was about to be torn off and the extreme agony made his scream involuntarily. ¡°Ahhhhhh!!¡± Suddenly, his eyes lit up, like fireworks exploding in the night sky, dazzling, as flames scattered like streamers, brilliant and gorgeous, filling his sight. He heard a piercing shriek that penetrated deeply into his ears, filled with bitterness and unwilling resentment. The people around trembled, wanting to cover their ears to block the sound. Dong Zhi felt a sudden ease on his shoulder. He was unable to fall back into his seat and gasp for breath. The chaos was just beginning. Darkness blanketed the area as all the lights were extinguished. The sound of the dining cart rolling along could still be heard as well as passengers¡¯ shouting ¡°What¡¯s going on¡± or ¡°What¡¯s the matter¡±. At this moment, his shoulder sank slightly, as if someone was holding it down. Unable to fully recover from the fright, he was about to scream subconsciously, when his mouth was suddenly covered. A voice came to his ear: ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± It was the man who He Yu called his leader. Perhaps it was due to fate that he had met He Yu. His heart had almost jumped out of his mouth but it was seemingly caught by this hand and slowly put back in place. Aware of Dong Zhi¡¯s loosening, the man let go. ¡°I¡¯ll treat your shoulder,¡± he said succinctly. Dong Zhi immediately felt as if his injured shoulder was poured into a basin of ice water, which instantly eased his burning pain. He had lost the feeling of half his arm, but now, when he tried to move his fingers, he found it was much better than before. He tried to thank the man but found that his throat was dry and coarse. All the sweat he poured out just now seemed to have completely dehydrated him and his body was soft and weak that he couldn¡¯t stand up. Suddenly, the lights in the carriage lit up and someone shouted out ¡°Someone¡¯s fainted¡±, snapping the attention of all the confused passengers who discovered that the train attendant who was pushing the dining cart had fallen to the ground and was unconscious. The image of her smiling creepily at him kept appearing in Dong Zhi¡¯s mind and he couldn¡¯t help but look towards where she fainted. Seeing the sight, he thought he was going mad. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was an illusion caused by the lighting, but he seemed to see a faint red mark on the attendant¡¯s forehead. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare to step forward for a closer inspection. He turned his head, wanting to tell the man about his discovery, but found that the other party had vanished for some time already. He came without a shadow and left without a trace. If it weren¡¯t for the pain in his shoulder that was feeling much better now, Dong Zhi would have suspected that it was all a hallucination. The purser quickly came over with the police who pushed aside the crowd. He bent down to check on the attendant and immediately his face became solemn. The carriage was a mess. Children were crying from fright and passengers voiced endless complaints. The body of the attendant was hurriedly taken away and after a short while, the police returned and started asking the passengers about the situation at that time. When he was questioned, Dong Zhi of course, didn¡¯t dare to tell the truth. He only said that he saw the attendant suddenly faint but because the lights went out, he couldn¡¯t see what happened afterwards. His statement echoed that of the other passengers. When He Yu returned, he was also questioned by the police. Fortunately, he had his ticket with him. Seeing him, Dong Zhi felt as if he was looking at his savior, catching He Yu by surprise as he saw his pale stricken face. ¡°Something happened?¡± Dong Zhi nodded and recounted the events quietly to him. ¡°The boss has been here?¡± He Yu was relieved: ¡°Fortunately, with the boss here, nothing serious should happen. How is your shoulder? Let me see.¡± Dong Zhi also wanted to see his injury. When he was grabbed, he felt as if his shoulder blade was about to be broken. He took off his shirt and was in utter shock. The area was blue and purple, covered by a large handprint on his left shoulder, the exact spot where he was grabbed. He touched the area then the palmprint with a solemn expression before he finally let out a sigh of relief: ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just a little bruised. Fortunately, you met the boss, otherwise it would have been worse than this.¡± Dong Zhi trembled: ¡°Is something wrong with it? Was it fractured?¡± He Yu shook his head, his expression tight: ¡°Still good. Once the demonic energy penetrates under the skin and flows through the flesh and blood of the body, the soul of the person will be extinguished, resulting in the person becoming a mindless corpse. By then no power under heaven can save them.¡± So, it¡¯s like turning into a zombie? Dong Zhi shivered: ¡°Can you make it clearer?¡± He Yu slapped him on the shoulder: ¡°In other words, death!¡± Dong Zhi quaked with fright from the slap. Truthfully, before this incident, even when He Yu had given him the talisman, he remained dubious. When he saw the talisman explode when it collided with the black mist, and the handprint on his shoulder, all his doubts vanished. No normal human, no matter how hard they try, could leave such a mark from just grabbing a person¡¯s shoulder. The door to a new world was slowly opening towards Dong Zhi. Taking a page out of a girl¡¯s book he wanted to sob. Wuwuwu. Is it possible to relock this door?! Taking a deep breath to calm himself down, he said: ¡°One more thing. The attendant who fainted just now had a red mark on her forehead. I have seen this mark in a dream!¡± He then rehashed the previous dream he had and how he had met He Yu. Listening to him, He Yu¡¯s expression became serious: ¡°I will take you to see the boss.¡± Dong Zhi was still in shock. He walked lightly, as if he was stepping on cotton and relied on He Yu¡¯s support to help him until they reached the man¡¯s room on the soft sleeper carriage. Entering, he noticed that no one was there. There were no traces of luggage and the only object visible was a book that had a colored cover besides the pillow on the lower left side of the bed. ¡°I don¡¯t know where the boss went again. This area is protected so just sit whenever you like. I¡¯ll buy you something hot to drink.¡± He Yu left shortly after. Dong Zhi wanted to hold on to him but felt that it was too embarrassing of a display, so he pretended to be calm as he looked around the room. His gaze unknowingly fell towards the book. Taking a closer look, he saw the title of the book was <365 Fairy Tales>. The image of the man holding a fairy tale book while solemnly reading it appeared in his mind unconsciously and he couldn¡¯t help but find it unimaginable. Could it be that he bought it for a child? He felt it wasn¡¯t good to go through other people¡¯s things without the owner¡¯s consent, but he couldn¡¯t control his curiosity. The two voices* in his mind were locked in heated battle. In the end, the devil prevailed, and he reached for the book. He didn¡¯t pick it up but opened it to the latest page. *Referring to the angel and devil of your conscience. It turns out it wasn¡¯t a book but a notebook. He gave a light chuckle and found the handwriting were like scribbles and hard to understand, similar to He Yu¡¯s painting when he drew him the talisman, but it gave him a thrilling feeling that could cut through paper. The text wasn¡¯t simplified nor traditional Chinese, and it didn¡¯t seem to be a foreign language either. What kind of characters are these? Dong Zhi knew that he shouldn¡¯t continue reading, so he quickly suppressed his desire to snoop through the other pages and closed the notebook. Suddenly, the door was pushed open, startling Dong Zhi. He hurriedly turned his head around and saw He Yu at the entrance. ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I thought it was a fairy tale book, so I wanted to look at it!¡± Before the other party even asked, he had already taken the initiative to confess. He Yu laughed: ¡°Hehe. It¡¯s okay. I¡¯ve peeked at it many times! The boss often writes and draws in it when he¡¯s idle, but most people can¡¯t understand it anyways so it¡¯s useless to read it.¡± He put down the hot water in his hand and said to Dong Zhi: ¡°Money¡¯s a bit tight so I can¡¯t buy you hot chocolate, so a cup of hot water will have to do.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ You have limited funds but was able to cover an entire soft sleeper?! Seeing his expression was obvious, He Yu plaintively said: ¡°It¡¯s because of this that we have no extra money!¡± Dong Zhi found it strange: ¡°There are three extra beds here, so why are you taking the hard seat?¡± He Yu sighed: ¡°Work needs to be done. You can¡¯t concentrate on just one carriage. The hard side also needs to be watched.¡± Thinking of Xu Wan and her daughter, Dong Zhi asked if He Yu had run into them. He Yu shook his head: ¡°I went back and forth through several carriages, but I didn¡¯t see the mother and daughter you mentioned. Could it be that you were seeing things?¡± As they chatted, the man came back. He didn¡¯t greet Dong Zhi but instead directly asked: ¡°Why is he here?¡± He Yu relayed to him about what Dong Zhi had told him, causing the man to frown. He looked at Dong Zhi and shook his head. Seeing this, Dong Zhi became tense, not knowing what this meant. He Yu hurriedly asked: ¡°How is it?¡± The man said: ¡°No abnormality was found.¡± He Yu released a sigh of relief: ¡°He was clawed on his shoulder just now. I helped him clean it up, but I¡¯m afraid there are still remnants in his body. I wanted you to look at it.¡± He also comforted Dong Zhi: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Since the boss said it¡¯s okay, it means it¡¯s really okay.¡± The man said: ¡°Let him get off when he arrives at the station.¡± The next stop was Tianjin, which was still far from where they currently were. Dong Zhi said: ¡°But I want to go to Changchun.¡± When he looked at the man¡¯s face, he sensed something was off, so he asked: ¡°Did something happen?¡± The man said lightly: ¡°The attendant is dead.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned. He Yu asked: ¡°What¡¯s the cause of death?¡± The man said: ¡°There¡¯s no trauma, so I need to check further. I have already told those above. When we stop at the next stop, they¡¯ll hand the person over to us.¡± He Yu asked: ¡°Then we¡¯ll also be leaving?¡± The man shook his head: ¡°Someone will take over, and we¡¯ll be told the test results.¡± He was being vague, presumably due to Dong Zhi¡¯s presence. He Yu glanced at Dong Zhi and pleaded for him: ¡°Boss, since we¡¯re also getting off at the next terminal, can¡¯t we give him a ride? We don¡¯t know how many¡­ things there are. If Dong Zhi gets off and they follow him, we won¡¯t notice this for a while. At that point it¡¯ll be quite troublesome, don¡¯t you think?¡± The man remained silent. Dong Zhi was uneasy, feeling as if the mood was like when he was a fresh graduate answering the interviewer¡¯s questions for his very first job interview. He didn¡¯t know whether he wanted to stay with them or not. He Yu gave a wink towards Dong Zhi. Tacitly understanding, Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°I won¡¯t inquire about anything, and I will part ways with you as soon as we reach the terminal!¡± The man relented and nodded. Dong Zhi felt both nervous and joy. He wasn¡¯t sure whether it was because he could stay with these mysterious people and witness more bizarre spectacles or because it was the man that was in front of him. Even though the other party rarely speaks, he was like a book in the dark night, tempting others to open it. Kinky Thoughts: Spring is coming for Dong Zhi. CH 5 Dong Zhi was arranged to sleep in the lower bunk opposite of the man. His body was exhausted, as if he had just finished running 10,000 meters, but his spirits were still high. After tossing and turning for over an hour, he gradually entered a stupor. In his half-awake half-dreaming state, he heard what seemed like the door of the soft sleeper room being pushed open and heard the man scolding, saying he shouldn¡¯t have brought him here. He Yu said: ¡°Before the attendant had an accident, we didn¡¯t find any abnormalities. I thought because we were there, they were afraid and didn¡¯t dare to attack easily, but now I find that their attacks seem to be targeted.¡± ¡°Impossible!¡± An unfamiliar voice that sounded like a child¡¯s cry. Dong Zhi curiously thought: ¡®Where did this child come from?¡¯ He originally had slept sideways, facing the wall. In this moment, his mind was a chaotic mess and he wanted to turn over to peek at the speakers but found that his body was so heavy he had difficulty turning over. The child continued: ¡°Those things have no mind and can only suck human essence and blood. How can they be smart enough to deliberately mark specific people?¡± The man said: ¡°The ID card of the attendant who died showed her date of birth was August 21, 1975.¡± Suddenly everything became quiet. ¡®What¡¯s so special about this date?¡¯ Dong Zhi thought forlornly. He Yu shouted: ¡°August 21, 1975 is the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar! In a yin year, yin month, and yin day, shouldn¡¯t her birth date also be yin*?¡± *Clarity: this relates to the Ba-Zi (see lore or previous chapter for more details) which is also known as the ¡°Four Pillars¡±. The four pillars are hour, day, month, and year of birth, and each of those pillars are assigned yin or yang. As far as the dates and stuff are concerned, unfortunately I do not know enough to provide more clarity but based on the pattern of yin/yang it predicts your fortune/fate. Hopefully someone who knows more about this stuff can chime in. The child was shocked: ¡°Is it possible that someone is manipulating them behind the scenes?¡± He Yu: ¡°That¡¯s why I brought him here, lest he becomes the next victim.¡± After a moment of silence, Dong Zhi heard the man say: ¡°You keep an eye on him until we reach our destination.¡± He Yu patted his chest and assured: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You can count on me!¡± The child said coldly: ¡°It¡¯s because of you that we can¡¯t rest at ease. Who was it that forgot to bring toilet paper when he went to the bathroom and then had to use all our yellow paper that we use for drawing talismans and almost caused our team to be wiped out?!¡± He Yu snorted: ¡°That¡¯s odd. Surely it wasn¡¯t you who wanted some snacks and went back to the hotel to get them, causing us to be late and allowing a few fish to slip through the net and now we have to spend the night on this train, ah?¡± The man: ¡°Are you two finished?¡± His voice didn¡¯t have any hints of anger, but the other two instantly quieted. Dong Zhi still wanted to eavesdropped but was suddenly hit with a wave of fatigue. Unable to maintain his soberness, he fell into deep slumber. He thought he would have another nightmare, but let alone a human skin lantern, even the train attendant didn¡¯t pervade his dreams, and he was able to get a good night¡¯s rest. When he opened his eyes, it was already dawn. The train had stopped as he could hear the sounds of passengers getting on and off at the station. He looked at his watch that showed it was 9 AM. He should have arrived at Shanhaiguan. The sky was as blue as the lakes in Jiuzhaigou, covered with shallow and deep clouds. The haze in his heart was dispelled, making it feel lighter. When he tried to move his arms, he noticed his back was sore, so he turned over to sit up. He was met with a pair of eyes that were staring at him unblinkingly, startling him. It belonged to a child that was sitting cross-legged on the lower bunk opposite of his. He was holding a bag of Wangwang jelly in his hand as he sucked on one causing his mouth to bulge. ¡°Little boy, are you lost?¡± he asked. The child ignored him, continuing to suck up the pack of jelly until he was done, then said: ¡°Are you a pig reincarnated?! You sure can really sleep!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Hearing his voice, it seemed that this was the child who was talking with He Yu and the man last night. Seeing him sitting in a daze, the child sneered, pulled out another pack of jelly seemingly from thin air and began sucking on it. Dong Zhi silently thought: ¡®Aren¡¯t you the pig?¡¯ but then immediately felt embarrassed trying to compete with a child. He opened his backpack and took out a bag of dried yellow peaches. ¡°Want some?¡± The child hesitated. Dong Zhi gave him some: ¡°This brand of dried yellow peaches still has some moisture in them. It¡¯s sweet and sour. Their rock sugar hawthorn and dried red apricots are also good too.¡± The other party was tempted. He took the snacks without saying a word and threw several pieces of them into his mouth, bulging his cheeks. He was so cute despite his ugly look now that it could be forgivable. Food can make a mouth go soft as the child¡¯s attitude slightly improved. Dong Zhi took the initiative to introduce himself: ¡°My name is Dong Zhi. My surname is Dong*. It is the winter solstice of the winter solstice festival.¡± *Dong (¶¬) character (as well as the Zhi (ÖÁ)) is same characters in winter solstice [Dongzhi] (¶¬ÖÁ). Dongzhi is also refers to the Dongzhi Festival. You can click on the Wikipedia link to learn more about it. The child nodded arrogantly and demurely: ¡°Name¡¯s Chaosheng*. It is the tide that you see when it is windy and rainy on the rivers.¡± *The Chao (³±) means tide. Dong Zhi was dazed: ¡°Do you have a surname?¡± The child cocked his chin. His eyes widened as if it was like the sky: ¡°Even if I had one before, it no longer exists.¡± While sounding quite domineering, it did not match his physique, especially those short legs. Dong Zhi imagined it was like a small cat standing on a rockery trying it best to bellow out its loudest roar* and he couldn¡¯t help but laugh in his heart. *Clarity: I think he¡¯s referring the scene in Lion King where the lion stands on the big rock and roars but instead of Mufasa it¡¯s (kid) Simba. He shifted the conversation to talking about snacks as he was interested in watching Chaosheng, who had seemed to warm up to him, no longer giving him an icy distant attitude. The train had become livelier with the passing of dawn. All the events of yesterday seemed as if they were a dream. Only the palm print under his shirt had not faded; the bruise serving as a reminder that last night was not an illusion. It wasn¡¯t until four in the afternoon when the train was about to arrive at the terminal that the man finally appeared. He looked haggard, to the point where it was difficult to hide. Seeing him, Chaosheng immediately jumped out of bed: ¡°Boss Long, what¡¯s the status?¡± Dong Zhi thought: ¡®So it turns out his surname is Long.¡¯ The man said: ¡°I¡¯ve eliminated three, so we should be almost done. What about here?¡± Chaosheng shrugged: ¡°I don¡¯t know where it went!¡± The train slowly reached a stop at the terminal station in Changchun as the announcement sounded letting passengers know of its arrival. The man gave a look to Dong Zhi as if asking him why he was still here. Dong Zhi scratched his nose: ¡°Thank you for your help. Can I treat you to a meal after we get off?¡± Chaosheng perked up: ¡°Where?¡± The man said: ¡°No need.¡± Chaosheng let out a huff but didn¡¯t protest, no longer showing off the arrogance he once had when they were alone. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to the refraction of the light, but he found that the man¡¯s face was almost transparent. Mustering up the courage, he couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°If you don¡¯t let me treat you to a meal, can I at least know your name?¡± The other party said lightly: ¡°No.¡± Chaoshang gave him a little wink behind the man¡¯s back as he taunted him with a mocking expression. He felt discouraged but he had no reason to stay. Reluctantly he got up and bid them goodbye and gave all the snacks in his backpack to Chaosheng and asked the other party to pass on his goodbye to He Yu. Perhaps due to the snacks, Chaosheng offered to send him off. When they got off the train, he mercifully told him: ¡°The boss¡¯ name is Long Shen*.¡± *Long (Áú) = dragon. Shen (Éî) = deep. Dong Zhi subconsciously asked: ¡°Which is deep?¡± Chaosheng rolled his eyes: ¡°The depth is deep*!¡± *Clarity: he¡¯s referring to the Shen character (Éî). It means the distance from the surface to the bottom. Dong Zhi let out a sigh as he watched Chaosheng turn around disappearing into the train. The dragon emerges from the abyss1 to the peaks of heaven2. It was really a good name3. 1(Áú³öÉî̶) The first and third character of the sentence has Long Shen¡¯s name which it¡¯s referencing. 2(Áéͨ¾ÅÌì) refers to the highest point in the sky or the nine layers of heaven. 3Clarity: He¡¯s saying Long Shen feels like a dragon emerging from the abyss and reaching the highest peak of heaven and that¡¯s why it¡¯s a fitting name for him. Thanks Lingmu and uhimgood for the clarity. The people around him all hurriedly walked past him and occasionally someone would look back at him. He waited for a while to see if he could catch Long Shen or Chaosheng, but they did not come out. Dong Zhi surmised that they probably had left through another exit, so he got up and left. He heard from his colleagues in his hometown that Changchun was not as beautiful as its name would suggest, mainly due to the smog that shrouded the area every year. He felt he was in luck this time as he was met with good weather. When he stepped out of the station and looked up at the vast blue sky above his head, it made him feel a sense of joy deep in his heart. He took a taxi to the hotel he had booked and checked in. After a night, the shadows on the train had been cast to the wind, no longer lingering in his mind as he relaxed in his room in a cheerful mood. He settled his luggage and went to the reception desk to ask for tourist information. The hotel clerk enthusiastically recommended a day trip around Changchun. After scanning the content, he found that it was all amusement parks or folk museums, so he shook his head: ¡°Is there a two or three day trip? I like something with more natural scenery.¡± ¡°Then I suggest you go to Changbai Mountain. It¡¯s not far from here by train and if you take it in the morning you¡¯ll arrive by the afternoon. After you get to the station, there will be groups there carpooling to the scenic area. You can offer to give them money or maybe catch a free ride.¡± Dong Zhi thought this was a good idea. It wasn¡¯t winter or summer vacation and it was also off-season so there shouldn¡¯t be many people there. He can stay for a few days and find a quiet spot to sketch. After thanking the clerk, he asked about the local night market and nearby places he could visit. Getting some recommendations, he left the hotel and went towards the night market. It was still early, but stalls had already been set up on both sides of the road in preparation for the night. The food he had eaten on the train had long been digested so he wandered through the market, eating along the way, and by the time he reached the end, his belly had become completely round. Still, it wasn¡¯t enough to satisfy his hunger, so he bought another bag of salt and pepper duck tongue and walked back to the hotel. The wind blew several pieces of paper to his feet, and he accidentally stepped on them. The owner of an incense shop nearby hurriedly ran over. ¡°Sorry, sorry, it was a bit windy just now!¡± The owner hurriedly apologized. He knew some people were superstitious about this kind of thing and an unruly person would start a dispute. Dong Zhi instead, was moved: ¡°Boss*, does your shop sell yellow paper?¡± *(ÀÏ°å) An honorific way to refer to a businessman. Boss: ¡°Yes, of course. What do you want?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°The kind for painting talismans and burning paper. I¡¯ll also take some fine gold powder if you have any as well.¡± ¡°I have both! It just so happens there¡¯s still a batch left in stock. I¡¯ll look for them right now!¡± The boss didn¡¯t expect that the wind would bring him business. He happily pulled out a box of yellow paper and a few bottles of gold powder and sold it to Dong Zhi at a discount. Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t planned to buy so much but recalling what happened and He Yu¡¯s words, he decided to buy them all and then went to a stationary store to buy a brush and inkstone, then took a taxi back to the hotel. The hotel was in the city center and was a good price given its location. When Dong Zhi entered, he saw the clerk at the front desk. They were already familiar with each other so they both nodded and smiled to each other. When he walked towards the elevator, he faintly heard the voice of the clerk¡¯s colleague encouraging her to ask for his number. He entered the elevator and pressed the 9th floor. The door was about to close when suddenly he heard someone shouting ¡°Wait¡± and he quickly pressed the open-door button instead. A young woman hurried inside with a child in her arms and smiled to him gratefully: ¡°Thank you!¡± When the two met, Dong Zhi was surprised: ¡°Sister Xu?!¡± ¡°Xiao* Dong?¡± Xu Wan was also surprised, and immediately responded: ¡°Are you staying in this hotel too?¡± *Means little/small/young. When used in front of a name it¡¯s an affectionate/informal way to refer to a person who is younger than you. ¡°I am.¡± Dong Zhi originally had a good impression of the mother-daughter, but due to the incident with the water bottle, despite looking at the weak young woman and cute little girl, his mood became complicated. He wanted to ask if they had encountered any strange events but held his tongue. ¡°Sister Xu, what floor are you on?¡± He made a gesture to help Xu Wan press the elevator button. ¡°Also the ninth floor.¡± Xu Wan told him her room number which coincidentally was next to his. He guessed the hotel had arranged it this way since she shortly checked in after he did. ¡°Tongtong, it¡¯s your brother.¡± Xu Wan said to the little girl. ¡°¡­Brother.¡± The little girl¡¯s reaction was slow, and she didn¡¯t raise her head. From his perspective he could only see the top of her head. ¡°Good girl.¡± Xu Wan sensed that Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t interested in chatting, so she kept silent until the elevator reached the 9th floor. Dong Zhi¡¯s room was the penultimate room on the right side of the corridor while hers was the last room, which is commonly known as the tail room. The sound insulation of the hotel was well done, and it was very quiet during the day as the thick carpet silenced the sound of footsteps. The three walked from the elevator to their rooms. They saw a female guest coming from the other end of the corridor walking towards them. The other party was carrying a small bag and had on exquisite makeup, but her walking posture was strange. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but look down at her feet seeing that she was wearing high heels. Taking a closer look, he found that her heel was not in her shoe, but she was walking on tiptoe, which was why her posture was so weird. When the two of them passed by, the other party accidentally touched his shoulder, but he didn¡¯t dare look back, and continued walking forward, as he faintly heard a low voice humming a song. The author has something to say£º Walking on tiptoe is an urban legend in Fujian, Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. It means that a person is possessed by ghosts, and it¡¯s often shown in horror movies, but I¡¯m not talking about this situation here~ Kinky Thoughts: Spooky. CH 6 Xu Wan also saw the woman¡¯s strange walking posture, but to her, the less involved, the better. She pressed on Tongtong¡¯s head to prevent her from looking back and whispered to Dong Zi: ¡°Make sure your door is locked before going to bed.¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°Sister Xu, you do the same. It¡¯s not easy to go out with Tongtong. If you have anything urgent, just knock on my door.¡± Xu Wan smiled warmly: ¡°Thank you.¡± Back in his room, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother to pay too much attention to what he just witnessed. He had encountered enough strange events along the way that an additional thing wasn¡¯t too concerning any longer. He took out the yellow paper and cinnabar, mixed the cinnabar with mineral water, and began practicing drawing sunlight talismans. According to He Yu, when blending cinnabar, mineral water was better than tap, because it contains more minerals and is closer to nature. Painting talismans is a method of communicating with heaven and earth as the talisman becomes the medium. Paper represents wood, which itself is also made of wood. The color yellow represented earth, which is located in the middle of the five elements* allowing it to take the qi of heaven and earth. Cinnabar represents fire and the water-adjusted cinnabar contains the attributes of water. Combined, it was almost a complete collection of the attributes of the five elements. *The five elements are: wood, fire, earth, metal, water. See Kinky Thoughts for more details. He Yu had told him that some would deliberately add gold powder to the cinnabar to make the five elements perfect, forming a complete cycle that intertwined and flowed endlessly, achieving the effect of subduing demons and ghosts. However, he said this with such a goofy smile that Dong Zhi thought he was just pulling his leg. Even now, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have much expectation for the effectiveness of talismans. He was more mainly interested in drawing them. Due to his career and hobby, he purely equated drawing talismans to ¡°completing a painting¡±. He thought there must be a unique charm to these things, considering the ancient Chinese talisman culture was able to spread and gain popularity even in today¡¯s modern time. The ancient ancestors had linked paintings with subduing demons and had put them into practice, and He Yu was the one who opened the door to this mysterious world for him. He couldn¡¯t control the excitement he felt. He drew hundreds of them with a single breath and then picked out the two most satisfactory, folded them into triangles according to the method he learned from He Yu, and put them in his pocket. He looked at the time and saw that two hours had passed. Profusely sweating and gripped with hunger, it was as if he had just ran a marathon. He thought to himself how lucky he was that he had bought some food back from the market. He cleaned up his tablet and then ate his salt and pepper duck tongue while playing on his phone. He was about to take a shower when he heard a knock on the door. Through the peephole, he saw that it was Xu Wan. She was holding Tongtong with an embarrassed face. ¡°Xiao Dong, you haven¡¯t slept yet right? I want to go downstairs to buy something to eat. Do you mind watching Tongtong? I¡¯ll be back in a few minutes but I¡¯m too afraid to leave her by herself.¡± Her tone was soft as if hinting that it was fine for him to refuse. However, this was such a low effort task that Dong Zhi readily agreed: ¡°Okay. Just let Tongtong stay with me for a bit!¡± The two exchanged a brief greeting and as Xu Wan was about to head out, a sudden noise of breaking glass was heard. Shortly after, there was a muffled sound as if something heavy had fallen to the ground. It was already past 10 PM, nearing 11, and the hotel was located in the center of the city behind a commercial street. The hustle and bustle from the street could faintly be heard, but it wasn¡¯t particularly loud, especially to those who were staying on the higher floors and had their windows closed. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have his windows closed so after he heard the muffle sounds, it was accompanied by screaming. The shrill screams penetrated the night and spread into the room causing Dong Zhi to shudder. He and Xu Wan glanced at each other before the two walked to the window and peeped down. They saw a person lying on the ground with a dark liquid slowly snaking out from under her head. Many onlookers have gathered around but none dare approach. The sounds of sirens brought them back from their stupor. Xu Wan covered her mouth in panic and stammered: ¡°That person¡­ she seemed to have jumped from the next room¡­¡± Hearing her words and looking more closely at the body, Dong Zhi discovered that the person did look familiar. To validate his suspicion, he sent Xu Wan and Tongtong back to their room and went down to the hotel lobby to investigate. News of someone jumping from the hotel quickly spread and many people gathered around the entrance of the hotel. Most were guests along with the hotel¡¯s security guards and lobby managers. Everyone looked disturbed as chattering filled the area. The scene became chaotic as many guests went to the front desk asking to be checked-out; the sudden influx of people overwhelming the two front desk clerks. Dong Zhi stood behind the crowd and looked towards the scene. Seeing that the clothes looked familiar, he instantly recognized that it belonged to the woman that he had passed by in the hallway earlier! She had jumped from the 9th floor; one conspicuous red high heel was still on her foot while the other was scattered not far away. The blood had not yet dried as it faded slowly under the body of the deceased. Dong Zhi hurriedly stepped back and looked away at the uncomfortable scene. Involuntarily, his hand touched the sunlight talisman in his pocket. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to his previous experience, but he felt that his emotions were relatively calm, and he wasn¡¯t scared. The police quickly arrived on scene and began setting up a cordon. They asked the hotel staff and guests to leave the premises and ushered everyone to return to their rooms. It would be too troublesome to change hotels as he plans to leave early tomorrow morning. As soon as he laid down, he heard a knock on the door. It was the police. They had learned that the deceased was staying in the room next to his and wanted to inquire about the situation. Dong Zhi truthfully answered their questions and told them everything he knew, even the fact that they had ran into each other in the corridor and he found that the other party was behaving strangely. The police had told him he was not a suspect, as they thought the incident was related to a suicide, but they had to question him per routine procedure. They took down his phone and ID number and sealed off the victim¡¯s room for investigation. Not long after they left, Dong Zhi faintly heard the door of the next room being knocked on and guessed that they went to question Xu Wan. He tossed and turned in bed for some time before falling asleep. He deliberately left the light on in the bathroom to give him a sense of reassurance. In the middle of the night, he slept in a daze, as he kept hearing the sound of water flowing from the bathroom, as if the faucet was turned on. He felt someone was standing by his bed, wanting to touch him but couldn¡¯t, due to an invisible barrier. In the end the figure stood there menacingly, glaring at him with eyes that were becoming more and more resentful. Dong Zhi felt something in his heart but his body was on the brink of exhaustion so he couldn¡¯t even open his eyes. Eventually he lost consciousness and completely fell asleep. When he woke up the next day, the first thing he did was to reach for the talisman in his pocket only to find that it had been utterly scorched. This frightened him as the only plausible explanation was that something wanted to get close to him last night but was repelled by the talisman, resulting in its ¡°sacrifice¡±. Fortunately, he still had one left and quickly went to pull it out from his backpack. He wasn¡¯t in the mood to laze around so he packed up his luggage and went to check out. When he exited his room, he deliberately glanced back to the victim¡¯s room seeing that the door was closed, and the area was tightly sealed off. He wanted to check on Xu Wan and asked if they had encountered anything strange last night, but after thinking on it, felt it would only trouble the other party. If Xu Wan had felt something was amiss, she would naturally have checked out and changed hotels. The hotel was more experienced today due to last night¡¯s incident. They quickly handled all the checkouts without any push backs. The number of security guards in the hotel lobby also increased from two to four, and they were guarding the entrance as they stared down reporters who wanted to interview guests and take photos. When he left the hotel, he went straight to the train station. He was somewhat reluctant to take the train due to his previous experience, but the journey went smoothly without incident. In the evening, he arrived at Baihe station, which was commonly known as Erdaobaihe. He found a hotel nearby and rested for the night. Since leaving the previous hotel, all the strange events had seemed to disappear, giving him some semblance of relief. Early the next morning, Dong Zhi found a group that was heading to Changbai Mountain and gave them some fare so he could carpool with them. He sat down on a vacant seat near the back. The girl next to him took the initiative to greet him and they exchanged a few words. Dong Zhi learned that her name was Zhang Xing and she had recently graduated from college. She had originally planned this trip with a friend, but her friend bailed at the last minute. Since the trip was already paid for, she decided to go on it alone. Fortunately, she met this group of young people and joined them, and the team leader also took good care of them. Hearing her explanation, Dong Zhi realized that besides him, everyone else in the car were members of a tour group that was preparing to go on an outdoor trip to Changbai Mountain. Kinky Thoughts: The 5 Elements are part of the yin and yang philosophy and are interconnected. It¡¯s usually used in divination for naming a person, in Chinese medicine, and acupuncture. Each element has their interaction with each other. Wood promotes fire, fire promotes earth, earth promotes metal, metal promotes water, and water promotes wood. Wood controls earth but is suppressed by metal, fire controls metal but is suppressed by water, earth controls water but is suppressed by wood, metal controls wood but is suppressed by fire, and water controls fire but is suppressed by earth. CH 7 The car quickly set off. The leader of the tourist group began introducing attractions related to Changchun on the drive. Since Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know much about the area, he listened intently as he found it interesting. The team leader talked about how there¡¯s a hanging kettle* in Changchun and one in Harbin, but the one in Harbin had no water. In the past, several tourists didn¡¯t realize this and got on the wrong bus. As a result, they went all the way to Songfeng Mountain in Harbin and was dumbfounded when they saw there wasn¡¯t a single drop of water. Everyone, including Dong Zhi, laughed hearing this story. *(µõË®ºø) refers to a scenic spot that mainly consist of caves, hanging waterfalls, volcanic wells, and such attractions. The one he¡¯s referring to is most likely a small waterfall like this. The team leader asked everyone to take turns sharing interesting they have encountered on their travels. When Zhang Xing finished, she said to Dong Zhi: ¡°Why don¡¯t you tell a story?¡± The team leader also noticed Dong Zhi and said with a smile: ¡°Let the little handsome guy talk. It¡¯s rare for a beauty like Zhang Xing to take the initiative to invite others. None of the handsome guys on our team have such an honor!¡± Everyone turned their head to look at Dong Zhi when they heard the team leader¡¯s words. They had seen him when he first got into the car and thought he was particularly attractive. Now that he was sitting next to the beautiful Zhang Xing, they couldn¡¯t help but compare. Those who like to joke around had already started heckling them: ¡°Wow, a golden boy and a jade girl*.¡± *(½ðͯÓñÅ®°¡) In Taoism refers to the virgins who serve immortals. It¡¯s now used as reference to innocent boys and girls. Zhang Xing blushed slightly but did not refute them. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t pretentious, so he shared a story about Jiuzhaigou in Sichuan where there¡¯s a hotel called Jiuzhai Paradise. When he got off the plane, the hotel had sent a car to pick him up. The driver was a carefree man who likes to ask guest if they are going to heaven. The guest would get furious and immediately retort that they would send him to heaven. The group was courteous and listened to him without interruption. After hearing his story, they all fell to the ground due to laughter. Zhang Xing took advantage of the situation to ask: ¡°Is Jiuzhai fun?¡± Dong Zhi chuckled: ¡°It is. You need to look at the lakes in Jiuzhai. The water there are like living spirits. If you have the opportunity, you should really go see them.¡± Zhang Xing felt a bit inspired and said playfully: ¡°Then when I go, can I ask you to be my tour guide?¡± Dong Zhi blankly blinked, pretending not to understand her insinuation: ¡°I¡¯ve already been there.¡± Hearing his response, Zhang Xing felt disappointed, and all her courage suddenly disappeared, and she remained quiet for the rest of the ride. The trip was filled with laughter and chatter and eventually they reached the northern slope of Changbai Moutain in half an hour. When buying tickets, Dong Zhi took the opportunity to break away from the tourist group. Zhang Xing wanted him to stay but he declined under the pretext that he wanted to find a quiet place to paint. This area had always been a popular tourist attraction, so even though it was off-season, it wasn¡¯t as deserted as he imagined. Dong Zhi took a bus to Tianchi and painted there for two hours, then walked along the road in the opposite direction of where he came. The mountains were cold, but the trees and plants had already started springing to life. He took a bus when he got here and since he was in relatively good shape, he wanted to return on foot going down. He walked for a while and eventually stopped to sketch and paint and realize he had unknowingly walked out of the scenic area. When he turned around to look back, he found that he had gone too far. While considering whether turn around and go back the same way he came, he heard a ¡°meow¡±. He turned around and saw a chubby yellow cat behind him, meowing as if it was calling him. He was briefly stunned before he took a few steps closer towards the cat. It didn¡¯t seem afraid of him as he remained motionless. ¡°Little guy, are you domesticated or wild? Are you lost?¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°I only have chocolates and water, but you can¡¯t eat chocolates.¡± Seemingly understanding him, the cat glanced at him, then got up and walked slowly away. Dong Zhi found it very fun, and couldn¡¯t help but follow it, maintain a short distance from it. After walking for almost half an hour, he faintly heard the sound of a waterfall up ahead and occasional sounds of voices. The cat seemed to be frightened by the noise as it jumped into the forest, disappearing in a flash. Moving forward, the waterfall slowly unfolded into his sights that it made him involuntarily breathless. There were small groups of twos and threes that were busy taking pictures with their phone and few who just stood by to enjoy the scenery like Dong Zhi. ¡°Brother Dong!¡± Returning to his senses, Dong Zhi looked up and saw Zhang Xing and the tour group. He walked over and greeted her: ¡°We meet again.¡± ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t see you at the lake just now, so I thought you fell behind!¡± Zhang Xing voice held excitement: ¡°Why don¡¯t we go together later?¡± Dong Zhi showed her the sketch pad in his hand: ¡°No, I need to find a place to sketch.¡± Zhang Xing let out a sigh, showing a discouraged look. He pretended not to notice and took out two pieces of chocolate from his backpack and handed a piece to her. This made her regain her smile. ¡°Zhang Xing, would you like grilled fish?¡± A boy walked over, gave Zhang Xing a bag of grilled fish fillets, and sat down next to them: ¡°What are you talking about that you look happy? Who¡¯s this person you called brother?¡± He was asking about Dong Zhi but his gaze never left Zhang Xing. Zhang Xing became agitated and stuffed the grill fish into Dong Zhi¡¯s hand, said nothing, then got up and stomped away. The boy was uninterested in Dong Zhi so he got up and chased after her. Dong Zhi looked at the grilled fish in his hand and hesitated whether to return it but suddenly he saw the chubby cat had come back and was squatting on the stone in front of him, tilting its head while looking at him. One person and one cat stared at each other, big eyes to small, when realization hit Dong Zhi as he offered the grilled fish in his hand: ¡°Do you want this?¡± The cat rolled its eyes, jumped down and rushed towards Dong Zhi surprising him. Before he could react, the bag of grilled fish in his hand had been stolen. The cat immediately crossed the river and the destroyed the bridge. It ran straight into the forest without ever turning around. Seeing such a sight, he didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry. He rested for a while then checked up on Zhang Xing who was still talking with the boy. Their expression looked fairly calm, so he guessed that they weren¡¯t quarrelling. He didn¡¯t bother them, so he picked up his bag and continue walking along the road. He deliberately avoided tourists by following the instructions he bought when he was at the bottom of the mountain and took the remote paths. These paths trailway were rugged and steep but they were still within the scenic area and complied with state regulations, but generally normal tourists would avoid them, afraid that they were too strenuous. Dong Zhi bypassed a pond and when he got to the other side, saw the clear blue sky, white clouds, and snow-capped mountains in the distance. In awe, he found a place to sit down and started to paint. While usually energetic, when painting, he would normally calm down. Once the brush starts to move, he would lose all sense of time. This time was no exception. When he had finished his first draft, he was awakened from his trance by the sound of thunder. The looked up at the sky and saw it was covered by heavy dark clouds and distant thunder was rolling in, occasionally ferocious lightning would flash in between them as the clouds surged. The tranquil-like fairyland had suddenly changed. Looking around, he found the sporadic tourists who had been here earlier were all gone. He hurriedly packed up and prepared to find a place to take shelter from the rain. It wasn¡¯t odd to not run into anyone as they probably had long left to avoid the rain, but he walked for quite some distance yet had not seen a single soul, and a weird feeling inside started growing stronger. He abruptly stopped and stared at the stone in front of him, recalling that it was the stone he had been drawing just now, as there were traces on the grass of where he was sitting. He was perplexed at how he had walked in a complete circle to end up at the same spot again. This time, to keep better attention, he took out a marker and drew a small mark on the stone before moving on. If memory serves him correctly, he only needed to walk a short distance back before he reached the main road where there would be guide signs directing him to various scenic areas. He had walked for almost five minutes and finally saw the end of the grove. He accelerated his steps rushing through the woods until he reached the end seeing grassy cliffs in front of him and the lake and snow-capped mountains in the distance. Sure enough, he had returned once again to the stone. He stared at the mark he left on it, thinking about the old saying ¡°ghost hitting the wall*¡± that old people in his hometown often would say when he was young. *(¹í´òǽ) Means when walking at night, you can¡¯t tell the direction you¡¯re going in and your perception is blurred causing you to go around in circles. When you tell others about this experience, it¡¯s difficult for them to understand so it¡¯s called ¡°ghost hitting the wall. The person is in a state of hazy consciousness. If it hadn¡¯t been for his encounter on the train before coming to Changchun, he would have been scared witless at this point, however, given his experience, he had fortified his mental tolerance and was able to withstand the fear. The dark clouds began increasing abundantly, completely darkening the entire sky. The rolling thunder sounded as if someone was beating drums among the clouds, vowing to split open the snow-capped mountains. It was like hearing a battle between immortals fighting amongst the sky. Lightning and thunder clash, affecting the mortals below who followed in their wake. If this scene were to be posted online, some would joke and say someone was going through a tribulation*. Having lived for more than 20 years, Dong Zhi had never witnessed such dark clouds that rolled endlessly like a vast roaring sea of mountains. *Referring to cultivation (Xianxia genre) where people can cultivate to become immortals/gods. Usually they must pass and survive a calamity, often times in the form of a storm with lightning and thunder, before they can ascend to godhood. He collected his thoughts and turned around and looked back, seeing a person passing by not far away, that was walking in a hurry and didn¡¯t seem to notice him. The figure¡¯s appearance looked extremely familiar that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help blurt out: ¡°Sister Xu?!¡± His voice was loud, but Xu Wan didn¡¯t seem to hear it. He didn¡¯t see Tongtong with her as she was running alone, seemingly looking lost. He hesitated before catching up to her. It stood to reason that Xu Wan, a woman, would not be as fast as him, and he should be able to catch up if he ran at full speed, yet after chasing her for quite some time, he was unable to catch up as the distance between them remained relatively the same length. Even a fool at this point would realize something was wrong. He halted his chase and watch as Xu Wan¡¯s figure got further and further away, finally disappearing from sight. He turned around and tried to look for a way out of the woods. Since he has met a ghost hitting the wall, it seems he¡¯s now stuck going in circles in some kind of maze. The forest wasn¡¯t big, but no matter where he goes, he couldn¡¯t get out. Anxiety started to rise. He remembered reading the news about two college students who came to explore Changbai Mountain and got trapped so they had to call the police for help. He thought if he did the same it would be quite shameful but given his predicament, it was better than being lost. Surprisingly, when he took out his phone, he was dumbfounded seeing as there was no signal. He clicked on the compass app. Though electronic compasses had greater deviation than a mechanical one, it was still somewhat useful. When he looked at the app, he saw that the needles were spinning frantically and felt his heart sinking. Before his mood had completely sunk to the bottom of the earth, he heard someone scream. ¡°Help!¡± The voice was familiar and sounded as if it was from a young girl. In contrast to the thunder, the scream refreshed him a bit and he ran towards the sound without much thought. When he got closer and the voice got louder, his eyes lit up, as he found that he had actually exited the woods and came back to the waterfall he had passed by earlier. He saw a man grabbing a girl by the hair and was dragging her on the ground. The girl was struggling and crying desperately but her opponent was too strong that she couldn¡¯t escape. Her back was completely scratched up as it bore the full weight of her body as it was pulled across the bumpy stone covered path, causing her to cry in agony. The sight shocked Dong Zhi. He recognized the girl was Zhang Xing and the man was the young man who was trying to court her with grilled fish not long ago. ¡°Brother Dong! Help me! Help me!¡± Zhang Xing had caught sight of him and cried bitterly begging for help. The man who had gripped her hair remained unmoved, not bothering to turn back to look at Dong Zhi, as he was mechanically wandering aimlessly step by step. Without a second thought, Dong Zhi sprinted over. The author has something to say£º Don¡¯t lose your appetite. Seconds are coming. Are you prepared? (*£þ3£þ)¨q Kinky Thoughts: Hmm¡­ I wonder why Dong Zhi acts oblivious too all these girls trying to flirt with him. CH 8 ¡°Let her go!¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s cry didn¡¯t cause any reaction. The man continued walking forward like a puppet. Dong Zhi noticed that a small piece of Zhang Xing¡¯s scalp was torn, and blood was flowing to the back of her ears. It¡¯s no wonder why she screamed so badly. Judging from the damage, it seems that the man was extremely strong. Disregarding his hesitation, he stepped forward as he tried to free Zhang Xing¡¯s hair from the man¡¯s grip. Unfortunately, the man was holding on so tightly that he couldn¡¯t break it free. Dong Zhi shoved the man but he didn¡¯t even budged an inch. As if he wasn¡¯t even there, the other party didn¡¯t even look at him, as he continued staring straight ahead with blank eyes that filled with more sclera than pupil. Something¡¯s wrong. This doesn¡¯t look like a normal person at all. In a moment of desperation, a flash of inspiration hit Dong Zhi. He quickly took out a utility knife from his backpack and slashed it at Zhang Xing¡¯s hair, only to miss and instead cut the back of the man¡¯s hand. Blood gurgled out startling Dong Zhi. Despite the damage, the man didn¡¯t shout in pain or shrink his hand as he still remained expressionless, gripping tightly on Zhang Xing¡¯s hair. Dong Zhi slash again, but this time he grabbed onto one side of the hair with one hand and used a much fiercer force. The sharp blade cut through most of the hair but left a small part that was still in the man¡¯s hold. With such a small area being applied the full force from the man¡¯s pull, it made the pain more excruciating that Zhang Xing was bawling as tears and snot flooded down her face, and she screamed even louder. Seeing his chance, Dong Zhi grabbed the clump of hair and forcefully pulled it back from the man¡¯s hand, finally able to free Zhang Xing from the opponent¡¯s clutches. The man finally noticed something was amiss. He stopped, turned his head, and stared straight at Dong Zhi. There were no longer any hints of jealousy that he had when he had struck up a conversation with them earlier. The white parts in his eyes had turned blue, making him look vividly creepy. He grabbed towards Dong Zhi, as the latter was trying to help Zhang Xing get up, managing to catch his arm. A burst of pain shot throughout his body straight towards his brain. It was still early spring, so the mountains were cold. He had worn two layers, including his coat, yet he felt immense pain through these thick layers. He understood now how truly strong his opponent was and why Zhang Xing couldn¡¯t break free. Without saying a word, he kicked his opponent causing him to shake and stagger back two steps. The man regained his balance and reach out with his other hand to try and encircle Dong Zhi¡¯s neck, but he¡¯d tripped over a stone and fell to the ground. Paying no heed, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother looking back and instead grabbed Zhang Xing and ran. Zhang Xing¡¯s legs softened and almost half her body was leaning on him. Seeing that it couldn¡¯t be helped, he gritted his teeth and carried her on his back. While running, he paid careful attention to the road but couldn¡¯t help but look back and almost lost his soul*! *(»ê·ÉÆÇÉ¢) Idiom that means so scared that your soul is leaves your body and scatters. Used to describe the feeling of being extremely frightened. The man got up quickly and chased after them. His movement weren¡¯t fast, but was weird. He was running on tiptoe as if someone was holding his shoulders from behind his back, and manipulating his limbs like puppet strings. Dong Zhi¡¯s scalp went numb as he suddenly remembered the woman who jumped off the building in the hotel! After stumbling along for some time, Dong Zhi was getting tired that he had to slow down. Zhang Xing suddenly screamed: ¡°He¡¯s catching up!¡± Due to the fear, she subconsciously tightened her hold around Dong Zhi¡¯s neck to the point of straggling him. Dong Zhi almost couldn¡¯t breathe as he shouted: ¡°Don¡¯t choke me! I can¡¯t run!¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry! I¡¯m sorry! Let me down, I¡¯ll run on my own!¡± Unable to carry her any longer, he put her down and the two ran for their lives while holding hands. The road seemed endless, and their physical strength was limited. The man on the other hand seemed to never tire as he chased them relentlessly, slowly catching up to them as their physical strength weakened. It was a thrilling sight to behold as he caught up to them several times, barely missing their clothes when he reached out to grab them. ¡°I-I can¡¯t run anymore!¡± Zhang Xing cried as she kept running. ¡°Hold on for a little longer!¡± ¡°No, I can¡¯t do it, I¡¯m going to die!¡± Zhang Xing¡¯s face was a mess as snot, tears, and blood flowed everywhere. Her hair was completely maimed looking as if it was dog fur that was cut by a knife, leaving no traces of beauty left. ¡°You still have the strength to speak!¡± Just after he spoke those words, Zhang Xing tripped over and stagger to the ground, pulling Dong Zhi down with her. The man had caught up and his eyes were completely white, no longer possessing any pupil. His face was covered with cyan veins that were faintly glowing under his skin and there was a shallow red mark on his forehead. He walked towards them on tiptoe, neither fast nor slow, but each step was wide as if he was like those entertainers who wore tall stilts. The sight was incredibly supernatural and indescribable. Seeing that he was about to grab the back of Zhang Xing¡¯s neck, with a stroke of luck*, Dong Zhi subconsciously touched his pocket and took out the ¡°fake and shoddy product¡± he had painted and threw it at the man. *(¸£ÖÁÐÄÁé) Blessed the soul. Idiom that means when good luck comes, a person¡¯s mind is opened and flexible. It describes people who are flexible in thinking and act appropriately when they encounter the right time. The moment the talisman met the man¡¯s face, the movements that couldn¡¯t even be triggered by a cut from a knife had made him pause. The talisman scorched, slowing disintegrating into black powder at a speed visible to the naked eye. At this time, Dong Zhi heard a sharp scream coming out of nowhere as the man¡¯s body lost its support and suddenly collapsed onto the ground and was unconscious. Dong Zhi hurriedly pulled up Zhang Xing and continued running until they were at the brink of exhaustion and had to stop. Zhang Xing¡¯s face was paled. She opened wide-mouthed as she continued panting, making a huff huff sounds as if she was pushing bellows. Dong Zhi¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t any better. When he surveyed their surroundings, he realized that they hadn¡¯t met a single person along the way since he had found Zhang Xing. Where did all the tourists go from this originally lively scenic spot? ¡°What the hell is going on?¡± He asked Zhang Xing. Zhang Xing was on the brink of mental collapse. It was like she was deaf and didn¡¯t hear what Dong Zhi asked her. With no other choice, he acted cruelly and gave her a slap, finally bringing her back to reality. Seeing that she started crying again, Dong Zhi had to threaten: ¡°If you keep crying you¡¯ll lead that guy to us!¡± This abruptly stopped Zhang Xing sobs and she was able to recount what happened. After they had split from the waterfall, the hiking group continue to set off. Yao Bin, the man just now, was walking with her. He was a tall and handsome guy, sunny and talkative, and was quite popular in the group. He was also traveling by himself. While she didn¡¯t think he was bad, her eyes were set on Dong Zhi, so it made things awkward between the two of them, especially during the exchange they had at the waterfall. When Dong Zhi left, Yao Bin took the initiative to apologize to her, admitting that his attitude was poor just then and said that he would apologize if he encounter Dong Zhi again. After a while, the two had chatted and joked around and eventually fell behind the hiking group. The group planned to head to lvyuantan*. When they reached a fork in the road, there were relatively few people there. The group leader had asked everyone to stay on the trail, but many wanted to stop and take photos. As a result, Zhang Xing and Yao Bin, who weren¡¯t paying attention, went from being last to being the first. *Waterfall in Changbai. When the fog rises, the water on the lake is filled with mist making it look like a fairyland on earth. ¡°You mean that the team leader had already asked everyone to set off, but everyone was busy taking pictures so you two eventually ended up in the front and when you turned around after a while you didn¡¯t see anyone else around?¡± Dong Zhi frowned. Zhang Xing gasped and said: ¡°It was strange. We thought the others hadn¡¯t caught up so we waited for a while, but they never came so we followed the same path back to find them. Who knew after walking for so long we actually came back to the waterfall again! At this point, I couldn¡¯t walk anymore so Yao Bin suggested I sit down and rest while he goes and find someone to ask for directions.¡± ¡°I waited for almost half an hour before Yao Bin came back slowly. At that time, he had become very strange. He hung his head and walked on tiptoe without looking at me. I thought he was injured, so I went over to help him. Who knew that he suddenly knocked me down and dragged me forward by the hair¡­¡± Thinking about what had happened gripped her with fear. The weather was already depressing, and the sound of endless thunder roaring in the distance only made it worst. ¡°What are we going to do now?!¡± Zhang Xing grasped his arm tightly. She was so frightened that her voice trembled involuntarily as she spoke. ¡°We need to find a way out first!¡± Zhang Xing wept bitterly: ¡°But no matter where we go, we can¡¯t get out!¡± ¡°Then we have to keep looking. Look at the time. It hasn¡¯t moved at all!¡± He said was he stared at his phone. Zhang Xing hurriedly took out her phone and saw that the time was 2:01 PM. It was 1:45 when the hiking group passed by the pool. It would be impossible from that time until now for only 15 minutes to have passed¡­ unless time was frozen when she and Yao Bin had separated from the group. This realization struck fear in her heart as it started to quickly spread. Were they not in Changbai Mountain anymore, but in a different dimension? Dong Zhi overturned his backpack only pulling out a drawing board, a pencil, stacks of blank and scribbled papers, a few pieces of chocolate, a bottle of water, and a portable charger. He packed lightly so he left the cinnabar and yellow paper behind at the hotel. Originally, he thought the two talismans were enough as no normal person would expected this kind of encounter to happen to them when hiking up a mountain. He thought for a bit and then pulled out a blank piece of paper, wiped a utility knife casually on his shirt, then used it to cut his fingers, causing blood to instantly gush out. He ignored Zhang Xing¡¯s face that had the expression saying: ¡°Are you evil as well?¡±, while he forced himself to calm down and started drawing symbols on the white paper. If He Yu could do it, he should be able to as well, even if the effectiveness was minimal. As long as it had any kind of effect, it¡¯ll still give them a chance to escape next time¡­ ¡°Take this. It¡¯s a talisman. Throw it at the enemy if you encounter danger.¡± Zhang Xing took the triangular talisman from him speechless. She didn¡¯t know how to react to such a sight. He shook his hands. The first two talisman he drew were useless. Thankfully the next two were adequate. He had several wounds on his fingers due to the cuts he made that it stung him so painfully that he couldn¡¯t breathe. Zhang Xing silently opened her backpack and took out band-aids to bandage him up. Seeing as his phone was low on power, despite having a portable charger, he didn¡¯t want to use it so casually. He was about to continue onwards when he heard movements coming from behind him. He turned his head to look and was caught by surprise as Yao Bin had appeared again and was walking towards them step-by-step on his tiptoe! Zhang Xing screamed, jumped three feet high, and tossed the talisman she was holding at him. Dong Zhi: ¡­ While it wasn¡¯t good, it was still a talisman that he shed a lot of blood to draw successfully! He wanted to cry without tears*. *(Óû¿ÞÎÞÀá) Metaphor for extreme sadness of helplessness. When the talisman hit Yao Bin, he momentarily paused before continuing to walk towards them. ¡°It¡¯s useless!¡± Zhang Xing turned her head and shouted at Dong Zhi. ¡°Run!¡± Dong Zhi yelled as he pulled her up and sprinted away. Thanks to the break they had taken, they had regained some strength. They were still tired but tried their best to continue forward losing track of how long they were running for. They noticed that their surroundings gradually dimmed and saw a few beams of light, that looked like flashlights from a distance, dangling in front of them. ¡°Who!¡± Came a low shout from the other end that was full of cautious and vigilance. Usually, hearing this kind of tone, Dong Zhi would stop to assess the person before moving forward, but currently, with danger behind them, he threw caution to the wind and quickly darted to the voice shouting: ¡°We¡¯re lost tourists!¡± Kinky Thoughts: Poor Dong Zhi, can¡¯t catch a break. CH 9 When they got closer, they saw that it was a group of seven or eight people who were holding flashlights in their hands. Even if they had been hostile looking, it would still be better than Yao Bin who was chasing them; Perhaps he wasn¡¯t even human any longer. The other party frowned when the saw two people running towards them, showing obvious signs on their face that they were not welcome, but Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing didn¡¯t care. While shouting for help, they continued staggering towards the group feeling a sense of relief. Yao Bin was still chasing them from behind maintaining a steady pace, seemingly unaffected by the new arrivals. Due to his big steps, he quickly caught up. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t need to look back as he could feel the sound of wind made when Yao Bin reached out to grab them from behind. The down jacket made an unpleasant scratching noise and despite the thick layers, he could still feel his clothes being torn. It goes to show what unimaginable strength he possessed and one can easily tell by looking at Zhang Xing¡¯s blood-stained head. Suddenly the movement from the group in front of him cause his breathing to stagnate. They had taken out a black colored weapon that looks to be guns from their pockets and pointed it at them. Bang! These people actually took guns with them to Changbai Mountain?! There were wolves in the front and tigers in the back*. The sound of gunfire made Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing stopped abruptly. They quickly discovered the target wasn¡¯t them but actually Yao Bin. Dong Zhi pulled Zhang Xing down and quickly rolled to the side, creating an unsightly scene but at least it would save his life. *(Ç°ÃæÓÐÀÇ£¬ºóÃæÓл¢) Metaphor for bad guys comes one after the other. Form the Qing Dynasty¡¯s ¡°Guillotine-Party Dispute¡±. Despite multiple rounds of gunshots, it only made Yao Bin¡¯s body slightly shake, as he continues to move forward. ¡°Stop shooting! Guns aren¡¯t affecting him at all!¡± Someone shouted. Dong Zhi saw a woman picked up a branch from the ground, her hands bounded with seals, and started chanting some words. The branch suddenly ignited spontaneously as she conjured a bow from thin air, put the branch on it and shot it straight at Yao Bin. The burning branch flew past Yao Bin, and just as Dong Zhi thought she had missed, she suddenly let out a shrill scream causing the branch to explode in a burst of fire from behind. The light from the fire illuminated a cloud of black mist that twisted and deformed then dissipated. Dong Zhi was dazzled by the sight until he saw the fire spreading to Yao Bin. Zhang Xing cried out in a low voice, wanting to rush up to save him but was firmly pulled back. Her body quivered as she realized the Yao Bin in front of her was no longer a normal human being. ¡°Isn¡¯t it bad to kill people here?¡± A middle-aged man, who they first heard from, spoke. ¡°His brain has been sucked dry by the Yaksha* so he¡¯s not considered human anymore.¡± The woman who had shot the branch just now said, her tone was blunt and a bit strange. He secretly caught a glimpse of her and found that she was young and beautiful. *See Kinky Thoughts for lore. An old man standing next to her had on a sullen face as if he owed tens of millions to someone. Near them were a group of younger men that had guns in their hands. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare to stare any longer and quickly retracted his gaze. ¡°We just ran into these things! How did they appear?!¡± The middle-aged man said with horror. ¡°Someone must have released them.¡± The woman said coldly: ¡°Next time you encounter this kind of thing, don¡¯t shoot. Just set it on fire, otherwise it¡¯ll attach to you and drain your brain and you¡¯ll become like him.¡± The ¡°he¡± of course was referring to Yao Bin. The fire had gotten larger and soon enveloped his entire body. The oddest thing was that during this entire time, Yao Bin didn¡¯t make a single sound and remained motionless as if it was responding to the girl¡¯s words: he¡¯s no longer a human being. Since he already seen such a sight before due to the train incident, he was mentally prepared, but Zhang Xing had to face the impact of watching the body of her acquaintance being burnt to death. If it wasn¡¯t for Dong Zhi holding her tightly and covering her mouth, she would have screamed and limped to the ground. ¡°Who are you?!¡± A man in a jacket asked. His tone as blunt as that of the girl¡¯s. Zhang Xing was still overcome from the shock and wasn¡¯t suitable to answer their questions for the time being. Dong Zhi briefly told them that they had met on the mountains and was lost then he bit the bullet and asked: ¡°Are you also looking for a way out? Can we follow you? We promise that we won¡¯t drag you down!¡± The man in the jacket frowned and looked back at the old man and the girl. At this time, the middle-aged man said out loud: ¡°One or two more won¡¯t really make that much of a difference, right?¡± Dong Zhi noticed his tone had bit of acquiescence, signifying that neither the man in the jacket or him had any say. It was the old man that was next to the girl that made all the decisions. The old man glanced at Dong Zhi, expressionless, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle. Being under his gaze, Dong Zhi felt as if it could pierce through his body. The old man nodded slightly and whispered something to the man in the jacket. The latter straighten his waist, lowered his head and said to everyone: ¡°Go find a place to rest!¡± Dong Zhi let out a sigh of relief and pulled Zhang Xing up and followed them. The sky was dark covering up the moon and all the stars. They had to rely on their flashlights to lead the way. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to consume all of his phone power, so he resisted the urge to take out his phone to illuminate the path and followed the group closely for fear of losing them. Although they had guns and did not look like good people, at least they were still within the scope of humans. Compared with Yao Bin, Dong Zhi would rather be with them. Walking behind them was not without benefits either. Dong Zhi quickly discovered that the group was divided into two. The first group centered around the elderly man and young girl, that had a total of six people. The man in the down jacket walked beside them occasionally exchanging a few words. He seems to have some status, but his attitude towards the old man and girl was very flattering. He surrounded them with two other people like bodyguards. The other group was the middle-aged man just now, and another young man in a black down jacket. It was a strange combination, and with them carrying guns, it looks like they were engaged in the black market. In that instance, terms like tomb robbers, smugglers, drug traffickers, and the like flashed through Dong Zhi¡¯s mind. Since he had no signal, he couldn¡¯t do his morale obligation and report them as a law abiding young man of the motherland. They didn¡¯t encounter any strange occurrences along the way. When they reached the edge of a river, the man in the jacket raised his hand and made a gesture. Everyone stopped and they started a fire, gathering around it to rest. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to get too close to them but didn¡¯t dare to stray too far, so he found a big stone and settle down with Zhang Xing. ¡°Shit! Why is there no power?!¡± The young man in the black down jacket looked at his mobile phone and cursed in a low voice. Realizing that this was an opportunity, Dong Zhi offered: ¡°Brother, I have a portable charger here.¡± He took out the battery pack from his backpack and handed it over. The young man looked at him with wonderment and Dong Zhi found that there was a scar on his face. ¡°My name is Xiao Dong. What¡¯s your name big brother?¡± Dong Zhi showed his smile that he usually reveal when he wants to get close to others, and saw that the man¡¯s expression became more relaxed. ¡°Just call me Scar.¡± The young man said. ¡°Brother Scar, where are you going? I don¡¯t want to inquire about anything. I just want to know if there is a safe place along the way. We can stay there and wait until dawn to find a way down the mountain.¡± Dong Zhi whispered. Scar laughed: ¡°You can continue dreaming unless you follow us. We have encountered plenty of those ghosts since we came up the mountain. Some are insubstantial while others, just like now, manipulate individuals to attack us. Without them¡­¡± He tilted his head towards the direct of the old man and girl: ¡°It¡¯s impossible for you to leave safely.¡± Dong Zhi felt a chill. He tentatively asked: ¡°Their accent doesn¡¯t seem to be Chinese.¡± Scar curled his lips and revealed: ¡°Yes! They¡¯re Japs1! Even my master didn¡¯t take them seriously. It¡¯s said that he¡¯s a president of a consortium with around 80,000 to 250,000 people and is quite arrogant2. Bah! We¡¯re on Chinese soil!¡± 1(СÈÕ±¾) Translated means little Japan. It has a derogatory connotation with two reasons. One to make fun of Japan¡¯s small territory and short stature and two, out of anger and hatred for Japanese militarism and invaders. The dissatisfaction was palpable, but he only dared say it in a low voice. Since the identities of these Japanese people were unusual, their purpose on Changbai Mountain in the middle of the night wasn¡¯t so simple. It must not be a good thing since Scar and his master were mixed in with this group of people. Dong Zhi realized this and asked no further questions. After thanking Scar, he got up and returned to Zhang Xing. Zhang Xing who had gradually calmed down suddenly became taunt again like a bowstring. She was touched by Dong Zhi and it made her almost jump. Dong Zhi hurriedly held her down and found that she was shaking like a sieve and even her teeth were chattering. Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°Are you cold?¡± Zhang Xing grabbed his arm and while still shaking, slowly wrote on his palm. [I understand Japanese. I heard some of their conversation just now.] Dong Zhi froze and immediately realized that their conversation most likely wasn¡¯t good, otherwise, Zhang Xing wouldn¡¯t have been so frightened. She wrote on his hand again: [They seem to be looking for something. They are keeping us to use as a distraction in case they run into danger.] Dong Zhi deeply inhale and he sighed silently. It was truly escaping the wolf¡¯s den to fall into the tiger¡¯s! Learning from Zhang Xing, he took her palm and wrote: [We don¡¯t know the way and can¡¯t run. Follow behind and act according to the circumstance. Don¡¯t get too close. Did you hear what they were looking for?] Zhang Xing wrote: [No. They mentioned something about the Aso Consortium.] Aso Consortium? Japan¡¯s chaebols* were bustling, and Dong Zhi had occasionally heard of them on the news. *Large multinational group that controls a number of related companies and has a monopoly or influence in the financial and business circles. They have great diplomatic influence on global politics because they provide a powerful source of funding for public and political lobbying, with the ultimate goal of maximizing money and power. Zhang Xing¡¯s palms were sweaty, and the Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t much better. The two looked at each other in the dark and smiled bitterly. People are knives, and he was the fish*. In order to live, they have to choose the lesser of two evils. There was no other way. The had to keep moving forward. *(ÈËΪµ¶ÙÞ£¬ÎÒΪÓãÈâ) Means the power of life and death is in the hands of others and one¡¯s in a position of being slaughtered. This comes from the ¡°Historical Records: Xiang Yu¡¯s Chronicles¡±. The original line is: ¡°The big line does not care about the meticulous, and the big ceremony does not hesitate to give up the small. Now people are sword, and I am fish.¡± The group had rested enough. The man in the jacket lit a few torches and divided them up, giving one to Dong Zhi. As they set off, Dong Zhi secretly paid attention and found that they were moving entirely uphill. Are we going up the mountains again? Even with this discovery, Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing had no choice but to pray for a safe journey. The reality was, the more you¡¯re afraid something, the more likely it¡¯ll come. Dong Zhi¡¯s hand that was holding the torch was beginning to sore. Just as he was about to switch hands, his sharp eyes caught the sight of a cloud of black mist, behind Scar, floating towards him. ¡°Be careful!¡± Dong Zhi subconsciously shouted. Scar reacted quickly as he abruptly turned around, swept the torch forward, and use his other hand to pull the trigger on the gun he was holding, shooting behind him. This was done purely out of instinct when he encountered danger. He knew that shooting it was useless. The black mist that was merged with the darkness was slightly delayed as he rolled to the side. Suddenly it struck again. Scar yelled and reached out to grab onto Zhang Xing, intending to use her as a shield! Kinky Thoughts: Yaksha also known as ¡°Yaksa¡±. In folklore, Yaksha ghosts are mostly ¡°sea monsters¡± or ¡°water ghosts¡±. They can eat people and animals, and are related to the Dragon King, and the Evil God. It¡¯s a unique ghost creature in the underworld and its whole body is black. Dakini Yaksha has two wings and can fly in the air. It is ever-changing. Sometimes it is red, sometimes blue, sometimes yellow. No matter what color it is, it possess a kind of dark light that is very powerful. Its body sometimes turns into the head of a human beast, or the head of a cow, or a horse, which is terrifying, and it likes to cause trouble. Earthwalking Yaksha is even more frightening. Its hair is a green flame, several feet high, burning like a candle. One of its eyes is on its forehead while the other grew on its chin. They are strangely shaped, some triangular, while others are half-moon. The Yaksha in this novel is not referring to the Yaksha from Hindu, Jain, and Buddhism text, which are generally benevolent. CH 10 Since they had set out after their short rest, Dong Zhi had constantly remained vigilant. At this time, he didn¡¯t care about cursing others or making enemies. He quickly pulled Zhang Xing back using his quick reflexes causing Scar to grab empty air! He and Zhang Xing staggered back a few steps and fell, rolling to the ground but they manage to avoid Scar¡¯s attempt of using them as a shield. Failing to grab someone, he quickly got up and scurried forward shouting: ¡°Help!¡± More black mist surrounded them as the men in uniform waved their torches around to drive them away. However, this action was simply futile. The mists were like water that ebbed and flow dodging the fire, then gathering again, waiting for the opportunity to devour them. These were monsters of the dark and the darkness was their natural refuge. Ordinary humans couldn¡¯t match them at all. Thinking of the train attendant and Yao Bin¡¯s tragic situation, Dong Zhi felt that if these things really invaded his body and suck out his brain, turning him into a puppet, he would rather just end himself with a knife before it reached that stage. The group quickly counterattacked. Scar¡¯s master, the middle-aged man, drew a mahogany sword from his back and danced around tightly that it actually scared the black mist as it didn¡¯t dare to get close. The girl threw out a few talismans at random and they ignited spontaneously when they reached mid-air and swept towards the black mist, capturing it. The black mist suddenly burst into flames and disintegrated into powder. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but be amazed. The girl also used talismans, but her hands were more delicate and gorgeous than He Yu. The old man¡¯s hands were covered with seals, and after chanting something, a gray wolf suddenly jumped out from behind him. It roared and pounced on the black mist, as it opened its mouth, showing a row of sharp fangs. The black mist, which should have no substantial body, was easily torn to pieces. Although the mist tried to quickly reform itself, the snow wolf was equally fierce. As the mist tried to reform its shape, it was melted away by the white glow of the snow wolf¡¯s body. Scar suddenly screamed: ¡°Master, help me!¡± Looking towards the sound, Dong Zhi saw that the torch in Scar¡¯s hand was about to be extinguished and the black mist was looming in closer as if it would attack at any moment. Scar tripped over a stone and fell flat on his ass. He rubbed his body as he crawled back desperately. He could still handle the front, but suddenly a black mist swept towards him from behind. ¡°Behind!¡± Scar¡¯s master had also seen it. He shouted to warn his apprentice, but it was too late. As soon as he spoke, the black mist rushed behind Scar, enveloping him. He struggled hopelessly, shouting for help, as all kind of swears rushed out. The black mist disappeared from above his head leaving no trace. Dong Zhi was disturbed, and Zhang Xing was clenching tightly around his arm, shivering badly. Scar rolled on the ground with a scream, the suddenly the noise stopped. His throat was still bobbing but no sound came out. The man in the jacket shone his flashlight towards him. Dong Zhi saw that veins slowly emerge from Scar¡¯s face as his eye began turning white, looking exactly the same as Yao Bin. Scar clawed fiercely into the soil, so deep that it almost buried half his fingers. Hideous blue veins started bursting out creating a sinister looking scene. The girl threw a talisman towards him, causing him to become violent. He shredded the burning talisman in mid-air and let out a roar towards the group. The white wolf leapt out from the side but was entangled with the black mist and couldn¡¯t reach them. Scar reached out and grabbed a bodyguard nearby. The bodyguard reacted and kept shooting him but in the end was still thrown to the ground, his neck encircled as he was being choked. ¡°Mr. Fujikawa, Miss Kitaichi, please save my apprentice!¡± The middle-aged man said anxiously. The girls bounded her hands with seals and chanted out nine characters with different tones. White light seemingly steamed up from her hands. Suddenly, a white crane flew out from behind her and rushed towards Scar. Though the crane looked elegant, its castration was cutthroat. It immediately pecked at Scar¡¯s forehead forming a blood hole in the middle of it. After saying it was too late, the girl threw another talisman that stuck right on top of the blood hole, creating a fiery explosion that consumed Scar, just like what had happened to Yao Bin. ¡°Scar!¡± The middle-aged man shouted. He furiously turned his head and cursed at the girl: ¡°I said I¡¯ll show you the way, but you bastards killed my apprentice!¡± ¡°Mr. Yin, you clearly know that it was a hopeless situation for your apprentice. If we don¡¯t kill him, he¡¯ll kill us!¡± The man in the jacket threatened coldly: ¡°You¡¯d better show us some respect, otherwise, we won¡¯t save you next time.¡± The middle-aged man¡¯s face twitched, distorted by anger, but he didn¡¯t dare open his mouth again. Just when all Dong Zhi¡¯s attention was attracted by the scene, Zhang Xing suddenly let out a cry. He turned back when he heard the sound and saw a cloud of black mist floating towards them. Without a second thought, he took out the talisman in his pocket and threw it at the mist. The moment when the talisman made contact with the black mist, traces of red light sparked, causing the black mist to stagnant for a bit and its speed slowed down. It turns out his talismans weren¡¯t completely useless! The thought flashed through his mind, but before he could feel proud, he quickly pulled Zhang Xing away. Witnessing the scene just now, the girl couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh. ¡°What?¡± While fighting off the black mist, the old man still had strength to spare to care about the girl¡¯s condition. ¡°That man is a bit strange. I want to test something.¡± The girl replied as she waved her slender hand. The white crane suddenly appeared in front of Dong Zhi, startling him. He staggered forward and fell to the ground, allowing the black mist to quickly catch up. Out of talismans, he could only watch helplessly as the black mist hovered on top of him and Zhang Xing. Seeing that he had no other life-saving skills, the girl felt disappointed and no longer paid any attention to them. For her, the black mists were scattered and hard to see so they were troublesome to deal with. It was easier to destroy them with talisman fire after they had attached to a human. With the black mist close at hand and thinking of the fate of Yao Bin and Scar, Dong Zhi felt desolation in his heart. The last thought that flashed in his mind was that Zhang Xing¡¯s lung capacity was big enough to scream for them both. Suddenly a white light appeared in the darkness, as if tearing the air asunder and shot straight into the black mist. The mist let out a screech and instantly burst into dust. Zhang Xing who didn¡¯t know that she had just barely escaped death was still screaming with her eyes closed. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t bear it any longer, so he quickly covered her mouth. Bursts of thunder rumbled as purple-white lightning lit up the sky illuminating the peaks of the mountains in the distance. The thunder had been sounding since before he gotten lost so Dong Zhi could no longer recall how long it¡¯s been raging, but the rain had ceased, causing an uneasy feeling to arose, as if it was a sign that something big was about to happen. In the flickering light, the black mist converged again and was quickly dispersed by a whip accompanied by screams that could tear your eardrums. It sounded like a howl from a demon in its last struggle. In the face of death, all life was equal. The man with a whip walked slowly towards them, stopping not far from Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing. The man in the jacket shined his flashlight towards him, revealing an ordinary-looking face that belong to a man that looked like he was in his forties. ¡°Who are you?!¡± ¡°Stop using that piece of shit in your hand and shining it at laozi¡¯s* face!¡± The man shouted as he whipped a cloud of black mist. He glared back and said: ¡°I haven¡¯t asked yet, but what are a bunch of little kids doing running up Changbai Mountain in the middle of the night!¡± *Refers to an old master. Commonly used slang to referred to say ¡°Your Father¡±. Basically, it¡¯s saying this great one. ¡°Sir, we have a common enemy. The most important thing now is cooperation.¡± It was the first time that the Dong Zhi heard the old man speak. He had been held by the stars and the moon* before and had always maintained a haughty attitude. Although his tone of voice was still blunt, he clearly expressed his appreciation. *(ÖÚÐǹ°ÔÂ) Metaphor referring to people that support one person or all things surrounding one thing. The man with the whip sneered and didn¡¯t say anything. The movement in his hand didn¡¯t stop. His whip seemed to be extremely powerful. Every crack made faint wind and sounded like thunder, completely shattering the black mist. Due to its sheer force, after every whip was shot, the man had to rest for a bit before he resumed his next attack. With his assistance, the fight was more easily handled, and they were able to wipe out the black mist within a few strokes. Despite the heavy loss, everyone could finally catch their breath. Scar died as well as a subordinate of the man in the jacket. The old man looked fine, but the girl was pale, obviously from exhaustion, that she had to sit down and rest against a tree. Contrary to them, Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing, who had no power to protect themselves, were unscathed due to the timely appearance of the man with the whip. The middle-aged man holding the mahogany sword stared blankly at the place where his apprentice had burned to ashes. After resolving the black mists issue, conflict immediately arise. The man with the whip sneered: ¡°What¡¯s so good about cooperating with a group of thieves?¡± A fat man next to the old man coughed lightly: ¡°Why are you so hostile? Changbai Mountain is a tourist destination, and there is no rule that foreigners cannot come to play. We got lost halfway, so¡­¡± The man interrupted him impatiently: ¡°The president of the Aso Consortium, with a broker1 and two Japanese onmyojis2, came to Changbai Mountain for tourism. What a truly unique combination!¡± 1Term used here is (¶þµÀ··) translated means second trader. It refers to a middleman/broker/trafficker, I guess in this case the middleman to whatever this group is trying to catch. 2Basically a Japanese exorcist in this case. See Kinky Thoughts for more details. Several people on the other side did not expect their identities to be revealed so easily and their faces instantly turned ugly. The girl¡¯s expression changed as she said: ¡°You visited our group three years ago¡­ Mr. Zheng?¡± Seeing that the other party just snorted coldly, she confirmed her guess. She turned her head and whispered a few words to the old man, who face frowned slightly as he looked at Old1 Zheng. After a moment, he bowed and said bluntly: ¡°I¡¯m Fujikawa Aoi2, Eiko¡¯s teacher. Please give me your guidance3.¡± 1The prefix Lao (ÀÏ) used before surnames refers to the head or elder of families. I have decided to use the translated term instead of using the pinyin. 2Last name, first name. Note all names will be in this format unless it¡¯s western. 3Clarity: not in the literal sense. It¡¯s more of a polite greeting. The Eiko he¡¯s referring to was probably the girl sitting next to him. Old Zheng didn¡¯t seem angry as he replied: ¡°The Exorcism Department* have not received your special entry report. Do you have any explanations for this?¡± *Reminder: The department is referred to as the Relevant Department, but I have changed it to Exorcism Department to be more succinct. You can read my Kinky Thoughts in chapter 1 as to why. The girl said softly: ¡°We have already applied for the relevant procedures, but your department hasn¡¯t approved it yet. I would like to ask Mr. Zheng to go back and check it again.¡± Old Zheng sneered: ¡°Don¡¯t think that I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re thinking. You plan to enter the country first and then apply so of course I didn¡¯t receive your approval. Since we have bumped into each other, please follow me obediently back so we can take care of the formalities, otherwise, I can treat this as an illegal invasion!¡± The scene immediately became tense. The fat man, who is the president of the Aso Consortium, said: ¡°Mr. Zheng, we are all trapped here, and there¡¯s nothing we can do about it until we leave. We might as well cooperate sincerely and try to get out before discussing other matters. Don¡¯t you think so?¡± Old Zheng¡¯s gaze swept across them coldly, but in the end said nothing. Seeing that Old Zheng didn¡¯t object, the group breathe a sigh of relief. The middle-aged man with a mahogany sword was sitting on the peripheral to the group of Japanese. He seemed to be jealous of Old Zheng but didn¡¯t dare come over. Old Zhang didn¡¯t bother paying any attention to him either, drawing a clear line between the two. Dong Zhi glanced at both sides, then move silently inching towards Old Zheng¡¯s side. Old Zheng knew that the two of them were ordinary people, and naturally they didn¡¯t hold any tit-for-tat malice, so he asked: ¡°How did you two get mix with them?¡± Dong Zhi briefly explained how they got lost and Yao Bin¡¯s situation. Old Zheng frowned, his expression became more solemn, and said: ¡°No wonder!¡± No wonder why these two didn¡¯t talk much. Dong Zhi thanked him and asked for his name. The other party casually said: ¡°Just call me Old Zheng.¡± Zhang Xing shivered and asked in a low voice: ¡°What exactly were those things just now? Are they ghosts?¡± ¡°It would be great if they were ghost. Would be a lot easier to clean up!¡± Old Zheng whispered: ¡°Just follow me. I¡¯ll take you to a safe place. When dawn comes, you can hurry down the mountain. Go quickly and don¡¯t stay here for too long!¡± Dong Zhi suddenly asked: ¡°Do you know He Yu and Long Shen?¡± Old Zheng was taken aback: ¡°You know them?¡± Dong Zhi nodded. He naturally deduced it from hearing Old Zheng¡¯s conversation with the Japanese just now. Old Zheng didn¡¯t easily believe him: ¡°Do you have any proof?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°He Yu¡¯s job number is 2491.¡± After that, he picked up the branch and drew the sunlight symbol on the ground that He Yu had taught him. ¡°Sunlight symbol?¡± Old Zheng is a knowledgeable person. His expression suddenly eased after hearing He Yu¡¯s correct job number and seeing the symbol drawn just now: ¡°It turns out you¡¯re one of our own, so this will be much easier.¡± He also took out a badge from his pocket and showed it to Dong Zhi. It turned out to be a work permit, similar to He Yu¡¯s. It also showed Special Administration Bureau on it, but the four characters underneath were different. It was Old Zheng¡¯s name, Zheng Sui, and his work number was 1334. Seeing this work permit, Dong Zhi now understood the feelings of those who would get excited when they see the People¡¯s Liberation Army, as he now was surging from excitement after finding this organization again. He hurriedly explained: ¡°I am not one of you. I just met He Yu not long ago!¡± Old Zheng smiled and said: ¡°Although He Yu is a fool, that kid is still reliable when it comes to major events. Since he taught you how to draw talismans, he must also be thinking of asking his master to accept you. A few years ago, I went abroad with him on a group visit, and he had fought against that little girl sitting to the opposite of you.¡± Dong Zhi took the opportunity to ask: ¡°Who are those Japanese people?¡± Since he found out about his relationship with He Yu, Old Zheng¡¯s attitude towards Dong Zhi was much more cordial, and he became a bit of a chatterbox. ¡°That little girl¡¯s name is Kitaichi Eiko, and she is the witch of Ise Shrine.¡± Dong Zhi wondered: ¡°Isn¡¯t she an onmyoji?¡± Old Zheng: ¡°Onmyoji is just a general term. In Japan, it is a kind of priesthood, as men are called priests and women are witches. They have different levels and tiers forming their own system. It¡¯s rumored that she was born with the eyes of heaven and control two shikigamis* at the same time. She is the leader among the new generation of onyojis in Japan. That old thing is her master, who should be more powerful.¡± *Summonings. See Kinky Thoughts for more details. Zhang Xing who was sitting by his side looked completely lost, and her spirit wasn¡¯t in great shape either. She still hadn¡¯t fully recovered from her injuries and shock. Old Zheng reached out his hand and flicked her forehead, instantly causing her to close her eyes and she slowly slump her head onto Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°The little girl is frightened. Let her sleep.¡± Old Zheng said. Dong Zhi continued to ask: ¡°Are they entering the country illegally?¡± Old Zheng sneered: ¡°Special identities like Fujikawa Aoi and Kitaichi Eiko, in addition to formal entry, must also register for a license, but they didn¡¯t have them. They actually told me they were here on a vacation. What utter bullshit!¡± Kinky Thoughts: Onmyoji Practitioner of Onmyodo. It has an eclectic blend of Wu Xing, Godai (Five elements), Yin and Yang, shikigami, divination, and alchemy. A practitioner of onmyodo is called an onmyoji. Traditionally, the only ones able to legally practice onmyodo were appointed by the Imperial government, and were in fact, civil servants of the Bureau of Onmy¨­. During the Heian period, onmy¨­ji had quite a bit of political clout, but when the imperial court fell into decline, their status as civil servants was lost. Their original responsibilities included keeping track of the calendar, divination, and protection of the capital from evil spirits. They also watched for auspicious and/or harmful influences in the earth, (earthquake detection ect.). The most famous onmyoji is Abe no Seimei who is roughly analogous to Merlin of Arthurian legend. ¡ª Shikigami Shikigami are conjured beings, made alive through a complex conjuring ceremony. Their power is connected to the spiritual force of their master, where if the invoker is well introduced and has much experience, their shiki can possess animals and even people and manipulate them, but if the invoker is careless, their shikigami may get out of control in time, gaining its own will and consciousness and can even raid its own master and kill them in revenge. Usually, shikigami are conjured to exercise risky orders for their masters, such as spying, stealing and enemy tracking. Shikigami are said to be invisible most of the time, but they can be made visible by binding them into small, folded and artfully cut paper manikins. There are also shikigami that can show themselves as animals. CH 11 The old man and the young girl didn¡¯t care about the whispered conversation between Old Zheng and Dong Zhi. They both took time to rest their eyes and recuperate, wanting to quickly recover the energy they had just expended. The fat man next to them, the president of the Aso Consortium, Aso Kenzo, glance around nervously, as if he was still worried the black mist would return and attack. The man in the jacket looked at Old Zheng from time to time, with a wary expression. Dong Zhi¡¯s gaze fell on the middle-aged man holding a mahogany sword on the periphery. ¡°The one with the sword seems to be Chinese?¡± Old Zheng said disdainfully: ¡°That man¡¯s name is Yin Huai. He¡¯s a broker. I don¡¯t know where he learned such crooked skills but he specializes in buying cultural relics from tomb robbers and reselling them to foreigners. He was released some time ago and is also on our blacklist. It¡¯s obvious they¡¯re up to no good if he¡¯s following this group of Japanese to the mountains!¡± Dong Zhi was surprised: ¡°Are there any cultural relics on Changbai Mountain?¡± Old Zheng shook his head, and his expression became solemn: ¡°There have been some abnormalities in this vicinity recently. We originally wanted to close off the mountain, but we felt that the situation was not serious enough. Hastily sealing the mountain would instead beat the grass and startle the snake*. The black mists you encountered are called a Sneaky Yaksha. It¡¯s not a ghost but a kind of demon that devours people¡¯s souls.¡± *(´ò²Ý¾ªÉß) Idiom originally meant punishing others and warning oneself. Later it¡¯s a metaphor for doing things not secretly, causing the other party to be alert and guarded. It comes from Zheng Wenbao¡¯s ¡°Recent Events in the Southern Tang Dynasty¡±. In this context it¡¯s the latter meaning. Influenced by anime, the Yaksha in the Dong Zhi impression are a very beautiful race. These Sneaky Yaksha obviously were not and they¡¯re even more terrifying than actual ghosts. He remembered the incident on the train and quickly relay it to Old Zheng. Old Zheng frowned and said: ¡°Sneaky Yaksha can only derived from places where resentment and demons are deep. Changbai Mountain has never had them before. Their sudden appearance is already very unusual in it of itself. If your account is true, there must be a reason behind this. Perhaps someone is deliberately releasing these evil things and manipulating them.¡± Hearing the heaviness in his words, Dong Zhi¡¯s couldn¡¯t help but become nervous: ¡°Why are they on this mountain now? Are we going to run into them again?¡± Old Zheng sighed and whispered: ¡°He Yu and Boss Long are from the Special Administration Bureau. If we knew they were coming, we would have waited for two more days. We haven¡¯t heard from them before we went up the mountain. Now I¡¯m separated from another colleague.¡± Dong Zhi was shocked and said: ¡°How many days have you been staying on this mountain?¡± Old Zheng said depressingly: ¡°It will be at least four or five days now. I have been searching for the source of the Sneaky Yaksha, but unfortunately I haven¡¯t found any clues.¡± He shouldn¡¯t have revealed so much to Dong Zhi. While he looked calm in front of the Japanese group, he was really suffocating internally and finally had a chance to vent. What he said just now showed that he was alone. To make matters worse, the Japanese side had more people and held ulterior motives. Though they are polite now, due to being scared of the Special Administration Bureau behind Old Zheng, if they knew that he was alone, they might just kill him on the spot, and even drag Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing with him. In the barren mountains who would know. Dong Zhi finally realize why Old Zheng¡¯s tone was so heavy. What they face now wasn¡¯t only the elusive Sneaky Yaksha, but also the Japanese with an unknown purpose, and possibly even a more mysterious and unpredictable force behind all this. Mom, I just quit my job and wanted to have a little fun. Why is this kind of thing happening?! Recalling his job, he thought of his project manager that was also a fat man. Compared to the ill-intentioned consortium president in front of him, his original picky project manager seems so cute. If he could get down the mountain safely, he must go back and give that fat man a hug and shower him with kisses. At this moment, Yin Huai suddenly yelled in surprise: ¡°Look, the road is open!¡± The originally dark forest suddenly had a path that had appeared out of thin air. It looked as if it had been trekked on. No one moved. Old Zheng went up and explored it first, then asked Dong Zhi to wake Zhang Xing up and follow him. The man in the jacket asked Fujikawa Aoi: ¡°Why don¡¯t I explore the way first?¡± Fujikawa Aoi shook his head: ¡°Follow them.¡± Two groups of people walked in the dark, one after the other. As he walked, Dong Zhi whispered to Old Zheng: ¡°Where are we going?¡± Old Zheng said: ¡°Up this road. We can reach the top of the mountain. I have told my colleague to meet there. Once we arrive, we can talk.¡± Zhang Xing had twisted her foot when she was fleeing for her life, so she was walking with a limp. Seeing her frown and painful expression, Dong Zhi said: ¡°I¡¯ll carry you on my back.¡± Zhang Xing was a little hesitant, but Dong Zhi had already bent down and squatted in front of her. She took his generous offered and laid down on his back, wrapping her hands around his shoulders tightly. Suddenly, Dong Zhi remembered something: ¡°Do you have any objects on you that ward off evil spirits?¡± Zhang Xing was taken aback: ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Those monsters possess the human body but why didn¡¯t they attack you when you were alone with Yao Bin?¡± Hearing his words, Zhang Xing also felt it couldn¡¯t have been just coincidence that she managed to survive. After thinking about it, she took out a necklace and showed it to him. ¡°This is the celestial bead that my mother brought back from Tibet. Does it count?¡± As soon as she finished talking, she shouted: ¡°Why does the beads looks so dark!¡± Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief as he somewhat understood: ¡°It may have saved your life just now, so keep it safe.¡± The sky was moonless, but the lightning still illuminated the area from time to time. Their torches burn fiercely as they trekked through the path, casting dark and unknown shadows, as the night wind howl, blowing the leaves violently. This was a terrifying night. Seeing the slender neck of a young man close at hand and feeling the body temperature of the other party faintly coming through his clothes on her palm, Zhang Xing wanted to cry. ¡°Thank you.¡± She whispered. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t speak. He was afraid that if he spoke, the breath he was holding back would leak out and he would collapse¡­ ¡­because Zhang Xing was too heavy. Physical intimacy with a beautiful woman that had a good figure like her should have produced countless wonderful thoughts, and in this moment, Dong Zhi was indeed full of thoughts, but it had nothing to do with his current journey¡ª Fatty beef with golden mushroom rice, tomato seafood noodles, charcoal-grilled pork neck, crispy char siu sausage noodles¡­ Ah, so hungry. The last of the chocolates had been consume ages ago so he could only use thoughts of food as motivation. From steamed chicken feet to shrimp dumplings- he even began to meditate on ingredients for mandarin duck pot. Suddenly, he felt dizzy. He thought it was due to sheer hunger that his strength was leaving him, but the dizziness got worse eventually causing his feet to become soft and he collapse onto the ground throwing Zhang Xing off. The ground was shaking! Dong Zhi reacted as the others were also shocked and ran to the nearby trees to support themselves. Old Zheng looked up in the distance and blurted out: ¡°Damn it!¡± The frequency of lightning increased to the point where it lighted up the entire darkness with no interval in between. The top of the mountain was illuminated, shaking violently, and the rumbling sound seems to be coming from the depths of the ground, containing an inexplicable strange power, as if something was about to break through and emerge from it. Suddenly, a roar rang out, resounding the entire area, deafening everyone¡¯s ears, causing tinnitus as no other sound could be heard. Zhang Xing felt the tingling of her eardrums and couldn¡¯t help but scream as she covered her ears. Her hands shaking as she touch her ears and discovered that they were bleeding. Old Zheng suddenly ran up the mountain like crazy. The onmyojis reacted quickly as well as they followed closely behind, and soon they were almost pass Old Zheng. Fujikawa Aoi looked almost seventy years old, but he actually ran faster than his apprentice. No one else knew what was going on, so they all ran after them. At this time, they were not far from the peak of the mountain, but the higher they went, the more severe the shaking got. There was even a tendency for the ground to crack. Stones rolled down, and although they weren¡¯t large, they would still break one¡¯s head in if they landed a hit. Fortunately, Old Zheng swung his whip side to side while running up turning many of the stones into dust, and Fujikawa Aoi also released his own shikigami, blocking the front and saving everyone a lot of trouble. When they were about to reach the top of the mountain, the ground was so shaking so violently that no one could walk. They all had to hold onto thick trees as to not tumble down with the rocks. Suddenly, there was another roar! This time the sound was so piercing that even if he covered his ears, the sound still penetrated through the palm of his hand and struck his eardrums, causing him headaches and rendering him into a state of confusion. ¡°Dragon! The dragon is real!¡± Yin Huai suddenly yelled, and started laughing, as if he was crazy: ¡°There really are dragons. This place is really one of the great dragon veins*. I was right!¡± *Source of great life energy that forms paths in which they flow. In Feng Shui, its believe that the earth is alive, and its pulse is the mountain range. Because mountains are undulating, always appearing and disappearing, like a dragon traveling around either, Feng Shui refers to the mountains as dragon veins. Dong Zhi endured the pain that felt as if he head was about to split open and looked up. He saw a tall and majestic figure rising into the air. The dragon shape slither and swam amidst the thunder and lightning creating a dazzling sight, full of power and beauty. After a while, it turn into a cloud of smoke and slowly dissipated, as if he had fought with the heavens and was laid to rest. However, the dragon¡¯s roar did not stop and still sounded, blending in with the thunder, from time to time, but it was not as piercing as before. Everyone was shell shocked, having never before witness such a fantastical and magnificent scene. ¡°It¡¯s over, it¡¯s over! The dragon corpse has resurrected!¡± Only Old Zheng had clear eyes as he murmured while staring blankly in front. Coming to his wits, Dong Zhi was stunned at the mess that laid in front of him. All the trees and rocks were completely gone, replaced by a huge sinkhole, almost comparable to the size of a small lake. He wasn¡¯t the only one who was shocked by the appearance of the sinkhole. Only Yin Huai expressed excitement as he ran to the edge of the pit. His eyes lit up and he laughed: ¡°As expected, I was right. Wherever dragon veins are, there must be a real dragon!¡± The shaking of the ground continued, but it was not as violent as before. Another flash of lightning swept across the sky illuminating a person standing not far from the pit. His figure was vague and unclear, but, while everyone else was busy holding onto something to stabilize themselves, the figure of this person was still standing steadily, as if he was completely fearless even with if the sky was falling apart. ¡°Who is there?!¡± The figure turned his head to faced them. Long Shen! Dong Zhi recognized his voice at once, and the inexplicable excitement almost made him call out to him, but Old Zheng, who was ecstatic, replied even faster: ¡°Dragon Bureau, is that you? I¡¯m Old Zheng from the Northeast Branch!¡± But Old Zheng was ecstatic and replied faster than him: ¡°Dragon Bureau, is that you? My old Zheng, from the Northeast Branch! ¡± The author has something to say£º Dong Zhi: Wuwuwu, I was robbed, and I couldn¡¯t smoke*¡­ *Smoke is a buzzword that has the connotation of happy/happiness. He¡¯s saying he couldn¡¯t smoke so it¡¯s the opposite of the connotation. Kinky Thoughts: Reunited again! CH 12 Old Zheng ran over, and Dong Zhi followed subconsciously. ¡°Dragon Bureau, what¡¯s the situation? Do you need my help?!¡± Long Shen said: ¡°No need. How¡¯s your side?¡± He frowned when he noticed Dong Zhi trailing behind Old Zheng. Dong Zhi quietly hid himself behind Old Zheng, pretending not to notice the other party. Old Zheng wiped his sweat and said quickly: ¡°Wang Jingguan and I went up the mountain a few days earlier than you but got separated. The people behind are Japanese. Fujikawa Aoi is an onmyoji, and there are people from the Aso Consortium. I¡¯m not sure if they¡¯re coming here to investigate as well when they felt the movement!¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°You watch them here. I¡¯ll go down and have a look.¡± Old Zheng hurriedly asked: ¡°Dragon Bureau, what the hell is going on?¡± Long Shen said succinctly: ¡°Someone deliberately destroyed this dragon vein and drew out the dragon corpse with blood and anger.¡± Old Zheng was speechless. The dragon vein is a broad appellation in Feng shui*. Many people recognize that Mount Kunlun is the origin of the dragon vein in China, though there is no inevitable connection between the dragon vein and a dragon. Old Zheng, as a person from the Department of Exorcism, naturally would have inside knowledge that others wouldn¡¯t. He did hear that a dragon once died in Changbai Mountain, but that was many years ago. When Old Zheng joined the department, the dragon had been dead for many years, and its corpse slept under the astronomical peak of Changbai, melding between the mountains and rivers. This wasn¡¯t unusual as China is vast and rich in resources. A few years ago, there were many strange beasts that sank into the sea, perishing underneath the mountains and rivers. *Also known as Chinese geomancy is an ancient Chinese traditional practice which claims to use energy forces to harmonize individuals with their surrounding environment. However, to resurrect a dragon corpse would require tremendous amount of force. How much hostility had to be gathered in the array that could make this possible? A person who can do such a thing must not be anyone ordinary! If something goes wrong, it will attract demons. This is not just some kind of accidental event, but the beginning of a myriad of things. Old Zheng¡¯s heart sank when he thought about the Sneaky Yaksha that invaded the mountains and said sternly: ¡°I see. Dragon Bureau, I¡¯ll guard here. Be careful!¡± Long Shen glanced at Fujikawa Aoi again, nodded, and without saying more, leaped down towards the pit. Dong Zhi was momentarily stunned before he ran to the side of the sinkhole to look in. The sinkhole was at least the size of two football fields. It was unimaginable how much explosives and dynamite someone would need to use in order to make a pit this size. ¡°This should have been made by the dragon corpse when it was resurrected. I don¡¯t know which fucker* is behind this, but it¡¯s no wonder why there¡¯s been so many strange events happening around here recently!¡± Old Zhang said angrily, giving Dong Zhi the answer to his thoughts. *Turtle grandson (¹êËï) It¡¯s a curse word that means tenth generation grandson. The pit wasn¡¯t as bottomless as he had imagined, probably only ten meters at most. At the bottom of the pit was a large hole in the wall that had a bright light glowing through it. Long Shen had jumped into the pit and using the ledges by the side he hopped a few times against them before reaching the bottom. Without climbing tools, an ordinary person would¡¯ve most likely die if they were to jump in so casually like he did. The sky had cleared a bit, revealing the stars and moon that casted their light from time to time through the clouds, shining a purple-reddish light that looked treacherous above their heads. The sun was covered, and the moon was dark, heavy clouds loomed from above as evil spirits ran rampant, and the sounds of birds were completely extinguished. This was truly a suitable night for murder and arson. Dong Zhi asked Old Zheng: ¡°If the dragon returns from the dead, will it still be a dragon?¡± Old Zheng¡¯s expression was solemn: ¡°Generally, living beings die normally, and their souls dissipate between the heavens and earth, but there could be deviations. Sometimes a remnant of the soul is trapped within the body and the corpse will last for a long time due to the yin and yang it possessed. At this time, if an external force deliberately guides and stimulate its resentment, it will become a scourge.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly: ¡°Just like a zombie?¡± Old Zheng nodded, he wanted to say more but seeing Fujikawa Aoi and the others walked towards the side of the pit, he stepped forward to stop them. ¡°Stop!¡± Fujikawa Aoi said: ¡°Mr. Zheng, if I am not mistaken, the dragon corpse should have been resurrected by now. It¡¯ll be very troublesome to deal with it. Once it is brought into the world, it will bring disaster. I am willing to contribute my own strength to help deal with this situation.¡± How noble of him to offer, but Old Zheng didn¡¯t believe a single word. If he hadn¡¯t known about this in advance, would there be Japanese people here now at the grave of the dragon corpse? Old Zheng said angrily: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, this place is a restricted area. I¡¯ll find someone to block it off after dawn. Please leave immediately!¡± Fujikawa Aoi stepped forward: ¡°Mr. Zheng, although the dragon corpse has not yet fully appeared in the world, judging from the scale of this great pit, its power must be infinite. You don¡¯t have the manpower right now, so it¡¯ll be difficult to completely eliminate it. Any additional person can add to your strength now. Otherwise, when it completely breaks free from its bondage, we will all become its sacrifices!¡± Old Zheng sneered: ¡°Mr. Fujikawa, let¡¯s not be so secretive. You¡¯ve come all the way here. What is it that you want?¡± Fujikawa Aoi was silent for a moment and said: ¡°After this is taken care of, we want the dragon corpse.¡± Knowing his capabilities, there was no need to dance around the subject with Old Zheng. After all, they were in China¡¯s territory and Old Zheng¡¯s colleagues were below the pit. He couldn¡¯t act rashly before he could assess the situation and figure out his opponents. ¡°Impossible!¡± Old Zheng said categorically: ¡°The Dragon corpse will be left for research. This is not something I can just grant!¡± ¡°But if we want to go down now, you can¡¯t stop us!¡± The man in the jacket sneered. ¡°Jiangkou, don¡¯t be rude to Mr. Zheng!¡± Fujikawa Aoi shouted. ¡°Yes!¡± The man in the jacket immediately stood straight up and saluted. Though Fujikawa reprimanded him for his rudeness, he didn¡¯t correct him for what he said, making it clear that one was singing a white face, and the other was singing a red face*. *(Ò»¸ö³ªºìÁ³Ò»¸ö³ª°×Á³) Colloquialism that means in the process of resolving conflicts, one plays a harsh or annoying role and the other plays a friendly or likable role. AKA good cop, bad cop. Old Zheng sneered at this dog and pony show, but he also knew that he was unable to stop so many people. He was about to come up with a distraction to divert their attention and stall for time, when suddenly a shout came from the bottom of the pit. ¡°I can¡¯t do it anymore, Old Zheng. You come down for a bit so I can take a rest!¡± Silence enclosed the area around the pit, amplifying He Yu¡¯s voice loudly. ¡°Don¡¯t bother Mr. Zheng. I¡¯ll go down and help!¡± Kitaichi Eiko said in response. As she spoke, Old Zheng became alert and immediately set off to block her off. The commotion drew Dong Zhi¡¯s attention when he suddenly felt someone pushed him into the pit. As he fell, he looked back and saw the man in the jacket smiling viciously at him. Caught off guard by Dong Zhi¡¯s shout, Old Zheng quickly stretched out his hand to grab him, but the momentum Dong Zhi had when falling was too great that he dragged both of them down. Kitaichi Eiko took this chance to jump into the pit. Dong Zhi¡¯s heart tightened as he knew he would most likely die falling into a pit that was ten meters deep. Fortunately, Old Zheng grabbed his arm tightly and using his other hand, jammed the handle of his whip into the mountain wall to slow down their descent and increase the buffer as much as possible. ¡°He Yu, follow my voice!¡± Old Zheng yelled, his voice echoing in the pit. He Yu quickly responded: ¡°Fuck, what¡¯s the situation?!¡± When they neared the bottom, Dong Zhi felt that he was gently being supported by something under his ass before he hit the ground. His clothes were torn from the rocks against the wall, but overall he remained unscathed. A white crane carrying Kitaichi Eiko on its back fluttered down. Her descent was much more graceful than that of his and Old Zheng¡¯s. Following her was Fujikawa Aoi who was riding his snow wolf. Dong Zhi was struck by awe from the sight and couldn¡¯t help but think how amazing shikigamis and the power of the onmyojis were. He felt as if he was watching a fantasy blockbuster, but he was the person wearing the dragon costume in the film. Old Zheng ignore the soreness of his ass and shouted: ¡°Stop them! They want the dragon corpse!¡± It was apparent that He Yu, who had fought with Kitaichi Eiko before, wouldn¡¯t be able to stop both her and her master. Fujikawa Aoi took the opportunity to flash into the cave, disappearing at such an agile speed that was not fitting for an old man. Old Zheng paid no heed to Kitaichi Eiko as he rubbed his ass and limped off, chasing after him. As He Yu fought with the white crane, it almost pecked a hole into his shoulder, startling him: ¡°Little lady, you¡¯re too cruel!¡± Kitaichi Eiko, who was anxious to go in the cave, didn¡¯t bother to respond but instead fought fiercely. She did not participate in the fight herself but used a small delicate fan, waving it left and right. With each wave, the white crane would attack in the direction the fan moved. If this was a normal siutation, no matter how fierce the white crane was, he wouldn¡¯t be afraid of it. However, he was just injured in battle against the dragon corpse, and his chest would hurt whenever he moves, so he could only be pressed and beaten by the other. With a moment of inattentiveness, he was slapped on the head by the white crane¡¯s wings causing pain so excruciating that it made him curse his own mother. After calming down, seeing that He Yu was gradually being disadvantaged, Dong Zhi started to become anxious, so he picked up a few stones and casually threw them towards the girl. Kitaichi Eiko felt a pain on her back that disturbed her channeling, interrupting the crane¡¯s offense. He Yu seized this opportunity, bit his index finger, and drew symbols out of thin air. ¡°The four great enlightenment, heaven and the earth are eternal, the eight directions1 suppress the soul, the nine seclusions2 suppress evil, hastily as I decree, imperial edict!¡± 1Refers to the directions of north, south, east, west, southwest, southeast, northwest, northeast. 2Jiuyou (¾ÅÓÄ) refers to the lowest and deepest part of the immortal world. It is said that the sky has nine layers of heaven, and the earth has nine layers of ground. The blood foam condensed into red light in the middle of the air and disappeared in a flash. The white crane immediately raised its head and squawked as its body gradually became transparent. Kitaichi Eiko was furious and turned around and glared at Dong Zhi fiercely as she threw a talisman at him. ¡°Dodge it!¡± He Yu roared. Even without his warning, Dong Zhi hurriedly rolled to the side. In the next second, there was an explosion that turn the stone next to him into dust! He had narrowly avoided it, but his ears and neck were scratch by small bits of the stone that exploded just now. Dong Zhi persisted and continue picking up stones and throwing it at Kitaichi Eiko, however, every time a stone was about to hit her, it would suddenly slide to the side. It seems she had form some kind of barrier that was protecting her. Kitaichi Eiko no longer paid any attention to him. The only real opponent she had in her sights was He Yu. Her crane was injured from his attack just now and had greatly weakened her offensive capabilities. Her hand was still sealed, so she used it to summon another shikigami, a giant spider. The spider was as tall as half of an adult and was about two persons wide. Its multiple eyes flickered with a faint green light and its movement was extraordinary fast. As soon as it took shape, it ran towards He Yu baring its sharp pincers. The sight alone could make people¡¯s scalp go numb. Dong Zhi was bewildered until he recalled that Old Zhang had told him there were a few onmyojis who had the ability to summon two shikigamis at the same time, and Kitaichi Eiko was one of them. In the distance, Kitaichi¡¯s bodyguards and Yin Huai were seen climbing down the mountain wall. It was already difficult enough to deal with Kitaichi herself. Now throwing these people into the mix made the situation even more problematic. Dong Zhi felt that he needed to do something. Kinky Thoughts: You can do it, Dong Zhi! CH 13 Not far away, Dong Zhi discovered a familiar object lying among the rubble. It was He Yu¡¯s fluffy bear backpack. He ran over, took the bag into this hand, and opened it hoping to find cinnabar and yellow paper. Seeing the contents inside he was overjoyed. Using the method that He Yu had taught him; he scribbled on the yellow paper and drew sunlight talismans. His hands trembled slightly, and the more he wanted to draw well, the more he couldn¡¯t. Telling himself to calm down, he ignored thoughts like ¡°that big spider is scary¡± or ¡°He Yu is about to become a cauliflower¡±. Isolating himself form the outside world, he put the backpack on the ground and the paper on top of it, and sat cross-legged while holding a pen, no longer districted. The ground was still shaking slightly, as sounds from the dragon could be heard from time to time in the cave and the thunder and lightning never stopped. It was inconceivable what kind of fierce battle was happening inside. With Long Shen holding the tide, the dragon corpse wouldn¡¯t be able to make any waves for now, but Fujikawa Aoi was an unknown variable. Old Zheng would not be able to stop him and if he wanted the dragon corpse, conflict was bound to rise between the two parties¡­ He Yu was anxious, but he had to brace himself to deal with Kitaichi Eiko that was in front of him now. ¡°Does this little beauty have a boyfriend? Your Shinto sect does not prohibit witches from falling in love, right? Japanese men are all so short. Do you want to consider this brother?¡± He Yu flashed past the white silk that was spit out by the spider and drew out a short dagger, hiding it behind his backhand, as he moved towards Kitaichi Eiko. Although he had an aloof smile on his face, his intentions was quite the opposite. ¡°I remember you onmyoujis can get married and have children, but as a witch, don¡¯t you have to dedicate your life to Amatarasu*?¡± *Goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. See Kinky Thoughts for lore. Even though she knew that He Yu was deliberately provoking her, she couldn¡¯t help but feel irritated and said angrily: ¡°Amaterasu is a woman!¡± ¡°Then you can also be a lily*!¡± He Yu said with a smile, and while the opponent was distracted, he aimed his dagger at her left rib. *It¡¯s a euphemism for girl¡¯s love/lesbians. Kitaichi Eiko quickly dodged and with a wave of her fan the spider quickly crawled behind He Yu, raise its sharp fangs, intending to bite into his back. If He Yu wanted to avoid the attack, he would have to abandon his offensive against her, but in this way, it would allow her some breathing room to flip her defenses into an attack. He Yu¡¯s chest was in agony to the point where he could no longer ignore it. He suspected that he would vomit blood and fall to the ground at any moment, and then it would be impossible to stop Kitaichi Eiko. This little Japanese girl was so vicious. He just wanted to stop her, but she wanted to take his life! He was so angry like one buddha was born and two ascended to heaven* and the spider spiny limbs that were behind him had a fishy smell, only irritating him further. *(Ò»·ð³öÊÀ£¬¶þ·ðÉýÌì) It¡¯s a metaphor for life and death but is also used as an expression for extreme anger. At this moment, Kitaichi Eiko fan-swinging motion inexplicably stagnated. It was at this pause that cause the spider to sway and its figure became a bit translucent. Seeing his chance, He Yu struck with his dagger, jamming it into her body. Severe pain flushed through Kitaichi Eiko as she responded by kicking He Yu. He quickly avoided it and staggered back a few steps before falling on his ass. He laughed triumphantly and gave a thumbs up to Dong Zhi: ¡°Good job!¡± That was a close call just now. Any moment later and it would have been too late to save He Yu. In a rush, he hurriedly folded the sunlight talismans into a triangle, tied them to two palm-size stones, and then tossed it at Kitaichi one after another. With the blessing of the talisman, the stone broke through her barrier and hit her, buying time for He Yu to complete his attack. Kitaichi Eiko spurted out a mouthful of blood and the spider turned into white mist, slowly dissipating. Not only was it difficult to manipulate two shikigamis, she also had to set up a protective barrier around her body, which had exhausted all of her spiritual power. Weakened, she collapsed on the ground. Dong Zhi ran over to help He Yu: ¡°Are you okay?!¡± He Yu coughed, clutched his chest, and said weakly: ¡°Originally no, but seeing that bitch in worser condition cured me instantly!¡± Dong Zhi was rendered speechless. Kitaichi Eiko stared at them both bitterly: ¡°Cough, cough¡­ my master won¡¯t let you get away with this!¡± He Yu rolled his eyes: ¡°You can still speak harshly? The Japanese government wants you back, so just wait and beg to grandpa and sue grandma*!¡± *(×ÅÇóÒ¯Ò¯¸æÄÌÄÌ) Metaphor referring to beg for help from others. The term derives from begging grandpa and suing grandma for money. ¡°Miss Eiko, are you alright?¡± The man in the jacket ran over and when he saw Kitaichi¡¯s state, he glared at He Yu, intending to extract vengeance. ¡°If you dare to touch a single hair, your two masters will not be able to get away from this!¡± He Yu sneered as he slumped to the ground motionless. ¡°Stop!¡± Kitaichi Eiko shouted to the man: ¡°Master is still inside. Go in after him!¡± As she finished speaking, the ground shook violently and a roar burst from the cave deafening everyone¡¯s eardrums and causing their faces to turn pale. The dragon¡¯s roar in Dong Zhi¡¯s imagination that should be heroic and clear, as graceful as songbirds, and a little thick, was shattered in this moment by reality. A real dragon¡¯s roar was not beautiful at all. The sound was deeper than a tiger¡¯s and the soundwaves were stronger, allowing it to echo further, causing people to involuntary tremble and inflicted an impulse for them to kneel and surrender. Before the man in the jacket could get to the cave, stones started falling one after another, and with another roar, the cave started to collapse. ¡°Master!¡± Kitaichi Eiko was in shock, struggling to get up. ¡°Oh, shit! The dragon corpse is coming out!¡± He Yu said to the Dong Zhi: ¡°Hurry up, bring me my backpack! I have to set up a talisman array. You can help!¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly prepared the yellow paper and cinnabar for He Yu but as soon as he picked up the brush, he vomited out a mouthful of blood, startling Dong Zhi. With another roar, the cave had collapsed. ¡°Mr. Fujikawa!¡± The man in the jacket shouted anxiously. As if in response to his cries, several figures flew out moments before the cave had completely collapsed. Fujikawa Aoi was lying on the snow wolf whose body was stained with blood and in feeble shape. Although it maintained its fast speed, its body was slowly dissipating. Fujikawa Aoi didn¡¯t fare any better. His clothes were ragged showing off many wounds. Old Zheng was dragged out by Long Shen. His whip had been broken and his state looked even more miserable than Fujikawa Aoi. Long Shen seemed to be in the best condition out of the three. His clothes were almost all intact, and there were no visible wounds. He was frowning as he held a long black sword in his hand. Though the timing wasn¡¯t appropriate, Dong Zhi¡¯s heart still skipped a beat, and was stunned at such an inopportune time. These good feelings didn¡¯t last long as the ruins collapsed around them like quicksand, as if some behemoth was struggling and tumbling below. Before Long Shen and the others could retreat to a safe distance, the monster roared from the ground and its huge head emerged from the ruins, roaring furiously, echoing like thunder, as if to arouse the power of yin and yang in the heavens and earth. The monster didn¡¯t have any flesh or blood, only bones. Everyone looked intently at it discovering that it was a bone dragon, but its eyes were studded with two faint red flames. When it turned it neck around, there was none of that imaginary majesty of a real dragon, but an unspeakable terror. ¡°¡­This is the dragon corpse?¡± In the face of such a monster, not to mention Dong Zhi, even the fierce man in the jacket didn¡¯t take half a step forward. He Yu sighed: ¡°Its been sleeping underground for a long time. I don¡¯t know what kind of wicked person would do such a thing, but he sacrifice to the dragon many blood essence and innocent soul to arouse the resentment that remained in its body after its death. It¡¯s like adding the finishing touches to something. The two flames in its eyes are actually blood-soul wraiths that gave birth to its resurrection.¡± A flash of inspiration hit Dong Zhi: ¡°Then as long as you destroy two fires, you can suppress it?¡± He Yu could only reply: ¡°Easier said than done!¡± The lower half of the bone dragon was still held underneath the ruins. It roared and churned trying to escape, but Long Shen didn¡¯t plan to let it succeed. The black sword in his hand vibrated slightly making a low humming sound. Long Shen exerted force under his feet and ran towards the bone dragon. His gaze fell on the position where it scales once grew. Naturally, as it was simply a skeleton, there was no scales there. However, the remnant soul still retained a considerable memory of its previous life, so while the scale didn¡¯t exist now, it still possessed the memories of it being there, and if stabbed at such areas, the dragon corpse will still feel pain. While Long Shen intended to attack Bone Dragon, another person also made his move. Fujikawa Aoi didn¡¯t want to fight the Bone Dragon, but actually wanted to stop Long Shen. When he got news of the bone dragon, he had set off immediately, taking his disciples from Japan all the way to China, and even used the power of the Aso Consortium to pass through a special channel to avoid the eyes of the Chinese Special Administration Bureau authorities. He quietly came to Changbai Mountain in order to make this bone dragon his shikigami. If he could possess such strength, his status as a Japanese onmyoji would rise to great heights, becoming a national-level treasure onmyoji. With this thought in mind, even if it offended Long Shen and the Special Administration Bureau, Fujikawa must at all costs capture the Bone Dragon. With a flip of his wrist, he pulled out three talismans in his hand. He chanted silently then threw them at Long Shen. The fluttering talismans burned in mid-air, turning into three small fireballs that shot towards Long Shen like a meteor. When they were halfway to colliding with Long Shen, a big yellow cat appeared of nowhere and swallowed all three fireballs into its mouth with a single bite. It landed firmly on the ground then meowed at Fujikawa Aoi, showing a mocking look. Dong Zhi recognized it at once. It was this big yellow cat who had guided him when he was lost and took away his fish fillets. It¡¯s just that now it seemed to be injured, its fur wasn¡¯t as bright as before, and it walked with a limp. Long Shen ignored Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s small movements and continue rushing towards the bone dragon. The long sword pieced into the position of the phantom scale causing the bone dragon to roar and twist its head violently, wanting to bite Long Shen, but its neck was caught by his backhand. He jumped on top of the dragon¡¯s head, raised his long sword, and plunged it into the back of the bone dragon¡¯s neck! The big yellow cat hissed at Fujikawa Aoi, all its fur stood up, warning him not to make trouble. He Yu frowned and whispered: ¡°Not good!¡± Dong Zhi became nervous: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He Yu said quickly: ¡°We originally wanted to keep the dragon corpse, but now it has merged with the resentment from the blood essence and souls, we have to destroy it. That old man who wants that dragon corpse to be his shikigami will definitely prevent us from doing it!¡± As he spoke, Fujikawa Aoi had already summoned his shikigami, the snow wolf. The gray-white beast shook its fur, jumped up and rushed towards Long Shen! The sky was pitch black, revealing an eerie purple, as the ground trembled, ominous shadows shrouded people¡¯s heart, and the trees and plants were restless. The cloud surged from above, responding to the wails of the bone dragon, as it swept over the entire sky blanketing the entire world. Lightning flashed reflecting Long Shen¡¯s sharp side face. He grasped the bone dragon¡¯s spine with one hand, and firmly held the hilt of the long sword with the other as if he was holding a winning lottery ticket. He inserted the sword completely into the bone dragon¡¯s body, stabilizing his figure as if he were a rock. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help shout be careful and the others held their breath as they all saw that Long Shen had no time to avoid the snow wolf that was about to violently attack! His heart was caught in his throat when suddenly a ginger-yellow figure shot towards the snow wolf like an arrow and bit into the snow wolf¡¯s neck. The snow wolf clawed subconsciously trying to throw the yellow cat off. Despite the size disparity, the big yellow cat didn¡¯t show a hint of fear. It landed steadily on a stone pile and stared menacing at the snow wolf. All its fur stood up as it hissed at the snow wolf. Shockingly, the snow wolf seemed to be faintly afraid, as it took a few steps back. Everyone was stunned by the scene. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but say to He Yu: ¡°This cat was transformed from a tiger, right?¡± He Yu laughed, grinning widely that he showed off a row of teeth: ¡°Hehe! It¡¯s more powerful than tiger!¡± Kinky Thoughts: He Yu¡¯s my favorite character so far. ¡ª Amaterasu Goddess of the sun in Japanese mythology. She was born from the left eye of her father, Izanagi, who bestowed upon her a necklace of jewels and placed her in charge of Takamagahara (¡°High Celestial Plain¡±), the abode of all the gods. She is the Queen of Heaven, the kami, and creation itself. Though she did not create the universe, she is the goddess of creation, a role she inherited from her father, Izanagi, who now defends the world from the land of the dead. Amaterasu¡¯s primary role is that of the sun goddess. In this position, she not only serves as the literal rising sun that illuminates all things, but also provides nourishment to all living creatures and marks the orderly movement of day into night. The sun represents order and purity, two of Shinto¡¯s most important concepts. All things in creation are ordered, from Amaterasu down to the denizens of Jigoku and other hells and this order is reflected in Japanese society as well. CH 14 As the yellow cat face off with the snow wolf, the battle between Long Shen and the Bone Dragon was starting to kick off. The bone dragon roared endlessly, trying to wrestle its lower body out of the mount. Though it was dead, its strength was still earth-shattering and could make ghosts and gods weep with tears*. It opened its bloody mouth and with one fell swoop bit the shackles that was keeping it in place. *(¾ªÌìµØ£¬Æü¹íÉñ) Idiom describing something amazing/touching/earth-shattering that it could move the gods and ghosts to tears. The bone dragon seemed to be scared of the long black sword in Long Shen¡¯s hand. Despite the multiple slashes, the bone dragon remained unscathed, as it floundered and struggled about. Fujikawa Aoi was also nearby and would interfere whenever Long Shen was about to make a decisive blow. Although Long Shen didn¡¯t take him seriously, the hinderance still distracted him, so he was unable to kill the bone dragon. The dragon¡¯s wrath triggered thunderstorms from above, as lighting and thunder rolled in adding another variable that could affect the outcome of the battle. ¡°Son of a bitch! That old Japanese fucker, such an incompetent bungler1! Fuck his uncle2!¡± He Yu gritted his teeth as he dipped his brush in cinnabar and began drawing talismans. Before he could finish, he spurted out blood and if it weren¡¯t for Dong Zhi who came to quickly support him, he would have fallen directly on top of a sharp rock. 1(³Éʲ»×ã°ÜÊÂÓÐÓà) An idiom referring to doing bad things and making it worse. 2Curse dialect used near Beijing. It¡¯s similar to fuck your mother/grandfather but generally is less emotional and can be used among friends since it¡¯s not as serious. Seeing that the blood he spat out was as much as half a mug full, Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°Why don¡¯t you take a break. Long¡­ Your boss seems to have it covered.¡± He Yu¡¯s face was like gold paper*, and he looked weak and powerless: ¡°The dragon itself is a creature that conquers the heavens and earth so it can fit in with any natural changes. Since it was fed blood and souls with strong resentment, its even more difficult to deal with¡­ Of course, the boss is very strong, but he was injured a while back and the sword he¡¯s using now is not the one he normally uses!¡± *Paper for worshipping gods and offering sacrifices. Dong Zhi said: ¡°What can I do?¡± He Yu swallowed the bloody spit in his mouth, gritted his teeth and said: ¡°Come, help me draw talismans. I¡¯ll teach you the formula and handprint!¡± Dong Zhi felt he might not be able to perform well but given the situation, there was no room for hesitation. To side, the Japanese girl Kitaichi Eiko sat cross-legged, eyes closed, as if she was healing. Her two skikigamis were entrenched behind her, one to the left and one to the right, unmoving. The battle waged as humans and dragon wrestled about, kicking sand and stone everywhere, bathing the sky and earth with colors. The man in the jacket was about to move, trying to get closer, but was spotted by the sharp-eyed Old Zheng, who responded by squeezing his broken whip and staring at him coldly. At this moment, Aso Kenzo let out a scream and said in horror: ¡°Demons! Those demons are coming!¡± He spoke in Japanese, but everyone could hear the fear in his tone, and they all followed his gaze seeing that amidst the flashing lightning, clouds of black translucent mists were floating towards them, causing their scale to go numb. From their appearance, it was unimaginable what kind of horror they were experiencing at this moment. Dong Zhi recalled the scenes of the train attendant, the guest who walked on tiptoe in the hotel room and leapt to her death, and Yao Bin who became a zombie, causing him to immediately freeze and he felt like he couldn¡¯t breathe. ¡°Don¡¯t be scared. Come and help me draw!¡± He Yu said. The group of black mist didn¡¯t dare approach Long Shen and the bone dragon, as if they were afraid of them, and as if they had other scruples, since they were unceremonious to Old Zheng and the others, showing their clear intentions. Old Zheng still had about half his remaining power. His whip was broken, with only half its original length, so when he whipped the mist, it trembled slightly but didn¡¯t dissipate like before. Their movement slowed momentarily but then continue to float forward again. Gunshots ran out and one of the bodyguards under the man in the jacket screamed as the black mist entered from the top of his head, slowly merging inside, bit by bit. He tumbled and struggled desperately on the ground but to no avail. The man in the jacket quickly shot him in the chest. His legs spazzed a few times before his eyes widened and then his movements stopped. A short while after, his body suddenly got up, stiff and slow. The man in the jacket fired several more rounds causing the body to gush out with blood, but his face showed a hideous smile as he rushed towards the man in the jacket. His movement was interrupted by the white crane, who flew over and threw the bodyguard to the ground. Aso Kenzo and the man in the jacket quickly retreated behind Kitaichi Eiko. They were so terrified that they had lost the haughtiness that they had treated Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing previously. He Yu set up a small array on the ground and circled Lao Zheng in. The black mist could only wander outside the array and couldn¡¯t penetrate it. Dong Zhi glanced down and found that the talisman on the ground were slowly turning black. He wasn¡¯t sure how long it¡¯ll be before they lose their effectiveness. He quickened his hand speed, but the more anxious he was, the more erratic his writing became, causing him to draw several bad talismans. He Yu suddenly patted him on the back, and Dong Zhi found that everything was silent. He raised his head and looked around, seeing that the scene was still chaotic and found that his ears couldn¡¯t hear any noise. He Yu made a gesture towards him, indicating that this was to allow him to concentrate on drawing the talismans, and Dong Zhi immediately understood his intentions. He forced himself to relax his mind and concentrate on the paper that was in front of him. He first simulated the talisman¡¯s pattern in his mind, and then using his brush started drawing one stroke at a time, while mediating the formula in his heart: ¡°The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces*, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil!¡± *Referring to the Luoshu Square which is also known as the Nine Halls Diagram or the Turtle Book in ancient times. Each square represents a palace. The rune he drew were all sunlight talismans. It was too late and there was no time to learn a new talisman, so the effect wasn¡¯t very good. He Yu simply asked him to keep drawing them and memorize the formula and handprint. After he finished drawing one, Dong Zhi made a lotus seal with both hands and put his finger against the middle of the rune and poured out his breath. The talisman¡­ was still a talisman. There were no flash of red lights and it didn¡¯t levitate off the ground like in his imagination. Dong Zhi felt frustrated, but he knew that this was normal. He Yu said that drawing talismans requires unity of mind and body, and being such a novice, it was practically impossible to achieve something like this overnight. However, the beginning of every novel was always like this. Although the protagonist was mediocre at first, he can always turn the tide at a critical juncture, beat the villain and kill the quartet*, subdue the bone dragon, and hold its corpse into the air and receive the shock and admiration from the group of Japanese¡­ *(´óɱËÄ·½) Refers to being so highly skilled that you overwhelm everyone else. Obviously, he was thinking too much. Fantasies are beautiful, reality is cruel. He had failed to draw more than two dozen talismans, consecutively, until he finally was able to draw a usable one. Remaining persistent, he kept up his efforts and successfully painted a few more. He wasn¡¯t aware of how long he was drawing for, when his back was suddenly patted, and all the noise from the outside world surged in like a tide, as if he had returned to the real world from a different dimensional space. Only then did he realize that his chest and back was soaked in sweat. The cold wind penetrated from his collar, bringing in dampness and coolness, and he felt as if he had just ran a marathon. ¡°What happened from the time you patted me until just now?¡± Dong Zhi asked curiously. From the time he spent drawing talismans to now was less than an hour. He Yu¡¯s face had turned pale again and he saw that part of the talisman array had been completely scorched. Thankfully, Old Zhang guarded the gap, so they were able to resist the attack from the Sneaky Yaksha. Kitaichi Eiko¡¯s side didn¡¯t fare as well since they didn¡¯t have an array. The man in the jacket and Aso Kenzo could only rely on her for protection. She herself was heavily injured, and could scarcely support the two shikigamis in battle, as danger was surrounding them from all sides. ¡°We need to set up a bigger array. Eight sheets should be barely enough to support it! You, stick the talismans according to my instructions!¡± He Yu said to Dong Zhi as he pointed to the northwest of the sinkhole: ¡°With the bone dragon at the center, post one talisman there and starting counterclockwise form the array. Make sure to keep the distance of each talisman the same and try not to differ the radius too much from the center. Be careful!¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t I go? Xiao Dong has no experience after all!¡± Old Zheng volunteered. He Yu glanced at him: ¡°Your current injury and isn¡¯t as fast as him.¡± Old Zheng smiled bitterly. ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate me! Even otakus have spring*!¡± Dong Zhi patted Old Zheng on the shoulder and comforted him, then got up and ran to the northwest. *Means to be strong/powerful ect. Behind him, Old Zheng whispered: ¡°You want to recruit this kid, right?¡± He Yu whispered back: ¡°Whether he can enter our department or not will depend on the boss¡¯ approval. I have no say in this matter, but I want my master to accept him as an apprentice. He has talent in drawing talismans, but I will have to wait until this matter is over, then I¡¯ll ask that old geezer.¡± Long Shen and the bone dragon continue fighting fiercely in the sinkhole. Explosions blasted periodically as cyclones swirled around splattering rocks and dirt everywhere. Although he was cautious, Dong Zhi was still affected from the scene. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck and crashed near the sinkhole, blinding everyone. The ground trembled violently as the lower body of the bone dragon dislodged a little bit, revealing thick white bones as its eyes burned brightly. Despite having none of the splendor of a dragon, it was still equally as fearsome. After Long Shen inserted his long sword into a phantom scale area, he pulled a whip out of nowhere, and wrapped it around the dragon¡¯s neck and pulled out the sword again. He leapt and landed on top of the dragon¡¯s head, and holding the sword with both hands, he jammed it into one of the dragon¡¯s eyes. The bone dragon wailed wildly, its entire body churning, trying to throw Long Shen off. As if resounding to the pain from the dragon¡¯s heart, thunder roared endlessly in the sky above. Fujikawa Aoi, standing in a blind spot at the corner of the sinkhole, took out a talisman and threw it. In mid-air, it turned into a falcon and swept towards the dragon¡¯s head at lightning speed, grabbing the long sword that was inserted in the dragon¡¯s eye and taking it away! Kitaichi Eiko, who was further away from the battlefield, seem to have tactility understood her master and use her white crane to block Long Shen. Without blinking an eye, Long Shen batted the white crane away. The crane, which was the size of half a basketball court, didn¡¯t put up even the slightest resistance as it fell straight down, turning into a ball of light before dissipating into thin air. With its disappearance, Kitaichi Eiko as its master was inflicted damage. She screamed and fell to the ground unconscious. The white crane was able to stop Long Shen for only a short moment, but it was enough. Long Shen lost his opportunity. The bone dragon went into a fit of rage and completely broke free from its binding. The mountains shook as a huge white bone dragon broke through, roaring, as it flew into the air! It held the resentment of being sealed underground for eons and combined with the blood-soul wraith that was in surging in its eyes made it even more fierce. It spewed out a mouthful of turbid gas and its tail suddenly swept towards the sinkhole. In an instant, stones exploded everywhere, and a large boulder came crashing down on top of Dong Zhi. It was too late to dodge but before he even realized it, a beam of light was shot from the dragon¡¯s head heading towards him. He heard the sound of sudden movement and raised his head seeing that the boulder was being held up by a figure. Only then did he comprehend that he had just escaped death. He looked at the man standing in front of him, holding a long sword, and wish he could shower him with praises, calling him ¡°handsome¡± a hundred times, but the other party paid no heed and didn¡¯t even bother looking at him as he quickly rushed towards the bone dragon again. Seeing his disciple seriously injured and unconscious, Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s face turned black with anger. His snow wolf was caught in battle with the yellow cat, so he called out another black giant falcon and pounced it on Long Shen. He then pinched a talisman in his hand and drew symbols with his hand summoning eight green balls of light that surrounded the bone dragon. The eight green balls looked small and were suspended in midair around the tumbling bone dragon. The light grew brighter and brighter as the red fire in the bone dragon¡¯s eyes gradually dimmed, and its movement became sluggish. Old Zheng was flabbergasted: ¡°What is he doing?!¡± He Yu frowned and said: ¡°He wants to absorb the bone dragon¡¯s resentment and make it his shikigami, but its power is too strong! Even the boss couldn¡¯t subdue it. This old man simply has a death wish!¡± As if confirming his words, lightning struck one of the balls of light. The remaining seven balls were overturned by the dragon¡¯s aura in an instant, as the dragon roared a hundred times more furiously than before. Thunder resounded in the clouds, rocks were cracking, and the flashes of light illuminated the large tracts of snow on the peeks of the distant mountains. The aura swept through the mountains and river in an unparalleled domineering manner. Amid the violent wind, the bone dragon opened is jaws and flew towards Long Shen and Fujikawa Aoi, vowing to swallow the two small human beings into its stomach and smashing their corpses into thousands of pieces! Long Shen didn¡¯t retreat a step but advance forward. His figure jumped agilely on the bone dragon, shuttling between lightning bolts, as if he was invincible. Although the bone dragon was large and fearsome, its figure wasn¡¯t flexible. It couldn¡¯t twist its body in time to bite at Long Shen, so it could only vent its anger on Fujikawa Aoi who was standing on the ground. Abandoning his thought of trying to subdue the bone dragon, he ran around in complete embarrassment to avoid the bone dragon¡¯s attack. His black giant falcon tried to fight the dragon, only to be hit with a mouthful of rancid gas and immediately turned into black mist that scattered in the wind. Fujikawa Aoi was shocked and angry at the sight and threw out twelve talismans into the air. They turned into sharp arrows and whistled towards the dragon as they ignited. When they reached the dragon, they exploded as each arrow nailed into the bones of the dragon¡¯s body, instantly scorching the area. Old Zheng, who was observing the battle, let out a long sigh. He Yu, feeling the same mood as him, commented: ¡°The idea is good. After all, the dragon¡¯s nature is water and after its death, it was resurrected with blood and souls that held resentment, invoking the fire of the heavens and earth, giving it a metal attribute, so it¡¯s best to subdue it with fire, but¡­¡± Fujikawa Aoi had forgotten that dragons are among the largest creatures in the world. If one cannot defeat it in a single move, a more severe backlash would be coming their way. Sure enough, the bone dragon wailed, and its torso twisted violently. It swung its tail, slamming it into Fujikawa Aoi, who didn¡¯t have time to dodge the attack, catapulting him into a wall. His limp body fell to the ground, and he vomited out a basin full of blood; his state now no better than his disciple. In its state of rage, the bone dragon became even more difficult to deal with. Long Shen was almost thrown off several times. While the dragon was focused on Long Shen and Fujikawa Aoi, Dong Zhi had taken the chance and posted the talisman in all seven directions. There was only one remaining. He was sweating profusely, and he couldn¡¯t tell whether he was tired or scared, or both. His down jacket was heavy on his body, and he wanted to take it off, but was afraid he¡¯ll get too cold, so he bit the bullet and continue moving forward, step by step. His final destination was only ten meters away. In face of wind so strong that it could blow a person away, he slowly crawled forward on the ground. While resisting the howling of the icy wind, he recalled the scene was like Red Army soldiers sneakily ambushing bombing bunkers and felt inexplicably happy. Before he could enjoy his moment of happiness, he heard a shout: ¡°Get out of the way!¡± The bone dragon swooped down from mid-air and in a blink of an eye, white bones covered the stars and sun, casting a shadow on top of Dong Zhi. He didn¡¯t even look up as the smelly wind was blowing around, knowing that the dragon was just a few short distance away. There was nowhere to hide and no way to escape, so he simply gritted his teeth and rushed forward, holding the last talisman tightly in his hand. At the moment that the bone dragon crashed down, he slapped the rune in the place designated by He Yu! A hurricane swept overhead as he felt a pain in the back of his head. His body was immediately thrown about, hitting the mountain wall full of jagged and broken corpses. Suddenly a sharp pain pierce though and he couldn¡¯t tell whether it was from his chest or back. All he felt was that his entire body was about to fall apart. The surroundings were full of flying sands and rocks, blurring the scene. The talisman array he had laid out seemed to have worked, forming a binding barrier around the bone dragon, isolating the connection between the thunder and the bone dragon. However, the formation didn¡¯t last long. All eight talismans started turning slowly turning black until they all exploded at the same time! With a loud thud, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t tell whether the pain he felt on his face, hands, and back was caused by the blistering wind or from the hitting the gravel. Even with his mouth tightly closed, the sand stilled penetrated in as his entire body was submerged by dirt. Everything became numb and even the thought of life and death no longer seemed important. A day ago, he never expected that he would see a creature like a dragon in his lifetime, and now he was almost killed by it. Dong Zhi raised his head laboriously and saw Long Shen piecing into the other eye of the dragon. He gripped tightly to the hilt of the sword as the bone dragon struggled frantically. His whole body flung in the air, like a dead leaf in the wind, flopping about, creating a thrilling scene. The red fire in the bone dragon¡¯s eyes gradually disappeared and its roar turned into wailing, resounding through the entire wilderness of the mountain, echoing in everyone¡¯s heart, paralyzing their minds. It was the sound of the struggle of all creatures under heaven who were unwilling to die, and it mourned more angrily at being awakened as an evil creature. It once roared majestically around the world, becoming a symbol of this land, but now it could only scatter about, flying chaotically in this pitiful form. Unconsciously, tears welled in Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes as tears began gushing down. He seemed to have understand the inner voice of the bone dragon moments before its death and realize its indomitable struggle against destiny. The faces of the others were equally heavy. Fujikawa Aoi knelt beside the sinkhole and burst into tears. It was unknown whether he was mourning for the dragon or because his bamboo basket was empty*. The man in the jacket was lying on the ground covered with blood. Aso Kenzo gathered his breath, his legs became soft, and he fell flat on his ass. *(ÖñÀº´òˮһ³¡¿Õ) Idiom referring to wasted effort, doing things only for it to be all in vain. Just as the bone dragon was on its last breath, a huge burst of energy erupted. The man in the jacket covered Aso Kenzo from the blast and died instantly from his injuries. Dong Zhi was also injured but luckily survived. He Yu said: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that there are such loyal and brave people in little Japan that they would die for their employers!¡± Old Zheng shook his head: ¡°You don¡¯t know anything. Since ancient times, Japan have samurais who served their lords for generations. If Aso had died just now, even if he survive, he wouldn¡¯t live once he returns to Japan, so its better to fight for your name and the loyalty of your lord.¡± He Yu was speechless: ¡°It seems that they are not only cruel to others, but even more cruel to themselves!¡± Fujikawa Aoi staggered towards Kitaichi Eiko to checked on her injuries. He looked up at Long Shen and the others and said menacingly: ¡°I will never forget the kindness you showed to my disciple!¡± He Yu sneered: ¡°What¡¯s the matter? You want revenge? Your apprentice is not good at learning, so you¡¯re blaming others? Don¡¯t forget that you came here without special notice. It¡¯s already kind enough from us not to take the opportunity and turn you into a missing person report!¡± Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s face became even uglier. He opened his mouth but reluctantly held back, not saying anything, and responded with a heavy huff. On the contrary, Aso Kenzo limped over and bowed to Long Shen and the others: ¡°I am very sorry for the trouble we caused you. Thank you for your help. After we go back, we will definitely go through the formalities and will also keep in mind the kindness you showed us today!¡± He Yu waved his hand carelessly: ¡°You don¡¯t need to keep us in mind. In the future, if you bring more riffraff* and set foot on our land, don¡¯t blame us for taking action!¡± *Term used here is no three no four (²»Èý²»ËÄ). It refers to a dubious/not decent thing or person. Fujikawa Aoi, who was labeled as ¡°riffraff¡±, turned red with anger. He was fluent in Chinese, so he understood their whole conversation. As a highly respected onmyoji, he had never been treated like this. This was simply unbearable for him, who always hold himself up in high self-esteem. After He Yu finished speaking, Long Shen said: ¡°For this incident, we will negotiate and propose serious grievances on a diplomatic level.¡± This time it was Aso Kenzo turn to look bad. Negotiation means wrangling, and wrangling means being blackmailed by the treacherous Chinese, but they were caught red-handed* so there was nothing they could say. He gave them a reluctant smile and said goodbye to everyone. He picked up the unconscious Kitaichi and walked down the mountain with Fujikawa Aoi, looking embarrassed and ashamed, like a defeated general. *The term is the handle falls into the opponent¡¯s hand (°Ñ±úÂäÔÚ±ðÈËÊÖÀï). It refers to evidence against you have fallen into the hands of your opponent. After a night of fierce fighting, dawn has arrived. When you come, you wear the stars and moon, and when you return, the morning sun is slightly dewy. Carrying the morning light on his back, Long Shen stood by the sinkhole and looked down, holding a long sword in his hand, the scabbard was gone. He wasn¡¯t sure it was due to the desolate snow on the mountain¡¯s peaks or the quietness of the smoke that was slowly dissipating, but Dong Zhi felt the feeling of loneliness coming from Long Shen¡¯s figure. With just one look, thousands of words came to him. Kinky Thoughts: Spring has arrived for Dong Zhi. CH 15 Unlike Long Shen, Old Zheng and He Yu both sat down on the ground gasping for breath, disregarding their entire image. Yin Huai was lying on the ground not far away, seemingly unconscious. Old Zheng was brooding about letting the few remaining Japanese go and muttered: ¡°We could have left them behind and say that they all disappeared on Changbai Mountain. After all, they didn¡¯t report to the Special Administration Bureau!¡± He Yu said: ¡°We still have diplomatic ties between the two countries and both the master and apprentice have status in the Shinto religion over there. If we kill them, it¡¯s impossible for Japan to be unaware, and next time we have a mission over there, little Japan will retaliate, and the rules will become a chaotic mess.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m only from the General Administration Branch so your overall view is better than mine!¡± Old Zheng patted He Yu on the shoulder: ¡°I was just venting. What I hate most in my life is Japs!¡± He Yu luaghed: ¡°I don¡¯t know you that well yet! We should have a chat. Since I¡¯m finally here, you have to invite me out for drinks, and you have to order at least three rounds for me!¡± Seeing Dong Zhi cast a curious look, he said smoothly: ¡°Old Zheng¡¯s ancestor belonged to the Northeast Army. He once followed Zhang Zuolin* who was later murdered by the Japanese, so he has hated them ever since.¡± *An influential Chinese bandit, solider, and warlord during the Warlord Era in China. He was backed by Japan and successfully influence politics in the Republic of China. He was later assassinated by a bomb planted by the Kwantung Army. Old Zheng curled his lips: ¡°This is a common hatred*, and there a few in the northeast who don¡¯t hate little Japan!¡± *(¹ú³ð¼ÒºÞ) National enemy and family hatred. It¡¯s an idiom meaning the hatred of the country being invade and the hatred of the destruction of one¡¯s homeland. Generally, use to refer to a common hatred. ¡°Is it okay to let them go down the mountain like this? In case they go elsewhere¡­¡± Dong Zhi coughed twice, feeling a faint smell of blood in his throat. ¡°It¡¯s okay. The boss asked Kan Chaosheng to follow them.¡± He Yu stretched out his hand and grabbed Dong Zhi. Seeing him winced in pain, he said: ¡°You have a broken rib. Don¡¯t move. We¡¯ll take you down the mountain and to a hospital.¡± When Dong Zhi heard the words ¡°Kan Chaosheng¡± he said in surprise: ¡°The cat?!¡± He Yu smiled and said: ¡°So you found out?¡± Realization hit Dong Zhi. It¡¯s no wonder when he got lost by the waterfall, the big yellow cat had guided him back and that greedy and tsundere* look was exactly the same as Chaosheng. *Japanese term depicting someone who is initially cold, stern, stoic, harsh, temperamental, hotheaded (and sometimes hostile), before gradually showing a warmer, friendlier side over time. But for a person to become a cat¡­ He thought of the fearful appearance of the snow wolf facing the big yellow cat and said curiously: ¡°Is he a cat spirit or a tiger spirt?¡± He Yu smiled mysteriously and did not answer him. Dong Zhi was exhausted that he couldn¡¯t even lift a finger. The heat gradually evaporated and the chill surged in. He was completed drenched inside with sweat making him extremely uncomfortable. At this moment, he heard Long Shen say: ¡°The stone tablet is broken.¡± The faces of He Yu and Old Zheng, who were still talking and laughing just now, suddenly changed. ¡°How could this happen? Wasn¡¯t the dragon corpse subdued?!¡± Long Shen walked over, but his tone did not change much: ¡°The stone tablet was under the dragon corpse. I suspect that the aim of the person who resurrected the dragon corpse was the stone tablet.¡± He Yu¡¯s mind turned quickly: ¡°So, the reason why those Japanese people got news that a dragon corpse was buried here most likely came from someone deliberately leaking it?¡± Old Zheng also said: ¡°I¡¯ll check on the Sneaky Yaksha when I go back. It must have something to do with this! As soon as the bone dragon died, they disappeared. How could there be such a coincidence!¡± Long Shen snorted: ¡°I just got in touch with Wang Jingguan. After she was separated from you, she couldn¡¯t find you, so she went down the mountain to find help. She¡¯ll be coming over soon.¡± Old Zheng was relieved: ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± He Yu smiled and winked at Long Shen: ¡°Boss, Dong Zhi has made great contribution this time. He was innocent bystander but got involve by us. Shouldn¡¯t you be a bit more concern?¡± Long Shen remained completely neutral: ¡°What kind of expression do you want?¡± He Yu hurriedly poked Dong Zhi: ¡°A batch of funds had just been issued recently, and Dong Zhi was injured due to public affairs. How about giving him a five-star resort package or something? It¡¯s best if it¡¯s for two, don¡¯t you think?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help laughing and blurted out: ¡°What do single dogs need a package for two for?¡± He Yu said pitifully: ¡°For me! Can¡¯t I be the two?!¡± Long Shen looked at him with a smirk: ¡°I remember that the salary deduction from your demerit last time hasn¡¯t been deducted yet, right?¡± He Yu mouth changed into a dogleg smile: ¡°Boss, I worked so hard this time. Isn¡¯t it worth balancing my merits from those demerits?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°That¡¯s right, so in order to reward you, this month¡¯s salary will not be deducted.¡± He Yu: ¡­ In other words, it will be deducted next month! He Yu suddenly felt that there was no love in life. His games were running out of currency, and he needs to recharge them to buy more heroes! Dong Zhi laughed while in a daze, triggering his injury. The pain jolted him, making him sober again. ¡°Then can I make a request?¡± He asked. He Yu said meekly: ¡°Single dogs are not allowed to make requests!¡± The Dong Zhi automatically ignored He Yu and looked at Long Shen, fortified his heart and blurted out: ¡°Can I join you?¡± He thought his tone was calm, but others could still sense the anxiety. Seeing that Long Shen didn¡¯t answer, Dong Zhi became nervous: ¡°I don¡¯t know how to fight, especially compared to you, but I can draw. Uh, my talismans seem to be okay. I can be He Yu¡¯s assistant, or I can work the front desk or something¡­¡± It was originally a request made impulsively, but later he expanded on it more clearly. He Yu broke the ice and joked: ¡°Our front desk¡¯s job is better than mine.¡± Dong Zhi snorted and like god¡¯s messenger* added: ¡°Then playing games makes you very powerful, huh?¡± *(Éñʹ¹í²î) Idiom which mean it seems there are ghosts and gods in support, unconsciously doing things that were not expected to do before. He Yu made an aggrieve sound. He was so embarrassed by what Dong Zhi countered that he wanted to dive into the sky and lie dead by the bone dragon¡¯s side. Long Shen was noncommittal and only said: ¡°Go back and have a good rest first.¡± He didn¡¯t refuse on the spot, but to Dong Zhi, it seems like a polite decline. He felt a bit disappointed and embarrassed for being rejected and didn¡¯t know what to say. Long Shen didn¡¯t give him much chance to respond either as he turned around and walked to the edge of the pit and survey the area. He Yu patted Dong Zhi on the arm and whispered: ¡°The boss is right. You should take care of your injuries first. Don¡¯t think too much about this matter. I will try my best to apply for your rewards.¡± Dong Zhi wanted to respond, but his body was in so much pain that he couldn¡¯t even move the corners of his mouth. His eyelids grew heavier as He Yu¡¯s voice who was talking to Old Zheng slower got softer, like trying to listen to someone talking through a layer of glass. ¡°Zhang Xing,¡± Dong Zhi whispered, suddenly remembered the girl who was still placed halfway up the mountain. Old Zheng seemed to hear him and comforted him a few more words. Dong Zhi tilted his head, and finally passed out. The aftermath matters have nothing to do with him. The world was quiet. Perhaps he¡¯ll dream of a dragon. ¡ª Thin eyelids first sense light, and a bright and dazzling feeling was then transmitted to the brain. When he opened his eyes, Dong Zhi saw a bunch of pink and white bellflowers. Half of the water in the vase reflected the branches below, which was clear and bright like the sky. The faint smell of disinfectant lingered on his nose. The ward was quiet, and he saw another bed besides him that was empty. ¡°The double room I specially found for you is in good condition, right?¡± A familiar voice was accompanied by the sound of a door being pushed open. Dong Zhi said in surprise: ¡°Old Zheng!¡± Old Zheng came in with a smile: ¡°Yo! You¡¯re recovering well and you have no memory loss!¡± His arm was bandaged but he still joked around when he opened his mouth. The image was extremely different from the way he looked around the Japanese that day. Following him in was a woman. Old Zheng introduced: ¡°This is Wang Jingguan. Just call her Sister Wang. She was the colleague who was separated from me on the mountain that day. She heard that you were honorably injured and came to visit. I didn¡¯t expect we would catch up this early but we¡¯re just in time as you just woke up!¡± Dong Zhi wanted to sit up, but Wang Jingguan motioned him to stop as she said kindly: ¡°You can lie down. The doctor said you have a concussion, so you need to recuperate!¡± No wonder why he felt a little dizzy. He raised his hand to his head and found there was a still a needle in his arm. Dong Zhi: ¡°Old Zheng, are you okay?¡± Old Zheng: ¡°I¡¯m fine. My arm¡¯s broken, but it¡¯s not serious.¡± Wang Jingguan glanced at him blankly: ¡°What¡¯s fine? Your internal injuries were not light. The doctor told you to rest in bed, but you constantly have to jump around!¡± Old Zheng scratched his head: ¡°I can¡¯t lie still. Makes me too antsy.¡± The doctor soon came and gave him a general examination, pulled out the needle, and explained: ¡°You have some broken ribs and a slight concussion, but its not serious. You mainly need to rest. Don¡¯t walk around when you¡¯re free. The nurse will come check on you regularly to give you medicine for the traumatic wounds on your body. Remember to take your anti-inflammatory drugs on time.¡± Compared to the disobedient Old Zheng, Dong Zhi nodded compliantly and was more well liked, especially since he looked so sunny and handsome. The middle-aged female doctor couldn¡¯t help but rub his head, and then walked away smiling under Dong Zhi¡¯s embarrassed gaze. Wang Jingguan smiled and said: ¡°Although it¡¯s not too serious, do you want to call your family, so they don¡¯t worry?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I¡¯m an only child. My parents passed away in a car accident a few years ago. There are no close relatives at home, so I won¡¯t bother them. Besides, it¡¯s not a big deal.¡± His tone was calm, but to the others, they didn¡¯t know how to respond back to his words. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t let this awkward atmosphere permeate and soon jokingly asked: ¡°Old Zheng, Sister Wang, since I was injured while on duty, do I get the benefit for free food while I¡¯m here?¡± Wang Jingguan laughed and said: ¡°Of course. Not only is the food free, but the check-ups and your stay are also included. You can stay as long as you want.¡± Old Zheng opened the food box: ¡°Here, your Sister Wang had prepared it for you. Let me see¡­ There¡¯s yam porridge and pork ribs soup. Not bad, but you should make pig¡¯s trotter next time.¡± This remark made Wang Jingguan roll her eyes. As soon as he drank the pork ribs soup, he knew that it was homemade. The addition of carrots and corn made the soup turn golden yellow and the taste was sweeter. There were a few pieces of pork cartilage in the soup that had soaked in the sweetness and after tasting it, he praised: ¡°This soup is really delicious!¡± Wang Jingguan smiled and said: ¡°I made this myself. Go on and eat more. I¡¯ll bring more for you tomorrow.¡± Seeing Dong Zhi¡¯s well-behaved demeanor and attitude stimulated her motherhood, and her eyes became softer when she looked at Dong Zhi. Old Zheng showed envy and jealousy: ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you give me soup for so many years!¡± Wang Jingguan sneered: ¡°Didn¡¯t I send you some twelve years ago and it was dumped into the toilet.¡± Old Zheng: ¡­ Dong Zhi sense an unusual ambiguity between the two as he lowered his head, sipping on the soup in silence. The author has something to say: [Not related to the main text] Short story£º (Time point: after Dong Zhi¡¯s apprenticeship) Dong Zhi likes Long Shen, but he doesn¡¯t dare say it. He was afraid that after he confess, he would be slaughtered by him and clean the door1. In desperation, he turned to superstitions and would turn koi2 daily. He would actively retweet on Weibo every day whenever he sees: [As long as you forward this koi, you will receive good news within 30 days.]. 1Refers to throwing away dirty and bad things in the house. It¡¯s also used to refer to the ¡°sect¡± extending it meaning to remove or rectify the members of the sect that disgrace its reputation. 2Internet buzzword referring to seeking good luck by reposting pictures of koi. Koi is a symbol of wealth and luck and it¡¯s used by bloggers as a gimmick to gain forwarding volume. While many netizens hope to take this for good luck, it eventually became a modern internet superstition. Until one day, the busy Boss Long discovered that his apprentice was obsessed with forwarding kois. He called the Dong Zhi into the office, pointed to a young man, and said: ¡°Turn.¡± Dong Zhi looked dumbfounded: ¡°Turn what???¡± The young man said shyly: ¡°My original form* is a koi.¡± *Clarity: This will be explained later in the novel but just know that in this novel settings, animals and things can cultivate and become human. Long Shen: ¡°He¡¯s visiting from the General Administration Branch and will stay for about a week. Isn¡¯t there room at your place? Just take him back and you can turn him every day.¡± Dong Zhi felt exasperated. He really wanted to say: ¡°Master, it¡¯s not koi that I want, it¡¯s you!¡± PS: This short story has nothing to do with the main text. Don¡¯t confuse the plot~ Kinky Thoughts: One more chapter before the first arc is over. CH 16 Dong Zhi had a good appetite and ate all the soup in one go. Wang Jingguan was very happy seeing her own craftsmanship so lauded: ¡°What would you like to eat tomorrow? Sister Wang will make it for you!¡± Dong Zhi replied sincerely as he held the bowl: ¡°Sister Wang¡¯s cooking is delicious. I¡¯ll be happy with just another pork ribs soup.¡± Wang Jingguan¡¯s heart almost melted when she heard this: ¡°Let me make you my old mother¡¯s chicken soup tomorrow. If you like, Sister Wang will recognize you as her younger brother in the future. When you get better, you can come live with me for as long as you want!¡± Old Zheng said quietly from the side: ¡°You¡¯re more than twenty years older than him! Isn¡¯t it embarrassing to be his sister*?!¡± *Clarity: the term they¡¯re using is jiejie (½ã½ã) which can refer to your blood-related older sister but extended can refer to any woman older than you. Generally, it would be use for someone closer to your generation and someone that you¡¯re close to, and considering her age, it¡¯s probably more appropriate for her to be referred to as an ¡°auntie¡± than a ¡°sister¡±. Wang Jingguan didn¡¯t get angry: ¡°I¡¯m unmarried, not old. What¡¯s wrong with a being a sister? Better than having an old orange peel face like yours. If anyone call you brother*, they¡¯ll have to vomit first!¡± *Gege (¸ç¸ç). Same concept as jiejie but applies to older men. Dong Zhi wanted to laugh but didn¡¯t dare to, as he saw Old Zheng fleeing from humiliation. After Wang Jingguan left, Old Zheng wandered back in again, muttering and complaining: ¡°That old hag is so annoying. I won¡¯t come in next time she¡¯s here!¡± Dong Zhi smiled: ¡°Old Zheng, the tail of youth doesn¡¯t wait for anyone. Hurry up and catch it!¡± Old Zheng glared at him, but after a while, he became discouraged: ¡°You know, she confessed to me back then and I rejected her. Later, she regarded me as unsatisfactory and too irritating. How can I dare say anything? If I do, I¡¯ll be laughed to death by her.¡± Dong Zhi was speechless: ¡°You don¡¯t understand a woman¡¯s heart? If people don¡¯t care about you, how can they constantly target you? It¡¯s so obvious. If you don¡¯t take the initiative, you won¡¯t be happy!¡± Old Zheng said suspiciously: ¡°You are right. Why don¡¯t you have a girlfriend yet?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ You just stabbed me in my heart, buddy*. *I¡¯m worried, old iron. (ÔúÐÄÁË£¬ÀÏÌú) Catchphrase that means something touches you very much causing a change in your emotions. Old iron refers to ¡°iron buddy¡± which is just another dialect for buddies. I decided to translate it as the original sounds too awkward. He pivoted to a question that he was more concerned about: ¡°What happen to them?¡± Old Zheng: ¡°They left a long time ago. You passed out in a coma early yesterday morning. Long Shen carried you halfway down the mountain, then we took a car down the rest of the way. They left in the afternoon.¡± Hearing that he was carried down the mountain, Dong Zhi blinked. Without understanding the meaning behind this, he said in surprise: ¡°Wasn¡¯t He Yu still suffering from a serious injury?¡± Old Zheng wiped his face, his expression a little heavy: ¡°It can¡¯t be helped. This matter was more serious this time, so they have to rush back to deal with the report.¡± Dong Zhi asked cautiously: ¡°Can I know?¡± Old Zheng said: ¡°There¡¯s really not much to say. There was a dragon buried under Changbai Mountain, but it had died for many years. It was rumored that there were abnormal activities happening on the mountain a while ago, but we didn¡¯t associate it with the dragon corpse. Then it was suddenly resurrected. Although it was suppressed in the end, it was regarded as a level 4 incident. What¡¯s more troublesome is that no one expected there to be a stone tablet under it.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What does it mean?¡± Old Zheng: ¡°I don¡¯t know. There were some ancient talisman on the stone tablet, which have been lost now. We have to wait for the result of the investigation. They took away the stone tablet so I speculate that it should have a special effect, and most likely the dragon corpse was used to suppress it.¡± A flash of inspiration struck Dong Zhi: ¡°That is to say, it is very likely that the behind-the-scenes instigator of the Sneaky Yaksha wanted to destroy the stone tablet?¡± Old Zheng nodded: ¡°Yes, after the stone tablet was broken, those Sneaky Yaksha disappeared out of thin air and never returned again. As for how the Japanese got news of the dragon corpse, we are also tracking that down. It¡¯s better to keep them alive so now we can follow their trail and find out more, but you don¡¯t need to worry about these things. If you know too much, it¡¯ll only add to your troubles. Just take care of your injuries first.¡± Inexplicably, Dong Zhi suddenly remembered that he saw Xu Wan when he got lost in the mountains. He still couldn¡¯t confirm whether it was a hallucination or the real person. He didn¡¯t find her suspicious. Every time he¡¯s been in contact with her, he always felt a feeling of seeing a sister or mother. Perhaps because of this, he often unconsciously reduced his vigilance. However, after encountering many strange things, when the other party was always present, he couldn¡¯t help but began questioning it. He told Old Zheng his thoughts and Old Zheng nodded and said: ¡°I¡¯ll ask someone to check on it, but I have something to ask you. When we were in the mountains, why did you say you wanted to join us?¡± Dong Zhi was tongue-tied. Old Zheng laughed: ¡°Did it out of impulse? Too dazzled? It¡¯s normal for young people to become hot-blooded, but this isn¡¯t a joke. You¡¯re an ordinary person. Even if you learn a few things under He Yu, you won¡¯t be able to accomplish much.¡± Dong Zhi remembered what he said in front of Long Shen and became embarrassed. ¡°At first, I was quite scared, especially when I was on the train. I felt that I was unlucky and got entangle into this kind of mess, but I wasn¡¯t completely afraid. In fact, I was a little curious, so after I got off the train, I went to practice drawing talismans according to what He Yu taught me. Unexpectedly, it came in handy in the hotel and mountain.¡± Old Zheng showed an expression of sympathy and understanding. ¡°In the past, when my parents were still alive, I had to take care of them. I didn¡¯t even dare ride a rollercoaster, afraid that if I got into an accident, I would leave them all alone. Then their accident happened, and it made me rethink things. In maybe just a few decades of my life, perhaps I¡¯ll get into an accident as well. In that case, it¡¯s better just to live freely and bravely and do what you want. Besides, fighting alongside you was very thrilling.¡± He wasn¡¯t used to sharing his own thoughts in front of others. What Old Zheng had said was indeed correct. He was impulsive, but it was something he felt he couldn¡¯t hide when encountering this kind of thing, and he didn¡¯t regret it. ¡°He Yu said that my physique is a bit special. If I can join you, I can also learn more skills. If I encounter this kind of thing in the future, I won¡¯t have to wait for others to save me, and I can also help ordinary people¡­ Uh, of course, Boss Long is powerful, which is also another reason. What kind of man wouldn¡¯t want to slay demons like him, so majestic and powerful!¡± Old Zheng understood: ¡°After saying so much, aren¡¯t you just mesmerized by the beauty of the boss?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but choked on his spit and coughed violently. Old Zheng laughed loudly: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t make fun of you! In fact, there are a lot of people like you. Before, there was a young man whose ancestors were luan sheng*, and he was talented in his generation. The family originally wanted him to work and get married in peace. Unexpectedly, he once asked to join the Special Administration Bureau after seeing the boss subdue evil!¡± *Basically, a prophet/oracle. It¡¯s a person who¡¯s possessed by the gods and they would write scriptures to convey the god¡¯s thoughts and make prophecies. Dong Zhi said curiously: ¡°What happened after?¡± Old Zheng: ¡°Naturally he joined, and his performance is quite good. He¡¯s now with the General Bureau and his name is Zhong Yuyi. That¡¯s why I always say that the boss is like a living signboard. Now that the Special Administration Bureau has expanded in scale, there¡¯s not enough staff. If it was up to me, I think the boss should go out and advertise more. With one swing of his sword in front of the camera, hoards of people would line up and squeeze through the door to apply for jobs!¡± Dong Zhi imagined a scene of Long Shen looking at a bunch of fan-crazed job seekers with a cold face and burst out laughing. Old Zheng: ¡°He Yu told me before he left, to confirm that you¡¯re not being impulsive, then give you something. Do you want to think about it for a few more days?¡± Dong Zhi said seriously: ¡°No, I have thought about it. I really want to join you.¡± Old Zheng nodded, giving him a serious look as if he was about to teach some peerless martial arts secret. He took out a book in his bag and handed it over. Dong Zhi looked at the title [2017 Civil Service Examination Guidance Bibliography]. ??? He was bewildered. Old Zheng smiled and said: ¡°Don¡¯t you want to join us? The two civil service entrance exams are the same as the application exams. Although it is an independent exam, the difficulty is lower, but you should still hurry up and read it. The exam will be in four months. Look, there¡¯s an address in the back. When you go to Beijing go to it and look for He Yu.¡± Dong Zhi asked: ¡°But isn¡¯t the national examination at the end of the year?¡± Old Zheng said: ¡°The Special Administration Bureau recruit candidates independently so they set the time themselves. Its different every year and this year it¡¯s in July.¡± He had though he was rejected by Long Shen when he had asked to join, and the other party did not answer. He didn¡¯t expect there that the dawn of hope would appear at the turning point of such a critical juncture. A smile slowly appeared on his face, getting wider, eventually to the point where he couldn¡¯t contain it. His mood was filled with joy, and he was more expectant than when he first graduated from college and about to enter the work force. Old Zheng was also happy when he saw him like this: ¡°Don¡¯t be too happy too early. There will be interviews after the written exams and training after the interviews. It¡¯s not easy to formally become a member of the Special Administration Bureau. It has become more and more difficult for our branch to enter in recent years. I heard that the General Administration Bureau, including the Dragon Bureau, may have plans to accept apprentices this year.¡± Dong Zhi found it strange: ¡°Why do you call it the Dragon Bureau? Why do they call Long Shen boss?¡± Old Zheng: ¡°Long Shen is the head of the Dragon Bureau and is the deputy director of the General Administration Bureau. I am from a branch office, so I have some position while He Yu and the others are team members of the Dragon Bureau and directly under his management.¡± Dong Zhi opened his mouth wide: ¡°So great!¡± Old Zheng nodded: ¡°It¡¯s not that great.¡± Can he really enter such a powerful mysterious department? He had spoked impulsively that day and knew that if he were to stand in front of Long Shen again, he probably wouldn¡¯t have the courage to say what he did. Dong Zhi: ¡°Is the interview difficult?¡± Old Zheng: ¡°Of course it¡¯s difficult, but chance plays a factor too. If you¡¯re lucky, perhaps when you¡¯re interview, you¡¯ll get hired by one of the big guys!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°That means that ordinary people like me still have a fighting chance, right?¡± Old Zheng laughed: ¡°Yes, it¡¯s not like that hasn¡¯t happened before. If you¡¯re truly interested in the Special Administration Bureau, you can give it a shot. However, I heard that competition will be particularly fierce this year. Many famous candidates and rising stars want to join. They have been practicing since they were young, but their cultural classes* may not be comparable to you, so you still have the opportunity if you work hard.¡± *Clarity: Cultural classes refers to intellectual or artistic cultural courses. A broad term would be liberal arts and sciences. He¡¯s saying Dong Zhi has this advantage since he¡¯s already graduated from college. After speaking for so long, he found Dong Zhi staring fixedly at him, like a boy looking at his crush, and it gave him goosebumps all over. He couldn¡¯t help but wonder: ¡°Why are you looking at me like that?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Old Zheng, I really want to kiss you now.¡± Old Zheng¡¯s face frowned in fright, and he groaned: ¡°Don¡¯t! If that old hag Wang Jingguan sees it, it¡¯ll cause more misunderstandings!¡± Dong Zhi smiled: ¡°I thought you said she wasn¡¯t interested in you!¡± A knock came at the door so Old Zheng thought it was Wang Jingguan who had returned. To his surprise, when he opened the door, it was Zhang Xing in a wheelchair. ¡°Brother Dong, you are awake!¡± Zhang Xing said happily. Dong Zhi was stunned: ¡°Come in. Are you okay?¡± Zhang Xing greeted Old Zheng, then with a smile said: ¡°I¡¯m okay, but I broke my leg and have to sit in a wheelchair for a while.¡± Old Zheng said in a timely manner: ¡°She¡¯s staying in the ward next door. She came over to visit you three to four times when you were still passed out.¡± Zhang Xing became embarrassed. ¡°Oh. I just remembered that I had some things to do, so I¡¯ll leave first and let you guys talk.¡± Old Zheng winked at Dong Zhi before heading out. They were all hospitalized! What could he possibly be busy with?! Dong Zhi wanted to stop him, but before he could, Old Zheng was already gone. Kinky Thoughts: He¡¯s not interested Old Zheng! End of arc 1. See you all in arc 2! CH 17 As the room settled down, Zhang Xing was first to speak: ¡°People from the tour group came to visit me. They asked about Yao Bin¡¯s whereabouts and I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± It was impossible to tell the truth, as no one would believe it. Old Zheng and the others have special responsibilities and most likely they would not come forward to support Zhang Xing¡¯s testimony. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t think of a good solution: ¡°Then what did you tell them?¡± Zhang Xing said: ¡°I just said that I was separated from Yao Bin at the time, and I don¡¯t know what happened to him later. I heard that his parents have received the news and have set off looking for him. I don¡¯t know how to face them when the time comes.¡± As she spoke, her eyes turned red: ¡°I still dare not tell my parents or let them come visit me. At that time¡­ if the two of us hadn¡¯t fallen behind¡­ maybe¡­ maybe we wouldn¡¯t have encountered those things!¡± Zhang Xing couldn¡¯t help but sobbed quietly. Yao Bin¡¯s death most likely have left permanent a shadow in her heart. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t¡¯ bear it: ¡°Why don¡¯t I ask Old Zheng for you and see what to do. No one expected this kind of thing to happen. It has nothing to do with you so don¡¯t feel pressured.¡± After he consoled her, he persuaded her to stop her tears. However, Yao Bin¡¯s parents moved faster than expected, and they arrived the next morning, heading straight to the hospital accompanied by the medical team. Dong Zhi and Zhang Xing were not in the same ward, so he didn¡¯t know the specific of what they were discussing. He could only hear muffled voices from the door as the volume steadily increased, turning into shouts and clamors. It lasted for what seems like hours. Eventually, Dong Zhi painfully got out of bed and ran over to see, just in time to witness police and hospital security guards accompanying a pair of middle-aged man and woman, that were surrounded by a large group of people who looked like they were relatives and friends of the Yao family. When Old Zheng saw the Dong Zhi, he asked: ¡°Why did you come out?¡± ¡°It was such a ruckus, I wanted to check it out. How is it now?¡± Dong Zhi asked. Old Zheng sighed: ¡°There¡¯s no person in life and no corpse in death*. It¡¯s normal for people¡¯s parents to be anxious and angry. We have already contracted the police and will ask them to help search for the body, so it¡¯ll bring some comfort to the family members. After all, it¡¯s impossible to tell them the truth or give a random body to them. The little girl was wrongly aggrieved by the victim¡¯s parents. You should go and comfort her!¡± *(Éú²»¼ûÈË£¬ËÀ²»¼ûʬ) A saying referring to someone is missing or have disappeared. After that, he lowered his voice again: ¡°The little girl is good-looking, and she¡¯s interested in you. Hurry up and snatch this opportunity!¡± Dong Zhi felt helpless: ¡°Isn¡¯t this taking advantage of someone, especially given the state she¡¯s in?¡± Old Zheng glanced at him: ¡°No wonder you haven¡¯t found a girlfriend yet!¡± Dong Zhi thought: ¡®That¡¯s rich coming from you¡¯, but before he could say it, Old Zheng had already opened the door. Zhang Xing eyes were really red as if she had been crying. Dong Zhi put a small potted plant he had bought online next to her and said: ¡°It¡¯s very easy to raise. Just water it once a day and by the time you¡¯re discharged form the hospital, it might grow pretty tall.¡± Zhang Xing chuckled: ¡°Then how can I take it back?¡± Dong Zhi also laughed: ¡°You can give it to other patients when you leave so that they can continue to raise it. I bought some snacks online, and I¡¯ll give you some when they¡¯re delivered tomorrow.¡± Zhang Xing was surprised: ¡°The doctors allow it?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Old Zheng secretly asked me to buy it. He was more restricted by the doctor and could only eat porridge and side dishes, but he couldn¡¯t stand it anymore.¡± Zhang Xing suddenly said: ¡°Thank you, Brother Dong. I was able to survive because of you, and now you¡¯re even comforting me.¡± Dong Zhi patted her head: ¡°You are already very strong. I¡¯m just a little more experienced than you because of my parent¡¯s death a few years ago. There are no hardships in life that you can¡¯t get through.¡± Zhang Xing looked at the Dong Zhi. He had a warm smile that was just like the potted plant, full of vigor and vitality. No matter how violent the storm he experiences, there will not any traces of haze, and will still remain vibrant, even infecting the optimism he had to the people around him, brightening their hearts. She plucked up the courage and suddenly said: ¡°Brother Dong, I like you very much. Will you be my boyfriend?¡± Dong Zhi was caught off guard. Seeing his reaction, Zhang Xing wanted to laugh, thinking to herself: ¡®How could someone find a boy this good?¡¯ ¡°I know you don¡¯t have a girlfriend so don¡¯t rush to reject me. It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t chase girls, I¡¯ll chase you.¡± ¡°Actually, I have someone I like!¡± Dong Zhi finally thought of an excuse and blurted it out. Zhang Xing was taken aback: ¡°You are not lying to me, are you?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Dong Zhi opened his eyes and lied: ¡°The other party doesn¡¯t know it, and I haven¡¯t figured out how to confess.¡± Zhang Xing didn¡¯t let him off so easily: ¡°Then what does the other party look like?¡± He continued lying: ¡°Uh, tall, thin, pretty, not talkative¡­¡± At this moment, a knock on the door sounded, and Dong Zhi, as if he had been granted amnesty, hurriedly opened the door under the discerning gaze of the beauty. A nurse entered and while she came to check on Zhang Xing, he took that chance to slip away. Outside, by the wall near the door, Old Zheng was seen leaning against the wall laughing wretchedly. Dong Zhi: ¡­ Old Zheng sighed: ¡°The beautiful little girl delivered herself to your doorsteps. How could you bear to refuse?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°When I was in school, there was a girl in my department who was liked by the school grass* of another department. At that time, the boy was surrounded by girls, but he didn¡¯t like her to the point where he would reject the other girls for her, so he kept being ambiguous with her. Since he led her on, the girl thought that he really liked her and she fell for him even harder. Unexpectedly, she caught him kissing someone else and it broke her. She confronted him and the boy said that the person he was kissing was being amorous, and she herself was also quite dumb. She couldn¡¯t handle his response and eventually jumped to her death. I later heard that the boy was also affected by this incident and developed some mental issues.¡± *(У²Ý) Refers to the most handsome boy in the school that is recognized by everyone. After that telling that story, he spread his hands and said: ¡°So it¡¯s best not to carry things like emotional debt.¡± Old Zheng hated that iron is not made of steel*: ¡°Who told you to step on several boats? You can just choose one, and there¡¯s one right in front of you now!¡± *(Ìú²»³É¸Ö) Idiom that describes being dissatisfied with a person who didn¡¯t live up to your expectations and eagerly hoping that he will get better. Dong Zhi blinked: ¡°But I don¡¯t like her. If I lead her on, wouldn¡¯t it hurt her instead?¡± Old Zheng patted him on the head: ¡°How can a man not like a beautiful girl? Even if you say you don¡¯t like her, if you get along with each other, you¡¯ll eventually come to like her. Don¡¯t be like me and regret it when you¡¯re old!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Do you like Zhang Xing?¡± Old Zheng said: ¡°I don¡¯t like naive and crying little girls. I prefer mature women!¡± ¡°Like Sister Wang?¡± Dong Zhi said happily. He still remembered the fierce and unsmiling face when he first met him. After becoming more acquainted, he found it was actually quite funny. Old Zheng curled his lips: ¡°How is she considered beautiful?¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t respond as he silently move a step to the side, then another step, then slowly move back to his room as he thought: ¡®You¡¯re dead.¡¯ Wang Jingguan¡¯s gloomy voice came from behind Old Zheng: ¡°It must be hard working with such an ugly bastard for so long, ah? I¡¯ve really wronged you.¡± ¡°No, no, wait and listen to me! Eh? Don¡¯t go! Wait, let me explain!¡± Old Zheng cried anxiously. A nurse reprimanded him: ¡°Don¡¯t be loud in the hallway! You¡¯re disturbing other patients!¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help feeling happy. After that, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t visit Zhang Xing¡¯s ward again. She often would come and visit him as if that conversation they had that day had never happened. A month later, she was discharged and contacted her parents before leaving, but concealed the reason behind her broken leg. She lied and said it broke while climbing the mountain and she was rescued by Dong Zhi and Old Zheng. Zhang¡¯s father and mother came and took their daughter away in great distress. They profusely thanked Dong Zhi and Mother Zheng even offered money, to which he resolutely declined. When the Zhang family left, Old Zheng wandered over restlessly as usual and saw Dong Zhi packing up his bags. ¡°Yo. You suddenly found true love and planned to chase after it?¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°Yeah. Going to Beijing to find my true love!¡± Old Zheng scratched his head: ¡°How¡¯s your reference book?¡± ¡°I read it every day.¡± Dong Zhi patted his backpack, indicating that he wasn¡¯t a slacker. Old Zheng said again: ¡°The difficulty of the written exam is similar to the national examination*. This year, there are more candidates than in previous years. You are considered to be part of our branch so don¡¯t embarrass the Northeast Branch. Last year the recommendations we sent from our branch failed to pass the exam.¡± *(¹ú¿¼) Method used for the national ministries, commissions, agencies, and general bureau to recruit staff to the central government. The recruitment is relatively strict. Examinations happens every Fourth Sunday in November of each year. The written exam that Dong Zhi is taking is similar to this. Hearing what he said, Dong Zhi felt disheartened: ¡°I have found questions to the national exam in previous years and scored about 60 to 70 percent. The exam should be similar to these tests. Can anyone really get a high score?¡± Old Zheng looked embarrassed: ¡°That¡¯s not¡­ The candidate we recommended last year was a green-skinned fox who had just cultivated into his human form. During the exam, he wanted to cheat with the Five-Ghost Handling Method* and asked his younger brother to steal the answers. As a result, he was caught and disqualified from the exam for thirty years. Even our Northeast Branch was hit with demerits and was shamed in front of all the other branches!¡± *(Îå¹í°áÔË´ó·¨) Refers to the five ghosts in Chinese novels that take people¡¯s property without opening people¡¯s door or breaking people¡¯s boxes. The handling/transport method refers to the ghost transporting the wealth (or in this case items) of others to your own home. See lore in Kinky Thoughts. Dong Zhi: ¡­ Wang Jingguan learned that he was going to Beijing, bought him some Changchun specialties, and asked Old Zheng to drive them to the airport. ¡°Xiao Dong, although we haven¡¯t known each other for a long time, this sister knows that you¡¯re a good kid. I don¡¯t have a younger brother, so I see you as my younger brother. Come back and play when you¡¯re free and this sister will take you home to eat delicious food.¡± Wang Jingguan stuffed food into his hand, and then told him to be careful on the road and have a safe journey. Seeing that the Dong Zhi was calm, she suddenly felt sad. Old Zheng waved his hand: ¡°All right, all right, let¡¯s go! As long as he fails the exam, he will definitely have a lot of time to come back to see you!¡± ¡°Fuck off!¡± Wang Jingguan kicked him with anger. Dong Zhi laughed. The plane he boarded took off, flying higher and higher towards the sky. Everything in Changchun gradually grew smaller and everything in Beijing slowly approached. Leaning on a soft pillow, Dong Zhi looked at the heavy clouds outside his window as he was filled with anticipation. He was finally here in Beijing. ¡ª Wangfujing Street. Dong Zhi stood in a daze in front of a dusty revolving door. Looking from the outside, the dusty interior shows a building that seems to have been abandoned for a long time. The hotel¡¯s signboard hung at the door but the three-point water* in the word ¡°wine¡± had long since disappeared. It was hard to imagine that such a place existed in a bustling commercial street that had a ton of traffic. *The radical represented by the three marks in front of character wine (¾Æ) is gone. So, translate it would be like the w in wine was missing. Perhaps his expression looked too innocent as an auntie who was passing by enthusiastically said: ¡°Kid, are you here to apply for a job? Don¡¯t be sucked into a pyramid scheme. This building has been abandoned for several years!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know whether he should laugh or cry. He thanked the other party and after repeatedly confirm that the address was the correct one, he dialed the number left by He Yu. No one answered the other line. He was getting worried. What should I do? Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder from behind. He turned around and was pleasantly surprised: ¡°He Yu!¡± He Yu smiled and said: ¡°Follow me.¡± He took the Dong Zhi around to the back of the building and entered through a half-concealed small door. A uniformed security guard was at the door, looking as if he was in his fifties. He sat with his head down, as if he was dozing off, but when Dong Zhi followed He Yu in, he saw the other party looking up at him. His eyes were cold, and he didn¡¯t look like an ordinary security guard, giving Dong Zhi the chills. When Dong Zhi looked back at him, the other party had already closed his eyes and fell asleep again, as if what he just saw was a figment of his imagination. The two walked through the back hallway into a lobby. The smell of dust was everywhere causing Dong Zhi to cough. ¡°Why are we taking the fire exit?¡± ¡°Because we didn¡¯t pay the maintenance fee, so the elevator stopped working a long time ago.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ If it weren¡¯t for what he experienced on Changbai Mountain, he would really think that he had fallen into the den of a pyramid scheme. He Yu continued while climbing the stairs: ¡°In reality, stopping the elevator is also for concealment. The front door is locked, and Uncle Yun is guarding the back. Idlers and passersby generally can¡¯t get in and thieves won¡¯t be curious about such a place.¡± Dong Zhi thought it was strange: ¡°Why don¡¯t you just change location? Old Zheng and his department are attached to the Social Security Bureau, and no one noticed them at all.¡± He Yu responded back annoyed: ¡°We are the General Administration Bureau! How can we squeeze in with other agencies and not have our own independent office building!¡± Dong Zhi saw a cockroach scurrying quickly by his feet and silently swallowed his words. The author has something to say£º Answering two audience questions: 1. Dong Zhi has a bad fortune, why haven¡¯t he encountered strange things before? His physique is only yin, not the beloved Tang monk meat*. Monsters are not targeting him. These attacks were all incidental. I mentioned this before, but some careless readers didn¡¯t pay attention to it, so I¡¯m answering it again. *(µÄÌÆÉ®Èâ) Refers to Tang Sanzang from . As an extremely pious monk and with the blessing of Buddha and other gods, monsters and demons prize his flesh and wants to eat him to gain more power. 2. Does the strange title have anything to do with the content? Yes. Kinky Thoughts: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t chase girls¡± | In his case it actually kind of does my dear¡­ ¡°Yeah. Going to Beijing to find my true love!¡± | You¡¯re closer to the truth than you know¡­ So many hints and foreshadowing being dropped in this chapter. ¡ª Five Ghosts The five ghosts are also known as the five plagues, five plague messengers, or the gods of plague in Chinese folklore. Every year, some temples will worship these five to ensure the safety of their livestock. They are: A second version in Chinese folklore refers to the five ghosts are bringers of fortune who will transport the wealth of others to the giver¡¯s horoscope. They can do this without opening the door or breaking any boxes. Often monks would charge high fees for their talismans that can ward off these ghosts. CH 18 ¡°Truthfully, the original site of the General Administration Bureau is on the ground floor of Chaonei No. 81*. We thought that since it was an abandoned house, no one would go there. I don¡¯t know which idiot it was, but rumors spread that it was a murder house. As a result, groups of people would go in and out all day long to explore it, which seriously affected our efficiency. A big boss in the bureau reported to the top and our office was relocated here. Now it¡¯s much easier to order takeout, since no one dared to do it when we were over there¡­¡± *Best known for the widespread belief that the building is haunted and describe as ¡°Beijing¡¯s most celebrated haunted house¡±. He Yu was walking in front in of him finally finished rambling then turned to ask him: ¡°Speaking of which, I asked Old Zheng to test you on more real national exam questions. You didn¡¯t fall behind, right?¡± Dong Zhi obediently said: ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing all this time. I even bought a question bank.¡± He Yu was satisfied his response: ¡°With your ability, there shouldn¡¯t be any problems. Although the competition this year is very fierce, no one has ever scored a high score on the written exam. Everyone¡¯s focus is on the interview and the subsequent training exams. If you can get a high score on the written exam, the rest should be smooth sailing. I¡¯ll give you a tutorial on the content of the interview later.¡± Dong Zhi said curiously: ¡°Did the leader of the bureau produce the exam himself?¡± He Yu shook his head: ¡°The written portion was from last year¡¯s national exam. The interview is the bureau¡¯s own questions!¡± Thinking of the green-skinned fox that Old Zheng had mentioned, the corners of his mouth twitched: ¡°Then in fact, the written test is of no practical significance, right?¡± He Yu said categorically: ¡°Of course there is! If you pump yourself up, even if you subtly believe in it, it¡¯ll turn into belief. People naturally have positive energy.¡± Dong Zhi was skeptical. This was the first time he heard positive energy could be explained in this way. ¡°It¡¯s not a joke. A single thing or person, as long as it¡¯s remembered by countless of people and never forgotten, will naturally have power over the mind. Have you heard of the Japanese belief of kotodama*?¡± *Japanese belief that mystical powers dwells in words and names. The notion of kotodama presupposes that sounds can magically affect objects, and that ritual word usages can influence our environment, body, mind, and soul. Seeing the Dong Zhi nodded, He Yu continued: ¡°They firmly believe that language itself has spiritual power. There is a certain truth to this idea. It¡¯s from this basis that the art of speech and spirituality is developed. An excellent onmyoji can even kill people by reciting their opponent¡¯s name similar to the spiritual descent in Southeast Asia. This is the power of language.¡± Dong Zhi understood a little: ¡°So, positive energy, from another perspective, is actually a kind of spiritual speech?¡± ¡°Smart!¡± He Yu patted his thigh: ¡°Don¡¯t you work in Guangzhou? Have you seen the core values hanging outside Liwan Plaza? It¡¯s a way to suppress evil spirits through the righteousness of words. Many people don¡¯t pay attention to the written exams, mainly because they are stupid. Since you have a good memory, it may come in handy and save your life in the future!¡± In any case, talking about the core values of socialism with a huckster* made Dong Zhi felt strange. *God stick (Éñ¹÷) Refers to a deceitful liar. When the two came to the fifth floor, He Yu first knocked on the door in a strange rhythm, then pushed open the emergency escape door. The entranced revealed smooth marble floors and walls, crystal headlights hung from the ceiling, their lights flickering, and the hall was extremely lively with people everywhere. Some were queuing at the window to go through formalities, while some were talking amongst each other, and others were making calls in the office area. At first, Dong Zhi thought he had walked into a lobby of a bank. The magnificence in here compared to the dilapidation outside was like to entirely different worlds. Seeing his surprised reaction, He Yu smiled triumphantly: ¡°All the funds are used here. No point in fixing up the outside. It saves us money and trouble!¡± ¡°What are they doing?¡± Dong Zhi asked curiously, awe by the sight in front of him. He Yu said: ¡°Some are monsters who have cultivated into human form and came to register. As you know, the environment before the founding of the People¡¯s Republic of China was messy, and the government of the Republic of China didn¡¯t care about such things. This led to a very chaotic world with no distinction between monsters and men. After the founding, it was stipulated that all those who took shape must be registered in order to manage and keep track of them better. However, there are those who cultivated in deep forests for decades and hundreds of years, so they didn¡¯t know about the changes from the outside world. Others are here to report crimes and some come to seek mediation for their disputes.¡± Dong Zhi felt as if his breath was taken away. A handsome young man came towards him, his posture was awkward, and his eyes sneaking peeks at Dong Zhi before it abruptly looked away, making him look seemingly shy. He Yu pointed at him: ¡°You, stop for me!¡± The young man was taken aback, and two fluffy ears immediately appeared on top of his head as he looked at He Yu in confusion. He Yu asked: ¡°Where are you from? What are you doing here?¡± The young man stiffened his body and didn¡¯t dare to move and whispered: ¡°My ancestors are from the Hu family in Northeast China. My parents moved to Tianjin. There is no branch office in Tianjin, so they asked me to register here.¡± He Yu sense he was about to have a headache and said: ¡°Your clan¡¯s adults sure have big hearts. They dare let you run about as soon as you transformed! Look at the way you¡¯re walking. Anyone who looks at you will instantly know that there¡¯s a problem. Also, your ears pop up at every turn! Have you even thought about this? Follow me into the reception room and call your family to pick you up!¡± When the young man heard this, his ears instantly drooped and he didn¡¯t dare refute He Yu, and could only follow behind him pitifully. He Yu took him to the reception room and threw in a colleague to help deal with the situation while he returned to Dong Zhi. ¡°Enter the temple to worship gods, enter the house you have to call someone*, I will take you to meet the boss first. If you want to come work for us, and the boss is willing to open the back door for you, then you don¡¯t have to worry about the interview. After all, you have made contributions to the organization, and I can also take the opportunity to ask for an annual leave!¡± *Refers to being polite and showing common courtesy when entering homes and temples. Without the presence of outsiders, He Yu immediately lost his seriousness and started joking around again, acting like his usual seedy self. Dong Zhi was very curious about the scene just now: ¡°Was that a fox just now?¡± He Yu nodded and said casually: ¡°Animals generally don¡¯t have a long lifespan, and there are very few that can cultivate into a human form. This baby should be the first one of the Hu family to take shape in the past 100 years.¡± Passing through the office area, Dong Zhi was surprised to find that the noise was suddenly isolated, as if entering another dimension. He Yu had taken him up 15 flights of stairs, causing him to feel extremely nauseated. ¡°The one at the end of the corridor is the office of the Li Bureau. The penultimate room belongs to the boss. The other rooms belong to the big guys of the Special Administration Bureau. Don¡¯t go into them. My office is downstairs¡­¡± Speaking of Cao Cao and Cao Cao appears*. Footsteps sounded from afar, getting louder with each step. The two turned their heads and saw Long Shen coming. *(˵²Ü²Ù²Ü²Ùµ½) Refers to the unexpected appearance of the other party being spoken of, often giving people a surprise. The allusion comes from the Romance of Three Kingdoms and the reference refers to the warlord Cao Cao. AKA Speak of the devil, and he appears. ¡°This is not a place for you to go shopping and dilly dally.¡± Long Shen said coldly. He Yu put on a goofy smile: ¡°It¡¯s Dong Zhi first time here, so I was just showing him around boss!¡± Long Shen was followed by a young man with an unremarkable appearance, but he had a quiet temperament. The other party nodded at He Yu and said nothing. Dong Zhi almost suspected that Long Shen had forgotten him because the other party did not look at him once, as if he was just an accessory to He Yu. As the two of them walked away, Dong Zhi went down to the sixth floor with He Yu. He asked: ¡°Is that person just now taking the exam like me?¡± He Yu said: ¡°No, his name is Zhong Yuyi and he¡¯s our colleague.¡± Dong Zhi sighed and remembered what Old Zheng had said that there was a person who had joined the Special Administration Bureau because, like Dong Zhi, he saw the Long Shen subduing demons. ¡°Is he the oracle*?¡± Dong Zhi asked. *Luan sheng. See my Kinky Thoughts. He Yu: ¡°How did you know?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Old Zheng said that Zhong Yuyi is Boss Long¡­ uh, admirer.¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°That¡¯s right, there are very few oracles in the bureau. Zhong Yuyi is the only one.¡± Luan sheng, formerly known as Fuyi*, to put it bluntly, is to invite God. *(·öØÀ) Technically Fuyi is the divination method, while the luan sheng is the title of the person that the god possesses. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Are there really gods in this world?¡± He Yu shook his head: ¡°It¡¯s not what you think. When you pass the interview in the future, maybe that kid Zhong Yuyi will have the opportunity to teach you, and you will know when the time comes.¡± He Yu¡¯s office was quite spacious, but messy. There were pillows and talisman papers all over the place and several brushes were scattered on the coffee table. Some of the nibs were still stained with cinnabar, which made ink marks on the table. His iPad laid randomly on the sofa, and there was half eaten and unopened snacks in a large pile to the side. From a glance, it felt as if he walked into an otaku¡¯s room. Seeing the Dong Zhi¡¯s speechless face, He Yu scratched his head and laughed: ¡°My injury hasn¡¯t healed yet, so I can¡¯t do strenuous exercise.¡± But you were able to run up and down all those flights of stairs so happily just now! Are you even injured at all?! While complaining in his head, Dong Zhi helped him clean and organize his room. The talisman papers were folded one by one and put aside, and all the half-finished snacks were thrown away. Suddenly the office became a bit more refreshing. He Yu was so moved that he gave him a bear hug: ¡°Honey~, you are so virtuous. Why don¡¯t we get married!¡± As he finished speaking, the door was opened and the two of them looked at it subconsciously. Long Shen was the entrance, watching them hug each other, and finally a crack appeared on his always stone-cold face. Dong Zhi: ¡­ The atmosphere became extremely awkward. After two seconds of silence, Long Shen said calmly: ¡°No wonder why you recommended him to apply and want your uncle to accept him as an apprentice.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ His heart roared: ¡®No, you misunderstood! We are innocent!¡¯ It was a pity that Long Shen didn¡¯t give them a chance to explain as he immediately left after saying: ¡°Be serious and no hugging during office hours. He Yu, come to my office later.¡± He even locked the doors for them, lest another unfortunate person like him come barging in and had to witness such an intimate scene. Dong Zhi reached out his hand with his mouth still half open, but Long Shen was already gone. He Yu rolled with laughter: ¡°I didn¡¯t know that the boss had such a humorous side!¡± Dong Zhi wanted to cry without tears! Kinky Thoughts: What is everyone opinion on keeping the pinyin form of some of these mythological Chinese terms vs English translation? For instance luan sheng. I translated it since that¡¯s my personal preference and oracle is a word that English speakers will understand and remember vs luan sheng and I don¡¯t want to provide footnotes in every chapter for that term in case people forget. For now, I¡¯ll leave it in in its translated form, but I may change that later. As a reader myself, I often forget the pinyin terms and what they mean, especially when it¡¯s not a common normally used term (like lao/ge/jie ect.), when reading novels that were previously explained, so I would rather just have an English term that¡¯s easier to remember (especially if there¡¯s a good translation for it). CH 19 He Yu asked him: ¡°Do you have a place to stay in Beijing?¡± Dong Zhi still hasn¡¯t recovered from the blow of being misunderstood by his idol: ¡°I can rent a place.¡± He Yu waved his hand: ¡°It¡¯s too troublesome. The lease terms are at least half a year. It¡¯s less than three months before the exam. If you fail the exam, won¡¯t the rest of your deposit be wasted?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Do you have the skills of a crow¡¯s mouth*?¡± *(ÎÚÑ»×ì) Often used to describe someone¡¯s mouth as particularly hateful. The terms derive from crows who often eat rotten and smelly meat. He Yu smiled and said: ¡°No, I have tainted milk* skills. Every time the results of what I say would end up being the complete opposite. Maybe if I keep saying it a few more times, you really can pass the exam!¡± *(¶¾ÄÌ) Buzzword which is the reverse of refueling (jiayou)/dragging down teammates. The term got popular in the e-sports scene and later also became a verbal curse. || Note: Jiayou (¼ÓÓÍ) is a ubiquitous Chinese expression of encouragement and support. There¡¯s no direct translation but often means, good luck!/You can do it!/don¡¯t give up! ect. The corner of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°How generous!¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°Alrighty, alright. I have a dorm room here. I usually sleep in the office and rarely go back so why don¡¯t you just sleep with me and save money on rent. By the way, what¡¯s your family situation like? How many brothers and sisters do you have?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I¡¯m an only child. My grandparents and parents have passed away. My other grandparents live with my uncle. I usually send some pocket money every New Year¡¯s but besides that I have relatively little contact with them. He Yu said happily: ¡°Great, your background will give you extra points in the interview!¡± Dong Zhi looked at him strangely: ¡°¡­is the death of both parents a plus?¡± He Yu raised his eyebrows: ¡°Of course! In our job, we usually encounter a variety of danger. If we have family we care too much about, it could affect our decision-making abilities during a critical moment. If the only child is sacrificed, what would happen to the elders at home? This is why the leaders like your kind of family background the most!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless: ¡®¡­What he said does make sense.¡¯ He Yu patted him on the shoulder and encouraged: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, as long as you learn your skills well, it won¡¯t be you who will be unlucky but the enemy! Besides, the nature of our work is special. In addition to five different insurances, you also get housing funds, and the salary and bonus was much higher than ordinary positions. Maybe if you work hard enough, you could buy a house in Beijing in a few years!¡± As he was talking, the office phone rang. He Yu looked at the number and yelled: ¡°I almost forgot! The boss told me to go to his office. Here¡¯s your first on-the-spot test in advance to see if you¡¯re resilient enough. Answer this call for me.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s calling? What should I say?!¡± Dong Zhi grabbed onto He Yu, who was in a hurry to leave. ¡°It¡¯s a call from the Northeast about the sinkhole on Changbai Mountain complaining that we didn¡¯t inform them in advance and now they want us to help clean up the mess. I have answered no less than ten calls in the past few days from all different departments over there. Anyways, you can help me deal with them. Just say whatever you want!¡± After he finished speaking, he refused to answer the phone and disappeared. Feeling helpless, Dong Zhi force himself to pick up the phone. On the other end was a call from the Tourism Bureau. Sure enough, they were complaining about the large sinkhole that was left on Changbai Mountain, which caused countless troubles for the subsequent tourism development and complained about lack of funds to fix it. They were hoping to unify both department voices to give an official statement. As Dong Zhi was spouting nonsense, He Yu was standing in front of the boss being reprimanded. Long Shen didn¡¯t lift his head, as his pen walked like dragons and snakes*. *(±Ê×ßÁúÉß) Refers to when the pen moves, it shows the dance of the dragon and snake. Describes penmanship that¡¯s vivid and imposing. ¡°Why did you bring him in?¡± He Yu gave him a dopey smile: ¡°Boss, don¡¯t you think he is quite spiritual and talented? Are you really not considering accepting him? You have never accepted an apprentice before so Chaosheng and the others are all betting in private.¡± Long Shen: ¡°How much did you bet?¡± He Yu smiled stiffly. Long Shen glanced up at him. He Yu stretched out a finger guiltily: ¡°Just one hundred.¡± Long Shen sneered. He Yu: ¡°¡­Okay, okay, it¡¯s actually five hundred.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Your vacation is cancelled.¡± He Yu wailed: ¡°Don¡¯t don¡¯t! I confess, it¡¯s five thousand! I used all my private money on it. That¡¯s really the number! Chaosheng said that you will not accept an apprentice this year. Please boss, just accept one. It doesn¡¯t have to be Dong Zhi! Don¡¯t let my 5,000 yuan fly away! It¡¯s a lot for me! I¡¯ll even pay you some dividends when the time comes. How about 37, no, no 46!¡± Long Shen: ¡°73.¡± He Yu: ¡°¡­Will you at least leave me a way to live?¡± Long Shen: ¡°82.¡± He Yu wanted to cry. He gritted his teeth: ¡°Okay! 73! It¡¯s 73*!¡± *Clarity: Percentage wise of the cut from the winnings of the bet. One didn¡¯t need to imagine what kind of sad expression He Yu had on his face. Long Shen wanted to smile, the corner of his mouth were slightly raise, but it quickly disappeared again, returning back to his cold as steel face. ¡°There is news from Japan.¡± He Yu immediately stopped laughing and became serious. Long Shen said: ¡°According to reports that came back, Fujikawa Aoi and Kitaichi Eiko have been staying at the Ise Shrine since they returned from China. During this time, there were many dignitaries who visited the shrine, but only one person, named Otowa Hatsuhiko, made contacted with Aso Kenzo at that time. On the third day when Aso Kenzo returned to Japan, he went to visit Otowa Hatsuhiko, the president of the Otowa Consortium.¡± ¡°I know that the Otowa Consortium is mainly engaged in heavy industry. Its history can be traced back to after World War II, but the person in charge of this enterprise seems to have always been very low-key. Could it be that he provided Aso with news of dragon corpses? For what purpose?¡± He Yu was puzzled. Long Shen said: ¡°Perhaps their purpose isn¡¯t the bone dragon. Fujikawa and Kitaichi were pushed to the forefront to attract our attention and the capturing of the bone dragon to turn it into a shikigami was just a cover.¡± He Yu Yilin: ¡°The stone tablet?!¡± Long Shen nodded. He Yu said: ¡°Is there any result on the origin of that monument?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°No one can understand the runes*. However, Old Zong said that judging from the technique of the runes and seal carving, it can be traced back to at least before the Ming and Qing Dynasties.¡± *Clarity: I¡¯m using runes as the symbols (scripture) of the talismans and talisman as the actual talisman itself. Old Zong that Long Shen spoke of is Zong Ling, one of several consultants of the Special Administration Bureau. His status is legendary and has deeper qualification than anyone in the bureau. He Yu frowned and said: ¡°It happens to be my uncle¡¯s birthday in a few days. Why don¡¯t I go back to the school and ask? Perhaps some elders will know more about the talismans on the stone tablet.¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°The Hezao Sect has a long history and have many famous masters. Maybe there are some experts who can understand it.¡± He Yu smiled and said: ¡°If the elders of my sect hear you praise them so much, they will definitely be happy. Then I will ask Chaosheng to give me a copy of the inscription!¡± Before leaving, he didn¡¯t forget to blow Long Shen a kiss: ¡°Boss, remember to accept an apprentice. It¡¯s up to you if I can earn some wife money!¡± Dong Zhi. Reminded by He Yu, Long Shen, who was full of thoughts about the stone tablet, finally took a little time to distribute his mind to other things. That Dong Zhi did perform well. Despite having no foundation, he didn¡¯t get stage fright at the critical moment. But it¡¯s just good. There are many people who are stronger than him. Long Shen shook his head and removed that name from his thoughts. When He Yu returned to the office, Dong Zhi had just hung up the phone. When he saw him coming in, he couldn¡¯t help say: ¡°I¡¯ve talked so much my mouth is completely dry. Why are you hiding outside the door and eavesdropping as if you were counting the time?¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°I¡¯m going back to my school to celebrate my master¡¯s birthday and check on a few things. Would you like to go back with me? Think of it like a sightseeing trip!¡± Dong Zhi was excited at the thought, but hesitated: ¡°But I need to review¡­¡± He Yu waved his hand: ¡°You can review on the trip. With your intelligence, I¡¯m optimistic about you. That settles it! Since you just arrived today, we¡¯ll set out in two days. I¡¯ll arrange the itinerary. Now lets go to an internet caf¨¦ and play a few games of DotA, then come back after dinner and in the evening we¡¯ll play . You can take me to level up! Doesn¡¯t this sound like fun?¡± The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°The barren life of an otaku.¡± He Yu wrapped an arm around his shoulder: ¡°Don¡¯t be like this. What did an otaku ever do to you? Don¡¯t say that this brother doesn¡¯t take care of you. I¡¯ll take you to a good place tomorrow that¡¯ll greatly benefit your interview and future training exams! Avoid Chaosheng. That guy¡¯s hand speed is terrible so it¡¯s not fun teaming up with him. Let¡¯s go quietly and don¡¯t let him catch us¡­¡± It wasn¡¯t the first time that Dong Zhi had visited the capital. Last time was when he was on a high school graduation trip, where he came to have fun with a group of classmates. Although a few years have passed, he still recognize some of the roads. On the other hand, He Yu, as an otaku who has been outside only a handful of time almost got lost trying to find the roasted duck place he wanted to eat at. The two had wandered around for a long time before Dong Zhi finally found the place. When they entered, the place was almost closed. There were a few tables in the hall and the late-night food market was already setting up. The two of them were so hungry that after ordering some signature dishes, they both laid on the table, waiting wearily for their food to be served. Dong Zhi pretended that there was nothing to talk about casually mentioned: ¡°You went to Boss Long earlier, right? Did he mention anything about me?¡± He Yu: ¡°A bit. I said you have talent and recommended him to accept you as an apprentice.¡± Dong Zhi became excited, and his hunger disappeared instantly: ¡°What did he say?¡± ¡°Nothing. Although you performed well, the boss has never accepted an apprentice so it¡¯s a bit difficult for him to make an exception for you.¡± He Yu shrugged. When he saw Dong Zhi pricking up his ears to listen, he said strangely: ¡°What? Do you really want to be his apprentice? ¡± Dong Zhi blinked: ¡°Boss Long is very strong. Isn¡¯t it great to be his disciple?¡± ¡°But he is also very strict.¡± He Yu patted him on the shoulder: ¡°Trust me, you will know when you¡¯re in training. You¡¯ll be tortured to death by him, and all that notion you have of him will go out the window.¡± A small voice in Dong Zhi¡¯s heart cried: It will not. But this was only a voice for him to hear. He Yu suddenly remembered something: ¡°By the way, there¡¯s good news. Last time you performed heroically on Changbai Mountain, and you helped tremendously at a critical moment. I applied for a bonus of 20,000 yuan for you, but if you want to enter the exam, the bonus can also be exchanged for extra points. Which one do you want to choose?¡± Dong Zhi spirit was invigorated again, and he rejoiced: ¡°How many points can 20,000 yuan be exchanged for? Twenty?¡± He Yu: ¡°Two points.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ After eating, He Yu dragged him to an internet caf¨¦. In his words, he had been cultivating in the mountains for more than 20 years and was almost isolated from human civilization. When he first went down the mountains, he didn¡¯t even know how to use a cellphone. After being recluse for so long, he was extremely thirsty1. With just a single contact, he was instantly hooked on online games and turned into one of thousands of single otaku dogs. Unfortunately, the usual working hours are too long, and vacation was too little, and his colleagues were all scums with 5 combat power*. Finally, when he encountered Dong Zhi, he had an outlet to unload all his addiction onto. 1Figuratively. 2(Õ½ÎåÔü) Sometimes refer to as ¡°Fighting the five scum¡± which is an abbreviation for ¡°the scum with only five combat power¡± where the number 5 could be change to any number. This comes from Dragon Ball where the guy analyze the combat power of a farmer and saw it was only 5. Refers to this scene. Starts around 2:20. Dong Zhi accompanied him to play games all night, until it was almost dawn, before the two of returned to the Special Administration Bureau, exhausted. Long Shen probably still thought He Yu¡¯s injuries haven¡¯t healed yet, so he wanted to take opportunity to be lazy while he didn¡¯t have to go out in the field. He was so happy that he gave the sofa to Dong Zhi while he pulled out a blanket, rolled it on the ground, hugged a Pikachu pillow and went to sleep. Although Dong Zhi was also very tired, He Yu¡¯s snoring was so loud that he couldn¡¯t asleep. Eventually he got up. The dorm He Yu was letting him stay at was a mess and needed to be clean first. Dong Zhi planned to stay at a hotel for the time being, at least just to get some sleep. As soon as he opened the door, he saw Long Shen walking past. Dong Zhi: ¡­ The author has something to say£º Dong Zhi: Twenty thousand yuan for two points. Doesn¡¯t this hurt your conscience? Long Shen: Not only does it not, but it brings me great joy. Kinky Thoughts: He Yu¡¯s living the life. CH 20 It was too late to close the door, and when he saw the other party looked at him, he could only show an awkward polite smile. After all, he wasn¡¯t an employee, but he still hangs around here all day long. He felt a little embarrassed and feared he might leave a bad impression. Long Shen asked: ¡°What wrong?¡± Dong Zhi said honestly: ¡°Couldn¡¯t sleep.¡± He didn¡¯t dare tell him that the two of them were playing games all night long. Long Shen didn¡¯t ask any more questions, nodded, and said: ¡°Come with me.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback for a moment, and thought that it was because he looked pleasing to the eye that he planned to open the backdoor for him and recruit him in advance, right? He followed into the other party¡¯s office half anxious and half expectant. Deputy Director Long¡¯s office was just like him. Simple and clean. The only special thing to take note of was two swords hanging on the wall. The scabbard was worn and looked old. Even the gemstones inlaid on it was covered by a layer of fog. ¡°Fill this in.¡± Long Shen took out a form and pushed it in front of him. The form requested his personal information and even bank account number. Was this his remuneration for his job? Dong Zhi asked shyly: ¡°Do I need to fill it out so soon? Isn¡¯t it a bit unfair to the others who haven¡¯t passed the exam yet?¡± Long Shen was puzzled: ¡°What test? Didn¡¯t He Yu tell you that you made great contributions in Changbai Mountain, so he applied for a 20,000-yuan reward for you. The account should arrive within ten business days after submitting the form.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Red quickly spread from his neck up, ashamed from his self-indulgence. The smile in Long Shen¡¯s eyes flashed away, and he slowly asked: ¡°I heard He Yu say you want to be admitted here?¡± ¡°Yes, I will study hard!¡± Dong Zhi said hurriedly. Long Shen said: ¡°I suggest you give up this idea.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned. He was full of enthusiasm only to be slapped by cold water: ¡°Why?!¡± ¡°Because you are not suitable.¡± Long Shen¡¯s expression was faint: ¡°Everyone here has a special and extraordinary origin. Take He Yu for example. He was born in the Hezao1 sect. This sect originated from the Tang Dynasty. It was once one of the three great sects, on par with Maoshan2 and Longhu3. It was only during the Ming and Qing Dynasties that it gradually became low-key. You are indeed clever, but it stops there. After all, you are still only mortal. There are dragons and tigers hidden here. You can¡¯t get in, so don¡¯t waste your efforts.¡± 1Famous Taoist mountain and is the ancestral mountain of the Taoist Lingbao School. 2Famous Taoist mountain and is the birthplace of the Taoist Shangqing School. 3Famous Taoist mountain where Zhang Daoling forged alchemy there. Eventually his 4th generation grandson Zhang Sheng settled in the mountains during the Three Kingdoms and their descendants have inherited it for over 63 generations. Dong Zhi opened his mouth but couldn¡¯t refute. He knew that what Long Shen said was right. He Yu could draw talismans, Chaosheng could become a cat, even Old Zheng had a whip that could deal with those Sneaky Yaksha. What could he do? Even the talisman that he painted was taught by He Yu. But he wasn¡¯t reconciled. Just like when he was a child and a teacher said that his hands were too clumsy and was unsuitable for painting. It only made him more stubborn and wanted to work harder to prove him wrong. ¡°Boss Long, I know that people with abilities like you look down on me. I also know that I don¡¯t know anything compared to you, but He Yu said that there will be training after the exam, and there will be individuals who don¡¯t know any techniques. After passing the training, they can take the lead¡­¡± ¡°And die on the front line.¡± Long Shen interrupted. Dong Zhi was shocked. Long Shen said coldly: ¡°There a person who was an outer disciple of Wudang*. His qualification was much better than yours and he also passed the exam. He worked in logistics here. There was an incident in the Southwest more than ten years ago. At that time, we had insufficient manpower, so he was sent over but, in the end, died while on the mission. Even if you are admitted, you can only be a logistics officer at most. If you¡¯re given an order, you must do it. I won¡¯t spare the lives of my subordinates, but I won¡¯t let them die for reason either!¡± *Famous Taoist mountain associated with the god Xuanwu. The Wudang Sect (sometimes known was Wu-tang sect) is a fictional martial arts sect that based off of this mountain. Seeing that the other party was silent, Long Shen said: ¡°It¡¯s just nonsense but I hope you take my words into consideration.¡± ¡°Thank you for your suggestion. I will think about it clearly.¡± Dong Zhi said earnestly, striving to show sincerity, but inevitably he felt like a wilted flower. He turned around and was about to leave but was stopped by Long Shen. ¡°Wait.¡± Dong Zhi stared blankly at the other¡¯s outstretched hand as the slightly cool fingertips touched his neck, causing him to shrink subconsciously. As the other party¡¯s breath got closer, Dong Zhi¡¯s mind went blank, and his heartbeat accelerated. His mouth felt like it was stuck together with glue as if he had forgotten how to open it. ¡°You¡­¡± Long Shen finally spoke. What did he want to say? Dong Zhi¡¯s mind ran wildly with random guesses, and the more nervous he was, the easier it was to trust the horse to take the reins*. *(ÐÅÂíÓÉçÖ) Metaphor referring to let things take their natural course. Is it because of his beauty? If he wanted to use unspoken rules*, should he accept or refuse? Why hasn¡¯t he spoken yet? Is he waiting for him to take the initiative himself? *(DZ¹æÔò) Refers to certain industries/groups of people that impose certain behavioral constraints that are implicit rules that are widely exercised and generally observed by all parties involved. Examples are bribes, glass ceilings, offering sex in exchange for benefits. ¡°There is something on your collar.¡± Long Shen retracted his hand, and there was indeed a piece of hair on the palm of his hand. Dong Zhi: ¡­ If it weren¡¯t for the fact that he¡¯s his male god, Dong Zhi would probably have cursed. ¡°It probably got there when I was out!¡± He stammered, not knowing what kind of expression to put on. Long Shen snorted: ¡°You can go.¡± The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched. He wanted to rush up and grab the other¡¯s shoulders and shake them vigorously, roaring at him to covet his beauty; Telling him if he wanted unspoken rules, come quickly! Why dilly-dally and make excuses! But he didn¡¯t dare. He could only inwardly cry cowardly and then prepare to leave feeling aggrieved. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and after a few times, the door opened and a head was thrust in. He Yu looked at Long Shen, and then at the listless Dong Zhi: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Long Shen looked at him coldly. He Yu chuckled dryly, feeling that a hole was burning through his body from just his gaze. He picked up Dong Zhi and ran out, not forgetting to take the form on the table with him. ¡°Boss, I¡¯m taking Dong Zhi back to Hezao Mountain today. I asked you for leave before! We¡¯ll head out first. I¡¯ll give you the form when I come back!¡± When they returned to He Yu¡¯s office, Dong Zhi saw that there was someone there. He saw Kan Chaosheng sitting in an office chair, eating snacks as his two short legs dangle off the ground, his cheeks was bulging. He Yu said: ¡°If it weren¡¯t for Kan Chaosheng who saw you being called in by the boss just now, I wouldn¡¯t have been able to save you. Are you okay? What did the boss say?¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth deflated, and he repeated what Long Shen had said just now. Kan Chaosheng patted the snack debris on his hand and said: ¡°I think the boss is right. You really know nothing, and He Yu is completely fooling around!¡± He Yu rolled his eyes: ¡°I¡¯m not messing around, thanks. Dong Zhi is indeed very talented in drawing symbols. This time I plan to take him back to my school. I have a martial uncle who has no children or disciples under him. I plan to recommend my little baby Dongdong to him.¡± After speaking, he patted Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulder. It was obvious he was depressed as his shoulder was slumping. He Yu said: ¡°Don¡¯t be hit by the boss¡¯ words. Compared to his level, let alone you, even I am invisible to him. It doesn¡¯t mean you are useless. The boss just doesn¡¯t want you to regret it in the future or die because of your own impulsiveness so he¡¯s being a bit more serious!¡± Dong Zhi smiled bitterly and said: ¡°I know that Boss Long is kind, but I really want to join and fight side by side with you!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of being sincere when you have no strength!¡± Kan Chaosheng poisonous tongue lashed out as he threw a piece of potato chip at He Yu, then resume chiding mercilessly: ¡°He Yu, you are like those parents who dotes on their children unequivocally!¡± He Yu beckoned to him with a loving smile: ¡°Son, you have eaten so many snacks from dad. Come and say thank you to your father.¡± Kan Chaosheng smiled grimly: ¡°If you want to be my father let me knock all your teeth out!¡± He threw the snacks in his hands at He Yu as he rushed towards him and the two immediately got into a scuffle, turning into big ball of dust. Despite his small figure, he didn¡¯t seem disadvantaged at all when fighting against a tall burly guy like He Yu. He even managed to strike him with a few punches causing him to say: ¡°If you have true skills, don¡¯t release your true form!¡± Kan Chaosheng clamored: ¡°I don¡¯t need my true form for laozi to make you kneel and beg for mercy!¡± With a wave of his hand, the water from the two goldfish tanks in the office flew up at the same time and poured onto He Yu¡¯s face. He Yu yelled with anger and threw out a talisman: ¡°You cheat!¡± Before the talisman reached Kan Chaosheng, he pointed in the direction of Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi felt something and quickly avoided it. The water in the water cup behind him was suddenly sucked up out of thin air and turned into a water arrow that flew straight to the back of He Yu¡¯s head. The office instantly descended into chaos*, leaving Dong Zhi dumbstruck. *Chicken flying dog jumping (¼¦·É¹·Ìø) Idiom referring to panic and chaos. Describes the scene of frightening chickens to fly and dogs to jump around. Half an hour later, the two fought so hard that they were completely out of breath. They finally stopped and slumped onto the sofa while panting like dogs sticking out their tongues. Dong Zhi handed each of them a drink and opened a can of Coke for himself. Luckily, he had the foresight to put aside the drinks when they started fighting. As expected, during the battle, snacks spilled everywhere as several generations of unopened potato chip bags were trampled on. He Yu kicked Kan Chaosheng: ¡°Hey, do you have any good opinion of him?¡± Kan Chaosheng gave him a blank look: ¡°The boss doesn¡¯t want him. What can I do?!¡± He Yu said: ¡°Eat people with short mouths*. Don¡¯t think I don¡¯t know. You ate a lot of snacks from my little baby Dongdong on the train. Aren¡¯t you monsters the most concern about cause and effect? Spit it out quickly!¡± *Eat people with short mouth, take people with soft hands. (³ÔÈË×ì¶Ì°¡) Idiom refers to not eating and taking casually. It¡¯s a warning to people to not take benefits of others and when you accept benefits you must give other face and help them in return. Kan Chaosheng kicked him back in anger, gulped down a big mouthful of Sprite, then said: ¡°Don¡¯t you want to take him back to your school? If your uncle is willing to accept him as an apprentice, there¡¯s no need for me to do anything!¡± He Yu smiled and said: ¡°Then I¡¯ll take it as a promise!¡± He said to the Dong Zhi: ¡°Don¡¯t underestimate Chaosheng. He just likes to pretend to be soft, but in fact, he¡¯s an old monster. If he¡¯s willing to help you, then you won¡¯t need me to do anything!¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°Will this be too much trouble for you?¡± ¡°Che, don¡¯t think too much. I¡¯m just paying you back for the snacks you gave me!¡± Kan Chaosheng snorted and cocked his chin. It was impossible to associate his behavior with his actual age: ¡°First pass the written exam, interview, and training test. At most, I can only plead for you in front of Old Zong. If you don¡¯t live up to expectations, there¡¯s nothing I can do about that!¡± Dong Zhi was determined to be successful. The more others look down on him, the more he wanted to prove himself. He wanted to pass the exam and impress Long Shen so he¡¯ll retract what he said to him before. He¡¯ll enter the Special Administration Bureau in a dignified manner and from then on, little by little, he¡¯ll reach the pinnacle of his life, and eventually the male god will praise him! Of course, Dong Zhi wants to fight for it. The more others look down on him, the more he has to prove himself with strength. His depressed mood only lasted for half an hour, and like a child, Dong Zhi immediately became ambitious and lively again. Kinky Thoughts: Long Shen is certainly going be opening a certain backdoor that¡¯s for sure¡­ This is the last of the free chapters on jjwxc. If you¡¯ve been enjoying the novel so far and are able to, please consider supporting the author by buying the raws. I used google chrome with their auto translate and this guide on how to buy novels on jjwxc. Remember, only with your (financial) support can artists continue to produce more great works. CH 21 After the fight, Kan Chaosheng walked away with a pile of snacks, while He Yu went out with an ambitious Dong Zhi. ¡°What kind of job can ordinary people like me hold if I enter the Special Administration Bureau?¡± He was motivated at the beginning when He Yu and Old Zheng had encouraged him to join, but Long Shen¡¯s words kept circling in his ears whittling away at his confidence. It was a trivial matter to die by yourself, but it¡¯s a big deal if he implicated others. He Yu shrugged: ¡°There are many things you can do. Not everyone has to rush to the front line. There are some ordinary people like you in logistics. You usually do reports and pay wages. What do they need magic for to do that kind of job? In addition, we now have regular exchanges with other Department of Exorcism in many foreign countries. Your English is good, right?¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°I also know a little Russian.¡± He Yu: ¡°There are many people like me in the bureau who have been training in the mountains for years and have not received a formal education. Don¡¯t think that just because someone¡¯s a master1 that they are omnipotent. Except for the boss, most of the others in our group don¡¯t even speak a foreign language. There are so many foreign devils2 from so many different countries that speak so many different languages that they all sound the same to me. If you join us, we won¡¯t need to go to another department to borrow someone when we go abroad in the future.¡± 1High Man (¸ßÈË) Refers to someone whose spiritual ability surpasses ordinary people. 2[Yang Guizi] (Ñó¹í×Ó) The term is generally use as contempt to describe foreigners. Dong Zhi said: ¡°Boss Long looks like a master who cultivated deep in the mountains, not like someone who could speak a foreign language.¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°You are mistaken. As far as I know, he can speak at least five foreign languages.¡± Dong Zhi praised him in his thoughts: ¡®So amazing! The male god is truly a male god!¡¯ He Yu wrapped an arm around his shoulder and said solemnly: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There are 360 lines* but there¡¯s only one apprenticeship. Besides, the boss can scold you to the point where you wouldn¡¯t be able to lift your head, so fact of the matter was, you got off easy. It can be counted as him being polite to you. Don¡¯t stress about it. After you pass your exam, the higher-ups will know what to do. Also, my uncle likes a good kid like you, so when he accepts you as an apprentice, wouldn¡¯t that mean you have a solid background?¡± *Refers to all walks of life. *Huge thanks to Brekkie and Lingmu for helping me with this paragraph. Dong Zhi nodded earnestly: ¡°Thank you.¡± He Yu instantly gave him a goofy smile: ¡°Since you want to thank me¡­ can you help me get the autographed collector¡¯s edition peripheral kit from the development team of ? It¡¯s been so popular that it sells out as soon as it hits the shelf! I can¡¯t get my hands on it!¡± The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitch and all the emotions he previously felt vanished: ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Before he had the chance to even regret what he said, He Yu urged: ¡°Then it¡¯s settled! Yesterday I said I¡¯ll take you to a place. It¡¯s just ahead. Hurry up before we¡¯re late and they won¡¯t let us in!¡± The two crossed the road, and He Yu led him to the National Museum next to the Ministry of Public Security. Dong Zhi looked dumbfounded: ¡°What does this place have to do with the exam?¡± He Yu took their ID cards and went to get admission tickets. There weren¡¯t many people around since it was a weekday. He quickly got the tickets and handed one to Dong Zhi. ¡°According to the experience I have gathered in interviews and entry training exams over the years, they like to ask questions relating to things in the National Expo the most. The questions are usually about the origins or the roles of various cultural relics or their makers. In short they¡¯ll test you on every relic imaginable.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Are your leaders lovers of cultural relics?¡± He Yu shrugged: ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because the Special Administration Bureau had produced a few bigwigs that transformed from them.¡± Transform¡­ from this? Dong Zhi didn¡¯t react at first, too shock at the thought: ¡°You mean cultural relics can become human?¡± ¡°Is it weird?¡± He Yu said with a relaxed tone: ¡°Didn¡¯t you already see a bone dragon and Kan Chaosheng turning into a cat? I know there¡¯s also legends about the fox spirit and the white snake spirit, but generally speaking, there are few animals that could transform.¡± Dong Zhi thought for a bit and said: ¡°Because most animals have a shorter life span than humans? Can¡¯t they break through their lifespan limit?¡± He Yu snapped his fingers, praising his quick wit. Dong Zhi remembered the fox-eared boy they had seen when he first entered the office and couldn¡¯t help but raise some doubts. He Yu explained: ¡°The Hu family is a bit special. It is said that their ancestors have the blood of the white fox, but as their bloodline age, it becomes thinner. The one you saw looks weak, but it¡¯s actually the best of their generation. It¡¯s like sailing a boat against the current, if you don¡¯t advance, there¡¯s only retreat. The same is true for racial evolution.¡± After lunch, the primary school students who were on a field trip with their teacher left. It became much quieter in the Sui and Tang Dynasties Museum as there were few tourists about. The National Museum is classified by dynasties, each with a collection of cultural relics that were in a variety of colors. When Dong Zhi had visited last time, he was still young and had followed a group of second years to mess around and get into mischief. He couldn¡¯t appreciate the breadth and depth of these antiques. Now that he¡¯s looking at them from a perspective of an art student, he could feel the charm of each of them that were indescribable. Each piece was filled with ingenuity, reflecting the great craftsmanship it took to create them. In addition to admiring their appearance, Dong Zhi also read every text description carefully. If he couldn¡¯t remember, he took pictures of them on his phone. After a while, he started feeling dizzy and light-headed. ¡°The bigwigs you mention; what are their original forms? Are they foxes? Is Kan Chaosheng one of them?¡± He asked with interest. He Yu sneered: ¡°That little fart a bigwig? How rich. Regarding their original form, unless they are willing to tell you, or you find the answer yourself, I can¡¯t say.¡± After less than three seconds, he spoke bitterly: ¡°Actually, I really want to talk about it, but we have confidentiality rules. After you officially join, if you still don¡¯t know by then, I¡¯ll share with you all the gossip to your heart¡¯s content. You don¡¯t know how hard it is for me to hold back and when I see those who are engaging in secret affairs with each other!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ The two of them whispered while walking. He Yu had been to so many exhibitions here that he could almost count all the relics with his eyes closed, as if he was one the guides here. He casually pointed to a separate showcase in the middle: ¡°That¡¯s the most famous secret color* porcelain of the Tang Dynasty. There are only a dozen pieces unearthed in the world, and this is one of them. *The secret color is a layer of mysterious color that is put on Yue Kiln porcelain during the Tang Dynasty. It wasn¡¯t until 1987 when some of these artifacts were excavated that people could bear witness to the secret color that could only be imagined through the verses of Lu Guimeng¡¯s works. The meaning of secret color varies. Dong Zhi walked in front of the secret color porcelain bowl. The azure porcelain glowed softly under the light, as if a puddle of water was slightly rippling in it, mesmerizing people so they¡¯re unable to look away. It shape and color contains ultimate beauty and fragility. Dong Zhi suddenly asked: ¡°Even if porcelain has a long history, it really can¡¯t transform, right?¡± He Yu snorted: ¡°Why do you think that?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I just thought of it suddenly. Although these porcelains are beautiful, but they are also very fragile. Once they are broken, they are almost impossible to restore to their original condition.¡± He Yu: ¡°The person I like is so smart! You are right. If you want to transform and take shape, you must have enough time to absorb the spiritual energy of the heavens and earth, and at the same time, you must have a sturdy shape. Generally, folk-made artifacts are rough and it¡¯s difficult for them to absorb spiritual energy. Although the kiln porcelain is an exquisite work of art, it¡¯s too fragile and cannot be cultivated.¡± Dong Zhi blinked: ¡°So, antiques made of gold, silver, copper and iron are easier to cultivate?¡± He Yu shook his head and said: ¡°That also depends on the specific circumstances. Some antiques were stolen by tomb robbers too early, and they fell into human hands and were contaminated too much with worldly evil spirits. Anyone, or thing, who can cultivate into a human form must have the advantage of time, place, and people, among a variety of other factors.¡± After that, he scratched his head: ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you that one of my junior brothers failed the exam last year? Just now, you asked if porcelain can be transformed, which was one of the interview questions last year! Alas, he was also a disciple of the Hezao Sect, which made me lose face and our school scolded me for a long time!¡± Dong Zhi said strangely: ¡°He failed by just this question?¡± Famous disciples have a strong family background that generally specializes in art. How could they not even answer a question like this? He Yu shook his head and said bitterly: ¡°No, he was eliminated in the written test. The multiple-choice questions ask about the core values1. Isn¡¯t the last one friendliness? He actually stupidly choose well-behaved! What¡¯s even more hateful is that the reviewer said that if he couldn¡¯t even remember this kind of basic knowledge, he needed to go back and rebuild2 before he comes back!¡± 1The values are patriotism, dedication, integrity, and friendliness. 2It means one shortcoming shouldn¡¯t be there which makes it difficult for the other party to change so he needs to rebuild it. In this way he can start over, and those shortcomings will disappear. This is usually used in a derogatory way. Dong Zhi: ¡­ He Yu said: ¡°At that time, I was out in the field, and I couldn¡¯t intercede on his behalf. Those bastards really eliminated him. Last year, the papers were changed by the people of Longhu Sect. I have heard that they are jealous of our Hezao¡¯s Zhong Lingyuxiu, who¡¯s smart and cute¡­¡± Dong Zhi mouth twitched, and he hurriedly interrupted him: ¡°What other questions were asked in the interview last year?¡± He Yu thought hard, scratched his head and said: ¡°I don¡¯t remember the others. There was a question on adaptability that asked if you were out in the field with a female colleague and you happen to in danger, and suddenly you find that you forgot to bring your cinnabar so you can¡¯t draw talismans, what should you do?¡± Dong Zhi asked with a blank face: ¡°What should I do? Just roll up my sleeves?¡± He Yu: ¡°Wrong. You ask your female colleague for her lipstick and use it to draw the talisman!¡± Dong Zhi: ??? ¡°You have to review the questions carefully. First, the question is related to drawing talismans, so you can¡¯t think of other ways. Second, the female colleague is a clue on how you adapt to the situation,¡± He Yu said sadly: ¡°Little comrade, it¡¯s easy for you to lose points if you¡¯re like this!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless: ¡°What if a female colleague doesn¡¯t like makeup and doesn¡¯t wear lipstick? There may not be cinnabar in lipstick!¡± He Yu: ¡°The person who asked the question just assumed a situation. What they want to see is if your on-the-spot thinking is quick or not. You don¡¯t need to overanalyze. Just say what the most suitable plan would be.¡± Dong Zhi sighed. He thought he understood the thinking of the person who asked the questions but didn¡¯t realize that they did their best to set traps and pits for candidates. No wonder few people could pass the exam every year. He Yu said: ¡°The Special Administration Bureau has a wide range of jurisdiction. We oversee strange things that cannot be solved by other departments. In the past few years, our benefits and perks have been greatly improved, therefore, there are more candidates who want to join these days. Many of them rely on relationship and get in through the backdoor so the Bureau had to introduce some measures to limit the number of people. Although the exam questions are tricky and strange, as long as you pass, it shows that you are indeed capable, and others won¡¯t be able to talk down to you.¡± Dong Zhi nodded. What he said has some truth. It seems that no matter where you go, this kind of thing is inevitable. He thought it was little funny thinking about those monsters walking through the backdoor with gifts. While his mind was on the subject, he said: ¡°I¡¯ve always been curious, why do monsters cultivate themselves into human form? Could it be that because human dominate the legends of the world and think that all monsters want to be human?¡± He Yu spread out his palms and let the Dong Zhi see the palm lines. ¡°You see, from the index finger to the pinky finger, there are a total of twelve sections*, which exactly represent the twelve areas of the zodiac. When those Fengshui masters are pinching their fingers, they are actually calculating units with them. The lines on the palm of your hands condenses your whole life, which is extremely long and unpredictable. Except for humans, there is no other creature that possess this.¡± *I don¡¯t even think there¡¯s an English term for this area. Translation was giving me knuckles, but it¡¯s not really knuckles. From what I read they are referred to as the short section, central section, and shorter section III. Click the link to see the area that He Yu is referring to. Dong Zhi also looked at his palm. Except for a thin callus on the tiger¡¯s mouth due to holding a pen all year round, the rest of the area was fair and tender, as the ten fingers does not touch spring water*. *(ʮָ²»Õ´Ñô´ºË®) Metaphor to describe a person whose family conditions are good that they do not need to do laundry or housework. Typically refer to people who are pampered, mostly referring to women from wealthy families. ¡°Three lights, sun, moon, and stars. Three talents, heaven, earth, man*.¡± He murmured. *From ¡°Three Character Classics¡± written by the poet Wang Yinglin from the Song Dynasty. He Yu smiled approvingly: ¡°Since human beings are the three talents that can be juxtaposed with heaven and earth, it can be seen that they have great spiritual wisdom. Therefore, those who are capable of spiritual cultivation will only choose to cultivate into human form. In their view, being born as a human being is a great blessing. It is a pity that many humans do not cherish this unattainable blessing.¡± Dong Zhi sighed. It took the Hu family many years to cultivate, and this generation only produced a single shapeshifter. In contrast, humans often easily give up their own lives and some don¡¯t even take other lives seriously. He looked around: ¡°When you said this, I suddenly felt that the museum was full of eyes, all staring at us.¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, those who can transform have already transformed. The spiritual energy in the museum is thin, and now with the pollution from outside, it¡¯s difficult for these relics to cultivate. However, it¡¯s good to come and walk around here often. Remember Zhong Yuyi who you recently met? He¡¯s very interested in cultural relics. Maybe you can learn more from him in the future.¡± Every time he learns more about the other side of the world, the more interested he becomes. If it was impulse guiding him to join the Special Administration Bureau at that time, now that impulse have been transformed into exploration and liking. With so many role models in front of him, Dong Zhi was invigored. Out of the corner of his eyes, he caught sight of an exhibit. It reads: [The Bronze Sword of King Helu of Wu]. Dong Zhi¡¯s mind drifted slightly as he recalled the two swords hanging in Long Shen¡¯s office. At this moment, he heard a phone ring. After He Yu answered the phone, his expression became serious. He said to the Dong Zhi: ¡°Something¡¯s happened to my master. It seems that we have to set off early.¡± Seeing that he was rarely serious, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t ask much. The two hurriedly left the museum, their leisurely itinerary, ruined. Dong Zhi was sent back to the dorm to rest while He Yu went to settle his own business. He Yu¡¯s dorm room had been relatively cleaned up. It had air-conditioning, a TV, a washing machine, and the overall condition of the room was in good shape. However, it hadn¡¯t been occupied for a long time so there was an inevitable smell of dust. Dong Zhi opened the window to diffuse the smell and went to the supermarket to buy some daily necessities, then came back and clean the remaining areas. After the room was fully cleaned, it was almost dusk. He was so exhausted that he didn¡¯t even want to lift a finger. After taking a shower and changing into a new set of clothes, he skipped dinner and went straight to bed, immediately falling asleep. When he opened his eyes, it was past dawn. Since he was young, his physical strength recovered quickly. He stretched his waist and felt refreshed. He looked at his phone and saw that He Yu had called around 6 AM. He was still sleeping, and the phone was on silent, so he didn¡¯t hear it. Now, it was already 9. Dong Zhi quickly called him back. After the phone rang twice, He Yu answered and said: ¡°Where are you? Come over for breakfast!¡± He Yu told him the location was near Wangfujing and after hanging up, he went out and found it shortly after. He Yu and Kan Chaosheng were sitting together in the breakfast caf¨¦, their table had cups and plates scattered everywhere creating a mess. When He Yu saw him, he said: ¡°Did you sleep well last night?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Not bad, thank you for letting me stay in your dorm. Yesterday, Boss Long asked me to fill out the form. The bonus should be sent soon, so let me treat you to this meal. Are you full? Would you like to order more?¡± ¡°No, no, no!¡± He Yu hastily said. Dong Zhi thought he wanted to be polite, until the other party said: ¡°This meal is too worthless. At least treat me to Jude*!¡± *I think this is referring to Jude Huatian which is a corporation that owns multiple restaurants. Kan Chaosheng followed suit: ¡°Jude is too cheap. I want Tan Jiacai*!¡± *(Ì·¼Ò²Ë) There is a restaurant name this in Beijing, but I think he¡¯s referring to the dish itself. It¡¯s one of the most famous government dishes in China. You can read more by clicking the link. Dong Zhi burst out laughing as he clasped his fist and obediently acknowledge the slaughter. The two uncles expressed their satisfaction and stopped fooling around. He Yu said: ¡°I am going to Guangzhou and will leave in the afternoon.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°Aren¡¯t you going to Jiangxi to celebrate your uncle¡¯s birthday?¡± He Yu sighed: ¡°My junior martial brother is missing. It¡¯s the one I told you about yesterday who failed last year¡¯s exam.¡± He Yu¡¯s junior brother was named Cheng Hui. While the Hezao sect was known for their talismans, Cheng Hui was more proficient in divination. Two years ago, after the death of He Yu¡¯s elder martial uncle, Cheng Hui¡¯s master took over the mantle and became the best diviner in the Hezao sect. After failing the exam last year, Cheng Hui didn¡¯t return back to the school, but instead continue to travel abroad. The hexagram* corresponds to fate, so it¡¯s not possible to know the world¡¯s affairs behind closed doors. Therefore, it was necessary for Cheng Hui to travel thousands of miles of increase his knowledge and consult with experts in his field. *Also known as the I Ching book, consists of 64 hexagrams. The hexagram lines are traditionally counted from the bottom up, so the lowest line is considered line one while the top line is line six. Hexagrams are formed by combining the original eight trigrams in different combinations. Each hexagram is accompanied with a description, often cryptic, akin to parables. Each line in every hexagram is also given a similar description. || I believe in this context, they are using the hexagram as the divination method. After the Changbai Mountain Incident, He Yu contacted Cheng Hui who was on his travels and asked him to use his divination skills to check on the matter. After he raised the hexagram, Cheng Hui told him that he had reached a breakthrough and the matter was most likely related to something in the south. He happened to be traveling there himself so he would help He Yu look for any clues along the way. As a result, He Yu had received news yesterday that his junior brother had disappeared. ¡°Can¡¯t you use any communication device to contact him?¡± Dong Zhi asked. He Yu shook his head: ¡°Don¡¯t talk about communication tools. After he came out, his passion became playing games. I have his account number, so I went to check up on it. His teammates said that he hadn¡¯t played games for the past few days. While he may be a bit aloof, he wouldn¡¯t disappear without saying a word for no reason. Yesterday, I asked someone to check the IP of his phone and confirmed that he last login to play his game when he was in Guangzhou before he disappeared.¡± Kan Chaosheng suddenly asked: ¡°What of his natal lamp*?¡± *(±¾ÃüµÆ) It¡¯s the lamp of one¡¯s life and the light reflect the person¡¯s condition (i.e. if the light is strong person is in good condition). If the light goes out, it means the person is no longer alive. ¡°Master said it was still on, but it was much dimmer than before. He might¡¯ve encounter something and became trapped temporarily. I¡¯m going to go and check to see if this is the case.¡± Because of this, He Yu didn¡¯t seem to be particularly worried. He turned his head and asked Dong Zhi: ¡°Why don¡¯t you stay here for the time being and I¡¯ll let you know when my affairs are over, then we can meet directly in Jiangxi.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°Let me go with you. I am familiar with Guangzhou and can guide you around.¡± Kan Chaosheng said coldly: ¡°Yes, take him away, otherwise if the boss sees him dangling in front of his eyes all day long, he¡¯ll get annoyed and will give him a low score during the exam, then he¡¯ll really have no place to cry.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He Yu said: ¡°Also that.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly felt his knees was shot with countless arrows. He asked He Yu: ¡°Are we the only two going?¡± Kan Chaosheng rested his hands on his chin and with regret said: ¡°I would like to go. Guangzhou has so many delicious foods, but unfortunately I have other tasks on my hand.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Why don¡¯t you write down what you want to eat, and I will buy some that I can bring back.¡± Kan Chaosheng waved his small hand: ¡°It won¡¯t taste as good when it¡¯s not fresh. When I¡¯m done this time, I¡¯ll take an annual leave to go to Guangzhou for ten days!¡± He Yu said: ¡°You¡¯re such a glutton. Why are you so greedy?!¡± Kan Chaosheng bared his teeth: ¡°Leave me alone!¡± While the two of them bicker, Dong Zhi went to solve his breakfast problem and took care of the bill. He ordered a bowl of bean curd and two deep-fried cakes. The catch is that the bean curd here wasn¡¯t sweet. After ordering, he beckoned the boss to check out. The boss said: ¡°Thank you! It¡¯s 307 yuan. I¡¯ll give you the discount and round it down, so it¡¯ll be 300 yuan total!¡± Dong Zhi thought there was something wrong with his ears: ¡°How much?¡± The boss brought a long list of bills and nodded at Kan Chaosheng with his chin: ¡°He has a big appetite.¡± Dong Zhi looked at the meal on the bill and couldn¡¯t believe it: ¡°Are they finished?¡± ¡°Finished!¡± The boss obviously often treats Kan Chaosheng and the others so he wasn¡¯t surprise. He pointed to the plates that were stacked high on a table next to him: ¡°Before you came, he ate all of this.¡± He Yu gloated and said to the Dong Zhi: ¡°Now you know how much he can eat. Forget Tan Jiacai, even KFC would bankrupt you!¡± Kan Chaosheng said angrily: ¡°It¡¯s not that I eat this much every day!¡± Dong Zhi habitually smooth out his hair as he said: ¡°Okay, okay. Just eat and don¡¯t waste it. Don¡¯t be angry. I¡¯ll go and buy you some candied gourds later.¡± Kan Chaosheng angrily harrumph and cast a triumphant glare at He Yu and didn¡¯t care that Dong Zhi was coaxing him like a child. On the contrary, he found this beneficial to him. Instead, it was He Yu¡¯s turn to say sourly: ¡°Why are you treating him so well! Dong Zhi blurted out: ¡°He¡¯s cute!¡± He Yu: ¡°Then who is cuter, me or him?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ This kind of question could be answered without thinking. Seeing his appearance, He Yu covered his heart and said: ¡°You hesitated! You actually showed a hesitant expression! I want to break up with you!¡± Kan Chaosheng was elated as he sneered at He Yu. Their flight was at 2 in the afternoon. Based on the traffic conditions, there wasn¡¯t much time left. The three came out of the caf¨¦ and Kan Chaosheng went back to his own place. He Yu and Dong Zhi returned to pack their luggage and then meet downstairs. The building he was staying at was divided up, with the upper floors being office workspace, while the lower floors were staff dormitories. Dong Zhi left his laptop back in the dorm and pack two simple outfits in his backpack, then brought his drawing board that he always takes with him and headed out. Coincidentally, as soon as he opened the door, he saw Long Shen coming out of the opposite door. Dong Zhi was stunned, and it took him a while to react. ¡°Long- Boss Long!¡± Just as he spoke, he felt that calling him that was inappropriate, so he hurriedly changed his words: ¡°Dragon* Bureau is awesome!¡± *Clarity: The Long in Long Shen means dragon so he¡¯s changing his words so instead of calling out to Long Shen, he changed it to Dragon (Long) Bureau is awesome! Long Shen nodded, didn¡¯t care about how he was address and didn¡¯t even bother to look at him as he left in a hurry. Dong Zhi wanted to stop him but couldn¡¯t find a reason. When he went downstairs, He Yu was already waiting there, and started complaining that he was dawdling. Dong Zhi told him that he ran into Long Shen. He Yu sighed: ¡°The boss¡¯ dorm is opposite of mine. He has a house in the city but usually stays in the office like me, though he rarely goes back to the dorm.¡± He thought he was being empathetic so he comforted him: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, few people can stand his stepmother* face, but you won¡¯t meet him often in the future!¡± *(ÍíÄïÁ³) In a broader sense refers to a face that is very big, unsmiling, fierce looking, or wretched. Dong Zhi blinked, wanting to say that he didn¡¯t dislike meeting him, but when he spoke, change his words: ¡°Isn¡¯t Boss Long particularly busy lately?¡± He Yu said: ¡°The trip to Changbai Mountain last time involved a lot of things. The news of the stone tablet has not yet been released. The higher ups must have been asking questions so he¡¯s probably quite overwhelmed right now.¡± Dong Zhi said curiously: ¡°He became a Secretary* at such a young age. Are there many people who are not convince?¡± *Director (¾Ö³¤) This is the title of the highest official of a department in China who manages certain administrative affairs of a city or county. (i.e., the current US Department of State is Secretary John Kerry.) He Yu touched his face: ¡°Is he young? Isn¡¯t he close to my age?¡± He smiled and said: ¡°Who dares to be unconvinced?! Shou Xinggong hanged himself thinking his life is too long*!¡± *(ÊÙÐǹ«Éϵõ) It¡¯s an idiom that refers to someone must be tired of living/courting death. The story goes that Shou Xingong is a metaphor for a long-lived old man who hangs himself because he thinks his lifespan is too long and wants to die. Dong Zhi: ¡­ Well, when it comes to narcissism, no one can match He Yu. The flight time from Beijing to Guangzhou is less than three hours, but flight delays at the Capital airport are commonplace. Today, they were lucky to be delayed by only an hour. When they arrived in Guangzhou, it happened to be just as night fell and around dinner time. The two of them had a meal on the plane so they weren¡¯t hungry. They hurriedly found the hotel that they were staying at and after checking in and throwing their luggage into the room, they went to investigate the place where Cheng Hui was last before his disappearance, an urban village in Tianhe District. Around this time, 6-7 PM, the streets were bustling with people coming and going. In this southern city, which was on par with Beishang, the nightlife had just started. ¡°Where do the two of you want to go?¡± The taxi driver, who was stopped by Dong Zhi, asked in Cantonese. This was a typical old Guangzhou driver. They normally don¡¯t speak Mandarin at the start. If the guests don¡¯t understand of answer in Mandarin, they will switch then to speaking Mandarin. This was a unique sense of superiority in their industry and outsiders who are new to the city will feel the local characteristic when they first arrive. For tourists, Lingnan culture are not obtain from food or scenery, but from experiencing the accents of these drivers. Dong Zhi was already familiar with this kind of routine, and when he heard the taxi driver, he told him the location in Cantonese. The driver thought they were out-of-town tourists. When he heard Dong Zhi¡¯s accent, he suddenly became energetic. Along the way, he chatted with Dong Zhi endlessly, ignoring He Yu who was sitting in the backseat. Poor He Yu was forced to fill his ears with ¡°bird language*¡± that his ears were still buzzing when they got off the taxi. *(ÄñÓï) Has 3 meanings. In this context, it refers to incomprehensible language. ¡°What hell was he saying? What were you talking about?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°He was just complaining, saying that the recently popular rideshare app had robbed him of a lot of business.¡± He Yu complained: ¡°You should have pretended to sleep just now, and he would have shut up.¡± Dong Zhi shrugged: ¡°Then he will just turn his head and talk to you in Mandarin.¡± He Yu rolled his eyes. ¡°This is where we are looking.¡± Walking in from under the archway, there were no barrier from the wall, but it seems to have an invisible boundary of its own. Long queue lines stretched outside, and the traffic was bustling as surge of people move about, as if this was a night market. There are restaurants everywhere, and a stove grilling oysters was place on the side of the road, making passersby hasten their steps. Inside and out was full of people chatting, and laughter rang everywhere mixed with the sound of cups and plates creating an atmosphere like fireworks. He Yu looked around: ¡°The buildings here are so dense. Can you find the specific location where he was staying?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Yes, but we don¡¯t have a key.¡± He Yu said: ¡°I have already contacted his landlord, who lives on the first floor of his building.¡± Dong Zhi nodded, not surprised. Nowadays, most of the residents in urban villages are people who come from abroad to work, and there are also many recent graduates. They fancy the low rent here and it can be used as a residence during the transitional period. Dong Zhi was a little curious: ¡°The Special Administration Bureau has a Northeast branch, so do they also have a southern branch?¡± ¡°In the past, there were only two branches, North and South. Later, when there were too many things, and the Bureau got too big and had to expand, four branches were then created, Northeast, South China, Northwest, and Southwest. The Logistics Department of the General Administration Bureau also manages the hinterlands of the Central Plains.¡± He Yu spoke eloquently: ¡°The headquarters of the Southern Branch was originally in Guangzhou, but later the South China Branch was moved to Shanghai, and the leader was also promoted to the General Administration Bureau, so there are only a few people here, and their abilities are average. Moreover, this is a personal matter, so there¡¯s no need to bother them.¡± While talking, the two followed the directions to the address, finding an eight-story building. It was nestled in the alley, separated from the hustle and bustle of the streets. The alley way was narrow and dark as there were no streetlamps to light the area. He Yu made a call and after a while, the sound of footsteps could be heard. The security door opened, and the head of a middle-aged auntie poked out from inside. ¡°Are you Cheng Hui¡¯s cousin?¡± The other party¡¯s expression was a bit wary. It was obvious He Yu¡¯s appearance didn¡¯t give her enough peace of mind. He Yu nodded, took out his phone, and showed her a group photo with Cheng Hui as well as his ID card. This still didn¡¯t dispel the Auntie¡¯s doubt: ¡°You should go to the police station tomorrow and get a certificate and come back. Otherwise, if he comes back and says he doesn¡¯t know you, I won¡¯t be able to explain it.¡± At this time, Dong Zhi stepped up the plate. He moved forward and said warmly: ¡°Hello elder sister. I¡¯m Cheng Hui¡¯s classmate. I¡¯m the one who told his cousin about his disappearance. He ran away from home after causing trouble with his family and we¡¯re all afraid he might have been abducted into some MLM* organization, so I wanted to come and have a look. If there¡¯s really no clue, we¡¯ll call the police, but his parents are a bit worried right now.¡± *Multi-level marketing organization. Basically, a more ¡°legal¡± pyramid scheme org. The landlady had a better impression of Dong Zhi. He hesitantly glance at He Yu and asked: ¡°Is he really that person¡¯s cousin?¡± He Yu: ¡­Hey, we just met yet you treat Dong Zhi like your nephew, and me like a thief. Isn¡¯t this unfair? Dong Zhi nodded with a smile: ¡°Really, we just want to go in and have a look. We¡¯ll leave in half an hour. You can guard the door. This is my ID card. Here, take a look.¡± The landlady took the ID card of the Dong Zhi and glanced at it and said: ¡°You look so handsome in your ID photo. Do you have a girlfriend?¡± He Yu: ¡­ Dong Zhi said shyly: ¡°Not yet.¡± The landlady said enthusiastically: ¡°Which school did you graduate from? Do you work in Guangzhou now? What do you do?¡± He Yu couldn¡¯t bear to listen anymore, so he coughed vigorously to remind the others of his existence. The landlady glared at him and finally let them enter. ¡°Cheng Hui paid the rent for half a year, and the utility bill was just paid a week ago. He lives on the sixth floor. I don¡¯t see him very often, so I don¡¯t know if he¡¯s been back these few days. It¡¯s not easy to raise a child nowadays. Make sure you don¡¯t let any marketing organization deceive him¡­¡± The auntie chattered endlessly, half in vernacular and the other half in Mandarin, while guiding them to Cheng Hui¡¯s room. The one-bedroom space wasn¡¯t large. The living room and bedroom were all connected with no walls separating them. There wasn¡¯t a TV, and the only valuable thing was a desktop computer. The layout was rudimentary and from a single glance you could see everything. He Yu frowned. Dong Zhi: ¡°How is it? Have you found anything?¡± He Yu said: ¡°He disappeared four days ago. I didn¡¯t see a backpack, or any belongings in the room. This means he hasn¡¯t come back since he went out from here.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Can you locate him via his phone?¡± He Yu shook his head: ¡°The signal is completely dead. There is another way; we can use the earth.¡± He took a piece of Cheng Hui¡¯s clothes from the bed, sniffed it, spread it on the floor with disgust, then brought an abandoned flowerpot from the balcony. The plants inside had withered long ago but the soil was still there. He grabbed a handful of it and scattered it in the four corners of the room. ¡°Go and see if you find chopsticks.¡± He said to the Dong Zhi. Cheng Hui didn¡¯t cook so the kitchen was empty. There was nothing but a kettle. After rummaging through the cabinets, Dong Zhi finally pulled out a few pairs of chopsticks from a pile of debris on the balcony. It was probably left there by the former tenant. The auntie looked at He Yu¡¯s weird actions and suspiciously asked: ¡°What are you doing?¡± He Yu ignored her and asked Dong Zhi to hold the chopsticks on top of clothes, while he held a mantra in both hands and recited the words: ¡°Cheng Hui, a disciple of Hezao, was born on April 15, 1992, and is missing here today. Please creatures passing by from far and wide, lend me your strength and help me find someone! Rise!¡± After a while, without opening his eyes, he quickly said to the Dong Zhi: ¡°Let go!¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly let go of the chopsticks. It didn¡¯t fall but instead stood firmly in place. Not only was Dong Zhi wide-eyed, even the landlady was stunned. ¡°Heavenly Emperor1, the secluded pass2 of the earthly world3, please follow my wishes and find someone! Go!¡± 1(Ì«µÛÑôÔª) Also known as Emperor Tianguan, is one of the three official emperors of Taoism who bestow blessings on the world. 2(ÓĹØ) In Taoism refers to the area (secluded pass) between the two kidneys. 3(ËÄÂÞ) In Taoism refers to the human world. ¡°West.¡± He Yu let out a long sigh: ¡°Cheng Hui went west.¡± Returning the key to the landlady, the two left the building. He Yu took out a small compass the size of a palm from his beloved Rilakkuma backpack and measured the azimuth. ¡°This way.¡± They left the urban village and followed the direction of the compass heading west, After walking for more than 20 minutes, the compass didn¡¯t change and He Yu started getting impatient. Dong Zhi proposed: ¡°Why don¡¯t we take the bus and get off as soon as there is movement on the compass. It¡¯s also more convenient this way as well.¡± Naturally, He Yu has no opinion. There was a bus stop not far from where the two were. They wasted a lot of time at the rental house, so it was already 11 at night. Since it wasn¡¯t a weekend, there were very few people waiting for the bus. After they entered the station, Dong Zhi looked for a bus heading west on the roadmap. Just then, a bus slowly pulled into the platform. He glanced around and vaguely saw that the bus route was heading west so he hurriedly dragged He Yu to get on. There weren¡¯t many passengers onboard, and no one got off when the bus stopped, and there were still many vacant seats, so they went directly towards the back, picking the rearmost seats. As they sat down, He Yu coughed twice and thump his back. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Dong Zhi noticed that his face didn¡¯t look good. He Yu complained: ¡°The injuries I suffered in Changbai Mountain were too serious, and I haven¡¯t fully recovered, wuwuwu*.¡± *[Ying ying ying] (àÓàÓàÓ) buzzword that express grievances and crying but has a cute attribute. It¡¯s mainly used to act coquettish. || When translated its hum hum hum or ying ying ying pinyin form but that doesn¡¯t really make any sense, so I personally use wuwuwu which is more fitting of the meaning. This is noted due to Dong Zhi¡¯s response after this line because generally this is mainly use by girls. Black lines appeared on Dong Zhi¡¯s face: ¡°Speak properly! Don¡¯t learn from girls!¡± He Yu: ¡°That kid Cheng Hui doesn¡¯t know what he¡¯s doing. If he¡¯s really abducted by some MLM organization, after finding him, I¡¯ll give him a proper beating to dispel my hatred!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Doesn¡¯t Cheng Hui have the ability to protect himself?¡± He Yu shook his head: ¡°Don¡¯t think that all practitioners are proficient in all eighteen martial arts*. There are very few people like me who can draw talisman and fight, okay? Many people spend their entire lives to be proficient in one subject, which is already a remarkable feat. Now I am the quintessential genius of the world, that no one else can compare to!¡± *(Ê®°Ë°ãÎäÒÕ) or known as 18 weapons (Ê®°Ë°ã±øÆ÷). It refers to a variety of skills/weapons and the list varies depending on the time period. The modern list are: knives, spears, swords, halberds, axes, tombs, hooks, forks, whips, mace, hammers, guns, ge, tungsten, lances, sticks, spears, and rakes. Dong Zhi complained: ¡°If you¡¯re the quintessential genius, then what¡¯s Boss Long?¡± He Yu crossed his legs and sighed: ¡°The bad thing is that my parents didn¡¯t give me a good name, so I already lost at the starting line.¡± Dong Zhi grabbed He Yu¡¯s bear backpack and started punching it. It felt so good that he couldn¡¯t help pinching the bear¡¯s head a few more times before casually responding: ¡°What does that have to do with the starting line?¡± He Yu began to run his mouth again: ¡°His name is Long Shen! Think about it, the dragon roots1 are thick and long. For men, what could be more impressive than this? So, I shouldn¡¯t be called He Yu. If I were called, He Qida2, it¡¯ll certainly be bigger now3!¡± 1(±»ËÕ) Refers to the root of a wild orchid. 2(Æä´ó) Translated means it¡¯s big. 3Clarity: He¡¯s making an innuendo. The Long in Long Shen is used in dragon root [Longen] (±»ËÕ) which refers to a wild orchid root. Supposedly they are thick and long. The He (ºÎ) in his name translate to how/what. So, if he was named He Qida, when people call his name, they¡¯re basically saying ¡°How big!¡± in reference to his dick. Although he wasn¡¯t drinking water, Dong Zhi almost choked on his own spit. Kinky Thoughts: I tried my best with translating the spell chants orz. My god, this was a long ass chapter, probably the length of 5 regular chapters combined. CH 22 At this moment, He Yu let out a snort. Although he was talking nonsense with Dong Zhi, his eyes never left the compass in his hand. Suddenly, the compass needle vibrated slightly, then the vibration started to grow. ¡°Master, please stop at the next station. We have to get off!¡± Dong Zhi shouted upon seeing this. The driver didn¡¯t respond. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t sure if he had heard him. Only then did he realized that they were most likely on the last bus, and it was so late that there wouldn¡¯t be anyone waiting at the bus stop. The bus kept moving forward without stopping once and the other passengers inside never asked to get off either. He couldn¡¯t help but look around and noticed that the bus route sign that should¡¯ve been posted was blank. He wasn¡¯t sure if this was due to the staff¡¯s negligence or for a different reason. Suddenly his wrist was caught, startling him, as he turned his head back. He Yu also found that something was amiss with this bus and whispered to him: ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the driver. Stay at the door and as soon as possible, get out!¡± He nodded nervously, and the two got up and walked to the driver¡¯s seat. ¡°Master, what¡¯s the next stop? We want to get out off the bus so can you please stop!¡± He Yu said loudly. When passing by the other seats, Dong Zhi deliberately glance at the passengers. Their sight shocked him. There was a middle-aged woman that looked pale and was staring blankly. She didn¡¯t seem to notice him as she remained motionless. What was more shocking was her clothes. Her chubby upper body was wearing a plain striped dress. The fabric was a bit rough, and the corners had some stains on it. She looked to be a blue-collar worker that was used to working all year round. The issue was¡­ such coarse clothes and style were obviously not the daily wear of people in modern cities! The bus stops in this area adopted the method of swiping card and coin at the entrance, so passengers can get on the bus directly when it entered the stations. When they gotten on the bus, they had entered through the backside so they didn¡¯t pay much attention to the outfits of the other passengers. Dong Zhi suppressed the chill he felt inside and walked quickly, as if nothing was wrong and caught up with He Yu. After He Yu shouted a few times, the driver slowly turned his head, glared at him, and said in a hoarse voice: ¡°You can get off at the terminal.¡± ¡°How can you say this. I¡¯m going to file a complaint against you!¡± He Yu said. The driver cackled causing him to tremble from the sound. The bus was still moving forward. Dong Zhi found that the driver¡¯s feet was flat on the ground and there was no brakes or gas pedal near his feet! ¡°Laozi told you not to play tricks!¡± He Yu raised his right hand that was already holding a talisman between his second and third finger and stuck it on the driver¡¯s forehead. As soon the talisman was pasted, the driver grunted and hissed. His whole body shriveled down at a speed visible to the naked eye and soon turned into a human skin that that limped flatly on the seat. The speed of the bus slowed down and He Yu quickly press the button to open the door. ¡°Get off!¡± As he was speaking, Dong Zhi had already run to the side of the bus by the door and jumped out. He Yu quickly followed closely and landed steadily as the bus continue slowly moving forward. The passengers by the window turned their heads towards Dong Zhi. Under the dim lights, it reflected their blue and pale faces, looking eerie. ¡°Where is this?¡± He Yu looked around. Everywhere was gray and the faint sound of water could vaguely be heard. In the mist, there seemed to be a few figures walking about, but they couldn¡¯t see clearly. Dong Zhi stared at the bus that was gradually getting further away and shuddered. ¡°I suddenly remembered something,¡± he said calmly: ¡°There doesn¡¯t seem to be a bus No. 588 here¡­¡± He Yu said: ¡°When I was talking to the driver just now, I found out that it was a ghost car.¡± Dong Zhi trembled: ¡°Are those people in the car really not human?¡± He Yu shook his head and said: ¡°Not human, but not ghosts either. It should be the same kind of situation we encountered on the train last time.¡± The compass needle in his hand was spinning frantically as the two walked along the side of the road. The ground was bumpy. Judging from the drive just now, it was impossible for them to have reached the countryside. Dong Zhi pondered: ¡°We may have been targeted and deliberately guided here. The person who misled us was probably the same as the person manipulating the Sneaky Yaksha on the train.¡± He Yu nodded: ¡°I think so too. Let¡¯s take a look around and find more about this place. Chung Hui is very likely to be trapped here. Follow me closely and don¡¯t get separated.¡± While he was a little nervous, his psychological tolerance had greatly improved since the events on the train and Changbai Mountain, so this nervousness wouldn¡¯t affect judgement. With no light around, the two turned on their phone to illuminate the way. As they walked, they got closer to the sound of water. The gray mist had gradually dissipated, revealing a bridge. A stream was gurgling under the bridge and the forests were densely packed of both sides. If this had been a normal day, this could be an ideal place to go for leisure or relaxation. All Dong Zhi could feel now was a chill that was steadily increasing and spreading all over his body. He Yu snorted: ¡°Why is there a bridge here? Is this supposed to be the Naihe Bridge*?¡± *(ÄκÎÇÅ) Bridge across the Naihe river that all souls must pass through in order to reincarnate. See Kinky Thoughts for lore. Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Brother, there are four characters on the bridge.¡± He Yu: ¡°Oh, ¡®By the Naihe Bridge*¡¯ is exactly four characters.¡± *Clarity: He Yu added a (±ß) which means by/side to Naihe Bridge (ÄκÎÇÅ). Dong Zhi: ¡°Your joke sucks.¡± The two bickered as they approached the bridge. He Yu took out his phone and shined it on the characters. ¡°Liu, Hua, Ancient, Bridge?¡± Dong Zhi inhale taking in the cold air. He looked intently at the four characters of Liuhua Ancient Bridge that were engrave on the side of the granite. The bridge had wooden railings on both sides. Wrong. How could it be such a desolate scene be near Liuhua Bridge? He grabbed He Yu and prevented him from moving: ¡°This place is near the train station, but I remember it¡¯s not like this.¡± ¡°What¡¯s it like?¡± He Yu asked. Dong Zhi frowned and said: ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be this many trees and it¡¯s in an urban area where there¡¯s a lot of traffic¡­¡± Suddenly, he noticed something strange. He Yu¡¯s voice didn¡¯t seem to be so dull¡­ His heart seized and Dong Zhi quietly reached into his pocket, squeeze the talisman inside, and turned to look at He Yu. Even if he was mentally prepared, one look and he still felt distraught. Where He Yu was standing was the passenger that was sitting by the window on the bus! Dong Zhi hastily took out the talisman, threw it at him, then turn around and fled without saying a word, disregarding whether anyone was chasing after him. He was in a panic and didn¡¯t know how far he had run. He suddenly saw a group of people in front him, and thinking he was out of danger, hurriedly ran towards them, only to find that it was actually a group of prisoners who were being escorted. The prisoners were all wearing single-clothed gowns and the people who were escorting them wore uniforms that didn¡¯t resemble policemen. They were more like the military police of the Republic of China that you would see on TV. Some still had braids behind their heads. Dong Zhi¡¯s arrival had alarmed them, and everyone looked over, their eyes were cold and expressionless. Before he could turn around and escape, he felt his shoulder sink as he was already being held hard on both sides of his shoulders. ¡°Turns out there was a fish that slipped through the net!¡± A cold sneer entered his ears. ¡°We¡¯re short one for today¡¯s execution so we can take him to make up the number!¡± Another person said. Though Dong Zhi struggled and yelled, it was to no avail. The opposing side was extremely powerful, as they dragged him away. He reluctantly turned his head around but all he could see was two people dressed as the military police. He was up the a without a paddle*. He shouted He Yu¡¯s name loudly, but he didn¡¯t know where he was, and He Yu never appeared. Scared beyond wits and at the point of helplessness, he suddenly heard a voice. *Called the heaven and earth and got no response (½ÐÌìÌì²»Ó¦£¬½ÐµØµØ²»Áé) full saying is: Cry out to the heavens, but the heavens don¡¯t respond. Cry out to the earth, but the earth is impervious. It means to be without aid. I used a similar western idiom instead as the direct translation was too awkward. ¡°It¡¯s me. Don¡¯t speak.¡± Not He Yu. Long Shen! He was surprised and couldn¡¯t help getting excited. The voice as like a star in the dark night, suddenly giving the lost lamb a guiding light. Dong Zhi held his breath as his heart beat wildly, barely unable to suppress his elation. Long Shen said: ¡°Listen to what I say and respond in your mind. Don¡¯t make a sound.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare to look up, for fear of exposing the other party, so he quickly agreed in his mind. Long Shen said: ¡°I don¡¯t know what the situation is on your side so let¡¯s talk about it first.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know Long Shen found him, let alone tell him where he was now, and the situation made him unable to ask in detail so he could only quickly relay how he was separated from He Yu then said in his mind: ¡°I don¡¯t know where they are taking me!¡± There was a moment of silence, but a few seconds to him felt like a longer winter. Dong Zhi was hanging by a thread and forgot to struggle as he let the other party escort him forward and merge into the long line of prisoners. He was pushed hard, staggered a few steps, and almost bumped into the person next to him. Faint cries ahead came one after another, like a whimpering cat in the dark night, chilling his bones. Some of the people who were dressed in the single-cloth gown had shaved moon heads like those of the Qing Dynasty, but they whole bodies seemed to be covered with a layer of white mist that blurred their image. ¡°I seem to recall a rumor,¡± Dong Zhi murmured in his mind: ¡°The locals say that near Liuhua Bridge was an execution ground during the Republic of China. The clothes of these people aren¡¯t like modern day. Could it be¡­¡± But this kind of thing felt too fantastical. They were just on a bus in the city. How could they have come to the Luahua Bridge that existed hundreds of years ago. Long Shen finally said: ¡°I am using someone¡¯s mind to communicate with you right now so help is limited. You must save yourself.¡± Dong Zhi cheered up: ¡°I will as you say. He Yu may also be in trouble, so I have to find him!¡± Long Shen: ¡°Do you have a talisman on you?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Yes, three!¡± Long Shen said: ¡°According to what you say, you¡¯re with a group of prisoners who¡¯re being taken to the execution ground and are about to be beheaded. Look for an opportunity where your opponent¡¯s defense is most lax and use it as a chance to escape. Run east.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­It¡¯s dark all around. I don¡¯t know where east is.¡± The silence resumed, and just as he was about to feel uneasy, he heard Long Shen say: ¡°Let go of your mind and don¡¯t think about anything. I¡¯ll borrow your eyes to take a look.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what he was planning to do but he subconsciously trusted Long Shen. He took a deep breath when he heard the words and swept out as much of the messy thoughts in his mind as possible, made a space, adjusted his breathing, and calmed his mood. He suddenly felt as if his heart had been pulled. While it didn¡¯t hurt, it felt a bit weird. His spirit gradually slackened, as if he couldn¡¯t control it. His ears were buzzing as if he had been separated by a glass screen. Dong Zhi opened his mouth but couldn¡¯t make any sound. His body suddenly became lighter and he started floating up little by little. Looking around, the surroundings area was covered with gray. The military policemen behind and the prisoners in front of him all melded into the fog. As the angle of view slowly rotated, only a little light flickered not far behind him, blinking uncertainly. ¡°Right behind you. Run in the direction of that little light. He Yu is there too.¡± Long Shen said. With this, Dong Zhi felt that his body fell heavily and sank back into his body. His ears had regained their clarity and the sound of crying came from the front again. He gasped for breath as his heart was palpitating. ¡°Do you remember?¡± Long Shen asked again. ¡°Yes!¡± he said hurriedly. Here, time seemed to have become an existence of nothingness. He had lost track of how long they had been moving before they finally stopped. Dong Zhi quietly took out a folded talisman from his pocket and squeezed it into the palm of his hand. The prisoners were taken into execution ground and line up one by one, as they were shot. Following the order of the warden, the sound of distinct gunfire was heard as the prisoner bodies fell down, motionless. The surroundings were full of onlookers, but on closer inspection, those people¡¯s faces were covered by a layer of white mist, so their faces couldn¡¯t be seen clearly. The number of people in front of Dong Zhi dwindled in batches until it was about to be his turn. He hesitated for a quick moment before pushing the crowd away fiercely and ran forward. Commotion was heard as verbal abuse came from behind. Dong Zhi turned his head and found that several military personnel quickly caught up to him, their faces blue as their bare their teeth at him, showing a hideous expression. They weren¡¯t holding guns but knotted rope, trying to lasso him from time to time. The scene was thrilling as they barely caught him several time. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth and threw out the talisman in his hand! It cut through the heavy mist and landed on the head of one of the military personnel. The personnel let out a scream as it burst into flames, then suddenly the flame soared into the sky! Looking back, Dong Zhi saw the other chasers temporarily paused their pursuit as the waves of fire caused by the explosion cause them to hesitate. However, the light from the burning fire quickly faded and the personnel turned into a mass of scorched ashes that scattered all over the ground. He only had three talismans and one had just been used. It was impossible to eliminate all his pursuers with just the remaining two. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare to look behind him again and continue to run forward as fast as he could. Facts have proven that people have unlimited potential when they are exposed to extremely dangerous situations. In the past, when he was still in school, he hovered on the edge of getting a passing score on a 1-kilometer run, but if you were to ask a physical education teacher to timed him now, he probably at minimum meet the standard of a national athlete. The roaring behind him was frightening, as the sounds of ghost crying and howling got closer. It was like they were close at hand and any moment he would be entangled with them again. The hairs on his entire body stood up and he subconsciously wanted to look back. Long Shen, who hadn¡¯t spoken for a long time, seemingly aware of his thoughts, shouted at the right time: ¡°Don¡¯t look back!¡± This shock Dong Zhi and cause him to stop his action. Even if the other party was thousands of miles away, hearing his voice had reduced a lot of his fear. The point of light gradually became bigger, signifying that he was getting closer. Dong Zhi discovered that it was the light of a phone that was lying flat on the ground with the flashlight turned on. He Yu was close. There was also a young man sitting next to him, with a ban inch head* in gym clothes. The two of them sat cross-legged, with their eyes closed, motionless. *Ban brush/Board size (°å´çÍ·) It¡¯s a specific hair style like this. It got its name because its about an inch of hair and it is short like a board. I¡¯m not sure what the English equivalent name would be. ¡°He Yu!¡± Dong Zhi called to him excitedly. However, the other party eyebrows furrowed, as if he had fallen into some kind of nightmare and didn¡¯t notice his movements at all. The chasers behind him got closer. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth, threw another talisman back, then rushed forward and pulled He Yu up fiercely! ¡­didn¡¯t budge! He Yu was much larger than him, but the motionless reaction almost made Dong Zhi fall on him. There was no time for hesitation as Dong Zhi took out the last talisman and stuck it on He Yu¡¯s forehead. He Yu¡¯s body shook, and he suddenly opened his eyes, as if he had awakened for a deep slumber. ¡°Why are you here?¡± He said confusingly. Dong Zhi dragged his body up and ran without saying anything. Now that he was able to move, He Yu followed him, staggering a few steps. Seeing that there were pursuers close at hand, He Yu took out a talisman, bit the tip of his tongue, sprayed blood on the talisman paper, pinched his fingers, recited a mantra, and reflexively put the talisman on the ground. When the talisman landed, a loud bang was heard, and a huge wall of fire suddenly ignited separating them from their pursuers. He Yu slapped the young man next to him with his backhand a few times and the latter spit out a mouthful of blood as he slowly opened his eyes with a blank expression. ¡°¡­Teacher- brother?¡± ¡°Run!¡± He Yu grabbed him with one hand and started to run away. The three of them tried their best as they ran a few dozen meters. Dong Zhi had used his phone flashlight to light the way when suddenly, they saw the edge of a cliff appear in front of them. They immediately braked, causing He Yu to fall on the ground. Below the cliff looked bottomless. He Yu casually threw a stone down but couldn¡¯t hear a sound. ¡°How is there a cliff in this place?!¡± Dong Zhi was flabbergasted. ¡°Grandma¡¯s leg*, if it weren¡¯t for laozi¡¯s injury, how would I be caught in this mess!¡± He Yu scolded. *(ÄÌÄ̸öÍÈ) Depending on the usage it could be a bad curse phrase or a light catchphrase that one would say before you start complaining about something. In this case, it¡¯s the latter. I don¡¯t really know what the equivalent English translation would be. The fire was gradually dying out, and the numbers of soldiers chasing them increased. Behind the wall of fire, the flames revealed the mottled faces of the military policemen, exposing white bones underneath the flesh and blood. Some had no eyeballs, leaving two round empty holes. They smiled grimly at them, waiting for the fire to be completely extinguished. He Yu panted: ¡°I ran out of talisman just now, and I don¡¯t have enough blood, so I can¡¯t draw anymore. Do you still have any?¡± Dong Zhi smiled bitterly: ¡°The last one is on your forehead!¡± There was an abyss in front and demons in the back. What were they going to do? At this moment, Long Shen¡¯s voice suddenly sounded: ¡°Jump!¡± Dong Zhi immediately said to He Yu: ¡°Boss Long told us to jump!¡± He Yu was taken aback: ¡°Are you sure?¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°Boss Long said that the abyss may just be a trick.¡± Probably¡­ In other words, it may not be. If they jump, there is a possibility that they would shatter into pieces. He Yu smiled bitterly, gritted his teeth, and made a quick decision: ¡°Jump!¡± Dong Zhi had no objection. He would rather believe Long Shen¡¯s words than deal with things that are neither human nor ghosts. Cheng Hui was still lost in a dazed, and before he realized what was happening, he was pulled by He Yu. The three of them held each other¡¯s arms and leapt off the cliff in a posture of martyrdom! He Yu¡¯s screams echoed in the darkness: ¡°I forgot my phone-¡± The last bit of power on Dong Zhi¡¯s phone emptied and everything turned pitch black. Unable to see, his body fell sharply, and he couldn¡¯t help but close his eyes, gritted his teeth, and prayed silently. At this moment, he didn¡¯t care that Long Shen could glimpse into his inner world as messy thoughts flashed through his mind subconsciously. ¡°Ouch!¡± He Yu yelled. There was no shattering to pieces as expected. When they landed, except for the blooming of their ass*, all other parts of their bodies were still intact. *(ƨ¹É¿ª»¨) Means an ass injury. It derives from adults telling children to obey if they don¡¯t want to get a spanking. It was the middle of the night. Occasionally a few cars with hurtle past them, and the city night lights were still glowing giving off a warmly light. Everything was so familiar that it brought them to tears. The two of them panted, slumping on the side of the road like a dead dog, with no manner so to speak. He Yu was still mourning the untimely death on his phone: ¡°Wuwuwu¡­¡± Dong Zhi apologized and said: ¡°I just pulled you away and left the phone next to you!¡± He Yu was distraught: ¡°There were many old masters in the collector¡¯s edition that it¡¯s difficult to find them now!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He mustered up the courage and asked Long Shen in his mind: ¡°Boss Long, how did you contact me? Why didn¡¯t you communicate directly with He Yu just now?¡± ¡°Last time you met with Zhong Yuyi, he saw that your complexion was dark and said that you might run into a catastrophe on this trip. He Yu¡¯s injuries have not healed yet, and he was afraid that it would be difficult if you ran into a strong enemy, so I called you into the office to take a piece of your hair.¡± Long Shen said after a brief pause. His tone was calm. Dong Zhi suddenly recalled Long Shen¡¯s ambiguous behavior when he was in his office last time. It turned out that he was trying to save his life. He felt ashamed of his crooked thoughts and hurriedly wanted to express his gratitude. Perhaps knowing that they were out of danger, Long Shen unilaterally cut off contact. After that, Dong Zhi did not receive any further messages from him. He Yu gasped and asked Dong Zhi: ¡°How did you find me?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Boss Long uses his mind to communicate with me and help me find your location.¡± He Yu was surprised: ¡°Wow, the boss used a heart connection*?¡± *Ability to communicate telepathically. See lore for details. || Note: throughout the chapter it references them speaking in their ¡°hearts¡± but I have changed it to mind as heart connection is basically telepathy and they were communicating by ¡°thinking¡±. Going forward I will use telepathy instead of heart connection but I want to establish it here for the lore. Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°Zhong Yuyi said that we might encounter trouble when he saw me, so Boss Long took a piece of my hair, but now he¡¯s no longer answering me.¡± He Yu: ¡°Of course, telepathy is an extremely mentally-consuming technique. What¡¯s more, we just went to a place that was isolated from the real world. The boss was already injured and now it¡¯ll probably be worse. Since I lost my phone, lend me yours. I have some questions to ask him.¡± Dong Zhi worried and said: ¡°Will Boss Long will be okay?¡± ¡°He¡¯s much more powerful than you think. It¡¯s better to worry about yourself than him.¡± He Yu pointed to Cheng Hui: ¡°We also have this guy!¡± The author has something to say£º Last time, some people were surprised that Boss Long took Dong Zhi into his office, but it was impossible to predict at that time. That foreshadowing comes into fruition in this chapter. A small theater that¡¯s irrelevant to the novel: Long Shen: I don¡¯t think you¡¯ll learn your lesson if I just deduct your wages and bonuses now. He Yu: ???! Long Shen: From now on, your office and phone will be disconnected from the internet to prevent you from downloading any bad movies or play any games. You can come to my office if you need to work. He Yu: Dear god! You¡¯re killing me here! Kinky Thoughts: I¡¯m not sure if ¡°heart connection¡± has any deeper significance than just meaning telepathy. My wishful thinking is the deeper meaning is that they are connected to each others hearts and that¡¯s why the author called it ¡°heart connection¡±. After all, they are the pairing of this novel. ¡ª Naihe Bridge In Chinese folklore, after death, all souls must cross the bridge on the Naihe River. The bridge is divided into 3 layers. The good souls can pass safely through the bridge on the upper layer. The half-good souls cross the middle section, and the wicked and evil the lower section. These souls are often stop by ghosts in the filthy water and bitten by copper snakes and iron dogs. At the end, they will meet an elderly female deity called Meng Po who feeds them Meng Po Soup that makes them forget all the memories of their past life before they reincarnate. ¡ª Heart Connection [Xintong] (ÐÄͨ) Buddhist term and one of the six links of Buddhism. Xintong is telepathy, which means that you can understand what others think without language. It referred to as ¡°thinking sensing¡±, which means that this super ability can sense the thinking (thought waves) between people or animals, and can transmit perception in unknown ways. The characteristics of xintong is that when interacting with people, you don¡¯t need any internal information. You will be able to analyze their inner world to know who they are, their characteristics, what they are thinking, ect. Applied spirituality, it is divided into three categories: CH 23 Still lost in a daze, Chung Hui slumped to the ground without saying a word. His expression was listless, as if he hadn¡¯t heard their conversation at all. Since they met, Dong Zhi felt there was something off with him but the situation at that time was urgent, so he didn¡¯t have time to ask questions. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with him?¡± He Yu said: ¡°A person has three souls, fetal light, cool spirit, and secluded spirt*. He has lost his cool spirit so now he¡¯s muddleheaded, like a mentally handicapped person. After getting off the bus, it seems you ran into a ghost that was determined to lead you towards the bridge. I wanted to chase after you, but I was stopped by a few naked girls who appeared dancing in front of me.¡± *The three souls that govern the spiritual part of the body. Fetal light: governs your life. Cool spirit: governs your knowledge and wisdom. Secluded spirit: governs your personality. See Kinky Thoughts for lore. The corner of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°Sola Aoi*?¡± *Former Japanese AV idol who is widely considered the most famous AV idol of the 2000¡¯s. He Yu rolled his eyes: ¡°Their figure was better than Sola Aoi. How could this master who had seen all her thousands of sails be fooled? Seeing that they couldn¡¯t stop me, they all turned into Cheng Hui, and only one of them was real. I was eager to deal with them and rescue Chung Hui but I lost you. Fortunately, the boss helped us out, or this would¡¯ve been quite troublesome!¡± Dong Zhi bluntly said: ¡°I think you might get punished when you return.¡± He Yu wailed: ¡°That¡¯s for sure! When I go out, not only did I carelessly lost you, I had to rely on the boss to save us. I can already see my beloved money sprouting wings and flying away!¡± Dong Zhi wanted to cover his ears to block out He Yu¡¯s whining, but he couldn¡¯t help think about the execution ground and the military policemen he encountered. The chill didn¡¯t dissipate in his heart. ¡°What happened just now? Did we run into a ghost, or did we travel through time?¡± He Yu said solemnly: ¡°Neither. Someone had set up a trap around here and was waiting for us to crash into it. The things you saw were demons with highly condensed grievances. Human vision is often limited so they can get easily confused.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned: ¡°So, what we saw just now was an illusion?¡± But he was physically apprehended, and all the sobbing he heard felt so real. He Yu: ¡°It¡¯s not an illusion. These guys belong to the same kind of demons like the Sneaky Yaksha, but they are of lower level so they cannot absorb the essence of the human brain and can only survive in a specific boundary.¡± Dong Zhi said worriedly: ¡°Then ordinary people will not be affected, right?¡± He Yu shook his head: ¡°This place was once an execution ground in the Republic of China. There are countless of the dead and their resentment was condensed here. After hundreds of years, it still had not dissipated, forming a special magnetic field. However, nothing was wrong until someone took advantage of this fact, deliberately lured us here and created an enchantment, making us think we had traveled a hundred years back in time. If we were to stay for too long, we would not be able to return again.¡± The two set off with Cheng Hui, one holding his left side the other his right. There was no resistance since he was still muddleheaded. The hotel was crowded with people, making it inconvenient, so they returned to Cheng Hui¡¯s rented home instead. It was late at night, and the sky was cleared. The landlady who was in the middle of a good dream was awakened by their arrival. She came to open the security door with a grumpy expression. When she saw they had really recovered Cheng Hui, she recalled the strange method they were using when she led them to his room and was in complete disbelief. The scolding that she was about to give them was instantly forgotten. Dong Zhi lied and said that they had rescued him from the MLM organization, but because he was bullied, he was in bad spirit and needed rest. They would take care of him for a few days and said she could temporarily increase the rent, successfully appeasing her anger*. *Strangled in the cradle (¶óɱÔÚÒ¡Àº) Idiom referring to killing the idea before it¡¯s even implemented. It refers to babies being defenseless and weak and easier to kill before they can grow up and become a hidden danger. || In this context, the landlady was angry that more people were going to stay in a single room, but they offered to pay more rent, which appeased her before she even proposes the idea. After settling Cheng Hui down, they both collapsed on the floor, exhausted, and felt like the never wanted to move again. ¡°I¡¯ll report to the boss later and ask him to find someone to investigate that Liuhua¡¯s Bridge enchantment.¡± He Yu said weakly. Dong Zhi reluctantly got up, collected two bottles of water from the fridge and tossed one to him. ¡°I feel as if someone is always seemingly pushing us towards something. Cheng Hui¡¯s matter most likely is related to what you asked him to investigate.¡± He Yu opened the bottle, took a big gulp, and let out a comfortable sigh: ¡°It¡¯s all my fault. I was too careless. This kid is very curious. He must have discovered something unintentionally alerting the other party¡¯s attention.¡± Dong Zhi took out a pen and paper, wrote the word train on it, then drew an arrow pointing it to Changchun. Southeast of Changchun is Changbai Mountain. Then there¡¯s Guangzhou. Finally, he connected all the dots. From north to south, it spanned almost half the country. Dong Zhi placed brackets with [Sneaky Yaksha] written in them besides the train, Changchun, and Changbai Mountain. He looked up at He Yu and wrote by Guangzhou: [Low-level Sneaky Yaksha]. He Yu frowned as he looked at the schematic diagram Dong Zhi drew. ¡°I remember there was a past event.¡± He Yu said: ¡°Seven years ago, I was sent to the boarder of Yunnan to perform a mission there where I encountered a similar situation at that time. We were confused by the demons and thought we had returned to ancient Yunnan, thousands of years ago. I had just join back then so I was hotblooded, not afraid of neither sky nor earth. As a result, I almost met my end. I later learned that those monsters were called Sneaky Yaksha, and they specialize in feeding on blood essence and souls.¡± Dong Zhi was surprised: ¡°They¡¯re everywhere?¡± He Yu shook his head: ¡°They¡¯re not difficult to deal with, but they¡¯re elusive and they specialize in finding human weaknesses. The weaker ones are like those that we ran into in the enchantment, while the stronger ones possess the human body and suck out their brain like what happened on the train.¡± ¡°I heard the boss say that for these demons, the weak follows the strong while the strong follows the stronger. If they suddenly appear, they must¡¯ve been summoned by a more powerful demon. They provide blood essence and souls for the demon and in return the demon provides them with protection where they can feed on humans without scruples.¡± ¡°However, last time on Changbai Mountain, we completely destroyed the bone dragon and also killed many of the Sneaky Yaksha. The demon hidden behind the scenes must also suffered some backlash. Even if we didn¡¯t kill it, they most likely were severely injured and shouldn¡¯t dare show up again so shortly after.¡± Dong Zhi pinched the two fluffy ears of He Yu¡¯s backpack as he has now developed this habit while thinking. Lost in his thoughts, he almost deformed the bear¡¯s head from his rubbing. ¡°To summarize, there are two possibilities. The first is that there may be a stone tablet here and the other party came to deal with it.¡± He Yu let out a sigh, showing that he wasn¡¯t surprised, as he was thinking on the same line of thought. ¡°The second possibility, according to what you said, is that the person who is manipulating the Sneaky Yaksha may have been severely injured due to the backlash on Changbai Moutain. If this is the case, he must find a place to heal, right? Since he¡¯s injured, his power has decreased, so he could only summon lower-level demons in a limited enchantment, as he doesn¡¯t have the strength to support the higher level Sneaky Yaksha.¡± Dong Zhi further analyzed it and said: ¡°This corresponds to the fact that you asked Cheng Hui for his divination. It¡¯s very likely that he had found some clues and inadvertently attracted trouble.¡± He Yu was stunned showing that he obviously didn¡¯t think of this possibility. Dong Zhi continued: ¡°If he needed to more blood essence and souls¡¯ resentment, the ideal target area should be in a city like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, where there are three religions and nine streams1, and fish mixes with dragons2. Even if a few people go missing every year, it¡¯ll probably be difficult to track them down in a vast sea of people.¡± 1Three religions are: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The nine streams refer to the identities of different rank. See lore for more details. 2(ÓãÁú»ìÔÓ) Idiom that means the good people mixes with the bad. He Yu asked sarcastically: ¡°Then why Guangzhou instead of Shanghai or Beijing, which are closer to Changchun?¡± Dong Zhi answered seriously: ¡°I remember you said that after the Special Administration Bureau was split into four, the southern headquarters was moved to Shanghai, and the there¡¯s only a small office in Guangzhou. If I were that person, I would definitely choose a place that as far out of sight from the Bureau and has a decent foreign population size. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and even Hong Kong are all good choices.¡± He Yu stared at him blankly, speechless. Dong Zhi got the creeps when he saw He Yu¡¯s expression, but he couldn¡¯t prevent him from patting him heavily on the shoulder. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so smart!¡± Black lines appeared as Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Do I look stupid?¡± He Yu: ¡°You should show your cleverness in front of the boss next time so maybe he¡¯ll be willing to open a backdoor for you!¡± Dong Zhi wanted to tell him: ¡®Every time I¡¯m in front of your boss, I get so overwhelmed by his aura that I forget where north, south, east and west are, so how could I possibly show him anything.¡¯ With that said, He Yu took Dong Zhi¡¯s phone and called Long Shen. The phone rang for a while before it was picked up by Kan Chaosheng. ¡°What? The boss helped you get out of trouble today, so he¡¯s exhausted and is resting. What do want?¡± He Yu knew that Long Shen condition was severe, otherwise he would have answer his phone instead of having Kan Chaosheng do it. ¡°Can you wake him up for me? It¡¯s urgent!¡± Kan Chaosheng didn¡¯t question him. After a while, the voice on the other line changed. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Long Shen sounded tired. Dong Zhi was too worn out and no longer had the energy, so he didn¡¯t listen to He Yu¡¯s conversation, and instead feel asleep while in a haze, until he was awakened the next day. He Yu¡¯s spirits looked much better today, as he was joking around: ¡°You sure can sleep. You didn¡¯t wake up at all last night as I talked to the boss. He said he could hear your snoring!¡± Dong Zhi was shocked: ¡°Really?!¡± He Yu said bitterly: ¡°Of course I¡¯m lying. Why are you so gullible and cute! My little baby Dongdong, you¡¯re no longer the great Dongdong Qiang* in my mind!¡± *Clarity: Note that¡¯s Dong Zhi¡¯s online handle. Also, the Dong (ßË) in his handle is a different character than the Dong (¶¬) in Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi: ¡­ Since Cheng Hui has lost a part of his soul, he was unresponsive. He sat crossed legged on the bed as he nibbled on a bun in his hand, remaining quiet, and didn¡¯t get involve in their bickering. He Yu slapped him with a stick then gave him a sweet jujube* and hurriedly said: ¡°I bought breakfast. There¡¯s soy milk, fritters, rice noodles, and buns on the table. Take whatever you want to eat. To reward you for your hard work yesterday, this brother will treat you to a big meal at noon!¡± *Metaphor for using both reward and punishment to induce a desired behavior. AKA carrot and stick. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t care about food, so he hurriedly asked: ¡°What did Boss Long say last night? What should we do next?¡± He Yu said: ¡°Good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Bad news.¡± He Yu: ¡°According to the portrait you provided last time, we used facial recognition to find Xu Wan and her daughter. Their identities are not abnormal. Xu Wan did divorce her husband a few years ago and then took custody of her child.¡± Dong Zhi found this strange: ¡°So they¡¯re not suspicious? What kind of bad news is this?¡± He Yu: ¡°A week ago, Xu Wan brought her daughter, Chen Tong, to Guangzhou.¡± Dong Zhi was surprised: ¡°They really have something to do with Sneaky Yaksha?!¡± He Yu said: ¡°You met Xu Wan on the train and there happened to be a Sneaky Yaksha on the train. You met her at the hotel, and it happened that someone died there. Later, on Changbai Mountain¡­ There are many coincidences in the world, but it¡¯s rare for this kind of coincidence to happen related to this point. I even suspect that she wanted to attack you at the beginning- the water bottle being evidence; but was interfered by the boss so she had to divert her target to the train attendant.¡± Dong Zhi murmured: ¡°She became my replacement?¡± He Yu shook his head: ¡°No, I said that although your Ba-zi is useful, they are not the easiest to attract ghosts and demons. The train attendant was born on the Mid-Autumn Festival, so her Ba-zi was more suitable than yours.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°But then at the hotel, you weren¡¯t there. She obviously had many opportunities so why didn¡¯t she start with me?¡± ¡°Because of this.¡± He Yu took out a sunlight talisman and put it on the table. ¡°We broke her schemes on the train, so she had to remain vigilant. If something happens to you, it¡¯ll allow us to track it back to her. She was eager to resurrect the dragon corpse and couldn¡¯t afford any extra trouble, so she let you off.¡± He sighed: ¡°But others are not as lucky, like the person who jumped out of the hotel and Yao Bin. Before that, she must¡¯ve killed many people along the way, collecting enough blood essence and resentment to awaken the dragon corpse.¡± Thinking about the number of times he ran into Xu Wan, even staying in an adjacent room next to her, and how he managed to escape death, made him inadvertently shudder. He couldn¡¯t help pondering why he didn¡¯t feel vigilant against her through their multiple encounters. Dong Zhi recalled carefully and found that whenever he looked at Xu Wan, he always felt she gave off a gentle and amiable aura, and he even felt it was similar to his deceased mother, so he consistently dropped his guard around her. Even when he saw her on Changbai Mountain, he didn¡¯t even doubt her, instead thought she gotten lost, and didn¡¯t find anything wrong with the situation until after a while. It wasn¡¯t until later, after they came down from Changbai Mountain, He Yu and the others started investigating the stone tablet that he told them about his ¡°chance encounter¡± with Xu Wan that they started a deeper investigation of her. Now that realization have hit him, he felt afraid and told He Yu about this thoughts. He Yu didn¡¯t seem surprised by them: ¡°It¡¯s not shocking. It¡¯s a demon¡¯s nature to confuse people. If Xu Wan is really related to demons, if she wanted you to fall in love with her wholeheartedly, it can be done. It¡¯s just that we were too careless at that time and didn¡¯t block the train for on-the-spot inspections. Otherwise, perhaps Yao Bin wouldn¡¯t have lost his life. Fortunately, it¡¯s not too late to make amends.¡± Dong Zhi comforted him: ¡°She was prepared from the beginning. First using the train attendant to distract our attention, and even attracted the Japanese as a cover. This was done intentionally, and no one would have expected it.¡± He Yu said: ¡°Is there someone else behind Xu Wan, or is she a demon herself? Now that we have a clue, we need to find her to get answers. When the mother-daughter duo came to Guangzhou, whether it was through immigrations or hotel registrations, there were no records of them. I suspect they had used fake documents and certificates and now are hiding somewhere.¡± Hearing such unexpected news first thing in the morning, Dong Zhi had to drink some soy milk to suppress his shock. ¡°What about the good news?¡± He Yu smiled and said: ¡°Willows and flowers*. Before you got up, I used a location method, and based on the approximation given by the chopstick, I asked my brother¡¯s department to help with monitoring and investigation, and finally found a video of Cheng Hui before his disappearance.¡± *(Áø°µ»¨Ã÷) Metaphor for sudden survival after twists and turns and hardships. Dong Zhi gave a thumbs up: ¡°The combination of Chinese and Western medicine has a good curative effect. So amazing, brother!¡± He Yu brushed back his hair chicly: ¡°That¡¯s right. Look who¡¯s doing all the work!¡± Cheng Hui looked at him blankly, and suddenly said: ¡°Fool¡­¡± He Yu said angrily: ¡°Shut up! You¡¯re the fool. I¡¯m helping a big fool like you find your soul!¡± Cheng Hui: ¡°Big fool.¡± He Yu: ¡­ Dong Zhi was trying hard to hold in his laughter. Cheng Hui had lost his soul and was usually unresponsive. From time to time, he would utter a few irrelevant words out of nowhere and He Yu was too lazy to argue with him. He pulled up the map app on Dong Zhi¡¯s phone and entered the location. ¡°The video showed that Cheng Hui did not come out since he entered this alley that day. I did not sense a remnant of his soul near Liuhua Bridge so it¡¯s very likely that it¡¯s still imprisoned somewhere. For now, since this is the only clue we have, we¡¯ll check here first.¡± Dong Zhi looked at the map: ¡°The alleys in urban villages like this are generally very narrow so there¡¯s no cameras. Most likely it¡¯ll be difficult to check.¡± He Yu said: ¡°We¡¯ve narrowed it as much as possible. Let¡¯s go over and have a look first.¡± After finishing breakfast Dong Zhi felt he had regained all the strength he lost from yesterday: ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡± He Yu said: ¡°I¡¯m injured. Come and help me draw talismans. We should prepare first, then set off in the evening.¡± Dong Zhi thought this was odd: ¡°Isn¡¯t there more sunlight during the day?¡± He Yu replied: ¡°The other party is aware of this, so she¡¯ll definitely choose to be active at night. As the night passes, I¡¯ll be more likely to sense their magic energy.¡± With that said, the two got busy quickly. Things like drawing talismans require focus. Even though he stilled remember how to draw them, he wasn¡¯t necessarily efficient at it. By the time evening approached, Dong Zhi was sweating profusely as he set his brush down. His ability to draw talismans had improved a lot, but still, only every one out of ten could be used, which was already quite remarkable. Using over half a day, he was only able to draw ten decent sunlight talismans. He Yu had lost too much blood. In order to strengthen the talisman, he had to infuse his own blood into them. By the time he was done with all of them, he collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath. ¡°I regret it now¡­¡± He Yu face looked as if he was dying: ¡°I knew I should have pull Kan Chaosheng over. His blood is much better than mine!¡± Dong Zhi was a little worried: ¡°Are you still able to locate someone in your current state?¡± He Yu raised his hand weakly and made an OK gesture. Dong Zhi also laid on the floor not wanting to get up anymore either: ¡°What do you want to eat? I¡¯ll order takeout.¡± He Yu said: ¡°No, I¡¯ll have someone deliver it.¡± He made a call and order over a dozen dishes such as Buddha jumping over the wall, stewed black chicken with donkey-hide gelatin, sea cucumber congee with millet, and ten other dishes all in one breath before contentedly hanging up. Black lines appear on Dong Zhi as he said: ¡°Can you finish eating all this and isn¡¯t stewed black chicken* eaten by women?¡± *Clarity: The dish is broken into 3 parts (based on ingredients) that has a variety of (supposed) benefits. Black chicken helps with dysentery, wrists and abdominal cramps (so it¡¯s good for mothers) and also cure postpartum weakness, collapse and leucorrhea. Jujubes can invigorate the spleen and stomach, nourish qi and blood. Donkey-hide gelatin helps with the liver, lung and kidney and return them to their meridians. He Yu said confidently: ¡°Replenishing blood and nourishing Qi is what we need now!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°You¡¯re suddenly so extravagant. Is it because you can be reimbursed?¡± He Yu proudly said: ¡°My family¡¯s little Dongdong is so smart. Since this is related to demons, it shows that the Changbai Mountain incident is not over yet so it¡¯s business matters. The boss has agreed to reimburse me!¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t stand him pretending to be cute like a five-and-a-half-year-old: ¡°Who¡¯s your family? Cheng Hui¡¯s your family!¡± He Yu frowned: ¡°Then whose family are you? Boss¡¯?¡± Dong Zhi blinked, paused, and then said: ¡°Why did you suddenly involved Boss Long?¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°Look at how nervous you are. The boss is so powerful so it¡¯s normal for you to admire him!¡± While they were talking, the phone rang. He Yu went downstairs to pick up someone and after a while he came back with a young man that was carrying food in his hand. As soon as the takeout box was opened, a strong fragrance quickly filled the entire space. He Yu introduced them: ¡°This is Lin Jun, from the Guangzhou office. This is the Dong Zhi.¡± Dong Zhi gave him a smile while the other party was extremely enthusiastic: ¡°I wonder where Senior Brother* Dong is from?¡± *Clarity: Lin Jun refers to all of them as Shixiong (ʦÐÖ) which translates to something like senior brother. It¡¯s normally used to address people who are from the same teacher and who¡¯s older than you. He Yu said impatiently: ¡°Eat first, I¡¯m starving to death!¡± Hearing him, Lin Jun shut up. The three, plus a Cheng Hui who had lost his soul, were like winds sweeping away clouds*, and swept away the entire meal quickly. *(·ç¾í²ÐÔÆ) Metaphor for sweeping away the remaining things all at once, usually people¡¯s food. After finishing, He Yu stretch his legs out and twisted his waist side to side. His spirits looked much better now. He said to Lin Jun: ¡°The incident happened so suddenly that I had to ask you for your help. If the people of the South China Branch arrive in time, can you ask them to come to this address to find us.¡± Lin Jun looked at the location sent by He Yu on his phone, nodded, and said: ¡°Senior Brother He, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯ll be watching Senior Brother Cheng here.¡± Their luggage was still left at the hotel when they first checked in. Lin Jun was enthusiastic and volunteered to go collect it for them. After showering and changing into a new set of clothes, Dong Zhi felt completely refreshed. He Yu explained a few more things to Lin Jun and then left with Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi was very curious about Lin Jun: ¡°Is he your junior martial brother?¡± He Yu shook his head and said: ¡°Senior brother is just a generic term. He¡¯s a member of the side branch of the Lin Family in Lingnan. His ability is mediocre and his kung fu is just for show*. There¡¯s no one in Guangzhou office now, so sometimes he comes in handy!¡± *Stalking horses (ÁïÐëÅÄÂí) Metaphor meaning fawn over, shameless flattery. Dong Zhi said unexpectedly: ¡°Do cultivators also have this kind of life?¡± He Yu rolled his eyes: ¡°Cultivators are also human beings. Of course, flattery and intrigue are indispensable. If he was more capable, there would be no need for the two of us to brave the devil¡¯s lair. I already sent an urgent request to Shanghai, hoping they¡¯ll send a few reliable people over.¡± Braving the devil¡¯s lair is a very accurate way of putting into words of what they¡¯re doing right now. Suddenly, Dong Zhi felt a sense of sadness and solemnity. The two took a taxi to the place they had found. It was another urban village that was lively at night, but this was still on the main road. Once they entered the alleyways, there weren¡¯t bright streetlamps and the surroundings immediately dimmed as lightbulbs that had fallen into disrepair flickered occasionally, making a sizzling noise. ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± He Yu said. They were standing at the entrance to an alley that was extremely narrow. Two self-built houses stood next to each other, leaving a small gap in the middle that formed the alley. Some alleys were difficult for even one person to squeeze through. Luckily this was better. There were scattered lights and signs throughout the alley for shops for massage parlors, inns, and mahjong halls. He Yu and Dong Zhi first picked the inn and went in. The boss was sitting at the front desk watching a Korean drama. From the corner of her eyes, she caught a glimpse of them coming in but didn¡¯t take a closer look as she casually asked: ¡°Want a room?¡± after asking, she gave them a quick glance and her expression immediately changed as she gave them a meaningful look. Dong Zhi: ¡­ You¡¯re the one who spoke up first before even looking at people! Kinky Thoughts: What are your thoughts on Chinese idioms? Should they be translated if a good translation exists, or do you prefer them footnoted? I usually footnote them unless they are too awkward to put in the translation or if the translated meaning makes it flow better. For example: ¡°the fishes mixes with the dragons¡± could probably be translated as the good mixes with the bad or a mixed bag. They basically mean the same thing. IMO I like the Chinese idioms as it gives a little of Chinese culture to the novel, and it is after all a Chinese novel. ¡ª The three souls more commonly refer to as the three souls and seven souls governs the spiritual part of the body. In Taoism, the three souls refer to the ¡°heaven soul, earth soul, and human soul¡± which are respectively named ¡°fetal light, cool spirit, and secluded spirit¡±. In ancient times this was called ¡°main soul, awakened soul, and living soul¡± or ¡°primitive spirit, yang spirit, yin spirit¡±. When a person dies the three souls return to their three lines. The three souls will reunite again when the main soul reincarnates. The seven souls refer to: ¡ª 3 Religions and 9 Streams The three religions are: These religions are further divided into 9 streams that are classification of people¡¯s status and occupational name in ancient China. They are: CH 24 Ignoring the misunderstanding of the boss, He Yu leaned forward acting solemnly: ¡°I¡¯m here to catch an adulterer. Someone said that my wife came here to rent a room with a man. Pretty lady, can you let us check the rooms. If we don¡¯t find anyone, we¡¯ll leave immediately!¡± The boss¡¯ face sank: ¡°It¡¯s your own business if you want to catch your wife cheating. How can you expect me to open and let you search all the rooms in my business!¡± This kind of inn wasn¡¯t formal. As long as you can pay, you don¡¯t need to register or show any documents. He Yu took 200 yuan and put it on the counter: ¡°No need to search. Just help me identify someone.¡± Seeing the money, the boss¡¯s face improved: ¡°Who?¡± He Yu turned on Dong Zhi¡¯s phone and pulled up the photo he had taken of Cheng Hui: ¡°In the past few days, has this person ever entered your place?¡± The boss frowned and said: ¡°Not today. I wasn¡¯t here two days ago.¡± He Yu took out another 200 yuan and stuff it in her hand: ¡°Can you ask for me?¡± For the sake of money, the boss called her husband. The boss looked at the photo again and then remembered: ¡°I did see him! I remembered, he came here a few days ago but didn¡¯t say he whether he wanted to rent a room or not. After loitering around for a bit, he left. I thought it was a cop trying to confiscate porn, but he said he was looking for someone, then went to the foot spa nearby.¡± He Yu: ¡°Did he leave later?¡± The boss replied: ¡°I don¡¯t know. I didn¡¯t follow him!¡± After leaving the inn, the two went straight to ¡°Xinyue Foot Spa¡± diagonally opposite the inn. The light inside was dim setting an ambiguous mood. From a glance, one would know that there was also a ¡°side business¡± in addition to pedicures. A charming middle-aged woman greeted them with a smile: ¡°Are the two of you familiar with our foot therapists?¡± He Yu said: ¡°No. Can you introduce two of them?¡± He lowered his voice again: ¡°Young, beautiful and pure.¡± The middle-aged woman pretended to be displeased: ¡°We¡¯re all serious food therapists here!¡± He Yu said impatiently: ¡°Cut the nonsense. It¡¯s 350 per hour!¡± Seeing that he was familiar with the road, the middle-aged woman became delighted. She led them into a small room and said with a smile: ¡°Wait here for a minute,¡± then left. Dong Zhi stared blankly at him and said: ¡°How do you know that it was 350 an hour?¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°National prices will not differ much!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless: ¡°Are you planning to reimburse this?¡± As he finished speaking, he saw that He Yu was focusing on the compass and couldn¡¯t help feel a sinking feeling in his heart: ¡°Is there a problem here?¡± He Yu: ¡°I sense some magic, but it¡¯s not heavy. It should be that Xu Wan did stay here¡­ Shh, someone¡¯s coming!¡± Dong Zhi immediately became silent. The door opened and two young women came in. ¡°Hello, sir. Let¡¯s soak your feet first. Would you like sea salt or ginger juice?¡± The two of them came in holding wooden barrels at the corner of their robes as one woman whispered to He Yu. ¡°Whatever! You are so beautiful that I¡¯ll be comfortable with anything!¡± He Yu acted like an anxious lecher that had a tail that was wagging excitedly. The two women seemed accustomed to such kind of flirty language, while Dong Zhi felt uncomfortable. Seeing as one of the women reached out her hands to help him take off his shoes and socks, he bent over and started doing it himself. The woman pursed her lips and smiled: ¡°Just lie down and let me handle it.¡± For such an occasion, being tacit was key and there was no need to put on airs. The therapist started massaging He Yu¡¯s legs slowly moving her hands up in an ambiguous movement. He Yu quickly winced: ¡°I have a backache. Do you have anyone here that can massage my waist!¡± The woman chuckled: ¡°It¡¯s not convenient here so how about we change places?¡± He Yu: ¡°Change it!¡± He acted like a pervert who couldn¡¯t wait as he quickly got up and followed the woman out. Dong Zhi raise his voice: ¡°Old He!¡± He Yu perfunctorily said to him: ¡°This room belongs to you. You can do whatever you want. It¡¯s all on me today!¡± After that, without waiting for the Dong Zhi to respond, he hurriedly hugged the woman and left with her. Dong Zhi: ¡­ Suddenly he felt pain on the sole of his feet that made him inadvertently scream causing the woman to laugh: ¡°You haven¡¯t slept well in the past few days. Your meridians are a bit blocked. I¡¯ll help massage it for you.¡± Seeing that the Dong Zhi was stunned, she laughed: ¡°Or do you want to have your waist massage too?¡± As she spoke, she moved her hand along his calf causing Dong Zhi to jolt and hurriedly stopped her hand: ¡°No, no, I¡¯m okay!¡± The woman laughed again embarrassing Dong Zhi. He felt as if he was completely seen through. ¡°My name is Xiao Dong. What your name sister?¡± Calling a lady by sister was very useful on women as she loosened a bit: ¡°You can call me A¡¯Yue. Is this your first time?¡± Dong Zhi nodded and whispered:¡± ¡°Sister A¡¯Yue, I¡¯m here looking for someone.¡± A¡¯Yue became wary: ¡°Who are you looking for?¡± Dong Zhi took out his phone and showed it to her: ¡°It¡¯s her.¡± It was a picture of Xu Wan¡¯s ID photo that He Yu had sent to him. A¡¯Yue was startled for a moment then quickly denied: ¡°There¡¯s no such person here.¡± She denied it so quickly that Dong Zhi knew she was lying. ¡°Truth is, she is my sister.¡± Dong Zhi said. Seeing as how He Yu left him here alone, it indicated that A¡¯Yue wasn¡¯t related to demons so he could inquire with confidence. A¡¯Yue let out a sigh, showing a surprise expression. Dong Zhi continued convincingly spouting nonsense: ¡°When my sister got married, everyone in my family opposed it, but my sister loves my brother-in-law and had to be with him. As a result, she gave birth to a daughter with autism which cause my brother-in-law to divorce her. Since she fell out with our parents, she didn¡¯t want to go back and in a fit of desperation came here to work. I asked many people to find her and only then did I find out that she¡¯s here. Sister A¡¯Yue, if you know anything, can you please tell me?¡± If this was said by He Yu, it wouldn¡¯t be effective at all, but Dong Zhi looked pure and innocent, and seeing him act so cute and miserable, she couldn¡¯t help but softened her heart at that moment, especially when he took out 500 yuan and stuffed it into her hand and said softly: ¡°Sister A¡¯Yue. Please tell me, okay? I won¡¯t tell anyone.¡± A¡¯Yue finally loosener her tongue: ¡°She came not to long ago, and she didn¡¯t use the name Xu Wan.¡± This was the norm though as who would use their real name in an industry like this. Overjoyed, Dong Zhi hurriedly asked: ¡°Did she come to work today?¡± A¡¯Yue said: ¡°She took a two-day break. I¡¯m not familiar with her but there¡¯s another person who¡¯s closer to her that may know her address. I¡¯ll ask for it for you later.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Thank you Sister A¡¯Yue!¡± Since Xu Wan is related to demons, and may be one herself, she came all the way to the south but lived in seclusion as a prostitute behind some back alley. In addition to hiding herself to avoid detection, was it because she also has further ideas, thinking this was a more convenient way to kill and escape? He didn¡¯t dare think too carefully on it as it only made his fears grow. Dong Zhi left her a message on WeChat and wanted to leave but A¡¯Yue made him stay, saying that their business was vigilant, and guests could not leave halfway, otherwise it would make people think that it¡¯s an undercover cop trying to investigate. With no other choice, Dong Zhi stayed the full hour where he was overwhelmed with the other party¡¯s constant questions. After the hour was up, he quickly fled leaving behind A¡¯Yue with a teasing smile. When he left the shop, he waited at the entrance for a while before He Yu came out. As he came out, he stretched lazily and yawned, giving off a look as if he was addicted to money. ¡°Why did you come out so quickly? Didn¡¯t you enjoy it?¡± Dong Zhi was speechless: ¡°Do you think everyone is as hungry as you? I¡¯m not ashamed of being a virgin!¡± He Yu said: ¡°Tsk, tsk. Comrade, you can¡¯t be thinking along this kind of line. I¡¯m sacrificing my image for the sake of business. Besides, how can my precious chastity be wasted in such a place? You look down on my taste too much!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Then what level will be to your taste?¡± He Yu thought about it quite seriously before saying: ¡°It will have to at least be 800 an hour.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He Yu finally remembered business matters: ¡°Is there any news from your side? Although my side knew Xu Wan, she didn¡¯t know her address. I used a little method on her to make sure she didn¡¯t lie. If you didn¡¯t get anything, then we¡¯ll just have to go talk to the procuress.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I exchanged WeChat with A¡¯Yue and she said she would help me ask.¡± He Yu patted him on the shoulder and said with satisfaction: ¡°I was right about you. Your appearance is the most evocative to a woman¡¯s motherhood.¡± Black lines appeared as Dong Zhi said: ¡°I¡¯m also a handsome guy with long legs! You¡¯re insulting my dignity as a man!¡± The two of them walked out of the alley while bickering when Dong Zhi received a WeChat notification. When he opened it, it was from A¡¯Yue who sent him the address. The place was not far from here. He Yu said: ¡°In the future we¡¯ll send you on seductive tasks. This is the trust the organization place on you.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°How thoughtful of the organization. Is it just us two going into the tiger¡¯s den? Shouldn¡¯t we wait for reinforcements to come?¡± ¡°I have already asked Lin Jun to notify them, but I don¡¯t know who¡¯s coming. Since the Special Administrative Bureau had expanded, we have many people like Lin Jun that¡¯s half a bucket of water*. With Xu Wan¡¯s cunningness, she would soon know that we¡¯ve been to the place where she works and will move to another place that¡¯s even harder to find.¡± *(°ëÍ°Ë®) Cantonese dialect that originally was half a bucket of shit but being too vulgar was changed to water. It refers to someone who¡¯s not smart or not good at learning. He Yu patted his chest with confidence and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. You have this brother, so you¡¯ll be safe and sound.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­The more you assure me, the more uneasy I get. Xu Wan¡¯s residence was easy to find. It was just after 8 so there were occasional people coming in and out from downstairs. He Yu and Dong Zhi blended in and followed them in, saving them a lot of effort. Each floor of the building held two families. According to the address given by A¡¯Yue, Xu Wan lives in room 302. They went up to the third floor and rang the doorbell but no one answered. ¡®No one¡¯s there?¡¯ Dong Zhi mouthed to He Yu. He Yu shook his head and looked at the compass in his hand. Since entering the building, the magnetic needle on the compass had been spinning frantically. Seeing this, He Yu didn¡¯t hesitate any longer and used a shady method to quickly open the door. The room was quiet and pitch black, a sign that the owner was not at home. He Yu turned on the lights in the living room. The home had two bedrooms and a living room, and the layout was simple. Looking around, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t find anything related to children in the living room nor were there any feminine furnishings. This was not normal for a supposedly single mother who loves her child very much. ¡°There¡¯s a lot of demonic energy here. I¡¯ll go to the rooms to have a look. Wait for me here and get the talismans ready.¡± He Yu said. Although Dong Zhi didn¡¯t sense any magical aura, he also felt a gloomy dreary atmosphere here, which made him feel a bit breathless. There was no need for feng shui analysis. Intuition was often most accurate. He recalled a time when was about to rent a house. As soon as he walked into it, he felt a sense of unease and uncomfortableness. The agent who showed it to him had insisted there was no problem with it. It was only later that he found out from a neighbor that a murder had taken place in that house before. Now, this home gave him the same familiar vibe as back then. As he was looking away from the last year¡¯s calendar on the wall, he suddenly found a dark shadow at the door of the second bedroom, causing his heart to jump. When he looked at it more closely, he saw that it was a familiar figure. ¡°Tongtong?¡± Although Dong Zhi knew that Xu Wan was a major suspect, he still sympathized with this sick and innocent little girl. She didn¡¯t even know that her mother had been in contact with demons. The little girl looked at him motionlessly, as before. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t bear it and he soften his voice more: ¡°Tongton, we didn¡¯t mean to break into your house. Something happened to your mother, so we had to take a look. Do you know where your mother is?¡± ¡°Mom¡­¡± The little girl seemed to be touched, and suddenly raised her hand and motioned for him to come over. Dong Zhi suppressed the strange feeling in his heart and slowly walked over. When he was about to walk to the door of the second bedroom, the corners of Tongtong¡¯s mouth suddenly raised in a weird arc, and her pale little hands grabbed him. Dong Zhi was already mentally prepared. Though he was still shocked, he hurriedly stepped back and quickly put the talisman he had been holding in his hand onto her head. As soon as the talisman came into contact with the little girl¡¯s skin, it immediately ignited spontaneously. The girl screamed, and blue veins appeared all over her face. This scene made him think of Yao Bin, who was possessed by the Sneaky Yaksha on Changbai Mountain. All his hairs stood up as the talisman quickly burnt out and the little girl¡¯s expression became more hideous as her face became pale and blue and she rushed over! Dong Zhi took advantage of the situation and grabbed her wrist, thinking that he could control her strength. Surprisingly, the little girl¡¯s strength was even greater than He Yu so she immediately slapped Dong Zhi with her backhand, gripped his thigh with one hand, and plunged her five fingers into Dong Zhi¡¯s flesh! Before he could scream, He Yu had ran out of the master bedroom and choked the back of Tongtong¡¯s neck. ¡°Cinnabar!¡± Hearing He Yu¡¯s roar, Dong Zhi ignored the pain in his thigh and hurriedly took out the cinnabar box from He Yu¡¯s backpack and opened it. He Yu formed a sword finger* with one hand and slammed it into the cinnabar box. *[Jian Jue] (½£Ö¸) This is a gesture used in Taoism when casting spells. The finger shape also represents a sword in martial arts. ¡°The four great enlightenment, heaven and earth are eternal, water and fire extinguished each other, gold and water cut each other. Those who see demons and beasts will be destroyed from top to bottom, as hastily as I decree, break!¡± As he used his index finger to paint the runes on top of the girl¡¯s head, Tongtong screamed wildly. He Yu completed it in one go and as the mantra was recited, he grabbed it with five fingers in the air! Dong Zhi saw black mist being pulled out of Tongtong¡¯s body as they coagulated in He Yu¡¯s hand. He tried it best to hold them in and he struggled frantically. ¡°Sunlight Talisman!¡± He Yu roared. Dong Zhi reacted quickly. As soon as He Yu spoke, he had already attached the sunlight talisman to the black mist. He Yu quickly let go as the black mist roared and wailed and together with the sunlight talisman, it suddenly turned to ashes not leaving any residue behind. Dong Zhi panted and caught the little girl who had fallen softly. ¡°Old He, now¡­¡± ¡°Let go!¡± He Yu screamed at him. Dong Zhi was startled and subconsciously let go of her hand, only to see the little girl suddenly open her eyes with a hideous smile on her face. When He Yu was about to make a move, the little girl bent backwards, in a posture that no humans could do and stood upright not far from them. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to come so fast¡­¡± The little girl giggled, her voice hoarse and low, definitely not the tone that she had ever spoken before. Dong Zhi was incredulous: ¡°Xu Wan?!¡± The little girl gave him an eerie smile: ¡°I should have eaten you a long time ago¡­¡± This was completely different from the well-behaved Tongtong that he met on the train. Dong Zhi inadvertently shuddered. He Yu said solemnly: ¡°I don¡¯t care what collusion you have with demons. The remnant soul you captured is my junior brother. If you are willing to hand over his remnant soul, I can let you go! Or do you want to be hunted down by the Special Administration Bureau and the Hezao Sect forever!¡± Hearing this, the little girl was not only not afraid, but she even laughed louder: ¡°Long Shen is almost here and you dare rabble this kind of nonsense!¡± Hearing her mention the boss, He Yu¡¯s face sank more. This showed that the demon was familiar with them. ¡°If you want that remnant soul, take the stone tablet and come to me on the rooftop of Tianyuan Building!¡± He Yu said angrily: ¡°The stone tablet is now in Beijing. We won¡¯t be able to get it for a while!¡± She smiled gloomily and said: ¡°Tomorrow before sunrise. Don¡¯t be late!¡± Before she even finished, He Yu had acted. Holding a seal in one hand and a talisman in the other, he rushed towards the monster. The latter didn¡¯t have time to react before her neck was already squeezed by him and the talisman carrying the fire of wind and thunder was imprinted on her heart! Dong Zhi heard a loud roar as thunder and fire suddenly erupted causing the little girl to wail and fell softly to the ground. He didn¡¯t know what was going on, so he hurriedly stepped forward but was pushed back by He Yu. Unprepared, he almost fell over. At this time the little girl¡¯s body started shriveling at a pace visible to the naked eye. Countless of densely packed maggots crawled out of the place where the small hole was made in her heart. Seeing the sight, all his hair stood up and Dong Zhi cried out: ¡°What are these?!¡± He Yu threw another talisman that fluttered in the air, falling onto the little girl, but it immediately ignited, and the fire quickly spread all over the girl¡¯s entire body. The light from the fire was extremely dazzling, but there was no billowing smoke as it was controlled by an invisible circle. In just ten minutes, the little girl¡¯s body was engulfed by fire and burnt out. Dong Zhi looked at the empty ground that didn¡¯t even have ashes remaining. ¡°Is she dead?¡± ¡°She is not a human being.¡± He Yu sat on the ground and said wearily: ¡°You also saw it just now. Her body has long been invaded by those insects, and Xu Wan had been controlling her body.¡± Dong Zhi was in disbelief. When he had saw Tongtong on the train, she was no longer a living person. ¡°Is it a demon that controls Xu Wan and her daughter? Or¡­¡± He Yu interrupted him: ¡°The most important thing now is not to let it escape. I have to report to the higher ups immediately and rush to Tianyuan Building!¡± When Dong Zhi heard him say ¡°I¡± instead of ¡°we¡±, he immediately said: ¡°I¡¯ll go too!¡± He Yu smiled bitterly: ¡°Little baby Dongdong, I have some confidence in you due to past events and you¡¯re capable of becoming a disciple, however, this time there¡¯s no retreat, and I may not be able to protect you¡­¡± Dong Zhi said without hesitation: ¡°The demon was prepared a long time ago, and you¡¯ve been injured again. Having an extra person will be better!¡± ¡°I need you to go to the Guangzhou office,¡± He Yu said solemnly: ¡°Cheng Hui¡¯s remnant soul is still in the hands of the demon. I can¡¯t help but go, but I can¡¯t do it alone. I remember that there is a magic weapon made of five-baht coins* in the office. Go and get it for me and find a few helpers. Come with as many people as possible!¡± *Copper currency in ancient China. Most likely the item is a sword-like weapon made entire of five-baht coins stuck together. Hearing this, Dong Zhi quickly agreed. He Yu took his phone and called Long Shen, mainly to explain the seriousness of the matter. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what was said on the other end. Eventually He Yu said a few ums and hung up. ¡°The boss said that there happened to be someone from the East China Branch in Xiamen. In the afternoon, he had asked the other party to rush over to help, but I don¡¯t know if he¡¯ll make it in time. Anyways, I¡¯ll go there first. Remember to bring me the magic weapon!¡± Seeing Dong Zhi serious face, He Yu patted his shoulder and joked: ¡°If I die, remember to tell the boss and ask him to burn a few more beauties for me every year. I don¡¯t want to go down there and still be a single dog!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have his sense of humor. He smiled reluctantly and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll definitely burn a few more handsome guys for you!¡± The two parted at the intersection. Dong Zhi took a taxi to the Guangzhou office. The location was in another district that spans almost half of Yangcheng. Even if he went by car, it¡¯ll still take nearly two hours to reach his destination. At first, the driver was chatty as he drove. When they were about to arrive, he became more restless and stopped talking. He would frequently look at Dong Zhi from the rearview mirror and his expression became more serious and he finally couldn¡¯t help but asked: ¡°Are you sure the address is correct?¡± The scenery outside the car was becoming more remote. After moving away from the bustling urban areas, the scene changed to small villages and towns. Without the setting of thousands of streetlights, the sparse streetlights on the road appeared lonely and cold. Dong Zhi had never been here before. He felt his heart sinking into a bottomless pit and said: ¡°That¡¯s right. Just drive according to the address.¡± If this incident wasn¡¯t dire, he would think that He Yu was playing a prank on him. After all, who would set up an office next to a cemetery? But then he remembered that the original site of the General Administration Bureau was in a famous haunted house, so it¡¯s not too surprising that there would be an office here. The car finally stopped at its destination, which was a factory building near a cemetery. There were wastelands all around and occasionally a few trees grew exuding a desolated aura. A few abandoned factories were scattered across the highway. From the looks of things, even during the day, no one would deliberately stop in a place like this. Dong Zhi, he took out his wallet and wanted to give the driver money. The driver said as he trembled with fear: ¡°No cash. I only accept Alipay or WeChat.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He knew what the driver was worried about, and he might even have cracked a joke to scare him, telling him some nonsense urban myth, but he currently wasn¡¯t in the mood. After paying, Dong Zhi asked the driver to wait on the side of the road for a while, then he walked towards a factory where no one would reside in. Kinky Thoughts: A few chapters ago I thought that Tongtong was the real mastermind and Xu Wan was being controlled by her, but I guess I was wrong. I didn¡¯t put it in my Kinky thoughts afraid that it might be a spoiler. CH 25 After knocking on the door for a while, just as his anxiety was intensifying, he suddenly heard a lot of movement coming from the other end of the door, then the iron gate slowly opened. An unkempt young man, who looked as if he hadn¡¯t completely woken up yet and smelled like instant noodles, stuck his head out. Was this the wrong place? Dong Zhi felt suspicious. He said: ¡°Hello, He Yu asked me to come. Do you know him?¡± ¡°What happened?¡± The young man blinked and said slowly: ¡°Senior Brother He from the General Administration Bureau?¡± ¡°Yes, that¡¯s him. A demon has appeared in Tianyuan Building and he asked me to come to report and for help!¡± Dong Zhi said anxiously. The young man looked horrified: ¡°Demon? Is it the one Lin Jun said before?¡± Dong Zhi nodded and said: ¡°Yes. I¡¯m the only person on He Yu¡¯s side right now. I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t handle it alone. Come with me quickly!¡± The other party became excited as he rubbed his hands together and said: ¡°Great. It¡¯s finally my turn to do a big job. Wait a bit. I¡¯ll go and get a few things!¡± He became full of energy, turned around and disappeared behind the door. Dong Zhi followed him in. The inside was lit up with incandescent lamps that made the area extremely bright, revealing a few tables in the middle as the surrounding was a mess. It felt as if he was standing in a middle of a garbage dump and couldn¡¯t bear to look at it. The young man rummaged through the boxes as if he didn¡¯t know what he was trying to find and introduced himself: ¡°My name is Zhang Chong. I was born at the foot of Mount Longhu. What is Taoist brother¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Dong Zhi, as in the solar term for the Winter Solstice!¡± Seeing him slowly act, Dong Zhi became angry and rushed him: ¡°Brother, hurry up. He Yu is still waiting, and that demon is very difficult to deal with!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the rush? It¡¯s not like the sky is falling!¡± Zhang Chong grumbled. Dong Zhi suddenly remember what He Yu requested and asked: ¡°Do you have a magic weapon made with five-baht coins?¡± Zhang Chong said strangely: ¡°Five-baht? No, I have a brass sword, which was given by the elders of my school. Did you want to broaden your horizon?¡± Dong Zhi repeatedly confirmed: ¡°You really don¡¯t?¡± Seeing as how his expression was too serious, Zhang Chong replied seriously: ¡°I really don¡¯t. Lin Jun and I are the only two people in this place and he doesn¡¯t use swords.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Haven¡¯t it been used before? He Yu specifically asked me for this magic weapon!¡± Zhang Chong smile and gave him a look that says, ¡®You look smart, but why do you act like a fool¡¯: ¡°The magic weapon is carried on you. Who would leave something like that to others and wait for them to bring it? Senior Brother He has never been here before so how would he know that there¡¯s a five-baht sword here?¡± That¡¯s right. He Yu was an expert, so it was impossible for him to say such a stupid thing. He had asked him to set out on this trip all the way out here knowing that it would take him at least three hours¡­ Dong Zhi came to this realization and his heart thumped. He did it on purpose! ¡°He¡¯s in danger! Hurry up and come with me!¡± Regardless of his reasons*, Dong Zhi stepped forward and dragged Zhang Chong and ran out. *Regardless of the 3-7-21 (²»¹ÜÈýÆ߶þʮһ) Idiom meaning regardless of everything/regardless of the reason. Zhang Chong was still dawdling: ¡°Wait! There¡¯s also a copper bell. I¡¯ll take it too!¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late!¡± Dong Zhi roared: ¡°He lied to me about there being a magic weapon here. He knew that the demon would be extremely dangerous and deliberately misled me, so I won¡¯t get hurt! That monster killed many people, and Old He was just recently injured again. He won¡¯t last long!¡± Zhang Cheng was stunned and finally let himself be dragged out without resistance. The driver had been waiting impatiently for a long time. He wanted to leave but he felt it would be a waste if he left with an empty car for the trip back and he couldn¡¯t bear to lose the cost, so he struggled inwardly. When he saw Dong Zhi coming back out, he instantly cheered up. He heard the words ¡°Tianyuan Building¡± and immediately stepped on the gas and the car sped off. I hope I can make it in time! Don Zhi was anxious as he secretly prayed. It was past midnight when the two arrived at Tianyuan Building. Eager to help He Yu, he took out a few hundred-yuan bills and stuffed them into the driver¡¯s hand. Without waiting for the other to give change, he quickly rushed to the top floor with Zhang Chong. Tianyun Building has more than 90 floors and was counted as one of the two tallest building in the region. There was no elevator to the rooftop so the two could only go up to the 98th floor and then climb the stairs. When they finally reached the door to the rooftop, Dong Zhi found that it can¡¯t be open. ¡°There¡¯s no lock so why won¡¯t it open?!¡± ¡°There should be a barrier set up. Look!¡± Zhang Cheng said. He took out three sticks of incense from his backpack, lit it with a lighter, pinched it between his two fingers, and skillfully raised his hand to his forehead. Dong Zhi looked at him nervously as his heart accelerated. He saw Zhang Chong close his eyes and spoke aloud: ¡°Spirit of Sanqing*, the emperor of above, Mount Longhu disciple Zhang Chong invites the quartet¡­¡± *Refers to Sanqing Hall where 3 solemn deities are enshrined. They are the highest gods of Taoism: Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tiazun, Daode Tiazun. Before he could finish his chant, a gust of wind blew by, and the burnt parts of the incense all fell off. The smoke and smell dissipated, leaving Zhang Chong dumbfounded. Dong Zhi: ¡­ ¡°What now?!¡± Dong Zhi asked frantically. ¡°I¡¯ll try again!¡± Zhang Chong nervously answered. Dong Zhi finally knew why He Yu looked down on the people in the Guangzhou office. Although Zhang Chong came from a famous family, he was most likely thrown out by his teacher because of his poor academic skills. ¡°Your brass sword¡­ tear open the barrier¡­¡± The voice faintly echoed as another dreary wind blew by. ¡°Who!¡± Zhang Chong drew his sword and held it close to his chest looking around vigilantly. ¡°I am¡­ Cheng Hui¡­¡± His voice was soft and intermittent. It didn¡¯t sound like he was deliberately trying to scare them, but he was weak. Zhang Chong was at a loss as he didn¡¯t know who Cheng Hui was, but Dong Zhi on the other hand was overjoyed: ¡°Is it really you Cheng Hui? Did He Yu recused you? Is he on the rooftop now? We have to save him!¡± Cheng Hui: ¡°Open the door¡­sword¡­and talisman¡­¡± Dong Zhi asked anxiously: ¡°Is the sword Zhang Chong¡¯s sword? What talisman?!¡± Cheng Hui: ¡°Sunlight ta¡­¡± Zhang Chong slapped his forehead abruptly and yelled: ¡°I see! Use the bagua gang method* to match the wind, but the sunlight talisman belongs to the Hezao sect. I don¡¯t know it!¡± *Bagua is known as the 8 trigrams. Taoist spell that¡¯s require when fasting, drawing talismans, practicing methods, and channeling spirits. See lore for more details. Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°I do! I¡¯ll cooperate with you. What should I do?¡± Still holding the sword closely to his chest, Zhang Chong said: ¡°Look at me and match my movements. It¡¯s best if we do it together since I¡¯m afraid my magic technique may not be powerful enough!¡± Dong Zhi was full of confusion but at this point he bit the bullet and nodded: ¡°Got it!¡± Zhang Chong muttered words in his mouth and when he uttered ¡°edict¡±, the brass sword in his hand pointed to the door as Dong Zhi held the sunlight talisman he had prepared and matched the magic formula handprint according to what He Yu had taught before. ¡°The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil!¡± A flash of red light appeared on the sword before it flew out. Matching its movement, Dong Zhi also slammed the talisman on the door. With a bang, the door opened abruptly, and wind swept in! The two of them subconsciously lowered their bodies and stuck to the wall tightly. Light shined brightly on the rooftop, showing Xu Wan standing in the middle, like a highly anticipated centerpiece. He Yu was beaten severely as he fell to the ground in an embarrassing state. ¡°There¡¯s two more, but unfortunately you¡¯re not what I want.¡± Xu Wan¡¯s gaze turned to Dong Zhi and Zhang Chong as she said with a smile, then she turned her gaze back to He Yu. ¡°How wonderful.¡± Listening to her gentle and soft tone, those who were ignorant would¡¯ve thought she had some ambiguous intention with He Yu. Xu Wan was wearing a fiery red dress. Her waist-length hair danced wildly in the wind and her movement were graceful. Except for her bloodshot eyes, she didn¡¯t look like a demon who had killed countless. ¡°I fucking told you not to come and you still came!¡± He Yu panted and yelled at Dong Zhi. He was in a sorry state as his chest and arms were bleeding. With one hand behind his back, he made a gesture to them. Dong Zhi quietly held the talisman in his pocket. Zhang Chong raised his sword and shouted: ¡°Evil! I¡¯ll capture you in this instance!¡± With that he dashed towards her, but before he even touched the corner of Xu Wan¡¯s clothes, the latter raised her hand and with a wave, Zhang Chong entire body overturned and the brass sword in his hand fell to the ground. Dong Zhi, He Yu: ¡­ Zhang Chong, who prided himself, couldn¡¯t believe that he was taken down by the enemy with a single move. He looked at his empty hands with a dull expression. ¡°Are all those old guys dead that they sent trash for me to deal with?!¡± Xu Wan snorted coldly, stretch out her five fingers and the wind and mist all around her suddenly condense in her palm. She instantly let go and it rushed towards Zhang Chong who was still on the ground. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± He Yu yelled loudly. Zhang Chong¡¯s reaction was not slow, as he rolled to the side. In the next second, the violent wind carried the mist where he had initially fallen and left five deep marks on the cement floor, making it look as if it had been scratched by the claws of a beast. Zhang Chong thought the demon was targeting him. He crawled towards the brass sword and picked it up. He started reciting the Five Thunder* Mantra, wanting to ask thunder from above to destroy this demon. Despite chanting for a long time, the color of the night sky did not change, and he didn¡¯t know whether it was because he wasn¡¯t proficient enough or if this evil was too powerful. *(ÎåÀ׺ä) Idiom that describe how people will be punish by God in various forms after they have done bad things. In Taoism, it¡¯s basically summoning the thunder/lightning of the heavens (keep this in mind for later). He wanted to desperately prove that his school was wrong, and he was indeed a man of great ambition and talent. When he was driven down the mountain, he vowed to make a career out of himself to impress the elders of the school. He was extremely dissatisfied with being placed in a casual position in Guangzhou, but the fact was that this position was extremely suitable for him. He was a disciple from a younger generation, from the same Taoist lineage, but was not comparable to even one of He Yu¡¯s finger. Among all the people present, the only one who can contend with demons is He Yu, and said person was still injured. Xu Wan¡¯s goal was always on He Yu from the very beginning. Zhang Cheng felt that his dignity had been insulted. He shouted loudly, used his hand to pinch a magic technique, and rushed towards Xu Wan who was fighting He Yu. Suddenly the sound of paper being torn amplified, and the brass sword tore a break in the periphery of the violent wind! Zhang Chong was overjoyed. He clenched his long sword, recited an exorcism mantra loudly, and raise his sword to stab Xu Wan in the back. Meanwhile, Dong Zhi walked quietly around the rooftop, hiding in the shadows that weren¡¯t illuminated by the light. With Xu Wan at the center, he was quietly setting up a bagua array. This was the formation method that assisted Long Shen in subduing the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain. After the fierce battle, He Yu had adjusted and taught him better so his proficiency had increased. One hand held a small compass to determine the direction, while the other hand held the talisman that set the heaven and earth. The bagua array this time would be more effective than last. In the future, if he can excel, he will name this formation the Dong Zhi Yin-Yang Bagua Array. Or was it better to say Dong Zhi¡¯s Invincible Bagua Array? At this moment, He Yu spat out a mouthful of blood and sprayed it on a talisman, causing the clouds to move from all direction towards Tianyuan Building. Muffled thunder could be heard from afar. Dong Zhi was startled by the sound and hurriedly pulled his distracted mind back as he continues to lay a talisman in the direction pointed by the magnetic needle on the compass, then rushed to the next location. Facing the thunder overhead, Xu Wan turned a blind eye and sneered: ¡°It¡¯s not even the five thunders from the heavens. What can you do with such a little dry thunder?! It seems that this little brother is really out of strength, so it betters to just give me your body and obey me obediently!¡± With a wave from her right hand, Zhang Chong, who was about to get close behind her, was throw away again, his head directly hitting the wall. He collapsed onto the ground, blood covering his entire face, his fate unknown. ¡°While this body isn¡¯t difficult to use, I still prefer a practitioner with plenty of blood like you!¡± Xu Wan smiled as she waved her hands. Wind surged in all directions creating an invisible barrier that blocked the thunder and lightning that struck from above. Purple lightning slid along the side of the barrier and dashed towards Dong Zhi. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Dong Zhi was busy arranging the talisman array against howls of the violent wind. His ears had become accustomed the rumbling of the thunder, so he didn¡¯t expect that lightning was about to strike right at him. When he noticed something was wrong, alongside with He Yu¡¯s shout, Dong Zhi raised his head and his eyes was almost blinded by the electric light. Avoid it! Was the only thought that came into his mind, but his body¡¯s response was half a beat slower than his mind. He was about to be split into charcoal as a white line entered his sight. More precisely, it was a white light that separated him from the lightning. The lightning was shattered by a piece of white silk*. Dong Zhi felt force as something wrapped around his waist and with a strong force pulled him aside! He fell heavily to the ground, his nose smelt the scent of something burnt, and his palms scrape against the ground causing him to wince from the burning pain, but at least he managed to live. *[Bai ling] (°×ç±) A kind of cloth usually made with silk. It¡¯s sometimes used as a weapon like the silk in this scene of House of Flying Daggers. At the critical moment, someone had saved him! Dong Zhi looked towards the source of the white silk and saw a woman in ancient costume falling in front of him. With ribbons fluttering and white attire like an immortal, she looked like a divine being descending from the nine heavens. The sight was graceful, gorgeous, and dazzling. In the next moment, the fairy lightly opened her lips. ¡°He Yu, do you want to die?! You think just because you¡¯re the leader of the Hezao Sect you dare to come alone to fight a demon? You even dragged in normal people! If laozi hadn¡¯t arrived in time, you would¡¯ve been wiped out by now!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ His reverie for fairies was instantly crushed. He Yu was familiar with the newcomer as he immediately retorted to her words: ¡°If you came earlier, how would I be in this kind of state! It¡¯s your fault!¡± As He Yu spoke, Dong Zhi saw him pointing his fingers slightly towards his side and he immediately reaction, quietly moving his body into the direction of where the last talisman should be placed. Xu Wan narrowed her eyes to look at the woman in costume, and then shook her head after a while: ¡°Having only the appearance but not the essence1, with flesh of gold and bones of iron2¡­ Useless, I don¡¯t want this type3.¡± 1The original idiom is empty table/emptiness has its own appearance [kong you qi biao] (¿ÕÓÐÆä±í) which refers to its not real/on the surface it¡¯s good-looking in appearance but in fact it¡¯s not. 2The original idiom is copper bars and iron bones [tong jin tie gu] (Í­½îÌú¹Ç) Metaphor for a very strong body. Also, could refers to a person who can bear heavy responsibility. From Journey to the West. 3Clarity: Xu Wan is changing a few words in the idioms as basically a diss to this costumed lady. She changed (Í­½îÌú¹Ç) to (½ð½îÌú¹Ç) which now replace copper with gold, combined with the first idiom would be basically her saying along the lines of ¡°All you have is appearance.¡± Thanks Lingmu for the help. The woman sneered: ¡°Don¡¯t you feel ashamed for a great demon like you to hide in a mortal¡¯s body?¡± ¡°Shame is a human conception, that doesn¡¯t apply to someone who¡¯s not human such as I. Besides, no matter how human you try to act, you¡¯re not human either!¡± Xu Wan smiled strangely and her voice didn¡¯t seem to be coming from her body. She raised her hand and pointed to He Yu: ¡°I don¡¯t want you. Leave that man behind and you can go!¡± The woman in costume noticed that when the other party was talking, her other hand was slowly curled up, her white fingers became bruised, and a thick black mist started to condense, forming around her palm. Villains die by talking too much, but Xu Wan was not a gossiper. It seems that she needed time to gather magic, so she deliberately stalled for time! The woman no longer hesitated. She took out a mirror form her sleeves and put it on front of her. The thunder and lightning continued to strike above her head, but they were all absorbed by the mirror. The mirror shook then suddenly turned into a golden light as it soared into the sky! On the other side, Dong Zhi was facing the fierce wind as he crawled forward with great difficulty, exhausting all his strength, to place the last talisman in place! The Sunlight Bagua Talisman Array was completed! Looking in the distance, he didn¡¯t know when but He Yu was holding on to Zhang Chong¡¯s brass sword with one hand, while pinching his hand with the other as he spat out blood while reciting a spell that led lightning to the top of Xu Wan¡¯s head. Lightning suddenly slammed down in a flash! Zhang Cheng slowly woke up from a corner to the side. His face was confused as he didn¡¯t know what was currently happening. In an instant, the thunder and lightning, the mirror¡¯s golden light, and the bagua array echoed each other, and the heaven and earth shook in all directions! Thunder surged between the clouds like an immortal¡¯s tribulation while wind howled violently around as if the world was coming to an end! At this moment, if anyone were to look up to the sky, they would see a black hole spinning slowly above Tianyuan Building, turning purple as flashes of lightning struck from time to time. The scene was inexplicable and shocking. Dong Zhi felt as he was wandering between the realms of life and death. The power of the heaven and earth that were seduced and provoked was so great that mortals could only struggle to survive by hiding in the cracks and praying for God¡¯s benevolence. The sound of thunder was deafening, and the golden light was blinding. Suddenly the barrier around Xu Wan shattered! Her body was imprisoned by the talisman array and was smashed to pieces from the lightning! The golden light from the mirror suppressed all outside damage, isolating the battle within the range of Tianyuan Building¡¯s rooftop, minimizing the damage. He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed before Dong Zhi felt the surrounding gradually calmed down. The light had disappeared, and the thunder subsided. His ears were still ringing, and his eyes were irritated looking at the strong light. Nothing remained of where Xu Wan was standing. On the ground was scorched marks left behind from the lightning and the damage surrounding from their battle. Everyone collapsed to the ground, including the woman in the costume. Her face was pale; her condition not much better than He Yu¡¯s. ¡°Is she really dead?¡± Dong Zhi asked after a long time, while he was still panting for breath. Everyone worked hard, barely managing to escape death*, and finally eliminated the demon, but he felt surreal as if all these events were just a dream. *Nine deaths and lives (¾ÅËÀÒ»Éú) Idiom refers to escaping death after going through all kinds of hardships and dangers. Was the demon wearing Xu Wan¡¯s human skin completely gone and would no longer be a scourge to the world? There was blood spilling from the corners of He Yu¡¯s mouth, as he probably didn¡¯t have the strength to answer him. The woman in costume said: ¡°She used a human life to build up resentment and gather blood essence in order to wake up the dragon corpse, but it only resulted in it being destroyed by you and severely injuring her. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have been so easy for us to take her down this time!¡± You call that easy¡­? As he looked around, apart from his own weakness and multiple bruises, he saw that the blood on Zhang Chong¡¯s head had dried, making him hideous. He Yu was obviously in the worst state. He had fought with Xu Wan directly and lost a lot of blood. Now he laid motionless on the ground, not even having the strength to say a single word, his breath becoming shallower. The only one who seem to be in good condition was the woman in the costume. She leaned against the wall, took out her phone and¡­ Took a selfie??? Dong Zhi: ¡­ After positing for three consecutive shots, the woman noticed Dong Zhi was looking at her stupidly and raise her voice a few octaves higher. ¡°Why are you such an idiot? Fighting with a demon and dragging ordinary people into this mess?!¡± He Yu¡¯s response was to roll his eyes. Dong Zhi: ¡°Uh, hello young lady. My name is Dong Zhi.¡± The woman in costume spoke to him in a much softer tone: ¡°Did you set up the bagua talisman array just now?¡± Dong Zhi nodded and said shyly: ¡°He Yu taught me it. Fortunately, I didn¡¯t drag you guys down.¡± ¡°Your performance is very good.¡± The woman in costume flipped her hair: ¡°My name is Tang Jing; the Tang of the Tang Dynasty, Jing* from clean.¡± *Tang (ÌÆ) of the Tang Dynasty. Jing (¾») from [gan jing] (¸É¾») which means clean/neat (no dust, pollution, dirt). ¡°Hello Sister Tang.¡± Dong Zhi called out obediently. ¡°Good boy.¡± The woman in costume said in a very satisfied manner: ¡°But it¡¯s Brother Tang.¡± Dong Zhi asked weakly: ¡°¡­Brother Tang?¡± He Yu asked weakly: ¡°Why did the boss let you come over?¡± Tang Jing said angrily: ¡°Did you think I want to? I was participating in a cosplay at an anime convention, but I was urge by deadly serial calls* from the Dragon Bureau that I had to rush over and didn¡¯t even have time to change my clothes!¡± *Slang for incessant non-stop calling. He Yu said sourly: ¡°The boss really trusts you. He only sent you alone knowing that I was still injured. If you can¡¯t stand it, we can settle accounts tonight!¡± Tang Jing sneered: ¡°It seems you¡¯re not very injured if you still have the strength to be jealous! If you want the boss to come be the hero to save the ugly, then you have to look at the distance between Beijing and here, plus the distance from the airport, including traffic condition. By the time he arrives, your day lily would be cold*!¡± *Reminder: (µÈµ½»Æ»¨²Ë¶¼Á¹ÁË) Colloquialism referring to people who are late or do things late. He Yu said angrily: ¡°What do you mean be the hero to save the ugly? Go to the streets and see how many men are as handsome as laozi!¡± Dong Zhi said weakly: ¡°Stop fighting¡­¡± The author has something to say£º The demon was injured in Changbai Mountain and went south to escape. It happened that Cheng Hui was asked by He Yu to perform a divination, and he found a clue and pursued it, causing him to be imprisoned by the demon. He Yu came to save him with Dong Zhi. Seeing as how He Yu had more blood and was more energetic, the demon wanted to take over his body, so he took Cheng Hui¡¯s remnant soul as bait to lead him to Tianyuan Building. Although he knew it was a trap, he had to go. Dong Zhi took Zhang Chong to desperately try to save him. Little Baby Dong Zhi is not a drag on the mentally retarded. ¡ª This is a plot summary for readers and friends who have a hard time following the story. Kinky Thoughts: Did not expect Tang Jing to be a guy. ¡ª Bagua gang method For Taoist practitioners, step, gang and tread are all spells that must be learned when fasting, drawing talisman, practicing methods, and channeling spirits. The gang method that has been circulated in modern times include fighting gang method, innate bagua gang method, acquire bagua gang method among others. The fighting method, the innate bagua method, and the acquired bagua method are mostly passed down in the folk. CH 26 Both of them ignored him. Tang Jing said sarcastically: ¡°Oh, so handsome, yet why still a single dog?¡± He Yu said angrily: ¡°How can you talk about me when you¡¯re a single dog yourself?!¡± Tang Jing: ¡°Excuse me, I¡¯m not human. I have no need to use a limited life for courtship like you, thanks!¡± He Yu pointed angrily at Dong Zhi: ¡°Then he¡¯s also a single dog too! Why don¡¯t you say anything about him?!¡± Dong Zhi shot him a look of innocence indicating that he was tired. Tang Jing said: ¡°He is much more handsome than you, so I¡¯ll introduce him to a girlfriend tomorrow. There are so many beautiful women in the East China Branch who would rush at this opportunity when they see him.¡± He Yu: ¡°He won¡¯t go to the East China Branch. Our General Administration Bureau has reserved a spot for him! I also want my uncle to accept him as an apprentice. He is a preparatory disciple of our Hezao Sect!¡± Tang Jing sneered: ¡°I have only heard of outer and inner disciples, and I have never heard of preparatory disciples. What¡¯s so good about the Hezao Sect? It¡¯s better to worship me as a teacher. I can teach him better than you!¡± He looked at the Dong Zhi and smiled sweetly: ¡°How about it, do you want to worship me as a teacher? As you saw just now, even the Hezao Sect has to rely on me to save the day!¡± If He Yu hadn¡¯t been lying on the ground, completely drained, he would have jumped to his feet by now: ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± Under the gaze of the two of them, Dong Zhi felt immense pressure: ¡°I have already promised He Yu¡­¡± He Yu laughed but was choked by his cough. ¡°Cough, cough¡­ let me just say that our little Dong Zhi is not such a wishy washy person!¡± Dong Zhi knew that Tang Jing didn¡¯t mean it when he said he¡¯ll accept him as a disciple, and only said it due to his argument with He Yu. Taking advantage of the truce between the two, he hurriedly said: ¡°Zhang Chong has fainted!¡± Tang Jing walked over to check on him and said in disgust: ¡°He¡¯s fine. Maybe a concussion. This Mount Longhu generation isn¡¯t as good as the previous. Is this the kind of talent they bring now? Don¡¯t bother mentioning upper demons, he couldn¡¯t even take on a Sneaky Yaksha!¡± He Yu coughed: ¡°He was kicked out of the mountain because he wasn¡¯t proficient enough and had too high ambitions. I have met the leader of Mount Longhu. His name is Zhang Heng, and his patient is as good as mine.¡± He took out a black porcelain vase from his body, opened the stopper, and sat up cross-legged while positioning both hands in preparation of chanting a mantra. ¡°Cheng Hui, a disciple of Mount Hezao, return to his soul quickly!¡± ¡°Cheng Hui, a disciple of Mount Hezao, return to his soul quickly!¡± When he chanted it for the fifth time, Dong Zhi saw a translucent figure floating over in a trance, and quickly disappeared into the bottle. He Yu quickly took out a talisman, attached it to the bottle, and wrapped it up. ¡°I want to take little Dong Zhi back to the school and then let master and the others return Cheng Hui¡¯s soul.¡± He Yu said. Tang Jing was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked: ¡°What about finishing up the work here?¡± He Yu: ¡°Ah, I suddenly felt a sharp pain in my chest! Ah, I¡¯m fainting!¡± After speaking, he really closed his eyes and fell to the ground. Tang Jing, Dong Zhi: ¡­ Dong Zhi stepped forward to check. He raised his eyelids and shook him a couple times then said to Tang Jing: ¡°¡­it seems like he really fainted.¡± The corner of Tang Jing¡¯s mouth twitch and he suddenly came over. He tore the hems of He Yu¡¯s jacket open and pressed his hand on the torn holes. Dong Zhi said in horror: ¡°What are you doing?!¡± Tang Jing messed with He Yu¡¯s making him look like an exhibitionist that¡¯s stripping off his clothes, then raised his phone high, leaned in, used his right hand to pinch his chin, raised his head forty-five degrees and made a pouty expression before taking a shot. Dong Zhi: ¡­You really are too much. Tang Jing took several photos in a row before stopping contentedly: ¡°Getting some proof, lest he say he doesn¡¯t remember owing me a favor.¡± Seeing Dong Zhi¡¯s speechless face, he touched his head and said: ¡°Don¡¯t pick up bad habits from him. If the Hezao Sect refuse to accept you, you can come find me in Shanghai!¡± Though Tang Jing said he was a man, from the way he¡¯s dress, to his voice, one could not tell. Dong Zhi was embarrassed when his head was patted but was too shy to avoid it. ¡°Thank you, Brother Tang.¡± He Yu rolled his eyes quietly while lying next to him. How old is this ancient monster? Pretending to be warm and tender, barf! Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to recall how they finally move He Yu and Zhang Cheng to the hospital. Because of all the commotion from the battle, they were discovered by security guards that almost called the police. Thankfully, Tang Jing used an illusion spell to confuse them, and the group was able to leave without any issues. Though He Yu seems to have the strength to bicker with Tang Jing, in all seriousness, his injuries were much more severe than Zhang Chong, who was covered in blood. He had multiple visceral injuries and soft tissues contusions on his body that almost made the doctor transfer him to the intensive care unit. Dong Zhi fared better. Besides the multiple abrasions, there were no other major problems. The battle on top of Tianyun Building raised too much clamor. At the beginning, He Yu was able to isolate the noise due to an enchantment, but it later couldn¡¯t hide the lightning and thunder and whirlpool in the sky that it was hard not to attract the attention from ordinary people. In addition, the roof of Tiayuan Building collapsed and some floors and walls were damaged. Though it wasn¡¯t a substantial damage and could be attributed to a natural disaster, the activity was too great that within a few days, gossip was abound about how Tianyuan Building was haunted by demons and ghosts. There was only Lin Jun left in the Guangzhou office, who proved to be quite useless. Tang Jing had to run around like a headless chicken dealing with all types of affairs. Not only did he had to report to the boss, but he also had to communicate with his several departments to eliminate the adverse effects of their battle. He was so busy that he filed a solemn protest with the General Administration Bureau in anger, saying that if they didn¡¯t send more people to station in Guangzhou, he would resolutely not clean up any messes in the future. Much later in time, when Dong Zhi had become an important member of the Special Administration Bureau and passed through Guangzhou on a business trip, he discovered that Tang Jing¡¯s protest was not entirely ineffective. The office there had been upgraded to a branch under the jurisdiction of the East China Branch and the personnel have also undergone earth-shattering changes. These though, are afterthoughts for a future time. Ten days later, He Yu¡¯s injuries were slightly better, so he took the Dong Zhi and Cheng Hui on a journey to Mount Hezao. Though his injuries were not fully healed, He Yu didn¡¯t want to drag things out further since Chen Hui urgently needed to be reunited with his remnant soul. The longer it takes, the weaker the yang of the soul, and the more unfavorable it will be for Cheng Hui. When they arrived at the foot of Mount Hezao, He Yu¡¯s phone rang. Dong Zhi caught from a glance that his originally careless posture had suddenly straighten unconsciously. He Yu said: ¡°The boss wants to make a video call with us? Wait!¡± He quickly messed up his hair, unbutton a few buttons from his shirt, and slapped himself a few times. Dong Zhi: ???!!! He Yu came over to pull on Dong Zhi¡¯s clothes. Dong Zhi quickly stretch out his hand to block his attack. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± He Yu said seriously: ¡°Sell misery! If we don¡¯t make ourselves look worse, how can we make the boss sympathize with us so he¡¯ll give us more bonuses!¡± Dong Zhi look incredulous and refused: ¡°I don¡¯t want to!¡± He was eager to make a good impression on the other party, so he won¡¯t get stuck during the interview exam. How could he self-depreciate himself now! He Yu aggrievedly said: ¡°Why, don¡¯t you love me anymore?¡± Dong Zhi pushed him away with a cold face: ¡°I have never loved you, thanks.¡± He pressed the answer button on the video call smoothly. Long Shen¡¯s frowning face appeared on the screen. ¡°Why did it take so long to pick it up?¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t hear it just now!¡± He Yu changed his face in a flash, now all flattering and smiling: ¡°If you need something, please tell me!¡± Such a kiss ass*! Covering his face, Dong Zhi was too embarrassed that he couldn¡¯t bear witness to this. *Too dog-legged (ºÃ¹·ÍÈ) Dog-legs is a metaphor for to flatter/flattery. Long Shen: ¡°Where are you now? Is it convenient for you to speak?¡± He Yu: ¡°It¡¯s most convenient. I took little Dong Zhi back to my school. We have just passed the Hezao barrier, but I haven¡¯t reached the mountain gate yet. There are only insects around within a ten-mile radius.¡± He also deliberately pointed the phone screen at the scenery behind him and scanned it around to show that he wasn¡¯t lying. Even it wasn¡¯t peak tourist season now, there would still be some tourists around Hezeo Mountain. However, after they got off the bus at the foot of the mountain, He Yu, being familiar with the area, led Dong Zhi and Cheng Hui on an off-the-beaten path. After passing through a forest on the side of the road, the rugged path disappeared, replaced by a neatly paved granite road. As they walked up, the towering mountain gate look as if it was floating on a cloud. The mountains in the area were covered by clouds and was misty and smokey. The scenery was completely different from the lively tourist spots that are crowded by people. Here, only the sounds of birds chirping and insect buzzing could be heard; a perfect spot for cultivation. Long Shen said: ¡°Is everything in Guangzhou taken care of?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± He Yu answered confidently feeling no guilt as he shamelessly passed the buck to Tang Jing: ¡°Boss, where are you now? Why does it look as if there¡¯s sand behind you?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Ejin Banner.¡± He Yu looked dumbfounded: ¡°Where is that?¡± Long Shen said succinctly: ¡°The desert to the west of Inner Mongolia. If you are okay after, go back as soon as possible.¡± He Yu: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Long Shen: ¡°The matter on the boundary marker has become clear.¡± He Yu was surprised: ¡°So fast? Is it really related to bone dragon?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°It has nothing to do with the bone dragons, stone tablet, or demons. Didn¡¯t Tang Jing tell you?¡± He Yu said: ¡°Tang Jing only said that Xu Wan is a demon, but he didn¡¯t say much else.¡± The matter is of great importance so it was rare that Long Shen spoke so much: ¡°This is the former site of Yanjun Division in Heishui Town during the Western Xia Dynasty. Chaosheng and I found some stone wall symbols similar to the talisman on the boundary marker, but they are slightly different and mix with Western Xia texts. You need to go back and find an expert to decipher them. Chaosheng will send you the photos later. Show them to your elders.¡± After he finished speaking, he turned the camera around. Dong Zhi leaned over to look and saw at the end of the other screen was Long Shen in a cave. On the stone wall behind him were dense engravings of symbols and text, most of which have been erased by the years. Some of the remaining symbols were indeed similar to the one seen on the stone tablet they found on Changbai Mountain. Long Shen¡¯s voice through: ¡°Did you see it?¡± He Yu hurriedly said: ¡°Yes!¡± Long Shen: ¡°These symbols are too scattered so Chaosheng can¡¯t capture them all in one picture. I¡¯ll pick some out and send them to you later.¡± After he said that, he suddenly asked: ¡°Is Dong Zhi there?¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t think Long Shen would mention him, so he caught off-guard. He hurriedly said: ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Long Shen nodded to him, his cold expression softened slightly: ¡°I heard from Tang Jing. You did well this time.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t expect Tang Jing, who he met only once, to put in a good word for you. He blushed and quickly replied: ¡°Brother Tang is just flattering me. He did most of the work. I didn¡¯t do much to help¡­¡± Long Shen smiled slightly. It was only for a short moment, but it was captured by Dong Zhi. He suddenly realized that there are people in this world who can wipe away the dust from one¡¯s heart with just a smile. The hardships he experienced and the anxiety and panic he felt when facing demons were all turned into shreds and were scattered away by the wind in this very moment. He felt that his heart had been soothed and was rejuvenated. This is the pursuit of a top-tier dog. ¡°No, no! Tang Jing didn¡¯t do all the work. Dong Zhi really helped a lot. Without him, we would probably be out of commission!¡± He Yu didn¡¯t know what humility meant since he was a child. He hurriedly pushed Dong Zhi away, beat a snake with the stick*, and put on his goofy smile: ¡°Boss, that demon was really difficult to deal with. It almost wiped out our entire group had it not been for Dong Zhi great contribution. Let¡¯s not talk about going through the back door but shouldn¡¯t we give out some bonuses or something? Look, look! This is the doctor¡¯s diagnosis I brought!¡± *(´òÉßËæ¹÷ÉÏ) Refers to seeing an opportunity and taking advantage of it to strive for greater benefits. Dong Zhi wanted to refuse, suddenly saw He Yu reached into his Rilakkuma backpack and pulled out meidical and reimbursement forms. Seeing such a scene made the corner of Dong Zhi¡¯s eye twitch. Being sharp-eyed, he saw that the forms not only included He Yu¡¯s, but also his and Zhang Chong¡¯s, which were sandwiched in the middle making the stack of forms look thicker. Long Shen¡¯s face had the expression that was saying: ¡®Please start your performance.¡¯ He Yu said: ¡°Boss, the paw that was slapped by the bone dragon in Changbai Mountain is still hurting from time to time, yet I still ran all the way to Guangzhou to catch demons. You know, people often secretly say bad things about you, like how cold-hearted you are, but I try my best to clear up your image every time. Do you have the heart to hurt such a young and helpless person like me¡­¡± Long Shen: ¡°Are you finished?¡± The blue veins on his forehead twitched slightly, indicating that the deputy director was about to reach his limit of patience. He Yu immediately used his hand to zip up his mouth: ¡°Done!¡± Long Shen: ¡°Combined with your performance for these two times, your merits and demerits are equal. Your next month salary will be paid as usual, and this year¡¯s annual leave will also be granted as usual.¡± He Yu: ¡°Thank you boss! Boss, you are really the best person in the world, ah no, the best in the¡­¡± Long Shen disconnected. He Yu was elated for a while, then suddenly felt something was wrong: ¡°Why do I feel as if my left hand is out, and my right hand is in*? Isn¡¯t the salary and vacation originally mine in the first place?¡± *This is referring to left in right out (×ó½øÓÒ³ö). In Taoist culture, the left is referred to as the clean hand while the right is the filthy hand. This extends to wearing jewelry where wearing things on your left brings fortune and on your right brings misfortune. || He Yu flipped the saying so that it means instead of left hand in, it¡¯s right hand in, signifying that he basically encountered misfortune (he got duped by Long Shen). Dong Zhi: ¡­Congratulations young man, you are not entirely stupid yet. ¡°Can you give me Boss Long¡¯s phone number?¡± He Yu said with surprise: ¡°What do you want it for?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°The last time we strayed into the enchantment at Liuhua Bridge, didn¡¯t Boss Long save us? I want to thank him personally and invite him to dinner or something, otherwise it¡¯ll be too shameful¡­¡± He Yu suddenly said: ¡°I see! Could it be that you¡­¡± He showed a knowing expression as a grin appear on his face. Dong Zhi: ¡­ He Yu: ¡°You want to take the opportunity to get closer so you can go through the backdoor when we recruit in the future, right?¡± Hearing his words, Dong Zhi was taken back. Seeing Dong Zhi look at him with such a face full of weakness, he couldn¡¯t help laugh: ¡°I¡¯m just teasing. I know you¡¯re not that kind of person. Lighten up!¡± He wrote down the number and gave it to Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Don¡¯t you need to seek permission from Boss Long first?¡± He Yu: ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯ll send a message to the boss.¡± He took Dong Zhi¡¯s phone and sent a friend¡¯s request to Long Shen. The note attached was: [Boss Long, this is Li Han¡¯er.] Dong Zhi was baffled: ¡°??? Who¡¯s Li Han¡¯er?!¡± He Yu: ¡°The daughter of Li Rui, a consultant in our bureau. She¡¯s very beautiful. Li Rui was born on Mount Longhu, so it¡¯s rumored that Li Han¡¯er also studied on Mount Longhu since she was a child. Now in the East China branch, she¡¯s pursued by a bunch of mad bees and butterflies*, but she only has eyes for our boss.¡± *Refers to a large group of admirers. Often use derogatorily. Knowing the other party was a typical straight guy, the girl He Yu was describing is probably a white, rich, and beautiful* person. *The term is [bai fumei] (°×¸»ÃÀ) Buzzword referring to a woman with fair complexion, strong economic strength, with a beautiful appearance and has a good figure and temperament. ¡°Then does Boss Long like her as well?¡± He Yu shrugged: ¡°I don¡¯t know, so I¡¯m trying to find out. If he¡¯s willing to add her as a friend, doesn¡¯t that mean that fate has already been written*? I made a bet with Kan Chaosheng and whoever loses will have to treat the other to dinner for a month.¡± *Refers to Bazi without a stroke/Fate has not been written yet (°Ë×Ö»¹Ã»Ò»Æ²) Metaphor referring to things are not clear yet. || In this context, He Yu is saying that fate has already been decided, meaning Long Shen and Li Han¡¯er will get together assuming that Long Shen adds her as a friend. Black lines appeared on Dong Zhi as he silently thought: ¡®You sure have a lot of courage to fool around with your immediate boss like this.¡¯ After a while, the friend request was rejected. Reason for refusal: [He Yu¡¯s annual leave is denied.] Dong Zhi, He Yu: ¡­ He Yu shouted crazily: ¡°Impossible! He doesn¡¯t have clairvoyance! How did he know it was me?!¡± The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°Maybe it was Kan Chaosheng who sold you out.¡± He Yu made a post at lightspeed in their internal social group chat that was a roaring expression of Ma Jingtao, then attached the text: [Kan Chaosheng!!!!!!!!!!] The string of exclamation marks couldn¡¯t reflect the amount of inner anger he had. Kan Chaosheng shortly replied in the group: [?] He Yu: [Private chat!] Kan Chaosheng: [No way. If you dare say it, do it in front of everyone, or did you do something bad behind the boss¡¯ back?] He Yu: (indifferent face.jpg) [Oh, I won¡¯t tell the boss about the bad things you did, like hiding in his office while he was away to eat snacks.] Kan Chaosheng: [Private chat!] He Yu: [Hehe.] In the next second, Kan Chaosheng sent He Yu a private chat with a red envelope. He Yu clicked on it and got 66 yuan. He reluctantly accepted it and asked in a private chat: [Did you tell the boss about the bet I made with you regarding Li Han¡¯er?!] Kan Chaosheng: [¡­] He Yu: [What does the ellipsis mean? Answer me quickly!] Kan Chaosheng: [Last time when the boss passed by, he happened to see me texting you. I accidentally leaked it. You can¡¯t blame me.] He Yu: [I knew your mouth was bigger than a hippo!] Just as He Yu gritted his teeth while bickering with Kan Chaosheng, Dong Zhi had sent out a friend request to Long Shen again. This time he wrote: [I¡¯m sorry Boss Long. This is Dong Zhi. What happened just now was a prank.] After sending it, he began to wait anxiously for a reply. The fatigue he felt from climbing the mountain was completely transferred to his attention on his phone. Every so often, he would take out his phone and look at it. He Yu was too busy arguing with Kan Chaosheng on WeChat that he didn¡¯t pay any attention to Dong Zhi. After a while, with no reply from Long Shen, Dong Zhi started to let his imagination run wild. The most normal situation should be that Long Shen was busy and had no time to look at his messages. It was also possible that he had already seen it and decided to ignore it while snorting inwardly thinking something like: ¡®He Yu, you still want to cheat me?!¡¯ or ¡®This Dong Zhi is just an ordinary person, yet he dares want to get closer to¡­¡¯ An image he conjured of Long Shen acting like a domineering president who was smiling at the phone as he said: ¡°Little fairy, just because you want to be friends with this president¡­¡± He suddenly felt that the plot was heading towards a bad direction. No, no, Boss Long shouldn¡¯t be like this! How terrible! While lost in his thoughts, he looked down at his phone and saw a prompt on the screen. [Long Shen has accepted your friend request.] Dong Zhi: ?! His heart was about to fly. He quickly clicked on it and confirmed that it was really the chat interface between friends. What should my first message say? Hello is bland. Boss Long is so busy that he¡¯ll probably won¡¯t even reply. Should he just get straight to the point and say that he wanted to invite him out to dinner? No, no. That¡¯s too straightforward and what if he gets rejected? Dong Zhi¡¯s mood was like that of a fan who just finally added their male god¡¯s WeChat but didn¡¯t know how to start communicating with said male god. After much hesitation, he finally wrote: [Hello, Boss Long. Thank you very much for saving my life when I was in Yancheng. I wonder if I can invite you to dinner. It would be such an honor. (*^__^*)] It should be fine to add an expression at the end, right? Dong Zhi deleted some parts and reduced others and finally sent the message out. After thinking about it, he added: [If you¡¯re busy, no need to reply. I wish you good health and smooth work! O(¡É_¡É)O] When he sent the second message out, he felt a bit of regret, thinking that Long Shen probably won¡¯t reply. Being able to be friends with his idol was already the highest pursuit any fan can hope for, so he really can¡¯t expect more. It seems that God had heard his tangled heart and was extremely impatient to grant him his wish. When he and He Yu arrived at their destination, Dong Zhi received a response. [Ok] It was a simple, single world, without punctuation, let alone any accompanying expression, but it was enough to make Dong Zhi fly from the bottom of the valley to the sky. Oh my god, the male god replied to me! He immediately replied: [Thank you male God! I¡¯ll treat you to dinner as soon as I return to Beijing!] After sending it out, Dong Zhi realized that he originally wanted to type ¡°Boss Long¡±, but his fingers were faster than his brain and instead type ¡°male God¡±. He was instantly horrified. Despite that, Long Shen no longer replied. He was most likely surveying stone monuments in the desert and was too busy with other important matters to care. It wasn¡¯t easy to give him a response so Dong Zhi put his phone away in content as he was filled with bliss. After He Yu finished his argument with Kan Chaosheng, he turned his head and saw Dong Zhi walking briskly and in high spirits, so he said suspiciously: ¡°Aren¡¯t you tired?¡± Dong Zhi turned his head and flashed him a wide grin: ¡°When I think of working hard and striving to be your colleague, it fills my heart with motivation!¡± He Yu: ¡­ Kinky Thoughts: I love the interaction between He Yu and Kan Chaosheng. CH 27 The mountain gate above their heads didn¡¯t seem far away, but it took a full two hours to reach it. When he arrived, Dong Zhi found that the scenery he had just vaguely seen under the steps had completely changed. The original dense forest scenery was now a Taoism temple that was standing majestically in front of him. Coiled dragon stone pillars stood at the center of the square as Taoist flags fluttered in the wind. Figures that wore Taoist robes and had their hair tie in a bun were seen walking through corridors. All this made him feel as if he had stepped into another world. ¡°This is the Hezao sect?¡± Dong Zhi asked curious: ¡°Can ordinary tourists come in?¡± He Yu said: ¡°Although it is part of the mountains, there are barriers in place. Ordinary people wouldn¡¯t even find the entrance let alone entering. Just like what¡¯s written in the Tao Yuanming¡¯s Chronicles*, there is no way to enter.¡± *(ÌÒ»¨Ô´¼Ç) Is a famous writer during the Eastern Jin Dynasty. His collection of work is titled Land of Peach Blossoms that expresses his ideals of pursuing a better life and his dissatisfaction with his real life at that time. It¡¯s an allegory to chasing ¡°paradise¡±. Under the azure sky, the Taoist Temple became more solemn, and the tai chi floor tiles on the square seemed to be shining brightly. Dong Zhi gasped in astonishment as his eyes filled with admiration: ¡°It¡¯s worthy of its famous name. It¡¯s so different from the tourist area!¡± He Yu said: ¡°You haven¡¯t even seen the bigger sects yet. Rich sects like Mount Longhu and Maoshan are a hundred times more magnificent than this. Despite us having just as much prestige as the other two, the Hezao Sects bears its name in vain for they refuse to spend money on marketing so it¡¯s devastatingly poor¡­ ouch!¡± The back of his head was smacked before he could finish his shit talk. ¡°Which bastard¡­¡± He Yu touched his head and turned it around, then immediately changed to a smiling face: ¡°Shishu*, did you come out to let the wind out1?¡± *[Shishu] (ʦÊå) It¡¯s a combination of teacher + uncle. It¡¯s a title for the junior brother of one¡¯s master [shifu] (ʦ¸¸) that¡¯s younger than him. I previously translated it as ¡°martial uncle or uncle¡± but decided now to use the pinyin form. While Chinese has distinctions in these titles, I cannot think of an English equivalent and martial uncle just doesn¡¯t sound quite right to me. The white-bearded old man made a gesture as if to beat him again: ¡°What wind1? I¡¯m your shishu, not someone locked up in a mental hospital!¡± 1Let loose (·Å·ç) Has many meanings. In this context He Yu is asking if he¡¯s out to ¡°take in the fresh air¡± but it also has a double meaning of ¡°letting prisoners go out to walk in the yard or use the toilet¡±. He Yu hurriedly hid behind the Dong Zhi and pushed him forward: ¡°Shishu, look, look. This is the apprentice I brought back to you!¡± The white-bearded old man looked at the Dong Zhi, smiled kindly, and said: ¡°Where did you find this kid?¡± He Yu proudly said: ¡°I picked him up on the road. As your nephew, I have a good eye. I choose one that has quite some talent in drawing talismans. He can almost instantly learn how to draw runes with just one lesson, which is more powerful than I was back then!¡± Dong Zhi was busy acting modest: ¡°It¡¯s not that good. It¡¯s only because I went to graphic design school that I have a little foundation!¡± The old man smiled and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry. Have you brought back Cheng Hui¡¯s remnant soul?¡± He Yu: ¡°I brought it back. We barely escaped death back then! Even my life was almost accounted for there.¡± The old man said: ¡°Your shifu* is waiting for you, so take Cheng Hui over quickly. It¡¯s not good for him to delay too long.¡± *[Shifu] (ʦ¸¸) Refers to the master/teacher. I¡¯ll leave it in pinyin form as well to keep things consistent. He Yu nodded and looked at Dong Zhi: ¡°Then you can play with my shishu for a while. I¡¯ll come back and find you later.¡± With that said, He Yu led Cheng Hui away. Dong Zhi complained in his thoughts: ¡®How can you dare say play with him when your shishu¡¯s this old?¡¯ The old man smiled and said: ¡°Since it¡¯s your first time here, I want to entertain you well. How about eating tea-smoked duck tonight? The cook is from Sichuan, so he combines Sichuan style cooking with the local tea-smoked duck. It¡¯s a delicious delicacy that you can¡¯t find anywhere else.¡± Dong Zhi was flattered and hurriedly decline not wanting to intrude too much. The old man said: ¡°It¡¯s fine. Thanks to you I can have such a good meal. Let¡¯s go.¡± He walked slowly in front with his hands behind his back, pointing to a stone or tree from time to time while saying a word or two about them to Dong Zhi. The Hezao Sect flourished during the Northern Song Dynasty. It, along with Maoshan and Longhu, was designated the three major sects of Buddhism by Emperor Song Huizong. During this time, it was prosperous. At the end of the Song Dynasty was the beginning of the Yuan Dynasty where the Hezao Sect fell into turmoil. Some Taoists of the Hezao Sect fled to participate in the rebellion. Encountered by military disaster, their Taoist temples were almost destroyed, and all three sects sharply declined. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that, with great efforts from the head of the 31st generation, the Hezao Sect was revived and became prosperous again. In order to avoid repeating the same mistakes and being destroyed by war and fire, the Hezao Sect learned from Maoshan and Longhu, and hid their entrance in the back of the mountain behind a barrier, which has lasted to this day. Dong Zhi listened with relish and asked once it ended: ¡°So ordinary tourist can¡¯t find the real path to Maoshan and Longhu Mountain? The old man smiled and said: ¡°Naturally, those scenic spots outside are for ordinary people to see. Although the Hezao Sect has also put up a similar trick and is on par with the history of Masoshan and Longhu sect, we are still just a small group and is not comparable to a large organization like them.¡± Before the Dong Zhi had time to ask more questions, he heard the old man say: ¡°We¡¯re here.¡± They stopped at a lake that had a group of big white ducks that were happily flapping their wings in the water. The weeping branches hang down low by the shore and the lotus were blossoming, beginning to populate the lake. Such a sight was truly idyllic. Old man: ¡°Okay, catch it.¡± Dong Zhi: ??? Seeing his face blank, the old man said: ¡°Don¡¯t you want to eat tea-smoked duck? You have to catch the duck yourself.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry: ¡°Can I really catch ducks this casually?¡± Old man: ¡°Of course, this is what we raise for the kitchen. They say that I have high blood pressure so they rarely let me eat them so it¡¯s hard to wait until guests come that I can finally have a meal today!¡± Dong Zhi discovered that what He Yu said wasn¡¯t disrespectful to his elders at all! He really meant it by telling him to go play! Dong Zhi felt like he¡¯s been tricked into boarding a pirate ship, but under the kind gaze of the old man, he had to accept his fate, so he pulled up his trousers and walked towards the group of ducks. At the same time, in the airtight room with all the windows closed, Cheng Hui tilted to the side and fell to the ground. The head of the Hezao Sect, Headmaster Xin, was sweating profusely, and his face was ghastly pale. He said to He Yu: ¡°It won¡¯t be too bad of an issue when he wakes up.¡± He Yu hurriedly handed in the towel: ¡°Shifu has worked hard!¡± Headmaster Xin¡¯s wiped a handful of sweat on it, shook his head and said: ¡°Although Cheng Hui is good at divination, he doesn¡¯t know any kung fu skills. How could he walk into a trap so easily?¡± He Yu said: ¡°At first, I just wanted him to help track down the people behind the Sneaky Yaksha, but I didn¡¯t expect that it would draw out an Archfiend*.¡± *Clarity: the term (ÈËħ) is used to describe what Xu Wan is. I previously translated it as ¡°demon¡± but it¡¯s not necessarily correct. It¡¯s more like a cross between a human who¡¯s ¡°fallen¡± to become a demon. I can¡¯t really think of an appropriate name but just think along the lines of fiend, devil, demon, ghoul, fallen ect. I have decided to use archfiend because it¡¯s a high tier demon that can control other demons. Headmaster Xin¡¯s expression froze: ¡°Archfiend? Are you sure it¡¯s an Archfiend?¡± He Yu nodded: ¡°Also, the boss found fragments on stone walls in the desert area of northwestern inner Mongolia. The runes are similar to that on the stone tablet we got on Changbai Mountain. I would like to ask you to take a look.¡± He pulled up an album on his phone and zoomed in on the photo. Headmaster Xin¡¯s brows furrowed tightly. ¡°Do you know how many ups and downs the Hezao Sect has encountered?¡± He Yu was puzzled by the seemingly irrelevant* question: ¡°I know, as you taught me, the rise and fall of Taoism is closely related to the rise of fall of a dynasty. In troubled times, Taoism ancient records are lost and scattered to all reaches of the world and some couldn¡¯t be restored.¡± *The wind, horse, and cattle are not in harmony (·çÂíÅ£²»Ï༰) Idiom that refers incompatibility. || In this context He Yu was confused by Headmaster Xin¡¯s question that didn¡¯t seem to have anything to do with the cryptic runes. Headmaster Xin said: ¡°When I was a child, I once heard your shizu* say that there was a Book of Scriptures from a sect in the Central Plains, which was destroyed by fire at the end of the Qing Dynasty. He once flipped through it and vaguely remembered some of the talismans and demonstrated them to me, but because it was all from memory, what he repeated has been incomplete. I didn¡¯t teach it to you, but I remember that one of the talismans is at least seven or eight strokes similar to the rune in the middle of the photo.¡± *(ʦ×æ) Title of your master¡¯s master. He picked up the incense burner, poured some ash on the ground, and drew the talisman according to his memory. He Yu gave a chuckle and compared it to the photos. Although it wasn¡¯t exactly the same, it was very similar. ¡°Do you know what this talisman does?¡± ¡°Suppresses demons.¡± Headmaster Xin patted the ashes on his hands and said: ¡°I heard your shizu say that the Book of Scriptures was written many years before the founding of the Hezao Sect, so it should at least be before the Tang Dynasty. Based on the photos you provided, combined with this remnant rune, I speculate that the rune engraved on the stone tablet should be a rune representing different direction or function of a talisman array.¡± He Yu took in a deep breath: ¡°Then this talisman array is really big! One is in Changbai Mountain. The other is in the desert of Inner Mongolia. So, are there other stone tablets?¡± Headmaster Xin said: ¡°I have to tell Long Shen about this in person. Give me his contact information.¡± He Yu let out a cry, turned on his phone, tapped it a few times, and handed it over. When Headmaster Xin looked at it, he was so angry that he raised his hand to smack the back of He Yu¡¯s head. ¡°Who would scan the QR code at this time to add friends?! Hurry up and call him!¡± He Yu was aggrieved and said: ¡°How would I know that you wanted to speak to him? I thought you like communicating like this!¡± He dialed Long Shen¡¯s number, but no one picked up the first time. He tried again and it took a long time before someone picked up. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Long Shen¡¯s voice sounded. Headmaster Xin took the call and pressed it on speaker: ¡°Boss Long, it¡¯s me, Xin Huaiyuan.¡± Long Shen had met Headmaster Xin before, so he naturally recognized his voice: ¡°Headmaster Xin?¡± Headmaster Xin didn¡¯t bother with greetings and went straight to the point and explained his speculation just now, then asked: ¡°Are you sure that the Archfiend you ran into is indeed an Archfiend?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°A few years ago, when He Yu and Tang Jing went on a mission to the Yunnan border, they ran into a drug lord who could manipulate a Sneaky Yaksha. After they eliminated him, they thought the matter was over. Who knew that three years ago, Tang Jing and I went to Russia and encountered a similar incident. With Xu Wan, this would be the third time. Sneaky Yaksha are monsters* that condenses by refining the blood and soul of resentment. Under normal circumstances, it¡¯s impossible for them to appear on a large scale in batches, let alone have any sense of autonomy, so it must be that they are deliberately being manipulated by someone.¡± *Clarity: I have previous called these ¡°demons¡± and technically they are as (ħÎï) is used to describe them, but they are like a very lower-level demons than what Xu Wan is as she can control them. In order to not get things confuse and establish a ¡°power ranking¡± I¡¯ll now change to calling them monsters instead. Humans have seven emotions and six desires* that they build resentment if they either beg for or abandon it. In a city with men and women feasting and drinking, endless resentment condenses in the sky above them. Some grievances are harmless and will dissipate on their own over time, while other are deep obsession and can last forever. People with motives can use these grievances and condense them to blend with souls of those who died in vain and turn them into monsters. *The seven emotions generally refer to: joy, anger, sorrow, fear, love, evil, and desire. *The six desires (according to Buddhism) are: lust, appearance, posture, speech, voice, smoothness, and human desires. This is not something that any ordinary practitioner can do. It can only be done by a powerful demon. Headmaster Xin said solemnly: ¡°Take resentment and hatred as the soul. Take hostility as the God. Take evil as the bone, flesh, and blood, and together they form the Archfiend.¡± Long Shen: ¡°Indeed. According to ancient records, among the great demons, Heavenly Demons, Earth Demons, and Archfiends, are considered the worst. Heavenly Demons call the wind and rain, Earth Demons destroy the mountains and rivers, and Archfiends walk with tens of thousands of demons. Although its human body is dead, it can be reborn again by changing their sacs, just like the evil spirit in Liaozhai¡¯s ¡°Painted Skin¡±*. Although it¡¯s not the most powerful of the three, it¡¯s the most difficult. The cycle of life and death is endless so it¡¯s hard to completely eliminate them.¡± *Is a work by Pu Songling and one of his most famous from his ¡°Strange Tales from a Liaozhai¡± and a famous work in Chinese ghost stories. See Kinky Thoughts for lore. The TLDR is that a man picks up a demon who wears human skin that it ¡°paints¡± to make it look like any human. Headmaster Xin¡¯s expression was solemn: ¡°If that stone tablet is really part of a talisman array, then the dragon corpse was most likely guarding it. I suspect that the archfiend aim at resurrecting the dragon corpse was to use you to destroy the stone tablet, thereby destroying the talisman array.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°We think so as well. Coupled with the valuable clues provided by you, it is assumed that it this not far from the truth*.¡± *Eight to nine is not far from ten (°Ë¾Å²»ÀëÊ®) Idiom that means very close to the actual situation. Headmaster Xin said: ¡°I don¡¯t know what kind of monster is in this talisman array. If it is a Heavenly Demon or an Earth Demon, it will be very troublesome. You¡¯d better make haste before the Archfiend and send people to find the rest of the stone tablets and guard them.¡± Long Shen: ¡°Our bureau is having a meeting now. If there is further news, He Yu will let you know. One more thing. I hope that you can join the delegation and participate in the World Exchange Conference next year.¡± Headmaster Xin smiled: ¡°Thank you for your invitation. I will consider it carefully. If there is any need, you can directly tell He Yu. He has the right to call on the resources of the Hezao Sect.¡± Seeing that Headmaster Xin hung up, He Yu asked: ¡°Shifu, are you really going to participate next year?¡± Headmaster Xin glared at him: ¡°Is it really time to care about this? Cheng Hui is fine so you should go back quickly and see what you can do to help!¡± He Yu wailed: ¡°Shifu, I am your apprentice, and I was not raised by a stepmother*! My injuries have not fully healed yet. Even so I worked hard to rush back to that old man and wish shishu a happy birthday. How can you treat me like?!¡± *(ºóÄïÑøµÄ) Proverb referring to a child who is not love by anyone. Headmaster Xin suddenly sighed and patted him on the shoulder: ¡°We have no one like you in the Hezao Sect and we¡¯re not as deep-rooted as the Longhu Sect. It is indeed hard for you to walk by yourself in the Special Administration Bureau.¡± He Yu¡¯s howling stopped abruptly as he became stunned and said cautiously: ¡°Shifu, are you- are you okay?¡± His shifu was suddenly so gentle to him. Could this be a pit that was waiting for him to jump into? Headmaster Xin kicked him angrily: ¡°You ingrate. You don¡¯t appreciate it when I use nice words so you prefer I beat you then, ah? Then let me grant your wish!¡± He Yu hugged his head as he ran away. ¡ª Dong Zhi held a big white duck as he followed the old man to the kitchen and heard him say to the staff: ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat tea-smoked duck tonight. This is for the guest who specifically requested this dish.¡± Dong Zhi was speechless. He handed over the duck and followed the old man while saying disgruntledly: ¡°Is it okay to use me as a shield?¡± ¡°Why not?¡± The old man walked with his hand behind his back, looking similar to a duck. He continued slowly: ¡°My birthday is coming up soon so I just want to eat something I like. It¡¯s not against the law. It¡¯s just I can¡¯t eat it too much at my age!¡± Seeing that his beard and hair were all white and his complexion was ruddy, Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°I think you can definitely live longer than me!¡± The old man smiled: ¡°He You didn¡¯t tell you? I¡¯m almost 100 this year!¡± Dong Zhi thought he had heard it wrong: ¡°You look like you are fifty or sixty!¡± The old man kindly: ¡°I am much older than He Yu¡¯s shifu, but I just started late so I¡¯m behind.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know the old man¡¯s name, so he follows He Yu¡¯s lead and called him shishu. The old man didn¡¯t seem to mind, as if he had completely forgotten about what He Yu said earlier regarding him accepting him as an apprentice. He led Dong Zhi around the Taoist temples, and finally they reached a room. From the statue and plaques inside, Dong Zhi faintly recognize that this temple was dedicated to the ancestors of the Sanqing* and the Hezao Sect. *Reminder: They are the highest gods of Taoism: Yuanshi Tianzun, Lingbao Tiazun, Daode Tiazun. The old man pointed to the pillow on the ground and said: ¡°Go on. Go up and worship. I¡¯ll say something and you repeat after me.¡± Dong Zhi knelt down and bowed three times. Then he heard the old man say: ¡°The patriarch of the Sanqing. Ancestral spirit. This person is not a disciple of my Hezao Sect, but because of his integrity and his kindness to our disciple He Yu and Cheng Hui, I will teach him the Five Thunder Talisman today.¡± Dong Zhi: ??? The old man put the incense in his hand and said to the Dong Zhi: ¡°Repeat after me. The ancestors of the Sanqing were at the top and our ancestors acquire the Five Thunder Talisman from them. This is our secret technique of the Hezao Sect. We vow to stick to our hearts and follow the righteous path. Never slander Taoism, vent scriptures lightly, and bully the poor or seize property. Never be violent or arrogant or aimless.¡± Seeing that there was no sound coming from Dong Zhi, the old man urged: ¡°Start repeating!¡± Dong Zhi gave a perplex look and hurriedly repeated what the old man spoke. The old man inserted the incense into the incense burner, and then bowed his hand for a long time. Only then he said with satisfaction: ¡°Okay, get up.¡± Dong Zhi was confused: ¡°What are you doing?¡± The old man said: ¡°He Yu brought you here so I can take you on as my apprentice, but I am too old to have one. However, you have a clear mind and is likely to work with He Yu in the future, so I¡¯ll teach you our secret technique. I heard that you learned the art of the Sunlight Talisman from He Yu so your foundation is barely just enough. Come with me.¡± When he heard that the old man would not accept him as an apprentice, he felt a trace of disappointment, but also breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn¡¯t dissatisfied with this shishu or the Hezao Sect, but He Yu¡¯s remark about Long Shen accepting disciples still lingered in his mind, causing him to hang on to unrealistic expectations. The old man turned his head and saw that he was standing there stupidly and didn¡¯t move: ¡°Not happy with the Five Thunder Talisman? Let me tell you! This isn¡¯t something that can be learn by disciples unless they have been here for at least five years!¡± Dong Zhi was dumbfounded and felt touched: ¡°Is it okay for you to teach such an important secret to an outsider?¡± The old man smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s fine. Do you think that I teach this to anyone so casually? I watched over He Yu since he was a child. He¡¯s casual when it comes to small things, but unambiguous to serious things. You were brought in by him and passed the mental test. Just now, you were fooling around with me for a long time trying to catch ducks, yet you show no impatience. This is a sign that you¡¯re a good child, so what¡¯s wrong with me teaching you something?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°But¡­¡± Old man: ¡°Okay, okay. Don¡¯t be reluctant. The meaning of talismans is for people to learn them. If you hide it and dare not teach anyone, what¡¯s the difference between a sect that prides itself on its righteousness and a hypocritical villain?¡± The fate between people was wonderful. Although the two had just met not long ago, there was an instant connection between them. Just as Dong Zhi liked this lively and lovable old man, he too felt a similar feeling for Dong Zhi. Hearing his words, Dong Zhi no longer struggled. He got up and kowtowed three times. ¡°Thank you shishu for teaching me. I will study hard and use what I have learn to follow the righteous path. I will never commit any crimes!¡± The old man was pleased with his show of courtesy and cleverness. He smiled: ¡°That¡¯s right. Don¡¯t be hypocritical. Alright, I¡¯ll take you somewhere to teach you.¡± ¡°Right here.¡± The old man led him to the yard, pointed to the stone table under the tree, and said: ¡°This place is suitable for you to learn. Go and sit.¡± Dong Zhi said curiously: ¡°Is there enough spiritual energy here?¡± The old man took out his phone from the inner pocket of his robe and said: ¡°No, but it¡¯s convenient for dinner. Wait a moment. I¡¯ll text the group and ask them to deliver it here when it¡¯s done.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He finally knew where He Yu¡¯s unreliability came from. After sending his message on WeChat, the old man waved to Dong Zhi with satisfaction and began to teach him the art of breathing and nourishing qi. When He Yu taught him to draw talisman before, he once said that there is no internal kung fu in Dong Zhi. Even if the talisman matched, they would only have the appearance but not the blessing. On the rooftop of Tianyuan Building, the talisman he used for the bagua array were drawn by He Yu in advance. Otherwise, the talisman he did alone would only at most deter a Sneaky Yaksha. It would be delusional if he thought it could subdue an Archfiend. Only by practicing the kung fu tona* can you truly get started in drawing talismans. *Breathing (ÍÂÄÉ) Technique for qi-refining in qigong. It includes external and internal breathing. In Taoism, the breathing method is use for chanting sutras, mantras, and summoning gods. || I¡¯ll be using it pinyin form as this is not just ¡°regular¡± breathing but a specific kind. The old man said: ¡°This set of kung fu is not a secret. All sects know it. Have you heard of Wudang Mountain? There are tai chi training classes on it every year. You can learn this breathing method for a few thousand yuan. All the internal kung fu are basically the same. The key is to persevere for many years. Half an hour in the morning and half an hour before going to bed.¡± He recited a mantra while using kung fu tona so Dong Zhi can memorize it, then demonstrate it himself and let Dong Zhi follow. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know how lucky he was as the old man didn¡¯t accept disciples and the disciples of the Hezao Sect rarely got his personal guidance. The old man said: ¡°You have to learn to meditate. When you close your eyes, imagine that there¡¯s a sun above your head and you¡¯re absorbing its essence. When you breath out, imagine that you¡¯re expelling the turbid qi from your body.¡± The allusion was very vivid that Dong Zhi immediately had an intuitive impression. He nodded. It wasn¡¯t difficult. When he was a child, he had studied tai chi with his grandfather who taught him the basic skills of breathing and practicing qi. However, he didn¡¯t stick to it, since like all children, he was more interested in playing. Doing this exercise now evoked those memories of the past. When the old man saw that he had done it correctly he started teaching him the Five Thunder Talisman technique. Dong Zhi felt that this shishu was too impatient, not at all like the leisurely old man when they first met, but the old man seemed to insist on finishing his lesson before dinner. He said: ¡°The Five Thunder Talisman technique is something many sects, including the Maoshan and Longhu Sects, have. It is popularly called the Law of Five Thunders because heavenly thunder can exorcize evil spirits and demons since in order to transform into human, spirits and monsters must cross a thunder tribulation. Kan Chaosheng is an example that you probably met in their bureau¡­ forget it, forget it. In other words, the Five Thunder Talisman is the induction between itself and the heavens attracting thunder and lightning to descend. Do you understand?¡± Dong Zhi nodded and asked: ¡°Then if the user is injured, or is not proficient in learning, and cannot completely control the talisman, will it lead to a backlash?¡± Seeing that Dong Zhi could draw inferences from his words, the old man was quite happy: ¡°Of course. Such a situation is applicable to everything in the world, and the same is true of the Five Thunder Talisman. However, as long as your mind is firm and there¡¯s no mistake on the talisman, then generally speaking, there will only be a difference in power. For example, beginners cannot attract thunder. Among the disciples of this sect, only He Yu is able to do it and it¡¯s only once a month.¡± Kinky Thoughts: I¡¯ve been wishy-washy with what I translate and what I leave in pinyin. Originally, I plan to translate everything, but some terms just don¡¯t have a suitable English equivalent, thus they are left in pinyin. Also, my research is very basic as I¡¯m not an expert in Taoism or any of these mythological stuff. If you are more proficient in this area, do let me know so I can add to my notes. ¡ª Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio ¨C Painted Skin by Pu Songling An academician from Taiyuan, referred to only by his surname, Wang, chances upon a homeless girl who claims to be an ill-treated concubine. Noting her beauty as well as feeling pity for her, Wang agrees to let her stay at his residence temporarily. They make love in his study, unbeknownst to anybody else. A few days afterward, Wang¡¯s spouse, Chen, discovers their affair and is unhappy with the arrangement; but she fails to change her husband¡¯s mind. At the marketplace, a Taoist priest informs Wang that he has been possessed by an evil spirit. The incredulous Wang dismisses this. Returning home, he finds the gates locked but manages to find a way into the courtyard, where he finds that the front door is bolted too. Peeking through the window, Wang makes a startling discovery: the girl is actually a ¡°green-faced monster, a ghoul with great jagged teeth like a saw.¡± All this while, she had been wearing a mask made of human skin, on which her attractive features were painted. Shocked, Wang returns to the Taoist priest and begs him to help. The priest agrees but ambivalently wishes to be lenient with a fellow sentient being, and thus offers Wang only a charm meant to ward off demons. Wang returns home and hangs the charm outside his bedroom; but it has no effect on the demon. Instead, she turns enraged and rips out Wang¡¯s heart. Wang¡¯s spouse reports this to the priest who, incited to fury, launches a full-scale offensive against the demon. The priest and Chen find that the demon has transformed itself into an elderly helper working at Wang¡¯s brother¡¯s place. In the climax, the demon reverts to its original form, and the priest beheads it with his wooden sword. The demon¡¯s remains dissolve into smoke which the priest stores in his calabash. He also rolls up the demon¡¯s ¡°painted skin¡± and stores it away. Later, the priest tells Chen to visit a lunatic beggar at the marketplace if she wishes to revive her husband. The madman treats her with disrespect by continuously demeaning her, but she takes this in stride and patiently pleads with him for help. Finally, he coughs forth some phlegm and makes her swallow it. The beggar departs and Chen is left feeling deeply ashamed. Back home, during funeral preparations, the phlegm gradually hardens and rises from Chen¡¯s stomach to her throat. Ultimately she disgorges a throbbing heart, which she places into the gaping wound in Wang¡¯s chest; slowly, his life is restored. CH 28 In amidst their conversation, He Yu had returned. The old man felt a little tired, so he waved his hand and asked He Yu to instruct Dong Zhi while he gave pointers on the side. When He Yu heard that the old man was teaching Dong Zhi the Five Thunder Talisman technique, his mouth dropped: ¡°Shishu, are you serious?¡± The old man gave him a dissatisfied look: ¡°You think I¡¯m messing around? Of course I¡¯m serious!¡± ¡°Then why don¡¯t you just accept him as a disciple?¡± He Yu was puzzled. He had just left the mountains for a few years yet his shifu and shishu were acting stranger by the day. The old man glared at him: ¡°Are you going to help me or not? Don¡¯t delay my dinner!¡± ¡°All right, all right!¡± He Yu scratched his head and said to Dong Zhi: ¡°The Five Thunder Talisman is a teaching that specifically is use subdue demons. All sects have similar talisman that works the same way but heavenly thunder is not something you can just invite whenever you want, so those who are not firm hearted cannot learn¡­¡± The old man interrupted him: ¡°I already told him this! Get to the point!¡± He Yu was speechless and could only continue: ¡°You just started learning so you shouldn¡¯t learn this kind of advance talisman technique but since shishu wants me to teach you, I¡¯ll demonstrate it first. Watch and ask if there¡¯s anything you don¡¯t understand.¡± Since they were at the Hezao Sect, yellow paper and cinnabar was readily available and can be found at any time. He Yu pressed the paperweight on the yellow paper, closed his eyes, and inhaled. He brewed his thoughts , then opened his eyes then quickly picked up a brush, all in one go. Dong Zhi held his breath and didn¡¯t dare to disturb him as he watch He Yu intently while he drew on the yellow paper. ¡°Don¡¯t you need to bite your fingers and drip blood on it?¡± Dong Zhi asked as he looked at the completed talisman. ¡°Usually, it¡¯s not necessary. I only did it on the train because I couldn¡¯t find yellow paper at that time and when I was fighting the Archfiend in order to enhance the effect.¡± He Yu said. The rune on the Five Thunder Talisman was extremely different from the Sunlight Talisman. It looked much more complicated and was mixed with deformed Chinese characters. Dong Zhi simulated it in his head and silently wrote it down. Some details he couldn¡¯t remember with just a glance but his memorization will improve by rote. After the talisman was completed, and the ink was dry, He Yu walked to an open space, holding the talisman in one hand while pinching his palm with the other, and began reciting the spell. Dong Zhi looked up to the sky. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was an illusion but the original sun that was obscured by dark clouds had looked even more covered and gloomy. When He Yu recited the mantra, the talisman fluttered and suddenly ignited spontaneously. He let it go but the talisman didn¡¯t fall but swayed and slowly rose. The wind blew from all directions. At first it was a gentle breeze that held the heat of early summer and the smell of green grass of the mountains, but soon, the wind became stronger, and the leaves overhead rustled aggressively. Many young leaves that were just growing were blown right off. Dong Zhi and the old man narrowed their eyes as sand blasted around, and eventually had to cover them to avoid sand from getting in them. Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Shishu, is the heavenly thunder about to strike?¡± The old man snorted: ¡°Talismans are a kind of medium. Just like in ancient times, when you visit someone¡¯s house you need to ask for an invitation. This is the same way for the heavenly thunder. The faster the talisman rises; the faster heaven will receive your message. But the boy can¡¯t do it now¡­ the talisman is as slow as a tortoise crawling.¡± When He Yu heard this, he couldn¡¯t help but protest: ¡°I¡¯m injured yet you still asked me to invite heavenly thunder and now you¡¯re admonishing me. You think this is easy for me? I¡­¡± Before he could continue, a spark of light suddenly flashed in the clouds and shortly after thunder followed closely behind. With a bang, Dong Zhi and the old man covered their heads and ran away as the stone table under the tree nearby was instantly split in half! Old man: ¡­ He Yu chuckled dryly: ¡°I¡¯m injured so my accuracy is a bit poor. Sorry. Please forgive me!¡± The old man reached out his hand and smacked him: ¡°With the table gone, where am I going to eat?!¡± After the thunder stuck, Dong Zhi found that the dark clouds had quickly dispersed, and the sky had returned back to its normal brightness. He Yu was chased and beaten by the old man for a long time before a junior brother came to delivered dinner, rescuing him. The disciples of the Hezao Sect must have been accustomed to this kind of scene as they turned a blind eye on the tragic fate of the stone table and asked the old man: ¡°Shishu, where do you want me to put the food?¡± Of all of Headmasters Xin¡¯s disciple, He Yu was the youngest. The eldest of his disciple was the next head and he is twenty years older than He Yu. His other disciples have accepted several apprentices of their own and they were younger than He Yu and separated by two generations from the old man. The old man casually pointed to the ground: ¡°Put it there!¡± The two disciples put down the food and looked at Dong Zhi curiously. They didn¡¯t work in the kitchen and only wanted to see the excitement when they heard that He Yu had brought someone in. Dong Zhi greeted them with a smile, and the two shortly left after. He Yu saw the food on the ground and yelled: ¡°You¡¯re secretly eating duck again!¡± ¡°This is for Dong Zhi!¡± The old man said stiffly. Dong Zhi resolutely took the pot and gave a large piece to the old man first: ¡°It¡¯s okay to let shishu eat a little piece, right?¡± The old man smiled: ¡°Look at him compared to you!¡± He Yu rolled his eyes: ¡°Home flowers are not as fragrant as wild flowers*!¡± *(¼Ò»¨²»ÈçÒ°»¨Ïã!) It refers to the spouse at home is not as good as the others outside. The old man wanted to beat him again. The farm-raised ducks in the mountains were indeed much fatter and tender than the usual ones outside. In additional to their own deliciousness, the duck was also mixed with the aroma of tea leaves that made their meat tender so that it melts in the mouth. The duck meat that was originally slightly greasy was neutralize by the sweet tea leaves leaving a crisp and refreshing taste. The old man moved faster than anyone else. When Dong Zhi had only taken his second bite, the old man had already stuffed most of the duck¡¯s meat into his mouth. Seeing Dong Zhi watching in a daze from the way he was eating, He Yu said: ¡°Look, this is the real evil intention of shishu when he asked you to catch ducks!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he received a slap on the back of his hand, then the old man moved the whole plate of duck meat towards Dong Zhi and himself. ¡°Then don¡¯t eat it. You should lose weight too. You are too big and thick. It¡¯s no wonder you can¡¯t find a girlfriend. We¡¯re a decent school not a monastery. I don¡¯t expect you to grow old alone!¡± Dinner ended with a slap in the face. It¡¯s been a long time since Dong Zhi felt this kind of atmosphere. It reminded him of when his parents were still alive. They had a good relationship and often acted lovey-dovey with each other as if there was no one else around. Dong Zhi was like a phone bill, cast aside on the table. The dinner between the three would always end as a sugary sweet meal for his parents. At that time, he felt that his titanium dog eyes* were going to be blinded, but after his parents passed, he wanted to be blinded but there was no one to do it. *(îѺϽð¹·ÑÛ) Term associated with the game World of Warcraft. The saying ¡°blind my titanium dog eyes¡± refers to a visual impact of peculiar things. After the meal, the old man asked He Yu to bring over a bamboo recliner. He sat comfortably under the tree to cool off, while continuing the unfinished topic with Dong Zhi. ¡°The shifu leads you to the door, but the cultivation depends on the individual. The key to all talismans lies in the individual¡¯s understanding. For example, the effect that this kid use just now is a failure.¡± He Yu, who was used as a negative example, was also lying on a bamboo recliner, playing on his phone, paid no heed to his words. Before He Yu went down the mountain, let alone cellphones, there wasn¡¯t even internet. At his strong behest, and in order to facilitate better ways to contact each other, Headmaster Xin asked people to come in and set up a communication facility. Since then, it has now become commonplace for disciples in the sect to use phones, and under He Yu¡¯s influence, they have formed groups to play games together, but they were all forcefully suppressed by Headmaster Xin. The stars twinkled overhead lighting up the ground that was as bright as frost, while insects buzz and birds sang all around. Dong Zhi imagined he had entered a wonderful warm night of early summer and pictured this scene deeply in his mind. He planned to draw it when he returns. It was cool in the mountains at night, but the old man still took out a pu fan and fanned himself: ¡°If you use poetry to compare the effect of the thunder talisman, it¡¯ll be more vivid. ¡®When the east wind rustles and the drizzle comes, there is light thunder above the lotus pond¡¯*. If you practice a few more times, you can achieve this effect, but it¡¯s best to practice it in an empty space to avoid hurting innocent people.¡± *(ìªìª¶«·çϸÓêÀ´£¬Ü½ÈØÌÁÍâÓÐÇáÀ×) Excerpt from ¡°Four Untitled Songs¡±. They are a set of four untitled poems created by Li Shangyin from the Tang Dynasty. Dong Zhi nodded humbly. The old man said: ¡°When your proficiency reaches a certain level, you may be able to achieve the effect of ¡®thunder bringing the torrential rain, and suddenly came the wind¡¯*. He Yu barely reached it just now, and he is one of the best qualified in his generation of the Hezao Sect.¡± *(±©ÓêÖð¾ªÀ×£¬´Ó·çºöÖèÀ´) Line from the poem ¡°Big Water¡± by Xue Feng. ¡°What about further improvement?¡± Dong Zhi thought his way of using ancient poems to compare the effectiveness of the thunder talisman was extremely novel and interesting. He thought of the scene where Xu Wan was destroyed on the rooftop of Tianyuan Building. At that time, tens of thousands of thunders made a concerted strike that was earth-shattering, but according to the old man¡¯s opinion, that wasn¡¯t even the strongest. The old man: ¡°Then it¡¯s ¡®soul united with the land, the thunder like the power of a god¡¯*. No one can reach this level. When I was young, I saw my shifu use it once, but since then, his vitality was greatly damage and his body got worse by the day. If you remember He Yu¡¯s demonstration just now, then we can try it out. You¡¯re not able to draw the runes yet so let He Yu go to my place and get you a few talismans that¡¯s already painted for you to use.¡± *(»êÆÇɽºÓÆø£¬·çÀ×ÓùÓîÉñ) Line from ¡°Cold Food¡± by Lu Xiang. He kicked He Yu: ¡°Go get the Thunder Talisman!¡± He Yu who almost ate the floor cried out: ¡°Am I raise by a stepmother?¡± Old man: ¡°Yes!¡± He Yu: ¡­ He muttered to himself as he got up and finished his game while waking away. The old man shook his head and said to Dong Zhi: ¡°You don¡¯t play games, right? Don¡¯t learn from him.¡± Dong Zhi laughed dryly, and dare didn¡¯t answer. He Yu quickly brought the thunder talisman and handed over a large stack. ¡°These will allow you to practice until dawn!¡± The old man laughed and scolded: ¡°Are you deliberately taking revenge?¡± Dong Zhi took a talisman, walked to the open space, recalled He Yu¡¯s actions, and began his practice. His first attempt, nothing happened. His second attempt, nothing happened. His third attempt, the talisman ignited but failed to float. ¡­ On his eighth attempt, the talisman ignited and floated, but the sky was quiet. On his ninth attempt, the burning talisman slowly floated into the air and dark clouds gathered overhead, as if a storm was coming. Despite repeatedly failing, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care. He looked at the talismans in his hand intently and completely forget about the outside world, including the old man and He Yu. It was as if he was in a separate dimension that even the sounds of insect buzzing and birds crying didn¡¯t reach his ears. The thick stack of thunder talisman depleted until there was only three left. Dong Zhi picked up the top one and sandwiched it between his index and middle fingers. With a straight figure, he closed his eyes to recite the mantra and from the seal with one hand. With a bang, the talisman ignited. He opened his eyes and let go of it and threw the talisman out. The half-burning talisman slowly rose as if a hand was holding it. The sky was already dark so it was impossible to tell if dark clouds were gathering, but the sound of thunder could faintly be heard from afar, echoing in the vast expanse, making muffled sounds. Dong Zhi ignored the sounds and was focusing all his attention in his own little world. Talismans are the medium of communication between the heaven and earth. Humans are so small, but they can often burst out with great energy. They have the ability to invent talismans to arouse the power of the heavens and do things that other creatures cannot. The talisman was about to burn out and the flames got weaker, but the thunder overhead was getting louder. Dong Zhi was expressionless, no longer having his usual soft and cute demeanor. His face was like a jade carving that was illuminated by the lightning from time to time. Even He Yu, who was focus on his game couldn¡¯t help but take his attention away and sat straight up looking at the scene in front of him. Neither he nor the old man made a sound, afraid they might disturb Dong Zhi during his spellcasting. Suddenly a loud bang sounded as lightning flash accompanied by thunder that struck less than three feet in front of Dong Zhi. The extremely dazzling light made the two of them squinted their eyes. But things had just begun, as immediately afterwards, three to four more flashes crash down above Dong Zhi, surrounding him, but not did not hit him. Several scorch marks soon appeared on his body seemingly forming a circle. The thunderbolts were no thicker than the size of his fingers, but they were enough to surprise the old man. It had taken a month of practice for He Yu to reach the stage that Dong Zhi had done in a single night! He quickly ran out and held Dong Zhi who was in mid-fall. ¡°My head¡¯s a little dizzy¡­¡± Dong Zhi looked pale and was profusely sweating. ¡°You overexerted yourself. Go take a break and rest.¡± The old man said kindly. Dong Zhi said with some regret: ¡°But I still want to hear more of your stories.¡± The old man smiled: ¡°Wait until tomorrow. When you get up, I¡¯ll tell you all the stories you want, but it¡¯s time to rest now!¡± Dong Zhi nodded obediently. After Dong Zhi left, He Yu put down his phone, got up from the bamboo recliner and said triumphantly: ¡°Well how about it, shishu? The person I found is pretty good, right?¡± The old man sighed: ¡°It¡¯s not just pretty good, but it¡¯s a pity that he could easily be taken advantage of.¡± He Yu¡¯s face straightened, and he stopped smiling: ¡°Shishu, why are you talking so much today? Be honest, even if you like Dong Zhi, you wouldn¡¯t treat him like an old friend and talked endlessly with him from just the first meeting.¡± The old man rolled his eyes at him: ¡°I¡¯m in good spirits today, so can¡¯t I? Besides, my time is approaching. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s better for me to eat and talk more?¡± He Yu was taken aback. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me, your shifu didn¡¯t mention it to you?¡± the old man said slowly: ¡°Why do you think I didn¡¯t accept Dong Zhi as a disciple? I can¡¯t teach him, but even if there¡¯s no apprenticeship between us, the child has a good heart and temperament, so I¡¯ll teach him the Five Thunder Talisman so you¡¯ll have more helpers in the Special Administration Bureau.¡± ¡°Shishu¡­¡± He Yu¡¯s eyes were slightly red, and he smiled reluctantly: ¡°Why would you say that? The boss was reluctant to recruit him in the first place and now that he can¡¯t be your apprentice, without the Hezao¡¯s name, he most likely won¡¯t be admitted to the Special Administration Bureau.¡± The old man shook his head and said: ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true. I think his chance will come in the near future. We¡¯ll cross the bridge when we get there*. You don¡¯t need to think about it. I did a divination on myself a year ago. The deadline should be in the summer of this year. It¡¯s good for you to come back so I can see you one last time.¡± *The boat will naturally go straight to the bridge (´¬µ½ÇÅÍ·×ÔȻֱ) Refers to no need to worry in advance and the problem can be solved by then. Seeing that He Yu¡¯s face had turned sour, the old man patted him on the hand: ¡°Although we and the Maoshan and Longhu are of similar heritage, the Hezao lineage had been broken after all. They have been the same for thousands of years so it¡¯s normal for them to look down on us. In the beginning, you complained to me that you wanted to enter the first group of the Special Administration Bureau, but in the end, you couldn¡¯t get in, but instead went to the second group, the Dragon Bureau. When I look at it, I think with your temperament, staying in the second group is actually better than the first. Am I wrong?¡± He Yu nodded: ¡°Yes, the boss has a cold face but a warm heart, and the atmosphere in the group is lively. His strength is not inferior to that of the first group. Now, even if I¡¯m asked to go to the first group, I won¡¯t be able to get use to it.¡± The old man smiled: ¡°Sometimes blessings come from misfortunes. Everything in the world is like this. Don¡¯t blame your shifu. He¡¯s not passing on the leadership to you because he doesn¡¯t value you. On the contrary, the Hezao Sect needs someone who can speak in the face of officials. Your outgoing temperament is the most suitable. He Yu said: ¡°I understand. Don¡¯t talk about it. After so many years, I have already figured it out.¡± The old man: ¡°A while ago, you informed your shifu of Cheng Hui¡¯s disappearance so your shifu asked me to do a divination for Cheng Hui. According to the divination, at that time Chen Hui was in danger but there may still be some follow-up troubles. You need to be more careful going forward.¡± While in front of Dong Zhi, He Yu didn¡¯t reveal his feelings, but now listening to the old man as if he was saying his last words made him even more uncomfortable. ¡°Stop talking about it. I¡¯m sleepy so I¡¯m going to bed. We¡¯ll talk more when I get up tomorrow!¡± ¡°Go, go on then!¡± The old man didn¡¯t keep him. He got up with a smile and walked into his room with his hands behind his back. Back in the guest room, Dong Zhi was lying on the bed tossing and turning as he couldn¡¯t fall asleep. He had both the excitement of learning a new spell and the illusion that he had reached the pinnacle of his life. Rolling side to side like a pancake, he couldn¡¯t resist sending a message to Long Shen. Dong Zhi: [Boss Long, I have good news for you. Today I learned how to draw the Five Thunder Talisman! O(¡É_¡É)O] After sending it, he regretted it. He didn¡¯t know Long Shen well and it seems to be too presumptuous of him to send a message this late. Dong Zhi put down his phone and rolled around again, causing the bed to rattle. Since his insomnia wasn¡¯t going away, he took out a pen and paper and from his backpack and began practice drawing the Five Thunder Talisman. After doing it for a while, his phone screen lit up and he glanced at it finding that Long Shen had replied, so he hurriedly picked up his phone to look. Long Shen: [When you master it, you can roast squid for me!] Dong Zhi: ??? Following after the message was a drooling emoji. Five Thunder Talisman? Use the thunder to roast squid? Dong Zhi¡¯s mind swayed between ¡°the other party was possessed¡± or ¡°the other party¡¯s phone was stolen¡±. Before he could reply, he immediately got another message: [It¡¯s me. I had Kan Chaosheng watch my phone since I was expecting a call.] The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched as he breathed a sigh of relief, and hurriedly replied: [I see. I couldn¡¯t sleep so I wanted to talk to somebody. I hope I didn¡¯t bother you. Today I met He Yu¡¯s shishu at the Hezao Sect. Although he didn¡¯t accept me as an apprentice, he still taught me the Five Thunder Talisman. It¡¯s said that this talisman is a powerful magic weapon of Taoism. If I can be admitted to the Special Administration Bureau in the future, I won¡¯t drag people down.] He typed out a lot of words in a breath and sent it. This time Long Shen replied back quickly: [It¡¯s difficult to master the Five Thunder Talisman. Even He Yu¡¯s performance is not stable.] The implication is that for a rookie like Dong Zhi who just started, he shouldn¡¯t expect to be able to do anything earth-shattering with the technique. Seeing this message made Dong Zhi disheartened. There was no praise or encouragement, but this was Long Shen¡¯s style of seeking truths from facts, but it also made people feel that he was cold. He didn¡¯t tell Long Shen that he was able to successfully attract thunder, but compared to Long Shen¡¯s abilities, this was nothing to boast about. Dong Zhi took a while before simply replying: [I see, thank you Boss Long. I will practice well. (*^__^*)] He put the phone aside and didn¡¯t look at it again. What he didn¡¯t know was that Long Shen was currently sitting by a fire in a yurt somewhere in the desert far in the northeast as he looked at Dong Zhi¡¯s messages. ¡°What do you think of the Dong Zhi?¡± he asked suddenly. ¡°¡­¡° Kan Chaosheng, who was gnawing on a roasted leg of lamb, stopped chewing, his usual cheeks was puffed, full of food. He was caught off guard momentarily by the question as he swallowed the lamb with difficulty and said: ¡°He¡¯s okay, right?¡± His answer was perfunctory to satisfy his immediate boss. Although Kan Chaosheng wasn¡¯t afraid of heaven and earth, when facing Long Shen, he still couldn¡¯t help but restrained a bit of his impulsiveness. ¡°Human beings are very fragile, but He Yu said that Dong Zhi is very talented in drawing runes. If he can learn it well for a few years, it shouldn¡¯t be bad. Isn¡¯t He Yu planning to take him back to his master¡¯s school and have him become a disciple? When he becomes a disciple of the Hezao sect, he¡¯ll be able to add some impression points during the interview exam.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°The Hezao Sect won¡¯t accept him.¡± Kan Chaosheng was surprised: ¡°Why?¡± Long Shen: ¡°But they taught him the Five Thunder Talisman.¡± Kan Chaosheng scratched his cheeks: ¡°Then, it should be fine then? Our second group has always been short of people. It¡¯s usually okay but when it comes to major event our weakness is exposed. This time we were the ones who discovered the Archfiend first, but group one took away our credit under the pretext of our lack of manpower.¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°It was indeed our negligence to let the Archfiend go on the train.¡± Kan Chaosheng was unconvinced: ¡°At that time, we were busy dealing with the bone dragon and the Japanese were interfering as well, but we still did our best. Those group of bastards are only strong when speaking slander. Why didn¡¯t they find out there was a problem on the train first? They threw the blame on us and then grab the credit at the critical moments. Obviously, we put in more effort and are stronger! Boss, when recruiting for the exam this year, you must be strong. Don¡¯t let group one poach people again!¡± Long Shen allowed him to keep complain as he retained his sullen expression: ¡°I see.¡± Kan Chaosheng continue to chew on the leg of lamb as Long Shen continues staring at his phone. He didn¡¯t think there was anything wrong with telling the truth, so he sent that message. Seeing that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t reply, he assume he had fallen asleep. He put down his phone, clasped his hands and put them behind his head, then laid down on the carpet. The warmth of the fire quickly made him close his eyes. Kinky Thoughts: The road to chasing your male god is a hard one. End of second arc. CH 29 Dong Zhi was awakened by his phone alarm early the next morning. He opened his eyes and stared blankly, then habitually picked up his phone, turn off the alarm, and check to see if there are any notifications. He saw that Long Shen had sent him a message last night. [When you return to Bejing, come find me.] Dong Zhi stared wide-eyed at the text and immediately sat up. He kept his gaze on it for over three seconds as the smile on his face got wider. He felt delighted and rolled around in his bed while hugging his blanket several times. The feeling of loss from last night instantly vanished. He jumped out of bed, and washed up, then started his set of morning exercises in the yard according to what the old man taught him yesterday. While doing it, he paid careful attention to his breathing. When he was finished, he was sweating profusely, but his body felt much lighter. When he was about to have breakfast, he saw He Yu coming out. ¡°You didn¡¯t sleep in?¡± Dong Zhi said incredulously. ¡°Where¡¯s shishu?¡± He Yu looked around. ¡°Haven¡¯t gotten up yet.¡± Dong Zhi said and saw that He Yu¡¯s expression quickly changed. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He sensed that something was off. He Yu suddenly took off and he followed after him, perplexed. After a while, He Yu reached a room and open the door and strode him. The buildings on the Hezao Sect have been around for years. They were all made from ancient brick and stones, and they all had sloping wooden doors. There was only a cell tower dedicated for cellular signal that showed any traces of modern civilization. When He Yu opened the door, he exerted too much force that it made an unpleasant creaking noise. As Dong Zhi entered, he saw the old man lying on the bed, motionless. He Yu yelled, his face turning pale, but he couldn¡¯t wake the old man up. Dong Zhi stared in disbelief at the old man who eyes were close as if he was peacefully sleeping, and suddenly remembered he didn¡¯t even know his name. A thunderstorm gathered outside; following it was the sound of pattering rain. The wind blew the raindrops around, bringing in a burst of coolness. The joy of receiving a reply from Long Shen was erased. The old man had taught him how draw talismans last night, his smiling appearance was still vivid in Dong Zhi¡¯s mind. Tears welled as his vision blurred and he couldn¡¯t hold them in any long as he broke down crying. The original birthday celebration had turned into a funeral. The disciples of the Hezao Sect came in one after another when they heard the news and they dealt with the aftermath. Dong Zhi assisted them while silently crying, unable to stop his tears. His fair complexion only enhanced the redness of his eyes even more. They couldn¡¯t bear to see him in this state that even Headmaster Xin came to comfort him. ¡°My junior brother was nearly a hundred. They say that there is also joy in death. You don¡¯t have to be too sad. He lived his life freely like an urchin, and he didn¡¯t want to watch you mourn for his passing.¡± ¡°Sorry,¡± Dong Zhi wiped away his tears: ¡°Shishu and I hit it off when we first met. Despite teaching me how draw talisman, I have nothing to repay to him in return. My parents have passed and just as I met shishu, he too had passed away. Maybe it was because of my misfortune that shishu¡­¡± Headmaster Xin laughed and felt touched by Dong Zhi¡¯s words. He thought that his junior brother had not misjudged. The boy was upright and soft-hearted in nature. It was a pity that they were not fated to be master and apprentice. ¡°You don¡¯t have to blame yourself. My junior brother knew his time was approaching long before you came. Your life is destined, and there is no human power that can reverse it. If your parents died young, it can only be said that it was heaven¡¯s will.¡± Dong Zhi felt better from his words of comfort: ¡°Thank you Headmaster.¡± Long after his parent¡¯s death, Dong Zhi had met a fortune teller at a stall on the street. The fortune teller told him that he wasn¡¯t good to his parents and his future cannot depend on his family*. He was brooding over his fortune when he heard that the fortune teller was later reported and arrested for lying. However, those words still resonated with him as he felt there was some truths in them, so it had stuck with him. With shishu¡¯s death, it was the last straw that overwhelmed him that he suddenly lost control of his emotions. *Six relatives are not close (ÁùÇײ»½ü). Headmaster Xin said: ¡°He Yu is my close disciple. I no longer accept apprentices. Although my junior brother couldn¡¯t accept you, since he had taught you the technique of drawing talismans, you can register him as your teacher in name so when you go take your exam, you can be named as a disciple from the Hezao Sect. This will not prevent you from accepting an apprenticeship from someone else in the future and it will be convenient for the sake of your exams.¡± Headmaster Xin was extremely considerate. Dong Zhi hurriedly thanked him. After finishing shishu¡¯s funeral, He Yu and Dong Zhi had rested for a day before heading down the mountain to return to Beijing. Cheng Hui was slowly recovering. He was still a bit muddleheaded from the aftermath of losing a part of his soul, so he had to slowly recuperate and he didn¡¯t join them. Before they left, he had packed them several large bags full of mushrooms and kiwi and asked them to bring it with them and to eat them slowly on their way back. ¡°Brother, Dong Zhi, thank you!¡± Cheng Hui sighed: ¡°Originally, I wanted to make persistent efforts this year and continue to participate in the recruitment examination, thinking there would be more open positions so there would be more opportunities. Who knew that such a thing would happen to me!¡± He then said to Dong Zhi: ¡°I heard that you want to join the Special Administrative Bureau. You must fight for the Hezao Sect and crush those people from Longhu!¡± He Yu was impatient, so he started rushing: ¡°Alright, alright. Don¡¯t put too much pressure on little Dong Zhi. How can you say anything when you didn¡¯t even pass the exam yourself? Now leave the food and scram!¡± Cheng Hui was driven away mercilessly. Hearing Cheng Hui¡¯s words, Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Is the Longhu Sect at odds with the Hezao Sect?¡± He Yu scratched his head: ¡°Not really. In addition to non-staffed personnel and non-combat personnel, the General Administration Bureau has three groups, headed by three deputy directors. Our boss is the leader of group two, but there aren¡¯t many people in our group. Except for the boss and me, there¡¯s just Kan Chaosheng and Zhong Yuyi. The leader of the first group is Wu Bingtian. He was born in Yuanming Palace on Mount Qingcheng. While he has some skills, he also quite arrogant. If you meet him in the future, you should stay away from him. He likes to find faults so he could pick on our group!¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°Does he often bully Boss Long?¡± He Yu yelled: ¡°As if he would dare! The boss is equal to him. It¡¯s okay to pick on us little minions but if he wants to pick a fight with the boss, he may not win so he can¡¯t bully him. Let me tell you, Wu Bingtian has a lineage complex. He only recruit disciples from great factions. Yuanming Palace is closely related to the Longhu Sect so many of Longhu disciples are in group one. Peh, I just didn¡¯t join them!¡± Dong Zhi started to have a clearer understanding: ¡°So when you join group two, they regarded you as a traitor?¡± He Yu touched his nose embarrassedly: ¡°I just can¡¯t get used their haughtiness. Besides, group two is just as good as them. With the boss around, those people dare not make any waves. Group three is even more miserable. They¡¯re known as the miscellaneous group, but their leader, Song Zhicun, is pretty awesome. I heard that he used to be a cook. Later, due to fate, he was appreciated by the big brothers of the Longhu Sect, and they taught him a few Taoist techniques. Relying on those skills, he taught himself further and became a talented person that can traverse the rivers and lakes. Therefore, those who have the ability and will, can make a splash wherever they go, so little Dong Zhi, I¡¯m quite optimistic about you!¡± A cook that self-taught himself and eventually exceled was indeed awesome. Dong Zhi became more curious about Deputy Director Song and asked: ¡°Did he join the Longhu Sect after?¡± He Yu shook his head and said: ¡°The threshold to join the Longhu Sect is high. It¡¯s not so easy to enter. Song Zhicun was born a cook and his surname is not Zhang and he didn¡¯t live on Mount Longhu as a child. I believe that these factors would prevent him from joining but it¡¯s all hearsay so who knows! Well, the bus is here so let¡¯s go!¡± Dong Zhi turned around and while facing the direction of the mountain, kowtowed three times. He had met a lovely old man by chance and didn¡¯t know that his name was Fang Yang until he had passed away. However, his kindness was deeply remembered in his heart. Before leaving the mountain, he solemnly added his name under Fang Yang¡¯s on the lineage line of the Hezao Sect. The passengers at the station looked at him weirdly, thinking that he was some kind of lunatic. He Yu patted him on the shoulder: ¡°Shishu understands your feelings, so get up. He had countless legends in his life. He has fought with many foreign devils. He resisted the US aggression during the Korean War. Despite his old age, he always acted like a child. I think what he regrets the most is that he wasn¡¯t able to formally accept you as an apprentice and couldn¡¯t spend more time with you. He had no children so he would definitely treat you as his own, or even like his grandchildren.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Tell me more about him.¡± He Yu: ¡°When shishu was born, it was the most chaotic time in China¡­¡± The shuttle bus arrived shortly after. They boarded it and watched as the image of Mount Hezao slowly got smaller. Looking back at it from a distance, Dong Zhi saw greenery covering the mountains and lush vegetation everywhere. It was full of vitality with life blooming in all its layers. It was like a scene of walking slowly in early summer. Occasional gales and showers could come but they would quickly clear up leaving behind a rainbow. The two took the bus back to the station at the bottom of the mountain and then took a train back to Beijing. Nearly a month had passed since their trip in addition to the time Dong Zhi spent recovering from his injuries from Changbai Mountain, there was only two months left before the exams. Dong Zhi had wanted to join the Special Administration Bureau at the beginning mainly because of his admiration for Long Shen and his curiosity for the fantastical, but after the incident on Hezao Mountain, he felt that needed to live up to his famous master¡¯s intention. He took the time to look at his question bank on the way back and his level of effort amazed He Yu. In contrast, He Yu was busy playing games most of the way there like a degenerate. ¡°Big boss, don¡¯t practice questions all day. Come and carry me!¡± He Yu, the unscrupulous demon said. Dong Zhi was speechless: ¡°How on earth did you manage to get admitted into the Special Administration Bureau?!¡± He Yu: ¡°It hasn¡¯t always been formal like this. At that time there was a serious shortage of manpower, so if you were willing to join and had some skills, you were accepted. Back then the Special Administrative Bureau was attached to another department who can claim them for reimbursement. One year it would be under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, another year it would be under the Ministry of Education. It wasn¡¯t until we adhered to international standards in recent years that the Bureau became completely independent. When I tested, don¡¯t bother mentioning the written exam, the interview was just with a few big wigs in the bureau where you just perform a monkey act*. *(ºïÏ·) Refers performing acts which a monkey participates in the performances. It also used to describe people¡¯s pretentious and superficial behavior || In this context he¡¯s saying the interview was just done for show. Dong Zhi: ¡°Monkey act???¡± He Yu: ¡°Oh, I¡¯m used to calling the interview that. Ah, hurry up and carry me! I¡¯m going to be destroyed! Ah!¡± He screamed and collapsed on the chair lifelessly. Dong Zhi: ¡­ When the two arrived in Beijing, they each went back to sleep for a while. He wasn¡¯t sure how long he slept but Dong Zhi was awakened by alarm on his phone. He suddenly remembered that Long Shen asked him to go find him when he returns to Beijing. He hurriedly turned on his phone and found that Long Shen had sent him a message in the morning asking if he had gotten up. Nearly ten hours have passed since his message and it was now nightfall, which meant he had been asleep for almost the entire day. Dong Zhi covered his face, and hurriedly sent a message to say he¡¯s just gotten up. After a while Long Shen sent a reply saying that if he hasn¡¯t eaten yet to come downstairs and he¡¯ll take him to dinner. The male god took the initiative to make an appointment, so the obvious answer was to take him up on the offer! Even if he had eaten over ten kilograms of shrimp, he wouldn¡¯t even hesitate to say he was hungry. After replying to Long Shen, they decided to meet at the back door in half an hour. Dong Zhi hurriedly showered, changed into clean clothes, and took extra care in tidying himself up. When he looked at himself in the mirror, he saw that he was a bit thinner, most likely due to his all his trips recently. After a good night¡¯s rest, his fair complexion looked more refreshed with hints of blush, and a bit tender due to the hot water. He was very satisfied with how he looked as he examined himself in the mirror. When he went downstairs to the back door, he was surprised. In addition to He Yu that was yawning, there was also Kan Chaosheng and Zhong Yuyi. Kan Chaosheng said impatiently: ¡°What took you so long?!¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly apologized. He had kept track of the time making sure he didn¡¯t go over half an hour. Who knew that there was so many people waiting for him? ¡°Let¡¯s go, let¡¯s go. I¡¯m starving to death!¡± He Yu rubbed his eyes. It was obvious that he was awakened halfway through his sleep and his attire was all wrinkled as if he didn¡¯t even bother changing his clothes. ¡°Don¡¯t we have to wait for the boss?¡± Dong Zhi asked strangely. He Yu walked in front of Kan Chaosheng and said without looking back: ¡°The boss has already gone ahead.¡± Dong Zhi walked behind Zhong Yuyi who didn¡¯t speak at all. His expression was blank that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t tell what he was thinking. He felt as if he should say something so he introduced himself: ¡°Hello, my name is Dong Zhi. I met you in the hallway that one time.¡± A gust of wind blew by but there was no answer. Dong Zhi: ¡­ As they walked on the streets, food stalls were seen everywhere, but it didn¡¯t seem like that was their destination as they continue to walk straight ahead. He Yu and Kan Chaosheng had started bickering again creating a lively scene, but behind him was complete silence. It wasn¡¯t until ten minutes later that Zhong Yuyi said: ¡°Did you talk to me just now?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Yes.¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°What did you say?¡± Dong Zhi repeated what he said and Zhong Yuyi made a sound and then was silent again. After another five minutes he suddenly said: ¡°I know about you. My name is Zhong Yuyi.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­Bro, your response time is really slow! ¡°Your name is very interesting!¡± Dong Zhi chuckled dryly as he tried to find something to talk about. Zhong Yuyi: ¡°My mother was eating at home when she gave birth to me. When she finished giving birth, she found that there was only one salted duck egg left over so she became extremely angry and named me Yuyi*.¡± *Remaining [Yu] (Óà) One [Yi] (Ò»). Combined means one remaining. Dong Zhi: ¡­ Not knowing how to respond he embarrassingly said: ¡°Your mother is quite humorous!¡± Zhong Yuyi didn¡¯t speak again and resumed putting on his blank face as if he was lost in another world. Dong Zhi recalled that he had entered the Special Administration Bureau because of Long Shen. He thought perhaps the male god prefer this kind of taciturn tone. Was it too late for him to pretend to act aloof? They turned the corner and walked towards a barbecue stall on the side of the road. When they entered, they greeted the boss and headed towards a private room. Long Shen had been sitting there already marking orders on a piece of paper with a pen. The scene was unexpectedly down to earth. Seeing them come in, Long Shen pushed the list to them: ¡°Order.¡± Kan Chaosheng didn¡¯t bother marking things down but directly called the boss over and said boldly: ¡°Ten skewers of each serving! Three packs of beer!¡± It seems that he¡¯s a regular customer as the boss didn¡¯t have any change of expression. He simply nodded went out and came in with a bill after a while. Dong Zhi stood up quickly: ¡°I¡¯ll pay for it.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± A voice rang out and a hand was pressed on his shoulder. Long Shen was sitting by He Yu and Dong Zhi hasn¡¯t noticed when he gotten up. He took the large bill from the boss. Dong Zhi protested: ¡°Boss Long, I told you I¡¯d invite and treat you!¡± ¡°I only promised to have a meal with you, but never agreed it would be your treat.¡± Long Shen glanced at him and didn¡¯t want to debate for half day, so he simply sat back down on an empty seat next to him. Dong Zhi recalled the other party saying ¡°okay¡± leaving him speechless. Long Shen said: ¡°You¡¯ve performed well in Guangzhou this time and successful assisted the Special Administration Bureau in handling the case. I¡¯ll apply for another bonus for you Dong Zhi.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly asked: ¡°Can the bonus be exchanged for extra interview points or something?¡± Long Shen: ¡°It can be used as a reference for the examiner on you resume, but it¡¯s impossible to add specific points.¡± It had seemed that the 20,000 yuan turning into two points that He Yu talked about before was a joke. Hearing this made Dong Zhi felt a bit disappointed. He Yu smiled and asked: ¡°Boss, do I also get a bonus?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Yes.¡± He Yu became excited: ¡°How much?¡± Long Shen: ¡°930 yuan and six cents.¡± He Yu said strangely: ¡°Why does this number sound so familiar?¡± Kan Chaosheng said: ¡°That¡¯s the price of this meal! The boss just quoted it. Is your brain like a goldfish?¡± He Yu¡¯s face suddenly turned green, and his smile looked uglier than his crying face: ¡°Boss, don¡¯t do this! I¡¯ve been wanting to buy a game pack!¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Last month you said you wanted to change your game handle so you borrowed 200 yuan from me and said that I can deduct it out of your bonus. To buy more in game items you borrowed another 500 from me. Then the month before last you borrowed another 300 from me, making your grand total 1,000. After deducting the money from this meal just now, you don¡¯t need to pay me back the rest.¡± Kan Chaosheng gloated: ¡°If you don¡¯t pay your debts, can you afford to owe the boss money?¡± He Yu lay down on the table and pretended to be dead: ¡°Wuwuwu, my game package!¡± Dong Zhi felt happy watching the excitement from the side until Zhong Yuyi suddenly said: ¡°My mother is not humorous.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Bro, seriously how slow is your reaction?! The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched. He heard Kan Chaosheng asked about the events in Guangzhou: ¡°Have the Archfiend really been completely destroyed?¡± He Yu, who hadn¡¯t recovered from the bad news about his bonus, remained laying down on the table as he said weakly: ¡°I don¡¯t know. Tang Jing and I didn¡¯t find any traces of Sneaky Yaksha in Guangzhou afterwards, which shows that the Archfiend who manipulated them is gone. Boss, did you find anything on the stone tablet in Inner Mongolia?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°It¡¯s just a cave painting. It¡¯s related to the stone tablet, but there wasn¡¯t one there.¡± He Yu didn¡¯t know this, so he was taken aback when he heard the words: ¡°So the stone tablet hasn¡¯t been found yet? Are there any clues?¡± Long Shen shook his head. Kan Chaosheng said: ¡°We suspect that the other party learned about the stone tablet a step earlier than we did. The boss has people watching those Japanese. The two onmyojis are still half-dead and healing, but Aso is very active. During this period of time, he has been in contact with the people of the Otowa Consortium at least three times already. If there¡¯s any major changes, we¡¯ll be able to know immediately.¡± While they were talking, barbecue skewers were delivered one after another. A large plate full of grilled squid, grilled duck gizzards, grilled chicken wings, grilled shiitake mushrooms, and grilled eggplants made everyone¡¯s mouth salivate. Couple this with a large glass of cold beer and it was simply the best taste in the world. Business talk stopped since it would spoil the atmosphere of good food. Kan Chaosheng looked small but was able to stuff mouthfuls of meat that he had rolled up in a single bite. Sometimes he would swallow it without even chewing. While stuffing his mouth, he chatted with He Yu about a game, and after a few exchanges, they started arguing again. Zhong Yuyi sat beside them listlessly while silently eating in a well-behaved manner. Taking this great opportunity, Dong Zhi intended to use it to make conversation with Long Shen. He was afraid that he would say the wrong thing and embarrass himself, so he rehearsed it in his mind over and over again. Boss Long, how are you parents? No, if someone has parents who are similar to themselves, this topic would be a complete minefield! Boss Long, do you have a girlfriend? This topic seemed too superficial. Pass. Many thoughts passed through his mind, until Dong Zhi gathered the courage and asked: ¡°Boss Long, where are you from?¡± Long Shen was taken aback for a moment, then started to think. Dong Zhi looked at him confusingly, thinking to himself if a questions like this should require so much thought. Long Shen thought for a while before giving him an answer: ¡°It should be from Zhejiang.¡± It is or isn¡¯t? What the hell is ¡°should¡± supposed to mean?! Dong Zhi instantly imagine a bizarre and colorful life full of unknown twists and turns. ¡°Zhejiang is very good and has outstanding people. I have also been to Hangzhou.¡± Dong Zhi tried to find something to keep the conversation going. Long Shen: ¡°I am not from Hangzhou.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Help, how can he talk without embarrassing himself! Seeing his helpless appearance, Long Shen smiled slightly, but it was gone in a flash. Dong Zhi was too busy racking his brains thinking of something to talk about, so he didn¡¯t notice. ¡°How are your studies going?¡± Long Shen asked. Dong Zhi¡¯s thoughts were still stuck on ¡®what other cities are there in Zhejiang besides Hangzhou¡¯ that he was caught off guard by the question. ¡°There shouldn¡¯t be any problems with the written portion but I¡¯m lacking confidence in the interview.¡± He scratched his hair embarrassingly: ¡°I asked He Yu, but he has never been an interview examiner so he can only tell me hearsay.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°The interview first is for the director see your capabilities and second is to see your adaptability to respond on the spot.¡± Dong Zhi blurted out: ¡°Like the question about going on a business trip with a female colleague and forgetting to bring cinnabar so you have to use her lipstick to draw on talisman paper?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°In fact, the answer may not be correct, it just needs to be the best in unconventional situations.¡± Dong Zhi blinked: ¡°Is there any scope to this examination?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°There is no scope, and I didn¡¯t come up with the question.¡± This means that the interview is a pit, and no one knew how deep that pit is. It may be shallow, like jumping a step down and landing safely, or extremely deep, directly falling into one¡¯s death. Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Is the annual pass rate high?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Relatively low.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Seeing that he was so choked up that he couldn¡¯t speak, Long Shen said: ¡°When you first arrived at the Special Administration Bureau, I didn¡¯t think you had any hope. Now, at least there is some hope.¡± Dong Zhi realized that he had been praised, and couldn¡¯t help but ask happily: ¡°How much hope?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Ten percent.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ His heart that was about to ascend was dragged back to its original place. The alcohol was hot, and the food was fragrant. Kan Chaosheng buried his heard and devoured the food while He Yu got drunk off the beer. He hugged Zhong Yuyi¡¯s arm and whine to him, saying that he couldn¡¯t get his game anymore and that he was always despised. Long Shen didn¡¯t drink as hard as they did. He would occasionally raise his glass and take small sips. Seeing the atmosphere was good, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t let the chance pass to gather more information from the male god while he was in a relaxed state. He asked: ¡°Boss Long, I heard from He Yu that you want to accept apprentices.¡± Long Shen smiled, and didn¡¯t admit or deny, but that smile gave Dong Zhi the courage to continue: ¡°Do you think I can make it?¡± After asking, he felt he was too impetuous. Sure enough, Long Shen shook his head. Seeing the sight, he couldn¡¯t hide his feeling of loss, as if he has two invisible ears on the top of his head that instantly drooped down sadly. Suddenly in the next second, he heard Long Shen say: ¡°But I hope you can.¡± Dong Zhi immediately raised his head to look at him as he continued: ¡°In recent years, the Special Administration Bureau has been short of manpower, but the recruitment criteria are too difficult for many. If you really want to join, just work hard. This was gentlest comfort Deputy Director Long could think of, but he made Dong Zhi eyes slowly lit up again. He said solemnly: ¡°I will work hard!¡± After their meal was finished, Long Shen asked Zhong Yuyi and Kan Chaosheng to take the drunk He Yu back while he took Dong Zhi somewhere else. When they left the lively night market, the flow of people gradually decreased and the lights casted a layer of warmth on the city, as if providing a guiding light for people who were returning late to find their way home. Long Shen didn¡¯t say much, and Dong Zhi didn¡¯t question either. He now understood the feelings of those star-chasers. Every though he wasn¡¯t as crazy as those fans who would constantly chase after their idols all day, he still thought how nice it was to have the opportunity to walk alone with Long Shen, and how great it would be if this road would never end. The author has something to say£º Zhong Yuyi is also super cute! Kinky Thoughts: These chapters are so much longer than what I usually translate. CH 30 Long Shen took him back to the Special Administration Bureau, but instead of going upstairs, they went to the underground parking lot. It was then that Dong Zhi realized that when Long Shen said he was ¡°taking him to a place¡± it was somewhere that wasn¡¯t nearby. ¡°Get in the car.¡± Long Shen said as he got into a black Land Rover. There was a thick layer of dust covering the car window. It seems that it hadn¡¯t been washed in a long time. ¡°Is this the unit¡¯s car?¡± Dong Zhi asked curiously. ¡°No, it¡¯s my own.¡± Long Shen said. Dong Zhi was flabbergasted. Seeing He Yu cry and preach about his own poverty every day, it inevitably formed the impression that ¡°everyone in the Special Administration Bureau is extremely poor¡±. Who knew that his boss is actually a local tyrant. Long Shen seemed to have seen through his thoughts: ¡°He Yu can afford to buy this kind of stuff if he wants, but he spends his money like water and never saves it.¡± Dong Zhi was reminded that He Yu spends all his money on games like buying props and costume and even pester him to buy him gift packs. He nodded in agreement. Then he thought how unscientific it was for a rich, pure, unpretentious, tall, handsome, and capable man who seems to work all day long, don¡¯t bother mentioning being married and having kids, he doesn¡¯t even seem to have a girlfriend. It doesn¡¯t make sense! Curiosity overtook Dong Zhi and he tried to endure it, but, in the end, couldn¡¯t hold back: ¡°You¡¯re so busy all the time, do you have any time to accompany your girlfriend?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I don¡¯t have a girlfriend.¡± Dong Zhi subconsciously said: ¡°You¡¯re so handsome yet you can¡¯t find a girlfriend?¡± Long Shen glanced at him from the rearview mirror: ¡°Do you really want to fall in love? There are not many people that¡¯s similar age as you in the General Administration Bureau, but there are more in the East China Branch. I¡¯ll let He Yu introduce you to some when I have the opportunity.¡± Dong Zhi first let out a subconscious cry, then reacted and hurriedly explained: ¡°No, I¡¯m just asking casually. I don¡¯t want to fall in love! At this stage, I plan to work hard and be admitted to the Special Administration Bureau, join your unit, learn from you, and contribute to the elimination of monsters and demons to create a harmonious society!¡± He didn¡¯t even need to rehearse this sentence. After speaking all in one breath, he felt it was a bit too tongue-in-cheek, thinking that he might¡¯ve been reading too much information about the public exam recently. Even more amazing was that instead of feeling like he was full of hot air, Deputy Director Long nodded in agreement and said: ¡°The work of eliminating demons is heavy and you have a long way to go. Since you have this opportunity, even if you don¡¯t enter the Special Administration Bureau, you must persevere in your cultivation.¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Dong Zhi said dryly. He felt he had dug a hole for himself, but Long Shen looked serious while preaching to him, which he thought was unexpectedly cute. The car drove into a side street. Most of the shops here were selling the four treasures of the study*, antiques, calligraphy, and paintings. At this time, most of them were closed, while the ones that were still open were deserted. *(ÎÄ·¿Ëı¦) Calligraphy and paintings tools that are pen/brush, ink, paper, and inkstone. The area looks like it would be very lively during the day, but after nightfall, there were only a few pedestrians on the street. Long Shen parked his car on the side of the road and took him into a shop with dimly lit lights. There was a person there that was packing up, about to close up shop. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m closed. Come back earlier tomorrow¡­¡± The other party turned around and said, but halfway through speaking, he pushed up his reading glasses to the bridge of his nose and said: ¡°Boss Long, why are you here?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Getting a sword back. Master Fu Qing¡¯s.¡± The other party asked: ¡°No consignment?¡± Long Shen: ¡°No.¡± The shopkeeper glanced at Dong Zhi, nodded, and didn¡¯t ask much: ¡°Then wait a bit. I¡¯ll go get it.¡± Dong Zhi turned his gaze around and found that it was not much different from other shops. There were a lot of antique calligraphy and paintings, but he couldn¡¯t tell if they were authentic, so he looked at them with excitement. The shopkeeper quickly came back out with a sword case. ¡°Someone came to ask for the price, but they couldn¡¯t offer what you asked for. They kept trying to haggle but I wouldn¡¯t budge.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Thank you very much.¡± The shopkeeper smiled and said: ¡°You have helped me a lot over the years, so no need for formalities. Otherwise we¡¯ll just keep going around in circles.¡± He put the box on the counter, unlocked it, and with a click the box popped open. Dong Zhi stepped forward curiously and saw that there was a sword inside. Compared to the two that Long Shen hung in the office, it had neither precious inlaid stones nor special decorations, looking pretty mediocre. Long Shen took out the sword and said: ¡°There is no need for the box. I¡¯ll sit and have a cup of tea next time.¡± The shopkeeper laughed: ¡°Don¡¯t keep saying this. It¡¯s already been three times and you have never stopped in for tea. You always come and leave in a rush!¡± Long Shen also laughed: ¡°It¡¯s too late today. I want to stay but you don¡¯t have time right now. We¡¯ll do it next time.¡± The tone of his conversation with the shopkeeper was very relaxed. It was very different from when he¡¯s with He Yu and the others. Dong Zhi guessed that these two must¡¯ve known each other for a long time. They shortly left the antique shop afterwards and Long Shen drove back to the Special Administration Bureau. ¡°Are you going to my office or He Yu¡¯s dorm?¡± Long Shen asked. Both places were in the same building but on different floors and since Dong Zhi was living in He Yu¡¯s dorm temporarily, Long Shen brought it up. Recalling that the other party had something to talk to him about, he hurriedly went with Long Shen back to his office. The office was still as neat and organized as before, with just the two swords that hung on the wall, there were no other unnecessary decorations. He didn¡¯t know the source, but he remembered a saying that a person¡¯s hobbies, personalities, and even weaknesses can often be seen from the details of their office furnishings. If this statement is accurate, then Long Shen¡¯s personality is undoubtedly the same as this office; at most he has a penchant for swords in addition to being clearheaded and organized. Dong Zhi sat upright in the office waiting for Long Shen to speak while his mind was full of wild thoughts. ¡°Here.¡± Long Shen put the long sword he had just brought back from the antique shop on the table and pushed it towards Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi was startled and couldn¡¯t help but touched the long sword. It felt cold to the touch and unexpectedly the sword was light, as if it was made with ultra-light alloy, but just from seeing its exterior, it didn¡¯t look as if it was made with that kind of material. ¡°Boss Long, I don¡¯t know any swordsmanship. This sword would be a waste on me.¡± He spoke honestly. Long Shen said: ¡°This sword is called the Qingzhu Sword. Its master is Fu Shan* of the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, who also known as Fu Qingzhu. While not his best sword, it can help you practice the Five Thunder Talisman technique.¡± *Fu Shan (¸µÉ½) also known as Fu Qingzhu (¸µÇàÖ÷) when he adopted his Qingzhu sword style. He¡¯s master said to be unparalleled in both medical skills and martial arts and has profound attainments in Wuji swordsmanship. Dong Zhi was shocked: ¡°Use a sword to practice the Five Thunder Talisman technique?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°The Hezao Sect is not a school of sword cultivation. They pay more attention to the unity of runes and thoughts, but you didn¡¯t grow up on Mount Hezao. You can only learn a few techniques. Your foundation is too shallow, so it¡¯s difficult compare to a person who has been practicing since childhood. If you use a sword to draw thunder, you will do it better with half the effort.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly recalled the night he first learned the thunder technique. He was able to draw thunder but for a period of time after the death of his shishu, where they stayed behind to help with the funeral and take care of the aftermath, he would occasionally practice the technique, but there was no thunder like that night. At most the sky would get covered with dark clouds. Now that he heard Long Shen¡¯s words, he understood a little. ¡°Your saying my foundation is too poor. If I want to do more with half the effort, it is best to have external help. This sword is equivalent to a medium that allows the talisman to mobilize the power of heavens faster?¡± Long Shen nodded approvingly. Though Dong Zhi could barely be counted as a cultivator, and he had no foundation before, he was still considered good because of his profound understanding and high innate talent that allows him to quickly pick up on things. ¡°But this sword is too valuable. I can¡¯t accept it.¡± He wanted to be able to better his talisman technique but at the same time felt uneasy. Long Shen said lightly: ¡°It takes more than 200 years of to master the Five Thunder Talisman technique. By itself the sword is valueless, and its only benefit is for this. Take it. If you fail the exam, then I will take it back.¡± With his heart resolved, Dong Zhi quickly thank him and accept it silently. From this, he realized what He Yu meant when he said that Long Shen was cold on the outside but warm on the inside. Although he usually doesn¡¯t smile and train people harshly, it not because he doesn¡¯t care about them. He makes rewards and punishments clear and he¡¯s also willing to make corrections. Even if Dong Zhi knows that this is probably the treatment he got in exchange for his good performance in Yanchang, he still couldn¡¯t help but feel happy. As for the possibility of the gift being taken back, Dong Zhi choose to temporarily forget about it. Since it was a rare opportunity, he took it and ask a few questions and Long Shen answered them all. Although his words were concise, and was even more straightforward than He Yu, they were not difficult to understand Dong Zhi got up contentedly and said goodbye, not forgetting to thank him again, before returning to the dormitory with sword in hand. Before leaving, Long Shen said to him: ¡°A separate practice field has been opened up on the top floor of the building. It¡¯s protected by a barrier so go there to practice. Don¡¯t practice anywhere else. When you go, call Kan Chaosheng or the others.¡± The building was in a downtown area. With the abilities of everyone in the Special Administration Bureau, if they were to practice their technique at every turn, grass wouldn¡¯t even grow within a ten-mile radius. Inspired by his idol, after returning to the dorms, Dong Zhi did a set of national exam questions in one go, practice his runes drawing, and then washed and changed his clothes before going to bed. Due to all the activity, he was either too excited or nervous about the exam that it took him a long time to fall asleep after multiple rounds of tossing and turning and he ended up having weird dream. In his dream, he had passed the written exam and successfully entered the interview portion. There were several interviewers sitting in front of him, one of whom was Long Shen. Dong Zhi pinched a talisman with one hand and held a sword with the other. He was trying to attract thunder in front of the examiners and as a result, instead of floating up after the talisman caught fire, it fell to the ground and turned into a beautiful woman that was hefty in front and voluptuous behind. He said to Long Shen: ¡°Boss Long, this is the girlfriend that I have summoned for you. Do you think I can pass the exam?¡± Long Shen nodded in satisfaction, got up and walked over, but instead of hugging the beauty, he hugged Dong Zhi, touched his hair and pinched his face. ¡°Yes, you past the interview with flying colors.¡± He said on behalf of the other interviewers who Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t see their faces clearly. Dong Zhi looked dumbfounded, trying to break free from Long Shen¡¯s arms: ¡°No, no! You are mistaken. The beauty is for you but I¡¯m not!¡± The beauty who he summoned bowed to the interviewers and thanked them. Suddenly Dong Zhi was picked up in a princess carry as Long Shen lowered his head and smiled at him charmingly seductive: ¡°You don¡¯t need to take the exam anymore. Come back and help me warm my bed!¡± Dong Zhi was shocked. After reviewing for more than half a year and memorizing countless of previous test questions, he was now replacing someone that he had summoned. Feeling anxious and angry, he shouted loudly: ¡°I want to take the exam! Ahhhhhhhh!¡± When he opened his eyes, he was dripping with cold sweat and clinging tightly to his blanket with both hands. It took him a while to realize that it was all just a dream. Usually dreams are forgotten after waking up, but this was more like a nightmare that had gathered all his grievances over the past few months. He can still vividly recall every detail, including Deputy Director Long¡¯s mischievous seductive smile. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help shudder and was stunned as if he had been struck by lightning. He shook his head wildly trying to get the dream out of his mind. No, no, no. It was just a dream. Don¡¯t think too much about it. A dream is the opposite of reality! Looking at the time on the phone, it was just a little after 3 AM. Seeing that it was still early, he laid down again and stared at the ceiling in a daze. They all say that dreams are a reflection of the subconsciousness deep in one¡¯s heart, so what does that dream he just had mean? Just dreaming about the exam is fine as it was most likely due to the mental pressure he was under recently as he was preparing for it, but why the hell is he dreaming about Boss Long robbing an innocent person?! Dong Zhi then recalled that he had a conversation with Long Shen along the way when they went to get the sword last night and realized something was off. When Long Shen said he didn¡¯t have a girlfriend, under normal circumstances, he should have dug a bit deeper and asked for things like what¡¯s his criteria was when looking for a significant other so that he could possibly help or try to comfort him by saying there must be a beautiful, gentle, and understanding goddess waiting for him out there. But Dong Zhi found that there was a hint of amusement in Long Shen. What was he so amused about?! Could it be because he was a single dog and had no girlfriend that he developed a dark mentality that when he sees his idol, he would replace his lack of a significant other with him? Could it be¡­ that he had some ulterior thoughts regarding his male god Long Shen?! Dong Zhi hugged his blanket tightly and fell into deep contemplation. He calmed himself down and two villains in his mind began answering methodically, trying to sort out his thoughts. Villain A: You ugly dog, you must be confused by his appearance! Villain B retorted: No! The reason why the male god is a male god is not only because of his appearance. On Changbai Mountain, he was able to deal with the bone dragon and beat up two Japanese onmyojis! Villain A sneered: That¡¯s because Kan Chaosheng and Old Zheng was there. The success of one person is often due to the success of the team! Villain B: Then you can¡¯t deny that he is the core of the team. Even Headmaster Xin said that the Boss Long is very powerful, and he saved my life in Yangcheng! Villain A mocked again: It¡¯s not popular nowadays to indulge in self-praise! Villain B: Who would be as dirty as you? It¡¯s not surprising that someone as powerful as him would become a role model, right? I won¡¯t talk about He Yu and Kan Chaosheng. Although they are usually rambunctious, they are also honest in front of Boss Long. Zhong Yuyi is the same as me. After seeing his heroism, he did everything possible to get admitted to the Special Administration Bureau. Isn¡¯t it just like admiring a solider then joining the army? It¡¯s just being influenced by a role model! Villain A said coldly: You said so much yet why are you so happy to know that he doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend? Villain B was speechless. Villain A: Do you want to enter the Special Administration Bureau to fight alongside him? Villain B: Of course I do! Villain A: Would you like to see him smile at you and praise you for doing well? Villain B: Yes! Villain A: What can you do for him? Villain B: Give him support and strive not to hold him back so that he can be assured that someone has his back! Then try to do what he asks of me. Villain A: If he wants you to be his boyfriend, would you agree? Villain B: ??? This kind of scenario doesn¡¯t exist! Villain A: Don¡¯t think about whether it exist or not. Just answer honestly if you want to. I am your inner voice so don¡¯t be hypocritical! Villain B: Well, I¡¯ll be extremely shocked but I don¡¯t know if I will agree. After all, this is all hypothetical. Villain A: So, you actually like him a bit? Villain B: ¡­ Villain A: Let¡¯s change the question. How would you feel if you saw He Yu in a relationship? Villain B: Wow dude! You move faster than me! Blessings to you and let me treat you to dinner! Villain A: What if you see Long Shen befriending someone? Villain B: Well¡­ I¡¯ll give him my blessings too¡­ Villain A: Why is your attitude so negative and unwilling? Villain B: ¡­ When the battle between heaven and man came to an end, Dong Zhi yelled depressingly, thinking that it was all wrong. Although he had visited Long Shen office before and thought about the unspoken rules, it was mainly because he wanted to put his mind at ease and was just joking around. He didn¡¯t really have these kinds of thoughts, right? He¡¯s been an otaku for more than 20 years of his life. He has never been in love, but he seen attractive girls while he was in school, though nothing ever became of it. It still meant that he wasn¡¯t bent, right? No! Whether he¡¯s bent or not is not the point! He just admires Long Shen deeply. There¡¯s no doubt that anyone who sees a strong man fighting a bone dragon with a sword wouldn¡¯t be awe-inspire and feel a deep longing in their heart. But is admiration tantamount to liking? Isn¡¯t this too superficial? He hardly knows anything about Long Shen, like his age or family situation. What does he even like about him? Is it his handsome appearance or powerful aura? Thoughts and pictures flashed through his mind quickly, but he found that what left the deepest mark in his heart in the end had nothing to do with appearance or ability. The scene of Long Shen standing next to the sinkhole on Changbai Mountain while holding his sword as the break of dawn came. When he got trapped in the enchantment on Liuhua Bridge in Yancheng and he was in danger when suddenly he heard the other party¡¯s voice calling out to him: ¡°It¡¯s me¡±. When the other party didn¡¯t approve of him joining the Special Administration Bureau but still gave him the Qingzhu Sword after seeing his determination and was just hiding his concern under his sternness. With a cry, Dong Zhi pulled the blanket and covered his face. Congratulations. For the first time in his life, Dong Zhi have found someone that he likes, but the object of his affection is the unattainable male god. He suddenly realized that he wanted to get rid of his single life, but that seems highly improbable now. The nightmare had made him completely sleepless and he tossed and turned the rest of the night, rolling himself into he blankets like a caterpillar. All kind of thoughts swarmed in his mind including the idea of pushing the Long Shen down and turning raw rice into cooked rice*. *(ÉúÃ×Öó³ÉÊì·¹) It¡¯s a metaphor for things that have been done and cannot be changed from the quote ¡°Miss, now that the raw rice is cooked, why do you resist?¡±. It¡¯s used to refer to couples who have sex/get pregnant before marriage. || In this context he¡¯s just fantasizing about physical ¡°activities¡± with Long Shen. But even if it gets to that point, forget about whether he could push Long Shen down, Dong Zhi felt he would definitely end up being packed up and thrown into the sinkhole as feed for the Sneaky Yaksha. By the time dawn almost came, he finally fell asleep. He didn¡¯t know how long he slept for, but he was awoken by crinkling noises. His first reaction was that he was dreaming, and his second reaction was that there was a mouse, and his third reaction was to open his eyes. Kan Chaosheng was holding a bag of potato chips in one hand while stuffing his mouth with the other as he sat on a chair with his legs dangling down, looking as if he was bored. ¡°You¡¯re finally awake.¡± The author has something to say: A small theater that has nothing to do with the text: Dong Zhi: As a beautiful young man with comprehensive moral, intellectual, physical, and aesthetic development, I even dreamed of taking the exams. Is there anyone more suitable for entering the Special Administration Bureau than me? Kan Chaosheng: Liar. I obviously saw you laughing and drooling while sleeping. Kinky Thoughts: Well, I didn¡¯t expect we have a realization of feelings so soon. Well, jiayou Dong Zhi. You¡¯re gonna need it. CH 31 Dong Zhi drowsiness was instantly wiped away and he shouted: ¡°How did you get in?!¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°You forgot to lock the door. I didn¡¯t get an answer when I knocked so I opened it!¡± Dong Zhi let out a sigh, scratched his head, and got up: ¡°There are dried fish in the drawer, so you can help yourself.¡± Kan Chaosheng rolled his eyes and said disdainfully: ¡°Why do you think I would want dried fish? I¡¯m not a cat spirit!¡± Dong Zhi casually said: ¡°Then a tiger spirit?¡± Kan Chaosheng said angrily: ¡°You¡¯re a tiger spirit! Your whole family is a tiger spirit! Laozi¡¯s body is very powerful! How could I be compared to such a low-level beast like a tiger spirit!¡± Seeing him infuriated, Dong Zhi suppressed his smile and humbly asked: ¡°Then what are you?¡± Kan Chaosheng tilted his chin: ¡°Guess!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Since your name is related to water, your true form should be a creature of the water. You also like to eat very much but He Yu said you are not gluttonous. Perhaps a turtle? A salamander? A golden toad? A dragon? Hmm¡­ or is it a jiao*?¡± *(òÔ) Dragon in Chinese mythology often referred to as a ¡°scaled¡± dragon that is hornless and aquatic. See lore for details. He quickly got his answer based on the change in Kan Chaosheng¡¯s expression. Dong Zhi said in surprise: ¡°So you¡¯re really a jiao?¡± Kan Chaosheng snorted but acted tsundere and didn¡¯t answer. A dragon with horns is a dragon while a hornless dragon is a jiao. Legends has it that a jiao before going through a calamity, is inferior in strength to that of a dragon. But of course, these were after all just legends. The existence of this kind of creature is as ethereal as a dragon and have never been confirmed to exist. Since he didn¡¯t answer, Dong Zhi assume he had acquiesced. He let out a sigh and asked: ¡°Is there really a jiao in the world?¡± Kan Chaosheng looked displeased: ¡°You have even seen a dragon so why ask such a question?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°But it wasn¡¯t a living dragon. If you are truly a jiao, then you¡¯re a living legend and I will need to take a look at you in your original form to confirm!¡± Though Kan Chaosheng has a bit of a temper, he¡¯s also easy to get along with. As long as you feed him and smooth his hair, you¡¯ll eventually be able to find his soft spot. Dong Zhi had now successfully reached that spot. Sure enough, there was a hint of blush on his face as he exuded an arrogant aura. Dong Zhi asked curiously: ¡°Then why do you usually become a cat?¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°This floor is not big enough to fit my body. Besides, turning into a cat can reduce the vigilance of humans. Don¡¯t you all like weak animals?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Won¡¯t your combat abilities be weakened? If you had transformed your body on Changbai Mountain, that would¡¯ve been a very majestic sight, right?¡± Kan Chaosheng curled his lips: ¡°That place is a scenic area, and one dragon was enough. I will transform again, and when that time comes, there¡¯ll be hell to pay. I will clean up all the messes and settle accounts with every department that has beef with us!¡± Dong Zhi nodded and was convinced. He knew real reason was because a jiao has an inferiority complex in front of a true dragon, even if it was just a bone dragon. These are signs of weaknesses that he could not say in front of Kan Chaosheng. ¡°Get up quickly!¡± Kan Chaosheng said roughly: ¡°The boss asked me to take you to the top floor to practice!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°You can just tell me how to get there and I¡¯ll go by myself. That way you can do your own thing.¡± Kan Chaosheng nostrils flare and he said impatiently: ¡°You need to swipe a card to enter. You haven¡¯t joined yet so how do you expect to get in?¡± Dong Zhi innocently replied: ¡°But I haven¡¯t even eaten breakfast yet. Let¡¯s go together. I know there¡¯s a Cantonese dim sum teahouse nearby. Their wrappers are handmade, and they are the same as those in the old town of Guangzhou. The skin is thin, and the fillings are delicious.¡± Kan Chaosheng¡¯s eyes immediately lighted up as if he would perk his ears and meow. It¡¯s a pity that he wasn¡¯t in the big yellow cat form or Dong Zhi would have given him endless pets. After breakfast, the two returned to the Special Administration Bureau and Kan Chaosheng took Dong Zhi to the top floor. Having to climb the stairs for 32 floors made Dong Zhi doubted life. ¡°Has no one ever complained about the lack of an elevator? Am I the only one who crawling up these stairs on the verge of death? Didn¡¯t He Yu say that there are also ordinary people in logistics?¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°Yes, we get complaints many times a year.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°So why doesn¡¯t the people above fix it?¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°In the end, they all transferred their posts and left, saying that they would rather go to National Security than come here, but every year, fools like you are tricked into coming in, so it doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Dong Zhi gave a contempt look. Kan Chaosheng said: ¡°Didn¡¯t you learn kung fu tona at the Hezao Sect? Climbing stairs every day is one of the practice courses.¡± Dong Zhi subconsciously always regarded himself as an ordinary person. Hearing Kan Chaosheng¡¯s words, he suddenly realized that he had already stepped a foot into the ranks of cultivators. In accordance with the way of the Hezao Sect, he slowed down his breathing while climbing the stairs. Once his attention was no longer on his legs, the distance didn¡¯t seem to be that long. The two eventually reached the top floor where a door to the rooftop was tightly closed. Kan Chaosheng took out his work permit and the card machine on the wall beeped, opening the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Dong Zhi was starry eyed. He thought that he would see a rooftop that would be like any other ordinary commercial building, but he quickly found that his imagination was too lacking. When he stepped through the door, it was like he had leapt from the real world and entered a fantasy world. There was green grass that grew everywhere. Sporadic waterfalls were gushing, splashing beads of water around. Lush vegetation covered the area that was filled with streams and rocks scattered around. It was like a vast and boundless scene that had no end in sight. Such a scene could not be observed in the steel jungle of a modern city, not to mention that they were currently in the heart of Beijing. Did they travel through time and space and came to another world? Dong Zhi exclaimed: ¡°Are we still in Beijing?¡± Kan Chaosheng snorted: ¡°Of course. Why are you making such a fuss? This is just an enchantment.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Is it an illusion?¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°No. In your own words, it is a limited space that expands infinitely.¡± Dong Zhi walked to the river, bent down, and touched the water. The water flowed between his fingers, leaving them icy and cold, and the summer breeze held the aroma of fruits. These feelings felt all too real. Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Does everyone practice here?¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°There are several areas divided here. Group one, group two, and group three have their own different spaces. Don¡¯t worry about accidental injuries. I am a member of group two so my work permit can only open the area for group two. The best thing here is that although the enchantment separates us from the real world, the qi is still connected so the effect of cultivation is the same. For example: descend!¡± He beckoned to the sky and a dark cloud floated over above their heads. ¡°Rain.¡± Kan Chaosheng said. Suddenly a downpour rained down, but it was limited to just the area above Dong Zhi. As soon as he raised his head, he was instantly drenched. Dong Zhi: ¡­ Kan Chaosheng laughed loudly. Dong Zhi was expressionless: ¡°Spit out all the dumplings for me.¡± Kan Chaosheng made a face and said: ¡°Hurry up and practice. I¡¯ll be responsible for supervising you today!¡± Dong Zhi saw through his intentions instantly and sighed: ¡°You just want to wait so I can treat you to dinner, right? Originally I wanted to take you to eat grilled fish at night, but now my enthusiasm has been completely extinguished by you.¡± Kan Chaosheng blinked a few times and suddenly changed his attitude: ¡°Then why don¡¯t I help you practice? If you can attract thunder today, you¡¯ll treat me to grilled fish tonight.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°How can you help?¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°I can help you repair the talismans. Every time you use them, they will burn out, but I can restore them so you can reuse them without wasting extra time drawing new ones.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Okay, deal.¡± Long Shen had taught him the correct posture for holding a sword while reciting his mantra. He had a good memory, so his movements weren¡¯t bad. He was also proficient in memorizing the runes as well. Although those talismans were written by him, they¡¯ve been certified by He Yu that they conform with the teachings but no matter how he practiced, there was no improvement. After the talisman ignited, it fluttered in the air and landed on the ground, completely devoid of the prestige it once had when it attracted thunder on Mount Hezao. This situation was common. The old master had told him that He Yu could attract heavenly thunder but only once a month, and that was already considered to be genius level. He had succeeded the initial test overnight, so naturally it was gratifying, but his heavenly thunder was unpredictable. The stronger his abilities are, the higher the success rate. Even experts like Zhang Daoling1 and Tao Hongjing2 cannot summon heavenly thunder constantly. 1Chinese religious leader who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty credited with founding the Way of the Celestial Masters sect of Taoism, which is also known as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice and he was the founder of Taoism. 2Chinese alchemist, astronomer, calligrapher, military general, musician, physician, and pharmacologist, and writer during the Northern and Southern dynasties. A polymathic individual of many talents, he was best known as a founder of the Shangqing ¡°Highest Clarity¡± school of Daoism and the compiler-editor of the basic Shangqing religious texts. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t discouraged. He kept trying repeatedly for the entire morning. After the talisman ignited and turned to ashes, it was restored by Kan Chaosheng. He only needed to use two talisman in turns. Kan Chaosheng sat on a branch eating nuts and after a while there was a pile of shells under the tree. ¡°Your technique is not good. It¡¯s not neat enough!¡± ¡°You need to recite the mantra faster. When you¡¯re fighting a real enemy, they won¡¯t just wait around until you finish your recitation!¡± ¡°Oi, have you not eaten? You have to channel your qi into the sword!¡± During the gaps in between eating snacks, Kan Chaosheng didn¡¯t forget to chatter while pointing at all the mountains around. ¡°Idiot. The tip of the sword must be up! Up!¡± Kan Chaosheng inarticulately yelled as his mouth was stuff full of snacks. Dong Zhi muttered to himself: ¡°I wonder if I should eat hairy crabs or crayfish for dinner?¡± Kan Chaosheng¡¯s face changed faster than turning a page of a book: ¡°Honestly, this is the first time I¡¯ve seen such a talent like you. It such a waste not to practice this technique. The General Administration needs you. The country needs you. The people need you!¡± Dong Zhi laughed and stopped fighting with him as he began to concentrate on his practice again. At first there would be noises around that would disturb him, but gradually he became immersed, and the noise outside started to silent. Although there has been no progress for the time being, at any rate, his mood had adapted, and he wasn¡¯t easily affected by external factors. Long Shen swiped his card and walked through the door of the rooftop with someone behind him. From a distance, Dong Zhi¡¯s figure could be seen standing by the stream practicing his technique. After watching him for a moment, Wu Bingtian joked: ¡°Do you want to kind of kid? It seems that group two is getting less picky these days.¡± There was a hint of ridicule in his words, but Long Shen ignored it as he walked over with Wu Bingtian. ¡°Boss!¡± Kan Chaosheng shouted when he saw them coming over. He clapped his hands and jumped down from the tree. Hearing Kan Chaosheng, Dong Zhi turned his head and nodded politely. Long Shen said to him: ¡°This is Boss Wu. He wants to take a closer look at your situation on Tianyuan Building that day.¡± Wu Bingtian smiled slightly. He looked seemingly approachable, but there was a sense of distance: ¡°We have asked He Yu, Tang Jing and others, since we can discover different things from different viewpoints. The more comprehensive report we put together, the more it¡¯ll help us fill in the gaps.¡± He Yu had told him that there are three deputy directors in the bureau, each head of their own groups in the Special Administration Bureau. This Deputy Director Wu must be the leader of the first group. Although Wu Bingtian¡¯s facial features wasn¡¯t comparable to Long Shen¡¯s, he wasn¡¯t bad by any means. He had a very upright face that a bit burly, matching his tall figure. He could be regarded as a beautiful man type. The existence of the Archfiend must be vitally important to the Special Administration Bureau. Otherwise they would not have taken matters so seriously and dispatched two deputy directors to personally question him. Realizing this, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare to be sloppy. He carefully recalled the process of his acquaintance with Xu Wan, as well as the situation on the Tianyuan Building, and briefly described it. There wasn¡¯t any new information discovered, but Wu Bingtian still listened to him very seriously. At the end, he nodded and said nothing and told him to continue practicing while he turn around and left with Long Shen. When they reached the exit of the enchantment, they heard a muffled rumbling from overhead. The two raised their heads and saw dark clouds above, slowly converging towards Dong Zhi. In the clouds, bright light sparked, then suddenly a thick lightning bolt suddenly struck! Kan Chaosheng yelled as he fled from under the tree, running at the speed of light. Because he was so frightened, halfway through running, he transformed into a cat and jumped several times before falling into the stream. Within the next second, lightning struck the tree that he was sitting on right down the middle, splitting the entire tree in half. With a bang, half of the tree crashed into the ground, crushing the pile of empty nut shells that Kan Chaosheng had eaten. The big yellow cat was extremely angry. It hissed at Dong Zhi barring its claws and teeth: ¡°Meow, meow, meow, meow, meow, meow?!¡± ¡°¡­I don¡¯t understand.¡± For the first time in his life, he found out that cats could make such grating cries. The big yellow cat hissed at him and a few times before light condensed around it turning into spots and eventually it returned to Kan Chaosheng¡¯s appearance. ¡°Do you want to commit murder and robbery?!¡± Dong Zhi said innocently: ¡°I didn¡¯t know that the tree would be hit.¡± Long Shen and Wu Bingtian didn¡¯t stay behind to look. They left the enchantment and went down to the lower floor. Wu Bingtian said: ¡°We plan to expand our search area where the mural was found last time to see if we can find the stone tablet.¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°Then Inner Mongolia will be left to you, and I will also let the people from the Northeast Branch continue to search near Changbai Mountain.¡± Wu Bingtian sighed: ¡°Our country is so big that it is impossible to dig three feet of ground inch by inch. I hope that the Archfiend will come out and do something again. That way we can follow its trail and find the stone tablet one step at a time. But having said that, do you think that the Archfiend is rushing towards the stone tablet to steal them or destroy them?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°If the stone tablet is really part of the talisman array, its purpose is most likely the latter. However, it¡¯s not yet known what role the talisman array has.¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°I have asked the above to send documents to various sects to assist in finding information. Maybe I can find clues related to the stone tablets, but don¡¯t hold out much hope. Mr. Zhang said that the runes on the stone tablet were extremely old. The Longhu Sect had rummaged through relevant materials and still found nothing for the time being.¡± He said this, naturally, in hopes of exchanging information with Long Shen. Long Shen was silent for a moment before saying: ¡°I asked He Yu to inquire about it at the Hezao Sect. Headmaster Xin said that the age of the stone tablet and the talismans on it may be before the Ming and Qing Dynasties.¡± Is this nonsense? Given the abilities of the Longhu Sect, they couldn¡¯t figure out that the talisman was before the Ming and Qing Dynasties but the Hezao Sect did. Wu Bingtian couldn¡¯t help feel disappointed but then recalled that the Hezao Sect has been on the decline since the Qing Dynasty and had suffered several turmoil that had burn many of their works. Indeed, they are overwhelmed and underpowered*. *More than enough in the mind, but not enough strength (ÐÄÓÐÓà¶øÁ¦²»×ã) Saying that refers to intentionally doing something but objectively could not. Powerless. ¡°I¡¯m afraid there will be follow-ups to the stone tablet incident. There are so few people in group two. I hope the Dragon Bureau can recruit a few more this year. It¡¯s good to cherish feathers*, but if you¡¯re too lofty, you¡¯ll be misunderstood!¡± Wu Bingtian said with a smile. *Metaphor for cherishing one¡¯s reputation and act very cautiously. || In this context he¡¯s mocking Long Shen for being too picky. Long Shen said lightly: ¡°Didn¡¯t Boss Wu see one just now?¡± Shit! Why did he bring this up! Wu Bingtian wanted to scold his mother! Just now he had followed Long Shen to the rooftop and saw Dong Zhi practicing. At first, he didn¡¯t take him very seriously. He had a discerning eye and knew from a glance that Dong Zhi was just a novice. For a such a novice, let alone being admitted to the General Administration Bureau, he wouldn¡¯t even be able to take one step past the gate of the Longhu Sect. Who knew not long after he finished laughing at Long Shen, he was slapped in the face by a thunderbolt, and it wasn¡¯t an insignificant one but was powerful enough to show off all its glory. Wu Bingtian pretended that he didn¡¯t say anything. He wanted to laugh at his opponent yet tripped over his own feet. He laughed awkwardly and said: ¡°The Dragon Bureau is really wise and knowledgeable. Why haven¡¯t I found a newcomer of such good quality before!¡± Long Shen snorted. Wu Bingtian: ¡­ How dare you snort. Just you wait. When you¡¯re not looking, I¡¯ll grab the person you like and see if you can pretend to keep calm, ah?! Dong Zhi was unaware of the happenings between Long Shen and Wu Bingtian and how they felt about him. At this time, he was overcome with great joy at his success in attracting thunder again. After Long Shen had left, he practiced more than dozen times and on two occasions manage to attract lightning the size as thick as his thumb. It wasn¡¯t as powerful as the first time, but this success rate shows that he had made great progress. He was told that after he successfully attracted thunder, it would take at least another month before he could succeed again. To reward Kan Chaosheng for helping him, Dong Zhi called He Yu and invited them both to eat crabs and crayfish. Near midnight, the three of them dragged their round bellies back. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t fall asleep due to eating too much and recalling his experience today, he got overly excited again. Before today, he had never thought that he, an ordinary otaku, who had lived for more than 20 years, would one day be able to step into a mysterious and fantastical world while also obtaining abilities of his own. The victory from today¡¯s first battle invigored Dong Zhi, injecting him full of motivation. He couldn¡¯t wait for tomorrow to come so he could continue making persistent efforts and practice harder. He picked up his phone as he strolled around wanting to send Long Shen a message but felt that it was too intrusive. Today, Boss Long came with Boss Wu to personally asked him questions that was most likely related to the stone tablet. He guessed that it must be a serious matter to them, and Long Shen must be too busy right now to care about anything else. After thinking about it, he opened a shopping website and bought some daily necessities for himself. He also bought a bunch of self-heating hotpot mix for Kan Chaosheng, a three-dimensional mouse pad, and a cute little bear backpack for He Yu. Since he met them on the train, they have helped him out a lot. Although one was cheap and gluttonous, and the other was absentminded all the time except when it comes to exorcism, but he still regarded them as brothers and friends. He never felt taken advantage of when he extended his offer to invite them to meals and often would buy them gifts. When he got to Long Shen, however, he felt embarrassed. What does the male god like? Dong Zhi entered keywords like antiques and famous swords. Looking at their prices made him unable to breath. The Dong¡¯s family background is quite good. After his parents¡¯ death, they left him with a sizable inheritance. In addition to the salary that he made while working in the game industry, his wealth is relatively sizable. He can say that he doesn¡¯t need to worry about food and clothing, but even so, the price of these swords was something that was unaffordable, and he didn¡¯t even know if they were real or fake. After staring at the computer for a while, he turned on his phone and messaged a friend who was studying abroad. It was daytime over there so the old friend quickly replied back: [Yo. You finally remembered me! What are you up to these days?] Dong Zhi: [I have resigned from my job and preparing to take the civil service exam. Brother, let me ask you a question.] Old friend: [Shoot.] Dong Zhi: [I have a friend who wants to give gifts to someone. He has a good impression of this person but he¡¯s not sure if it¡¯s considered love or not. What do you think this person should give?] Old friend: [That friend is you, right?] Dong Zhi: ¡­ The old friend immediately sent a series of laughing emojis at him. Old friend: [You fell in love as soon as I broke up. Have you no conscience?! Send me photos so I can see!] Dong Zhi felt helpless: [There are no photos and I said I¡¯m not sure how I feel about him so I want to ask you for your opinion.] Old friend: [He??? Male???] Dong Zhi had accidently type he instead of she, but he didn¡¯t expect the other party to be so keen*. He hesitated whether he should tell the truth or not. *In Chinese, he (Ëû) and she (Ëý) are similar characters. They are also pronounced similarly too so when speaking, often it¡¯s hard to discern if they are referring to someone¡¯s sex. The old friend immediately sent another message: [I already knew you were bent. Why else would you have been single for more than 20 years!] Dong Zhi was unconvinced: [I have also had a good impression of girls, okay?!] Old friend: [That¡¯s like in elementary school. Besides, let alone men and women, going beyond humans there¡¯s also animal love and asexuality. This brother is open-minded and calm.] Dong Zhi: [¡­Anyways, this person is extremely powerful and good-looking. Aside from that, he also made a good impression on me and has helped me out a lot. I want to thank him so what should I give?] Old friend: [Money!] Dong Zhi: ¡­ Old friend: [Money is the most real thing! Just send him a red envelope with 520* yuan. You can test him while also thanking him. Isn¡¯t this killing two birds with one stone?] *When pronounced, 520 [w¨³ ¨¨r l¨ªng] sound very close to I love you [w¨¯ ¨¤i n¨«] [ÎÒ°®Äã] so it¡¯s now become a reference to it. Dong Zhi: [Forget it. Let¡¯s talk about why you¡¯re lovelorn.] He listened to his friend complain about how bad his girlfriend was for over an hour and comforted him. After hanging up, Dong Zhi picked up the sketchbook album and turned to a half-painted portrait that hasn¡¯t been completed since he was on the train. The outline was a side angle of a slightly lowered head, as if the person was listening or in deep thought. The expression was indifferent, and calm and his eyes were blank. This was the first time they had met on the train and Dong Zhi had no idea who Long Shen was at all. He was only impressed by his appearance alone. The eyes were the windows into one¡¯s soul so he couldn¡¯t draw the other person¡¯s eyes, so he kept it blank all this time. After staring at it for a while, Dong Zhi choose not to fill in the eyes. Instead, he turned the page and started sketching a few cartoon characters of group two. Sitting on the bed, with his short legs dangling was Kan Chaosheng that had a mouth full of snacks. Beside him was He Yu who was holding his phone obsessing over it. Zhong Yuyi was sleeping walking with his hands in his pockets, and then there was Long Shen who was holding his sword in a cool posture. He also drew himself practicing the Five Thunder Talisman technique and was finally able to attract heavenly lightning, but it struck Kan Chaosheng on the head. Kinky Thoughts: Note: I¡¯m using thunder and lightning interchangeably. Thunder for the name and lightning for the actual bolts that strikes because technically, thunder is just the sound that lightning makes and lightning is the actually thing that does the damage so from an English point of view, it sounds inaccurate to say something was struck by thunder. Dong Zhi¡¯s old friend, I¡¯m hoping that is platonic animal love because if it¡¯s not, then I have news for you bud, no. ¡ª Jiao/Jiaolong Type of dragon in Chinese mythology that is hornless and scaled. It is aquatic or river-dwelling. English translations have referred to it as ¡°jiao-dragon¡±, ¡°crocodile¡±, ¡°flood dragon¡±, ¡°scale/scaly dragon¡±, or even ¡°kraken¡±. Though called ¡°dragon¡± it is in fact not a dragon but a species of water beast that has dragon blood. They like to hide in ponds and rivers for several hundreds to thousands of years and if they can survive a calamity, they can ascend to become a real dragon. Depending on text, its descriptions varies but generally it agreed that it¡¯s aquatic in nature, hornless, and scaley. It is said that they control the water and can make clouds and rains as well as summon floods. They are flightless by nature and only have a pair of claws. CH 32 Cartoon images are much easier to draw than realistic versions. With a few strokes, everyone¡¯s charm could be sketched out, and then appropriately exaggerated. Each character¡¯s unique attributes jump out on paper, making it difficult for people to forget. Dong Zhi became more excited and started drawing four-grid comics while giving everyone a fictitious name. He then retouched the pictures and uploaded them to his social media account. His social media account was originally used to post original artwork from . Although he didn¡¯t verify his account, his post was often retweeted several times by the official account that eventually, over the past few years, many gamers have recognized that he was the main artist for the game. When he posted his resignation, many of the comments were full of regrets. Dong Zhi posted the comic and couldn¡¯t think of a good name for it, so he simply and crudely wrote: [The Incident Book of the Relevant Department for Subduing and Eliminating Demons]. Finally, drowsiness had caught up with him. He turned off the computer, laid down, and shortly fell asleep. In the days that followed, his life was simple. He was either practicing his talisman technique on the rooftop or drawing comics in the dorm. He not only drew and himself but also included He Yu and the others. He Yu liked his style and expressed his joy at becoming a protagonist of the comic. He also took the initiative to provide some jokes and plotlines and urged Dong Zhi to update daily. Zhong Yuyi had also shown great interest in it. Kan Chaosheng was extremely dissatisfied with his character seeing that it was a cat instead of a more majestic creature. Eventually he coerced Dong Zhi to change him into a dragon, saying that even if he can¡¯t be one in reality, it¡¯ll still be a good addition to his comic! As for Long Shen¡­ Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother harassing him with such trivial matters as a Deputy Director already has enough on his plate. The response to his comic was a bit unexpected. Originally, he only drew it for fun and the comments were cute and jocularly, but gradually, his comics were retweeted and spread and attracted more readers, causing the number of his fans to increase at a rapid pace. The story he uploaded today was provided by He Yu. It was a case that he encountered when he was an intern at the Northwest Branch. There was a girl that often have strange dreams. At first, she didn¡¯t pay much attention to it, until later when she discovered that her dreams were prophetic. For example, one day she dreamed that there was a fire in the local area and after a few days, a fire really did break out in the area that she dreamt it would. Another incident was when she dreamed that her classmate would get into a car accident which was soon realized shortly after. After a few times, the girl started to believe that she had this ability. Then one day, she dreamt that her father was pushed down the stairs and was seriously injured. When she woke up, she was frightened and told her father about her dream. Her father didn¡¯t believe her and thought she was making a fuss. In the end, she had no choice but to follow her father around to ensure that nothing bad would happen to him. It happened to be a day that her father was meeting with an important business partner. The girl strongly asked to go with him and seeing that she could not be dissuaded, the father reluctantly agreed. The girl was ecstatic and went upstairs to dress up for the occasion. They lived in a two-story duplex and her room was on the second floor. That day, she specifically changed into a new pair of high heels that didn¡¯t fit her well. When she walked towards the stairs, she twisted her ankle and fell forward. Her father, who happened to be standing by the side of the stairs and had his back turned to her, was inadvertently pushed down by her and died on the spot as his head hit the floor. The girl thought that she was going to save her father, but in the end was the reason why misfortune fell on him in the first place. It left her in utter shock. Due to the emotional toll, her mother suffered a heart attack and followed in her father¡¯s footsteps a few days later, decimating the girl¡¯s entire family overnight. Burden by these events, she felt that she was the cause of all their misery and fell into a deep depression, eventually committing suicide by jumping into a lake. Fortunately, she was recuse by a master of a nearby temple. The master had some contact with the Northwest Branch and handed the case over to them and it was eventually transferred to He Yu because no one from the branch took it seriously. To them, it seems like just an ordinary tragedy, but He Yu had doubts. After some investigation, he learned that the father had interfere in someone else¡¯s way, causing them to suffer a substantial financial loss that indirectly caused their wife and children to leave them. The other party wanted revenge, so he did everything possible to destroy the father¡¯s family. He eventually found a corrupted cultivator who recruited a dream demon. The dream demon entered the girl¡¯s dream and reverse time, clouding the girl¡¯s memories. While she thought she dreamt of the future, in reality, the events she dreamt about had already transpired. This led her to believe that she could dream of the future and that her dreams affected the real world. They eventually found the businessman who hired the hit and tracked down the cultivator behind the demon and subdued him. With He Yu¡¯s consent, Dong Zhi adapted the case into a serialized comic with a cute style that showed off the protagonists¡¯ daily life. While he didn¡¯t portray the story verbatim, the plot was still terrifying yet funny, and cause so much excitement from the readers that they couldn¡¯t stop chasing it. They constantly would urge him to release more contents under the comments and he was even contact by many magazines that wanted to publish his work. The Master of Arts, Dong Dong Qiang, hadn¡¯t successfully joined the Relevant Department yet, instead became popular on the internet. However, he had no plans to commercialize the comics for the time being and continued serializing them on his social media account. He doesn¡¯t update daily, as his focus was on preparing for the exam. Soon, two months passed in a blink of an eye, and the day for the written exam had arrived. Because it was an independent recruitment exam, the time was different every year. This year, it would be held between June and July, the hottest time in the capital. It was said that last year¡¯s exam time coincided with an earthquake that happened in the southwest. Demons and monsters took the opportunity to run wild spreading chaos and panic. Many sects regarded it as a good opportunity to train their disciples, allowing them to gather more experience, so many opted to miss the exam and took the chance to exorcise demons instead. In the end, the number of candidates for the final exam was barely five, and the number admissions was zero. This year the weather was good. Although there was an incident involving an Archfiend, the Special Administration Bureau quickly controlled the situation so news of it did not spread widely. There were also those who failed the exam last year and signed up to retake it again. That in combination with new applicants had many the exam participants hit a record high this year. The examination venue was on the second floor. Dong Zhi went down early and waited outside the examination room. He was not the earliest, however. There were many others who came earlier than him. Since the examination room hasn¡¯t opened yet, many were gathered outside, and some were dressed in exotic or ethnic clothing, and some wore Taoist robes. There were people of all shapes and sizes and age, though most were young. He found in the crowd the fox boy he met when he first arrived when He Yu was showing him around. The fox boy¡¯s nervousness was easily seen on his face, making him look more like an easily frightened rabbit than a fox. He was extremely conspicuous among all the candidates. Dong Zhi took the initiative to walk over to greet him. The other party still remembered him and asked with surprise and puzzlement: ¡°Aren¡¯t you a staff member?¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°My friend is, but I¡¯m not. This year is also the first time I¡¯m taking the exam.¡± Fox Boy: ¡°Great, me too! My name is Hu Shua*. How about you?¡± *(ºú˵) Translated means bullshit. The name was quite interesting. Dong Zhi smiled as he said: ¡°My name is Dong Zhi, referring to the winter solstice.¡± Hu Shua was a chatty person. Meeting someone that he could talk to, he immediately opened up his chatterbox: ¡°Ah, I just starting reading practice books a few days ago. The elders in my family wanted me to take the exam, saying it was a good chance. Even if I can¡¯t pass, I can always come again next year!¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°I think so too. Don¡¯t be too nervous, just acquire experience.¡± Hu Shua said with a sad face: ¡°But the questions are so difficult. There are words I don¡¯t even recognize.¡± Dong Zhi comforted him: ¡°I heard that the scores in the written exams are generally not highly regarded.¡± Hu Shua¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Really?¡± Almost at the same time, someone said the same response. Dong Zhi turned his head and found a man in national clothing. The other party gave him a smile and introduced himself: ¡°Hello, my name is Ba Sang. Tibetan. You just said that the written test is easy. Is this true?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°The questions are the same as the national exam, but the score of the candidates is generally lower than the national exam. I¡¯ve heard that in previous years, the admissions standards have occasionally been lowered due to insufficient admissions, but this year there are so many people so it should be more difficult, right?¡± Ba Sang scratched his hair: ¡°Ah, I am most afraid of the written exam!¡± He looked to the side again and said: ¡°Beauty, how are you preparing?¡± Beauty? Where? Dong Zhi followed Ba Sang¡¯s line of sight and saw a girl with beautiful eyes, but whether or not she¡¯s a beauty, was a matter of different opinion. He thought Ba Sang was flirting with her but instead he introduced her to them: ¡°Let me introduce you. Her name is Gu Meiren, for the Dai tribe. She¡¯s very good at playing the flute.¡± *(¹ËÃÀÈË) Literally translated to a look at (a) beautiful woman. Gu Meiren nodded to them: ¡°Hello everyone.¡± Not only is her name eye-catching, but her voice was also very nice. However, her personality seems a bit cold. After everyone got acquainted with each other, they returned to discussing the exam. Hu Shua¡¯s emotions had almost calmed down, but seeing more candidates gathered, his heart began to get anxious again. ¡°Do you know about the interview process? My cousin has taken the exam before, and he said that they ask questions during the interview?¡± Ba Sang, who knew a bit about the interview, nodded when he heard those words: ¡°The questions are different from the written test. The interview questions are more practical, testing your ability to respond on the spot and demonstrating what you¡¯re best at.¡± Hu Shua said nervously: ¡°But I only know how to transform right now. Will I be able to pass?¡± Dong Zhi was surprised: ¡°Seventy-two transformation*?¡± *(ÆßÊ®¶þ±ä) Reference to Sun Wukong¡¯s (from Journey to the West) ability where he can transform into different things. Hu Shua laughed: ¡°It would be great to have such a powerful ability. I only know two forms so far and I don¡¯t have time to train! What about you? What are your skills?¡± Ba Sang and Gu Meiran we¡¯re honest and had no intention of concealing their abilities. Ba Sang said that he could communicate with eagles and other animals can more or less understand him, while Gu Meiren said she can manipulate snakes with her flute. Dong Zhi was amazed by their skills and felt that there were crouching tigers, hidden dragons1 among their compatriots and some were even from an ethnic minority. Not mentioning others, by contrast his own technique of cramming Buddha¡¯s feet2 was difficult to master. 1Reference to the movie referring to hiding your strength from others. 2(ʱ±§·ð½Å) Idiom referring to making a frantic last-minute effort. || He¡¯s basically saying while he just started a few months ago, these people most likely been practicing their arts for years if not all their lives. ¡°I only know a little bit of talisman art that I just got started with.¡± Ba Sang was surprised: ¡°Are you a person in a Taoist Sect? Why not join them?¡± Dong Zhi looked in the direction of his mouth and saw there were a lot of people gathered around the other end. Some of them were wearing Taoist robes or practice clothes, and others were in plain clothing. Ba Sang said: ¡°Some of them are from the Longhu and Maoshan Sect. I heard that they are both famous sects.¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°Like thunder.¡± He looked around and saw groups of twos and threes gathering outside the examination room. Everyone had their own cliques. Candidates from the Longhu Sect naturally gathered closer to each other so most likely they came to take the exam together. While everyone was in conversation, the bell rang and the examination room opened, which signal the start of the exams. Everyone stopped chatting and formed a spontaneously line consciously as they went for inspection at the door. Two young people stood at the door. One was checking everyone¡¯s admission tickets, and the other was holding a detector scanning the candidates up and down. There was a middle-aged man standing at the door with his hands clasped behind his back staring coldly at each of the incoming candidates. ¡°Do not bring irrelevant items into the exam. Abide by the orders of the examination room. All communication devices, such as cellphones must be turned off and handed over at the podium¡­ You, stop!¡± Dong Zhi had just gotten his admission ticket back and was about to enter when he was startled as he heard this. Only when he saw that the middle-aged man¡¯s gaze was falling behind him did he realize that the other party wasn¡¯t talking to him. The middle-aged man said coldly to the candidate behind him: ¡°What do you have with you? Hand it over.¡± The candidate stammered: ¡°No, no!¡± Middle-aged man: ¡°You. Go search him.¡± The staff member nodded, and as soon as he approached the person with the detector in his hand sounded. Middle-aged man: ¡°You want to be searched or do you want to take it out yourself?¡± The candidate felt aggrieved and took out a talisman that was folded into a triangle from his body: ¡°This is a peace talisman given to me by my mother. Do you have to confiscated this?¡± The middle-aged man grabbed the talisman, took it apart without saying a word, and quickly took out a hidden talisman inside it. He squeezed it in his hand and shook it. Five white rays of light pierce out from his hand and fell onto the ground and turned into five small white figures in the shape of children. He yelled twice and they turned into smoke and disappeared. Dong Zhi was stunned. The middle-aged man sneered at the candidate: ¡°Does your mother still let you use the five ghosts handling technique to keep you safe?¡± As if the candidate was mourning the result of their exam, it seemed that they were on the verge of crying. The middle-aged man looked around the crowd and raised his voice: ¡°Last time a person who wanted to cheat with the five ghosts handling technique on the exam has been disqualified for 30 years. If you have the mentality of using illegal methods to steal grades or test questions, I advise you to die as soon as possible! The bureau just imported this handheld detector from the United States. This kind of instrument is specially used to deal with vampires and black witchcraft over there. It¡¯s a waste to use it on you. Even a double-sided mirror from a heaven and earth bag* can be found on you. If you don¡¯t believe me, just you dare try!¡± *Qiankun Bag (ǬÀ¤´ü) It¡¯s a bag with incredible power that is used for storage. The space can be able to accommodate heaven and earth (thus also why it¡¯s called the heaven and earth bag). It¡¯s another universe inside this bag. The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Even if the instrument fails, my eyes are not blind!¡± The middle-aged man sneered again: ¡°Now you still have a chance to throw away your cheating tools. Don¡¯t wait to be discovered when you enter the examination room. It¡¯s still a light sentence to be disqualified from the examination, but tread carefully so that your future children¡¯s chances of entering the Special Administration Bureau won¡¯t be affected. I¡¯ll give you 30 minutes. Lose everything that should be lost!¡± There was no sound in the audience, and a few people in the long line immediately left silently, presumably to get rid of what needs to be rid of. The middle-aged man frowned and said nothing, but the candidates passing in front of him became more cautious. Even Dong Zhi was overwhelmed and gave in to his obsessive-compulsiveness and rechecked everything he was carrying before he found a seat to sit down. There were so many people taking the exam this year that one room wasn¡¯t enough to fit everyone, so it was divided into three rooms. The classroom Dong Zhi was in had over sixty seats, which shows how fierce the competition was this year. After the middle-aged man¡¯s warning, all the candidates became extremely honest, and the talkative people quickly shut up. Everyone obediently sat in their seats waiting for the paper to be handed out. Soon the written exam started. All the tension was released the moment Dong Zhi got his paper. Seeing the dense topics, he didn¡¯t have time to get nervous as he picked up his pen and started working on his test. Time passed by in a flash and he triple-checked his paper before handing it in. There was till ten minutes left before the exam was over and no one had handed in their paper in advance. When he got up and walked to the podium, he drew a lot of surprise and envious gaze, which made him feel more confident. The multiple-choice exam was conducted in the early morning and there was still the free response questions in the afternoon. Dong Zhi hurried back to the dorms for a meal and rested. Early afternoon, he arrived outside the examination room for the second portion. There were a lot of people gathered around as usual. Dong Zhi looked for Hu Shua and Ba Sang in the crowd while listening to the conversations around him. Not surprisingly, people were discussing their answers. Some were excited while others were distraught. It seems that no matter whether you¡¯re an ordinary person or a practitioner, as the fate of a candidate, they were all the same. The unprepared and completely going in blind type: ¡°The exam this morning was so difficult! I didn¡¯t even understand how to read the questions let alone choosing the right answer. I can only guess. I listened to my cousin who told me to choose C if I don¡¯t know it. Apparently, the accuracy is higher with that letter.¡± The last-minute cramming type: ¡°I saw this question on the question bank last night, but I didn¡¯t pay attention to the answer. Who would have thought it would really be on the test!¡± The complaining type: ¡°Hey, why is the exam so strict this year? There wasn¡¯t any detectors last year. The most unfortunate thing is that I forgot to bring my Pure-Heart Mantra* before I left. It was written by my master specifically for me. It made me upset all morning that I couldn¡¯t answer the questions. I definitely failed this time!¡± *Qingxin Mantra/Universal Mantra (ÇåÐÄÖä) Created by later generations of Buddhist scriptures. Reciting it can clear one¡¯s mind and calm you down, it can remove vexation ands stop evil. The skeptical type: ¡°What harm can magnetic resonance imaging system cause on the human body? What kind of shit is this? How would I know! Why aren¡¯t there questions like what a century-old zombie will do to human beings?! Isn¡¯t there anyone in charge of the topics? Are they deliberately trying to make us fail?!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry as he walked through the crowd. He finally found Ba Sang and the others who were in the midst of discussing the written exam. Dong Zhi could only say: ¡°Let it pass and ignore it. If you keep finding your answers are wrong, it¡¯ll affect your mood for the written exam later. This will affect your performance.¡± Hu Shua whole fox body wilted: ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to answer any questions in the afternoon.¡± Everyone hurriedly comforted him. Even Gu Mei said that she didn¡¯t do well this morning. If the general average wasn¡¯t good, the admission standard would definitely be lowered, which gave Hu Shua some hope, and he recovered. The written exam was all subjective questions, and the results are based on the biases of the examiners. For the same answer, some may give one point more while others would give one point less. This was something that couldn¡¯t be controlled by the candidates so they could only honestly answer to the best of their abilities. As long as the basic points are met, the score won¡¯t deviate too much. While he didn¡¯t hand in his papers in advance in the afternoon exam, he still thought he did well. As he walked out of the examination room, a figure flew past him as it was wailing. When Dong Zhi reacted, he found that it was Hu Shua, but his figure had already disappeared. Kan Chaosheng was waiting for him outside, staring intently at Hu Shua and only reluctantly retracted his gaze when Hua Shua completely disappeared from sight. He then heard Kan Chaosheng licked his lips and said: ¡°His original form must be very fat, tender, and delicious.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He quickly changed the subject: ¡°Do you know when the score will be released?¡± Kan Chaosheng said: ¡°Within a week. You should prepare for the interview first.¡± Dong Zhi walked out with him, but was stopped by someone. ¡°Fellow Taoist, you dropped your pen.¡± Turning his head around, Dong Zhi saw a tall and thin young man standing behind him. When he saw that the other party was holding onto his pen, he quickly thanked him and took it back. The other party suddenly said: ¡°Are you Dong Zhi?¡± Being keen, Dong Zhi immediately noticed that he said, ¡°Are you Dong Zhi¡± instead of ¡°What¡¯s your name¡±. ¡°Do you know me?¡± He smiled at the young man. The other party raised his eyebrows, looked at him up and down, and suddenly smiled: ¡°So that¡¯s really all you are.¡± The sudden hostility made the Dong Zhi felt inexplicable. The other party introduced himself: ¡°My name is Liu Qingbo.¡± Without waiting for Dong Zhi to reply, he quickly left after speaking. Dong Zhi: ??? He turned his head and asked Kan Chaosheng: ¡°Who is this person?¡± Kan Chaosheng said: ¡°Liu Qingbo. His mother is a descendant of the Hmong people and can use poison*. His father is a descendant of a sword master in the Republic of China. He went to Taiwan first before going overseas. He has roots on both sides and had made some contributions to the civil exchanges before, so his impression is good. If there are no issues, it¡¯s almost certain that he¡¯ll join.¡± *Gu (¹Æ) a venom-based poison associated with cultures of South China. See lore for details. Dong Zhi asked casually: ¡°Even if he doesn¡¯t score well in the written test?¡± Kan Chaosheng showed him a ¡°stupid human¡± expression and Dong Zhi immediately understood. It seems that walking through a backdoor was prevalent anywhere. Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Why did he seem to be very hostile to me just now?¡± Kan Chaosheng said coldly: ¡°He knows that you admire the boss and wants to be his apprentice, so he treats you as his competitor!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°He also admires the boss and wants to be his apprentice?¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°When the boss was fighting with the bone dargon on Changbai Mountain, did you know that he was already injured?¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°He Yu had mentioned it.¡± Kan Chaosheng said: ¡°That injury happened last year. Liu Qingbo was young and vigorous. I didn¡¯t know how he found out, but he heard that there were dragons in the Yangtze River, and he attracted a golden-beard Aoyu*. The Aoyu had cultivated over 800 years- older than me and was almost able to turn into a dragon but its opportunity was interrupted by him that made it extremely angry. At that time, the boss happened to pass by doing business and noticed the water pulses changing. He rushed over and save Liu Qingbo in the nick of time. He suffered an injury during the fight that left behind some residual damage. He was almost healed, yet who knew that he would run into a bone dragon, and later had to use telepathy to save you.¡± *(÷¡Óã) Translation varies but it¡¯s a legendary aquatic creature (turtle/fish seems to be the agreed upon) that has a heard of a dragon. See lore for details. Dong Zhi never expected that there was such this piece of detail. When he heard the entire story, he couldn¡¯t help feeling guilty. ¡°Then how is he doing now?¡± Thinking of Long Shen¡¯s uncharacteristic performance these past few days, Dong Zhi felt that he was being overwhelmed with guilt. Kan Chaosheng shrugged: ¡°It not a big problem, but he needs to recuperate. I hope nothing major will happen during this time, or he¡¯ll have to act even if he doesn¡¯t want to.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What about the Aoyu? Dead?¡± Kan Chaosheng let out a sigh. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°But it was obviously Liu Qingbo who went to provoke it first and broke its practice!¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°There was no other choice. The Aoyu refused to stop and wanted to make floods around the area to dispel the hatred in his heart. If he were allowed to succeed, it¡¯ll inevitably cause massive destruction. The boss could only make this decision.¡± In the end, it was Liu Qingbo who caused the trouble, but Long Shen was the one who had to clean up the mess. Dong Zhi curled his lips and lost any remaining goodwill towards this person. However, personal feelings should be separate in private, and Dong Zhi knew this clearly. With Long Shen¡¯s status, even if he accepts apprentices, he will never receive a bunch like they were wholesale, but most likely would pick only one. Since he saved Liu Qingbo¡¯s life, he must be deeply grateful and respect Long Shen and he had that background to back him up. Compared to Dong Zhi, Long Shen would most likely be more inclined to accept Liu Qingbo than him, who had just stepped into the ranks of cultivator and had a weak foundation. Thinking about this, he immediately felt a strong sense of crisis. If he doesn¡¯t work harder, his wish to become the male god¡¯s apprentice would be for naught! Kan Chaosheng saw Dong Zhi walking in a dazed, so he stretched out his hand and poke him and said impatiently: ¡°How come your picking up habits from Zhong Yuyi! Hurry up!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Where are we going?¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°He Yu wants to celebrate your completion of the exam so we¡¯re going to have a big meal then go karaoke!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°But I still have the interview.¡± Kan Chaosheng: ¡°Then we can have another big meal after that too!¡± You just want to eat! Despite thinking that, Dong Zhi quicken his pace to match Kan Chaosheng. He had been reviewing nervously during this entire time and needed to unwind. He Yu said that in order to celebrate his completion of the written exam, he was going to take everyone to a hotpot restaurant. Zhong Yuyi also joined. When Dong Zhi arrived, they had already ordered a lot of side dishes and a mandarin duck pot. Dong Zhi was now familiar with Zhong Yuyi. Although he rarely speaks and was usually distracted, Dong Zhi found that he got along quite well with him. What¡¯s more, compared to Liu Qingbo, Zhong Yuyi, who was also an admirer of Long Shen, was obviously a hundred times cuter. ¡°How was the exam, Little Dongdong? Do you want me to ask the boss to open a backdoor for you?¡± He Yu teased. ¡°The boss doesn¡¯t review the paper exams. If you go ask him, you¡¯ll only get beaten!¡± Kan Chaosheng tore down the wall without hesitation. ¡°The boss won¡¯t beat him. He¡¯ll just deduct his salary and vacation.¡± It was rare that Zhong Yuyi was acting normal today. He didn¡¯t look like he was sleepwalking as he picked up a piece of meat and dipped it into the spicy hotpot. Kan Chaosheng laughed: ¡°You¡¯re telling the truth!¡± He Yu rolled his eyes and hugged Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulders: ¡°Don¡¯t listen to them! It¡¯s just a written test. I have confidence in you! In order to celebrate your smooth passage, let¡¯s go karaoke after dinner. Zhong Yuyi is also invited!¡± Zhong Yuyi swallowed the meat before slowly saying: ¡°Why am I invited?¡± He Yu said confidently: ¡°Because your salary hasn¡¯t been deducted recently so I¡¯ll help you find a way to spend your money!¡± Dong Zhi chuckled: ¡°Is it a tradition to have your wage deducted for doing something wrong?¡± If this was the case, then would his salary go into the negative every month? Kan Chaosheng sneered: ¡°Only He Yu is like this. We¡¯re not like him who mess up all day long!¡± He Yu scoffed: ¡°I made mistakes because I do more work, which shows that the boss respects me!¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°It¡¯s because the boss knows that you play games all day long and don¡¯t work that deducting your wage is the most direct and effective means.¡± Dong Zhi watched them bicker cheerfully, and the tension after the exam had been wiped away. He felt relaxed and lazy. ¡°I¡¯ll pay for it tonight as thanks to you during this time. My thunder technique wouldn¡¯t have improved so fast without your help. Just order whatever you want to eat!¡± He waved his hand giving off an aura of a local tyant. He Yu: ¡°Big brother, please let me hug your thigh!¡± Kan Chaosheng turned his head and called out: ¡°Waiter, add 10 servings of sweet potato, 10 serving of Australian beef, 10 servings of shrimp¡­¡± Dong Zhi jokingly shouted: ¡°Hey, hey!¡± Kinky Thoughts: Gu/Poison (¹Æ) Is a venom-based poison associated with cultures of south China, particularly Nanyue. The traditional preparation of gu poison involved sealing several venomous creatures (e.g., centipede, snake, scorpion) inside a closed container, where they devoured one another and allegedly concentrated their toxins into a single survivor, whose body would be fed upon by larvae until consumed. The last surviving larva held the complex poison. Gu is used in black magic practices such as manipulating sexual partners, creating malignant diseases, and causing death. According to Chinese folklore, a gu spirit could transform into various animals, typically a worm, caterpillar, snake, frog, dog, or pig. See the Wikipedia for deeper details. ¡ª Aoyu (÷¡Óã) Legendary aquatic creature (turtle/fish). Legends has it that in ancient times, gold and silver carps wanted to jump over the dragon gates and fly into the clouds and ascend the sky to transform into dragons, but they swallowed the dragon balls in the sea and could only turn into a fish body with a dragon¡¯s head, giving them the name Aoyu. Male Aoyu have golden scale with a gourd tail while female Aoyu have silver scales with a hhibiscus tail. This is what they supposedly look like. CH 33 The mood was very jubilant as he got along with He Yu and the others. Although Kan Chaosheng was a monster that had cultivated for hundreds of years, he had not only a child¡¯s appearance but also was one at heart. Zhong Yuyi often doesn¡¯t speak much but gave off a very reliable feeling. Though the group was noisy and often bicker, they all have a good relationship with each other. Kan Chaosheng has a poisonous mouth but still watch him all day and He Yu helped him with his practice for the thunder technique. While impatient, he still followed Dong Zhi around. He Yu hugged Dong Zhi¡¯s arm and cried saying that he was going to return to the field again next week, so he had to hurry up and party while he still can. Dong Zhi was soft-hearted and after agreeing said he would pay for the karaoke as well. He Yu¡¯s face immediately did a 360 as he clapped his hands and said: ¡°Alright comrades, there¡¯s a local tyrant paying for the evening. We¡¯ll bundle the night up in one nice spectacular package. What do you guys think?¡± Kan Chaosheng agreed: ¡°Go to the one two blocks away! They also have a hot and spicy crayfish buffet nearby!¡± He Yu said boldly: ¡°No problem, I¡¯ll call ahead to make an order now!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He turned his head and asked Zhong Yuyi: ¡°Is this guy really going out in the field?¡± Zhong Yu nodded after a little while: ¡°When I was in Yunnan, I encountered a situation the area of Fuxian Lake.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°Is it related to Sneaky Yaksha again?¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°I don¡¯t know yet. Group three is already there. They sent a letter asking for help. There hasn¡¯t been any progress on Changbai Mountain for the time being, so the boss asked He Yu and Kan Chaosheng to help.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Isn¡¯t He Yu¡¯s injury not healed yet? Why don¡¯t you send a different team?¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°A team has already been sent over to give a hand but depending on the situation, they may need more help.¡± Dong Zhi nodded and didn¡¯t ask any more questions. Last time Long Shen took a piece of his hair while he was in his office and later it was key to saving his life. He knew Long Shen cautiousness so there was no need to worry. Eating hotpot was an all-day event as they joked and laugh around the table. From evening until nightfall, Kan Chaosheng swept away all the meat and vegetables on the table. When the waiter came back to give them the bill, his eyes bulged at he looked at the pile of empty plates stacked on the table. In He Yu¡¯s words, after eating, one must sing to release the accumulated energy, so everyone went to book a karaoke room. He Yu was first and after inputting his song, he wailed and howled while interpreting the song as if he was telling his life story. When Dong Zhi first met them on the train, the appearance of He Yu, Long Shen, and the others made him fearful and curious, but also, he felt they were amazing. While he had kept the same feelings for Long Shen, He Yu¡¯s image has now completely crumble. At this moment, the grating sounds that pierce his ears made his face inadvertently twitch. Just like Zhong Yuyi next to him, he had to cover his ears in silence. Kan Chaosheng was unwilling to let He Yu hog all the attention, so he took another microphone and joined in on the wailing. He roared at He Yu and He Yu returned his roar as they sang to the tune. Kan Chaosheng singing was wild and unconventional as he didn¡¯t even know what he was yelling at, all the while Zhong Yuyi could only cover his ears tighter and stared straight ahead in a daze with a look of helplessness. Unable to bear it any longer, Dong Zhi grabbed the microphone in Kan Chaosheng¡¯s hand and cut to a new song. He Yu didn¡¯t give up making trouble as he let out a groan when he heard Dong Zhi sing in a regular manner: ¡°Okay Little Dongdong. I can see you still have a hidden skill with your good singing voice. When you enter group two, you¡¯ll represent us and show it off when there¡¯s a singing competition in the bureau one day!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Boss Long must have a much better voice than me. Why don¡¯t you call him over to join the fun?¡± He Yu shook his head like a rattler: ¡°He¡¯s always taking care of business, so let¡¯s not make trouble!¡± Kan Chaosheng had the same reaction: ¡°Keep singing. Keep singing. We¡¯re not returning until we¡¯re drunk!¡± Dong Zhi wondered if they were up to something behind Long Shen¡¯s back. Suddenly, his phone screen lit up and he saw that it was a message from his old friend. The old friend asked: [How is it? Have you confessed yet?] Dong Zhi: [¡­Not yet.] Old friend: [If you¡¯re a man, you must be brave or else I¡¯ll look down on you!] Dong Zhi: [I have been busy preparing for the exam these days, how can I have time to consider this? What stimulated you today?] Old friend: [How did you know? I went to try to get back with my ex-girlfriend, but she refused¡­] Dong Zhi¡¯s forehead twitch. His friend came from a well-off family and in the eyes of others was considered a rich second generation. His appearance and education weren¡¯t bad either. Such conditions should make any girl starry eyed, and this was indeed the case from his childhood to adulthood. Countless girls had chased him so he only had his eyes on the cream of the crop. He usually would date a girl for less than three months, but this time he didn¡¯t expect to fall deeply in love. Dong Zhi had a bit of schadenfreude hearing his situation. It seems that he finally was taught a lesson and would clean up his act in the future so he wouldn¡¯t play with others heart so easily. This should teach him a vigorous lesson. Suddenly he got another message. Long Shen: [How is your practice on the thunder technique going?] Oh my god! The male god took the initiative to text me! It was such a rare event. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care about relishing in his old friend¡¯s misery anymore. He hurriedly reported the progress of his practice and was concern if the male god had eaten yet and if he should bring something back for him. Long Shen replied: [Thank you, but no need. Are He Yu and those guys with you?] His indifference was the norm, but it was surprising that Dong Zhi caught a glimpse of his carefulness under this indifference. Dong Zhi: [We are doing karaoke. Would you like to join?] Long Shen: [Turn off the music and make my voice message public.] Dong Zhi: ??? He was perplexed on why he said it. He Yu was still roaring into the mic when suddenly the music stopped: ¡°My heart is broken-¡° Long Shen¡¯s voice pierced coldly through the room: ¡°Everyone come back for a meeting.¡± He Yu: ¡°-can¡¯t shed a tear¡­¡± He suddenly turned his head to look at Dong Zhi: ¡°We all turned off our phones. Why are you still leading the wolf into the room!¡± Dong Zhi said innocently: ¡°Just now, Boss Long asked me to put his voice message on speaker. I didn¡¯t know what he was going to say.¡± Kan Chaosheng clung to the sofa and refused to let go as he angrily said: ¡°I¡¯m not leaving! I¡¯m not going to a meeting! I hate them the most! They¡¯ve been talking forever and yet there¡¯s still no results!¡± He Yu lifted up his bear backpack and said sadly: ¡°Son, as soon as dad leaves, I don¡¯t know how long he¡¯ll be back. Dad doesn¡¯t want to be separated from you!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­You two have a good time.¡± Zhong Yuyi murmured: ¡°If we¡¯re have a meeting so late, it¡¯ll definitely be all night again!¡± He Yu and Kan Chaosheng were silent for a moment before they started wailing again. Dong Zhi and Zhong Yuyi glanced at each other and sighed at the same time. Regardless of their howling that could tear apart the sky, in the end, they obediently went back for the meeting. Dong Zhi wanted to go with them, but he was an outsider so he couldn¡¯t even go past the gate of the Special Administration Bureau. Instead, he went back to the dormitory alone to rest. When he got back, he turned on his computer and log into his social media account. His comic serialization has been gaining popularity and there were already thousands of comments below and nearly 10,000 retweets. Most of the comments were saying how interesting his stories were. There were some that said while they were afraid to read it, they couldn¡¯t help themselves and others talked about their own supernatural experiences. He browsed the comments and picked some to reply to, then turned off his computer and continue staring at his semi-completed work. Long Shen eyes are beautiful, and his figure could be said the same. Some were just truly blessed by the heavens and Long Shen undoubtedly fit the bill, but because of this, it was hard for Dong Zhi to even begin to draw him. He recalled bit by bit that Long Shen had double eyelids and his eyes were the perfect normal size. These shapes and contours were easy to draw but what was difficult was capturing the charm in his eyes. After sketching several drafts, he was still dissatisfied and finally gave up again. Dong Zhi became depressed and even started to doubt himself and his abilities as an artist. His professional skills were completely reduced to scum in front of the male god. The time was closely approaching midnight, but it seems as if the meeting hadn¡¯t adjourned yet. He picked up his phone and sent a message to He Yu and Kan Chaosheng separately, but he didn¡¯t get reply until after he went to brush his teeth and wash his face. He Yu replied: [Is currently suffering. About to ascend into heaven.] An expression of godless eyes was attached to the message. Kan Chaosheng didn¡¯t bother even typing a message and just sent a series of crazy emojis vividly expressing his emotional breakdown. Before Dong Zhi could reply, He Yu sent another message: [I have said the content repeatedly, but the discussion has not yielded any results. I don¡¯t understand the significance of such a meeting?!] Dong Zhi replied: [Is it related to the stone tablet?] He Yu: [The General Administration Bureau is afraid of a resurgence since the last demon ambush, so they hope to find the other stone tablets as soon as possible, but there¡¯s been no result. I just want to go back to sleep.] Dong Zhi: [Was the meeting held by the Boss Long?] He Yu: [No, Jiang Zhengju. He¡¯s an ordinary person and he¡¯s known for liking meetings. After being transferred here, he didn¡¯t care much about anything except on performance so he likes to hold meetings. When we heard that he wanted to hold yet another meeting, it gave us a headache.] He kept complaining giving the whole back history of the leaders to Dong Zhi. If what He Yu says is true, China is a vast country and looking for stone tablets with no direction was tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. It¡¯s no wonder that He Yu and Kan Chaosheng were bored beyond their wits with these kind of fruitless meetings. It¡¯s inevitable that any organization will always gather people who can¡¯t do much but likes to take credit. If Dong Zhi was really admitted, he¡¯ll have to get used to the way things work in the future. Dong Zhi suddenly thought: ¡®Does Long Shen participate in these meeting seriously or is he just as disinterested like He Yu?¡¯ Unable to keep the thought from spreading, his fingers automatically found the person in question, and he sent him a message: [Boss Long, are you still in a meeting?] Shouldn¡¯t he be taking care of other matters? After waiting for a while, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t get a reply as expected. He flipped through his phone and browsed the web in boredom and eventually unknowingly fell asleep. His dreams were filled with intermittent fragments that appeared as a jumbo mess. For a while he dreamt that he, He Yu, and Kan Chaosheng were doing karaoke when suddenly a large number of zombies rushed into the room from outside, however they were stunned by the wailing from Kan Chaosheng¡¯s ¡°singing¡±. Then he dreamt that he was standing under a tree and was confessing to Long Shen, but Long Shen had rejected him with a cold face, saying he has someone he liked for a long time. Suddenly He Yu appeared out of nowhere and Long Shen hugged him as they walked away leaving him standing flabbergasted. After a while he had returned to the enchantment around Liuhua Ancient Bridge. He was desperately running from a group of monsters who had transformed into the people from the Republic of China. They were chasing after him, and as their long fingernails was about to pierce the back of his neck, a hand suddenly stretched out from the darkness and grabbed the monster¡¯s wrist then grabbed his arm as it ran forward with him. His frightening escape had turned into reassuring warmth in a blink of an eye. Dong Zhi panted heavily as he ran for his life, but he couldn¡¯t help but turn his head to look at the person who was holding onto his arm. It just so happens the other party was looking at him as well, showing a cold expression that had a trace of a smile as he said: ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± ¡°Boss Long, I¡­¡± The roaring of the monsters behind him indicated that they were getting closer. There was no time to panic despite that he was on death¡¯s gate, yet his mood was extremely calm. ¡°You don¡¯t need to say it. I know everything.¡± Long Shen said, then he put his arms around his waist and shouted: ¡°Jump!¡± Before Dong Zhi could react, his body had already falling violently! Suddenly he opened his eyes! The sky was already bright outside when he looked out the window. After dreaming all night, the back of his head felt dull and painful. He turned over lazily then suddenly froze. He put his hand into his blanket, fumbled for a while, and blinked a few times. Suddenly he felt wide awake as he showed an expression disbelief. After calming himself down, Dong Zhi covered his face and groan. His dream wasn¡¯t even close to amorous, yet his body showed a very honest reaction. When he was talking to his old friend, he still held onto a glimmer of hope, but now he had to admit it to himself. He seemed to really have ambiguous thoughts for the male god. When he turned on the phone, he found that Long Shen had sent him a reply around 1 AM: [The meeting has been adjourned. Rest early. Good night.] Such a matter-of-fact message seem so serious that he couldn¡¯t be serious anymore. He stared at the message for a few seconds before the corner of his mouth raised a little. He assumed Long Shen was still resting so he didn¡¯t want to bother him. Instead he sent a message to his old friend: [I finally confirmed my feelings for him.] The old friend quickly replied: [Feelings?] Dong Zhi: [I admire and worship him, but I also want to fuck him too.] Old friend: [Don¡¯t just say it, do it!] I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s not that easy. Dong Zhi chuckled, then put down his phone and got up to wash his face. Halfway through brushing his teeth, he came to a shocking realization. He and Long Shen barely know anything about each other. With the situation he¡¯s in now, his feelings have move from confuse to secretly having affection. Dong Zhi looked at himself in the mirror with a tangled expression. Suddenly he smiled. It doesn¡¯t make sense that if you suddenly like the other person, they would immediately like you back. Isn¡¯t love all about taking the initiative? He also has the best news. Long Shen doesn¡¯t have a girlfriend as of now. What was the saying? A strong girl is afraid of entanglement*. Similarly, strong men should be afraid too, right? *(ÁÒŮŲøÀÉ) Refers no matter how strong a woman is, she¡¯s afraid of the constant chase, and will eventually be conquered by the man. As long as you have the heart, you can still catch up with goddess-like characters. But it¡¯s too early to think about this. If he can¡¯t be shortlisted for the interview, everything is all for naught. Well, Dong Zhi, you can do it*! *Clarity: He¡¯s saying jiayou (¼ÓÓÍ) basically pumping himself up. The reflection in the mirror curled its eye and a beautiful smile appeared. Two days later, He Yu and Kan Chaosheng went on a business trip, and he wasn¡¯t sure when they would be back. Zhong Yuyi has a dull temperament and doesn¡¯t like to play around. What¡¯s more, he and Long Shen were still busy with work so Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother them. He had been preparing for his interview and during his spare time, worked on his comic serialization and interacting with his readers. Thus, time passed by quickly and life was comfortable. He Yu hasn¡¯t once moved back into his dorm, so Dong Zhi decided to make it his own and arranged everything neatly. There were a few small potted plants placed on the small balcony and a goldfish bowl was next to them. Two black and white goldfish were inside, living as leisurely as their owner. He printed out two landscape paintings he drew and a bought a picture frame to hang them on the wall to add some furnishing that gave off a bit more warmth to his life. He Yu had visited him once and thought he had gone to the wrong place at that time. One day, while Dong Zhi was painting, He Yu had called him. He picked it up and said: ¡°Hey buddy, how are things going? I was afraid of interrupting your work, so I didn¡¯t reach out for a while.¡± He Yu said: ¡°The results have been announced. Did you know?¡± Dong Zhi was busy painting Long Shen¡¯s hair that what He Yu said didn¡¯t registered with him so he casually asked: ¡°What results?¡± He Yu was speechless: ¡°The written exam results! How can you even forget this?¡± Dong Zhi instantly became excited: ¡°It¡¯s announced? Weren¡¯t they going to notify me by text?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he remembered that he had received a text message in the morning but thought it was spam so he ignored it. He Yu: ¡°Don¡¯t rush to check it. I already know your ranking. The number of candidates this year total was 156; a new record, but only 30 were shortlisted for the interview. Do you want to know where you¡¯re ranked?¡± Dong Zhi said as his voice trembled: ¡°It¡¯s not the 31st place, right?¡± He Yu said solemnly: ¡°Little Dongdong, do you know why so many people are taking exams this year? Because those who failed the exam in previous years keep coming back. After a few years, the numbers of people will obviously increase. Many of them have even passed the written exam but they were brushed off for the interview portion.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart sank a little bit: ¡°So I can¡¯t get into the interview?¡± He Yu: ¡°Well¡­¡± Dong Zhi strengthened his spirits and comforted He Yu: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t be discouraged. If I¡¯m not good enough this year, I¡¯ll definitely retake it next year.¡± He Yu: ¡°If you take the exam again next year, I will not want you anymore!¡± Dong Zhi: ??? He Yu: ¡°Because you score first place on the written exam!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He Yu laughed loudly on the other end of the line, knowing he had successfully teased him: ¡°You know, you got 20 points higher than second place! Alright Little Dongdong, you have given the Hezao Sect a lot of face. If shifu and shishu knew about it, they would be incredibly happy. Cheng Hui didn¡¯t passed the exam last year but this year we¡¯ll finally be able to raised our heads high!¡± Hearing about his deceased teacher made Dong Zhi a bit depressed: ¡°When I finally join, I will go back to Mount Hezao one day and give good news to my master.¡± He Yu yawned: ¡°Shishu doesn¡¯t care about such formalities. It¡¯s enough that you have this kind of intention!¡± Dong Zhi sensed exhaustion in his words: ¡°How is it on your side? Is it difficult?¡± He Yu: ¡°It¡¯s okay. A person just disappeared a few days ago.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°So serious? Is he from the Special Administration Bureau?¡± He Yu snorted: ¡°Someone from the Southwest Branch. I won¡¯t talk about it anymore since it¡¯s confidential. I¡¯m calling this time because I have something important to tell you.¡± Dong Zhi said cautiously: ¡°You¡¯re not teasing me again, are you?¡± He Yu said angrily: ¡°How can I be so blas¨¦?!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Okay, okay, then tell me.¡± He Yu: ¡°I have been out and about these days and have no time to play games. I can¡¯t participate in group battles, city battles, and qualifying battles every weekend. Go onto my account and help play for me.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Didn¡¯t you say that you have something important to say?¡± He Yu said confidently: ¡°This is related to my equipment score and my overall ranking number. Isn¡¯t this important?¡± Dong Zhi was patient and good tempered but even he couldn¡¯t help rolling his eyes before hanging up. Not long after he hung up, He Yu sent him a string of text message full of ¡°wuwuwu¡±. He didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry and directly ignored them and instead check his text message for his score results. He quickly found the notification that was mixed in with a bunch of advertisement text messages. It reads: [Hello candidates who participated in the 2017 National Special Administrative Service Civil Servant job application exam. Your results have been announced. Your total score is 157. 80 points for your administrative abilities, and 77 points for your multiple choice score. To qualify for the interview examination, please report to the Special Administration Service Bureau with valid documents from July 20th to the 21st.] Ahhhhhhhhhhh! Dong Zhi was so happy that he hugged his phone and kissed it several times. He had heard He Yu say that according to the written exam in previous years, a score of 110 was already considered really high. He had gotten a score of 157 which had broken the written exam record for the Special Administration Bureau over recent years! Dong Zhi put his hands on his waist, raised his head, and laughed out loud: ¡°Mortals! Kneel down before me!¡± After speaking, he felt that he was making a fool of himself and got carried away, so he quickly stuffed those feelings back inside his body. The result made Dong Zhi feel that his studying and efforts within these past few months have not been in vain. His high scores made him happy and gave him a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. With this score, he can calmly enter the doors of the Special Administration Bureau and even if he performs poorly in the interview, the examiners, for the sake of his high score on the written test, may open the net and let him in. It certainly good to have an ordinary and stable life in one¡¯s lifetime, but it¡¯s also not bad to have the ability to fight and slay demons with your friends. Dong Zhi once thought that he was average and hardworking and would go on to live a normal yet mediocre kind of life, but one day he ran into the opportunity to choose a different path. When he returned from Guangzhou, Dong Zhi went to investigate Xu Wan. He found that she resigned from her job after getting married. When she gave birth to her daughter, her husband disliked her daughter¡¯s congenital illness and filed for divorce. After the divorce, she took her daughter and moved away and found a job. She was a low-key woman and had a gentle temperament which was extremely popular. Many men had tried to court her and some even wanted to marry her but Xu Wan remained single for the sake of her daughter. About half a year ago, she suddenly left her job and cut off all contact with her acquaintances and disappeared with her daughter. Not long after, was when Dong Zhi met her on the train. He Yu and the others speculated that Archfiends like to take fancy in people like Xu Wan, who had monotonous interpersonal relationship. It completely eroded her and swallowed her whole while making Tongtong into its puppet. Using Xu Wan as its skin, it used Tongtong to lower its prey vigilance as it hunts. People tend to be wary of strong and big men, but rarely would they put up their guard against a woman and a child. Furthermore, they may even become sympathetic when they hear about Tongtong¡¯s autism, like Dong Zhi. With their guard lowered, it gives the Archfiend a good chance to take advantage of them. But there was nothing wrong with Xu Wan and Tongtong. She was a mother who didn¡¯t hesitate to change city and start her life again all for the sake of her child. Just because she was weak and easily deceived, she had become a target for demons. As an ordinary person, Dong Zhi would very likely retreat or avoid, choosing to protect himself first, but now he¡¯s given a chance to become unordinary, who can protect innocent lives like those similar to Xu Wan and Tongtong. He can¡¯t let others fall prey to demons and this was his motivation to keep moving forward. Of course, there was another reason that encouraged him as well. When his thoughts wandered to Long Shen, Dong Zhi sent him a message. He first talked about his achievement and expressed his gratitude for Long Shen. As thanks for his guidance during this time, he wanted to invite him to a meal and hope that Boss Long would give him some face this time. Long Shen replied to him very quickly this time: [Congratulations. Alright, I¡¯ll see you at the Forest Teahouse at 7 tonight.] The message was straightforward and concise. So does this mean he agreed? Dong Zhi rolled around on the bed with his phone in his arms as various thoughts began circulating in his mind. It was out of the question to confess right now. After all, he had just passed the written test and there¡¯s no sign of anything happening yet. Furthermore, Long Shen is a dignified Deputy Director and the status between the two was very wide. If his confession was rejected, it may even affect his interview which would be quite tragic. But he can still at least test the other party¡¯s feelings, such as whether he would be open to a gay relationship, or if he would be grossed out if a man confesses to him. Won¡¯t this be too straightforward though? Men still have to rely on their own charm, so to speak. If he¡¯s able to pass the entrance exam, Dong Zhi would at least clear the external charm, so the only problem left would be his inner charm. Perhaps he can talk about topics that can move the other party, such as games. Forget it¡­ Bringing up such a topic would only remind the male god about deducting wages. What about 350 an hour? ¡­That seem like a topic only He Yu would like. Or perhaps they should talk about gourmet food? Seems to be something Kan Chaosheng¡¯s into and he wasn¡¯t sure if Long Shen had similar feelings. Chasing someone is really a technical job. Dong Zhi found when he was chased by others, there was no fluctuation in his heart, but now that it¡¯s his turn to do the chasing, he felt that he didn¡¯t know where to even start. The author has something to say£º A small theater that has nothing to do with the text: Long Shen: What is 350 an hour? He Yu: ¡­¡­¡­Uh, this is a, um, very esoteric math problem that is more complex than subduing zombies¡­ Long Shen: Shall I deduct your wage? He Yu: (Staring at the face of death*) It¡¯s the cheapest price an hour for a ¡°service¡±. *(ÊÓËÀÈç¹é) Idiom describing a person who is brave and not afraid of death. Long Shen: Oh, your salary¡¯s been deducted. He Yu: Who told you? Dong Zhi! I won¡¯t let this go even if I become a ghost!!! Dong Zhi sneezed. Kinky Thoughts: The chase commences. CH 34 After thinking about it for a while, he still ended with no results. Dong Zhi decided to send a message to Zhong Yuyi: [Old Zhong, do you know what hobbies Boss Long has?] Zhong Yuyi quickly replied: [Slaying demons.] Dong Zhi thought: ¡®He doesn¡¯t expect me to catch him a demon so he can slay it¡­ right?¡¯ He asked again: [Apart from this? For example, piano, chess, calligraphy, or painting? Mountain climbing or sword dancing? Square dancing*?] *Clarity: Not American square dancing. It¡¯s referring to a rhythmic dance performed spontaneously by residents in open spaces such as squares and courtyards for the purpose of fitness. Zhong Yuyi seemed to be lost in his thoughts and after a long time he sent a reply: [Cooking.] ??? The male god that¡¯s like a high-cold* flower actually likes to cook?! This is simply too contrasting. *[Gao leng] (¸ßÀä) Intnernet buzzword use to describe someone who¡¯s arrogant and cold. Dong Zhi hurriedly asked: [Are you sure?] Zhong Yuyi: [I think so. When I was still at the old building, no one was willing to deliver there, and the canteen happened to be on holiday. No one in our group cook so the boss personally cooked for us several times.] Thinking of Long Shen¡¯s busy figure standing in front of the stove with an apron on, Dong Zhi found the image to be quite cute. He asked Zhong Yuyi: [Then his food was delicious, right?] Zhong Yuyi said honestly: [It was hard to eat.] Dong Zhi: [¡­Besides that, does he have any other hobbies?] Zhong Yuyi: [I don¡¯t think so.] It seems that Zhong Yuyi and Long Shen didn¡¯t know each other all that well either. But then again, except for someone who had ulterior motives like him, who would try to delve into getting to know their immediate boss better. Dong Zhi wanted to gift him an antique sword, which would not only express his gratitude but also aligned with his feelings. Who knew that when he looked at their prices, he couldn¡¯t afford even one if he were to sell himself. He scratched his head and exhaled in distress, and visited a forum for help. He typed in: [How to pursue a man?] After thinking about it, he deleted it and change it to: [How to pursue a man who¡¯s powerful in all aspects?] The forum was popular so he had more than a dozen replies within a few minutes. Some people said: [You have to be brave and confess. Maybe he¡¯s already interested in you a long time ago. This is call a two-way crush!] This was impossible. Pass. Dong Zhi went to look at the next one. Some people suggested to drug him, and do a forced entry*. This one is also a pass. *Overlord hard on the bow (°ÔÍõÓ²ÉϹ­) Original meaning refers to someone who is domineering that has now extended in modern times to describe one party forcing/coercing another to have sex (AKA rape). || Don¡¯t do this shit. Some people replied, asking him to test him first and then wait for the opportunity to act. This wasn¡¯t a bad suggestion and was along the lines of what he was thinking. Among the dozens of replies, there were few that were reliable. Most of them were exaggerated and commenting casually. Dong Zhi was left speechless. He simply turned off the computer and went to his appointment when the time neared. At close to 7, he arrived at the Forest Teahouse. The private room was booked in advance and he texted Long Shen the room number earlier that morning. When he arrived, Long Shen was already there and there was someone next to him. Turns out it was his rival, Liu Qingbo. Dong Zhi was stunned for a moment. Before he could respond, Liu Qingbo smiled and said: ¡°I ran into Boss Long just after a meeting. I have many questions to ask him. Do you mind if I join you? I¡¯ll invite you to dinner another time to make this up.¡± In front of Long Shen, how could Dong Zhi reject this? He had to pretend to be gracious and said with a smile: ¡°I don¡¯t mind. Since you are here, let¡¯s eat together. Do you anything you can¡¯t eat?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°Feel free to order whatever.¡± Liu Qingbo followed up: ¡°Same.¡± Dong Zhi imagined a scene of wringing Liu Qingbo into a knot then stuffing him into a sack then stepping on it until he becomes a meat loaf. As he was thinking this, he handed a succulent to Long Shen: ¡°I didn¡¯t know what to get you and you probably won¡¯t accept anything valuable. I remember that you had potted plants in your office so I bought this small thing. The shopkeeper said it has a nice name, yulu.¡± From the corner of his eyes, he could see Liu Qingbo seemingly raise his mouth slightly, as if he had an expression of disdain. Long Shen said: ¡°Thank you.¡± Seeing that he did not refuse, Dong Zhi felt very happy. He picked up the menu and asked the waiter and ordered some dishes. While he ordered, Liu Qingbo started a conversation with Long Shen. With his family background, most of the topics they talked about were a combination of magic and swordsmanship. There were many mythical terms like, snake poison, bee poison, cowhide poison, money poison, mother and son poison*, and so on. Long Shen let Liu Qingbo talk incessantly, and occasionally would reply in a sentence or two. *Clarity: It¡¯s referring to gu. See the Wikipedia to learn about the different types. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t understand much but judging from Liu Qingbo¡¯s admiring expression, Long Shen¡¯s few words gave him great inspiration. He didn¡¯t interrupt them either so he listened silently until the waiter came back with their food, then he said: ¡°Shixiong* Liu, Boss Long has been in a lot of meetings these days and should be tired. Let him take a break and you can talk after we finish eating.¡± *(ʦÐÖ ) Address to someone older than oneself in the martial circle. Translated would be like elder martial brother. I¡¯ll be using the pinyin form. Liu Qingbo looked at him for a while, then smiled brightly: ¡°I was negligent, Boss Long. I¡¯m really sorry. Let¡¯s eat first.¡± After a few spoonful of food and three rounds of drinks, it was inevitable that small talk began again. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t interject in their topics and didn¡¯t plan to, so they talked more comfortably. Dong Zhi recall when he went karokeing with He Yu and the others, he often would watch Kan Chaosheng sing out of tune and was able to pick up his notions which still remained vivid in his mind today. Although Long Shen didn¡¯t talk much, Dong Zhi observed that he did gradually relaxed and there was a bit of comfort between the corners of his eyes. Dong Zhi thought about He Yu complaints about their all-night meetings and couldn¡¯t help feel distressed for Long Shen. As a Deputy of a bureau, he had even more responsibility to shoulder. Liu Qingbo suddenly said: ¡°Shidi* Dong, I heard that you joined the Taoist circle not long ago. You have taken the exam so soon. Surely you must have a deep family background?¡± *(ʦµÜ) Address to someone younger than oneself in the martial circle. Translated would be like Junior martial brother. I¡¯ll be using the pinyin form like Shixiong. Dong Zhi said: ¡°My parents are ordinary people, and they have already passed away.¡± Liu Qingbo looked surprised: ¡°So, you must be very talented? I wonder what¡¯s the results of your written exam?¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback before saying: ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± Upon hearing this, Liu Qingbo became sure that Dong Zhi did not do well. He continue to chase after the victory and said: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. I heard that many people have taken the exam several times before passing. If it doesn¡¯t work out this time, you can always try again next year. It¡¯s a pity that the opportunity to be an apprentice under Boss Long is not available every year.¡± Dong Zhi smiled shyly. Long Shen suddenly said: ¡°What was your score?¡± He obviously was too busy to pay attention to the score announcement like He Yu. It doesn¡¯t matter, as someone would send him a transcript later anyways. Dong Zhi said modestly: ¡°This time I didn¡¯t do too good. I only got 157 points.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­ He scored 130 points on the exam. He originally thought that this score was good, and he wanted to ridicule Dong Zhi while squashing his opponents desire to become Long Shen¡¯s apprentice. Who knew that his opponent would drop a nuclear bomb in this very moment. Dong Zhi continue his humble act: ¡°But I think Shixiong Liu is right. There are many capable people in the outside word who are much better. There¡¯s no end to learning. Although my written test scores are acceptable, the interview still requires hard work.¡± Dong Zhi was incomparably sincere in his words and had a face that looked harmless to humans and animals, so no one would suspect that he was showing off. Liu Qingbo gritted his teeth with anger upon hearing those words. Long Shen was fond of this very much and when he heard Dong Zhi¡¯s words, he gave a nod of approval. Seeing Liu Qingbo¡¯s expression like he was eating flies, Dong Zhi felt extremely happy. The villain inside Liu Qingbo sneered: Dong Zhi you scheming bastard! Liu Qingbo asked: ¡°Boss Long, will you be an interviewer for the interview this year?¡± Dong Zhi pricked up his ears. Long Shen was noncommittal: ¡°Is this important?¡± Liu Qingbo smiled and said: ¡°Seeing you, no matter how nervous I am, I¡¯ll be able to calm down.¡± Dong Zhi: Kiss-ass! Long Shen: ¡°As long as you are well prepared, whoever is the interviewer is the same. Moreover, there will more than one interviewer.¡± Liu Qingbo nodded: ¡°You¡¯re right, but I heard that the interview elimination rate is quite high. No one was shortlisted last year. I wonder if it will be appropriately relaxed this year?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°The standards are always there. As long as you can pass the standards, you can be shortlisted, but even if you pass the interview, it¡¯s still too early to be happy. There¡¯s also the training exam later which also have a high elimination rate.¡± What Long Shen said was circumlocution as this was all information they knew, but Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t expect to ask anything from him. His goal was to become his apprentice. No matter how he acts now, the most important thing was to first build a good relationship with Long Shen and make him become aware of his existence. After their meal, Long Shen had business to attend to, so he took leave first, leaving behind Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo to stare at each other with smiling faces. Liu Qingbo was first to speak: ¡°Taoist friend, you¡¯re actually very good to score 157 points on the test. Most likely you¡¯re got first place for the written exam, right?¡± He was referred to as shidi in front of Long Shen but now he¡¯s become a Taoist friend instead. Dong Zhi smiled innocently: ¡°I just got a higher score in the written exam. For the interview, I¡¯m sure I won¡¯t do as well as Shixiong Liu.¡± Liu Qingbo was furious as he thought: ¡®This kid can sure pretend to be a big-tailed wolf* while acting all docile on the surface.¡¯ *(´óβ°ÍÀÇ) Used as a ridicule for people who¡¯s pretentious and likes to show off. ¡°It¡¯s okay. If we have time another day, we¡¯ll talk about it again and I¡¯ll ask you for advice.¡± Liu Qingbo still maintained a graceful look on his face as he stretched out his hand to pat Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulder, but Dong Zhi avoided it by getting up and grabbing the bill. ¡°Okay, Shixiong Liu. Don¡¯t forget that you still owe me dinner so invite me another day!¡± Dong Zhi said with a smile and left first after taking care of the tab. He wasn¡¯t interested in staying and pretending to say polite things to each other. Moreover, he remembered that his rival¡¯s mother was a descendant of the Hmong which specializes in poison. Liu Qingbo¡¯s conversation with Long Shen just now also proved this. He Yu had warned him that he could be poisoned unknowingly as there are secret channels of transmission, such as physical contact or through food so there must be some sort of medium. After Xu Wan¡¯s incident, Dong Zhi had wisen up and dare not be careless with strangers like Liu Qingbo, especially one who considered him a rival. Trying to avoid giving your opponent an opportunity would be the best scenario. If He Yu was here, he would say with great comfort that Little Dongdong was getting more cautious. Dong Zhi returned to the dorms and was about to open the door when he saw the door on the opposite side of his room open. Long Shen was standing there beckoning to him. ¡°You, come in.¡± Dong Zhi knew that Long Shen¡¯s room was opposite of He Yu¡¯s but given that he was always busy and even had a house in the city, he rarely ever returned to his dorm. But¡­? Dong Zhi felt confused and thought: ¡®Isn¡¯t this progressing too fast?! I haven¡¯t even confessed yet and he wants me to go into his room?!¡¯ He soon snapped out of his imagination and knew that he was thinking too much. Long Shen let him in and pointed to the yulu succulent that he had given him and asked: ¡°How do you take care of it?¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°You don¡¯t need to water it much. Avoid heat and too much moisture. Just place it where the sun can¡¯t reach it.¡± Succulents are very delicate. Ordinary people may not know how to take care of them. What¡¯s more, with Long Shen constant workload, he probably didn¡¯t have time to take care of it. If it were to die, wouldn¡¯t this gift be considered unlucky? Could it be the symbolization of the fate of his love? Death before it even had a chance to sprout? Pu, pu, pu. Children¡¯s words have no taboos*! *(ͯÑÔÎÞ¼É) Refers to children speak honestly even if they make bad remarks. It¡¯s also used to ridicule people who speaks naively or ridiculously. Dong Zhi set aside his messy thoughts and embarrassingly said: ¡°I didn¡¯t think much about it when I got it for you. I just thought that this yulu looked very beautiful, like a crystal, and perhaps you would feel better when you look at it while working¡­ If you can¡¯t take care of it, I¡¯ll get you something else. Anyways it¡¯s not expensive.¡± Long Shen smiled and said: ¡°No need. As long as you have the intention, that¡¯s enough. No need to give gifts.¡± Perhaps it was his smile that bewitched him causing him to go out of character as Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Boss Long, do you have any hobbies?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°No.¡± Keeping up his persistent effort Dong Zhi continued: ¡°Is there anything you like? Like collecting antique swords?¡± Long Shen raised an eyebrow: ¡°Why are you asking?¡± Dong Zhi was tongue-tied as he couldn¡¯t honestly answer. Long Shen patted him on the shoulder: ¡°Prepare for the interview and don¡¯t think about anything else.¡± He then dismissed Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi looked at Long Shen as he closed his door and wanted to step forward and slam open the door and shout: ¡°You misunderstood! I¡¯m not trying to bribe you! I¡¯m trying to fuck you!¡± ¡ª Between the written exam to the interview, there wasn¡¯t much time for the candidates to prepare. Once the results were announced, the interview would be set within a few days. The examination room was the same as the written exam except there was only 30 people who were shortlisted for the interview. The three rooms before were naturally reduced to one and the interviews were arranged in random order. When their number was called, they would enter the room while the others wait outside. When Dong Zhi got there, he was thrilled when he saw Ba Sang and Gu Meiren and went over to greet them. They were naturally happy to see him as well. Though they were competitors, they were more likely to become future colleagues. Even Gu Meiren¡¯s cold face showed a trace of joy. ¡°Hu Shuo hasn¡¯t come yet?¡± Seeing that he was missing, Dong Zhi naturally asked as he was also an acquaintance. Ba Sang said: ¡°He sent a message and said that he did not pass the written exam and could only come back next year.¡± Although it was expected, Dong Zhi still felt a bit regretful. He asked them for their contact information and added them to his friends list. The three had met by chance and didn¡¯t form much of a friendship, but they were able to pass through the first part of the exam and were among the 30 people that were currently here so there was some semblance of commodore which had close the distance between them. Dong Zhi also caught sight of Liu Qingbo, but he quickly looked away as he wasn¡¯t interested in greeting him. Ba Sang said: ¡°I heard that the interview questions over the years have been particularly tricky, and I¡¯m really afraid that I won¡¯t be able to answer them.¡± After getting acquainted with them, Gu Meiren would speak more: ¡°And everyone¡¯s questions seem to be different. The examiners ask questions randomly, unlike written exams, which can be reviewed in a targeted manner.¡± Hearing this, Dong Zhi felt ecstatic as he remembered the interesting interview questions that He Yu had told him about in previous years. Ba Sang was perplexed: ¡°What are you laughing at?¡± Dong Zhi recount to them the interesting stories: ¡°It seems that last year, a koi spirit had finally cultivated into a human and came to the exam and entered the interview session. An interviewer said that it was strange for spirits to transform to humans, and it wasn¡¯t something easy to do so he must¡¯ve accumulated a lot of merits through his cultivation. He then asked will he keep doing good deeds now that he was human? The koi spirit said yes, and he took out his phone and clicked on a social media app and searched for all the Weibo posts that had forwarded koi* saying that he was spreading luck, and this was his contribution to the world.¡± *Reminder: Koi is a symbol of wealth and luck, so it¡¯s used by bloggers as a gimmick to gain forwarding volume. Many netizens hope to get some of this good luck and it eventually became a modern internet superstition. Ba Sang burst out laughing, attracting attention from everyone. He quickly lowered his voice, shook his shoulders, and said: ¡°Then what?¡± Although Gu Meiren tried her best to hide her expression, she couldn¡¯t help smiling as well. Dong Zhi continued: ¡°He was scolded by the interviewer, but I heard that he performed well in other aspects, so he was admitted later.¡± Ba Sang scratched his head: ¡°I hope that when the time comes, they don¡¯t ask why I can communicate with eagles, because I really can¡¯t answer that.¡± As they talked, the people in front of them went in one by one. Dong Zhi secretly paid attention and found that everyone that entered was in there on average about 15 minutes. At this rate, it¡¯ll soon be their turn. When people went in, they either pretended to be calm or couldn¡¯t conceal their nervousness. When they exited, they all had different expressions. Some were relaxed, some were happy, and others were sad or crying. From a glance, you could tell how well they did during the interview. Liu Qingbo took about 20 minutes when he went in before he came out. He was the one who stayed the longest among the previous candidates so far. When he came out, he acted as if nothing has happened, but there was a small trace of a smile at the corner of his mouth, and he seemed relaxed and calm. Seeing this, Dong Zhi force himself to calm down. With the highest score for the written exam, he couldn¡¯t possibly perform too badly in the interview. ¡°No. 12, Dong Zhi!¡± When he heard his name called, Dong Zhi hurriedly got up and walked into the room. The ranking of the written test hasn¡¯t been announced yet, but it seems that some people were already aware that he was rank first as he gained a lot of attention when he got up to move. The moment he stepped inside the room, the movement from outside seemed to be isolated suddenly. Dong Zhi surmised it must be an enchantment, similar to the training room on the rooftop. The classroom was empty with the exception of six examiners sitting on one side. One of them had a childlike appearance but looked like a big boss. There was also a middle-aged lady, who had an elegant and noble demeanor. He couldn¡¯t tell how old she was, but she looked to be in her forties or fifties. Dong Zhi saw Long Shen as well as Wu Bingtian and another person that was next to him. Since both Deputy Directors were there, the other person must be Deputy Director Song Zhicun of group three, though he had never met Song Zhicun so he didn¡¯t know if his guess was correct. Long Shen raised his head and glanced at Dong Zhi showing no fluctuation in his expression, but for Dong Zhi, seeing the other made him completely relaxed. He bowed first and introduced himself as standard to most interviews: ¡°Hello examiners. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to interview me. My name is Dong Zhi and I am a named disciple of Fang Yang, the late elder of the Hezao Sect.¡± ¡°But I heard that it¡¯s only been more than two months since you joined the Hezao Sect. Actually, less than two months?¡± Wu Bingtian asked. Dong Zhi noticed that there were hints of pit in his words and he became more cautious: ¡°Yes. Although I have not practice in this world for long, my enthusiasm for the Special Administration Bureau is not inferior to any other candidates.¡± Long Shen¡¯s flashed a smile in his eyes hearing his answer. ¡°Well, let¡¯s talk about something else like the difference between a hundred-year-old zombie and a thousand-year-old zombie.¡± The other man said casually. Dong Zhi heard from Kan Chaosheng that among the three Deputy Directors, Song Zhicun was the most assuming and his voice was extremely rough. As soon as the person spoke, it most assuredly confirmed his identity. After hearing his question, Dong Zhi was overjoyed as he had studied over this before! The last time he came out of the written exam, he heard other candidates complaining about the difficulty of the test questions and mentioned something about a hundred-year-old zombies. After returning, he checked on the information but didn¡¯t expect that it would be coincidentally asked here. He spoke eloquently and said what he remembered and ended his sentence politely: ¡°This is what I have researched but since I have never seen them with my own eyes, it may not be accurate. Please correct me if I¡¯m wrong, examiners.¡± Song Zhicun nodded while not saying anything and looked at the others, indicating he had nothing more to ask. The middle-aged man that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t recognize asked: ¡°If a very cute child that you know is being held hostage by a demon, and his body is very likely to have been corrupted, what would you do?¡± Long Shen suddenly said: ¡°This is a consultant in the bureau, Taoist Master Li Rui.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°Hello, Taoist Master Li. I would try to save that child first!¡± Li Rui frowned slightly: ¡°You only have one chance so pay attention to my question. I said that he¡¯s likely to have been corrupted by demons.¡± His tendency was about to come out. Dong Zhi thought for a bit and replied: ¡°But he¡¯s also very likely to be safe and sound. I will weigh it based on the situation at the time. If I can rescue him, I¡¯ll try first. If it doesn¡¯t work, then I¡¯ll make the next move.¡± Li Rui said coldly: ¡°Those who practice cultivation must know how to judge the situation. Cut the grass to remove the roots* is not a last resort, but the best strategy. If you are too soft-hearted, you will only bring harm to yourself and others.¡± *(Õ¶²Ý³ý¸ù) Metaphor referring to remove the root of evil to avoid future problems. Dong Zhi tried his best to make his voice sound sincere: ¡°Taoist Master Li misunderstood. I didn¡¯t say that I can¡¯t get rid of the roots, but I want to save people before destroying the enemy. In my view, the Special Administration Bureau is more like a doctor and a policeman. Helping the poor, punishing evil, and promoting good is their duty. Isn¡¯t our original intention to join the Bureau is precisely to make this world more peaceful? If under the circumstances at that time, the child has been corrupted and is unable to return to heaven, in order to protect more innocent people from being implicated I would assuredly not hesitate.¡± Li Rui shook his head: ¡°The Special Administration Bureau is different from the police. Of course, the police have to do their best to protect hostages, but kidnappers can only harm the hostages at best, but demons can harm the world. How do you know that when you¡¯re sure that you need to use the next strategy, it would be too late by then? Could it be to satisfy your conscience alone, you¡¯re willing to put the lives of other people and creatures at risk?¡± Dong Zhi asked: ¡°What Taoist Master Li meant is even if there¡¯s a 90% chance that the hostage could be rescued, I should still act?¡± Li Rui: ¡°Even if there¡¯s a 99% possibility, you should do it! Compared to tens of millions, how can one human life be worth it?¡± Dong Zhi said again: ¡°What if the hostage is not a child, but a doctor who has saved countless people and may save more people in the future?¡± The others didn¡¯t expect that Dong Zhi, who looked harmless, would counter such a sharp argument with Li Rui. Long Shen wanted to cut the topic off but when he thought about it, he dispelled the idea. Li Rui¡¯s face was completely cold: ¡°I¡¯m the one interviewing you, not you me!¡± Dong Zhi sighed, bowed, and said respectfully: ¡°Taoist Master Li, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to make trouble for you. What is the importance of one life compared to a hundred? This in and of itself is a controversial topic through the ages. You were right to criticize me just now. I have just become a cultivator and I¡¯m indeed not very adapted to this identity so I¡¯m sorry I cannot answer your question accurately, because the truth of the mater is, when such an event arises, the situation will always be different. I can only say that this is what people of my generation should do. To be more compassionate as this is in line with what it means to call upon heavenly lightning.¡± The female examiner with the elegant demeanor clapped her hands and her applause rang loud and clear in the empty room. Clap, clap, clap! ¡°Your statement just now is very good and enough to become the motto of all of us here.¡± The lady smiled. With her words, Li Rui¡¯s expression remained bitter, but he no longer made anymore comments. Dong Zhi realized that this lady must be higher up than him. ¡°Thank you!¡± He breathed a sigh of relief, not knowing how to address her. Long Shen seemed to see his hesitation, and interjected: ¡°This is Elder Zong Ling, who¡¯s also a consultant in the Bureau.¡± To be called an Elder, the other party¡¯s age was not as young as she looks. After all, even Li Rui, who looked older than her, was not referred to as an elder when introduced. Dong Zhi quickly accepted her compliment: ¡°Thank you, Master Zong!¡± Zong Ling nodded to him with a smile. Long Shen said: ¡°Since you are from a traditional family, draw a talisman that you are best at.¡± There was ready-made yellow paper and prepared cinnabar next to him. Dong Zhi walked to the table, held his breath, and drew a Sunlight Talisman. He did not choose to draw the Five Thunder Talisman as it was more difficult and had a lower success rate. He had already argued with one examiner just now, so it was better to not take anymore risks. The runes he drew was done in one go and the results was pretty good. To consider it a success, it had to be done properly on the spot. From his opinion, Dong Zhi would give himself a score of 85. Of course, the requirements for the big wigs would be more stringent. The silver-haired, childlike old man spoke first: ¡°Barely passable.¡± Well, barely passable does mean passable. Dong Zhi looked at Long Shen who happened to cast his gaze at him. As their eyes met, Dong Zhi saw a slight smile on his face that was imperceptible. There were no traces on his face, but Dong Zhi knew he saw it. His originally uneasy feeling due to his debate just now was completely erased and his feeling of regret had disappeared without a trace. Dong Zhi felt that had he answered the question smoothly, he might not have been able to get this look from Long Shen and the praise from Elder Zong. Even if he didn¡¯t pass this time, as long as he could get that kind of reaction from the male god, he could die without regrets! Ahhhhhhhhh, he can¡¯t die yet. He hasn¡¯t had time to soak it all up yet, so he won¡¯t be able to die in peace! The author has something to say£º Still a long ways to go. Will there still be kisses and hugs? (¡«£þ¨Œ£þ)¡« Kinky Thoughts: Well, someone is certainly getting fucked but I¡¯m not sure Dong Zhi knows who that is just yet. CH 35 Dong Zhi left as the interview came to an end. As soon as soon as he stepped out of the room, all eyes fell on him. When he first entered the room, the attention brought to him was due to his written exam results was comparable to a 30-watt lightbulb. Now that he just stepped out, it was more like a 100-watt. He was puzzled thinking that it was impossible for others to know about his argument with Taoist Master Li. When he saw Ba Sang, the other party asked: ¡°Why did you stay for so long? What were you talking about?¡± Dong Zhi asked strangely: ¡°Was it a long time?¡± He was inside answering questions and was unaware of the passage of time. Ba Sang said: ¡°Of course. Usually, it¡¯s about 15 minutes for others but you¡¯ve been in there for almost 40 minutes. Are your written scores too high that the examiners took turn praising you one by one?¡± Dong Zhi smiled wryly: ¡°You give me too much credit. I was asked questions from each one of them and I argued with one of the examiners.¡± Ba Sang¡¯s mouth became an O-shape: ¡°You¡¯re quarrelling with examiners?!¡± Gu Meiren was also surprised. It was hard for her to imagine someone like Dong Zhi would compete with others. Dong Zhi shrugged: ¡°Anyways, my results may be uncertain this time. I¡¯m mentally prepared to take the exam again next year.¡± Ba Sang patted him on his arm but didn¡¯t know what to say. Dong Zhi comforted them in turn: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. The questions aren¡¯t difficult. Just answer them well.¡± When it was Ba Sang¡¯s turn to go in, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t leave. He waited for Gu Meiran and Ba Sang to finish their interviews before accompanying them to leave. Gu Meiran had relatives in Beijing, so she was living temporarily at a relative¡¯s house. In addition, she often goes to the university nearby to attend courses during her free time. She was actually a gentle and low-key girl that wouldn¡¯t really stand out as a practitioner if she didn¡¯t tell them. Ba Sang had a family issue sprung up so he planned to go back that day, intending to come back after receiving his training notice. Since it was fate that the three of them met and became like old friends, they all agreed to have a meal together then said their goodbyes as they parted ways. After sending Ba Sang and Gu Meiran off, Dong Zhi returned to the dorms. When he recalled the scene during his interview, he suddenly felt that he was a bit too green. He felt it was right to stick to his ideals but it also it depended on the occasion. Although he was applauded by an elder later, if he had just gone with the flow from the beginning and answer according to Li Rui¡¯s tendencies, it would most likely still produce a satisfactory and stable result. Wouldn¡¯t it have been better if he just stuck to the script and answered accordingly? Still there is no medicine for regret in this world. In fact, even knowing now what the best result could¡¯ve been, he would still do it exactly as he had if he were to do it again. Dong Zhi felt that he should start thinking about finding a home. He had a lot of savings so he wouldn¡¯t have to worry about food and housing for a while, but if he were to be eliminated from the interview, it¡¯ll be too awkward to stay in the dorms. Perhaps he can rent out a home in the capital and live in it. In his spare time, he would work part-time on drafts while reviewing in preparation for his comeback next year. Dong Zhi laid on the bed and thought about it. Although he had prepared for the worst, depression was still inevitable. Suddenly there was a knock on his door. He slowly opened it with a soft pillow in his arms, while thinking who it could possibly be as He Yu and Kan Chaosheng were still on their business trip. Could it be Zhong Yuyi? When the door opened, he was stunned by the unexpected visitor: ¡°Long- Boss Long?¡± Long Shen figure was standing at the door: ¡°What are you doing?¡± He was caught off guard from the abrupt visit of the male god that his mentality hadn¡¯t adjusted. Dong Zhi was slow to react and only after a while did he say: ¡°I just came back from a meal with Ba Sang and Gu Meiran. Haven you eaten yet?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t answer his question but instead pulled out a card and handed it to him: ¡°Take it. It¡¯s an access card to the training room. Go up and practice in the future. You don¡¯t need to find someone to accompany you any longer.¡± Dong Zhi took it and hesitated: ¡°But the interview¡­¡± Long Shen: ¡°Even if you can¡¯t pass the exam, you won¡¯t practice?¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t even hesitate to reply: ¡°Of course not!¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°The card is temporary, so just give it back to me if you fail the exam.¡± Dong Zhi thought how lucky he was. He felt with his high score on the written exam, combined with the experience he had from several missions with He Yu, perhaps Long Shen would open the backdoor for him. He couldn¡¯t help shed tearless tears when he heard the other party¡¯s intention. Still, having an access card is better than not having one, and other candidates may not necessarily get this kind of treatment. ¡°Thank you Boss Long. I will go up every day to practice. Would you like to come in?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°No, you can rest.¡± He turned around to leave. Dong Zhi gathered up the courage and asked: ¡°Boss Long, is the yulu still alive?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Still alive. Do you want to come and see it?¡± Dong Zhi was eager to follow. Even if all they do was small talk, it was still a step forward, but when he saw the faint tiredness in Long Shen¡¯s eyes, he changed his mind: ¡°No, you should rest first. Call me if you need me.¡± Long Shen nodded and went back to his room. He hasn¡¯t returned now for a while. The last time was three days ago. His bedroom was as deserted as ever but he didn¡¯t care. He was about to shower and rest when he passed by the living room and suddenly stopped as he turned the corner. The yulu was sitting on the table, wilting. It no longer had the delicate look when it was first given to him. The fat leaves had begun to turn yellow, and some had already fallen off, indicating that its life was nearing its end. Long Shen wanted to give it some water, but then remembered that Dong Zhi said the plant like dryness and couldn¡¯t help but frown. The omnipotent Deputy Director Long looked at the small potted plant in front of him as if it was an Archdemon that he had fallen into a stalemate with. After a while, he turned on his phone and typed in: [What should I do if my yulu plant is dying?]. Various answers popped up but the most reliable one was: [The root may have outgrown. Change it to a deeper pot and swap it to a dry soil again.] Though it¡¯s a plant, it was still a life. Long Shen who wanted to shower had to take the flowerpot and went out to a flower shop to find someone to rescue it. Before he left his room, he only had one thought in his mind: ¡®So troublesome. Don¡¯t accept gifts next time.¡¯ Of course, Dong Zhi was completely oblivious to this, unaware that the small gift he gave was so nerve-wracking to his male god. When he turned on his computer, he received a call from Gu Meiran. She had run into a candidate name Li Ying and wanted to invite everyone to have a meal together so they can get to know each other. After all, they were all busy preparing for the exam that many have not had the chance to make acquaintances. The other party only had Gu Meiran¡¯s contact information so he asked her to call Dong Zhi to invite him. Gu Meiran didn¡¯t really like this kind of social gathering much, but if Dong Zhi went, she at least would have an acquaintance there. Dong Zhi sensed some hesitation from her and agreed. It was normal for groups to have an individual to come forward and organize gatherings like this. After all, they were likely to become colleagues in the future. Even if some fail this time around, they may succeed next time around. Like mountains and rivers meet*, one more friend is another way forward. *(ɽˮÓÐÏà·ê) Refers to there are always opportunities to meet and deal with each other in life. To persuade people not to be too absolute, there must be room for them. The gathering was set for the evening, so Dong Zhi worked on his comic for a while. Seeing as the time was nearing, he prepared and went to the place where he agreed to meet with Gu Meiren. Gu Meiren had changed into a T-shirt and jeans, making her look more like a normal student. He saw a gathering of people in the distance and hurried over: ¡°Sorry I¡¯m late.¡± Gu Meiren smiled slightly: ¡°It¡¯s okay, I¡¯m here early.¡± The place they were gathering was at a restaurant nearby. The two crossed a commercial street and walked towards their destination. Dong Zhi joked: ¡°It¡¯s a pity that Ba Sang had already set off. Otherwise, he can still have another meal.¡± Gu Meiren said: ¡°I don¡¯t know them well too well, but I don¡¯t feel comfortable bringing up AA*.¡± *Refers to going dutch. In China, it¡¯s seen as being stingy or bad manners when you ask to split the bill. It¡¯s popular with the younger generation, especially those who are still students and not working. Dong Zhi thought for a while then said: ¡°The guy said he wanted to invite everyone to a meal, but AA may not work out. Let¡¯s just buy some snacks and give everyone a share.¡± Gu Meiran agreed: ¡°That¡¯s fine.¡± She refused to take advantage of others, nor did she want to pretend to be magnanimous. There¡¯s a difference between closeness and distance and it was comfortable to make friends like this. Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Is Li Ying a local? Besides us, who else is will be there?¡± Gu Meiran said uncertainly: ¡°His father¡¯s name is Li Rui, and he seems to be one of the examiners for our interview. Do you know each other?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ In fact, quite well. He had offended someone¡¯s father this morning and was now invited by said person¡¯s son in the evening. What kind of feeling is this? He suddenly had the urged to turn around and go back. Dong Zhi smiled bitterly: ¡°I do.¡± He explained the situation at the interview. Gu Meiren said in surprise: ¡°Then why don¡¯t we just bail?¡± She said ¡°we¡± instead of ¡°I¡± which made Dong Zhi a little moved: ¡°No. Now that the appointment¡¯s been set, it¡¯s not good to go back.¡± The two walked into the restaurant and told the host Li Ying¡¯s name. They were immediately led by the waiter to a reserved private room. There were already a group of men and women, around eight people, already there, including Liu Qingbo. Seeing them come in, a man smiled and said: ¡°You¡¯re the latest to come so your punishment is to drink.¡± After saying that, he got up and stretched out his hand towards Dong Zhi: ¡°My name is Li Ying. You¡¯re Dong Zhi. I¡¯ve heard so much about you, like how you¡¯re rank first on the written exam. Pleasure to meet you.¡± He behaved politely, as if he didn¡¯t know what had happened between Dong Zhi and his father. Dong Zhi shook his hand and smiled at him: ¡°It¡¯s nice to meet you. Let¡¯s not prattle about the written exam. I was just fortunate to memorize a few more books.¡± Li Ying chuckled: ¡°Well, not everyone could make it today. Some people couldn¡¯t come so it¡¯s just us, however, it was everyone¡¯s fate that we all took the exam together. Regardless of whether we can be colleagues in the future or not, we¡¯ll all stay in contact with each other. Thank you friends for giving me face today. Since it was my invitation, don¡¯t rush to pay the bill later! I can¡¯t beat you to it!¡± His words were humorous causing everyone to laugh and the atmosphere improved, becoming livelier. Though they were taking the exam together, they were still relatively unfamiliar with each other. After introducing one another, Dong Zhi was able to match their faces to their names. Since it was just after the exams, most of the topic revolved around it. Some discussed the written portion while others talked about the interviews, the more interesting subject. Everyone recounted their painful experience, especially when they were pitted. Some people were asked how they would respond if they were asked to participate in an international exchange in the future and they encountered practitioners who were unfriendly to their country. One person, who said he was a psychic, was asked to elaborate on the similarities and differences between the Southeast Asia witchcraft1 technique and the Miaojiang Poison2 technique, was left completely dumbfounded and wanted to die. 1Head Taming/Descending (Technique) (½µÍ·) Witchcraft that¡¯s popular in Southeast Asia. It¡¯s split into two types, black magic and white magic. Black magic focuses on destruction of the target while white magic is used for repair and blessings on the target. || Note: I will be referring to this as witchcraft. 2(Ãç½®¹Æ) Witchcraft that has its roots in Taoism and specializes in poison/gu used by the people of Miaojiang. It¡¯s use by women to ensure the loyal love of their men who would go away. If they return and was faithful, an antidote would be given. Refer to the lore glossary if you want to learn more about poison/gu. Hearing everyone¡¯s complaints, Dong Zhi felt great comfort for his injured heart. Sure enough, his single tragedy was not as bad as the others. There were others who fell more miserably than he did. After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere lightened up. Even Gu Meiran was not as quiet as she was in the beginning. She was chatting with a sweet-looking girl next to her while Dong Zhi chatted with the young man who claimed that he was psychic. His name was Cheng Yuan. Dong Zhi guessed that due to professional reasons, his temperament was a bit gloomy, but he becomes quite talkative once he gets familiar with someone. According to him, Dong Zhi learned that ¡°psychic¡± was just an elegant title. They are generally referred to as sorcerers or sorceress*, which is ¡°heretical¡± in the eyes of many famous sects. Although Li Ying and Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t show any discrimination towards him, Cheng Yuan still felt uncomfortable around them and instead chatted exclusively with Dong Zhi. *The term is [shenpo] (ÉñÆÅ) for female and [shenhan] (Éñºº) for males. Their position is more like a wizard/warlock/sorcerer who performs exorcism but has other occupations as well. They also have the abilities to invite gods and goddesses for their blessings. || With the rise of systematic religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, ect. their technique of ¡°witchcraft/black magic¡± that promotes superstition as a way for exorcism runs counterintuitive to such religions, thus they are labeled heretical which is most likely why Cheng Yuan refers to himself as a psychic. While they were chatting, Dong Zhi heard Li Ying voice ringing out: ¡°With so many people present, you should speak up and let everyone help come up with ideas.¡± Everyone stopped talking and followed the direction of his voice as they saw Li Ying talked to the sweet-looking girl. Her name was unique, Chi Banxia*. Pinellia is the name of the traditional Chinese medicine so people would remember it at once. *(³Ù°ëÏÄ) [Banxia] (°ëÏÄ) refers to the pinellia [Banxia] (°ëÏÄ) plant that is used in Chinese medicine supposedly to help relieve nausea among of other illnesses. Chi Banxia combine translates to late midsummer, which is the time to harvest pinellia. Gu Meiren who was sitting next to her said: ¡°Yes. There¡¯s so many great people here, perhaps they can help.¡± Chi Banxia was shy, but she spoke confidently to everyone: ¡°A friend of mine who works in the showbiz industry recently encountered some strange things that made her uneasy where she couldn¡¯t sleep or eat. She invited a lot of high-level people, but it didn¡¯t work. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on so I want to ask everyone¡¯s opinion.¡± Liu Qingbo asked: ¡°What is the strange thing?¡± Chi Banxia said: ¡°She keeps having nightmares and can¡¯t sleep well. Even in broad daylight, when she¡¯s alone, she always feels as if someone is following her. Also, her assistants keeps encountering accidents recently. One had fallen down the stairs, and another was almost hit by a car while crossing the road. In just one month, she had to change assistants twice.¡± Liu Qingbo pondered: ¡°It sounds like she¡¯s entangled in something evil? Have she tried an exorcism?¡± Chi Banxia said: ¡°She tried it all. She also set up a separate room in her home to make a Buddhist shrine and invited a Bodhisattva* but as long as she leaves the shrine, she will feel uncomfortable. It¡¯s also no use wearing charms and such on her body either.¡± *Person who is the path towards Buddhahood. After listening to her story, everyone looked at each other. If what she said is true, then her friend was entangled with something too evil! Chi Banxia said: ¡°I¡¯m not good at exorcising evil spirits, but I am sure that she does not have a curse cast upon her, and her sanity is normal.¡± When she first introduced herself, she mentioned that her family was from Hainan. Dong Zhi was a bit confused by it but now he realized that she must know some witchcraft. Witchcraft is popular in Southeast Asia and is said to be within the same vein as the Miaojiang Poison technique, but its origin was no longer known. According to folklore, it was around the Tang Dynasty that Master Xuanzang1 was returning from Tianzhu when he passed by the Tongtian River and accidently dropped some of his scriptures into it. Fortunately, he picked up most of them, but the missing part is the ¡°prophecy¡± in Mahayana2 Buddhism. Supposedly, this is a curse that¡¯s the source of witchcraft. 1Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator. He is known for the epoch-making contributions to Chinese Buddhism, the travelogue of his journey to India in 629¨C645 CE, his efforts to bring over 657 Indian texts to China, and his translations of some of these texts. 2Term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mah¨¡y¨¡na Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the two main existing branches of Buddhism. There¡¯s also a legend that witchcraft comes of the Maoshan Taoism. Overall, it¡¯s a technique that¡¯s very popular in Southeast Asia and many people respect their practitioners, lest they offend them and could meet a terrible end. Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, many people from Fujan, Guangdon, Hainan, and other places traveled to Nanyang to do business. Along the way, there are those who dealt with mysterious and exotic magical techniques. Many of them had learned witchcraft from masters in foreign regions and later returned to China to start their own sect. The most famous of them is the Chi family in Hainan. It¡¯s said that some businessman had offended their opponents when they were doing business in Southeast Asia and were asked by them to lower their heads, so they sought out the Chi family for help. Over time, the family became famous. However, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know these things until Gu Meiren had told him later on. In this moment, when Chi Banxia stopped speaking, everyone was eager to solve her problem. Bluntly put, they were all young people who were either fledglings or had trained since they were young. When encountering this kind of thing, they naturally wanted to solve the problem while showing off their skills. Upon seeing this, Chi Banxia said: ¡°My friend is offering a hefty reward and looking for experts everywhere. If you¡¯re free, why don¡¯t you come with me to take a look?¡± Li Ying nodded: ¡°Let me go and have a look with you.¡± He looked around at everyone and smiled again: ¡°Even if we pass the interview, there¡¯s still the training exam. I heard that it is quite difficult so now that we have such a rare opportunity, we should put into practice what we have learn.¡± Those who were still on the fence before, after hearing his words, decided to go together. Chi Banxia smiled and said: ¡°Then I¡¯ll thank you all on behalf of my friend first. Don¡¯t worry, she won¡¯t let you come for nothing.¡± With such sights in their eyes, instead of sitting around and chatting, it was better to act now. Everyone either took a taxi or drove themselves to the place Chi Banxia mentioned and soon they gathered at a five-star hotel. Chi Banxia explained: ¡°My friend doesn¡¯t dare go home recently so she¡¯s staying at a hotel. It¡¯s more convenient to meet here. I¡¯ll call her first and ask her to come down to pick us up.¡± Shortly after she called, a young woman came down in a hurry, but she didn¡¯t look like a person that was particularly in distress. When she spoke, everyone realized that she was the assistant to Chi Banxia¡¯s friend. Some of the people there were unhappy that the person who needed help didn¡¯t even bother to show up herself to greet them. When they arrived at the presidential suite on the top floor and the other party came to open the door, everyone realized why the person was so mysterious. Because Chi Banxia¡¯s friend turned out to be Hui Yiguang. In the past few years since her debut, Hui Yiguang had participated in a variety of TV series where she stared as the female lead. Her popularity has risen extremely rapidly that she had countless of fans. Similarly, with this kind of stardom comes countless paparazzi as well that follows her every move. If they were to know that she was being a haunted by an unknown evil being, the gossip would be overwhelming and could greatly damage her career aspects. Hui Yiguang, while not on camera, still looked beautiful and moving but her eyes lids looked a bit baggy, showing obvious signs that she¡¯s been lacking sleep and was in distress. She hadn¡¯t expected Chi Banxia to bring over so many people, so she showed a surprise expression when she opened the door. Chi Banxia said: ¡°Yiguang, they are all my friends. Each have their own strengths. Since I can¡¯t solve your problem, I have asked them to come to brainstorm together and maybe they can find the answer.¡± Hui Yiguang knew about Chi Banxia background, so she naturally understood what she was referring to. When she heard this, she smiled softly and let out a grateful expression: ¡°Thank you, Banxia. Thank you all. Please come in and sit down wherever you like.¡± The living room of the presidential suite was extremely spacious. Everyone took their seats separately as Hui Yiguang asked her assistant to bring drinks and snacks. Hui Yiguang said: ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. I didn¡¯t mean to be rude and not pick you up in person. It¡¯s just my life is exposed to the lens every minute. If I were to appear downstairs, there would be papers about me all over tomorrow.¡± Chi Banxia introduced: ¡°Yiguang is my cousin¡¯s classmate and also my friend. We both grew up in the same city. I have trouble you all at this time.¡± Li Ying said to Hui Yiguang: ¡°Let¡¯s talk about your troubles first.¡± When it came to this matter, Hui Yiguang¡¯s face turned blue again. Her description was much the same as Chi Banxia¡¯s recount, except that it was more detailed. According to Hui Yiguang¡¯s recollection, the strange incident happened a month ago. During the day, she would often hear someone whispering into her ears, but if she tried to listen carefully, she couldn¡¯t hear what they were saying. At first, she thought she was too tired from filming and had hallucinations but after a few days of rest and going to the hospital for an examination, she didn¡¯t get better. Gradually when she went to bed, she often didn¡¯t sleep well and always felt as if someone was watching her by her bedside. She often wakes up in the middle of the night in fright. Due to lack of sleep, she didn¡¯t have the energy to work and once almost fell down the stairs during filming on set. Hui Yiguang rolled up her sleeves, and everyone saw a bruise in the shape of five fingers on her white and tender arm, which were extremely conspicuous: ¡°This happened two days ago at the hotel I was staying next to the studio. At that time, I asked my assistant to sleep in the same room with me, but she said she didn¡¯t feel anything.¡± Hui Yiguang¡¯s face showed fear. Despite so many people present, she couldn¡¯t control her body from slightly trembling. ¡°The most bizarre thing is that my previous two assistants were always injured inexplicably during this month. One was almost hit by a car. My current assistant, Little Han, was sent as the replacement for the company when I started filming a new drama last week.¡± Hearing this, Li Ying looked at the new assistant: ¡°After you arrived at Miss Hui¡¯s side, did you encounter anything strange?¡± Little Han shook her head. Li Ying asked Hui Yiguang again: ¡°Then have you encountered anything strange in this hotel now?¡± Hui Yiguang: ¡°I haven¡¯t finished filming my scenes yet, but I can¡¯t take it anymore. I¡¯ve asked the director for two days off to rest and I came here yesterday. So far, it¡¯s been calm but I don¡¯t know if things will act up again tonight. I¡¯m really scared. Can you help me?¡± Tears filled her eyes as everyone couldn¡¯t bear looking at her pitiful state. Li Ying comforted: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, let¡¯s take a look first.¡± Chi Banxia also said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my friends are very capable.¡± Hui Yiguang nodded gratefully again and again: ¡°I hope it¡¯s not too much trouble. Please feel free to tell me if you need anything.¡± Everyone acted quickly. Some took out compasses while others looked around the suite. Since Dong Zhi didn¡¯t develop the habit of carrying a compass, he just followed the others to watch the excitement. After listening to Hui Yiguang¡¯s words just now, he felt that the chances of her being entangled by a ghost or a demonic being was close to 9 out of 10. It stood to reason that the one who¡¯s best at this method should be the psychic, Cheng Yuan, but he wandered around and shook his head, indicating that the suite was clear, and he didn¡¯t find signs of anything. At his request, Hui Yiguang allowed him to opened her luggage to check but in the end nothing abnormal was found. Chi Banxia said: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that there is also a problem with your house? Can we go to your house and have a look?¡± When she mentioned it, Hui Yiguang couldn¡¯t hold back her expression of fear: ¡°Of course. Let my assistant take you there. I have also encountered strange things at the hotel by the studio but now that I¡¯ve checked out, it would be inconvenient to go there again.¡± Li Ying nodded: ¡°We don¡¯t need to go to the other hotel. Just your home is fine.¡± The assistant took them downstairs. Including Chi Banxia, there was a total of ten people that were divided up into three cars. Dong Zhi, Cheng Yuan, and Gu Meiren got in the same car. Cheng Yuan said as they drove to Hui Yinguang¡¯s home: ¡°I can¡¯t see any signs attached to her body.¡± He was vague in his words as to avoid panicking the driver. Gu Meiren said: ¡°I didn¡¯t find anything either.¡± Dong Zhi said with regret: ¡°If you haven¡¯t noticed it, then I definitely didn¡¯t, though I do think it¡¯s a bit strange.¡± Both of them looked at him. Dong Zhi glanced at the driver and said: ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it when we get out of the car.¡± The car eventually arrived at their destination, a high-end residential area that had a beautiful surrounding. Such a home in the capital was naturally expensive, but considering Hui Yiguang¡¯s status, it was something she could easily afford. Though the assistant had the key card, since she wasn¡¯t the owner of the house, she was still required to register her identity before she was allowed inside. Relatively speaking, it was difficult to imagine there would be anyone trying to fish in troubled waters*, but there are many things in this world that often couldn¡¯t be explained by common sense. *(»ëË®ÃþÓã) Idiom referring to creating chaos for the enemy/opponent and then taking advantage of the confusion to obtain benefits. || In this context it¡¯s saying it doesn¡¯t make sense for them to cause trouble as they¡¯re with Hui Yiguang¡¯s assistant but then again people sometimes act outside of common sense. The place hadn¡¯t been cleaned for a week so as soon as the door was opened, the smell of dust permeated. The assistant turned on the lights and let everyone in. The house was quite large and beautifully decorated. It had a Mediterranean style but from Dong Zhi¡¯s perspective, he felt this house was too big to live in. He once chatted with Kan Chaosheng and heard him say that many people in modern times think that the bigger the house was, the better, but if the house was too big and few people to occupy it, it would seemingly appear empty. This lack of vitality indicates a lack of yang that could easily attract trouble. At that time, he thought this sentiment was quite strange. He rebutted saying that in ancient times, didn¡¯t large families all live in a large house? Kan Chaosheng curled his lips and said he himself had refer to a large family. Such families would be wealthy if they afford to live in a large place and thus there would be servants, so how could it be considered a lack of vitality. Now that he was in Hui Yiguang¡¯s home, Dong Zhi was reminded of Kan Chaosheng¡¯s words. The master bedroom was huge. It faces west to east and had large floor-to-ceiling windows, making it the favored room to bask in the sun rays at dawn. Furnishing were all items related to a woman. The table was full of cosmetics and there were dresses on the bed that haven¡¯t been put away. Several cabinets in the dressing room all held various clothing showing that Hui Yigaung¡¯s standard of living was quite high. All the clothes were the current in season looks. Due to his previous occupation, Dong Zhi would often pay attention to news of fashion week yearly. His sharp eye was able to pick up several luxury high-end custom outfits from big named brands. He took out his phone and search for Hui Yiguang¡¯s profile online as Cheng Yuan and Gu Meiren walked over. ¡°How¡¯s it going?¡± Dong Zhi asked them. Cheng Yuan shook his head: ¡°I didn¡¯t find anything.¡± Gu Meiren also said: ¡°Same.¡± Since both Gu Meiren and Cheng Yuan couldn¡¯t find any clues, it meant that the house was clean as well. If this was the case, how was it possible for Hui Yiguang to have incidents in this house? Gu Mei guessed: ¡°Could it be related to her. After all, incidents keep happening around her.¡± Cheng Yuan shook his head: ¡°I didn¡¯t find anything abnormal attached to her.¡± He looked at the Dong Zhi: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say there was something strange in the car?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°She said that she had changed multiple assistants within the past month because the first two were injured in accidents, but after she switched the third, its been over a week and she still encountered strange things but the third assistant is still safe. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s odd?¡± Gu Meiren and Cheng Yuan looked at each other, obviously they hadn¡¯t noticed this detail before. Cheng Yuan pondered: ¡°You mean this matter is related to her previous two assistants?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Perhaps there¡¯s something the first two assistant have done that the third hasn¡¯t done yet. We have to ask Hui Yiguang herself.¡± Everyone explored the home and even went to the Buddha Shrine but in the end came up empty handed. Dong Zhi told the others the doubts he had discovered. ¡°I think Miss Hui may be hiding something from us, or she thought it would be inconvenient for us to know, but if she doesn¡¯t make it clear, we won¡¯t find a clue.¡± When everyone heard this, their expressions became unhappy. The assistant hurriedly said: ¡°Sister Hui is not such a person and she sincerely invited everyone to help!¡± Li Ying ignored her and said to Chi Banxia: ¡°Little Chi, you also know who we are. Although we¡¯re not elites of the industry, we are still capable. If we can¡¯t find a problem, those fortune-tellers and feng shui masters won¡¯t find it either.¡± Chi Banxia said embarrassingly: ¡°I¡¯m very sorry but I only know as much as you do. I have nothing to hide!¡± Since the matter had suddenly develop in this direction, everyone suspected that Hui Yiguang problem was due too hallucinations caused by too much stress from work. They started to doubt her initial story and felt unhappy that she was concealing things from them, so they were about to abandon their work. Suddenly, at this very moment, the assistant received a call from Hui Yiguang. Her screams penetrated the speakers and was so loud even Dong Zhi, who was far away, could hear. ¡°It¡¯s here again! It¡¯s here again! Help! Come back and save me!¡± Kinky Thoughts: The author does do her research as her explanation is in line with the (limited) research I¡¯ve done. ¡ª Head Taming/Descending Technique (½µÍ·) Witchcraft that is popular in Southeast Asia. It¡¯s divided into two types according to the casting medium, the function of the spell, the chants of the spell ect. Black technique (black magic) refers to techniques use to destroy the ¡°magnetic field¡± (mind) of the target. White technique refers to techniques that repair or bless the target. This is comparable to that of witchcraft or voodoo. ¡ª Miaojiang Poison/Gu (Ãç½®¹Æ) Witchcraft that has its roots in Taoism and specializes in poison/gu used by the people of Miaojiang. It¡¯s use by women to ensure the loyal love of their men who would go away. If they return and was faithful, an antidote would be given. Refer to the lore glossary if you want to learn more about poison/gu. ¡ª Shenpo (ÉñÆÅ) / Shenhan (Éñºº) The term is [shenpo] (ÉñÆÅ) for female and [shenhan] (Éñºº) for males. Their position is like a wizard/warlock/sorcerer who performs exorcism but has other occupations as well. They also have the abilities to invite gods and goddesses for their blessings and do divinations. They are known practitioner of witchcraft. It is quite common in Chinese communities in Taiwan and Southeast Asia , but in the People¡¯s Republic of China, due to the atheist stance of the Chinese Communist Party, it is often degraded and suppressed and dismissed as superstition. Along with the rise of systematic religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, ect. their technique of ¡°witchcraft/black magic¡± that promotes superstition as a way for exorcism runs counterintuitive to such religions, thus they are labeled heretical by those communities. CH 36 Little Han turned pale with fright, and said to everyone: ¡°Can I trouble everyone to go back with me to have a look?¡± Chi Banxia also made the request as well. While Li Ying could ignore Little Han, he needed to give Chi Banxia some face, so everyone headed back to the hotel. When Little Han knocked on the door, it took a while before Hui Yinguang opened it with trepidation. Her face was even more terrifying than before. She looked frightened beyond her wits. When she saw Chi Banxia, she rushed over and hugged her crying. ¡°Sister Hui, are you okay?!¡± Little Han asked anxiously. Hui Yiguang sobbed: ¡°After you left, I was too sleepy, so I laid on the bed and closed my eyes for a while. Who knew that as soon as I fell asleep, I dreamed of being choked by someone. When I woke up, I saw the curtains were not drawn so I got up and walked towards the window. When I was about to close it it¡­¡± She pointed in the direction of the master bedroom: ¡°I saw the roof of the high-rise building opposite of me someone standing there facing me as if he had been looking at me!¡± Everyone ran into the bedroom to take a look. The curtains were indeed not drawn and the light from outside leaked in. The presidential suite was located on the top floor of the hotel, overlooking the night view of the bustling city. Below the lights were bright and you could see the top floors of several nearby buildings, but there was no figure that Hui Yiguang spoke of. For fear that the others would not believe her, she pulled off the silk scarf she¡¯s been wearing and showed her neck to them: ¡°This is the place that I was choked in my dreams. Look!¡± On her fair neck was a shocking mark of five fingerprints that were red and purple. This was something that couldn¡¯t be done by yourself. Liu Qingbo asked: ¡°The person you saw, was it a man or woman?¡± Hui Yiguang said uncertainly: ¡°It seems to be a woman. I can only see her wearing white clothes.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly said: ¡°Miss Hui, can you tell me about your first two assistants and what you had them do. After you switch to the third assistant, she has been fine all this time yet your first two encountered accidents. Do you know why? Have you offended anyone?¡± Hui Yiguang frowned slightly. Despite her look, she was still amazingly beautiful, a testament to why she became so popular. But then again, her appearance is stunning compared to the average person, but wasn¡¯t an uncommon sight in the entertainment industry. To stand out, in addition to strength, she also must have extraordinary luck. ¡°I really don¡¯t know.¡± Hui Yiguang smiled bitterly: ¡°To be honest, my family¡¯s background is ordinary. Since I made my debut, I know that I had to rely on myself and be kind to others. How would I dare offend anyone? If I have to recount who felt bitter towards me, there were two previous managers who wanted me to do unspoken rules, but I politely rejected them. There are good people in the circle who are pure, so they won¡¯t hate me for this, right? Later, after I became popular, I got along well with everyone and didn¡¯t step on any toes.¡± She breathed a sigh of relief and said: ¡°I know you may think I¡¯m hallucinating, but I told you before that I have been check and everything is normal. There are no problems with me.¡± There are those who born with kindness and blessed with popularity, and Hui Yiguang is undoubtedly one of the best. Everyone¡¯s original doubts and unhappiness had been almost erased under her sincere explanation. However, Dong Zhi remained unconvinced and continued questioning: ¡°Miss Hui, I found seasonal high-end clothing from two luxury brand, L&P and Cheryl, in the closet of your room. As far as I know, these are very expensive, and its not something you can just get by having money. You don¡¯t seem to sponsor these brands so can you tell us the reason why you have them?¡± Hui Yiguang said in an unhappy tone: ¡°Are you investigating me?¡± Cheng Yuan¡¯s tone was even more displeased as he rushed in front of Dong Zhi and said coldly: ¡°You¡¯d better figure it out. You¡¯re asking us for help but you hide details from us, so we don¡¯t know the specifics of your situation. Next time something happens, no one can save you!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°This information is not a secret and can be found on the Internet.¡± Hui Yiguang¡¯s face turned pale, and she softened her tone: ¡°You misunderstood because I thought this matter had nothing to do with what¡¯s going on with me, so I didn¡¯t say¡­ My boyfriend bought those clothes for me, but he¡¯s an outsider who runs his family¡¯s business and has nothing to do with the entertainment world, so I didn¡¯t tell him about what¡¯s going on.¡± This whole time Hui Yiguang had maintained a glamourous image in front of her boyfriend and never allowed any sloppiness to show. Her boyfriend regards her as a goddess because of her acting and he treasures her like a pearl in the palm of his hand. Lately, he chalked up her strange behavior as her being in a bad mood and naturally Hui Yiguang didn¡¯t want her boyfriend to know the real reason. Dong Zhi said: ¡°Then does your boyfriend have any enemies?¡± Hui Yiguang hesitated: ¡°¡­I don¡¯t think so. Even if there is one, he and I are not married, so why would they retaliate against me?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I mean, does your boyfriend have an ex-girlfriend or something?¡± Hui Yiguang¡¯s face changed slightly, but she concealed it so well that even Dong Zhi, who had been staring at her, thought he was seeing things. Li Ying said: ¡°Yes, there must be a motivation for everything. Your house is not haunted, and your surroundings are clean. Only accidents have been related to you and the people around you. I can¡¯t really think of any other situation except for someone who¡¯s thousands of miles away.¡± Chi Banxia said: ¡°I¡¯ve heard that the Miaojiang has a kind of poison technique, similar to the witchcraft that attaches spirits to you. It also uses a mental control that makes it difficult for a person to sleep and eat. Do you think this is it?¡± Liu Qingbo shook his head: ¡°I am also slightly knowledgeable in poison, but it doesn¡¯t look like it.¡± Everyone began talking but they couldn¡¯t come up with any results. Hui Yiguang implored softly: ¡°I know that everyone has real abilities. The two masters I hired before not only said that I was haunted by the ghosts, but also said that they helped me exorcise them, but it didn¡¯t get better after that. Can you help me solve this problem completely? I will treat you as if you were recruited and pay handsomely. How about two million?¡± With a total of ten of them, they¡¯ll each get 200,000. The big star was quite generous. Li Ying felt that this wasn¡¯t getting anywhere so he said: ¡°Why don¡¯t we divide into several groups, each with two people. They will spend two days with Miss Hui and assess the situation. If anything happens, I will contact everyone else to come help immediately. What do you think?¡± Wealth certainly does move people¡¯s hearts. You can make 200,000 yuan simply by solving a difficult problem. This was highly cost-effective. It¡¯s no wonder those feng shui masters now have countless properties at every turn. While the money was easy to make, for Li Ying and the others, there was a more important reason. They could treat this as a real-life mission and gain valuable experience. This was simply killing two birds with one stone. Everyone was motivated and nodded in agreement. Hui Yiguang was overjoyed when she saw this and thanked them profusely. The money means little to her but if these strange things keep happening, it¡¯ll be the death of her. Li Ying said: ¡°Miss Hui is a celebrity. With two people around her appearing out of thin air, it will attract attention. The outside world will speculate and gossip. In this regard, you need to solve this problem yourself, Miss Hui.¡± Hui Yiguang thought for a while and said: ¡°This is easy accomplish. I¡¯ll just say that you¡¯re the bodyguards sent by the company. Others generally only pay attention to my assistants and agents and won¡¯t pay any heed to you.¡± With the matter settled, Li Ying and Chi Banxia were the first group for the first round of the two days. For the rest of the lottery, Dong Zhi and Cheng Yuan were in group two that will handle the second round. Gu Meiren and Liu Qingbo would be the third round, and so on for the rest. Hui Yiguang felt refresh that she asked for everyone¡¯s bank account number on the spot. On the way back, each of them had received a transfer of 300,00 yuan, which was much more than the total original negotiated price. Not mentioning Cheng Yuan or Gu Meiren, but even those who don¡¯t usually lack money like Dong Zhi felt Hui Yiguang was very a generous person. She had shown her sincerity first. Despite their lack of experience, she had entrusted them so they could not easily turn her down and would naturally try their best to help her. Gu Meiren felt uneasy: ¡°I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t help her solve her problem, so I don¡¯t feel right about keeping the money.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°If you refuse to accept it, she¡¯ll be afraid you won¡¯t do your best. Take it for now and return it when you really can¡¯t solve the problem.¡± Cheng Yuan also agreed: ¡°Yes, I heard that there¡¯s lots of money to be made in Taoism nowadays. If you look at all those feng shui masters, they charge millions for a single trip. Compared to that, we are already considered good quality and comes cheap.¡± After being persuaded by them, Gu Meiren nodded, and stopped mentioning the money. Switching topics, she asked: ¡°According to you, what do you think her problem is?¡± Cheng Yuan said: ¡°The house and her whole body are indeed clean, but there is one thing that is very strange. The choke marks on her arms and neck are not fake.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart stirred, and he suddenly said: ¡°Could it be a demon, or perhaps a devil?¡± Cheng Yuan frowned and said: ¡°I won¡¯t rule out this possibility, but I¡¯m more inclined to believe that she¡¯s been cursed by witchcraft. This pathway is not observed by gods and ghosts and can easily be done but can go unnoticed by the affected party.¡± Gu Meiren said: ¡°I think that her symptoms may be entangled in nightmares. It is said that ghosts can also turn dreams into nightmares.¡± The two of them have different opinions and neither could convince the other. They all wanted to get recognition from Dong Zhi who simply gave them a wry smile: ¡°In fact, I have a bit different thought from you guys, because I have dealt with demons before, which is why I suspect that this time, demons are at fault.¡± Cheng Yuan said: ¡°Then let¡¯s see if we can find clues in the next few days. If its according to what I said, and she¡¯s really been cursed, then even if someone follows, she will still encounter an attack. As for the accidents of her two previous assistants, it may be just a coincidence.¡± While talking, Gu Meiren had arrived at her place. Dong Zhi and Cheng Yuan sent her back and after chatting for a while they made an appointment to meet Hui Yiguang tomorrow before parting ways. Back at the Special Administration Bureau, the old man that was the security guard at the back door had already become acquainted with Dong Zhi. He had eaten beef jerky that Dong Zhi brought for him several time. As he sat there napping with his arms folded, he gave Dong Zhi a glance and nodded slightly to greet him. Dong Zhi found it curious that this uncle seems to be there 24/7. No matter what time of day or night, he would always see him whenever he goes in and out. When climbed up the stairs to the floor where his dorm was, he saw Long Shen standing in the corridor, opening the door to his room. ¡°Boss Long?¡± Long Shen turned to look at him, also a little surprised: ¡°You haven¡¯t slept yet?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I just came back from the outside and encountered something. Are you planning to rest?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Not yet.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I happen to have something I want to ask you. Is now convenient?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Come in.¡± Accomplishing the achievement of entering the male god¡¯s room for a second time, Dong Zhi was ecstatic. He saw the yulu placed on the cabinet by the entrance at first glance when he entered. The plant was still there and hasn¡¯t been thrown away and it looked to be well raised. His mood entered into a state of bliss. He could never raise succulents. It didn¡¯t take long after he bought them that they would they wilt. He didn¡¯t know what he was thinking when he gave Long Shen the succulent. He thought it was a mistake and he should have bought something that would be able to store and keep for a longer time period. He walked over to examine the plant as he hadn¡¯t seen it for a few days. The yulu had become more energetic, looking crystal clear, as if it was glowing green under the light. It was more vibrant than when he first bought it. ¡°This flowerpot seems to be different from the original?¡± He chuckled. Long Shen said: ¡°I took it to a flower shop and asked them to change the pots.¡± Truthfully, changing the pots would not have save the original yulu. The store said the roots were rotted and it couldn¡¯t be saved so they suggested he buy another plant. Long Shen refused and insisted that they change pots and when he came back, he used a small technique to revive the plant. Dong Zhi, unaware of this, praised him: ¡°You¡¯re much better at raising plants than I am! I can¡¯t raise succulents at all. The best I can do is aloe vera or cactuses.¡± Long Shen frowned deeply: ¡°Don¡¯t gift me stuff like this next time.¡± Dong Zhi responded coolly: ¡°Then should I gift something else?¡± Long Shen: ¡°¡­Don¡¯t give anything.¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°Alright.¡± Long Shen paused for a moment, thinking that he should still make things clear, lest Dong Zhi thinks he was just saying it to be humble: ¡°I don¡¯t know how to raise plants. I just used a technique and lent it some vitality.¡± Dong Zhi was surprised: ¡°How?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I took some vitality from a towering tree with deep foundation and vigorous vitality.¡± Dong Zhi thought for a while: ¡°So, in this sense, can you also lend someone life force?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°Theoretically, yes, but it goes against the virtue of nature.¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help worry: ¡°Won¡¯t this affect the plant then?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°It doesn¡¯t apply to plants.¡± He didn¡¯t know what to say. Dong Zhi felt apologetic: ¡°I really didn¡¯t expect this small gift to bother you so much. You¡¯re very busy and you had to spend what little free time you had on trivial things like this.¡± Long Shen shook his head, thought for a while, and then said: ¡°Every life is precious and cannot be easily given up.¡± The male god¡¯s heart turns out to be warm. The more he learns about him, the more Dong Zhi felt he wasn¡¯t wrong to like such a person. Long Shen led him to the living room and went to pour two glasses of water. Dong Zhi organized his thoughts and recount Hui Yiguang¡¯s affairs to him. ¡°What do you think?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I haven¡¯t seen her so I can¡¯t make an accurate judgment. There are many of you so it¡¯s okay to take this for experience. The training exam will be more difficult than this.¡± Dong Zhi blinked: ¡°Does this mean that I passed the interview?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I am only responsible for one of the scores. The final results have not come out yet.¡± Dong Zhi still persisted: ¡°Then what score did you give me? Can you tell me?¡± Long Shen stared at him without speaking. Dong Zhi zipped his mouth with his hands and said consciously: ¡°I understand. I won¡¯t ask!¡± A smile flashed across Long Shen¡¯s eyes. Suddenly Dong Zhi¡¯s phone rang interrupting him as he lowered his head to look at it, missing this precious moment. ¡°Hello, how are you?¡± ¡°Dong Zhi, something happened! Hui Yiguang and Chi Banxia are gone!¡± Gu Meiren hurriedly said on the other end of the line. ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Dong Zhi felt chills. Gu Meiren: ¡°I¡¯ll come over to find you and we¡¯ll talk on the way!¡± Dong Zhi agreed and hung up the phone quickly. Long Shen had heard their conversation, so he asked: ¡°Do you need me to go?¡± ¡°No need.¡± Dong Zhi said. He naturally knew that if Long Shen was there, the situation would be worry-free, but he couldn¡¯t always count on him for everything, otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t be able to grow: ¡°There are many people here this time, so it shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I really can¡¯t trouble you longer. Rest quickly!¡± Long Shen nodded, got up and sent him out. Seemingly thinking of something, Dong Zhi said: ¡°I got a small commission this time, so I¡¯ll invite you to dinner some other time!¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Okay.¡± With just a few words, he managed to score another appointment. He praised himself secretly: ¡®You¡¯re so awesome Dong Zhi!¡¯ Just as he was about to leave, Long Shen stopped him and said: ¡°Take the Qingzhu Sword with you.¡± Hearing his words, Dong Zhi hurriedly returned to his room, put down his backpack, grabbed his phone and put the Qingzhu Swords on his back and hurried downstairs. After he left, Long Shen closed the door and found that his room was deserted again. The glass of warm water that he had just poured was still steaming on the table, as Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have time to drink it. He turned around and walked towards the bathroom. When he passed by the entrance, as if his heart wills it, he suddenly stretched out his fingers and touched a leaf of the yulu. The fat and tender leaves felt soft and full of life, like the vibrant smile of the man just now. In the past, Long Shen would never do such a meaningless act. In that moment, as he just touched the plant, he immediately retracted his finger. Dong Zhi waited downstairs for a while before a car stopped in front of him. ¡°Get in the car!¡± Gu Meiren shouted as she poked out her head from the backseat. Dong Zhi found that the driver was Liu Qingbo who turned his head around. When he saw the Qingzhu Sword on Dong Zhi¡¯s back, he was surprised as he didn¡¯t expect his rival could use a sword. When Dong Zhi got into the car, it immediately sped forward at such a fast speed that it made him lean back as he hit the seat. Not caring much about Liu Qingbo, he asked: ¡°What happened? Where¡¯s Cheng Yuan?¡± Gu Mei said: ¡°Cheng Yuan¡¯s place is too far from here, so he can only go on his own.¡± After that, she detailed what happened to Hui Yiguang. After they had left, according to the group agreement, Li Ying and Chi Banxia would be the first to stay with her for the next two days. The presidential suite was large enough and there were three rooms there so it could accommodate them all. Li Ying stayed in one room, while the assistant stayed in the other. Because Hui Yiguang was scared, she asked Chi Banxia to stay with her. They were originally friends so naturally Chi Banxia had no objections. Li Ying was born on Mount Maoshan and his father is both a consultant for the Special Administration Bureau and an elder of the Maoshan Sect, so he has deep qualifications. His own pedigree and his basic skills are naturally solid. At that time, he gave Hui Yiguang a Maoshan exorcism talisman and set up a small talisman array in her room. Whenever anything evil approaches, they will touch the array and be discovered immediately. Everything was going well. Before going to bed, Hui Yiguang found that she had forgotten to bring her usual facial mask, so she asked Little Han to go downstairs and buy a box for her. Unfortunately, Little Han bought the wrong brand making her unhappy, so she wanted to out and buy it herself. She couldn¡¯t be dissuaded so Chi Banxia offered to accompany her. The two had been gone for over an hour after they went downstairs. Little Han felt that it was taking too long and felt uneasy, so Li Ying pinched his fingers and suddenly changed color. He found that the Maoshan exorcism talisman he gave to Hui Yiguang wasn¡¯t on her and at this time they couldn¡¯t contact either Hui Yiguang or Chi Banxia. Li Ying used his technique to calculate their approximate location and rush there. Halfway there, he called Liu Qingbo and asked him to call everyone to come over to help, and thus led to Gu Meiren calling Dong Zhi. It stood to reason that Liu Qingbo would have rushed over immediately when he received the call, but he didn¡¯t know what he was dealing with. Whether it was a human or ghost, demon or monster, or even some kind of curse or witchcraft, Liu Qingbo doubted that he could handle it by himself, so he had to call other to assist. As for whether he had the mentality to compete or observe Dong Zhi, this was not known. The car drove north, getting further away from the city center. The road was unimpeded as it was late at night and they finally reached their destination half an hour later. The area was in a nonresidential area and the entrance was to a park. Not long after they arrived, Li Ying also came. ¡°I can¡¯t find Hui Yiguang, so I could only calculate the approximate location of Chi Banxia. It should be around here!¡± Li Ying hurriedly said as he got out of the car. Gu Meiren said: ¡°Hasn¡¯t anyone else arrived yet?¡± Li Ying: ¡°We can¡¯t wait any longer. Let¡¯s go first!¡± Despite so many people looking after Hui Yiguang, this kind of thing still occurred. In addition to their anxiety at such an unbelivable event, for the first time in his life, Li Ying felt as if all the Taoism he had learned in the past 20 years were absolutely false! Dong Zhi said: ¡°Something has happened to Chi Banxia, so it¡¯s better for us not to separate.¡± Gu Meiren nodded: ¡°That¡¯s good idea.¡± Liu Qingbo wanted to taunt him for his timidity but when he heard that others agreed with this sentiment, he held back his tongue. Kinky Thoughts: Loving these cute small interactions between Dong Zhi and Long Shen. CH 37 The park was open at all hours of the day. Since it was in the middle of the night, all was quiet and the streetlights were dim, occasionally shining their light on the homeless and destitute. The bushes were rustling, and they weren¡¯t sure whether it¡¯s an animal or possibly a couple coming to seek excitement. Li Ying carried a small compass in his hand as he led the way. He would glance at it from time to time. During the day, the tree-line park gave off a romantic feeling during the summer and autumn months as their leaves scattered around, attracting many local residents who would come to take pictures. At night, the scene was very different, perhaps due to the current psychological effect they were under. Dong Zhi and Gu Meiren both felt the surrounding was particularly gloomy. The park was large. Li Ying turned along the street into a small grove nearby, then crossed a steep grassy hill, before arriving at an artificial lake. He suddenly stopped. Everyone subconsciously looked at the compass in his hand and saw that the compass needle was stuck and wasn¡¯t moving. Li Ying turned in a few directions while he shook the compass vigorously, but the needle didn¡¯t respond. ¡°How strange,¡± He murmured. Several people raised their heads and looked around. The artificial lake was so large that they couldn¡¯t see the other end. There were lights by the lake, but the brightness was not enough for them to see things clearly. ¡°What should we do now? Did anyone else bring a compass?¡± Liu Qingbo asked. Dong Zhi shook his head. Although he was considered a disciple of the Hezao Sect, it was only in name, and he didn¡¯t develop the habit of using compasses. At this moment, Gu Meiren took out a short stick from her backpack and walked towards the lake. She put the stick to her mouth and started playing. Through the dim streetlights Dong Zhi realized that it was actually a small flute, that looked lush and green, similar to that of a bamboo flute. The sound was not a familiar tone, but still melodious, and it could be heard from far away in the silent night. Suddenly, a small snake appeared, slithering across the grass towards where Gu Meiren was standing. ¡°Be careful!¡± Gu Meiren remained motionless and continued playing the flute without stopping. The small snake did not attack her but instead straightened up its upper body, and started hissing, as if it was communicating with her. The sound of the flute became shorter and a little while after, the little snake turned around and left. Gu Meiren put down her flute and said: ¡°It should be over there. Come with me!¡± Liu Qingbo thoughtfully asked: ¡°My mother said that in Mengxiu county, in Ruili, there¡¯s a flute fairy who can attract insects with music. Do you know of her?¡± Gu Meiren smiled and said: ¡°That should be my grandmother, but she¡¯s not a flute fairy. That¡¯s just flattery from the villagers.¡± The four of them went around most of the lake until they ran into a body lying not far away. ¡°Is that Chi Banxia?¡± Li Ying was first to identify her. Everyone quickly ran over and found that Chi Banxia was completely submerged in water from below her chest. Her whole body was in a state of semi-consciousness. If it hadn¡¯t been for one of her hands gripping tightly to the dirt nearby, she would¡¯ve sunk into the depths a long time ago. Her fingers on her right hand gripped the ground so tightly that the surrounding area was a mess. There was grass uprooted everywhere, showing signs of an intense struggle. When everyone rescued her, they found that her other hand was still submerged in the water. Her hand was wrapped around a large group of aquatic plants and there were stones tied to them. It seems she was trying to tear them apart but in the end it was futile. Gu Meiren tried giving her artificial resuscitation, but to no avail. ¡°What should I do?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it.¡± Li Ying said. He pressed his hands on both sides of Chi Banxia¡¯s temples and yelled: ¡°Ha!¡± Chi Banxia¡¯s body shook slightly, and after a while, she slowly came to. She looked at everyone in a daze, confused about her current situation. ¡°Chi Banxia!¡± Li Ying patted her cheek: ¡°How are you? Can you hear us?¡± Chi Banxia slightly nodded then coughed violently. Gu Meiren helped her up and brushed her back. ¡°Cough, cough!¡± She coughed so intensely that tears came out. Li Ying: ¡°Where¡¯s Hui Yiguang? Didn¡¯t you guys go out together? Did she also fall into the lake?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± Chi Banxia took a breath and began recounting what happened. Hui Yiguang insisted on going out to buy face masks in the middle of the night. This behavior in it of itself was abnormal, but Chi Banxia had known her for years and knew she was obsessed with beauty products, so it wasn¡¯t too surprising. Hui Yiguang said that the nearby supermarkets didn¡¯t have the brand she wanted so she had to drive to another place to buy it. As the car drove further and further away from the hotel, Chi Banxia sensed something was off, so she hurriedly asked her to stopped the car. Hui Yiguang pulled to the side of the road and obediently followed her directions. Chi Banxia said: ¡°Stop. Let¡¯s go back quickly.¡± Then she heard Hui Yiguang slowly say: ¡°Go back? Where are you planning to go back to?¡± Chi Banxia was stunned as she looked at Hui Yiguang who also turned her head and smiled strangely at her. ¡°Hui Yiguang!¡± Chi Banxia yelled before she quickly acted. She stretched out her hand and tried to knocked Hui Yiguang out but was stopped by her opponent. Hui Yiguang, who was always weak, suddenly had amazing strength that was able to fiercely push Chi Banxia away. She opened the car door and walked out. Not caring for the severe pain in her arm, Chi Banxia quickly hurried and catch up. ¡°What happen after?!¡± Liu Qingbo asked hurriedly. Chi Banxia coughed: ¡°Later, I saw her running towards the lake. She was about to jump into it so I hurriedly rushed forward to catch her. Who knew that she was so heavy that I was almost dragged down by her? I don¡¯t know what happened afterwards¡­¡± There were clear marks of five fingerprints on her arm that had already turned dark purple and black. This situation was like an eagle who has been training for a lifetime and was blinded by the eagle*. A dignified witchdoctor was actually plotted against. If would be extremely shameful if it were to get out and Chi Banxia was full of anger and hatred. *Refers to being in a field that one¡¯s most familiar with only to be calculated against by those familiar people. AKA lost to what you do best. ¡°I¡¯ve put a tracking curse on Hui Yiguang so I should be able to sense where she is. Come with me!¡± She tried her best to get up as Dong Zhi and Gu Meiren assisted her. In her condition, it would be too slow to move forward like this so Dong Zhi said: ¡°I¡¯ll carry you. Just show us the way. Let¡¯s go!¡± Chi Banxia had no objection. She was barely alive at this point and had no real strength so she pointed in to the direction while on Dong Zhi¡¯s back. Everyone one followed it and walked on the path next to the lake for a while. Chi Banxia kept pointing to keep moving forward. Li Ying suddenly said: ¡°If I remember correctly, there is a side gate from the park that leads to a hospital.¡± Liu Qingbo took out his phone and opened a map app: ¡°The fourth district hospital?¡± Chi Banxia closed her eyes and meditated for a while, then opened her eyes again: ¡°Yes, she¡¯s in the hospital. It should be on the¡­ fifth floor.¡± Everyone no longer hesitated. They all rushed to the hospital. The fifth floor was the inpatient department. When several people hurried over, it alarmed the nurse who was on night watch. She got up frowning and said: ¡°Who are you people? Visiting hours is not allowed right now. You¡¯re disturbing our patient¡¯s rest!¡± Li Ying hurriedly said: ¡°We are not here to visit patients. We¡¯re looking for someone. Did a young woman come here just now? She¡¯s very beautiful and was dressed in gray clothes!¡± The nurse said vigilantly: ¡°I¡¯m calling security since it seems you people have nothing better to do!¡± Li Ying smiled bitterly: ¡°She is Hui Yiguang, and we are her friends. She recently encountered something in her life so she¡¯s in a confuse and bad mood. We¡¯re afraid something had happened to her. We have been with her all this time, but she suddenly ran out. Can you tell us where she went?!¡± ¡°So it turns out she was Hui Yiguang!¡± The nurse with surprise: ¡°No wonder she looked so familiar! She went to see the patient in room 5109. She said it was her friend.¡± ¡°Who¡¯s in 5109? Can we visit them as well?¡± Li Ying said. The nurse shook her head: ¡°I didn¡¯t let her in just now since it¡¯s past visiting hours and she wasn¡¯t a relative of the patient.¡± Dong Zhi put Chi Banxia down. She closed her eyes then opened them again and shouted categorically, though her voice was still weak: ¡°No, she¡¯s been there!¡± Dong Zhi asked: ¡°What about now?¡± Chi Banxia frowned, her expression gradually showed pain: ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll look¡­¡± Meanwhile, Li Ying called her assistant and asked her who was in room 5109 of the hospital and how was it related to Hui Yiguang. At this time everyone had faintly guessed that there was some hidden secret that Hui Yiguang has been hiding from them. Chi Banxia held her head and thought for a moment, then suddenly stretch out her hand and shook it in front of the two nurses on duty. The expressions of the two suddenly change. Chi Banxia shouted: ¡°I casted a coverup! They¡¯ll treat us as if we don¡¯t exist so hurry and go to 5109!¡± To Gu Meiren¡¯s and Dong Zhi¡¯s surprise, the two nurses really lowered their heads and continue to do their jobs as if they hadn¡¯t seen them. Liu Qingbo: ¡°Is this spiritual descent*?¡± *(Áé½µ) A kind of head taming technique that uses one¡¯s willpower to make the victim hallucinate or lose consciousness and do unimaginable strange things. Practitioners are usually called descendants. || Note I¡¯ll be referring to her as a witchdoctor going forward as head-taming master sounds too weird. I¡¯ll also be translating head-taming as witchcraft as well. See my Kinky Thoughts for details. Chi Banxia smiled, but did not deny it, simply saying: ¡°It¡¯s time limited and will automatically lift after a while. When I was sensing Hui Yiguang, I felt some mishap had happened to her. We need to go to 5109 to have a look before I can further confirm her whereabouts.¡± If it weren¡¯t for the paleness of her face, the smile she had now would look much sweeter and moving. On the way to 5109, Li Ying put down the phone and said to them: ¡°The name of the patient in 5109 is Wang Qi. She¡¯s also an actress but got into a car accident a month ago that left her in a vegetative state.¡± Dong Zhi asked: ¡°What¡¯s her relation to Hui Yiguang?¡± Li Ying said: ¡°I heard that the two used to have a good friendship. They lived together for a while when they first entered the entertainment industry but parted ways somehow. Xiao Han didn¡¯t know all the details, but rumors have it that Wang Qi¡¯s ex-boyfriend is Hui Yiguang¡¯s current boyfriend.¡± Could it be emotional entanglement? Everyone started have traces of doubt in their hearts. Liu Qingbo asked Chi Banxia: ¡°Didn¡¯t Hui Yiguang tell you anything?¡± Chi Banxia smiled bitterly: ¡°No, I don¡¯t mix in their circle. I only met her again after I came to Beijing.¡± ¡°5109! There!¡± Gu Meiren said. It was a double room. Taking the lead, Li Ying pushed the door open. There wasn¡¯t any sound inside. On the bed closest to the door laid an old man who was sound asleep. There was also a nurse dozing off next to him. To avoid alerting them and attracting unnecessary trouble, Chi Banxia waved her hand and just as before, put them into deep slumber. On the inner bed, a young woman laid there. Her head was shaved, and she had a haggard expression but everyone could vaguely tell that her face was beautiful, but strangely, the monitoring system next to her had been turned off. She was also wearing a mulberry flower ring on her hand. The style was unique that it would make people do a doubletake. Her medical records were hanging next to it. The name on them was Wang Qi. Li Ying¡¯s heart sank as he sensed something foreboding. He took two steps forward and pressed his fingers on the artery of the woman¡¯s neck. His complexion drastically changed as he whispered: ¡°I can¡¯t sense a pulse!¡± Everyone was shocked. Dong Zhi suddenly said: ¡°Wait!¡± He quickly grabbed Li Ying¡¯s arm to prevent him from touching the surface of the bed, then pointed to the area next to the pillow and said: ¡°There¡¯s an indentation here. Someone must¡¯ve been here recently!¡± Li Ying gestured: ¡°It¡¯s a woman¡¯s palm.¡± That should be Hui Yiguang. Gu Meiren: ¡°We must quickly find Hui Yiguang!¡± This of course was obvious to everyone present but the question was: Where did Hui Yiguang go? The nurse just said she didn¡¯t let her in so how did she get in? Is it possible that like them, she had some kind of mysterious ability? Li Ying frowned: ¡°Could it be that she came here to specifically kill Wang Qi?¡± They would¡¯ve gone to the police a long time ago if it wasn¡¯t for the fact that Hui Yiguang was able to suppress a witchdoctor, which gave them pause. At this moment, Li Ying¡¯s phone rang. He answered it, spoke a few words, but most of the time just listen to the other end. After a few minutes, he hung up and his face became uglier and more serious. ¡°That was Hui Yiguang¡¯s agent. I asked Little Han to look into the matters between Hui Yigaung and Wang Qi. Hui Yiguang¡¯s current boyfriend did dated Wang Qi but according to Hui Yiguang, they only dated after he broke up with her. It was through Wang Qi¡¯s recommendation that she landed the opportunity to star in her breakout film. Furthermore, the two injured assistants who came into misfortune is related to Wang Qi as well. The first one was injured after she was told by Hui Yiguang to go warn Wang Qi not to try anything after their falling out. The second that had the car accident was told by Hui Yiguang to visit Wang Qi in the hospital.¡± Liu Qingbo surmised: ¡°So, those two assistants are indeed related to Wang Qi.¡± Combined with the strange things that¡¯s happening to Hui Yiguang, coupled with her weird behavior when she suddenly came to the hospital late at night, all the clues invariably pointed in the same direction. ¡°Is it because Wang Qi¡¯s dead and her resentment is too hard to dispel that it¡¯s lingering and disturbing Hui Yiguang¡¯s tranquility? Wang Qi wanted to take revenge, but because we were there, she couldn¡¯t get close so she had to act out and make a big move?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°But Cheng Yuan said before that Hui Yiguang¡¯s clean and there was no ghost with lingering resentment stuck to her. Besides, Wang Qi is still lying here, indicating that she must¡¯ve been breathing just now.¡± Gu Meiren exclaimed in a low voice: ¡°The soul! Before we came, Wang Qi hadn¡¯t died yet. Her soul was separated from her body and she became a living soul so that¡¯s why Cheng Yuan didn¡¯t notice it at that time!¡± Almost at the same time, Liu Qingbo also said: ¡°So that¡¯s why Hui Yiguang said she always felt that someone was watching her!¡± Li Ying frowned and said: ¡°How could a living soul have such a great energy? Even Chi Banxia was confused, hallucinated, and almost died!¡± Dong Zhi tried to speculate on the situation: ¡°Regardless of whether the living soul is capable or not, if Wang Qi¡¯s living soul entangles with Hui Yiguang and could even control her body, what would she do?¡± Liu Qingbo continued: ¡°If she hadn¡¯t been discovered by us, she would definitely live under the identity of Hui Yiguang. She would first take revenge, then take everything belonging to Hui Yiguang. But now that we have traced it to her, she most likely knows that she¡¯s been exposed. Since the truth will come out sooner or later, it¡¯s better to just¡­¡± Gu Meiren said in a low voice: ¡°Let Hui Yiguang¡¯s body commit suicide and no one will gain anything from it!¡± There were many ways to commit suicide. There was no shortage of equipment inside a hospital, but the ward was more secure, and the windows had guardrails. The most likely thing to do is to run to the park and jump into the lake, but that would be too far away. It would be better to choose a faster and more convenient way. Chi Banxia had been closing her eyes tightly just now, trying to sense Hui Yiguang¡¯s location. She suddenly opened her eyes and shouted: ¡°The rooftop! She¡¯s on the rooftop!¡± Everyone glanced at each other then ran out of the ward. Dong Zhi grabbed Li Ying: ¡°We suddenly appear, and Wang Qi died afterwards. The surveillance must¡¯ve recorded it.¡± It¡¯ll be difficult to explain this situation once the investigation happens afterwards. Li Ying said: ¡°It¡¯s fine. When we came in, I used a trick to make the monitoring system fail. To be safe, I¡¯ll ask the Special Administration Bureau to intervene, but we need to focus on our target first!¡± These days, the hospital was afraid of unstable patients who were short-sighted, so they¡¯ve installed an iron gate that leads to the rooftop that was locked all year round. When the group got there, they found that the lock had been opened and the door was ajar. It was obvious that someone had been through it. Everyone rushed up and look around only to find a figure that was walking towards the water tank. The figure was stumbling, in a weird walking and stopping pattern, as if someone was dragging it towards something while also resisting moving towards it. It seems as if the figure was fighting a battle between heaven and earth. ¡°Yiguang!¡± Chi Banxia shouted. Liu Qingbo flip the switch on the wall and all the lights on the rooftop turned on. Hui Yiguang turned her head around abruptly! Half of her face was crying miserably, looking at them with a surprised expression, but the other half was indifferent and numb, her eye was full of resentment and hatred. Witnessing the combination of two very different expressions on the same face at the same time was too strange and chilling. ¡°Help me! Save me!¡± Hui Yiguang said as one corner of her mouth twitched. Tears continued to flow out of her left eye: ¡°I don¡¯t want to die¡­¡± ¡°Wang Qi!¡± Li Ying said solemnly: ¡°We know it¡¯s you. Let¡¯s talk!¡± Hui Yiguang suddenly grinned: ¡°Do you want to save her? You can¡¯t. I¡¯m slowly merging with her and soon, I will become her and she will become me. You can¡¯t save her now.¡± The calm and relaxed tone of voice was different from Hui Yiguang¡¯s usual manner of speech, as if she was a completely different person. ¡°No! I don¡¯t want to merge with you! Wang Qi, I beg you. Leave. This is my body! I¡¯ll give you as much money as you want! I¡¯ll treat you better. I beg you, just please leave!¡± Hui Yiguang pleaded. Li Ying and the others could see that her consciousness has not been completely swallowed up yet. It was like two soul was pulling a saw across Hui Yiguang¡¯s body, fighting for dominance. Dong Zhi quietly held the Qingzhu Sword behind him and slowly drew the sword out of its sheath, while the other hand reached into his pocket and squeeze a talisman. Looking around at the others, they were all on guard. ¡°My body has long been broken! If it weren¡¯t for you, how could I become like this! On the first day you came to Beijing, you couldn¡¯t even pay rent. If it weren¡¯t for my kindness to take you in, where would you have stayed! You couldn¡¯t even land a role and could only apply to become an extra. I gave you the chance and got you a supporting role! But how did you repay me?! You stole my boyfriend and repeatedly slandered me on the internet! As a result, you ruined my reputation that now no one wants me and I¡¯ve lost all my endorsements!¡± Hui Yiguang roared, spilling out all of Wang Qi¡¯s resentment. ¡°I didn¡¯t! I didn¡¯t steal your boyfriend!¡± Hui Yiguang¡¯s voice suddenly changed to the one everyone was familiar with: ¡°He told me that he liked me but I didn¡¯t accept because I knew you guys were dating. It was after he broke up with you that he started chasing me!¡± The two souls huddled in one body as they confront each other. The same sounds, voice, movement, and expression all changed as each soul spoke. The whole situation was indescribably weird. Wang Qi sneered expressed on one half of Hui Yiguang¡¯s face: ¡°You didn¡¯t promise him, but your words were ambiguous. You flirted with him and dropped hints everywhere! You¡¯re a slut who repays kindness with revenge!¡± Hui Yiguang¡¯s body screamed: ¡°I didn¡¯t! I¡¯m different from them. They all rely on their gold masters* while I didn¡¯t do anything like this!¡± *Basically, a backer who provides financial support/influence for the artist in exchange for (usually) sex or other kinds or physical/emotional affection/favors. Wang Qi cackled as if she heard some kind of joke: ¡°So you¡¯re more noble than others! I treated you as a friend and told you my past, yet you used it against me and revealed it to the media. If it weren¡¯t for you, would I be this devastated?!¡± Hui Yiguang: ¡°That¡¯s because you have offended too many people. It¡¯s none of my business! Please let me go. I¡¯ll treat you well. Qiqi, aren¡¯t we best friend?¡± Wang Qi scoffed, as if she didn¡¯t want to admit she was wrong and completely lost interest in the confrontation: ¡°Being friends with you is the last thing I regret in my life. A bitch like you should just stay quiet, resting in your own body while watching as I live your life and you can¡¯t do anything about it!¡± Li Ying sense something bad and interrupted the heated argument between them: ¡°Wang Qi! Now that you are dead, you should go and reincarnate with peace of mind. If you steal other¡¯s bodies, you will be punished by heavenly thunder! If you continue to be obsessed with this, don¡¯t blame me for being ruthless!¡± Hui Yiguang remained motionless. Instead of fear when she heard his threat, she smiled and said slowly: ¡°You can¡¯t get rid of me unless you kill Hui Yiguang.¡± ¡°Not necessarily!¡± Liu Qingbo suddenly moved, and instantly got behind Hui Yiguang. He pounced on her and with a flick of his wrist, a stick with a sharp blade attached at the end suddenly lengthen, piercing Hui Yiguang. Though she originally look weak and dainty, she somehow became increasingly agile. Not only did she dodge Liu Qingbo¡¯s attack, but she also managed to turn her defense into an offense as she fought with him completely empty-handed. Her strength increased drastically that she was able to kick Liu Qingbo at his waist causing him to retreat. Li Ying took the opportunity and threw a talisman with his backhand. Instead of landing on the ground, it fluttered and burned mid-air, sweeping towards Hui Yiguang. Then Dong Zhi and Li Ying made their move. One of them surrounded Hui Yiguang and to form an array around the entire rooftop, while the other assisted Liu Qingbo trying to trap Hui Yiguang with the talisman. The array Dong Zhi was forming was the same as when they dealt with the Archfiend on Tianyuan Building. Its role was to form a barrier on the rooftop to prevent Wang Qi¡¯s soul from escaping. After the events he had gone through, he had more practical combat experience and was more efficient in arranging the array. Using the compass app on his phone, he was able to calculate the approximate position immediately. Gu Meiren went to relock the iron gate to prevent innocent people from straying in. Unfortunately, Li Ying missed. When the talisman was about to be affixed to Hui Yiguang, she stretched out her hand and grabbed it and crushed it fiercely in her palm. The burning flame didn¡¯t seem to cause her to react. Li Ying was in utter shock. The talisman caught fire because he used yang fire, that is his own yang qi, to ignite it. His yang merges with the gallbladder* of the talisman causing the talisman to burn spontaneously for a short period of time. This kind of fire cannot be extinguished by humans so easily. It can only be put out either by the yang qi being overwhelmed by the yin qi or rain from the heavens. Yet somehow, Hui Yiguang was able to crush the talisman so casually. *Reminder: this is one of the five elements of a talisman that represents the doorway to the talisman. See lore glossary for details. ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± He yelled. ¡°I am a person who has been harmed by Hui Yiguang. If you can accept a bitch like her but not me, then you¡¯re not a very good person either!¡± Hui Yiguang¡¯s face was grim as she spoke. Li Ying said angrily: ¡°It¡¯s not up to you to decide if she¡¯s good or bad. The way of heaven is constant, its cycle endless. You cannot escape from self-inflicted sins*!¡± *This is part of If God commits evil, you can still violate it. If you commit evil yourself, you cannot live. (Ìì×÷Äõ£¬ÓÌ¿ÉÎ¥£»×Ô×÷Äõ£¬²»¿É»î) It¡¯s basically saying follow the rules and laws of God, unless he commits them, you¡¯re not allowed to. Gu Meiren suddenly discovered that Hui Yiguang¡¯s original expression was slowly being eroded away. It¡¯s estimated that it won¡¯t be long before her soul will be overtaken by Wang Qi and she¡¯ll have complete control over her body. Thinking of this, she couldn¡¯t help but feel rushed, desperately trying to find a way to delay her opponent. She took out her flute and tried to use it to confuse her opponent, yet as soon as she started to play, Hui Yiguang suddenly looked at her with fierce eyes as her figure dashed towards Gu Meiren. As soon as Hui Yiguang moved, Liu Qingbo and Li Ying followed. One was holding a talisman while the other was holding a stick trying to stop Hui Yiguang from two directions. This didn¡¯t deter her movements at all as she kept moving forward and whisked them away with her bare hands. The talisman was stopped by an invisible wall in the air while Liu Qingbo¡¯s stick was grabbed by her other hand. She had such strength that she managed to drag Liu Qingbo a few steps forward! Liu Qingbo gave a muffled huff as his wrist shook slightly. He suddenly pulled his hand back and with a clang, everyone realized that the black stick was actually a scabbard. In his hand was a slender and sharp sword, similar to a western sword*, except the sword body was straight and sharp and was slightly glowing with a blue light. *Clarity: It¡¯s referencing a fencing sword (foil, ¨¦p¨¦e, or sabre in order of the picture). Note that it¡¯s not a western sword though, as we¡¯ll find out later what it really is. Hui Yiguang threw the scabbard to the side as Liu Qingbo held up his sword and the two fought, yet Hui Yiguang didn¡¯t retreat in the slightest step. Li Ying tied seals with both hands and threw four talismans in an instant. They turn into four golden lights and shot out like sharp arrows. Judging from the look of pain on his face, these four talismans must be of great value. The four golden lights entered Hui Yiguang¡¯s body and she screamed. Liu Qingbo took the opportunity to stab her in the chest as he shouted: ¡°Evil, come out!¡± As the sword was drawn out from Hui Yiguagn¡¯s body, a mass of white shaped as a human figure fell out. The light mass kept shaking, but the face couldn¡¯t be clearly seen as it kept tumbling around on the ground. Hui Yiguang stagged a few steps before falling to the ground, holding her arms with both hands as she cried miserably. ¡°Is that Wang Qi? Is she gone?¡± Liu Qingbo raised his sword and was about to stab the white light. ¡°Wait!¡± A scabbard suddenly appeared out from beside him, covering Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword. Liu Qingbo glared at him and shouted: ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Dong Zhi said solemnly: ¡°How do you know that that is Wang Qi?¡± With his docile and soft face, it usually wasn¡¯t very overwhelming when he spoke, but in this moment, as he asked that question, everyone was stunned as they looked at Hui Yiguang who was still trembling. The author has something to say£º Little Dong Zhi will be mighty in the next chapter~ Kinky Thoughts: Two girls fighting over a guy¡­ a tale as old as time. Just a life lesson, but in general the person that you¡¯re fighting over is usually never worth it. Thank U, Next. P.S. Don¡¯t be a shitty friend and date your supposedly ¡°best friend¡± ex. (I¡¯m not taking Wang Qi¡¯s side either cause she be cray as well.) ¡ª While it may be a controversial decision, I¡¯m going to westernize some of these titles in order to help me better remember what they are as I translate. Chi Banxia would be equivalent to like a witchdoctor/witch that practice witchcraft (head taming). From the description of a head-taming master/descendent, they are split into black and white magic. Witchdoctors can do curses but can also lift them and cure ailments (thus the doctor part). I think this is a more fitting translation then ¡°head-taming master¡± or ¡°descendent¡± so I¡¯m going with this. Shaman would also be fitting too, I think. Her other skills at controlling people is very similar to voodoo which falls in line with a witchdoctor¡¯s abilities. In the same vein, head taming technique is basically just witchcraft (but not in the sense that it¡¯s inherently evil). So, I¡¯ll be using the western equivalent. Cheng Yuan is considered a warlock/sorcerer but due to religious taboo calls himself a psychic. I do not know the extent of his abilities yet to decide on his title so I¡¯ll stick to what the translation is for now. Li Ying and Liu Qingbo seems to be your average Taoist who uses talismans and such. Though Liu Qingbo seems to know things about poison since his mother is a famous gu practitioner. Either way I¡¯m undecided on their roles so I¡¯ll stick to what¡¯s translated for now. Gu Meiren and Ba Sang seems to be able to communicate with animals. Not sure what kind of English equivalent that is just yet. Most likely they are in the same vein as a druid and such but I won¡¯t make any decisions on that just yet. ¡ª Spiritual Descent (Áé½µ) A kind of head taming technique that uses one¡¯s willpower to make the victim hallucinate or lose consciousness and do unimaginable strange things. This kind of abilities must be performed with many spells. The effect is very fast, and it can control a person¡¯s will in an instant. CH 38 Hui Yiguang looked at them blankly and puzzled: ¡°What do you want me to do? Of course, I am Hui Yiguang!¡± Seeing that everyone seemed to hesitate, her expression became more anxious. She shouted at Chi Banxia: ¡°Banxia! You can recognize me, right?!¡± Chi Banxia was injured so she couldn¡¯t help in the battle just now as she leaned on the side to rest. At this moment, her gaze wandered back and forth between Hui Yiguang and the white figure made of light, trying to carefully identify them, but shook her head at Li Ying and the others, indicating she could not tell them apart. Hui Yiguang said anxiously: ¡°It was because of my problem that I asked you all to help me!¡± The white light mass trembled violently, but because it couldn¡¯t speak, it couldn¡¯t defend itself. Li Ying said quietly: ¡°Do you remember how much you paid us?¡± Hui Yiguang hurriedly said: ¡°Originally, I told everyone it would be a little more than 200,000, but then I decided to round it up and asked Xiao Han to send each of you 300,000!¡± So the mass of white light is really Wang Qi? Everyone¡¯s suspicion gradually dissipated, and Liu Qingbo raised his sword again and aimed at the white figure. Dong Zhi still felt something was off. The talisman array he had set up on the ground was slowly turning black, as if the talisman paper was being eroded by something invisible. Was there something trying to break in from outside? He raised his head and looked at the sky. It was pitch black filled with lights in the distance that flickered from time to time. Other than that, there didn¡¯t seem to be anything wrong. Feeling uneasy, he suddenly turned his head and looked at Hui Yiguang. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was him seeing things, but the corners of her mouth seemed to evoke a weird arc. But looking intently at her face, it was still full of fear so how could she be smiling?! Chi Banxia was also afraid that Liu Qingbo would kill the wrong person and take out the rightful owner of the original¡¯s body, so she hurriedly asked Hui Yiguang a few more questions, of which Hui Yiguang was able to answer them all correctly. Li Ying said solemnly: ¡°This can¡¯t be dragged out any longer. The soul is absorbing energy and is slowly getting bigger!¡± Everyone looked and saw that the white mass of light was slowly expanding as its shadow was slowly extending towards Hui Yiguang. Liu Qingbo no longer hesitated and swept his sword at the white figure. Suddenly, a hissing sound was made, as if something had been torn apart and wind roared. Accompanied by the roar, Liu Qingbo heard Chi Banxia screamed behind him. He had no time to turn around as his body was thrown down from the force. Dong Zhi fell on top of him, bowing his head to avoid the violent wind passing by. Liu Qingbo stared at Dong Zhi fiercely and stretched out his hand to push him away: ¡°Get off!¡± Dong Zhi said innocently: ¡°I was blown down by the wind¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, the white light and shadow were eroded by a black mist that condensed from all sides and screams rang out from the air. The black mist and the white light gradually merged, quickly turning gray and swelled sharpy, eventually becoming as tall as one and half person as it floated towards Hui Yiguang. Hui Yiguang was horrified, rolling back and forth. ¡°You go away! Go away!¡± She screamed. She desperately tried to get up and escaped but kept collapsing to the ground as he body was too weak. ¡°Watch your step!¡± Dong Zhi suddenly shouted. Gu Meiren looked down subconsciously. Under the light, clusters of black shadows appeared on the ground some unknown time ago and moved towards everyone¡¯s feet. Li Ying threw out a talisman and after a while, it burned together with the black shadow, igniting it. Gu Meiren played her flute, stopping a black shadow in its place as it heard the sound. Li Ying immediately placed a talisman on it, burning it out. Another black shadow was about to jump out from the ground but was sliced to pieces by Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword. He then stared at Dong Zhi harshly. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to his opponent¡¯s irritability. With a talisman in one hand, he stopped Hui Yiguang, while holding his sword in the other, he drew it towards the gray shadow and forced it back. ¡°Are you the real Hui Yiguang?¡± He asked gray shadow. The gray shadow was shaking violently, as if there was nowhere to vent its resentment and anger. When it heard Dong Zhi¡¯s question, it abruptly stopped, as if it understood. Dong Zhi turned his head again and said to Hui Yiguang: ¡°And you¡­ you¡¯re Wang Qi!¡± Hui Yiguang didn¡¯t have time to hide her expression. It seems she couldn¡¯t trick him, and panic flashed across her face. Although it was only for a short moment, it was enough for everyone to see that Dong Zhi was telling the truth. Li Ying said angrily: ¡°The soul that just popped out of Hui Yiguang is really her! Wang Qi is still inside Hui Yiguang¡¯s body!¡± Hui Yiguang argued: ¡°Not true! I¡¯m really Hui Yiguang! Don¡¯t be fooled by that fierce ghost!¡± Chi Banxia suddenly shouted: ¡°Yiguang! You told me before that you want to visit your hometown with me when you have time. Don¡¯t you remember?!¡± Hui Yiguang looked flustered and responded casually: ¡°Of course I remember!¡± Chi Banxia said angrily: ¡°You have never said such a thing!¡± Hui Yiguang collapsed and cried: ¡°I can¡¯t recall anything right now!¡± Before the voice fell, the gray shadow trembled abruptly, crossed the Dong Zhi and others, and rushed directly towards Hui Yiguang, wrapping itself around her whole body. Hui Yiguang scarmed. ¡°Help! Help me!¡± ¡°I will kill you! Bitch!¡± ¡°Let me go! Return back my body!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want it anymore. I want to die with you!¡± For a moment it would be Hui Yiguang¡¯s voice and for another moment it¡¯ll change to a different tone. The gray shadow and Hui Yiguang were entangled with each other that no one could distinguished who was who. Liu Qingbo held his sword wavering. ¡°What the hell are these things?!¡± Gu Meiren and Li Ying worked together to destroy the dark shadows on the ground. One played the flute while the other stuck talismans to them, but soon they found that the shadows were endless and more kept coming and they couldn¡¯t be eliminated. It¡¯s like¡­ demons. But Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t entirely sure. He had seen the Archfiend getting wiped out on Tianyuan Building. Heavenly lightning had struck it down instantly charring Xu Wan that there wasn¡¯t a single trace left. Now in front of him were clusters of shadows no bigger than a palm size. Occasionally a wisp of smoke would rise, and they can be easily destroyed with a talisman. Don¡¯t bother mentioning Archfiends, even a Sneaky Yaksha was much more difficult to deal with than them. Are they really demons? Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t bite his finger or mouth, so he had to scratch his finger on the Qingzhu Sword to draw blood. As beads of blood gushed out, he quickly drew the runes on the talisman paper and pasted them in the position where the talisman array was leaking! Slap! The loophole immediately closed as the array was restored and the shadows on the ground stopped increasing. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly wiped out the remaining shadows. Li Ying glanced at Dong Zhi, surprised by his capabilities. With his relationship to his father, Li Ying had a general understanding of everyone who participated in the exam long before it even started. People like Gu Meiren and Cheng Yuan had great skills but lack the deep background. They had practice in the deep mountains and old forests. While they may seem weak, their respective masters were well-known dominant figures in their field of expertise. If they can make it to the end, they would most likely go to group three. Liu Qingbo was from a famous family and his skills were on par with everyone else. The chances of him entering the Special Administration Bureau are almost guaranteed and he would be considered a rising star. As for Chi Banxia, her family roots were in Hainan and the Chi family are famous witchdoctors in that area and Southeast Asia, so it would be inevitable that they will come into contact with each other again in the future. Li Ying himself was born on Mount Maoshan and his father was a consultant for the Special Administration Bureau. He was well-liked by the officials and the average people. Such a figure like him need not to flatter others, but others would come befriend him. However, he was purely average and was not as eye-catching as Liu Qingbo. As for the others, they all fall into one these categories previously mention. The only exception was Dong Zhi. Before the written exam, Li Ying didn¡¯t even know of his existence. It wasn¡¯t until he came first, and 20 points higher than second place, that he was surprised to find such a dark horse in this year¡¯s candidates. But after seeing his resume, Li Ying learned that Dong Zhi was just an ordinary person. Even if he was the top scorer on the written exam, the most he could do would simply be logistics. Thinking like this, he was proven wrong again as the Dong Zhi¡¯s interview was the longest out of all the remaining candidates. After his father, Li Rui, returned that day, he expressed anger and the object of that anger was none other than Dong Zhi. Li Ying had to admit that his opponent was quite courageous to argue with an examiner during an interview. If it was another person, even if that person had a differing opinion, they will only show an obedience demeanor at that time. Li Ying wasn¡¯t interested in forming deep friendships. In his opinion, learning to judge others and interact with them is a necessary skill to have in life. People that are neither capable nor flexible will only have a limited future prospect. Even if they can enter the Special Administration Bureau, they are destined to have no great achievements. When he invited everyone to dinner and they each got to know each other, he didn¡¯t treat Dong Zhi special, although he also didn¡¯t deliberately pit him either. He wasn¡¯t as interested in him as he was with Liu Qingbo. But seeing his performance just now, Dong Zhi was beyond his imagination. Even if he couldn¡¯t judge the situation, he was by no means a useless ordinary person. Hui Yiguang struggled and screamed desperately as she was enveloped by the gray shadow. Liu Qingbo swung his sword towards her and stabbed right in the middle of the gray shadow. A loud sound was heard, seemingly screams from an unknown creature. The voice was so sharp pitch that it almost pierce everyone¡¯s eardrums, but it slowly got weaker. Does this mean that these demons are easier to deal with than an Archfiend? The gray shadow was led aside by the thin sword as it shook violently. There seems to be a sign that it was separating. Liu Qingbo no longer hesitated and stepped forward to insert his sword into the shadow. ¡°Ah!!!¡± Hui Yiguang¡¯s screams rang in everyone¡¯s ears. It wasn¡¯t really her screams but rather the wailing of her soul. Liu Qingbo continued as he held the hilt of the sword with both hands and stirred the shadow vigorously with the body of the sword. ¡°Yiguang!¡± Chi Banxia couldn¡¯t bear it, and wanted to step forward to stop him, but held off by Li Ying. ¡°His sword is not an ordinary sword. It¡¯s the Feijing Sword* that can calm the soul and exorcise evil spirits!¡± *(·É¾°) Translated could be the Sword of Light. It¡¯s part of the three swords of Feijing, crafted by (Emperor Wen of Wei) Cao Pi. Their names are: Feijing, Liucai, and Huafeng. See Kinky Thoughts for lore. The Feijing Sword was not as famous as the Gan Jiang or Mo Ye*. To the average person, they may think it was an imitation sword of the future generation. Since Chi Banxia didn¡¯t know much about swords, she was confused by his words. *Swordsmith couple who forge a pair of swords name after them. See Kinky Thoughts or go to the Wikipedia for the lore. Dong Zhi on the other hand had worked on a game with the background of ancient Chinese mythology. Many game props were added to it from ancient classics, and among them was of course, the Feijing Sword, so he was no stranger to this name. It was said that this sword was one of three swords crafted by Emperor Wen of Wei, Cao Pi. He gave the sword the name Feijing because it was ¡°clear like the sky and its light was like a shooting star¡±. Later, Cao Pi often wore it by his side. On the day of the sword¡¯s completion, he was able to conquer hundreds of miles with ease. But there was another little-known allusion to the sword. Legend has it that at that time, Cao Pi had dreams in the middle of the night that would leave him restless, and he would wake up sweating profusely. He once dreamed that he was wandering on the Naihe Bridge when encountered a man who was about to take his life. Fortunately, a white-faced man jumped out from nowhere and protected him. When Cao Pi woke up, he saw the Feijing Sword lying on his pillow. He had taken it off before going to bed and didn¡¯t let anyone touch it yet here it was. Since then, he had always worn the Feijing Sword, allowing it never to leave his side. Liu Qingbo continued to stir the gray shadow with his sword. The gray shadow was dragged by the sword as it struggled desperately but unable to break free. Slowly the black and white that were entangled forming the gray shadow gradually showed signs of separation. Strand by strand they were separated from each other from the agitation of the sword forming a picture just like the two ends of the yin and yang symbol, flowing into each other endlessly. Seeing his opportunity, Li Ying used cinnabar to draw a rune directly on the palm of his hand and coldly stretch it out grabbing the top of Hui Yiguang¡¯s head. ¡°It¡¯s not your body. Leave now! Go!¡± ¡°No!!!¡± A white shadow fell out of Hui Yiguang¡¯s body. Li Ying took the opportunity to grab the white shadow under Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword and threw it into Hui Yiguang. At this moment, Liu Qingbo¡¯s body shook slightly that it gave pause to force he was using to hold the black shadow in place. It quickly took the chance and escaped, flying towards the white shadow that was on the ground and merged with it. The speed was instantaneous that no one had time to even blink. ¡°Not good!¡± As Hui Yiguang¡¯s soul was return to its rightful place, Wang Qi¡¯s soul was merged with the black shadow and the metamorphosis speed made everyone speechless. Wang Qi was full of resentment, so it was a match made in heaven for the black shadow. The two quickly merged and it was much faster than when it was with Hui Yiguang. In a blink of an eye, a figure that was taller than the average person began forming. The mass of light wavered and condensed until it formed into a human-like shape, vaguely like a woman. ¡°Wang Qi!¡± Hui Yiguang called out in a daze. Her soul had just returned to her body and her face was pale like paper. When she opened her eyes, she saw the gray shadow rushing towards her, overwhelming her with fear that she fainted right on the spot. Liu Qingbo had just used the Feijing Sword to separate the dark shadow once, so he had lost a lot of qi and physical strength, so he didn¡¯t have the power to stop it. Li Ying being quick handed, slapped the gray shadow with his cinnabar painted palm but was easily overturned by it. He fell heavily onto the concrete ground and the pain was so bad that he vomited a mouthful of blood. Gu Meiren played her flute desperately trying to stop the gray shadow¡¯s movements. She managed only to stagnate it in the beginning, but eventually it was unaffected by her music as it continued to rush towards Hui Yiguang. Seeing the gray shadow inches away from pouncing on Hui Yiguang¡¯s body, everyone thought it was too late, and all their efforts have been in vain, when suddenly, Chi Banxia threw herself in front of Hui Yiguang, stretch out her hand and sprinkle a cloud of gray powder. To the eyes of an ordinary person, it would look like powder, but it was in fact countless of small insects. She could only pray that these insects were enough to stop the gray shadow. Unfortunately, her expectation fell through. When the white powder came into contact with the gray shadow, it was immediately absorbed and melted into becoming a part of the gray shadow itself. It then quickly rushed towards Chi Banxia. Everything happened so fast, within a few seconds, that Chi Banxia could only watch as the shadow approached her like a hurricane. It¡¯s over! There¡¯s nothing they could do! Was the thought that flashed through Liu Qinbo as he could only helplessly watch the gray shadow about to become entangle with Chi Banxia. If she was also possessed by that ghost, with her own abilities as a witchdoctor, it would be even more difficult to deal with than Hui Yiguang. This was his second thought. At this moment, a sudden flash of light appeared in front of him. Liu Qingbo thought it was a short circuit that caused the light to become unstable, but then a muffle sound filled his ears. It seems to be¡­ thunder? The sun was shining brightly all day without a cloud in the sky. Where did this thunder come from? The thought just appeared in his mind and in the next moment, he saw a thunderbolt passed by the top of his head and strike the gray shadow leaving behind a loud booming noise! The heavenly lightning was not big, at most its size was a thick as a baby¡¯s arm, but the brightness was enough for everyone to subconsciously close their eyes. The gray shadow slowly dispersed as it was struck by the lightning, it outstretched arms were inches away from grabbing Chi Banxia¡¯s hair. Chi Banxia was in shock as she gasped heavily, still digesting the fact that she has escape death. Li Ying and others looked around seeing a young man¡¯s face getting paler as it was illuminated by the flash of lightning. He held a magic talisman in one hand and a sword in the other. After he summoned the thunder, he didn¡¯t have the strength anymore to hold up his sword as his wrists hung down, causing the tip of the sword to lean diagonally against the ground. Using it as a support, Dong Zhi leaned on the sword and breathe heavily. Sweat covered his hair as it flowed down his temples. He staggered a back a few steps and lean against the wall like a prostrated figure. Looking up, he saw that Gu Meiren was staring at him, so he cracked a smile and joked: ¡°Am I awesome or what?¡± Gu Meiren laughed: ¡°Awesome!¡± She hadn¡¯t look down on Dong Zhi so she wasn¡¯t particularly surprised by his feat, though that couldn¡¯t be said for Liu Qingbo and Li Ying. As their shock subsided, even if he was unwilling, Liu Qingbo had to admit that this ordinary person who he thought wasn¡¯t qualified to become Long Shen¡¯s apprentice when they first met, had some capabilities in him. ¡°Dong Zhi, I didn¡¯t expect you to hide such a thing. You know the Five Thunder Law1 technique!¡± Li Ying panted and gave him a smile. As someone born on Mount Maoshan, it was natural he would¡¯ve learned the Five Thunder Law technique, though Maoshan calls it the Five Thunder Command1. The name is different depending on the sect, but it¡¯s pretty much the same spell. One that attracts heavenly thunder that can slay monsters and demons. 1Clarity: There¡¯s 3 terms so far for this technique. The Hezao Sect calls it Five Thunder Talisman [wu lei fu] (ÎåÀ×·û). When Li Ying mentions it the first time, he calls it Five Thunder Law/Dharma [wu lei zheng fa] (ÎåÀ×Õý·¨). The Maoshan Sect calls it Five Thunder Command [wu lei ling fu] (ÎåÀ×Áî·û). || I¡¯m assuming Five Thunder Law is what it¡¯s commonly known as while other sects give its their own name. I¡¯ll be translating it as how it¡¯s referred to in the original text but note that they all refer to the same technique. In Maoshan, it¡¯s also stipulated that only disciples who have been in the sect for more than five years would be taught this technique and can start practicing it. It¡¯s relatively rare for an outsider to be taught so casually. This is also the reason why the Hezao Sect has declined, as they are relatively loose in their rules. If this kind of thing were to happen at strict sects like Maoshan or Longhu, this kind of things would never occur. But in any case, it¡¯s one thing to learn the Five Thunder Law technique, but it¡¯s another thing to be able to use it. Li Ying thought his skills of using talisman was much deeper than the shallow knowledge that Dong Zhi possessed, but he only had one Five Thunder Talisman on him, which was drawn by his father. Under such circumstances at that time, he was unprepared as he never thought about using it, mainly because he didn¡¯t think he was able to use it. However, if Li Ying only knew how drained and exhausted Dong Zhi was and he wasn¡¯t as relaxed as he seems on the surface, his evaluation probably wouldn¡¯t be so high. Under the sky lingering with thunder, the black shadow that belonged to a demon had disappeared. Wang Qi was now dead, and her soul was masterless. Since it was entangled with a demon, under the power of heaven, it was naturally destroyed, turning into dust. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they all collapsed on the ground. Li Ying took out his phone as it had been vibrating nonstop, but he hadn¡¯t time to check as they were handling more important matters. Now that he got the chance to look, he saw he had over a hundred missed calls. It was from Cheng Yuan and the others. He called them back and their voices sound extremely anxious and as they knew something had happened. Li Ying didn¡¯t want them all to run to the rooftop of the hospital and attract unwanted attention, so he told them to meet up with Hui Yiguang¡¯s assistant and picked them up by the hospital. When he hanged up, they all carried Hui Yiguang down. During this battle, not only was the talisman array deployed but there was thunder and lightning from the sky. Such movements were not small, and it quickly attracted the attention of the security guards. When they came up, they were surprised as they saw Li Ying carrying on unconscious Hui Yiguang on his back. Li Ying and the others had no choice but to find an excuse, saying she was in a bad mental state and was contemplating suicide. After being questioned for a bit, the guards let them go. Cheng Yuan and the others had been waiting anxiously at the entrance of the hospital for a long time, and finally saw Li Ying and the others appear with Hui Yiguang. Finally, they were able to breathe a sigh of relief. ¡°What happened?¡± One person said. Everyone was worn out from the fight, and no one had the strength to speak. Li Ying reluctantly raised his spirits and recounted the story. Hui Yiguang¡¯s assistant face turned pale with fright after hearing it. ¡°How can you tell the security guard that Yiguang wanted to commit suicide! The gossip magazine will be all over this!¡± A woman in the car said angrily. Little Han hurriedly introduced her: ¡°This is Sister Mary, Sister Hui¡¯s agent!¡± Li Ying said coldly: ¡°We only guarantee her life and safety. As for her reputation, that¡¯s for you guys to worry about!¡± The agent was speechless and could only glare at Li Ying fiercely as she helped Hui Yiguang into the car. Li Ying said to Cheng Yuan again: ¡°Her soul is unstable, so she may need some repairs for her soul.¡± Cheng Yuan nodded: ¡°I see, leave it to me.¡± This was something he specializes in, and as a psychic, this thing would naturally be a cinch for him. There were too many people to fit in the car and they didn¡¯t want to go back with Hui Yiguang and her agent, so Dong Zhi and the others bid their farewells and parted ways. On the drive back, Dong Zhi fell asleep in the taxi and was woken up by the driver when they had reached his destination. He got out the car groggily, feeling the aftermath of the battle. Summoning heavenly thunder took a lot out of him as his entire body was weak and sore, and he felt like he was getting a fever. When he touched his forehead, it didn¡¯t seem to be very hot. He walked to the back door of the Special Administration Bureau with a heavy head. The uncle was still there guarding the door, sitting with his arms around his neck. Dong Zhi had never seen him playing games on a phone or even listening to music like other standard gatekeepers. He was now familiar with him since he passed by him often, so he greeted the uncle and went inside. The gatekeeper raised his eyes slightly and glanced at him. Seeing that his face looked pale and fragile, the uncle who rarely speak asked: ¡°Are you okay?¡± Dong Zhi was in a daze that he didn¡¯t even know what he said. He just vaguely remembered that he waved goodbye politely to the uncle as he entered the building. When he walked up the stairs, he felt that they were endless. Step by step he slowly trudged as if he was stepping on clouds as the same thought rewind over and over in his head: ¡®Why is there no elevator? Why is there no elevator? Why is there no elevator?¡¯ He wanted to cry as he kept climbing until he couldn¡¯t any longer. He collapsed on the stairs and thought that it would be fine if he just slept there. Vaguely, he heard the sounds of footsteps coming. Seeing a figure lying on the stairs like this would surprise anyone. ¡°What happened to make you like this?¡± The familiar voice made him barely open his eyes as tried answering hazily. After a while, he suddenly thought the voice seems to belong to Long Shen. ¡°Boss Long?¡± ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± Dong Zhi leaned back on the steps and said softly: ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I can¡¯t walk anymore. I hope I didn¡¯t scare you.¡± Long Shen: ¡°The matter is resolved?¡± Dong Zhi said weakly: ¡°Sort of¡­¡± Thinking of it, it raised his spirits as he said: ¡°You¡¯re just in time. I have something to report to you! This time, it seems we have encountered demons again.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Let¡¯s go back and talk.¡± Dong Zhi felt it was a bit ridiculous to lay on the stairs and give a report, but at this moment he couldn¡¯t stand up. ¡°Then wait a bit. My legs are a little bit too soft now so let me catch my breath for a sec.¡± Long Shen stretched out his hand and grabbed Dong Zhi¡¯s arms. Dong Zhi thought that he wanted to help him, so he quickly tried to get up. Who knew that Long Shen suddenly lifted him up as one of his arms held his back while the others laid firmly on the back of his thighs*. *Clarity: think princess carry. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Long Shen carried him up the stairs, step by step. His hold was steady, and he moved fast. Under the lights of the night, two figures were seen, and the sound of footsteps could be heard, sketching a dream that will never end. The author has something to say£º I¡¯m sorry Little Dong Zhi. When I read the last scene, I suddenly remember the words: Zhu Bajie carrying his daughter-in-law*¡­ *(Öí°Ë½ä±³Ï±¸¾) Refers to Journey to the West where Zhu Baije carries a beautiful lady on his back but ended up with naught. It¡¯s an allegory referring to thankless hard work. Dong Zhi: (¨s¡¯¡õ¡¯)¨s¦à©ß©¥©ß Kinky Thoughts: I¡¯m loving these small, sweet interactions between Long Shen and Dong Zhi. ¡ª Three Swords of Feijing (·É¾°Èý½£) Also called [Baipi Baojian] (°Ù±Ù±¦½£) were 3 swords commissioned by Emperor Wen of Wei/Cao Pi. They each have their own names: ¡ª Gan Jiang and Mo Ye Were a swordsmith couple, discussed in the literature involving the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. Some aspects of this material may be considered historical; others are certainly mythological. A pair of swords was forged by and named after them. According to the historical text Wuyue Chunqiu, King Hel¨¹ of Wu ordered Gan Jiang and Mo Ye to forge a pair of swords for him in three months. However, the blast furnace failed to melt the metal. Mo Ye suggested that there was insufficient human qi in the furnace, so the couple cut their hair and nails and cast them into the furnace, while 300 children helped to blow air into the bellows. In another account, Mo Ye sacrificed herself to increase human qi by throwing herself into the furnace. The desired result was achieved after three years, and the two swords were named after the couple. Gan Jiang kept the male sword, Ganjiang, for himself and presented the female sword, Moye, of the pair to the king. The king was already very displeased since he ordered the sword made in three months¡¯ time but Ganjiang did not come back in three years, when he discovered Gan Jiang had kept the male sword, he was angered and had Gan Jiang killed. Before his death, Gan Jiang had already predicted the king¡¯s reaction, so he left behind a message for Mo Ye and their unborn son telling them where he had hidden the Ganjiang Sword. Several months later, Mo Ye gave birth to Gan Jiang¡¯s son, Chi (³à), and years later she told him his father¡¯s story. Chi was eager to avenge his father and he sought the Ganjiang Sword. At the same time, the king dreamed of a youth who desired to kill him, and, in fear, he placed a bounty on the youth¡¯s head. Chi was indignant and, filled with anguish, he started crying on his way to enact his vengeance. An assassin found Chi, who told the assassin his story. The assassin then suggested that Chi surrender his head and sword, and the assassin himself will avenge Ganjiang in Chi¡¯s place. He did as tell and committed suicide. The assassin was moved and decided to help Chi fulfill his quest. The assassin severed Chi¡¯s head and brought it, along with the Ganjiang sword to the overjoyed king. The king was however uncomfortable with Chi¡¯s head staring at him, and the assassin asked the king to have Chi¡¯s head boiled, but Chi¡¯s head was still staring at the king even after 40 days without any sign of decomposition, thus the assassin told the king that he needed to take a closer look and stare back in order for the head to decompose under the power of the king. The king bent over the cauldron and the assassin seized the opportunity to decapitate him, his head falling into the cauldron alongside Chi¡¯s. The assassin then cut off his own head, which also fell into the boiling water. The flesh on the heads was boiled away such that none of the guards could recognize which head belonged to whom. The guards and vassals decided since all three should be honored as kings (With Chi and the assassin being so brave and loyal). The three heads were eventually buried together at Yichun County, Runan, Henan, and the grave is called ¡°Tomb of Three Kings¡±. CH 39 Of course, it was much easier to be carried than to walk on your own. Since Dong Zhi was muddleheaded, his usual worries were gone, and he was only driven by instinct. ¡°Boss Long have you decided on a candidate to be your apprentice?¡± Long Shen snorted. Dong Zhi said: ¡°I just summoned heavenly thunder once again and took out a demon. Would you consider me?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t answer but he felt more and more courageous. Although he was being carried, he lost control of his mouth as words continue flow out. ¡°A potential apprentice like me, there won¡¯t be this kind of shop if you pass this village*. Although Liu Qingbo is a bit taller than me, he¡¯s not as handsome. With someone as good-looking as me, you¡¯ll have a lot of face when you take me out in the future. Otherwise, if you take Liu Qingbo out, people will say, Boss Long, how can you find an apprentice that looks so much older than you?¡± *(Äã´í¹ýÕâ´å£¬¾ÍûÄǵêÁË) Metaphor referring to a rare opportunity that cannot be missed. After a long time, Long Shen still didn¡¯t give him a response. He suddenly stopped and put him down. Dong Zhi thought he was angry, so aporetically said honestly: ¡°It was all nonsense just now. Don¡¯t take it to heart.¡± Long Shen: ¡°The key.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh!¡± Only then did he realized that they had reach his dorm, so he hurriedly took out the key to open the door. The heat quickly spread up his face and his saving grace was that the light above his head wasn¡¯t bright enough for the other party to notice his embarrassment. He opened the door and turned on the lights. Long Shen hadn¡¯t left so he most likely wanted to hear his report on what happened tonight. Dong Zhi stepped aside and let him in. He had returned back to his room so of course he couldn¡¯t let Long Shen continue to carry him. When he tried to move, his legs got soft that he ended up kneeling directly in front of Long Shen looking as if he was kowtowing to him. Dong Zhi: ¡­So embarrassing! Long Shen: ¡°You haven¡¯t studied under a teacher yet so no need to be so polite.¡± Dong Zhi really want to dig a pit and bury himself in it, but from this he found that Long Shen had a sense of humor. He just hid it deeply. It was only when King You of Zhou lit the beacon fires* and made fun of the warlords was he able to win the smile from his beauty. With his soft legs he could elicit the sense of humor from Deputy Director Long, so it was it was not a total loss. *The story goes that King You was infatuated with his concubine Bao Si, who does not like laughing, and wanted to impress her, so he played a trick on the warlords of his kingdom and had the beacon fires lit. When they saw this, they all rush to defend him thinking the city was under attacked but it just turned out to be a prank. This made Bao Si laughed so he kept doing it and eventually when a real attacked came the warlords ignored the beacon fires and he was ultimately killed. After taking a break for a bit, he finally regained some strength and Dong Zhi recount to Long Shen what happened tonight. Long Shen asked rhetorically: ¡°How would you analyze it?¡± Dong Zhi regarded this as a test, so he tried his best to raise his spirits and thought about it carefully before saying: ¡°I guess that Hui Yiguang and Wang Qi do have grudges with each other. After Wang Qi turned into a vegetative state due to her car accident, her soul left her body and was somehow targeted by demons. I remember you told He Yu that people have seven emotions and six desires that spawn love and hate. The greater the desire the greater it¡¯ll attract demons. Wang Qi¡¯s resentment provided energy for the demons and in return they gave her unspeakable powers.¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°Hospitals hold countless of births, sufferings, illnesses, and deaths every day. It is a place of reincarnation. All walks of life mix there thus feelings, especially resentment will infinitely be amplified. There are countless incarnations of the Archfiend so even if the body is destroyed, the demon¡¯s clone may still spread all over the world, and even hide in places like hospitals to absorb energy to strengthen itself again. What you bumped into tonight was most likely one of its essence or clones.¡± Dong Zhi frowned and said: ¡°But we protected Hui Yiguang and destroyed Wang Qi¡¯s soul. Are we right or wrong? Perhaps Hui Yiguang was truly like what Wang Qi said and that¡¯s why she hated her so deeply and wanted revenge.¡± Long Shen¡¯s expression was faint: ¡°We¡¯re only responsible for subduing demons, not soothing people¡¯s hearts. Even if it was a doctor or a policeman, they can only save lives, but not hearts. The Special Administration Bureau performs a similar duty, but on a different level.¡± Dong Zhi sighed: ¡°Yes, no matter what the reason is, if you allow demons to exploit your weakness, then you should be subjected to punishment.¡± Still, the reaction between Hui Yiguang and Wang Qi when they were confronting each other was too vivid. Everyone present, including Dong Zhi, didn¡¯t think that Hui Yiguang was completely innocent in this matter. She had concealed her relationship with Wang Qi in advance and tried numerous times to dodge answering questions about her boyfriend. With Wang Qi appearance, they could tell from Hui Yiguang¡¯s tone that she wasn¡¯t completely ignorant in the matter. She might have suspected it a long time ago, but because of her guilty conscience, she dared not admit it. Long Shen seemed to see though his thoughts: ¡°Many things have their own antecedents, and the results will only be known in the underworld. The so-called Heavenly Way exists in everything. If you and I follow it, then we may become its sword.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°You mean, karma?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°Whether it¡¯s retribution or not is just human wishful thinking. I think it¡¯s better to use the law of conservation of energy to explain it more appropriately.¡± Facing the puzzled look of the other party, he said: ¡°If a person exudes a little bit of hostility to the world and to others, he¡¯ll accumulate negative energy. After accumulating to a certain extent, he¡¯ll naturally be hit by its backlash. This is the conservation of the Heavenly Way.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly said: ¡°So the ancient sages that emphasize walking in line with heaven, they didn¡¯t necessarily mean that good people will receive rewards, but rather if you follow the Heavenly Way, you will naturally get Heaven¡¯s blessings!¡± Long Shen nodded slightly: ¡°In the era of the end of the law, materialistic desires flowed, and people¡¯s hearts were chaotic. It¡¯s not unusual for many people to cross their bottom line and did anything for the sake of financial gain. In the end they became the very same people that they had looked down upon in the beginning. This is a scene that is common that you will only see more of if you continue to engage in this kind of business.¡± He paused before saying: ¡°It¡¯s not a bad thing to have a soft heart. It at least gives you a standard that you won¡¯t cross, but when it comes to making decisions, you should avoid being indecisive and dragging your companions down in battle.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Dong Zhi obediently nodded. After their conversation, he was exhausted but wasn¡¯t sleepy. He rubbed his face and yawned: ¡°It¡¯s so late. I hope I didn¡¯t bother you too much.¡± Long Shen: ¡°I¡¯m writing a report.¡± Does this mean he was disturbed? Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°Then I won¡¯t bother you any longer. I¡¯ll rest after washing up.¡± He sent the great god on his way and turned around, heading to the bathroom. After he washed up, he felt refreshed but even less drowsy. Touching his stomach, all the food he had eaten that night was consumed by all his nerves. He decided to buy barbeque and brought it back. Thinking there was someone still up writing a report, he went to knock on said person¡¯s door and was greeted by Long Shen. Dong Zhi lifted up the bag in his hand, gave him a smile and said: ¡°Hungry? Would you like some?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°No, I¡¯m good.¡± With that said, he was about to close the door when Dong Zhi pulled out his killer move: ¡°I can¡¯t sleep and wanted to read a technical book, but I don¡¯t understand many terms and I can¡¯t find anything about them online. Can I read in here if I don¡¯t disturb you?¡± Long Shen turned his body slightly sideways signaling him to come in. He was overcome with joy and fearing that the male god would regret his decision and change his mind, he hurriedly entered with the book in his arms. The dorm room was like a studio apartment. It had one-bedroom and a living room, but they were all connected as there was no walls dividing up the space. The Deputy Director¡¯s dorm was the same pattern as Dong Zhi¡¯s but his decorations was more unified. The walls were beige, and his sofa and bed were covered with a stain resistant sheet. There was a small bar that was connected to the kitchen. Overall, it looked like a mid-to-high-end decoration. Dong Zhi guessed that the Special Administration Bureau had spent most of the budget on office and staff rooms that they had no money left to pay for the actual property. Long Shen said: ¡°Make yourself at home. You can ask if you don¡¯t understand something.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°If you are too busy, I can just read on my own.¡± Long Shen nodded, poured him a glass of water, turned his head and sat down at the desk. Dong Zhi swore to God that he really just wanted to study seriously, and he only came here with the mentality that if there¡¯s something he couldn¡¯t figure out, there was a great god that can help teach him. However, when the person that you like was nearby, few people would be able to resist not gazing at the object of their affection. Long Shen had his back turned to him, writing hard, and showed no sign of turning around, but he was keen, so it was impossible for him not to notice the gaze behind him. And the gaze was locked on him for a while, then it turned away, then came back for a while, then turn away again and thus kept continuing all night. Long Shen secretly shook his head and thought: ¡®Can he really concentrate on his studies?¡¯ As soon as this thought occurred, he heard Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Boss Long, I want to donate all the money paid to me by Hui Yiguang.¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t lift his head: ¡°How much did she pay?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Three million, 300,000 for each of us. Although the matter came to an end this time, I didn¡¯t think I did a perfect job, so I feel guilty and want to donate all the money.¡± Long Shen finally stopped writing: ¡°What do you think is perfection?¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback by this question. He thought seriously for a while then said: ¡°Maybe it¡¯s because I saw that the victim is not completely innocent, and the perpetrator is not without cause. As the saying goes, a poor man must have something to hate1, and a hateful man must have something to pity2. Nine out of ten things in life are unhappy3, but all I ask is for perfection in my own heart.¡± 1(¿ÉÁ¯Ö®È˱ØÓпɺÞÖ®´¦) Refers to a seemingly pitiful person¡¯s unsatisfactory reality must¡¯ve been cause by previous faults or was self-inflicted. Knowing that they are wrong, but not changing their ways after repeated teachings is the hateful thing about such people. 2(¶ø¿ÉºÞÖ®ÈËÒ²±ØÓпÉÁ¯Ö®´¦) Second part of the saying that¡¯s not well known. It refers to there must be some kind of suffering a hateful person has gone through that made him that way, so he deserves our pity. *Clarity: Linked together it basically means that not everything is black and white. Someone¡¯s misfortune may not be because of their own doing and cause them to become resentful so we should take pity on that. Life is complicated and you can¡¯t simply judge whether a person is good or bad because everyone has different experiences and their own circumstances. These two sentences link together allows us to see how multifaceted human nature really is. 3(ÊÀ¼ä²»ÈçÒâÊÂʮ֮°Ë¾Å) Refers to life isn¡¯t as pleasant and ideal as it seems. (AKA Life isn¡¯t like a bed of roses). || In this context, Dong Zhi saying he knows life isn¡¯t perfect, but he¡¯ll strive to do his best and what¡¯s align to his ¡°perfection¡±. Long Shen looked back at him: ¡°There will be more dangerous and unpredictable things in the future where good and evil might be hard to distinguish.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Then I will try my best to be perfect. One step at a time, I¡¯ll strive to always do better.¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°I will help you find a reliable charity to donate to.¡± Outside of work, he rarely takes the initiative to put forward his own opinions and interfere with others, but this time, when he saw Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes curled, he added: ¡°You also have worked hard this time. It¡¯s not bad to receive some compensation. If you want to donate, donate half of it and take the rest.¡± Dong Zhi was attentive when responding: ¡°Then I¡¯ll listen to you.¡± Seeing Long Shen writing his reports by hand, he couldn¡¯t help say: ¡°Why don¡¯t you use a computer to type? It would be much faster.¡± There are few who would do handwritten reports these days. Long Shen said: ¡°It may be because I used to have very few opportunities to write.¡± Dong Zhi thought that he just wanted to practice his penmanship, or maybe he wasn¡¯t good at using a computer, but he didn¡¯t expect such an answer. Long Shen seemed to be in a good mood as he took the initiative to talk to him. ¡°Creating words is a significant difference between humans and creatures. Once it appears on paper, it has a life of its own.¡± He casually pointed to the book spread out in front of Dong Zhi and the black arial characters seemingly came to life in an instant, twisting their shapes as they jumped out of the paper. The words ¡°human (ÈË)¡± bounced around on its left and right sides, and the word ¡°road (µÀ)¡± rushed forward like a car knocking ¡°human (ÈË)¡± down. The words ¡°older brother (ÐÖ)¡± and ¡°younger brother (µÜ)¡± trembled to on the side and as a result was shot in the ass by the word ¡°open (ÕÅ)¡± who hit it with its bow and arrow. Then suddenly they all became a ball of letters*. *Clarity: I put in the Chinese characters so you can visualize what the characters are doing. Look carefully and see how each of them match the description of their actions. Dong Zhi was stunned. Long Shen said: ¡°Just because you can¡¯t see it doesn¡¯t mean it doesn¡¯t exist. Buddhism says that there are three thousand great worlds and three thousand small worlds*. What the human eye can see is only one of them. When life is created, it is also creating other life. Our duty is to maintain the balance between our world and others.¡± *(Èýǧ´óÊÀ½ç£¬ÈýǧСÊÀ½ç) Referring to the three thousand great thousand world. In Buddhism, it describes the organization of our world. It refers to the world is formed by three kinds of ¡°thousand worlds¡± split into small, medium, and large. The big thousands of worlds are integrated by the small and middle ones with Mount Sumeru at the center. With a wave of his hand, the word ¡°open (ÕÅ)¡± suddenly turned into dust and dissipated in the air and the other words huddle together trembling in a ball of fright. Dong Zhi thought they looked funny yet pitiful. He stretched out his finger and touch the word ¡°human (ÈË)¡± and found that he didn¡¯t have a substantial touch. The character seemed to feel his approach and desperately wanted to hide. When his finger came close, it shattered instantly, popping like a bubble. With another wave of Long Shen¡¯s hand, the words flashed and returned the pages of the book. They were flat now, as if the scene he saw just now were an illusion. Dong Zhi sighed: ¡°I suddenly felt that I had lived in the belly of a dog* for more than 20 years!¡± *(»îµ½¹·¶Ç×ÓÀïÈ¥) Refers to studying/learning in vain. || In this context he¡¯s saying all that he had been taught and studied has been turned upside down with this new revelation. Long Shen said: ¡°Every stroke has a spirit. Being able to read and write with your own hands is the natural gift of being human. Many humans often feel small, but what they don¡¯t know is that they have inadvertently created countless worlds.¡± Dong Zhi became thoughtful as he looked at the boring textbook which now seemed a bit more interesting, as if he was reading something belonging a different world. The more contact he had with Long Shen, the more mysterious he seems to become. It was like his body was covered in a thick fog, making it difficult to clearly see, but it¡¯s exactly this that drives people to want to get closer to discover what¡¯s behind it. Long Shen turned around continuing to write his report again, and from time to time he would hear pages turning from behind him. Dong Zhi had finally concentrated on reading his textbook and was no longer distracted as he stopped raising his head to stare at him. The report he was writing was related to their discovery in Inner Mongolia. Although the work was handed over to a different group, Long Shen still had to write down everything so it would be explained clearly. The directors above were not cultivators, so they did not accurately predict the severity of an Archfiend. He believed that this was related to similar incidents of the past so the three deputy directors, Wu Bingtian, Long Shen, and Song Zhicun had all agreed they should solemnly explain to their superiors so to prevent a more serious consequence from happening. Long Shen¡¯s report was one of the speeches he was prepared to give in their subsequent meetings. While Deputy Director Long was good as subduing and exorcising demons, and had been a leader for several years, he was not good at writing reports. He stumbled, frowned, and wrote for over an hour. Before, this report had been delayed for an entire week and could no longer be pushed off. Such was Long Shen, the Deputy Director of Procrastination. He looked at the punctuation mark he had just written and breathe a sigh of relief, only to find that there were no longer movements coming from behind him. He turned his head and saw Dong Zhi was still sitting on the sofa with a book spread across his knees and his head crook to the side, as if he was unconscious. Long Shen got up and walked over, then patted him on the shoulder, rousing Dong Zhi. He woke up and rubbed his eyes. ¡°¡­Sorry. Did I fall asleep?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Go back and sleep.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly packed up his books and apologized again. He originally wanted to come over to ask questions, but instead he fell asleep. Long Shen didn¡¯t reproach him: ¡°You must be exhausted if you summoned Heavenly Thunder today. Before going to bed, make sure to practice your kung fu tona.¡± Dong Zhi nodded obediently and walked to the door. Seemingly recalling something, he smiled shyly: ¡°Boss Long, can I take the liberty to ask what my chances are of becoming your apprentice?¡± Long Shen raised his eyebrows: ¡°Why do you want to be my apprentice so much? According to the techniques you have practiced, even if you have not worshipped under the Hezao Sect, you have the opportunity to become a disciple of the Wu bureau. He was born in Yuanming Palace on Mount Qingcheng. Their gate is as comparable to that of Maoshan.¡± Dong Zhi scratched his head and told the truth: ¡°I only know that if I¡¯m not able to summon thunder, they would not even look at me, but you treat everyone equally. Even if you when you were harsh on me at the beginning, it was just to prevent me from taking risks and doing things out of impulse.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I¡¯m not as good as you think. As for the apprenticeship, that has yet to be determine. So far, I have no plans to accept any apprentices.¡± Dong Zhi felt disappointed, but after thinking about it, if he couldn¡¯t become his apprentice for the time being, then neither could Liu Qingbo. They were all still standing on the same starting line, but he had the advantage of living on the opposite door, which could be considered being near the water tower*. *Reminder: (½üˮ¥̨) Metaphor for getting some kind of benefit or convenience first because he¡¯s closer to someone or something. In fact, what he didn¡¯t know that before this, Liu Qingbo had already given waves of gifts to Long Shen, among them there were even two antique swords that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t afford, as well as such things like specialty poison from Miaojiang, an ancient book on swordsmanship from the Song Dynasty, and the likes. His net worth was so rich that he could dump Dong Zhi more than ten blocks down. Despite this, all the flattery was a slap on the horse¡¯s leg*, as Long Shen didn¡¯t accept any of them. *(ÂíƨÅÄÔÚÂíÍÈÉÏ) Metaphor referring to wanting to please but the other party isn¡¯t interested. Unlike him though, he could get treatment like sitting on the couch and having a face-to-face talk with Long Shen without giving a single thing. If Liu Qingbo knew about this, he might become so jealous that his eyes would turn red. But for Dong Zhi, he was like a child who ¡°didn¡¯t know their blessings when they were blessed1¡± and felt melancholic for a while before deciding to continue his efforts and keep up his perseverance. Every drop of water will wear away the stone2, and the mountains are moved by foolish men3. 1(ÉíÔÚ¸£Öв»Öª¸£) Refers to living in happiness but not feeling happy. Early the next morning, Long Shen¡¯s office welcomed a guest. ¡°Elder Zong.¡± Long Shen welcomed her in. While he didn¡¯t bow his head in the face of the chief director, or even the higher-level leaders, he slightly lowered his head in front of this elegant middle-aged woman. Zong Ling smiled and said: ¡°I¡¯m not bothering you am I?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°No, it¡¯s an honor to have you visit me.¡± Zong Ling laughed: ¡°It¡¯s rare that you can joke. It seems you¡¯re in a good mood today. Last time, Wu Bingitan came to me, he said that he was afraid you would be dissatisfied with their group taking over Inner Mongolia, so he asked me to help, lest it leaves some negative feelings in your heart.¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°He likes to think too much and complicate small matters all day long. If he put as much effort as this into his cultivation, he would¡¯ve inherited the head of Yuanming Palace long ago.¡± Zong Ling said: ¡°The two of you are the mainstays of the Special Administration Bureau, so naturally your every move attracts much attention. He has always been heavy minded. Instead of devoting himself to cultivation, he¡¯s more suitable for mixing in with the officialdom. Jiang Jun is a person who likes to talk about law and order the most. Wu Bingtian fits his line of thought, so it¡¯s inevitable that there will be favoritism, but he was sent from the top. I can¡¯t easily interfere with him, but he¡¯s usually fine during ordinary times. If you are dissatisfied, you can contact me to complain, and I¡¯ll report it to the higher ups.¡± Long Shen ignored Zong Ling¡¯s exhortation and said lightly: ¡°I am not dissatisfied.¡± Zong Ling nodded, and said no more: ¡°How is the matter of the stone tablet progressing?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°You¡¯re here just in time. I have something to tell you.¡± He briefly explained Hui Yiguang¡¯s affairs. As she listened, Zong Ling¡¯s carefree expression gradually disappeared. ¡°It seems that there are still remnants of the Archfiend.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°As long as the world exist, resentment will always be there, and so will the Archfiend. It is an endless cycle that constantly pushes back and forth. People¡¯s hearts are chaotic and resentful, which gives the Archfiend an environment of ample nourishment. I suspect that it was not completely destroyed on Tianyuan Building during the last incident. What Dong Zhi encountered with Hui Yiguang, is most likely a remnant of the Archfiend.¡± Zong Ling frowned and said: ¡°You must find its ontological source before you can completely kill it. Of the three top demons, the Archfiend is the most active. If it¡¯s not destroyed, there will be endless trouble in the future.¡± However, it¡¯s not easy to find the source of the Archfiend. There are many sporadic records of the Archfiend being born and wiped out in history, ranging from decades to hundreds of years. However, when resentment has condensed to a certain extent, the Archfiend will gradually be revived again. Zong Ling said: ¡°It¡¯s not like its body hasn¡¯t been found before and was seriously injured. After all, two hundred years have passed and the Archfiend had lay low and dare not act rashly.¡± Long Shen smiled: ¡°That is one of Elder Zong¡¯s achivements.¡± Zong Ling coughed lightly: ¡°That was many years ago. You probably have heard it thousands of times. It¡¯s quite old so don¡¯t bother mentioning it. I thought it went too smoothly when Tang Jing and the others eliminated the Archfiend on Tianyuan Building. However, even if it wasn¡¯t wiped out, it must¡¯ve been severely injured during that battle, otherwise it would not have scattered itself into remnants. Since you found one of its remnants in a hospital, if you search around the area with that hospital at the center, you may be lucky enough to find its body to take it out in one fell swoop. That would be ideal.¡± Long Shen nodded and said: ¡°After Hui Yiguang¡¯s incident, its most likely spooked and have taken more precautions, but I still have this intention. I¡¯ll send people out and try to scout the area.¡± Zong Ling said: ¡°He Yu and Kan Chaosheng have all gone to Yunnan. You have only Zhong Yuyi here now, which may not be enough. I¡¯ll provide three groups to come and assist you.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°That¡¯s okay.¡± Zong Ling said: ¡°Speaking of this, the second group should indeed add a few more people. Do you have any candidates you fancy for this time around?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t speak. Zong Ling smiled: ¡°Then there is? How rare. I have always felt you are too strict to your subordinates but all of them can easily take charge and lead their own team.¡± Long Shen frowned slightly, obviously disapproving: ¡°Not Kan Chaosheng.¡± Zong Ling smiled and said: ¡°Well he hasn¡¯t been in shape for a long time and still acts like a child and is quite greedy. You are a dignified Deputy Director of the General Administration Bureau but have such few manpower than the others. It would be shameful is this were to spread, but if you really fancy someone this time, you should grasp them quickly. I heard Wu Bingtian has eyes on a few good seedlings. The interview scores and total scores have already been released. They are with me. Do you want to take a look and open a backdoor for any of them? Long Shen was about to say no, when a knock sounded on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Dong Zhi pushed open the door and walked inside. He didn¡¯t expect there would be someone else in Long Shen¡¯s office, so he was taken aback for a moment before he recognized the person and hurriedly bowed before politely saying: ¡°Good morning, Ms. Zong.¡± ¡°Good morning. Are you looking for Long Shen?¡± Zong Ling said with a smile. Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°No, no, it¡¯s fine. You two talk first. I won¡¯t bother you guys.¡± Zong Ling smiled: ¡°Am I so annoying that you wanted to run away when you caught sight of me?¡± Although he knew that the other party was joking, it still made him uneasy so he told the truth of why he came: ¡°I came to see if Boss Long would like to have a meal together at noon. Would you like to join as well Ms. Zong?¡± Zong Ling said: ¡°It won¡¯t be a bother?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Of course not. I¡¯m just worried since the scores haven¡¯t been announced yet that other will misunderstand if they see me with you. If you don¡¯t mind, it¡¯ll be an honor.¡± Zong Ling waved her hand: ¡°Come now. I was only teasing. Go on now.¡± Seeing that they were talking business and he had been given amnesty, he quickly said goodbye and closed the door as he left. Zong Ling smiled and looked at Long Shen: ¡°Among the people you want to recruit, is it Dong Zhi? Or is it a step further, perhaps an apprentice?¡± Long Shen was silent for a moment before he said: ¡°He has insight, understanding, and perseverance.¡± Zong Ling smiled and said: ¡°He Yu and Zhong Yuyi have the same qualities you mentioned, but if they knocked on the door and asked you to have a meal together like he did just now, I would think that you would¡¯ve deducted their entire year¡¯s salary.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°He¡¯s not a member of the Special Administration Bureau so I cannot apply my standards to him.¡± Zong Ling raised an eyebrow: ¡°After he joins group two, can you still say the same thing?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Yes.¡± Zong Ling laughed: ¡°How about we make a bet?¡± Long Shen frowned: ¡°Elder Zong!¡± Zong Ling raised her hand in surrender: ¡°Alright, alright. I know gambling is strictly prohibited in front of you. I¡¯m not a rule breaker. Do you really not want to look at the scores?¡± Seeing that Long Shen didn¡¯t answer, she smiled and said: ¡°Then I¡¯ll leave first so I won¡¯t disturb you.¡± She got up and started to walk out. The moment her hand touched the doorknob, a voice called to her. ¡°Elder Zong.¡± Zong Ling smiled. ¡ª A few days later, Dong Zhi received a call from Gu Meiren. In accordance with the order, after Li Ying and Chi Banxia, it was Dong Zhi¡¯s and Gu Meiren¡¯s turn to watch Hui Yiguang, but the events of that night had broken their agreement. With the efforts of Dong Zhi and the others, Hui Yiguang¡¯s affair was completely resolved. However, Cheng Yuan and the other four failed to arrive on time, so naturally the task of protecting Hui Yiguang fell onto them. However, after that day, Hui Yiguang was no longer trouble by her mysterious incidents. Rather, the story of her unsuccessful suicide attempt at the hospital spread like wildfire and the media even photographed her being helped out of the hospital. Although Wang Qi was not as well known as Hui Yiguang, she had been a celebrity for a while. After her car accident, there were some media reports, but she quickly lost her popularity. As soon as Hui Yiguang¡¯s matter came to light, someone dug into it and found that Wang Qi was also hospitalized in the same hospital. Even more coincidentally, it was the same night that Wang Qi was pronounced dead. This led to the relationship between Wang Qi and Hui Yiguang being uncovered. News of their relationship in the beginning and the fact that they had dated the same guy was made public to the world. Nothing was kept secret and rumors continue to spread. Many people said that Wang Qi wanted revenged so she haunted Hui Yiguang wanting her to accompany her to the afterlife. Some say that it was Hui Yiguang feeling guilty for being a thief and felt she owed Wang Qi, so she went there to commit suicide. There were even those who said Wang Qi¡¯s death was related to Hui Yiguang. It was only after the surveillance video came to light confirming that Hui Yiguang never entered Wang Qi¡¯s ward that the suspicion was cleared. Fortunately, Li Ying and the others had the foresight. When they went to Wang Qi¡¯s room that night, they used a trick to disable the surveillance for a period of time. Otherwise, this would turn into a criminal suspense case and not just a supernatural one. Still, Hui Yiguang was not as lucky as Li Ying and the others. She was completely sucked into the vortex of public opinion. Even her boyfriend had called and told her to not meet for the time being. She simply hid at home and couldn¡¯t even finish up her latest film for the time being. Outside her home was full of media reporters that would block the area as soon as she leaves. During these past two days, Dong Zhi was recuperating. Since Cheng Yuan and the others were at Hui Yiguang¡¯s side, they wouldn¡¯t need his intervention. He had heard all the news about her from Gu Meiren. At this time, Gu Meiren called him and asked if he wanted to visit Hui Yiguang together. After all, they had received 300,000 from her so it would be good to do a ¡°follow up¡±. Dong Zhi wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he agreed and made an appointment with Gu Meiren to visit Hui Yiguang together. Kinky Thoughts: Like I said, and maybe it¡¯s just me, but you¡¯re a pretty shitty friend if you start dating your best friend¡¯s ex. And like I also said, the guy they were fighting over is hardly ever worth it. My goodness I did not expect to delve into the philosophy of life trying to footnote idioms. Quite some heavy stuff but very interesting. Just know that you shouldn¡¯t judge someone just on the surface because you don¡¯t know what kind of circumstances they¡¯ve been through. Life¡¯s hard and unfair. My life motto is: treat others how you want to be treated and be kind to everyone. Oh my, Zong Ling is sure sharp. That¡¯s a bet that Long Shen will definitely lose. CH 40 The community where Hui Yiguang lives was surrounded by tabloid reporters. Residents around the community were attracted to all the commotion. Some that were stopped by reporters even came forward for interviews. Dong Zhi and Gu Meiren didn¡¯t have an access card so they could only call someone to come downstairs and pick them up. Hui Yiguang¡¯s assistant naturally couldn¡¯t do it, so it was Cheng Yuan that came down and let them in. When all three entered the elevator, they finally got rid of the all the covetous eyes staring at them and let out a sigh of relief. ¡°How is Miss Hui?¡± Gu Meiren asked. Cheng Yuan said: ¡°I heard that for the first two days she wasn¡¯t in good spirits, so she slept most of the time. These recent two days she seems to be much better. I¡¯ve made her soul solid again so there shouldn¡¯t be a problem.¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Are there any abnormal behavior from her?¡± Cheng Yuan: ¡°No.¡± When Dong Zhi thought about it, they haven¡¯t known Hui Yiguang for long so even if there were abnormal changes, they wouldn¡¯t be able to tell. Hearing of their arrival, Hui Yiguang personally came out to greet them. ¡°Thank you both so much. If it weren¡¯t for you that night, I might not be sitting here today!¡± She was full of gratitude and seemed to be in good spirits. They exchanged greetings and sat down. Gu Meiren didn¡¯t talk much and mostly listened to the others. After everyone finished their greetings, she said: ¡°Miss Hui, in my capacity, and you may feel offended when I say this to you, but I still suggest that you help manage the affairs of Wang Qi¡¯s death. After all, strictly speaking, her death is indeed related to you.¡± Little Han¡¯s expression changed when she heard this. After Hui Yiguang woke up, she and her agent were afraid of committing taboos, so they never mentioned Wang Qi in front of her. The reporters outside couldn¡¯t get in and Little Han didn¡¯t dare let Hui Yiguang know about the gossip online. Surprisingly, rather than showing displeasure, Hui Yiguang nodded and agreed wholeheartedly: ¡°You are right. We used to be good friends and now she¡¯s no longer here. I can¡¯t be unkind and unrighteous and ignore this. I have entrusted her affairs to a professional company who will handle her funeral.¡± Seeing Little Han¡¯s surprised expression, she smiled helplessly: ¡°I know that you have been hiding the news from the outside world from me for the past few days. In fact, I have secretly looked at them. I have done a lot of things wrong in the past, but now that I¡¯ve walked through hell¡¯s gate, I have understood many things. If I lose money, I can always earn more, but if I lose the people in my life, there¡¯s nothing that can replace them.¡± Hui Yiguang sighed, and then said: ¡°To tell you the truth, I plan to donate a sum of money to a project that helps girls in mountainous areas go to school. When I was a child, I didn¡¯t have such condition, so I could only go to a performing arts school. I hope that there will be more children in the future who didn¡¯t need to be like me and could choose the path they want to go.¡± Gu Meiren said happily: ¡°That¡¯s great to hear. Miss Hui, when the time comes, please let me know. I also want to donate as well!¡± While they were talking, Dong Zhi was quietly observing Hui Yiguang. It seems like it was still the same person as the tone of her voice had no big changes. Her face and smile were kind and soft, similar to how she was before. Even if there was a major change, it¡¯s unlikely that Dong Zhi, who only met her a few times, would be able to pick out. Looking down, he saw a ring on Hui Yiguang¡¯s hand. With a thump in his heart, a chill quickly rose throughout his body, even all the way to his hair! He remembered this ring! It was that night in the hospital. Wang Qi was lying breathless on the hospital bed wearing such a ring on her hand. Enamel-blue petals were inlaid with pearls giving it a very chic look. At that time, he had looked at the ring very carefully since it caught it eye, so it was impossible for him to forget what it looked like! Dong Zhi¡¯s breathing became short. Gu Meiren noticed his strangeness, turned her head and said with concern: ¡°Are you okay?¡± Dong Zhi calmed down, smiled and shook his head, as he inadvertently asked: ¡°Miss Hui, your ring is very beautiful. Where did you buy it?¡± Hui Yiguang glanced down and said with a smile: ¡°This is from a friend.¡± ¡°Is it convenient to tell which friend? I think it¡¯s unique looking, and I also want to buy one to give it to someone.¡± He pretended to be embarrassed and hesitant. Hui Yiguang said clearly: ¡°A girlfriend?¡± Dong Zhi smiled shyly. Hui Yiguang touched the pearl on the ring as she said: ¡°This was brought back by a friend from abroad many years ago. I have always liked it very much. Now it seems that it is difficult to buy it.¡± Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Maybe your friend still have a few on hand?¡± Hui Yiguang sighed and said regretfully: ¡°He has been dead for many years now.¡± After that, she smiled slightly at the Dong Zhi: ¡°Therefore, there are very few of the same style in the world.¡± The weird feeling in his heart became even stronger causing Dong Zhi hair to stand completely upright. He couldn¡¯t wait to run to the morgue to find Wang Qi¡¯s body to see if she still had the ring in her hand. Hui Yiguang didn¡¯t seem to be interested in the topics of rings so after a few words, she began chatting with Gu Meiren about other things. Dong Zhi was full of questions that needed to be answered like crazy grass*, but was unable to ask anything. He felt like there was a thin veil covering the truth, but he was unable to tear it away. *Refers to desire for something that¡¯s grown to the point of madness. After half an hour had passed, Hui Yiguang showed signs of fatigue, so Gu Meiren and Dong Zhi said their goodbyes. Hui Yiguang sent them to the door. ¡°I heard that you¡¯ll be performing duties soon, so you don¡¯t need to come again.¡± Hui Yiguang said: ¡°In fact, I¡¯m someone who¡¯s deeply concern about my privacy, so I don¡¯t like having others around. Last time I had no choice but to trouble you. Now that the matter has been resolved, I¡¯m feeling much better now. If anything comes up again, I¡¯ll ask for you but for now, we can stop here. Thank you very much.¡± Gu Meiren was a little surprised: ¡°The other people¡­¡± Hui Yiguang said: ¡°I¡¯ll let Banxia tell them.¡± Since this was her request, Gu Meiren didn¡¯t insist any longer. The interview scores would be announced soon and if they pass, they¡¯ll start on the training exam. It was true that there was no time for them to follow up on Hui Yiguang¡¯s affairs. Before parting, Dong Zhi suddenly said: ¡°Miss Hui, did you know that Wang Qi also had the same ring as you on her hand?¡± Hui Yiguang was surprised: ¡°Did she?¡± She sighed: ¡°We used to be good sisters so she would use my things at will. Maybe I had given the same ring to her once, but I didn¡¯t expect that things would develop like this now.¡± Her tone was so affectionate that it dispelled most of Dong Zhi¡¯s doubt. It wasn¡¯t until he and Gu Meiren entered the elevator and Hui Yigang had sent them to the door that he saw Hui Yiguang giving him a smile right as the elevator door closed. It was so profound as if it contained endless secrets. Dong Zhi whole body shook. Gu Meiren wasn¡¯t paying attention as she just lowered her head. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but take a step forward, but the elevator door was already closed and was slowly descending. Seeing his behavior, Gu Meiren said strangely: ¡°What¡¯s the matter? ¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Do you think Hui Yiguang is a bit strange?¡± Gu Meiren thought for a while: ¡°How can you tell? We barely know her so I can¡¯t really tell. What¡¯s the matter?¡± Dong Zhi told her about his thoughts on the ring and Gu Meiren gave him a disapproving look: ¡°Didn¡¯t she already explained it? She gave that ring to Wang Qi.¡± ¡°But she was almost possessed and had her body stolen by her, yet she still wore the same ring without any grudges. Don¡¯t you find that strange?¡± Dong Zhi said. When he said this, Gu Meiren became more thoughtful: ¡°Do you think Hui Yiguang is actually Wang Qi?¡± Dong Zhi smiled bitterly: ¡°I don¡¯t know. At that time, we all thought that Hui Yiguang¡¯s soul had been returned, but after thinking about it, it was so chaotic that night, and there were monsters mixed in too. It¡¯s possible that something went wrong.¡± Gu Meiren comforted: ¡°Don¡¯t think too much. At that time, we all felt that there was no mistake. Now she¡¯s recovering well. After this catastrophe, she changed her ways and is doing good. Isn¡¯t this enough?¡± Dong Zhi can only say: ¡°Maybe.¡± When they two got off the elevator, they met Cheng Yuan downstairs. He had come to help Hui Yiguang repair her soul. When Dong Zhi asked about Hui Yiguang¡¯s physical condition, Cheng Yuan said: ¡°Her soul has just returned to its original place, and her spirit is a little unstable. In a few days, she should be fine.¡± ¡°Has she shown any behavior that is different from ordinary people or different from usual in the past few days?¡± Dong Zhi asked. Cheng Yuan shook his head: ¡°No, her soul is very consistent with her body, and there is no rejection, but her assistant told me privately that after Miss Hui¡¯s accident, her whole demeanor has changed.¡± Dong Zhi and Gu Meiren looked at each other: ¡°How?¡± Cheng Yuan said: ¡°Her temper improved, and she is more kind. She even offered to give Little Han a raise and even gave her agent a break, saying she needed to recuperate for a while. Little Han said that Ms. Hui used to be more impatient in private, wouldn¡¯t listen to others opinion, and wouldn¡¯t be picky with scripts, as long as the pay was high.¡± This didn¡¯t really explain much. At most, people who crossed a tribulation would often improve their mindset and change their behaviors. Perhaps as Long Shen said, there are many things in this world that have their own cause and effect. The perfection you want may not be consistent with the perfection that others want. As long as you work hard and feel worthy in your heart, it will be the best result. Dong Zhi said goodbye to Cheng Yuan and left with Gu Meiren. The reporters still haven¡¯t left. With eyes sharper than knives, they immediately spotted Dong Zhi and Gu Meiren coming downstairs from the Hui Yiguang¡¯s residence. They immediately flocked over and asked if they were Hui Yiguang¡¯s friends. While Gu Meiren and Dong Zhi can battle against monsters, handling these reporters were a different matter. It took almost all their strength just to squeeze out from the crowd and flee. After having a meal with Gu Meiren, the two of them received separate notification informing them that they had pass the interview and asked them to report to the General Administration Bureau in two days to start training. The unexpected good news came so suddenly that even an introverted girl like Gu Meiren couldn¡¯t help but express joy. ¡°After seeing everyone¡¯s abilities, I thought I wouldn¡¯t pass. This was unexpected!¡± Her face was flushed with glee. Overwhelmed from his happiness he barely could think straight as he said: ¡°I heard that there¡¯ll be an exam after training. If we pass that, we¡¯ll finally be able to join the Special Administration Bureau. Until then, it¡¯s still up in the air.¡± Hearing what he said, Gu Meiren gradually calmed down, nodded, and patted her cheeks: ¡°Calm down, calm down!¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help laugh: ¡°Want to ask the others? Maybe they got their notification too.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Since Gu Meiren knew Ba Sang best, she picked up her phone and called him, while Dong Zhi sent the notification to Long Shen, He Yu, Kan Chaosheng, and Zhong Yuyi to inform them of the good news. Zhong Yuyi, despite being a bit airheaded, was surprisingly the first to respond: [Congratulations.] Dong Zhi reply with a happy emoji. Zhong Yuyi: [This year¡¯s training will have my course in them. Classmate, I¡¯ll greet you advance.] Almost spitting for the shock, Dong Zhi quickly replied: [Teacher Zhong, please tell me, is the name of your course ¡°How to make your reflex skills longer than the Earth¡±?] Zhong Yuyi: [You dare underestimate me! Just you wait and see!¨q(¨s^¨t)¨r] He then sent a few unhappy expressions to Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi was happily chatting with him when he received a message from Kan Chaosheng. Kan Chaosheng: [Please treat me! Tan Jiacai! Japanese Food! Hot pot! Nothing less than that!] This was indeed a reply that was most fitting of his character. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry. Just as he was about to reply, the other party sent another message: [He Yu¡¯s like a dead dog right now so he can¡¯t reply to your message. He told me to say congratulations to you. He owes you a meal debt, so he¡¯ll pay it back when he returns!] He hurriedly asked: [Are you alright? How is it going? When are you guys coming back?] Kan Chaosheng: [I don¡¯t know yet. Many unexpected things have happened. He Yu rescued a group of three yesterday and almost got himself killed. He¡¯s still lying in bed! That¡¯s why he was so frustrated. If it was me, I would be up and kicking about right now!] Although his mouth was full of trains*, he didn¡¯t disclose any specific information. Dong Zhi knew that it most likely confidential and since he hasn¡¯t officially joined the Special Administration Bureau, it was natural that they couldn¡¯t¡¯ tell him, and he didn¡¯t pry. After telling them to take care of themselves, he ended the conversation. *(Âú×ìÅÜ»ð³µ) A few meanings. 1. Refers to a well-spoken, articulate person. 2. Refers to someone who is talkative, smug, or bragging. 3. Describe someone who has no control over their speech and say whatever they want irresponsibly. || In this context it¡¯s referring to 2. Long Shen never replied. Dong Zhi surmised he should have known the results long ago. Gu Meiren put down her phone and said to him: ¡°Cheng Yuan didn¡¯t seem to pass.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°No way?¡± Li Ying was quite shrewd*. That day, when he invited those 9 people, including Dong Zhi, to dinner, he made it clear that he thought these were the ones who would be able to pass the interview and he wanted to get together so that they can get to know each other. But the results now, was Cheng Yuan didn¡¯t pass. *Ghost (¹í¾«) Refers to someone who¡¯s cunning/shrewd. Gu Meiren: ¡°I also find it strange that Cheng Yuan didn¡¯t pass. He¡¯s quite capable in his psychic abilities. Why didn¡¯t he pass? He said that he didn¡¯t receive a notice, so I asked Li Ying and the others who all said they got theirs. Even Ba Sang passed.¡± Not knowing how to answer, Dong Zhi could only say: ¡°Maybe the above had other considerations. If I have a chance later, I¡¯ll ask.¡± While talking with Gu Meiren, Dong Zhi received a message from Long Shen: [Practice more by yourself. I¡¯ll see you in two days.] This message implied that Long Shen had no time to have a meal with him. Dong Zhi scratched his nose and replied back: [Understood. Please take care of yourself! (*^__^*)] In his office, Long Shen was talking to a visitor. ¡°Boss Long, I wonder if you have made picks to any candidates?¡± Song Zhicun said with a smile. Unlike Wu Bingtian, who likes to welcome and send1, Song Zhicun was more like a fish in water2, and didn¡¯t seem to be cold and impersonal like Long Shen. This Deputy Director of group three has always been low-key in the General Administration Bureau. 1(Ó­À´ËÍÍù) Refers to someone who likes socializing. 2(ÈçÓãµÃË®) Metaphor referring to someone who gets along well in their environment || In this context it¡¯s saying he¡¯s easy to get along with. He usually picks up the remaining candidates that the other two groups pass on. Trivial tasks are mostly handled by group three. Their members are made up of a mix of people who are from smaller sects or have no affiliation, and their team leader is a cook who¡¯s also a half-cultivator. Thus, their group was given the nickname the miscellaneous group. Of course, to be a Deputy Director of the General Administration Bureau, Song Zhicun was not just good at cooking rice. Just like Long Shen, his temper is cold and there¡¯s no room for errors. Hearing this, Long Shen said: ¡°There is no need to decide so soon, right?¡± Song Zhicun smiled bitterly: ¡°There are quick hands and I¡¯m slower. Many of the talents I was optimistic about in previous years were snatched away by Wu Bingtian. Last year, I finally got optimistic about one and I targeted him before the Boss Wu and the result was good. Many have taken the initiative to ask for transfer to the Northwest Branch since they refused to stay in the General Administration Bureau. No matter what this year, I have to get some fresh troops for our group! This time, Yunnan had lost a colleague, so everyone¡¯s morale is low!¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Have you talk to Boss Wu about this?¡± Song Zhicun silently thought that guy was too cunning. He¡¯s not like Long Shen who is straightforward. He smiled and said: ¡°I have told him, but he ignored me! He has a group of rich and powerful people, as well as the Longhu Sect and Yuanming Palace support. If they need pills, they get pills. If they need talismans, they get talismans. Newcomers aren¡¯t stupid. They all want to go to group one. Who would come to our groups when that group exist? We have suffered losses in previous years, but this can¡¯t go on this year. We have to think of a way to unite and let Wu Bingtian suffer!¡± Long Shen: ¡°Then what good idea does Boss Song have?¡± Song Zhicun had already thought of it quite some time ago: ¡°Let¡¯s discuss who we fancy so we won¡¯t have any conflicts with candidate selection and shove it in Wu Bingtian face. When the time comes to choose someone, we can join forces to speak on behalf of each other to avoid the other party taking any big advantage.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°There will be exams after the training. Even if we take a fancy now, they may not be able to pass the exams.¡± Song Zhicun smiled and said: ¡°Let¡¯s bring them to our side first. If they can¡¯t pass the exam at that time, then we only have ourselves to blame.¡± Long Shen nodded but didn¡¯t say who he liked so Song Zhicun made the first move: ¡°I think that Chi Banxia is not bad.¡± Witchcraft is popular in Southeast Asia, but not very common in this country. Their domestic comrades who travel to Southeast Asia often suffers against witchcraft. Later, when they had mission abroad, they would have to call in poison practitioners to assist. While the Miaojiang poison technique and witchcraft have the same origin, they later developed separately and are very different now. It could be said they¡¯re equivalent to two flowers on the same branch. Poison practitioners are also in and of itself rare to find. Among the Miao people, most are no different from the Han nationality who don¡¯t know the art of poison. Only a few seedlings who live in seclusions in the mountains and forest could you find one or two experts. Unfortunately, such experts do not follow the ways of the modern world, let alone country. It¡¯s estimated that they would not travel far and there¡¯s also a barrier of communication as well. The Hainan¡¯s Chi family is not in line with the secular world but is well known for their art of witchcraft in Southeast Asia, and a unique art at that. No one from their clan had come out to pursue a career before, thus making Chi Banxia the first. Even if she¡¯s only half as good, she will be highly sought after. Knowing this, Song Zhicun has his eyes on her, but was afraid Wu Bingtian might rob him of his chance, so he sought for Long Shen¡¯s help. Long Shen said: ¡°Boss Song hasn¡¯t accepted an apprentice yet. If you throw out this bait, you might have a good chance to tempt Chi Banxia.¡± Song Zhicun¡¯s eyes lit up. Yes! It was impossible for Yuanming Palace to accept a witchdoctor as an apprentice. Even if Wu Bingtian promise big things, he can¡¯t grant her the prestige of being a direct apprentice to a Deputy Director. Since the Chi family allowed her to take the exam, it must mean that they hope to develop her career. Between being a group member compared to a Deputy Director¡¯s apprentice, there¡¯s no need to even think about which of the two is more important. This is like two universities trying to grab the champion of the college entrance exam. One would offer to waive the tuition fee for four years while the other would offer not only free tuition for their undergrad, but also for their postgrad as well. The champion of course would lean towards the university with the more favorable conditions. ¡°Boss Long really knows how to wake up a dreamer with just a word!¡± he laughed: ¡°Thank you, thank you!¡± Long Shen: ¡°You¡¯re welcome, Boss Song.¡± Song Zhicun said again: ¡°Li Ying is also very good, but he¡¯s born on Mount Maoshan, so he¡¯ll probably join group one. There¡¯s also Zhang Song, who¡¯s from a side branch of the Longhu Sect, so he¡¯ll join them as well. As for Liu Qingbo, Boss Long had save his life once, so he admires you very much. With such enthusiasm, don¡¯t you want him as an apprentice?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°That¡¯s just a kid playing around.¡± Song Zhicun smiled and said: ¡°Boss Long you¡¯re too humble. There¡¯s also Dong Zhi, who rank first on the written exam. I heard that he¡¯s named a disciple of the Hezao Sect, and your group have already met him. He must also want to join group two to be with his brothers, but I heard Wu Bingtian is very interested in him.¡± Seeing Long Shen¡¯s eyebrows twitch, Song Zhixun secretly smiled: ¡°Liu Qingbo has a deep background. You must already know that his father is very valued by the higher-ups. If he joins group two, money and staff would no longer be an issue. You may even be able to suppress Wu Bingtian. However, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, neither one would want the other to join the group they¡¯re in, which means you have to make a choice.¡± ¡°Thank you Boss Song for reminding me.¡± Long Shen nodded while remaining calm. Seeing that he still refused to reveal anything in the slightest, Song Zhicun inwardly scold him for being so cunning. Two days passed in a blink of an eye. On the day of registration, Dong Zhi came to the designated classroom early. Since everyone didn¡¯t know the specifics of how many had passed, when they look around, they couldn¡¯t¡¯ help being surprised. There were only about 20 tables and chairs in the classroom, meaning, about only 20 people had passed to the training stage. The elimination rate was quite high, so it was no wonder no one was admitted last year. It seems the Special Administration Bureau remained in line with their ideals, preferring for shortages and be picky with who they recruit rather than recruit indiscriminately. When the training course is completed, there¡¯s most likely another elimination. By the end, if even 10 people still remain, that still wasn¡¯t bad. Li Ying, Liu Qingbo and the others were already there. After the incident on the rooftop of the hospital, everyone had become a little closer. In any case, they had gone through life and death together. They all smiled and greeted each other warmly. Surprisingly Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t seem so antagonistic towards Dong Zhi. When Ba Sang saw Dong Zhi come in, he waved to him happily, motioning that he had reserved a seat next to him. Gu Meiren, who was sitting behind Ba Sang, flashed him a smile. Dong Zhi walked over and sat down. Ba Sang leaned over and whispered: ¡°I heard that you had it rough recently?¡± Dong Zhi whispered: ¡°Fortunately, I was there to save the day. I¡¯ll tell you the details later.¡± Ba Sang gave him a regretful look: ¡°This beauty had told me, but it was a pity that I was at home and missed out, otherwise I could have gone with you. What a great practice opportunity!¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°You want to practice? You won¡¯t have to worry about that chance in the future. I heard there¡¯ll be ton of exercises during this training period. By then you¡¯ll probably wish you were still back at home!¡± Ba Sang said happily: ¡°Speaking of home, I brought yak meat from home. I¡¯ll give you your share later!¡± While everyone was talking, a man walked in. It was Deputy Director Wu, the legendary leader of group one who was magnanimous and had ample wealth. The noisy classroom instantly silence as everyone quickly shut their mouth, as not to leave a bad impression on their potential future leader. Wu Bingtian looked around with a kind smile on his face: ¡°Dear students, first of all, congratulation on successfully passing the written and interview exam for the Special Administration Bureau this year. You may become a part of our future. Why did I say future? It¡¯s because there¡¯s still the training exam after our training course. Don¡¯t think that just because you passed the interview means this is a shoo-in for you. In previous years, many people have been eliminated as a result.¡± Seeing everyone sitting upright stiffly, he smiled again: ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous. Being able to pass the interviews shows that you¡¯re capable. I also hope that I can work with everyone here in the end. If this year¡¯s practice exam can achieve no elimination, then it would be the most wonderful session ever. I¡¯ll have to engrave your accomplishment on the corridors of the Special Administration Bureau for latecomers to admire.¡± ¡°I suppose he says this every year. Next year, he¡¯ll say the same thing to them.¡± A person next to Dong Zhi muttered in a low voice. Dong Zhi thought it was a bit funny Wu Bingtian continued: ¡°In order to encouraged everyone to make progress, let me announce the results of the interview. Li Ying rank first. Second place, Dong Zhi. Regarding this, although he placed second in the interview, combined with his excellent results of first place in the written exam, his total overall score is still first place. Presumably everyone knows that his written exam score far exceeded second place by a full 20 points. The Special Administrative Bureau had never given such a high written test score before, thus making Dong Zhi set a new historical record.¡± In an instant, all the sights in the classroom fell on the Dong Zhi, and he finally experienced what it was like to have thorns on his back*. *(ÈçâÔÚ±³) Idiom referring to the feeling of extreme uneasiness. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was remembering things wrong, but Dong Zhi recalled that when he was practicing his Five Thunder Talisman technique on the rooftop, although Deputy Director Wu gave him a smile, his attitude was far from kind as he¡¯s being now. Even from the way that he was looking at him, his eyes were soft that it made Dong Zhi involuntarily shiver. Kinky Thoughts: I have some thoughts of Hui Yiguang, but to avoid any potential spoilers, I¡¯ll state it later. CH 41 Fortunately, this look lasted for a only a few seconds before Wu Bingtian continued: ¡°Third place, Zhang Song. Fourth Place, Liu Qingbo¡­¡± and he continued on until he named all 20 people. ¡°¡­All in all, the written exams and interviews represent everyone¡¯s most intuitive level, but how far you can go in the future is not determined by them. I believe you¡¯ll be able to learn a lot more in this next training course. I hope you¡¯ll make persistent efforts and have the courage to keep climbing! Next, we¡¯ll begin today¡¯s training session.¡± Seeing everyone sitting upright with their ears pricked up, he couldn¡¯t help but smile: ¡°The first day of the training course is not from me, but from the Jiang Bureau. Please welcome Director Jiang Jun!¡± Amidst enthusiastic applause, Director Jiang Jun walked in. He clasped his palms and motioned for everyone to calm down. He looked around for a while and saw eager eyes and said with satisfaction: ¡°Hello everyone. I¡¯m Jiang Jun. Today¡¯s the first day of your training with the Special Administration Bureau and I have the honor of teaching you. Our theme today is duty, integrity, and efficiency, and how you can make your contribution to the Chinese dream!¡± Everyone: ??? It¡¯s not that they had never heard of the origin of this Director Jiang. Rumors swirled that he¡¯s not a practitioner but was someone that was parachute in from another department. He was quite enthusiastic about speaking and talked incessantly every time his mouth opens. Unfortunately, everything he talked about had nothing to do with training. Ba Sang and the others couldn¡¯t help but dozed off after an hour, while Dong Zhi lasted a little longer and only an hour later did he started to get distracted. Li Ying was the strongest and held on until class was almost over. As a result, his eyes were complete glazed over and listless. Director Jiang spoke for three hours and didn¡¯t even break for a sip of water in between. It wasn¡¯t until Wu Bingtian came back and announce class was over did he stop. As everyone watch the two of them leave the classroom, they all collapsed on their table with a scream. Ba Sang said in despair: ¡°It won¡¯t be the same kind of course this afternoon, will it?¡± Dong Zhi was uncertain: ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Director Jiang must be tired.¡± Unfortunately, after their two-hour lunch break, Director Jiang came back and not only didn¡¯t he feel the slightest bit of fatigue, he was actually in higher spirits and went on for another three hours. Everyone felt anguished in their heart and suddenly felt that there was no God. Even Li Ying, who was the most astute couldn¡¯t bear it. It was a bit easier to get through the afternoon session. In the evening, Director Jiang finally left. Everyone was afraid that he was going say he¡¯ll be continuing tomorrow, but fortunately, he left without saying anything so it gave them a glimmer of hope. ¡°Shall we go to dinner?¡± At the end of the day, Ba Sang stammered when he spoke. He had to rub his eyes hard in order not to fall asleep and leave a bad impression and had used up almost all his willpower for half of his lifetime. The others didn¡¯t fare much better as Li Ying yawned and asked if everyone would like to have a meal together. The 20 people in the training class had already form their own circle of friends. Of the ten that had helped Hui Yiguang, Cheng Yuan and another person had failed the interview, leaving only eight people left. Both Dong Zhi and Gu Meiren are friends with Ba Sang so naturally they invited him as well as Li Ying and Liu Qingbo. The other group was headed by Zhang Song. As a disciple from the Longhu Sect, he didn¡¯t want to ¡°succumb¡± to Li Ying, a disciple of another sect, so he started his own group and brought several rising stars to his side. There were three people in it. One was name Ou Yangyin, who was good as divination. Another was Zhou Yue, who has come from a line of feng shui masters. Finally, there was a young girl name Xie Qingning. She was secretive about her abilities, so no one knew what she was good at. These three, like Zhang Song, didn¡¯t want Li Ying to stand out as their ¡°de facto leader¡±, so they naturally banded together. In contrast, Dong Zhi who came in second on the interview and first in the written exam attracted the most attention but had no intention to lead. When Li Ying invited him, he felt relieved. Li Ying asked them what they wanted to eat. After Director¡¯s Jiang ¡°poison¡± today, no one had an appetite. Seeing as everyone was lacking interest, Li Yi suggested they go to a hot pot restaurant not far away. It was also convenient as people can eat as much or as little as they want. After climbing the stairs all the way down and condemning the inhumanity of the Special Administration Bureau for their refusal to fix the elevator, everyone finally reached the back door. When they went out, Dong Zhi let out a sound of surprise. ¡°Left something behind?¡± Ba Sang asked. Dong Zhi pointed to the position of where the guard would usually sit and said: ¡°The uncle is gone?¡± Except for him, no one else lives in the Special Administration Building so they didn¡¯t realize the importance of his position and how he was always there. Ba Sang casually remarked: ¡°Maybe he went to dinner.¡± Li Ying and the others had already walked further ahead so Ba Sang and Dong Zhi hurried their steps to catch up. As soon as they left the alley, everyone was stunned. At this time, it should have been the liveliest hour as rush hour had just started. White-collar workers should be heading off from work, children heading back from school, traffic police should be abound directing the congestion, and tourist exploring the city, all converging around the area. The streets should be filled with a mixed of cars and bicycles showing of the vibe of a bustling metropolis. Yet no such scene appeared in front of them. The bustling streets were empty. A car suddenly drove in the middle of the road and its door flung open, but there was no driver or passengers inside. Briefcases, water bottles, and even armbands from volunteers were discarded and scattered everywhere on the ground. The center of the country, the heart of the city, was now completely desolated in this moment. It was as if a countrywide emergency was in effect, and everyone was on lockdown. ¡°What happened¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± After a few seconds, Chi Banxia recollected herself. Dong Zhi remembered his encountered in Yangcheng and said: ¡°I broke into an enchantment set up by a demon before thinking that I had traveled through time and space. It¡¯s very similar to the current situation we¡¯re currently in!¡± But were demons really rampant to this point? They were in the center of the capital, just right outside the Special Administration Bureau. Who would dare create an enchantment like this? Everyone was shocked hearing Dong Zhi¡¯s words. ¡°No,¡± Li Ying rejected: ¡°If you look, extending from here, it will mean that most of the capital is completely empty. I have never heard of a demon that has such great ability!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the Bureau. It must be safe there!¡± A young man suggested. His name is Xiang Yongnian, but Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t familiar with him. ¡°I don¡¯t suggest¡­¡± Before Li Ying could finish, Xiang Yongnian had already turned around and hurried to the backdoor of the Special Administration Building and his figure quickly disappeared form everyone¡¯s sight. Li Ying made an ugly expression: ¡°I suggest everyone continue forward. We are practitioners, not ordinary people. We must find out what happen. If there¡¯s a situation, it¡¯s precisely where we are needed.¡± ¡°I agree.¡± ¡°Me too.¡± Everyone else, including Dong Zhi, nodded. ¡°What!!!¡± At this moment Xiang Yongnian¡¯s scream came from the building. Everyone¡¯s expression changed slightly. As they were hesitating whether to go investigate, Xiang Yongnian had already run out again. He covered his neck with one hand and blood kept flowing out of his fingers, quickly soaking his collar as half his shoulder was completely covered in blood. ¡°Zombies! There¡¯re zombies in the building!¡± The color of his complexion drained, as if he was a ghost, and he wailed loudly before collapsing in front of them motionless. ¡°Everything was fine when we were going downstairs moments ago!¡± Someone shouted in disbelief. ¡°Could this be a trial for us?¡± A different person questioned. Perhaps it was. Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how the entire world had seemingly changed after they went downstairs. Ba Sang walked towards Xiang Yongnian slowly while the others stood back. Everyone wanted to know what happened to him. When Ba Sang got close to the body, he squatted down and reached towards its nose, but his wrist was suddenly grabbed. He was taken aback, and his body reflexively wanted to retreat but he was gripped tightly. Among the men in the group, he could be considered the strongest, yet Xiang Yongnian¡¯s strength was far superior to his that he couldn¡¯t break away. As soon as he was about to use his other hand, he saw his opponent slowly raise his head. His eyes were soulless and blue veins were bulging from the area where he was bitten. There was a gaping hole in his neck as blood still flowed freely, yet all Xiang Yongnian did was stare intently at Ba Sang. Suddenly he rushed towards him intending to bite him on the shoulder when Ba Sang kicked him in the chest, causing him to fly four meters away. It didn¡¯t seem like he was affected as Xiang Yongnian slowly got up and walked towards Ba Sang again. He had clearly become a zombie! Ba Sang let out a whistle and a vulture came out of nowhere, swooping past everyone¡¯s head as it swept towards Xiang Yongnian. When his opponent wanted to pounce on Ba Sang again, the vulture pecked directly at Xiang Yongnian¡¯s head. He threw himself onto the group and finally remained motionless. Everyone was frightened and confused. They didn¡¯t know whether they should continue forward or return to the Special Administration Building. Before they had the chance to think, two more figures appeared at the back door, walking towards them, stumbling in their steps. One figure was missing an arm and the other was missing half his neck. Their pace was slow but looking at them was still a terrifying sight. Gu Meiren exclaimed: ¡°I recognize him. When I came to register on the first day, he was the person who registered me!¡± Not everyone in the Special Administration Bureau had extraordinary skills. With regards to this person, he was just an ordinary staff member in logistics. They couldn¡¯t help but ponder whether this was a trial or a real emergency. There was no sign at all. After those two figures, more shadows emerged at the doors as zombies started to pour out. Without a second thought, everyone turned and ran. Dong Zhi wanted to go back to the Special Administration Building to check up on Long Shen and Zhong Yuyi, but the large swathe of zombies that appeared had now block the path. He was pulled hard by Ba Sang and had to run along with him. The zombies speed were relatively slow so they quickly left them behind. When everyone reached the sidewalk across the street, they stopped at the corner and all bent over holding their knees as they gasped for breath. ¡°How could¡­this kind of thing happen?!¡± ¡°Could it be a training exercise?¡± ¡°But I have never heard of this part of the training in the past years!¡± ¡°It¡¯s impossible to tell. Otherwise, what kind of sudden training is this?¡± ¡°But what happened to Xiang Yongnian just now and those staff member¡­ It¡¯s so realistic¡­ It¡¯s hard to imagine that it¡¯s fake. Is Xiang Yongnian really dead?¡± Everyone continue discussing and some were showing trace of helplessness. Liu Qingbo scoffed at the reaction of these people: ¡°Whether it¡¯s training or reality, isn¡¯t this the time when we¡¯re needed the most? What are we panicking for?!¡± Li Ying gasped: ¡°Qingbo is right. Boss Wu and the others are much more skillful than us. Even if this is reality, they have the means to get away. Instead of worrying about them, we should focus on ourselves. Going forward, we need to adjust our mentality and cannot treat this as just a training exercise. We have to think of it as real. Think about what happen to Xiang Yongnian just now. Do you want to end up like him?¡± These words made everyone¡¯s faces suddenly serious. The sense of mendacity intertwined with the tragic death of one of their companions gave rise to a sense of crisis that was both terrifying and humorous. In any case, everyone dared not take things lightly any longer. Li Ying looked around at everyone: ¡°What do you think?¡± Liu Qingbo said: ¡°I suggest dividing into two groups to investigate the situation, then agreeing to a place to meet.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I think with the current situation, it is better for us not to be separated for the time being, because we don¡¯t know how serious it is yet.¡± Liu Qingbo sneered: ¡°Even if there are zombies, they¡¯re just zombies of ordinary people. Or is it you¡¯re afraid you¡¯ll not be able to protect yourself and end up like Xiang Yognian?!¡± When he wasn¡¯t in front of the leaders of the Special Administration Bureau, he immediately erected all his spikes. Dong Zhi pulled on Ba Sang¡¯s arm and showed it to everyone. There was a bruise with five finger marks clearly indented on it that was left by Xiang Yongnian just now. Being able to leave such a mark showed just how much strength he had used at that time. ¡°The known situation now is that when we¡¯re attacked, we can be injured and bleed. They may be ordinary people turned into zombies so you¡¯re not taking it seriously but what if there are other unknowns? The zombies could turn into beasts or evolve into something more frightening in a short period of time. The more people we have, the greater out strength!¡± Not everyone can deal with zombie either. People like Gu Meiren¡¯s and Chi Banxia¡¯s abilities are not useful when it comes to handling zombies. ¡°You¡¯re right. We better not separate for the time being!¡± Li Ying nodded as he agreed with Dong Zhi¡¯s words. Liu Qingbo showed dissatisfaction but didn¡¯t say anything in the end. Gu Meiren and Chi Banxia breathed a sigh of relief. Li Ying asked Gu Meiren and Chi Banxia to walk in the middle while he and Liu Qingbo lead the way in front and Dong Zhi and Ba Sang handle the back. There were two other people with them. One was named Chen Xun, and the other Liu Si, who were on the side encompassing the girls. At first, they stumble upon a few corpses that had fallen on the side of the road, but the further they walked, the more corpses they encountered. The scene was like everyone had scattered from the downtown area and was eventually overtaken by zombies and died on the road as they tried to run away. Everyone reluctantly went towards the corpses to check on them and found that they were still warm. The touch felt so real that it didn¡¯t seem as if this was some kind of exercise. The deaths of so many people were appalling. Some had missing limbs while other resurrected as zombies and wanted to attack them and was suppressed. The streets were empty and occasionally the anti-theft alarm from cars would blare in the distance. It had startled everyone at first but eventually they got used to it and they would turn a deaf ear whenever they hear it now. The sky gradually darkened and some of the streetlights came on while others were broken, which put an invisible layer of pressure on everyone¡¯s hearts. This was truly like hell on earth and didn¡¯t seem to be a training exercise at all. Their hope was beginning to fade as haziness took over. Dong Zhi thought about the missing Long Shen and his mood became heavier. Others were not much better than him, but they all tried to prevent their mood from sinking to the deepest level of despair as to not affect the efficiency of the team. Li Ying suddenly stopped and listened. ¡°You guys, did you hear anyone yelling for help?¡± He asked uncertainly. ¡°I heard it.¡± Chi Banxia said. Everyone else nodded. Ba Sang said: ¡°It seems to be at three o¡¯clock!¡± Li Ying said: ¡°Lets go and take a look!¡± No one had any objection, so they headed that way. The sound of shouting grew louder as they got closer. Eventually they came upon a commercial building. The building was brightly lit, and corpses littered around the door. At the intersection next to it, the traffic lights were still working, adding to the unreal-like scene. Blood marks covered the once bright and clean glass door that left everyone in shock. Li Ying and Liu Qingbo entered first followed by the others. The building was a mall that mainly sold high to medium end products. Goods scattered everywhere and not a single salesperson was in sight. Perhaps people took advantage of the chaos and ransacked the place since they found empty containers everywhere and glass that displayed gold and jewelry was broken into and most of the items in them were missing. Could a training exercise be realistic to this extent? Doubts started to creep into everyone¡¯s hearts. After passing through the shopping mall, they finally show people that were shouting for help. There were more than a dozen people on the other side that were mainly women and children. They piled up clothes hangers and cabinets forming a circle that surrounded them and each was holding onto some makeshift weapon, like clothing poles or fire extinguishers. They all had panic-stricken expression on their face. On the other side of their barricade, zombies roared at their prey that couldn¡¯t be seen or eaten. With the arrival of Li Ying and the others, the zombie found new targets to focus on; ones that were not blocked by obstacles and could be easily reached by their fingertips. The zombies turned around and rushed towards them. Liu Qingbo held tightly to his sword as he jumped a few steps when he saw this. The long sword in his hand unsheathed and he slashed it at the zombie¡¯s neck, taking off its head. It flew high and bounced on the ceiling before falling to the ground and rolling away. Liu Qingob was imposing yet elegant manner was like a rainbow as he slashed several more zombies in a single breath, which was more efficient than Li Ying who was burning them with talisman fire. Ba Sang cooperated tacitly with Dong Zhi. As Dong Zhi controlled the zombies¡¯ movements with his Sunlight Talisman, Ba Sang took the chance and broke their necks. Unsurprisingly, Gu Meiren¡¯s flute had no effect on the zombies, while Chi Banxia¡¯s witchcraft could somewhat control them, but it worked very slowly, and she was out of breath just after a short while. There was also Chen Xun, who¡¯s good at martial arts1. It would be fine if there were only a few zombies to deal with, but his two fists could not beat four hands2. He was powerless when he was besieged. Fortunately, Liu Si was there to assist him. Taking out a whip, he snapped it at a zombie¡¯s neck, and with just one flick, he broke its neck. Dong Zhi had to do a doubletake when he saw this as he thought of Old Zheng from the Northeast Branch. 1Horizontal Training (ºáÁ·) Three method of practice: boxing, martial arts, and horizontal training method. It¡¯s referred to as the ¡°three trainings¡±. It¡¯s basically a mix of kungfu + boxing. See lore for details || I¡¯ll be referring to it as martial arts. 2(Ë«È­²»µÐËÄÊÖ) Idiom referring to one person cannot be a crowd (AKA being outnumbered). When the women and children saw their saviors, they were overjoyed. Seeing all the zombies had been wiped out, they got even more excited and shouted loudly. ¡°Come here!¡± ¡°Come in to avoid them!¡± When the team had finally resolved the last zombie, they retreated into the barricade. The place was originally a jewelry store that had now been transformed to accommodate around a dozen people. With Li Ying and the others, it caused the space to become a lot more crowded as now more than twenty people were inside. ¡°What the hell is going on?!¡± Liu Qingbo asked anxiously. A teller wearing a uniform from a luxury brand answered his question: ¡°I don¡¯t know. I¡¯m on duty tonight so I came over half an hour early. Not long after, the colleague who I was taking over her shift left, then suddenly I saw her running back being chased by several zombies1¡­¡± ¡°They¡¯re called jiangshi1. Jiangshi2 are not the same as zombies.¡± A young girl corrected her. 1Clarity: There¡¯s two terms being used here. The teller is calling them [Jiangshi] (½©Ê¬) which refers to the Chinese hopping zombie/vampire while the young girl corrected her saying they are zombies [Sangshi] (ɥʬ) as the normal zombies that most people think of. Both translate to zombies, but they are different types. 2[Jiagnshi] (½©Ê¬) Chinese hopping vampires/zombies. They are reanimated corpse in Chinese legends and folklore. See lore for details. The teller continued: ¡°I saw my colleague being thrown down and bitten to death by those zombies and the whole mall erupted in chaos. I was so frightened that I hid in the fitting room and didn¡¯t come out until a long time later and ran into them.¡± ¡°There are also more zombies outside. I came from outside but ran in here to avoid them. Later we had to bar ourselves in here since we could no longer leave until you guys came!¡± The young girl said. Hearing their stories, it seems that these people and their experience were pretty much the same. No one knew where the zombies came from and how. If the zombies spread this quickly that it could take out an entire police force, wouldn¡¯t an army stand no chance? Dong Zhi and Ba Sang looked at each other as they seem to have the same thought. They both felt it was odd as they thought to themselves: ¡®Could it be that it¡¯s really just a training exercise? But then how could they explain all these people that are in front of them?¡¯ This wasn¡¯t a blessing that they found this suspicion, but it invariably increased their vigilance. Even if it was a training exercise, it only showed that the level of practice this time was very high to the point where they could possibly lose their life at any moment. No one wanted to be the next Xiang Yongnian. What they wanted to do was pass this training period smoothly. ¡°There¡¯s more than that!¡± A middle-aged woman shivered as she cried: ¡°I was outside just now and saw something that had a red body and could lie on walls. I saw it jumped from the eaves of a building towards a person as it pierce their head with its claws¡­¡± ¡°Licker*! That¡¯s a Licker!¡± The young girl cried out so loudly that it made her voice hoarse. *A fictional creature from the Resident Evil series. The Licker has lost the use of its eyes and cannot track prey by sight. Their super-developed hearing, however, more compensates for the loss. Upon detecting potential prey, it will attack full force with teeth, tongue and claws, often alerting others of its kind in the vicinity as well. ¡°What is a Licker?¡± Li Ying asked with a frown. The girl was so scared that she stuttered her words: ¡°It¡¯s from¡­ that¡¯s right, a movie¡­ American movies¡­¡± ¡°There¡¯s a series of American movies called ¡°Resident Evil¡±, which is based on the game. It mentions the Licker in it. They have much stronger mobility and attack power than zombies and are difficult to deal with.¡± Dong Zhi clarified, helping the girl out. The girl nodded desperately. As soon as he finished speaking, the ceiling collapsed with a bang, startling everyone, but nothing came through. Seeing that all his companions weren¡¯t in good shape, Li Ying said: ¡°Let¡¯s take a break here for now and plan for our next step.¡± No one had any objections. They all sat on the floor and didn¡¯t care much about it. Zombies could vaguely be seen passing by from outside. The women and children were frightened so Li Ying let them stay in the inner area of the barricade, while their group sat on the periphery. ¡°I¡¯m questioning if this is a training exercise for an emergency situation. If that¡¯s the case, what task do we need to achieve in the end?¡± Chen Xun, who was usually taciturn, suddenly spoke. Chi Banxia glanced at the group of ordinary people before she hesitantly said: ¡°Could it be that we need to protect them?¡± Liu Qingbo said: ¡°Maybe we need to go back to the Special Administration Bureau, but we just now went in the opposite direction.¡± While talking, another piece of ceiling collapsed not far away. This time, everyone thought it was just a building issue, so they didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. Suddenly, in the next moment, a black indistinguishable creature jumped out from the hole in the ceiling behind their backs and landed directly into the middle of the crowd. The young girl screamed as her shoulder was bitten and her entire body was picked up. The monster moved so quickly that Li Ying and the others only had time to grab onto her ankles. Liu Si attacked the monster with his whip causing it to throw the girl¡¯s body at him with a flick of its neck. This forced him to catch the girl and prevented him from landing any more shots giving the chance for the monster to attack its next target. Another monster suddenly swept down from the ceiling and pounced onto the middle-aged woman who was fleeing from fright. It happened to be in a blind spot where Li Ying and the others had no time to rescue her. The monster¡¯s claw pierce directly into the woman¡¯s head as it bellowed out a scream and withdrew it claws that was covered in blood. The body of the woman fell limply as the monster licked the blood on its claws. The fragile alliance instantly fell apart. Everyone screamed and hid behind Li Ying and the others for protection. Dong Zhi found that compared to the zombies before, these monsters- although their appearance is not the same as the Lickers in the movies, their combat capabilities was indeed much higher than ordinary zombies and they seem a lot smarter as well. They specifically targeted ordinary people and deliberately hurt them, but not kill, causing the other ordinary people to scream and panic, thereby disturbing Dong Zhi¡¯s focus and judgment. He grabbed a talisman and threw it at the monster that was rushing towards him. The talisman burned in mid-air and shot like a rocket heading towards the center of the monster¡¯s forehead. The monster quickly reacted and turn sideways to avoid it as it used one of its claws to grab it. Fortunately, Dong Zhi was prepared and had thrown out another Sunlight Talisman. The talisman made contact with the monster and burst into flames. The monster roared in pain and turned around to retreat, rushing towards the others. With his sharp sword in hand, Liu Qingbo was invincible. He didn¡¯t take these monsters seriously at all as any of them that approached him was easily cut down by him. Three monsters seemed to be aware of his lethality, so they gradually stopped approaching him and turned to other targets instead. Ba Sang summoned his vulture to fight the monsters but their mobility was more agile than his vulture. Under their claws, the vulture was wiped out within a few swipes. Chen Xun was in an even more precarious situation since he had to fight them with his bare hands. His clothes were ripped in several places showing off wounds form the monster¡¯s claws. Chi Banxia and Gu Meiren were protected in the middle. Gu Meiren kept trying to control the monsters with various flute sounds and finally found a tune that could slow them down for a few seconds. This was enough time for Li Ying and the others to quickly counterattack. Chin Banxia¡¯s witchcraft had no effect so she could only serve as everyone¡¯s eyes and ears, pointing out to the team any sneak attacks being made. Finally, with everyone¡¯s combined efforts, they were able to kill two monsters while a third one escaped with injuries. Everyone was exhausted from the battle, and all collapsed on the ground, laying there immobile. Kinky Thoughts: Interesting turn of events¡­ ¡ª Horizontal Training (ºáÁ·) Referred to as the ¡°three trainings¡±, it encompasses: ¡ª [Jiangshi] (½©Ê¬) Also known as the Chinese hopping vampire/ghost. It¡¯s a reanimated corpse in Chinese legends. They are typically depicted as a stiff corpse dressed in Chinese shroud and moves around by hopping with its arms outstretched. It kills living creatures to absorb their qi, or ¡°life force¡±. It usually moves at night and during the day would hide in their coffin or dark places. The Qing Dynasty scholar Ji Xiaolan mentioned in his book Yuewei Caotang Biji (é†Î¢²ÝÌùPÓ›) (c. 1789 ¨C 1798) that the causes for a corpse to be reanimated can be classified in either of two categories: a recently deceased person returning to life, or a corpse that has been buried for a long time but does not decompose. Some causes are described below: You can read more about it at the Wikipedia link. ¡ª Licker The Licker is a fictional creature from Capcom¡¯s Resident Evil series. It first appeared in the video game Resident Evil 2. It has appeared outside video games, including in films. It is one of the most iconic creatures in the game series, as result of a further mutation in zombies infected with certain strains of T-virus. This process is known as V-ACT. The Licker is noted for its large, exposed brains; lack of skin; sensitivity to sound and their eponymous tongues. The Licker has lost the use of its eyes and cannot track prey by sight. Their super-developed hearing, however, more compensates for the loss. Upon detecting potential prey it will attack full force with teeth, tongue and claws, often alerting others of its kind in the vicinity as well. Weapons that emit very little sound, such as the bowgun, are especially useful. There are also different forms of Licker. Once it has ingested flesh it will mutate into a stronger, faster hunter. It has been regarded by critics as the most terrifying monster in Resident Evil. CH 42 Suddenly a sharp whistling sound was heard followed by movements like fireworks. In the great battle just now, Chi Banxia used the least strength, so she had reserve energy to spare to be on lookout. ¡°Could it be a signal from Zhang Song and the others letting us know where to rendezvous?¡± Li Ying¡¯s expression moved: ¡°What do you think?¡± As he finished his words, Chen Xun¡¯s throat made a cracking sound, as if bones were being split apart. Liu Qingbo stood up with vigilance and pointed his sword at Chen Xun: ¡°He was scratched by those monsters just now. Could he be infected?¡± Everyone subconsciously retreated from Chen Xun, only to see his complexion paling and his eyeballs rolling upwards. His hands kept grasping the wounds on is body that were profusely bleeding, and he refused to stop. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it, Chen Xun!¡± Gu Meiren couldn¡¯t help saying. ¡°Little Chi, see if he can still be saved!¡± Liu Si said anxiously. Chi Banxia took out something from her pocket and sprinkled it on Chen Xun, but the latter¡¯s symptoms were not alleviated. The wound was growing bigger and Chen Xun¡¯s breathing began to shorten as he started to roll around, frightening the ordinary people who hid to the side. Dong Zhi wanted to come forward and check but Ba Sang grabbed him tightly. Chen Xun didn¡¯t move for a long time, but everyone knew what would happen next. They stare at him in silence and as expected, after a while, Chen Xun slightly moved again. He slowly got up and folded his upper body desperately as he straightened his body into a weird posture that normal people could not do and slowly walked towards them. ¡°Chen Xun!¡± Liu Si yelled. Chen Xun naturally did not respond. Everyone knew that he had become like Xiang Yongnian, who lost his mind and attacked his companions. Sure enough, he let out a low roar and rushed towards Liu Qingbo. Unfortunately, this was the wrong decision. Liu Qingbo waved his sword and penetrated Chen Xun¡¯s neck. Chen Xun desperately tried to grab onto Liu Qingo but in the end lowered his hands in vain. Dong Zhi clenched his fists. They had lost another companion. If this was reality, then who among them can survive until the end? He couldn¡¯t help but think of Long Shen. If it was him, he would leave behind the corpses of thousands of monsters, but such a strong man never stops for the world. It was the world who stops for him. Liu Qingbo continue holding his sword in place and his long-suppressed emotions finally broke out: ¡°I don¡¯t want to be consumed like this anymore. I want to go back to the Special Administration Bureau and look. I need to know clearly whether it¡¯s training or reality because I don¡¯t believe that everyone around me has been killed!¡± Li Ying frowned and said: ¡°Calm down. I think it¡¯s best for us to find a large army first and then move out of the city.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°What do you mean by large army?¡± Li Ying: ¡°If everything is real, then the government will definitely organize a retreat. If it¡¯s just training, it¡¯s better to rendezvous with Zhang Song and the others first, then find a way to hold out until its over. It¡¯s impossible to keep us trapped in this world.¡± Liu Qingbo disagreed: ¡°Then it¡¯s better to go back to the Special Administration Bureau to ask clearly!¡± Li Ying shook his head and said: ¡°If this is training, do you think you can just find someone back at the Special Administration Bureau? You also saw what happened to Xiang Yongnian just now.¡± Liu Qingbo tilted his chin slightly, not concealing his arrogance: ¡°That¡¯s because he¡¯s too weak!¡± Originally, although Liu Qingbo had a deep background, he still maintained a certain degree of politeness in front of Li Ying. After all, Li Ying¡¯s father was a consultant to the Special Administration Bureau, and Li Ying himself was born on Mount Maoshan, so his background was no less than Liu Qingbo¡¯s, but in this moment, Liu Qingbo had finally stopped maintaining his superficial politeness and insisted on his own opinions to return to the Special Administration Bureau. Seeing that no one wanted to go, Liu Qingbo snorted coldly and without saying goodbye, walked out with his sword in hand. He walked quickly and after a short time, left the mall and disappeared into the distance. Li Ying looked at Dong Zhi and asked: ¡°What do you think?¡± Unlike Liu Qingbo, Li Ying took Dong Zhi seriously. He knows that although Dong Zhi looks harmless on the outside, his actual abilities aren¡¯t that weak. His potential may be even better than Ba Sang, who looks quite domineering in his own appearance. After hearing Boss Wu intention to recruit Dong Zhi into his group, Li Ying has always maintained a good relationship with him, as was in line with his usual behavior. This time however, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t speak on his behalf but rather asked: ¡°What about these ordinary people?¡± Li Ying said: ¡°The world is vast, and they are not the only ones. We can protect for a while, but not for a lifetime.¡± Dong Zhi understood and pondered for a moment before saying: ¡°Well, you go meet with Zhang Song and the others and I¡¯ll stay here to guard. I just saw semi-closed building on the other side of the mall. We should be able to hold out there for a while. After you rendezvous with them, you can come back.¡± Li Ying knew that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t leave these ordinary people alone. He couldn¡¯t help feeling that Dong Zhi was too kind and soft-hearted, but he couldn¡¯t say anything condemning. After all, there¡¯s nothing wrong with the other party doing this. As a member of the Special Administration Bureau, he shouldn¡¯t leave ordinary people behind at such a critical moment. Although, his reason wouldn¡¯t be as magnanimous as Dong Zhi¡¯s. Having said that, a kind companion is better than a ruthless one who would stab you in the back or abadon you at a critical moment. ¡°Okay then,¡± He nodded and looked around at everyone: ¡°Who wants to go with me?¡± Chi Banxia slowly raised her hand: ¡°Brother Li, let me join you.¡± Li Ying smiled: ¡°Okay!¡± Chi Banxia¡¯s had limited combat power, but she was closer to Li Ying and naturally would want to go with him. Ba Sang pondered: ¡°I am cooperating well with Dong Zhi so I¡¯ll stay with him.¡± Gu Meiren said: ¡°I¡¯ll stay too.¡± Li Ying knew that they had a better relationship with the Dong Zhi, but he didn¡¯t care. He nodded and looked at the remaining Liu Si. ¡°What about you?¡± Liu Si thought for a while then said: ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. When we find a large army, someone needs to come back and tell them.¡± Li Ying stopped dawdling, got up and said: ¡°Alright. Before the zombies return, let¡¯s take this chance and move out.¡± He also said to Dong Zhi: ¡°Take care, as soon as we find a helping hand, we¡¯ll come back to help you!¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°You be careful too.¡± The two groups parted way as the ordinary people shrank to the side at a complete loss. Seeing Li Ying and the others leave, they timidly asked Dong Zhi: ¡°Are you leaving too?¡± Dong Zhi comforted them and said: ¡°No, we¡¯re staying.¡± The attack from the three monsters just now had killed, in addition to Chen Xun, two other ordinary people. One was the young girl, and the other was a middle-aged woman. Luckily, they were stopped in time by Li Ying and Ba Sang so there were no more causalities. While the young girl seemed to be alone, the middle-aged woman had a son who was about ten years old. He had been crying for his mother and was being comforted by a woman next to him. He regarded Dong Zhi¡¯s group as enemies as he looked at them with hatred through his wailing. Dong Zhi felt a headache coming on as he said: ¡°We didn¡¯t kill your mother. She was bitten to death by a zombie. If we didn¡¯t deal with it, she¡¯ll soon come to turn you into one. She no longer recognizes you after she was bitten, understand?¡± The child responded with a sharper cry. If it weren¡¯t for being hugged by the woman next to him, he would have run towards Dong Zhi to hit him. His cries attracted a few zombies to enter the mall and their numbers started increasing. Ba Sang stepped forward and kicked the leading zombie while Dong Zhi found a silk scarf somewhere on the ground, ripped it half, stuffing one piece into the kid¡¯s mouth while using the other half tie up his hands. ¡°Mff, mff, mff!¡± The child stared menacingly at Dong Zhi as if he was launching death waves at him. Dong Zhi looked at the woman next to him and said: ¡°Keep an eye on him. Don¡¯t let him make a sound, otherwise, it¡¯ll attract more zombies. The three of us can escape, but you will all die!¡± Since his face was kind and amiable, even if he pretends to be fierce, it didn¡¯t have much lethality. However, given the situation, whether it be the zombies or their life hanging on by a brink, his tone was flat that it served as enough deterrence to make several of the women nodded profusely as they obeyed his command and took the initiative to hold the boy¡¯s leg to prevent him from moving. Turning around, Dong Zhi saw three zombies were besieging Ba Sang who had his vulture assisting on the peripheral. Unfortunately, he was quickly outnumbered as swarm of zombies quickly gathered. Under Gu Meiren¡¯s flute, the speed of the zombies was slightly slow down, but it was only for a short time. Seeing as Ba Sang was about to be grabbed by a zombie from behind, Dong Zhi held his sword in one hand and a talisman in the other. He kept running towards the zombie until he got close enough to slash its neck. It could be because his strength wasn¡¯t strong as he failed to cleanly cut its head off like how Li Qingbo did, but it mattered not. If one strike won¡¯t work, just strike a few more times! Dong Zhi pulled back his sword and slashed again, using more force this time. The sword blade embedded into the gap he made just now and cleanly cut off the zombie¡¯s spine, causing it to collapse onto the ground. He found that climbing more than 30 floors up and down from the rooftop daily wasn¡¯t a complete waste of time. At least he was able to practice his Kungfu tona in the process and at the same time also worked on his physical strength. It may not have been visible at that time, but during such a critical moment like this, it had revealed itself. Although his reflexes aren¡¯t as light as a swallow, compared to a month ago it was a world of a difference. His speed of running and his reactions were much more explosive than before. He pasted the talisman on the head of the zombie, and it ignited, turning into a raging fire that covered its entire head. The zombie roared, falling over and bumping into other zombies, giving time for Ba Sang to breath. While Ba Sang focused on strength, Dong Zhi focused on skills. Their cooperation has developed from unfamiliar to tacit understanding and their efficiency to fighting zombies had significantly improved. With a snap, the last zombie fell as its neck was twisted by Ba Sang. Seeing that there weren¡¯t any new zombies coming in, the three of them wiped off the sweat on their forehead and rested. Gu Meiren turned her head and saw the child was still struggling desperately while staring at them intently. She put the flute to her mouth and played a minor melody that made the child¡¯s eyes heavy, and he quickly tilted to the side after. Ba Sang gave her a thumbs up. Upon seeing this, Dong Zhi breath out a sigh of relief. People¡¯s lives are the cheapest in troubled times. Seeing the corpses of the zombies, they had gradually started to realize this. Some of their identities can be easily distinguished by the clothes on their bodies. There were white-collar workers in suits, students in their school uniforms, old men and women, and even children. They have walked on different paths in their lives but now they all had the same fate in the end. Dong Zhi sighed softly, looked around at the survivors behind him and said to Ba Sang and Gu Meiren: ¡°This place is located in the middle of a shopping mall so it¡¯s too dangerous. If there¡¯s too many zombies, it¡¯ll be easy to get overwhelmed. Let¡¯s move to a corner over there first.¡± Ba Sang and Gu Meiren had no opinion. They moved to the southwest corner of the mall together. There was a separate area here where they can see the movement from outside and with two walls as a natural barricade, it wasn¡¯t easy for them to be attacked on all sides. They hadn¡¯t eaten for a while and after so many encounters, everyone was starving. Ba Sang¡¯s and Dong Zhi¡¯s stomach grumbled while Gu Meiren covered her¡¯s trying to hold back the sound. ¡°How are you, beauty?¡± Gu Meiren said softly: ¡°I¡¯m okay. Just need to take a break.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Maybe you are too hungry. Did you bring any of food with you?¡± Everyone shook their heads. They were originally going to go to a restaurant nearby but who would have expected a crisis like this to suddenly happen. A woman took out half a bottle of water: ¡°I still have some water here. Would you like to drink some?¡± Dong Zhi thanked her and took the water and handed it to Gu Meiren. ¡°It¡¯s not good to go on like this. Everyone needs to eat something. I remember there should be a supermarket on the ground floor here.¡± Ba Sang said: ¡°I¡¯ll go. You stay and rest!¡± Dong Zhi grabbed him and said: ¡°I¡¯ll go. You still have a lot of strength left. There are the old and weak women and children here. If something happens, you can still hold them off for a while. It¡¯s more convenient for me to act alone. I¡¯ll come back soon after I find food.¡± Seeing the worried eyes of Ba Sang and Gu Meiren, Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m well equipped!¡± He put his backpack on the ground and check its contents. His wallet is useless for the time being but since it was light, he¡¯ll take it with him. After all it did contain important documents. Since the incident at Tianyuan Building in Yangcheng, he developed a habit of carrying talisman papers and cinnabar on him. He would usually paint a few talismans when he has nothing to do and had accumulated around 50 talismans so far. 30 sheets have been used and there were about 20 remaining, which is a bit small for his supply but should be enough just for a trip to the supermarket. He could always paint more when he returns. He took out the talismans and put them in a stack in one pocket and left his backpack at the base. He mounted the Qingzhu Sword on his back and set off. He could feel the burning gaze of everyone from behind him without needing to look back as they were looking at him for the very last time. He didn¡¯t know whether to laugh or cry and couldn¡¯t help look back and say: ¡°Can you stop staring at me like this? It makes me feel as if I¡¯m never coming back!¡± Gu Meiren said: ¡°Be careful and come back safely!¡± Dong Zhi made an OK gesture to her, turned around and walked towards the escaltor entrance. The path was calm and there were no zombies on this floor. Not long after the crisis occurred, the escalator was still running. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t rush down but stood by its entrance as he turned on his phone, clicked on a song, and pressed play. His phone had no signal since the crisis broke out, but he could still play songs that were originally downloaded on his phone. The sound was loud and clear on the phone¡¯s speaker and soon attracted the attention of the zombies. They gathered around the escalator following the breath of the living as they staggered towards Dong Zhi. The escalators have two directions, one going up and one going down. Since the zombies weren¡¯t intelligent, many of them piled on the escalator going down and wasn¡¯t able to move up. As more zombies gathered, the area got crowded as they all start piling on top of each other to board the down escalator. Dong Zhi thought it was quite funny seeing the scene of a bunch of zombies trying to go up but was struggling. The zombies who came from the other side slowly came up the escalator. As one was about the reach the top, Dong Zhi kicked it with one foot causing it to fall, and like dominos, all the zombies behind it fell with it. Taking his chance, he got out his sword and stepped onto the escalator and pierce the zombies¡¯ necks before they had the chance to get back up. The Qingzhu swords is extremely sharp. As long as proper strength is used, it can cleanly cut off the head of a zombie. With the number of increased usage, his proficiency with the sword had also increased. Before it took him up to three times before he could kill the zombies, but now he only needed a single cut to slice them cleanly in half. After the solving the problem around the escalator, he guessed that all the zombies around the first floor should basically be solved. He turned off the song and continue to walk towards the supermarket with his sword in hand. The supermarket was a mess, with items scattered everywhere, most likely due to everyone leaving in a panic after the chaos erupted. There weren¡¯t signs that supermarket had been ransacked as there were still many things left on the shelves. He found a shopping cart and started putting in food and water into it. His goal was clear. He selected food that were easy to carry, mainly things like bags of instant noodles, various cookies, and candy like chocolates. The higher the calorie, the more energy it can provide. He mainly only took pure water and functional drinks, like those loaded with vitamins. The shopping car was quickly filled with things that it became difficult to push. He had to selectively discard some drinks that were too heavy and refocused on efficiency on the lowest number of trips he¡¯ll need to make. Beep, beep. Dong Zhi suddenly turned around! The sound came from behind him several aisles away. He didn¡¯t plan to check out the noise as he stood there waiting for a while. When he didn¡¯t hear the sound anymore, he hurriedly pushed the cart out. Beep, beep, beep. The sound was eerie as it echoed in the empty store, especially when he knew that there couldn¡¯t possibly be living people around. Dong Zhi accelerated his steps as he held the cart with one hand and his sword with the other. He vigilantly surveyed his surroundings as he continued moving forward. The wheels on the shopping cart made loud noises as it rolled on the ground that he was afraid he¡¯ll missed the eerie sound that was coming from behind him, so he slowed down his pace and started to push it slowly. Beep, beep, beep. The haunting noise was getting closer. Dong Zhi suddenly stopped and swung the sword behind him. A black shadow flashed past within his sight, so fast that he didn¡¯t have time to see his opponent clearly, but Dong Zhi knew that it was one of the monsters that had attacked them earlier before. They were also in the supermarkets! With a crash, the monster jumped between the rows of shelves in the aisle and disappeared in an instant, leaving behind a smashed alarm clock. ¡­It was an alarm clock held by the monster. Was the monster using it as bait? Truly they were much smarter than the average zombie. This thought made him shivered with fright as all his hairs stood up! No matter how fierce a zombie is, at least they weren¡¯t fast, and they could be defeated using conventional human wisdom. These monsters, however, could set up ¡°traps¡± and ¡°decoys¡± to lure humans in. Coupled with their power and speed¡­ He didn¡¯t dare to think about it anymore. This monster must still be hidden somewhere in the supermarket, secretly looking for an opportunity to attack. Dong Zhi quietly took out a talisman from his pocket. In an underground place this like, could he attract Heavenly Thunder? If he couldn¡¯t, he would be paying the price with his life. He didn¡¯t dare bet on it, so he held a Sunlight Talisman in his hand just in case. This talisman is a basic talisman that¡¯s taught for those who just got started in the Hezao Sect, but Master Fang had told him that no matter how basic things are, they can play a huge role. The most important thing is to familiarize himself and be able to use them freely. His heartbeat was getting faster, and the palm of his hands were already covered in sweat. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth and pushed the shopping cart forward. It made loud clanging noise as it rolled by itself past a few aisles before gradually slowing down. At this moment, a dark shadow suddenly appeared on the shelf in front of Dong Zhi. His opponent hadn¡¯t fallen for his trick but went straight for him! His trap was seen through by the monster! Dong Zhi reacted too late. When he threw the talisman in his hand at the monster, it ignited in mid-air as it swept towards the monster¡¯s face. The monster dodged and avoided it as it claws grasped towards Dong Zhi¡¯s head. He stepped back quickly and swung his sword out just in time to slash at the monster¡¯s arm! With a howl, the monster¡¯s elbow was cleanly cut off. It roared fiercely before jumping to the ceiling and disappeared. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t think that such an injury was enough for the monster to lose it¡¯s combat effectiveness. Since it had brains, it most likely will hold a grudge against him. He got to the shopping cart and quickly arrived at the elevator and pressed the up button all in one breath. When the elevator door opened, he pushed the shopping cart in first. Suddenly he felt a light breeze hit him from behind. Dong Zhi was alert this whole time. Not bothering to turn his head, he stabbed his sword directly behind him. Miss! The monster let out a low growl and opened its mouth hitting his face with its foul breath. In the next second, a Sunlight Talisman was attached to its forehead. ¡°The Ancestors of the Sanqing who sits above the throne. The mighty Heavenly King of Swords turn talisman into fire. Royal edict!¡± With a boom, the monster¡¯s head burst in flames as Dong Zhi quickly retreated into the elevator. The elevator door slowly closed as the monster rushed towards him! Its upper body had entered the elevator jamming the door. ¡°Roar!¡± It bared its yellow fangs at Dong Zhi that was dripping with saliva as its claw stretched towards Dong Zhi, just inches away from his forehead. Too close! The distance between him and the claws were barely half a meter long! The prey was right in front of it. Seeing its opportunity was about to be lost, it rushed towards the elevator to jam the door from closing with its body. Suddenly a sword was pulled out and inserted into its throat. Dong Zhi had his back against the elevator wall as he gripped the hilt of the sword tightly before thrusting it forward vigorously. The blade penetrated the monster¡¯s head, piercing out from the other end. The monster fell the ground causing the elevator to shake uncontrollably due the sudden weight. Dong Zhi took a deep breath, then raised his sword to cut off the monster¡¯s head before kicking its heavy body out of the elevator. He squatted down and examined the monster¡¯s head. He could still see vague facial features on it. It seems to have mutated from a human, but it really looks similar to the Licker in those American movies. The difference was that this monster was completely dark all over and the flesh of its head was stretch opened by the bones below. The original eyes were missing, replaced by two black ones and its nose was high and bulging. This most likely was because after its visual degeneration, its sense of smell replaced its need of vision, which is why it could accurately find him every time. After leaving the elevator, Dong Zhi picked up a coat on the ground and wiped his Qingzhu Sword to clean it. He then pushed the cart and walked towards where Ba Sang and the others were. In the past, when he first got the Qingzhu Sword, he would clean it every day after practicing and would sometimes take it out to polish it so he could admire it from time to time. Now that he had started using it as a real weapon, he felt even more gratitude towards its original owner. If it weren¡¯t for Long Shen giving him this sword, it would be unknown whether he could have survived for this long. Ba Sang and the others had been waiting anxiously for him and got angry after he hadn¡¯t return for a long time. If it weren¡¯t for the old and weak plus the women and children, he would¡¯ve gone down to find Dong Zhi. Seeing him return safely with the food, everyone was happy. Ba Sang hurriedly ran towards him and helped him push the shopping cart. ¡°Thank you for your hard work!¡± He patted Dong Zhi on the shoulder. Dong Zhi shook his head and took the mineral water handed to him by Gu Meiren. He drank most of it in one gulp and only then felt he had relieved some of his dehydration. ¡°Just now, when I was down there, I ran into another monster.¡± Ba Sang¡¯s and Gu Meiren¡¯s expressions changed drastically. ¡°But you¡¯re okay?!¡± Gu Meiren scanned his body up and down. Dong Zhi nodded his head: ¡°How is it here? Are there any news from Li Ying?¡± Gu Meiren sighed: ¡°No.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°This building is dangerous. I suspect that there are still many monsters lurking in the dark. The electricity in the mall may not last much longer. Haven¡¯t you notice? The air condition is no longer as good as when we first came in¡­¡± Before he could finish his sentence, the lights above his head suddenly went out and the entire mall fell into darkness, causing the group of ordinary people to scream. Dong Zhi: ¡­ Gu Meiren, Ba Sang: ¡­ Gu Meiren cried: ¡°Stop jinxing us!¡± Dong Zhi covered his mouth: ¡°I¡¯m shutting up now!¡± Ba Sang was worried: ¡°Is there no emergency light in the mall?¡± ¡°There is!¡± The teller said: ¡°There¡¯s a unified emergency power supply on this floor in the electric room. I know where it is!¡± In this kind of weather, coupled with the current mood, it was inconceivable what a muggy and sweltering night it would be to spend inside the mall. More importantly, there are monsters hidden in the dark, which becomes more lethal with no light to protect them. Kinky Thoughts: Hm, is this reality or a test? Even I can¡¯t tell. CH 43 As soon as this thought occurred, a woman¡¯s scream rang through the mall. The group! Ba Sang quickly turned his head and Dong Zhi became high on alert! The incident in the underground supermarket just now had tightened his reflexes, so his body reacted instantly. He sent a talisman flying in the dark and it turned into a bright light in mid air as it flew towards the source of the sound. Roars of beasts cried mixed in with the screams of humans. Since they went from a bright environment to complete darkness, many people¡¯s eyes haven¡¯t been able to adjust. Unfortunately, the monsters had no problems since they rely on smell to catch their prey. Two people died instantly in the dark before Dong Zhi had time to react. Dong Zhi turned on his phone flashlight and held his sword in his other hand as he kept an eye on the surroundings. Gu Meiren played her flute in an attempt to paralyze the monster¡¯s mobility while Ba Sang gathered the remaining group of people as he stood on the periphery. With a crack, a small movement sounded, but it was particularly conspicuous in the silence and darkness as everyone was holding their breath. Dong Zhi¡¯s reaction was getting sharper. Almost immediately after the sound was made, he hadn¡¯t had time to see what it was but quickly threw a talisman at the source! Roar! Sure enough, there were monsters there and his talisman seems to have hit one as the monster jumped into the partition of the ceiling with a whoosh. Everyone tried to suppress their gasps. A woman who wanted to cry gritted her teeth for fear that she would be the next prey. Dong Zhi said sullenly: ¡°We have to find the emergency power supply quickly!¡± The monsters are smart, and it was precisely when the lights went out that they took advantage knowing that humans cannot see in the dark and chose this opportunity to attack. Ba Sang said: ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± The teller stammer: ¡°I-I-I¡¯m scared!¡± Ba Sang told her: ¡°I¡¯m scared too but if we just stay here, we¡¯re all just waiting to die together!¡± Dong Zhi said softly: ¡°Ba Sang is very strong. Don¡¯t be afraid and follow him. When we have light, we can deal with those monsters and protect everyone.¡± His kind words seemed to comfort her. The teller followed Ba Sang tremblingly as she held his arm tightly and the two quickly left. Dong Zhi was worried that the monsters would attack while they were alone, but given the current situation, it was impossible for him to come along as the people here needed his protection. It seems that it hasn¡¯t even been a year since his encounter on the train heading towards Changbai, but his mentality has changed a lot. From trembling like this ordinary group of people who could only wait around and be protected, he had taken the lead to protecting others. For him to have such progress, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of accomplishment. It would be even better if the male god could see his heroic performance right now. A faint regret flashed in his heart when he suddenly heard a woman¡¯s scream. It was the teller! His heart instantly seized up as Gu Meiren shouted: ¡°Ba Sang!¡± What answered back was the sound of violent fighting and Ba Sang¡¯s whistle. He heard sounds of flapping wings, which he surmised should be a falcon* that Ba Sang summoned. *Clarity: Previously I¡¯ve been translating the bird Ba Sang summoned as an eagle, then found that it was actually a vulture. I now realize that his abilities are actually communicating with birds, so he summons different kinds of birds and his abilities to communicate with birds, not just one type. Dong Zhi reminded Gu Meiren: ¡°Play the flute!¡± His notion brought her attention back, as if she had just woken up form a dream, and she quickly picked up her flute to play. Dong Zhi frowned, and suddenly remembered something. If there were more than one monster, one of them was probably following Ba Sang, while the others were waiting for them to relax their vigilance before taking the opportunity to attack again¡­ A faint fishy smell rose from his nose. Without thinking about it, he threw the talisman fire directly above him. The light from the fire illuminated a dark shadow flashing past him, confirming his guess. Dong Zhi suddenly turned around and saw the dark shadow rushing towards Gu Meiren¡¯s back. ¡°Get down!¡± He yelled as he ran towards her at full speed with his sword pointing at her. Gu Meiren trusted Dong Zhi. As soon as she heard his words, she leaned forward without a second thought. At this moment, the sword was thrust through in the position that she was previously standing in and stabbed right into the monster¡¯s head! Gu Meiren only felt the heat radiating from the back of her head as fishy liquid splashed on top of her. The strange smell made her retch. Dong Zhi panted, as his legs gave out and he fell to his knees. If Gu Meiren¡¯s reaction had been any second slower just now, it would¡¯ve been her head that the Qingzhu Sword pierced. He almost took the life of his companion. Suddenly the lights turned on indicating that Ba Sang was successful in turning on the emergency power supply. He said: ¡°Thank you for trusting in me.¡± Gu Meiren: ¡°Happy to cooperate.¡± When Ba Sang came back, he was dragging his feet and there was no joy on his face. Everyone knew why. Most likely the teller was killed by the monster or Ba Sang had to end her life in order to prevent her from turning into a zombie. ¡°A piece of her flesh was torn off by the monster, so I had to kill her.¡± Ba Sang said. ¡°You did your best,¡± Dong Zhi wanted to pat him on the shoulder, but he avoided him as he slowly turned around. Gu Meiren took a deep breath to calm herself down as several of the orindary people subconsciously took several steps backwards. Ba Sang¡¯s shirt had been slashed and there were blood marks that was slowly bleeding out form the upper left to the lower right of his back. While the wound wasn¡¯t fatal, the monsters was poisonous. Once bitten or damage, what awaits will be the fate of becoming a zombie. There was no exception. Gu Meiren stared at his wound in a daze, unable to speak for a long time. Dong Zhi reluctantly put on an ugly smile as he said: ¡°Maybe- Maybe there¡¯ll be an exception!¡± Basan said sadly: ¡°I saw that woman got hurt with my very own eyes and she started to change so I had to kill her.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°But you are a practitioner, and your body is stronger than ordinary people¡­¡± ¡°Which means after becoming a zombie, I¡¯ll be even more difficult to deal with than an ordinary zombie!¡± Ba Sang interrupted him: ¡°Kill me. I don¡¯t want to become a zombie.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t even want to think about it: ¡°No!¡± Ba Sang stretched out his hand, seemingly to pat his arm but drew back halfway. This Kangba Tibetan man was reckless and always been rough but sharp. His unwillingness to hurt his friends made Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes sour. ¡°It¡¯s nice meeting you all, truly. In fact, my master disapproved of me trying to join the Special Administration Bureau. I wanted to see the outside world and had been cheated many times that I thought the people on the outside were all really bad, but after meeting you, I felt my thoughts were too na?ve. If there are bad people in the world, then there must be good ones as well. I¡¯m very lucky and as soon as I came out, I had two more friends who are as close as brothers that we can live and die together.¡± Gu Meiren covered her mouth with a whimper to muffle her sobs. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help it anymore, so he stepped forward and hugged him tightly. ¡°I originally wanted to invite you to visit my place on vacation. Our butter tea is the best brewed in that area, but if you have the opportunity in the future, I have to trouble you to help go back and tell my parents and master the news of my death!¡± Ba Sang patted him on the back and motioned for him to let go. Dong Zhi: ¡°Stop talking!¡± Ba Sang suddenly broke away from him with force causing Dong Zhi to be pushed away several steps away. He was off guard, so he didn¡¯t notice that Ba Sang had pulled out a short blade from his waist and inserted it directly into his throat. ¡°Ba Sang!¡± Gu Meiren rushed up. Ba Sang smiled at them as blood gushed from the corners of his mouth and his eyes gradually became lax. His hand slowly loosened from the place where he held the knife, eventually falling down limp. Moistness spread quickly to Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes and his throat choked up as if there was a stone lodged in place. He couldn¡¯t move and couldn¡¯t speak at all. ¡°Zombies! There are zombies coming in again from outside!¡± Someone shouted in panic. Looking back, Dong Zhi saw a few more figures slowly wandering towards the entrance of the mall. At first there was only one or two, but after a closer look, he found a string of them was slowly wandering in, seemingly attracted to the remaining vitality here. Gu Meiren panicked as she picked up the flute and began playing it. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth; his hungry and weak body was filled with anger over Ba Sang¡¯s death as he clenched his sword and strode forward. The talismans he had left weren¡¯t enough to deal with this hoard of zombies, but he didn¡¯t need talismans. He can be like Liu Qingbo and use only his sword. As the sword rises and falls, whenever it goes, zombies fell one after another, as if they were taking the initiatives to make way for him. They crawled on the ground looking as if they were his slaves and servants. Gu Meiren watched Dong Zhi walk among the zombies in a daze slashing his sword wildly and with ease. Under the light, the young man with black hair and fair skins, a face that was calm and indifferent, looked as if he was doing something extraordinary. But in the eyes of others, it was completely shocking. Gu Meiren never knew that killing zombies can create such a sense of artistry. Dong Zhi had discarded everything and gave zero fucks. He was simply holding on to a single breath and all he knew was that his hands began to tremble and the sword in his hand seemed to weigh like thousand pounds. A zombie had grabbed his shoulder from behind, opened his mouth and was about to bite him and he almost didn¡¯t have the strength to turn around and defend himself Too tired. I really miss the big bed in the Special Administration dorm. I really want to lie down and get some sleep. Zombies poured in from outside one after another, as if they were endless. At such a critical moment, Dong Zhi suddenly remembered that night in Long Shen¡¯s dormitory, he had received a call from Gu Meiren saying that Hui Yiguang encountered an accident, so he hurried out and Long Shen stopped him and asked him to bring the Qingzhu Sword with him. He still remembered that the light in that room was warm and pleasant and Long Shen under it seemed a bit softer. His heart wasn¡¯t as cold and unkind as it seems. Suddenly the ceiling broke with a bang and a dark shadow fell from the sky into the throng of zombies and leap towards him with great force! Monster! Unfortunately, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have the strength to react. He could only watch the monster approach him at lightning speed. In one-thousandth of a second, the monster appeared right in front of him about 2 meters away and reached out to grab him with its sharp claws! I can¡¯t dodge in time! Though Dong Zhi realized this, his body could no longer keep up with the reaction of his brain. Even his spirit had dulled. After fighting fiercely all night, he was extremely tired that his eyes could barely keep open, and he felt he was seeing doubles when he looked at things. Forget it. Fighting to the death means you¡¯re worthy like Ba Sang. Furthermore, there was Gu Meiren and those ordinary people behind him¡­ In this moment the sky was bright outside as dawn finally arrived. Dong Zhi wanted to turn around and help them escape, but he was completely exhausted, so he could only watch as the monsters got closer and closer. In the next moment, the surrounding scenery was suddenly distorted and blurred and there was a big light in front of him. The oncoming monsters had all suddenly disappeared and the bloody aura and fishy smell that filled his nose was gone as well. Together with the shopping mall and all the zombies that were pouring in, they were all gone. He felt only dizziness and his legs were soft that he couldn¡¯t help but sit down on the ground. Dong Zhi closed his eyes, feeling that he might have been too tired and was hallucinating. Otherwise, how could he suddenly see Wu Bingtian and Long Shen? He was not the only one who was in a dazed. Everyone was sitting in the classroom, all had pale faces, or expressions of pain. Some were gasping for breath, while other had faces full of vigilance. It seems that they haven¡¯t recovered from the doomsday crisis they¡¯ve all experienced just now. Wu Bingtian stood in front of them clapping his hands and said coldly: ¡°I announce that of all the 20 people who participated in the training, only ten survived. They are Li Ying, Liu Qingbo, Dong Zhi, Gu Meiren, Zhang Song, Xie Qingling, Liu Si, Ou Yangyin, Zuo Xingui, and Zhaun Rongrong! All those who ¡°died¡± in the simulation training will be noted on their file. During the next training, if you are eliminated, you must leave the Special Administration Bureau and take the exam again next year!¡± So, the night that just passed was really training? Everyone looked around blankly at each other and couldn¡¯t help being surprised when they saw their companions who had already ¡°died¡± last night. Dong Zhi looked at Ba Sang. He just gotten up from the ground and touched his throat with a painful expression, as if he was afraid of being pierce by his own dagger again. Gu Meiren burst into tears as she was unable to suppress her emotions and covered her mouth as her shoulders trembled slightly. The others weren¡¯t much better, and some were even more emotional than them. Some people touched their chest and muttered to themselves: ¡°I¡¯m not dead. I¡¯m really not dead!¡± Wu Bingtian and Long Shen didn¡¯t stop them and allowed them to continue venting. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but look at Long Shen. The latter seemed to notice his gaze and glanced back at him, giving him a slight nod. Dong Zhi heart that was seemingly exhausted and deflated had suddenly been infused with vitality. He could stop himself from returning a self-confident smile. Long Shen¡¯s smile seemed to be a little deeper than his though. When Wu Bingtian looked over, Dong Zhi¡¯s mood had slowly calmed down. After everyone calmed their emotions, Wu Bingtian said: ¡°The equipment used for the simulation this time is the latest achievement of the Sino-US cooperation. The Americans firmly believe that a Resident Evil situation will happen in the future, so the simulation¡¯s background is a modern city in a Resident Evil setting. For people who died in the simulation training, their bodies will be ejected from the simulation environment, but in the simulation world, their ¡®corpses¡¯ still exist and are converted to NPCs. This is the first year we have implemented this simulation. We hope to use this kind of sudden training to test your on-the-spot abilities in each of you.¡± Everyone smiled bitterly, obviously fearful of everything just now. Wu Bingtian¡¯s face was not good: ¡°There are 20 of you yet the survival rate is half. If this number is placed among ordinary people, I would be extremely grateful, but don¡¯t forget, you are the future members of the Special Administration Bureau! You¡¯re not ordinary people! As a national-level practitioner, half of you managed to die in a single night. How can you compete with other countries when we have this kind of survival rating?!¡± His voice became louder and, in the end, he angrily reprimanded everyone. Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but said: ¡°But we didn¡¯t know that it was training since we had already taken a day class at that time¡­¡± Besides, all of them hadn¡¯t even eaten dinner yet. Wu Bingtian said angrily: ¡°When there¡¯s a crisis, people don¡¯t care if you are hungry or tired! What is a crisis? It just happens without warning! What is sudden training? It¡¯s to test your ability to react to emergencies! Will the zombies call you first before they come out?! Will those monsters and demons drop off a text message first to announce their arrival?!¡± Some people couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud, but quickly suppressed their throats under Wu Bingtian¡¯s glare. He glanced at everyone and as far as he could see, many people lowered their heads, not daring to look at him. He snorted coldly: ¡°I know that you have lived in a comfortable environment for a long time and feel that the world is safe. At most, there are occasional emergencies. However, what I want to tell you is that the world is uneasy, and danger lurks everywhere, especially in the dark. If you¡¯re ignorant and don¡¯t know when and how you¡¯ll die, you¡¯ll be just like an ordinary person. How can you protect others when you can¡¯t even protect yourself?¡± This stick* was extremely effective. During the day, Director Jiang lectures made everyone surprised and amused. They couldn¡¯t help think: ¡®The Special Administration Bureau is nothing more than this.¡¯ As a result, just when their minds were relaxed, the Special Administration Bureau gave them such a vivid lesson. *The stick as part of the carrot and stick. Metaphor used of a combination of rewards and punishment to induce a desired behavior. Most likely everyone will never forget this experience for the rest of their lives. ¡°You think that after you have passed the written examination and interview, you have already have one foot in the door of the Special administration Bureau, ah? Let me tell you that there will be countless tests waiting for you in the future. If you come here depending only on luck and muddle your way through hoping to pass until training is completed and the practice exam is held, let me tell you that you will possibly lose your life!¡± Seeing that everyone was dejected, Wu Bingtian sneered and stared at Chi Banxia: ¡°Chi Banxia, you thought you would be safe if you followed Li Ying, so you went out your way to stick with him. Unexpectedly you still lost your life. Let me tell you, the Special Administration Bureau never raises dodder grass*. If you hold onto the idea of depending on others, reality will teach you what ¡®death¡¯ really means, and I hope you can remember this lesson!¡± *Also known as cuscuta, it¡¯s a type of parasitical plant that attaches itself to other plants and suck the nutrients from its host. Chi Banxia¡¯s face flushed from being admonished that she couldn¡¯t¡¯ lift her head. Wu Bingtian: ¡°And you, Ba Sang! At that time, the second-level zombie came from behind you. If you were more flexible and reacted faster, you could have avoided it, but because you were half a second too late, you lost your life. Don¡¯t you feel wronged?¡± ¡°Injustice! I will definitely practice my reflexes going forward!¡± Ba Sang nodded repeatedly. Wu Bingtian then began commenting on the people who died in the training one by one. Dong Zhi found that their performance from last night was clearly seen by the leaders, including what everyone did, how they dealt with the crisis, how they got along with their companions, how they treated ordinary people, and so on. Then again, if the future of the backbone elites of the dignified Special Administration Bureau would be wiped out in half when they encountered a crisis, it¡¯s not wonder that Wu Bingtian was extremely annoyed. Not only were the ¡®dead¡¯ people scolded one by one, but the survivors who failed escape was also on the chopping block. Wu Bingtian said: ¡°Liu Qingbo! At that time, you were in a team with Li Ying and the others, why did you have to leave by yourself halfway and run back to the Special Administration Bureau!¡± Liu Qingbo defended: ¡°I want to go back and see if anyone else in the bureau had survived¡­¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°What about the ordinary people in the mall? Don¡¯t you care about them? You just threw them to your companions to deal with! Even if there are still survivors in the Bureau, you should still remember the lessons from the past. Your behavior isn¡¯t bravery, it¡¯s recklessness! Completely brainless!¡± Liu Qingbo was unconvinced: ¡°But I survived to the end!¡± Wu Bingtian frowned: ¡°So what? If you didn¡¯t pass by the cafeteria and happened to find an electrician¡¯s room, would you be so lucky?¡± His voice became sterner: ¡°Don¡¯t forget, you are not the only cultivator. You represent the Special Administration Bureau, which mean you must not only protect yourself, but you¡¯re also responsible for the lives of ordinary people! You are the law enforcers and defenders in another sense! You left your companions and ordinary people who needed protection. Even if you survive in the end, what can you be proud of? You should be ashamed of yourself! If you dare do it again, I would rather have Ba Sang or Chi Banxia than a selfish person like you!¡± After being reprimanded so fiercely in front of everyone, Liu Qingbo¡¯s face turned pale from all the embarrassment. Because of his father¡¯s background, since he came to the capital, he has always been taken care of along the way. Whether they were leaders or elders who met him, they were all kind and pleasant towards him, constantly offering praises for his youth and achievements. Even Deputy Director Wu Bingtian¡¯s attitude towards him before was quite amiable. Let alone reprimanding him, he didn¡¯t even say a single serious word towards him. Liu Qingbo, who had always been surrounded by praise, for the first time in his life felt so humiliated in public. He clenched his fists tightly, but he could no longer say a word of rebuttal. Wu Bingtian: ¡°Dong Zhi, your abilities are relatively singular. In your three-person group, as soon as Ba Sang died, the combat effectiveness of you and Gu Meiren was greatly weakened. If the simulation hadn¡¯t just ended, there would be one more name on the death list! Also, when Li Ying proposed to separate, not only did you not try your best to persuade him to stay, but you also let him take people away. With a broken-up team and zombies swarming all around, you all would have been wiped out in the end! Your total score ranks first, but you don¡¯t have the corresponding team leadership, what¡¯s the use of a high score?¡± What he said was very pertinent, and Dong Zhi accepted it gracefully: ¡°I was wrong.¡± Wu Bingtian glanced at him, then turned his gaze to the others: ¡°And you, Li Ying. You took Chi Banxia and Liu Si to find a large army. You rescued a group of ordinary people halfway, but at the same time you made a fatal mistake. Do you know what it is?¡± Li Ying nodded: ¡°When I was saving people, I didn¡¯t carefully check their identities and ignored the dangerous elements hidden inside which got Chi Banxia killed.¡± What dangerous element? Everyone looked curious. Wu Bingtian said: ¡°In the simulation, ordinary zombies are generally lethal and may be fatal to ordinary people, but for practitioners, except for relatively large number, they do not pose a threat. The second-level zombies are the evolved bodies encountered by Dong Zhi and Zhang Song. They have no vision, but they have a strong sense of smell, and their mobility is much faster than that of ordinary zombies. They can fly from wall to wall. In large number it¡¯s difficult for even practitioners to deal with. Further up, the third-level zombies have evolutionary bodies that can simulate biological forms in a short period of time, such as humans. This kind of zombies can mix in with the general population and cannot be prevented. This is what Li Ying and the others met.¡± That was too unlucky. Who would have expected a zombie that could disguise itself perfectly as a human! According to this, they can also simulate animal and even plants. How can such thing be prevented? As if seeing everyone¡¯s doubts, Long Shen, who¡¯s been silent this whole time, finally spoke up: ¡°You¡¯re not ordinary people. You have to do better than what ordinary people can and can¡¯t do. The incompetent can only use excuses like ¡®negligence¡¯, ¡®inattention, and ¡®carelessness¡¯ to comfort themselves.¡± Wu Bingtian nodded: ¡°Boss Long is right. This sudden training is to teach you a profound lesson and let you know how far you are from truly being qualified to be a member of the Special Administration Bureau! Do you know what the survival rate of the United States was? In the first emergency training, they had a total of 50 people and in the end 29 people survived. The survival rate is 58% which is 8% higher than ours! Among these 50 people, some were ordinary people who are not practitioners, but what about you?¡± Everyone was disheartened by the training. Wu Bingtian finally calmed down when he saw that they were all in low moods. ¡°I hope that through this training, you can discover your shortcomings, instead of blindly making excuses to get rid of your prevarication! A person who doesn¡¯t know how self-examine themselves will never make progress. No matter how much you practice, you can only go so far! Take a day off tomorrow and return here at 9 AM the day after that. Class will be held as usual. You¡¯re dismissed!¡± After that, he remembered that Long Shen was next to him, and hurriedly said: ¡°Does the Boss Long have anything else to say?¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°Boss Wu have said all that needed to be said so I have nothing to add.¡± Wu Bingtian choked: ¡°Then that¡¯s it, dismissed!¡± Rumors that Boss Jiang was not good at his job and loves to command blindly have been widely circulated in the Special Administration Bureau. It is said that the impression of him wasn¡¯t as good as before and news of his removal or transfer would surface from time to time. If this news is conclusive, then the position of the head bureau will be vacated. Wu Bingtian was naturally eager to move into this position and was ready to play the game. He didn¡¯t think Song Zhi was competition, but he didn¡¯t dare underestimate Long Shen, who¡¯s a powerful competitor. However, these are high-level competitions that have nothing to do with Dong Zhi. Many people haven¡¯t eaten yet, but hunger didn¡¯t strike them when they are too hungry. The people who ¡®died¡¯ during the training were naturally dejected and some ¡®survivors¡¯ weren¡¯t so happy either. People with high self-esteem like Liu Qingbo found it more uncomfortable to be scolded than to be killed. He left with an ugly face, and no one dare to go forward to provoke him. Gu Meiren helped Ba Sang stand up and looked around to find Dong Zhi, only to find that he had disappeared. ¡°Boss Long!¡± Dong Zhi had rushed out the classroom to chase him down. The author has something to say£º Everyone was scolded to death. How inexplicably cool. ¡ú_¡ú Kinky Thoughts: Well, I should have thought it was a simulation given that it literally was based off Resident Evil. Still, I was very sad with Ba Sang¡¯s death! I hope he joins group two with Dong Zhi. Also isn¡¯t this test a little bit unfair for some people? Like WTF was Chi Banxia supposed to do? She only knows voodoo and witchcraft. How the fuck is she supposed to fight against zombies which those things have no effect over? And also, that martial arts dude that could only fight with his hands. Like¡­ hand-to-hand combat has a higher risk of getting yourself injured/bitten so what was he supposed to do? Not fight with his abilities? There should be a goal or something in mind instead of just survival, like finding the army or find the base, or something. To judge based on whether someone survived or not is too unfair. CH 44 Long Shen stopped. Dong Zhi panted: ¡°Boss Long, I have a question I want to ask!¡± Long Shen motioned to him to continue. Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Are the ordinary people we met in the simulation training real?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Naturally they are fake.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°But their reactions were very realistic. How is this done?¡± He was extremely curious about this. The group of ordinary people he met in the mall have different reactions during the crisis and they all mimic the aspect of human nature to the fullest. They had children who bore grudges because they didn¡¯t understand the circumstances, as well as middle-aged women who were knowledgeable about the current affair. If these are all false, just how powerful is the programming of this system? Long Shen said: ¡°There are various characters in the database that provide different reactions based off their personality. The training simulation randomly selects from the database and combines various aspects, like personality, together so you end up with a wide range of humanlike NPCs. These personalities were in fact extracted from real personalities and reactions.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°So we didn¡¯t actually eat any of the food that I recovered from the supermarket?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°You only had the feeling of fullness due to the psychological trigger given to you by the illusion. This simulation training combines modern technology, with a mix of arrays and enchantments in order to expand space and time infinitely. It¡¯s somewhat similar to the training ground on the rooftop of the Special Administration building, except for the added enemies and passersby.¡± How awesome. Before, Dong Zhi had thought that the only way to subdue demons was to attack them with a peach wood sword*. Now it seems that he was too na?ve. These days, to fend off demons, you¡¯ll need to keep pace with the times and combine science as well. *(ÌÒľ½£) Taoist sword considered to have the function of warding off evil spirits and attracting fortune. It¡¯s made from peach wood that¡¯s generally believed to have the essence of the five woods which is why it¡¯s effective at warding off evil. ¡°Do you think the same as what Boss Wu said? By that I mean, do you have any other suggestions?¡± Though exhausted, he felt invigorated by this experience. When he came back from the edge of death, his adrenaline was still fully intact. Just now, the feeling of being up against a hundred zombies was still there and Dong Zhi still felt the exhilaration in his heart. The Special Administration Bureau took the initiative to expose their shortcomings in the beginning, not only to give everyone a dose of reality, but also to let them learn a painful lesson, as Wu Bingtian said. Hearing this, Long Shen frowned slightly as he showed a thoughtful expression, which made Dong Zhi heartbeat accelerate. What will he say? Maybe he¡¯ll say that he had bad judgement and couldn¡¯t distinguish between what¡¯s light and heavy, and he should have rendezvous like Li Ying suggested and find the army. Or perhaps he would say he was still too weak? Boss Wu was right. If the training hadn¡¯t ended in time, most likely there would be two more on the death list, him and Gu Meiren. As soon as he died, Gu Meiren would not be able to protect the group of ordinary people. Although she could fight against ordinary zombies, she couldn¡¯t deal with the second-level evolution ones. After pondering for a moment, Long Shen said: ¡°If I were you, I would do the same as what you did.¡± Dong Zhi was shocked as he didn¡¯t expect to get such a high evaluation from the mouth of someone as strict as Long Shen. Long Shen said: ¡°What you need most now is to rest and continue practicing.¡± Dong Zhi heart rose as he felt a strong sense of accomplishment. It was like he had worked extremely hard on his homework and was acknowledged by the teacher. ¡°Thank you for your affirmation.¡± He wanted to say more but suddenly everything around him turned dark. Long Shen naturally caught his body was his fell softly forward. Dong Zhi complexion was blue and black all over, obviously signs of heavy fatigue and hunger. When Long Shen was watching his performance in the simulation, although he was not the only one he watched, his performance from the moment he entered the practice world and his ability to persist until the end was quite remarkable. Though he may not be the strongest among the candidates there, he was one of the best performers. Being able to protect yourself shows that you¡¯re an excellent practitioner. Being able to protect ordinary people and fulfilling that duty is their job as a member of the Special Administration Bureau. Long Shen wanted to call someone to send him back, but after thinking about it, he felt that the weight in his arms wasn¡¯t light. Everyone must be worn out from the excursion just now and probably didn¡¯t have the strength, so he carried Dong Zhi himself and started to walk in the direction of the dormitory. Dong Zhi was probably completely exhausted as he laid motionless on his back, breathing softly, and there was no indication that he would wake up. When Long Shen reached the door to Dong Zhi¡¯s room, he suddenly encountered a problem. He didn¡¯t know where Dong Zhi had put the key to his room and with him carrying Dong Zhi on his back, he couldn¡¯t search for it himself. Long Shen paused, then went to open the door to his dorm room and put Dong Zhi onto his bed. He didn¡¯t control his strength well when he let go, but that didn¡¯t rouse Dong Zhi from his sleep at all. Dong Zhi was still sleeping soundly that even an earthquake probably won¡¯t wake him. It was broad daylight now. After Long Shen put him down, he went back to the office to continue his work. After a busy morning, at around noon, Long Shen remembered that there was another person in his dorm and that person hadn¡¯t eaten for an entire day and night. He might be hungry enough that it could wake him so Deputy Director Long decided to be merciful and ordered takeout and brought it back to his dorm. When he returned, Dong Zhi was still sleeping. The air conditioner was turned on and the curtains were drawn, not allowing a single trace of light to enter. The bed was large, making it an entirely suitable environment for resting and sleeping. Long Shen felt as if he had overlooked something. After thinking about it for a long time, he finally recalled it. He had set the a/c to 22 degrees. Dong Zhi was wearing a short-sleeved T-shirt and jeans. He had tossed and turned a bit while sleeping that his T-shirt had rolled up to reveal his stomach causing him to curl up slightly on his side. Perhaps he¡¯s cold? Long Shen found a blanket and covered him. The warmth from the fluffy blanket made Dong Zhi involuntarily gripped it tighter, causing the blanket to wrinkle as he hugged it into a tight ball. Long Shen put the takeout in the living room and came in again. Seeing this scene, he couldn¡¯t help but frown. He stepped forward to pull the blanket out, then wrapped it around Dong Zhi¡¯s, covering him from his neck down to his feet tightly. Looking at the ¡°zongzi*¡± on the bed, Long Shen finally left feeling satisfied. *Chinese rice dish made of glutinous rice stuffed with different filling wrapped in bamboo leaves. Dong Zhi generally doesn¡¯t dream much when he sleeps. His sleep quality has always been good, but he would sometimes dream of what was on his mind that day. When he was a child, he went swimming every day for a while, but every night that he was lying in bed, he always felt the rippling of water and sometimes he would even dream that he was struggling in it. Now he felt that feeling again. In his dream, there were zombies coming in all directions. He raised his head to look around and found that he was on his own. The Qingzhu Sword in his hand was so heavy that he couldn¡¯t lift it up, but without it, he couldn¡¯t vanquish the zombies. Suddenly, he was rushed up and hugged by the zombies overwhelming him like a stacking arhat*. Despite his desperate struggle, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t get loose. He sweated profusely until he abruptly opened his eyes! *Gymnastic formation using only human bodies without instruments. He blinked, then blinked again. He was covered in sweat and his hands and feet seemed to be bound. Looking around, he couldn¡¯t help laugh. It turned out that he was wrapped in a blanket like a silkworm cocoon, so it¡¯s no wonder why he had that dream. He twisted his body vigorously trying to free his hand when he suddenly let out an inaudible sound. It didn¡¯t seem like he was in his dorm. He raised his head and looked around, then frowned. It wasn¡¯t until he got up and saw the yulu plant on the table did he finally confirmed that he was in Long Shen¡¯s dorm. His well-rested brain worked quickly trying to recollect the previous events of yesterday. He had ran out of the classroom abruptly to chase Long Shen to ask him questions, then later¡­ Most likely he had fainted from exhaustion and was carried by the male god here. This seems to be a blessing in disguise. He saw takeout on the table with a note next to it. Opening the container, inside was char siu pork and white chopped chicken and rice. The note reads: [Heat it up.] In this moment, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know how to describe his mood. He looked at the vibrant yulu on the table and suddely sighed as he gently touched the fat and lovely leaves of the plant with his fingers. ¡°Boss Long is too good. Do you think I can really catch him?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t even have a girlfriend. If we just skip directly to a boyfriend, will that scare him?¡± ¡°In his eyes, I should be a candidate to be his apprentice. If I confess, will he kick me out of the Special Administration Bureau? Would it be safer to wait until after the training exam is over?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right, I have to rely on my strength to get through the exam in a dignified manner. I can¡¯t let him think that I just want to hold onto his thighs or take the opportunity and take advantage of it.¡± ¡°But then again, he took care of you so well, which shows that he¡¯s not disgusted with the gift itself. This should mean he has a good impression of the person who gave the gift, right? If I can gain his favorability again, maybe he¡¯ll understand.¡± As he talked to the yulu, he realized how idotic his behavior was, so he got up and went to heat up his meal. In light of yesterday¡¯s sudden training, they were given a day off today and will resume class tomorrow. After eating, Dong Zhi checked the time. It was about lunch break now so he went to Long Shen¡¯s office. When he walked to the door, he saw that the door was closed and was about to raise his hand to knock when he heard a strange sound coming from inside. ¡°What a beauty. Come, come, let me take a closer look!¡± It seems to be Zhong Yuyi¡¯s voice, but it didn¡¯t look like that was something he would say. It was as if someone was talking through him. Dong Zhi hesitated on whether he should just open the door and go in when he suddenly heard a violent shout from inside. ¡°Who¡¯s outside the door! You sneak, behaving like a villain!¡± Taken aback, he hurriedly opened the door and said: ¡°Boss Long, it¡¯s me¡­¡± The sound he heard disappeared automatically and Dong Zhi was stunned when he looked at the scene in front of him. Zhong Yuyi had one foot on Long Shen¡¯s chair and the other on the table, posing in a heroic posture while holding Long Shen¡¯s face with both hands. The distance between their face, as Dong Zhi swears by, was no more than five centimeters! Seeing him come in, the two of them glance at him together, as if they were silently condemning him as an uninvited guest. Long Shen asked him: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He didn¡¯t scold Zhong Yuyi¡¯s behavior, let alone push him away. Dong Zhi finally found his voice and said with great difficulty: ¡°Nothing. I just came here to thank you.¡± Who knew that suddenly Zhong Yuyi pushed Long Shen away and leapt to Dong Zhi and pinched his chin. ¡°The eyes are pure, and the skin is fair, and the hands and feet are slender to boot. What a beauty! He can be painted!¡± Dong Zhi: ??? Zhong Yuyi at this moment seems entirely like a different person from the Zhong Yuyi he usually knows. His eyes were sharp, and his movements were even more amazing. Dong Zhi wanted to retreat but he couldn¡¯t shrug off Zhong Yuyi. Holding Zhong Yuyi¡¯s wrist with one hand and gently moving it away, Long Shen stood in front of Dong Zhi and said to Zhong Yuyi: ¡°The younger generation doesn¡¯t know Huanhou¡¯s* identity so it¡¯s impolite to bother him like this.¡± *(»¸ºî) Refers to titles of praise or derogation given to people of high status after death. It¡¯s also the title given to this character which will be explained in a bit. Zhong Yuyi chuckled: ¡°How overprotective. Is this your son? No, you two don¡¯t look alike! Perhaps your younger brother? Nephew? Or maybe the joy of a cut sleeve*?¡± *(¶ÏÐä) In ancient time refers to homosexuals/homosexuality between men. Long Shen: ¡­ Dong Zhi looked at Long Shen¡¯s attitude towards Zhong Yuyi and didn¡¯t say anything, but kept looking at Zhong Yuyi curiously. Long Shen said: ¡°Elder, it¡¯s getting late. It¡¯s time to go.¡± Zhong Yuyi shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t want to go. It¡¯s rare to return to this world. I¡¯ve heard the sound of the world of mortals and seen fireworks on all side. Why rush to leave so soon?¡± Long Shen stretched out his hand and brushed Zhong Yuyi¡¯s forehead. Zhong Yuyi wasn¡¯t slow to react and wanted to avoid it, but Long Shen was faster than him and managed to touch his forehead. Suddenly Zhong Yuyi slowly closed his eyes and fell back. Long Shen grabbed him by the collar and dragged him directly onto the sofa and threw him there. His action wasn¡¯t rough, but they were enough for Dong Zhi, who witness the whole thing, to think: ¡®After I fainted yesterday, was I dragged to the dorm like this?¡¯ So scary! ¡°Is he okay?¡± Dong Zhi asked. Long Shen shook his head: ¡°He is going to teach the class tomorrow for the first time so he¡¯s nervous. Come and let me take a look.¡± Dong Zhi remembered that when Kan Chaosheng introduced Zhong Yuyi¡¯s identity, he said that the other party was an oracle. When Dong Zhi went back, he checked up on what an oracle was. Comparing the symptoms of how Zhong Yuyi was acting just now, he suddenly came to a realization: ¡°Did he invite a God to enter his body?¡± Long Shen snorted: ¡°To be more precise, it¡¯s a ghost. A ghost is a sustenance of a remnant soul between heaven and earth. It may be a ray of consciousness or a memory. After the death of some people, they are still worshipped with incense, which allows them to last for a long time and form the power of faith. Through this, it can maintain the ghost and it is these ghosts that the oracle invites.¡± Dong Zhi understood: ¡°Then just now¡­¡± Long Shen: ¡°Zhang Fei*.¡± *Military general under the warlord Liu Bei and a major character in the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He was assassinated by his subordinates and was posthumously granted the title Huanhou. You can read more about him in the Wikipedia. Zhang Fei, later known as Huanhou, was brave and good at fighting. He was best known for sleeping without closing his eyes, but most people didn¡¯t know that he was also good at drawing pictures of beauties. In other words, what he saw just now was Zhang Fei, a fierce general from the Three Kingdoms Era? Zhang Fei who forged a three-way friendship with Liu Bei and Guan Yu and was one of the active bright stars of the Three Kingdoms Era? Dong Zhi took a deep breath: ¡°Zhong Yuyi, ah, no. The lesson Teacher Zhong wants to give us is on how to invite a God?¡± Seeing that he was eager to try, wishing that he could wake Zhong Yuyi up and ask clearly, Long Shen showed a meaningful smile: ¡°Go back and memorize history.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Huh?¡± Long Shen: ¡°It¡¯ll be use for tomorrow.¡± When he left the office, he ran into Liu Qingbo. ¡®Enemies are bound to meet when the road is narrow*¡¯ was the thought that appeared in his mind. *(Ô©¼Ò·խ) Idiom referring to enemies or people who don¡¯t want to meet happen to meet. Liu Qingbo gave him a smile that wasn¡¯t really a smile: ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to congratulate you last night. I didn¡¯t expect your name to be on the list of the ten survivors.¡± The implication is that he originally thought that the Dong Zhi would be ¡°sacrificed¡± soon. Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Same to you. Same to you.¡± Of course, Liu Qingbo wasn¡¯t dumb enough to bicker in front of Long Shen¡¯s office. He curled his lips, pass by Dong Zhi, and knocked on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Liu Qingbo pushed the door in, but found that Dong Zhi had also followed him in. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Long Shen asked. Liu Qingbo glanced at the Dong Zhi who pretended not to notice. Liu Qingbo said: ¡°Boss Long, I have something I want to ask privately.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just say it.¡± Liu Qingbo stared at the Dong Zhi, who returned his gaze with an innocent look. ¡®This guy¡¯s skin is thicker than a pig¡¯s!¡¯ Liu Qingbo thought as he secretly gritted his teeth. Anyways, it didn¡¯t matter how angry Liu Qingbo got as he couldn¡¯t do anything to him, not while in front of the male god. Zhong Yuyi was still sleeping on the sofa. Since Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t get him to leave, he had to say it upfront: ¡°Since I heard that Boss Long is teaching us tomorrow, I happened to have a sword here, which was collected by the elders in my family. I was wondering if this would be useful for you to use in class?¡± He handed the sword over with both hands. Long Shen was slightly moved: ¡°The Shuixin Sword*?¡± *Water Heart Sword (Ë®ÐĽ£) Name of a legendary sword. Legend will be explain shortly. Liu Qingbo smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s said that Boss Long has a keen eye and deep understanding of kendo. Sure enough, your reputation precedes you. This is the legendary Shuixin Sword.¡± He glanced a Dong Zhi and said casually: ¡°Has junior brother Dong heard of the Shuixin Sword?¡± Here we go again. In front of others, it was junior brother Dong, and when he turned his back, he was fellow Taoist Dong. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but twitched the corners of his mouth. ¡°If I remember correctly, Wun Jun of the Southern Dynasty mentioned this sword in his ¡°Continuation of Qi Harmony¡±, saying that it was a Jin man who came from the west, offered the sword to King Zhao of Qin during one of his banquets. There were poets in the Tang Dynasty who mentioned this sword, saying that it¡¯s the sword spawn from the Yellow River in Western Xia Dynasty, and the Qingluo River in the Eastern Zhou Dynasty.¡± Liu Qingbo looked surprised, as if he didn¡¯t expect him to really know. Even Long Shen was astounded, giving him a slight nod of approval. With his back facing Long Shen, Liu Qingbo grimace as Dong Zhi gave him a triumphant look. Unexpectedly, this brother is an artist who had drawn countless legendary game props. Liu Qingbo wanted to make a fool out of Dong Zhi in front of Long Shen, but he didn¡¯t expect him to take the limelight instead. Dying of anger, he almost couldn¡¯t breathe as he gave him a fierce look. Long Shen ignored the squabble between the two of them as he held the sword. He held the sword, slowly pulled it out of its scabbard, focused on it, and was completely absorbed by it that he had forgotten himself. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo only felt a glint from the sword that pierce their eyes that they couldn¡¯t help but blink. Long Shen held the sword in his hand and in an instant, the white paper that was in his hand turned into pieces and scattered everywhere. The famous ancient sword can not only cut gold and jade but can also blow and split hairs. Long Shen nodded: ¡°It really is a good sword.¡± Liu Qingbo held back his pride and said with a smile: ¡°No matter how good the sword is, there must be a suitable owner. It would be an honor for this sword to be used by you.¡± However, when Dong Zhi looked at Long Shen, there seemed to be a trace of¡­ regret on Long Shen¡¯s face? Seeing such a good sword, how can he make such a regretful expression? Long Shen returned the sword to its sheath and handed it back to Liu Qingbo. It was only an instant that it felt like what Dong Zhi saw was just an illusion. Liu Qingbo was taken aback: ¡°Boss Long?¡± Long Shen: ¡°The sword is a good, but I don¡¯t accept gifts.¡± Liu Qingbo became anxious: ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m not trying to bribe you. Our family has a lot of swords like this. My father knows that you also use swords, so he specifically asked me to send them here for you.¡± Long Shen shook his head and put the sword on the coffee table. ¡°There are not many swords like this. One that can fit in your hand is enough. Take it back.¡± Seeing the two ancient swords hanging on the wall, Liu Qingbo felt that Long Shen was actually referring to them. It was difficult for him to accept it because of Dong Zhi¡¯s pressence. He felt that Dong Zhi was such an eyesore, but nonetheless said: ¡°Boss Long is exemplary. I¡¯ll take the sword back!¡± Dong Zhi felt giddy as he thought that it¡¯s not that Long Shen doesn¡¯t accept gifts, but he doesn¡¯t accept ones that are too previous. How can he bring an ancient sword that¡¯s seemingly priceless and say that it¡¯s not a bribe? Who would believe such a thing! With the gift that couldn¡¯t be given and his rival was staring at him, Liu Qingbo felt miserable. He heard Long Shen ask him: ¡°Is there anything else?¡± He had no choice but to say: ¡°No, you¡¯re busy so I shouldn¡¯t bother you.¡± Liu Qingbo started to slowly walk out when Long Shen suddenly said: ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± He immediately stopped. Long Shen: ¡°Stay back Dong Zhi.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­ Inside his heart was roaring so loudly that he could almost sing the *. Feeling helpless that Deputy Director Long did not receive his hints at all, Liu Qingbo could only cast a resentful look at Dong Zhi before sadly leaving. *A cantata written by Chinese composer Xian Xinghai. The work was inspired by a patriotic poem by Guang Weiran which was adapted as the lyrics and eventually became popular and spread to all parts of China. Dong Zhi also felt a little uneasy as he thought: ¡®He¡¯s not going to return the yulu too, right?¡¯ Long Shen said: ¡°We had three groups of people watching Hui Yiguang since the incident, but there are no results. She behaves normally and her surroundings are clean and there¡¯s no active demonic aura. The Special Administration Bureau has limited resources so it¡¯s impossible to follow her all the time. This matter has come to an end. You can tell Li Ying and the others later.¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°Liu Qingbo was also involved. Why didn¡¯t you tell him just now before he left?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°With his temperament, if I told him, he might run to follow up on the matter again in order to try and impress me.¡± That¡¯s true. Dong Zhi heavily agreed with his assessment and found that Long Shen actually had a relatively in-depth understanding of everyone¡¯s character. ¡°It¡¯s a bit strange to say. At that time, Hui Yiguang was entangled by a living soul, but Cheng Yuan couldn¡¯t see it. Why couldn¡¯t Li Ying and the others even sense anything supernatural even with a compass? He Yu and I used it to find clues at the foot spa in Yangcheng. As soon as there was any demonic scent, the compass would immediately pick it up. It stands to reason then that if the demons were weaker this time, it would be much easier to detect,¡± Dong Zhi said. Long Shen shook his head: ¡°The other party attached itself to the living soul and used it to hide itself. You don¡¯t have much experience so it¡¯s normal to be blinded by the past.¡± In the end, does this mean he wasn¡¯t good at learning? Dong Zhi felt embarrassed and scratched his nose. Zhong Yuyi suddenly rouse and rubbed his eyes as he slowly woke up. His blank expression had returned. ¡°¡­what¡¯s normal?¡± Long Shen said to Dong Zhi: ¡°Take him with you when you leave.¡± Dong Zhi agreed and stepped forward to help Zhong Yuyi. The latter still seems as if he was dreaming as he was dragged away by Dong Zhi. After Dong Zhi left, he contacted Li Ying and informed him of the results from Long Shen¡¯s side and asked him to tell everyone, which Li Ying naturally agreed. Li Ying regarded himself as the leader of this term. Zhang Song and Liu Qingbo weren¡¯t convinced, and thus they competed with him openly and secretly, but Dong Zhi wouldn¡¯t grab his limelight, so he has been good to him. The next day, Dong Zhi got up early and climbed the stairs to the rooftop and practiced for an hour. He came to the classroom feeling refreshed. Today was Long Shen¡¯s class. Deputy Director Long¡¯s name was resounding like thunder, and it wasn¡¯t just him, but everyone had been looking forward to this for a long time. Despite coming in early, there were already people who came even earlier than him. Kinky Thoughts: Long Shen already treating Dong Zhi special without knowing it. These little tidbits make my heart melt. What Long Shen said to Dong Zhi regarding the living soul only further confirms my suspicion. Even if you are just guessing, no predictions in the comments please as it could be a potential spoiler. We¡¯ll discuss our thoughts when the mystery is revealed. CH 45 When everyone entered the classroom, they all paused at the same time. They raised their head and observed their surrounding suspiciously, and some even took out a compass to measure their position. After finding that there were no problems, they walked in cautiously while looking each other with bitter smiles. This was the reaction from the aftermath of their previous lesson. Ba Sang stilled had a linger shadow and would reflexively touch his throat from time to time. The experience of slitting his own throat was too heavy that it left a deep scar on him. ¡°How are you?¡± Dong Zhi patted him on the shoulder. Ba Sang turned his head and said with a bitter face: ¡°I slept for an entire day yesterday and had countless nightmares of being pierced by a dagger. Every time I wake up, I would be sweating profusely.¡± Dong Zhi smiled bitterly: ¡°I dreamt of being surrounded by zombies and they overwhelmed me. It made freak out.¡± Li Ying who passed by them overheard their conversations. He laughed: ¡°It¡¯ll be fine in a few days. Those are just conditioned reflexes!¡± After speaking, he lowered his voice: ¡°Some people must¡¯ve dreamt that they were trapped in the electrician¡¯s room and couldn¡¯t get out.¡± He was referring to Liu Qingbo. Last time Boss Wu commented on everyone¡¯s performance, had singled out Liu Qingbo who hid in the electrician¡¯s room for the whole night. Hearing the ridicule in his tone, Dong Zhi and Ba Sang hearts lightened. Coincidentally, Liu Qingbo just happened to pass by and those words reached his ears. His face instantly became ugly. Even Ba Sang and Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t had time who withdraw their smirks were caught by him. ¡°It¡¯s a mule or a horse*! Why don¡¯t you put yourself to the test rather than put on hot air!¡± Liu Qingbo said angrily. *The full idiom is It¡¯s a mule or a horse to go for a walk (ÊÇÂâ×ÓÊÇÂíÀ­³öÀ´åÞåÞ). It describes a person who doesn¡¯t want to say something nice and has little abilities to do few things so he can¡¯t distinguish whether it¡¯s good or bad (AKA Put your money where your mouth is. If you are capable at your job, then start doing it and show people your ability.) During the simulation training, Liu Qingbo ignored Li Ying¡¯s advice and left on his own causing Li Ying to be quite dissatisfied. As a result of his action, he was heavily criticized by Wu Bingtian for abandoning his teammates, which only further infuriated him. Hearing Liu Qingbo¡¯s quip, Li Ying responded back: ¡°I¡¯m neither a donkey or a horse and I can choose whether to walk or not walk*.¡± *Clarity: He¡¯s referring to the latter half of the full idiom. This response is basically saying, he¡¯s capable and have nothing to prove. Others may be jealous of Liu Qingbo¡¯s background, but Li Ying had nothing to fear from him. Liu Qingbo immediately pulled out his Feijing Sword from his back while Li Ying pinched a talisman with one hand. Their movements were equally fast. As young people, they are easily prone to anger and as practitioners they were even more arrogant. With their backgrounds, Li Ying and Liu Qingbo have a smooth path. Even if Long Shen and Wu Bingtian wanted to take action against them, they will have much trouble, thus they were both fearless among their peers. No one expected that a few words would end with rattling swords and everyone rushed to ease the situation. Dong Zhi spoke up: ¡°Sorry, we shouldn¡¯t have laughed just now, but Li Ying didn¡¯t mean to be malicious. Class is about to start. Being seen by the leaders may affect your score. Let¡¯s just drop this!¡± Chi Banxia also chimed in: ¡°Yes, we¡¯ll all see each other regularly in the future so why bother being so stiff!¡± Everyone else also gathered around to persuade them, blocking the middle to avoid them from really taking action as it would be difficult to clean up the mess. After being persuaded by this, the two of them calmed down. Suddenly, Zhang Song came in from outside. When he saw this scene, he laughed and said: ¡°You two want to duel? Fine by me. I¡¯ll be your witness!¡± He glanced at the people around Li Ying, and then smiled casually: ¡°Li Ying, are you helping others? I didn¡¯t expect you to still be so helpful!¡± The atmosphere that had been slightly relaxed became tense again in an instant. Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes and where there are rivers and lakes, there are leagues and sects. Birds of a feather flock together. After the written exam and interview, Dong Zhi found that people from famous families and those with backgrounds will naturally converge, while those who are alone and had no standings, like Dong Zhi and Ba Sang, would get closer as well. The interaction with Li Ying was purely accidental. After the interview, many people left the capital, either returning home or going off to have fun. Not many people had stayed behind. Li Ying had gathered a few to develop his connections yet coincidentally they stumbled upon Hui Yiguang¡¯s situation. Going through that tribulation together had deepened the friendship between them. Though their personalities and origins are different, they usually got along well. Unexpectedly, Zhang Song was eager to fan the flames and the look in his eyes felt off. Zhang Song didn¡¯t seem to be aware of it as he kept smiling and urging them: ¡°I heard the next year¡¯s World Exchange Conference will be selecting representatives to participate. Sooner or later, we will have to fight like this so why not do it.¡± Before this, Dong Zhi¡¯s impression of Zhang Song was that he¡¯s a young and promising disciple of the Longhu Sect. When he dealt with the Archfiend in Yangcheng, it was Zhang Chong, who was also born on Mount Longhu, who had helped him out. Although his skills were mediocre at best, he was easy to get along with and was quite funny. Looking at Zhang Song now, Dong Zhi sigh inwardly lamenting how the same rice that nourishes a hundred kind of people, even if they are in the same class, could have such varied temperaments. ¡°What is the World Exchange Conference?¡± Ba Sang asked quietly. Dong Zhi whispered: ¡°I don¡¯t know. It could be an exchange between practitioners.¡± When Liu Si heard their whispers, he answered: ¡°It¡¯s a world-class spiritual exchange conference. Every two years, various countries and regions will send representatives to participate in it. It includes competition as well as consultation.¡± Hearing his explanation, they became even more curious and wanted to ask more questions when Long Shen walked in. Liu Qingbo and Li Ying weren¡¯t fools. They both knew that this wasn¡¯t the occasion for a combat, so they could only halt their ride on a tiger*. Seeing that the Deputy Director had come in, they dared not continue the confrontation any further and hurriedly stopped. *(ÆﻢÄÑÏÂ) Idiom referring to difficulties to carry on a task but the situation doesn¡¯t allow it to stop halfway so it becomes a dilemma. Long Shen glanced at them and said nothing. Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t speak even if he wanted to explain, so he had to hold back. Everyone hurriedly took their seats, sitting upright, for fear of making a bad impression. ¡°I will teach you in today¡¯s training class.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°But not here. Go to the top floor.¡± Are they finally going to practice? Everyone has long been afraid of Director Jiang¡¯s long and exhaustive theory class, and they had lingering fears about the simulation training last time. Their hearts we¡¯re all pounding as they were both anxious and filled with anticipation. ¡°Long- Boss Long, are we going to fight zombies again? I forgot to bring my compass today. Can you let me go back and get it?¡± Someone asked cautiously. Dong Zhi subconsciously touched the Qingzhu Sword he had set on the table. Long Shen said: ¡°You don¡¯t need to bring a compass. If you have a weapon, you can bring a weapon. It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t have one.¡± He took everyone to the rooftop and swiped his card to open the door. The scene behind the door was very familiar as it was the spot that Dong Zhi practice his exercises every day. To others who have never seen it before, their expressions and reactions was similar to Dong Zhi¡¯s when he saw it for the first time. Exclamations followed one after another. It was only later that Dong Zhi learned this kind of enchantment that extended space wasn¡¯t uncommon, but it was rare to have such a large-scale one like the Special Administration Bureau. After all, many large sects are situated between lush mountains and flowing rivers. Only when you¡¯re located in a downtown metropolitan area that the venue didn¡¯t have enough space that you would need to use this kind of method. Long Shen stood under a tree and said: ¡°I¡¯ll teach and show you my best abilities, but how much you can learn and remember will depend on your own abilities.¡± Hearing what he said, everyone quickly pulled their attention back from the vast and beautiful scenery in front of them. Long Shen said: ¡°I am good in swordsmanship. However, the sword is the head of hundred soldiers, while the wielder is the general of the hundred. All objects have a spirit, and this varies very little. Some absorb the essence of the heavens, the sun, and the moon. Over time, wisdom is born, and the spirit takes form. This is the origin of essence. These objects are limited by their spiritual energy or their own creation, so it¡¯s not enough for them to transform to human beings let alone reach sentiency. However, they still have spirituality in themselves. If this spirituality can be integrated by the user, it can make the user even more powerful. Think of it as icing on the cake.¡± Everyone listened intently, even if they didn¡¯t understand what he was saying as they all took notes to ponder about carefully when they return. Long Shen said: ¡°What I want to teach you today is to discover the spirituality of the weapons that you use.¡± Chi Banxia raised her hand. Long Shen: ¡°Speak.¡± Chi Banxia said: ¡°Excuse me, Boss Long. What if you have no weapons?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°A flower, a leaf, a sword, a spear, a halberd, a whip, a flute, poison, witchcraft, and even a talisman; As long as you use them to attack an enemy, they are all considered weapons, but any objects used will have spirituality. Take the gu insects* for example. Poison itself utilizes creatures. I once saw a Miao girl in Miaojiang who was pregnant with two gu kings at the same time. One can cure hundreds of poisons while the other can transverse anywhere in the world. These gu kings are connected with her soul so as long as she wills it, she can do what she wants without the use of spells.¡± *Reminder: this is referring to gu/poison. Often insects are used to create the poison. Refer to the lore glossary for details of gu. Chi Banxia was shocked: ¡°When I was a child, I used to hear about this from my grandmother, but at that time I thought she was humoring me. Is there really such a powerful person in the world?¡± Long Shen nodded. Since witchcraft and poison arts were in the same vein, they are interlinked with each other. Chi Banxia was fascinated to hear about this and wanted to know more. ¡°Boss Long, where is the expert now? Do you know?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I have only met her once and haven¡¯t seen her for many years.¡± Although the Special Administration Bureau is an official organization, not everyone loves to be bound. China is vast and full of hidden dragons and tigers with countless strange people. Hearing this, Chi Banxia couldn¡¯t help showing a look of disappointment. Seeing as she had no further questions for the time being, Long Shen continued: ¡°Not only are insects, but other objects can be applied the same way. Humans are the spirit of heaven and earth. Why? Because humans have unparalleled intelligence that¡¯s beyond the reaches of beasts and can carry more spiritual energy than any other living thing. From another point of view, human beings can be considered objects with spirituality, as there¡¯s no exception. Your elders must have taught you that when using weapons, you must gather your qi first then visualize it.¡± Everyone nodded. Although Dong Zhi bears the title of a disciple of the Hezao Sect, it¡¯s only in name. He first learned how to draw the Sunlight Talisman from He Yu, then learned the Five Thunder Talisman from master Fang, and then got the Qingzhu Sword from Long Shen thus his knowledge was one hammer east, one hammer west*. In term of systematicness, it wasn¡¯t as good as a disciple who studied under the Hezao Sect or Longhu Sect since childhood and started from scratch. *Refers to learning a bit here and there that you¡¯re unfocused so you end up not learning much at all. He knew his only advantage was that he was quick to pick up things and had talent in drawing runes, but if he was satisfied with the status quo, in the long run, let alone comparing to people around him, it¡¯s estimated he may not even pass the training exam. Not only did he listened very seriously in today¡¯s lesson, but he also added the knowledge to his mind to seek confirmation. Long Shen said: ¡°The stronger the ability of the person, the shorter the time it takes to gather qi and visualization. For example, the current headmaster of the Longhu Sect can use talismans without reciting a mantra.¡± There were two disciples from the Longhu Sect, including Zhang Song, who were present. When they heard this, they naturally had proud expressions. ¡°Take the sword as an example. In the world of martial arts, only the fast could not broken. There are no limits except by your mind and heart.¡± After Long Shen said these words, he stretched out his hand towards the Dong Zhi: ¡°Give me your sword.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly handed over the Qingzhu Sword with both hands. Long Shen pulled the sword from its sheath and held it in his hand like a flower. It could be seen that his swordsmanship was extremely skilled. The sword in his hand was like a part of his body, light as if it weighed like nothing, flexible, and adaptable. With one hand behind his back, and the other on the sword, he didn¡¯t deliberately stand upright but his back was straight and beautiful. Everyone thought he was going to perform some moves with the sword, but in the next moment, they were speechless. The Qingzhu Sword in Long Shen¡¯s hand suddenly turned into a luminous light and flew into the sky. Long Shen raised his hand and drew it upwards then drew an arc with it. Following his guidance, the light shot through the air and seconds later a stone not far away exploded. A loud boom could be heard as pieces of the stone flew everywhere. The sword was inserted straight into the ground where the stone previously laid, more than half of it was buried deeply. Long Shen¡¯s finger moved slightly, and the light suddenly flew towards the crowd. Everyone felt the sword¡¯s qi as the wind rushed towards their face! They subconsciously took a few steps back and some people even involuntarily made a defensive stance. As soon as Long Shen closed his palms, the light turned back to normal and returned to his hands. Dong Zhi almost doubted that the Qingzhi Sword he had been using before was fake. It wasn¡¯t only him, but everyone looked at Long Shen with eyes as if they were worshipping a god. People who know little have only heard of Long Shen¡¯s ruthlessness when slaying demons, but they didn¡¯t know how powerful he really is. Now those who didn¡¯t know him well felt that his reputation is well-deserved. Long Shen face was still indifferent, as if he hadn¡¯t shown any incredible skills just now. ¡°Like I said, all objects can naturally be used freely when they are interlinked with your soul. Do you understand?¡± Everyone nodded like a chicken pecking rice. Among the crowd, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had already seen Long Shen in action. The former had experience it firsthand on Changbai Mountain, while the latter was rescued by him when he was in danger. It was just that on Changbai Mountain, the power of the bone dragon was so shocking and Dong Zhi was fighting through life and death helping He Yu set up the array that he didn¡¯t have the time or energy to carefully watch the battle. Similarly, Liu Qingbo was chased by the Aoyu and almost lost his life that he didn¡¯t see Long Shen¡¯s heroism. This scene in front of him today made Liu Qingbo more determined to become his apprentice. However, after today, besides Dong Zhi, there may be more competing for that position. Long Shen asked: ¡°Do you have any questions?¡± Liu Si said: ¡°Boss Long, I use a whip. Can you show me a demonstration?¡± Long Shen looked at him for a moment, nodded, and stretched out his hand. Liu Si took out a slender willow branch from his pocket, stretched it out slowly until the length form a whip, and then respectfully handed it to Long Shen. Long Shen held the whip and pondered for a moment, as if weighing it in his hand. Everyone held their breath and did not dare to make a sound, for fear of disturbing him. Suddenly, Long Shen slapped the ground with the whip and the grass suddenly blackened and a crack appeared on the ground about a finger deep. Immediately afterwards, another whip was made, and it hit the crack just now, but this time, the grass on both side of the crack seemed to be affected by the power of the whip and quickly withered, spreading up to a meter away until it stopped. He wasn¡¯t done yet as he whipped again for the third time! Everyone thought that this time, the crack would get deeper, or more of the grassland would be affected, but to their surprise, while the crack was still deep, the withered vegetation on both sides was rejuvenated at speed visible to the naked eye and even small white flowers bloomed. The earth around Long Shen¡¯s figure seemed to have rejuvenated and became prosperous. Everyone watched this scene in amazement as Long Shen retracted the whip and handed it back to Liu Si. ¡°The choice is yours. True power lies not only in destruction, but also in creation and giving.¡± Liu Si shook slightly, took the whip, and solemnly said: ¡°I understand. ¡± Liu Qingbo hurried forward before the others recovered. ¡°Boss Long, I also want to ask you for guidance.¡± He handed the Feijing Sword with both hands, looking at Long Shen eagerly. Long Shen said: ¡°I have already shown the sword just now, so leave room for others.¡± Liu Qingbo was a little unwilling to give up: ¡°But you demonstrated too fast just now, and I didn¡¯t have time to see clearly. Maybe others feel the same!¡± Others nodded one after another wanting to see it again. Long Shen didn¡¯t pick up the sword, but said: ¡°When you visualize, there is one more point. Don¡¯t be distracted. It¡¯s easy to do since you usually practice in a quiet environment, but if you¡¯re in a noisy area or surrounded by danger, if you manage to collapse Mount Tai without changing its color*, you can reach greater heights.¡± *The full idiom is Collapse Mount Tai without changing its color, and the elk flourished on the left without blinking (̩ɽ±ÀÓÚÇ°¶øÉ«²»±ä£¬÷ç¹ÐËÓÚ×ó¶øÄ¿²»Ë²). Refers to being calm and unaffected by the outside world/being calm without panicking in the face of trouble (AKA as cool as a cucumber). After he finished speaking, he looked at everyone: ¡°All of you, come at me at together.¡± Everyone looked at each other, but no one moved. Their faces though, showed eagerness to try. Long Shen said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, use your best abilities. There¡¯s no need to hold back.¡± Since he said that, everyone no longer had reservation. They stood around Long Shen in a circle, ready to go. Dong Zhi clenched his Qingzhu Sword in his hand and pinched his other hands with his fingers and began chanting a mantra. This was a test. Not a test for Long Shen, but Long Shen¡¯s test for them. If they didn¡¯t do their best, it would be considered sloppy and negligent. Chi Banxia put one hand in her pocket. No one knew what she was touching. She took a step back and reached out her hand. To eyes of others, it looked as if her hands were empty, but Long Shen seem aware of it. He stretched out his hand in the air and grabbed at it, then threw it at the stone next to him. The stone quickly turned black as corroded holes appear on it one by one. At this moment, Liu Qingbo yelled, and raise his sword to attack Long Shen. The people around only felt the gust of a wind from the aftermath of his blade, and they couldn¡¯t help but move far away from him. Although Liu Qingbo failed to refine his sword into light like how Long Shen did, his sword still moved extremely fast. In addition, the Feijing Sword has killed countless of people over thousands of years. With the blessings of magic, the murderous aura of the sword surged out that it was impossible to hide. Watching the scene from behind, Dong Zhi saw how fearless his opponent was and the vast potential he had. He suddenly understood why Liu Qingbo desperately wanted to become Long Shen¡¯s apprentice. No matter how powerful his swordsmanship is, it still has the aura of humanly fireworks of the world, while Long Shen¡¯s sword has reached a state of being able to retract and release like a god. Liu Qingbo needs guidance from a master-level figure in order to improve his cultivation one level higher. However, Dong Zhi had no intention of retreating and being virtuous. Since he had made up his mind, he must work hard in his conviction. He had passed the written exam and interviews, so there¡¯s no reason to back down now. Dark clouds gathered from all sides as the sky above their heads quickly darkened. Long Shen remained motionless. He stretched out his hand and blocked Liu Qingbo¡¯s offensive as the Feijing Sword paused abruptly in midair. It was as if Liu Qingbo had hit an impenetrable rock as his whole body titled to the side and fell to the ground. Others followed suit, yet they all failed to even shake Long Shen in the slightest. Suddenly a loud bang resounded! The dark clouds rolled endlessly as thunder roared in clouds, arousing dazzling light. Lightning directly enveloped Long Shen¡¯s entire figure causing many people to scream. ¡°Boss Long?!¡± ¡°Boss Long!¡± Dong Zhi heart skipped a beat, but when lightning struck, it was too late to stop it. Everyone could only watch as Long Shen was bathe in the majesty of the sky. Within a five-meter radius around Long Shen, no one dared to approach, including Dong Zhi. The heavenly thunder was ruthless that one¡¯s life would be in danger if they stood too closely. When the thunder dissipated and the lightning disappeared, Long Shen¡¯s body was no longer there. Only ashes remained as it was blown off by the wind. Everyone was stunned and Dong Zhi looked even paler. ¡°Your reaction is too slow.¡± When the familiar voice sounded, they turned their heads abruptly and found that Long Shen was standing behind them, completely unscathed. What was that?! They looked at the place where the lightning had struck seeing the entire area empty as all the grass and leaves were wiped out leaving only a piece of scorched earth. Long Shen cross his arms and said coldly: ¡°If this was the enemy, you would be a cold corpse by now.¡± Everyone lowered their heads in shame. In their respective fields of expertise, not to mention outstanding, they were considered rising stars. They were usually praised by their elders, but when they arrived here, they have been punched down again and again. First, the simulation training only had half a survival rating, and now, despite so many people attacking Long Shen, they didn¡¯t even make a single scratch. If he was really the enemy, they would have died a hundred times over by now. Long Shen said: ¡°There¡¯s a problem at Fuxian Lake in Yunnan. A member from group three from the Special Administration Bureau had died there.¡± Everyone was taken aback and subconsciously looked up at him. Long Shen: ¡°The setback that you feel now is to teach you, so you won¡¯t lose your lives in the future. I hope that next time I give you a lesson, I can see your progress. Class is over.¡± After speaking, he left. Today wasn¡¯t so much of a class but rather a blow to their ego. While everyone seemed to have benefitted from it, it also made them painfully aware of the huge gap between themselves and the truly top practitioners. After Long Shen left, Liu Qingbo kept touching is Feijing Sword silently. His eyes were filled with fanaticism. Others were pretty much the same. At this moment, they heard Zhang Song say: ¡°The previous duel, is it still on?¡± Li Ying frowned slightly, feeling that Zhang Song was deliberately provoking him. Everyone who witnessed that confrontation had long forgotten about it, except this guy who just had to bring it up again. Zhang Song said: ¡°As you saw just now, many of us are not capable at dealing with Boss Long, we should step up our practice. Outside the gate of Beijing, there are many demons and ghost that needs to be exorcise daily, so we should practice more when we¡¯re free. Don¡¯t you agree, Li Ying?¡± Although he knew Zhang Song was provoking him, Li Ying couldn¡¯t really refute what he said: ¡°Why don¡¯t we set a time every week in the future. Let¡¯s discuss in groups and we¡¯ll go at that time. You can challenge your own opponents and others will be your witnesses. How about it?¡± This is a good idea. There are countless practitioners in the world. It¡¯s inevitable that they¡¯ll meet opponents when they go outside in the future. Everyone has their own strengths, so as Zhang Song said, they can improve each other. Zhang Song smiled and said: ¡°Since the sun is still out, why not have a duel now.¡± Li Ying felt that it would be too chaotic currently and was trying to find an excuse to push it off, but Liu Qingbo said: ¡°Yes, but I don¡¯t want to fight Li Ying. I want to learn from Dong Zhi.¡± Everyone looked at the Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi said honestly: ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m not proficient in swordsmanship. I can only use talismans. With speed alone, I can¡¯t beat you, so I don¡¯t think this kind of exchange is meaningful.¡± Liu Qingbo sneered: ¡°Cut the crap, are you afraid?¡± Dong Zhi looked at him innocently: ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­ Ba Sang didn¡¯t hold back, laughed out loud. Kinky Thoughts: No more lessons from Long Shen please. That was such a pain to translate. CH 46 ¡°How can you act like this? Do you still want to be Boss Long apprentice? If you lose before the war, do you dare say that you¡¯re inferior to me in front of Boss Long?!¡± His sentence was three points of anger and seven points of provocation. Dong Zhi said with a smile: ¡°I think Boss Long accepts apprentices, not only based on abilities, but also character. As long as you¡¯re realistic and are kind and humble, even if your ability is slightly insufficient, you¡¯ll always make progress in the future. Only such an apprentice is worthy of teaching, am I right?¡± Seeing that his opponent refused to make a move, Liu Qingbo gave him a fierce look and did not bring up his duel with Li Ying. Rather, he turned around and left angrily. Dong Zhi shrugged. Ba Sang said: ¡°I have long disliked him. He acts crazy all day long. Don¡¯t mind him!¡± Others didn¡¯t speak out as bluntly as Ba Sang since they dare not talk about Liu Qingbo. Li Ying patted Dong Zhi on the shoulder and continue his big brother persona: ¡°Don¡¯t take his words to heart.¡± Gu Meiren said worriedly: ¡°Isn¡¯t his family background deep? Will he wear small shoes* for you?¡± *(´©Ð¡Ð¬) Metaphor referring to secretly attacking or making things difficult for others (AKA A tough nut to crack). Li Ying said: ¡°No matter his relationship with his family is, they can¡¯t get involve in the recruitment of the Special Administration Bureau. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Hearing what he said, Gu Meiren and Ba Sang breathed a sigh of relief and said: ¡°Alright then.¡± Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t worried. He had disagreed with Li Ying¡¯s father during the interview at that time and he stilled passed so it could be seen that the Special Administration Bureau was still relatively fair and just. Besides, Liu Qingbo was the first to provoke the matter and he didn¡¯t bite the bait so he didn¡¯t do anything that would warrant trouble. As soon as Liu Qingbo left, there was one less person who raise his nose and eyes vertically*. The atmosphere became more relaxed. Seeing that there was no longer any excitement, Zhang Song went to find Xiang Yongnian to train with him. *(ºáÌô±Ç×ÓÊúÌôÑÛ) Metaphor meaning picky in every possible way. A nitpicker who finds faults in a petty manner. Gu Meiren said: ¡°Boss Long was really powerful just now. I even learned that such a legendary immortal swordsman truly exists in the world!¡± Whether they be men or women, who doesn¡¯t have the dream of martial arts. Gu Meiren had a leisurely and fascinated appearance, but there were also traces of regret. ¡°It¡¯s a pity that I already have a master since elementary school. Otherwise, I would definitely worship Boss Long as my master!¡± Ba Sang was in high spirits: ¡°Dong Zhi, don¡¯t you also use swords? Can you use yujian*?¡± *(Óù½£) Ability to control swords through magic such as using them to fly or moving them to fight with just your mind ect. || There¡¯s no English equivalent that I can think of, so I¡¯ll keep it in pinyin. Dong Zhi smiled bitterly: ¡°Are you kidding me? I don¡¯t even know the basics on how to use a sword. This Qingzhu Sword is used as a talisman aid!¡± He touched the body of the sword and thought how truly wasted this Qingzhu Sword was in his hands. He couldn¡¯t even use 10% of its power compared to Boss Long. Ba Sang said: ¡°Can I borrow your Qingzhu Sword?¡± ¡°Of course you can.¡± Dong Zhi handed the sword over. Ba Sang drew out his sword, weighed it in his hand, and then danced in front of them. They were stunned by his elegant maneuvers as his sword dance was like a tiger in the wind. When he finished, they all, including Dong Zhi, applauded. ¡°So you can use a sword too!¡± Ba Sang returned the sword to the Dong Zhi and said embarrassedly: ¡°When I was a child, I practiced swordsmanship with my master. This is a sword technique. Didn¡¯t you see what I did just now wasn¡¯t like using a sword at all? A sword is mainly use to slash, stab, and chop. Weapons are different and their usages varies. That is to say, while you laymen watch it with excitement, the experts would laugh to death seeing this.¡± Dong Zhi said thoughtfully: ¡°How did you do it the same as Boss long and lift the sword like it barely weighs anything? Honestly, this sword is already quite light, but I still get sore after holding it for a long time. The last time we fought those demons during Hui Yiguang¡¯s incident, I almost dropped it several times.¡± Ba Sang: ¡°Practice your strength. You don¡¯t have enough strength. Here, reach out.¡± Dong Zhi was perplexed but did as he said and stretched out his hand. Suddenly the other party grabbed and twisted it causing him to scream in pain. ¡°You¡¯re so soft like a girl. You need to build some muscles in your arms and wrists,¡± Ba Sang patted his arms to show off his hard muscles: ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing since I was a child. I carried large buckets of water for three hours and ran with them back and forth for several miles!¡± Dong Zhi asked worriedly: ¡°Where can I find buckets of water in the Special Administration Bureua?¡± Ba Sang said: ¡°Just take something and hold it flat. Don¡¯t bend your arms and keep practicing like this every day!¡± Dong Zhi nodded and wrote it down. The next day was Long Shen¡¯s class again. Everyone came to the rooftop entrance earlier than yesterday. When Long Shen arrived, everyone looked at him even more intensely than yesterday. Long Shen had showed them the highest level of swordsmanship and left them not only dazzled through is breathtaking demonstrations, but also a yearning for pursuit of the strong. Those who can pass five levels and cut six generals* are not ordinary people. Everyone has their own insights and expertise. Ba Sang was inspired by this and planned to apply it to his own sword technique, while Dong Zhi saw a gap so wide like the boundless sky between him and Long Shen. *(¹ýÎå¹ØÕ¶Áù½«) Metaphor for being brave and determined to overcome difficulties. From Romance of the Three Kingdoms. ¡°I won¡¯t demonstrate anymore today. You can practice on your own. If you have any questions, you can ask them.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Qingbo stepped forward to ask for advice. Everyone secretly chastised themselves for being too slow. Dong Zhi did not stay in place to listen to their conversation. This wasn¡¯t because of any prejudices he had against Liu Qingbo but because he knew that his current understanding of swordsmanship wasn¡¯t deep enough. It¡¯s taboo to run before you learn how to walk. Instead of rushing to pursue a higher level, it¡¯s better to start from the basics. When Liu Qingbo finished, several other people came forward to ask questions. After waiting for a long time, Dong Zhi finally had his chance to tell Long Shen his questions and difficulties. Long Shen agreed with him: ¡°If you want to learn swordsmanship, you must first familiarize yourself with its basic movements, so that you can make rapid attacks and react quickly in order to take the lead against your enemies.¡± He took the Qingzhu Sword and turned his wirst. ¡°This is the sword flower technique*. If the speed is fast enough, it can keep the enemy from approaching for a while.¡± *Sword technique where you spin the sword with your wrist. See the Youtube video for a demonstration. After speaking, Long Shen started to turn his wrists several times in a row causing the sword to gleam like a light as if it was a flower* blooming. As soon as he stopped, the sea of flowers disappeared, and the myriad of changes closed in his palm. Long Shen pierce the sword flatly at a willow leaf hanging in front of him. *Named after the White-Fleshed Pitahaya flower (also known as the Sword Flower). ¡°This is a lunge. Practice your wrist strength and eyesight.¡± He raised his wrist slightly holding the tip of the sword facing up. ¡°This is a feint.¡± The sword body swept forward flatly, and the branches broke in response. ¡°This is a sweep.¡± Long Shen put the sword back in its sheath and handed it back to him. ¡°The movements of using the sword are very simple. As long as you practice these movements to the extreme, no ordinary person would be a match for you. You don¡¯t have to rush to learn swordsmanship now. Just learn these basic moves first.¡± Dong Zhi recalled his movements just now and thoughtfully said: ¡°How ingenious. It¡¯s so simple.¡± Long Shen nodded approvingly: ¡°Swordsmanship is extracted from basic movements and combining actual combat experience. It can be regarded as a collection of essence, but you haven¡¯t learn it yet.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s questions wasn¡¯t long. After quickly answering them, Long Shen moved on to help others. Dong Zhi stayed behind and recalled Long Shen¡¯s words just now as he tried to imitate his movements. He stabbed the sword over and over again, recovered, then repeated his stabbing motion. At first, he couldn¡¯t hold on for even ten minutes and he had to take a break after a while. Eventually, the practice time increased and the rest time became shorter. His wrists and arms seemed to become more accustomed to this kind of force. At first, when he stabbed using the sword, he couldn¡¯t last long at all, but gradually, in addition to improvements in his accuracy, the hand holding the sword was much more stable as well. Dong Zhi knew that he wasn¡¯t as good as those orthodox praciticitoners who had studied their techniques since they were a child, but he can make up his shortcomings with diligence. If he continues his practice, he¡¯ll be rewarded one day. Heaven rewards the diligent. That¡¯s all that needed to be said. ¡ª There was no meeting today. Since he had no other arrangements except for giving classes to the potential recruits, it was rare for Long Shen to get off work early. Though he has a house in the city, it was only him who lives there, so he never goes back during ordinary days. Thinking that he would have to clean it up when he returns, Long Shen dispelled that thought and instead went back to the dorms. When he reached the door to his room, he saw that the door on the opposite room was closed. He paused for a bit before turning around to knock on it. ¡°Who is it?¡± A voice inquired from side. ¡°Long Shen.¡± A bang sounded so loudly that even Long Shen could hear it through the door. After a while, the door opened showing Dong Zhi limping with a bitter face. Long Shen frowned: ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Dong Zhi revealed a painful smile: ¡°Nothing. Ba Sang said I didn¡¯t have enough strength, so I was practicing my arm strength with two stools and accidently dropped one on my foot.¡± He let Long Shen in: ¡°What can I do for you?¡± Long Shen saw two round stools made of wood and surmised it was one of those that hit Dong Zhi¡¯s feet. ¡°I was negligent last time. With your current ability, it¡¯s a bit too advance to use the Qingzhu Sword. If you use an ordinary peach wood sword, the effect should be the same.¡± Dong Zhi asked nervously: ¡°Then you want to take back the sword?¡± Long Shen looked at his round cat like eyes. He originally wanted to say no, but somehow, he had an urge to tease him. ¡°What if I say yes?¡± The hair on Dong Zhi¡¯s head seemed to droop along with his eyes. He didn¡¯t want to beg or cheat so with a pitiful cry he turned around and took down the Qingzhu Sword hanging on the wall and obediently handed it to Long Shen. Besides, the sword was originally lent to him for practice and Long Shen never said he wanted to give it to him. Now that the rightful owner wants it back, it was only reasonable. Seeing how Dong Zhi took it so seriously, it was hard for Long Shen to say anything. He took the sword and heard Dong Zhi say: ¡°Boss Long, when I have the strength to be worthy of this sword, can I borrow it again? Er, I mean, as long as you¡¯re not using it of course.¡± Long Shen couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°Go and wait for me in front of my office. I need to get something first.¡± Huh? Dong Zhi was confused but before he time to think about it, Long Shen had already left. He climbed the stairs all the way to Long Shen¡¯s office and loitered around for almost 20 minutes before he saw Long Shen coming. He saw that Long Shen wasn¡¯t holding the Qingzhu Sword any longer but instead two stones the size of a baby¡¯s fist. This only made Dong Zhi more inexplicable. Long Shen took out his key and opened the door, put the stones on the coffee table, turned around and rummaged in the drawer, taking out two red silk threads. ¡°Reach out,¡± he said. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t ask much, and obediently stretched out his hand. Long Shen wounded the silk thread around the stone a few times then tied it into a knot. He then tied the extra length of the other end to Dong Zhi¡¯s wrist. The red silk thread wrapped around his fair wrist three laps before Long Shen tied it into a loose knot. ¡°In the future, if you want to practice, stick a piece of paper on the wall and then practice calligraphy upright. This is the ancient ways of practicing calligraphy by hanging weights on your writs. Don¡¯t tie it to your joints, as it¡¯ll hurt your bones, so go up half an inch. To increase your strength, gradually replace the stone to make it heavier. This in turn will eventually give you a more powerful force when practicing your sword. The characters you draw must be correct with no smudges from trembling.¡± Dong Zhi eyes shone like stars. This was a great method, and he wouldn¡¯t be hit by a stool when using it. He picked up a pen on the coffee table and immediately gestured in thin air. Although his hands were soon sore, it showed that this kind of practice was indeed useful. Long Shen got up and untied one of the swords hanging on the wall: ¡°Practice with this from now on.¡± Although the scabbard was well maintained, it still had traces left by the years. The few gems inlaid on the scabbard where slightly dim, but its former magnificence can still vaguely be seen. Dong Zhi still remembered that when he came to Long Shen¡¯s office for the first time, he saw two swords hanging on his wall. At that time, he made up a lot of dog blooded stories in his mind regarding their history but never would he imagined that Long Shen would give him one of them without even blinking an eye. ¡°The Qingzhu Swords is too valuable, and this one is even more beloved to you. How can I take it?¡± Long Shen shook his head and said: ¡°A sword¡¯s purpose is for it to be used, not something to be beloved.¡± Dong Zhi blurted out: ¡°Isn¡¯t it from your lover?¡± Long Shen frowned: ¡°Who told you that?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡®¡­I made it up by myself.¡® But he couldn¡¯t say this so he could only dryly laugh and played dumb. Long Shen said: ¡°This sword is called Changshou.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡®Eh, what a strange name!¡¯ It¡¯s no wonder Dong Zhi had developed such an imagination. After all, the Qingzhu Sword had hundreds of years of history behind it, but Long Shen had lent it to him so casually. These two that have been hanging in his office must be at least the level of Mo Ye*, but he had never heard of their names before. *Reminder: Swords made by couple Gan Jiang and Mo Ye. See lore glossary for details. Long Shen said: ¡°The original scabbard of this sword has been lost. The current scabbard was rebuilt by its owner during the Ming Dynasty. The owner was a wealthy businessman, so the scabbard was extremely gorgeous.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly realized why the sword, which looked so simple, didn¡¯t fit with the scabbard. The style between them was quite incompatible. Wait! He asked tremblingly: ¡°If the scabbard came from the Ming Dynasty, how many old is this sword?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Fortunately, it¡¯s just from the Sui Dynasty*.¡± *Clarity: The Sui Dynasty is from 581-618. The Ming Dynasty is from 1368-1644. This novel takes place in 2017, so it would make this sword at least 1,400 years old. What do you mean just?! It¡¯s from the Sui Dynasty?! Are you a local tyrant? Most definitely a local tyrant! Dong Zhi suddenly felt that he was holding a hot soldering iron in his hand. He gulped for a moment: ¡°Has this sword been insured?¡± If he loses it, he can¡¯t afford to pay it back. Long Shen said lightly: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. A sword is a murder weapon. If someone tries to steal it, the thief will not meet a good end.¡± The male god is a local tyrant. Dong Zhi felt he was under great pressure. How can he chase someone that can easily throw out a sword from the Sui Dynasty so casually?! Is this the real reason why Long Shen never had a lover? It¡¯s very likely that a person who stands on the top of a high mountain and overlooks all sentient beings would not even spare a glance at ordinary humans who are still climbing said mountain. Dong Zhi guess that Long Shen would probably only appreciate the value of someone like Bill Gates*. Thinking of this, Dong Zhi imagined a scene of Long Shen and Bill Gates falling in love and suddenly felt guilty. *Co-founder of Microsoft and one of the richest people alive in the world. No matter how powerful Long Shen is, he couldn¡¯t guess what was going on in the head of the person that was sitting opposite of him right now. ¡°This sword is slightly heavier than the Qingzhu Sword, but if you continue on practicing your wrist strength, there should be no problem.¡± Dong Zhi nodded then immediately thought of something and said: ¡°Boss Long, can I take this sword out? If I encounter a powerful monster on the level of like an Archfiend, will it be damaged?¡± Long Shen originally wanted to say that this sword was given to him, so it was his own business if it breaks, but when he saw that the other party thought of it as something borrowed instead of given, he estimated that Dong Zhi would categorically refuse to accept it so he said: ¡°No, this sword has been blessed with incantations, so it¡¯ll be more helpful than the Qingzhu Sword.¡± For a sword from the Sui Dynasty, it¡¯s estimated to be more than 1,400 years old. During this period, he didn¡¯t know how many hands it hand passed and how many heroes have wielded it. Being able to be passed down all the way until now, its previous owners were most definitely not ordinary people. It is said that the more blood is soaked on the sword, the more ferocious it is. In this way, this sword must be more precious than the Qingzhu Sword. Having thought that, first he was given the Qingzhu Sword, and now the Changshou Sword. Liu Qingbo hasn¡¯t even gotten scraps let alone this, so does this signify that the male god has some bias in his heart? ¡°Thank you, I will try my best to live up to it.¡± He held the sword with a pure and sincere expression: ¡°Last time I said that I wanted to invite you to dinner. You just happened to be free today. I found a nice private restaurant. Would you like to try it?¡± He Yu and Kang Chaosheng have both gone on a business trip and Zhong Yuyi was not here so there¡¯s no ¡°lightbulbs¡± around. This was the perfect opportunity that he needed to seize. Sure enough, Long Shen had no reason to refuse. He hesitated for a bit before nodding. Dong Zhi struck while the iron was still hot: ¡°Then let¡¯s go. There¡¯s no traffic on the road now.¡± Strictly speaking, this should be the first time the two of them have gone out for an engagement alone. With a smile on his face and a happy heart, Dong Zhi decided to take advantage of this meal to improve his favorability. It does seem more feasible to get closer when alcohol can loosen them up. Despite him inviting Long Shen, he felt embarrassed as Long Shen was the one who had to drive. But what could he do? He was still a ¡°drifter*¡± in the capital. Let alone a house, he doesn¡¯t even have a car. *[Beipiao] (±±Æ¯) Refers to non-local or foreigners who works and lives in Beijing. The car moved forward, and the scenery flew past them outside the windows as Long Shen drove steadily. ¡°Boss Long, when did you come to the capital?¡± Long Shen thought seriously for a while, then shook his head: ¡°I forgot. It¡¯s been so many years ago.¡± How many years is many years? Dong Zhi recalled that he asked him where he was from last time, the other party¡¯s response was also vague. There didn¡¯t seem to be any intentional concealment, as if he really couldn¡¯t remember. Dong Zhi: ¡°When you first arrived at the Special Administration Bureau, what was it like?¡± Long Shen: ¡°It wasn¡¯t called the Special Administration Bureau before. It was just an office under the jurisdiction of the Public Security Bureau. At that time, there were only a few people, just two or three. Elder Zong, who you met last time, was the head of the department then. Later, it became a sub-branch of the National Security Bureau. It¡¯s only in recent years that it had separated and became its own department.¡± Dong Zhi thought this was odd: ¡°How many years ago? Elder Zong looks very young!¡± Long Shen said: ¡°In the early days of the founding of the People¡¯s Republic of China.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Isn¡¯t it impossible to be refined from essence after the founding of the People¡¯s Republic of China?¡± Long Shen turned his head to look at him: ¡°Who told you such rules?¡± Dong Zhi smiled: ¡°It a joke that circulating online, which can¡¯t be regarded as true. Of course it can¡¯t be true!¡± He thought that Elder Zong would be in her 60¡¯s at this time, but if her roots trace back to the early days of the founding of the People¡¯s Republic of China, then just how old is Elder Zong? Could it be that she¡¯s not a human? This would make the most sense. The Special Administration Bureau has Kan Chaosheng so it¡¯s not unusual for there to be others like him. He couldn¡¯t help but cast his gaze on rearview mirror to look at Long Shen, who was driving intently. If he didn¡¯t speak, Long Shen would rarely take the initiative to make conversation. The atmosphere was a bit stuffy, but even so, even if Long Shen didn¡¯t speak at all for an entire day, Dong Zhi would still feel happy that he can share such a moment alone with him. Metaphorically put, it¡¯s like facing your favorite rose. Even if the rose can¡¯t speak, just by looking at it every day, it can still motivate one¡¯s heart. What¡¯s more, this is the most unique rose in the world in his opinion. ¡°Since you been in the Special Administration Bureau for so many years, you probably encountered something particularly weird or dangerous. Can you tell me any stories?¡± He smiled as he asked. Long Shen is a person who didn¡¯t like to speak nonsense. He wouldn¡¯t mince words and would just directly state them without any superfluity. Even when he¡¯s teaching, he doesn¡¯t act like Director Jiang who would ramble incessantly. Dong Zhi had never seen him chatting with others. Outside of work, it seems like he was always alone, seeming having no friends and no forms of entertainment, but it doesn¡¯t seem like he resents communication. At least he never showed any impatience when he¡¯s speaking. This was a very good start, and a good start is half the success. Long Shen remained quiet for a while, as if he was thinking about the past. Then he said: ¡°One year, a batch of artifacts were unearthed in Hubei, which brought out a stacked tomb of three.¡± Dong Zhi interrupted embarrassedly: ¡°What do you mean stacked tombs?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Some places are regarded as having good fengshui so they will be repeatedly surveyed as burial sites. Future generations may not know that there are already tombs there in place, so they built another tomb on the same site, thus creating the stacked tombs.¡± Dong Zhi became intrigued. Long Shen: ¡°At that time, the tomb at the top was a feudal king in the Ming Dynasty, and in the middle was an eunuch in the Tang Dynasty. The tomb at the bottom can be traced back to the early Spring and Autumn period*. At that time, the area was in real estate development. If the Ming tomb was found at the construction site and reported to the archaeological department, construction would have to be shut down. The developer didn¡¯t want to delay profits, so they hid the matter, but accidents kept happening on the site.¡± *Corresponds to roughly the first half of the Eastern Zhou period 770 to 476 BCE. Long Shen wasn¡¯t really a suitable storyteller. The ups and downs and eeriness of the story told by him came too flat and straightforward. It was too concise, but they still sent chills down Dong Zhi¡¯s spine. ¡°What happened after?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Eventually, something from the crane fell and killed a person on the spot. The developer turned the incident into a small matter and suppressed it. After a few days, a shelf collapsed killing around six workers. The matter couldn¡¯t be concealed any longer. The person who put up the shelf insisted that he didn¡¯t cut corners, but it was inexplicable how the shelf had collapsed. The worker who drove the crane also said that he had watched the hook slowly straighten with his very own eyes.¡± Dong Zhi took a deep breath: ¡°And then?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Later, this matter was handed over to us. We went to investigate with the archaeological team and discovered that there was an Eastern Zhou tomb below, and the owner of that tomb was sentenced to death for adultery with the King of Chu¡¯s concubine. The King of Chu hated him so much that he ordered people to bury him there so that he would live there forever and never surpass him. After years of resentment, the tomb became a hostile place, nourishing on the bones and blood creating a perfect environment for evil spirits. If we had been one step too late, the demonic energy of the coffin would¡¯ve leaked out and the spirits would take shape. Don¡¯t bother mentioning the construction site, but even nearby residential area may not have been able to escape.¡± Dong Zhi thought it was strange: ¡°But didn¡¯t you say that the place was regarded as having good fengshui?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°There are no absolutes in the world. Misfortune depends on blessing and blessings depends on misfortune.¡± Dong Zhi replied: ¡°Everything is relative. An auspicious place can be transformed to an unfortunate place and likewise the reverse is true.¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°The * states the energy of life disperses as the wind rises, and halts as the water becomes restricted. The ancients gather the wind so as not to let it disperse so water can continue to flow. Henceforth, this is known as fengshui. Fengshui flows endlessly and never stagnates. However, the tomb of Chu used eight black nails to crucify the eight compass points of vitality, cursing the tomb. Based on outward appearance, the site remains a good place of fengshui. However, once the deceased are buried, not only will they be unable to bless their descendants, but they will also never rest in everlasting peace and their soul will be bound to the tomb.¡± *Book proposing the theory of fengshui. Thanks to @lingmu for helping me with this paragraph. Dong Zhi asked thoughtfully: ¡°Did the King of Chu also have the purpose of deceiving latecomers by doing this? The two people in the Tang Dynasty and Ming Dynasty thought it was a fengshui treasure but never suspected it was a cursed place.¡± A look of approval appeared in Long Shen¡¯s eyes: ¡°Yes, according to our speculation, The King of Chu probably had this purpose at the time. The entire cemetery was designed to have a wide top and narrow bottom, similar to a funnel, so that vitality can be continuously transmitted. The two tombs above served as nourishment for the bottom tomb to continue endlessly circulating resentment that eventually will transform into demons.¡± While talking, they arrived at their destination. CH 47 Dong Zhi was still immersed in the story just now, and it was not until Long Shen patted him on the shoulder that he recovered. ¡°Then later, did the two tomb owners above also became demons?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°No, their souls have been absorbed by the bottom tomb, so we only needed to deal with the bottom corpse.¡± Dong Zhi was puzzled: ¡°But the King of Chu hated the adultery between his concubine and the tomb¡¯s owner. Why would he design such a tomb so the owner can absorb such demonic energy and have a chance to become a demon? Wouldn¡¯t this only help him?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°You are the thinking from the perspective of modern people. In ancient times, they paid careful attention to allowing the dead to rest peacefully so that their descendants can be at ease. This method allows the dead to continue to be restless and thus is the ultimate form of torture for a person.¡± Dong Zhi involuntarily shivered. The conversation stopped as it would be too out of place to talk about corpses and demons during a meal. Dong Zhi wanted to talk more about romantic topics, such as what type does Boss Long like, and whether he would dislike being pursued by others, but Long Shen rarely answers questions relating to himself. On the other hand, he was always open to talking about his work experience. Dong Zhi took the menu and ordered dishes for the table, then also ordered two bottles of baiju which he personally poured Long Shen a glass. ¡°Boss Long, although it was He Yu who brought me to the door, but without your guidance, I would never have made such great progress. Last time at the hospital, if it weren¡¯t for the Qingzhu Sword, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to solve Hui Yiguang¡¯s matter so smoothly.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°You have thanked me many times.¡± Dong Zhi was embarrassed: ¡°But I don¡¯t think it¡¯s enough. I¡¯ll drink this full cup, but you can feel free to do as you like.¡± He raised his head and drank the glass in one go. As the alcohol entered his throat, redness quickly spread from his neck to his face. His skin was easily irritable that it produced a physiological response as soon as he took a sip. Long Shen was also dignified as he picked up his glass and drank it in one go as well. When finished, Dong Zhi poured him another cup. ¡°For this cup, thank you for your advice and guidance. My foundation is very poor, but you have never turned me away for it.¡± He drank it again making Long Shen happy seeing his motivation. ¡°And last time in Yangcheng¡­¡± Seeing that Dong Zhi¡¯s face was getting too red, Long Shen pressed his hand and raised his glass, drinking the alcohol in his cup. ¡°No need to pour more.¡± Dong Zhi stopped obediently and introduced the dishes to him. ¡°I have been to this restaurant before. Their crispy pork is a must. It¡¯s fat but not greasy so it¡¯s really good.¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t have much desire for food in general. Seeing as how Dong Zhi highly recommended it, he took his chopsticks and said: ¡°Are you getting used to training?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s going well. I have made a lot of new friends. Long Shen, what do you usually do when you don¡¯t have work?¡± After three rounds of drinking, the atmosphere had loosened up. Without no one else around, he unconsciously didn¡¯t use honorifics but it seems as if Long Shen wasn¡¯t displeased by it. ¡°Nothing. I just go home.¡± Dong Zhi thought the answer was strange, so he inquired further: ¡°What do you do at home?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Play games.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­What game?¡± Long Shen: ¡°, the one He Yu plays.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He couldn¡¯t connect the man in front of him as someone who plays games. He then thought of the noble and glamorous Deputy Director Long marrying someone or using a female character to call someone else ¡®husband¡¯ in the game and felt a bit guilty. Dong Zhi: ¡°I also play this game. Which district are you in?¡± After the exams, the resumes of all candidates were placed on the desk of all the leaders of the Special Administration Bureau. Long Shen naturally knew that Dong Zhi had served as the art director for : ¡°Same as He Yu¡¯s. I just occasionally go online to play.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in that area too, let me show you around!¡± After his absurd fantasy, he became very excited. Long Shen took out his phone and opened the game and logged into his account. Dong Zhi stared wide-eyed involuntarily. The first ranked player of their server turns out to be Long Shen?! Even He Yu was just a rookie and had to hug this ¡°big brother¡¯s¡± thighs, and don¡¯t even bother mentioning Kan Chaosheng, yet Long Shen was hiding such a big thing. Dong Zhi: ¡°It turns out you are ¡®Shen Jian¡¯. How rude of me*!¡± *Clarity: He¡¯s saying (ʧ¾´Ê§¾´) which is an expression of courtesy by apologizing to someone and blaming yourself for being rude. Long Shen shook his head and said: ¡°My account has been stolen before, so I bought this one. I only play occasionally in my spare time.¡± Bluntly put, when it comes to Long Shen¡¯s abilities and status, don¡¯t bother mentioning whether he lacks skills or not, there must be endless things he has to do every day. It¡¯s a rare luxury to be able to play games occasionally, but as soon as he does, he managed to buy the most powerful account in the server. It seems that he does have quite a competitive spirit. Dong Zhi discovered that he had unknowingly discovered many aspects of Long Shen that had already subverted the indifferent and cold stereotypical image he had at the beginning. Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°I only play on my account leisurely, so I¡¯ll have to ask Boss Long to take care of me. If someone bullies me in game, I¡¯ll ask you to help me out!¡± Long Shen nodded. When the dishes were eaten, Dong Zhi called the waiter over to pay. ¡°There¡¯s a park nearby. Let¡¯s go for a walk to dispel the alcohol?¡± Dong Zhi suggested trying to take advantage of the situation. Long Shen saw that Dong Zhi¡¯s face was flushed and his eyes narrowed, as if he was drunk, so he let out a sigh. Dong Zhi smile widen as his eyes got narrower. He wasn¡¯t really drunk. It was just his skin was easily irritable so any small amount of alcohol would make it seem as if he had drunk too much. On the other hand, seeing as how Long Shen drank three full glasses and his face did not change color in the slightest or even his eyes narrowing, he couldn¡¯t help but asked: ¡°Are you alright? Do you want me to help you?¡± Say yes! Long Shen said: ¡°No, I don¡¯t get drunk no matter how much I drink.¡± He got up and walked out, with footsteps that were much steadier than Dong Zhi¡¯s. Dong Zhi: ¡­ It seems that the trick of getting drunk and talking nonsense will not work. Oh, what a waste of two bottles of baiju! The two left the restaurant and walked in the direction of the park. The night breeze came slowly as the summer heat gradually dissipated, bringing the faint breath of the evening. The sky was blue as if it was reflecting a lake filled with lotus leaves making a very refreshing sight. Dong Zhi: ¡°Have you been to the West Lake in Hangzhou?¡± Long Shen thought for a while and nodded. He has been to many places in China, but usually it was for business, so he never seemed to have stopped specifically to enjoy the sights. ¡°There¡¯s a Hangzhou restaurant on the side that makes fresh osmanthus lotus root noodles every year. As you eat them, you can smell the fragrance of the lotus roots so it¡¯s very enjoyable!¡± Dong Zhi smiled and his eyes curved. It was as if he had returned to the West Lake: ¡°I¡¯ll take you there to eat next time. You can also invite Kan Chaosheng. I¡¯m sure he¡¯ll like it too!¡± Long Shen discovered that the young man in front of him has a soft temperament, loves to eat and drink, and play around. Such qualities aren¡¯t suitable for the Special Administration Bureau and dealing with dangerous demons and monsters. He thought what a most unsuitable path Dong Zhi had chosen. ¡°Have you ever thought about doing something else?¡± When he saw Dong Zhi turning his head, giving him a puzzled look, he added: ¡°If you don¡¯t enter the Special Administration Bureau.¡± Dong Zhi said cautiously: ¡°Is it possible that I¡¯m not performing well so I¡¯ve been eliminated?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°Just asking.¡± Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief: ¡°I was originally from an art background. Even if I don¡¯t enter the Special Administration Bureau, I won¡¯t starve. If I¡¯m eliminated this year, it¡¯s not a big deal. I¡¯ll take the exam again next year. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Long Shen was quiet for a moment before he asked: ¡°Have you ever felt that you¡¯re not suitable for this job?¡± Dong Zhi was confused: ¡°Why?¡± You should enjoy your life to the fullest. Eat what you want while you bask under the sun by the West Lake and fall in love with a girl, just like an ordinary person. But Long Shen kept this to himself. The other party has his own thoughts, and it didn¡¯t need to be swayed. Dong Zhi thought that Long Shen felt that he was a halfway monk* and lacked abilities, so he smiled and said: ¡°You lent me the sword. Don¡¯t you think I have enough potential? You say that it¡¯s dangerous, but you can choke to death from drinking water, or maybe even be killed by a car while walking on the street. If you have the ability to protect others, it¡¯s better than being protected by others when encountering difficulties. Besides, I like He Yu, Kan Chaosheng, Zhong Yuyi, and you, so I¡¯ll try my best, because that¡¯s what I want to do.¡± *(°ë·³ö¼Ò) Metaphor referring to changing careers to engage in work that you¡¯re not trained for. Long Shen nodded and didn¡¯t stay on this topic: ¡°Last time you asked me to help you find a good donation channel. I have asked someone to find a few, and they¡¯re all reliable. I¡¯ll send them to you later and you can choose one yourself.¡± Even if they just talked about boring subjects, as long as they can eat or go on a walk together alone, it could be considered a date. Thinking of it like this made Dong Zhi very satisfied. He smiled brightly and was about to say something when he heard a voice calling: ¡°Boss Long!¡± Liu Qingbo ran over, surprised and delighted. ¡°You are here too!¡± Long Shen: ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Liu Qingbo said: ¡°The air here is good, so I come here every evening to practice my tona. What a coincidence meeting you here. Are you going to dinner?¡± Since he didn¡¯t live inside the Special Administration Bureau, naturally he wouldn¡¯t have an access card to go to the rooftop to train. Dong Zhi smiled: ¡°We have just finished eating.¡± Liu Qingbo also smiled but directed it at Long Shen: ¡°That¡¯s good then. Can you spare some time for some guidance?¡± Long Shen nodded, and Liu Qingbo was overjoyed: ¡°This way, please!¡± Dong Zhi looked at Liu Qingbo¡¯s back and wanted to kick his ass. As if he felt something, Liu Qingbo turned his head and smiled: ¡°Junior Brother Dong, since you¡¯re not a swordsman, there¡¯s no need to delay your time. You can go on ahead and work on your own practice!¡± Dong Zhi grinned back as he said: ¡°No it¡¯s fine. Boss Long had just lent me a new sword so I have to practice hard. I want to observe and learn from Elder Brother Liu.¡± Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t hold back: ¡°Don¡¯t you have the Qingzhu Sword?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°The Qingzhu Sword has been returned to its original owner. Boss Long has lent me another, the Changshou Sword.¡± Liu Qingbo thought to himself that he could easily dump his opponent 18 blocks down in swordsmanship, but he had not touched a single sword from Boss Long. He regretted showing the hidden swords in his house too early. Now that Long Shen knew he had a famous sword on hand, naturally he wouldn¡¯t lend him another sword. On the contrary, he gave it to this kid! But he would never admit that he was jealous, and his heart was so vexed that he wanted to snatch the Changshou Sword from Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth. He could only smile since Long Shen was still present: ¡°Then congratulations Junior Brother Dong. We should have a good exchange next time!¡± Dong Zhi smiled back: ¡°Elder Brother Liu has been training in swordsmanship since he was a child. I¡¯ll surely not be able to beat you. Didn¡¯t I already admit defeat today when you invited me to a duel on the rooftop?¡± While Long Shen wasn¡¯t paying attention, Liu Qingbo glared at him fiercely: ¡®You villain who talks about others behind their back!¡¯ Dong Zhi glare back at him with a bright smile: ¡®This is called a face-to-face complaint!¡¯ Long Shen didn¡¯t notice the small movements between the two of them. He turned his back to look at the lotus leaves. After waiting for a while, he didn¡¯t hear anything from Liu Qingbo so he turned around and frowned: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted some guidance?¡± Liu Qingbo smiled dryly: ¡°Seeing you enjoying the scenery, I didn¡¯t dare to disturb you just now.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I can distinguish between good and bad just by listening to the sound. You can go at any time.¡± If others had said this, Liu Qingbo would sneer and laugh at them for not knowing the immensity of heaven and earth*, but he himself comes from a swordsmanship family. His grandfather once told him that there are people in the world who can play chess blindly, so naturally there would be people who can distinguished swords by their sound.¡± *(²»ÖªÌì¸ßµØºñ) Refers to having an exaggerated opinion of one¡¯s abilities. Seeing him say this, Liu Qingbo had to put the ¡°enemy¡± aside for the time being and concentrate on winning the favor of his future master. He still had a few tricks up his sleeve. Since Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know much about swordsmanship, he couldn¡¯t say anything and could only remain as an outsider watching the excitement. So far, he had seen two people use swords. One was Long Shen and the other Ba Sang. Needless to say, the former is an expert among experts. In his hands the sword was no longer a weapon but an embodiment of a living thing. As Long Shen said, the mind is interlinked with the sword. This is the highest level of swordsmanship, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. Ba Sang had used his sword and danced brilliantly, but in the end, it didn¡¯t have the charm of actual swordsmanship. Compared with these two people, Liu Qingbo has another style. Jab, lunge, sweep, slash, and feint, his swordsmanship combines all the skills of swordsman, but there was no craftmanship to them. He looked light and agile and only the rustling sound made from the wind from his sword sweeping from time to time revealed its murderous aura. Dong Zhi was keenly aware that a layer of white mist formed around Liu Qingbo¡¯s body along with the sword. Is this the sword¡¯s qi? After his performance, Liu Qingbo was sweating profusely. With a smile on his face, he was about to ask Long Shen for comments, but found that he was surrounded by a group of uncles and aunties, all who looked at him with great interest. Seeing him stopped his sword movements, they all clapped their hands. Liu Qingbo blushed. An auntie stepped forward and said: ¡°Young man, you perform very well. Next month, we¡¯re hosting a Mid-Autumn Festival art show. There¡¯ll be square dancing. How about you come and sword dance in front of us?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help laughing. Liu Qingbo¡¯s face turned dark: ¡°No!¡± The auntie didn¡¯t give up: ¡°A TV station will also be there to do interviews. When the time comes, I¡¯ll ask them to give you a close-up shot. You can stand in the front and be in the limelight!¡± Liu Qingbo¡¯s face almost distorted: ¡°I- no, I don¡¯t to!¡± Seeing that he couldn¡¯t be persuaded, the uncles and aunties slowly dispersed. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t stand it any longer and squatted down, covering his stomach with his arms, as his shoulders shook uncontrollably from laughter. Liu Qingbo tried his best to ignore him, looked at Long Shen, and said expectantly: ¡°Boss Long, what do you think?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t smile. He only nodded and said: ¡°You have just formed your sword qi. If you cross this threshold, you can be considered a master of swordsmanship.¡± Liu Qingbo was overjoyed. His father had said the same. He was so happy at time that he even took him to worship their ancestors, saying that the Liu family finally produced a genius. However, after seeing Long Shen use his sword, Liu Qingbo¡¯s joy was actually more about his dedication to worshiping him as a teacher. Long Shen said: ¡°The next step depends on personal comprehension. I have nothing more to teach you.¡± Liu Qingbo was dumbfounded. He didn¡¯t expect that him doing too well had now become an obstacle. Dong Zhi wanted to laugh again. Liu Qingbo ignored him and hurriedly said: ¡°Boss Long, don¡¯t be modest. My father said that your swordsmanship is the best in the world. If I can get your guidance, it¡¯ll be better than three years of hard training on my own!¡± Long Shen frowned slightly: ¡°I¡¯m not lying. Your family background is enough for you to become the best in swordsmanship. In fact, it¡¯s all the same whether I¡¯m the best or not. If there¡¯s anything you lack, it would only come down your own experience and heart.¡± Liu Qingbo struck while the iron is hot: ¡°You¡¯re right. I just don¡¯t have enough experience and I still need discipline, which is why I must be taught by a strict teacher. My father often say that I am too rebellious, arrogant, and not humble enough. If I can have a master by my side that can give some guidance from time to time, I will not be led astray.¡± These days, you only have to blacken yourself in order to appeal for an apprenticeship. Witnessing this was an eye-opener for Dong Zhi. He smiled and said: ¡°Elder Brother Liu is too humble. As the saying goes, capable talents have capital and pride. This just shows that you are already too good!¡± You¡¯re so powerful, why need to be taught by a master. Just go and train by yourself. Liu Qingbou motion his eyes: Shut the fuck up. Dong Zhi returned his look with a harmless smile: I won¡¯t. Long Shen didn¡¯t care about these their exchanges and was silent before saying: ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Let¡¯s head back.¡± Liu Qingbo smiled hurriedly and said: ¡°Let me take you back.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Boss Long drove here.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°That¡¯s great, then Boss Long please give me a ride!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­Don¡¯t you have any shame? Long Shen made no objection, which made Liu Qingbo return a smug look to Dong Zhi. Their first ¡°date¡± died in the middle with the intrusion of a ¡°lightbulb¡± halfway through. Still, Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t depressed. He happily went back with the Changshou Sword, took a shower, and then sat cross-legged on the sofa while looking at the sword carefully. The hilt of the sword seems to be made of shark skin but was later wrapped up. It had turned white over the years but was still smooth and felt good to touch. If he compared it with the Qingzhu Sword, the Qingzhu Sword is lighter and its body slenderer. The Changshou Sword is just about three foot long, which made it slightly heavier, but not impossible to lift. If he practices drawing calligraphy with weight stones on his wrists every day, it shouldn¡¯t be difficult. The most contrasting thing about this sword is that the body felt dark and bit frosty to the touch. He didn¡¯t know what material it was made from. There are two characters engraved on the sword¡¯s body an inch away from the hilt. He looked at it for a while before recognizing that it was the engraving of ¡°Changshou¡±. He flicked the sword¡¯s body with his finger and heard a loud humming sound coming from it. It sounded similar to that of music chimes, but the sound made by the sword was much heavier. His nails bounced on the sword body, with a clank, a long buzzing sound sounded. He had heard the music of chimes before, but now the sound of playing the sword had the weight of a chime. Keep a righteous heart*, with sincerity and virtue, this should be the meaning of the sword¡¯s name, right? *[Changshou zhengxin] (³¤ÊØÕýÐÄ) The sword¡¯s name is part of this line which translates to keeping a righteous heart (integrity). Dong Zhi looked at it for a while longer before hanging it on the wall solemnly. A few days later, Long Shen¡¯s course came to an end and was replaced by two elective courses. Candidates can choose between the course: invitation to Gods or go visit a burial ground. The invitation to Gods is taught by Zhong Yuyi. He specifically stated that this course requires people with yin characteristics to be able to attend, while the other class was led by a man name Ding Lan. It is said that he¡¯s the deputy leader of the three groups and is also a person with deep qualification in the Special Administration Bureau. The location of the burial ground was in a foreign province. A new tomb had just been excavated and something strange has happened. The archaeological team reported to the higher ups, and the matter was transferred to the Special Administration Bureau. Deputy Director Song Zhicun suggested to let the rookies go there for some hands-on experience. With Ding Lan leading the team, there shouldn¡¯t be any major problems. Dong Zhi was very curious about this of course, but his bazi was heavily yin so he was very suitable for Zhong Yuyi¡¯s class. Besides, he had seen Zhong Yuyi invited the Huanhou, Zhang Fei, with his very own eyes in Long Shen¡¯s office that day so he was quite interested. After weighing the two options, he finally chose invitation to Gods with Gu Meiren, Chi Banxia, and Liu Si. Unsurprisingly, Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song, Li Ying, Ba Sang and the others followed Ding Lan. The course for invitation to Gods was held on the outskirts of Beijing in a farmhouse near the Ming Tombs. While the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau is quiet and won¡¯t be disturbed by others, due to the space being expanded by magic and was enclosed in an enchantment, it wasn¡¯t easy to invite spirits, so it wasn¡¯t a suitable place to hold this course, thus the classroom had to be temporarily moved to here. The farmhouse was opened by a family member of an employee from the Special Administration Bureau. The owner specially cleared the venue for a week and gave their employees a leave of absence so that they could attend class here so they wouldn¡¯t scare innocent passersby if they unknowingly invite something. The yard of the farmhouse was large and was surrounded by pear trees. When the flowering season comes, it¡¯ll become a tourist attraction. It¡¯s said that it¡¯s quite popular but now wasn¡¯t the time. Everyone sat on wooden stools in the yard near trees to get their shade, so they didn¡¯t feel too hot. Zhong Yuyi still had his sleepwalking expression. With a single request, it shocked everyone. ¡°This course last for half a month. For your first day, you need to search online for a historical celebrity you¡¯re interested in, then memorize their information. Even if you can¡¯t memorize them, you must at least remember their birth date and year of death, place of origin, and any major life events.¡± Everyone had faintly guessed that this strange request might be related to the course on the next day. Chi Banxia raised her hand: ¡°Excuse me teacher, is this related to inviting spirits?¡± Zhong Yuyi said slowly: ¡°Yes, tomorrow, I will teach you how invite Yin Gods*. The difficulty of this technique is quite high. Only by reciting the materials well can you express sincerity to the spirit. After inviting them in, it¡¯s also conducive for communication.¡± *(ÒõÉñ) Part of the five different kinds of Gods (Yin Gods, Yang Gods, Soul Gods, Jade Gods, Holy Spirit). In Confucian culture, Yin Gods are evil gods and ghosts that are enshrined and enslaved. His speed of speech is about twice as slow as an ordinary person making him sound a bit weird. Everyone showed uncomfortable expression except for Dong Zhi who was used to it. If anything, he would find it strange if Zhong Yuyi spoke at a normal speed. Ou-Yang Yin also asked: ¡°But what if the Yin god we want to invite has already disappeared?¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°If you can¡¯t invite the Yin God, there are generally two situations. One is that you lack the ability, and the other is that its spiritual energy is too weak, or, as you said, the soul is gone. This can only be known through practice.¡± Everyone probably understood what he meant. Originally, they thought the course would be boring. At the very least, it wouldn¡¯t be as interesting as going to a burial site, but now it sounds like tomorrow¡¯s class would be quite exciting and everyone was looking forward to it. Dong Zhi raised his hand: ¡°Teacher Zhong, I have a question.¡± In front of everyone, he gave Zhong Yuyi a lot of face, and didn¡¯t call him Old Zhong, but obediently called him Teacher Zhong. Zhong Yuyi: ¡°Speak.¡± The act was quite good. Dong Zhi inwardly laughed as he asked seriously: ¡°If you invite God, can you only invite a domestic one? Can you invite one from say a foreign country instead? What if we invite a late president of the United States? Do we have to communicate in English?¡± Everyone couldn¡¯t help laughing, but they all wanted to know the answer. Kinky Thoughts: Poor Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi: I¡¯m trying to get along with you so I can chase you! Here are some interesting topics we can have a conversation about. Long Shen: All this kid talks about is food and drinks and having fun. Not suitable at all for exorcism! CH 48 Zhong Yuyi shook his head and said solemnly: ¡°There are invisible geographical differences between countries. Generally, it is very difficult, but when you go to the United States, you can invite the Yin god of that country.¡± In layman¡¯s term, it¡¯s difficult for the Yin God to cross the restrictions of countries and nations. The farther the distance, the weaker the sensing ability. Dong Zhi said thoughtfully: ¡°Does this also have something to do with nationality and blood?¡± Zhong Yuyi showed a look of admiration: ¡°Yes, it does matter, as bones, blood, and soul are all indeed related.¡± Dong Zhi said strangely: ¡°I was in Boss Long office that day and saw you invite Huanhou. It stands to reason that he¡¯s so famous and canonized so shouldn¡¯t it be an invitation? Yet why did it seem like possession instead?¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°Yin Gods, to be precise, are not complete three souls and seven souls1. They may also be a ray of divine consciousness or a thought. Depending on the merits, virtues and incensed offered in the world, they all vary. For example, the Great Guansheng Emperor2 is canonized by emperors throughout the ages and he¡¯s constantly enshrined. This is naturally a true God, and it¡¯s not easy to invite such a person. 1Reminder: Refers to the three souls and seven souls that governs the spiritual part of the body. See lore glossary for more details. 2Title given to Guan Yu, a famous general of the three kingdoms. Everyone nodded, as they had a new understanding of what invitation to Gods really meant. Now with new expectations, everyone was extremely excited when they recited the materials. The benefits of taking a class in a yard was revealed at this time. The area was empty, not at all crowded, and there are many trees around to insulate noises. There was quite a distance between the neighboring farms so they didn¡¯t have to worry about alerting the neighbors. Zhong Yuyi dismissed them, and they all dispersed. He only said a few words on the first day of class. Thinking about Ding Lan who was still running around with his students on the road at this moment, it made them shed some tears of sympathy. Seeing Dong Zhi, Gu Meiren lowered her head and tried to pry some information: ¡°Who do you want to invite?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Isn¡¯t this close to the Ming Tombs? Maybe the Yin Gods of the Emperors of the Ming Dynasty will be better. We can stagger and invite one for each person. There are only nine of us and thirteen emperors so it should be enough.¡± When Liu Si heard what he said, he laughed: ¡°Do you think its like dividing an apple between everyone? The imperial mausoleum is guarded by the Six Ding and Six Jia Gods*, which are even more difficult to invite than an ordinary Yin God. As teacher Zhong said just now, some Yin Gods have disappeared or reincarnated so it may not be possible to invite them.¡± *They are the gods in charge of the heavenly stems and earthly branches. The six gods of Ding: Ding Mao, Ding Si, Ding Wei, Ding You, Ding Hai, and Ding Chou. The six gods of Jia: Jiazi, Jiaxu, Jiashen, Jiawu, Jiachen, and Jiayin. They are equivalent to Liu Ding, the goddess of Yin and Liujia, the God of Yang. Chi Banxia was worried: ¡°Then who should I invite?¡± Everyone scratched their heads as they researched while talking and laughing with each other, and so they passed the day like this. Early the next morning, they got up to wash and eat, and sat in the yard waiting for class to start. Zhong Yuyi was still slow and looked indifferent, but what he said yesterday was enough to make everyone take it seriously. ¡°There are two ways to invite God. One way is to invite the spirit and the other is possession. To invite the spirit is to invite the Yin God, but it¡¯s not considered a possession. Many Yin Gods needs to possess the person because they have insufficient spiritual energy. This possession is generally used for asking questions. If you can invite a Righteous God with sufficient spiritual energy, they can even assist you in battle.¡± The key to inviting a God is first based your bazi, the second is sincerity, and the third is luck. Thus, only those with a heavily Yin bazi have the physique to invite gods. In other words, just like a vase, how much water and how many flowers it can hold will depends on its height and size. Sincerity of your heart determines whether you¡¯ll be able to communicate with the Yin God. If you¡¯re insecure, you may not only annoy the Yin God, but may also encounter backlash. As the saying goes, it¡¯s easier to pray to Gods than to please them. As for luck, it¡¯s all circumstantial. For example, if the Yin God is too far away from where you¡¯re trying to invite him, or he cannot hear the prayers of the invitee, then it¡¯s very likely that the invitation will fail. According to Zhong Yuyi, this situation is very common. His mother is from an oracle family, and he had watched her invited Gods since he was a child. Under normal circumstances, it could be a lonely soul or a wild ghost that appears. The chance of being able to invite the right god is very low, and he himself was no exception. To prove his statement, Zhong Yuyi brought out an incense table and laid an incense burner on top, dressed in a long robe and magua*, preparing to demonstrate how an invitation to god works for everyone. *Style of jacket worn by males during the Qing Dynasty. It¡¯s waist length with five-disc button on the front and slightly short with wide sleeves. ¡°I will only do three attempts today at inviting the right gods. After three tries, regardless of success or failure, you¡¯ll be on your own. I have already taught you the prayers and hand gestures needed. Wait for me to demonstrate so you¡¯ll know how to follow.¡± Everyone nodded and did not dare to speak, for fear of disturbing him. ¡°First, the Great Guansheng Emperor.¡± The mighty Guansheng Emperor, that is, Guan Yu, is a ¡°martial sage¡± who has been canonized through the ages and is well-known. Not only is he regarded as the god of wealth in some places but is even enshrined in police stations in Hong Kong to ward off evil spirits. Zhong Yuyi inserted a lighted incense into the incense burner, then sealed his hands and closed his eyes to recite a prayer in silence. Time passed minute by minute. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know whether he was hallucinating or because of his excessively concentration, but he felt as if the surrounding air seemed to solidify a little, blowing a little wind that was slightly chilly despite the summer heat. Dong Zhi noticed that Gu Meiren couldn¡¯t help shrinking her neck. It seems that he was not alone. Suddenly, the three incense sticks were cut of in the middle, as if they had been pinched off by an invisible hand. Someone couldn¡¯t hold their breath any longer and let out light exhale. Zhong Yuyi opened his eyes: ¡°It failed.¡± Everyone was disappointed. Chi Banxia said: ¡°Will you continue?¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°Continue. For the second attempt, I¡¯ll try to invite King Wumu.¡± Everyone was also familiar with this one. Yue Wumu, also known as Yue Fei*, was posthumously named the King of Hubei after his death, so some places will call him Prince Yue, Lord Yue, and the likes. *Chinese military general during the Southern Song Dynasty. He was put to death due to his warlike stance. He was granted the posthumous name Wumu and later granted the title King of ¨¨. Widely seen as a patriot and national folk hero in China, since his death Yue Fei has evolved into a paragon of loyalty in Chinese culture. Unfortunately, similar to the first time, it had failed again. Zhong Yuyi frowned and sighed: ¡°If its not possible to invite the spirit, then I can only turn to possession.¡± While everyone didn¡¯t say anything, they inevitably began to secretly doubt Zhong Yuyi¡¯s abilities. Only Dong Zhi had seen him when he was possessed by Zhang Fei. His voice and appearance had changed completely, and even Long Shen called him Huanhou. Dong Zhi kept his eyes on Zhong Yuyi as he burned the incense, closed his eyes, and prayed respectfully, and started reciting the mantra. His movements were exactly the same as the previous two times. After a while, his body suddenly shook slightly before he slowly opened his eyes and began to cry without saying a word. Everyone was dumbfounded. Some people started to realize that Zhong Yuyi might have succeeded this time. After all, it¡¯s a spirit of possession so it won¡¯t be as noble or mighty as a true God, so they couldn¡¯t help but wonder what kind of character he invited. All it did was cry and snivel without saying a word, so was it some kind of lonely ghost? Gu Meiren asked carefully: ¡°May I please ask who you are?¡± Zhong Yuyi wiped away his tears and couldn¡¯t answered her: ¡°I wish I could go out as soon as possible when I remember Yingtai*, but I never expected it would be a hundred years before I¡¯m free! How painful! How painful!¡± *Built in the Ming Dynasty, it is the summer refuge and residence of emperors and concubines. It¡¯s name Yingtai because it faces water on all sides and is line with pavilions, like an immortal island in the sea. His voice had changed, sounding much younger and brighter than the original Zhong Yuyi, but it had deep melancholy. Is this a Yin God who loves to drag texts*?! *(קÎÄ) Dialect that refers to showing off your eloquence, pretending to be gentle. Everyone looked at each other, unable to laugh or cry. Xie Qingning: ¡°Who the hell are you? Can you tell us your name?¡± Zhong Yuyi, or rather, the Yin God that possessed his body cried even more severely when he heard those words: ¡°Look! What kind of world is this that now I¡¯m not even recognized anymore. My life is so bitter! Bitter! Bitter!¡± The howling and crying lingered in everyone¡¯s ears that it sounded like the squawking of hundreds of birds. Liu Si couldn¡¯t bear it and yelled: ¡°Don¡¯t cry!¡± The crying stopped abruptly, and Zhong Yuyi stared at him with wide-eye while putting on a pitiful look. A thought suddenly flashed by Dong Zhi causing to blurt out: ¡°Are you Emperor Guangxu*?¡± *Ninth emperor of the Qing Dynasty who ruled from 1875-1908 but in practice was only up to 1898 as he was superseded by Empress Dowager Cixi who launched a coup and put him under house arrest until his death. Zhong Yuyi¡¯s crying that had just stopped suddenly resurfaced. ¡°Wow!!!¡± Everyone: ¡­ Before, Dong Zhi had said he wanted to invite a Ming Dynasty emperor from the Ming Mausoleum, thinking he would get good results. However, rather than a Ming Dynasty Emperor, they had invited an Emperor from the Qing Dynasty. Seeing that Zhong Yuyi was about to burst into tears again, they thought about asking something quickly. Although the sound wasn¡¯t magic, the endless crying noise was piercing and also extremely disturbing. What could they ask? Everyone racked their brains and for a while no one could think of anything. Xie Qingning suddenly said: ¡°Is Concubine Zhen beautiful?¡± Dong Zhi felt that this girl was a bit mysterious. He still didn¡¯t know what abilities she had, but during their simulation training, even Chi Banxia, who had followed Li Ying, was ¡°killed¡±, but Xie Qingining managed to ¡°survive¡± in the end. This meant she has a good ability, but she¡¯s usually very low-key. She would hang around Ou-Yang Yin and Zhou Yue often, so she wasn¡¯t familiar with others. The question she asked was something that an ordinary girl would ask, causing Chi Banxia and Gu Meiren to show curiosity as well. Who knew that Zhong Yuyi, rather, technically the Yin God that had possessed him, when he heard this, cried even louder. He sobbed and said through tears: ¡°In my heart, her face is like a full moon. Her voice is like a warbler¡¯s cry. She is the best-looking woman in the world¡­ If it weren¡¯t for me, she wouldn¡¯t have fallen¡­ into that situation. I have hurt her!¡± Suspecting he would cry again and was going to blind Zhong Yuyi¡¯s eyes, Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°Don¡¯t cry, we won¡¯t ask about her anymore. We¡¯ll ask about something else!¡± Zhong Yuyi sniffed and finally stopped crying for a moment as he looked up at him. From his eyes, they could recognize that it¡¯s not the real Zhong Yuyi, because in them contained such sadness and sorrow, as if he never had a good day. It was indeed depressing given the latter half of this person¡¯s life history. Dong Zhi scratch his head, but couldn¡¯t think of anything to ask so he casually said: ¡°That¡­ Well¡­ what do you think of the Treaty of Maguan?¡± *Also known as the Treaty of Shimonoseki, was a treaty between the Empire of Japan and Qing China ending the First Sino-Japanese War. Everyone: ¡­ It¡¯s over. This subject is a landmine! They wanted to cover up Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth but it was too late. Zhong Yuyi¡¯s eyes quickly filled with tears, and they began to flood in an instant. ¡°I have reigned for 34 years. Although I am not as good as the Holy Patriarch, I have recovered Xinjiang and established the province of Taiwan. The world could be said to be prosperous. If it weren¡¯t, if it weren¡¯t¡­ later, I was taken advantage of by traitors¡­ How could this have ended so bleakly¡­¡± When it comes to anything sad, he kept crying, and it was useless to try to comfort him. Liu Si couldn¡¯t take it any longer and yelled: ¡°Shut up! Cry again and we¡¯ll send you away!¡± The crying stopped for a second, as Zhong Yuyi suddenly raised his head. His eyes were flushed, and his expression was horrified. Everyone was fed up. They just wanted to get this emperor to leave Zhong Yuyi¡¯s body was soon as possible. The other party quickly recovered and started to look around. He touched Zhong Yuyi¡¯s hands and feet, feeling refreshed. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that I could return to my body and experience the taste of being a human again after spending years as a wisp of divine thought that¡¯s been floating around for a long time.¡± He showed a looked of nostalgia and novelty as he analyzed Dong Zhi¡¯s clothes: ¡°What year is this now? Are you shamans invited by the emperor today? Why are you dressed so strangely?¡± Zhou Yue sneered: ¡°How can there be an emperor in this day and age? You¡¯ve been a ghost for hundreds of years. Do you even know the changes in the world?¡± Zhong Yuyi said angrily: ¡°I am not a ghost! I am just a remnant of his soul!¡± ¡°Well, you are not a ghost!¡± Dong Zhi comforted: ¡°Being possessed by the Yin God for a long time will have an impact on the original body. Can you please leave for the time being so that the person you possessed can take a break?¡± Zhong Yuyi tilted his head and thought for a while before shaking his head: ¡°I¡¯m not leaving. I can finally feel the earth again. I can look at the sun and smell the flowers. After so long, no one has ever invited me, so I want to experience the taste of being human again!¡± Unexpectedly, a Yin God could also be a cheat. Everyone couldn¡¯t help but got a headache. Liu Si¡¯s face sank: ¡°What if we force you to leave?¡± Zhong Yuyi measured him for a moment, then smiled slyly: ¡°Then I will possess you. Your willow tree1 is a good container for my yin to possess.¡± Everyone was taken aback and couldn¡¯t help but look at Liu Si. His surname is Liu1 and his weapon is the whip made of a willow branch. Though his appearance was feminine looking, but no one had thought much about it2. 1Liu (Áø) in Liu Si translates to the willow tree. 2Clarity: This is a bit confusing as it¡¯s not explained clearly but it¡¯ll will be in a bit. Unexpectedly, he didn¡¯t expect to be pitted by a Yin God. Liu Si¡¯s face became gloomy as he sneered: ¡°If you won¡¯t leave, then I¡¯ll just make you leave!¡± As soon as he stopped speaking, he directly whipped Zhong Yuyi. Zhong Yuyi smiled as he quickly avoided the attack: ¡°If I don¡¯t leave by my own volition, no one can drive me away and this body will only suffer more!¡± Suddenly, the Dong Zhi shouted: ¡°The Empress Dowager* is coming!¡± *Title given to the mother or widow of an emperor. Zhong Yuyi was shocked and looked around, and Liu Si took the chance to slap him on the back. With a scream, Zhong Yuyi fell forward*. *Clarity: If you read the Wiki or footnote, the reason why he¡¯s wary when Dong Zhi announced this is because it was Empress Dowager Cixi who committed a coup against him and placed him under house arrest where he eventually died due to arsenic poisoning. ¡°Who¡­hit¡­me?¡± His voice was feeble, and since he cried too much, it was also hoarse, but fortunately everyone could hear Zhong Yuyi¡¯s original voice. They all rushed over to help him up. Dong Zhi: ¡°Old Zhong, are you okay?!¡± Zhong Yuyi touched his eyes: ¡°Motherfucker. Why did I cry so much! My eyes are completely swollen!¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°The Yin God who was attached to you just now refused to leave, but Liu Si whipped him away.¡± Zhong Yuyi waved his hand: ¡°Don¡¯t bother so much next time. This kind of Yin God has been floating for hundreds of years and is very weak. He can¡¯t stay inside the body of a living person for long, and will eventually be ejected whether he wants to or not.¡± Gu Meiren couldn¡¯t laugh or cry: ¡°But this kind of Yin God you just invited is useless. If you are fighting, it¡¯s impossible to have time to set up incense and recite spells. After all the hard work you put in to inviting the Yin God, the cucumber would be long cold!¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°Wrong. The role of incense is to express your sincerity of inviting the Yin God. It can be done without the use of incense sticks and burners. If you can invite a righteous God like Guan Yu or King Yue, their power is so great that they can even decide victory or defeat.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Is this equivalent to performing a big move in a game? It takes a long time to trigger and requires a lot of efforts, but once it¡¯s made, it¡¯ll be nearly invincible?¡± Zhong Yu nodded a little. He had just been tossed back and forth and didn¡¯t have the strength to give another lecture, so he went back to rest. With such a fuss, everyone¡¯s interest in inviting Gods had become stronger and they were all eager to try. Liu Si was first to step up. Since his original form is a willow tree*, it was easier to attract yin, so everyone had no objection. He tried twice and succeeded both times in inviting the spirit, but not possession. *Clarity: Liu Si¡¯s original form is a willow tree, thus his weapon of choice and name. The problem though was he invited the same Yin God twice and this Yin God had a bad temper. The first time he was okay, however, the second time he was invited back, he became furious. Without saying a word, he stretched out his hand and pointed to a stone table in the yard causing it to explode. Once done, he patted his ass and left. After returning to normal, Liu Si¡¯s face was paler than Zhong Yuyi¡¯s. He had to be helped to a stone stool and said with a wry smile: ¡°I¡¯ll have to pay for that stone table.¡± Dong Zhi said humorously: ¡°The leaders should expect something like this to happen. Otherwise, they wouldn¡¯t have set up the class to be here. If we were to encounter someone with a worse temper, they could possibly even blow up this entire yard.¡± Xie Qingning ask curiously: ¡°Who was that Yin God just now? Why was he so irritable?¡± Liu Si gasped: ¡°It seems to be a woman, but I¡¯m not sure. When I invite the gods, my mind couldn¡¯t stay sober like usual, and I was in a state of semi-consciousness.¡± Everyone listened and felt perplexed as they couldn¡¯t¡¯ imagine what kind of state this was. The next Gu Meiren, Xie Qingning, and Zhou Yue tried and all failed one by one. This was to be expected as even Zhong Yuyi himself failed twice in his three attempts. Ou-Yang Yin muttered in a low voice: ¡°If I knew this was the case, it would be better to go to the burial site with Elder Ding and the others. It would¡¯ve been much more exciting!¡± Some people thought so as well, but it was hard to tell. When it was Dong Zhi¡¯s turn, he asked for incense and began to relax as he recited the prayers silently. Halfway through the prayer, he felt his body fluttering lightly, as if he no longer felt like he was standing and couldn¡¯t stop himself from floating upwards. Then he heard a chuckle in his ear: ¡°Would you like to see thousands of miles?¡± Dong Zhi was in a daze. Before he could comprehend what was going on, his body seemed to be pulled hard. There was chaos in front of him and he couldn¡¯t see clearly, but his ears were buzzing, as if he could hear countless clouds and the sound of wind as he passed them by. He eyes seem to be glazed over like a pool of ice water, making him feel cool and comfortable. ¡°If you want to see anyone, you can achieve it just by thinking about it.¡± The strange voice said again. Dong Zhi felt incomprehensible, and the scene in front of him gradually became clear, as if the clouds were plucked away clearing the sky to give vision to the moon. He couldn¡¯t help but made a soft cry. In front of him stood a huge conference hall full of people. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t hear a sound, but he saw someone talking. He recognized the speaker at once. It was Long Shen. Long Shen¡¯s speech only lasted a few words, which reflected his usual concise and succinct style. Everyone at the meeting had serious expressions, and they seemed to be discussing an important matter. Dong Zhi glanced over and saw Elder Zong, Director Jiang, Wu Chengtian, Song Zhicun and others. He didn¡¯t know what kind of existence he was. The angle that he was looking at them was also very strange. It was like watching them through a camera. Is this reality or a dream? He wanted to ¡°walk¡± over and look at the manuscript in front of Long Shen. Suddenly, Long Shen seemed to be aware and glanced up. The cold and sharp eyes startled Dong Zhi, his mind moved, and the scene in front of him changed, twisting suddenly. Water rippled, and suddenly everything was blue. This is¡­ the sea? He dove into the sea and soon found that the creatures in the water were different and there was no sand at the bottom. It seems like he was in a pool or lake. Originally, he wanted to look at Long Shen a little bit longer, but suddenly came here. The waves from the water were dizzying as he desperately resisted from the bottom of his heart, but the angle of his view kept slowly moving forward. Eventually it reached statues that contained different shapes and poses. It was difficult to imagine there could be so many statues underwater, that he wasn¡¯t sure if this was something left behind from a shipwreck or possible even an island sinking into the ocean. Dong Zhi was filled with doubts as he slowly approached. The clothes on the statues floated slowly in the water and there were small fishes swimming around. If it weren¡¯t for the gloomy atmosphere, it would¡¯ve made quite an exotic landscape. Even the eyes in those statues were so lifelike¡­ Wrong! It wasn¡¯t a statue at all but a living person! He stepped back abruptly, and his eyes suddenly darkened again. Had he returned to his body? Dong Zhi opened his eyes hard and tried to look forward but found that it was pitch black and he couldn¡¯t see anything. After a long time, a candle finally appeared in front of him. The candlestick was slender and reached towards the ground and had a simple yet elegant design. Who would use this kind of lightning method now? Then he saw two people. One was facing him and the other had his back towards him. The middle-aged man that was facing him was wearing a kimono and was talking to the person opposite of him. The other person was covered with a black cloak from head to toe, and he couldn¡¯t¡¯ tell whether it was a man or woman. Dong Zhi approached involuntarily. The middle-aged man has a typical Japanese appearance, with mustache and deep nasolabial folds. It looked inexplicably familiar, but he couldn¡¯t recall at this moment. He wanted to see the person covered by the cloak first. The two of them should be talking as the middle-aged man¡¯s mouth kept opening and closing. He looked at them for a while but couldn¡¯t tell what the two were talking about. Judging the way his lips moved, he should be speaking in Japanese. He slowly approached the cloaked figure. As the other party was dressed like this, it made him more curious and impulsive, wanting to see what said figure looked like. When he got closer, he saw that the cloak was hooded and the hood as so wide that it covered almost the entire head. His gaze came into the line of sight of the other party when suddenly¡­ At this moment a change occurred. The cloak swelled up, as if a violent wind was blowing from the inside, and white colors swept out of the cloak and rushed towards him! As fast as lightning, he vaguely recognized the palm seemed to belong to a skeleton. Dong Zhi heart tugged, as if he someone was holding him down, pulling him hard! It suddenly became dark everywhere. ¡°Wake up! Wake up!¡± There was a lot of noise in his ears, and the sounds came like a tide, as if he had returned from a world of silence. Even though the volume wasn¡¯t loud, it was enough to bang his eardrums. Dong Zhi slowly opened his eyes. The faces of Gu Meiren and Liu Si immediately came into view. ¡°How are you?¡± ¡°Are you okay?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head vigorously and found that he was sitting on the ground. He wanted to stand up, but he was weak and was sweating profusely. Liu Si and the others helped him up and assisted him to a chair. Zhong Yuyi was also called over by Xie Qingning. Everyone looked at him with concern. Zhong Yuyi checked his pulse, and his expression became solemn: ¡°What did you invite just now?¡± Dong Zhi panted and couldn¡¯t speak. Upon seeing this, Zhong Yu immediately dismissed the class. He asked everyone to bring Dong Zhi in to rest and ask someone to cook ginger sugar water for him to drink. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You just consumed too much energy and physical strength.¡± After drinking a glass of ginger sugar water, from his throat to his stomach suddenly became hot. Zhong Yuyi asked the owner to give him a bowl of noodles and handed it over to Dong Zhi. He was trembling from hunger, so he ate the bowl of noodles clean, not leaving even the slightest bit of sauce left, and slowly regained his strength. ¡°I don¡¯t know what happened. At that time, I did just like how you did it and offered incense and recited a prayer. Then I heard someone talking to me in my ear.¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°What did it say?¡± ¡°It said¡­ the tone is very weird. It seems to say ¡®would you like to see thousands of mile?¡¯¡± Dong Zhi thought hard and finally recalled about 70-80% of what he witnessed: ¡°I couldn¡¯t hear anything. It was as if I was watching a movie with no sound. It was very chaotic. I saw Boss Long in a meeting, then for a while I was submerged in water¡­¡± Before he could finish speaking, Zhong Yuyi said: ¡°Gao Ming! You actually invited him!¡± Dong Zhi asked blankly: ¡°Who is that?¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°Legend has it that during the Northern Song Dynasty, there were two monsters that caused the chaos in Taohua Mountain. Later, they were accepted by the imperial concubine as two generals. Their names were Gao Ming1 and Gao Jue2.¡± 1Fitictious character in the novel Investiture of the Gods of the Ming Dynasty. He known for being clairvoyant. He along with his brother Gao Jue, are peach spirits and willow ghost on Qipan Mountain. Gao Ming is known for his eyes that can see every action. 2Fictitious character in the novel of Investiture of the Gods of the Ming Dynasty. He is known for being omniscient. He along with his brother Gao Ming, are peach spirits and willow ghost on Qipan Mountain. Gao Jue is known to have ears that can hear everything. Dong Zhi blurted out: ¡°Qian Liyan1 and Shufeng¡¯Er2?!¡± 1Eyes that can see things thousands of miles away/Clairvoyance (ǧÀïÑÛ) Also what Gao Ming¡¯s referred to. 2Ears that can hear the sound that comes with the wind/Omniscience (˳·ç¶ú) Also what Gao Jue¡¯s referred to. Zhong Yu nodded. Dong Zhi almost grinned from ear to ear. He actually invited Qian Liyan?! Zhong Yuyi: ¡°They are enshrined and worship as Righteous Gods, but they are generally difficult to meet. It should be a coincidence.¡± After speaking, he smiled: ¡°But it¡¯s also very powerful. It shows that they like you.¡± As soon as he attempted, he managed to invite a Righteous God. Dong Zhi was about to fall to the ground from admiring himself too much. ¡°Then, am I considered qualified?¡± Zhong Yuyi patted him on the shoulder: ¡°You¡¯ve passed the test. You should rest and get some sleep.¡± The author has something to say£º Unexpectedly, Guangxu was invited? Are you surprised? When Empress Dowager came, everyone should know the reason why. Guangxu is notoriously afraid of Cixi, so he was sacred away as soon as Dong Zhi called for her~ Kinky Thoughts: The plot thickens. ¡ª Gao Ming/Qian Liyan & Gao Jue/Shufeng¡¯Er They are fictitious character in the novel Investiture of the Gods of the Ming Dynasty. Gao Ming is known for his clairvoyancy. It is said that he has eyes that can see every action for thousands of miles. Gao Jue is known for his omniscience. It is said that he has ears that could hear every sound that comes with the wind. Several legends exist about their origins. One tells that they were originally golden essence that were transformed by water essence. The second, tells that they were brothers, Gao Ming and Gao Jue, who severed as generals for King Zhou and died in battle. They eventually became the peach spirt and willow ghost that haunted Taohua Mountain until they were subdued by Mo Niang. After suppression, they vow to follow Taoism and help the world together. There are other iterations of this their origins, but they all fall within the same lines of being brothers that possess their unique traits of clairvoyance and omniscience. CH 49 Dong Zhi was too excited that he couldn¡¯t fall back asleep. After Zhong Yuyi left, with high spirits, he flipped around on the bed for over half an hour, as if he was like a smoldering pancake. Oh my god. He actually invited a Righteous God in his first attempt. Is there such a genius in the world! But geniuses needs to be humble, modest, and have humility. He narrowed his eyes for three minutes before he suddenly thought of something. Since it was clairvoyance, then everything he saw just now should have happened in real time, right? Long Shen¡¯s meeting. Being underwater. The Japanese man. The more he thought about it, the more Dong Zhi felt something was wrong. He got up and immediately texted Long Shen: [Boss Long, are you free now? I have something to tell you.] After waiting for a while, the phone rang. Long Shen had taken the initiative to call him. He hurriedly picked it up: ¡°Boss Long, why are you calling?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you have something to tell me?¡± It seems that he had left a reliable impression on the other party as he reached out shortly after he sent his message signaling that Long Shen believes in him. Dong Zhi felt proud mometarily before he hurriedly got down to business: ¡°Were you in a meeting just now? About half an hour ago. It was in a conference room. Boss Wu was sitting on the left and Boss Song was on the right.¡± There was a pause over before he replied: ¡°Yes.¡± Dong Zhi then recounted the three scenes he had just seen through his clairvoyance. Long Shen paid careful attention to the second scene: ¡°What else did you see in the water besides the corpses?¡± Dong Zhi tried to recall: ¡°It seems to be just an ordinary lake¡­ But I seem to recall seeing some buildings faintly in the distance, but I couldn¡¯t see it clearly. I was quickly pulled away so I didn¡¯t stay long. However, those water corpses were particularly strange. Their demeanor and posture are still as if they were alive. I thought they were stone statues at first.¡± Long Shen: ¡°What about clothing? What dynasty are they from?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I can¡¯t tell, but judging from their hairstyle, it shouldn¡¯t be modern.¡± Long Shen said deeply: ¡°In the third scene, did you see the appearance of the cloaked man in the end?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°No. I saw you looking up at me during the first scene. Did you really see me?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I can only feel a sense of peeping, but I couldn¡¯t see anything.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°Then I suspect that the cloak figure may have sensed my peeping too. The last thing I saw before the scene was over was it reaching out with its hand that was a white bone!¡± The other end of the phone fell silent. Dong Zhi: ¡°Boss Long?¡± ¡°I see,¡± Long Shen said: ¡°For these days, don¡¯t invite Gods any more and under normal circumstances, don¡¯t use this spell so casually in the future.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± ¡°Do you understand?¡± Long Shen¡¯s tone became stern. Although Dong Zhi didn¡¯t understand why, he agreed. Long Shen said: ¡°If you encounter anything strange again, feel free to call me.¡± After a pause, he said again: ¡°Have a good rest.¡± Dong Zhi obediently said, ¡°Okay, goodbye.¡± After hanging up the call, Long Shen looked at the files on his desk blankly. His thoughts have already flown away. He didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, but only felt his eyebrows frowning tighter. With a slight movement, he dialed He Yu¡¯s number. When the phone line picked up, a careless voice spoke out: ¡°Hello, the number you have dial is not in service for the time being. Please try you call again at later time.¡± Long Shen: ¡°He Yu.¡± Sensing trouble was brewing, He Yu hastily became like a dog who obediently was ordered to sit: ¡°Yes, what are your orders?¡± Long Shen: ¡°How is it going over there now?¡± He Yu: ¡°Ugh, don¡¯t even talk about it. The place where the accident happened is near is near Mount Laohei. We¡¯ve searched all over, but we can¡¯t dig the entire area three feet deep. The water¡¯s been flooding the area every day but don¡¯t bother mentioning demons and ghosts, there¡¯s not even any signs of water sprites! Say Boss, we have been feeding mosquitoes here for almost a month. It isn¡¯t an issue to continue on like this but when can we go back?¡± *Kelpie (Ë®¹í) Shaft-shifting spirit usually portrayed as a black horse-like creature that can adopt human form. Usually, its lives in bodies of waters like rivers and lakes. See Kinky Thoughts for lore. Long Shen asked: ¡°Except for Mount Laohei, what about other places?¡± He Yu said: ¡°Fuxian Lake is really too big. Even if search just along the coast, there may not be results for half a year. The water in that area constantly rises and falls. I don¡¯t know how many dark water caves there are and where to go. Kan Chaosheng is now going into the water everyday but can¡¯t seem to find anything. At this rate, we may have to ask Elder Zong to come out!¡± Long Shen ignored his joke: ¡°Don¡¯t just look along the coastal line and Mount Laohei. Make sure you search the middle of the lake as well.¡± He Yu smelled something unusual: ¡°Boss, are you privy to something?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I¡¯ll tell Song Zhicun and group three about it. You make Chaosheng work harder.¡± He Yu: ¡°Well, I¡¯ll relay that to him.¡± After ending the call with He Yu, Long Shen thought for a while, and then dialed Zhong Yuyi¡¯s number. ¡ª The next day, when everyone gathered, they received a notice from Zhong Yuyi. His class will come to an end early. It wasn¡¯t only Dong Zhi but everyone else was inexplicable. However, Zhong Yuyi said that this notice came from the higher ups, so they all had to return to the city in advance. While they had ¡°finished¡± their course, Li Ying and the others had just started under Ding Lan¡¯s leadership. This meant they had to wait for the others to come back before they can move to the next course together. With nothing to do, during this time, they all had free reign. While everyone came to apply for the Special Administration Bureau and had passed the written exam and interview, some, like Gu Meiren, certainly didn¡¯t come with the mentality of idleness and fooling around. Now with this extra period of ¡°vacation¡± for no inexplicable reasons, they felt depressed as they had nothing to learn. ¡°Did Old Zhong disclose what the course of the next stage was?¡± After they came back from a meal, someone asked Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi smiled bitterly: ¡°No, he¡¯s also acting strange.¡± Zhong Yuyi didn¡¯t have many reservations. After a few days of getting acquainted with everyone, they had stopped calling him Teacher Zhong and instead switched to Old Zhong. Gu Meiren comforted: ¡°There should be arrangements from above so we can just take it easy.¡± Chi Banxia propped up her chin and sighed: ¡°If I knew about this, it would¡¯ve been better to go with Li Ying and the others. I heard that they stumbled upon a tough situation in the mausoleum yesterday. It seems that it was a lich*.¡± *Fly Stiff (·É½©) A classification of zombies that becomes a demon after turning into a scorpion, allowing it to fly, thus known as a flying stiff (stiff being that the body is hard like a corpse after rigor mortis). See lore for details || I¡¯ll be using lich as the translation. The so-called lich is a classification of zombies and tomb robbers collectively refer to them as ¡°zongzi1¡±. It takes at least a hundred years for a zombie to turn to complete bones and become a lich. Liches are covered with white hair, and float, as if they could fly, which is why they are called liches. On top of liches, there¡¯s also other classifications2 such as jade liches and white liches. The catacombs that produce these zombies must be extremely fierce to produce these things, but it could also be a situation like Long Shen¡¯s story, where an original place had good fengshui but was actually artificially changed to be auspicious to deceive latecomers. 1Name after the dish, it¡¯s a code word among tomb robbers referring to a relatively well-preserved corpse in a tomb that has turned into a zombie. 2Clarity: According to Chinese Folklores, there are 18 kinds of ¡°zombies¡±. I won¡¯t list them all since some of the translation doesn¡¯t really make sense translated. The lich is one of these types. For ordinary people, encountering this kind of situation is a bad luck. Countless of tomb robbers have died while trying to rob a tomb through the ages, either through traps or being infected by corpse poison. However, for practitioners like them, one encounter only equals one more experience. Besides, there¡¯s also a powerful leader mentoring the team, so generally they won¡¯t encounter any great danger. So when they all heard that Li Ying and the others had encountered a lich, everyone¡¯s first reaction was not fear, but envy. Chi Banxia: ¡°I heard Li Ying say that we will send representatives to participate in the World Exchange Conference next year. There¡¯s also a certain quota for newcomers. Since we have one less training course than them, I wonder if it will affect our recommendation?¡± Gu Meiren: ¡°I don¡¯t think so. After all, it was not our initiative to withdraw from the course. It was a decision made from above.¡± Zhou Yue said: ¡°I¡¯m not worried about the recommendation qualification. The competition for this kind of important international-level event must be very fierce. Not only newcomers, but also many seniors would want to go. If we can pass the training, the bureau should handle everything accordingly.¡± Ou-Yang Yin smiled and said: ¡°Our family has helped people with fengshui for generations. Occasionally, we would encounter one or two tricky things. If I run into such a situation, and you want more experience, I¡¯ll let you know. Of course, you¡¯ll also be paid as well.¡± To everyone though, remuneration is second and above all else it was better to have something to do than be idle every day. Even with the class cancelled, Dong Zhi still had many things to do. His comic serialization was reaching a critical plot point and had increasing amount of people chasing it. They were hungry for more as they left comments urging him to update. Besides that, he also climbs the stairs to the rooftop every day for practice. He never slacked off and felt very full in his life. However, he didn¡¯t express any of his opinion rashly as he just sat there resting his chin on his hand and listened to everyone else obediently, while still recalling the event of when he had invited God in and thinking about Long Shen during his meeting. At that time, everyone else looked bored while Long Shen listened very carefully and took notes from time to time. Recalling that look, perhaps he¡¯ll try once again to draw Long Shen¡¯s eyes and solve his distress of being unable to finish his portrait before. The latter two scenes though were very strange. Listening to Long Shen¡¯s tone, he seemed to know where the second scene was. There¡¯s also that Japanese man that looked extremely familiar, but he couldn¡¯t quite place it. Where had he seen this person before? When a pot of beef in sour soup was served, it finally relieved everyone¡¯s depression and also diverted Dong Zhi¡¯s attention. Everyone had a great meal and enjoyed their time socializing. After the meal, they parted ways and made an appointment to contact each other later, then they dispersed. Dong Zhi declined the offer of others to give him a ride, saying that he wanted to walk after dinner, so he walked along the streets alone. As he walked, he discovered that the street he was currently on was the road filled with antique stores that Long Shen had brought him once to get the Qingzhu Sword. Thinking of this, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but dispel the idea of taking a taxi back, and instead walked towards the antique shop Long Shen had taken him to. Since it was still broad daylight, the store was naturally open, and the person working there was still the same uncle he saw last time. The uncle seemed familiar with him. When he saw him come in, he wanted to greet him, but hesitantly said: ¡°You¡¯re that gentle looking young man?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°I came with Boss Long that night when he took back his Qingzhu Sword. Do you remember?¡± ¡°So it turned out to be you. I do remember!¡± The uncle patted his forehead: ¡°Since it was at night and the lighting wasn¡¯t good, I couldn¡¯t see you clearly. No wonder why I felt your face look so familiar. Sit down, sit down!¡± He greeted Dong Zhi and motion for him to sit down on a chair nearby. Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°What is your name?¡± ¡°Just call me Uncle Qian. So, how¡¯s the Qingzhu Sword?¡± Dong Zhi asked curiously: ¡°How do you know it was given to me?¡± Uncle Qian smiled and said: ¡°I have known Boss Long for so many years, but I have never seen him bring someone with him when he takes back swords, so it means that sword must be for you.¡± Hearing this made Dong Zhi¡¯s heart happy. He took advantage of the situation and asked: ¡°How many years have you known him?¡± Uncle Qian: ¡°It must be at least 20 years.¡± Dong Zhi was surprised: ¡°So many years? Then Boss Long must¡¯ve been very young at that time, right?¡± Uncle Qian smiled and said: ¡°No, he hasn¡¯t changed much and looks pretty much as he did 20 years ago.¡± Dong Zhi pondered thoughtfully about it. ¡°By the way,¡± Uncle Qian thought of something and said: ¡°I have a bronze mirror here that someone just brought it over. I want your help to assess its value so I can price it. You¡¯re Boss Long¡¯s apprentice, so you must be knowledgeable. Won¡¯t you take a look?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Why do you think I am Boss Long¡¯s apprentice?¡± Uncle Qian: ¡°You look like you would be his apprentice. Is it possible that you¡¯re his son?¡± When he heard those words, Dong Zhi almost spatted out the water that he had just sipped on. ¡°It¡¯s better to be an apprentice!¡± Uncle Qian laughed: ¡°Is that so?¡± Dong Zhi scratched his noise. While he wanted to called Long Shen master, he was afraid the other party wouldn¡¯t respond. Uncle Qian took out the box containing the bronze mirror: ¡°According to my speculation, the age of this mirror is probably before the Zhou Dynasty, but I¡¯m not entirely sure. It could be even earlier.¡± If it was earlier than the Zhou Dynasty, it would either be the Xia and Shang Dynasties, or the period of the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors*. *The Three Sovereigns spans from 4,000-8,000+ years ago, while the Five Emperors period was about 4,000 years ago. Dong Zhi was surprised. He took a closer look at the bronze mirror in the uncle¡¯s hand. There was a pattern carved on the back of the mirror, but it wasn¡¯t the usual ordinary figures of flowers, birds, or bats, but rather a¡­ phoenix? Behind the phoenix, there seemed to be undulating mountains, and a sun rising eastward. ¡°To be honest, I don¡¯t know anything about antique appraisal. I¡¯m afraid it will have to be done by Boss Long.¡± Generally, if the age is old, the bronze on the antique would be oxidized, causing the text and patterns made of bronze to be discolored and blurred to varying degrees. However, this mirror looked as if it was 70-80% new, which made him suspect it could be a fake. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help raising his concern: ¡°Uncle Qian, the pattern on the mirror looks so new¡­¡± Uncle Qian lowered his voice: ¡°I know what you are worried about. The pattern is new, and it may have just been taken out of an anaerobic environment.¡± Dong Zhi understood: ¡°So it hasn¡¯t been unearthed until recently?¡± Uncle Qian nodded: ¡°The person who brought it here a junior of an acquaintance of mine. He¡¯s usually a broker who responsible for exchanging these items. He doesn¡¯t actually go to the tombs himself. Occasionally, he would get new things in his hand. There¡¯s a character on it that I can¡¯t understand. Show it to Boss Long for me. If the original isn¡¯t clean, I don¡¯t want it.¡± Text to the dead*? *(éåÎÄ) Also known as the water book, or ghost book, or anti-book, is written text for the dead. Legends has it that it was created by a man name Lu Duogong. It¡¯s ancient writings that mainly record cultural information such as astronomy, geography, religion, folklore, ethnics, and philosophy. Dong Zhi took a closer look at the back of the mirror again and saw that there were indeed a few strange symbols and text. He didn¡¯t pay much attention to it previously. When Uncle Qian said this, he remembered that time when he was on the train, he saw a fairytale book that laid in the corner of the soft sleeper. When he opened it, it turned out to be a notebook that was full of writings he couldn¡¯t understand. He Yu later said that those were Long Shen¡¯s notes. Above those notes, he recognized that they were vague text that similarly look like these. ¡°What is the text for the dead?¡± ¡°This kind of text originated from the ancient ancestor, at least before the Xia Dynasty or much earlier. Some people say that it¡¯s the writing of the gods. During that time, only a great witch in charge of sacrifices can understand it. Later, with the oracle bone script*, the writing gradually died out. Legends has it that there are still a few sorcerers in Guizhou who can write this kind of writing. They are revered as ¡®ghost masters¡¯ and their writings become a communication between yin and yang, which is specifically written for the dead. The texts are gathered into documents forming a collection of works generally called the Book of the Dead, or the Book of Rebirth.¡± *Was an ancestor of modern Chinese characters engraved on oracle bones¡ªanimal bones or turtle plastrons used in pyromantic divination¡ªin the late 2nd millennium BC and is the earliest known form of Chinese writing. Dong Zhi: ¡°Boss Long can read such thing?¡± Uncle Qian smiled and said: ¡°Which is why I have to ask him for this matter.¡± Dong Zhi hesitated: ¡°Uncle Qian, if this is stolen goods¡­?¡± Wouldn¡¯t this cause trouble to Long Shen? Uncle Qian: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Boss Long knows how to deal with it. I don¡¯t want to accept anything unclean. I¡¯m not looking for trouble. You need to tell him that after three days, if the owner wants it returned intact*, he must come and take it. Afterwards, what they want to do with it, is their business, but I can¡¯t have it affect my small business.¡± *Return to Zhao (Íêèµ¹éÕÔ) Idiom refers to returning something intact to the original owner. Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°Uncle Qian, do you call this a small business? Last time I went back, Boss Long told me that if you take the mountain made of jade in your shop to an auction house, you can at least get one or two thousand for it!¡± He deliberately omitted 10,000¡¯s to avoid making it sound too eye-catching. Uncle Qian couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit proud: ¡°What are you saying? It¡¯s just a piece of rough stone that I have a home. When I cut into it, what did I find? Bright imperial jade, and the best quality! After that I didn¡¯t let anyone cut it anymore, as I want to pass it to my children and grandchildren!¡± Dong Zhi gave him a thumbs up: ¡°You are a gentleman who loves money, and you make it in a proper way!¡± Uncle Qian was extremely flattered by him, and his attitude became more affectionate, ¡°Anyways, I heard from the junior who brought over this mirror that there are quite a few foreigners who are attracted to it if it has a high appraisal. I thought that since this is a treasure from our ancestors, no matter what, it shouldn¡¯t fall into the hands of foreigners, don¡¯t you agree?¡± Dong Zhi repeatedly nodded: ¡°Yes, you are right!¡± Uncle Qian: ¡°Truth of the matter is, there are many genuine and fake antiques in this industry. Many of them are from unknown origins so everyone¡¯s walking in a gray area. If I¡¯m found out that I reported it to the Relevant Department, then my reputation would be ruin in this industry. Therefore, this is a big risk I¡¯m taking this time. No matter what, you must bring back the mirror in three days.¡± Dong Zhi put the mirror in his backpack and smiled: ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I promise the first thing I do when I return is to give it to Boss Long, but do you really believe in me? You don¡¯t need to take my ID card or anything? Such a valuable thing yet you¡¯re willing to let me take it away?¡± Uncle Qian: ¡°If Boss Long is willing to bring you here, that¡¯s enough proof for me.¡± Dong Zhi felt a little guilty: ¡°But I haven¡¯t been about to call him Master yet.¡± Uncle Qian squinted: ¡°Are you not diligent or pious enough?¡± Dong Zhi looked wronged: ¡°I can barely wait to invite him to eat three meals a day. Isn¡¯t that diligent enough? I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll be annoyed if he sees me too much!¡± Uncle Qian laughed: ¡°That¡¯s just who he is. I believe as my grandson put it, boring. Boring1, right?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°You mean mensao1?¡± *Clarity: The word the Uncle is trying to think of is [mensao] (ÃÆɧ) but he instead incorrectly remember it as [menshen] (ÃÆʲ) which means boring/stuffy. [Mensao] is a catchphrase that popular among young people (thus he mentioned why his grandson used this word to describe Long Shen) and it refers to a person who is quiet on the outside but passionate on the inside. Such people do not easily express their emotions but in specific occasions, often behave unexpectedly. Such actions, to a certain extent, reflects the true personality of that person. || I¡¯m leaving it in pinyin form since I can¡¯t think of an English equivalent that describe what it truly means. Uncle Qian: ¡°Yes, he¡¯s just mensao! You have to keep at it!¡± Dong Zhi deliberately acted cute*: ¡°Then you give me advice?¡± *Selling [meng]/acting cute (ÂôÃÈ) Refers to purposefully showing one¡¯s cuteness to impress others. Uncle Qian: ¡°To gain his favor, it doesn¡¯t mean you need to gift him something. Boss Long is a serious person so you need to be serious in front of him. You have to learn more and ask more. Don¡¯t be afraid thinking you¡¯ll make a fool of yourself. It¡¯s better to ask than be scared and pretend you understand but really don¡¯t.¡± Dong Zhi nodded and asked: ¡°Does he have any hobbies?¡± Uncle Qian thought for a while: ¡°Not that I can tell. He occasionally would put ancient swords on consignment with me and would also ask me to help keep an eye out for them. I asked if he likes to collect ancient swords, but he said no. Having said that, he usually lives in an ascetic way. He doesn¡¯t smoke or drink, so I really don¡¯t know what he does for enjoyment¡­ Oh, but I did see him feed the stray cat that¡¯s around here a few times.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°In the years you known him, have you seen Boss Long with maybe a girlfriend or wife?¡± Uncle Qian laughed: ¡°I haven¡¯t seen one before. You¡¯re the first person he has brought by, but I know that you practitioners are different from ordinary people. It¡¯s said that there are many bachelors in your Special Administration Bureau. Perhaps its because you guys are usually too busy. If you can introduce him to a girlfriend, let alone being an apprentice, it should be no problem for you to be his godson!¡± Dong Zhi muttered: ¡®Can I introduce myself to him?¡¯ Uncle Qian didn¡¯t hear clearly: ¡°What was that?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing,¡± Dong Zhi said with a smile: ¡°I can guarantee the task you entrusted me will be complete.¡± Uncle Qian nodded in satisfaction: ¡°By the way, I have a sword here that I recently acquired. It¡¯s said that it was Sun Quan¡¯s* sword during the Three Kingdoms period. I¡¯ve look at it, but it doesn¡¯t seem to be his usual sword, and its quality is only average, maybe slightly inferior to the Qingzhu Sword. Can you help me go back and ask Boss Long if he wants it-¡± *His courtesy name is Zhongmou. Founder of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. Unlike his rivals Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Sun Quan was much younger than they were and governed his state mostly separate of politics and ideology. He is sometimes portrayed as neutral considering he adopted a flexible foreign policy between his two rivals with the goal of pursuing the greatest interests for the country. At this moment, a young man came in outside: ¡°Uncle Qian!¡± Uncle Qian raised his head: ¡°A¡¯Shun*, why are you here so soon? It¡¯s not time yet, is it?¡± *Clarity: He adds (°¢) in front of Shun¡¯s name. This is a term of endearment. A¡¯Shun¡¯s t-shirt had a few stains on them, and his hair looked like they hadn¡¯t been cut for a long time, which he simply tied back. He walked in with a happy-go-lucky smile. ¡°Yo, you have guests?¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± A¡¯Shun glanced at Dong Zhi as he replied to Uncle Qian with a nothing much, before sitting down on the sofa crossed legged. Dong Zhi was about to leave, when suddenly Uncle Qian held him back: ¡°This is my eldest nephew!¡± A¡¯Shun gave a goofy smile: ¡°So it turns out he¡¯s your eldest nephew. Not bad, not bad. Sure enough, he looks quite talented, unlike you!¡± ¡°Fuck you!¡± Uncle Qian scolded with a smile: ¡°If you have something to say, spit it out!¡± A¡¯Shun looked back and said: ¡°Is the mirror still with you? I am here to take it back.¡± Seeing Uncle Qian winking at him, Dong Zhi immediately understood that this should be the one who had sent him the bronze mirror. The author has something to say£º A small theater that has nothing to do with the text£º Dong Zhi heard that Long Shen had fed a stray cat, so it dawned on him that the male god had pity for the poor and weak, and he¡¯s a caring person. Thus, he deliberately dirtied his clothes and messed up his hair, then squatted outside Long Shen¡¯s bedroom waiting to touch porcelain*. *(Åö´É) Racketeering. It originated where gangsters would deliberately bump into people while holding fragile porcelain in their hands causing them to drop and break it, then in turn would blackmail the pedestrian to pay for it. || In this context Dong Zhi is pretending to be pitiful to gain Long Shen¡¯s affection. When Long Shen got back from work and saw him squatting at the door to his room pitifully. Dong Zhi said: ¡°Boss Long, I was robbed and now I have no food to eat. Can I hang out with you for the time being?¡± Long Shen: ¡°It just so happens that last time you made a great contribution, and your bonus hasn¡¯t been paid yet. It¡¯s about 20,000. Follow me to fill out the form to get it.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Kinky Thoughts: Water Sprite/Kelpie (Ë®¹í) A shape-shifting spirit in Scottish folklore that usually describe as a black horse-like creature that¡¯s able to adopt human form. Some accounts states the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human leading to its association with Satan. It is often seen in bodies of waters like rivers and lakes. Legends varies though the most famous association with it is the Loch Ness Monster. You can read more about it in the Wikipedia. ¡ª Flying Stiff (·É½©) / Lich A zombie that becomes a demon after years of gathering resentment. After turning into a scorpion it gains the ability to fly/float thus its giving it it¡¯s flying aspect. Stiff refers to the corpse of its original zombie form that¡¯s stiff since rigor mortis has set in. Wherever it goes, it is said to be the king of zombies. It can cause drought and therefore when there¡¯s a drought, people will search for zombies and burn them to ashes. According to legends, it can also suck human blood within a hundred paces. I have decided to translate this to lich because flying stiff sounds awkward and one of the results from google gave me the Dota 2 hero lich. ¡ª Text to the dead (éåÎÄ) Also known as the water book, or ghost book, or anti-book, is written text for the dead. Legends has it that it was created by a man name Lu Duogong. It¡¯s ancient writings that mainly record cultural information such as astronomy, geography, religion, folklore, ethnics, and philosophy. CH 50 The young man looked like a rogue with an air of idleness around him. However, in front of Uncle Qian, he had some scruples and didn¡¯t dare to cause trouble. Uncle Qian lowered his voice: ¡°Why? Have you found a buyer?¡± A¡¯Shun said proudly: ¡°The person gave this number!¡± He stretched out his hand and gestured with his palm. Uncle Qian: ¡°Half a million?¡± A¡¯Shun: ¡°Are you looking down on me or that mirror? Add another zero!¡± Uncle Qian: ¡°Oh, you¡¯re very good. If its true, then this is a big deal!¡± A¡¯Shun smiled and said: ¡°No need for praise. Since I bothered you this time, I¡¯ll still pay for your hard work.¡± Uncle Qian said: ¡°Unfortunately, you¡¯re one step too late and that thing is no longer in my hands.¡± A¡¯Shun expression changed slightly: ¡°Uncle Qian, my dad has been friends with you for decades. You can¡¯t cheat me!¡± Uncle Qian gave him a blank look: ¡°Who¡¯s cheating you? Didn¡¯t you hand it over to me? I couldn¡¯t appraise it, so I sent it to my old friend to help assess it. I just sent it yesterday, and it won¡¯t be back until at least tomorrow.¡± A¡¯Shun paused before saying: ¡°Then call them now and help me get it back!¡± Uncle Qian said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. My old friend has seen countless treasures in his life. Do you want him to despise your mirror? It¡¯s just you said three days, so I believed it was three days. Now you¡¯re here asking for it back in advance. What am I supposed to say? I¡¯ll look untrustworthy in front of my old friend. He may just cut off contact with me in the future!¡± A¡¯Shun said anxiously: ¡°But I found a buyer, and I want to sell it now!¡± Uncle Qian tone became displeased: ¡°One or two days later will not make a difference. It¡¯s not like the mirror will turn into glass! Truthfully, according to my speculation, the inscription on the mirror is probably Chinese. If my friend confirms it, let alone that number you¡¯re offered, it can go beyond twice as much! Don¡¯t want to know how much it¡¯s truly worth so you can raise the price higher?¡± When A¡¯Shun heard this, a look of hesitation appeared on his face. Uncle Qian waved his hand: ¡°Okay, listen to me on this. Come back tomorrow morning. I¡¯ll return it intact to you!¡± The shop curtain was opened, and a heat wave rushed in from the outside, blowing away the coolness in the room from the air conditioning. Two people walked in. ¡°Mr. Zheng, how is it?¡± The other party was wearing a suit and didn¡¯t seem like he was there to shop around for antiques. Rather, he looked like an urban white-collar worker. A¡¯Shun turned his head and smiled: ¡°Mr. Li, unfortunately, that thing is not in this shop right now.¡± The other party frowned: ¡°Why?¡± A¡¯Shun said: ¡°It has been sent for appraisal, but I¡¯ll have it back soon. How about we meet here tomorrow in the early morning to make our deal?¡± The other party said categorically: ¡°No, we want to buy it now, either that or no deal!¡± A¡¯Shun hurriedly said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. There¡¯s much to be examined. Since I received that thing from someone else, it¡¯s hard to distinguish whether it¡¯s genuine or a fake. Experts have to make an appraisal first. This is also my responsibility to the customer. Otherwise, when you get it later and claim that it¡¯s fake and want me to give you a refund, that¡¯ll put me in a difficult situation. Don¡¯t you think this is reasonable?¡± Mr. Li¡¯s expression was indifferent as he said: ¡°I have an early flight tomorrow. Since I had the intention to buy it, I will definitely not regret it. If you can¡¯t get it out now, then I¡¯m sorry, we can only give up on this deal.¡± ¡°Wait a minute! Wait a minute!¡± Seeing the other party turned around to leave, A¡¯Shun rushed towards him to grab him, but it seems as if Mr. Li have eyes behind his back. Before A¡¯Shun could touch him, he had already withdrawn his hand to avoid him. ¡°Uncle Qian, ask your friend to bring it back!¡± A¡¯Shun urged. Uncle Qian pretended: ¡°Okay, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll go in and make the call. You wait here!¡± He gave Dong Zhi a wink: ¡°Nephew, look after the store for me.¡± Dong Zhi followed up smoothly: ¡°En, go ahead!¡± While Uncle Qian hadn¡¯t told him in advance about this, Dong Zhi still pretended with him and acted dumbfounded. As Uncle Qian turn around and went to the back room, A¡¯Shun was trying to appease Mr. Li and the other person with him, however, their faces remained cold and unmoved, and they didn¡¯t bother looking around the shop at the other antiques. Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Sirs, we have other antiques in our shop. The goods are genuine. Why don¡¯t you browse around and see if there¡¯s anything you like? The price is quite favorable.¡± Mr. Li said arrogantly: ¡°We¡¯re not interested in the things you have here.¡± Dong Zhi put on his shopkeeper hat and enthusiastically promoted: ¡°Look at this sword. It¡¯s a sword of Sun Quan during the Three Kingdoms period. It¡¯s very famous so it¡¯s definitely not a fake replica!¡± Hearing Sun Quan¡¯s name, Mr. Li stepped forward and to look at it before showing an expression of disdain. ¡°Sun Zhongmou1 has two swords, named Qiangu Sword2 and the Wangu Dagger3. At best this sword is just an ordinary sword so I have no want for it.¡± 1Sun Quan¡¯s courtesy name (Zhongmou). 2(ǧ¹Å½£) Eternal Sword. 3(Íò¹Åµ¶) Everlasting Dagger. Dong Zhi ignored his remark and said with a smile: ¡°Of course, if it were the Qiangu Sword, it would¡¯ve been sent to a museum for exhibition. How could such an item be in our shop?¡± Mr. Li sneered: ¡°It may not be all in museums, right? Aren¡¯t many cultural relics destroyed by Chinese people?¡± Dong Zhi pretended to be surprised: ¡°Aren¡¯t you Chinese?¡± Mr. Li snorted coldly, neither admitting nor denying it. Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°When it comes to the protection of cultural relics, we are definitely not as good as Japan. Swords of this era are abundant in China. When there are too many cultural relics, it¡¯s inevitable that their protection will be inadequate. Unlike Japan, a sword more than 2,000 years can also be regarded as an artifact!¡± Mr. Li glanced at him coldly: ¡°Young man, beware of the misinformation coming out of your mouth!¡± His attitude more or less confirmed Dong Zhi¡¯s guess that these two people were indeed Japanese and that this Mr. Li, most likely isn¡¯t surnamed Li either. Uncle Qian¡¯s previous judgement was correct. These two Japanese people wanted to buy the bronze mirror, and Dong Zhi boldly speculated that these two people are not the true end-buyers. While speaking, Uncle Qian came out from the back room and apologized. ¡°I¡¯m really sorry. The other party is out of town and won¡¯t be back until tomorrow night at the earliest. Perhaps you can come over tomorrow night? The mirror will be here then. How about it?¡± He blinked innocently as his mouth spew nonsense. A¡¯Shun said anxiously: ¡°Is your friend reliable?¡± Uncle Qian gave him a blank look: ¡°I told you, my old friend is not short of on money. If he loses the mirror, I¡¯ll pay you five million, alright?!¡± A¡¯Shun looked at Mr. Li: ¡°Well¡­?¡± Mr. Li frowned: ¡°Wait a minute, I¡¯ll make a call.¡± A¡¯Shun hurriedly said: ¡°Great!¡± Uncle Qian said to Dong Zhi: ¡°Don¡¯t you have to go back to school? Hurry now and go!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Then I¡¯m leaving first, uncle. Remember to go to our house for lunch tomorrow at noon!¡± Uncle Qian waved his hand: ¡°Got it!¡± The street where the antique shop is located on is on a pedestrian road. Vehicles were not allowed to enter so Dong Zhi walked towards the road in order to catch a taxi. As he walked, he took out his phone and sent Long Shen a message, saying that he had obtained a bronze mirror for Uncle Qian and there were inscriptions on it so Uncle Qian had asked him to take to it back to him so he can have a look. When he sent the message out, he switched his phone back to the main interface and heard rapid footsteps coming behind him. Thinking the other party was in a hurry, Dong Zhi turned aside and looked up. At this moment, there was a tingling on the back of his neck and the scene in front of him immediately blurred. His shoulder was picked up while he heard an affectionate greeting come into his ears: ¡°Cousin, it¡¯s been so long since I saw you!¡± The tone of the voice has a sense of familiarity that it was almost as if it was truly greeting his cousin! Dong Zhi realized that his opponent¡¯s intention must be related to the bronze mirror, but before he could shout for help, his thoughts fell into complete darkness. Passersby glanced at him quicky but at most they only saw what seemed to be like someone who just met an acquaintance and was quickly pulled into a car. Very few people would notice that something was off with this kind of scene. ¡ª Dong Zhi tried moving his wrist. It hurt a bit. His consciousness slowly returned. He wanted to open his eyes but felt something covering them. He found that he was blindfolded, and his hands were tied. There was a faint noise coming from outside, seemingly as if it was passing through some kind of barrier. He surmised he must be in a separate room. Did the two Japanese people tie him up? The bronze mirror should¡¯ve been taken away by them too. But if they only needed the bronze mirror, why kidnap him and tie him up? Questions filled his thoughts one by one. Before he had a chance to think about it for too long, he heard the sound of a door opening. Dong Zhi hurriedly remained motionless, pretending to still be unconscious. ¡°I took the mirror. What are we going to do with this kid?¡± Someone said. ¡°Mr. Otowa wants to keep an eye on him.¡± The voice sounded this time was Mr. Li. He no longer disguised his voice and as his words were blunt. Dong Zhi was now certain that this guy is Japanese. But the name Mr. Otowa¡­ why does it sound so familiar? ¡°What does Mr. Otowa want with him?¡± ¡°That¡¯s not something Mr. Lin can ask.¡± The door opened again, and someone else came in. Dong Zhi heard the sound of a bottle of wine pouring into a glass and guessed that someone had brought wine in. As the door opened there seemed to be sounds of men and women laughing in the distance. He guessed that he should be held in some kind of¡­ entertainment club? ¡°Go out.¡± This came from the man who just entered. ¡°Yes.¡± The sound of footsteps as heard, followed by the sound of a door closing. The man sneered: ¡°Don¡¯t forget, it was I who brought you news of the bronze mirror!¡± Mr. Li said: ¡°Mr. Otowa will naturally keep in mind Mr. Lin¡¯s friendship, but we have also paid you handsomely. This should be enough to satisfy you, no?¡± The person surnamed Lin said: ¡°The reward is for the bronze mirror, one size to one size*. This kid belongs to the Special Administration Bureau. I can¡¯t just let you take him away. Otherwise, the Special Administration Bureau will come to my door and settle accounts! Are you asking me to be your scapegoat?!¡± *(Ò»Âë¹éÒ»Âë) Saying referring to two things that should not be confused with each other/need to be looked at separately. Has his identity been discovered? Dong Zhi was shocked but then immediately thought that after he was unconscious, his body most likely would¡¯ve been searched all over, which means they most likely found his temporary access card to the Special Administration Building and if this is the case then the other party most likely knows that he¡¯s a practitioner as well. Mr. Li said: ¡°Last time someone from the Secret Service seriously injured Mr. Fujikawa and his disciple, which we have a lot of grievances for. Mr. Otowa said that he wanted to make an example to warn the Special Administration Bureau. However, for Mr. Lin¡¯s sake, we can let him go, as long as you help us unlock the secret on the bronze mirror.¡± Dong Zhi finally remembered who the Japanese man that he saw in his clairvoyance that time is! It¡¯s the middle-aged man name Mr. Otowa, Otowa Hatsuhiko, the president of the Otowa Conglomerate! When they were in Changbai Mountain, among the people who were with Master Fujikawa, there was also a man name Aso Kenzo, the president of the Aso Consortium. In order to catch a bigger fish, they deliberately let Fujikawa and his apprentice go, so they can spy on them secretly when they returned to Japan. Sure enough, they found Aso¡¯s benefactor was Otowa Hatsuhiko and they had been in contact with each other multiple times before and after the Changbai Mountain incident. With what he knew now, he can conclude that how the Japanese knew about the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain, and about the bronze mirror, is all related to Otowa Hatsuhiko. He didn¡¯t know any other identities of Otowa Hatsuhiko would have besides being a business mogul, but Long Shen and the others must know this information¡­ Thinking about this, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but inwardly smiled bitterly. He didn¡¯t know if he could even go back to them. The conversation between the two continued. The person surnamed Lin yelled: ¡°What wishful thinking. Why should I help you find the secret to this bronze mirror in exchange for this kid?! Our cooperation is over. What does it have to do with me if you want to kill, cut, or do whatever you want with him?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help feeling anxious. The person surnamed Li didn¡¯t know him, but Master Fujikawa certainly does. He absolutely wouldn¡¯t forget the trouble that he had cause them on Changbai Mountain, and the girl named Kitaichi Eiko assuredly wants to kill him. His fate will not end well if he falls into their hands. ¡°But¡­¡± Lin¡¯s voice lengthened. Dong Zhi¡¯s hope rekindled. Lin: ¡°You can¡¯t kill people on Chinese territory. If you want to kill him, you have to take him back to Japan before you can off him.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Mr. Li agreed without much thought: ¡°Naturally, of course. Mr. Lin has given us face, so we have to repay in kind.¡± The person surnamed Lin suddenly chuckled: ¡°Brother, did you work hard pretending to be unconscious?¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart missed half a beat. The next second, the black cloth on his eyes was torn away! His eyes that had become accustomed to the darkness, squinted involuntarily under the sudden light. Dong Zhi blinked several times to control the tears that wanted to flow out of his eyes. He looked around and saw that he seems to be in a private room. There was chandelier above him and the decorations in the room looked gorgeous. He sat on one end of a sofa while the other two people sat at the other end. One was Mr. Li, and the other was a strange young man dressed in a tuxedo, looking at him with a smile. He looked as if he was well prepared and was seemingly waiting for him to yell for help. Dong Zhi looked innocently at them: ¡°Hi*?¡± *Clarity: he says this in English. The young man chuckled. Mr. Li lowered his face: ¡°Mr. Lin, didn¡¯t he get a sufficient dose of the drug?¡± The young man shrugged: ¡°You are all going to take him away. Does it really matter what he hears?¡± Seeing his opportunity, Dong Zhi interjected: ¡°Mr. Lin, I will not bore you with empty words about family and country. Since you know I¡¯m from the Special Administration Bureau and the bronze mirror has nothing to do with you, there¡¯s no need to hold me captive, right? The leaders will soon know about my disappearance. When the time comes for them to investigate, you won¡¯t be able to get rid of their suspicion. It¡¯s better to let me go and I¡¯ll do my best to help you get what you want.¡± Mr. Lin sighed and shook his head: ¡°You can¡¯t help me. They have what I want in their hands. Anyways, I didn¡¯t kill you, nor did I take the mirror. I just provided the information. Injustice has a head and a master. If you become a ghost, remember to settle accounts with them, not me.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ The more he looked at the persons surnamed Lin, the more he felt he looks similar to someone. Dong Zhi suddenly asked: ¡°Do you know Lin Jun?¡± The other party was a little surprised: ¡°You know Lin Jun?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Last time I went to Yangcheng to do business, I met him. Our friendship is pretty good.¡± Of course, this was simply an exaggeration. Lin Jun works for the Guangzhou office and was very enthusiastic about their ¡°friendship¡±, especially since he considered Dong Zhi a ¡°rising star¡±, who¡¯s likely to join the General Administration Bureau, so the two did keep in contact after the Yangcheng incident. The other party smiled and said: ¡°What a coincidence. I am Lin Jun¡¯s cousin. You can call me Lin Xuan.¡± Dong Zhi frowned and said: ¡°Lin Jun is also from the Special Administration Bureau, but you¡¯re cooperating with the Japanese. Is the Lin family of Lingnan so two-faced?¡± Lin Xuan smiled and said to Mr. Li: ¡°He and my cousin are friends. We should forget about it. Besides, you got your mirror.¡± Mr. Li said bluntly: ¡°No! He knows too much. If the Special Administration Bureau knows that the mirror is in our hands, it would cause a lot of trouble. I have to take him away now. You don¡¯t have to worry about it. Mr. Otowa will send someone to deliver the things you want as well as your compensation.¡± Lin Xuan raised out his hand helplessly to Dong Zhi: ¡°Well you heard him. He doesn¡¯t want to, and I¡¯ve tried my best. Remember his face so when you plan to seek revenge, don¡¯t haunt the wrong person.¡± The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°Are you not afraid of affecting Lin Jun¡¯s career?¡± Lin Xuan smiled and said: ¡°Since you have met my cousin, you should know what kind of person he is. He¡¯s bombastic yet he¡¯s just ordinary. Even without me, he¡¯ll be kicked out sooner or later¡­¡± The man surnamed Li became impatient listening to their prattle, so he stretched out his hand towards Dong Zhi, intending to grab him. Dong Zhi had already secretly broken the rope behind his back and was pretending as if he was still bound. Seeing Mr. Li¡¯s movement at this moment, he naturally couldn¡¯t pretend any longer, so he quickly took out a Sunlight Talisman from his pocket and threw it at his opponent! Everything happened within a flash, before a question popped into his mind: ¡®Since Lin Xuan had searched him, why did he still have a Sunlight Talisman on him?¡¯ He didn¡¯t have time to think about the answer. The talisman turned into fire and flew towards Mr. Li¡¯s face causing him to take a half step back. Dong Zhi took this opportunity to rush to the door! He didn¡¯t bring the Changshou Sword out today. Since he was having a meal, and only temperorairly wanted to visit Uncle Qian, he thought having a sword on him was too eye-catching. He didn¡¯t expect that something like this would happen to him, but if the Changshou Sword was here, it would¡¯ve been found and taken away when he was searched. At that moment, many thoughts flashed in his mind, and it finally boiled down to one: ¡®Can he hold on until reinforcements come?¡¯ He didn¡¯t notice that Lin Xuan remained seated on the sofa the entire time, lowering his head to drink tea, as if he didn¡¯t witness the scene that just happened right in front of him. He neither stopped Dong Zhi, nor help the person surnamed Li chase him. ¡ª When Long Shen received the text message from Dong Zhi, he didn¡¯t pay much attention to it. Old Qian from the antique shop often asks him for his help on identifying antiques, so it wasn¡¯t unusual. However, an hour later, Old Qian called and asked if he had received the mirror, and Long Shen found that something was wrong. He tried calling Dong Zhi, but it didn¡¯t connect, and he didn¡¯t respond back to his text messages either. It¡¯s absolutely impossible for Dong Zhi to have run away with the mirror. The only answer remain is that he had been taken away and was in an involuntary situation. Long Shen didn¡¯t delay for a moment, and immediately mobilized the surveillance team. It was easy to find the surveillance footage based off the time when Dong Zhi had sent him that text message. The quality of the video wasn¡¯t high. It showed a vague image of a person stepping forward to hold Dong Zhi on the shoulder then taking him into the car. From the video, it looks as if he just met a friend and followed him, but a professional can easily tell that something was off. ¡°He was knocked out and taken away!¡± Song Zhicun, who watch the video with him, exclaimed. Long Shen said to the employees of the IT department of the bureau: ¡°The license plate number can be clearly seen. Run it through our system.¡± The employees did not dare neglect their work and hurriedly ran the plates to dig up information. Song Zhicun comforted him: ¡°Don¡¯t worry too much. According to Old Qian, they most likely just want the bronze mirror and wouldn¡¯t hurt him.¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t lose his demeanor, but Song Zhicun knew that Dong Zhi is a promising candidate for group one and two, and now he was suddenly kidnapped. Such a thing was quite upsetting. What¡¯s more, Dong Zhi could be considered at least half a member of the Special Administration Bureau, but he had made it clear that he wanted to join the Special Administration Bureau cleanly and had not once taken advantage of this fact. It was clear that he wanted to join fairly and was whole heartedly intended to pursue this to the very end. Once the state machinery was in operation, the efficiency was not surprising. The license plate number came back, and the location of the car was quickly obtained. The plate was registered in the name of a company that engages in cultural industry, or bluntly put, an entertainment club. The legal owner is surnamed Yue, which is a rare surname, but as far as Long Shen knows, it¡¯s the surname of the wife of Lin Ji, the head of the Lin family of Lingnan. They also traced the destination of the car to the entertainment club. If they really wanted to, the Lin family can definitely kidnap someone seamlessly without leaving this many flaws, however, since this incident happened so suddenly, it was too late to analyze it. Long Shen immediately got up and walked out. Song Zhicun hurriedly grabbed him: ¡°Boss Long, are you just going to waltz in their front door?¡± ¡°Perhaps Dong Zhi and the bronze mirror are there.¡± Long Shen said. Song Zhicun hesitated and said: ¡°The Lin family of Lingnan has many contacts. Could it be someone is pretending to be them? Shouldn¡¯t we report to the boss first?¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°For this matter, the sooner we act the better.¡± Song Zhixuan wanted to say something, but Long Shen had already walked out. ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll come with you!¡± Song Zhicun shouted, feeling that Long Shen was too impatient. However, he also knew very well how ignorant Director Jiang is and would love to report to the upper level. However, by the time instructions would come down, the cucumber would already be cold. In this regard, Long Shen and Wu Bingtian have always done better than him, who usually stick closer to the rules. He bitterly smiled inwardly and hurriedly walked out. ¡°Boss Song!¡± Chi Banxia came running from the other end of the corridor, panting: ¡°I have a question I want to ask you. Is it convenient for you?¡± Song Zhicun waved his hand: ¡°We can talk in the car. Let¡¯s go!¡± Chi Banxia followed in confusion. At this time, Dong Zhi was embroiled in a battle. He didn¡¯t expect that when he rushed out of the room, it was just the start. There were more than a dozen people guarding outside the door. Up to six of them seemed to be from the same group as the person surnamed Li. Said person shouted a few words in Japanese loudly and suddenly they all pounced on him. Lin Xuan¡¯s people stood at the side and did not intervene, as they didn¡¯t plan to help Dong Zhi nor the Japanese. The club was extremely large. What¡¯s even more troublesome was the passages were built like a maze. Through seven and eight twists and turns, he still caught no signage. If guests were to come here and were not guided by the staff, it¡¯s estimated that they would never find a way out. He panicked as he didn¡¯t know which way to go, so he could only randomly choose a random spot and rushed in as the other party was in hot pursuit. The Sunlight Talisman and Thunder Talismans are powerful at dealing with demons and ghosts, but completely useless at handling ordinary humans. If he had known he would be kidnapped and trapped here, he should have learned a few more tricks from Ba Sang! But then again, even if he can match four palms with both fists*, against this current number, he most likely can only admit defeat. *Reminder: The original idiom is two fists can¡¯t match four palms and referring to being outnumbered. He changed the wording a bit to say he can fight against more than 1 but even in that situation, he certainly can¡¯t defeat 6 people, so he¡¯s still outnumbered. The most hateful person though isn¡¯t the Japanese, but Lin Xuan. He didn¡¯t know what kind of benefit the Japanese has given him, but he actually turned his elbows out* to help outsiders attack his own people. *(¸ì²²ÖâÍùÍâ¹Õ) Has a derogatory meaning referring to selfishness/a person who can¡¯t tell right from wrong while the positive meaning is selflessness. Obviously, he¡¯s referring to the former. While running, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help imagining the soles of his feet stepping on Lin Xun¡¯s head so he could greet the cats, dogs, rabbits, and turtles. Kinky Thoughts: Dong Zhi sure can bear a grudge. Don¡¯t worry, your hubby is coming to rescue you! CH 51 He couldn¡¯t run anymore as he had hit a dead end. At the end of the corridor was a side hall with a screen tea table and a shrine dedicated to Lord Guan Yu hanging on the wall. Everything was arranged in an ancient style. It is said that in Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan, many people, especially businessman, like to worship Guan Yu to ward off evil. Even casinos regarded him as the god of wealth. Considering this place is owned by the Lin family of Lingnan, it wasn¡¯t surprising that a shrine worshiping him was here. Catching site of the statute cause Dong Zhi¡¯s heart to inadvertently be moved. You can only use a dead horse as a living horse doctor*! *(ËÀÂíµ±×÷»îÂíÒ½) Idiom referring to you know things are hopeless, but you still hold onto a glimmer of hope. Usually refers to as making a final attempt. He found the unlit incense from the lattice nearby, lit it with a lighter, and bowed respectfully to the statue. ¡°I, Dong Zhi, disciple of the Hezao Sect, sincerely implore the virtuous, loyal, and Righteous Gods, the gods of martial arts, the benevolent, valiant, and mighty emperor Guan Sheng to come down and help this disciple!¡± Zhong Yuyi had taught them the benefits of familiarizing themselves with known historical figures of the world. If they were not familiar with the information, it would be impossible to memorize the complete seal for the Second Master Guan*. *Another name for Guan Yu. Due to his brave and loyal image, he¡¯s often honored by people as Second master of Guan. Zhong Yu once said that when statues are worshipped by people, it will have more or less a spirit. For example, police stations in Hong Kong enshrined the Second Master, as such a place in it of itself has a murderous aura which would naturally attract evil spirits, but they cannot enter due to the Second Master¡¯s blessing. As for whether the spirit of this statue in this kind of entertainment club exist, Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t certain, but in such a critical moment like this, he can only give it a shot. The incense curled and the statue on the shrine looked as if it was twisting its beard with a knife, while looking at him with long and narrow phoenix eyes, seemingly unresponsive. The sound of footsteps behind him was getting closer and he had nowhere to hide, causing his heart to sink. Dong Zhi held his breath and concentrated, letting go of his thoughts and abandoned all the noise from the outside world. Suddenly, his eyes darkened! His body seemed to have been hit hard by something, but it seemed as if it was just an illusion. He remained where he was standing, but his hands and feet were being disobedient. He could clearly ¡°see¡± himself slowly inserting three incense sticks in his hand into the incense burner, then he turned around quickly to face the chasers. The feeling was weird. He is still him, but he had lost all autonomy of his body and was replaced by another force. Seeing that he was cornered, several of the Japanese men laughed at him as the person surnamed Li slowly walked forward. ¡°Please come with us.¡± ¡°What if I say no?¡± Dong Zhi ¡°heard¡± himself say. Mr. Li: ¡°Then pardon us for being rude.¡± Dong Zhi said slowly: ¡°I will not kill the nameless. Report your names.¡± Several of the Japanese men looked at each other, as if they had heard some big joke. The person surnamed Li said: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter so I¡¯ll tell you. My name is Otowa Saburo.¡± Dong Zhi wanted to ask if he¡¯s connected to Otowa Hatsuhiko, but while his mouth opened and closed, the sound he wished to utter did not follow as he wanted. ¡°Japanese people dare to be so presumptuous?¡± Otowa Saburo chuckled: ¡°Mr. Dong, there is a word in your country called zhuang bi*. It seems that it describes people like you. You don¡¯t have to pretend to be brave in fear of death. Don¡¯t worry, you won¡¯t be able to die until Mr. Otowa sees you,¡± *Pretending to be B [Zhuang bi/B] (×°±Æ or ×°B) Has two meanings. 1. Refers to self-satisfaction or even deceitful behavior of showing off and contriving to gain vanity, but actually lacks abilities. Stupid people often think they are smarter than others (AKA Dunning-Kruger effect). 2. Refers to pretending to hide one¡¯s talent and is actually very capable underneath. Smart people tend to think they are dumber than others. || I¡¯ll be leaving it pinyin because of the next footnote. Note: it¡¯s called B or 13 instead of [bi] (±Æ) sometimes to avoid vulgar language as [bi] (±Æ) translates to cunt. Having said that, he waved his hand and ordered: ¡°Catch him!¡± Several people swarmed up to up and Otowa Saburo quickly realized how ridiculously wrong he was. The other party wasn¡¯t putting on a front as he wasn¡¯t really bluffing*. *Clarity: As explain above, [zhuang bi] has two meanings. So, while Otowa Saburo was referring to the number 1 meaning, ironically it turns out to be number 2. Just as several people tried to grab Dong Zhi, his wrists turned, and a white light suddenly appeared in his hands. Dong Zhi waved at them with it and several famous warriors in the judo world were beaten to pieces in an instant. Otowa Saburo didn¡¯t even see how they had fallen. He couldn¡¯t believe the sight before his eyes. If the opponent had been this powerful earlier, he wouldn¡¯t have fallen into their hands. Despite his shock, his reflexes were still quick. When the white light blasted over to him, he leaned back just in time to avoid it, rolling to the ground. He grabbed Dong Zhi¡¯s ankle, wanting to pull him down, but Dong Zhi took advantage of the situation and spined his legs, kicking him in the waist. He flew back and landed firmly onto the ground. Otowa Saburo was extremely agitated. After he curse and swore, he rushed up again with bloodshot eyes, while his hand reached for the gun hanging by his waist. He unlocked the safety and pointed it at the expressionless Dong Zhi, then suddenly pulled the trigger. Bang! ¡ª The demeanor of Long Shen and the others were different from that of ordinary guests. As soon as they came in, they were noticed by the lobby manager who hurriedly reported it to Lin Xuan. Seeing that they were up to no good, he stopped them from entering. As the atmosphere got more tense, Lin Xuan arrived. ¡°Isn¡¯t this Boss Long and Boss Song? I¡¯ve heard so much about you for a long time. It¡¯s a pleasure to finally meet you. How can this little temple be blessed with two great gods at once?¡± He smiled and bowed with his hands: ¡°This club has not opened yet, but when it does, I¡¯ll be sure to invite the two of you-¡± Long Shen interrupted him: ¡°Where¡¯s Dong Zhi?¡± Lin Xuan¡¯s smile remained the same: ¡°I¡¯m not understanding. What winter and summer solstice*?¡± *Clarity: Remember, Dong Zhi¡¯s name means winter solstice, so he¡¯s pretending that Long Shen is referring to the winter solstice. Long Shen looked at him coldly, his eyes full of murderous intent. The lobby manager on the side couldn¡¯t help but shuddered and took two steps back, but Lin Xuan was still motionless and continue to greet him with a smile. If such an incident hadn¡¯t happened, Long Shen would¡¯ve look at him quite highly. Song Zhicun eased the situation and said: ¡°Mr. Little Lin1, I also have some friendship with Mr. Lin1. Furthermore, Lin Jun is a working member of the Special Administration Bureau. With this in mind, we¡¯re not enemies so if you know-¡± *Clarity: He¡¯s calling him Little [Xiao] (С) because the second Mr. Lin is referring to the patriarch of the Lin family. Before he finished speaking, a gunshot was heard from inside! Everyone faces changed colors. Lin Xuan cursed his own mother and strode towards the source of the gunfire while others hurriedly followed. When many guests heard the gunshot, they all ran out one after another and bumped into Lin Xuan who was walking towards it. Some people directly grabbed him and asked: ¡°Little Lin, what the hell is going on?!¡± Lin Xuan angrily said: ¡°That¡¯s what I fucking want to know! This here is a legitimate place of business, and I have no hidden weapons or firearms!¡± With that said, he knew in his heart that the gunfire must have something to do with the Japanese. If he knew that they would dare shoot on his own territory, he shouldn¡¯t have brought them here. It was better to have found an abandoned factory and just throw them all there. That would¡¯ve saved him a lot of trouble. When they arrived at the scene of the crime, everyone was stunned. Otowa Saburo fell to the ground while holding a gun in his hand, but there was a black hole in the middle of his forehead with blood seeping out. He was dead. The surrounding Japanese were either injured or dead, as they all laid on the ground motionless. Everyone looked in horror at Dong Zhi who was standing there. ¡°How did this-¡± Lin Xuan was about to step forward, when he was shoved to the side. Long Shen saw at a glance that something was wrong with Dong Zhi. Not only was his expression too cold, but the way he was looking at them wasn¡¯t like they were acquaintance, let alone a living person. Under such gaze, it seems to deem all things are dead. This look was not human. Seeing as Dong Zhi was motionless, a Japanese quietly stretched out his hand, reaching for the gun around his waist. Before he had the opportunity to touch the gun, pain filled his wrist as he suddenly screamed. ¡°Dong Zhi!¡± Song Zhicun couldn¡¯t help but shouted. He watched in horror as the white light flashed in Dong Zhi¡¯s hand towards the Japanese man¡¯s wrist. Long Shen said in a deep voice: ¡°I don¡¯t know which Righteous God is here, but please forgive our rudeness. These are all Japanese thieves, and we are here to arrest them. We ask O¡¯Righteous God1 to please raise your hand2. 1Clarity: Long Shen is referring to him as [Zhengshen] which means a true formal god. The translated term ¡°Righteous¡± doesn¡¯t refer to morally upright/virtuous but to the god being a rightful god of worship (think God in Christianity or Zeus in Greek mythology ect.). Because he¡¯s addressing him as ¡°Righteous God¡± some sentence in English (like this one for example) will awkward unless I add in an O/Oh at the beginning. 2(¸ß̧¹óÊÖ) A polite expression that means please raise your hand and have mercy to let people pass by. It¡¯s to express politely when seeking forgiveness and accommodation from the other party. Chi Banxia felt uncomfortable when she heard Deputy Director Long¡¯s words, but what surprised her even more was the change in Dong Zhi. Hearing Long Shen¡¯s words, Dong Zhi¡¯s indifferent eyes finally reacted a little. He said slowly: ¡°Since you¡¯re from the official government, it should be handed over to you then.¡± Long Shen¡¯s gaze swept past the shrine next to him and cupped his hand and said: ¡°Thank you O¡¯Righteous God. Please return to the Great Emperor Guan Sheng.¡± Dong Zhi nodded slowly. Chi Banxia¡¯s mouth dropped wide open. She found that Dong Zhi¡¯s voice was very strange, as if there was another person talking through him, and the tone was overlapping like an echo. It was exactly the same as that day when Zhong Yuyi invited a God. Dong Zhi returned Long Shen¡¯s salute with his own. ¡°I am Guan Er*, and I dare not call myself a great emperor in front of a destined person.¡± *Clarity: Another name referring to Guan Yu. Long Shen said: ¡°We¡¯ll finish this matter and deal with the aftermath, so we won¡¯t bother you O¡¯Righteous God anymore.¡± Dong Zhi nodded, then his body suddenly shook slightly and fell limp. Long Shen reached out hand and hugged his waist as he steadied him. ¡°Lin Xuan, now we can talk.¡± A Japanese has died in an entertainment club run by the Lin family. Lin Xuan didn¡¯t kill him, but he would inevitably be associated with it. Even if Long Shen and the Bureau didn¡¯t hold him accountable, the Japanese definitely will. When he sat in the conference room with Long Shen and the others, his expression wasn¡¯t as calm as he had put on at the beginning and was even a little ugly. ¡°I know what you are going to ask, but I am only responsible for helping them inquire about the whereabouts of the bronze mirror and sending a car to take them over. As for other matters, I did not participate in any of them. I don¡¯t have the things and people you are looking for.¡± Song Zhicun voice was ugly: ¡°There are people dead, and the mirror is now lost, yet you dare claim to hold no responsibility? Old Lin is an upright man, yet why is his son so irresponsible?¡± Lin Xuan said indifferently: ¡°My dad is my dad, and I am me. As things are getting messy, this club will be closed for a period of time, and I have nothing to do with it!¡± Song Zhicun narrowed his smile: ¡°You must know the purpose of those Japanese people and the whereabouts of the mirrors. As long as you are willing to cooperate, you can redeem some merits, and we will no longer hold the Lin family accountable. Lin Xuan, now that the two of us are talking to you, there is still room for things to change. If you wait until the top comes forward, you won¡¯t be sitting here. I heard that your business has been booming in the past few years. Presumably you don¡¯t even know how deep this goes. Stealing and selling cultural relics, kidnapping, even if you¡¯re just an accomplice, it¡¯s still enough to implicate you! What¡¯s more, there are still a few Japanese who are alive. Even if you don¡¯t speak, we can ask them.¡± Lin Xuan was silent for a moment: ¡°The mirror was really taken away by Otowa Saburo¡¯s accomplices, but I guess they didn¡¯t rush to leave the country so they should still be in China.¡± Long Shen: ¡°What¡¯s so special about that bronze mirror?¡± Lin Xuan: ¡°I only know that the Japanese value that mirror very much, but they can¡¯t interpret the text above, so they went to Guizhou to hire a sorcerer.¡± Long Shen frowned: ¡°Text to the dead?¡± Lin Xuan nodded: ¡°The mirror should have some secrets. I can help you track down the whereabouts of the Japanese and the mirror, but I want one thing.¡± Song Zhicun: ¡°What?¡± Lin Xuan: ¡°Dragon scales or bone. Doesn¡¯t matter which part as long as it¡¯s part of a dragon. I heard that last time in Changbai Mountain, you subdued a bone dragon.¡± Song Zhicun answered without having to even think about it: ¡°Impossible! That bone dragon has been handed over to the state!¡± Lin Xuan spread up his hands: ¡°Since Boss Song has no choice, then I also have no choice.¡± Long Shen asked: ¡°What do you want it for?¡± Lin Xuan was silent for a while before saying: ¡°Medicine.¡± A few years ago, Lin Xuan¡¯s father, Lin Ji, was doing business in Southeast Asia. On the first day he was fine, but then suddenly on the next day, he couldn¡¯t move his limbs. He was sent to the hospital for examination, but the cause couldn¡¯t be found. What¡¯s even more terrifying was that Lin Ji¡¯s body began showing unexplained ulcers. Only then did the Lin family realized something was wrong and immediately sent Lin Ji back to his country and searched for a famous doctor. The Lin family of Lingnan is not a leader in the spiritual world, but they have operated in Lingnan for a long time. Many of their family members have connections to high places and officials, so everyone will more or less give them face. As head of the family, when he befell into this situation, it had sent the Lin family into chaos. An old traditional Chinese medicine doctor felt that Lin Ji¡¯s symptoms did not look like an illness, so he suggested that they find someone else to take a look. There were many practitioners in the Lin family who said that Lin Ji seemed to have been hit with a curse, so the Lin family asked the Nanchi family from Shanghai for help. Chi Banxia¡¯s father came forward to help Lin Ji and confirmed that he was indeed cursed, but the trouble was that he did not know what kind of curse. He said there are many schools of witchcraft in Southeast Asia and different schools have different methods of cursing and blessings. What Lin Ji was afflicted with was not some low-level curse, but the most difficult and vicious called the ghost-faced peach blossom curse. The person who¡¯s cursed with this will consciously watch as his entire body fester and in the end all that remains would be his skeleton. The only way to resolve it would be for the one who cursed him to lift it. However, Chi Chongxing gave Lin Xuan a recipe, saying that it was passed down from the ancestors of the Chi family that could solve all kinds of problems. There was one ingredient that was difficult to get, dragon powder. In other words, they needed any part of a dragon¡¯s body which is then grinded into powder and put into the medicine. The prescription paid attention to the emperor, minister, and envoy* and specifically mentioned to pay special attention to the ¡°emperor¡± in the prescription. Without this, Lin Ji¡¯s curse could not be resolved. *(¾ý³¼×ôʹ) In terms of Chinese medicine, it refers to the arrangement of the relationship between all the ingredients in the medicine. Each ingredient has a part to play and are assigned ¡°importance¡± by their rank (emperor, minister, envoys). || In this context, dragon powder is the ¡°emperor¡± of the prescription and is the crucial ingredient they need. Lin Xuan said: ¡°At first, I thought Chi Chongxing was playing tricks on me when he asked me if I could find a part of a dragon¡¯s body. The news that I was looking for this medicine spread to the ears of the Japanese who sent someone to me and said that they could give me a dragon scale, on the condition that I help find the whereabouts of the bronze mirror.¡± He took out the prescription he carried with him. ¡°This prescription was written to me by Chi Chongxing.¡± Long Shen looked at Chi Banxia. Chi Banxia understood, took it for a look, nodded, and said: ¡°This is indeed my father¡¯s handwriting.¡± Lin Xuan raised his eyebrows showing a look of surprise: ¡°It turns out you¡¯re Chi Chongxing¡¯s daughter.¡± Chi Banxia said: ¡°Ghost-faced peach blossoms curse is very rare. I have also heard from my family about you.¡± Lin Xuan motioned his hands: ¡°Since Miss Chi have proven that I did not lie, then you should believe it.¡± Song Zhicun frowned and asked: ¡°Where did the Japanese get the dragon scales? Who did they steal from?¡± Lin Xuan laughed: ¡°You have wronged them. Japan used to have dragons, but it was during the Jomon period. One of their three artifacts, the Yasakani-no-Magatama*, was thought to be jade by the people who didn¡¯t know the truth. In fact, it is said to be dragon bone. Moreover, other parts of the dragon are now enshrined in their shrines and imperial palaces.¡± *One of the Three Sacred Treasures of the Imperial Family. It¡¯s a large magatama that¡¯s been handed down for generations. According to Japanese mythology, the jewel was made by Tamanooya and is an object commonly used to demonstrate status for regional rulers in Japan. Song Zhicun: ¡°As you said, dragon scales should not be accessible to ordinary people, let alone you.¡± ¡°It¡¯s true, but Otowa Saburo,¡± Lin Xuan said as he nudged his head towards Dong Zhi who was still sleeping on the sofa: ¡°was killed by him. He was a man under Otowa Hatsuhiko, who is president of the Otowa Conglomerate. I heard that he¡¯s connected to the royal family so how can he not pit me with dragon scales?¡± Song Zhicun snorted: ¡°You speak lightly. Do you know how precious dragons are?¡± Lin Xuan raised his hands: ¡°I know! Now that Otowa Saburo is dead, the Japanese may put the blame on me. Even so, chances are the dragon scales may even fail and I have already suffered heavy losses. A dragon bone is only a drop in the bucket for you, but to me it can save lives. I still remember the pattern on the bronze mirror, so I can draw it for you.¡± Song Zhicun and Long Shen looked at each other, as if considering his suggestion. ¡°I remember the pattern on it¡­¡± A voice suddenly sounded untimely. Dong Zhi moved a little while holding his forehead. His face looked like a tangled ball. His head was in great pain, as if he was being dragged by his hair and was slamming repeatedly against a wall. His ears were buzzing, and he had double vision to the scene in front of him. The center of his brow suddenly became cold, and he opened his eyes with great difficulty to look around. He saw Long Shen stretching out his finger and tapping it on the center between his eyebrows. ¡°How is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s better¡­¡± Dong Zhi said weakly. He reluctantly propped up his body, wanting to sit upright. Long Shen helped him up while holding his arm with one hand. If this was an ordinary time, Dong Zhi would rejoice being in such an intimate position, but he currently didn¡¯t have the strength to notice this. After taking in some breath, he turned to the topic at hand: ¡°I can draw the pattern on the back of the mirror. The difference shouldn¡¯t be too big.¡± Lin Xuan raised his eyebrows and said sarcastically: ¡°Wouldn¡¯t it be difficult for you to remember?¡± Dong Zhi felt a little dizzy and nauseous. This was the aftereffects of inviting a god, especially to someone like him, who never have much experience doing it. Surprisingly, he had invited Second Master Guan, so naturally the sequela would be even more serious. He leaned against Long Shen, caught a few breaths, before slowly saying: ¡°I came from a background of artists. I am more sensitive to patterns. If I want to remember something, I can basically remember up to 70-80% of it. Give me a pen and paper. I can draw the patterns and inscriptions on the mirror. Uncle Qian have also seen the mirror so maybe he can add more details to it.¡± Lin Xuan¡¯s face darkened. Dong Zhi¡¯s words have made him completely lose his bargaining chip. Song Zhicun frowned: ¡°Like I said, it doesn¡¯t matter whether you say it or not, and now you¡¯ve missed your opportunity to cooperate. You can¡¯t escape the charge of kidnapping!¡± Lin Xuan made a quick decision and immediately changed his position. He smiled slightly and said: ¡°I have told you all that I know. I heard that this bronze mirror was unearth in the Northwest. When it was discovered, there were also batches of gold, silver, and jade there so the mirror wasn¡¯t taken seriously at first. After changings multiple hands, it was discovered by the Japanese. They came to me with the pattern that was on the back of the mirror and asked me to help find its whereabouts. In exchanged, I asked someone to inquire about it and only then did I know that it was in the hands of a man named Zheng Shun. The other party had taken the mirror to find Old Qian to get it appraised.¡± ¡°The Japanese found Zheng Shun and wanted to buy it for five million. Zheng Shun immediately went to Old Qian to ask for the mirror back. As a result, the mirror had already fallen into his hands. He probably wanted to bring it back to the Special Administration Bureau, but he was discovered by the Japanese, so they kidnapped him and brought him directly to me. You should all know the rest.¡± Having said that, Lin Xuan spread up his hands and made a helpless expression. Long Shen: ¡°And now the mirror¡¯s in the hands of the Japanese?¡± Lin Xuan nodded: ¡°There are two groups of them. One group took the mirror and left. The other group is the one that was put down by your people just now.¡± Otowa Saburo was directly shot in the head and couldn¡¯t be saved. Everyone knew that he wasn¡¯t stupid enough to take a gun and shoot himself in the temple, but the other Japanese were in a state of disarray and couldn¡¯t explain what happened. Dong Zhi had invited a god into his body so the entire scene was still hazy to him. Even he himself could not explain it clearly. A murderer must pay with his life*. The issue was these people were foreigners and such it can easily cause an international dispute. However, these people were caught related to the smuggling and reselling of cultural relics. Besides, what Dong Zhi did was self-defense. Even if they were investigated, it was the Japanese who are guilty, so they won¡¯t be able to make any waves in the end. *(ɱÈ˳¥Ãü) Saying that part of (ɱÈ˳¥Ãü£¬Ç·Õ®»¹Ç®) A murderer must pay with his life as a debtor pays with money. || In this context, it should be more like an ¡°attempted¡± murderer. The most important thing now is the whereabouts of the mirror. If the Japanese wanted the mirror, there must be more to it than just the patterns. Song Zhicun asked: ¡°What¡¯s so special about that bronze mirror? Why do the Japanese want it so badly?¡± Lin Xuan smiled bitterly: ¡°I really don¡¯t know this. In order for me to help find its whereabouts, the Japanese were willing to give up even a dragon scale. It must be of great significance.¡± While they were talking, pen and paper were brought in. Dong Zhi wanted to reach out to grab them, but Long Shen had already handed it to him. ¡°Don¡¯t push yourself.¡± he said. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Dong Zhi smiled at him. He thought intently for a moment, and then began to draw. Dong Zhi moved quickly, and with a few strokes, he sketched out the general outline. Song Zhicun didn¡¯t ask any more questions, for fear of disturbing his thoughts, and the room was silent. Half an hour passed quickly before Dong Zhi finally stopped writing. ¡°It should probably be like this, there may be some deviations.¡± Lin Xuan had also seen the patterns on the bronze mirror. When he glanced at Dong Zhi¡¯s drawing, he found it was basically everything that was on the original mirror. Even the shadows of the ridges on the mountains were reflected accurately. At the edge of the paintings, there were four symbols that looked like Chinese and English, corresponding in pairs. ¡°What is this?¡± Long Shen pointed to a small black shadow on the painting. Dong Zhi: ¡°It should be patina here. On the other hand, I don¡¯t remember the text very well, and the strokes may be missing.¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± The strokes on it were enough for him to recognize what the characters were. Lin Xuan said sourly: ¡°The Special Administration Bureau is really hiding dragons and tigers! I will never forget this when I catch anyone from there again! Kinky Thoughts: We¡¯re finally done with arc 3. Such a long arc and the others just keeps getting longer¡­ Dong Zhi repaying back his grudge: Lin Xu: I can draw the patterns as long as you negotiate with me. Dong Zhi: Fuck you, I can do it better and for free! (Bonus, I got to snuggle with my hubby too~) Also I big shout out to Crazy Mama for your generous ko-fi donations and support, as well everyone else. Thank you for your support! ¡ª Yasakani-no-Magatama One of the Three Sacred Treasures of the Imperial Family. It¡¯s a large magatama that¡¯s been handed down for generations. According to Japanese mythology, the jewel was made by Tamanooya and is an object commonly used to demonstrate status for regional rulers in Japan. CH 52 Hearing that a murder had taken place, the police soon arrived. Seeing the handover personnel finally came, Song Zhicun got up and introduced himself: ¡°Special Administration Bureau, Song Zhicun. This is Long Shen of the Long Bureau.¡± Ordinary people may not have heard of the Special Administration Bureau, but they aren¡¯t strangers. The leader immediately saluted them: ¡°Boss Song, Boss Long.¡± Song Zhicun nodded: ¡°Those outside are all Japanese. This is a case of smuggling cultural relics. I¡¯ll hand the situation over to you first. I will go through the handover procedures with you later, and then send these guys to you.¡± Naturally, the other party had no objection. Song Zhicun looked at Lin Xuan: ¡°And this is Boss Lin-¡± ¡°I know who the gang leader of the tomb robbers is. I can pretend to be a buyer to contact them and can exposed them. All you need to do then is to bring people to catch them!¡± Lin Xuan¡¯s reaction was extremely quick. As they say, a great man is one who understands the time*. *(ʶʱÎñÕßΪ¿¡½Ü) Refers to a person who can recognize the trend of time and is smart and capable to adapt to them. In front of the knife, he can only be the fish*. The initiative was now in the hands of his opponent. Even if the Lin family has connections to get rid of the suspicion of reselling cultural relics, for the sake of the dragon bone, he had to bow his head to the Special Administration Bureau. *(µ«ÈËΪµ¶ÙÞ,ÎÒΪÓãÈâ) Idiom referring to one¡¯s fate is in the hands of others. Song Zhicun and Long Shen looked at each other. The former pondered for a moment before saying to the person in charged of the handover: ¡°This is Boss Lin. We still have questions to ask him so please give us some time. We¡¯ll send him to you after we finish our questioning.¡± He then said to Lin Xuan: ¡°We can¡¯t make a decision about the dragon bone, but we¡¯ll report it to the higher ups for instructions.¡± This sentence was pure nonsense. Although the bone dragon has been turned over, the Special Administration Bureau made the greatest effort, so they had leeway in private. However, Song Zhicun would definitely not agree on the spot. Lin Xuan also understood this and cupped his hand and bowed: ¡°Then I thank you both.¡± Long Shen looked back at Dong Zhi and wanted to ask him to leave but found that the other party was leaning on the sofa, already asleep while still holding a pen in his hand. He gently took the pen out of Dong Zhi¡¯s hand, who remained motionless, as he continues to slumber. The fatigue could not be concealed between his eyebrows. Long Shen didn¡¯t wake him up. Instead, he picked up his arms and slung it on his shoulder, then carried him on his back and walked out. Song Zhicun didn¡¯t think there wasn¡¯t anything off with Long Shen¡¯s action. Besides, Dong Zhi made great contribution and was able to draw the pattern on the bronze mirror. With this, they can take a more active approach in their investigation. On the contrary, Lin Xuan smiled upon seeing this: ¡°It turns out that the Boss Long values this little brother so much. No wonder he rushed over so quickly!¡± Long Shen glanced at him coldly: ¡°Your cooperation with the Japanese is not resolved yet.¡± Lin Xuan raised his hands: ¡°Yes, yes, of course. I¡¯ll deeply reflect on it!¡± Long Shen said nothing, turned and left. There was a car already waiting at the door. Long Shen put Dong Zhi in the passenger seat and laid him down flat and told the driver to drive slowly, then went to the back seat to sit with Song Zhicun. ¡°How¡¯s it going on those patterns?¡± Song Zhicun asked. Long Shen said: ¡°Four characters*, Phoenix and Helan.¡± *Clarity: It¡¯s two words but in Chinese it¡¯s four characters. Song Zhicun frowned and thought: ¡°Helan¡­ Is this a surname, a first name, or Helan Mountain? That¡¯s right, there¡¯s a bird and a mountain range on the bronze mirror. If the bird corresponds to the Phoenix, then that mountain should be Helan Mountain. Lin Xuan is right. It really is northwest!¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I think that what Phoenix wants to express may not only be the bird, but may have another meaning, such as orientation or location.¡± Song Zhicun said: ¡°Let Lin Xuan get in touch with the other party first. As long as we can find the place where they took the bronze mirror, we should be able to determine the location.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I have an idea.¡± Song Zhicun looked at him. Long Shen: ¡°This is a good opportunity for trial.¡± Song Zhi was a little surprised: ¡°You want them to go to the northwest?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°Those Japanese are so eager to leave with the bronze mirror. They must be looking for something desperately. According to the information revealed on the back of the mirror, their goals and ours are probably the same. Song Zhicun also thought: ¡°According to our information, Aso Kenzo is probably the one who told Master Fujikawa about the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain. He not only provided the information, but he also accompanied him all the way there. Afterwards, he made frequent contact with Otowa Hatsuhiko and Lin Xuan said that the dead Japanese, Otowa Saburo, is a member of the Otowa Conglomerate. In my opinion, there must be a lot of connections here. Perhaps we can take the opportunity to track down the mastermind behind the last incident.¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°Not only that, but there may also be progress on the clues of the stone tablets.¡± Song Zhicun smiled and said: ¡°It seems our decision was right to let the small fish go in order to catch a big one. Now, they are about to make their move again. It¡¯s just that this kind of thing is a bit too risky for a group of green guys who haven¡¯t even finished their training yet.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Do you remember the first training we hosted back then?¡± Song Zhicun sighed: ¡°How can you not remember? It was too tragic. Twenty-five people went deep into the tropical rain forests of Southeast Asia, and only ten people came back in the end. I still remember that among the fifteen who were lost, many were excellent disciples from Mount Longhu and Mount Maoshan.¡± Long Shen: ¡°But their session was also the best one.¡± Song Zhicun: ¡°Indeed. Zhang Hang in group one I can see won¡¯t have an issue being promoted to head of a branch in a few years. There¡¯s also Tang Jing, who¡¯s solely in charged of the South China Branch.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°The more rigorous the training, the more they can grow during a crisis. If they only train here, they¡¯ll always leave room for unpredictable circumstances.¡± Song Zhicun: ¡°I understand what you mean, like the little girl Chi Banxia, I was very optimistic about her, but if she¡¯s still standing like this, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be difficult to make any progress. I will discuss this matter with Boss Wu. As long as the three of us have a unified opinion, it shouldn¡¯t be a big problem.¡± Originally, for the training period for the Special Administration Bureau, there would be a loss rate of personnel each year. This loss refers to the number of deaths of the participants. As long as the death number isn¡¯t too exaggerated it, this was considered normal. True warriors are tempered with blood. A nursery can never raise copper bars and iron bones*, so every session of training would usually result in a few deaths. The only difference between each session is the number of deaths, and this number is in the hands of all the students. To live or to die is their own choice. *Reminder: Metaphor for a very strong body. Also, could refers to a person who can bear heavy responsibility Long Shen looked forward. Dong Zhi was still hunch over quietly asleep, as if he was isolating all the violent storms from his dreams. The slight bumps made by the car were insignificant and could not wake him up from a beautiful dream. In his world, perhaps it was already spring, as the dazzling sun brightly shone on all the blooming flowers. Dong Zhi felt that he had had a long dream. He no longer remembered what he saw or did in his dream, but when he woke up, there was still a smile at the corner of his mouth, as if he had just eaten a lollipop. Even his mental exhaustion was somewhat relieved after a thorough rest. It was the second time he had woke up in Long Shen¡¯s bed, so he was calm this time around. Dong Zhi pushed off the blanket and rolled to the side of the bed, as if he wanted to leave his own mark on it, and then went through his phone. There were many missed messages and phone calls. Uncle Qiong sent a few asking him about his condition. Ba Sang had sent him one inviting him to go to the martial arts hall to practice some martial arts. There was even one from Kan Chaosheng. Kan Chaosheng¡¯s ¡°news¡± were all post about how he¡¯s ¡°so hungry¡±, with zero substance at all. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help laughing. First, he sent a message to Uncle Qian to update him on his well-being, and then replied to Kan Chaosheng: [Are you still in Fuxian Lake?] Kan Chaosheng replied in seconds: [I¡¯m starving to death! When you show up, my body will be cold!] Dong Zhi: [Where are you now? Can you accept express delivery? I will send you something to eat.] Kan Chaosheng instantly sent a bunch of screaming emojis before replying: [Yes! Yes! We¡¯re staying at a resort by the lake!] Then he immediately sent the address. Interacting with him so many times, Dong Zhi felt as if he was taking care of a pet that requires large amount of food. However, if this thought was known to the other party, Kan Chaosheng would definitely explode. Kan Chaosheng: [It¡¯s very troublesome right now and we can¡¯t go back for the time being. Last time, the boss asked us to look around the middle of the lake. I have swum a few laps underwater in the past few days and I really found a group of corpses at the bottom of the lake.¡± Reading this Dong Zhi immediately asked: [What kind of corpses? Can you describe it in detail?] Kan Chaosheng: [He Yu has the photos. I couldn¡¯t take them at that time. They were just a group of underwater corpses, just like living people, but I don¡¯t know why they stuck to the bottom of the water instead of floating up. They all looked like they were pulled in to fill the lake with enough food.] Black lines appeared on Dong Zhi¡¯s face as he thought to himself: ¡®Is all you care about food all day long?¡¯ Kan Chaosheng: [Later, after investigation, it seemed that some corpses had been contaminated by demonic energy.] Dong Zhi: [Why is there demons again? Is the energy of the Archfiend that great?] Kan Chaosheng: [It¡¯s not necessarily an Archfiend! There are many demons and monsters in the world. Archfiends are very powerful, but they are not the most powerful.] Dong Zhi: [What is the most powerful?] Kan Chaosheng: [Why are you so dumb? If there are Archfiends, then there must be Earth Demons and Heavenly Demons. They are even more powerful ones on top of them, but it¡¯s useless to tell you anyways, so I won¡¯t waste my breath!] Dong Zhi: [Don¡¯t you know that I can cancelled the order before it is shipped?] Kan Chaosheng: [What? What¡¯re you saying? I have a bad signal here, so I can¡¯t talk anymore.] Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry, so he hurriedly sent a message: [You, wait. Tell He Yu to send me pictures of the underwater corpse later!] Kan Chaosheng: [Why do you care so much about this matter?] Dong Zhi: [The last time I invited the gods, I saw many corpses underwater. In short, I can¡¯t clearly explain it in just a few words, so I want to confirm it.] Kan Chaosheng: [Ah, you can invite God?! Don¡¯t be such a braggart. Shall I go to Old Zong and intercede for you and ensure that your training is stable?] Dong Zhi: [No, even if you help me go through the back door, I won¡¯t be able to improve my own strength, and it¡¯ll be dangerous for me in the future. Besides, don¡¯t just look down on me all the time. I performed the best in the simulation training last time.] When the message was sent out, he felt a little immodest and added another more word: one*. *(Ö®Ò») Refers to the best, however it can be use jokingly if there¡¯s a pause in between sentences so instead would refer to as one of the best (not as complimentary as the former). Kan Chaosheng sent a tsundere reply: [Then don¡¯t come to me crying for help in the future!] Putting down the phone, Dong Zhi found that Kan Chaosheng habits had rubbed off on him. He now especially wanted to eat something more appetizing, like spicy noodles with minced meat or beef sour soup. He went back to his dorm to take a shower, changed his clothes, and went out for food. Looking around he couldn¡¯t find any place that sells spicy noodles with minced meat. He only found a dan dan noodle restaurant. The owner is from Sichuan, so it looks quite authentic. He explained to Dong Zhi that his noodles are less spicy as Dong Zhi sat down and waited for his food. ¡°Such a coincidence?¡± There was a greeting from above the head. He looked up and found that it was Lin Xuan. ¡°You haven¡¯t been arrested yet?¡± Dong Zhi tone was bad. The way he squinted his eyes didn¡¯t seem at all like a deterrent, but rather looked like a kind of soft, cute, and harmless little animal. Lin Xuan couldn¡¯t help but smile as he sat down. ¡°Of course not. I am now a guest of the Special Administration Bureau. How could your leaders arrest me?¡± Dong Zhi glared at him, then looked down at his phone and regarded him as air. Lin Xuan said: ¡°Your leaders made me promise to cooperate with you. I can contact the gang who stole the bronze mirror and help you find its whereabouts.¡± He saw that his opponent¡¯s ears moved signifying that he was clearly listening. He smiled and continued: ¡°And I also know that those Japanese people seem to be related to the Japanese who have done bad things to you on Changbai Mountain.¡± Dong Zhi finally raised his head. ¡°Even without you, we can find these things.¡± Lin Xuan nodded and smiled again and said: ¡°Of course, if you don¡¯t even have this ability, how can you be worthy of being called the Special Administration Bureau? It¡¯s just that I can help you save a little time and efficiency, isn¡¯t that still good?¡± Because this guy had watched from the sidelines while never intervening in the slightest to help save him, he resisted the urge to roll his eyes and rather gave him a smile that wasn¡¯t a smile: ¡°You can just tell our leaders this kind of thing. There¡¯s no need to explain it to me. Lin Xuan: ¡°Actually, I came to apologize to you. In order to get the dragon scale from the Japanese and save my father, I had to cooperate with them.¡± Dong Zhi made an ugly face: ¡°If our leaders hadn¡¯t arrived in time, I would have been trapped there.¡± Lin Xuan smiled and said: ¡°Even if your leader didn¡¯t come, you had killed Otowa Saburo on my territory. I wouldn¡¯t dare deal with you after that. The Japanese will definitely hate me because of this matter but in the end, I still have choose to cooperate with you.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What¡¯s the origin of Otowa Saburo?¡± Lin Xuan said: ¡°He is from the Otowa Conglomerate in Japan. The water there is very deep.¡± Dong Zhi frowned. He suddenly remembered that the Japanese man he saw from his clairvoyance was the president of the Otowa Conglomerate, Otowa Hatsuhiko! He occasionally watches the news channel on TV so it¡¯s no wonder why he felt familiar when he saw him but couldn¡¯t quite place who he was. He calmed down and asked: ¡°So, they really have something to do with the Otowa Conglomerate?¡± Lin Xuan nodded: ¡°That Otowa Saburo is said to be Otowa¡¯s Hatsuhiko¡¯s bodyguard. He¡¯s equivalent to a domestic samurai. Since you have beaten the dog, you¡¯ll meet its master*. I¡¯m afraid that you have really forged a bond with the Otowa family this time.¡± *Metaphor referring to when dealing with bad people, you should take into account their background. || In this context he¡¯s saying since he killed Saburo (dog) he¡¯ll have to contend with Hatsuhiko (master). Dong Zhi said angrily: ¡°If I don¡¯t attack them, won¡¯t they want to retaliate anyways? This kind of grudge won¡¯t be over until it¡¯s fully resolved!¡± Lin Xuan clapped his hands and said with a smile: ¡°So courageous, truly worthy of being an elite of the Special Administration Bureau!¡± Dong Zhi also found that his mentality had changed a lot. Before he went to Changbai Mountain, he was one of the most ordinary people alive. He had the mentality of if others don¡¯t offend him, he won¡¯t offend others and would retreat first to avoid unnecessary confrontation. Now when he encounters things, his first thought is not to avoid it, but rather how to solve it, and even take the initiative to ¡°seek trouble¡± to help others solve the problem. At this time, he received a new text message. He looked down and saw that they were photos sent by Kan Chaosheng. The photo was taken underwater. In the blue water of the lake was a body with stiff and eccentric characteristics that was hovering in the water as the clothes it was wearing showed rippling motions due to the water fluctuation. With just a glance, he recognized that the photo was exactly the scene he saw when he invited God. If this is true, then could the cloak person who was sitting opposite of Otowa Hatsuhiko have something to do with demonic magic? The dan dan noodles were cooked and delivered but as soon as he started thinking about it, he didn¡¯t even pay much attention to eating the noodles let alone to what he was eating. Lin Xuan couldn¡¯t laugh or cry: ¡°Hey, why don¡¯t we put aside our differences and forget each other grievances. Are you just going to eat by yourself?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I didn¡¯t say that I forgive you. Besides, Boss Lin, do you need someone else to invite you to eat a bowl of noodles?¡± Lin Xuan: ¡°Well, then why don¡¯t I invite you?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°No merits, no reward*! You can eat by yourself!¡± *(ÎÞ¹¦²»ÊÜ») Refers to if its not beneficial to people, it¡¯s not acceptable to accept gifts or preferential treatment from others. After taking a few bites, he ran to the boss to settle the bill and walked out with his backpack. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re really refusing to forgive me?¡± Lin Xuan shouted. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t look back, and instead waved his hand. In an instant, he had already walked away. Lin Xuan looked at the bowl of noodles that still had food in it and scratched his nose thinking to himself if he was that annoying. Dong Zhi wanted meet with Long Shen and discussed about it but after thinking on it, he assumed the other party should be busy with meetings and wouldn¡¯t have the time to meet him. He combined all the information he knew and sent it over in a text message, then took a taxi towards the antique alley. Uncle Qian was on the phone. When he saw Dong Zhi coming in, he stopped his call and hung up and greeted him in surprise: ¡°Are you okay?¡± Dong Zhi apologized and said: ¡°It¡¯s my fault that I lost the mirror¡­¡± ¡°Bah!¡± Uncle Qian waved his hand, ¡°Boss Long told me that it was robbed by the Japanese. I can¡¯t blame you. I also heard that the Japanese kidnapped you too. I was worried that something happened to you. If I hadn¡¯t asked you to help bring the mirror to Boss Long, this wouldn¡¯t have happened!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What about A¡¯Shun¡¯s side?¡± Uncle Qian: ¡°He recruited the Japanese. Boss Long said he would deal with it and would not involve me.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°A¡¯Shun won¡¯t be dissatisfied with you, right?¡± Uncle Qian didn¡¯t care: ¡°I have seen this kind of thing a lot and have experienced it a lot. I have a bit prestige in this arena so A¡¯Shun doesn¡¯t dare mess around. He knew that things were not clean and still bought them. It¡¯s nothing more than the mentality of coveting short-term gains in lieu of long-term success. The kid isn¡¯t bad, but he¡¯s lazy. After a few days he¡¯ll be stable again.¡± Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. Uncle Qian took out a bag of hot food. ¡°Fortunately, you are fine this time, otherwise I will never feel at ease again in my life. This is fried chicken made by my daughter. Take it and eat it. Come to the store often in the future. I¡¯ll pick out a few things and send them to you as atonement.¡± Dong Zhi took the food and said with a smile: ¡°No one expected this. I will accept the food, but I dare not ask for your send off.¡± Uncle Qian said: ¡°They¡¯ll just be here collecting dust if I don¡¯t. I¡¯m closing this shop for a while. I¡¯ll come back after all this ruckus have passed.¡± Dong Zhi was surprised: ¡°Where are you going?¡± Uncle Qian smiled: ¡°I still have a daughter who is abroad and always wanted me to visit. I¡¯ve refused before, but now I¡¯ve agreed. She¡¯s very happy about it. Having said that, I heard from Boss Long that you performed particularly valiantly this time, and you beat those Japanese people up. He must be very satisfied with you. Hurry and strike while the iron is still hot and ask him to be your master. Maybe he¡¯ll agree!¡± Dong Zhi scratched his nose: ¡°If he rejects me, won¡¯t there be no room for turning back?¡± Uncle Qian disagrees: ¡°Why is are you so thin-skinned? If you are rejected, just keep making persistent efforts!¡± It¡¯s not like he hasn¡¯t tried. On multiple occasions he had pretended to act dumb or na?ve, but he didn¡¯t get a response from the other party. Moreover, he also found that Long Shen had a consistent and upright ideal that couldn¡¯t be controlled by others. It¡¯s useless to fan the flames if he doesn¡¯t want to do it, and others can¡¯t stop him from doing what he wants. Bidding farewell to Uncle Qian, Dong Zhi left the shop with the fried chicken. He suddenly heard a meow sound nearby. He followed the sound to investigate its source and found that not far from the base of the wall, a cat poked its head out and looked at him with black eyes. He subconsciously motioned with his hand and beckoned it: ¡°Come here. Come here.¡± The kitten came over and walked right under the bag of fried chicken and circled it a few times, raising its head and looking at him wistfully. Dong Zhi: ¡­ ¡°You can¡¯t eat this.¡± He lifted the bag higher. The kitten meowed eagerly, pawing at his pants as it straightens up. It covered with grime that made its white hair turned into a gray color, and it wasn¡¯t wearing a collar around its neck. Seeing the state of how hungry it looked, Dong Zhi surmise it must be a stray cat. He sighed, squatted down, and pet its head. ¡°You can¡¯t eat fried chicken. Wait here. I¡¯ll find you some cat food.¡± The street he was on was all filled with antique shops so there wasn¡¯t anything suitable for a cat. He had to walk a few blocks before he came across a stall that was selling sausages. He thought the cat had already run away by the time he returns but surprisingly it had squatted on the spot where he told it to wait for him. ¡°Why are you back again?¡± Uncle Qian said. He had gone out of the shop to go buy something and as soon as he stepped out, he saw Dong Zhi squatting in front feeding a cat. ¡°I ran into this cat, so I went to buy something to feed it.¡± Dong Zhi said. Uncle Qian groaned: ¡°Isn¡¯t this the same cat last time too? It has come over here a few times to beg for food and water. It¡¯s also the same one Boss Long fed last time he was here. Why does it seem like it has lost a lot of weight?¡± Dong Zhi touched the kitten¡¯s back, and it bowed his head as it continues to gobble on the food. ¡°Uncle Qian, give me a box.¡± Uncle Qian: ¡°You¡¯re planning to take it back?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°There are so many people in the Special Administration Bureau, maybe someone will want to adopt it. It¡¯s better than leaving it here and having it wander around.¡± When Uncle Qian heard this, he turned around and went in to find the box. The kitten meowed at Dong Zhi causing him to look at it only to discover that the sausage he had given it was already eaten. He came to the store empty-handed but returned with a full load. Dong Zhi arrived at the front of Longshen¡¯s office with the box and the fried chicken, just in time to see Liu Qingbo coming out of it. Like they say, the enemy¡¯s road is narrow as this was the second time they have encountered this situation. However, Liu Qingbo had a look of disappointment on his face and after seeing Dong Zhi, he was startled before making an even uglier expression. Dong Zhi wanted to greet him politely at first but before he had the chance the other party had already hurriedly walked away. He knocked on the Long Shen¡¯s door a few times and a response quickly came from inside. ¡°Come in.¡± He pressed the box against the door frame with one hand, holding the fried chicken in the other, and turned the doorknob with difficulty. Long Shen looked up and saw him coming in carrying a load full of items and couldn¡¯t help frowning: ¡°You¡¯re not resting properly. What are you doing out?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°I went to grab something to eat. Did you receive my text message?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°We already have some news here so we¡¯ll handle it.¡± In other words, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t need to ask. Dong Zhi calmed down and said: ¡°I stopped by to see Uncle Qian after dinner, and he gave me some fried chicken.¡± The box was heavy mainly because it also contained cat food and cat litter, which he bought on the way back. ¡°There is also this cat, which you have fed several times before. I happened to meet it when I was leaving. Uncle Qian said it¡¯s very thin so I¡¯m guessing no one had fed it for a while. I think someone here might want to adopt it, so I brought it back. If there¡¯s no one, I¡¯ll adopt it myself.¡± Long Shen gave him a disapproving look: ¡°If you go on a mission in the future, it could be ten days or even half a month before you return. Can you take care of it?¡± Dong Zhi never thought about this. Looking at the kitten¡¯s innocent and pitiful expression, he couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°Then I will ask Uncle Qian to help raise it for those days.¡± Long Shen said nothing, but instead asked: ¡°How is your body?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s much better, but my head is still a little dizzy. I get even dizzier when I¡¯m lying down, so I have to get up and walk.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Give me your hand.¡± Dong Zhi stretched out his hand towards Long Shen. Long Shen held his wrist with his slender fingers causing him to feel a slightly cool and dry feeling wherever he touched. It took a while before he realized that Long Shen was feeling his pulse. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but think nonsensically, ¡®If Long Shen diagnosed him with a terminal illness and showed him a heavy face, should he show him a smile as light as a chrysanthemum* to win his sympathy or take the opportunity to fall into his arms and confess?¡¯ *(È˵­Èç¾Õ) Describes people¡¯s conduct and character as indifferent (like a chrysanthemum). What if Long Shen raised his head in horror and said that it¡¯s a joyful pulse*? *Clarity: The term used is [ximai] (ϲÂö) which is a pulse that signify one is pregnant. As his imagination ran wild, he couldn¡¯t help but make fun of himself. Long Shen: ¡°¡­Is pulse diagnosis funny?¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly suppressed his laughter, shaking his head like a rattle. After a while, somehow, instead of being alleviated from his desire to laugh, it only became stronger. His shoulders trembled as he endured hard. Long Shen reluctantly withdrew his hand: ¡°Let your laughter out first.¡± As soon as he spoke, Dong Zhi fell on the sofa next to him, clutching his stomach and while laughing. Long Shen: ¡°What¡¯s so funny?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head violently continuing to laugh hysterically. He absolutely, positively, cannot tell, or it¡¯ll end up with a certain someone¡¯s death! Kinky Thought: I don¡¯t know Dong Zhi¡­ with all this supernatural shit going on, getting pregnant from Long Shen could very well be on the table. CH 53 Long Shen flattened Dong Zhi¡¯s wrist, put three fingers on the other hand, tightened his pulse for a moment, and released it. ¡°Inviting Gods is a very strenuous task. The greater the energy of the spirit body invited, the greater the consequences. Zhong Yuyi is suitable for this job because he¡¯s born with a yin spirit body, but even with that, the side effects of inviting Gods are still great. Therefore, I don¡¯t allow him to go out to the field.¡± Suddenly Dong Zhi understood why Kan Chaosheng and He Yu was sent on their mission, but Zhong Yuyi never followed. Long Shen: ¡°Are you afraid?¡± Dong Zhi nodded obediently: ¡°How did I invite Qianliyan and Second Master Guan? It can¡¯t be that my body is more suitable for this than Old Zhong?¡± Long Shen thought deeply: ¡°Let¡¯s put it this way, asking the Gods is to ask for their attention. It is the Yin God who is looking for you, not you looking for the Yin God. Zhong Yuyi should have told you that burning incense and praying is to let the Yin spirit hear your prayers. This means you¡¯re allowing them to possess you to give you advice. Still, it all comes down to chance. Since you can invite Righteous Gods like Qianliyan and Second Master Guan, you have caught their eyes, but in terms of what you need to give up, if you ask for too much, it¡¯ll be very detrimental to your body.¡± He continued: ¡°The Special Administration Bureau taught you this course not so you can play around when you have nothing to do, but to teach you more and make you aware of it. In the future, only as a last resort should you use it.¡± The first time Dong Zhi attempted it, he invited Qianliyan. The second time, he was directly possessed by Second Master Guan. It seems that he¡¯s particularly popular with the Gods. Hearing Long Shen¡¯s words, he started to feel the aftermath again. His head became dizzy and light, and he started to gasp for breath after saying a few words. This was a sign of loss of energy and spirit. If this continues to develop, he may become like Zhong Yuyi, with his extremely delay reflexes and reactions. Long Shen said: ¡°You can¡¯t fall behind on your Kungfu Tona, but the matter of practicing every day on the rooftop can be put on hold for the time being. It¡¯s also very energy-consuming using the Five Thunder Talisman.¡± Dong Zhi nodded. In fact, he was never neglectful in his practice. He even incorporated a few swords moves that Long Shen had taught him into his daily routine. Although he wouldn¡¯t reach Liu Qingbo¡¯s level of perfection in the short term, this gap between them is only due to time, not diligence. The improvement of physical strength also has an impact on the invitation to Gods. If the body is not good enough and he invites another Righteous God, it won¡¯t just be dizziness that he¡¯ll experience but rather a trip straight to the hospital. Thinking of Lin Xuan¡¯s words, Dong Zhi hesitated for a moment and said: ¡°Lin Xuan told me that one of those Japanese people was killed by me. It won¡¯t cause any bad impact on you, will it? Long Shen frowned: ¡°Why are you mixed up with Lin Xuan?¡± Dong Zhi told him how he ran into him. Long Shen didn¡¯t comment on Lin Xuan¡¯s motives but said: ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t think about it. We were able to get the information on the pattern of the mirror because of you.¡± So, did this mean he made another contribution? Dong Zhi belongs to the type who ¡°can open a dye workshop if he gets three points of color*¡±. When he heard this, he said happily: ¡°Is there any reward?¡± *(µÃÁËÈý·ÖÑÕÉ«£¬¾ÍÒª¿ªÈ¾·») Refers to getting carried away when you receive face/favors from others. Long Shen glanced at him: ¡°What reward do you want?¡± Dong Zhi said embarrassedly: ¡°I don¡¯t want bonuses or anything. Can you give me a place as your apprentice?¡± Long Shen felt a bit amused: ¡°Do you know what Liu Qingbo came in to do just now?¡± Seeing Dong Zhi look of uncertainty, he said: ¡°Their group met zombies in the tomb and were separated. Liu Qingbo took one out by himself. In the end, he found his way out and asked me for some credit. He hoped that I will take him as an apprentice.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Compared that to his performance, isn¡¯t his own performance lacking? Long Shen: ¡°Do you think I can agree?¡± Dong Zhi felt righteous: ¡°Of course not. Competition should be conducted under the same conditions. The results of unequal competition cannot be counted!¡± Long Shen smiled and said: ¡°I think so too. Go and rest first, and there will be the next round of training waiting for you in a few days.¡± Coming with complacency and returning with disappointment, Dong Zhi suddenly understood why Liu Qingbo¡¯s had such an expression when he ran into him just now. ¡°Wait.¡± Long Shen stopped him. Dong Zhi turned his head quickly, with a look of ¡°hurry up and keep me¡±. Long Shen took out a talisman folded into a triangle and strung with red money from the drawer. ¡°This is a Soothing Talisman from Mount Longhu. It doesn¡¯t have much effect, but it¡¯s good for your current state. Wear it and don¡¯t let it leave your body.¡± Seeing as how Dong Zhi was holding a box with both hands and didn¡¯t have one free, Long Shen personally put the talisman on him. The Soothing Talisman seemed to have an instant effect as his mood calmed. At the end of the day, Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t get such treatment and the male god had personally put the talisman on him. He went downstairs with the box in his arms, intending to ask the gatekeeper if he wanted a cat. He happened to run into two people standing around the door talking. One as Ba Sang, and the other was Li Ying. Li Ying smiled when he saw the Dong Zhi: ¡°I heard you killed some Japanese?¡± Dong Zhi smiled bitterly: ¡°Why don¡¯t good things come, yet bad things spread thousands of miles*?¡± *(ºÃʲ»³öÃÅ£¬»µÊ´«Ç§Àï) Refers to good things aren¡¯t easy to find yet bad things spread quickly and widely. Li Ying laughed: ¡°How can this be a bad thing? That higher-ups said yours was a special session held, and the evaluation is good, and we need to keep up our efforts. I regret that I didn¡¯t follow you to the god invitation class!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I still envy you. How were you over there? I heard from the Boss Long that you really ran into zombies?¡± Ba Sang shook his head: ¡°Don¡¯t talk about it. Some people likes to play by themselves and hog all the prestige. They obviously agreed to meet at an appointed time, but never showed up. We thought he was missing so we went to look for him, but almost got caught in a trap.¡± Dong Zhi said curiously: ¡°Who? Liu Qingbo?¡± From the expressions of Ba Sang and Li Ying, he knew that his guess was correct. Li Ying sighed: ¡°I thought since he¡¯s from a famous family, he would be level-headed overall. I didn¡¯t expect he would be so willful, but then again, his performance is indeed good. Though he might have killed a zombie alone, he¡¯s probably a headache.¡± Ba Sang didn¡¯t understand: ¡°Why a headache?¡± Dong Zhi explained: ¡°He has the capabilities to fight alone, so it¡¯s a pity not to recruit him, but if he enters the Special Administration Bureau, he may not be able to cooperate with others.¡± Li Ying agreed. ¡°Meow~¡± Unwilling to be ignored, the kitten poked its head out of the box. Ba Sang stretched out his hand to pet it on its head, causing the cat to shrink back quickly. Li Ying said: ¡°You have to be mentally prepared first. I heard that there will be a test next.¡± With his father as a consultant in the bureau, he would know more gossip than the others. Ba Sang and Dong Zhi looked at each other. ¡°What kind of test? Is a zombie simulation again?¡± Li Ying sneered: ¡°The zombies have been simulated once, and everyone¡¯s prepared for it. It¡¯s unlikely they¡¯ll do it again. I heard that we may be going northwest this time, but I don¡¯t know the details. There should be news in the next two days.¡± After a few more words of gossip, the three of them dispersed. Dong Zhi held the box to the doorman and asked if he wanted to keep the cat to catch mice. The uncle slowly raised his head and glance at him: ¡°There are no mice in this building. I¡¯ve eaten them all.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He looked at the uncle, and the uncle looked at him. Dong Zhi gave him a stiff smile and slowly backed away. ¡°Then-Then I¡¯ll raise it myself!¡± The uncle looked at the other party¡¯s back walking away while holding the box and shook his head, thinking to himself that young people nowadays are always so rushed. He then narrowed his eyes and continued to bask in the sun with his head down. When Dong Zhi took the cat back to the dorms, the kitten timidly stuck its head out, curious to observe the surrounding environment. ¡°I haven¡¯t found you an owner for the time being, so it seems like I¡¯ll have to raise you first.¡± Dong Zhi said as he looked at its hairy head. The kitten hadn¡¯t realized that its life had changed drastically in a single day. It has now upgraded from a stray cat to a domestic one. At this moment, there was a knock on the door. Dong Zhi got up and opened it. ¡°You left something behind.¡± Long Shen brought the bag of fried chicken and handed it to him. Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°Uncle Qian gave me this. I have already eaten before so you can have it.¡± ¡°I won¡¯t eat it.¡± Long Shen shook his head, and handed him the bag. Behind Dong Zhi, the cat jumped out of the box and ran to his feet to meow. ¡°Why did you bring it back?¡± Long Shen said with hints of disagreement in his voice. ¡°I can¡¯t find anyone to raise it, so I can only raise it for now.¡± Long Shen: ¡°You will go on a mission in two days. You can¡¯t raise it when you¡¯re going to be gone for ten days to half a month.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°What mission? Is it urgent?¡± Long Shen: ¡°It¡¯s part of the training exam.¡± Li Ying¡¯s gossip was accurate. Dong Zhi picked the cat up. On the way back, he had dropped by a pet store and gave the cat a bath. Though the cat was really thin, it looked much cleaner now as its fur was snowy-white. It¡¯ll look even better once it gets a bit fatter in the future. ¡°Then when I leave for my mission, can I leave the cat with you?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°I¡¯m going with you too.¡± Dong Zhi tentatively said: ¡°Is this exam difficult?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I don¡¯t know. You have to practice your kungfu tona well in the next few days. Don¡¯t slack off.¡± This is the second time he had told Dong Zhi. Long Shen never drabbles nonsense so for him to repeat it twice, it must be extremely important. ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± Dong Zhi said as the fluff ball in his arms kept twisting restlessly causing his heart to be moved: ¡°I can¡¯t think of a name for it. Why don¡¯t you give it a name?¡± Longshen: ¡­ ¡°Name it yourself.¡± Dong Zhi pretended not to understand the other party¡¯s refusal and said with a smile: ¡°I heard Uncle Qian say that you have fed it several times, otherwise it might have died a long time ago. This can only be regarded as a fate.¡± He had long known that Long Shen eat soft not hard*. He wouldn¡¯t refuse such innocuous, non-principled small requests, just like when he gifted Long Shen the succulent last time. *(³ÔÈí²»³ÔÓ²) Metaphor for someone who accepts gentle persuasion without coercion. However, for Deputy Director Long, such a task was monumentally difficult for him. He stared at the cat for a long time before saying: ¡°Just call it¡­ Kitten*?¡± *Clarity: [Xiao Mao] (Сè) literally just translate to kitten/little cat. Dong Zhi: ¡­ Then why not just name it Meowmeow or Maomao*! *Clarity: [Maomao] [ëë] literally translate to baby. Suddenly a flash of inspiration struck: ¡°Why not call it Longlong?¡± Longshen: ¡­ Dong Zhi took advantage before Long Shen could speak and raised the kitten towards him and smiled: ¡°You¡¯ll have name from now on, Longlong!¡± Long Shen wanted to speak out against it, but after thinking about it, he decided to let it go. After all, it was just a name. However, naming is only the first step in this long thousand-mile march for Dong Zhi. He found that raising a cat is not an easy task. Even if it was only temporary, cat food, cat litter, hair combs, flea repellent, and nutritional ointment were all indispensable. He bought some at the pet store and had to order more online after a while. Longlong had a very good temper. It may be because of its previous experience as a stray, but it¡¯s not as playful or mischievous as ordinary domesticated cats. It just sleeps and eat to its fullest every day. Dong Zhi worried that at this rate, it¡¯ll balloon up like Kan Chaosheng. While he raised a cat, he didn¡¯t neglect his training and did everything according to what Long Shen told him. In the past two days, before he got up and went to bed, he would do two sets of kungfu tona, and even sometimes would do it again after lunch. Eventually, after two days, the fatigue that had accumulated in his body seemed to have eased a lot, and the heavy and minor side-effects of inviting god had almost disappeared. As the group of people who went to the tomb returned one after another, their next stage of training was once again back on the table. For Dong Zhi and his group, they had followed Zhong Yuyi and learn how to invite Gods, but because of an accident in the middle of the course, it had to be cancelled halfway. Everyone stayed in the farmhouse for a whole week and looked like they had grown long hair and beards by the time they were free. It was hard for them to wait for the other group to come back as the ceaseless idleness was driving them impatient. With everyone¡¯s return, they have all arrived in the classroom on time on this morning day in accordance with the notice. ¡°What do you think we are going to learn today?¡± Gu Meiren asked Dong Zhi and them. Everyone shook their heads, feeling a little uneasy. Generally speaking, the content of the course was usually notified in advance, unless it was to purposefully catch them off-guard, like the simulation training. Dong Zhi jabbed Ba Sang¡¯s arm with his elbow and said: ¡°Was it fun going to the tombs?¡± Ba Sang scratched his head: ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just followed a big army and worked with a few people to eliminate a lich. It wasn¡¯t dangerous, but the period inside the tomb was more torturous.¡± Gu Meiren also joined the chat: ¡°What do you mean?¡± Ba Sang: ¡°In a dark environment, I have no idea what¡¯s ahead or what¡¯s behind. Unknown danger could be lurking everywhere, so it made me uneasy.¡± Gu Meiren sighed: ¡°That¡¯s better than ending before you even start. I thought it would be fun to invite God.¡± Dong Zhi faintly guessed that the suspension of this course should be related to the scene he saw with his clairvoyance, but since the higher-ups are involved, he remained silent about the matter before he got permission. The buzzing voices suddenly stopped as people came in from the outside. Everyone showed a look of surprise expressions. It wasn¡¯t just one or two, but all three Deputy Directors was here! This was a rare lineup. Even after the simulation training was over that day, only Wu Bingtian and Long Shen gave them lessons to summarize their experience. Today, the last Deputy Director, Song Zhicun, was also present. The three of them were followed by a young man. While others didn¡¯t know him, Dong Zhi was quite familiar with him. It was Lin Xuan. Lin Xuan quickly spotted Dong Zhi sitting in his seat and winked at him. Dong Zhi pretended he didn¡¯t see it. As usual, Wu Bingtian spoke first. With a smile on his face, he looked around at everyone: ¡°How are you resting these few days?¡± ¡°I¡¯m getting moldy from all this leisure.¡± He didn¡¯t know who said it, but it made everyone laughed. They didn¡¯t need to ask to know that it was from the group that stayed back. While Li Ying, Liu Qingbo and a few others returned early and had taken a few days off, they were much more reserved. ¡°Not bad.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s continue class.¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing good.¡± Wu Bingtian¡¯s smile narrowed and became serious. The atmosphere instantly condensed, and everyone¡¯s mood was raised. ¡°You have to listen carefully to what I say next.¡± Everyone unconsciously adjusted their sitting posture and pricked up their ears. Wu Bingtian said: ¡°There is a group of tomb robbers who stole a batch of artifacts from the northwest, including a bronze mirror, which fell into the hands of the Japanese. The police have caught the head of the tomb robber gang. According to their account, they were only on the periphery of the tomb at the time. They have not yet entered the real core area, and now those Japanese have already taken the bronze mirror to the northwest, wanting to enter the core of the tomb. All we have to do is stop the Japanese and get the bronze mirror back. This should have been the work of the police and the archaeological department, but because it is likely to involve demons, it was handed over to us, so it¡¯s our job to carryout the preliminary cleanup. Do you understand?¡± ¡°Understood!¡± Everyone responded. Wu Bingtian nodded: ¡°Now you can ask any questions.¡± Li Ying said: ¡°Boss Wu, is that bronze mirror valuable? In case we encounter a situation where we need to choose between people and the mirror, what should we do?¡± Wu Bingtian said: ¡°We tentatively speculate that that mirror is likely to be the key to the core area. At present, we don¡¯t know for the time being what the Japanese¡¯s purpose is, so we need to find out, but if we encounter a kind of situation you mentioned, the safety of your companions is the top priority.¡± His gaze swept across the crowd and stayed on Liu Qingbo for a moment. ¡°This mission is both an assessment and a practice. The purpose is to see what progress you have made during this period of time, and I must remind you that some may die during this trip.¡± There was no sound in the classroom, and there was silence. Wu Bingtian¡¯s words were like boulders, pressing heavily on everyone¡¯s heart. ¡°Those Japanese forged their documents and pretended to be foreigners and pretended to be Chinese in order to go to the northwest. Due to the diversity of transportation mean and complexity of data, it¡¯s difficult to identify them, but according to the confession of the leader of the tomb robber gang, and the information we collected before, there are probably powerful Onmyojis among them. You must not underestimate the enemy! The opponent is not a zombie in the simulation training. At a critical moment, while fighting for life and death, they will not give you a second chance to survive! In addition, there are many dangers in an ancient tomb. Even if you are cultivators, you can¡¯t be careless. Life, once it¡¯s gone, will never come back, so if any of you want to quit now, you can leave right away!¡± Withdrawing from this mission means withdrawing form the Special Administration Bureau. No matter what everyone was thinking, no one stood up and walk out. Wu Bingtian¡¯s tone became a bit more solemn: ¡°Don¡¯t think that I¡¯m joking with you. You can ask about it. In the past few training sessions, there have been many people who have sacrificed their lives. They didn¡¯t even have time to become a member of the Special Administration Bureau, before they already fell down. Don¡¯t regret it later when it¡¯s too late!¡± He waited for a while, but still no one got up. Wu Bingtian nodded: ¡°Very good, there are no cowards in the Special Administration Bureau! Since everyone has decided to stay and participate, let me tell you the specific details. Although the bronze mirror was looted by the Japanese, we got the engraving on the back of the mirror and found that there are four inscriptions on it with the words Helan and Phoenix. Based on the situation, we speculate that Helan refers to Helan Mountain, and Phoenix, which should be the ancient name of Yinchuan. It¡¯s preliminarily estimated that the tomb is located near the mausoleum of the Western Xia Dynasty. When we get there, we¡¯ll go down from the cave that was dug by the tomb robbers. The Japanese should be one step ahead of us. They can block the cave from the inside, but they can¡¯t cover up the traces outside, so we can still find it¡­¡± Everyone listened intently, for fear of missing every detail, because it was not only related to everyone¡¯s assessment, but also to their own safety. No one would joke about their own lives. After Wu Bingtian finished speaking, he took a breath, which also gave them time to digest the information. ¡°This mission will be led by Boss Long and Boss Song personally with Boss Long as the team leader and Boss Song as the deputy team leader. I will sit in the General Administration Bureau and also serve as logistics to deal with unforeseen needs. Next, I¡¯ll ask Boss Long to talk more about it.¡± Hearing these words, everyone had their own thoughts in their hearts. With two Deputy Directors personally leading the team, it gave them a new understanding of the importance and the difficult severity of the mission. Long Shen nodded to Wu Bingtian and took a step back. ¡°This mission is equivalent to a practical exam. The final result will determine whether you can stay and become a member of the Special Administration Bureau. Outside, my request is very simple. Everyone must follow instructions. I don¡¯t want to have a situation where you do your own thing, and it backfires. If you try, even if you can return alive, I won¡¯t let you enter the Special Administration Bureau. That¡¯s all.¡± His speech has always been concise and powerful, shocking people¡¯s hearts. Even for someone like Liu Qingbo who doesn¡¯t listen to commands, when he hears such a thing, it held more weight to him. Song Zhicun coughed lightly: ¡°Let me introduce everyone. This is Lin Xuan. He has had contact with the Japanese before and is more familiar with the situation. He will join us this time.¡± It seems that the reason why Lin Xuan was not dealt with was because he was very smart, surrendered to them in time, and turned into a ¡°tainted witness*¡±. *(ÎÛµãÖ¤ÈË) Refers to witnesses who are also participants in criminal activities (usually the crime itself) but testify for the prosecution in exchange for immunity from criminal prosecution or reduce or lenient charges. Although the Lin Family is quite prestigious in Lignan, since Lin Xuan only recently inherited the family business, everyone had no reaction to his name. Seeing that everyone was not in high spirits, Song Zhicun smiled and said: ¡°Today is a holiday. Tomorrow morning at nine, gather here and we¡¯ll set off on time. Everyone should rest early today and stop playing around. If you can¡¯t get up tomorrow morning, we won¡¯t wait for you. Just go to Yinchuan by yourself.¡± He deliberately reconciled the atmosphere, but everyone was still immersed in what they had just learned that no one could laugh. Seeing this, Wu Bingtian didn¡¯t say much, so he let everyone disperse, and he left with the other two. The author has something to say£º Dong Zhi: Longlong, come here, do you want to play with a cat teaser? Long Shen, who was in a meeting, sneezed. Kinky Thoughts: Dong Zhi skipping steps here. Usually you become a couple first before adopting a pet. CH 54 Everyone didn¡¯t leave in a hurry, but surrounded Li Ying and Zhang Song and asked about the situation. ¡°Brother Li, do you know what the mortality rate was for such training before?¡± Chi Banxia asked. Li Ying smiled bitterly: ¡°I really haven¡¯t counted. As far as I know, in the first session after the Special Administration Bureau implemented the training system, I heard that dozens of people participated in the practical examination at that time, and the final survival rate¡­¡± He paused: ¡°Only less than half.¡± Everyone took a deep breath. Someone exclaimed: ¡°What was the exam at that time?! If it was ordinary people, it wouldn¡¯t be too bad, but they were all practitioners!¡± Li Ying: ¡°I heard from my dad that the survival rate was low at that time. On the one hand, everyone regarded themselves too highly at first and didn¡¯t pay attention to the assessment. They thought that the Special Administration Bureau was short on people, so this was just going through the motions. On the other hand, they went to the tropical rainforest of Southeast Asia to rescue people. The environment was unfamiliar, and some people were caught in miasma poisons and traps before they were put down by the enemy. Among them, there were many famous disciples.¡± Zhang Song rarely nodded in agreement with him: ¡°Yes, I have also heard of this incident. Back then, Mount Longhu had lost four disicples because of this incident and had not participated in the recruitment of the Special Administration Bureau for a few years.¡± For a while, everyone fell silent. ¡°Banxia, do you want to quit?¡± Xie Qingning said suddenly. Chi Banxia¡¯s face was cloudy and uncertain, and she struggled for a long time, but still gritted her teeth and said: ¡°No!¡± Xie Qingning smiled: ¡°If you quit now, your previous efforts will be in vain.¡± Once she made up her mind, Chi Banxia¡¯s expression was much more relaxed: ¡°Yes, while witchcraft won¡¯t work on zombies, once we reach the tombs, the Japanese will fear my powers. Then I¡¯ll show you how handy I am!¡± Li Ying deliberately said: ¡°What if the things in the tomb are more disgusting than zombies?¡± Chi Banxia glared at him. Everyone could more or less see the ambiguity between Chi Banxia and Li Ying, and they all laughed at the same time. In this moment, though there were still small disagreements between each other, everyone¡¯s mood was the same in face of the upcoming trip to the northwest: uneasy, anxious, excited, and ambitious. ¡°Dong Zhi!¡± As soon as his foot reached the front door to leave the classroom, someone had called to him from the back. Instead of stopping, he walked faster. Lin Xuan ran to him, stopped in front of him, and said with a smile: ¡°I just want to apologize to you again. There is no need to avoid from me like this, right?¡± Dong Zhi said innocently: ¡°Mr. Lin made a mistake. I¡¯m not avoiding you.¡± Lin Xuan: ¡°Then shall we make an appointment to have dinner together?¡± Dong Zhi simply said: ¡°No, I have to get up early tomorrow. You should understand. Goodbye.¡± He walked past Lin Xuan, who stretched out his hand to grab him. He tried to avoid it, but Lin Xuan¡¯s hand was faster and still wrapped around him. It was soft and weak, but very fast. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care about anything else and unsheathed his Changshou Sword and slashed at his opponent, faster than what Lin Xuan expected. Last time he went out to dinner, he temporarily decided to go see Uncle Qian, so he didn¡¯t bring his sword. As a result, he almost suffered a heavy loss. Knowing better now, he took his sword with him wherever he goes. Lin Xuan didn¡¯t expect him to have such skills, so he quickly withdrew. The sword had swiped close to his temple that it made him feel a cold blast of wind. It also scared him into a cold sweat. However, he recovered quickly and said with a smile: ¡°I thought you were an oracle and could only invite gods. It seems that I am underestimating you!¡± Dong Zhi gave him a fake smile: ¡°I underestimated you too. I thought you would only cooperate with the Japanese!¡± He was not such a mean person, but when he saw Lin Xuan, he would inevitably think of what happened that day. Fortunately, those Japanese either died or were injured and those alive were arrested. He heard that one of them was still intimidated by Second Master Guan that he couldn¡¯t fully mentally recover. The wicked are rewarded with evil, and this brought some comfort to him. Zhong Yuyi¡¯s figure flashed by at the entrance of the stairs, as if he was about to go down. Dong Zhi lit up and called out to him: ¡°Old Zhong!¡± Not surprisingly, Zhong Yuyi seemed to be sleepwalking, and he didn¡¯t stop and look back until the Dong Zhi caught up and patted him on the shoulder, with an expression on his face that look as if he hadn¡¯t woken up yet. ¡°Old Zhong, are you going to the Northwest with us?¡± Zhong Yuyi shook his head after a few seconds: ¡°There¡¯s a lot of people going this time, and two directors leading the team, so I won¡¯t go.¡± Dong Zhi used his lifelong skills of acting cute as he said: ¡°Then can you help me take care of my cat for a few days?¡± Zhong Yuyi said slowly: ¡°You¡¯ve gotten a cat?¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°I picked it up on the road. I¡¯m leaving tomorrow and it¡¯s estimated that I won¡¯t be able to come back for a while. You can just put it in your office and pour a bowl of cat food every day and it¡¯ll eat by itself. Zhong Yuyi: ¡°But, I¡¯m afraid, I might forget.¡± ¡°I can help!¡± Lin Xuan came out of nowhere again and smiled at Zhong Yuyi: ¡°Hello, I am Lin Xuan. The Lin from two trees forms a forest1, and the Xuan from 2 that states six inches in size is called a xuan3. How may I address you friend?¡± 1Lin (ÁÖ) = forest. The line he¡¯s saying is from two trees forms a forest (¶þľ³ÉÁÖ), and three trees forms a forest (Èýľ³ÉÉ­). You have to look at the Chinese characters to get the meaning. Two (¶þ) wood/trees (ľ) form a forest [lin] (ÁÖ) notice how there¡¯s two (ľľ) in the Chinese character [lin] (ÁÖ). This applies to the other line as well. Three (Èý) wood/trees (ľ) form a forest [sen] (É­) there¡¯s three (ľľľ) in the Chinese character [sen] (É­). 2Is a dictionary literary work that contains a rich collection of ancient Chinese vocabulary. 3[Xuan] (¬u) is a reference in that means six inches in size (I guessing it means that half a foot = a xuan). Zhong Yuyi let out a sigh, still with the expression of indifference and weakness. He stretched out his hand and shook Lin Xuan¡¯s: ¡°Zhong Yuyi.¡± Lin Xuan smiled at Dong Zhi and said: ¡°I can find a subordinate to help you raise the cat. I promise that when you come back, it will be fat and shiny.¡± Instead of smiling at him, Dong Zhi said: ¡°No, I can ask my friends for help, or I can send it to a pet shop to care for it while I¡¯m gone.¡± Lin Xuan: ¡°That¡¯s a lot of trouble. I¡¯ll make a call and people will come soon.¡± Zhong Yuyi said slowly: ¡°I can help.¡± Dong Zhi took him by the shoulder: ¡°Old Zhong, I knew you wouldn¡¯t let me down. I¡¯ll invite you to dinner tonight!¡± Zhong Yuyi thought for a while: ¡°Let¡¯s eat rice noodles rolls.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I¡¯ll order ten for you, eat five, and take home the remaining five!¡± Lin Xuan was unwilling to be left out, so he interjected: ¡°I know a good rice noodle shop nearby, so let me invite you.¡± Zhong Yuyi looked at him and said in confusion: ¡°Who are you again? What¡¯s your name?¡± Lin Xuan¡¯s expression stiffened. Dong Zhi smirked inwardly. Lin Xuan¡¯s cultivation wasn¡¯t bad, and he smiled without changing his expression: ¡°Lin Xuan, Lin from two trees forms a forest, Xuan the character component in propaganda*. *The [Xuan] in Lin Xuan (¬u) is used in propaganda [xuan chuan de xuan] (Ðû´«µÄÐû). You have to drop the radical in (¬u). Zhong Yu nodded a little bit, paused for a moment, and then he said suspiciously: ¡°Isn¡¯t it Xuan from ?¡± Lin Xuan: ¡°¡­that¡¯s just me explaining the origin of the name.¡± Zhong Yuyi earnestly asked: ¡°Then what is the origin of your name?¡± Lin Xuan: ¡­ How could the Special Administration Bureau have such a wonderful flower?! It was driving him crazy! Lin Xuan was almost unable to keep the smile on his face. He was afraid that he wouldn¡¯t be able to hold back from beating someone up if he continues so he said: ¡°I have to something to do. You guys can continue,¡± and left in a hurry. Dong Zhi was beside with joy. This is called one thing down to one thing*! *(Ò»Îï½µÒ»Îï°¡) Refers to all things in the world restrain each other. There¡¯s always one thing that conquers another. Zhong Yuyi looked at Lin Xuan¡¯s back, still very confused: ¡°This person has not explained clearly what he said and left. How rude.¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help it anymore, so he laughed loudly. The depression in his heart was swept away and he felt completely refreshed. Early the next morning, he entrusted the cat to Zhong Yuyi and he embarked on the journey to the northwest with the others. Everyone were armed with knives and swords, so it was difficult to take them on the plane. Since the trip was relatively urgent and there was no time to go through the formalities, they had to check them in. This was at least still a concession. This was the first time everyone had travelled collectively to participate in training. Although the second group had went to a tomb last time, it could only be considered an appetizer at best. If Liu Qingbo hadn¡¯t done his own thing, it was estimated that there wouldn¡¯t be any twists and turns. This time, it was different. The personal leadership of the Deputy Directors, Long Shen and Song Zhicun, made everyone smell an unusual scent. Coupled with what they were told yesterday, everyone looked the same on the outside, but most of them didn¡¯t sleep well at all last night. Many had closed their eyes and instantly fell asleep as soon as they got on the plane. Due to the excessive consumption of energy from inviting gods, Dong Zhi followed what Long Shen said and didn¡¯t practice his talisman techniques for the past two days. He only made some exception for a few exercises, which were sword practice. The effects of hanging weights on his wrists while practice his calligraphy in his bedroom has finally showed signs of progress. Just like how he attacked Lin Xuan yesterday, it was a subconscious move. Compared with when he first practice swordsmanship, he didn¡¯t know how much his speed and reflexes have improved. Dong Zhi was still immersed in the joy of yesterday¡¯s practice against his enemy. His wrist had naturally simulated the action of holding the sword like a flower several times, and he wasn¡¯t as nervous like the others on the plane. Gu Meiren, who was sitting next to him, saw that he had been turning his wrist, and couldn¡¯t help but said: ¡°Did you hurt your wrist?¡± ¡°No,¡± Dong Zhi smiled embarrassingly: ¡°I¡¯m practicing swordsmanship.¡± He saw the faint bags under Gu Meiren¡¯s eyes: ¡°You didn¡¯t sleep well last night? Don¡¯t worry. We have Boss Long and Boss Song.¡± Gu Meiren rubbed her eyes: ¡°I¡¯m not very worried about myself. I¡¯m just worried that I¡¯ll drag everyone else down. After all, I can only confuse people with my ability.¡± Dong Zhi comforted: ¡°Have you forgotten what Boss Wu said after our last simulation training? Of course, a single person¡¯s ability is important, but more importantly is team cooperation. Moreover, this time there are Japanese people who have taken the lead. Maybe they have cleared many of the obstacles for us. As soon as we catch up, we can easily take them down and enjoy the benefits!¡± He smiled and waved his hand, his spirits were high, and even his beautiful eyes glow, causing Gu Meiren to laugh when she saw this. Although she only regards Dong Zhi as a friend, she can¡¯t help but think that his future girlfriend and wife, facing such a person daily, they should not treat him like a baby in their arms and pamper him every day. The plane took off quickly. The wings of the plane crossed the heavy clouds and rushed into the sky. After a period of short haze, the field of vision opened into a sea of clouds. The large tracts of clouds looked as if they were inlaid with gold, like Buddha¡¯s light. This was Gu Meiren¡¯s first time on a plane. She wanted to switch with Dong Zhi, who had a window seat, so she could enjoy the scenery, but when she turned her head to look, she saw that he was already leaning on his chair, fast asleep. It seems that the quality of his sleep was good. Even when he¡¯s on a plane, after closing his eyes, everything just turned into nothingness. When he woke up, the plane was still in the air, but he was lazy and didn¡¯t want to get up, so he stretched while sitting in his chair. Halfway through his stretch, he felt something was off. There was an extra blanket on his body and his companion in the next seat over seems to have changed. He turned his head and looked at the person and was startled: ¡°Boss Long?¡± Long Shen was reading a book when he paused. Dong Zhi rubbed his eyes: ¡°Why are you here? Where¡¯s Meiren?¡± Long Shen: ¡°She wanted to change seats, so I switched with her.¡± Dong Zhi became nervous: ¡°When I fell asleep just now, I didn¡¯t do anything indecent, did I?¡± Long Shen finally glanced up at him: ¡°Does talking in your sleep count?¡± Huh? Dong Zhi was dumbfounded. ¡°I-What did I say?¡± Long Shen: ¡°You talked about food, and¡­¡± ¡°What else?¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart was beating wildly. Long Shen: ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Seeing that he looked stunned and didn¡¯t recover, Long Shen couldn¡¯t help being amused: ¡°We haven¡¯t arrived at our destination yet. You should get some more rest.¡± How can this be?! What a false alarm! Dong Zhi was so angry that he dared not speak out in anger, so he channeled all of it on the blanket. He pulled the blanket up vigorously and covered half of his face. Long Shen paid no heed as he lowered his head and continued reading. When he closed the book and turn his head, he saw the other party had already fallen asleep. The blanket had slipped off his knee and was about to fall to the ground. So careless. Long Shen shook his head, stretched out his hand, and covered him with the blanket again. The flight time from the capital to Yinchuan wasn¡¯t long. It was about two hours. Except for Long Shen and Song Zhicun, it was the first time that the others have set foot into this millennium ancient city in the northwest. However, they did not stay in the city for long. Shortly after arriving, they boarded a bus that had come to picked them up outside the airport and it directly drove them northwest. In addition to the driver, there was also a young man in the car. When they sat down, the young man smiled and said: ¡°Welcome leaders to Yinchuan. I am Ye Cheng, from the Yinchuan office of the Northwest Branch. Just call me Xiao Ye. This time, I¡¯ll be your guide to your destination.¡± Regarding the Northwest Branch, Dong Zhi had heard anecdotes from Kan Chaosheng. Rumors has it that Yinchuan and Xi¡¯an were fighting for the location of the Northwest Branch. Later, each side sent one of the oldest and most capable bosses to represent them. Xi¡¯an won, so it became the branch office, while Yinchuan had to become a branch under them due to grievances. Now, it has become an office that advocate for cadres to be younger, thus the Yinchuan branch mainly had young people like Ye Chang as the majority of their staff. The disadvantage though is that due to their inexperience, they weren¡¯t capable of handling emergencies, especially stuff like this mission, which is dangerous and unpredictable. They couldn¡¯t do it alone, so the two Deputy Director had to take over. While Ye Cheng wasn¡¯t particularly handsome, he has a baby face and a very contagious smile. Gu Meiren couldn¡¯t help whispering to Dong Zhi: ¡°He smiles a lot like you!¡± ¡°We don¡¯t look anything alike!¡± Dong Zhi scanned him up and down and saw no similarities between them at all. Gu Meiren smile but didn¡¯t say anything. It wasn¡¯t the appearance that she was referring to. Every time she feels sad, she felt that life was still beautiful whenever she looks at Dong Zhi¡¯s smile. Once introductions were over, Ye Cheng began introducing Yinchuan¡¯s local customs and natural scenery to them, making it look as if they were on a tour. ¡°In addition to Helan Mountain, Yinchuan also has Western Xia Imperial Mausoleum. This is also a historical and cultural heritage site that can be visited. The Mausoleum have so far¡­¡± ¡°Xiao Ye!¡± Song Zhicun couldn¡¯t help interrupting his high-spirited speech: ¡°Tell us about the situation to the east of Helan Mountain.¡± Ye Cheng said: ¡°Oh, oh right. To the east of Helan Mountain are the Yellow River and Inner Mongolia. The terrain there is much steeper than to the west. Many places in the eastern foot of the mountains have been developed into scenic spots and wineries. According to reports from the masses, there have been people who have even seen snow-white qilins* there before¡­¡± *(÷è÷ë) Also known as kirin. It is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese Mythology. See Kinky Thoughts for lore. Song Zhicun couldn¡¯t laugh or cry, so he raised his hand and said: ¡°Okay, Xiao Ye, stop for a while. Let me say a few words. Comrades, according to the information provided by the tomb robbers, the place we are going to is located at the eastern foot of Helan Mountain, north of the Western Xia Imperial Mausoleum. They went down from a thief cave near the Imperial Mausoleum. At first, they thought they had found a new Imperial Mausoleum and it was here that the bronze mirror was found.¡± ¡°Later, they found a passage on the side of the tomb that led directly to the north. Some members of the tomb robber gang tried to go in and explore it, but soon found it was too dangerous. As a result, several people were injured, and the remaining gang members had to escape from the same way they came in.¡± ¡°Thus, we speculate that the owner of the tomb they found is probably a certain dignitary in the Western Xia period. In short, he had a certain social status in the upper class of Western Xia at that time, but the real goal of the Japanese was probably the passage to the north.¡± Zhang Song asked: ¡°How long is the passage to the north, and what is the danger they encountered?¡± Song Zhicun said: ¡°The group of tomb robbers couldn¡¯t tell. They said that they had been walking for more than an hour and had not reached the end. The range of their flashlight was limited. They could only hear the sound of water flowing in front of them. They didn¡¯t know where to go, and they felt there wasn¡¯t any oil or water to fish for*, so they followed the same path. At this time, one of their companions suddenly screamed, and then disappeared without a trace. Everyone couldn¡¯t find him anywhere and they became more scared, so they all rushed back, but when they came back out, they found that nearly ten people had gone missing and only four had returned.¡± *(ÀÌÓÍË®) Refers to improper material gains or additional benefits. Ye Cheng interjected: ¡°If they were heading in the direction of the Royal Mausoleum and drive north on the ground for an hour, they¡¯ll almost reach the Helan Mountain Forest Park. If they were walking underground, they probably had to take a lot of detours.¡± Hearing that he finally said something reliable, Song Zhicun nodded with satisfaction: ¡°Yes, we also guess that the end of that passage is probably located under the Helan Mountains. It¡¯s a pity that none of those who survived can explain what happened to their companions. As such, we need to be very careful this time. Many enemies are hiding in the invisible darkness. The zombie simulation is just a simulation. This time, I hope you can cherish the lives of yourself and your companions and don¡¯t take unnecessary risks.¡± He then talked about many precautions. Dong Zhi found that Deputy Director Song had similar characteristics of Director Jiang in a certain way. At least in the next hour, Deputy Director Song¡¯s mouth never stopped moving. Everyone¡¯s ears were buzzing, from one fly to two flies, then from two to four. The group of flies danced hand in hand around him successfully hypnotizing Dong Zhi causing him to fall asleep as he tilted his head to the side. He was awakened by Gu Meiren some time after. Everyone got out of the car and came to a noodle restaurant. Ye Cheng stood under the car door and clapped his hands: ¡°Everyone, everyone, get out of the car for a meal first, and we will rush back after eating! It¡¯s convienint now so use the restroom if needed and those who need to buy water should buy it now. Next, we¡¯re heading all the way to our destination!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He could neither laugh or cry and felt that he somehow ended up in some kind of cheap tour group. However, to be fair, the noodle restaurant selected by Ye Cheng, though small, was pretty good. The noodles were freshly made by the boss and the soup base is bone soup that had been simmering for hours. It was then topped with braised pork, tomato, and chili sauce. The toppings were delicious, and it had a hot and sour taste, whetting people¡¯s appetite. Everyone had a good meal, then got in the car and continued forward. The high-rise buildings on both sides of the road gradually became shorter, eventually turning into farmlands and trees with the Gobi Mountains in the backdrop. The expanse was filled with colors of green and yellow and was vast in their eyes. Everyone¡¯s mood suddenly had a subtle change. Thousands of years ago, this was also one of the stops of the thousand-year-old Buddhist Kingdom, that had incense flourishing and camel bells ringing. More than a thousand years ago, an envoy from Xiazhou named Li Jiqian began to expand his territory here, laying an indelible and solid foundation for his descendants Li Yuanxuan to establish Western Xia, and therefore he was revered as the emperor and ancestor of Xia. Nowadays, pyramid-like royal tombs stand on this vast land, and all the love and hatred for shining spears and armored horses1 have turned into clouds and smoke. The ruins that have been extensively destroyed in the Yuan Dynasty are still there, vaguely telling of the glory that was short-lived2. 1(½ð¸êÌúÂí) Metaphor for war as it describes the majestic appearance of a soldier holding a weapon and galloping on a horse. 2(ê¼»¨Ò»ÏÖ) Idiom describing a beautiful thing or scene that appears for a while then disappears soon. It was now near the end of autumn, and it wasn¡¯t the peak of winter or summer vacation. Unlike the Forbidden City, which was bustling all year round, right now, it presented a rare quiet scene. Occasionally, they would encounter a few groups of tourists, who only regarded their group as an ordinary tourist group, so they didn¡¯t pay much attention to them. Following the direction pointed by Ye Cheng, the driver drove the car to the area to the north of the Imperial Mausoleum, where a piece of land was divided separately, and a fence with caltrops surrounding the area was planted with a sign hanging on it that says: [Military base. No admittance to outsiders.] This is the area that Xiao Ye and the others fenced off after receiving instructions from the General Administration. The locals knew that there was a small airport for air force exercises nearby, so they were accustomed to such facilities. However, this barricade can only block the footsteps of ordinary people. For those Japanese, this small obstacle wasn¡¯t a problem at all. Ye Cheng led them to the small door in the middle the fences area, took out the key and opened the door. Then he moved the wooden fence behind him. ¡°The thief cave is not far ahead.¡± Under a steep upward slope, large and small yellow stones were piled up. On the side of the stones, there was indeed a small cave that can be crawled through by adults. Ye Cheng said: ¡°Before, the people from our branch went in and took a look¡­¡± Song Zhicun lowered his face coldly: ¡°Xiao Ye, you are not listening to our command. We have already said that you cannot act without authorization before we come!¡± Ye Cheng knew that he had made a gaffe and smiled hurriedly: ¡°What Boss Song said is right, but we only went in for about ten meters and turned back immediately. We didn¡¯t encounter any danger!¡± Song Zhicun snorted softly. Ye Cheng continued: ¡°For the first fifty meters or so, you have to bend over and climb like this, and then a gentle slope will suddenly appear. At that time, we shown the flashlight down and we saw only about ten meters ahead. We were afraid of violating protocols, so we hurried back and didn¡¯t dare go any further!¡± Long Shen glanced around at everyone and said: ¡°I¡¯ll go first. Ye Cheng behind me. You all follow after with Boss Song bringing up the rear.¡± Sometimes it¡¯s not always safe to be in the back. The last member of the team is extremely important. With Song Zhicun at the back, everyone felt a lot more at ease. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t really imagine the dignified Deputy Director Long crawling through a thief¡¯s hole but before he had a chance to think about it, Long Shen¡¯s movements were very fast, and he had already bent over and drilled into the cave. Soon there was no trace of him. Ye Cheng hurriedly followed. As they all watch, everyone didn¡¯t think too much about it. Dong Zhi followed Ba Sang into the hole with Gu Meiren behind him. Kinky Thoughts: Taking bets on how many will die and who. ¡ª Qilin/Kirin (÷è÷ë) Is a legendary hooved chimerical creature that appears in Chinese mythology and is said to appear with the imminent arrival or passing of a sage or illustrious ruler. Qilin are a specific type of the lin mythological family of one-horned beasts. Qilin generally have Chinese dragon-like features: similar heads with antlers, eyes with thick eyelashes, manes that always flow upward, and beards. The body is fully or partially scaled and often shaped like an ox, deer, or horse. They are always shown with cloven hooves. While dragons in China (and thus qilin) are also most commonly depicted as golden, qilin may be of any color or even various colors and can be depicted as bejeweled or exhibiting a jewel-like brilliance. Common color choices for depictions are often associated with the elements, precious metals, stars, and gemstones, but can additionally include earth-tones and modest browns. The qilin is depicted throughout a wide range of Chinese art, sometimes with parts of their bodies on fire. On occasion, they will have feathery features or decorations, fluffy curly tufts of hair, as depicted in Ming Dynasty horse art on various parts of the legs, from fetlocks to upper legs, or even with decorative fish-like fins as embellishments, or carp fish whiskers, or scales. It is said their auspicious voice sounds like the tinkling of bells, chimes, and the wind. You can read more in the Wikipedia. CH 55 The cave was narrow and was dug up by tomb robbers so there was no need to mention how spacious or comfortable it was. The Changshou Sword on Dong Zhi¡¯s back would hit the area of the cave from time to time. Eventually he had to untie the sword and hold it in his arms. In order to avoid colliding with each other, everyone was separated by at least half a meter or so. When Dong Zhi heard the sound of bodies sliding downhill from the front, he knew that he had reached the gentle slope area mentioned by Ye Cheng. Sure enough, Ba Sang slid down quickly and there was no one ahead of him any longer. He quickly followed and while sliding down, hurriedly adjust his angle to avoid landing on his head. The space on the gentle slope was very spacious, unlike the hole that was dug up by tomb robbers. He surmised that they entered the architectural structure of the tomb itself. With a snap, he landed steadily. He patted the dust on his hands and found that other people who landed first had turned on their flashlight and began exploring the environment. Behind him, his companions slid down one by one. The tomb wasn¡¯t spacious. There was a stone tablet standing in the center, but no one could understand the text that¡¯s written on it. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Zhang Song couldn¡¯t help asking. ¡°Tangut script*,¡± It was Long Shen who answered him. *Logographic writing system used for the writing of the extinct Tangut Language of Western Xia dynasty. Tangut script was once considered to be one of the lost texts, and it is difficult for anyone to decipher it, but under the persistent research of the archaeological community, more and more Tangut Script have been interpreted. There¡¯s even a publication of a dictionary of Tangu Scripts, so this kind of language was no longer mysterious. Unfortunately, they were not archaeologists, so facing such text, everyone was naturally still befuddled. The stone tablet was densely covered with Western Xia characters. Perhaps when this stone tablet was erected in the past, the font was coated with gold powder, but over time, the gold power had gradually faded and disappeared, leaving the text to become dull. ¡°According to previous traditions, this kind of stone tablet generally records the life of the tomb owner and warns outsiders to be cautious.¡± Song Zhicun, who finally came down, patted the dust off his body and said: ¡°Judging from the confessions of those tomb robbers, the real danger lies in the passage behind the tomb. They did not encounter any danger here. Some coffins have been cracked by them, and the things inside emptied. However, everyone still has to be careful. The Japanese came one step ahead of us so they could have possibly set some traps to prevent us from following them.¡± Everyone hadn¡¯t thought about that yet. When they were reminded by him, they were suddenly taken aback. Only then did they feel that older ginger is spicier*, as they wouldn¡¯t have thought of such details. *(½ª»¹ÊÇÀϵÄÀ±) Metaphor for people who are qualified and experienced in certain area. Use as a praise for them. Headed by Long Shen, everyone stepped towards the main tomb and continued to walk inward. The main tomb was composed of three side-by-side tombs, one large and two small, which was equivalent to a ¡°living room¡± in the middle and two ¡°rooms¡± on both sides. There was a coffin placed in the middle of the ¡°living room¡±, while the left and right rooms were piled with stones, terracotta warriors, wood products, silk, and the likes. The terracotta warriors were originally painted, but now that they have been exposed to outside air, the colors have faded into a mess. The silk had long been decayed and the original pattern and color was no longer recognizable. Judging from the current situation, the lid of the coffin in the main tomb in the middle had been pried up, and the coffin in the corner should belong to the owner of the tomb. Song Zhicun said: ¡°The tomb robbers took away all the valuable gold, silver and jade artifacts in the ear chambers on both sides. They were still planning to pry open the coffin, because according to their years of experience in robbing tombs, many valuables would be buried in the coffin of the tomb owner, but the lid was extremely heavy. Ten of them worked hard together and failed to lift the lid of the coffin. In the end, they had to endure the pain and give up.¡± But in front of them lay a clearly moved coffin lid. Was it by the hands of the Japanese who came before them, or¡­? Looking inside from the lid of the coffin that had been removed, it was dark, and the viewing angle was too small to see what was inside. Zhang Song heard Song Zhicun say that ten people couldn¡¯t lift the lid of the coffin, but he didn¡¯t believe in this nonsense, so he tried to push the lid out. The lid of the coffin looked wooden, but it remained motionless. He couldn¡¯t help showing a look of horror. How much effort did it take to be able to lift the lid of the coffin and push it away to a corner? Liu Qingbo, Li Ying and others also came over one after another to try. Together with Ba Sang, who was the strongest, everyone almost exerted all their strength, and the lid of the coffin was finally moved a little. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Long Shen yelled suddenly as white light shot out of his hand, accompanied by a muffle sound, as if something was thrown to the ground fiercely. Everyone followed and saw a black figure trembling in the corner, standing up and waving its teeth and claw at them. It seemed it had some scruples and dare not rush forward. Li Ying threw a talisman of fire at it and the shadow screamed before turning to ashes together with the talisman fire. Someone exclaimed: ¡°What is that? Monster?!¡± Song Zhicun walked over and picked up a piece of ashes to inspect. ¡°No, this is a puppet technique that¡¯s also a kind of yin-yang technique. Cut a figure out of paper, inject it with talisman power, and then you can manipulate it like a puppet at will.¡± He leaned closer to the ashes and sniffed: ¡°This kind of paper puppet should have been powdered with golden-winged moths. As long as it is stain with just a little, the other party can detect your whereabouts and it¡¯s tantamount to chronic poisoning.¡± Chi Banxia: ¡°What is the golden-winged moth?¡± Song Zhicun: ¡°It is a kind of moth found only on a small island in the Pacific Ocean. It is said that it was discovered by the Japanese in World War II. After being introduced into the country, the Japanese Onmyojis refined and improved it, and used it as a chronic poison to control the enemy¡¯s mind. It¡¯s probably a bit like drugs but it has a more severe impact than drugs.¡± Originally, everyone didn¡¯t talk about it, but they inevitably developed a tendency in their hearts. They felt that Boss Wu had a strong foundation and after entering his group, they would not have to worry about funding or finding various talismans or medicines. Although Boss Long was harsher, and didn¡¯t seem to be very popular, he had strong abilities and deep qualification in the Special Administration Bureau. It is said that there are many people who support him inside the bureau. Boss Song, who¡¯s a half-way monk, had no reputation. His group had a bad image and were jokingly nicknamed the miscellaneous group. People want to go to higher places while water flows low*. Everyone had eyes on group one and group two, and their interest in group three was lacking. However, after hearing what Song Zhicun said, many people suddenly felt that their previous view on group three was biased and shallow. *(ÈËÍù¸ß´¦×ߣ¬Ë®ÍùµÍ´¦Á÷) Refers to people¡¯s aspiration and pursuits. It is in their nature to move upwards. ¡°Water flows low/down¡± is saying this is the natural object law. So put it another way, it¡¯s only natural that people want to pursue higher aspirations. If you can become a Deputy Director of the General Administration, it¡¯s obvious that you¡¯re not an ordinary person. Even if you want to join, others may not want you. ¡°The paper puppets should have been left by the Japanese. Be careful, everyone, maybe there are more ahead¡­¡± Before Song Zhicun¡¯s voice fell, several more dark shadows jumped out of the coffin, but everyone was prepared. With their weapon at ready, the paper puppets were shredded into pieces and completely wiped out. When talisman fire came into contact with the paper puppet, they burned up instantly. However, Liu Qingbo and Zhang Song drew their swords and slashed at the paper, but the golden-winged moth powder on them would not disappear. Instead, it was blown around by the wind caused from their sword. Zhang Song reacted quickly. He soon realized his error, but it was too late to take back his move. As soon as the blade cut up the puppets, golden-winged moth powder flew everywhere, floating towards everyone. Liu Qingbo had wanted to draw his sword but realized the problem of the moth powder as soon as he prepared to take it out of its sheath, so he didn¡¯t take action. A wind suddenly blew from behind the crowd, blowing the moth powder towards the wall of the tomb, averting the crisis in time. Everyone looked back. They didn¡¯t know if it was either Long Shen or Song Zhicun who made the wind. Swept by Long Shen¡¯s cold expression, Zhang Song lowered his head. Song Zhicun¡¯s face didn¡¯t look good either: ¡°What did I say before? Be bold but careful! You have a lot of courage, but you¡¯re not wary enough. If those moth powder got on your body just now, there¡¯s no other destination we can go besides home and you¡¯ll also be the only one eliminated from this training exam!¡± Zhang Song acknowledged his mistake honestly and confessed: ¡°I¡¯m very sorry. I didn¡¯t think it through before drawing my sword and I almost hurt everyone. I will be more careful next time!¡± While Liu Qingbo was usually at odds with him, hearing him bow his head and admit his mistakes, he didn¡¯t dare put on his schadenfreude face let alone gloat in it. The lid of the coffin was pushed open by more than half now, revealing a mummified corpse. The corpse was well preserved, with its facial features and basic contours still there, but it wasn¡¯t wearing an ordinary robe, but a purple robe. The sun, moon, and stars were embroidered on it with gold and silver thread and there was multi-colored coat that was wrapped around its shoulders. It was wearing a golden lotus crown on its head, holding a white jade. Even the gap next to the top of its head and shoulders was stuff with agate pearls. Fortunately, the group of tomb robbers failed to open the lid of the coffin, otherwise the tomb owner would not be able to escape the fate of being looted. The Japanese on the other hand didn¡¯t have ulterior motives*, so when they opened the lid of the coffin and found it only had jewels, they instead placed paper puppets inside to plot against latecomers, as they had no interest in the valuables. *The drunkard¡¯s intention is not the wine (×íÎÌÖ®Òâ²»ÔÚ¾Æ) Idiom referring to having a ulterior motive. From this, it can be seen that what they were planning was much bigger than these external things. However, the most peculiar thing is the identity of the tomb owner. Including the Special Administration Bureau and the group of tomb robbers, everyone thought that this would be the tomb of a Western Xia nobleman. Who would have thought that the owner of the tomb was actually a Taoist, and not an ordinary Taoist either? Many people didn¡¯t know the significance, so Li Ying explained to them: ¡°Purple robes are usually only worn by high-powered Taoists during formal ceremonies. This person is dressed so grand so his identity must be big. Unfortunately, we haven¡¯t been able to interpret the words on the stone tablet for the time being, so we don¡¯t a clue to who he is.¡± ¡°I know who he is!¡± Someone said suddenly. It was Zhou Yue who spoke. He was lying on the side of the coffin, trying his best to look at the small characters on the rope inside. The face of the tomb owner and his corpse were so close to him, but he didn¡¯t even realize it. ¡°Look here. There¡¯s Chinese characters. It¡¯s the master of the Xia Dynasty, Immortal of the Subtle Arts, Liang Chen! He¡¯s Liang Weiqi, I¡¯m sure of it!¡± Zhou Yue said excitedly. Zhou Yue was not conspicuous in the team as he usually doesn¡¯t talk much. He¡¯s relatively close to Xie Qingling and Ou-Yang Yin. The only thing Dong Zhi knew about him was that he¡¯s from a Feng Shui family. Zhou Yue pointed to the coffin, and the mark on the head of the tomb owner as he said: ¡°This is the sun, moon and stars.¡± He pointed to the coffin wall on the inside of the tomb owner¡¯s left hand and said: ¡°This is a golden lotus*.¡± *(½ðºÉ) This is a type of orchid that is shaped like a lotus with yellow petals. The gold signifies the color and the price. ¡°On his right, it¡¯s a gourd. Both of these pieces imply Taoists treasures. Before Liang Wei¡¯s death, he liked to call himself a true immortal, thus he would always hold a lotus flower in one hand and a jade gourd would always hang at his waist. This should indeed be his tomb!¡± There was a rare excitement on his face, no longer calm from his usual demeanor. ¡°Who is Liang Weiqi?¡± Song Zhicun said suspiciously. ¡°Look at my head!¡± Zhou Yue patted his forehead lightly and explained: ¡°Liang Chen, with the same Liang, was once rumored to have worshipped under Chen Tuan¡¯s gate. Chen Tuan later expelled him from his school when he saw that his mind was not right, so he turned to learn the art of geomancy from others. At that time, my Zhou ancestors happened to be in the same class as him, so I once heard my ancestors talk about this person. He later became Liang Weiqi and left the Song Kingdom to go to Western Xia, claiming to be in the same clan as Empress Dowager Liang and was quickly recruited and later was bestow the title of national teacher* and regarded as a true immortal. After the fall of Empress Dowager Liang, his whereabouts became unknown, but I didn¡¯t expect for him to be buried here!¡± *(¹úʦ) Honorary title for religious figures bestowed by the emperor for their virtue and wisdom. In history, Empress Dowager Liang was not as thunderous as Wu Zetian or Empress Dowager Cixi, but she was in charge of Western Xia for more than ten years and had waged wars against the Song Dynasty several times. In just the battle of Yongle City alone, it was said that more than 200,000 Song people were killed! However, because of her militarism that led to country-wide poverty, she was not looked upon well in history. Song Zhicun raised his head to observe the surrounding environment, frowned and said: ¡°Is that so? You said that your ancestors know of him, but looking at this tomb¡­ It¡¯s unremarkable. It¡¯s not a peerless place and it¡¯s not regarded a place of fengshui either. Never mind fengshui, except for the coffin, this place barely matches his esteemed history.¡± Zhou Yue smiled bitterly: ¡°I don¡¯t know this. There is indeed such a person in my family¡¯s notes, but why did he suddenly get the appreciation of Empress Dowager Liang, and why did he appear from seemingly nowhere, then disappear after Empress Dowager Liang died, there are no records of this. It may be because he was snubbed by Empress Dowager Liang, or it may be that as soon as she died, he fell out of favor with the new emperor!¡± Western Xia has been wiped out, and there are not many records in history books. When looking at the history of Western Xia, Empress Dowager Liang was a very contradictory figure. She was from Han origin, but in order to win over the old party, she wantonly abandoned her Han customs and restored the old party¡¯s customs. She even waged war against the Song Dynasty many times. It¡¯s strange that such a person who would do anything for power would use a Taoist priest and bestow him a title and not be afraid of falling out of favor from the tongues of her populace. Moreover, the tombs of the Western Xia Imperial tombs have been devastated by excavation and looting in the Yuan Dynasty, and a large area of the royal tombs had been destroyed. Since the Ming Dynasty, countless tomb robbers have visited, but this small tomb had survived, which can be said to be nothing short of a miracle. ¡°After we leave, we can find someone to decipher the stone tablet. We shouldn¡¯t linger here too long,¡± Long Shen reminded. The purpose of everyone here wasn¡¯t excavation. They did not move any of the items in the coffin that would make tomb robbers mouth water. The passage where the tomb robbers revealed was located in a chamber north of the main tomb. When the got there, they didn¡¯t see any coffins in the tomb, only human-shaped terracotta figures of both men and women. Although these terracotta figures were encountered by the tomb robbers in a panic, traces could still be seen that they were neatly arranged in rows, all facing the stone gate on the wall, as if they were bowing to it. It would make anyone suspicious that there¡¯s something big behind the door. The stone gate was concealed but could be pushed open with a little force. It was dark inside and when a light was shine through from a flashlight, it couldn¡¯t be seen how deep it was. Long Shen suddenly squatted down and looked at the ground between the door and the tomb. Song Zhicun looked around and gave a chuckle. He also discovered that the stone slabs used to make the tomb was rammed between the earth and the door. There was thin line between the two, but if you didn¡¯t look carefully, you would miss it. The line was so thin that only a mosquito or a fly could fly through and on it contains countless runes. Neither Long Shen nor Song Zhicun were good at reading runes, so they ask Li Ying and Zhang Song to come take a look. Li Ying laid on the ground for a while before he recognized the writings and said: ¡°This should be runes for exorcism.¡± Zhang Song also held the same opinion. In other words, this line was actually designed to prevent things from coming out. With Liang Weiqi buried over their side, they could only assume this was perhaps designed to suppress some kind of evil. There were still too many mysteries unanswered. Song Zhicun said: ¡°I¡¯ll go in first. Then you¡¯ll follow me with Boss Long bringing up the rear. Everyone should be more careful and remember to mark along the way to avoid getting lost.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Let me go ahead.¡± He didn¡¯t wait for Song Zhicun to speak, and just walked in first. This man doesn¡¯t talk much, but he always takes action. Dong Zhi¡¯s heart tightened and followed in without hesitation. After him was Liu Qingbo, Li Ying and eventually the others entered one by one. The ground under his feet was a bit damp. After going in, Long Shen didn¡¯t move fast so everyone was able to pay attention to their environment while walking. ¡°This passage seems to have been artificially made,¡± someone said. Everyone found that the passageway was very spacious, unlike the cave that the tomb robbers had dug. Liu Qingbo scraped a little soil from the soil layer of the wall with his sword and took it under his nose to smell it. ¡°It¡¯s smells fishy.¡± Li Ying, who was walking behind him, smelled it, and said: ¡°It smells a bit rancid, and the soil is wet and soft. It should be like the tomb robbers said. There should be a river nearby that giving off water vapors.¡± Everything around them was full of unknowns. At first, everyone was enthusiastic and had small conversations, but after walking for a long time, they all fell naturally silent. Except for the slight sound of footsteps and everyone¡¯s breathing, there was almost no other noises. The pathway eventually became wider. At first, it was a corridor that could only fit one person at a time. After they had walked for nearly an hour, the passage was now able to accommodate three adults side-by-side. The doubts in everyone¡¯s hearts grew bigger. The passage was both deep and long. Such a project would not be possible without mechanical help. Was the builder Queen Dowager Liang, or Liang Weiqi, or possibly someone else? No matter how favored Liang Weiqi was, at that time, how could a central plains Taoist preside over the construction of a such a labor-intensive and extravagant job*? If it wasn¡¯t for Liang Weiqi, then what was the original intention of the builder? *Labor & wealth (ÀÍÃñÉ˲Æ) Idiom referring to making people work hard and waste money. Now it refers to the abuse of human and material resources. According to calculated time, the group of tomb robbers walked more than an hour before they encountered danger. Everyone¡¯s journey was faster than that of the tomb robber and they should have almost reached the dangerous area. Everyone hearts were beating nervously, but their mental quality as practitioners were different from ordinary people, so no one slow down because of fear and doubts in their hearts. At this moment, Long Shen suddenly stopped. Dong Zhi, who was walking behind him was taken aback and abruptly halted as well. Liu Qingbo quickly braked and said angrily: ¡°What are you doing?!¡± He was about to asked Dong Zhi why he stopped, but it was Long Shen who answered him. ¡°Be careful. From the front and left.¡± Not far in front of Longshen, there was a body leaning against the earthen walls on both sides. It was naturally dead, though they didn¡¯t know how many years old the corpse was, as it hasn¡¯t completely rotted away. Some of the arms reveal white bone, but the shoulders above the arms still had residual flesh that were blue and white. The most terrifying thing was the facial features were still there, but the eyeballs had protruded because of dehydration, so they couldn¡¯t fall off. It was extremely eerie. The corpses have different poses. Some were leaning against the wall with their chins raised as if they were still looking up before they died, while others were squatting down with their hands on their heads. Some were half-buried in the earthen wall, and other were almost completely engulfed by it, with only a hand or arm stretching out. While they weren¡¯t fledgling, seeing the sight still gave them goosebumps all over. With a click, Gu Meiren lit a piece of dark wood, slightly holding her nose a bit, before a fragrance of grass and trees quickly penetrated everyone¡¯s nose. ¡°This is a kind of wood from our place that can get rid of miasma and strengthen the body. I¡¯m afraid that there are many bacteria in places with many corpses.¡± After all, these corpses have been dead for so many years that they hair and clothes have long been decayed. They couldn¡¯t even identify what era or dynasty they belong to. Everyone followed Long Shen as they pass through the middle with mixed feelings lingering in their hearts, as if they had been surrounded by these corpses. Liu Qingbo felt sick for a while as he suddenly understood why the dirt on his sword smelled fishy. It was exhuming the smell of rotten corpses who¡¯s flesh and blood had mixed with the soil. Seeing as how long these corpses has been here, even the earthen soil was not spared from their stench. Chi Banxia walked through. She suddenly felt that the corpse she was passing seemed to be moving its fingers. She suddenly looked back and thought she might have just been seeing things. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Xiang Yongnian, who was walking behind her, noticed her strangeness. ¡°It¡¯s nothing, maybe I was just a bit dazed.¡± Nevertheless, she secretly increased her vigilance. Suddenly, someone in front of her screamed. The sound is extremely tragic and shrill. It spread rapidly in their limited space that amplify the effect. ¡°You guys, wait here,¡± Long Shen said before he walked forward. Dong Zhi wanted to follow him but stayed back and obediently listened to his words. Suddenly, something happened to their team! ¡°What!!!¡± Someone behind Dong Zhi suddenly yelled. He turned his head quickly. Liu Qingbo and Li Ying reacted faster as they had already run back. Ou-Yang Yin, the person who¡¯s good at divination, felt his body sinking a little. The ground that he was originally walking on seem to have turned into tofu. Everyone saw this scene with their own eyes and quickly reached out to grab him. ¡°Just now, a hand grabbed my foot and tried to drag me down. It¡¯s still dragging me!¡± Ou-Yang Yin¡¯s face turned pale. His two arms were tightly grasped by everyone, but the force holding him was too great. His body became motionless, and his face was getting paler, but it was not because of fear, but due to increasing pain: ¡°M-My legs¡­¡± Kinky Thoughts: Things are getting exciting! CH 56 At this moment, another hand came out of the ground and grabbed Xie Qingling¡¯s calf. Liu Qingbo was quick-sighted and slashed it with a sword. The arm landed on the ground and instantly turned into bones. ¡°Demons!¡± He yelled as the blade of his sword struck the ground, directly drawing a deep mark. After a few seconds, black liquid gurgled out from under the deep marks. Song Zhicun rolled up his sleeves and said to everyone: ¡°Get out of the way.¡± Ou-Yang Yin¡¯s calf had already sunk in. It wasn¡¯t because everyone¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t strong enough, but the strength that was dragging was far too great. Everyone didn¡¯t dare to exert too much strength for fear that they would hurt his legs. Song Zhicun walked up to Ou-Yang Yin, looked at his painful and tearful expression. He knelt down, pressed one hand on the ground, and slowly extended his hand into the soil. Although the soil under his feet was a bit wet, the foundation was still solid. After Ou-Yang Yin¡¯s body was pulled into it just now, it wasn¡¯t like they didn¡¯t think about digging around the area next to him, but it was impossible for them to do something that Song Zhicun had seemingly easily done. His hands had reached into the ground going deeper until it was buried up to his elbows. Suddenly, his hand sank down, as if he was being held by something! Everyone¡¯s hearts pounded seeing Song Zhicun frown while moving his arms slightly, as if competing with something under the soil. ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted. Pay attention to your feet,¡± Long Shen¡¯s voice sounded. Looking back, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know when he had returned. ¡°What¡¯s the situation ahead?¡± He asked in a low voice. ¡°A Japanese is dead,¡± Long Shen¡¯s answer lightly. Reminded by Long Shen¡¯s words, everyone became extra vigilant as they looked around from time to time. ¡°Above!¡± Chi Banxia exclaimed. When everyone looked up, they saw a pale hand stretching out about halfway length from the top of their heads. Chi Banxia: ¡°I been looking around, but there was nothing there at that time!¡± Liu Qingbo¡¯s reaction was the most direct. He raised his sword and cut off the hand. As soon as the white hand fell to the ground, the corruption in that area intensified at speed visible to the naked eye. It quickly became white bones while the rest of its body was still submerged in the earthen soil remaining motionless. Song Zhicun¡¯s face was sweating slightly, and his shoulders were very tight, presumably exerting his strength underground. ¡°Get up!¡± He yelled, holding onto the soles of Ou-Yang Yin¡¯s feet, and directly lifting him off the ground. The soil around him was dug out as Ou-Yang Yin was able to escape the grasp. Only then did everyone see that there was a hand in the soil that had been broken out by Song Zhicun. It quickly turned into bones just like the others. Ou-Yang Yin rolled up his trouser legs and a set of five fingerprints around his ankles were clearly visible, showing a dark purple blackish color. Upon seeing this, Li Ying said solemnly: ¡°This is corpse poison*! You must extract it quickly!¡± *(ʬ¶¾) Poison from zombies/the undead. Those who are infected will have their skin fester and lose their senses. In severe cases, their muscles will become stiff, and they eventually become a living corpse. He turned his head to look at Song Zhicun again: ¡°Boss Song, you¡­?¡± Song Zhicun waved his hand: ¡°I¡¯m fine. I have trained my hands deliberately to resist corpse poison.¡± He opened his palm and showed that it was fine. Li Ying took out the cloth bag containing glutinous rice and a talisman paper from the bag, he ignited the talisman, then put it into the cloth bag, stirring it in, and then pressed the entire cloth bag onto Ou-Yang Yin¡¯s leg. Ou-Yang Yin groaned in pain as he gritted his teeth. Song Zhicun said: ¡°Ou-Yang, we¡¯re not too far from the exit. You don¡¯t need to participate in this training. Go back to recuperate first.¡± Ou-Yang Yin looked up: ¡°Boss Song. I can still go on. I insist.¡± After applying the hot compress for a while, Li Ying took off the cloth bag and saw that the black marks on it had not faded but were gradually spreading. Song Zhicun made a decisive decision: ¡°Xiao Ye, you should immediately take Ou-Yang back to find help. There¡¯s a Taoist priest named Chen at the branch. Ask him to heal Ou-Yang¡¯s injuries.¡± Ye Cheng repeatedly nodded: ¡°Okay, I know Taoist Master Chen!¡± Ou-Yang Yin was unwilling, but he also knew that not only would he not be able to continue forward like this, but he would only drag his teammates down. He couldn¡¯t even move without the help of Ye Cheng. ¡°Sorry, I delayed everyone¡¯s time.¡± Song Zhicun patted him on the shoulder: ¡°While we ask that everyone not be afraid of death, we don¡¯t want you to make fearless sacrifices. Let¡¯s talk about recuperating your injuries first.¡± Li Ying tied the glutinous rice bag to his calf and said: ¡°This can temporarily relieve the corpse poison, but you must treat it as soon as possible. Otherwise, it¡¯ll spread quickly.¡± ¡°Thank you!¡± Ou-Yang Yin¡¯s gaze swept across his companions. He arched his hands, both as a farewell and encouragement to them. Everyone also responded with the same gesture. After the two left, everyone moved on. It didn¡¯t take long for them to see a man leaning against the wall. He was bleeding from all his limbs and his eyes were wide open while his lower body was buried in the soil. ¡°When I saw him just now, he was still breathing, but he couldn¡¯t speak anymore,¡± Long Shen said. There was no doubt that this Japanese guy have been attacked by those corpses and suffered from corpse poison just like Ou-Yang Yin, however, he wasn¡¯t as lucky, nor was there a Song Zhicun to help him, so he could only accept his miserable fate. ¡°So, those Japanese didn¡¯t come much earlier than us. We can still catch up to them!¡± Liu Qingbo said. Zhang Song curled his lips: ¡°Isn¡¯t it just fine? There¡¯s danger up ahead and they¡¯re the first to encounter them, just as they deserve. These people didn¡¯t have any good intentions to start with!¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t speak. He still maintained a steady pace forward, but occasionally would remind everyone to be careful above their heads and under their feet. After what happened to Ou-Yang Yin, everyone didn¡¯t dare to take things lightly anymore. They all held weapons in their hands vigilantly and were ready to take action at any time. The sound of water flowing got louder as they progressed closer. Just a few dozen paces ahead, the passage suddenly took a sharp turn, opening to a large river. Long Shen touched the earthen wall on the side of the passage and knocked on it. ¡°This should have been a passage originally, but it was sealed.¡± Everyone took a closer look and found that there was a gap on the top of their heads, which looked like the original position of the stone gate. ¡°Then do we want to forcibly open the sealed door?¡± Liu Qingbo asked. Long Shen shook his head: ¡°Just follow the Japanese.¡± He stepped forward first, and his figure quickly disappeared around the corner, and everyone hurriedly followed. The river was turbulent and wide. When they swept the flashlight over, they could only vaguely see the other side. At the same time, the position of where they were standing suddenly narrowed. After turning the corner of the passage, they realized that they were walking along a cliff, as waves of water splashed up against it from time to time wetting their feet. There was wind blowing from seemingly nowhere that blew the water vapors towards their face. It was so cold that many of them shuddered involuntarily. The passage under their feet could only hold one person walking sideways. In some places it could only accommodate half their feet, which was extremely perilous. Although everyone knew how to swim, no one wanted to tumble into the river. They didn¡¯t know what was in there, so everyone walked cautiously at a slow and steady pace. After they entered the cliff, the position order changed. Dong Zhi stilled followed behind Long Shen, but Ba Sang was now behind him. Despite his tough look, Ba Sang was actually afraid of heights. Although he hugged his body tightly against the wall, he seems to have illusions that he would fall into the river within the next second, but refuse to show any sign of weaknesses, so he still followed closely behind Dong Zhi, though his footsteps were inevitably much slower. Gu Meiren, who was behind him, did not rush him, but Dong Zhi noticed Ba Sang¡¯s strangeness. He stretched out his hand and grabbed Ba Sang¡¯s wrist: ¡°I walk steadily so just follow me.¡± Ba Sang was moved and humbly accepted his offer, but suddenly at this moment something happened! A huge black shadow jumped up from the river, flying towards everyone exhuming a fishy smell that blasted on them from the wind. There was only half an inch of ground below their feet and with companions left and right, no matter how capable they were, they couldn¡¯t escape. Several people were swept into the water immediately. However, Long Shen reacted faster. When someone was about to fall into the water, they were pushed back with a sudden force. A white light appeared in Long Shen¡¯s hand before it suddenly pounced towards the dark shadow. Long Shen had drawn a sword out of nowhere. Dong Zhi and Ba Sang were wide-eyed as they watch Gu Meiren fall off the cliff. They both subconsciously stretch out their hands to pull her, but as a result of the black shadow being hit by Long Shen¡¯s attack, it landed in the river causing a huge wave that rose several meters high and splashing everyone into the water at once. ¡°It¡¯s a python. A giant python!¡± Someone exclaimed. Someone shined their flashlight around the water, and occasionally they would see the reflection of something scaly on the monster¡¯s body, confirming its identity. Dong Zhi has heard of the largest python in the world is the amazon anaconda, which can reach lengths up to 6 meters and could as thick as an adult man. It¡¯s able to swallow an entire alligator whole. But the amazon anaconda was nothing compared to this python in front of him. It wasn¡¯t even significant in size to even slip through the crevices of its teeth. Long Shen was fluttering in the water, holding onto Gu Meiren tightly while swimming towards the shore. When she fell down just now, her head was knocked on by the tail of the giant python, rendering her unconscious as she was about to be washed away by the river. On the other side, Long Shen was fighting fiercely with the giant python. His opponent was huge in size that its upper body hasn¡¯t even been shown yet to reveal it¡¯s face. It only just surfaced its tail, like a cat chasing a mouse, teasing the prey in front of it. However, it quickly discovered that these preys were not as easy to bully as it thought, which reminded it of the unpleasant memories not so long ago. Several of its ¡°prey¡± had also slipped away right under its nose. When Long Shen slashed at the python¡¯s tail with his sword, he left blood marks from a single cut. The pain and blood enraged the python causing it to slowly stretch out its head from the river, trying to see clearly what its prey looks like. ¡°It has three heads! Be careful everyone!¡± Chen Xun shouted. In the dark, six red ¡°lightbulbs¡± wandered up and down. The brightness was faint, yet luminous, but everyone felt terrified from its gaze. Not to be outdone, Liu Qingbo tried to find the python¡¯s tumbling torso in the water. Once he found it, he slashed it with his sword. Unfortunately, his sword was different from Long Shen¡¯s as it simply bounced off the hard scale, leaving no cuts or blood behind. Liu Qingbo was stunned. He had thought to himself that he was masterful in his swordsmanship and possessed enough strength. Even if the sword qi wasn¡¯t as good as Long Shen¡¯s, with the power of his Fejing Sword, shouldn¡¯t he have been able to cut the scales? Could it be that Long Shen¡¯s sword was even more powerful? While he was puzzle over his predicament, everyone else had started to use their own weapons and magic. Even Chi Banxia started chanting a spell, though with such a huge body, it would take time before it could come into effect. Li Ying¡¯s talismans was packed in a waterproof bag, so it wouldn¡¯t get wet, but they didn¡¯t have much effect on the python. This three-headed python was too big. When an object is this large to a certain extent, even if it had many injuries, it was equivalent to just a drop in the bucket for it. What¡¯s more, it¡¯s a behemoth that had survived in this kind of environment for many years! The giant python seemed to be irritated by everyone¡¯s ¡°small movements¡±. One of its head bent down and spouted out a mouthful of black mist at Chen Xun. Song Zhicun quickly grabbed his collar and drag him back, but he couldn¡¯t fully avoid inhaling some, and he started coughing. In the confusion, Song Zhicun didn¡¯t have time to pay any more attention to him. After putting Chen Xun aside, he jumped onto the python and lowered his body. The scales were too slimy, making them slippery, so it was difficult for him to stand still. After a few tries, he was thrown into the water by the python¡¯s tail. He could see that the python itself was a bit injured. It might have been left there by the Japanese, or perhaps something even earlier. Normally it would sleep underwater, but due to this injury, it was incensed, so they had caught it in its worst moment. Everyone looked pale and weak in front of this massive behemoth. It was as if it was invulnerable. Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword couldn¡¯t not cut through it and the attacks of Li Ying, and the others had no effect. Ba Sang wanted to summon an eagle, but they were now deep underground, where no birds would live. For this mythical monster-like three-headed python, the only threat was Long Shen. It was extremely irate at the sword in Long Shen¡¯s hand. Knives and spears had never left any cuts on it, yet this sword had pierce through its scale like nothing. Its three head hissed and twisted, opening their mouths to spray black mist towards Long Shen. Long Shen avoided the attack and slid down the python. Taking advantage of the situation, he used his sword to cut a long bloody grove on the python¡¯s neck. Suffering from the pain, its body twisted more violently, stirring up the river, causing monstrous waves. Under such circumstances, many people could barely their stability let alone attacking with their hands. At this moment, another figure jumped onto the python with lightning speed. It stood still and climbed up dexterously and quickly, attracting many people¡¯s attention. Lin Xuan! Dong Zhi instantly recognized him. He saw Lin Xuan holding a hammer in his hand as he climbed on the python¡¯s body step by step. Every few steps, he would nail a nail onto the python¡¯s body. The nail was as slender as a needle, which would feel like a mosquito bite to the python. Since it wasn¡¯t painful, Lin Xuan took the advantage of it and eventually reaching the middle section of the python¡¯s head. He then raised his hammer and slammed it into one of its eyes! Originally, Lin Xuan had followed them, and no one took him seriously. They thought of him as an outsider and would secretly guard against him, but Lin Xuan didn¡¯t take it to heart and just smiled all day long. Coupled with the fact of his identity as part of the Lin Family of Lingnan, it wasn¡¯t easy for them to give him face, or even get close to him as they didn¡¯t have much to talk about. However, Lin Xuan didn¡¯t care either. Except for teasing Dong Zhi from time to time, he communicated more with Song Zhicun. As for Long Shen, he treated him equally like everyone else, and would speak very few words. Bang! A towering wave could be heard from the python¡¯s movement. This showed just how much strength Lin Xuan used. The eye that was like a red lightbulb was smashed as blood splashed out from its eyeballs. It hissed and shook fiercely, throwing Lin Xuan off, more than ten meters away. He fell into the river, and his fate was unknown. Blinded in one eye cause the snake head in the middle to become confused, then it retaliated more violently. Long Shen, who was in its sight became the object of its revenge. The three heads bear their fangs at the same time and rushed towards him. The black mist spewed out of the python¡¯s mouth and was divided into three strands, almost covering Long Shen¡¯s entire body. ¡°Be careful!¡± Someone shouted, but their voice was quickly drowned by the surging river. Long Shen¡¯s figure rose steeply, hoping on a cliff nearby, avoiding the black mist. He kicked his foot and used his strength to pounce on the python, hugging its neck as he pierced it with his sword. ¡°I¡¯ll hold it off. Everyone, go first!¡± Long Shen shouted. His voice was slightly hoarse from the excessive exertion, but his strength was still there and indomitable. Dong Zhi was floating in the water. He drew his sword and slashed at the python¡¯s body. With a clank, the sword rebounded, proving to him that the python had cultivated into an indestructible body. Even the Changshou Sword, that could cut iron like mud, couldn¡¯t even scratch it. He wasn¡¯t sure who would win or lose if Kan Chaosheng fought against this three-headed giant python. Of course, it¡¯s impossible for an ordinary python to match a Jiao, but the three-headed giant python in front of them was like a fierce mythological monster. Perhaps it¡¯s even more powerful than Kan Chaosheng. The giant python became impatient from all the tickling. Its huge body swayed and churned in the water, as if it was turning the river upside down. A huge wave rolled towards Dong Zhi who had had just narrowly avoided the python¡¯s tail. However, the current slammed into his head, making him dizzy that he blacked out for a few seconds. In addition, he had drunk a few mouthfuls of the fishy river water and had even swallowed some of it. Looking at the place where he fell just now, he saw a person leaning against the wall, waving her hands, as if she was doing some ritual. Taking a closer look, it turned out to be Xie Qingling. She seemed to be waving aimless with empty hands, but in fact there were two extremely thin silk threads tied to her hands. Suddenly two children fell on the python, walking steadily step-by-step. Their expressions were lifeless, but their movements were dexterous with an indescribable weirdness. ¡°What is that?!¡± Ba Sang was dumbfounded. ¡°Puppet master! She¡¯s a puppet master!¡± Chi Banxia exclaimed to relieve his confusion. Ba Sang then suddenly realize why Xie Qingling had been so secretive about her abilities. Most likely she was worried her companions would look at her strangely if they had known. At this time, two puppets in the form of children were holding daggers as they walked slowly on the python, as if looking for a weakness. Xie Qingling continued waving her hands with her eyes closed, as her brows twisted into several folds. The python had lived here for many years, so while its scales were hard as iron, some had worn out in the years. Suddenly the child puppets stood still. The little boy raised his dagger and plunged into one the scales! The dagger was halfway in, but it was popped out again in a blink of an eye. The python¡¯s left head turned around and hissed at it, biting off the head of the boy puppet in a single bite, then swept towards the girl puppet. With a cough, Xie Qingling spurted out a mouthful of blood. Others were in no better condition than she was as they all struggled in the water. They have all kinds of abilities, but they usually dealt with zombies, evil spirits, and demons. In front of this fierce monster that exalted absolute power, they were completely helpless. Hearing Long Shen¡¯s words, Song Zhicun also shouted: ¡°Hurry up and try to leave. Don¡¯t try to fight recklessly. Bring up the rear!¡± Reality has hit the spirit of the group of the young people hard, almost completely wiping out their morale. Their single solution could only be this. Li Ying took Gu Meiren and the others started to run in the opposite direction of the python, but it seemed to notice the intention of its ¡°prey¡±. Having already lost an eye, it became more ferocious. It rolled up its tail and slapped the water fiercely causing the river to suddenly rush to the narrow riverbank. As it continued slamming its tail into the water, it caused the river to continually rise rapidly that eventually it swept Li Ying and the others into the river again, all while it was still fighting against Long Shen and Song Zhicun, sparing almost no effort to attack the others. Liu Qingbo was frustrated by his failure and his heart became angry. He looked at the figure of Long Shen still fighting fiercely with the giant python and gritted his teeth. He held onto his flashlight and plunged into the water with his sword. Its common knowledge to hit the snake seven inches and hit them three inches*. Everyone knew this, but the problem when facing such a behemoth let alone finding its seven and three inches, they couldn¡¯t even leave a dent on it. *(´òÉß´òÆߴ磬´òÉß´òÈý´ç) Metaphor for one must grasp the main link when speaking or doing things (AKA hit them where it hurts). This though also has a literally meaning as they are fighting an actual snake. In terms of whether its 7 inches or 3 inches, it¡¯s referring to the location with 7 being the snake¡¯s heart and 3 being the snake¡¯s spine. The python was churning in the water, muddying up the river, while the range of everyone¡¯s flashlight was limited. Liu Qingbo could only rely on his intuition to judge the location of the python as he swam forward through the dark and muddy waves. Suddenly, a huge undercurrent surged, and he subconsciously waved his sword to resist, but forgot that against the waves, his sword power and speed were halved. The undercurrent came towards him and pushed him back involuntarily. A hand suddenly stretched out from the side, grabbed his arm and dragged it to the side. Liu Qingbo was taken aback, as he was about to stab the figure subconsciously, but the flashlight shone a vague face. He was furious and shook the other party off and made another gesture to keep the other party away from him. The other party reluctantly refused to relent, and kept holding on to him, gesticulating, as if to tell him what he wanted to do. While practitioners can hold their breath much longer underwater than ordinary people, they didn¡¯t possess gills that would allow them to breath endlessly underwater. After being delayed by his opponent, Liu Qingbo¡¯s breath was almost exhausted that he had to float to the surface. He shouted viciously: ¡°Can you fuck off!¡± Dong Zhi ignored his bad mouth. In front of this three-headed giant python, everyone had the same goal. ¡°Do you want to sneak attack underwater? Let me help you!¡± Liu Qingbo sneered: ¡°It would be nice if you don¡¯t drag down your own legs. What can you do for me?!¡± Just now, Dong Zhi saw Long Shen and Song Zhicun dealing with the python to buy them some time to escape, but the python was quick and though they wanted to run, it didn¡¯t let them. He not only wanted to help Long Shen, but also wanted to help himself and his companions get to safety. Dong Zhi wiped the water from his face and said quickly: ¡°I heard that three inches and seven inches are the python¡¯s weakness, but you¡¯ve already seen it. It¡¯s so huge that it¡¯s impossible to find, but it should still have a weakness underwater. I have a Changshou Sword and you the Feijng. We can work together!¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°What weakness?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°The anus!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Liu Qingbo suspected that he had heard it wrong. Dong Zhi thought he didn¡¯t understand and said anxiously: ¡°The chrysanthemum*!¡± *Another way to refer to the anus. Liu Qingbo: ¡­ Dong Zhi: ¡°Do you want to do it or not?¡± Any kind of creature that¡¯s stabbed with a sharp weapon will not feel good, and this place is almost the same key points as the others*. *Referring to the 7 inches/3inchs (heart/spine). The corners of Liu Qingbo¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°Do you know where its chrysanthemum is?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I have seen a specimen of this type of snake. It should be near the tail. It¡¯s upper part is not easy to get close to, but its lower body is relatively easy. The structure of this python should be similar to that of an anaconda¡¯s!¡± The situation was urgent, and Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t bear to think about it further. He nodded casually and agreed to the plan. The author has something to say£º Liu Qingbo: One stumble and you¡¯ll become eternally hated. Dong Zhi: There is no smarter person than me. Kinky Thoughts: WTF LMAO. An intense battle has now led to this. BTW just want to make a note that there¡¯s about 20+ people in this group so the actions that the author is describing is all happening simultaneously. So when Long Shen shouted that he¡¯ll hold it off while everyone run away, it¡¯s not that they¡¯re not doing it, but the POV jumps to someone else that¡¯s currently in mid-action before he said it. It¡¯s a bit confusing but this is the result when there¡¯s too many characters in the scene. CH 57 The two took a deep breath, dived back in, and moved forward with great difficulty in the muddy water. The python¡¯s body loomed in in the water, the size of it was almost the height of a train. It won¡¯t be easy to find the hole of such a behemoth. Water constantly surged all over their bodies. The river was deep that their foot didn¡¯t reach the bottom. Dong Zhi could barely control his body while he was on constant vigilance from being swept by the python¡¯s body. As soon as he saw a dark shadow looming above, he immediately dove into the water as the tail of the python swept across the top of his head. Dong Zhi kicked out and grabbed the body of the python with his hand. At this moment, he was suddenly grateful for his kungfu tona that he had learned. At least now he could hold his breath underwater for much longer, instead of constantly floating to the top to get air. The python¡¯s body was scaly and slippery to touch. He bit on the flashlight and held it in his mouth as he groped upward according to his feeling. The impact of the water made his body float like seaweed. He faintly saw Liu Qingbo¡¯s figure as the other party was doing the same thing as him. While touching the scales all over with his hands, Liu Qingbo cursed Dong Zhi from the bottom of his heart for his stupidity. Why did he believe the other party¡¯s words in a moment of confusion! It would have been better for him to follow Li Ying and the others to escape, than looking for a chrysanthemum! Still, he held his grievances in his heart, as he didn¡¯t want to be a deserter. He hoped to be accepted as Long Shen¡¯s apprentice and proved that he was the best candidate for him. The name Liu Qingbo would sooner or later be famous within the history of the Special Administration Bureau! Although he kept his mouth closed, it was inevitable that a littler water would enter. The rancid smell made him nauseous. Seeing as how Dong Zhi was next him, he held his postulation, as he didn¡¯t want to be seen as a joke in front of him. He continued groping around the python¡¯s tail trying to find his goal. Perhaps it was because their actions were too insignificant or perhaps it was because Long Shen and Song Zhicun was distracting it, the three-headed giant python did not respond fiercely to their small movements, as its tail maintained a regular swinging motion. Graudally, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had figured out some of its patterns and became accustomed to it, so they weren¡¯t thrown off at every turn. Suddenly Liu Qingbo almost screamed aloud! He almost forgotten that he was still underwater and was holding his breath! His reaction was due to touching a scale that was clearly different from the one next to it. He opened it slightly and there seemed to be a small hole under it. In fact, it can¡¯t really be called a small hole, because he could insert his entire arm into it, but compared to the body of the giant python, it would be considered small. As soon as he put his finger in, Liu Qingbo realized that this place was used by the giant python to excrete. He suddenly felt sick as he quickly pulled his hand back, took out his Feijing Sword, peeled the scales with one hand and inserted the sword into it without hesitation! In an instant, thick liquid gushed out of the hole, spreading rapidly in the water and spilling it all over his face. Almost at the same time, the three-headed python became enraged and churned violently. This pain was much more severe than when it had lost an eye to Long Shen just now. Its movements shook the entire cave so violently that even Li Ying and the others could feel the ground shaking! The tail of the giant python tossed desperately in the water, provoking waves after waves. With a bang, its tail slammed against the stone wall, creating another violent shaking. Large and small stones fell from the top causing everyone to hurriedly avoid them. It had lived here for hundreds of years and was the ruler here, yet now, these small and weak creatures dared to challenge its authority! Liu Qingbo had always had the mentality of either doing nothing or do it perfectly. After the Feijing Sword was inserted into the chrysanthemum of the python, he clenched the hilt and stirred it with his body, using the sharp blade to wreak havoc on the inside of the python¡¯s body. Although the python had scaly armor on the outside making it invulnerable, on the inside was soft and held fragile organs. The entire abdominal cavity was almost devastated by Liu Qingbo¡¯s stirring. The pain immediately mapped to the python¡¯s brain causing the three heads to hissed and roar as it crazily twist frantically. For a while, it felt like the sky was falling, and the mountains and rivers shook, almost turning the entire cave into a shura field*! *(ÐÞÂÞ³¡) Is used to describe a tragic battlefield. Later the meaning was extended to a person¡¯s desperate struggle in a difficult situation. ¡°What¡¯s going on?!¡± Song Zhicun exclaimed. He and Long Shen didn¡¯t hesitate much and flew forward to attack the python. The giant python became even crazier. One head slammed into the stone wall, while another head bit at Long Shen and Song Zhicun, while the last head bent down and plunged into the water, trying to find the culprit who injured it. The three heads spewed black mist at the same time, that was far stronger than previous, and it quickly spread. Since he was in the water, there was no need to worry about be sprayed by the black mist, but the taste didn¡¯t make him feel any better. As soon as Liu Qingbo was inattive, his whole body was washed away by a huge undercurrent. Just now, when the python was struggling, a huge boulder had fell into the water and hit his arm. He felt severe pain and could only paddle with one arm while the entire river was turned upside down by the python. It was impossible to swim with just one arm, especially in this situation. He wanted to surface in order to catch a breath but found that the undercurrent was raging everywhere, wrapping him in all directions. The pressure was too powerful that it overwhelmed him. With the loss of his strength and his body unable to exert anymore, Liu Qingbo tragically found that his breath was almost exhausted, and he would drown in a few more seconds. He didn¡¯t know where the flashlight he had was thrown to so there was only darkness all around him, and his ears only heard the sounds of gurgling water. He couldn¡¯t even hear the movements of the water, let alone the voices of Long Shen and the others. Could it be that he¡¯ll die here before he could succeed in his studies? If he died here, would he be posthumously recognized as a martyr and granted special approval to enter the Special Administration Bureau? He thought about how his own portrait would be hung in the Special Administration Bureau, and every year as new students would come in, they would be pulled over to visit it and listen to the narrator explain: ¡°This person died heroically stabbing a giant python¡¯s chrysanthemum with a sword during a practice exam¡­¡± Fuck that! It was too embarrassing that he rather not be recognized at all! He wanted to blame that fucker* Dong Zhi who came up with such an idea! *Killing a thousand knives (ɱǧµ¶µÄ) = In ancient times refers to death by a thousand cuts (from knives). Nowadays it¡¯s a cursed word referring to a bad person. As he was lost in his thoughts, his neck was suddenly encircled, and his body started floating upwards involuntarily. He was taken aback and slowly his consciousness returned to him. He thought it was an enemy¡¯s attack and subconsciously slammed his elbow against it. Despite being in a state of half-consciousness, Liu Qingbo¡¯s strength was not light. His attack almost made Dong Zhi let out the air he was holding in as a bunch of bubbles escaped from his mouth. Still, Dong Zhi kept holding onto Liu Qingbo, no matter how hard his opponent struggled, as he dragged up to the upper reaches of the river. Eventually, Liu Qingbo¡¯s strength exhausted and his struggling became less intense, until it finally stopped completely, allowing Dong Zhi to drag him out. Dong Zhi¡¯s condition wasn¡¯t much better than his opponent. His entire arm was almost out of strength and the Changshou Sword that he was lugging behind him had become extremely heavy at this time. It seems as if it was dragging him down. All the while, Dong Zhi kept silent thinking that he couldn¡¯t die here. How could he be with his male god if he were to die here! Never mind that, if thousands of years later, others who come here and saw two withered bones entangled together, wouldn¡¯t they reach some kind of wrong assumption?! The projection was so terrible that it was enough to stimulate Dong Zhi. In the end, though his mind was muddled, he didn¡¯t know how, but he was able to rescue Liu Qingbo and dragged him ashore. After lifting the upper body of the person to the shore and ensure that he would not slide back down, he completely lost his strength. He collapsed on the side and only had the strength to exhale and inhale. Time passed and Liu Qingbo was the first wake up. He was surprised when he opened his eyes because the first thing, he saw was a big, pale, face with its eyes closed right in front of him. ¡°Hey!¡± Liu Qingbo wanted to reach out and nudge the other but found that his arms was resting on his head, which had long gone numb. The other was still trembling slightly due to excessive exertion that he couldn¡¯t move at all. ¡°Wake up!¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s eyelashes trembled a few times, and when Dong Zhi opened his eyes laboriously, he saw Liu Qingbo¡¯s flustered expression looking around. ¡°Where¡¯s my Feijing Sword?!¡± Dong Zhi took a deep breath, turned over, and lay on his back on the shore. If it weren¡¯t for his lower body still soaked in water, it would be as if he was sunbathing on the silver sand by the ocean. ¡°Did you forget to pull it out of the chrysanthemum?¡± he said. Liu Qingbo¡¯s face turned instantly turned blue. He couldn¡¯t imagine that his famous sword through the ages was now buried inside the chrysanthemum of a giant python! ¡°It¡¯s all your fault. If it weren¡¯t for your bad idea, my Feijing Sword wouldn¡¯t be lost!¡± he said angrily. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s all my fault.¡± Dong Zhi perfunctorily coaxed him like a child, but his tone was soft, as his breathing shortened. Only then did Liu Qingbo saw that Dong Zhi¡¯s face was whiter than a sheet of paper. Dong Zhi closed his eyes and didn¡¯t speak anymore, looking as if he was a dead man. This involuntarily made Liu Qingbo¡¯s heart stir. ¡°Hey!¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s eyelids trembled, but he didn¡¯t bother to open them. ¡°¡­just now, thanks.¡± Liu Qingbo reluctantly said. Dong Zhi opened his eyes and looked at him in surprise. Liu Qingbo was not used to being soft with others since he was a child, especially when the other is the object of his contempt. Speaking this sentence was more uncomfortable than being cut with a knife. Still, he felt he needed to say it, because if it weren¡¯t for Dong Zhi just now, his fate would most likely be buried at the bottom of the river. Dong Zhi could¡¯ve abandoned him and then relay his death to the others, or not even tell them at all and eventually the others would find out about his disappearance. ¡°I admit that you are now qualified to become my rival. However, I¡¯lll never give up becoming an apprentice to Boss Long,¡± Liu Qingbo said awkwardly. Dong Zhi said weakly: ¡°Save your efforts from talking big brother. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s weird?¡± ¡°What?¡± Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t have the strength to move, so he could only roll his eyes as he thought in his heart, he have just given him color and now he¡¯s opening a dye workshop*. Reminder: Metaphor for insatiable greed (AKA give an inch take a mile). Dong Zhi: ¡°This place doesn¡¯t seem to be where we fell into the water just now.¡± Liu Qingbo was taken aback, as he barely supported his body to look around. It was dark, but there was still some light. The light didn¡¯t seem to be from a flashlight. They had lost their flashlights when they were struggling underwater. The light was faint, and they didn¡¯t know whether it was coming from plants or beasts. It was a cluster of them, like dandelions, and they swayed gently under a mountain¡¯s breeze. Like in *, the male protagonist, under the leadership of the female protagonist, walked through these plants that glowed at night, and appreciated the amazing beauty between their different worlds. *I believe this is the scene he¡¯s referring to. I would recommend watching it to get an idea of what the scene he¡¯s describing looks like. However, being underground, where did this mountain breeze come from? Liu Qingbo was shocked slightly, as his consciousness became clearer. ¡°Where is Boss Long and Boss Song?!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I don¡¯t know. I think we might be separated.¡± They were at the edge of the pool of water and around it was gentle slopes. They need to climb up them to see the road ahead clearly. The glowing plants were close at hand. Liu Qingbo stretched out his palm to pick one up and examined it but he was slapped on the hand by Dong Zhi. ¡°Curiosity killed the cat,¡± Dong Zhi said righteously. Liu Qingbo glare at him, presumably from the pain of the slap, but he didn¡¯t persist. The two of them sat for a while using their kungfu tona to recuperate. They felt that their strength had recovered a bit and slowly got up from the ground. Liu Qingbo¡¯s gaze swept past the Changshou Sword that was behind Dong Zhi and said sourly: ¡°You should have used your sword while we were underwater!¡± Dong Zhi sighed: ¡°This is just life!¡± Liu Qingbo¡¯s hands felt itchy. Their strength were exhausted so they could only channel what energy they have left into bickering. The gentle slope in front of them was not much higher than a person, so usually they could climb over it in two to three steps, but now it would take the strength of nine bulls and two tigers* to barely reach the top. *(¾ÅÅ£¶þ»¢Ö®Á¦) Idiom referring to an immense amount of effort (AKA a Herculean effort). When they finally mange to climb up, they were both stunned. They saw four entrances in front of them, leading in four different directions. There were faintly glowing ¡°dandelions¡± in the corner along the way, which vague illuminated the distance, but the light was not enough to see what¡¯s beyond these caves. The distance remained dark and infinite as all four caves looked exactly the same. ¡°Which way to go?¡± Liu Qingbo was dumbfounded. Dong Zhi: ¡°Rock, paper, scissors to decide?¡± Liu Qingbo said angrily: ¡°How can you be so unorthodox?!¡± Dong Zhi looked innocently: ¡°Then what better suggestion do you have?¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°Where¡¯s your compass. Take it out and measure it.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I don¡¯t have one.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°Don¡¯t you use talismans? How do you determine the position without a compass?!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I use the compass app on my phone.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­ He really wanted to slap this person flat, but he couldn¡¯t. Besides him, there¡¯s only this gasping person next to him so he must endure! Dong Zhi lowered his head to check his equipment. When he came out this time, he specifically used waterproof bags to hold his items that contained talismans, talisman paper, cinnabar, brushes and the likes. There was also a little dry food and water, which didn¡¯t take up a lot of space, so he kept it for a rainy day*. *Emergency use. He took out his phone but saw that there was no signal, but it could still be used without the internet. The compass app still works just fine. Looking back and forth, there seemed to be no abnormality between the caves. ¡°These four caves lead south, east, north, and west. Which way should we go?¡± He asked Liu Qingbo. Liu Qingbo answered angrily: ¡°Whatever you want! Just pick whichever you like!¡± Dong Zhi said casually: ¡°Purple clouds* comes from the east, which makes the east particularly auspicious so let¡¯s go east!¡± *(×ÏÆø) In ancient times, is thought to be auspicious since it has the affiliation as the harbinger of the appearance of emperors, sages, ect. Liu Qingbo was a little anxious: ¡°We have to hurry up and rendezvous with the Boss Long!¡± Dong Zhi comforted: ¡°It¡¯s useless to be anxious. I also want to see them soon, but we need to take it step by step.¡± In terms of field survival experience, he wasn¡¯t as experienced than Liu Qingbo, but Liu Qingbo found that the other party was far more at ease than himself, even calm maybe. Perhaps he had resigned to the status quo and accepted it helplessly. Seeing that Liu Qingbo was still unhappy, Dong Zhi said: ¡°Just think, if I wasn¡¯t here, wouldn¡¯t it be worse for you to be alone and not have someone to quarrel with? God had graced us so well.¡± Liu Qingbo suddenly asked: ¡°Did you bring incense and a lighter? I heard that you could invite Gods. Can you ask them which way we should go now to meet with Boss Long and the others?¡± Dong Zhi smiled bitterly and said: ¡°Brother, how can I have the strength to invite God now? And you¡¯ve seen all the corpses and spirits around. So many have died here, the ancients, the Japanese. Who knows what I¡¯ll invite if I tried!¡± Liu Qingbo also knew that what he was saying was true, so he had to give up. The two sat on the ground and rested for a while, and when they regained a little strength, they stood up and walked to the cave to the east. In the dark environment, the faint light of one or two points became comfort to their soul. People are destined to live in light, especially at this time, a little light can also double their sense of security. If your eyes can see things, you won¡¯t be at a loss. Dong Zhi said to Liu Qingbo: ¡°You have lost your sword, so stay behind me.¡± ¡°When we encounter danger later, we¡¯ll see who will save who!¡± Liu Qingbo curled his lips. He may not be able to understand the other party¡¯s good intentions, but this mouth continues to involuntarily spew attacks. ¡°In front. There¡¯s a black figure. Is it a stone or¡­?¡± ¡°It seems to be a person.¡± The two of them stopped at the same time, glanced at each other, and slowed down. Dong Zhi took out his phone, turned it on airplane mode to save as much power as possible, then turned on the flashlight. Since they had lost their flashlight, this was their only remaining source of light, so they had to use it sparingly. The bright light shone on the contours of most of the cave in front of him, faintly illuminating the situation ahead. There was a person leaning on the ground, motionless. ¡°It seems to be¡­ Xing Qiaosheng?¡± Liu Qingbo said uncertainly. This was one of the 20 candidates that had passed through to the final training course. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t familiar with him because he usually follows after Zhang Song and wasn¡¯t very talkative. To Dong Zhi, he would only greet him superficially, and don¡¯t bother mentioning his interaction with Liu Qingbo. The two seem to have never interacted at all! ¡°Qiaosheng?¡± Dong Zhi tentatively said. The two approached slowly. The light source on Dong Zhi¡¯s phone illuminated the dropping face on the figure. Sure enough, it was Xing Qiaosheng! Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi took a step back. Huh?! They saw Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s eyes tightly closed, his face was convered in dense purple meridians, his lips had completely turned purplish black, and the skin below his neck that was not covered in clothing had turn completely black! ¡°Qiaosheng! Qiaosheng!¡± Dong Zhi shouted, but the figure remained motionless. Dong Zhi bent over and stretch out his hand, but Liu Qinbo held it down. Still, they must determine whether the other party was still alive or dead. Dong Zhi continued to move his hand and stopped right under Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s nose. ¡°It seems¡­ he¡¯s dead.¡± Liu Qingbo suddenly pulled out the Changshou Sword from behind Dong Zhi and gently cut Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s shirt open. Wherever the sword went, the clothes would crack inch by inch. Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s neck was also dyed purplish black. The two were silent for a moment, mourning for their lost companion. Before they set off, Song Zhicun mentioned that death was extremely possible and told them to take this trip seriously. However, relying on their own skills, they were still ignorant of the greatness of heaven and earth, and felt that it wouldn¡¯t be so easy for them to become a ¡°lucky¡± one. Until Liu Qingbo almost died in the water and now witnessing firsthand the death of one of their companions. Dong Zhi felt sad. Although he didn¡¯t have much contact with Xing Qiaosheng, he was after all their companion. If he hadn¡¯t died here, he might have been able to leave this area safely and become a member of the Special Administration Bureau. After mourning for a bit, Dong Zhi investigated: ¡°What¡¯s the cause? Poisoning? Did he touch those glowing flowers?¡± Liu Qingbo said: ¡°He may have come from the direction we are going, that is to say, there may be fatal danger ahead.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What do you mean?¡± Liu Qingbo did not hesitate: ¡°Change direction! Go another route!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Which way?¡± Liu Qingbo thought for a while: ¡°The north faces south and is the position of the emperor. Let¡¯s go north!¡± The two of them had just entered the cave not long ago so it wasn¡¯t too late to withdraw. Before leaving, they bowed to Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s body again, and Dong Zhi said softly: ¡°We still have to find our way out and can¡¯t take you with us. If we have a chance in the future, we¡¯ll find your body and take it back for burial. Please rest in peace!¡± They exited the cave and found the one to the north. This time it went much smoother. After walking for nearly half an hour, they encountered no danger. Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but said triumphantly: ¡°Look, just listen to me¡­¡± Before he finished speaking the words, Dong Zhi suddenly stretched out his hand and dragged him behind him and took out his Changshou Sword and slashed in front. A pale wrist fell to the ground while the other was still buried in the earthen wall of the cave. Liu Qingbo: ¡­ Dong Zhi said deeply: ¡°When you least want something to happen, bad things tend to happen. This is called Murphy¡¯s Law.¡± Liu Qingbo said angrily: ¡°Murphy¡¯s Law my ass! Let¡¯s hurry back!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s too late. Look behind you.¡± Liu Qingbo suddenly turned his head and saw that on the road they had just came from, hands started to appear one after another, scratching their fingers in the void, as if waiting for their prey to fall into their net. Recalling the five-finger mark on Ou-Yang Yin¡¯s ankle, the two of them took a deep breath and galloped forward at the same time, walking faster, eventually simply sprinting with all their might. More hands started breaking out from the ground and occasionally they will burst from the top of the cave above their heads. The sides were even more difficult to avoid. It seems as if this entire cave was like a demon¡¯s bloody mouth that was swallowing them. Along the way they encountered more ¡°dandelions¡± allow their vision to become clearer. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t pay much attention as he still gripped on Liu Qingbo as they both continued running forward. He didn¡¯t know how long they had been running but eventually they didn¡¯t encounter any more hands, so they slowly slowed down. He let go of Liu Qingbo, bent down, and panted. ¡°We ran pretty far. Where are we going to find Boss Long and the others? Should we continue forward?¡± Dong Zhi said while gasping for breath, breaking up his sentence into intermittent pieces. However, he didn¡¯t hear a response from Liu Qingbo, who would normally yell and shout at him. The surrounding was completely quiet that he couldn¡¯t even hear Liu Qingbo¡¯s breathing. Dong Zhi¡¯s heart sank. He was tense all over and slowly turned his head back. While mentally prepared, his scalp couldn¡¯t help but tingle! Liu Qingbo who had fled with him had disappeared and was now replaced by Xing Qiaosheng, who should have been dead. His opponent¡¯s face was covered with purple meridians becoming weirder in the faint light, and his eyeballs were half convex as they looked at him faintly. ¡°Qiao-Qiaosheng?¡± Dong Zhi tentatively said as he prepared his body to run for its life at any moment. Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s movements were faster than he thought. Almost before he finished speaking, his opponent had rushed up and overwhelmed him as he tried to strangle Dong Zhi¡¯s neck tightly. Dong Zhi grabbed his arm in response and broke it forcefully, then kicked him in his lower body, but Xing Qiaosheng remained motionless, extremely sturdy. The hand gripping his neck became tighter while Dong Zhi dug his nails into his opponent¡¯s skin, but it felt as if he was holding onto an old tree that was shriveled and inelastic. In desperation, he bit the tip of his tongue hard and soon smelled a fishy smell. Mixed with his saliva, he sprayed out a mouthful of blood foam. In normal times, he wouldn¡¯t be able to do this, as he was afraid of pain. At most, he would cut himself with the sword to draw blood, but facts have proven that in critical times, the glands secrete hormones that draws out human¡¯s infinite potential. Anything that¡¯s usually unimaginable could happen. The mouthful of blood foam splashed onto Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s face causing him to shake slightly and loosened his strength. Dong Zhi took the opportunity to kick him while he rolled away. He stood up, took out his Chengshou Sword that had fallen nearby and swung it. Only then did he clearly see Xing Qiaosheng standing in front of him, clearly transformed into a ghoul. His facial features were so rotten that he could hardly recognize his original appearance. The sword slashed open the ghoul¡¯s chest, but no blood flowed out. Instead, his opponent continued to rush towards him. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth, used his arms to exert his strength while he held the sword with both hands, preparing to cut off someone¡¯s head with it! With a swing he slashed again, but his strength was weak. Instead of cleanly cutting off the head, it made a deep gash that made the ghoul¡¯s head title to the side. However, its mobility remained unabated. Dong Zhi: ¡­ If it weren¡¯t for the battle with the python and having to swim for so long just now, he didn¡¯t believe that he couldn¡¯t behead this ghoul! Still, if one swing won¡¯t do it, then just do it in two. Fwap! Two-thirds of the ghoul¡¯s head fell off, while a third still clung on its shoulders. Dong Zhi was going mad! The ghoul seemed to become completely enraged as he whizzed its hands that had long black nails towards Dong Zhi like the wind. Another swing! Finally, the head flew completely off and hit the wall, bouncing on it before rolling down. Dong Zhi stepped back a few steps to breathe and waited until he was sure the ghoul would not be resurrected again. Kinky Thoughts: Third time¡¯s the charm. CH 58 On the other end, Liu Qingbo was also going crazy! He clearly remembered that he walked into the cave heading north with Dong Zhi, and ran into Xing Qiaosheng, who was already dead. Dong Zhi wanted to check on his breath, but he grabbed his collar and pulled him back and said angrily: ¡°Be careful. What if he suddenly opened his eyes and bite you?!¡± After Liu Qingbo finished speaking, he took out a short dagger from his waist, cut off a piece of hair and threw it towards Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s nose. If he was still alive, traces of his breath will blow the hair away. The result was as expected. Xing Qiaosheng was indeed dead. This fact made Liu Qingbo a little bit lost. He retracted his dagger, straightened himself up, sigh with a rare melancholy, and turned his head and was about to say something when he found that Dong Zhi, who was standing right behind him, had suddenly disappeared! Even if his opponent had wings, it was impossible for him to fly so fast. Liu Qingbo stood upright and shouted: ¡°Surname Dong!¡± It was not Dong Zhi that answered him, but Xing Qiaosheng who suddenly opened his eyes and grabbed his calf. Liu Qingbo was dragged to the ground, but he reacted extremely quickly. Using the dagger in hand, he immediately slashed at his opponent. The weapons he carried on his body were naturally all famous weapons. While the dagger was short, its sharpness was not inferior to that of his Feijing Sword. Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s wrist was cut off immediately. With another quick slash that was fast and ruthless, Liu Qingbo¡¯s opponent¡¯s head landed on the ground. Taking advantage of the situation, he kicked his opponent away as he sat on the ground still panting. ¡°Surname Dong? Dong Zhi?!¡± In response to him, there were layers of oscillating echoes. ¡°Dong Zhi, you bastard!¡± On the other side, just after killing the ghoul, Dong Zhi, who hadn¡¯t calmed down, couldn¡¯t hear Liu Qingbo¡¯s scolding. He suddenly thought of something. When they all came in, Ou-Yang Yin broke his ankle because he was grasped by a ghoul and suffering corpse poisoning. Song Zhicun said he would die if he didn¡¯t treat it in time. Since everyone was in a hurry to find the Japanese and the bronze mirror, there was no time to delay and they couldn¡¯t retreat, so he asked Ye Cheng to take him out to treat his injuries first. Now, he himself, was strangled by the ghoul for a while. Could he have been poisoned too? He involuntarily touched his neck and found that his skin wasn¡¯t scratch. The pain was still there but there was nothing strange to the touch, and he couldn¡¯t see any traces that were left behind. Even if was truly poisoned, in such a place, it would be impossible to turn around and seek help like Ou-Yang Yin did. To make matters worse, he might not even be able to see Long Shen before he dies. What¡¯s even more tragic is he hadn¡¯t paid homage to his master, and he hasn¡¯t even let Long Shen know about his feelings. Dong Zhi¡¯s brain started going off a tangent, imagining himself silently dying in a corner where no one could see. Thousands of years later, others would set foot here again and see ¡°the tomb of the single dog Dong Zhi¡± that was carved into the stone wall by his sword and would sigh: ¡°This person was still a single dog when he was dying!¡± How miserable, too miserable. If he could at least maintain the corpse poison until he sees his male god again, he would act as he turn around poignantly and fall into Long Shen¡¯s arms, looking at him affectionately, and say that he had one last wish before his death and that would be if Long Shen could satisfy him. Since Long Shen loves the weak so much, he couldn¡¯t possibly refuse. At this time, he would take the opportunity to confess his feelings and ask the male god to give him a French kiss. No, no, no. What if Long Shen also get infected with the corpse poison after this passionate kiss? Forget it. Never mind the kiss. Rather he¡¯ll just confess passionately, and then close his eyes reluctantly after he breathe his last breath. Long Shen¡¯s tears will fall on his face as the camera does a close-up in slow motion. Very good, perfect. Dong Zhi squatted in place and fantasized for a long time. After a while, he assessed the situation and found that there was no side-effect form the corpse poison. Except being a little tired, when he touched his heart, he felt his heartbeat was normal and he seemed to be in good health. He patted the dust off his ass and stood up, continuing to walk forward. About thirty meters away was the end of the cave. There was a bend so he couldn¡¯t see what was up ahead after the turn. He slowed down and clench the hilt of his sword. The surrounding was extremely quiet. Even the sound of footsteps and breathing seemed to form layers of echoes, which inexplicable increase the pressure on his heart. At this moment, he began to miss Liu Qingbo. Although that guy was a tsundere and awkward, at any rate, if there was someone he could bicker with, it¡¯ll provide a distraction, so he wouldn¡¯t be too nervous. Now that there¡¯s no one talking, and his energy was fully concentrated, it seems that even the wind in the air felt dangerous. Nothing happened. Passing through the end of the passage, when he turned the corner, everything was quiet, as if the whole world seemed to be separated from where and he came from. Dong Zhi suddenly stopped. A weird feeling gradually permeated. With a thump, his little heart almost jumped out of his throat. Something¡¯s wrong. Isn¡¯t this the place where they just left the tomb and came in?! Just ahead was where Ou-Yang Yin was injured by a sneak attack from a ghoul¡¯s hand and had to withdraw with Ye Cheng. Further ahead, they would see a hapless Japanese man. Could it be that after walking around he had went in a circle and returned to the same place?! Thinking that something was off, Dong Zhi turned around and ran back. He found as he ran back to the cave, the ghoul whose head he had chopped off had disappeared. Let alone the corpse, there wasn¡¯t a slightest trace of it left! What the hell is going on? Could it be an illusion? But if so, when did it start? Has it been since he rescued Liu Qingbo in the water, or since he and Liu Qingbo entered the cave? Or perhaps he never saved Liu Qingbo at all and the two were already buried at the bottom of the river, let alone what happened after. He stood still as his mind became a mess. Time and space seemed to intertwine, and the scene was reverse giving him a confusing vision, but he was even more afraid that this was all a hallucination that he had imagined. What¡¯s even more terrifying is he had no idea what¡¯s true and what¡¯s false. Where did the truth start and where did the false start? Dong Zhi settled down and began to organize his thoughts. It should be fact that they encountered the giant python. Everyone participated in the fight and narrowly escaped death. He and Liu Qingbo dived into the water to find the giant python¡¯s weakness and finally came to the edge of that strange pool together. It should also be fact because what Liu Qingbo said was not something he could imagine out of thin air. However, he was unsure of the events that happened after they walked into this cave. If it¡¯s fake, while not beneficial, it would mean that Xing Qiaosheng is probably not dead. If its fact, then when did he get separated from Liu Qingbo? The two of them had stuck together and never separated. Scratching his head, Dong Zhi decided not to worry about this difficult problem that even Archimedes* could not solve. *Greek mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, inventor, and philosopher. He didn¡¯t plan to go back to the pool, so he kept moving forward. When he reached the corner again, it was still the same place where they had just come in. The only difference along the way was that the faintly glowing ¡°dandelions¡± could be seen everywhere. Dong Zhi thought these things were weird at first, but now that he had watched them for a long time, he felt a bit soft towards them. He still remembered that when they first came in, everyone made marks on the stones next to them. Recalling this, he turned on the flashlight on his phone and looked around to see if the marks were there. He didn¡¯t know whether he was too careless, or this path was different than previous, as he couldn¡¯t find any markings. Passing by the place where Ou-Yang Yin was injured, Dong Zhi stopped deliberately, but did not find a crack in the ground nor the ghoul¡¯s hand. Going forward, the Japanese guy was not there either. As soon as this though occurred, he saw a man leaning against the wall not far in front of him. Dong Zhi slowed down as he got closer. The other party seemed to hear his movements and moved, which startled Dong Zhi and made him want to jump a few steps away. ¡°¡­Dong Zhi?¡± A familiar voice came. ¡°Song-Boss Song?!¡± He could hardly believe his eyes as he hurriedly stepped forward to help Song Zhicun up. Song Zhicun coughed as blood meandered down the corners of his mouth. His face was like gold paper and his voice was weak, looking seriously injured. Dong Zhi wanted to pat his back but he felt it was sticky. ¡°What happened? What about the others?! Hold on, I also brought some emergency medicine in my bag!¡± Song Zhicun pressed his hand and shook his head: ¡°It¡¯s useless, don¡¯t waste it, I was injured by the giant python¡­¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°What about the others? I can help!¡± Song Zhicun: ¡°I¡¯m separated from them. It¡¯s very dangerous here. You immediately¡­turn around and go back. Hurry up, go back, you can still escape. Once you do, don¡¯t come back¡­¡± In Dong Zhi¡¯s impression, Deputy Director Song didn¡¯t like to talk like Director Jiang, doesn¡¯t smile all day long like Director Wu, and wasn¡¯t indifferent like Long Shen. He was down to earth and approachable. Compared with the other Deputy Directors, he was more like everyone¡¯s political commissar and life coach, sentimental and meticulous. But the Deputy Director Song in front of him was so weak that he was about to die, and he no longer had the same voice as before. Dong Zhi felt a little sad, and his eyes couldn¡¯t help but moisten. Song Zhicun held his hand and tried his best to talk with great difficulty: ¡°Remember. Don¡¯t go forward. Leave quickly!¡± ¡°I remember!¡± Dong Zhi can only respond. He still recall what Song Zhicun had said, hoping everyone will be courageous, but don¡¯t make unnecessary sacrifices. He also remembered what he said at the mobilization meeting before this mission. The other party said that most likely there would be deaths on this mission, but it was normal, because this is the tradition of the Special Administration Bureau over the years. The Special Administration Bureau never cultivates flowers in a greenhouse for the sake of good data, because the enemies they will face in the future will be fierce and cunning. Only a grueling and cruel exam can make everyone alert and grow. But even if he turns back, where can he go? He couldn¡¯t find a way out back there so his only option was to move forward, but Song Zhicun didn¡¯t know this. Could it be that his temperament had changed drastically because he lost his sanity before he died? Thinking of Xing Qiaosheng before, Dong Zhi broke free from Song Zhicun¡¯s hand and slowly retreated. Song Zhicun seemed a little puzzled: ¡°What are you doing¡­¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Boss Song, do you remember what you said to Ye Cheng and Ou-Yang Yin when you asked Ye Cheng to accompany Ou-Yang Yin to leave first?¡± Song Zhicun nodded with difficulty: ¡°I said, let¡¯s not make unnecessary sacrifices.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What about the first day? What did you say to us the first day we entered the Special Administration Bureau?¡± He stared at Song Zhicun close, not letting go of any changes in the opponent¡¯s face. Under his relenting gaze, the other party¡¯s face changed a little. Dong Zhi slowly took a few steps back as Song Zhicun¡¯s face gradually became more angular. His eyebrow structure raised, his chin was more bearded, and his hairstyle unknowingly became a crew cut. Dong Zhi pointed his sword: ¡°Who are you?!¡± Although he turned into another person, the other party was still panting and looked weak. He said a word in Japanese and stretched out his hand to grab onto Dong Zhi¡¯s sword, but Dong Zhi avoided him and kicked his hand away. The opponent titled aside in pain and finally spoke stiff Chinese ¡°D-Don¡¯t kill me!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Who are you?¡± The other party coughed a few times: ¡°I-My name is Takashima Kawa, a bodyguard of Mr. Otowa!¡± Sure enough, it was the Japanese! Dong Zhi immediately asked: ¡°Where are they now? Where¡¯s the bronze mirror!¡± Takashima Kawa panted weakly: ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ I got separated from them. The bronze mirror is with Mr. Yu!¡± Why did a Mr. Yu emerge? Dong Zhi frowned and continued to ask: ¡°Then why are you plotting against me here!¡± Takashima Kawa: ¡°It¡¯s not me. It¡¯s not me¡­ Help me, I don¡¯t want to die!¡± He burst into tears, and blood spat out of his mouth constantly. The stone wall behind him suddenly stretched out a few ghost hands and pressed him tightly against the wall. Takashima River¡¯s eyes widened as he struggled desperately. ¡°Help me! Help me!¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t bear the sight, so he raised his sword to cut off a few of those ghost hands, but in a blink of an eye, more ghost hands emerged from the ground, some even trying to grab Dong Zhi. He drew out a Sunlight Talisman, recited a mantra, then threw it to the ground. Fire ignited forming a ring of fire on the ground, burning several of the ghoulish hands. The hands bullied the soft but fear the hard. They retreated one after another, as if consciously turning to the ¡°soft persimmon¡± Takashima kawa. Takashima Kawa was pressed tightly against the wall and was slowly being consumed by it. Dong Zhi was wide-eyed as he didn¡¯t know what to do. If he threw a talisman over, it would not spare Takashima River¡¯s life. After hesitating for a few seconds, Takashima Kawa¡¯s body had mostly disappeared into the wall. His expression gradually became dull and desperate as blood continue to flow from the corners of his mouth. Soon, his entire body was dragged in and disappeared without a trace, as if it had been swallowed by the mud. The ghoulish hands also shrank back, and everything returned to calmness, as if the existence of Takashima Kawa was just an illusion. Dong Zhi shuddered. He didn¡¯t believe that this was a hallucination, but he had no better explanation. After waiting for a while, the surrounding became quiet, and the appearance and disappearance of Takashima Kawa felt like a dream. He didn¡¯t want to stay in the same spot too long, so he continued to walk forward. In front of him was the river where they encountered the giant python before. If he wants to pass the river, he had to walk along the cliff. Last time, they encountered a giant python as they moved along the cliff, but this time, Dong Zhi safely moved along the cliff sideways. The river was turbulent and spacious, just like the countless rivers he had seen before, but its calmness made him feel inexplicably weird. What will happen when he re-walks the path that everyone had just walked through again? A strange thought suddenly appeared. Since they came here through the tomb, have they entered an infinite loop, passing through the same place over and over again, never ending. Everyone was scattered and walked in different time and space, where they would occasionally meet or would never meet. Suddenly, he felt lonely and terrified like never before. If he was Long Shen, what would he do now? He would of course continue to move forward without hesitation, killing gods when he encounters gods, killing demons when he encounters demons. Although he wasn¡¯t as strong as Long Shen, he still can possess the same courage. Otherwise, how can he realize his desire to worship him as his master and continue pursuing him? Dong Zhi clenched his fists and slowly let go. He was about to reach the end of the cliff, and there was another corner in front of him. To go or not? After just hesitating for a while, Dong Zhi took a step forward. Suddenly, there was a sound of conversation in front of him. Although the movement was very small, he could hear that it was human language. Dong Zhi was overcome with joy at first, but he suddenly stopped moving and jumped behind a rock around the corner. The sound of footsteps and conversations was getting closer. The other party was speaking Chinese, but the tone of his voice was stiff, which was not the manner of Li Ying and the others. He was grateful for his caution. Holding his breath, he waited for the person to approach. ¡°Why haven¡¯t we seen the altar yet?¡± The person with the strange and stiff tone said. ¡°The terrain here is too complicated, and illusions and reality are constantly intertwined. Even for me, it¡¯s inevitable that I will be led astray.¡± This tone was weird that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t tell the difference if it was a man or woman, and it sounded a bit hoarse. ¡°The news of the bronze Mirror leaked out, and the people of the Special Administration Bureau will definitely catch up soon. I hope to kill Long Shen personally.¡± Another person spoke. Hearing this man¡¯s voice, Dong Zhi was slightly shocked. He recognized it as it belongs to Fujikawa Aoi. At that time, on Changbai Moutain, he didn¡¯t know the immensity of heaven and earth, so he wasn¡¯t aware of anything. He dared to help He Yu confront this master and his apprentice. Later, from He Yu¡¯s own mouth, he learned that the Japanese clergy is separated from the Onmyouji, but the master and apprentice not only served as the priest and witch of the shrines, but also as an Onmyoji. It can be seen that they were indeed capable, with extraordinary abilities in Japan. However, due to the events on Changbai Mountain, they returned to Japan and wasn¡¯t reconciled. The Special Administration Bureau also knew this, but it was more important to let the tigers return home so they could find the real mastermind behind them. Now the truth seems to be surfacing little by little. A younger voice responded to Fujikawa Aoi and said: ¡°Yes, I want to avenge Eiko! ¡± Fujikawa Aoi scolded: ¡°You don¡¯t have the right to speak here!¡± The other party that was reprimanded did not speak again. The group of people continue to walk away from Dong Zhi¡¯s sight, with their backs facing him. Dong Zhi suddenly opened his eyes wide. The cloaked person! It was the same figure he saw through his clairvoyance that sat face to face with Otowa Hatsuhiko! With that cloak on, there¡¯s no mistake about his indentity! The other party¡¯s Chinese was very fluent, without an accent. Mr. Yu¡­ Does it have anything to do with Xu Wan? Or is this cloak person the Archfiend Xu Wan? Dong Zhi¡¯s breathing stagnated. The other party¡¯s footsteps seemed to notice as the figure immediately turned around. It was pitch black under the cloak and the faint light from the ¡°dandelions¡± in the corner was not enough for Dong Zhi to see his opponent¡¯s face. Suddenly, his opponent stretched out his hand and grabbed it towards Dong Zhi! There was no skin or flesh on his hands, but white bones! Dong Zhi retreated subconsciously as he hugged his body against the stone wall. Taking advantage of the situation, he drew out his Changshou Sword and slashed at the hand. Nothing! It suddenly got dark before his eyes, and his feet was empty, and he fell dizzily. Whether it was the cloak figure or Fujikawa Aoi, they all disappeared. Where is this? True or false? Real or fake? What is fact and what is fiction? Holding his forehead, Dong Zhi felt tired and unloved*. *(ÀÛ¾õ²»°®) Internet buzzword referring to feeling tired and having no strength to love anymore. Exasperation would probably be the most direct feeling. The faintly glowing ¡°dandelions¡± were also gone, and he couldn¡¯t even see his fingers anymore. He groped at the stone wall and stood up. The Changshou Sword was still in his hand all this time, giving him great comfort. He could still rely on this sword no matter what environment he was in, and it gave him a sense that he wasn¡¯t alone. Dong Zhi was about to calm down as he started to take out his phone to turn on the flashlight so he could survey his surroundings. Suddenly, at this moment, he saw a red light. One, two, three¡­ five in total. The lightbulb from afar were glowing red and flickering in the dark. Dong Zhi was taken aback, thinking to himself: ¡®Aren¡¯t these the eyes of the giant python?!¡¯ One eye was blinded by Lin Xuan before, so with three heads, there should only be five remaining. The ¡°lightbulbs¡± kept getting bigger, which shows that the python was approaching him at a fast speed. In the dark, all movements became clearer. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare turn on his phone. He held his breath against the wall and waited for the opponent to approach. He suddenly had an idea. Since he didn¡¯t know where to go, instead of walking aimlessly, he might as well follow this giant python and see where it was going. Perhaps he can find a companion along the way. The fishy smell wafted into his nose as the huge body slowly slid past him. When the tail passed by, Dong Zhi¡¯s heart tightened as he touched the slimy scales and grabbed onto it. He used his strength to pull himself up and laid on the tail of the giant python as it carried him forward. Perhaps due to the small space that it wasn¡¯t used to, or maybe because of its injuries that paralyzed its senses, the python didn¡¯t notice that a small human was lying on its tail as it kept slithering forward. Dong Zhi found that its movement was pretty fast, but because of its huge size, it looked a little clumsy. Although the scales of the giant python exuded a fishy smell that can make people vomit, and the mucus on its body also made his clothes slimy and uncomfortable, the feeling of lying on it without exerting any effort still felt pretty good. Compared to walking on his own two legs, he felt like he was riding shotgun on a land rover. This ¡°hitchhiking¡± was very comfortable. Ignoring the smell, Dong Zhi hardly wanted to move. Not far away, a faint light reappeared in sight. He lazily raised his neck, but found his body suddenly became stiff. The cave in front of it suddenly became taller and wider, and there were many ghouls on both sides. Some stretched out their hands from the stone wall, while others had half their bodies embedded in it. Other sat or leaned against the wall, while other raised their heads. Some of them opened their mouths to scream in horror, with different gestures, as if they were all reliving the moment right before they died. Why are there so many corpses in this place? Seeing the numbers, how could it be that so many people have died here yet there are no records in history for such a big event? Could it be that this matter is related to Liang Weiqi that Zhou Yue talked about? Otherwise, how could one explain that such a place is connected to the back of his tomb? But what about the three-headed giant python? Could it be possible that Liang Weiqi brought the giant python here himself? Thoughts flashed through his mind. There were too many mysteries. Dong Zhi shifted his sitting posture to firmly hold onto the tail of the giant python, as not to fall off accidently. The body of the giant python slid through the mass of corpses which remained motionless, but Dong Zhi had seen their power. He didn¡¯t know what would trigger them to attack, so he stiffened his body and didn¡¯t dare move. He looked up inadvertently and was taken aback. On the cliff ahead, a figure was walking slowly. In the looming reflection of the faint light, Dong Zhi saw that it was an extremely familiar figure. Through innumerable twists and turns, his heart was moved. The familiar name churned in his throat several times, but he still couldn¡¯t help but blurt it out. ¡°Boss Long! Long Shen!¡± His voice wasn¡¯t loud, but it echoed clearly in the silent environment. At that moment, the ghouls that had been motionless slowly turned their heads and look towards him. The giant python seemed to be aware too. It suddenly became restless and accelerated forward. Dong Zhi was unprepared for this and lost his hold, falling off the python. The giant python had quickly move so fast that even if he wanted to, he couldn¡¯t catch up. Dong Zhi: ¡­ The author has something to say£º Through all the twists and turns, you¡¯re the most moving in his heart. Kinky Thoughts: WTF is going on is all I gotta say. CH 59 Hordes of corpses rushed towards him, grasping their hands to him. Dong Zhi yelled and ran away! The ghouls seemed to have never seen such fresh life. After waiting thousands of years, they finally could taste sweet fresh flesh and blood. The ghouls rushed up to Dong Zhi forming what looks like an overwhelming sea of dead corpses flooding towards him. He was embattled and had nowhere to escape. Suddenly Dong Zhi saw a black vine hanging in front of him. He didn¡¯t have time to think before leaping towards it. He grabbed the vine and swung on it. The vine was surprisingly strong and had become a veritable lifeline. In the next second, in the spot where he originally stood, ghouls had completely swarmed it. If he was half a step too late, he would likely meet the same fate as Takashima Kawa. Dong Zhi looked back and was terrified witnessing the scene. The cliff in front of him was getting closer. He gripped the vine tightly as he tried to step on the cliff, but because it was too narrow and his body was unsteady, his center of gravity was titled back, and he was about to fall back. Suddenly a hand stretched out and grabbed his collar. ¡°Let go.¡± Dong Zhi subconsciously let go of his hand holding the vine, and Long Shen pulled him in the direction of the mountain wall. The shock from narrowly escaping death and his surprise seeing Long Shen again staggered his heart. Dong Zhi heavily panted unable to say a word. Long Shen didn¡¯t speak either. He still standing not far from Dong Zhi with his back against the mountain wall, stable like as a rock. ¡°Boss Long?¡± Dong Zhi was cautious, but his heart told him that it couldn¡¯t be fake. ¡°How did you get here?¡± Long Shen asked. Dong Zhi took a deep breath then relay the events about how he and Liu Qingbo dived underwater to attack the giant python. ¡°I rescued Liu Qingbo and was washed ashore but found that it wasn¡¯t the river where we were at, but a pool of water. The pool led to four directions. We chose the cave to the north. After entering, we met Xing Qiaosheng¡­¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Xing Qiaosheng is dead.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart jumped: ¡°Really dead? Then what we saw¡­?¡± Long Shen: ¡°What you may have seen is a Xing Qiaosheng who existed in the past, including yourself.¡± Dong Zhi was confused: ¡°What do you mean?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Have you ever thought that your own existence isn¡¯t true?¡± Dong Zhi looked at him blankly, as if he was listening to the Book from the Sky*. *Title of a book produce by Chinese artist Xu Bing from the Song and Ming dynasties but filled with entirely meaningless glyphs designed to resemble traditional Chinese characters. ¡°Boss Long, what are you talking about?¡± Long Shen: ¡°The Special Administration Bureau brought you all here at my behest, but my purpose isn¡¯t to refine you all into warriors.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly felt that Long Shen was behaving strange. The two of them were close right now, but he felt as if they were thousands of miles apart. The ¡°dandelion¡± flickered faintly, swaying uncertainly, like a nether flower on the banks of the Yellow Spring*, drawing a vague line between life and death. *(»ÆȪ) Refers to the place people go after death, the underworld. As Long Shen finished speaking, Dong Zhi asked indifferently: ¡°Then what is your purpose?¡± ¡°To let you all die here,¡± Long Shen said. The gloomy wind blew from all directions, chilling the back of his neck and penetrating into his collar, making Dong Zhi involuntarily shudder. ¡°Why?¡± He heard his voice asked. Long Shen: ¡°Because you are the future elites of the Special Administration Bureau and the future pillars of the cultivation word. Thus, I came up with this plan to eliminate everyone without arousing suspicion. In the name of allowing you to gain experience, you¡¯ll all perish here and never leave.¡± Dong Zhi shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t believe you. You are not Long Shen. What I¡¯m seeing must be an illusion again.¡± Long Shen¡¯s face was hidden in the shadows, and in the faint light, Dong Zhi saw only the slight outline of his right hand holding a sword. It was indistinguishable whether he was joyful or angry, and unpredictable if he was good or evil. ¡°Not only will you die, but He Yu and Kan Chaosheng will also die. They will be destroyed in Yunnan together with group three. None will be spared in the end.¡± Long Shen¡¯s cold voice echoed in the cave as silence was all around. The ghouls opened their teeth and wave their claws below, waiting for someone to fall down to them. They ushered no sounds as their voices had ended thousands of years ago. Dong Zhi leaned against the cold stone wall and felt an uneven feeling making his back tingle slightly. In the past, he would straighten his back to avoid the jagged stones behind him, but now he needed the pain to stay awake. Liu Qingbo, Xing Qiaosheng, Takashima Kawa, Song Zhicun, situation that had existed before, truth or lies, passed before his eyes. Dong Zhi forced himself to calm down and face this man who was more special to him than any other. ¡°You mean you want to wipe us all out, but what good is that for you? Why are you doing this?¡± For a moment, Long Shen remained silent before saying: ¡°You should understand. In this matter, I¡¯m on the side of whoever could get the most benefits.¡± Dong Zhi shook his head: ¡°You¡¯re not Long Shen. Long Shen is not such a person. Who are you?¡± Long Shen: ¡°In your heart, do you really know what kind of person Long Shen is?¡± Dong Zhi panted slightly, staring at Long Shen¡¯s figure fiercely, as if Long Shen would transform into a monster or become a different person in the next moment. ¡°He¡¯s very serious, stern, and unsmiling. Because he always pursues perfection, he doesn¡¯t like others to make excuses for messing up, nor does he like others to intercede for his mistakes. However, he has a very soft heart. He will feed a pitiful stray cat and carefully observe the efforts of others. Although he said I was not qualified to enter the Special Administration Bureau, he would have praise me for my efforts, lent me his sword, and told me what I needed to do to get further ahead.¡± Dong Zhi wiped his face, feeling that he was really worthless, and he choked up when he spoke. He raised his sword and pointed at the figure: ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± The other party said: ¡°I am Long Shen.¡± Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t even aware of how he lost his sword. He only felt a numbness in his wrist, and involuntarily dropped the sword, which flew into the opponent¡¯s hand in a blink of an eye. The opponent¡¯s sword was pointed straight at him with its tip reaching his shoulder. Only then did Dong Zhi realized how strong this person was. The words ¡°Long Shen¡± not only means that there¡¯s no need for his teammates to worry about him, but it also meant how much courage it took to fight against him. ¡°Do you want to kill me?¡± Dong Zhi asked. ¡°I¡¯m going to kill you.¡± Long Shen replied. Dong Zhi¡¯s felt heartbroken. He reached out his hand to grab the sword¡¯s blade, instantly feeling a sharp pain in his palm. Long Shen frowned slightly: ¡°Let go.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t let go but held on it even tighter. Long Shen directly withdrew his sword and retreated. Dong Zhi felt overcome with joy: ¡°You¡¯re really Long Shen! If you were an enemy, you wouldn¡¯t care if my hand was injured, let alone withdraw! Boss Long, I¡¯m Dong Zhi. Do you still recognize me? Wake up!¡± ¡°¡­I recognize you. I don¡¯t have amnesia,¡± Long Shen sighed softly. ¡°How are your hands?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°It hurts and it¡¯s bleeding.¡± Long Shen: ¡°Let me see.¡± Dong Zhi still had doubts: ¡°Why did you say those things just now?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°You wanted to test me, and I was the same. I¡¯m not sure if your existence is real, so I had to test it. Before you, I had met Liu Qingbo, Li Ying, and Lin Xuan in succession, but they were all fake.¡± Dong Zhi frowned: ¡°Fake? What do you mean?¡± Long Shen: ¡°As I said just now, the space and time here are chaotic, and the glowing grass everywhere has turned the entire underground cave into a huge illusion. It is impossible to distinguish between true and false, fact from fiction. I had to make this decision to test whether things are real or not. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Dong Zhi knew what he meant, because he had almost been deceived by the fake Song Zhicun before. Long Shen had been in the dark for a long time, and his resilience was faster than most people, so he saw the tears on Dong Zhi¡¯s face. ¡°My apprentice is not so weak that he¡¯ll shed tears so easily.¡± Dong Zhi subconsciously wiped his face with the back of his hand, but his hand suddenly stopped. He thought he had heard it wrong. Long Shen said: ¡°Give me your hand.¡± Dong Zhi obediently stretched out his hand. Long Shen knew well how sharp his swords were. Even if he withdrew them quickly, the grip just now most likely left a wound. Sure enough, when he looked, he saw there were two deep gashes in Dong Zhi¡¯s hand. When he touched them, he felt the hands were sticky. ¡°Did you bring emergency medicine?¡± he asked. Dong Zhi: ¡°I brought it, it¡¯s in my pocket.¡± Long Shen opened his waist bag, took out a hemostatic spray and gauze from it, stopped the bleeding first, and then wrapped the gauze on the upper layer of his palm. ¡°Follow me.¡± After walking through the steep cliff, there was a recessed place in the middle of the mountain wall that was big enough for them to sit down. After staying in this environment for so long, Dong Zhi had adapted to ignore the external harshness and threw away his fastidious cleanliness. If not, he would¡¯ve been sick to death lying onto of the python just now. He leaned against the stone wall to rest, while leaving enough space for Long Shen. ¡°Why did you reach out and grab my sword just now?¡± ¡°Do you mean to accept me as your apprentice?¡± The two spoke almost simultaneously. Long Shen was silent, so Dong Zhi answered his first questions: ¡°Because if it¡¯s another illusion, I¡¯ll just wake from it if it got out of control. If it¡¯s you, of course you¡¯ll not sit back and watch me get hurt.¡± The line of thought was correct, as it wasn¡¯t easy for him to survive in this cave alone for so long and be safe. Dong Zhi tentatively said: ¡°So you just said-¡± Long Shen: ¡°You¡¯re willing to worship me as your teacher and learn my teachings?¡± Although Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo competed with each other for the position of Long Shen¡¯s disciple, there was a rule in this field. It¡¯s not the apprentice who looks for the master, but it¡¯s the master who choose the apprentice. In other words, Long Shen has the right to decide who he likes and dislikes. It is not up to the apprentice to delivers themselves to their master¡¯s door. As such, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo could only try to brush their presence more and establish a good impression in front of Long Shen. Even if Long Shen wanted to accept a third apprentice in the future, they were powerless to stop him. Dong Zhi knew he had no chance of winning. In terms of talent, Liu Qingbo far outshines him. He had good foundation since he was a child, so his starting point was much higher and further than Dong Zhi. In terms of family background, Liu Qingbo has deep family roots, and his father is well-known and well-connected. Accepting such a disciple would be equivalent to indirectly getting a lot of benefits. While the master takes the apprentice, the apprentice brings him prosperity. It was like killing two birds with one stone. What¡¯s more, Long Shen had saved Liu Qingbo¡¯s life before. With his arrogance, only Long Shen can subdue him. Presumably, his parents would be happy to see this relationship come to fruition. To be fair and realistic, Dong Zhi had doubts in Long Shen¡¯s choice, but the news came so fast, surprising him that it made him confused. Long Shen couldn¡¯t wait for his response as he frowned and said: ¡°You don¡¯t want to?¡± Then why did you kept saying you wanted to worship me as a teacher multiple time before? ¡°Of course I do!¡± Dong Zhi seemed to have pressed on a certain switch and finally had a reaction. Long Shen snorted: ¡°At such an extraordinary moment, in an extraordinary place, let¡¯s start with simplicity. Just kowtow three times here, and we can make up the rest when we return.¡± Dong Zhi stood up and straighted out his clothes. He knelt down and arched his hands, just like how Master Fang had asked him when he swore in front of the memorial tablet of the ancestors of the Hezao Sect. ¡°Disciple Dong Zhi greets Master.¡± His voice wasn¡¯t loud, but it echoed between the caves, overlapping heavily. He slight trembled trying to hold back his excitement. He didn¡¯t know if Long Shen could see it, but he kowtowed respectfully and seriously. One knock for the form, two knocks for the heart, and three knocks for a thousand years. From then on, the relationship between teachers and disciple have been bound eternally. Tears filled his eyes unknowingly. Dong Zhi imagined that this scene should have been in an incense-filled hall among countless onlookers, just like all the rituals in those cultivating sects. He didn¡¯t expect to pay homage to his master in a place like this. The only onlookers here, were those ghouls under the cliff. Thinking about it like this, he felt both agitated and funny. He heard Long Shen say: ¡°There are no rules and regulations under my tutelage. The only thing to abide by is always have a trace of gratitude for all things under heaven and earth, and to guard the peace of the world with the sword in your hand.¡± Dong Zhi solemnly said: ¡°I¡¯ll remember.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°If you become my disciple, it has nothing to do with whether you can pass the training exam. There¡¯ll not be the slightest trace of favoritism. If you fail to pass at that time, you won¡¯t be able to enter the Special Administration Bureau.¡± Dong Zhi gave a soft hum with a thick nasal sound. Long Shen frowned: ¡°Why are you crying again?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°This came too fast that it was too surprising. I felt it was a bit unreal and was afraid that I¡¯m trapped in another fantasy.¡± He was afraid that this illusion was too beautiful to wake up from. Long Shen stretched out his hand to pinch his wound. The pain was immensely agonizing that it made Dong Zhi scream and almost jumped to his feet. Real pain had been transmitted to his brain that bolden him to grab Long Shen and hug him while he whimpers softly as he burst into tears. Longshen: ¡­ Even if he was separated by a layer of clothing, Dong Zhi could feel the warm touch, and finally believed that this feeling was real, and he wasn¡¯t dreaming. All his fears, doubts, and uneasiness in this moment was dispersed. Long Shen wanted to push him away, but as soon as he made an effort, the other party¡¯s crying became louder, causing him to let out a sigh. Did he find himself an apprentice or a son? However, compared with his own age, this one in front of him was still indeed just a child. Thinking about the scene where he did not hesitate to hold onto his sword empty handed just now, Long Shen decided to pat Dong Zhi¡¯s back a few times, albeit clumsily. The author has something to say£º A memorable chapter, congratulations to Dong Zhi (^_-)¡î Kinky Thoughts: Is Dong Zhi going to get punk¡¯d again? Also, just how old is Long Shen? It seems there¡¯s more to Long Shen than meets the eye. CH 60 While Long Shen didn¡¯t have any impatience, Dong Zhi still felt embarrassed. After crying for a while, he gradually stopped. Taking a deep breath in, Dong Zhi said: ¡°Master, how many apprentice are you going to accept? Before me, are there any other elder brothers or sisters*?¡± *Elder martial brother (shixiong) and elder martial sisters (shijie). Long Shen: ¡°I didn¡¯t accept disciples before you and I¡¯m not accepting any more after you.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°I¡¯m good enough for you than over a thousand sails*?¡± *(¹ý¾¡Ç§·«) Comes from by poet Wen Tingjun. It depicts a woman¡¯s longing, looking forward to her husband¡¯s return, yet thousand of ships had passed over but none had her husband on it. || In this context, Long Shen is like the woman but instead of waiting for over a thousand sails, he had settled for Dong Zhi. Long Shen shook his head: ¡°Too many. I don¡¯t have the energy to teach them all. One is enough.¡± So Liu Qingbo has no chance? Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help feeling happy, and sorry at the same time. After all, he still didn¡¯t know Liu Qingbo¡¯s fate. ¡°Master, do we save people now?¡± ¡°Wait.¡± What are we waiting for? Waiting for someone? Or waiting for the timing? From their commanding position, they had a panoramic view of the secluded lights in the caves. Several faint areas with lights glowed from the ¡°dandelions¡±. They looked weird at first, but after looking at them for a while, it starts to grow on you. Dong Zhi: ¡°You said that those plants that look like dandelions are called ceylon forget-me-nots*?¡± Long Shen: ¡°They are everywhere and so are the hallucinations. The terrain here is very complicated, which causes chaos in time and space.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°After we attacked the python, what happened? How could so many of us be separated?¡± Long Shen: ¡°The giant python was struggling with its injuries, causing the river to surge and many people got washed away. I went to Boss Song to find them when I encounter a thousand corpse figurine.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What is a thousand corpse figurines?¡± Long Shen: ¡°It¡¯s made up of corpses that died and vain and are pile together. Due to fate, they will encounter a land of absolute darkness. Their resentment remains rampant and gradually they¡¯ll become a demon corpse. Hundreds of thousands of these corpses gather together to tangle endlessly, until they become refined into the thousand corpse figurine. This thing is the most sinister and poisonous thing in the world and it¡¯s extremely difficult to deal with.¡± Since he hadn¡¯t seen it with his own eyes, it was natural that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t imagine it: ¡°Even harder to deal with than an Archfiend?¡± Long Shen: ¡°An Archfiend can only act through a human¡¯s body. No matter how powerful their magic is, in general, they will be confined to that body.¡± Dong Zhi said suddenly: ¡°And the thousand corpse figurine is equivalent to an expanded container, which can carry more magical energy. Is this why it¡¯s more difficult to deal with than a single ghoul?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°In this area lies truth and falsities. The only thing that remains unchanged is the giant python. I have been observing here for a long time, and the illusion has never taken effect on it. It is the only real symbol of this place. As long as we wait for it to pass by next time and keep up with it, we should be able to get out of here.¡± Dong Zhi remembered that Liu Qingbo¡¯s Feijing Sword was still inserted in the chrysanthemum of the giant python. In any case, that was his issue. Such a waste of a famous sword from the ages was now lost, buried in the depths of a giant python¡¯s chrysanthemum. Even if Liu Qingbo had other swords to use, he still felt some regret. Long Shen heard Dong Zhi told him the events that transpired and how he wanted to get the sword back and shook his head: ¡°That sword should have been thrown to the bottom of the river by the python. It¡¯ll be difficult to find so we don¡¯t need to worry about it for now.¡± At this point, Dong Zhi secretly apologized to Liu Qingbo, then moved on to telling Long Shen about his encounter with Fujikawa Aoi and the cloaked figure: ¡°I heard them mentioning an altar. Is this a huge underground altar and those who died here were sacrifices?¡± Long Shen agreed with him: ¡°The bronze mirror may be related to the altar, and the altar may be related to the stone tablet.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Only when we find the Japanese, or the altar will we know their intentions.¡± He remembered something and said with concern: ¡°You just fought against a thousand corpse figurine. Did you get hurt?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± Dong Zhi took out the chocolate from his pocket and handed it over. ¡°You should eat something first. I still have water here.¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t answer. ¡°You can have it.¡± Dong Zhi was a little anxious: ¡°But when you came down, you only brought your sword with you. You didn¡¯t bring any water, right?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter whether I eat and drink or don¡¯t.¡± This sentence was plain and faint and seems to have a deeper meaning. When Dong Zhi looked at the man¡¯s face that was shrouded in the darkness, he couldn¡¯t see his expression clearly, but he seemed to be able to see that in that man¡¯s eyes held countless of secrets. Many words came to his lips, but he couldn¡¯t speak them easily because he felt those words were too shallow. After a long silence, he whispered softly: ¡°I¡¯ll worship you as my teacher today and for life. No matter what happens now, tomorrow, and in the future, I¡¯ll always be your disciple.¡± Long Shen said nothing, only patted the back of his hand. It seemed like a sign of a kind silent encouragement and approval, which made the corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth slightly curled up. Neither him nor Long Shen knew when the giant python would appear again, so all they could do now was wait. Dong Zhi yawned. Beside Long Shen, he unknowingly relaxed a lot of his vigilance. Long Shen seemed to notice his tiredness and said: ¡°Rest first.¡± Dong Zhi wanted to be polite, but when he opened his mouth, his consciousness was immediately pulled into darkness. It seems his that his body was exhausted to the extreme, as he didn¡¯t even dream during his slumber. He hadn¡¯t changed his clothes since he came out of the pool and with the mountain wind blowing on him, feeling wet and cold, he couldn¡¯t help leaning towards a heat source after falling asleep. Long Shen noticed his behavior and took him in his arms. It wasn¡¯t a whim that he decided to accept Dong Zhi as his disciple. From the time he lent him the Qingzhu Sword, he had actually faintly expressed his willingness, but he wanted to observed for a while, because he felt that Dong Zhi had too soft a temperament, and could easily be moved by strange things, which meant his will wasn¡¯t firm enough. However, after transpiring several events, though he may not be as good as Liu Qingbo in terms of comprehensive abilities, he has showed more plasticity. Liu Qingbo was like a rock with sharp edges and corners, while Dong Zhi was like water. It could be quiet. It could be rushed. It could turn into a thousand-foot waterfall and can be a deep pond that reflects the moon. At this stage, Dong Zhi had made great strides in his decision-making progress in situation of difficulties, but when dealing with many things, it¡¯s still not thoughtful and proper enough. There¡¯s also his lack of abilities, which needs to be strictly honed and practiced in order to become a great weapon. Long Shen leaned against the stone and closed his eyes to rest, but his mind never stopped working. Dong Zhi remained asleep, peacefully and quietly, unaware of the thoughts that his male god was thinking about him and the reasons why he accepted him as a disciple. This was only just the beginning, and the master had already prepared a devilish training plan for him. Suddenly, he was patted on the shoulder. With a slight movement, Dong Zhi¡¯s throat subconsciously made a sound, but his mouth was immediately covered. Heat sprayed on his ear as Long Shen whispered almost inaudibly: ¡°It¡¯s here.¡± Dong Zhi felt a chill as he instantly woke up. Only then did he find that most of his body was buried deep in the arms of Long Shen, who propped his back up to let him sit firmly, then turned his body sideways against the mountain wall, as if he was observing the situation below. Dong Zhi quickly rubbed his face and looked out like him. A huge behemoth that looked like a hill was haunting in the faint light that he could occasionally see its vague outline. While the three-headed python slithered silently, its five red lightbulb eyes were extremely recognizable. ¡°Grab the vine and fall on it, just like how you did it before. We need to follow it!¡± Long Shen¡¯s speed of speech was very fast that didn¡¯t leave Dong Zhi any time to think, so he took action subconsciously. He took a deep breath, grabbed the vines hanging from the top of his head, kicked his body and swung towards the python, landing on it. He almost slipped but didn¡¯t fall. Dong Zhi hurriedly bent over and fell on his body, lying on top of the python. The fishy smell once again hit his nose that made him almost vomit. He quickly pinched it and looked back. He didn¡¯t know when but Long Shen had already fallen lightly behind him, though his posture was much more graceful and elegant. The two landed on the python without speaking to each other. In the dark the giant python continued moving forward at a very fast speed that Dong Zhi had to stick his entire body to it to reduce as much resistance as possible. The python led them through the cave and along the big river they first encountered. Dong Zhi found that this underground river was extremely long. From upstream to downstream, the surface of the river gradually changed from wide to narrow and the flow of water slowly gentled out as it divided up into several smaller rivers, which had its own vitality. If it weren¡¯t for the dangers below, the three-headed giant python, the illusions, and the ghouls, this would be a good spot for scientific research. But how did the ancients discover this place thousands of years ago? As the Japanese said, there¡¯s an alter below, so how did the builders avoid the three-headed python? Was there another entrance? Dong Zhi laid on the python and thought wildly and several thoughts flashed through his mind. ¡°Come down!¡± Long Shen whispered suddenly. Dong Zhi slid off the python and his feet was almost squashed by the python. Fortunately, Long Shen had a sharp eye and quickly gave him a hand. Long Shen led him to a nearby path which gradually opened. There were many ghouls in the cave that were either sitting or lying down, which made him shuddered. Dong Zhi followed Long Shen carefully, trying not to touch the ghouls. ¡°Help¡­ help me, Boss Long¡­ Dong Zhi¡­¡± It¡¯s Zhou Yue¡¯s voice! ¡°Go forward, don¡¯t look back,¡± Long Shen said in front. Dong Zhi did not look back, but his footsteps inevitably paused a little. That was the chance it needed, as two hands immediately wrapped around Dong Zhi. The cold and weird touch, even long fingernails were not the feeling of a living person! Dong Zhi was taken aback, before he turned around and slash at the figure with his sword. Zhou Yue¡¯s body was cut with a deep mark by a sharp sword, but no blood came out. He showed a hideous smile towards Dong Zhi and rushed up again towards him. His nails on both hands were long and curved, and his face was covered with purple meridians, just like Xing Qiaosheng before. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t show any mercy now. He took a few steps back and quickly pulled out a Sunlight Talisman from his bag. ¡°The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil! Imperial edict!¡± He now could recite the mantra at very fast speed and can complete it within four seconds, but compared to the speed He Yu¡¯s and Li Ying¡¯s, which was in less than two, there was still a lot of room for improvement. The talisman burst into flames and attached to the blade of his sword which he slid towards Zhou Yue. With a puff, Zhou Yue¡¯s head ignited into flames and his entire body was instantly covered by fire that quickly overwhelmed him. Zhou Yue screamed and struggled in the flames. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but wanted to step forward but was held back by Long Shen. ¡°You did the right thing. He¡¯s not Zhou Yue.¡± After a pause, Long Shen said: ¡°Zhou Yue is dead.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°When did it happen?¡± Long Shen: ¡°When we were fighting with the python in the river before, he fell into the river and was swallowed by one of the python¡¯s heads.¡± It was difficult to kill a huge creature like the three-headed python that has lived for at least thousands of years. Its life has been integrated with this cave. At that time, the purpose of Long Shen and Song Zhicun fighting it was not to kill it, but to buy times for others to escape. It was unfortunate that Zhou Yue was just unlucky. He washed away in the river and failed to return to shore in time like Li Ying and the others. As a result, one of the python¡¯s heads plunged into the water and directly ate him like a fish. Although Long Shen and Song Zhicun finally hit the python hard, it was too late for Zhou Yue who had died instantly when his heart was pierce by the giant python¡¯s fangs. However, the giant python didn¡¯t fare much better. The reason why it has become more docile now, and it had no response when Dong Zhi was lying on its body was because Long Shen had seriously injured two of its heads, greatly reducing its attack power. Except for its large size, it poses no other threats. The news of the death of another companion reminded Dong Zhi of Ba Sang and Gu Meiren. Ba Sang should be fine. He¡¯s quite strong and have substantial vitality, so Dong Zhi didn¡¯t need to worry about him, but it¡¯s unknown whether Gu Meiren¡¯s flute would work on the ghouls. While thinking about it, they had reached the end of the cave and Dong Zhi screamed: ¡°This is the pool where we¡¯ve been before!¡± The water pool led into four directions. The caves they walked in were located to the west, north, south, and east. Liu Qingbo and he had already walked through them before. The east was impassable, and he finally encountered Long Shen in the north. After a big circle, he was brought back here by the python again, which meant that the caves in the west and north were connected. He no longer needed to worry about it. In the end, there was only one choice left, the south. With a new master, no matter how dangerous the new environment is, it doesn¡¯t seem to be so terrifying. Dong Zhi also discovered something new. After entering this cave, the forget-me-nots that seemed to be beautiful but was actually hiding trap have disappeared all of a sudden. As he walked inside the cave, it became darker and darker in front of him. Where there were those forget-me-nots, there were illusions. If those forget-me-nots were not there, does it mean that those half-truths half-false illusions would end as well? Dong Zhi turned on his phone flashlight to illuminate his surroundings. There was only 1% of power left. Seeing that it was about to run out, the light may turned off at any time. ¡°Master, where¡¯s your phone? Can you lend it to me,¡± he said. Long Shen: ¡°I didn¡¯t bring it. I left it above surface before entering.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Do you have night vision?¡± Long Shen: ¡°No but bringing a phone down here will get it damaged. I¡¯ll have to buy another one when I go back.¡± Dong Zhi felt that he had taken an arrow to the knee*, because although he was wearing a waterproof bag, his phone still got soaked in water and the battery has now dropped, barely usable at this point, so it was on the verge of being a piece of scrap metal. *This spawn from the game Skyrim, where it¡¯s now become a meme. The whole quote is ¡°I use to be an adventurer like you, then I took an arrow in the knee.¡± The meaning behind this is debated as taking an arrow to the knee in the Nordic sense means getting married, while the developer put the quote there as an Easter egg as a reference that an armor type wasn¡¯t in the game that protects the knee. According to Baidu, Chinese people use it as a way to express unforeseen accidents in life. Dong Zhi: ¡°Does the Deputy Director¡¯s equipment does not get reimbursed due to business related activities?¡± Long Shen: ¡°No.¡± He paused, and then said: ¡°If you can pass the training exam in the end, I¡¯ll buy you a new one.¡± Dong Zhi was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. Usually, people busy themselves with giving gifts to their master, yet why does it seem like he¡¯s taking advantage of his master instead? The phrase eating the old* came to his mind as he hurriedly said: ¡°It¡¯s okay, I have¡­¡± *(¿ÐÀÏ) Describe young people who have reached adulthood and can earn a living but still haven¡¯t been ¡°weaned¡± off on relying on their parents for support (AKA being a moocher off your parents when you¡¯re old enough to support yourself). Before he could say the word money, he heard faint movement in front of him. Long Shen accelerated his steps and Dong Zhi hurriedly followed. The farther he went, the louder the movement. There were not only curses and quarreling but also the sound of fighting. The terrain here was strange. While it sounded like the noises weren¡¯t far away, they still had to make more than 8 turns. After several turns, Dong Zhi estimated that they¡¯ve been walking for about twenty or so minutes, because his phone was completely dead before they saw the situation at the end of the road ahead. In the center of the high and wide main cave stood a stone statue. In terms of appearance, it looked to be an ancient woman. Behind the stone statute, there was a round stone platform with nothing above it. However, instead of being called a cave, it was more appropriate to be called the main hall. As soon as Dong Zhi saw this hall, he realized that this was probably the final destination of their trip. The area of the main hall was at least the size of the Taihe Hall in the Forbidden City. Bronze lamps hung around the stone walls, which revealed some light from inside, but it wasn¡¯t candlelight. These are just rough impression he had at first glance, as he didn¡¯t have time to observe more, because just in front of the stone statue, Li Ying, Zhang Song, and Xie Qingling, as well as several unknown men were forced to retreated step by step by several thousand corpse figurines. Seeing it with his very own eyes, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but take a deep breath. They were at least two meters high, and their body was densely packed with skulls. There was at least a dozen of them that were stacked together, from the front and rear, all had varied expressions that looked completely wrong. Some still had rotten flesh and blood that was still attached to them. The eyes were purplish blue, and the fangs were ferocious, as if it could eat anyone at any time. There were countless arms hanging on from its body, stretching out from its chest and back in all directions. Before Long Shen and him arrived, the three people leaned against each other and formed a triangular battle array to deal with the four thousand corpse figurines, but it looks like they were pretty stretched out. Li Ying threw out a talisman that was swallowed whole by one of the heads in a blink of an eye. Xie Qingling manipulated several puppets that were holding daggers that jumped around the thousand corpse figurines flexibly, looking for weaknesses, and stabbing them, when she saw an opportunity, causing a certain restraint from the thousand corpse figurines. Zhang Song on the other hand had to deal with the other three thousand corpse figurines, which proved to be quite difficult. Since he was born on Mount Longhu, while a good swordsman, he naturally also knew how to draw talismans. Seeing that the thousand corpse figurines could not touch oil and salt, he gritted his teeth and pointed his sword and sliced off a piece of his arm allowing blood to gush out and slide down the sword¡¯s body. He chanted a mantra while holding the sword in one hand and pinching his palm with the other and asked Li Ying to cover him. He flew forward as the sword flashed with red light as he drove it into the heart of the thousand corpse figurine. Zhang Song yelled and turned the hilt of the sword slightly. The thousand corpse figurine stretched out a few arms to grab his sword, but they were immediately cut off by his sword and fell to the ground. Zhang Song wanted to withdraw his sword but found that it was stuck in the body of the thousand corpse figurine. His face changed slightly as Li Ying handed him a talisman in the nick of time. ¡°Use this!¡± Zhang Song didn¡¯t even look. He grabbed it with one hand, abandoned the sword, retreated, took a deep breath before jumping up. With the sword inserted into the body of the thousand corpse figurine, he slapped the head of the figurine with one palm. The moment the talisman came into contact with the thousand corpse figurine, it immediately burse into flames and the fire quickly spread to its other heads. Zhang Song turned over in the air and landed on the ground, pulled out the sword smoothly, and kicked the thousand corpse figurine fiercely, causing it to stagger a back a few steps before finally falling to the ground. But before Zhang Song could catch his breath, another thousand corpse figurine rushed over. ¡°Fuck, it¡¯s not over yet. I¡¯m almost out of strength!¡± He couldn¡¯t help yelling. The other side didn¡¯t fare much better, but they didn¡¯t know what tricks they were using. There seem to always be a strange aroma emitting from the other party¡¯s body that the thousand corpse figurines seemed to be afraid of, so they didn¡¯t dare approach. Naturally, they went for Li Ying and the others instead, focusing on them as their key targets. Not only did Li Ying and the others had to deal with the thousand corpses figurines, but they also had to guard against the two unknown people, as not to be backstabbed by them in such a chaotic state. When Long Shen and Dong Zhi arrived, Li Ying and the others were already at the end of their limits. Seeing Long Shen, their eyes lit up as if they saw hope. ¡°Boss Long!¡± Kinky Thoughts: Death count so far 2: Xing Qiaosheng, Zhou Yue. I guessed that the ¡°dandelions¡± had something to do with the illusion and when Long Shen told Dong Zhi they were forget-me-nots, that pretty much confirmed my theory. What a fitting flower for this cave. CH 61 Long Shen took the sword out of its sheath and jumped directly in front of the thousand corpse figurine, blocking it from pouncing on Xie Qingling. When the long sword in his hand swung out, the speed was extremely fast, it looked like white light. Before everyone had time to see clearly, the heads on the shoulders of the thousand corpse figurine had been cut off. Around six heads flew disorderly as they opened their mouths in mid-air trying to bite. He didn¡¯t stop there and turned to Zhang Song and stabbed his sword into the chest of another thousand corpse figurine. A thick black gas spewed out as it was kicked by Long Shen causing it to stagger a few steps back before falling to the ground. Zhang Song took the opportunity and cut off all its heads. From Dong Zhi¡¯s glimpse, he could see the that two men were moving suspiciously behind Long Shen, quietly, as if they had bad intentions. He stopped them with his Changshou Sword and was about to ask them their identities. Unexpectedly, they looked as if they were guilty of being a thief, and thinking that Dong Zhi was about to attack them, took a few steps back, giving him a look of vigilance. One of them started chanting an unknown mantra and pinching his hand, then took out a mass of something from his pocket and threw it in front of Dong Zhi. The thing quickly swelled into a three-dimensional shape as it bowed its neck, making an offensive posture. Although Dong Zhi had just entered the spiritual world not long ago and had not seen much of it, he knew the origin of the other party as soon as he saw this young man¡¯s technique. On Changbai Mountain, Master Fujikawa summons shikigamis to fight, which was exactly what this thing in front of him was. These people must be with the Japanese! It seems that they have also been separated from the main force, so this makes dealing with them much easier. The white tiger rushed over with a roar and Dong Zhi quickly bent down, picked up his Changshou Sword and cut a hole in the white tiger¡¯s abdomen. The eyes of the master of the white tiger glared at him coldly. Ordinary weapons cannot hurt shikigamis, unless the sword Dong Zhi was wielding was a magical weapon. He hadn¡¯t taken Dong Zhi seriously at first, based on the way his opponent was holding his sword and his reaction speed. He was at best a novice swordsman, but since he wields a magical weapon in hand, his opponent can temporarily compete with his white tiger. With Long Shen¡¯s and Dong Zhi¡¯s arrival, it added much needed help to Li Ying and the others. Long Shen was able to hold back the thousand corpse figurines by himself, but these figurines were invulnerable. They have thousands of heads and hands and were quite strong in combat. No matter how powerful Long Shen was, it was impossible to wipe out thousands of troops in an instant to eliminate these evil things. As soon as Xie Qingling was able to catch her breath, she noticed the sound of skimming from the back of her head. She didn¡¯t have time to look back and chose to avoid it sideways. Behind her, an extremely fast figure turned around in the air and attacked her. Zhang Song had just swung his sword, pushing away a thousand corpse figurine when he felt a tingle. When he saw it, he flew towards it and pierce the phantom. While his speed was very fast, his opponent had disappeared out of thin air before the sword arrived, and once again appeared besides Xie Qingling directly grabbing her head! Upon seeing this, Li Ying threw a talisman out subconsciously and the talisman stuck to the opponent, causing the latter to snort and staggered back, hitting himself against the wall. ¡°Ninjutsu*!¡± *Strategy and tactics of unconventional warfare, guerrilla warfare and espionage purportedly practiced by the ninja. Li Ying narrowed his eyes and threw another talisman over, without giving the opponent time to breathe. However, the man smiled strangely at him and disappeared in place out of thin air. Li Ying knew that this was just a distraction. His opponent is a human being, not a monster. It was impossible for him to break through space obstacles, but a clever ninja could maximize the use of people¡¯s blind spots and attack from there. With a chill in his heart, he turned around quickly, but he was punched in the chest immediately, causing a dull pain to spread immediately, interrupting his attack. Xie Qingling raised her hand, and several puppets pounced on the white tiger. The white tiger turned around and clawed at them, but the puppets dodge flexibly and assisted Dong Zhi in his attack. Zhang Song originally wanted to help Long Shen deal with the thousand corpse figurines, but seeing that Li Ying was struggling, he raised his sword and swept it towards the ninja. ¡°Fucking hell. I don¡¯t believe that you can jump faster than my sword!¡± In a blink of an eye, Long Shen had already killed three of the thousand corpses figurines, and seeing that he was gradually gaining the upper hand, when he was about to kill the remaining one that was under his sword, four more people broke in. ¡°Master, be careful! The cloaked person is here!¡± Seeing new arrivals, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care about being grabbed by the white tiger, who wounded his arm, as he shouted loudly to Long Shen. Not only the cloaked person came, but there was also an old acquaintance on Changbai Mountain, Onmyouji Fujikawa Aoi. Regarding Fujikawa Aoi, after the Changbai Mountain Incident, he once heard He Yu mention that the word Aoi is commonly used as a female name in Japan. However, Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s mother died when he was born, so to honor his wife, his father used his wife¡¯s name to name his son after her. The Japanese Shinto Priest and Onmyouji were originally two different identities. After being able to hold both identities at the same time and becoming a well-known warlock* in Japan, Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s name has also changed from one of ridicule to praise. It is said that the disciples under him, in order to please him, had also changed their names into female names. *[Shushi] (ÊõÊ¿) Specifically refers to Confucian scholars, Taoists scholars, alchemists, Jianghu warlocks, magicians ect. In any case, Fujikawa Aoi is a powerful Onmyoji as far as he could tell from what he had learned from He Yu¡¯s mouth. The only reason why the master and apprentice returned last time was not because they weren¡¯t strong enough, but because of Long Shen¡¯s presence in addition to dealing with the bone dragon, which was a divine beast that had live for thousands of years, they were too ambitious and underestimated their opponents, resulting in the fiasco they suffered. Now, the proud Japanese will not allow themselves to fail again, especially when it¡¯s against the same opponent. This time, they were well prepared, and they will definitely be more difficult to deal with. The man fighting with the Dong Zhi also shouted excitedly when he saw Fujikawa Aoi. Who was more excited than him was Liu Qingbo who also arrived. In such a noisy and intense environment, he just heard the words ¡°Master¡±. First showing a look of disbelief before he yelled: ¡°The one surname Dong, what the fuck did you just say?!¡± Dong Zhi was trying to catch his breath and had no time to pay attention to him. Liu Qingbo gritted his teeth and had vent all his energy on the enemy in front of him I will cut, cut, cut you to death! Fujikawa Aoi swept his gaze at Long Shen with gloomy eyes, sneered, raised his hand, and then released two shikigamis and that rushed towards Long Shen. The cloaked figure was covered with a black robe and even its face was tightly concealed that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t see the person¡¯s appearance at all. The cloaked figure ignored everyone else and walked towards the stone statue after entering. Zhang Song noticed the figure¡¯s strangeness and tried to intercept it without a second thought. ¡°Stop!¡± The cloaked figure raised its wide sleeves and, in an instant, several black mists flew out from under the cloak, pouncing on Zhang Song from several directions. Zhang Song was taken aback but found that the black mist started to expand when it fell to the ground and covered his head. Dong Zhi was stunned and hurriedly shouted: ¡°Those are demons! You can¡¯t let them touch your body!¡± In order to warn Zhang Song, he forgot to pay attention to himself, allowing the white tiger to rush up and bite his shoulder just right after he finished speaking. Xie Qingling pressed her hands together hard, and several puppets started to grow bigger. They rushed on the tiger. One started stabbing the tiger in the heart with its dagger, while the other grabbed on its head and twisted it vigorously. The tiger roared and struggled before finally letting go of Dong Zhi. The arrival of the cloaked person and their party immediately reversed the situation where they had the upper hand. Long Shen raised his hand, and a longsword was released from it and turned into a white light that flew towards the back of the cloaked figure. The figure responded by letting out several black mists, but it couldn¡¯t stop Long Shen¡¯s sword, so it had to stop and turn around, facing Long Shen head-on. When the sword was flying through mid-air, Long Shen jumped after it, caught it and slashed at the cloaked figure¡¯s head. The cloaked figure black robe suddenly bulged, and black mist quickly overflowed from under it, entangling Long Shen¡¯s sword. One person was in the air while the other was on the ground. It was scene like a white awn dueling with the black mist. They were evenly matched! Their clashes spread infinitely with the two of them at the center of the circle, wrapped in a huge sound wave that suddenly exploded! With a bang, the ground cracked inch by inch and the whole cave trembled violently stunning everyone present. However, Long Shen and the cloaked figure, who were in the eye of the vortex of great waves did not stop fighting. The white light glowed brighter, and the black mist became thicker, expanding to become larger. The sea of clouds rolled around the cloaked figure, covering the white light, shrinking it down. While the light became smaller, the brightness continued to glow brighter. Archfiend! That cloaked figure must be Xu Wan. The Archfiend was truly not dead! Dong Zhi was shocked. In the tumbling black mist, the laughter of the cloaked figure sounded, and it seemed that Xu Wan¡¯s voice was still a little different. It sounded weird, cold, and treacherous. ¡°Long Shen, your old injuries have not completely healed yet, have they? Don¡¯t make unnecessary struggles. It¡¯s none of your business whether there¡¯s peace in the world or not. Power is eternal! It¡¯s better to be completely possessed and enjoy it together with me!¡± Amidst the loud noise, the white light and black mist burst out again, causing loud soundwaves to erupt. The cracks on the ground instantly became larger. All things soaked in the black mist were not spared. The white tiger roared, and its color gradually turned to gray in the black mist, but suddenly its power became greater. With a wave of its sharp claws, Xie Qingling¡¯s puppets were shattered instantly. Xie Qingling spurted out a mouthful of blood and fell directly to the ground. From the corner of his eyes, Dong Zhi saw that Fujikawa Aoi had bypassed the stone statue and directly stepped onto the stone platform behind it. A handsome young man took out the bronze mirror and squatted down, pressing the bronze mirror into the ground. Since the stone platform was several steps higher than the ground, it was impossible to see whether there was any sort of mechanism on it from Dong Zhi¡¯s perspective. After the bronze mirror was pressed in, the ground shook violently. In the rumbling, the stone platform split from the middle, slowly dividing into two, revealing a concave stone trough. Fujikawa Aoi showed joy on his face, but Dong Zhi could see from this joy that something foreboding was about to happen. No matter what they wanted to do, it would not be good, and they had to be stopped. With that thought in mind, Dong Zhi took advantage that the white tiger was still distracted and ran towards the stone platform. He raised his sword to slash at the young man, but his opponent simply smiled at him. With a flick of his hand, the sword in Dong Zhi¡¯s hand seems to have hit some kind of obstacle, as if it was blocked by the air and couldn¡¯t slash down. ¡°You¡¯re not worthy to be my opponent. Begone.¡± The other party whispered softly and closed his five fingers. Suddenly a strong push came blowing Dong Zhi towards the stone wall of the cave. He felt severe pain in his back, but he didn¡¯t care about anything else. He pulled out a Sunlight Talisman, chanted a mantra, and threw it. The talisman swept towards the young man in mid-air, but he didn¡¯t turn his head. Instead, he stretched out his hand and grabbed it directly, causing the talisman to explode in his hand. Dong Zhi took this opportunity to raise his sword and rush up to stab his opponent. The young man turned his head aside, smile slightly, and his expression became a little more serious. His five fingers stretched out and made a sweep in the air. Through the light from the bronze lamp on the stone wall, Dong Zhi discovered that several transparent silk threads were entangled between his fingers. Now wonder he was bounced away just now. It should be these silk threads. As fast as lightning, the silk thread was already in front him. Dong Zhi raised his sword to parry, trying to cut the silk thread, but it instantly slinked back, as if it was alive. It dodged his attack and wrapped itself directly around his wrist. As the silk touched his flesh, his skin immediately started bleeding, as his wrist were being strangled. ¡°I don¡¯t like killing people, so you better not force me.¡± Regardless of how earth-shattering the battlefield was, the young man still had an elegant and polite tone. Dong Zhi on the other hand tossed out a talisman, hoping that the talisman fire would burn the silk threads. However, the thread immediately wrapped itself around his other wrist and stopped his actions. As soon as the young man raised his hands, the silk thread immediately wrapped around Dong Zhi¡¯s body, binding him tightly. The other end of the silk thread was tied around a stone wall affixing Dong Zhi to the wall. After doing this, he stopped paying attention to Dong Zhi and returned to the side of the stone platform groove. He stretched out his hand and leaned down. Suddenly, he let out gasped, shrank back his hand and retreated under the stone platform showing a look of surprise. Dong Zhi thought his reaction was strange, but in the next moment he immediately widened his eyes. The stone platform began to shake and tremble, then it shattered. Countless hands stretched out from under the stone platform and heads that were still rotten, half hung with flesh and blood peered through. ¡°There is actually a ten thousand corpse array down here!¡± Dong Zhi heard the young man say in shock. The stone platform seemed to be a seal. With the seal broken, ghouls began to climbed up from below one by one, moving slightly slower than the living. Their black nails scratched on the ground leaving deep scorches on it. The black mist seemed to have a natural attraction to the ghouls. Without paying any attention to the young man and Dong Zhi, they crawled towards the black mist one after another. The ghouls inhaled the black mist and roared, seemingly their combat effectiveness had increased instantly. They pounced on Xie Qingling and the others. Under the groove, a steady stream of ghouls kept climbing up! Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but feel anxious, but the silk thread had tightly bound him to the stone wall. Any little movement would cause the silk thread to cut into his flesh causing pain. He didn¡¯t need to lower his head to know that his entire lower body was covered in wounds from them. ¡°We¡¯re here!¡± With a loud shout, the figures of Song Zhicun and others appeared at the entrance. Seeing this situation, they threw themselves into the battle one after another. Li Ying was weak. He had used too many talismans, more so than he ever did in the past, and had exhausted his mental and physical strength. He was beyond tired that he almost vomited blood. Unable to fight, he helpless watch was the thousand corpse figurine rushed towards him. Song Zhicun leaped forward forming the seal of Acala* with both hands before shooting them at the thousand corpse figurine. *[Budong Mingwang] (²»„ÓÃ÷Íõ) A wrathful deity and protector of Dharma prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism. In Chinese modern times, he is revered as one of the eight Buddhist guardians of the Chinese zodiac and specifically considered to be the protector of those born in the year of the Rooster. He is also frequently invoked during Chinese Buddhist repentance ceremonies, such as the Liberation Rite of Water and Land, along with the other Wisdom Kings where they are given offerings and intreated to expel evil from the ritual platform. You can read more in the Wikipedia. ¡°Lin!¡± His voice wasn¡¯t high, but it was like a roar of a lion that reached everyone¡¯s ears deeply, stimulating them. With the seal of Acala combined with Taoist mantra, Song Zhicun effectively doubled his power. Qi surged all around him as the thousand corpse figurine crashed down breaking into several pieces. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t have his Feijing Sword, so he danced around with a short dagger in his hand and immediately slashed all the ghouls that were close to Xie Qingling. Ba Sang and Xiang Yongnian were martial artists so they could not easily fight the thousand corpse figurines, but they can easily deal with the ghouls. In order not to be contaminated by them, they had to bound up their hands and feet. Gu Meiren¡¯s flute sounded, slowing the ghoul¡¯s movements, buying much needed time for the others. While Chi Banxia¡¯s witchcraft had no effect on the dead, it was more than enough to deal with the living. With her there, the few Japanese who were still around dare not approach her and became more anxious. With the addition of Song Zhicun and the others, the tide of the battle had suddenly changed again. While all this was happening, the battle between Long Shen and the Archfiend was still ongoing. Dong Zhi originally heard the Archfiend mentioned that Long Shen was still injured so he was worried for him. However, the Archfiend¡¯s condition shouldn¡¯t be any better. They had fought it on Tianyuan Building before and had severely injured it. Although they failed to completely eliminate it, it should still have lasting damage from that battle, and it was likely that it couldn¡¯t find a suitable body. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t have wrapped itself up in a cloak like this. His attention though was still focus on the young man not far from him. Based on his intuition, this person should be a powerful figure, and he may not necessarily be any better to deal with than the Archfiend. His opponent though was looking at the direction of the stone platform intently. Countless ghouls kept climbing up from the inside and rushed to the black qi that nourished their resurrection. Dong Zhi felt that the other party wasn¡¯t just observing the ghouls, but it seems more like he was¡­ waiting. After waiting for all the ghouls to come out, there should be something below. What was he waiting for? His heart jump as Dong Zhi felt a bad premonition. ¡°Don¡¯t let him approach the platform.¡± A voice, that Dong Zhi was very familiar with, sounded in his mind. It was Long Shen¡¯s. He turned his head and looked. In the overwhelming black mist, Long Shen¡¯s figure was barely visible. The white light seemed to be overwhelmed by the black mist. But Long Shen was still talking to him using telepathy. This meant that Long Shen was still trying to hold off the Archfiend and would not be able to get away for the time being. It also shows that this matter was extremely important, so much so that he didn¡¯t hesitate to consume extra energy to tell him telepathically. Looking around the field, besides the Long Shen, only Song Zhicun was the strongest among them. The demonic energy released by the Archfiend was quarantined by Long Shen within a certain range, so it didn¡¯t spread for the time being. However, Song Zhicun was now dealing with several thousand corpse figurines that were infected by demonic energy alone as well as the unscrupulous Japanese. Among them, Fujikawa Aoi could match his strength. Not only that, ghouls kept pouring out and rushing towards everyone. The others weren¡¯t faring any better as they were thinly stretched and struggling to cope. Although Liu Qingbo and the others have not yet lost ground, the situation wasn¡¯t looking optimistic. No one had time to spare. There was only him as the glimmer of hope. Is there a way to stop his opponent? Kinky Thoughts: Wow this is getting exciting! ¡ª Budong Mingwang /Acala (²»„ÓÃ÷Íõ) A wrathful deity and protector of Dharma prominent in Vajrayana Buddhism and East Asian Buddhism. In Chinese modern times, he is revered as one of the eight Buddhist guardians of the Chinese zodiac and specifically considered to be the protector of those born in the year of the Rooster. He is also frequently invoked during Chinese Buddhist repentance ceremonies, such as the Liberation Rite of Water and Land, along with the other Wisdom Kings where they are given offerings and intreated to expel evil from the ritual platform. You can read more in the Wikipedia. CH 62 Dong Zhi remembered that Zhong Yuyi once said that when you invite a Yin God, you often encountered a situation where the Yin god you name to invite wouldn¡¯t come. Just like when they had that class at the farmhouse. Zhong Yuyi had failed to invite Guan Yu and Yue Wumu one try after another. They both failed, not because Zhong Yuyi¡¯s abilities wasn¡¯t good enough, but because the two he wanted to invite were largely famous, high in status, and have great temper. They weren¡¯t Gods that can just simply be invited on a whim. Secondly, they may not ¡°hear¡± your request when you try to invite them. Finally, even if they did hear the request, they may not come if they¡¯re in a bad mood, or they simply didn¡¯t like you. Therefore, some magicians who can invite gods will not mention it, besides those who are liars and pretenders. If one has the capabilities to, in order to succeed every time, they will not try to invite any specific Yin God, but aimed to invite whoever they can. This has also become a trick used by some so-called ¡°masters¡± to deceive people. For example, they talked nonsense to their customers, patting their chest, ensuring them that they could invite any immortal, when in fact, at most they could only invite a fox spirit or a weasel spirit and the likes. For those more immoral, they would invite a lonely ghost and pretend to be someone else¡¯s relative. At that time, Zhong Yuyi talked about a case of a folk family who wanted to invite a god, but they encountered a charlatan. They all thought the story was very funny and enjoyed themselves, and didn¡¯t think too much of it. But now, Dong Zhi recalled these thoughts, not because he wanted to reminisce about the fun times. There weren¡¯t any incense burner or incense at the moment, and his limbs are tied so he couldn¡¯t form the prayers. The only thing that could move was his mouth. Would it still be useful to just recite the mantra? Still useful. His previous Master, Fang Yang, once told him that spells and talismans are channels for human being to communicate with all creatures under heaven and earth, and they were also the most effective form of communication. As long as one is sincere, it may be possible to invite a Righteous God. The rest of the other steps, such as burning incense and doing the seals, were just auxiliary. Now that has come to this point, he could only make a last desperate attempt. Dong Zhi closed his eyes and began reciting a prayer in his heart. I am Dong Zhi, disciple of the Hezao Sect. I am here with my companions to stop the Japanese conspiracy, punish evil and destroy demons, clean up the three realms, subdue fiends, and overcome all dangers and disasters. I earnestly implore all passing gods to help me. In return, this disciple is willing to offer his utmost sincerity to serve at thy beckoning! Thousands have died in this underground cave. For what it¡¯s worth, they definitely are the most wronged souls, but Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to invite them. They most likely were ordinary people in their previous life and now they have gathered their grievances here because they had died in vain. That resentment was refined and turned them into ghouls and thousand corpse figurines. Not only will they not be able to help, but it¡¯s also very likely that they¡¯ll do bad things. However, deep in the underground here, were there any reliable Yin Gods passing by who would hear his prayers? He hoped not to invite any of the kings of the Western Xia Dynasty. If he invites someone like Li Yuanhao or something, what use would it be? He has to be able to fight! Dong Zhi tried his best to empty his mind, not thinking about anymore nonsense. He tried his best to abandon all disturbing factors from his five senses. The noise of fighting gradually faded away and the threat of the ghouls and thousand corpse figurines seemed to no longer exist. Even the life and death confrontation between the Archfiend and Long Shen was forgotten by him. Everything was forgotten, as his mind was filled with incantations that he chanted silently while not thinking about anything else. His body no longer seemed to feel the sensation of the silk thread that was tightly wrapped around him. His body gradually became lighter, as if he was suddenly floating him, but he didn¡¯t leave his body completely. Dong Zhi slowly opened his eyes. His consciousness still exists, but it seems that he was no longer the only one in his body. It was a very subtle feeling. Even though he had invited Yin Gods several times, he still couldn¡¯t adapt to it. Another consciousness became dominant in his body and his own consciousness was squeezed aside, involuntarily, creating a hazy feeling that left him seeing and hearing everything as if they were separated into a different world. At this moment, he heard a voice. To be more precise, the voice sounded in his mind, a bit like Long Shen¡¯s telepathy, but it was different. The voice sounded majestic and thick, with layers of echoes, seemingly like an ancient voice as if music was blaring form the sky. ¡°What you ask for is to punish evil and destroy demons, yes?¡± At the moment when the word ¡°yes¡± fell, his body became light, and all the threads were disconnected. As countless ghouls poured out from under the groove, the groove gradually emptied. Seeing that no more ghouls appeared, the handsome young man finally stepped forward and walked towards it. The groove was a square three feet in length. It was possible for a person to go through, but he did not rush down, but first squatted on the side, lowered his head to look in for a moment, then he took out something from the bag he was carrying. Explosives. Moreover, it was a large amount. This kind of explosion is estimated will it blow up the groove, the entire underground area, and even the Imperial Mausoleum will be affected. But the young man¡¯s face remained unchanged, as if what he was holding was only a piece food or a bouquet of flowers. He acted completely normal as he picked up the dynamite to toss them into the groove. At a critical moment, a person flew up next to him and kicked the explosives away. The dynamite, the young man was holding, as well as the bag holding them flew to the corner of the cave. The young man didn¡¯t rush to pick it up, but turned his head and raised his eyebrows in surprise: ¡°How did you break free from those silk threads?¡± As soon as he finished asking this, he immediately became keenly aware the changes in Dong Zhi. The Dong Zhi in front of him was not the fledgling newcomer of the Special Administration Bureau that he had just fought. ¡°Who are you?¡± The young man frowned slightly and asked in a deep voice. Dong Zhi¡¯s face was like a stone-cold iceberg, emotionless, but in his eyes, there was slight hints of compassion. ¡°A silk string who was fortunate enough to cultivate as a human being. Why not continue on the right path but instead get involve in human disasters and helping demons?¡± The young man¡¯s face changed, and he shouted: ¡°Who the hell are you?!¡± Dong Zhi looked at him blankly, without speaking. The young man reacted quickly, and then smiled: ¡°I see. It turns out this kid can invite Yin Gods. I didn¡¯t really expect he had such capabilities. I wonder which Yin God your excellency is. Is it the head of this tomb, King Liang? Or a king of Western Xia?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°My name is taboo. You cannot ask. Retreat quickly and don¡¯t disturb the peace here, and your life will be spared. The young man smiled slightly and said: ¡°I respect that you have lived here for thousands of years so I asked politely. Even if you don¡¯t say it, I am entrusted by others. I am a loyal person, so I must complete this matter today.¡± Before he finished speaking, silk thread had swept towards Dong Zhi. His ten fingers spread in his hands, and the transparent silk shot out in unison. Before he was halfway through his sentence, the silk thread had already reached his opponent. This skill was extremely powerful. The ten silk threads in his hand were sharp enough to break gold and cut iron. They attack in three ways, upper, middle, and below. They cast a net the encompassed everything, as if they were something with three heads and six arms approaching Dong Zhi. It was impossible to avoid them. The silk thread carried a fierce wind, which was different then when he was using it to bind Dong Zhi previously. If any part of his enemies¡¯ body is touched by them, their limbs would be immediately cut off. But when the silk thread arrived in front of the enemy, the opponent disappeared out of thin air. The young man was taken aback and couldn¡¯t help following his movements, reacting extremely quick by suddenly turning his head. As expected, Dong Zhi appeared behind him, holding the Changshou Sword that had been thrown aside some time ago. He pierced the young man¡¯s body with an unpredictable speed. The young man let out a cry of pain, and his body swept forward, not daring to stop at all. The Changshou Sword that Long Shen gave Dong Zhi naturally wasn¡¯t an ordinary sword. Its power combined with the divine might the Yin God imposed on it, easily penetrated the young man¡¯s body splattering blood everywhere. The young man fell to the ground and looked at Dong Zhi standing in front of him with the sword in horror. His face remained cold and emotionless. The young man felt blood gushing up from his throat that he didn¡¯t dare breathe hard, let alone move. However, Dong Zhi remained still. He ¡°realized¡± that his body wasn¡¯t moving to chase or kill the enemy completely. He wasn¡¯t pretending or goading his enemy, but rather it was because his body wasn¡¯t able to support this God. In other words, this Yin God is too powerful, so powerful that even the young man wasn¡¯t a match for him, but the ¡°container¡±, Dong Zhi, was too weak so the Yin God could not fully integrate with him. Either the body becomes damage, or the Yin God will leave. He also sensed that the Yin God did not want to kill this young man. ¡°Heaven cares for all living things*. It¡¯s not easy for this one to cultivate into this. I do not want to kill him.¡± *(ÉÏÌìÓкÃÉúÖ®µÂ) It means to have the virtue to cherish all living beings and not kill them. ¡°Who are you?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help asking in his mind. The Yin God did not answer him but said: ¡°I am only a wisp of divine thought, not a true God. I have transverse for thousands of years and had been consumed here for around 8 years before you summoned me. After this, I will disappear. I hope you will cherish yourself.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback. Before he could ask, he felt that his body suddenly sank. He fell to the ground involuntarily as blood surged from his chest. He was so uncomfortable that he couldn¡¯t help but cough up a mouthful of blood. At this moment, the duel between Long Shen and the Archfiend had also reached a critical moment. In the world love and hatred can never dissipated. The power of resentment breeds overtime and eventually will condense into magical energy, giving rise to the Archfiend, thus they will never die out and will always make a comeback every once in a while. This time, the Archfiend seem to be particularly cunning and made countless incarnations of itself. Even if it was destroyed several times over, there¡¯ll still remain remnants of its demonic energy that will condense again after several days. In this underground cave, with ghouls and thousand corpse figurines, it was a natural environment that can provide nourishment for the Archfiend. Its magical energy would continuously replenished here, which meant that they were fighting on the Archfiend¡¯s homecourt. Long Shen was surrounded by demonic energy from all direction. He felt it more profound than Song Zhicun and the others because the more powerful his resistance was, the more powerful the suppression of demonic energy was. It seems the stronger he was, the more the black mist would surged around him, as if the Archfiend was arrogantly laughing at his desperate attempt, wanting to make him give up his resistance and completely submit to the demonic energy. He remained motionless, as his body condensed all the qi into the light of his sword that was in his hand. The glimmer of light tumbled endlessly as demonic energy filled half of the cave, but it never disappeared. Although the size of the light shrank, it kept getting brighter. ¡°What good can the old men of the Special Administration Bureau give to you? They let you run around all day long when they have things for you to do, but they haven¡¯t even given you the director position!¡± ¡°Long Shen, you have a dignified half-immortal body, but you beg for scraps under the hands of others. Don¡¯t you feel ashamed?¡± ¡°My demonic energy can give you eternal power. As long as the world exist, demonic energy will always remain. You don¡¯t need to be a lackey for the Special Administration Bureau. Let alone listening to others, you¡¯ll be free to do as you please. You are you and can achieve ultimate power in the world! Join me, Long Shen. The power is all around you, why not merge with them!¡± These voices weren¡¯t spoken by the Archfiend. They are the evil sounds made by the demonic energy that reach straight to the bottom of one¡¯s heart. They are tricks used by demons to deceive people. Even those with profound cultivation base might not be able to resist the drive of their own desires. With a single thought of becoming a demon or god, they would fall into the devil¡¯s way in a blink of an eye and will never recover. There are many legends and allusion about fallen gods in ancient and modern China and abroad, not to mention all the people in the world. Those who are fragile are easily swayed by the intoxication of glory and wealth. They want to enjoy themselves but are too lazy and unwilling to work hard for it, hoping instead to take shortcuts so they¡¯ll achieve success without the effort. These have become the weaknesses allowing demons to invade people¡¯s hearts. As such the Archfiend doesn¡¯t believe that Long Shen has no weaknesses. The violent wind bulged the cloak high, and under the cloak, the face of the Archfiend loomed. If Dong Zhi or He Yu had witnessed this, they might be shocked as there was no human face under the hood. There were no facial features and all that was there was a mass of swirling demonic energy. The black qi kept flowing out absorbing all the demonic energy from the ghouls, blending with them as if they were becoming one with each other. Long Shen moved suddenly. He slowly pushed the sword forward, inch by inch into the tumbling black mist. The light remained unabated. From the eyes of outsiders, his speed looked very fast as his body melted with the sword of light, turning into an arc that shot at the Archfiend. Song Zhicun and Li Ying were struggling as they slowly gained the upper hand. The ghouls fell one by one as everyone gathered together, their backs against each other, carrying all sorts of weapons to kill the ghouls as they rushed them from all directions. Liu Si continuously whipped his whip until his arm became completely numb, decapitating ghouls heads with each strike. Ba Sang and Gu Meiren worked together to attack and defend each other, cooperating seamlessly. Li Ying cooperated with Zhang Song and Liu Qingbo to deal with the several Onmyoji, such as Fujikawa Aoi. Although they were just fledgling, their courage was not weak. Under the siege of several shikigamis, they did not waver. Though Liu Qingbo only had a short dagger in his hand, although it wasn¡¯t as refreshing as the Feijing Sword, he still masterfully used it as it scars and drove those skikigamis to exhaustion. In the past, Fujikawa Aoi would never even put these green boys on his radar, but he had been severely injured by Long Shen and He Yu on Changbai Mountain, and his injuries have not yet healed. It was not his proudest disciple Kitachi Eiko who assisted him this time around, but a different male disciple, Tani Rui. Although he was also his right-hand man, he wasn¡¯t as talented as Kitachi Eiko. This time, Tani Rui went with him to assist Fujikawa Aoi, and also to avenge Kitachi Eiko, his younger martial sister. He was fierce and wanted to cut down his enemies. Unexpectedly, he not only failed to kill his enemies, but now he was in danger. Tani Rui¡¯s shikigami was cut down by Zhang Song¡¯s sword causing it to stagger away, hitting against the cave¡¯s stone wall. With a loud crash, the shikigami dissipated in the air and shattered causing Tani Rui to scream as he fell down spurting blood everywhere. Seeing that Li Ying and the others were temporarily able to control the situation, Song Zhicun took a breath and ran to Long Shen and the Archfiend. ¡°Long Shen, let me help you!¡± He shouted, holding the seal of Acala with both hands, he jumped up and slammed the demon on the head. ¡°Lin!¡± Although he had learned Taoist dharma from the leaders of Mount Longhu, this demon slaying seal was learned from a monk that he met when he was traveling in Yunan and Guizhou. Through Song Zhicun¡¯s own research and improvement, there should be no doubt how powerful it was. His roar was like a drum in the early morning, condensing almost all of his entire strength. It suddenly broke through the heavy demonic aura, as if the sky had rained lightning down, cutting through the shackles of the Archfiend¡¯s enchantment, creating a burst of life! With the light from the sword in front, and the demon slaying seal in the rear, both sides clashed with the black qi as they entangled each other and fought fiercely. Energy swirled and surged around. The black qi roared as it tried its best to expand outwards but was suppressed by the two rays of light. Black and white stirred forming a vortex. The black mist slowly shrank and retreated sharply, surrounding the Archfiend, Long Shen, and Song Zhicun. In order to destroy the white light, it tried its best to concentrate its powers for its final struggle. However, the white light refused to back down from the black mist. With the powers of Long Shen and Song Zhicun combined, a noise noise erupted, pushing everyone away as a shockwave sonic boom outward. The area filled with white light, like the long-awaited daybreak, that complete expelled the darkness returning the light back into the world. The cave shook violently, causing gravel to topple and the ground to tremble. Everyone felt unsteady on their feet and fell again as soon as they stood up. After a long time, everything became calm. When the smoke dissipated, the faces of the Japanese changed. Long Shen and Song Zhicun fell to the ground, but the Archfiend had disappeared, leaving not a single trace behind. The ghouls and thousand corpse figurines were scattered all over the ground and everything remained quiet. Tani Rui chest was aching. He was affected by the shockwave just now and suffered internal injuries. He could no longer summon his shikigami. When he looked around, he saw that the enemy¡¯s side didn¡¯t fare any better. His gaze fell on the explosive bag in the corner of the cave. Gritting his teeth, he struggled to get up and walked over. He picked up the bag and threw it into the groove and went to get the detonator that had been dropped on the ground. As soon as his legs tightened, he fell to the ground, caught off guard. When he looked back, he saw Dong Zhi had hugged his calves and tripped him. Without hesitation, Tani Rui punched him in the face. Dong Zhi endured the pain and fought back, returning his face punch with a gut punch. The two sides scuffled with each other. They were seriously injured and exhausted. Without their magics and abilities, hitting the end of the road, they could only resort to the most primitive form of fighting method: brawling. Tani Rui¡¯s figure was much stronger than Dong Zhi, giving him a natural advantage. Dong Zhi had punched him several times in the stomach, causing him to curl up in pain. As he was about to reach the detonator, Dong Zhi jumped up from behind, hugged him and twisted him to the side as he raised his knee to jab at his opponent¡¯s most sensitive area. ¡°Ahhhhhh!¡± Tani Rui shouted in pain. Dong Zhi was just about to reach the detonator when he felt a sharp pain in the back of his head. Suddenly his eyes darkened as he staggered a few steps and leaned against the stone wall. The Japanese who attacked him from behind was trying to finish him off when Liu Qingbo came from behind and stabbed him in the back with his dagger, causing him to fall to the ground with a thump. He was no longer breathing. ¡°I-This can be considered returning your favor, right?¡± Liu Qingbo grasped his knee as he panted. Dong Zhi held back the dizziness and said intermittently: ¡°Explosive, bag, under the groove. You can¡¯t let the Japanese blow it up. Go get it!¡± Liu Qingbo heard this as he saw Tani Rui climbing forward towards the detonator. He ran to him and kicked him away, then jumped into the groove and retrieve the bag of explosives. Seeing Song Zhicun and Long Shen relieve, he got up and walked towards them and said proudly: ¡°Boss Long, Boss Song, I got it¡­¡± The ground suddenly shook and the amplitude got bigger. Cracks in the ground quickly spread under the stone statue. Song Zhicun¡¯s expression changed as he said to Liu Qingbo: ¡°Run!¡± Dong Zhi staggered, picking up the detonator not far away and held it tightly in his hand, being extra cautious for fear of accidently detonating it. Behind him, the huge stone statue shook as cracks started to appear on its upper body, spreading out densely, before it broke off and smashed down on top of Dong Zhi. ¡°Get out of the way!¡± Liu Qingbo saw the scene was soon as he crawled out from under the groove but it was too late for him to run over to save him. He could only shout with exhaustion. At a critical moment, a figure wrapped its arms around Dong Zhi¡¯s waist and flashed into the corner with him. The next moment, the head of the stone statue hit the ground heavily, exploding countless dust everywhere. ¡°¡­Master?¡± The moment just now had made him dizzy. His eyes were staggering and overlapping and he couldn¡¯t see the figure clearly. ¡°Give me the detonator!¡± Long Shen said. Dong Zhi did not hesitate to hand over the detonator. Long Shen pushed him out of the way and said loudly: ¡°This place is about to collapse. Hurry and get out!¡± The shaking became more and more severe causing most of the stone statues to collapse. Rocks began falling from the surrounding stone walls. Everyone retreated, evacuating one after another. Long Shen turned his head and ran towards the groove. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what he took out of his pocket, but he laid down on the edge of the groove, and fiddle with one hand underneath it. Dong Zhi looked back and saw Long Shen¡¯s figure in a daze. He didn¡¯t want to abandon him. Long Shen got up after arranging it properly, and when he saw him running back, he yelled, ¡°What are you doing back!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Let¡¯s go together!¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t care about reproaching him anymore. He simply picked him up by the waist and ran out. With a bang, the stone statue completely collapsed, crushing Tani Rui, who didn¡¯t have time to escape. Smoke, dust, and stones completely submerged him. Liu Qingbo ran out with the explosive bag in his arms with a distressed face. ¡°Boss Song, what should I do with this thing!¡± Song Zhicun grabbed it as everyone ran in the direction where the original pool was. Without saying a word, he opened a waterproof bag and stuffed the explosives in it. ¡°Get into the water. This place is likely to collapse too!¡± As soon as his voice fell, the cave behind everyone was already shaking and debris had already collapsed and block the entrance to the main hall just now. Everyone went into the water one after another as Dong Zhi was dragged in by Long Shen. He didn¡¯t have the strength to swim, but before he sank to the depths below, Long Shen grabbed him and directly supported him allowing him to surface for air. This was the place where they had first fought the giant python. ¡°Wake up!¡± Long Shen patted him on the cheek. His face was as white as a sheet of paper, and he was drenched as he remained motionless. After inviting a god just now and fighting with Tani Rui, he had exhausted the last bit of his strength. Let alone his arms, he couldn¡¯t even lift a finger. Long Shen couldn¡¯t help it and had to directly carry him. ¡°Is this fantasy or reality right now?¡± Some people weren¡¯t sure as they looked around. The feeling of the ground shaking continued. The most obvious change is the water level had begun to rise and the river started surging. Song Zhicun frowned and glanced around. Suddenly he saw five huge red lightbulbs floating from the distance in the dark and immediate said: ¡°It¡¯s real. Hurry up and follow me. The python is coming!¡± The giant python was heavily injured and had lost one of its eyes to them. It deemed them as its mortal enemy and refuse to never relent until it killed every single one of them. When it saw Song Zhicun and the others, its five ¡°lightbulbs¡± speeded up and instantly narrowed the distance between the two sides. Everyone rushed with all their strength and swam alongside the river before reaching the shore and running wildly towards the exit. Dong Zhi was carried on Long Shen¡¯s back and wasn¡¯t aware of all the events that were currently taking place, which was both a blessing and a misfortune. As the ¡°lightbulbs¡± got closer, a huge snake head bent down and opened it big mouth to bite at Gu Meiren who was lagging at the end. Ba Sang turned back in time and stretched out his hand to pull Gu Meiren forward. The head narrowly missed and snapped at the air as it saw the two figures disappearing into the small corridor ahead. The python hissed and roared as it slammed its head into the wall without hesitation. Boom! This wasn¡¯t the noise made by the giant python but the underground cave that had just completely collapsed. After crossing the threshold from the passage and returning to the main tomb, they could finally regard this place as safe. Everyone looked back, and in the darkness, they couldn¡¯t see anything. They could only vaguely hear the movement of the rocks collapsing. Everyone was tired and fell to the ground, looking at each other in shock. Song Zhicun said worriedly: ¡°Under the groove¡­¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I have used the seals given by Daoist Master Li and Elder Zong to seal it. The collapse should not spread there. We can dig it up afterwards.¡± Song Zhicun sighed: ¡°I supposed that¡¯s the only way. It¡¯s a good thing it wasn¡¯t blown up by the Japanese.¡± Liu Qingbo glanced at the aftermath and saw a figure quietly moving towards the exit of the tomb. Without hesitation, he threw his dagger at the opponent¡¯s shoulder blade, causing him to scream as he fell to the ground. ¡°Still wanting to run away you fucker!¡± Liu Qingbo sneered. Xiang Yongnian rolled up his sleeves and walked towards the collapsed Fujikawa Aoi: ¡°Motherfucker. These Japanese have caused us so much trouble. They were almost the death of us. If I don¡¯t kill him today, I won¡¯t be surnamed Xiang!¡± ¡°Stop it!¡± Song Zhicun ordered: ¡°Fujikawa is still useful to us, so you can¡¯t kill him. Bandage him up briefly first. We¡¯ll take him to the hospital when we go back.¡± Xiang Yongnian remained unconvinced: ¡°Song Bureau, they tried to kill us several times just now, and they almost blew the entire cave up. We have so many scruples with them!¡± Song Zhicun said angrily: ¡°You are a member of the Special Administration Bureau, not a street gangster! Only hooligans and ruffians can be happy seeking revenge. He¡¯s a well-known figure in the Japanese cultivation word. All his companions have died below. This time, he¡¯s the only one alive. If he¡¯s also dead, what do we use as a bargaining chip when we ask for benefits later?¡± Xiang Yongnian didn¡¯t expect this, so he was taken aback for a moment before he felt ashamed. When everyone got out of the tomb and returned to the thief¡¯s hole, Song Zhicun survey the area and before the subbranch came to pick them up, he took the opportunity to lecture them: ¡°Of course it¡¯ll feel great to kill him now, but you¡¯ll only know the sorrow when you realize how much interest you lost later down the line! In future, when you go out and do things, it¡¯ll be under the name of the General Administration and the country. Therefore, everyone must think in the long term. Don¡¯t just look at immediate gains and care only about personal happiness. That kind of thing will never benefit you!¡± Truthfully, he didn¡¯t need to say all these things. After all, very few of them were impulsive and irrational, especially now that they have matured after this life and death experience. Not counting the veterans, they could at least now be qualified as a member of the Special Administration Bureau. The air was full of Gobi yellow sand, and at the end of the rolling mountains, there was a clear and deep blue sky. It made them feel the value of light after they had escape from the darkness underground. Those thrilling life-and-death moments that they had just experience became a thing of the past that they never wanted to recall, because they have left behind two companions who have not even started their apprenticeship yet but were now buried sleeping below. The sun¡¯s ray felt surreal. They would all rather bask in this sun for an hour than go back down for another minute. Kinky Thoughts: Wow what an exciting chapter! In the end, only two people died¡­ Wasn¡¯t expecting such a small number. CH 63 For those who went through this the first time, narrowly escaping death from their training exam, it was usually like this. Song Zhicun saw this and didn¡¯t comfort them, because there were more dangers waiting for them in the future. If they needed to be comforted every time, such a weak person was not fit for the Special Administration Bureau. They needed to adjust their mentality, make themselves more adapted to this environment, and be able to complete their tasks in extreme danger at any time. This is the quality of being a member of the Special Administration Bureau. ¡°There is another person¡­ who doesn¡¯t seem to be dead,¡± Dong Zhi suddenly opened his eyes and said in a daze. ¡°Who?¡± Song Zhicun asked. Dong Zhi gasped: ¡°He fought with me and wanted to blow up the groove¡­¡± Long Shen stroked his back and Dong Zhi spoke more coherently: ¡°He originally fell not far from me, but when we left the main hall, I didn¡¯t see his body.¡± The young man¡¯s appearance was too outstanding and weird that it was hard not to be impressed by his image. Song Zhicun frowned: ¡°There is only one way out, where can he go?¡± No one can answer this question. They¡¯d all came out the same way and had narrowly avoided death. The cave had collapsed, and they couldn¡¯t go back for the time being. Even the bodies of their companions couldn¡¯t be recovered yet. Upon receiving the notice, Ye Cheng arrived quickly, and he was accompanied by the leaders of the Yinchuan office. Song Zhicun briefly told them about the situation. When he heard that two people had died below, the leader of the office changed his expression and hurriedly said: ¡°Leaders, please get everyone in the car and go back to rest. We have already contacted the hospital. We¡¯ll send someone to guard here, and we¡¯ll go down and search for their bodies. If there¡¯s any situation, we¡¯ll report to you at once!¡± Long Shen frowned and said: ¡°Don¡¯t search for the time being.¡± The following situation was unknown. The python most likely will hide in the river so it won¡¯t cause trouble, but an accident could happen if they have people go down there to search with no direction. While the sacrifices of their companions are important, the living were also equally important. When he said this, the people in the office naturally did not dare disobey, so they hurriedly asked the branch office for reinforcements and sent someone to guard the area. Grievances of the world do not disappear, thus providing an environment for demons to breed. This time however, the Archfiend was completely wiped out, and it won¡¯t be able to regain its vitality for at least hundreds of years. The Special Administration had solved a serious problem but at a high cost. Long Shen and Song Zhicun was heavily injured fighting the Archfiend and couldn¡¯t guard the area, so they had to hand over the duties to the branch office. Everyone got into the car one by one and went back. When they looked at the royal tombs outside the window, the hearts of many were mixed. There were traces of relaxation and relief, but the mood was indescribably heavy. Many of them were injured and the corners of their mouths were still bleeding. They could only take temporary medicine to relieve their internal injuries from Ye Cheng, then go back for a full examination and treatment. Dong Zhi also suffered a serious injury, but it was ¡°blessing in disguise¡± as he was sleeping since he resurfaced from underground, so he didn¡¯t feel the pain of motion sickness or vomiting on the ride back. Long Shen looked sideways, seeing him leaning against the window with his head titled while frowning lightly. He wasn¡¯t sleeping well. He surmised the reason behind how Dong Zhi was able to prevent the explosion was because he had invited gods again. He also knew that he had repeatedly ordered Dong Zhi to not use the skill so easily, because the previous two times had consumed a lot of energy and spirit, but the situation was urgent at that time. He was fighting against the Archfiend and could not break away for a moment and everyone else were blocked off by the ghouls, so he could only telepathically tell Dong Zhi to find a way. Facts have proven that this apprentice did not disappoint him, and his potential was beyond imagination. Without incense or a seal, he was able to invite a Yin God by just chanting the mantra alone, and it seems the person he invited was no ordinary person either. However, the price he paid for this was also huge. Dong Zhi¡¯s face was completely drained, no longer having even a hint of blood on it. It was pale, almost transparent, making the sight all the more shocking that Long Shen didn¡¯t know how long it would take for him to recover. What¡¯s even more troublesome was his body. Just now, Long Shen had taken his pulse and found that he was exhausted internally and externally, and his qi and blood were heavily deficient. To put it bluntly, let alone being able to use talismans, if he doesn¡¯t take good care of himself well, it¡¯s estimated that he¡¯ll be chronically ill in the future. Long Shen secretly sighed and when he saw the other party¡¯s face wrinkled into a ball, his heart softened a little unconsciously. He stretched out his hand to smooth the frown between the other party¡¯s eyebrows. After a while, with a squeak, the bus braked, slamming Dong Zhi¡¯s head into the window and causing his body to lean forward. Fortunately, he was wearing a seatbelt and was stopped by Long Shen in time, otherwise, his forehead would¡¯ve suffered. Still, he didn¡¯t wake up. Long Shen untied his seatbelt, moved his shoulders to the side and let Dong Zhi rest his upper body on his lap to avoid the tragedy of slamming his head again. The sun shone from the window on half of Dong Zhi¡¯s head that heated him up. It was too hot, and not only did it not have the slightest sense of romance, but it also made his hair quickly burn up. Long Shen tried to pull the curtain to the middle so that the other party could sleep more comfortably, but the curtain was broken. Frowning slightly for a moment, he placed his palm on the top of Dong Zhi¡¯s head, casting a thin shadow on the latter¡¯s cheek to separate the light from dark. The wheels on the bus continued to roll forward, taking them away from the place they had experience life and death. The mausoleum of the Western Xia Dynasty stood behind them solemnly, unchanged for thousands of years. ¡ª ¡°Leaders, the conditions here are not good so please make do.¡± Ye Cheng pressed the switch on the wall causing the lightbulb above his head to turn on dimly. As he walked down the steps, Long Shen and Song Zhicun followed behind. Zhong Yuyi was also there and had godless eyes and looked to be in poor spirits. He was temporarily called over in the middle of last night to assist in the interrogation. After placing the wounded, Song Zhicun and Long Shen left the hospital as they had other business to attend to and couldn¡¯t stay there to recover from their injuries. They rushed to the office, guided by Ye Cheng, to meet with Zhong Yuyi. The office of the Special Administration Bureau located in Yinchuan was in an old independent villa in the old urban area. The community has been built many years ago. At that time, the neighbors who could buy such a property like this were all rich. With the aging of the community, many people gradually moved away, and the Northwest Branch took advantage of the cheap price and bought it. As the Yinchuan office, the attached basement can occasionally be turned into an interrogation room, such as now. Song Zhicun looked at the dimly lit basement, which was comparable to a haunted house, and couldn¡¯t help but complain: ¡°I say, won¡¯t your office change into a few brighter lightbulbs. If you told people this is the Special Administration Bureau, people would think you¡¯re lying as looking around, this looks more like a haunted house!¡± Everything was fine, but since Song Zhicun had opened the floodgates, this triggered Ye Cheng¡¯s chatterbox and he started complaining: ¡°Boss Song, it¡¯s not like we¡¯re cheap. The fund allocated to us by the branch are too small. We don¡¯t even have enough for toilet paper that our employees have to bring their own. Tell me, is there any other office that is poorer than us?¡± Song Zhicun immediately changed his tone and began to comfort him: ¡°Xiao Ye, it¡¯s wrong for you to think this way. In fact, the General Administration Bureau allocates funds to branch offices in accordance with regulations every year, but after all, our Special Administration Bureau has a unique type of work and often destroys some buildings and facilities involuntarily. The maintenance cost is not a small amount, so financial constraints are also a common situation. We must learn to adapt and solve it rather than complain about it.¡± The corners of Ye Cheng¡¯s mouth twitched, however, for fear that Deputy Director Song would make another long-winded speech, he quickly shut up. There wasn¡¯t much space in the basement, but it was enough to fit a table and a few chairs. A man was sitting across the table in handcuffs and a gauzed wrapped under his clothes. It was Fujikawa Aoi who they had captured in the tomb. He lowered his head; his expression was sluggish and motionless. They didn¡¯t bother with him directly. Long Shen nodded slightly to Zhong Yuyi who then walked up to Fujikawa Aoi, pulled out an incense burner from out of nowhere, lit an incense, and inserted it into it. The smell of incense was a bit weird, similar to sandalwood, but it had a sweet and greasy taste. Ye Cheng was a little curious. He knew that Zhong Yuyi was good at inviting gods, but he had never seen it with his own eyes. Now that they were about to interrogate Fujikawa Aoi, was he going to use the power of a god to force him to answer? Would it be a Japanese god to make the opponent succumb? As he was thinking about it, Zhong Yuyi took out a pen from a cloth bag, dipped it in cinnabar, and drew a symbol on Fujikawa¡¯s forehead. ¡°Fujikawa, raise your head,¡± Zhong Yuyi said. The sound reverberated faintly in the basement, and with the dim lighting, it felt more like a prelude to a ghost story. Fujikawa shook slightly, and he raised his head obediently. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Fujikawa Aoi.¡± ¡°Where are you from?¡± ¡°Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture.¡± Zhong Yuyi asked a few more irrelevant questions, and Fujikawa answered them all one by one, but did not hesitate. Ye Cheng was secretly surprised. Judging from his expression, Fujikawa seemed to be controlled by a certain technique, which was somewhat similar to hypnosis, but Zhong Yuyi¡¯s skill was much stronger than hypnosis. Zhong Yuyi finally got to the point. ¡°What are you and your apprentices doing all the way in China?¡± Fujikawa was silent for a moment and said sternly: ¡°¡­for the bronze mirror.¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°Your ultimate goal.¡± Fujikawa: ¡°¡­¡± Fine sweat began to appear on his forehead, and his brows frowned tighter and tighter, as if resisting Zhong Yuyi¡¯s pressure. Zhong Yuyi lit another incense stick, which was a little thicker than the previous one. The rich aroma quickly filled the basement. Ye Cheng couldn¡¯t stand it. He quietly took two steps back and looked at Long Shen and Song Zhicun. They looked as usual, and their eyes were focused on Fujikawa. ¡°What is your ultimate goal?¡± ¡°¡­in order to destroy, destroy, the stone tablet.¡± Fujikawa finally spit out a few words with difficulty. Zhong Yuyi: ¡°Why destroy the stone tablet?¡± With the key secret poured out, the rest will be much smoother. ¡°I don¡¯t know, Otowa Hatsuhiko asked me to come.¡± Zhong Yuyi: ¡°You are not only the Onmyoji, but also the priest of the Ise Shrine. How can Otowa Hatsuhiko command you?¡± Fujikawa Aoi: ¡°His¡­ identity is a bit special. He has close contacts with the imperial family, and he said he could save Eiko.¡± The Eiko was of course referring to his most beloved disciple, Kitaichi Eiko. Last time on Changbai Mountain, the master-apprentice duo wanted to make the bone dragon their shikigami, but they failed to succeed. Kitaichi Eiko was beaten senseless by Long Shen that permanently disabled her and ruined her cultivation. Fujikawa Aoi had raised her since childhood and thus poured an insurmountable sweat and effort into her. Naturally he was unwilling to have such result, so he tried his best to heal her. The basement was silent, except for Fujikawa¡¯s words and gasps, everyone else deliberately suppressed their breathing. Song Zhicun wrote some questions and handed them to Zhong Yuyi to have him ask him. Zhong Yuyi took the note and continued to ask: ¡°What¡¯s the origin of Otowa Hatsuhiko?¡± Fujikawa Aoi opened his mouth and didn¡¯t say anything. Zhong Yuyi asked again. Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s face became paler, and his gasps became heavier, so that in the end, the corners of his mouth overflowed with blood, but he still refused to say a word. Seeing that his condition was deteriorating and for fear that he would die, Zhong Yuyi hurriedly changed the subject. ¡°Then did Otowa Hatsuhiko healed your apprentice in the end?¡± ¡°¡­Healed.¡± Fujikawa made a murmur from his throat and his expression looked brisker than just now. Zhong Yuyi: ¡°The young man who came with you who¡¯s weapon is made of silk, what is his origin?¡± Fujikawa: ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t know. He was sent by Otowa.¡± As soon as Zhong Yuyi saw that Long Shen and the others had nothing to ask, he patted Fujikawa on the forehead: ¡°You will forget everything tonight. Go to sleep.¡± Fujikawa fell to the ground softly and was unconscious. Song Zhicun frowned, not optimistic: ¡°It seems that another big fish has been brought out!¡± Ye Cheng couldn¡¯t help but said: ¡°Boss Song, has the Archfiend really been wiped out?¡± Song Zhicun nodded: ¡°The Archfiend has been completely destroyed by us so it cannot easily be reborn, at least within a hundred years. However, according to Fujikawa, this Otowa Hatsuhiko is not someone so simple. Even Fujikawa could be used as a weapon by him. Wherever you point it, counting the time on Changbai Mountain, his purpose is obvious. The stone tablet. Boss Long, what do you think?¡± Long Shen asked Ye Cheng to take Zhong Yuyi to rest first. Ye Cheng knew that the two leaders had something to discuss with each other, so he said to Zhong Yuyi: ¡°The lounge is ready for you. Let me take you there.¡± Zhong Yu yawned, as if he was too sleepy to open his eyes. After the two left, Long Shen said: ¡°I have been sending someone to investigate Otowa, but I can¡¯t find anything yet. The Otowa Conglomerate made its fortune after World War II and had strong financial ties. On the surface, they are no different from other traditional Japanese chaebols, but they are also well-connected in both the political and economic circles.¡± Song Zhixin nodded in pain. He thought he had caught a big fish, but who knew he found that there was something bigger behind said big fish. ¡°But on the plus side, at least we know who is coveting the stone tablet. Perhaps we can dig out the secrets of the stone tablet from him.¡± It was embarrassing to admit that if it weren¡¯t for the Japanese, they wouldn¡¯t have known about these stone tablets that were buried all over China. Judging from the inscriptions of these stone tablets, their history was likely beyond their imagination. With the advent of two tablets appearing one after another, the cloudiness around them seemed to be lifting bit by bit. However, after removing it, more mysteries came surging forward, covering the mysteries with an even heavier fog. Song Zhicun said: ¡°Could Otowa Hatsuhiko have any connections to demons? Or is he a demon himself?¡± Long Shen: ¡°It¡¯s possible.¡± Song Zhicun frowned: ¡°This is troublesome.¡± China has vast territory and abundant resources. People with ulterior motives can hide their identity and enter the country easily. If normal people are hard to find, don¡¯t bother mentioning powerful demons and monsters. The Otowa Conglomerate is powerful and has deep ties. While the Special Administration Bureau must operate in the light, they can hide in the dark. As long as their opponent moves his finger, he could cause them endless troubles. What¡¯s trickier is that the opponent is likely to have more information about the stone tablet than they do. Failing to the crack the secret and location of the stone tablet would make them on the passive receiving end. However, as of now, there was no better option. ¡°What about Fujikawa?¡± Song Zhicun asked. Neither of them were fledglings. To be able to sit in this seat, in addition to strength, they must also have a comprehensive means of dealing with problems that doesn¡¯t only resolve to killing and burying people. Long Shen glanced at the unconscious Fujikawa: ¡°I want to exchange him for Dong* Jilan.¡± *Different character than the Dong in Dong Zhi. Song Zhicun opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but in the end sighed: ¡°Well, after so many years, whether Old Dong is still alive or dead, it would be best if we can get him back.¡± Long Shen nodded. When the important matter came to an end, Song Zhicun couldn¡¯t help coughing while clutching his chest: ¡°I still have to go back to the hospital to lie down for a few days. I¡¯m really too old now and can¡¯t compare to before. A few years ago, I was seriously injured but could bounce back immediately!¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Let¡¯s go and get some rest.¡± Song Zhicun said: ¡°I know you also have been injured. Don¡¯t act so tough. Leave it to Ye Cheng. Though the kid has an unreliable mouth, he¡¯s still capable.¡± Long Shen let out a sigh and turned to look at Fujikawa who was still unconscious. The latter face was like gold paper where it still holds some slight exaltation of the past. Over the years, many people have left the Special Administration Bureau, going overseas incognito, to help the country deals with things that couldn¡¯t be done so openly. Like ordinary overseas peacekeepers, there were those from the spiritual world as well. Not only can their activities not be publicized in the news, but there were also many unsung heroes who have sacrificed their lives and had failed to return to their roots. Sometimes, even their relatives didn¡¯t know what contributions they have made, but Long Shen and Song Zhicun, as well as every member of the Special Administration Bureau, have never forgotten them. While their life and death remained unknown, and even tombstones could not be erected for them, in the hearts of Long Shen and the others, they can recite almost all their names. It was forever engraved in their hearts, never forgotten. Even if they were unknown, they will never lose their greatness. ¡ª The moment Dong Zhi regained consciousness, he almost thought he was still underground, being chased by a giant python that was right behind him. When he saw a big face in front of him, he almost screamed. The doctor straightened up and asked in a warm voice: ¡°How is your body feeling now?¡± Still confused and befuddled, Dong Zhi could only describe truthfully: ¡°I have no strength. I feel soft and unable to move and I feel dizzy when I lie down.¡± His voice was also hoarse. The doctor nodded and didn¡¯t say much. He told him to take a good rest and then left. Dong Zhi looked around. He was in a single ward. It¡¯s estimated that he got preferential treatment this time, but the doctor didn¡¯t say anything, so it made him feel a little uneasy. What about his friends? Where is his Master? Where is Boss Song? His thoughts didn¡¯t last long as his mind remained muddled, and he quickly fell asleep again within a blink of an eye. He didn¡¯t know how much time had passed before he woke up and saw Gu Meiren sitting by the bed, looking at him with a sad expression. Earlier, Dong Zhi felt that something wasn¡¯t quite right and combined with the doctor¡¯s treatment just now and Gu Meiren¡¯s face, his heart pounded, thinking that he might not only be seriously injured but it was terminal. ¡°Are you awake? Are you feeling uncomfortable? Do you want me to call a doctor?¡± When Gu Meiren saw him opened his eyes, her expression changed to joy. Dong Zhi propped up on his elbow that didn¡¯t have the infusion needle, wanting to sit up. Gu Meiren hurriedly stretched out her hand to help him and put a pillow behind his back. ¡°Are you okay? What about Ba Sang and the others?¡± Gu Meiren touched the side of her face. There was a wound there that hadn¡¯t scabbed over yet. ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just suffered some minor scratches. Other suffered varying degrees of injuries. Liu Qingbo broke a rib and he¡¯s now lying in the ward next to you. Zhang Song had broken a hand, and two people have suffered concussions.¡± Dong Zhi asked cautiously: ¡°What about me?¡± Gu Meiren stopped talking. After letting his imagination run wild, Dong Zhi thought he was too seriously injured to be healed so he forced a smile and said: ¡°I can bear it. Just say it.¡± Before Gu Meiren could say anything, Long Shen came in. He walked as usual, steadily, and wasn¡¯t dressed in a hospital gown, but from a glance, Dong Zhi could tell that he looked worse than before. ¡°Boss Long!¡± Gu Meiren got up to greet him. ¡°Master,¡± Dong Zhi said. Gu Meiren looked back at him in amazement. As soon as Dong Zhi came out from underground, he had passed out. It was impossible for Long Shen to talk about accepting apprentices at that time, because except for Song Zhicun, no one else knew that Dong Zhi was already accepted. Long Shen nodded to Gu Meiren: ¡°Go next door and have a look.¡± Gu Meiren knew that they had something to talk about, so she hurriedly left. As soon as she left, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Master, is there something wrong with my body?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t scold him for thinking about it, but frowned, as if there was something unspeakable. When he saw his reaction, Dong Zhi¡¯s heart froze. ¡°Are you trying to hide it from me?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I didn¡¯t want to hide it from you, but you have been lethargic, so I haven¡¯t found the chance to tell you.¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but feel sad when he heard this. He felt that his life was really too sad. He had a terminal illness before he officially joined the Special Administration Bureau. He hadn¡¯t even touched his Master¡¯s hand! Thinking about this, without any ramp up, he burst into tears. Long Shen was taken aback and didn¡¯t even resist being held by Dong Zhi. ¡°Master, I was ready to sacrifice myself before I went down. I¡¯m not surprised that something has happened this time. It¡¯s just, it¡¯s hard to be reconciled!¡± Dong Zhi sniffed. Long Shen took out his hand and patted the back of Dong Zhi¡¯s hand: ¡°Some things must be given up. You don¡¯t need to be too persistent.¡± Dong Zhi became even more sad in my heart: ¡°Actually, if nothing else, I still have one wish. I must tell you, otherwise, I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be too late in the future!¡± Long Shen frowned: ¡°You just can¡¯t invite Gods anymore. It¡¯s not like you¡¯re dying. Why are you acting like this?¡± Dong Zhi replied sluggishly: ¡°Huh?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be so obsessed with inviting gods. Even if you can¡¯t invite gods, as long as you practice with your Changshou Sword and the thunder technique taught by Old Fang, in the future there will be no loss.¡± Dong Zhi stammered: ¡°I-Don¡¯t I have a terminal illness?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Who told you that?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­I imagined it myself. He was grateful but felt a little lost in his heart. Fortunately, he didn¡¯t reveal the matter that was hidden at the bottom of his heart. Otherwise, their master-disciple relationship would probably be over. The author has something to say£º You deserve your apprenticeship. Kinky Thoughts: Aww, he was just seconds away from confessing! CH 64 After a while, Dong Zhi finally digested Long Shen¡¯s words. ¡°You mean I can¡¯t invite Gods in the future?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°When you invite gods in the tombs, it directly causes a loss in your spiritual energy and messed up your internal breathing. If you use it again, you¡¯ll not be able to practice kungfu tona for at least a year. Inviting God is a very energy-consuming ability. Zhong Yuyi is different from ordinary people because his ancestors possess the bloodline of the great oracles and it had been passed down from generations to generations, but even he can¡¯t keep up with our other members in terms of physical strength.¡± Seeing that Dong Zhi was still weak and muddled, he slowed down his tone: ¡°This time, the incident happened too sudden, so I know you did it to try and stop the explosion. It was my responsibility. After you are well, I¡¯ll teach you something else, so please, don¡¯t invite Gods anymore.¡± Since his Master spoke so solemnly, Dong Zhi naturally nodded his head in agreement. ¡°Master, what exactly was that alter and what was under the groove? Why were there so many ghouls there?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Do you have the energy to listen now?¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°I¡¯ve slept so much that I¡¯m getting moldy! Are we still near the mausoleum of the Western Xia Dynasty?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°We¡¯re still in Yinchuan. We¡¯ll head back when you¡¯re almost recovered from your injuries. We¡¯re leaving it up to the people in the branch here to try and recover the bodies Zhou Yue and Xing Qiaosheng. Chen Xun is also in critical condition. He inhaled some poisonous gas so we¡¯re still trying to rescue him.¡± When he mentioned this matter, Dong Zhi¡¯s mood became heavy. Although he had no contact with these people, they have gone through this life and death experience together. If nothing had happened, they would¡¯ve become members of the Special Administration Bureau and would work together. But now that accidents have occurred, some have left the team forever. Before setting off, Boss Song words were still ringing in his ears, and for these people, they became an eternal prophecy. Long Shen said: ¡°I have already asked someone to translate the Western Xia text on the stone tablet in front of the tomb. That tomb is indeed Liang Weiqi¡¯s tomb, but it was originally prepared for Empress Dowager Liang.¡± Dong Zhi let out a sigh: ¡°Under normal circumstances, isn¡¯t the queen buried together with the emperor?¡± Long Shen: ¡°During the period when Empress Dowager Liang was in charge of the imperial government, her power fell to the opposition. She hoped that her rule would be as permanent as the country and the mountains, and she hoped that she would live forever, so Liang Weiqi thought of a way for her.¡± This was natural. Since ancient times, those who didn¡¯t have wealth wanted wealth, when they had wealth, they crave power. Soon even power isn¡¯t enough, and they yearn for immortality so they can hold their power permanently. Even if Empress Dowager Liang was a woman, she wasn¡¯t an exception. She was originally matched for Li Langzuo, Emeperor Yizong of Western Xia, but was actually his sister-in-law. Due to her adultery with him, he pitted her husband¡¯s household allowing her to rise to the upper echelons and eventually queendom. Such a woman, of course, would not be a fuel-efficient lamp*. *(²»ÊÇÊ¡Ó͵ĵÆ) Metaphor referring to someone who¡¯s not easy to deal with. After Li Liangzuo died, Empress Dowager Liang began to take power as a Han woman, but Western Xia was a party-controlled state, so she naturally wouldn¡¯t worship Han traditions. In order to consolidate her power, she abolished Han rituals internally and adopted a method similar to Tsarist Catherine the II* to please the nobles of Western Xia by changing her positions and identity, and adopted a war to divert domestic conflicts externally. *More commonly known as Catherine the Great was the last reigning Empress Regnant of Russia who came to power following the overthrow of her husband and second cousin. It was precisely because of her refusal to let go of power that Liang Weiqi took a fancy to her and suggested he could help her achieve her greatest wish. He was truly good at the art of geomancy, but because he had a sinister mind, he couldn¡¯t stay in the Central Plains, so in the end he could only defect to Empress Dowager Liang. Empress Dowager Liang had heard of his name for a long time and was overjoyed when she saw him. Regardless of the general culture of worshiping Buddhism in Western Xia, she canonized Liang Weiqi and ordered him to start his task quickly. Liang Weiqi took people to investigate everywhere, and finally found such a place, located near the mausoleum of the Western Xia Dynasty, which is known as a place of fengshui. He encouraged Empress Dowager Liang to build a cenotaph* there. *Called the ¡°clothes tomb¡± (Ò¹ÚÚ£) The cenotaph itself is an empty tomb or monument erected in honor of a person or group while their bodies remain elsewhere. The so-called cenotaph is to put the clothes one wore during one¡¯s lifetime in the tomb as a substitute when the corpse of the deceased cannot be found. However, this is not what Liang Weiqi¡¯s purpose for this tomb. According to him, the cenotaph is closely related to Empress Dowager Liang¡¯s luck, thus if the tomb was well arranged, while she was still alive, her luck would also flourish. As she was Empress Dowager of the country, what else did she needed to prosper? Naturally, to be invincible in power and invade the Central Plains and unify the world under her rule. However, the question arose on how to make the cenotaph exert its power. Liang Weiqi thought of a way, blood sacrifice. During the battle in Yongle City between Xixia and the Great Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty was defeated leaving more than 200,000 men dead. Xixia had also suffered heavy casualties as well. Under the instructions of Empress Dowager Liang, many corpses were transported to the cenotaph and sent to the cave behind the tomb. As for how this cave was formed, how Liang Weiqi discovered it, and whether he knew the existence of the three-headed python, there was no record recorded on the stone tablet. However, Liang Weiqi not only use the dead as sacrifices but also the blood of the living. According to inferences, he probably killed all the craftsman after they had built the tomb. In fact, he didn¡¯t need to do it himself. The terrain of the underground caves was complicated, and the forget-me-nots can make people lose their ways and senses. There were also beasts like the giant python that looms about. As long as the stone gate remained closed, those craftsmen would eventually all die inside. Long Shen said: ¡°Their flesh and blood was gathered into the river from the earth, leading to the lower layer of the tomb. Over time, the grievances of the dead will continue to accumulate, conveying anger to the owner of the coffin. Liang Weiqi¡¯s original idea was to use Empress Dowager Liang¡¯s bazi and puppet clothes, to put in the coffin in order to promote her luck. Unexpectedly, after the tomb as built, Empress Dowager Liang changed her mind, so he decided to lay in it himself.¡± Dong Zhi felt incomprehensible: ¡°Then why didn¡¯t Liang Weiqi used a puppet as well?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°We speculate that it may be that the junction connecting the coffin to the river has not been opened. Perhaps the project hasn¡¯t been completed yet or someone stopped him. These are not recorded on the epitaph, so we have to investigate more in order to reach the truth.¡± Dong Zhi still feels a bit incredulous. After killing so many people, they would of course be filled with resentment. How could this fuel Empress Dowager Liang¡¯s luck? It was not like she was a fool. How could she possibly believe in Liang Weiqi¡¯s nonsense? He asked these questions. Long Shen said: ¡°He did not deceive Empress Dowager Liang. Everything he did was the opposite. As I told you last time, fengshui places may not turn into a gruesome place. Similarly, he used resentment to the extreme that made it possible to transform it into a place of vitality. He had worship under a famous teacher, so if he didn¡¯t have any skills, Empress Dowager Liang would not have used him.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°So, if the alter wasn¡¯t built during the period of Empress Dowager Liang, then when was it constructed?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°The history of the altar is far older than that of Western Xia. The bronze mirror is the key to opening the altar. It is very likely that Liang Weiqi had been to the altar, took the bronze mirror, and put it in the tomb.¡± A flash of inspiration hit Dong Zhi: ¡°Is there a stone tablet under that groove? It¡¯s why the Japanese wanted to blow it up?!¡± Long Shen nodded. Dong Zhi frowned: ¡°What is the secret on the stone tablet, and why did the Japanese want to destroy it?¡± Long Shen: ¡°To be precise, it¡¯s the Archfiend that wants to destroy it. There¡¯s likely some kind of special interest related to the Archfiend and Otowa Hatsuhiko. We¡¯re still investigation the specifics.¡± At that time, time was running out. Long Shen only gave a momentary glance under the alter and found that there was a stone tablet under the groove, which was similar to the one found on Changbai Mountain. It should be part of the same talisman array, so before leaving, he turned back and laid a small talisman array below as a defensive measure to prevent the stone tablet from being crushed when the cave collapsed. He¡¯ll send people back to clean it up later and protect the stone tablet. Dong Zhi said: ¡°Then the murals found last time in Northwest Inner Mongolia¡­?¡± Long Shen: ¡°If we can interpret it correctly, it should be hints to the alters of the stone tablets. However, we cannot transcribe the meaning of them in time. If we had found this place earlier and protect it, it would be unlikely that those people and the Archfiend would have gotten this close to succeeding.¡± Dong Zhi thought for a while and said: ¡°Changbai Mountain is one place, there¡¯s also one in the northeast, and here is another. Since there¡¯s one here, is this array distributed according to orientation?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°The array is divided into four sides, six sides, and eight sides. If I were to guess it correctly, this should be an octagonal talisman array.¡± Dong Zhi said worriedly: ¡°But even if this is the case, the scope is too wide, and the specific location is difficult to find! Moreover, the specific burial methods of stone tablets vary. Like on Changbai Mountain, it was guarded by a bone dragon. Here, they were buried under the alter that held the three-headed giant python. Is it possible to find all the places where these fierce beasts may haunt?¡± Speaking of this, his eyes lit up: ¡°Fuxian Lake?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°There is indeed magic qi under Fuxian Lake, but judging from the feedback, it¡¯s temporarily ruled out that it¡¯s related to the stone tablet.¡± Moreover, it is likely that it has nothing to do with the Archfiend. This meant that there are other ferocious monsters in this vast world, perhaps some even more powerful than the Archfiend. The elimination of the Archfiend was not the end, but only the beginning. However, Long Shen kept this to himself. These newcomers had just completed a task at the risk of their lives. What they needed now is rest, not worse news. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t notice Long Shen¡¯s implication. He felt dizzy when he thought more about it: ¡°How can we find them?¡± He was a person who can¡¯t hide thoughts. Joy and anger were easily written on his face. Even his worries are more vivid than others. His brows wrinkled showing everything up front in those two big eyes. Normally, Long Shen would be unsettled about this matter, but seeing Dong Zhi like this, he couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°China is too big. There¡¯s no better option at the moment. You have already made contributions to successfully protecting the stone tablet this time. Have a good rest and don¡¯t think too much about it.¡± Long Shen paused, as if thinking of something: ¡°When you invited God to deal with that person, do you know who you invited?¡± Dong Zhi said unsurely: ¡°It sounded like a female voice¡­ She said that she was just a ray of divine thought that was about to dissipate, and my body couldn¡¯t hold her power, so she left shortly after.¡± Long Shen thoughtfully. Dong Zhi: ¡°It couldn¡¯t be Empress Dowager Liang? Or perhaps a queen from Western Xia?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°The one you invited should be a Righteous God. Only a Righteous God can have such great power.¡± Dong Zhi opened his mouth slightly, with a look of surprise, unable to imagine that he was so lucky. Underground, everything was impassable from all sides and only the Gobi yellow sand was above. If he wanted to invite a Yin God, it would be at most a soldier or craftsman who had died in vain in the cave or the master of the tomb, Liang Weiqi. At that time, he didn¡¯t really have much faith that he could invite someone powerful. ¡°Which Righteous God did I invite?¡± Long Shen said in a deep voice: ¡°According to the epitaph, Liang Weiqi only discovered stone statues and altars underground before he determined that that place was once a place for human sacrifices in the pre-Qin era, and the object of their sacrifices was to the stone statue, which is Houtu.¡± *Goddess Queen of the Earth, also known was Dimu (Mother Earth), is the deity of deep earth and soil in Chinese religion and mythlogy. She is the overlord of all the Tu Di Gong worldwide. Equivalent God outside of China would be like Gaia. Dong Zhi was taken aback. This was truly¡­ amazing luck. Houtu, known as Empress Houtu in folklore, is the official title used to imitate the virtues of the Goddess Houtu. This god was not like Guan Yu or Yue Wumu. While the latter were figures that existed in reality and were only canonized after death, Empress Houtu was only part of mythology. Legends related to her have been passed around since the birth of the nation. Legend has it that she often appears as a female figure and is in charge of all land matters in the world, including the spiritual world. However, legends are just legends, and just like many people have heard of fairytales since childhood, Houtu is only a symbol, an idol in a temple, of the nation and nothing more. Dong Zhi still couldn¡¯t believe it: ¡°I met Empress Houtu?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°It¡¯s not a deity, but just a ray of her divine thoughts. Every statue that has been worshipped by the people always has the power of faith. This power of faith is the divine thought. That stone statue may have been worshipped and enshrined by those of the past, so there was still a very small divine thought that still lingered on it. When you invite God, you just happened to meet it. Even if you hadn¡¯t invited her, it won¡¯t be long before she¡¯ll dissipate on her own.¡± Still, even a ray of divine thought was an amazing thing. However, it came at a great cost. This time, since he had invited such a powerful God, it¡¯s expected that he¡¯ll never be able to invite gods again in the future. Dong Zhi intermittently recalled: ¡°At that time, I remember her telling me that it was not easy for that person to cultivate, and that God has virtue for all life, so she didn¡¯t kill him, leaving him a glimmer of hope.¡± Long Shen nodded knowing more in his heart: ¡°Your opponent should have cultivated from an artifact, which is why it¡¯s no wonder he was so powerful.¡± Dong Zhi rubbed his eyes: ¡°Master, what about your injuries? Are you okay?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°My injury is an internal injury which had stay with me for a while now. It¡¯ll take time to heal so I have to recuperate slowly, but it poses no big problem.¡± Dong Zhi let out a sigh. His spirit was currently very poor and this conversation had exhausted him that he couldn¡¯t help showed a tired face. ¡°Sleep,¡± Long Shen said. The light in the ward was bright and despite the curtains being closed, a thin layer of sunlight still penetrated through. Dong Zhi narrowed his eyes and grabbed the hand that was place besides his bed. ¡°Master, stay with me.¡± Now that he was injured while on duty, he wanted to say and do whatever he wanted. If He Yu was so coquettish, Long Shen would¡¯ve stained the flowers on the bedside with red on the spot. However, in the end, Dong Zhi was different. He had just entered the spiritual world and it was inevitable that he would have some hesitation in his heart. For such a charming little apprentice, Long Shen unknowingly gave too much tolerance and preferential treatment. ¡°Go to sleep,¡± He removed his hand from Dong Zhi¡¯s grasp and put them over his eyes, acting like an eye mask to block out the excess light for him. The warmth from his hands was reassuring and in less than a moment, Dong Zhi quickly fell asleep. Seeing that he was asleep, Long Shen moved his hand away and got up and left the ward. As soon as he closed the door, someone called him on his phone. ¡°Boss Long?¡± ¡°Boss Long, how are you? Are you okay?¡± ¡°Good. Are there news from the Japanese?¡± Long Shen asked. Wu Bingtian didn¡¯t dwadle and got to the point: ¡°Yes, the news that Fujikawa is in our hands has been released. The Japanese side will contact us soon, but it is the Japanese government, not the Otowa Conglomerate. The Otowa Conglomerate directly denied their involvement with this operation, saying that the president did not know anything about it and never asked anyone related to the Otowa family to come to China to carry out illegal activities. They pinned all the blame on Otowa Saburo. They have also said that since they have broken the law in China, they should accept the sanctions by the Chinese government and the Otowa Conglomerate will respect any rulings from them.¡± With Otowa Saburo dead, there were only a few minions left. Even if he was alive, it would be useless. The Otowa Conglomerate had said he took these actions on his own accord with the intention of coming to China to cause mischief. As such, whether they kill or cut, it would be left into the hands of the Chinese government. Since their president was so righteous, he would not interfere with how they want to handle the situation. There was no point to entangle themselves over such matters. Long Shen moved passed the topic of the Otowa Conglomerate: ¡°What does the Japanese government have to say about it?¡± Wu Bingtian said: ¡°They offered to redeem Fujikawa with money.¡± Before he mentioned how much money, Long Shen said: ¡°No, I want someone in exchange. Dong Jilan.¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°Boss Long¡­¡± Long Shen said in a deep voice: ¡°Boss Wu, you don¡¯t know my intentions.¡± Wu Bingtian slowed down his tone: ¡°I know, Boss Long and Dong Jilan were heroes. Decades ago, if he hadn¡¯t sneaked into Japan and ruined the plans of those kannushi*, we wouldn¡¯t have been able to prevent the catastrophe that was to follow. That would have resulted in endless trouble to deal with.¡± *Person responsible for the maintenance of a Shinto shrine, as well as for leading worship of a given god (kami). Long Shen said: ¡°Decades ago, the Special Administration Bureau hadn¡¯t been established yet. At that time, everything was still new. We didn¡¯t have the manpower. Elder Zong had to use Dong Jilan as a pawn and later she blamed herself. I have also been to Japan to investigate this matter but I have never found his whereabouts.¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°Over the years, no matter what method we use, the other side has refused to admit the existence of this person. Have you ever thought that he might have died?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°The last time they went through Changbai Mountain, it was through legal channels, so we handed it off to the Law Enforcement Department, and played by the rules. I had no objection at that time of letting them go. However, this time, Fujikawa went through and delivered himself at our doorsteps on his own whim. This chip cannot be easily let go. If Dong Jilan is still alive, the Japanese will agree and exchange him.¡± Wu Bingtian was silent on the other end of the phone for a moment, then said: ¡°The intentions of those above is to let us accept the conditions of taking money as redemption.¡± Long Shen: ¡°Above? From Director Jiang?¡± Wu Bingtian said tactfully: ¡°Boss Long, after all, he is the director sent to us by the top. He¡¯s not only coordinating the work but also supervising us. Since the three of us are practitioners ourselves, there¡¯s no way to be completely impartial, thus the top trust Director Jiang more. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Long Shen tone was indistinguishable: ¡°Boss Wu means to support Director¡¯s Jiang decision?¡± Wu Bingtian let out a laughed but didn¡¯t answer positively: ¡°I¡¯m focusing on the overall situation! Boss Long, let¡¯s have a heart to heart. I am also heartbroken by comrade Dong Jilan¡¯s sacrifice back then, but we must move forward. It¡¯s not that I don¡¯t support using Fujikawa as a bargaining chip, but we must also be considerate from the decision made above.¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. This matter will not embarrass Boss Wu. I have already informed Elder Zong to try and convince those above. Even if Dong Jilan couldn¡¯t be exchanged back, with a figure of a dignified Onmyoji like Fujikawa Aoi, who could be used by the Japanese royal family, he is worth much more than any cheesy amount of money they have to offer. He should be exchange for something else.¡± Wu Bingtian was a little annoyed: ¡°Long Shen! I¡¯ve talked with you first to show my sincereity, but you directly went over me and discussed it with Elder Zong. What is the meaning of this?! If you want my support, I won¡¯t agree to it!¡± Long Shen: ¡°We caught Fujikawa, and Boss Song has also agreed. When the time comes for the above to seek opinions, Boss Wu¡¯s opinions may be solitary.¡± ¡°Well, how tough you are this time!¡± Wu Bingtian gave a cold smile and hung up the phone. Long Shen put down his phone and saw Xie Qingling coming out of the ward. Her injuries were considered minor compared to others. She only suffered from minor scratches and did not need to be hospitalized, so she was currently staying in the hotel next to the office and would come to visit her companions daily. Seeing Long Shen, she hurriedly stood still and greeted him. ¡°Good morning, Boss Long!¡± Long Shen nodded slightly. ¡°Boss Long!¡± She stopped him, hesitated for a bit before asking: ¡°Is Fujikawa Aoi still in our hands?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Yes.¡± Xie Qingling said: ¡°I heard that Fujikawa is very well-known in Japan. With such an important figure, we won¡¯t be under pressure to return him, will we?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Those are for the considerations for those above. In any case, we must follow their orders. However, even if they want to get him back, they must pay a certain price. We won¡¯t hand him over so easily.¡± Xie Qingling felt disappointed by his words, but when she heard the last half, she showed a relieved expression. ¡°That¡¯s great. As long as he¡¯s not returned in vain, I think Zhou Yue and Xing Qiaosheng will feel that their sacrifice was worth it.¡± Xie Qingling couldn¡¯t hide her sadness in her smile. Since the training started, her closest friends are Zhou Yue and Ou-Yang Yin. Seeing as how Dong Zhi was sad for the sacrifices of his companion, it was unimaginable how much worse she was feeling. ¡°The country and the nation will never forget anyone who has fought for it.¡± After saying this, Long Shen left. Seeing his fading figure, Xie Qingling lowered her head and blinked away the tears in her eyes. Kinky Thoughts: So standard of Meng Xi Shi¡¯s novels. The one sitting at the top handing out directions are all incompetent bumbling idiots. ¡ª Hontu Goddess Queen of the Earth, also known was Dimu (Mother Earth), is the deity of deep earth and soil in Chinese religion and mythlogy. She is the overlord of all the Tu Di Gong worldwide. Equivalent God outside of China would be like Gaia. CH 65 The next few days after, Dong Zhi would spend his time sleeping, waking, then falling asleep again. His biological clock was completely disrupted. Sometimes he would wake up at night, watched TV for a while, passed out, and woke up again late in the day. Other times he would sleep for the entire day. Perhaps it was because of the disordered sleeping pattern, but he never saw Long Shen again. Disappointed, he had to inquire about it from the nurse and learned that his dear Master had actually been here a few times, but he was sleeping every time, so he only stayed for a while before leaving. Dong Zhi felt helpless against his sleeping pattern. This was the consequences of inviting gods. He was drowsy all day long and his body remained very weak. In the days when he was awake, he felt that the ceiling was spinning even though he was lying in bed. Now that he¡¯s better, he could get up and walk for half an hour without dizziness, but then he had to lie down and slept for a lot longer than usual, as if he was suffering from a serious concussion. It was no wonder that his Master wanted to strictly forbid from inviting gods again. If he continued like this, he knew that his body would collapse. He couldn¡¯t help but be a bit afraid. As long as he was awake every day, he would practice his kungfu tona. Thanks to his diligence and perseverance of his practice, he was finally able to stay awake longer. Gu Meiren came to see him and said that Lin Xuan had visited him before. When he saw him sleeping, he sat there for a while then left. Before leaving, he asked Gu Meiren to pay tribute on his behalf. He relayed to her that he wanted to say he was really sorry, and he left this compass behind as a gift as atonement. He said he would treat him warmly, should he ever visit the Lin family. After Long Shen¡¯s verification, the compass belonged to a great master in the Qing Dynasty. It was not only an antique, but also somewhat famous, thus this gift was not perfunctory. Long Shen asked Dong Zhi to keep it, but he wasn¡¯t familiar with using an actual compass. He felt it was good enough to use the compass app on his phone, so he later gave this compass to He Yu. Being underground for so long and experiencing life and death together, Dong Zhi no longer cared too much about Lin Xuan¡¯s previous action. Despite his background, he still relied on his own strength. Also, if it weren¡¯t for them being on the Lin family¡¯s territory that day, the Japanese would probably be even more unscrupulous. Dong Zhi understood that when he walks outside in the future, it¡¯ll be under the title of Long Shen¡¯s apprentice. The title alone will scare off some ill-intentioned people but would also attract those with ulterior motives. Since he had decided to worship Long Shen as his Master, he can¡¯t rely on falling back on his Master¡¯s name and fame. If he¡¯s caught, he could be used as a hostage to bargain with Long Shen. Not only is this a bad thing, it¡¯s also shameful. He can¡¯t allow this to happen so he must work harder. Besides Gu Meiren and Lin Xuan, others came to visit him as well. Everyone stayed at the same hospital and was arranged on the same floor, but the wards were different. Some who have minor injuries would come back and forth every day when they are idle. Since Dong Zhi spent most of his time asleep, he didn¡¯t know who came to visit him, and now that he could manage to stay awake longer, he finally have the chance to talk with his friends. He also realized that he had made a big splash during the event this time. The collapse of the cave gradually subsided, and the Northwest Branch began to send people to carry out search and rescue, as well as excavating the area. Long Shen and Song Zhicun personally participated in this expedition. Only then did everyone else found out that there was a stone tablet under the alter and this was the most important goal of their trip. At that time, the Japanese wanted to blow up the stone tablet. Long Shen and Song Zhicun were busy dealing with the Archfiend, while the others fought fiercely against the ghouls, Japanese, and the thousand corpse figurines. It was only Dong Zhi who had the opportunity to stop them. Now that this information had come to light, even Zhang Song, who originally felt that Dong Zhi was too weak, could only hold his tongue. What¡¯s even more amazing was the fact that Long Shen had accepted a disciple. Since Dong Zhi was out of commission and in bed the whole time, he didn¡¯t have the opportunity to publicize this news. Only when Song Zhicun had half-jokingly told Long Shen that he needed to hurry up and accept an apprentice, or he¡¯ll regret it once everyone gets snatched away, did Long Shen announced that he had already acceptted a disciple. When he uttered that word, everyone was in shock and the news quickly spread. Everyone knew how demanding Deputy Director Long was. Even when dealing with him, they¡¯ll be inevitably affected by that cold face that would make them involuntarily feel nervous. Although the title of being a disciple of Boss Long was extremely attractive, there were not many people who would dare take the initiative to fight for it like Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo. When comparing Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, most people thought that Long Shen was more inclined towards Liu Qingbo. After all, the latter¡¯s family background was solid while Dong Zhi was a ¡°halfway monk¡±. Those who become Masters would prefer a worry-free apprentice. Even Ba Sang and Gu Meiren felt that there was little hope for Dong Zhi, but they couldn¡¯t bear to tell him. Yet who knew that things would turn out to be this unexpected. As Dong Zhi laid in bed listening to Gu Meiren relay all this information, he was lost in a trance thinking how unreal all this felt. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Gu Meiren wave her hands in front of his eyes, calling him back to his senses. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Dong Zhi smiled. Gu Meiren still worried: ¡°You¡¯ve been absent-minded and in low spirits lately. What did Boss Long say?¡± Dong Zhi rubbed his eyes: ¡°He said this is normal, because I expended too much energy and physical strength when I invited a god, I can only slowly recover now.¡± Ba Sang patted him on the shoulder and almost knocked him back down onto the bed. He was surprise: ¡°Why are you like this?¡± Dong Zhi yawned: ¡°I have become Lin Daiyu* for the time being, you have to take good care of me.¡± *One of the principal characters of Cao Xueqin¡¯s classic 18th century Chinese novel Dream of the Red Chamber. She is portrayed as a well-educated, intelligent, witty and beautiful young woman of physical frailness who is somewhat prone to occasional melancholy. Ba Sang: ¡°Alright. When I go home, I¡¯ll bring you a box of cordyceps to replenish your body. Is it true though, that Boss Long accepted you as his disciple?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°News already spread?¡± Ba Sang and Gu Meiren both nodded. Dong Zhi felt a bit embarrassed. In addition to the slight sense of joy from everyone knowing the news, he also felt a sense of achievement based off his efforts. If it weren¡¯t for his inability to move right now, he wanted to jump out of bed and do a dance. Gu Meiren said: ¡°For several days now. Liu Qingbo¡¯s face has been completely blackened. He¡¯s probably furious.¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°It¡¯s okay, he¡¯s just thunder with little rain*!¡± *(À×Éù´óÓêµãС) Metaphor for someone who makes a lot of noise when doing things but have very little ability. ¡°Who has thunder with little rain?¡± Liu Qingbo walked in from outside with a suspicious expression on his face: ¡°I seem to hear someone badmouthing me.¡± Dong Zhi said innocently: ¡°You heard me wrong. I¡¯m praising you for being handsome like a jade tree*!¡± *[Yushu Linfeng] (ÓñÊ÷ÁÙ·ç) Idiom use to describe, mainly men, that are very handsome and beautiful. They are compared to as unrestrained as a jade tree. From the ¡°Song of Eight Immortals Drinking¡± by Du Fu. ¡°Give me a break!¡± Liu Qingbo showed an expression of disgust before angrily saying: ¡°It seems you are recovering well since you can still sit up and chat!¡± Dong Zhi said tragically: ¡°Well you say? I used to like eating mantis shrimp so much but recently I couldn¡¯t eat anything. Just the sight of food would make me feel sick. I probably lose quite a few pounds by the time I¡¯m discharged.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°That¡¯s better than Chen Xun. He¡¯s still lying in the ICU. His fate is still unknown!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°How is he? ¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°Just out of danger now, but he hasn¡¯t woken up yet.¡± Gu Meiren said suddenly: ¡°I heard that someone seems to be scared and wanted to quit?¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°Who?¡± After struggling through many hardships and escaping danger, those who were lucky enough to survive, some have become more courageous and competitive, while others have become more afraid and would naturally shrink back. Dong Zhi immediately thought of Chi Banxia. Liu Qingbo seemed have read his mind as he said: ¡°It¡¯s not Chi Banxia. It¡¯s Ou-Yang Yin. I heard it as he was making his report.¡± Having said that, he curled his lips: ¡°It¡¯s okay to leave. It¡¯s not suitable to be in this business if you¡¯re timid!¡± Gu Meiren remained silent. In fact, when she had encountered danger underground, she also retreated several times. She even thought about reporting in and quitting once she left the cave, but when she resurfaced, she changed her mind. She had become accustomed to this tense and exciting pace that if she returned to normalcy again, it would make her feel uncomfortable. Liu Qingbo glanced at them: ¡°You guys go out first. I have something to talk about with Dong Zhi.¡± Gu Meiren and Ba Sang looked at each other. They were both worried that he was still angry because of the news about Long Shen accepting Dong Zhi as his disciple, that he was going to beat up Dong Zhi in the ward. Seeing that Dong Zhi nodded, the two of them went out. Gu Meiren still didn¡¯t feel at ease so she said: ¡°If you need anything, just call us.¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. Dong Zhi yawned: ¡°Have you found your Feijing Sword?¡± At the thought of being reminded of it, Liu Qingbo blushed immediately and gritted his teeth as he deliberately said word-by-word: ¡°Why, ask, when, you, should, know, in, your, heart, the, answer?¡± Dong Zhi was dazed: ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t with you later on!¡± Liu Qingbo said angrily: ¡°Of course it¡¯s gone! The river is so deep, how can I possibly find it?! Why don¡¯t you go and search for it for me?!¡± Dong Zhi smiled: ¡°Aren¡¯t you sacrificing your ego for the bigger ego*? You¡¯ll have the opportunity to find it in the future. Besides, I remember that you have many famous swords in your household!¡± *It means to give up on one¡¯s own interests for the greater good. || In this context, that would be the Feijing Sword. Liu Qingbo¡¯s face was gloomy: ¡°Did the Boss Long really accept you as an apprentice?¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I meant to tell you. Boss Long has accepted me as an apprentice. It happened after I was separated from you. After I was hospitalized, I didn¡¯t have the chance to make it clear to you.¡± Liu Qingbo was unconvinced: ¡°Am I that inferior to you? Does he prefer one who shamelessly flatter?¡± Dong Zhi yawned again. The number of times he had yawn recently was catching up to the combine total of yawns he¡¯s done in the 20 years of his life. ¡°Old Liu, how mundane of you to think like that. Do you think Boss Long is the type of person who likes to listen to sweet words? If this is true, most likely I wouldn¡¯t be his candidate. Before me, there were plenty others who are better and stronger than me. I don¡¯t know what Boss Long has told you, but I think he has some consideration as to why he didn¡¯t want to accept you. Otherwise, wouldn¡¯t it be fine if he accepted the both of us?¡± Liu Qingbo was silent. What Dong Zhi said was right. When he went to Long Shen to confirm, Long Shen had told him that his foundation itself was impeccable. The only thing he lacked was the adjustment of his mentality. As long as these two things can conform together, even if he didn¡¯t have a Master, it was only a matter of time before he steps over the threshold. For him, an apprenticeship was just superfluous, because his problem has never been whether he needed a Master or not. Liu Qingbo still remembered that he asked why Dong Zhi? He was so weak. Would it make him feel more successful if he could train someone like that? Long Shen said: ¡°Your personality is stronger than Dong Zhi. You already have your own opinions in swordsmanship. You don¡¯t need others to add icing to your cake. You just have to follow your own path, while he is like a blank piece of paper that need guidance when it comes to swordsmanship.¡± Liu Qingo was finally convinced and had to admit that what Long Shen said made sense. When Long Shen had taught them, Liu Qingbo would often hold doubts about what he said. He would ponder and verified them before believing in Long Shen¡¯s words, as this was a natural reaction to those who are knowledgeable in swordsmanship, while Dong Zhi have always chose to believe in them without raising any concerns. He would believe and do as what Long Shen say, and this was the biggest difference between the two of them. Dong Zhi comforted him: ¡°Come now, Master have led me to his door, but the practice will depend on the individual. If my mud can¡¯t support the wall*, then it¡¯ll be useless for me to worship Boss Long as my Master. Since this is a big deal, I¡¯ll invite you to hotpot later. If one meal isn¡¯t enough, we¡¯ll just make it two!¡± *(ÀÃÄà·ö²»ÉÏǽ) Metaphor referring to due to poor ability or low level, one is not able to be acclimated. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes: ¡°Do I have to go if you invite me?¡± After waiting for a long time without hearing an answer, he condescendingly moved his eyes from the ceiling. He had now fully accepted the outcome. Dong Zhi had already titled his head to the side and had fallen asleep. His hand was still hugging his abdomen as he didn¡¯t even have the chance to put them down. When Dong Zhi woke up, he didn¡¯t know when Liu Qingbo had left. He simply ate and slept like this, living a life like a pig for another half a month until his Master and doctor announced that he was finally in good condition, and he could return home with everyone. Many things have happened within the past half month. Chen Xun pulled through and survived. Rumors has it that he wanted to withdraw, and the leaders respected his wishes. Ou-Yang Yin in the end decided to remain in the Special Administration Bureau but worked for the logistics team doing civilian work and would not be on the front line. Not only Chen Xun, but two others who went through this escapade wanted to withdraw as well. Although they managed to survive, not everyone was willing to risk their lives even if they were practitioners. In the end, counting the death of Zhou Yue and Xing Qiaosheng, there were only fourteen people remaining. With Long Shen holding Fujikawa in his hands, Song Zhicun stepped forward and began a tug-of-war negotiation with Japan. Due their persistence and Elder Zong¡¯s remarks, the higher ups finally agreed to their plan and asked Japan to exchange Fujikawa for Dong Jilan, but Japan was unable to fulfill this. In the end, they finally agreed to exchange him for another agent, who¡¯s a national treasure level cultural relic, who had been secretly detained for many years. In addition, $50 million USD was also part of the compensation in exchange for Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s safe return from China. At this point, even Long Shen had to accept the fact that Dong Jilan had already died. These things were learned by Dong Zhi much later. Now, he only needed to be concerned about his own life. As for the rest, there¡¯ll be others to stand guard behind. In other news, after the cooperative excavation between the branch office and state troops, the alter where the stone tablet was located was found. The alter was excavated and sealed off as a military restricted area. The elders of Mount Longhu and Maoshan worked together to lay a talisman array, adding an extra layer of protection around the stone tablet and the area had constant monitoring with guards sent to monitor the area all hours of the day and night. This time, let alone Fujikawa Aoi, even an Archfiend would not be able to touch the stone tablet so easily. Before returning to Beijing, Dong Zhi heard that He Yu and Kan Chaosheng had also returned, but before he had the chance to reunite with old friends, when he got off the plane, he and the others were taken to the suburbs. ¡°There¡¯s not another sudden assessment, right?¡± Everyone was beyond terrified. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. Look at this guy. He¡¯s still weak and can barely walk. What kind of assessment can he take?¡± Someone said as they pointed to Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t eaten much on the plane and now he felt even more nauseous from the motion sickness while sitting in his seat. ¡°Anyone who¡¯s only been eating white porridge for a month will have weak legs. Now, give me a mandarin duck pot and I can resurrect with full vitality.¡± Li Ying laughed: ¡°Would you like another bowl of dandan noodles?¡± He wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to the motion sickness, but when Li Ying mentioned dandan noodles, Dong Zhi covered his mouth and wanted to vomit even more. Liu Qingbo said coldly: ¡°Is this motion sickness or morning sickness from a pregnancy?¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t even have the strength to bicker with him as he was afraid the minute he opens his mouth, everything would be released. When he got off the car, he was still pale and light-headed. Upon seeing this, Long Shen said: ¡°Give me your hand.¡± Dong Zhi thought his Master wanted to comfort him by touching his hand so he hurriedly stretched it out, but saw that Long Shen was aiming at the position of his tiger¡¯s mouth and pinched it. ¡°Ahhhhhhhhh!¡± The screams startled countless birds in the forest. Long Shen: ¡°Is it better?¡± Dong Zhi wanted to burst into tears. He dared to be angry but did not voice his complaints as he only nodded bitterly for fear Long Shen would pinch him again. Long Shen said: ¡°You can press this acupoint for motion sickness in the future, and you¡¯ll get immediate results.¡± Even if it works, it was just using pain to divert his attention! Dong Zhi found that after he began his apprenticeship, he had more close physical contact with his Master. For example, when his Master instructed him to practice his swordsmanship, he would teach him with his hands. Unfortunately, his Master would never show him mercy and was even harsher than before, and he never relented when he was scolding or training him. However, facing Liu Qingbo¡¯s jealousy, Dong Zhi had to pretend that everything was proceeding great, and could only swallow all his blood and tears back into his stomach. This was truly a life that was mixed with misery and joy. After getting out of the car, when everyone saw their destination, they felt that this was definitely another trial. In their view was a stone road leading into a dense forest that was silent and deserted. Surprisingly, rather than the imagined thrills that they thought of, Long Shen and Song Zhicun led them to the depths where there laid a cemetery. Many people were already gathered there waiting for them, headed by Director Jiang and Wu Bingtian. When Dong Zhi looked around, he saw a few familiar people that were unexpectedly there. Everyone was wearing black suits or Taoist tunics. When they saw them, they all only nodded slightly, instead of the usual smiles and warm greetings. Two tombstones were erected, with the names Zhou Yue on the left and Xing Qiaosheng on the right. When they all came to a standstill, Wu Bingtian looked around for a while before saying: ¡°Today, there¡¯s a piece of news that I want to announce to you. The reason why you¡¯re here is because, like Zhou Yue and Xing Qiaosheng, you¡¯re all officially now members of the Special Administration Bureau. However, unlike you, they will be sleeping underground while you have the chance to listen to my words.¡± ¡°I know that this good news should be in an auditorium where we solemnly announced it to the audience, but Xing Qiaosheng and Zhou Yue, our two comrades, will never have the chance to wear good-looking clothes, to go on dates with friends and lovers, to celebrate with them, like you will. In order to let them participate in the induction ceremony, we finally chose to be here to announce this good news to you.¡± Two once fresh smiling faces have now become photos that will solidified forever on these monuments. Many people lowered their heads quietly, as tears swelled in their eyes. Wu Bingtian: ¡°I now announce that Zhou Yue, Xing Qiaosheng, Li Ying, Dong Zhi, Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song, Ba Sang¡­ With a total of 16 people, have now officially become members of the Special Administration Bureau of the People¡¯s Republic of China from today onwards. Next, please follow me to take the oath.¡± ¡°I am willing to dedicate this body to the country and the people.¡± ¡°I am willing to dedicate this body to the country and the people!¡± ¡°To fulfill my duties and be loyal to my country.¡± ¡°To fulfill my duties and be loyal to my country!¡± ¡°Strictly enforce the law, fair and unselfish.¡± ¡°Strictly enforce the law, fair and unselfish¡­¡± Wu Bingtian stood in front of the monuments as he read each sentence one by one, and everyone followed. It was uneven at the beginning but became more sonorous and neater. The leaves rustled in the wind as the sunlight was mottled, as if this was the silent response from Zhou Yue and Xing Qiaosheng. After taking the oath, Wu Bingtian said: ¡°The bureau is already handling the formal entry procedures for you. This year, every member who has just joined the General Administration Bureau will have a probationary period between one to two years. During this period, they will be assigned to a branch office for internships. The specific units will be arranged by the higher ups. It will be implemented in about a week. During this time, you should all take a vacation and get a good rest.¡± Everyone was taken aback. They thought they had passed the training exam and had finally entered the General Administration Bureau and would begin working. Unexpectedly, there was still a probationary period. Someone asked: ¡°Boss Wu, can you also be eliminated during the probationary period?¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°Of course. This probationary period is like your daily job. If you encounter a case, you will be involved in it.¡± Seeing that everyone had nothing else to ask, he said: ¡°I like to invite Director Jiang to say a few words to everyone.¡± During the applause, Director Jiang cleared his throat and began to ¡°say a few words¡±. First, he affirmed everyone¡¯s performance on the Yinchuan trip, then he paid homage to the sacrifices of Zhou Yue and Xing Qiaosheng, and then he recalled the past and encourage everyone to learn from their companion¡¯s sacrifices and continue to fight bravely on the front line. Dong Zhi stared at Zhou Yue¡¯s and Xing Qiaosheng¡¯s tombstones in a daze, imagining that they would jump out of their grave at any moment to fight the director. This thought was both funny and sad. Fortunately, everyone was used to Director Jiang¡¯s style. When he finally finished speaking, he remembered there was also two other Deputy Directors next to him. Director Jiang turned to look at Long Shen: ¡°Then Boss Long will also say a few words.¡± Long Shen has always had a concise style of speaking. If it only needed a sentence to be conveyed, then he¡¯ll really just say a sentence: ¡°I don¡¯t want you to be deserters, and I don¡¯t want to add your tombstone here in the future.¡± Song Zhicun¡¯s tone was much gentler. He smiled at everyone: ¡°Everyone has just been through life and death. After this, you have gradually grown into qualified warriors. I have no other explanation. I just hope that you can do a good job during this probationary period. At the end of next year, there will be a worldwide exchange conference for practitioners around the world, where we¡¯ll be competing in various competition representing our country. I hope that when that time comes, I can see you fighting for our country¡¯s glory.¡± It was a very special induction ceremony. Dong Zhi heard from He Yu that all the previous inauguration ceremonies were held either in an auditorium or on the rooftop of the Special Administration building. He didn¡¯t expect that this time it was held in a cemetery. Including him, this may be a scene that everyone will never forget for the rest of their lives. Dong Zhi recalled that Long Shen said he have been here before the Special Administration Bureau started, so he must¡¯ve witnessed the life and death of countless companions and had to send off countless people. When Dong Zhi thought about this, he couldn¡¯t help but turn his gaze to the man dressed in all black standing next to the tombstones. He was looking up at the white tombstones of Zhou Yue and Xing Qiaosheng. Every tombstone records a person¡¯s joys and sorrows. Every tombstone records the time they spent protecting the peace. Because of them, there could be peace and joy for ordinary people. Before he had met Long Shen and these people, Dong Zhi had never felt how lucky he was to be able to live safely to the present. He was able to eat, drink, and party as he pleased. In the future, maybe himself, or perhaps Li Ying or Ba Sang, or even Song Zhicun or Long Shen, would also die for their country and lie here, becoming the owner of one of these tombstones. These tiny seeds that inadvertently fall into the soil and buried deep underground, that¡¯s moistened by the rain and morning dew, will break through layers of obstacles and finally give birth to the tender leaves and new branches that will grow into the bright and brilliant scenery that guards the tombstone one day. The light from the sky would bathe their petals, just as it covers the hearts of everyone. After the inauguration ceremony, Dong Zhi deliberately found an opportunity to walk side by side with Long Shen. ¡°Master.¡± Long Shen heard his voice that sounded hoarse, so he pinched his chin. As soon as he lifted his face, he saw that Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes were red. He must¡¯ve just cried. Seeing this scene made Long Shen lost for words. His apprentice was too sentimental, but this was normal. After all, the newly dead were their companions. He Yu and Kan Chaosheng, who are used to these types of things, wouldn¡¯t be sad, so they wouldn¡¯t shed tears at every turn like these newcomers. Dong Zhi¡¯s voice was thick and nasally: ¡°Master, I¡¯ll work hard to try and not drag you down. I¡¯ll go on missions with you in the future and I can be your right and left arm. Please teach me more skills.¡± Since he had accepted a disciple, it wouldn¡¯t be appropriate for him to be addressed as ¡°you¡±, but Long Shen did not care for such minor details. He nodded when he heard the words: ¡°Okay.¡± Dong Zhi took the opportunity to ask: ¡°When?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Are you in good health?¡± Dong Zhi scratched his head: ¡°But I¡¯ll be assigned in a week. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be a place too far away from Beijing, so I can¡¯t come and consult with you.¡± Long Shen: ¡°I know.¡± Dong Zhi wanted to ask again when Song Zhicun shouted ¡°Boss Long¡± cutting him off. Long Shen walked over, leaving Dong Zhi behind. At this moment, he felt his shoulder being slapped fiercely. Dong Zhi was unprepared and almost fell to the ground. ¡°Now that you have a Master, you forget your brother!¡± Looking up, he saw a burly man with a kid who looked to be about five years old. He Yu still had that untrustworthy look. He had fractured his bones and was now on crutches. He gave Dong Zhi a wink and said: ¡°You did it. When we¡¯re away, you accomplish so many things quietly!¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°I was looking for you. I heard that you were injured in Yunnan. How are you? Are you okay?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just a fracture. I¡¯ll be able to bounce back after removing the plaster!¡± He Yu hugged him on the shoulder: ¡°Cut the nonsense. Now that you have entered the Special Administration Bureau and was able to worship a Master, isn¡¯t this a double happy moment? What you should do? Don¡¯t you have a good idea in your heart?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Of course to celebrate by eating!¡± He Yu didn¡¯t let him go easily: ¡°How many meals?¡± Black lines appeared on Dong Zhi¡¯s face: ¡°You can decide, okay?¡± Kan Chaosheng cracked his knuckles: ¡°The first meal will be fried chicken. The second meal will be Tanjjia cuisine*, the third meal will be roasted duck, the fourth meal will be hotpot, the fifth meal will be skewers, the sixth meal will be seafood, the seventh meal¡­¡± *Clarity: I previous translated this as tanjia cai, a dish, but researching it more I believe he¡¯s talking about Tanjia cuisine, also known as Bangyan cuisine. It¡¯s a combination of Cantonese and Shandong cuisine that is moderately salty and sweet and is especially good for cooking seafood. Dong Zhi was so scared that his soul was about to fly away. He hurriedly said: ¡°It doesn¡¯t count if you decide. He Yu¡¯s the one that¡¯s injured so he gets to decide!¡± He Yu touched his chin and pondered as Kan Chaosheng squinted his eyes and threatened him silently. Taking advantage that Kan Chaosheng wasn¡¯t looking at him, Dong Zhi silently mouthed to He Yu: gift, you, game, pack. He Yu smile: ¡°Well, it¡¯s not easy for Little Dongdong to go all out this time. He almost lost his life. We have to be nice to him. Besides, a fat sheep can¡¯t be slaughtered for just one meal. These days, we need to pay attention to sustainability.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He Yu: ¡°Just three meals, each of which should not exceed one hundred yen per person.¡± Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and gave He Yu a thumbs up. To prevent Kan Chaosheng¡¯s mind from remaining on food-related content, he hurriedly changed the subject: ¡°How was Fuxian Lake? Has everything been resolved?¡± The author has something to say£º Big fat chapters from today onwards. Little Dongdong has officially entered his job. It¡¯s time to start learning skills from his Master and take the lead. There¡¯re still many more things waiting for him. Kinky Thoughts: This was a very emotional chapter. At least He Yu and Kan Chaosheng are back. Going forward, the chapters are much longer than most of the previous so¡­ can¡¯t guarantee that updates will be daily. CH 66 Hearing him ask about Fuxian Lake, He Yu couldn¡¯t help but smile, and sighed: ¡°It¡¯s solved, but it¡¯s a pity that we can only cure the symptoms but not the root cause.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t seem to understand. He Yu said: ¡°At first, we thought that it was because there were demons at the bottom of Fuxian Lake that accidents would happen frequently due to the overflowing demonic aura. Later, Kan Chaosheng discovered that there was a small hole in the ghost city at the bottom of the lake. The demonic energy continuous leaked out from there affecting the corpses, turning them essentially immortal for thousands of years and eventually corrupted them.¡± Several people got into the car as they were chatting. When He Yu said this, others began listening intently. Li Ying asked: ¡°Where does the small hole lead?¡± He Yu: ¡°This is the tricky part. We don¡¯t know! Lakes and streams are connected to rivers that lead to the sea. Most water veins in the world are connected underground. This hole is located at the center of the lake so it¡¯s difficult for ordinary people to dive in. After Kan Chaosheng changes form, he¡¯s too large so he couldn¡¯t fit through it. We could only seal it temporarily for now and hope there¡¯ll no longer be accidents.¡± This does sound quite troublesome. Group Three had also sacrificed a colleague for this. Listening to He Yu¡¯s words, they could imagine what kind of thrilling excitement was happening at the bottom of that lake at that time. Gu Meiren frowned and said: ¡°Can you apply to a branch by yourself? I¡¯m able to play my flute at bottom of the lake. I might be able to help if I can go into the water to explore.¡± He Yu smiled and said: ¡°The above has its own arrangements. You don¡¯t have to think too much about it. Let¡¯s just drink now. How about we go karaoke tonight?¡± Li Ying and the others were not familiar with He Yu, but since Dong Zhi knew him quite well, He Yu didn¡¯t put on any airs. He chatted enthusiastically with everyone else. Dong Zhi said: ¡°No, I haven¡¯t seen Longlong since I came back. I have to accompany it tonight.¡± He Yu was inexplicable: ¡°What the hell?¡± But he soon knew the answer. It was an ordinary white cat that Dong Zhi had actually named Longlong. He Yu gave a thumbs up: ¡°Brother, how brave of you. Does the boss have no issue with this given name? Does he even know?¡± Dong Zhi felt a bit guilty: ¡°At that time he was right next to me. I asked him to help but he couldn¡¯t think of a name. I couldn¡¯t either so I came up with it at random.¡± Later, he felt that it wasn¡¯t good to go with it, but the name had already come up so he could only bite the bullet and named it so. Anyways, Long Shen had fed it several times before, allowing Longlong to survive, so this could be considered fate. However, when the Dong Zhi saw the white cat running towards him the size of a large circle, he couldn¡¯t help holding his forehead and groan. ¡°Old Zhong, how on earth did you feed it?¡± Zhong Yuyi pointed to the cat bowl, which was not much smaller than the washbasin, and said innocently: ¡°I was afraid I¡¯ll forget to feed it one day, so I¡¯d just pour a lot in so it can eat as much as it wants.¡± Longlong still remembered Dong Zhi. It ran to his feet and plopped down with a thump, revealing its white belly. Dong Zhi was overwhelmed by all its cuteness at once and hurriedly squatted down to rub its belly. In any case, this chubby cat is much better than the little pitiful stray when he first came. While his face was calm when Kan Chaosheng saw Longlong, inside he wasn¡¯t happy. Everyone was playing and teasing the cat, and no one was paying attention to him, so he turned into a big yellow cat and broke into everyone¡¯s field of vision. He jumped onto a stool and meowed proudly at Longlong. He Yu laughed out loud without any regard to his face: ¡°You¡¯re a dignified Jiao who¡¯s about to turn into a dragon. Isn¡¯t it embarrassing to compete with a cat?¡± Hearing this, the big yellow cat exploded its hair, rushed towards He Yu, turned back into a human form in mid-air, and landed steadily. ¡°Who¡¯s fighting for favor? I¡¯m more cute than it! Can it turn into a person? Can it talk?!¡± Witnessing Kan Chaosheng changing his from into a human from a cat, the white cat stepped back in fright with a blank expression on its face. Kan Chaosheng said angrily: ¡°I don¡¯t care. You will get rid of it immediately. There¡¯s only one cat allowed here and that¡¯s me!¡± He Yu teased: ¡°You¡¯re jealous over a cat. Do you know how old you are?¡± Kan Chaosheng¡¯s eyes flushed: ¡°Anyway, you just like it more than you like me!¡± He turned around to leave, but Dong Zhi hurriedly stopped him, and said nicely: ¡°It is definitely not as cute as you, but if I don¡¯t keep it, it¡¯ll have to wander outside. God has virtue for all living things. These kittens and puppies have a very short life span. It¡¯s impossible for them to cultivate into hundreds of thousands of forms like you. You don¡¯t want commit sin and kill life, right?¡± Kan Chaosheng¡¯s face hesitated, seeing Longlong looking back at him innocently, he said in a deep voice: ¡°Then you can¡¯t value it more than me!¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°That¡¯s needless to say!¡± As expected, Kan Chaosheng¡¯s temper quickly came and go, as he forgot everything in a blink of an eye and went to chat with Zhong Yuyi. He Yu called Dong Zhi to the corridor and whispered: ¡°He¡¯s a three-hundred-year-old Jiao. He hasn¡¯t seen his parents since the boss found him. Converted to human age, he¡¯s about a ten-year-old child, so he occasionally has a temper like them.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly knew why Kan Chaosheng act so immaturely. He always thought that he was an old monster that just have a young appearance and the vicissitudes of life in his heart! He hesitated for a moment, but still couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°My master, is he not a human being either?¡± He Yu gave a look of surprise: ¡°You have worshipped him as your Master, but he hasn¡¯t told you yet?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. He Yu: ¡°Then why don¡¯t you ask?¡± Dong Zhi said embarrassedly: ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s too presumptuous and it¡¯ll make him unhappy.¡± He Yu rolled his eyes: ¡°You are so caring to the boss, so why are you not so kind to me? The game package that was agreed just now, you¡¯re not allowed to go back on it. Think about how much money I just saved for you from Kan Chaosheng!¡± The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°I got it, I got it. I¡¯ll buy it!¡± He Yu hugged his arm: ¡°Dad!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­What about your integrity? ¡°What are you doing?¡± Long Shen¡¯s voice came from behind him, He Yu turned his head and the corners of his mouth twitched. ¡°Boss, why are you always stealthy? When there¡¯s no sound, it¡¯s quite frightening. You can scare people to death!¡± Long Shen raised his eyebrows: ¡°If I hadn¡¯t come over, I wouldn¡¯t have known that you had recognize me as your ancestor.¡± Since he¡¯s Dong Zhi¡¯s Master, and He Yu had just called Dong Zhi dad, then it¡¯s only right that Long Shen becomes He Yu¡¯s ancestor. He Yu laughed: ¡°It¡¯s just a joke with Little Dongdong!¡± Long Shen: ¡°You still have the strength to fool around? Has the report been written? Is the PowerPoint ready?¡± He Yu covered his heart: ¡°Boss, my leg is broken. Do you want my heart to break too?!¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°Before you finish your report, if you dare play games, I¡¯ll have to make sure to re-train you during practice.¡± So cruel! He Yu took inhale deeply. Dong Zhi inwardly laughed. He finally realized that the original reason why Long Shen had bought the game in the first place was so he could monitor He Yu. He Yu changed his mouth faster than turning a book page: ¡°I like writing reports the most! I want to write reports all night. I am passionate, hungry, and thirsty for reports! Bye.¡± He limped for a few steps, then turned his head around, made an orchid finger, and lengthened his tone like that of a mother¡¯s and said: ¡°Long, Long!¡± Long Shen: ??? He Yu gave him a goofy smile: ¡°The name of the cat!¡± Before Long Shen could attack, he escaped at an incredible speed, limping faster than the speed of a normal person. Dong Zhi wanted to laugh but didn¡¯t dare to, for fear that Long Shen would remember that he was the culprit who came up with the name. No wanting the anger to be blame on him, he hastily said: ¡°Master, He Yu wants to have a meal together and go karaoke. Would you like to come?¡± Long Shen: ¡°It is not advisable for you to stay up late now, so don¡¯t go out to eat.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ ¡°But I haven¡¯t had any cooked meat for half a month. Can I have hotpot tonight?¡± He whined. ¡°Within this month you need to eat less oil, less salt, and less meat. One meal in the morning. One meal at noon. No food after lunch.¡± Long Shen¡¯s tone was unquestionable. Is this the experience of having a strict Master? Facing this question online, Dong Zhi typed down the answer that he exchanged with blood and tears, word by word: [It¡¯s a feeling of pain and joy, because it showed that he cares. Before that, to him, you were probably a stranger who didn¡¯t even deserve a look from him, so while happy, you also suffer from his strict requirements. If you have to describe it in words, it¡¯ll be: the desire to be immortal but also to die.] Seeing him sitting cross-legged on the sofa with the laptop in his arms, Longlong let out a meow, jumped on the sofa, and sat down beside him. Its body had changed by leaps and bounds that even its face has become round, which felt particularly fleshy to touch. As Dong Zhi petted its soft fur, he mourned: ¡°We will be assigned in a week. If I can¡¯t stay in the General Administration Bureau, I¡¯ll have to go to a branch office. Will a time ever come* where I¡¯ll be able to confess to him?¡± *Full saying is year of the monkey(ºïÄêÂíÔÂ) month of the horse. Idiom referring to the years to come (AKA until who knows when). The cat looked silly, and his reflection was reflected in its round eyes. Dong Zhi: ¡°Do you think I¡¯ll have the chance to make Master my boyfriend in my lifetime?¡± The white cat thought he was talking to it, so it followed with a meow while rubbing its head against Dong Zhi¡¯s knee, indicating it wanted pets. Dong Zhi tickled its neck, while holding its head as he pondered. ¡°Am I too impatient right now? After all, it hasn¡¯t been long since I started studying under him. It should take a while for Master to slowly get used to my existence. Would it be better to wait for an opportunity to act? However, He Yu said there seem to be quite a lot of people who like Master, so I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll miss my opportunity if I start too late¡­¡± As he was talking to himself into distress, suddenly his phone lit up. It turned out to be his old friend who was studying abroad that hasn¡¯t contacted him for a while. The other party sent their greetings: [Bro, how are you doing?] It also had a kiss emoji attached. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help laughing and replied: [I just came back from my training, so I haven¡¯t contacted you recently. I¡¯m okay. I see you are in a good mood. Have you come out of the shadow of lovelornness?] Old friend: [How did you now? I really found another spring. How are you? You told me last time that you like your leader. What stage is it now?] Dong Zhi: [I¡¯m studying under him, and my leader has become my Master.] Old friend: [Ouch, shit! I haven¡¯t been back to China in a long time and that kind of stuff is popular now? Teacher and apprentice play!] Dong Zhi: [Fuck you! You were on the verge of life and death before, but you suddenly defected to a new relationship so quickly?] Old friend: [Hehe, you don¡¯t understand this. The best way to heal a relationship is to start a new relationship. This time I was chased by her, and it¡¯s a beautiful overseas girl! I¡¯ll send you photos later, but then again, you can only look. Who told you to never date?] Dong Zhi: [If you attack me personally again, I¡¯ll blacklist you.] Old friend: [No, no, I was wrong! Let¡¯s talk about it. To what extent have you two reached? Last time you said that you admired and respect him. I thought it was a joke. Who knew that you were being real? But don¡¯t be discouraged. Isn¡¯t this great? Everything is always difficult in the beginning. Since he¡¯s willing to give you an apprenticeship, it shows that he¡¯s also interested in you!] It¡¯s not great at all. When he read this, Dong Zhi only became more frustrated: [He accepted me as his apprentice because he thought I¡¯m hardworking and diligent, so I¡¯m worthy of his training. Though I like him very much, I also respect him as a master.] Old friend: [Oh, you have an Oedipus complex*!] *Sexual desire for one¡¯s parents. Fuck off with your Oedipus complex! Dong Zhi replied angrily: [You, as a layman, don¡¯t understand this kind of feeling at all!] Old friend: [Understand? Don¡¯t you just respect and love him? Not only do you admire his spirt, you also think about his body.] This made Dong Zhi speechless as it was an appropriate description. Seeing that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t reply for a while, the old friend said proudly: [Oh buddy, how amazing it feels to see you like now when you always look down on others! What are you plans now? Even if you want to take it slowly, you still have a process in place, right?] Since he just witnessed his brother awesome powerfulness, Dong Zhi poured out all his troubles and told the truth: [Of course it would be great if I could get there in one step, but my leader and Master is usually very serious. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll not be able to accept it, even if we didn¡¯t have this Master disciple relationship. Also, if he decides to be merciful, it¡¯ll still make everything awkward between us in the future!] The old friend asked: [Do you think he treats you differently from other people?] After thinking about it carefully, Dong Zhi leaned towards yes. At least in terms of accepting him as a disciple, it showed the Long Shen viewed him differently. After all, he shut out Liu Qingbo. There was also the incident of going to the antique shop. Uncle Qian told him that he was the first person Long Shen had brought to the shop, and he was the first to be given a sword. Although this doesn¡¯t indicate that his Master has any special feelings for him, it at least showed that his position in his Master¡¯s mind was indeed special. After listening to him, his old friend replied: [How can a normal man be single for so long? There must be something fishy about him. Either he has emotional purity*, or he may be gay like you. I think the latter is more likely!] *(¸ÐÇé½àñ±) It refers to the cleanliness of one¡¯s emotion whether physical or mental. People who are this have a high view on love and pursues a long-term stable relationship, thus once something is deemed ¡°unclean¡± it can leave a psychological shadow on that person. The corner of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitch: [I¡¯m also a person with emotional purity, okay? Who can change girlfriends all day long like you?] Old friend: [Well, let me teach you a few tricks. One is called throwing stones and asking for directions1, and the other is attacking east and west2.] 1(ͶʯÎÊ·) Metaphor referring to testing something to see if there¡¯s a response (AKA testing the waters). Can also refer to temptation. 2(Éù¶«»÷Î÷) Idiom referring to deceiving your opponent and winning by surprise. It spawns from a strategic thought where you claim to attack from the east, but you actually attack from the west. Dong Zhi: [What the fuck!] Old friend: [When I hear this kind of tone, it seems you don¡¯t respect me. Is this the kind of attitude you should have when asking others for help?] Dong Zhi: [Okay, okay. Big brother, grand uncle, please speak!] The old friend began talking earnestly: [Tests the waters, that is, beat around the bush. Ask him about his thoughts on love. Give them gifts and such out of the blue. Show off your good points at appropriate times, and don¡¯t fall behind on rescuing them when they¡¯re in distress.] Dong Zhi: [I¡¯ve already tried that. I¡¯ve even thought about turning raw rice to cooked rice*, but his drinking capacity is better than mine!] *Reminder: It refers to what¡¯s done is done and you can¡¯t turn back the clock. Basically, in this context, he¡¯s saying he thought about maybe getting Long Shen drunk and having sex, but Long Shen can hold his liquor better than him. In this context I think he¡¯s saying it jokingly (or else it comes off as really rapey). Old friend: [Then create a diversion! Get a girlfriend, boyfriend or something, to stimulate him and make him aware of how he feels about you.] Dong Zhi: [What if he doesn¡¯t feel anything for me?] Old friend: [You are too difficult to deal with. Then just go up to him and kiss him and say you want to date him. What about that? Can you do it?!] Dong Zhi imagine Long Shen¡¯s reaction as he becomes petrified by these words and couldn¡¯t help laughing. The cat, who was napping on his thigh was startled awake. He texted his old friend: [I don¡¯t think your methods will work, because you don¡¯t know him at all. Forget it. I just started my apprenticeship, so I¡¯ll take it seriously and learn some skills first. Anyways, he¡¯s a single dog so I don¡¯t need to worry.] The old friend replied to him: [Don¡¯t be happy too early. Judging from your description, I think your competition will be quite fierce.] Dong Zhi thought the other party has such a crow¡¯s mouth*. When he knocked on Long Shen¡¯s office the next day, he saw a large bag of things and various transparent lunch boxes on the coffee table that was quite exquisite. *(ÎÚÑ»×ì) Refers to a talkative and annoying person who has a stinky mouth (has nothing good to say). He joked: ¡°Master, someone has come to bribe you?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t lift his head, as he took a pen to sign the document: ¡°Li Han¡¯er sent it.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°Who?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Li Ying¡¯s younger sister.¡± After that, he raised his head: ¡°You wouldn¡¯t have met her. She studied on Mount Longhu. This time, she was ordered by her teacher to go down the mountain to gain experience.¡± Dong Zhi pretended to be nonchalant: ¡°You two know each other well? I have never seen you accept other people¡¯s things casually before.¡± Long Shen glanced at him: ¡°Haven¡¯t I also accepted your potted plant?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°That¡¯s different. I¡¯m your apprentice, your closest person in the world, right?¡± Long Shen thought he was taking the opportunity so he could get some food: ¡°If you see something you like, just take it.¡± Who is Li Han¡¯er? Suddenly Dong Zhi remembered. At that time, he was preparing to add Long Shen to his WeChat friends at the foot of Mount Hezao, He Yu pretended to be this Li Han¡¯er. Long Shen however, recognized his scheme immediately. When he thought of it like this, he suddenly had a bad feeling. Both he and He Yu thought that Long Shen just had discerning eyes, but it seems that it may be because Long Shen was familiar with Li Han¡¯er, which was why he was able to see through He Yu¡¯s ploy. Seeing him just standing there, Long Shen made a strange expression: ¡°What?¡± Dong Zhi said tentatively: ¡°Master, am I going to have another teacher* soon?¡± *[Shi niang] (ʦÄï) Refers to the wife of one¡¯s master. Long Shen frowned: ¡°What are you thinking in your head?¡± Dong Zhi pointed to the pile of things on the table: ¡°Isn¡¯t this from Miss Li?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I confiscated it. She put it down and left.¡± So, this is¡­ the meaning of falling flowers is intentional and flowing water is ruthless*? *(Â仨ÓÐÒ⣬Á÷Ë®ÎÞÇé) Metaphors for the twists and turns of love between a man and woman. One side is affectionate while the other side has no such intention. Dong Zhi struck while the iron was hot: ¡°Master, tell me what you want to eat. Even if I can¡¯t cook it, I can buy it for you. Why bother to take outsiders¡¯ things? I remember you don¡¯t like receiving gifts.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I originally wanted you to take a two-day break before teaching new things, but since you¡¯re so lively, do you want to learn it in advance?¡± He can learn something new? Dong Zhi spirit was instantly refreshed: ¡°I¡¯m fine and ready to learn!¡± Long Shen took out a talisman from the drawer: ¡°Put this on. It¡¯s similar to the last one, but it also has the effect of calming your mind.¡± The last soothing talisman he got from Long Shen was ruined by the water when he was underground in Yinchuan. Dong Zhi took the talisman and joy blossomed in his heart. He boldly took the opportunity to confirm: ¡°Master, I won¡¯t have another teacher for the time being, right?¡± He just wanted some assurance that he had enough time to turn his Master into his boyfriend, but Long Shen didn¡¯t seem to understand. Instead of giving him an answer, he said: ¡°Do you know where you will be assigned?¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°Aren¡¯t I staying at the General Administration Bureau?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°Everyone will have to go to a branch office this year, so no one is staying in with the General Administration and it¡¯ll be for at least one year, until the probationary period has passed. Then it¡¯ll depend on the situation.¡± Many things can happen in the branch office. Most of the time they aren¡¯t too serious and can be very trivial or mundane, such as unsolved cases encountered by the prosecutor¡¯s department but could not be explained scientifically. This stuff would be pushed to the branch office. In a serious case, like the events on Changbai Mountain and Yinchuan, the General Administration would take over. Long Shen said: ¡°It¡¯s good for you to stay in a branch for a period of time. You need practice and experience right now.¡± While Dong Zhi knows this is the truth, still¡­ He couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°Isn¡¯t this too long of a separation between us?¡± Long Shen arched his eyebrows: ¡°The young eagle¡¯s wings are hard, and it will be released sooner or later. What¡¯s the problem?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head honestly. There wasn¡¯t a problem as he understood Long Shen¡¯s intention. The leaders, including Long Shen, hope that they will go out and take the initiative to cultivate their ability to solve problems independently, rather than having someone guide them every time. One can never achieve great things if they only follow others. Only by exploring on your own can you raise yourself to become a leader. Dong Zhi, who can only draw, originally had no ambitions, but now, for Long Shen, for his own ideals, for the oath he made in front of Zhou Yue and Xing Qiaosheng, and even the tombstone of his predecessor, he must take that step forward bravely. Long Shen said: ¡°Go and get the Changshou Sword and wait for me on the rooftop.¡± The others who have join are overjoyed, but when it comes to Dong Zhi, he still has to continue to practice hard. His name was now associated with Long Shen, and going forward, this has a binding effect. Even an Archfiend can¡¯t defeat Long Shen. When other hears the name of Long Shen¡¯s disciple, they will only think that such a famous teacher will only produce excellent students. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want other people to think that he came through the back door and doesn¡¯t deserve his name and would inadvertently make people laugh at Long Shen for his lack of vision. The only thing he can do is try to catch up to his Master¡¯s footsteps. He didn¡¯t wait long on the rooftop as Long Shen arrived soon after. Since his apprenticeship, this was the first time that Dong Zhi has been taught a unique skill by Long Shen himself, so he couldn¡¯t help but have high expectations in his heart. Long Shen said: ¡°Since we were in a rush in the cave before, there was no apprenticeship ceremony, so we didn¡¯t conduct the proper rituals. Just worship the heaven and earth here and pay your respect to me.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback for a moment. Without a second thought, he knelt without saying a word and kowtowed three times to heaven and earth, then bowed down in front of Long Shen. ¡°In this life and in this world, the disciple Dong Zhi regards Long Shen as his teacher. He must love and respect him with unswerving commitment. If there are any violation, may heaven strike me down!¡± Long Shen did not stipulate that he should swear, but this was his way of showing his respect under the eyes of heaven. It was also part of Dong Zhi¡¯s ploy as he put some intentional words in. On the surface it didn¡¯t sound strange as Long Shen nodded and asked him to get up. Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Master, I took an oath. Shouldn¡¯t you also make one as well?¡± Long Shen looked at him confusingly. Dong Zhi said: ¡°You have to swear to take good care of me and never abandon me as an apprentice. Otherwise, if I make a small mistake one day, and you expel me from your school, what should I do then?¡± Long Shen: ¡°¡­I won¡¯t do that kind of thing.¡± Dong Zhi looked at him pitifully, but Deputy Director Long was heart was made of stone and was unmoved. ¡°Today I am going to teach you a skill called Bu Tian Gang.¡± The author has something to say: I admire his spirit and but also miss him. Well, that¡¯s an accurate summary. CH 67 Seeing him talking about business, Dong Zhi had to restrain his expression and stood still, listening carefully. ¡°The Master of the heavens, the dimension of the heavens, covers the sun, moon, and nine stars, and the color of heaven and earth. Bluntly stated, it¡¯s the law of all the operations in the universe. There¡¯s also a saying of Bu Tian Gang in Taoism, called Bu Gang Nieji, which means to lay a map of the Big Dipper on the ground, step on it using Yubu1, and pray for longevity. During the Three Kingdoms Period, Zhuge Kongming2 used this method to seek heaven, hoping to prolong his life, but in the end he did not succeed.¡± 1(Óí²½) Footwork movement commonly used by Taoist in prayer rituals. 2Also known as Zhuge Liang, was a Chinese statesman and military strategist. He was chancellor and later regent of the state of Shu Han during the Three Kingdoms period. He is recognized as the most accomplished strategist of his era, and has been compared to Sun Tzu, the author of The Art of War. This anecdote was later circulated among the people and was written into Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong. Dong Zhi was familiar with this as he recalled the reference as soon as he heard it. Long Shen continued: ¡°But the skills I want to teach you is different from what I said earlier. It is not only swordsmanship, but also include footwork and qi that can be combined with your Thunder Talisman method. If your skill is profound, it may even be able to attract the sun, stars, and moon, making you the center of the universe. A single thought can give birth to new life or the destruction of an entire world.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned to hear: ¡°Isn¡¯t this something that the great god Pangu* can do?¡± *A primordial being and creation figure in Chinese mythology who separated heaven and earth and became geographic features such as mountains and rivers. Long Shen smiled: ¡°In fact, it¡¯s not as mysterious as you think. Most dharmas in the world have already reached their highest depth. For example, if you use the Five Thunder Dharma method, you can reach a point where you can summon overwhelming thunder, almost like a god, but truthfully, no one in the world can do such a thing.¡± That¡¯s true. Dong Zhi nodded. To put things bluntly, just like playing a game, a game company will always give you an ultimate skill that you must practice and grind to the highest level, using the best equipment, and spend more money than any other to achieve the maximum effect of that skill. In other words, no one in the entire server can do such a thing and the same applies to practitioners*. *Clarity: For those still confuse, he¡¯s saying that the capability is there, but no mortal can actually achieve it. For example, the Five Thunder Talisman can reach a potential where you can summon countless thunder like a god, but no one can actually reach this potential. After his introduction, Long Shen stretched out his hand: ¡°Give me the Changshou Sword.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly handed the sword over. ¡°Look at my footwork first. Don¡¯t worry about swordsmanship,¡± Long Shen said as he stepped forward. His footwork was very fast, moving back and forth with ease. Dong Zhi was dazzle by the sight. At first, he could remember a few steps, but soon he forgot most of them. ¡°Try to remember it first. When you¡¯re proficient with it, you can combine it with your swordsmanship in actual combat. This set of footwork can also be used when inviting gods or summoning thunder. It adds an extra layer of effect, like icing on a cake. However, you can¡¯t invite gods in the future, so when you¡¯re familiar with it, only use it for your thunder technique.¡± Dong Zhi said with a bitter face: ¡°Master, you move too fast. I didn¡¯t see clearly.¡± Long Shen was serious, but he¡¯s also patient with his disciple. After hearing what Dong Zhi said, he slowed down his movements and performed them again. Watching them, Dong Zhi felt that Long Shen¡¯s steps were very mysterious, but he couldn¡¯t tell what the mystery behind them was. After looking at it for a long time, he couldn¡¯t help but ask: ¡°Master, does this set of footwork also imitate the law of the distribution of the Big Dipper?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°It is not only the Big Dipper, but the twenty-eight mansions1, relating to the four star regions2. The Azure Dragon of the East3, the White Tiger of the West4, the Black Tortoise of the North5, and the Vermilion Bird of the South6. The Yubu steps is universal so it can be used for summoning thunder, thus you can learn it first and then gradually become better at it.¡± 1Part of the Chinese constellations system. They can be considered as the equivalent to the zodiacal constellations in Western astronomy, though the Twenty-eight Mansions reflect the movement of the Moon through a sidereal month rather than the Sun in a tropical year. 2Four mythological creatures appearing among the Chinese constellations along the ecliptic and viewed as the guardians of the four cardinal directions. These four creatures are also referred to by a variety of other names, including ¡°Four Guardians¡±, ¡°Four Gods¡±, and ¡°Four Auspicious Beasts¡± 3Also known as Qinglong in Chinese or Seiryu in Japanese, is one of the Dragon Gods who represent the mount or chthonic forces of the Five Regions¡¯ Highest Deities. Represents the east in terms of direction and the season of spring. 4Also known as Baihu in Chinese and Byakko in Japanese, represents the west in terms of direction and the season of autumn. 5Also known as Xuanwu in Chiense and Genbu in Japanse, represent the north in terms of direction and the season of winter. Usually portrayed as a turtle with a snake as its tail. 6Also known as Zhuque in Chinese and Suzaku in Japanese, represents the south in direction and also the fire element and the season of summer. It is described as a red bird that resembles a pheasant with five-color plumage and is perpetually covered in flames. Dong Zhi nodded, recalling Long Shen¡¯s footwork, and began to practice. Long Shen watched from the side and corrected him from time to time. Time passed and it was almost noon. Although the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau was a separate space, it still contains the four seasons and day and night was the same as outside, making the space even more ingenious. After dusk, night fell, and soon the sky was full of stars glitter above the earth, creating an amazing and magical space. Anyone can practice here at any time for however long they wanted. Long Shen said: ¡°In next two days, you¡¯ll practice your footwork, then I¡¯ll start teaching you swordsmanship. That¡¯s it for today.¡± Dong Zhi scratched his head: ¡°Master, you go first. I want to practice more.¡± Long Shen: ¡°What you did now is enough. Above all else, you need rest now. You can¡¯t eat at night and you need to be full at noon, so let¡¯s go. The reason why I don¡¯t let you eat meat is to make your stomach and intestines recover faster. It¡¯s not necessarily better the more meat you eat, got it?¡± Dong Zhi put away his sword and said bitterly: ¡°I¡¯ve been practicing for most of the day. Now I¡¯m too hungry. I can¡¯t fall asleep at night just by eating white porridge without even any sides!¡± In the past, he¡¯s not as glutenous as Kan Chaosheng but since he¡¯s been eating nothing but porridge with mustard greens every day for a month, his eyes were beginning to glow green whenever he hears the word meat. However, Long Shen watched over him too closely. He once took some snacks from Kan Chaosheng and as he turned his head, he was discovered by Long Shen. Not only was he punished but Kan Chaosheng suffered as well. After that, no one dared give him any food. Long Shen glanced at him, but suddenly turned around and pointed to the bright sunlight as he made an oath. ¡°I, Long Shen, will accept Dong Zhi as my apprentice from today onwards. I must love him and protect him with all my heart and soul and teach him to become talented. If there¡¯s any violation, may the heaven strike me with thunder.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned. What he said earlier want meant as a jest as he didn¡¯t expect Long Shen to really swear and took what he said seriously. His throat bobbed as heat rushed to his eyes. Even his nose became stuffy. He watched Long Shen put down his hand, as if he just talking about the weather, and his expression remained monotoned as usual: ¡°Satisfied? Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Master¡­¡± Dong Zhi was lost for words as he didn¡¯t know how to respond. As soon as he spoke, he found that his eyes were a little wet. Long Shen couldn¡¯t help sighing: ¡°What¡¯s there to cry about? Didn¡¯t you ask me to make an oath?¡± ¡°Master, you are so kind to me. I am touched.¡± Dong Zhi was full of tears but showed him a smile. At this moment, he thought to himself, even if it was not the kind of relationship he wanted, it would still be okay. For someone like Long Shen to do this for him was a valuable thing. He can only repay him back with hard work and sincerity. ¡°Go get dinner.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Since Long Shen had asked Dong Zhi to eat sparingly, he obviously didn¡¯t take him to a restaurant, but instead took him back to his dorm and cooked for him. The meal was still porridge but he added some polygonatum, goji berries and jujubes to it to nourish his qi and replenish his blood. Dong Zhi hated eating the goji berries and jujubes the most, because they smell like medicine, despite the fact that they were sweet. The taste was indescribable. He would use to want to vomit before he even had a bite and resolutely refused to touch it. However, now that his Master was making it himself, not to mention goji berries or jujubes, even if it was arsenic, he¡¯ll still eat it, especially since he¡¯s able to see Long Shen¡¯s back. His shirt sleeves were half rolled up, revealing fair and strong arms as his figure busy himself washing his hands and preparing the ingredients for the porridge. Not everyone could have such blessing like Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi suddenly felt that if he was born in ancient times and happened to be an emperor, he¡¯ll probably be an unscrupulous monarch who would put beauty over country. Long Shen¡¯s cooking skills weren¡¯t particularly good. He can skip meals when he¡¯s busy on weekdays and he doesn¡¯t have time to practice his cooking skills. However, it was enough for Dong Zhi. The significance lies not in the taste of the porridge but the fact that it was made by his Master. It was something that probably even Li Han¡¯er had never tasted. After swallowing a mouthful of the most annoying jujubes, Dong Zhi decided that from today onwards, he would reconcile with the two ingredients he hated, jujubes and goji berries, and write off past grievances. ¡°Master, when I go to a branch next week, can I come back to see you often in the future?¡± ¡°Why are you thinking about coming back before you even go?¡± Long Shen disapproved of his attitude of thinking about wanting to go home before the war. Dong Zhi said softly: ¡°But I will miss you.¡± Long Shen ladle a scoop of porridge into a bowl. Without giving a chance for him to be chided for his weak mentality, Dong Zhi said: ¡°Master, you know that my parents have passed away. Now this has become a second home to me. Can I really not come back to you see you for a whole year?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I didn¡¯t bind your legs. You can return during the holidays. However, being in the Special Administration Bureau is a special position. You often have to leave as soon as something happens, and you can only come back once things are resolves. Holidays are useless so you should mentally be prepared.¡± Dong Zhi smiled: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I used to work for a game company and worked overtime every day. When we had to push expansions or events, I didn¡¯t even have a rest day, so I¡¯m long use to this kind of thing!¡± Long Shen wasn¡¯t a talkative person. If no one bothers him, he could be at ease even if he didn¡¯t speak for over ten days to half a month. However, now that he had such a noisy apprentice, he had accepted his fate. After being quiet for a while, the noisy apprentice asked again: ¡°Master, when online games weren¡¯t popular before, what did you do in your spare time?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Walk around and read books.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°Then when I go to the branch, will you come to see me?¡± Long Shen wanted to say that he probably didn¡¯t have time, but when he saw his shining eyes, he changed his words: ¡°If I have time, I¡¯ll go.¡± It wasn¡¯t easy to make the other party make this kind of guarantee. Dong Zhi felt good about it so he bowed his head and ate his porridge with satisfaction. After being quiet for a while, he asked again: ¡°Master, what books do you like to read?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter what the subject is, I¡¯ll always take a look.¡± Dong Zhi lit up: ¡°What about martial arts novels?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I have read a few.¡± Dong Zhi said tentatively: ¡°Then do you know the story of Yang Guo and the Xiaolongn¨¹*?¡± *Characters from the book . The story revolves around the protagonist, Yang Guo, and his lover and martial arts master, Xiaolongn¨¹, in their adventures in the jianghu (also called the wulin, the community of martial artists), where love between master and apprentice is seen as taboo. || It¡¯s because of his feelings for Long Shen and the current relationship that they have that he specifically brought this book up. Long Shen glanced at him. He felt guilty for being a thief and hurriedly lowered his head and pretended to be concentrating on eating his porridge without looking at his opponent¡¯s line of sight. Long Shen did not answer. After waiting for the Dong Zhi for a while, he couldn¡¯t help but said: ¡°Master, you haven¡¯t answered my question yet.¡± Long Shen couldn¡¯t bear it: ¡°Shut up.¡± The world was finally quiet. If he had known his apprentice would be so noisy, he should have thought more about accepting him in the first place. Long Shen had never made a decision that he regretted, but as he watched Dong Zhi¡¯s black and soft hair twirl, he began to doubt his judgement for the very first time in his life. Dong Zhi felt something, and he raised his head and smiled at him innocently. Long Shen¡¯s heart softened for a moment, then he lowered his head and looked at Dong Zhi¡¯s bowl and was speechless again. The goji berries in the porridge were all shuffled to the bottom of the bowl, one by one. They were originally covered by porridge but as Dong Zhi ate it, more and more goji berries start appearing as the level of porridge began to shrink. ¡°Eat it all.¡± Long Shen tapped the edge of his bowl lightly with his chopsticks. It was really hard to eat. He really couldn¡¯t eat a whole bowl even if he imagined it was some kind of immortal elixer. Dong Zhi had originally wanted to take it and toss it away secretly while Long Shen wasn¡¯t paying attention, but now that he was discovered, he could only pick them up and gobble them down in one go as if he was dying, and then swallow them all into his stomach before he had a chance to taste them. Long Shen watched him eat like a child as he showed an expression of begging for praise. He only said: ¡°Continue tomorrow. Before you leave Beijing, you¡¯ll come here every day at noon to eat porridge with goji berries, jujubes, and polygonatum.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ He could eat with his sweetheart every day, but what he hated most was the taste. Life was always full of difficult choices. After eating, he wanted to stay for a while. Like he could help his Master wash the dishes, linger around and chat with him before going to bed. But Long Shen had told him to rest early these days and he had to go to the rooftop to continue his class at 4 in the morning. Dong Zhi was driven back into his dormitory lovelessly. After hugging his fat white cat for a long time, his heart recovered, and he began to move again. His fingers weren¡¯t honest as he picked up his phone and started texting. [Master! I recommend you read the martial arts trilogy, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, The Return of the Condor Heroes, and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. The best one is The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. You must read it if you have time!] He thought Long Shen would not reply, but after a while, he received a response: [I have read it.] Dong Zhi spirit was refreshed as he asked: [What did you think of it?] Deputy Director Long replied: [The description of internal exercises is more illusory, and it is too close to the magic.] A very professional response after reading. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry, so he added: [What about the emotional part?] He felt that his hint was obvious enough. As long as Long Shen has a little bit of heart, he should be able to understand the implication. The other party¡¯s reply was: [It¡¯s okay.] Did he understand? He still didn¡¯t understand? He stared at the phone screen for a long time as it turned off by itself, completely stunned, until the white cat became impatient and jumped off of him that he regained his senses. He wanted to ask again, but he didn¡¯t have the courage now, so he didn¡¯t send any more messages and the other party didn¡¯t add to his text either. Those two words seemed to be a sign of coldness that calmed him down all night. Dong Zhi was hesitant at first as he held his phone before he clicked on the online version of . He first read this novel when he was still in junior high. At that time, he was just a child and only focused on how powerful the protagonist was. He wanted to see him fight with King Jinlun for 300 rounds. Since then, it became famous all over the world. Where would he even pay attention to the infatuation without repentance? When the TV series was broadcast later, he took time to watch it and recalled the plot again. Now that he¡¯s older and have a different state of mind, he could relive this novel from a completely different perspective. He was fascinated by it unconsciously and forgot about his bedtime. He originally promised to go to bed by 9 PM but forgot about it until it was after midnight. As a result, he was awakened by his alarm clock just four hours after he had fallen asleep. The appearance of his baggy eyelids was instantly noticed by Long Shen. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go to bed early last night?¡± He asked with a frown. Sensing a hint of danger from the other party¡¯s tone, Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°I went to bed early, but I couldn¡¯t fall asleep.¡± Long Shen: ¡°I remember you said that you usually get good quality sleep and would fall asleep as soon as you touch the bed.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­It seems I did say that. During dinner yesterday, while they were chatting, Long Shen had told him that practicing his kungfu tona before going to bed could help him sleep. He boasted that he usually get good quality sleep, even before he had practice kungfu tona, as he basically could fall asleep as soon as he touched a bed. Now, his retribution is coming. He really can¡¯t lie. Otherwise, if he told a lie, he¡¯ll have to keep telling countless lies to cover them up. He honestly admitted: ¡°Master, I was wrong. I went to bed late because I forgot the time when I was up reading a novel.¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°Do you not care about the things that I usually tell you?¡± Dong Zhi quickly denied: ¡°I remember what you said. Last night, my self-control was too poor. Don¡¯t be angry.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°The most important thing about our identity is self-control and will. When we confront demons, they can see your inner weakness and take advantage of it. When you¡¯re in a branch, you can face emergencies at any time. I can¡¯t always be by your side to protect you. If you have a sense of dependence, it¡¯s better to quit early and save me the trouble from teaching you.¡± This sentence was very serious that it frightened Dong Zhi. He quickly lowered his head and obediently accepted his scolding, not daring to speak out. For a personality like Long Shen, the fact that he was able to say that much meant he was truly angry. He didn¡¯t talk at length and continued to train Dong Zhi, but the more he didn¡¯t say it, the more Dong Zhi felt uncomfortable. For most of the day, he hardened his spirit, took down notes of what the other party taught carefully, and demonstrated it again according to Long Shen¡¯s request. Long Shen corrected his movements and asked him to practice by himself, then left first. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare call for him. He practiced for two hours and didn¡¯t go back until he was hungry. He thought about waiting for Long Shen to get off work in the evening before going to him to apologize at dinner. Who knew that these two days were fated around books? When Dong Zhi returned to his dorm, he received a package. It was a sample book that was express delivered to him. The title of the book was . The response to his comic serialization on the Internet has been very good. He had garnered so many fans that it had exceeded the one million mark. At this time, he was bombarded by publishers hoping he would publish his work into a book. After careful consideration, Dong Zhi finally agreed to publish it. The publishing house had moved very quickly. Before he went to Yinchuan, they had started typesetting and assembling his novel after getting the manuscript. Now the sample book was sent to him, and the presale have already begun. If there were no issues, it¡¯ll be officially listed in half a month. Dong Zhi originally was going to use the sample book to brush up his favorability with his Master but seeing as how he was scolded so much this morning, he guessed that Long Shen was still angry now and he didn¡¯t want any more scolding, so as he went to Long Shen¡¯s office, he turned around and went downstairs to see He Yu and Kan Chaosheng. He Yu used to fool around every day. Now that he had a broken leg, he didn¡¯t need to go out to the field for the time being, and he had become lazier. He was probably in the kennel during work hours. Ah, correction. Playing games in his office. Sure enough, Dong Zhi guess was correct when he went there. Kan Chaosheng was also there. The two were holding their phones. Kan Chaosheng was probably in a team with He Yu and was being led by him. The two of them were flushed and energetic. As soon as Dong Zhi opened the door, they all raised their heads and subconsciously showed shocked expression. When they saw that it was just Dong Zhi, they breathed a sigh of relief and chided him: ¡°Why did you come in without knocking on the door? I thought it was the boss!¡± Dong Zhi said innocently: ¡°I knocked, but you guys are so immersed in your game that you couldn¡¯t extricate yourself.¡± He put the book on the coffee table, which was filled with all kind of snacks and garbage left by He Yu and Kan Chaosheng. He had to throw away a few boxes to make room. ¡°My sample book is out, so I wanted to share it with you first. I also brought one for Old Zhong. You can give it to him for me as I won¡¯t have time to visit again.¡± He Yu said: ¡°You should also send a copy to the boss. He¡¯ll probably be happy, even if he doesn¡¯t say anything.¡± Dong Zhi scratched his nose: ¡°I was planning to, but I don¡¯t dare to give it now. I made him angry today.¡± He Yu and Kan Chaosheng didn¡¯t raise their heads at first and didn¡¯t bother giving him alms. When they heard this, they stopped playing their game and gave him a look of surprise: ¡°You made the boss angry? No way? Can you make the boss angry?¡± Dong Zhi was unconvinced when he heard it: ¡°What do you mean? What kind of ability can make him angry? Am I not qualified?¡± As soon as he spoke it, he realized that he had been misled by He Yu and quickly pulled the topic back. ¡°I just passed by his office and there was no one there. I guess he went to a meeting. Why don¡¯t you give it to him for me later?¡± He Yu refused: ¡°No, give it yourself! In case he wants to train people on a whim, I¡¯m not in a hurry to catch bad luck.¡± Kan Chaosheng nodded: ¡°It¡¯s very possible. The boss is pissed off by Dong Zhi but he has no one to take it out on!¡± Dong Zhi curled his lips: ¡°I heard that you made a bet of who will get the apprenticeship between me and Liu Qingbo and made a fortune from it. Do you think if I told Master, he would let you keep the money?¡± Kan Chaosheng had betted on Liu Qingbo at that time so he had lost money from this bet. When he heard this, he heckled: ¡°Yes, report him! Let the boss clean him up!¡± He Yu glared at Chaosheng: ¡°Which side are you on!¡± Kan Chaosheng laughed: ¡°The one that benefits me!¡± He Yu waved his hand: ¡°Go, go. I think you want to fish in troubled waters*!¡± *(»ëË®ÃþÓã) Idiom referring to taking advantage during trouble times. He decided to abandoned his game, hug Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulders, and said: ¡°Isn¡¯t it just giving a book? No problem. I¡¯ll take care of it! But you have to tell us why the boss suddenly decided to accept you as an apprentice at that time. I heard that you made a private exchange in the cave.¡± Dong Zhi protested: ¡°What do you mean private exchange? Pay attention to your words. We¡¯re not making some kind of sex scandal!¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°That¡¯s your words, not mine! I made a bet with Boss Song. He said the boss took the initiative to accept you as an apprentice, but I think you begged until the boss¡¯ heart was soften. Please give me the answer!¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s eye became wide open: ¡°You actually made a bet with Boss Song? How much did you bet?¡± Kan Chaosheng¡¯s mouth was faster: ¡°One thousand!¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°Then you are sure to lose!¡± He Yu said in disbelief: ¡°It¡¯s really the boss who offered to accept you as an apprentice?¡± Dong Zhi raised his chin: ¡°Of course! Hey, what¡¯s with you? After knowing each other for so long and inviting you to eat so many times, you actually didn¡¯t even bet on me to win!¡± He Yu said solemnly: ¡°It¡¯s not that I didn¡¯t bet on you, but before you there¡¯s been many people who wanted to worship the boss as a teacher, but no one succeeded, so it¡¯s hard for us to believe that someone who¡¯s as difficult as the boss can make an exception.¡± Dong Zhi said proudly: ¡°That means I am good enough!¡± He Yu stared at him: ¡°Don¡¯t you have a guilty conscience saying that? Not to mention Liu Qingbo, there are still several others who have equally as good family background, but the boss has never relented, yet you have no conscience when you say you¡¯re better than them?¡± Kan Chaosheng suddenly grabbed He Yu¡¯s collar and shook him violently: ¡°Stop talking nonsense! Shitty He Yu, I blame you for encouraging me to bet against him. You¡¯ll have to pay me back my hard-earned money!¡± He Yu rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue as he was being strangled. Facing the sudden infighting, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry, so he hurriedly stepped forward to stop them: ¡°You dare to bet with Boss Song. Aren¡¯t you afraid he¡¯ll tell Master?!¡± He Yu was tossed to the side by Kan Chaosheng and was finally free from his clutches. His hair was messed up like a chicken coop and there were scratches on his face and neck. He said angrily: ¡°What wrong with the boss this time? There are so many talented people that he passed on yet he became enlightened when he saw you!¡± Dong Zhi rolled his eyes: ¡°I think you have been going in the wrong direction all this time. Why do you think Master prefers a stronger apprentice?¡± He Yu: ¡°Huh? Does the boss prefer to adjust and teach?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°You think that he¡¯s just wants to teach the more experienced apprentices? If you have already formed a system, it¡¯ll be difficult to understand and accept new concepts. Wouldn¡¯t that mean that Master will have to expend twice the effort but get half the result? Unlike me, I¡¯m a blank piece of paper. Master can teach me as much as he wants, and I¡¯ll be able to absorb it much faster than those with strong abilities.¡± He Yu¡¯s been a wise guy all his life but, in this moment, he was left momentarily speechless: ¡°Then why not just adopt you as his child. Wouldn¡¯t you absorb even faster?¡± Kan Chaosheng slapped him again with his hand: ¡°Are you stupid! The boss is so busy all day long, where does he have time to play with the children!¡± ¡°That¡¯s right!¡± He Yu scratched the back of his head regretfully: ¡°Why didn¡¯t I think about this in the first place. I wasted a thousand in vain!¡± ¡°Two thousand! What about my thousand! I don¡¯t care, you must pay me back!¡± Kan Chaosheng said angrily. He Yu sneered: ¡°If you¡¯re willing to gamble then you have to admit defeat. It¡¯s not like I forced you to bet. I can only say that you just have a low IQ!¡± ¡°What are you talking about!¡± Kan Chaosheng was furious. He directly turned language into violence as he rushed up to He Yu turning the office into a battlefield again. ¡°Remember to help me deliver the book!¡± Dong Zhi shouted. The office was a mess as chickens and dogs flew everywhere, but no one paid attention to him. When he first saw them fighting, Dong Zhi was quite shocked and would hurriedly persuade them to make peace. Now he has become numbed to it. The two of them would have small fights every few days and a big fight at least once a week. It¡¯s just a common situation that even Long Shen didn¡¯t bother to care about them. Kinky Thoughts: Pangu (Å̹Å) A primordial being and creation figure in Chinese mythology who separated heaven and earth and became geographic features such as mountains and rivers. In the beginning, there was nothing and the universe was in a featureless, formless primordial state. This primordial state coalesced into a cosmic egg for about 18,000 years. Within it, the perfectly opposed principles of yin and yang became balanced and Pangu emerged (or woke up) from the egg. Pangu inside the cosmic egg symbolizes Taiji. Pangu is usually depicted as a primitive, hairy giant who has horns on his head. Pangu began creating the world: he separated yin from yang with a swing of his giant axe, creating the earth (murky yin) and the sky (clear yang). To keep them separated, Pangu stood between them and pushed up the sky. With each day, the sky grew ten feet (3 meters) higher, the earth ten feet thicker, and Pangu ten feet taller. This task took yet another 18,000 years. In some versions of the story, Pangu is aided in this task by the four most prominent beasts, namely the Turtle, the Qilin, the Phoenix, and the Dragon. After the 18,000 years had elapsed, Pangu died. His breath became the wind, mist and clouds; his voice, thunder; his left eye, the Sun; his right eye, the Moon; his head, the mountains and extremes of the world; his blood, rivers; his muscles, fertile land; his facial hair, the stars and Milky Way; his fur, bushes and forests; his bones, valuable minerals; his bone marrow, precious jewels; his sweat, rain; and the fleas on his fur carried by the wind became animals. You can read more about him in the Wikipedia. ¡ª Azure Dragon/Qinglong/Seiryu Also known as Qinglong in Chinese or Seiryu in Japanese, is one of the Dragon Gods who represent the mount or chthonic forces of the Five Regions¡¯ Highest Deities. ¡ª White Tiger/Baihu/Byakko Also known as Baihu in Chinese and Byakko in Japanese, represents the west in terms of direction and the season of autumn. ¡ª Black Tortoise/Xuanwu/Genbu Also known as Xuanwu in Chiense and Genbu in Japanse, represent the north in terms of direction and the season of winter. Usually portrayed as a turtle with a snake as its tail. ¡ª Vermillion Bird/Zhuque/Suzaku Also known as Zhuque in Chinese and Suzaku in Japanese, represents the south in direction and also the fire element and the season of summer. It is described as a red bird that resembles a pheasant with five-color plumage and is perpetually covered in flames. CH 68 After lunch, Dong Zhi tried to sleep for a while but found he couldn¡¯t fall asleep, so he decided to go upstairs to find Long Shen. There was still no one in the office, and he didn¡¯t know whether the other party had gone out or was in a meeting that wasn¡¯t finished yet. He didn¡¯t dare to run to the conference room to find him, so he went back to the rooftop to practice diligently. He needed to get up at 4:30 in the morning, go to the rooftop to study at 5 AM after washing, and then Long Shen would leave him to go to work at 8 AM. After eating breakfast, Dong Zhi would walk around the rooftop for an hour to practice his kungfu tona and then continue practicing Bu Tian Gang until noon. He¡¯ll have an hour of rest after lunch, then he¡¯ll practice again until 5 PM. He¡¯ll then return back to the dorm for a break, then would sleep early at night. This was the practice regime that Long Shen formulate for him. For urbanites who were used to partying, this plan was undoubtedly extremely difficult, not to mention that the Bu Tian Gang¡¯s footwork was very complicated. It wasn¡¯t easy to remember it, and it was even more difficult to use skillfully after you combine it with swordsmanship. The most painful thing is that he wanted to eat fish and meat after such high-intensity training, which would at least bring some comfort to his soul. As a result, he wasn¡¯t even allowed such thing and had to eat porridge mixed with goji berries every day. It was simply impossible to love this kind of life. After persisting for two days, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t hold on any longer. He wanted to be coquettish and asked his Master to ease up on the regime. Yet the result was he stayed up all night reading a novel and forgot about his bedtime, annoying Long Shen. Now he didn¡¯t know how to coax his Master, so he didn¡¯t dare mention anymore laziness and had to live his ascetic life honestly. As soon as he went up to the rooftop with his Changshou Sword, he saw that Liu Qingbo and Liu Si was also there. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes when he saw the Dong Zhi and didn¡¯t greet him. Since learning that the Dong Zhi was accepted as Long Shen¡¯s apprentice, he had acted this way around him, so Dong Zhi had become accustomed to it. Compared with the ridiculing at every possible moment from before, this was already merciful for Liu Qingbo. Liu Si smiled and said: ¡°We were hesitating whether to go to Group One or Group Two to practice. You¡¯re also here. Did you talk to the leaders?¡± Dong Zhi was aware of the gossip these days. Although it was not up to the new recruits to choose where they wanted to go, it¡¯s said that everyone will be divided into groups before departure. At that time, in addition to being under the jurisdiction of the branch, they¡¯ll also be subjected to the observation of the leadership of the General Administration Bureau. ¡°Not yet, but I should be in Group Two.¡± However, which group you are in now doesn¡¯t guarantee that you¡¯ll stay there after the probationary period is over. If the leader feels that you are unqualified, they can still kick you out. For those that can¡¯t enter the General Administration Bureau, they¡¯ll be assigned to a branch. After all, the branch¡¯s affairs were more trivial, but required more manpower. Liu Si also wanted to join Group Two. It¡¯s said that Long Shen had already approved it. If there¡¯s no incident, Gu Meiren and Ba Sang would be joining Group Three. Since Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t worship Long Shen as his teacher, he went to Group One instead. All these fell into everyone¡¯s expectations. What was most surprising was Li Ying. His father, Li Rui, was originally the leader before Wu Bingtian. Being also born on Mount Maoshan, it stood to reason that he should also join Group One. Unexpectedly, he took the initiative to find Song Zhicun and suggested that he wanted to go to Group Three. Song Zhicun naturally longed for such an elite to join so he immediately agreed. Many people felt that Li Ying choose beauty over country, seeing as Chi Banxia was also joining Group Three, and he couldn¡¯t bear to separate from his girlfriend. However, Dong Zhi believed that a group of strong competitors have emerged in large numbers. With Liu Qingbo and Zhang Song, no matter how good Li Ying is, there will inevitably be fierce competition after entering, so he chose Group Three, which would make it easier for him to stand out. Hearing Dong Zhi¡¯s response, Liu Si laughed: ¡°That¡¯s right. You are after all Boss Long¡¯s disciple so you must go to Group Two. I¡¯ll have to ask more about this.¡± Although he envied Dong Zhi for being able to worship Long Shen as a teacher, he was only envious. After all, as a master of the willow trees, he has his own cultivation method. Whether he could worship or not was simply superfluous. Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help rolling his eyes again. Dong Zhi invited him: ¡°Would you like to practice with us?¡± The practice venues for the three groups were different. Liu Qingo was determined to go where he originally wanted to and took out his access card. Both Dong Zhi and Liu Si belonged to Group Two. Liu Qingbo snorted coldly: ¡°No thanks, lest other misunderstand that I want to steal from you!¡± He raised his head and swiped his card to enter first. Dong Zhi and Liu Si looked at each other before swiping their cards one after another to enter Group Two¡¯s venue. Liu Si said: ¡°I heard that next year¡¯s World Exchange Conference will have more participants than in previous years. In this way, we should have a chance.¡± Seeing that the Dong Zhi was confused, he couldn¡¯t help but wonder: ¡°Didn¡¯t the Boss Long tell you anything?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. In the past two days, he was exhausted from practice that he didn¡¯t have time to care about the World Exchange Conference. ¡°Is this exchange conference just a technical exchange from various countries? Liu Si said: ¡°On the one hand, traveling around the world has become more commonplace. Now demons from the east will run to the west, while wanted demons from the west often runs over to the east. This is to strengthen the exchange of information between various countries. On the other hand, it should also be for practitioners of various countries to communicate with each other and exchange ideas. Each of them will be representing their country and will certainly have a sense of victory and honor. I heard that there will be trial competition and the top three will be excellently rewarded.¡± The rewards are only minor, as no one will bat an eye for it. The real prize was being the winners, which would provide them with great advantage to their popularity for future promotions. Even if they participate in the competition as individuals, they could still make a name for themselves, and they no longer need to worry about fame and fortune. Liu Si said: ¡°We don¡¯t allow people from the private sector to participate in the competition in their personal names. We have to go through the Special Administration Bureau. When the time comes, we will be representing our country. Every year, the Special Administration Bureau will allocate a number of places in for the bureau and the private sector. It¡¯s said that Boss Wu and Boss Song came to prominence in the competition and later they rose all the way to the top.¡± Dong Zhi said curiously: ¡°What about Boss Long?¡± Liu Si shook his head: ¡°I have heard that Boss Long haven¡¯t participated.¡± Dong Zhi never thought about fortune or getting a better promotion. He thought it was interesting to be able to meet the people from around the world and learn from various practitioners. At the very least, it¡¯ll still be a good experience to improve oneself, but since he thought like this, most likely everyone else did too. ¡°Are the screening criteria strict?¡± he asked. Liu Si: ¡°The conference will be held at the end of next year. They shouldn¡¯t have started screening people yet until the beginning of the year. I also learned about this from listening to a group of people a few days ago. If you want to go, you should step up your practice. There are not too many places available, and we have a lot of elites this time. It¡¯s definitely impossible for everyone to have an opportunity.¡± Dong Zhi nodded. As a disciple of Long Shen, he had to fight for a place no matter what. Otherwise, it¡¯ll be too embarrassing for his master. Thinking like this, he found he had another motivation towards his cultivation. The space here was infinitely extended by magic. Let alone accommodating Liu Si and Dong Zhi, even if dozens more came, it¡¯ll still be spacious. Liu Si went towards the hillside in front of him to start his practice while Dong Zhi practiced his footwork by the waterfall. ¡ª Long Shen was indeed very busy. He was swarmed with meetings today. He had seminars with those above, meetings in the bureau, and temporary meetings with newcomers. During lunch break, he came back to get his mug and found that there was an extra book on his desk. . Author: Dong Dong Qiang. Long Shen frowned slightly before picking it up and turned a few pages. It portrayed the daily lives of the Relevant Departments in the form of simple comics, as well as clips of subduing and slaying demons. The name of the Special Administration Bureau was hidden as it was referred to as the ¡°Relevant Department¡± instead. The protagonist¡¯s name was not a real name and details of the case had been changed so it didn¡¯t exposed any secrets. There is also a note in the middle of the book. [Master, this book is about to go public. The author is me. I plan to donate the manuscript fee to the Bureau as a modest contribution as a pension for my fallen colleagues. Don¡¯t be angry, okay?] A smiley face is attached to the back, and there is a shy cartoon villain next to it. Long Shen closed the book, took a document from the drawer, picked up the mug and started to leave. Before he left, he picked up the book again, took out the note that was inside, put it in the drawer, and took the book with him. Many people think that the top bosses in high position must sit in their office all day long while remotely commanding from there, but this is not the case with the Special Administration Bureau. During the last incident where they sent the newcomers on a field training, two Deputy Directors had led the team in person. Although there were injuries and casualties were expected, as leaders, Long Shen and Song Zhicun were still criticized and had to write a review report on the incident. These were things that Dong Zhi was unaware of. ¡°The Japanese has already sent the things over, and the above asked us to send Fujikawa back as soon as possible,¡± Wu Bingtian said. Song Zhicun snorted coldly: ¡°We worked hard this time and lost two people. I really want to keep the old fucker and never let him go back to Japan!¡± Wu Bingtian said slowly: ¡°I don¡¯t want him to go back either, but this is an order from the top, and they have all agreed to the conditions we put forward this time. If we don¡¯t fulfill our promises, there¡¯s no way we can explain it.¡± In fact, the matter had already been finalized. Today was just a routine to discuss about it. Song Zhicun nodded: ¡°When the above procedures are completed, I¡¯ll make the trip in person and send him back so as to avoid any changes on the way.¡± Wu Bingtian smiled and said: ¡°It must be hard on you Boss Song. It¡¯s reassuring to have you as leader of a team.¡± Director Jiang only cares about the general direction of the spiritual world. He has never intervened in specific business allocation, nor can he. Seeing that the topic has come to an end, he smiled and said: ¡°Is the distribution of the new people¡¯s whereabouts settled?¡± Wu Bingtian handed over a form: ¡°It¡¯s almost done. This is everyone¡¯s arrangement. Take a look.¡± Director Jiang glanced at him slightly: ¡°Why isn¡¯t any of them staying in the General Administration?¡± Wu Bingtian smiled and said: ¡°After the three of us discussed it, we decided that instead of leaving them in the General Administration and not knowing about the sufferings of the outside world, it¡¯s better to let them go to a local branch offices and be on the front line to gain an in-depth understanding of major cases.¡± Director Jiang nodded. He was just a figurehead so naturally he had no opinion. ¡°Okay, when will they leave?¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°They¡¯ll report to work next week.¡± Director Jiang: ¡°They finally just came back. Next week feels a bit rushed, so let¡¯s extend it for another week and hold a few seminars before they leave. We can encourage and pump up their enthusiasm.¡± When everyone heard this, they knew that Old Jiang addiction to speaking had risen again. Since he took office, he has held meetings and speeches every occasion possible that everyone eventually knew how Old Jiang got the title the ¡°Director of Meetings¡±. There are only so many people in the Bureau. No matter how much Director Jiang loves meetings, it was impossible to gather everyone together all day long. Now that there was a batch of newcomers that had more time to listen to him, how can he easily ¡°let them go¡±? Wu Bingtian didn¡¯t want to argue with the director on such trivial matters, so he smiled and said: ¡°Well, they didn¡¯t listen to your teaching well last time they joined. Now they have a chance again. In the future, there will be fewer opportunities, so they can listen to it now and gain more experience.¡± Director Jiang smiled: ¡°Of course, young people have to be encouraged. These children are still young, and they are all national elites, so inevitably they are arrogant. We need to let them walk slower so they don¡¯t run too fast!¡± Today¡¯s meeting wasn¡¯t formal. There was only a few of them there. After finishing up business, Old Jiang unknowingly talked about his son. He talked about how his son had gotten into a famous university abroad with a full scholarship. In other words, he was bragging. Song Zhicun also has a son in the army. He is young and promising and his military rank wasn¡¯t low. As a parent, it was inevitable that he hoped his child will become like a dragon. Old Song was no exception. Listening to Director Jiang¡¯s words, Old Song started talking about his son endlessly as he inadvertently compared him with Director Jiang¡¯s son. Wu Bingtian only had a daughter, who had just learned to speak, so he couldn¡¯t brag even if he wanted to. However, he still found the common topic of parenting and starting wildly talking with the other two. Seeing that the conversation was completely revolved around children, Wu Bingtian looked at Long Shen who was silent and said with a smile: ¡°We still have to count on Boss Long with the purest heart and fewest desire. You¡¯ve been working hard all these years and lack attention in your personal life!¡± Director Jiang hurriedly said: ¡°Yes, Boss Long hasn¡¯t started a family yet. Do you want me to introduce you to a suitable person? Work is important, but don¡¯t miss out on the big events of your life!¡± Director Jiang obviously knew what the Special Administration Bureau was doing, and he knew that he had a powerful man under his command, however he didn¡¯t actually know the full extent, let alone Long Shen¡¯s origins. He only regarded him as a practitioner like Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun. Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun glanced at each other giving each other an amused look. They didn¡¯t expect Old Jiang to urge Long Shen to get married. Unexpectedly, Long Shen used this to advertise a book: ¡°This is my apprentice¡¯s new book. Supposedly presale volumes have already exceeded 100,000 now. I¡¯ll ask him later for a few more copies to give you.¡± He had checked the sales volume online. With several directors present, it could be said that they were good at exterminating demons, but none knew anything about the publishing industry, so they were quite surprised when the heard the 100,000 number and it quickly pique their interest. Director Jiang took a look: ¡°Oh, this is a comic book? I didn¡¯t expect Boss Long to apprentice to be a cartoonist.¡± Wu Bingtian smiled bitterly: ¡°It¡¯s Dong Zhi. Boss Long really has a good disciple that he already obtained glory for his Master so soon.¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°He¡¯s very good. He has a good head on his shoulder, can draw, has a good memory, and good talents. I didn¡¯t expect him to get this far.¡± Hearing his opponent¡¯s pretended modesty, Wu Bingtian couldn¡¯t help but feel itchy all over. Although he had looked down on Dong Zhi, a practitioner who hadn¡¯t started his foundation since he was a child, that was long ago. Since Dong Zhi came to prominence in tracking the whereabouts of the Japanese, Wu Bingtian had wanted to attract him into his group. His group was filled with influential figures that can provide money and resources. As long as he spoke, no one would refuse his request. Who knew that Long Shen had faster hands than him and made frequent contacts in private with Dong Zhi, often giving him advice by living so close to him. This made the child grateful that he politely declined Wu Bingtian¡¯s proposal. After all, Wu Bintian, the dignified director, wasn¡¯t good at taking rejection. After having lost face, he thought that when they return from Yinchuan, he would go back to his teacher and allow Dong Zhi to enter Mount Longhu¡¯s gate. He had investigated it clearly and found that Dong Zhi had only worshipped a famous Master in Mount Hezao but he wasn¡¯t considered a legitimate descendant of the Hezao Sect, so this meant it wouldn¡¯t be a violation for him to enter Mount Longhu. Who knew that Long Shen was once again one step ahead of him as he already accepted him as a disciple while they were in the cave? When they came back, Wu Bingtian heard him mentioned it lightly that he was so angry he didn¡¯t sleep well that night. He never said that he would rob Long Shen of his apprentice. Wasn¡¯t there still Liu Qingbo who had excellent qualifications?! But this only made his opponent move his hand faster! Every time Wu Bingtian thought about this, he wanted to beat himself up. Moreover, the last time he negotiated with the Japanese, Long Shen didn¡¯t give in but also brought Song Zhicun and Elder Zong to his side. As a result, Wu Bintian, who was in charge of negotiations, could only act as a courier, passing messages back and forth. Although the Japanese were finally forced to make concessions, in the beginning, the higher ups wanted to settled everything calmly, but because Long Shen and Song Zhicun pushed back, they felt that they ¡°ignored the overall situation¡±, and this also reflected badly on Wu Bingtian. Long Shen didn¡¯t care while Song Zhicun didn¡¯t have much ambition to climb the ladder, thus only Wu Bingtian was left with resentment. Because of this ¡°deep hatred*¡±, he was still reluctant to make peace. *Old hatred new hatred (гð¾ÉºÞ) Idiom describing a deep hatred. ¡°Still, at the end of the day, we¡¯re the Special Administration Bureau. Subduing and slaying demons is our priority. No matter how much Boss Long will hurt his apprentice, it¡¯s best if you don¡¯t let him do this kind of job and have him focus on the wrong direction.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°That¡¯s right. I finally got an apprentice. It¡¯s inevitably that I want him to do everything well, so I put a lot of pressure on him. Despite this, he has never disappointed me. He now trains very hard and he¡¯s even willing to donate his manuscript fee for this book to the Bureau as pension for his fallen colleagues.¡± Song Zhicun was first to praise: ¡°Boss Long¡¯s apprentice is truly good. It¡¯s a pity that I¡¯m one step late. Otherwise, I would have competed with you for him.¡± As an ordinary person, Director Jiang didn¡¯t know much about exorcism in general, but when he heard that Dong Zhi had donated his manuscript fee, he too also had to offer his praise: ¡°Yes! It¡¯s said that an apprentice is worth half a son and I think this applies to Boss Long!¡± Long Shen smiled faintly: ¡°Director Jiang and Boss Song flatters him too much.¡± He was strict with Dong Zhi but didn¡¯t reveal that in the slightest. Instead to others, he didn¡¯t hesitate to show off his preference and appreciation. Wu Bingtian almost choked on his own spit as he was on the verge of having a heart attack. After their chat came to an end, Long Shen returned to his office and looked at the time. It was almost 4 PM. He put down his hand and went to the rooftop. Sure enough, Dong Zhi was there. He was standing next to the waterfall with his back to him, holding the Changshou Sword with his forehand, practicing the Tian Gang footwork, so he didn¡¯t hear Long Shen¡¯s arrival. Long Shen stood for a while until the other party swung his sword and turned around. ¡°Master!¡± Dong Zhi first yelled happily, and then, remembering the blunder he made this morning, paused, and held back his expression when he approached. Long Shen remained expressionless and stood with his hands behind his back. ¡°Finished practicing?¡± ¡°Finished practicing.¡± Dong Zhi gave him a well-behaved smile: ¡°Asking Master to please provide guidance.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°You are the author of the book in the office?¡± Dong Zhi answered guiltily: ¡°Yes.¡± Long Shen frowned slightly: ¡°You practice every day, yet you still have time to draw and write books? Where did you get such free time?¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°That was a while ago. After I went to Yinchuan, I didn¡¯t have much time to draw anymore so I¡¯m now just sending out previous manuscripts. This kind of thing can be drawn very quickly, just need to add a bit of color, and it will not delay my practice.¡± Long Shen was silent for a moment before saying: ¡°You have high spirits and many hobbies, but your cultivation is important. I hope you can spend more time on it. It¡¯s important to note that if you miss a good opportunity in battle, you may lose your life.¡± After the morning incident, Dong Zhi had already understood Long Shen¡¯s restrictions. It doesn¡¯t matter whether his qualification isn¡¯t good enough or if he¡¯s in poor health, but during the training period, he must concentrate on it and try his best. He cannot be careless. It was him who was wrong so he didn¡¯t dare defend himself and could only admit his mistake and obediently practice harder. When Dong Zhi lowered his head, Long Shen couldn¡¯t see his expression and only saw his soft and fluffy hair. In fact, Long Shen wasn¡¯t actually as angry as he thought, but Dong Zhi¡¯s departure was imminent, and they can¡¯t follow each other all the time. If he didn¡¯t beat this into him, and something actually did happen, he wouldn¡¯t have time to rush over to help. ¡°You can keep the manuscript fee. You don¡¯t need to donate it.¡± Dong Zhi looked up and looked at him in surprise: ¡°Master¡­¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I will use my own my money for the amount you want to donate. The salary during the probationary period is relatively small. If you don¡¯t have enough money, just tell me. Drawing though cannot affect your work.¡± ¡°¡­Oh.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t notice that the corners of his mouth were slightly raised. He felt as if his heart was soaked in hot water on a cold day and after being soaked warm, he was picked up and gently wrapped in a towel. The man who wrapped a towel around his heart treated his only apprentice in life with the greatest gentleness and kindness. ¡°Master, can I hug you?¡± Before the other party could answer, Dong Zhi had already hugged him tightly. ¡°How old are you? Always hugging at every turn. What kind of etiquette is this?¡± Although he said this, Long Shen could have easily gotten out of the way, but he didn¡¯t. ¡°You are really the best Master in the world,¡± Dong Zhi stuffed his face into Long Shen¡¯s clothes and his voice became muffled: ¡°Being able to be your disciple is my greatest blessing.¡± Long Shen had never been hugged so tightly before. He wanted to push him away but also felt that it didn¡¯t seem appropriate. After thinking about it, he patted Dong Zhi¡¯s back a few times. ¡°Alright,¡± he said. Dong Zhi was reluctant to let go, so he took the opportunity to rub his face again until Liu Si came around from behind the hillside to and greeted them in surprise. ¡°Boss Long?¡± Feeling that Long Shen wanted to push him away, Dong Zhi let go first. He felt a little embarrassed knowing Liu Si had saw him being coquettish. Liu Si wasn¡¯t paying much attention. He happily said: ¡°Boss Long, are you free? I just wanted to ask you for some guidance!¡± Long Shen nodded and followed Liu Si to the front. Everyone has their own secret techniques. It didn¡¯t matter if Long Shen saw it, since he¡¯s already standing at the height that is beyond the reach of ordinary people, but for Dong Zhi, it wasn¡¯t easy to follow them. He didn¡¯t want to leave like this, so he continued to linger around. As a result, after waiting for an hour, he was so hungry that he curled up and waited until Long Shen and Liu Si came back. Long Shen was surprised: ¡°Why haven¡¯t you left yet?¡± He thought that his apprentice was putting in extra time to work hard and added: ¡°Everything has a degree. Too much isn¡¯t always better.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°I¡¯m fine so I wanted to wait for you.¡± Liu Si said: ¡°Thank you so much Boss Long for today. It¡¯s just around dinnertime. Why don¡¯t I invite you to a meal?¡± Joy sprouted from Dong Zhi, until he heard Long Shen say: ¡°He can¡¯t eat during dinner right now.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Long Shen looked at his pitiful expression, and a smile appeared in his eyes. Finally, he said mercifully: ¡°But you can still eat some porridge.¡± Porridge was still better than nothing. Dong Zhi found that his current requirements had fallen to an all new low. Let alone a full-Chinese banquet, now it¡¯s estimated that even a plate of pickled mustard greens would taste delicious to him. As a practitioner, Liu Si naturally knew Long Shen¡¯s intention on why he¡¯s making Dong Zhi hungry. He smiled and said: ¡°Well, let¡¯s go eat vegetarian food. That way, Dong Zhi could eat more.¡± Dong Zhi was overjoyed: ¡°Old Liu, you¡¯re such an understanding and considerate person!¡± Long Shen was speechless thinking that this apprentice was too easy to please. Liu Si had rented a home in the capital, which was a bit far away from where they were. After they finished their meals, he parted ways with them and got on the subway. Dong Zhi walked slowly back with Long Shen. ¡°Master, after I go to the branch office, there¡¯s still family and annual leave, right?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Why are you asking?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°So I can come back to see you more.¡± Long Shen: ¡°You can practice well. You don¡¯t need me to watch over you.¡± Seeing Dong Zhi¡¯s expression of disappointment, he paused, and then said: ¡°If I go on a business trip, I¡¯ll stop by to see you when I have time.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s expression was like a switch that when pressed immediately turned from dim to bright. ¡°Have our respective designation been confirmed? Can you tell me who I¡¯ll be partnering with?¡± Although the temperaments of these companions who trained together are different, they still have a sense of nostalgia. Even Liu Qingbo¡¯s eye rolling, and cold snorts were sentimentally childish to Dong Zhi. It would be even better if he could be with Ba Sang or Gu Meiren. Long Shen said: ¡°You won¡¯t have partners. Everyone will be assigned to different places.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°Isn¡¯t there only four branches?¡± Long Shen: ¡°There are also offices under the branch offices, as well as in third-tier cities. There are not many people in those offices, so sometimes the conditions aren¡¯t very good. You must be mentally prepared.¡± Listening to his tone, Dong Zhi knew that will not be assigned an easy job, because according to Long Shen¡¯s personality, he likes to face difficulties, so he¡¯ll only be more demanding of his apprentice. Long Shen can make many concessions to him in private, that he can even considered to be overindulgent, but he¡¯ll never back down on the issues of principles. This was his Master, but it happens that he likes such a Master. Kinky Thoughts: These chapters are so long T__T. CH 69 The sweet scent of osmanthus flowers filled his nose and when he raised his head, Dong Zhi saw an osmanthus tree with low hanging branches that was in full bloom. He picked off a small branch of flowers and handed it to Long Shen. ¡°Borrowing flowers to dedicate to Buddha*.¡± *(½è»¨Ï×·ð) Idiom referring to borrowing other people¡¯s items to entertain guest or give them away. Long Shen took the osmanthus branch, then looked at the osmanthus tree and saw a full moon on top of the osmanthus tree, then remembered that the Mid-Autumn Festival* was approaching. *Also known as the Moon/Mooncake Festival, is a festival celebrated in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Macau. It¡¯s popularity is on par with Chinese New Year. It celebrate three fundamental concepts: gatherings, thanksgiving, and praying. Dong Zhi also raised his head. ¡°Master, the Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. Why don¡¯t we leave in a few days? Otherwise, it¡¯ll be so desolated to spend the holidays alone!¡± Long Shen glanced at him: ¡°Don¡¯t push your luck.¡± The reason their assignment was delayed was because Director Jiang wanted to hold a mobilization meeting. This was a special exception. If they had to wait until the Mid-Autumn Festival¡­ why not just leave until after New Year¡¯s? Then there will be another Mid-Autumn Festival in that new year, and at that rate they¡¯ll never leave. He used to spend his Mid-Autumn Festival alone, but later spent it with He Yu and Kan Chaosheng, so he had no sense of reunion. Hearing what he said, Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t depressed and instead smiled. His eyes suddenly lit up as he said: ¡°Master, wait for me here for a while. I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Then he ran away. Long Shen looked at his fast steps as he ran into a cake shop. After a while, he ran out with a box and stuffed it into his hands. ¡°Freshly baked meat mooncakes with crispy skin and tender meat. I¡¯ve eaten them before, and they¡¯re pretty good. Anyway, I can¡¯t enjoy the moon with you this year, so this box of mooncakes will represent me to accompany you! I hope you¡¯ll be like this box of mooncakes every year in the future, full and happy.¡± With a smile on his face, Dong Zhi quietly put the trinket he was holding in his hand into his pocket. It was a small gift he got for buying a box of mooncakes, a shiny pink heart-shaped keychain. Dong Zhi wanted to give it to Long Shen, but he hesitated and decided against it. It felt like he was hiding it quietly in his mind, packing it up so that no one would find out. Long Shen never accepted gifts, no matter whether they were cheap or expensive. It was blazing news that he accepted the yulu plant and then a disciple. Dong Zhi obviously knew his Master¡¯s style very well. Before Long Shen had a chance to speak, he blocked his words by saying: ¡°Apprentice filial piety to one¡¯s Master can¡¯t be regarded as giving gifts and accepting bribes, right?¡± Of course not. Long Shen took the box, but frowned slightly, wondering if the situation needed a gift in return. Of course he has contact with friends from the same generation, but this doesn¡¯t apply to He Yu and the others, because they are his subordinates. Besides, He Yu and Kan Chaosheng are two monkeys that are very good at rubbing their noses and eyes. Today they¡¯ll give him a box of mooncakes and tomorrow they¡¯ll dare come and ask for a bonus. While Dong Zhi is a subordinate, he¡¯s also his apprentice. Taking on an apprentice for most of his life was like raising a son. In the afternoon, Song Zhicun and the others talked about their son¡¯s achievements, filial piety, and how considerate their children were and didn¡¯t bother them. Long Shen listened to them. He felt that it would probably be an equivalent same amount of effort to take on apprentice. What can I give him? I can¡¯t gift him a box of mooncakes in return, right? Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what he was thinking, and asked: ¡°Has anyone given you a Mid-Autumn Festival gift before?¡± Long Shen nodded first, then shook his head: ¡°Yes, but except for the unit¡¯s issuance, I have confiscated everything else.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°How did you spend the holidays before?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Working overtime.¡± Dong Zhi almost choked, but he didn¡¯t give up: ¡°What about big festivals like National Day, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Chinese New Year¡¯s?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Write reports, practice, and deal with accidents.¡± He seems to find it really fulfilling that it made Dong Zhi powerless to complain. ¡°Then do you feel lonely and bored?¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°No.¡± Because he was alone from the beginning, he naturally never knew what loneliness or boredom was. ¡°That¡¯s fine. Going forward, you¡¯ll at least have a lovely apprentice to accompany you during Chinese New Year¡¯s!¡± Dong Zhi said with a smile. His face was getting thicker to the point where he had reached a state of transformation. Long Shen looked at the ¡°lovely apprentice¡± and decided not to tell him that he would increase the intensity of tomorrow¡¯s practice for the time being, so he could be silly for a while longer. Sure enough, the next day, Dong Zhi began to scream for days. Long Shen was stricter than before, and the meeting time was also advanced from the original 5 AM to 4 AM. He would suddenly be called to the rooftop in the middle of the night without warning and then be attacked without any indication. Either Long Shen would do it in person, or when he didn¡¯t show up, he would send a eudemon, similar to the shikigamis used by the Onmyojis, to mercilessly practice killing him. Under these circumstances, Dong Zhi had to mobilize what he had learned and tried his best to cope. He originally thought that Long Shen¡¯s trial would at least guarantee his basic safety, but after he was hit by the eudemon and his face was covered in blood and his head was almost swallowed by its mouth, he knew that Long Shen meant business. Dong Zhi wanted to cry without tears. He knew that what his Master was doing was for his own good, so he could develop his ability to protect himself in the future, and greatly improve it, so as not to lose his life, but reality was, it was built on blood and tears. A week passed quickly. The day when everyone was scheduled to report to the branch offices was postponed for another week, because Director Jiang wanted to hold a symposium for a few days to mobilize everyone to the grass-roots level of experience, so newcomers wouldn¡¯t not be so haughty. Everyone had personally experienced Director Jiang¡¯s meeting skills so they would rather report to the branch earlier than having to listen to his drabble. The worst thing was that Long Shen seemed to know that the meeting was just a meeting with nothing too important being discussed, so the daily practice still hasn¡¯t stopped, and he even deliberately challenged Dong Zhi¡¯s limits by increasing the content and difficulty. This only made Dong Zhi even more miserable that he felt like a wilting cabbage during the meetings. Director Jiang didn¡¯t need to write drafts for his meetings. He only lists a few outlines and then would talk for hours on end. The contents of today¡¯s meeting was mainly reminiscing about the history of the Special Administration Bureau, how difficult conditions for handling cases back then were, how it wasn¡¯t easy for their predecessors, and how it¡¯s changing with each passing day. Even the training for the newcomers uses the latest research results from China and the United States. In the past, how could they afford such luxury. Everyone had heard these words countless of times before that they can almost recite them by heart. On a cool autumn afternoon, Director Jiang¡¯s voice was like the sweetest lullaby, lulling them to sleep. Liu Qingbo held on without yawning. When he turned his head, something amazing caught his eyes. Dong Zhi had fallen asleep. He grinned and couldn¡¯t help but poke his waist. Dong Zhi felt ticklish, so he moved subconsciously, opening one eye and saw that it was Liu Qingbo. This only made him close his eyes again and changed direction as he continue to go back to sleep. Are you sure I won¡¯t report you? Liu Qingbo laughed angrily. Dong Zhi had put a large notebook upright on his desk to block off his face. Director Jiang was still giving his passionate speech, so he hadn¡¯t notice the small movements from the class for the time being. Liu Qingbo glanced to the side again. Ba Sang was holding a pen on one hand and pretending to take notes while the other hand was place under the table and was texting on his phone. Xie Qingling led her hands under the desk, pulling silk thread and was manipulating her puppets and no one knew what she was up to. Zhang Song laid on the table with a pen and notebook that he was using to write and draw in. Whatever he was writing was definitely not what Director Jiang was saying. Li Ying was holding his chin with one hand and was also secretly texting with his other. From the corner of his eyes, Liu Qingbo saw that it was an interface for takeout. It seems that no one was listening to the lecture, but Liu Qingo still didn¡¯t want Dong Zhi to sleep so peacefully, so he stretched out his hand and poke his waist again. After poking three times in a row, Dong Zhi finally moved. He took his phone and sent a message to Liu Qingbo: [I got up at 4 AM today.] Liu Qingbo quickly replied: [Stealing chickens and dogs*?] *(͵¼¦Ãþ¹·) Idiom referring to unscrupulous behavior. Dong Zhi: [Master asked me to get up and practice.] This is just showing off, right? Liu Qingbo gritted his teeth and replied: [I want to complain to Director Jiang that you fall asleep as soon as he starts speaking.] Dong Zhi: [Don¡¯t, Old Liu. You see that other people are also distracted while you listen carefully. You can also play games. Be a good boy and let me sleep for a while.] Liu Qingbo: [Have you learned yujian* from Boss Long?] *Reminder: it¡¯s the ability to use spells to control your sword. Dong Zhi: [How is that possible? I¡¯m just learning footwork now. Master said that I must be at least your level before I can start to think about yujian, so I don¡¯t even want to think about it now.] When Liu Qingbo saw these words, his heart was immediately mixed. He was happy that Long Shen had affirmed his abilities, but even so, the apprentice was not himself. He asked Dong Zhi: [Do you know where you¡¯re going for your internship?] Dong Zhi: [Master refuses to say. How about you?] Liu Qingbo told him the place. Dong Zhi replied with an envious expression: [Congratulations, although it¡¯s an office, it¡¯s also in a provincial capital. I¡¯m guessing I¡¯m not as lucky as you. Master will definitely kick me to some third-tier city. By the way, what should I do if your Feijing Sword can¡¯t be found?] Liu Qingbo became angry when he saw this: [What else can you do? Help me get it back?] Dong Zhi knew that he had made a mistake, and hurriedly replied: [I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. Master also have a lot of hidden swords. Why don¡¯t I go talk to him and see if he¡¯ll take one out to pay you back?] Liu Qingbo got angry: [If you have the ability, don¡¯t compensate me with your Master¡¯s things!] Dong Zhi made a pitiful expression: [But I don¡¯t have anything. Even the Changshou Sword was given to me by Master. I can only repay by working indefinitely for the rest of my life.] Liu Qingbo was born into a swordsmanship family so naturally, there were many hidden swords in his family. Although the Feijing Sword was precious, it¡¯s not the only sword for him. He suddenly thought of a question: Does this have anything to do with the reason why he wasn¡¯t accepted by Long Shen? If the Changshou Sword was given to him, of course he would cherish it, but he¡¯ll not treat it as the only one like Dong Zhi. He asked Dong Zhi: [Did Boss Long teach you how to use swords?] Dong Zhi answered with no reservations: [Yes. He said that all artifacts have spirits. Before using a sword, you must first establish contact with the sword. Only when the soul fits with the sword can it be handier.] Long Shen had told these words to everyone when he taught them on the rooftop that one day. At that time when he heard it, he had a different feeling. Liu Qingbo suddenly understood what his problem was. He had used many swords since he was a child, and they were all famous swords. The Feijing Sword was his most handy one recently, but it¡¯s not the one that has been with him for the longest time. Although he regretted losing the Feijing Sword, he didn¡¯t have any ideas of trying to get it back. He sent another message to Dong Zhi: [What would you do if you lose the Changshou Sword in battle?] Dong Zhi thought Liu Qingbo was still thinking about how he used the Feijing Sword to stab into the giant python¡¯s chrysanthemum, so he apologized: [Sorry, I really didn¡¯t think it through at that time. I didn¡¯t know that you found the chrysanthemum one step faster than me.] As soon as he saw the words chrysanthemum, Liu Qingbo¡¯s face turned blue, as he absolutely didn¡¯t want to recall that tragic experience. He interrupted Dong Zhi¡¯s reply and that was divided into several texts and inserted his own words: [I¡¯m not holding you accountable for it. I¡¯m just asking a hypothetical question. If the Changshou Sword was thrown underwater, what would you do in that situation?] After a while, Dong Zhi replied: [I would go back and find it.] Liu Qingbo reluctantly refused to give up: [The river is very deep, and the current is fast. What if you can¡¯t find it?] Dong Zhi: [Still look for it. This sword has extraordinary significance to me.] Liu Qingbo: [Is it more significant than the previous Qingzhu Sword?] Dong Zhi gave a positive answer: [Yes.] Liu Qingbo was disappointed. His swordsmanship has reached the level of perfection, and even his father said that within a few years, he will definitely be able to become a master of swordsmanship in the country. This made him complacent and arrogant, looking down on others he found beneath him. He only regarded the sword as a weapon for his hands, and he never thought that swordmanship was to fit the swordsman¡¯s soul with the sword. Long Shen didn¡¯t hide anything. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t take this point he mentioned before to heart at that time. He felt that artifacts were just artifacts and could never be comparable to people. Dong Zhi waited for a long time for his reply, and when he looked up, he saw Liu Qingbo was staring at his phone in a daze. He took a page out of Liu Qingbo¡¯s book and started poking his waist, attracting the other¡¯s glaring eyes. Their small actions finally caught the attention of Director Jiang. Director Jiang narrowed his eyes: ¡°That classmate, please stand up. Yes, the one in white clothes. What are you doing?¡± He didn¡¯t have much contact with Dong Zhi nor did he participate in specific affairs, so except for Li Ying, who often took the lead, he couldn¡¯t match the names and faces of the others there. Dong Zhi stood up with an innocent expression: ¡°Hello, Director. Liu Qingbo has a stomachache so I wanted to see if he was okay.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­ He really wanted to strangle the person surnamed Dong. Liu Qingbo? Director Jiang remembered everyone¡¯s names, so he turned his gaze to the other. Liu Qingbo had no choice but to stand up: ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I feel a little uncomfortable in my stomach, and I didn¡¯t want to affect everyone¡¯s learning, so I just endured it.¡± Director Jiang waved his hand mercifully: ¡°If you are uncomfortable, don¡¯t bear it. Go back and rest.¡± Dong Zhi reacted quickly: ¡°Then I will help him out.¡± Liu Qingbo sharply glared at him, signaling that he didn¡¯t need help. Dong Zhi returned it with a harmless smile: Without me, can you leave here early? The two left the conference room under the envious gaze of everyone. Liu Qingbo shook off his hand and said in disgust: ¡°You can go back.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°I finally escaped, how could I go back and get caught by myself? I¡¯m going to make up for my sleep. Go and have a good rest!¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­ For the first time, he doubted Long Shen¡¯s eyes. What did the other party fancy about this guy? Ingenious laziness? Dong Zhi had really wronged Liu Qingbo. He now gets up earlier than a chicken and is forced to go to bed early at night, so he had no time for recreational activities. He was almost paralyzed from practicing his sword every day, so it wasn¡¯t easy to squeeze out a little time to sleep. After another two days, Director Jiang finally let everyone go, just because the next day was the day of departure. Everyone had already learned that the Special Administration Bureau was determined to isolate them this time, and even Li Ying and Chi Banxia, a semi-public couple, were no exception. One was sent to the south and the other to the north. They looked like the cowherd and the weaving maid* who had been torn apart by the Milky Way. *Romantic Chinese folk tale that tells the story between a weaver and cowherd whose love was not allowed, and they can only meet once every year. Gu Meiren went to the northwest, while Ba San was in Rongcheng. Dong Zhi was a little closer to Liu Qingbo as he was assigned to the South China Branch but was arranged in Lucheng. Since then, it has been difficult for everyone to even see each other, let alone when and how they can reunite, like in Yinchuan, to advance and retreat together. Thinking of this, everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel a touch of sorrow in their hearts. Song Zhicun was also accustomed to their appearance. Seeing this, he smiled and said: ¡°Almost every year, we will send away newcomers like you, and usher in newcomers for next year. It¡¯s just this group has been the largest number of people who had pass the examination in the past 20 years, therefore, not only does the directors but those higher ups have high hopes for you.¡± They had heard these words many times in the past, but this time listened seriously, and no one was distracted. ¡°I hope that at the end of the probationary period next year, I will still be able to see all you back here. I hope that no matter what difficulties you encounter, you can all move forward and not forget your original intention. Remember, you¡¯re not ordinary practitioners. You are a member of the Special Administration Bureau. You shoulder the heavy responsibility of subduing and eliminating demons, and the responsibility of defending ordinary people.¡± After he finished speaking, everyone gave warm applause. Song Zhicun raised his hand and pressed it down, waited for the applause to stop, and then said: ¡°In the evening, the Special Administration Bureau will organize a farewell banquet for everyone. I hope you can all attend.¡± Someone joked: ¡°Boss Song, you¡¯re actually inviting us to have a good meal!¡± The joke was an allusion. The task of the Special Administration Bureau is to subdue and eliminate demons, but sometimes hitting mice will inevitably affect jade bottles. For example, the incident on Changbai Mountain had left behind a lot of trouble in the aftermath. The county protested that the Changbai Mountain tourist area had been destroyed, so the Special Administration Bureau had to compensate as a symbolic gesture, thus usually the Bureau¡¯s funds are tight. Employees¡¯ wages and bonuses couldn¡¯t be deducted for such accidents, so they could only be cut from public expenditures. After Director Jiang took office, he was even more drastic and directly cut nearly half of the public expenditure funds. This is often why people complain that the bureau was stingy. Song Zhicun laughed: ¡°Of course I have to invite you to have a good meal. Tonight, a few of our directors will pay for it out of their own pockets. How can we make everyone happy if you have to pay for your own meal?¡± Everyone cheered when they heard his words, and their sorrow suddenly dissipated. Song Zhicun did what he said, and sure enough, he booked a private room in a famous Huaiyang restaurant nearby. That night, everyone drank to their content. Although Dong Zhi could hold his liquor, he couldn¡¯t keep up with Long Shen when he drunk with him last time. At the banquet, he was drinking one cup after another and soon he became impetuous, and his vision started to blur as he saw everyone around him had three-four afterimages around their figures. Perhaps it was because they were parting soon, but Long Shen didn¡¯t stop him this time. On the contrary, he made an exception and actually joined the banquet as well. He was good at holding his liquor and drank a lot with everyone. Even Song Zhicun and Wu Bingtian couldn¡¯t keep up as they had to lie down while he sat on his chair looking calm. ¡°Master, if I know you could drink so well, I wouldn¡¯t have drunk with you before. I should think of other ways.¡± Long Shen looked at his apprentice who was flushed and even spoke with slurred words. He had no choice but to touch his forehead. ¡°You¡¯re drunk.¡± Dong Zhi smiled, just as he was about to say something, he was dragged aside by someone. ¡°Surname Dong, although I don¡¯t like you, you have saved my life. As I man I raise this cup to you!¡± Liu Qingbo handed over a glass and his speech was on the brink of slurring as well. Dong Zhi felt a buzzing sound in his ears. The alcohol was now at its peak. He didn¡¯t hear what Liu Qingbo was saying and his eyes were confused, and he had lost focus. He kept laughing as he took the glass and drank it all in one gulp which caused Liu Qingbo to shout ¡°Good!¡±. Looking around, others were not in much better condition than he was. Li Ying and Zhang Song have been arguing since the zombie simulation training. At this moment, after three glasses of alcohol, they seemed to put aside their differences for the time being. The two brothers got together to talk and laugh as they exchanged cups. Ba Sang and Xiang Yongnian were originally arm wrestling, but later, at the instigation of everyone, they moved on to a drinking competition, which attracted the heckling of the others. Xie Qingling and a few other girls drank less, but their faces were still flushed as they were also drunk. Even Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun inevitably drank too much. One fell asleep on the table, and the other proposed a toast to Liu Qingbo, and started rambling on. No one knew what he was talking about. Seeing this, Long Shen shook his head, and went to pay the bill and then pulled up Dong Zhi and walked out. The autumn wind was getting stronger, filling the air with the scent of osmanthus flowers. Dong Zhi dressed lightly when he came to the banquet. The chill cause him to shudder, waking him up a bit. ¡°Master¡­¡± he shouted in a daze. His memory had stopped when Liu Qingbo was talking to him. ¡°Don¡¯t drink too much, or you won¡¯t be able to leave tomorrow afternoon,¡± Long Shen said. Dong Zhi nodded and let Long Shen lead him away without resistance. Seeing that Long Shen¡¯s pace was steady like usual, he couldn¡¯t help muttering: ¡°It seems like what you said is true. You can really hold your liquor as no one can outdrink you!¡± Long Shen asked: ¡°Are all the luggage packed? Are you taking the cat too?¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°I have asked He Yu to take care of it for a few days. When I settle down over there, I¡¯ll bring the cat over.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Let me.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Huh?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I won¡¯t go out for a while.¡± Dong Zhi let out a sigh and scratched his head: ¡°Then I will pack up all its litter and cat food and send it to you later.¡± Long Shen: ¡°Don¡¯t bother so much. I¡¯ll just come over and feed it after I get off work. He Yu¡¯s used to living in the office. After you leave, there will be no one in that room.¡± Dong Zhi felt lightheaded as he tried to discern Long Shen¡¯s words, but his ears kept buzzing and he couldn¡¯t¡¯ hear clearly. He couldn¡¯t help muttering a few words in his mouth, but Long Shen couldn¡¯t hear him. He was usually a very chatty apprentice and could always seemingly find things to talk about, but after he¡¯s drunk, he was much quieter and didn¡¯t make trouble. Dong Zhi was led back to the dorms and was quiet the whole way. He obediently obeyed Long Shen¡¯s orders. If he was asked to walk, he would waked. When he was asked to climb the stairs, he did so. Long Shen led him to his dorm, and after thinking for a while, took out a card. ¡°I didn¡¯t know what gift to get you so take this card and use it if you need money. You should practice more when you have time.¡± Dong Zhi took it, and stared blankly at him: ¡°Is it a token of love?¡± It seems he was drunk and confused. Long Shen said helplessly: ¡°It¡¯s your Mid-Autumn Festival gift.¡± He put the card in Dong Zhi¡¯s pocket, opened the door for Dong Zhi, and watched him fall onto the bed before closing the door and leaving. When he laid down, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t wake up until noon of the next day. He sat on the bed blankly for a long time, and it wasn¡¯t until Longlong jumped into the bed and meowed at him that he began to recall the events of last night, little by little. Everyone had attended the farewell banquet and they all drank like no tomorrow. Then Long Shen had sent him back, and then¡­ He put his hand in his pocket and found a card. A brand-new bank card. He didn¡¯t care about changing his clothes as he hurriedly ran out and knock on the opposite door to his room. No one answered. In broad daylight and working hours, Long Shen would naturally be in his office, so Dong Zhi went to his office and found him there. Seeing that he reeked of alcohol and his clothes were all crumpled, Long Shen frowned: ¡°You just got up?¡± Dong Zhi felt embarrassed, scratched his head and took out the bank card: ¡°There¡¯s still time until my plane leaves at 4. Master, did you give me this card last night? I don¡¯t have anything I need to spend money on, so you should take it back.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve given it to you, so just take it.¡± He never intended to take back what he gave. In exchange for a box of mooncakes, he got a bank card in return. This deal was so cost-effective. Dong Zhi put the card back in his pocket. Long Shen resumed approving documents for a while until he looked up and saw that Dong Zhi was still standing there. ¡°What are you doing, standing there in a daze? Go change your clothes and get something to eat. Then I¡¯ll take you to the airport at 1.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly said: ¡°Master, you shouldn¡¯t always work overtime in the future. Although you are also very rich, you have accepted an apprentice now. If you have something you want, I can make money and support you.¡± Long Shen raised his brows slightly: ¡°You¡¯re so anxious that you ran over without even combing your hair just to say this?¡± ¡°Of course not, I¡¯ll go back and wash up now!¡± Dong Zhi said as he ran away. Men don¡¯t usually have much luggage. For Dong Zhi, he brought with him cinnabar and yellow paper, tools for drawing, his laptop, a drawing board, a few pieces of clothes, and his daily necessities. With everything packed, the most important was the Changshou Sword. He took a shower and changed his clothes. Thinking he wanted to leave a good impression on his Master before parting, and not that unkept appearance when he first got up, he sprayed on a little cologne. When he arrived at the parking garage, Long Shen was already there, with his back to him, leaning against the car door with his arms crossed around his chest. His legs and feet were slender, and he looked like a picture of a beauty that was bowing her head while contemplating. ¡°Master!¡± Dong Zhi walked over quickly while dragging his suitcase. Kinky Thoughts: The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl The story tells of the romance between Zhin¨¹ (¿—Å®; the weaver girl, symbolizing the star Vega) and Niulang (Å£ÀÉ; the cowherd, symbolizing the star Altair). Their love was not allowed, and thus they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river (symbolizing the Milky Way). Once a year, on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month, a flock of magpies would form a bridge to reunite the lovers for a single day. CH 70 Long Shen moved slightly, and it was like a quiet beauty had come to life and walked out of a painting. ¡°All packed up?¡± Dong Zhi nodded and said worriedly: ¡°I¡¯m carrying the Changshou Sword. What should I do? Controlled weapons aren¡¯t allowed to be checked in!¡± Long Shen: ¡°We¡¯ll go through a separate procedure. I¡¯ll take care of it.¡± Dong Zhi felt relieved. If Master was going to handle everything, then there wouldn¡¯t be a problem no matter how difficult it was. Long Shen was like a mountain, stable and reliable. With him, many problems can be solved. As he was about to leave, he couldn¡¯t help but think back to whether Long Shen had forgotten the things he had said so he couldn¡¯t help but chatter. ¡°Master, when I¡¯m away, take good care of yourself. Don¡¯t forget to eat and rest, and don¡¯t always stay up late and work overtime, otherwise your body won¡¯t be able to handle it.¡± ¡°Master, how are you going to spend the Mid-Autumn Festival? Are you going to spend it with He Yu, Old Zhong, and Kan Chaosheng?¡± ¡°You usually accept express delivery, right? I¡¯ll mail you some specialty products from Lucheng later!¡± The noise kept buzzing in his ears that Long Shen couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°Be quiet for a bit.¡± Dong Zhi finally shut up. Long Shen said: ¡°If I am not by your side, you must also practice diligently, and you can¡¯t slack off.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°Although you have recovered most of your qi now, you must never invite god again in the future. Bu Tian gang works well with your kungfu tona, so don¡¯t fall behind.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± ¡°If there is anything you don¡¯t understand, just ask me. Also, if you don¡¯t have enough money, tell me.¡± Dong Zhi felt like laughing. His Master has the mentality of an old father that was always worried about his children not having enough money, but this kind of Long Shen had a more human touch. Even if he didn¡¯t need it, he would still take advantage of it. ¡°Master, I think many disciples in a sect will light a natal lamp when they leave for a long trip, so if something happens outside, the sect can know. Would you like to give me one too? If I lose my life outside, you may not even know.¡± He wasn¡¯t afraid of cursing himself, so he said it straightforwardly. The natal lamp is also known as the soul lamp, and it¡¯s related to a human¡¯s life. When the candlelight is dim, it means the person¡¯s in danger or in poor condition. When the light is extinguished, it means the person is likely dead. Long Shen said: ¡°No need.¡± After a pause, he added: ¡°If something happens to you, I will know.¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t say any more, and Dong Zhi didn¡¯t ask either. He thought to himself that his Master had some methods that were secretive. It wasn¡¯t currently rush hour, so the car arrived at the airport quickly. Dong Zhi took his luggage and went to go through the check-in procedures, while Long Shen took the Changshou Sword to check in. He was very efficient. Just as Dong Zhi had completed the formalities, he had already returned and handed over a card to him. ¡°After getting off the plane, just take this to the check-in office to pick it up.¡± After that, Long Shen raised his hand and glanced at his watch: ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Let¡¯s go through security.¡± Every line at the security checkpoint was very long. Usually it would take about 40 minutes to go through. ¡°Then, Master, I¡¯m leaving!¡± Long Shen nodded. Dong Zhi tilted his head and smiled: ¡°Is there anything else you want to tell me?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I said everything that needed to be said in the car.¡± Dong Zhi opened his arms: ¡°Then let¡¯s have a farewell hug.¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t move. Dong Zhi had now developed thicker skin. If the mountain refuse to move, then he will go to the mountain. He took a step forward and hugged Long Shen. The airport was always bustling with people coming and going and partings and reunions were commonplace. Their hugs couldn¡¯t be anymore common than those around them but what wasn¡¯t common was their appearance. One was cold and the other warm, just like complementary poles. Long Shen let him hug him for a while before stretching out his hand and patting him on the back. ¡°You should go.¡± Dong Zhi let go of his hand: ¡°Master, I left you a parting gift. In my dormitory, before you hand over the key to He Yu, go in and take a look and take the gift away.¡± Long Shen frowned slightly: ¡°What gift?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll find out once you go and have a look!¡± Dong Zhi was afraid that he would refuse, so he quickly turned around and left after speaking. With every step he took, the farther away he got from Long Shen. He picked a security line at random and start queuing up, but he couldn¡¯t help but look back. The figure of the man was no longer there. Dong Zhi took a deep breath, then picked up the phone to say goodbye to He Yu and Kan Chaosheng. Long Shen drove back to the Special Administration Bureau. It was rare that he had a free day today, and there wasn¡¯t any official business to deal with, but he still sat at his desk to read documents for a while. His phone was buzzing, one after another. When glanced at it, he saw it was a text form Dong Zhi. [Master, I¡¯m getting on the plane.] [Due to air traffic control today, the flight was delayed, again.] [Note that again was purposeful since every time I would depart from the capital, I have never arrived on time.] [Master, I¡¯m so hungry. It¡¯s been over half an hour and the plane hasn¡¯t even taken off yet. I regret that I didn¡¯t eat more before I went out. Your cutest apprentice is afraid that he¡¯ll starve to death on the plane.] Long Shen ignored all the dribbled nonsense and finished reading his documents. The other party had stopped sending him messages, so he surmised that he was either too hungry and fainted or the plane had already taken off. His landline phone on the desk rang and Long Shen picked it up. After listening for a while, he put the phone down and thought to himself ¡®he knew it¡¯, then sent separate texts to He Yu and the others. Zhong Yuyi replied quickly, but He Yu and Kan Chaosheng did not text back. He didn¡¯t know if they had seen his text or not. After waiting for a while without an answer, he got up and went downstairs to He Yu¡¯s office. Not surprisingly, he saw Kan Chaosheng with He Yu. They were both lying on the sofa, both with a phone in their hand as their bodies staggered along with the fighting simulation in the game. They were so engaged that they didn¡¯t even notice Long Shen when he opened the door and came in. They were going to send Dong Zhi off, but when they heard that Long Shen was doing it for them, they didn¡¯t show up at all. They just sent a text saying goodbye and hurried to play games. Long Shen stood by the door. Seeing that the two were completely immerse and didn¡¯t notice his arrival, he chose the most direct way to wake them up by cutting off the internet. When He Yu saw the prompt that the game was offline, he couldn¡¯t help but let out a cry, and when he raised his head, his expression immediately changed to a smile. ¡°Oh, boss, what kind of wind blew you here today. If you have any instructions, just tell me. Why bother to visit in person?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I sent you a message, but you didn¡¯t reply.¡± He Yu and Kan Chaosheng felt a little guilty when they heard his words. They were in mid-battle just now, so when they saw a message popped up, they quickly swiped it away. Now they¡¯re cursing themselves for being so stupid and that they didn¡¯t read the content. Long Shen: ¡°Next time, I¡¯ll open an account and keep killing you until you stop playing.¡± He Yu, Kan Chaosheng: ¡­¡­ This threat was too cruel. The two of them followed Long Shen into the conference room with drooping heads. He Yu originally thought that it would be a general meeting, but when he arrived, he found that there were people in Group One and Group Three. Except for Song Zhicun, who went to Japan, Wu Bingtian was also there. There was now an unwritten rule in the Bureau that if Director Jiang, who¡¯s not in charge of any specific affair, wasn¡¯t there, that would mean the meeting was business as usual. He Yu and Kan Chaosheng looked at each other, and quickly sat up straight. When everyone gathered, Wu Bingtian cut to the chase and said straightforwardly: ¡°For this meeting, I hope everyone will strictly abide by the principle of confidentiality. The level of confidentiality involved in this incident is top secret.¡± After these words came out, everyone¡¯s expressions became serious. Wu Bingtian: ¡°I believe that everyone already knows about the previous situations. First on Changbai Mountain, and then in Yinchuan, we have found two stone tablets. According to research and verification from all parties, the history of these stone tablets is likely to be traced back to the Qin and Han Dynasties, and even before the Shang and Zhou Dynasties. Although the runes on the stone tablets haven¡¯t been cracked yet, it¡¯s preliminarily determined that the content should be related to suppression of demons. In other words, these two stone tablets that have been unearth may be part of a larger demon suppression array.¡± ¡°The current situation is that a group of foreigners may have obtained more information about the stone tablets from other channels than we have. Their goal is likely to destroy these stone tablets. The stone tablet on Changbai Mountain had been severely damaged, and even if it¡¯s repaired, it will not be the same as before. Fortunately, Boss Long and Boss Song had led a group of people to stop the conspiracy in Yinchuan, recovered some of our losses, and manage to preserve another stone tablet.¡± ¡°Last time, Boss Long and the others have found a mural in northwest Inner Mongolia with runes similar to the ones on the stone tablet. At that time, they had no idea what they were, so it had to be put on hold for the time being. Later, when they linked it with the Yinchuan incident, they learned that those murals were probably clues to the stone tablets. From Changbai Mountain to Yinchuan, it spans thousands of miles. It¡¯s foreseeable that this talisman array must be unimaginably huge. Now, we hope to get inspiration from the discoveries from these two places, so it could lead us to find more stone tablets, rather than passively waiting for the Japanese to get ahead again, leaving us to clean up their mess.¡± This remark had become common now. The Bureau had held many meetings on this matter during this period of time. He Yu and Kan Chaosheng later went to Yunnan and didn¡¯t participate, but when they heard this tune, they couldn¡¯t help but yawn secretly. Then they heard Long Shen said: ¡°We tentatively divided the talisman array into eight regions. Assuming that the stone tablet on Changbai Mountain represents the northeast, and the stone tablet near the tomb of the Western Xia King refers to the northwest, then secret searches will be carried out in six places of east, west, south, north, southeast, and southwest. The southeast direction is tentatively designated as the Putuo Mountain area, and the south is tentatively assigned to the vicinity of the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King. He Yu and Kan Chaosheng are responsible for them. The north is tentatively designated as near Xiangshan and The Thirteen Tombs, which we have assigned to the Rong Sheng group. There are currently two in the southwest direction. One is tentatively designated as the Guanghan area, which is assigned to the Ding Lan group. The other is the area from Xi¡¯an to Xianyang, which can also be extended to Weinan, and that¡¯ll be assigned to the Zhang Heng group. The last area to the East, tentatively designated as the area of Zijin Mountain and the Qinhuai River. I will transfer Yu Buhui back and he¡¯ll be responsible for it.¡± If it was Wu Bingtian who said this, after he finished speaking, he would add another sentence like: ¡°Do you have any opinions?¡± Although he may not listen to them, it reflected on his approachable temperament. Since it was Long Shen, however, he had a completely different style. There was no fluff and when he spoke, it was concise and straight to the point. There was no nonsense in arranging tasks and it hit all the key points that needed to be delivered. He Yu was so frightened that he had to choke back his half yawn. Although Long Shen didn¡¯t ask them for their opinions, and simply gave the orders, he couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°Boss, my leg is still lame, so why am I responsible for two places?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Zhong Yuyi and Kan Chaosheng will assist you. When you¡¯re there, the branch office will try its best to provide support, including the newcomers who¡¯ve joined this year. They have been assigned to various offices, so you can put forward your needs to them.¡± He Yu pointed to Chaosheng: ¡°Can he help me? It would be nice if he didn¡¯t make trouble!¡± Kan Chaosheng stared at him fiercely but didn¡¯t dare to make a move because Long Shen was there. Still his small expression on his face clearly said it all: ¡®Just wait and see. After this meeting is over, if I don¡¯t bite you, Laozi can¡¯t be called a Jiao.¡¯ Wu Bingtian looked around at everyone present and said with a gentle smile: ¡°Only by clarifying the division of labor and performing your respective duties can we be more efficient. If you have any questions, just ask them.¡± Zhang Heng from Group One asked: ¡°Leaders, I want to know the meaning of such division? Can we really find the stone tablet if we go there?¡± Wu Bingtian said: ¡°Of course there is a reason for this division. Based on the previous excavation experience of the previous two stone tablets, they were found on Changbai Mountain and Helan Mountain. This is the common point that they both share, so we have reasons to believe that other stone tablets are most likely buried in famous mountains and rivers, or under a certain royal mausoleum. However, China is too big, and the people who laid this array obviously have deep intentions. When we can clarify the exact location, we can only roughly make such a judgment.¡± Everyone nodded, obviously agreeing with this view. Long Shen said: ¡°Our speculation may be right or wrong, so you need to verify it. While looking for the stone tablet in the corresponding locations, you should pay attention to nearby cultural relics and monuments. They main contain clues about the stone tablet on them.¡± After the bone dragon incident on Changbai Mountain, the Special Administration Bureau had already planned to find the whereabouts of the other stone tablets, but because they had too few clues, it was like finding a needle in a haystack, thus ultimately it couldn¡¯t be accomplished. This time, with the discovery of the stone tablet under the Liang¡¯s tomb, it gave them a glimmer of light in the heavy fog. After the collapse of the alter, the Special Administration Bureau invited many capable people to go down and seal the alter again. They also added many talisman arrays and sealed the space of the alter separately and watered the soil layer, burying it deep. In addition, they sent people there to continuing guarding and patrolling the area. If there ware no accidents, it¡¯ll be difficult to damage this stone tablet again. ¡ª Dong Zhi had sent several messages in succession, but they all fail. He wasn¡¯t surprised, because he knew his messages were too flighty and his Master was such a sullen person. When Long Shen¡¯s busy, he wouldn¡¯t even recognize his own parents, so it was normal that he wouldn¡¯t reply to his messages. It just happened that the reminder that the plane was about to take off sounded, so he turned off his phone and fastened his seatbelt. He was sitting at the front of the aisle, next to a middle-aged man, who was already fast asleep before the plane had taken off and was snoring from time to time. When he looked outside the window, he saw the sky getting darker as the sun was setting, covered by the dark clouds. The journey alone seemed long and lonely. No one would resist excitement. If there was any, it¡¯s because they were afraid of the desolation when the excitement ends. Dong Zhi originally thought that he was used to living alone and should adapt quickly, but the moment he walked through the security gate, he had already began to miss his training days with the Special Administration Bureau. Even when he was separated from the group in Liang¡¯s Tomb, he knew there were countless of companions walking in the dark, but now, he had to set foot on the unknown road alone. There was also Long Shen. They have never really separated, and he had started to miss him. Dong Zhi closed his eyes, took a deep breath, got rid of distractions, and began to simulate the whole set of the Tian Gang¡¯s footwork and swordsmanship in his mind. Under Long Shen¡¯s two-week conditioning, his body had improved greatly compared to when he was first discharged from the hospital. He was no longer short of breath and there wasn¡¯t any palpitation as before. As his Master said, even Zhong Yuyi may not be able to withstand frequent invitation of gods, not to mention he had invited three Righteous Gods in a row, which was a great drain on his body and spirit. His illness hit him hard like a mountain and it would come and go, so he could only slowly recover his vitality. When the plane entered the stratosphere, and the turbulence gradually decreased. The flight attendants dimmed the airport lights to allow passengers to rest. Some people were talking in low voices, while other chose to nap. Not far away, the flight attendants were tidying up their dining cart. This was the quietest moment in his several hour-long journey. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help being distracted as he thought to himself how Long Shen would react when he saw what he had left behind. As soon as this thought occurred, he heard a scream. The woman¡¯s voice was high, and her scream sounded like the noise of a dolphin, which made everyone¡¯s ears tremble. It was full of horror as if she had encountered the most terrifying thing in her life causing the entire cabin to be alarmed. Dong Zhi¡¯s seat was in the high-end economy class that was behind business class and in front of economy class. Together with the screams from the people in the business class, he had gotten up and reacted faster than others as he opened the curtain and moved forward. The scream came from a woman with exquisite makeup on, who looked a little familiar at first glance, as if she had been in a TV series or movie. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t chase stars, so he didn¡¯t think too much of it. He saw that the other party was still sitting in her seat, but was shrinking back into it, and waving her hands frantically, as if to prevent something from pouncing on her, but there was nothing but empty air in front of her. Not only Dong Zhi, the flight attendant, the airline security personnel, and the people around her also reacted. They all looked around but didn¡¯t dare to step froward. Her companion didn¡¯t know why she was reacting like this and wanted to stop her, but it only made the woman even more frightened. ¡°Miss Han, what¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± ¡°Qiqi, calm down!¡± The airline security personnel rushed over when they heard the sound: ¡°Miss, please calm down. If you need help, you can contact our flight attendant. You¡¯re disturbing the peace and order of the airplane!¡± The stewardess also tried to comfort her: ¡°Miss Han, are you uncomfortable? I can try to see if there are any passengers on board who is a doctor!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t come, don¡¯t come. All of you don¡¯t come over!¡± The woman¡¯s horrified eyes swept across them, as if there wasn¡¯t a flight attendant in front of her, but a hideous looking demon. Her complexion was blueish pale, and her beautiful face was reduced to extreme fear. From the names he heard others called her, combined with her recognizable face, Dong Zhi finally remembered who the well-known star is. Celebrities and idols are everywhere these days. After making contact with Hui Yiguang, public figures were not particular new to Dong Zhi. However, this Miss Han Qi was more famous than Hui Yiguang. Her status was close to the number one female in big-budgeted TV series. If Hui Yiguang were to meet her, she would most likely try to curry favor with her. Right now, Han Qi was behaving less like a public figure and more like a hysterical woman. Although she didn¡¯t scream like she did just now, her behavior was becoming stranger and more erratic. The flight attendant was overwhelmed trying to appease her but was also stopping the passengers who came forward to watch the excitement. ¡°Miss Han, do you have any needs? If this continues and affect the flight, we can only ask the captain to land nearby or return back to the airport. In this case, the impact will be great.¡± Han Qi¡¯s lips quivered as she put her hand around her chest. Trembling, she lowered her voice: ¡°Don¡¯t you see it?¡± See what? Everyone looked at each other blankly. The flight attendants and the airline security personnel had begun to suspect that the big star might have mental problems. Han Qi¡¯s assistants and bodyguards were desperate. Everything was fine before they got on the plane but suddenly this happened. Dong Zhi saw that something was off. When the flight attendant came to persuade him to go back to his seat and sit down, he ignored her and took a step forward. ¡°Let me see her.¡± ¡°Sir, are you a doctor?¡± The flight attendant asked. Dong Zhi shook his head: ¡°Her condition is not quite like a mental illness.¡± Han Qi¡¯s bodyguards regarded him as a fan with bad intentions. Hearing what he said, they showed vigilance and stepped forward to stop him. At this moment, Han Qi screamed again: ¡°Where is it going?! Oh my god! It¡¯s going to the captain¡¯s cabin! Stop it, don¡¯t let it go!¡± The airplane they were on had no first class, with business class the highest tier. In front of business class was the cabin door, a bathroom, and a dining room. After that was a narrow aisle in the middle that led to the captain¡¯s cabin. No one knew what she was talking about. Dong Zhi followed her gaze and saw a pool of stains faintly appearing on the ground of the passage leading to the captain¡¯s cabin, but before he could fix his eyes to see it clearly, it quickly flashed away. Others may think that they were seeing things, but Dong Zhi was now an ¡°insider of the industry¡±, and can smell the unusualness at once. Without a second thought, he took out a Sunlight Talisman and threw it in the direction of the captain¡¯s cabin and recited a spell quickly in a low voice. ¡°The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil! Go!¡± Before the talisman touched the hatch of the captain¡¯s cabin, it had already caught fire in mid-air and the fire instantly became larger turned into a ball of flames. Everyone screamed and before the airline security personnel could bring the fire extinguisher, the fire was already gone. It was like a picture of editing failure. Together with the talisman paper, the thing completely disappeared, not even leaving any ashes behind. ¡°It¡¯s gone!¡± Han Qi murmured, finally calming down, but her eyes were still focus on the direction staring blankly. Dong Zhi took out a brush and cinnabar, and while everyone was still unresponsive, he quickly tapped Han Qi¡¯s forehead causing her to close her eyes and fall softly back in her seat. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± The bodyguard was furious, thinking that he had done something to Han Qi, and swung at him. Dong Zhi avoided sideways, stretched out his hand to stop the opponent¡¯s strength. ¡°I¡¯m not harming her. She¡¯s just been haunted by a nightmare. She¡¯ll be fine when she wakes up.¡± Everyone looked at each other. The scene just now was still in front of them. It was too unbelievable and greatly beyond their usual understanding of the world. It was too idiotic for them to suddenly believe the words of a complete stranger. The airline security personnel and the flight attendant glanced at each other. The former stepped forward and pressed on Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulder, while the latter was quietly blocking Dong Zhi¡¯s way. ¡°Your behavior just now almost caused a fire. You have violated aviation safety regulations. I hope you can cooperate with our investigation.¡± After that, they tried to handcuff him. Dong Zhi thought it was funny as he shrank his hands away to avoid it and hurriedly said: ¡°I¡¯m from the Special Administration Bureau. You may not have heard of it, but your boss does. Please contact the ground. When we land, I¡¯ll cooperate with your investigation, but the plane will not turn back. I am not a dangerous person, and my behavior just now will not cause any harm to the plane.¡± The Special Administration Bureau does not disclose its identity to the outside world so many people did not know that there¡¯s such a department. The airline security personnel was naturally suspicious. They felt that Dong Zhi was either a psychopath or a cunning criminal, but they also wanted to evade any kind of responsibility. Dong Zhi reached into his pocket while his opponent was not slow to react. He thought he was going to draw out some dangerous weapon, so he was quick to stretch out his hand to stop him. Dong Zhi blocked the airline security personnel with one hand and took out his work permit. ¡°This is my ID. I can leave it with you for the time being. You can also contact the ground to check my identity.¡± He stretched out his hand and took the initiative to let the airline security personnel handcuff him. The airline security personnel was skeptical as he took the ID and went into the captain¡¯s cabin while he asked the flight attendant to monitor Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t expect his ¡°courageous deed¡± would cause such trouble. The only advantage that he got from it was he had upgraded his seat, free of charge, as there were many vacant seats in business class. Labeled as a ¡°dangerous person¡±, he was arranged to sit here for surveillance. The flight attendant sitting next to him felt that this young man with black hair and fair skin didn¡¯t look like a psychopath, let alone a bad guy. More importantly, she had witness Han Qi¡¯s strange behavior from start to finish. When the big star got on the plane, she wore sunglasses and looked like she was thousands of miles away. She didn¡¯t say much and if she had any needs, all communications were done through her assistant. She had never spoke to any of the flight attendant in person. There were many fans of Han Qi among them, and they wanted to come forward to ask for a group photo, but after seeing her behavior, they decided against it. In private they couldn¡¯t help but think that the big star seems bigger than an emperor, which made it difficult to get close. Because of this, Han Qi¡¯s arrogance was a stark contrast to her neurotic behavior just now. At that time, the plane had been flying steadily. The flight attendant had unbuckled her seatbelt and was about to prepare food when she suddenly saw Han Qi almost jumping out of her seat. She witnessed a ghost-like expression on her face and watched as she started screaming and flailing around. The problem was, there was partition on one side and no one else was around. Recalling Dong Zhi¡¯s words and actions, the flight attendant couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit strange in her heart that she couldn¡¯t help but whispered: ¡°What happened to her just now?¡± Dong Zhi whispered back: ¡°I couldn¡¯t see clearly but it seems there was something abnormal that was bothering her.¡± The stewardess looked horrified: ¡°Then, is it wiped out?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I have already burned it with talisman fire just now. If it¡¯s not something powerful, then it should be wiped out.¡± What he didn¡¯t say was after listening to Han Qi¡¯s yelling just now, it was likely the aim of that thing was the captain¡¯s cabin. If it was allowed to enter, who knew what would happen. Perhaps the entire plane would suffer an unpredictable serious consequence. However, Dong Zhi felt that telling this to the flight attendant would only make her more afraid, so he purposefully concealed it. When the airline security personnel came out of the captain¡¯s room, his face did not look around. ¡°We contacted the ground, and the Special Administration Bureau does not have someone like you.¡± Dong Zhi blurted out: ¡°Impossible!¡± ¡°What¡¯s impossible!¡± The airline security personnel was angry as he was scolded for this. ¡°The plane almost turned around because of you. You¡¯re coming with us when we land!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless. Just great. He was originally going to report for duty but now he had become a suspicious person. Facing the eyes of the airline security personnel who looked at him like he was mentally ill, he helplessly said: ¡°I can verify my identity when we get off the plane.¡± Facing the eyes of the airline security personnel who gave him a look like he was mentally ill, he said helplessly: ¡°I can verify my identity when I get off the plane. Have you ever seen a psychopath that can speak so coherently?¡± The airline security personnel: ¡°That¡¯s hard to say. Last time, my colleague met one and they talked about physics and mechanics for a long time. It turns out that he was suffering from a particularly serious condition. He had escaped from a mental hospital and was caught halfway.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ CH 71 Seeing that he had nothing to say, the airline security personnel said: ¡°Your ID was so good that you almost fooled me.¡± Because it¡¯s real! The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°Don¡¯t lose my ID, otherwise I won¡¯t be able to report in.¡± The other party was incredulous: ¡°Report to who?! Yourself?! Do you need to be accompanied by someone to transfer you to a mental institution?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ It was really impossible to talk about it. He had the urge to overturn a table. He gave up and said: ¡°I have other documents on hand. Do you want to take them together for inspection?¡± The airline security personnel: ¡°That¡¯s just right. We do have to verify your identity. Thank you for your cooperation.¡± He took Dong Zhi¡¯s backpack, found the ID documents inside, and also found a pile of yellow paper and cinnabar. ¡°You¡¯re really devoted to the act. Fortunately, you didn¡¯t bring any controlled weapons. Otherwise, we really would have to turn around.¡± Dong Zhi said weakly: ¡°There are controlled weapons. They are in the checked baggage. I have already said that I am from the Special Administration Bureau.¡± The airline security personnel did not believe him: ¡°Are you joking? At any rate, this didn¡¯t cause any major disasters this time, or you¡¯ll be looking at three years in prison!¡± He rummaged through his backpack, then checked Dong Zhi¡¯s pockets and couldn¡¯t help but sigh. ¡°You didn¡¯t bring a lighter or matches. How did you ignite it just now?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°It was talisman fire. The talisman paper ignitred spontaneously. Do you believe me?¡± The airline security personnel: ¡°I don¡¯t believe you.¡± Dong Zhi rolled his eyes: ¡°Then I¡¯m a pyromancer and I can spit out fire when I open my mouth!¡± The other party showed him an expression of: ¡°you just said you didn¡¯t escape from a mental hospital¡±. Dong Zhi had finally experience what it meant to be indisputable. Han Qi didn¡¯t wake up and her bodyguard and assistant both agreed that Dong Zhi had done something to her. If it wasn¡¯t for the airline security personnel, they would have pummeled him by now. Dong Zhi told them that Han Qi was fine, but they didn¡¯t believe him, so he could only keep his mouth shut. The other passengers thought that it was some kind of terrorist attack and could only cradle themselves in fear. They endured the difficult few hours of the plane ride. It wasn¡¯t until it safely landed that they felt reborn. Dong Zhi was taken by to the airline security office while Han Qi was transported to the infirmary for examination. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about it, why did you create panic on the plane? Do you know that your behavior almost caused a catastrophe!¡± Facing the interrogation, Dong Zhi said helplessly: ¡°I am really from the Special Administration Bureau. Please contact them. Either He Yu or Long Shen can verify my identity. I have their number on my phone.¡± The person in charge of the integration was a young man who had just graduated from college. When he heard this, he said suspiciously: ¡°How do I know that you¡¯re not all in cahoots with each other? And what is the Special Administration Bureau. I haven¡¯t heard of it at all!¡± Fortunately, the person he caught was Dong Zhi. If it had been Kan Chaosheng, he would have turned the security office upside down a long time ago. In the next moment, the young man watch Dong Zhi break free from his handcuffs. It stunned him for nearly three seconds before he became furious and was about to slam on the table. Dong Zhi said politely: ¡°As you can see, it¡¯s not like I can¡¯t run away, but it¡¯s not necessary. Would you please verify my identity? Your boss may not know so his boss must. If we have to jump through all these hoops like this every time, when a special event happens in the future, it will heavily the delay the Special Administration Bureau to take action. Do you want to stand idly by and watch as passengers of a whole plane die together?¡± The young man stared at him for a long time, and finally called for his superiors. Dong Zhi lay down on the table, took out the phone and rummaged through his contact list. He originally wanted to call Long Shen, but he was afraid of being scolded for getting into trouble so soon, so he called He Yu instead. ¡°Hello?¡± There was a weak response from that end. ¡°Little Dongdong, have you landed?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve landed but I ran into trouble. Now I¡¯m in custody and being treated like a prisoner.¡± Dong Zhi briefly explained what happened. He Yu listened and said: ¡°I see, it¡¯s just a trivial matter. The Special Administration Bureau have docking channels with other departments. Most likely they haven¡¯t had time to enter the newcomers in the list yet so that¡¯s why you didn¡¯t appear. I¡¯ll just call and explain.¡± He spoke easily, and the Dong Zhi also breathed a sigh of relief: ¡°Thank you, don¡¯t tell Master. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll scold me.¡± He Yu wailed: ¡°When you were here, the boss took care of you and he didn¡¯t have time to bother with us. As soon as you left, he remembered that we still exist. Laozi¡¯s legs are still broken yet he actually had the heart to let me go on a business trip! This is too inhumane! No, he¡¯s not human but does he have any reason left in him!¡± With black line covering Dong Zhi¡¯s face, he quickly hung up the phone and stop the continuous wailing from the other end of the line. As soon as he hung up the phone, Dong Zhi saw the bodyguard who had accompanied Han Qi coming in from outside. He looked around and saw Dong Zhi sitting on the table and strode forward aggressively, looming as most of his body covered the table. His hand reached out and pulled at Dong Zhi¡¯s collar. Dong Zhi avoided it and kicked the table forward catching his opponent off guard, causing him to fall onto the table. Another bodyguard wanted to rush up and hit him when the staff had reacted and stopped them. ¡°What are you doing?!¡± ¡°How dare you fight in the security office?!¡± Dong Zhi shouted: ¡°Brothers and sisters of the police, they want to beat me up!¡± Due to the stark contrast between Dong Zhi¡¯s harmless face compared to his opponent¡¯s dressed in suits and sunglasses, security didn¡¯t have time to ponder about Dong Zhi not wearing his handcuff but instead subdued the bodyguards who seemed to be more threatening. The bodyguard didn¡¯t dare to resist, so he could only yell at the Dong Zhi: ¡°Miss Han hasn¡¯t woken up yet, and it¡¯s all your fault! You must be responsible! Officer, you can¡¯t let him go. This person caused personal injury to Miss Han on the plane just now and should be locked up!¡± At this moment, the young man in charge of the integration just now ran back panting: ¡°Dong Zhi, our leader wants to see you!¡± The bodyguards thought that they were colluding and was planning to let Dong Zhi go, so they kept hollering and yelling. The scene became chaotic, and it wasn¡¯t until the leader of the young man came over that the chaos calmed down. The other party was a middle-aged man. He said to the bodyguard: ¡°We have verified that this comrade is indeed a public servant of our system. At that time, there was something wrong with Miss Han, so he had to take action to stop it.¡± The bodyguard shouted: ¡°What kind of public servant? Why don¡¯t you dare say which department he¡¯s in? You officials are just protecting each other. Just you wait. We¡¯ll expose this to the media immediately, so that you can¡¯t afford to get away with this!¡± ¡°Then you plan on exposing the way Miss Han was acting just then?¡± Dong Zhi said suddenly. The bodyguard was taken aback for a moment and said sternly: ¡°I don¡¯t know what you are talking about!¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°You¡¯ve been by her side all this time. Haven¡¯t you seen her behave strangely? This shouldn¡¯t be the first time she has done something like this on a plane, right? This you should know in your heart.¡± The security personnel next to him looked weirdly at him when he heard Dong Zhi¡¯s unscientific words. Dong Zhi narrowed his smile and said stiffly: ¡°If I hadn¡¯t happened to be on the plane and stopped a catastrophe in time, let alone her, even you, and everyone on the plane, would have suffered!¡± The bodyguard was frightened by his words, his face turning pale, and he was unable to speak. He didn¡¯t know whether it was because he was too frightened or felt guilty. Dong Zhi guessed that the it was the latter because what he said just now was also nonsense. He had been with He Yu and the others for a while now, and had picked up on some of their skills, and become quicker witted. Judging from the bodyguard¡¯s behavior, it was possible that what his guess was right. ¡°Miss Han is fine now. I just put her to sleep for a while and she will wake up soon. I have to verify my identity with their leader, so I won¡¯t leave for a while. If she doesn¡¯t wake up, you can come find me. My documents are still here.¡± Dong Zhi said. As he finished speaking, the bodyguard¡¯s phone rang, and a girl was talking hurriedly at the end. The volume was so loud that even Dong Zhi could hear it. ¡°Where are you? Miss Han had woken up. Sister Zheng said to not let that person go before Miss Han goes to the hospital for an examination and make sure everything is okay!¡± The two bodyguards looked at each other, and finally decided that one would go back and the other would stay here to watch Dong Zhi to prevent him from running away. Dong Zhi was led back into the office by the middle-aged man. He seems to be a leader that was higher rank than the officers here. The leader took the initiative to get up and shake hands with him and said with a smile: ¡°I¡¯m sorry. As you know, the Special Administration Bureau is not well known to the public. Our colleagues failed to verify your identity for a while, so it had caused you some trouble.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°It was I who caused you trouble. This time it was all a misunderstanding.¡± The leader was very satisfied with his calm attitude and became even more enthusiastic: ¡°Is there a confidentiality regulation for this accident on the plane? If so, you can write a report and directly explain it to your leader. If Ms. Han¡¯s side insists on holding you accountable, we¡¯ll try our best to stop it.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°This time she was the cause of it. There¡¯s something corrupt on her body that caused the accident. If she still wants me to be held accountable, let her come to me.¡± The leader has heard of the mysterious Special Administration Bureau, but only in name, as he never seen anyone from it. He only heard rumors that they were hiding talented and powerful people. Looking at Dong Zhi, who had a calm and gentle demeanor, he found that he wasn¡¯t as surprising as he thought. Listening to what Dong Zhi had said, the leader couldn¡¯t help feeling curious, but he knew that he shouldn¡¯t ask according to discipline, so he had to hold back. The young man saw that his leader had personally took Dong Zhi in and after a while he was personally sent out. They were talking and laughing with each other that he couldn¡¯t help but feel uneasy, worried that Dong Zhi would be petty and scold him in front of his leader so he hurried forward to apologize. Dong Zhi smiled: ¡°Now do you believe that I¡¯m not crazy?¡± The young man felt very embarrassed: ¡°The incident on the plane happened so suddenly that they had to deal with it urgently. I acted in accordance with the regulations, so don¡¯t hold it against me!¡± Naturally Dong Zhi would not make things difficult for him. Everyone had their own duties to perform. He looked at the trembling appearance of the other party and guessed that they had just joined the workforce so he said: ¡°Can I trouble you with one thing?¡± The young man hurriedly said: ¡°Of course!¡± Dong Zhi took out the registration card Long Shen gave him: ¡°I had checked in an item that needed to go through a special channel, so I have to go to the baggage claim office to get it. With this incident that happened just now, I don¡¯t know where my luggage is. Can you please get it for me?¡± With such a trivial matter, the other party agreed immediately and went to help him pick it up. At this time, several more people came into the security office. A woman wearing a mask and sunglasses, a big hat on her head and a silk scarf was wrapped around her neck was leading them. She was covered from head to toe, and coupled with an entourage next to her, they were more likely to attract people¡¯s attention. ¡°There he is!¡± The assistant next to Han Qi pointed to the Dong Zhi, and the group of people walked towards him. The staff member next to him stepped forward to stop them: ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡± Before Han Qi said anything, the assistant girl next to her said to Dong Zhi: ¡°You just caused unknowable personal injury to Miss Han on the plane. Miss Han is going to the hospital for a physical examination, so we ask that you please come with us.¡± While the contents of her sentences was polite, her tone was the opposite. Dong Zhi felt annoyed: ¡°I had saved her just now. How could I cause her any harm? Even if there is harm, she did it herself.¡± The little girl raised her eyebrows and said: ¡°Don¡¯t try to avoid responsibility!¡± Dong Zhi said to Han Qi: ¡°If you really suspected me of wrongdoing, you wouldn¡¯t come here just to ask the guilty party to follow you. You¡¯re just here because you want to know what you¡¯re entangled with!¡± Han Qi finally took off her sunglasses and mask and said: ¡°My assistant was impolite just now. I apologize on her behalf. Would it be convenient to find a place to talk?¡± Dong Zhi refused: ¡°It¡¯s inconvenient.¡± Han Qi: ¡­ It just so happened that the young man came back with his sword case. Dong Zhi thanked him and then said to Han Qi: ¡°I can¡¯t solve your problem, Miss Han. The person who tied the bell needs to untie it*. You must know who to look for. Also, before the matter is resolved, I suggest you stop flying and implicate other innocent people. Otherwise, your sins will be even greater.¡± *(½âÁ廹ÐèϵÁåÈË) Idiom referring to who the person who caused the trouble, is the one who has to solve it. Han Qi¡¯s expression changed, turning red and pale. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother waiting for her to react as he picked up his things and left. With the delay of the flight, coupled with the incident he just went through, it was almost midnight when he got into the bus to head towards the city. Lucheng is a famous tourist city, and it was currently peak tourist season. Even this late at night, the lights were still bright, and voices could be heard endlessly. However, he was originally said to report at 8 PM, but now it was past midnight. Feeling annoyed, he quickly dialed the contact number of the branch office, and it rang for a long time before someone came to pick it up. ¡°Who?! It¡¯s the middle of the night!¡± The other party¡¯s voice was lazy, most likely due to being abruptly awaken from bed. Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°Hello, I am Dong Zhi. I¡¯m the newcomer who was supposed to report in today but the plane had only arrived just now due to delays. I¡¯m really sorry. Should I go directly to the office or report back tomorrow morning?¡± The other party yawned and said: ¡°Just come directly!¡± ¡ª The meeting was a bit long, so when it was adjourned, everyone was hungry. Long Shen didn¡¯t follow them to dinner but went back to the dorms. When he came to his room, he was about to open the door, when he suddenly remembered Dong Zhi¡¯s words before they parted. He paused the movement of inserting his key into the keyhole for a while before picking up another key and opening the room opposite of his. The occupant had left, and the building was empty. Everything was all packed up neatly, so Long Shen spotted the item on the coffee table with just a glance. It was a painting. To be more precise, it was a sketch. The picture was drawn in pencil and had only been colored halfway through. In the deep underground, the glazed grass grew slightly in the corners. Under the cliff, was thousands of corpses and ghosts which showed a terrifying scene. Standing on the cliff was a man with his back against the mountain wall. He was slender as he held a sword in one hand while looking down to the bottom of the cliff. His face was cold, but he seems compassionate. In the darkness, he was fearless and held no hint or sorrow or joy, incompatible with his surroundings, as if he was a god who had fallen from the heavens. Thousands of bones covered the landscape as if it was hell on earth, and he, above the hell, in the corner of the light of that day, was not tainted with any filth. Long Shen hadn¡¯t thought about that scene when he was in the cave, but it turns out to be like this from his apprentice¡¯s pen. He couldn¡¯t help but be stunned. Perhaps because it was done in a hurry and the other party didn¡¯t have enough time to put it into a frame, so all he saw a lonely piece of paper, that was almost too thin to hold in his hand. A white cat passed by his feet and its tail curled along his heel. Long Shen put the drawing on the table and turned to feed it. When he finished changing the cat¡¯s water bowl, he turned around and saw Longlong had jumped onto the chair and was resting his two front paws on the coffee table, looking at the drawing curiously. His nose was extremely close, as if he was eager to try it. Long Shen stretched out his hand and pinch the cat¡¯s neck causing it to let out a dissatisfied meow, as if it was protesting his stinginess. He took the drawing away and back to his room, opened a large book, and sandwiched the painting in the middle of it. The furnishings in the room are as simple as they can be. While it seems like his five internal organs* are complete, there was still a feeling of emptiness. In the past, Dong Zhi had often complained that there was no feeling of home here. He complained that Long Shen lived too simply and didn¡¯t know how to enjoy life, so he bought some pillows and furnishing to put in his room. *(ÎåÔà) Refers to the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys. It wasn¡¯t because Long Shen had no aesthetics. He just rarely cared about things outside of his body, but he didn¡¯t interfere with the layout either and let Dong Zhi tinker to his liking. Every night before Dong Zhi left Beijing, he would stay here and talked until he was driven back to bed. There was a half open bag of nuts on the coffee table and there were even the indentations on the sofa of where he had sat and laid down. If he forbade him to eat more, Dong Zhi would act pitiful and said that he was too hungry and couldn¡¯t sleep. Later, Long Shen had bought him nuts that were good for his health, so he ate them as snacks. After dinner, his mouth wouldn¡¯t remain idle. Long Shen shook his head and picked up the snacks and put them back in the cupboard, thinking that when Dong Zhi returned to Beijing, he would have to look for food all over his house again. His gaze inadvertently swept across and stopped on the pot of plants, the yulu that was given to him before Dong Zhi became his apprentice. Since he couldn¡¯t raise it, he could only use a cheating method by forcibly injecting vitality into it to bring it back to life. Now it only needed to be watered once in a while when he remembers to. There was no need to fuss over taking care of it as it will live happily until it reaches the end of its life. Its leaves were like petals flowing brightly under the lamp, glittering and translucent, telling secrets in silence. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know that injecting vitality into the yulu had more than one effect. At this moment, Long Shen stretched out his hand and touch its leaves gently. The yulu trembled slightly, as if it was awakened from a nap, and couldn¡¯t wait to pour out all the words that was hidden in the bottom of its heart. The thoughts of someone were held deep within the plant and flowed from it through Long Shen¡¯s fingers, into his mind. ¡°Boss Long is too good. Do you think I can really catch him?¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t even have a girlfriend. If we just skip directly to a boyfriend, will that scare him?¡± ¡°In his eyes, I should be a candidate to be his apprentice. If I confess, will he kick me out of the Special Administration Bureau? Would it be safer to wait until after the training exam is over?¡± ¡°If I can gain his favorability again, maybe he¡¯ll understand.¡± A familiar voice, a familiar intonation. It sounded a little worried, a little uncertain. It seems that someone was playing with the petals on the yulu and was talking to himself. Long Shen remained motionless. He looked at the yulu but his eyes became colder and colder, as if he could complete freeze it. A powerful breath came from his finger that caused the delicate yulu to instantly be covered with a thin layer of frost. ¡°Meow~¡± The doors to both rooms weren¡¯t closed. The white cat who didn¡¯t know what being full of food and drink was had wandered in from the other room. It seemed to be frightened by Long Shen¡¯s breath as it stood by the door, only daring to show one side of its fluffy head. With its cry, Long Shen¡¯s cold and hard jawline slowly melted. He stretched out his hand and touched the yulu causing the frost to melt, allowing it to regain its vitality. The cat seems to sense that the danger alarm had been lifted, so it moved towards Long Shen and looked up at him. Long Shen stood there for a moment before he bent over and picked up the white cat and sent it back to its room, then turned around and took the Qingzhu Sword with him to the rooftop. Pushing the door open, he was greeted with a sky full of stars and the sound of the gurgling streams. In this space there were no season, only day and night. Long Shen raised his head and stood still for a moment, then suddenly threw the sword up, jumped up, pulled it out of its scabbard while midair, and spun his body as he whirled the sword around. If Dong Zhi was here, he would be able to recognize that it was the Bu Tian Gang that he had been practicing continuously these days. However, Long Shen¡¯s moves were more proficient and experienced. It matched the sword seamlessly, exerting Bu Tian Gang¡¯s power to the extreme. Tian Gang footwork, Tian Gang swordsmanship, Tian Gang qi, were all combined into one. The roping technique which united the heavens, the axis which bound the earth, the brilliance which turned the wheel of the sun, the splendor which blended the stars and the moon, crossing the big dipper. The army order is too weak, beckoning qi of the world, gathering might from far and wide, the plumage of the palace goes under change as the five mountains* collapses. *General term used for the five famous mountains in Chinese traditional culture. They are Huashan, Hengshan, Tarzan, Hengshan (different [heng] character), Songshan. This is Bu Tian Gang. Long Shen¡¯s figure almost turned into light and shadow under the starlight. Wherever he went, grass and leaves would whirl, boulders would shatter, and the waterfalls would flow backwards. Even the stars in the sky began to rotate slowly around him. In the distant, a bright glow appeared in the sky. Before the long night passed, it was like dawn was approaching. Suddenly, lightning flashed in the sky, as if someone had torn a hole in the night, quickly spreading down. In the next moment, a pair of hands came out from the middle of the lightning and tore apart the darkness on both sides. The elegant woman walked over from the other end of the ¡°night curtain¡± with a smile: ¡°I must say, the weather had changed so suddenly. It seems that you are dancing with your sword here, so I came to quickly stop you. Although there¡¯s an enchantment here, your energy is too large, and it¡¯s can easily affect the weather outside. It¡¯ll cause an uproar if you¡¯re attracting the sun and moon towards you.¡± She stretched out her hand and turned two stones into stools and walked over and sat down. Starlight fell to the ground as he stood there. Long Shen raised his hand causing the Qingzhu Sword in his hand to fly out, inserting itself back into the scabbard that was on the ground with perfect precision. ¡°Why is Elder Zong here?¡± ¡°You¡¯re making such a ruckus for a while now. How could I not come?¡± Zong Ling pulled out a tea set from nowhere, scooped some water into the teapot from the stream nearby, then covered it with her hand for a moment. The water inside was immediately steaming hot to boil the tea. ¡°It¡¯s been a long time since I saw you practicing your swordsmanship. It was truly a feast for one¡¯s eyes. Unfortunately, I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ll pierce through the enchantment, so I had to stop you. What¡¯s going on? You¡¯re in a bad mood?¡± Long Shen sat down on the other stone stool and did not deny it: ¡°It¡¯s a bit messy.¡± Zong Ling laughed: ¡°How rare. I thought you have never been happy or sad with things concerning yourself. Is it because of what¡¯s going on inside the Bureau? Wu Bingtian? The Japanese?¡± Long Shen shook his head. While the matter of the stone tablet was difficult, he¡¯s not the only one in the Special Administration Bureau that¡¯s investigating it. With the joint efforts of everyone, sooner or later, there will be results. While Wu Bingtian can seem difficult, Long Shen has worked with him for many years now and knew that it was mainly due to their different ways of thinking. There are many powerful figures in the Special Administration Bureau. One can say it¡¯s a department that holds a lot of resources and potential, therefore, there are many who pay close attention to it and many who intervenes. It¡¯s inevitable that you would run into numerous opinions and contradictions. Long Shen didn¡¯t want to deal with these trivial things thus he hadn¡¯t made much progress for so many years in the Bureau. Otherwise, with his ability, he wouldn¡¯t just stop at his current rank. Zong Ling smiled slightly: ¡°Since it¡¯s not a business matter, then is it a private matter? I haven¡¯t heard that you have a girlfriend or boyfriend!¡± Long Shen: ¡°Elder Zong is still so humorous.¡± Zong Ling: ¡°If you live longer, you should be happier. Otherwise, how can you be worthy of existing in this world. You¡¯re too oppressive and self-suffering. Why bother living so meticulously? When you¡¯re free, just like humans, you should sing, dance, play, and fall in love. Isn¡¯t that a great feeling?¡± Long Shen paused for a moment before saying: ¡°Mortals have a limited life span. Their lives are only like a spring and autumn for me. No one wants to see themselves aging, while their lover¡¯s face doesn¡¯t change.¡± Zong Ling chuckled: ¡°That¡¯s just an excuse. If that¡¯s truly so, why haven¡¯t you fallen in love with Tang Jing or Yu Buhui? However, recently, I found that you¡¯ve changed a bit.¡± Long Shen picked up his teacup and took a little sip, then looked at her when he heard her words. Zong Ling said: ¡°If I had said this before, you would only say that life is a lifetime of plants and autumn*, and each has its own ways of living. This time though, it¡¯s different. Did you encounter an opportunity?¡± *(ÈËÉúÒ»ÊÀ²ÝľһÇï) Saying referring to one¡¯s life is very short, like a spring and autumn. Long Shen put down the teacup. There was still half remaining, but he was no longer in the mood to drink. Zong Ling: ¡°Is it related to your apprentice?¡± Long Shen was silent. Zong Ling smiled and said: ¡°I have seen that child a few times. He has a soft heart, but there is no shortage of determination. With your help, he will definitely be able to become a great weapon in the future. However, I don¡¯t believe that you¡¯re worried because he¡¯s not training hard or is being disobedient, right? Can you tell me?¡± Seeing that Long Shen still didn¡¯t answer, she stopped asking questions, and looked up to see the cirrus clouds in the sky being pushed away by the wind. ¡°If you¡¯re not saying anything, it means that your heart is already a mess. It must be that something has happened to you concerning Dong Zhi.¡± Long Shen finally confessed: ¡°He said he likes me.¡± Zong Ling raised her eyebrows: ¡°Isn¡¯t this normal? A disciple would normally admire their master. Do you not like this disciple?¡± Long Shen¡¯s expression finally showed a trace of discomfort: ¡°It¡¯s not the like between a master and apprentice, but one between a man and a woman.¡± Zong Ling¡¯s face showed surprise, which then turned into a smile. ¡°I see. It¡¯s no wonder that the child was very close to you as soon as he came in. Everyone else usually backs away from you, yet he was wholeheartedly determined to worship you as his teacher.¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°I¡¯m afraid he worshipped me as a teacher, but he had no intention of learning anything.¡± Zong Ling: ¡°Why do you think so? Is he not devoted to his studies? Or did he ever overstep towards you?¡± No. He didn¡¯t think so. In retrospect, the other party did take the initiative to hug him and there were peculiarities in his words and actions. In fact, Dong Zhi had already vaguely expressed his tendencies, but because he had never accepted an apprentice before, hearing Wu Bingitan and Song Zhicun talked about the importance and love for their disciples and children, he inadvertently follow suit and wanted to give his best for Dong Zhi. Long Shen thought that this was the way to show his love for his apprentice, by being strict and demanding of him in regard to his cultivation, while being tolerant and making concession with him in private affairs. When he heard the voice inside the yulu, he was so surprised that there was even a trace of anger. Zong Ling¡¯s tone was very relaxed: ¡°If you think that he is not sincere in worshiping you as a teacher, has no intention of learning from you, and does not study seriously, you can expel him. Why be so angry? With your capacity, there must be many young heroes rushing to worship you as their teacher. Isn¡¯t there one name Liu Qingbo? His qualifications seem to be good. I heard that he was competing with Dong Zhi to be your disciple, no?¡± Long Shen looked at the Qingzhu Sword in front of him and unexpectedly remember the scene of Dong Zhi holding it cautiously as if he had obtained a treasure. ¡°I won¡¯t accept apprentices anymore.¡± Zong Ling: ¡°I understand your mood. You feel as if you have been deceived, but what if he had never thought of deceiving you?¡± Long Shen was silent. Zong Ling smiled: ¡°You¡¯re smart. Don¡¯t tell me you didn¡¯t notice anything at all. Perhaps you¡¯re just subconsciously refusing to admit it and didn¡¯t want to think about it. Looking back, why is it just him that¡¯s special to you? There are so many hardworking and talented people, but why did you lean towards Dong Zhi instead of them? Since you mention life expectancy, why didn¡¯t recruit an apprentice that¡¯s like you? In my opinion, it seems your reasons are just trying to convince yourself otherwise.¡± She raised her head and looked at the stars, and the flickering light made her eyes distant and deep. ¡°Even if we have a much longer life span than mortals, we still have many regrets that we can¡¯t ask for and miss in our whole life. Long Shen, don¡¯t be like me. You won¡¯t know regret until you lose it.¡± She slowly closed her hand, as if trying to grasp the stars. Unfortunately, the seemingly close distance was as vast as the sea. ¡°Don¡¯t betray your heart.¡± Kinky Thoughts: Dong Zhi¡¯s busted. This was a very good chapter. Long Shen, listen to Elder Zong. She¡¯s wise. Long Shen¡¯s concern regarding life expectancy is pretty valid. This reminds me of my other translation I did: When You¡¯re Older. It¡¯s related my other translation project: Your Rival in Love Gets Prettier Every Day. It¡¯s a story about a couple where one person suffers from a disease that prevent them from aging and the other is a normal person. It¡¯s a short read (only 8 chapters) but it¡¯s pretty dog abusive, but if you can handle sadness, I do recommend you read it as it describes similarly the situation Long Shen envision by falling in love with a mortal. CH 72 At around 8-9 PM in Lucheng, people who had work and needed to rest early have already had their dinner and were gathered in front of the TV to watch their programs. For Huang Wendong, he had come home early tonight, as he usually didn¡¯t get home until at least 11 PM. ¡°You came back so early today. Didn¡¯t you go socialize?¡± Hearing the opening of the door, his wife came out of the room. ¡°Originally, the customer temporarily cancelled. I brought you and our kids some takeout from Happy House, but you guys must¡¯ve eaten already, right?¡± He raised the bag in his hand. The wife took it and joked: ¡°Oh, how rare. You work so much every day that you haven¡¯t brought food back for so many years!¡± The Liang family wasn¡¯t short on money. It can be seen from just the decoration of the house and the jewelry on his wife. Even in Lucheng, an economically developed city, their family background was well-off, which is enough to stand out from most families. However, her appearance was given by God. Even if she exhausted the best skin care products to maintain herself, her wifely skin still sagged day by day, as fine wrinkles began to appear more. Of course, Huang Wendong wasn¡¯t much better. For a man over forty, it was inevitable that he¡¯ll start to gain weight, but he still had glimpses of his handsome self when he was younger. ¡°Where¡¯s Little Wen and Little Hong?¡± Huang Wendong asked. ¡°They are all watching cartoons in the room.¡± His wife opened the bag and saw boxes neatly packed with snacks, including her favorite, begonia cakes and dried bamboo shoots, as well as shumai that the kids like. ¡°Why did you buy so much?¡± She complained, showing that she had a stubborn heart. After all, her husband used to socialize constantly and had never brought them back anything to eat. Although she didn¡¯t lack food, how could she be unhappy knowing that her husband still remembered her preferences. Huang Wendong said: ¡°It¡¯s fine. If you don¡¯t want to eat it, just give it to the nanny.¡± ¡°Who said I won¡¯t eat it?¡± His wife glared at him. ¡°We want to eat shumai! We want to eat shumai!¡± The two children shouted as they ran out when they heard the news. His wife couldn¡¯t resist them, so she had to agree and asked Huang Wendong: ¡°Have you eaten? I can ask the nanny to make some few dishes for you.¡± Huang Wendong smiled and said: ¡°I¡¯ll take a bath first before eating. You can start without me and give me some hot porridge later. I¡¯m tired of eating out all this time.¡± It was past dinner time now, so they had already eaten, but what Huang Wendong brought back was more like a snack than a meal. What¡¯s more the pastries couldn¡¯t be kept for long. When it gets cold and had to be reheated, it tastes much worse. The two children were clamoring about, wanting to eat. She asked the nanny to put it on the plate and the greedy children followed her like little tails attached to her. Huang Wendong took a bath for an hour. In normal times, his wife would knock on the door, thinking that he had fallen asleep in the bathtub, but tonight, his wife didn¡¯t come to check on him. She was probably distracted by the two naughty children, or maybe was too busy watching TV, or perhaps she was busy eating the pastries he had brought back. Huang Wendong stepped out of the bathtub slowly, put on a clean bathrobe, fastened the tie, opened the door and walked out. The dining table was strangely quiet. His wife and two children, and the nanny have all passed out. The son was only four years old. He had fallen off the chair and his head had a large bump on it. Huang Wendong was not shocked at all. Let alone yelling, he walked up to his wife, patted her cheek lightly, and called her name. His wife did not respond. He got up with satisfaction, walked to the kitchen and scanned the knives with his eyes. He took a sharp porcelain knife and a kitchen knife and returned to his family. Huang Wendong¡¯s face was red and a little nervous, but more so excited. As if he was hesitating on who to start first, his gazed wandered between his wife and children and finally settled on his four-year-old son. It should be easier since children had delicate flesh, he thought. Tremblingly, he raised the knife in his hand, gritted his teeth, and wave it at the youngest son¡¯s elbow! ¡ª At this moment, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know that his inner thoughts have been discovered by Long Shen. He was standing in front of an old residential building in a residential area, looking around blankly. According to the address given by the other party, Lucheng¡¯s office should be on the first floor, which should be easy to find, but he found that the building here was too old that there weren¡¯t any number plates hanging and the security guard of the property was nowhere to be seen. After looking around for what seems like hours, he had to call the other party to find the destination under the guidance of the person who had answered the phone just now. Yan Nuo thought that after the other party arrive, he would explain a few things and leave. He could have dinner and a few drinks with his friends. As a result, he waited from 9 PM until nearly midnight for this long-overdue newcomer. According to normal process, a group of newcomers, like Dong Zhi, should¡¯ve reported to the branch first and then went to various offices with the personnel arrangements from the branch, but that would have delayed too much time. Besides, they had come directly from the General Administration Bureau who had issued the documents, so they didn¡¯t need the branch office to be involved. There were only three people in the Lucheng¡¯s office, and they weren¡¯t very keen on newcomers, because newcomers generally don¡¯t understand much. They have to learn everything from scratch. The could also be reckless and arrogant. What¡¯s more, this newcomer had a background. It¡¯s said that he¡¯s a disciple of a Deputy Director. With such a big Buddha, their small temple can¡¯t hold it. Yan Nuo felt a headache when he thought about it. He waited until midnight when he was awakened by a phone call from the newcomer, and after patiently giving directions on the phone for a long time and teaching the other party where to go, what little of Yan Nuo¡¯s patient was completely exhausted. He saw Dong Zhi standing at the entrance with his luggage and shook his hand hastily before saying: ¡°Welcome. Dong Zhi, right? My name is Yan Nuo. The Yan from serious1 and Nuo from promise2. It¡¯s too late now for a proper reception. Why don¡¯t we order some takeout first?¡± 1The [Yan] (ÑÏ) from [yan su] (ÑÏËà) which means serious, solemn, earnest. 2The [Nuo] (ŵ) from [cheng nuo] (³Ðŵ) which means promise to do something. Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not hungry. I¡¯m really sorry about this. I¡¯d encountered some issues when I got off the plane, or I wouldn¡¯t be here so late.¡± He didn¡¯t mention much about Han Qi, nor did Yan Nuo ask. He stuffed the key into Dong Zhi¡¯s hand and said: ¡°Okay. Then help yourself. I¡¯ll go back and get some rest first.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback for a moment, and hurriedly grabbed the other party: ¡°Brother Yan, where am I staying for tonight? Didn¡¯t you say that the unit allocates dorms?¡± Yan Nuo: ¡°Yes. This is an office converted from a private home. It has two bedrooms and one living room. You can choose whichever room you want to stay in. If you feel that the conditions aren¡¯t good, you can go out and rent a different place!¡± He was in a hurry to leave. Suddenly, a call came in at this time. Yan Nuo frowned when he looked at the number before picking it up. ¡°Hello, Zhao Branch.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what the person on the other end of the line said, but it made Yan Nuo¡¯s expression changed slightly. After saying that he would go immediately there, he hung up. ¡°Little Dong, something urgent just happened with the Public Security Bureau. They had call me to go help. You can take care of yourself, right? Call me if you need anything!¡± He left without waiting for the Dong Zhi to react. Dong Zhi saw that the other party didn¡¯t look back, so he dragged his suitcase in. The walls haven¡¯t been painted for many years and there were bits and pieces falling off. There were cobwebs and dust accumulated in the corner of the ceilings. The living room had no desk, just a sofa set and a coffee table, and an old TV. While Yan Nuo had told him that the place had 2 bedrooms and a living room, one bedroom was full of junk and couldn¡¯t accommodate a person and the other room had a bunkbed, but the sheet, pillows, and blankets hadn¡¯t been changed for a long time, so there was still the smell of grease. He didn¡¯t dare to sit anywhere. Looking around, he couldn¡¯t help but grimaced. Even the warehouse office opposite of the cemetery in Yancheng was better than here! Not only is Lucheng not a backcountry town, it¡¯s also a well-known tourist destination in the country. It had beautiful scenery and ample finances. Why is the Lucheng office in such a place? Was this intentionally harassing him? Dong Zhi wanted to sleep on the sofa for a night, but when he looked at it again, he didn¡¯t know how many years had been put on the leather sofa. The outer leather had long been cracked and spotted that it revealed the sponge below. When he touched it with his hands, it felt oily and there was faint smell of food residue. Even though he wasn¡¯t a neat freak, he really can¡¯t lie on this sofa. Helpless, he had to carry his luggage and went out again. He found an express hotel nearby and rented a room to temporary rest for one night. If the dormitory provided by the office referred to that old house just now, then starting tomorrow, he¡¯ll find a different place to rent. He turned on his phone and sent a message to Long Shen. After a while, he didn¡¯t get a reply back. The other party was probably working overtime again. As he laid in bed, the fatigue from his trip was completely released that he didn¡¯t even want to get up to take a shower, so he fell deeply asleep. The second before he drifted off, he was still thinking whether he should tell Yan Nuo about the incident on the plane. The next day, Dong Zhi slept until half past noon before waking up. When he was in the General Administration, he would have to get up early around four in the morning. He hadn¡¯t slept so comfortably for a while now. He rolled lazily on the bed thinking to himself that if he had slept on that sofa last night, most likely he would be greeted with a backache today. Picking up his phone, he saw that there weren¡¯t any messages. There seems to be silence on Long Shen¡¯s side, and no one from the branch office had urge him to go to work. His job though was irregular as it wasn¡¯t a 9-5 business. There would always be a few emergencies throughout the year, and there was no time to rest when things get busy. Dong Zhi wanted to send another message to Long Shen, but after thinking about it, the people in the Bureau were recently busy with the excavation of the stone tablet from Liang Weiqi¡¯s tomb. His Master must have seen his message, but he may not have time to reply, so he temporarily gave up. He wanted to stay in bed for a while longer, when he suddenly got a call. It was Yan Nuo. ¡°Where are you?!¡± The other party¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t very good. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to admit that he was still sleeping in so he hurriedly said: ¡°I¡¯m outside. What¡¯s the matter?¡± ¡°Mu Duo is waiting in the office, looking for you. Hurry up!¡± After speaking, Yan Nuo hung up the line. As for who Mu Duo was, Yan Nuo didn¡¯t make it clear leaving Dong Zhi confused. He couldn¡¯t greet people in such a state, so he quickly got up and took a shower, then changed his clothes before going over. The door of the office was ajar. Honestly, there was nothing of value in such a dilapidated house that even if thieves were here, they wouldn¡¯t be interested. Dong Zhi pushed in the door and saw a young girl sitting on the sofa. ¡°Hello?¡± The girl raised her head, slightly impatient, and was taken aback when she saw the Dong Zhi. Her attitude improved a little bit. ¡°Are you the new colleague?¡± Dong Zhi took the initiative to extend his hand: ¡°I am Dong Zhi. Who are you?¡± The girl shook his hand: ¡°Mu Duo.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Hello. Yan Nuo asked me to come over and said you were looking for me?¡± Mu Duo nodded: ¡°Yes, there was a murder case in our city last night. The police judged that the case was unusual and asked us to help, which is why we didn¡¯t have time to pick you up on the first day. Sorry.¡± Dong Zhi said it was okay and asked if there was anything that he could do to help. ¡°The quarterly report hasn¡¯t been written yet and needs to be submitted in the next few days. We¡¯re busy with the current case, so it¡¯s estimated that we won¡¯t be able to hand it in before the deadline. Can I trouble you to write it?¡± Dong Zhi looked confused: ¡°But I only arrived yesterday. I don¡¯t know what you guys did last quarter!¡± Mu Duo handed him a piece of paper: ¡°I have written an outline here. Everything is roughly listed, but I have to trouble you on refining it. If you¡¯re not sure, just do what you feel best.¡± A newcomer was a newcomer. He couldn¡¯t refuse the task assigned to him by his senior, so he could only agree. ¡°Do you need my help with the case?¡± Mu Duo smiled and said: ¡°No, there are three of us, so I will ask you for the report.¡± Dong Zhi scratched his nose: ¡°Well, be careful, and just ask if you need help. I may go out often during the day these days.¡± Mu Duo: ¡°Why? To catch up with friends?¡± Dong Zhi said honestly: ¡°Looking for a place to rent. Brother Yan asked me to live here, but I really can¡¯t¡­¡± Mu Duo looked around helplessly. ¡°That¡¯s okay. The report doesn¡¯t need to be rushed. You can write it when you have time. I¡¯ll leave first and call you if I have something for you.¡± Muduo, like Yan Nuo, didn¡¯t feel very good when they heard that there were new people coming. They felt that three people in the office was enough. If more come, they would only cause trouble, but they couldn¡¯t refuse the arrangements from above, so they had to hold their nose and put up with it. She had thought that it would be the same as last time since the newcomer had a deep background. A newborn calf was not afraid of tigers, and they set their eyes above the top. However, after chatting with Dong Zhi, her impression had changed a little. Although he had a background, at least this newcomer looked good and had a good attitude. After she left, Dong Zhi picked up the outline and looked at it. He immediately understood why he was asked to write the quarterly report. What outline? What do what you feel best? It was clear that they were too lazy to write the report and just pushed it onto the newcomer who just happened to join. Dong Zhi felt flabbergasted. Still, there was no other way. As a newcomer who had just enter the workplace for the first time, he inevitably had to put up with being ordered around. Fortunately, he had been in the workforce three years before, so he wasn¡¯t a rookie. There was no resentment or dissatisfaction. He turned on the computer and started the report. The next few days were calm. It was different from the exciting life he imagined being involve in chaotic messes and slaying demons all day long. Although there were three people besides him in the office, Yan Nuo and Mu Duo often was elusive* so he rarely saw them while the other, Xiao Qi, he hadn¡¯t even met yet. *(ÉñÁú¼ûÊײ»¼ûβ) Use to describe the mysterious whereabouts of people, without revealing the truth. They seemed to be very busy with a murder case, but they had no intention of letting Dong Zhi participate. When Dong Zhi asked, they would give vague and perfunctory responses. With no other choice, all Dong Zhi could do was write the quarterly report and find a place to live. After a week, no one had urged him on the progress of his report, which made things obvious that asking him to write it was just a cover, and they didn¡¯t want Dong Zhi to get involve in the case. Since they all got along, they all made a group comprise of only newcomers. Although everyone was separated far and wide, they would say a few words in the group every day. It gave them the same feeling of getting along daily, like they had been when they were together. It also gave them the comfort of home as they could feel the warmth of their companions. Ba Sang was the luckiest of them all, because he was assigned to an office that was in the province of his hometown, so he was close to where he lived, which only made Gu Meiren and Dong Zhi envious. Gu Meiren was assigned to Yinchuan, which was just the area where the Liang Weiren¡¯s Tomb is and where they had experienced their life and death and discovered the second stone tablet. As a participant last time, it made sense for her to continue following up on it. She was familiar with the process, so she had something to do. Liu Qingbo and Li Ying weren¡¯t bad either. He heard that they participated in with Group One and Group Three in searching for the other stone tablets. It seems that everyone had good jobs to do, while he was the only one who was stuck here writing quarterly reports. Dong Zhi laid down on the table and typed for a while and couldn¡¯t help but send another message to Long Shen. [Master, are you busy today?] Long Shen did not reply immediately. It took about half an hour before Dong Zhi received a response: [There have been many meetings recently. If you have questions about your cultivation, you can call directly.] The implication is that if it¡¯s a trivial matter that has nothing to do with cultivation, he shouldn¡¯t be contacting him. Dong Zhi stared at the message on the phone screen for a while. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was overthinking things, but he felt that Long Shen seemed to have become a little colder lately. It had only been two days since he left the Capital for Lucheng. Before he left, he was still sitting with Long Shen for dinner as they talked about the future and their parting. Long Shen had asked him not to take Longlong away, saying he would help feed it in his spare time, since he¡¯ll have a full workload once he joined the branch office. There would be many things to deal with and he¡¯ll have to get accustomed to, so he wouldn¡¯t have the energy to take care of the cat in a short period of time. Everything was fine then, so why did it suddenly change? Dong Zhi was puzzled. Empathetic farewells, terminally illness and other dog-blooded* scenes played through his mind. He even found it funny that he couldn¡¯t help but laugh from his imagination. *Refers to clich¨¦ overly dramatic. How is this possible? Not to mention that it had only been two days, even after another twenty years, his master most likely will remained unchanged. After thinking about it for a while, he finally decided to focus on his job first. At least he had to wait until he knew the situation here before calling. Otherwise, if Long Shen asked, how could he tell him that because he was a newcomer, he was excluded from participation. Such a useless excuse would never make his Master happy. Dong Zhi put aside the messy thoughts and concentrated on completing the quarterly report at hand. In fact, writing this report had some merit. At least by doing this, he had roughly form an understanding of Yan Nuo¡¯s and the others¡¯ daily work. In the last quarter, the office did a total of three relatively large task. One was the international conference that Lucheng hosted that many world leaders had participated in. In addition to ordinary security work, special-level security must also be done properly. In this regard, the people of the South China Branch from the Special Administration Bureau were responsible. The three from this branch mainly cooperated with them. The second thing was a transnational drug smuggling case. The police had asked Yan Nuo and the others for assistance, but in the end, it was confirmed that it was only a criminal case between ordinary people and did not involve practitioners. The third thing was that an internationally wanted practitioner had fled to China. Rumors had it that he was hiding in Lucheng. The South China Branch had sent someone to hunt him down. Yan Nuo and the others cooperated with them as well. In the end, they successfully arrested the fugitive and brought him to justice. With the integration of the world, the portals of various countries have open wide allowing practitioners from foreign countries to come and go. This also meant international crimes had also increased. As a coastal and port city, Lucheng bore the brunt of the responsibility. Mu Duo¡¯s outline was very simple. What Dong Zhi had to do was nothing more than to expand the details of these three tasks. He had to affirm the contributions made by the Lucheng Office in the last quarter so that they could receive for funds and bonuses from above, which will also be good for their future promotions. One thing Dong Zhi found in common with all these three tasks was that Yan Nuo and the others had never taken the initiative to accomplish them, but they always cooperated passively after it had happened. Combined with the dilapidated environment of this office, he felt seemed to arrive at an understanding. Before leaving Beijing, Dong Zhi did not inquire with Long Shen about the origins of several colleagues in Lucheng. He only heard that the Special Administration Bureau does not recruit as high of a number of employees like this year. There have been several years where there was no applicants and they had a shortage of staff, which made the Special Administration Bureau occasionally relaxed their criteria. They had many offices in China, but the General Administration cannot cover everything, so experts were installed in every place. Lucheng has Yan Nuo as part of a group of three which was considered a very good configuration, compared to Yangcheng which only had Zhang Chong and Lin Jun. Thinking about it now, though Zhang Chong and Lin Jun were half-buckets of water, with limited abilities and lacked ambition and talent, they were both very active. On the top floor of Tianyuan Building, Zhang Chong even risked his life and almost died heroically. When others speak, they would praise the disciples from the Longhu Sect of being brave and not being afraid of death, which a was a reputation that was well deserved. Long Shen also said that as a practitioner or a practitioner of a state institution, you must first have the courage to take the initiative, because even in a small office, the safety of ordinary people in the entire city is their responsibility. Obviously, Yan Nuo and the others haven¡¯t done good well, at least not good enough to make them have an outstanding reputation. The author has something to say£º Dong Zhi doesn¡¯t know it yet¡­ hahaha. Lucheng is the staring point for Little Dong Zhi¡¯s job entry, and it will also the be the starting point for him to move towards the vast sky that¡¯s filled with a sea full of stars in the future~ Kinky Thoughts: I like to addressed some criticism regarding my translations. I am absolutely open to them both positive or negative¡­ provided that you actually let me know where I can improve. It¡¯s pretty demoralizing to see people talk negatively about your sincere effort and all that they say is ¡°it¡¯s bad¡± and then proceed to bash it. Please point out my errors and mistake so that I can fix them. The reason why I include the original Chinese text in my footnotes is because I¡¯m not sure if it¡¯s translated or if I¡¯m interpreting it correctly. I welcome fixes in order to improve the translation quality. Secondly, I have always been upfront that I cannot read and understand Chinese so I can¡¯t vouch for full accuracy. My disclaimer is everywhere on my website that these translations are done via MTL and I simply fix them and I have never passed myself off as a ¡°professional¡± translator. Please don¡¯t hold me to some professional standard especially when my translations are free and easily accessible. This is done purely as a hobby and because I wanted to read things that weren¡¯t translated and I figured I¡¯ll share it with like minded readers. The English danmei community is pretty niche and the pool of translators are even smaller. It¡¯s not very conducive to bash translators as it demoralizes them and burn out their motivation. We should be supportive of each other and help improve each other, so no need to badmouth me and instead help me fix what¡¯s wrong. Sorry for the rant but I needed to get that off my chest. To address criticism of footnotes. I get it¡¯s a decisive issue and many readers don¡¯t like seeing footnotes as it breaks their immersion while they read. However, I¡¯m translating it as how I want to read novels, and that means I want to understand idioms and terms that are unique to Chinese culture as I¡¯m reading so I don¡¯t want to include the notes at the bottom of the page. I know there are ways to hide them as well where you can hover your mouse over the text but that requires coding knowledge (of which I do not have) or a premium account in WordPress to access plugins (of which I¡¯m not willing to pay for). I also know my grammar, especially tenses are not the best. I¡¯m working on it. I have started going back to my previous translation on all my projects to do a scrub and fix up the grammar and mistakes. As such, releases for Bu Tian Gang will be slower until that¡¯s finished. Finally, as readers you can help me out as well by proofreading my releases and letting me know where the mistakes are. At the end of the day we¡¯re all here to read some danmei so let¡¯s take it easy and be amicable. CH 73 [Master, are you busy today?] Long Shen looked at the text message on his mobile as he remained motionless for a while. This is not the first time that Dong Zhi has sent him such mundane text. He would send them from time to time before he became Long Shen¡¯s apprentice, and now that he was his Master, he started to send even more. Like asking if he eaten or slept yet. Sometimes he would send a text if he saw a flower on the side of the road that was a different color from the other flowers. When he ate a delicious dish, we would also send an entire paragraph about it. Dong Zhi obviously knew that the content he sent was irrelevant and he didn¡¯t expect Long Shen to suddenly become attracted to him. The goal for these texts was to establish a connection. Even if the other party doesn¡¯t reply, he would still see them. As long as he reads them, it¡¯ll leave traces in his eyes and heart. The days were long, and the water runs deep*. *(¾²Ë®Á÷Éî) Metaphor use to describe a person who¡¯s shy/quiet on the surface but is often intelligent and interesting underneath. Long Shen would reply in one or two sentences during his spare time, but usually he often ignores them. This text message was no different from the previous ones, but to his surprise, he hesitated for a few seconds for the first time whether he should respond to it. The meeting was still in progress, and it was rare for him to look at his phone during such time. He put down his phone and continue to concentrate on the meeting. Half an hour later, during the break, he finally returned a response. [There have been many meetings recently. If you have questions about your cultivation, you can call directly.] He was truly busy and there were many meetings. No matter how he felt in his heart, Long Shen disdain lying and cheating. Since setting the general direction to look for the stone tablets, various branch offices have repeatedly sent back reports. This kind of task was like finding a needle in a haystack. As the central command, the General Administration Bureau made adjustments to the direction based on feedbacks from the branches. In addition, there will be a high-profile international conference in the capital. Leaders from all over the world will come to participate so the Special Administration Bureau couldn¡¯t remain idle. What Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know was that not only Long Shen, but the entire General Administration Bureau was so busy that even Zong Ling and Zhang Xiankun, who were already semi-retired, was asked to assist Group One and Group two. Long Shen hit send and watched as the message prompt quickly showed that it was successfully sent. He Yu¡¯s big head suddenly leaned over: ¡°Boss, why have you been staring at your phone for the past two days?¡± His face was full of gossip, trying to find clues from Long Shen¡¯s immovable face. ¡°Lovelorn? Ah, no, you haven¡¯t been in a relationship before. How did you become lovelorn? Did you try online dating? No, boss is like an old man who doesn¡¯t eat, drink, or gamble, and doesn¡¯t have any bad habits, but as the saying goes, proper relaxation helps meet greater pressure, right?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Why haven¡¯t I heard this saying?¡± He Yu said with a sigh: ¡°A Master of Chinese Studies named He Yu said this, but that¡¯s not the point. The point is, as your dear subordinates and companions, we also hope that you can relax. There have been so many things happening lately. If you¡¯re under too much pressure and suffocate, won¡¯t our group be headless?¡± Long Shen: ¡°In your opinion, how should I relax?¡± He Yu laughed: ¡°In my opinion, it¡¯s best to play games. Lend me your full level account and I¡¯ll lend you mine. Let¡¯s exchange, so that you can also experience the fun of leveling up and changing eqipments. What do you think?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Okay.¡± He Yu thought there was something wrong with his ears, so he said incredulously: ¡°What? Did you agree?¡± Long Shen: ¡°I¡¯ll lend you my account for an hour in return for 10% of your month¡¯s bonus.¡± The corners of He Yu¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°Why don¡¯t you just rob me?¡± Long Shen turned to look at him, causing He Yu to quickly cover his mouth and ran away, for fear that his month¡¯s bonus would be docked again for ¡°insubordination¡±. ¡°Don¡¯t you think that the boss is acting a bit strange?!¡± During Break, Zhong Yuyi was laying down on the conference table and took the opportunity to doze off. Unexpectedly, someone elbowed him, waking him up. ¡°¡­What?¡± He looked back with his tired eyes. He Yu gossiped nervously: ¡°In the past, he never looked at his phone for more than five seconds. This time, he was staring at it for almost nine. With the boss¡¯ temperament, isn¡¯t this very strange?¡± Zhong Yuyi didn¡¯t understand what was strange about this and said slowly: ¡°It takes me five minutes to read a message. The boss is much faster than me.¡± ¡°¡­I can¡¯t tell you anything. Just go back to sleep!¡± He Yu had the expression of ¡°I¡¯m super intelligent that you mortals just don¡¯t understand¡±, and didn¡¯t bother to tell Zhong Yuyi more. He waved his hand, leaned on his crutches, and limped outside to play games. Before the meeting started, he had to get in as much time as possible. Every second was worth a second more in gold and a such measly amount of gold was hard for him to buy upgrades! ¡ª An afternoon passed quickly. Dong Zhi¡¯s efficiency was good and he had nearly completed the report. He only needed to consider his words at the beginning and end. Although the house was old, the lighting was good and the leaves outside the window reflected mottled shadows on the table, swaying uncertainly, like the restless heart of a young man. The southern coast didn¡¯t have an autumn season. It spanned from summer directly to winter. At this moment, there were still many trees that still had all their leaves, and the old indoor air conditioning was running, making a whirring noise that couldn¡¯t be ignored. Dong Zhi stopped typing and stretched. He planned to stay in the hotel for one more night before looking for a place to rent tomorrow. Originally, he wanted to call Long Shen, but as his finger went through his contact list, he dialed Yan Nuo¡¯s number instead. The call was quickly connected with Yan Nuo¡¯s voice coming through that sounded impatient. ¡°Hey, what¡¯s the matter!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Brother Yan, is there anything I can do for you? I have nothing to do now, so I can assist you.¡± Yan Nuo: ¡°If you have nothing to do, just rest. There are a lot of people here. I don¡¯t need you for the time being. If want to do something, just go play by yourself!¡± He hung up without waiting for a response from Dong Zhi. What do you mean, go play by yourself? Dong Zhi was speechless. It was clear that the other party did not want him to get involve as he refused to even tell him where he was. Dong Zhi also knew that no matter where he goes, newcomers would be treated unpopularly. They didn¡¯t know anything, so they had to ask about everything. Things would often go wrong because they were not familiar with the situation. Like when he used to work at the game company, he didn¡¯t like to bring in newcomers. If he said things lightly, they wouldn¡¯t understand it, but if his tone was heavy, it would make them angry and possible hold a grudge. But now that he has become the newcomer who was hated and guarded against everywhere, he didn¡¯t feel so happy. Not in the mood to finish the report, Dong Zhi closed the document and planned to work on it tomorrow. He opened his social media instead. He hadn¡¯t had time to update his comic serialization in the past few days. The latest message on his account was two days ago with already thousands of comments under it. Most of them were pretty standard, saying that they liked it, they thought it was cute, they were looking forward to the next edition, and the likes¡­ but one caught his attention. The message said that the stories in his comics were very thrilling. It goes on to describe how she had inherited a hotel that was run by her relatives. Both her staff and the tourists have encountered strange things inside it, but business to the hotel had always been good so she thought it was quite amazing. There were a lot of responses to this comment. Some people laughed, some made jokes, some thought she was talking nonsense, and others said that the hotel was haunted and suggested she should exorcise the evil. Dong Zhi had seen a lot of comments before, but the stranger things that couldn¡¯t be explained scientifically, the more interested people become. The development of the internet had made the exchanging of information much faster. Since Dong Zhi¡¯s comic serialization belong to the urban fantasy and supernatural genre, it was natural that such readers interested in that topic would gather below. However, this reader said that her eyes and nose were perfectly fine and she wasn¡¯t making up nonsense. Although she didn¡¯t explain where she was, from the description, Dong Zhi had an intuition that she was located in Lucheng. He sent a private message and soon got a reply. The other party didn¡¯t seem to expect that the comic book author would personal reach out to her. She was so excited that she was speaking incoherently. From the tone of her voice, it seems like she was a young girl. Dong Zhi guess was correct. The hotel was indeed in Lucheng and coincidentally, it wasn¡¯t far from where he was. Dong Zhi said he happened to be in Lucheng during this time and asked if it was convenient for her to meet. He wanted to learn more about the hotel. The other party was originally a big fan of him. When she heard that she could see her idol, she naturally agreed. The two parties made an appointment in a restaurant not far from the hotel. Considering that it would be too eye-catching to have a sword on his back while walking out in public, Dong Zhi came up with a solution. On the way the appointment, he went to a music store and bought a guqin case. After putting the sword in, he used the spare space to hold his cinnabar and talismans, thus killing two birds with one stone. Sure enough, when he walked outside carrying the guqin case, he suddenly lost a lot of strange glances. As soon as he arrived at the restaurant, he found a place to sit at random and saw a long-haired girl in a t-shirt and shorts hurriedly entering while looking around, as if she was looking for someone. ¡°He Jia?¡± He raised his head to signal and shouted tentatively. The other party immediately turned her head, showing a surprise look and walked over to him quickly. ¡°You¡ªHello. May I ask if you¡¯re the great Dong Dong Qiang?¡± The girl didn¡¯t expect that the comic drawer himself was such a delicate and elegant boy, which far exceeded her expectations. Dong Zhi got up and smiled: ¡°I¡¯m just Dong Dong Qiang. Hello. I¡¯m sorry for taking the liberty to invite you out.¡± He Jia hurriedly said: ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just happen to be free!¡± Dong Zhi handed the menu to her, and gracefully asked her to order. After the waiter came and took their order, he got down to business: ¡°I have been looking for some new materials for my serialization recently. I saw your comment saying that strange things are happening at your hotel. Is this true?¡± He Jia nodded: ¡°It¡¯s true. The hotel wasn¡¯t originally mine. It belonged to a relative, but she went abroad and had settled down over there, so she won¡¯t be back for a while. However, the hotel still needs to run so she entrusted me to handle its affairs. When I took over, I did not replace the original staff, so everything is as it should be. I would occasionally go over and monitor the situation and found that strange things often happen.¡± With the popularity of his comic, Dong Zhi had become one of those famous internet celebrities, but unlike them, who relied on their face to attract fans, he purely attracts readers that liked his style and content. His readership count was very stable. Many have secretly tried to guess his age and appearance. He still had old fans back from when he was an artist for , but no one had ever seen him in person. They all guest that most likely he was a young man. He Jia didn¡¯t expect that she would be the first fan to see him in person, so she was quite excited. She wished she could take a photo with him and post it online to prove that she had a meal with Dong Dong Qiang. She naturally trusted Dong Zhi so she spoke without reservation. For her, not only was she able to witness her male god with her very own eyes, his appearance and speech patterns were very in line with the tailor-made image that she had in her mind, which made it even more shocking. Dong Zhi listened very seriously: ¡°Can you tell me more about it?¡± He Jia said: ¡°Some staff members reported that they had seen dark shadows floating by when they were patrolling at night, but when they got closer, they saw nothing. We even check the surveillance, and it didn¡¯t show anyone passing by. We also had residents who said that when it¡¯s midnight, the faucet would turn on by itself inexplicably. Others said that they could hear someone signing and talking in their ears and could feel ghostly steps on their bed.¡± She lowered her voice and made a mysterious expression: ¡°Later, I asked the original owner of the hotel, who¡¯s my great aunt, and she told me I needed to worship regularly on the first and fifteenth days of each month and I wouldn¡¯t need to worry about anything else.¡± Seeing that there was no response from Dong Zhi, He Jia continued: ¡°But the strange thing is, my hotel business remained very good. In order to solicit business, I asked someone to make an official website for it. As a result, despite no advertisements, guests would make reservations online almost fully booking us. We¡¯re completely booked out for the holidays.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Who does your great aunt want you to worship to? Did you do what she said?¡± He Jia: ¡°I don¡¯t know. She asked me to vacate a room and not allow guests to stay there, and then enshrined fruits on the offering table inside all year round. I just need to change it once a week. I did everything like she asked, but the strange things didn¡¯t go away.¡± Dong Zhi pondered: ¡°Were there ever any deaths there?¡± ¡°No¡­ ah actually, there was one!¡± Slender fingers held her fair chin casually and her other hand tapped unconsciously on the table. He Jia felt that the other party was not only born handsome, but he also had an indescribable taste. She looked a little daze for a moment before slowly reacting. ¡°I heard from my great aunt that before her hotel, the previous building was also a hotel but was burned down by a fire. The fire had killed the previous owner. It took a few years to rebuilding the hotel to its current state now. Later, a guest had committed suicide by cutting his wrist in his room. It was too late to rescue him. I heard that it seems to be because of feelings. However, besides these incidents, there were no other deaths.¡± Having said that, He Jia felt a little distressed. ¡°In fact, it used to be normal, but recently, our employees often get sick, and many guests had memory losses. I don¡¯t want to stay there myself. The strange thing though is that despite all this, business still remained good. I thought about it last time and I wanted to asked a specialist to take a look, but my great aunt firmly opposed it, so I could only give up.¡± ¡°How long had you taken over that hotel?¡± ¡°Just the last six months. I asked my great aunt when she was in charge on the hotel and she said there was no frequent illness for employees or guests.¡± As the two chatted, the dishes they ordered came one after another and the topic was switched to talking about the local customs. Hearing Dong Zhi was new in town, He Jia enthusiastically offered to show him around. While Dong Zhi found the proposition exciting, he first had to find a place to settle down, so he politely declined. ¡°Great Dong Dong¡­¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°Don¡¯t call me great. It¡¯s quite awkward. My surname is Dong. Given name is Zhi. You can just call me Brother Dong.¡± ¡°So this turns out to be the origin of your screen name Dong Dong Qiang!¡± He Jia realized it at once and immediately asked: ¡°Brother Dong, do you still play games now?¡± She wasn¡¯t only a fang of Dong Zhi¡¯s comics but was also a player of the . It could be said that she had watched Dong Zhi come a long way from all the way back then. ¡°Not anymore.¡± The identity of the Special Administration Bureau is special and couldn¡¯t be easily revealed to ordinary people. Dong Zhi came up with an excuse: ¡°I¡¯m currently helping a friend¡¯s company, so I only draw during my spare time.¡± He Jia looked regretful: ¡°What a pity.¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°What¡¯s there to pity? Isn¡¯t it better to like your hobbies than have it be the source of how you can eat?¡± He Jia thought about it, and then laughed as well. She enjoyed this meal very much. From her impression, male artists were generally otakus who weren¡¯t good at speaking and were very slovenly. She had seen some male artists in the past when she went for autograph signing or seen their pictures online, so it only deepened her stereotype. She didn¡¯t expect Dong Zhi to be an exception. What¡¯s even more rare was that the other party was very polite and gentlemanly, letting her order, and taking the initiative to pay when she went to the bathroom, so as not to leave her in an awkward state. Even if it hadn¡¯t reached the point of falling in love at first sight, being invited to a meal with a handsome guy was already a plus for girls like her. After the meal, Dong Zhi asked her: ¡°Are the rooms in your hotel full? If not, I would like to book a room and stay for one night tonight.¡± He Jia was taken aback for a moment. With a shy look on her face, she said: ¡°I asked before I came here. There are still two rooms available today. Why don¡¯t I take you there?¡± She afraid Dong Zhi might misunderstand so she quickly added: ¡°Brother Dong, I¡¯m a little afraid of going by that place at night.¡± Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°That¡¯s okay. You can just take me to the entrance, and I¡¯ll go in by myself.¡± Facing such a charming and handsome guy, she gritted her teeth and hardened her heart: ¡°Forget it. I¡¯ll go in with you for just one night!¡± Dong Zhi chuckled: ¡°Just take me there. You don¡¯t need to accompany me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine!¡± Who told you to look so good, He Jia silently added in her heart. She suddenly remembered something and said shyly: ¡°Brother Dong, I don¡¯t mind if you use the hotel as material for your comic, but can you hide the city and hotel information when the time comes?¡± Only now did Dong Zhi realized that He Jia thought he wanted to go to the hotel purely out of curiosity so he could collect more materials for his comic. He thought to himself that this was a good excuse he could use when it was inconvenient for him to reveal his identity in the future. ¡°Of course. Even if I use it in my comics in the future, I¡¯ll never exposed any relevant or personal information.¡± He was really interested in the hotel, especially the strange events that He Jia had described. It would be good if those strange things didn¡¯t lead to any evil outcomes, but since the employees and guests were getting sick often, this showed that it has affected the lives or ordinary people, which meant it fell within the jurisdiction of the Special Administration Bureau. The Special Administration Bureau was different from other departments. Things may not always be delivered to you. Although Dong Zhi was new, and Yan Nuo didn¡¯t let him interfere with their work, it didn¡¯t mean that he couldn¡¯t take the initiative himself. After the two of them finished their meal, they rested for a bit before He Jia took Dong Zhi to the hotel. The hotel was located in the old district. There were some well persevered arcades from the Republic of China days. Plants grew on the left and right of the entrance and flowers swayed back and forth. The scenery must even more beautiful during the day. The hotel had three floors and adopted the architectural characteristic of Chinese and Western styles, most likely deliberate to integrate it with the nearby old buildings in order to attract more tourists. When Dong Zhi stood at the door and looked at the words ¡°Langhai Hotel¡± on the wooden signboard next to the hotel gate, his footstep stopped abruptly, as if the brake button was suddenly pressed in his body, catching him off guard. ¡°Brother Dong?¡± He Jia asked when she was him motionless. What was this bad feeling that he felt standing in front of this place? Was it the eerie hotel that made people not want to go in? No. As soon as he saw the entrance, he had a strong desire to go in and stay there, as if he couldn¡¯t wait and felt impatient. This was the strangest feeling. Dong Zhi was now struggling with such instincts, holding back his body¡¯s reaction forcefully. The doors to the entrance were like a magnet in his eyes, with the ability to suck people in. ¡°Every time you come through the entrance, do you get a strange feeling?¡± He asked He Jia. ¡°What strange feeling?¡± He Jia was puzzled. ¡°I feel like I really want to go in. Like there¡¯s something there that¡¯s attracting me.¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t describe this feeling very accurately, because it was just an invisible force, illusory, and immaterial. He Jia shook her head: ¡°No, I actually don¡¯t like coming here very much, but I have heard guests talk about the feeling you mentioned. They said that they wanted to go to the nearby island to find a hostel, but when they passed by here, they somehow become attracted to come in.¡± As a practitioner, Dong Zhi was more consciously observant and could better control his will, but most ordinary people couldn¡¯t do it, and they wouldn¡¯t think too deeply about the weirdness either. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± He didn¡¯t say anything more as he walked in with He Jia. The furnishing in the hotel was deliberately designed to create a sense of history. A combination of Chinese and Western style could be seen everywhere. The stairs were European style in imitation of the Republic of China era. There were quite a lot of guests. When Dong Zhi entered, they happened to run into two groups of guests who were checking out, and another group that was waiting to check in. It could be seen that as He Jia had said, business was booming. Dong Zhi carefully observed their expressions and saw that among the two groups of people who were about to check out, there was a mixed of old and young, and their expressions weren¡¯t very good. The children were coughing as they looked at the furnishing in the hotel, showing reluctant expressions. ¡°Hello, auntie. Are you checking out?¡± He took a step forward. The middle-aged lady who had taken her family out for a trip nodded and said: ¡°We had check out the day before yesterday and were leaving, but the stay here was so comfortable that we couldn¡¯t bear to leave, so we stayed for two more days.¡± ¡°Comfortable? Is the service very good?¡± Dong Zhi innocently blinked and smiled: ¡°I¡¯m staying here for a night. If it¡¯s as good as you say, I might book another night.¡± The auntie laughed: ¡°It¡¯s not like that. I can¡¯t really describe it. Anyways, I would feel lazy after coming in, and I would have good dreams every night. Since I stayed here, it really felt like a vacation. We don¡¯t want to go anywhere else. Just sleeping here is enough.¡± Dong Zhi felt touched and smile: ¡°Then I¡¯ll book two nights so I can feel the sense of vacation.¡± As there were guests present, He Jia couldn¡¯t say anything. As soon as they left, she said: ¡°Brother Dong, just stay for one night. You don¡¯t need to check in. I¡¯ll tell them.¡± Dong Zhi shook his head: ¡°How can you do that? You open this place for business so there¡¯s no reason to offer me such benefits.¡± When he saw that He Jia was about to object, he quickly said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can pay.¡± He Jia didn¡¯t insist, thinking that she¡¯ll just comp him for the night when he checks out. ¡°Is it convenient to get a tour of the place?¡± Dong Zhi asked. ¡°Of course. I¡¯ll show you around.¡± He Jia told the front desk and asked them to reserve a room for her tonight, then she took Dong Zhi upstairs. There were only three floors in the hotel. The corridors were brightly lit and paintings and decorations were hanging from both sides. The windows were made of colorful glazed glass, which was very in line with the bourgeoisie style of the city. There were iron railings hanging outside the window that had various sunflowers planted in them. The sea could be seen from a distance. Although it was located in the old district, it wasn¡¯t surprising that this place would have an endless stream of guests due to these attentive arrangements. Dong Zhi inquired about this question and He Jia replied: ¡°Even if that¡¯s the case, there are many tourists in Lucheng all year round, but fewer comes during autumn and winter. Generally speaking, every hotel would be full. This hotel was booked at max capacity almost every day, and the rooms that were available would be shortly booked immediately. The problem is, I rare advertise and had never cooperated with any travel websites or tourism group to promote it. Furthermore, the guests who made the reservations online said that they originally wanted to book another hotel, but for some reason, their search ended up at my website. They thought it looked good, so they changed their mind and booked mine instead.¡± As she said this, she couldn¡¯t help adding: ¡°While I¡¯m very happy that business is good, still, this is just too strange!¡± Dong Zhi looked around the room in the corridor and asked: ¡°Your great aunt told you to dedicate a room for worship. Can I take a look?¡± He Jia nodded and whispered: ¡°I don¡¯t believe in ghosts, but I feel weird whenever I go into that room. I¡¯ll let you take a look but don¡¯t stay too long.¡± Dong Zhi naturally agreed. The author has something to say: Dong Zhi never expected to become a male god in the eyes of others. Let¡¯s put a (non-related text to the novel) as welfare: At the time, the Special Administration Bureau was still attached to the National Security Department and had to act with them every time when dealing with issues. It was always inconvenient to go in and out, and the application for funds was even more troublesome. The Special Administration Bureau had a special job dealing with monsters and demon, so they had to maintain a high vigilance. What would happen if they accidentally injured ordinary people? Once, former Director Zhang Xiankun saw Lanzhou ramen and Shaxian street food all over the street that it gave him inspiration. He thought about it and disguised his local offices as restaurants serving braised chicken and rice, worried that they wouldn¡¯t have enough money. Later¡­ there was no later. Because Kan Chaosheng joined the Bureau. Kinky Thoughts: Just for some clarity, the Special Administration Bureau refers to the entire exorcism department as a whole (all the branch offices along with HQ), while the General Administration Bureau is the HQ of the Special Administration Bureau, so while they were in the capital, the General and Special Bureau usually means the same thing but when it¡¯s specifically refers to as the General Bureau, it means that it¡¯s the where all the leaders are (as HQ is the one that gives out the orders to the other branches). I probably should have added this note way before. CH 74 The room was at the end of the corridor on the right side of the second floor, which was commonly known as the ¡°tail room¡±, as it was right by the emergency exit. He Jia took out the keys and open the door, waiting at the entrance while Dong Zhi went in and walked around. The layout of the room was not much different from other hotel rooms. The only difference was that there was an extra table by the window with an incense burner on it. There were three incense sticks that have already burnt out. The incense burner was full of incense ash and there were three plates arranged side by side with different kinds of fruits on them. Dong Zhi walked around the room for a bit. Just as he was about to leave, his footsteps suddenly stopped. He squatted down by the bed and wiped his fingers on the floor near it. He didn¡¯t stay for long and quickly got up, patted his hands and brushed away the incense ash before walking out of the room. He Jia was a little surprise: ¡°Are you okay?¡± He smiled and said: ¡°Everything looks good. The incense in the incense burner has burned out. Do you want to add some more?¡± He Jia shook her head: ¡°My great aunt asked me to do it once a week, so I don¡¯t care about other times.¡± The two went up to the third floor. He Jia pointed to a room and said: ¡°Brother Dong, this is your room, 3013. Next to your room is 3012, which is mine. If you need anything at night, just call customer service. They¡¯re on duty 24 hours a day.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°You don¡¯t need to accompany me. I just came here for a change of scenery and to collect some materials.¡± He Jia¡¯s face flushed slightly. She didn¡¯t want to reveal that she was extremely happy eating and having fun with him, so she said: ¡°It¡¯s okay. My only job is to take care of the hotel every day and do some manual work, so my schedule is quite free¡­¡± Before she finished speaking, she let out a gasped. Dong Zhi followed her gaze and saw that at the end of the corridor on the other side, a person was lying on the windowsill. His entire upper body was almost hanging outside, and he was slowly looking out. ¡°What is he doing?!¡± He Jia exclaimed. Dong Zhi quickly ran over, grabbed the clothes on the man¡¯s back and pulled him back! The other part was a middle-aged man who was bewildered when he was dragged back to the floor: ¡°What are you pulling me for? What¡¯s wrong with you?!¡± To allow guest to look at the scenery, the height of the windows was above the waist for adults and there were no guardrails outside the window sill. He Jia never thought that someone would use the height of three floors to commit suicide. Looking back at the scene just now, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a little bit frightened. ¡°You almost fell just now!¡± The man scratched his head with a blank expression: ¡°I¡¯m just smoking by the window!¡± He Jia frowned: ¡°Do you need to stick out most of your body to smoke?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t¡­ eh, where¡¯s my light¡± He rummaged through his pockets. This scene attracted several guests who opened their door to look. Seeing that it wasn¡¯t a big deal, they went back to their own business while the man quickly went back to his room. He Jia closed the window and locked it to avoid any accidents. ¡°There used to be flowerpots outside, but a few of them withered yesterday, so I asked someone to move them away while we replace them.¡± She was afraid that if the guest really had an accident at the hotel, she¡¯ll have to close it down. After chatting for a bit, they returned to their rooms. He Jia specially prepared a spacious luxury suite with a king-size bed for him. Not only was there a balcony, but the bathroom also had a bathtub that was right in front of a floor-to-ceiling window. He could take a bath while looking at the ocean view. The style of the room matched what was outside, gorgeous but not ostentatious. There were gauze curtains around the big bed and lace sheets covered the bed. Everything had an almost dream-like atmosphere to them as light faintly glowed overhead. Lying on this bed for three days and night would be the most pleasant thing in the world. Just standing near the bed and looking at it made Dong Zhi tired. He couldn¡¯t help but bend over and reached out to touch it. Suddenly, his movements stopped. Although his body felt tired, his mind was wide awake. A little coolness spread around his neck. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help reaching out and touched a triangular talisman. This was the soothing charm that Long Shen gave him before he left. Although it couldn¡¯t dispel evil spirits and suppress demons, it could at least calm the nerves and keep his mind clear. There was something wrong with this hotel. He noticed it from the time he was at the entrance and until he came into the room, the feeling that something¡¯s wrong became only stronger. If this hotel had such an aura that can persuade people passing by or coming in to feel nostalgic that they didn¡¯t want to leave after staying, why didn¡¯t it affect He Jia and the hotel staff? He Jia herself felt uncomfortable here and didn¡¯t really want to come in. There didn¡¯t seem to be anything strange with her. If she was acting, then her skills could win her an Oscar. Dong Zhi walked around the room and found nothing for the time being. Instead, after a long day, he was full of sweat. He put down his guqin case and went into the bathroom to take a bath. The tourism industry in Lucheng was very developed, but most tourists who came here were fond of staying in private hotels with Chinese and Western architecture as they felt it was the true experience of visiting Lucheng, thus fewer people would choose to go to star-rated hotels. Because of this, hotels were built and decorated similar to this hotel, especially along the coastal areas and the islands that was away from the city. Although it was not a regular hotel, it was properly maintained, and the bathroom was tidy. The toiletries were all brand-named goods, which was similar to a star-rated hotel. He turned on the faucet and was about to wash his face when he suddenly heard a bit of noise outside. He remembered that he had forgotten to bring his phone in. He thought it was his phone ringing, so he opened the door and went out to get it, only to see that the TV in the room had turned on by itself and the news was being broadcasted. Dong Zhi was momentarily stunned. The remote control was still in the cabinet and the TV wasn¡¯t voice-activated. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for it to turn on by itself. Apart from him, there was no one else in the room either and the door was closed and locked. He turned off the TV, picked up the phone, and re-entered the bathroom. This time, nothing happened while he took his bath. The moisture of the water greatly reduced a lot of his fatigue. Dong Zhi put on a bathrobe and walked out of the bathroom. There was a sudden clatter behind him, and the faucet inexplicably turned on. He turned his head. What was flowing out of the faucet wasn¡¯t water, but dark thick red blood. The blood flowed into the vanity and beads of blood splattered everywhere, quickly covering the entire area with blood, creating an extremely terrifying scene. Dong Zhi stared at the faucet for a while, then turned around and left without turning it off. As he laid on the bed, he picked up his phone and heard the running water stopped. The faucet seemed to have turned off by itself. He curled his lips and suddenly recalled that when he was staying in a hotel in Changchun, he felt that someone was watching him in the middle of the night. Besides that, there was also the Archfiend that was staying next to him. Although he was ignorant at the time, few people could say that they stayed next to an Archfiend these days. Compared to that time, this can only be regarded as child¡¯s play now. As if in response to his contempt, after he turned off the lights and went to sleep, the faucet quickly turned on automatically again, and kept turning on and off for a while, creating a clattering noise from the bathroom. Dong Zhi took out a pair of earplugs from his pocket and stuffed them in his ears and continued to sleep. When he fell asleep, he felt that his nose was a bit itchy, as if someone was teasing him with a hare¡¯s-tail grass. He couldn¡¯t help but sneezed and opened his eyes. He then saw a ¡°person¡± embedded in the ceiling, flying flat like him, with a dark face, long hair hanging down to the tip of its nose. It had a pair of red and weird eyes that were staring at him. If this was an ordinary person, they would probably be frighted to death with a heart attack, but the moment Dong Zhi opened his eyes, his hand has already moved and slid out of the blanket and threw a Sunlight Talisman up. ¡°The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil!¡± The moment the sunlight talisman came into contact with the thing, it burned and wailed bitterly before disappearing entirely along with the Sunlight Talisman. Dong Zhi rubbed his eyes, sat up, and calmly said: ¡°No matter what you are, I advise you not to make any more trouble. Otherwise, instead of driving me away, I¡¯ll be the one taking you away.¡± There was no one in the room except for him. If He Jia witnessed him talking to himself right now, she would probably would treat him like a lunatic. The response he got was the TV suddenly turning on. On screen was a foreign leader who was speaking with righteous indignation to the anti-government organization: ¡°¡­We will never bow to any terrorists!¡± Dong Zhi felt inexplicably happy and couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud. The faucet in the bathroom once again turned on by itself and the sound of water flowing endlessly could be heard. He ignored it and continue to lie down and went back to sleep, and soon fell asleep. The night was long. Whenever something approached him, there would be a flash of red light about three feet away from him. That was the Changshou Sword that he put on his pillow. Suddenly, the faucet stopped running and the LCD TV automatically turned off. The owner of the sword was dreaming soundly, seemingly unaffected in any way. The next day, the sky was bright, and Dong Zhi naturally woke up. He looked at the calm room and smiled, then walked into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. The water was clear and not blood, like it was last night. It was nearly 9 AM when He Jia knocked on the door and invited him downstairs for breakfast. The hotel provided both a Chinese and Western style breakfast and the dishes were pretty good. Many guests were already there eating. He Jia took the initiative and asked: ¡°Did you encounter anything strange last night?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Why? Did you encounter something?¡± He Jia lowered her voice: ¡°It¡¯s not an encounter, but I always feel like there¡¯s someone next to me as I¡¯m sleeping. Last night, I dreamt that someone told me not to stay here and to get out quickly. When I woke up, I couldn¡¯t remember who that person was. Did you meet something too?¡± After that, she wrinkled her nose: ¡°I really don¡¯t like it here.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t talk about what he had encountered last night, but instead showed an interested look: ¡°I went to bed early last night and didn¡¯t encounter anything, but hearing what you said, I¡¯m quite interested. Why don¡¯t you go back first, and I¡¯ll change to your room to sleep there to see if I¡¯ll encounter anything tonight.¡± He Jia became wide eyed. Seeing him in high spirits, she couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°Aren¡¯t you scared?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Of course not. Didn¡¯t you say that no one has encountered any accidents here before? Even if there is something, it¡¯s estimated that it just wants to scare us.¡± He Jia: ¡°Then I will accompany you¡­¡± Dong Zhi stopped her: ¡°You¡¯ve been here all night. Maybe because you¡¯re here those things went to scare you and not me. I¡¯ll experience it first for myself so I can gather more materials for my comics. Moreover, I find it a bit strange.¡± He Jia looked at him suspiciously. Dong Zhi: ¡°Do you remember the man we met last night? If we hadn¡¯t been there in time, he would¡¯ve fallen down. Even from the third floor, his life could be endangered. According to what you said, although it¡¯s strange here, no one has ever died before, so it shouldn¡¯t be like this.¡± He Jia also remembered. Dong Zhi switched topics: ¡°However, it¡¯s also possible that he was careless and drank too much. In short, I have to look at the hotel during the day. It just so happens that I just moved here a few days ago so I¡¯m currently staying in a hotel now, so I¡¯ll simply switch hotels. You¡¯re busy with work so you don¡¯t need to be mindful of me.¡± Since it was in his plans to do so, He Jia couldn¡¯t say anything. She was regarded as a pure rich beauty* in the eyes of the world. Everyone else in her family had something to do except her. It was only after graduation that she took over her great aunt¡¯s hotel. Apart from a few tasks every now and then, she was mainly free most of the time, but she couldn¡¯t show too much initiative and enthusiasm to avoid scaring away the male god. *[Bai fumei] (°×¸»ÃÀ) Term refers to women who are fair in complexion, rich, and has a beautiful appearance, and a good figure and temperament. ¡°Well, if you have any needs, just tell me directly. I can also drive you wherever you want to go.¡± While talking, they have finished their breakfast. In order to please the boss and her friend, the restaurant chef specially made two desserts and delivered it to them. Dong Zhi looked at the tender and seductive blueberry panna cotta and was distracted for a moment. He remembered that although Long Shen didn¡¯t care for eating, he would take the initiative to pick dishes when they went out to eat that was on the sweeter side. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know if Long Shen would like this kind of panna cotta. He thought intently about the scenery in his heart, not realizing that he had also become a scenery himself in He Jia¡¯s eyes. After breakfast, Dong Zhi called Yan Nuo, per his routine. Whether someone took the initiative to look for him was one thing, but as a newcomer, he couldn¡¯t help but be more proactive. Yan Nuo didn¡¯t seem to mind as he took no initiative at all, and even wished that Dong Zhi wouldn¡¯t be so proactive and look for him. Dong Zhi was a little surprise to hear a lot of background noise during their call. It seemed that there were a lot of people arguing. ¡°Brother Yan, where are you now?¡± ¡°I¡¯m at the police station. Can I help you?¡± ¡°No, I want to ask if there is anything I can do for you?¡± Yan Nuo became a little impatient: ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you? I¡¯ll ask if I need help! I heard that you¡¯re going out to find a place to rent. You don¡¯t want to live in that old house? Then go and look for a place to stay first, so I don¡¯t have to worry about it.¡± After saying that he was about hang up but Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°Brother Yan, I ran into a strange incident at a hotel. I wonder if you¡¯re free or perhaps you can send someone to have a look?¡± Yan Nuo: ¡°We have more important things to deal with right now. Can you handle it for now?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I can for now, but I don¡¯t know if a bigger situation will arise in the future¡­¡± Yan Nuo interrupted him: ¡°If you can¡¯t handle it then call me. If you can, then just deal with it first. Be careful. I¡¯m hanging up now!¡± This temper was really too anxious! Dong Zhi felt a bit helpless. None of his conversations with Yan Nuo seemed to be able to get through to the end. Depressed, he typed up a message to Long Shen, clearly reporting the strange thing he encountered at the hotel. In fact, he hoped that the other party would reply and comfort him, but his finger stayed on the send button for a long time, before he finally deleted it. Since he had the ability to solve problems, what would his Master think if he bothered him about everything? He would probably feel he wasn¡¯t capable enough and he could accomplish nothing without leaving under his wings. It wasn¡¯t clear what kind of people Long Shen liked, but he knew what kind of apprentice Long Shen liked. It was by no means an apprentice who would ask for advice and reported on the slightest trivial matter, and could only be cute and coquettish, but had no abilities at all. If he wanted to follow the footsteps of an eagle, he must become one himself. He put his phone back into his pocket, went to the hotel where he was staying at to check out and moved his things to He Jia¡¯s hotel. He then took a taxi back to the old house that was used as an office, where he spent half a day doing simple cleaning. After lunch, he went to a nearby real estate agent and followed the agent to look at several places to rent. He wasn¡¯t satisfied with any of them. The agent said that he still had a few more properties, but he didn¡¯t had the key with him for the time being, and he would not be able to get them until tomorrow. The two parties made an appointment to continue looking at places tomorrow morning. At the end of the day, Dong Zhi still had not rested. When he returned to the hotel, night had already fallen. Thanks to Long Shen¡¯s ¡°devil training¡± in the past few weeks, his physical strength had recovered tremendously after he had invited a Righteous God in Yinchuan, so he was no longer lethargic. ¡°Sir, our boss asked me to hand this to you, saying that she made it herself.¡± As soon as he returned to his room, a little girl with a sweet smile who worked the front desk knocked on his door and brought him a delicate gift box with a ribbon tied to it. After thanking her, Dong Zhi asked where her boss was. The little girl said that the boss had something to do at home recently and had gone back to deal with it. She said that they would entertain him well and if he needed anything, he could call room service. There was drinks and snacks in the room and there were many places nearby that conveniently offered takeout. He Jia had said yesterday that she had something to do today, so she didn¡¯t attend to Dong Zhi. He put down the gift box and went to take a bath. This time, there were no more tricks such as the TV turning on automatically, and the faucet flowing out blood. Perhaps the other party saw that he wasn¡¯t easily fooled, so it temporarily stopped. Dong Zhi was so happy and relaxed that after taking his bath, he took out talisman paper and cinnabar from the guqin case and started to practice drawing talismans. During the previous weeks, he was busy practicing Bu Tian Gang that he had neglected his talismans practice. There were many in the world that valued not only talent, but also the studious and those who diligently practice. Once any skill was slackened, it would be like sailing against the tide. If he didn¡¯t advance, he could only retreat. There were two kinds of talismans that he knew now. One was the Sunlight Talisman, and the other was the Thunder Talisman. However, Long Shen had told him that the essence of drawing talismans wasn¡¯t the focus. The main role of the Sunlight Talisman was to calm the mind and exorcise demons and ward off evil spirits, while the Thunder Talisman was used to attract thunder. Because he hadn¡¯t learned these from childhood, it was enough as long as he kept using them freely and turned them into his own style. When he was in the capital, his vitality hadn¡¯t been restored. Long Shen prevented him from drawing talisman, saying that it was easy to hurt his nerves. Therefore, at that time, he mainly practiced his kungfu tona, and strengthening his Tian Gang footwork and swordsmanship. It wasn¡¯t until before leaving Beijing did his Master lifted his ban on drawing talisman. Seeing the yellow paper and cinnabar that hadn¡¯t been touched for over a month, he felt a familiar and cordial feeling arose spontaneously. He picked up his brush, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing, as outlines of the shape of the talisman came into his mind. He then opened his eyes and dipped the brush into ink, then his brush started to fly, finishing in one go. The most important thing in a piece of talisman paper, in addition to runes, was the inheritance. The so-called inheritance referred to the inheritance of Taoism in the talisman. Each talisman had an inheritance mark of the school. For example, on the talisman painted by Dong Zhi and He Yu, there was the inheritance of the Hezao Sect. Li Ying¡¯s talisman had the inheritance of the Maoshan Sect. Wu Bingtian was the Yuanming Palace and so forth. A talisman without inheritance was considered invalid, so a truly knowledgeable person could see the inheritance and skill of the person who drew the talisman just by looking at them. Long Shen didn¡¯t have a teacher before, so naturally he couldn¡¯t use talisman, but there was still Dong Zhi. His name was still linked with the Hezao Sect, so he could continue to use them. Although Long Shen was powerful, he did not ask Dong Zhi to give up drawing talisman, and even encouraged him to practice more, because the Thunder Talisman was very easy to use. In addition, demons and ghost in all three realms were afraid of the power of heavenly lightning. With Bu Tian Gang, the effect was estimated to be more powerful than just simply using the Thunder Talisman. Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t tried combing the two of them yet, but he couldn¡¯t help but looked forward to it. When he was in Beijing, his body hadn¡¯t recovered, so Long Shen refused to let him try it. There was no special practice space like the rooftop area in the General Administration Bureau and he couldn¡¯t go into the suburbs to practice in the dead of night. It would be troublesome if he was seen by others. He was in good condition tonight. Dong Zhi drew for three hours nonstop. After counting them up, he drew 99 talismans, of which 16 could be used. This was already a record-breaking success rate. When he first learned how to draw talismans, it would be amazing if he managed to get one or two out of dozens. Not to mention He Yu, even Master Fang Yang didn¡¯t possessed the ability to succeed on the first drawing. It was rumored that the most powerful talisman drawer in the world today was the head of Mount Longhu, which was also Zhang Song¡¯s Master. This old master was a true painter as his talisman were extremely frightening, but Zhang Song¡¯s Master was very old now, and he rarely drew talismans in recent years. A Peace Talisman that he drew could sell for sky-high prices when sold outside. Just as he picked up the drawn talisman and admired them carefully, he heard a noise outside. There was a lot of movement, as if it came from the side of the stairs, followed by voices speaking. Dong Zhi put down the talisman and pushed the door out to have a look. He saw that many tenants also heard the movement and opened their doors to look. There were several people standing on the side of the stairs, looking downstairs. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± He found a staff member by the stairs, and he walked over and asked. ¡°There¡¯s a guest on the second floor who seems to have had a heart attack. She didn¡¯t bring medication. We called an ambulance, but it hasn¡¯t arrived yet. The front desk asked us to come over and ask if there¡¯s anyone who¡¯s a doctor.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart pounded, and he ran to the second floor. In the corridor on the second floor, there was a middle-aged woman lying at the door of one of the rooms with people surrounding her as someone was trying to give her first-aid. ¡°Mom! Mom! Wake up!¡± A young girl cried as she wiped tears from her eyes. The first responder were very professional and calm. He look like he was a doctor or was studying medicine. Next to him were guests who was calling for help. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know how to heal, so he didn¡¯t step forward to join the group. When he looked around, his sight suddenly stopped, and his gentle and harmless peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly. The first responder was giving the woman artificial resuscitation as he pushed on her chest. There was nothing abnormal in the eyes of other as this was the common first aid technique used for heart disease, but Dong Zhi saw that every time his hands went down, he failed to touch the woman¡¯s chest, because it was blocked by a dark shadow. He looked closely at it again and saw that there seemed to be something hidden behind the rescuer, like a shadow that can¡¯t be seen by the light. There seemed to be nothing there but a vague human shaped outline that was attached to the back of the rescuer. It would extend its ¡°hand¡± to block the rescuer¡¯s hand and the patient¡¯s body, to prevent the patient from being rescued. The people around them didn¡¯t notice it. In their eyes the rescuer was doing everything correctly, but the patient had no response. The situation was obviously very bad. If this continued, the patient would surely die within a few seconds! Dong Zhi squeezed the Sunlight Talisman in his hand, quietly walked around the back of the rescuer, then suddenly stretched out his hand and patted the back of the rescuer¡¯s neck! The man who was preoccupied with saving the person screamed in pain, and Dong Zhi quickly retracted his hand and put his clenched fist into his pockets. ¡°I seemed to saw a fly on your neck just now¡­¡± He hesitantly said and gave an embarrassed look. Thinking that he was obstructing the rescuer¡¯s first aid attempt, everyone glared at him angrily. ¡°What trouble are you up to? He¡¯s trying to save someone¡¯s life. Can¡¯t you see?!¡± ¡°What an unruly kid. Go away! Go!¡± Others stepped forward to push him away. Dong Zhi repeatedly apologized as he retreated. ¡°There¡¯s a response! There¡¯s a response!¡± ¡°She woke up!¡± Everyone shouted in surprise and all of sudden they no longer cared about Dong Zhi. The ambulance had just arrived, and everyone gathered to help carry the woman onto the stretcher. Her family members thanked all the people who helped and quickly followed after the ambulance. The onlookers were still talking about what a frightening scene just now and surrounded the middle-aged man who helped saved the patient. They praised him for his abilities and kindness. The man was embarrassed and said that he was a doctor. He often encountered this kind of thing when he went out and about and often teach others how to give first aid. No one had noticed that Dong Zhi had left the scene and quietly returned back to his room. The author has something to say: Dong Zhi: After the matter was over, I hid my merit and fame. I¡¯ll pretend to be forceful next time. CH 75 The hand he had put in his pocket didn¡¯t move. First, he made a small talisman array with his other hand and then slowly took out his hand that was clenching, and threw it into the talisman array! With a cry, a group of dark shadows jumped up and down in the array, trying to break free from its confinement, but seeing that they couldn¡¯t escape, they could only turn villainous and bore their teeth and claws at Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi titled his head and observed for a while, a little puzzled. He originally thought it was an evil spirit, but now it didn¡¯t seem to be. ¡°What are you?¡± He said. The black shadow seemed to understand. The three-inch villain suddenly swelled and became bigger, transforming into a black dragon in the talisman array, reaching the height of the ceiling and opened its mouth and roared at Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi laughed: ¡°Dragon? You¡¯re not. Don¡¯t even mention Jiaos. Come on, who¡¯s ordering you. Who¡¯s the one behind you?¡± Seeing that he was unmoved, the black dragon shrunk its figure and turned into a young girl with long hair that was tied up in a ponytail, wearing a white shirt and jeans, that looked a bit familiar. Dong Zhi quickly remembered that this was the family member who had just cried next to the sick person earlier. The girl sobbed and wept as she pointed to the talisman array, signaling to let her out. Her face was small and fair, and she was crying pitifully that it touched his heart. Dong Zhi seemed to soften as he withdrew the talisman array. The other party seemed to sensed that Dong Zhi was kind and soft-hearted and wouldn¡¯t be unnecessarily cruel. Taking this advantage, when the talisman array was removed, it directly turned into a dark shadow and flew out! Unexpectedly, a gust of wind came from behind. Before it got the chance to turn its head, its body was directly nailed to the wall! Dong Zhi walked over slowly and pulled out his Changshou Sword. A gray piece of paper fluttered to the ground. ¡°¡­Shikigami?¡± Dong Zhi picked up the piece of paper and frowned. It didn¡¯t seem that things were that simple. When they were in their training class, they learned from Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun all the popular techniques all over the world. From the psychics in Russia, to vampires in Europe. From witchcraft in Southeast Asia, to black magic in Africa, there were many wonders in the world. However, the two directors have talked most about the art of Onmyoji. It was mainly due to China and Japan being old enemies. Since the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Japan had been copying China. This situation lasted until the end of the Qing Dynasty. After the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan learned from the Europeans and Americans and defeated the Beiyang Navy, which was ranked ninth in the world at that time. Since then, there¡¯s been animosity between the two countries. To this day, although the two countries maintained friendly exchanges, there have always been discordance in private, even at the level of practitioners. Japan would frequently make small moves by sending spies to fish in troubled waters*. It was impolite to not reciprocate, thus China also sent no fewer numbers of spies to their side as well. Both sides were firmly aware of this and had a somewhat tacit understanding. *Reminder: Taking advantage of times of trouble. In regard to Japan, the general consensus of the Special Administration Bureau is that there was no shortage of good people, but these are ordinary people who couldn¡¯t play much of a role, because the entire Japanese political scene was controlled by the right wing. Politicians colluded with consortiums and Onmyojis, and there was no lack of shadow consortiums behind them either. The three were closely related and couldn¡¯t be separated. Therefore, Dong Zhi had an unusual sensitivity to Onmyoji techniques. But this one was very strange. This style of shikigami was not the same as what he had seen before. After the shikigami summoned by Fujikawa was destroyed, it would disappear because they had been refined to the point of fusing to their master¡¯s body. When the shikigami lost its effectiveness, it usually turned into a blank piece of paper. Though it was said to be a blank piece of paper, it was in fact not a real blank piece of paper. It was a special secret material used by the Onmyoji. With the shikigami in his hand, he took a closer look and saw countless gray ¡°silk threads¡± wrapped around the white paper, which were stack on one after another, without substance and touch. It seemed there¡¯s some kind of aura or evil thing attached to it. This didn¡¯t seem to be in the category of the shikigami that he knew of. Dong Zhi felt that either his knowledge of the shikigamis was not enough, or that this thing might not be related to an Onmyoji skill. Was it related to demons? But the Archfiend was completely destroyed, and there was no possibility of resurrection. It was even more impossible for it to be related to Fujikawa Aoi. Could it be a subordinate of the Archfiend who was unwilling to accept its master¡¯s defeat and wanted to take revenge? Dong Zhi found that the more he thought about it, the more boundless his thoughts became, so he quickly gathered his thoughts like reigning in a wild horse. The most puzzling thing was that the shikigami appeared in a small hotel in Lucheng. Was there an Onmyoji hidden here? If he hadn¡¯t been there just now and caught this thing in time, it was estimated that someone would¡¯ve died by now. From his point of view, it couldn¡¯t be interpreted as ¡°unintentional¡± or ¡°carelessness¡±. Dong Zhi recalled the man that he and He Jia saw last night who wanted to jump off the building. One incident could be interpreted as coincidence, but now there were two conspiracies. He picked up the phone and wanted to call Yan Nuo¡¯s number, but after thinking about it, he dialed Mu Duo¡¯s instead. Yan Nuo was too impatient and would always hang up after saying a few words. It was useless to tell him anything, so it was better to talk to Mu Duo. Sure enough, Mu Duo wasn¡¯t as difficult to talk to as Yan Nuo. She had picked up the phone after only two rings. She was surprised when she heard that he had found a shikigami in a hotel and asked about the situation. Dong Zhi explained briefly, and asked her again: ¡°Has there been any cases related to shikigamis in Lucheng recently?¡± Mu Duo said: ¡°No, the office had been established for less than ten years. I¡¯ve been here for about five years and had not encountered anything of the like. I have heard that Shen Cheng had fought with an Onmyoji before. Would you like me to ask for you if they had encountered a similar case?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°No need for now, but there may be others behind this matter. I¡¯m worried that the other party is planning something. If you¡¯re not busy over there, can you come and have a look? Maybe you can find more details I neglected.¡± Mu Duo hesitated for a moment. There was sounds of movement, as if she changed to a quiet place to talk to him. ¡°In fact, we¡¯re having a difficult case right now.¡± Yan Nuo¡¯s style was the same as his surname*. He didn¡¯t disclose any content. Dong Zhi just knew that the three of them had been busy recently, and he didn¡¯t know what they were busy with. Sometimes, he thought they were deliberately avoiding him. Only when he heard from Mu Duo did he found that they were busy with a homicide. *Yan (ÑÏ) means strict/stern/stringent ect. The homicide case was extremely gruesome. In addition to that, the state of the corpses showed that the murderer was crazy and cruel. No matter which country this case happened in, it would be considered a high-profiled case. With the Special Administration Bureau involvement, it indicated that it was no longer just a simple homicide. There was a total of five dead. A family of four, plus a nanny. The man¡¯s name was Huang Wendong. He was a construction businessman, and his wife was a housewife. They had a son and daughter. The family was well-off and had no worries for food and clothing. When Huang Wendong¡¯s friends found that he was missing, they tried contacting him to no avail. Eventually, the relatives of the Huang family called the police. After checking surveillance, they found that after entering the home, no one had left the house since that time. The police broke in and found all five of them dead, covered in pools of blood. Except for Huang Wendong, all the other were brutally dismembered. Their limbs and heads were cut off, and the son¡¯s expression before he died looked horrified. It was very likely that his head was cut off while conscious. Huang Wendong¡¯s chest and stomach were cut open by a knife and his organs and intestines flowed out. Seeing such a scene, even the experienced police officers couldn¡¯t handle it. With such a case, the police immediately took action. The criminal suspect did not leave any fingerprints on the scene, but this wasn¡¯t the strangest thing. The Huang family lived in a high-end residential community. An elevator connected two households together. From the entrance of the residential area to the door of each household was strict surveillance. When the police adjusted the monitoring at that time, they found that no one went in or out of their home. There were no signs of outside invaders from the windows or any other places either. In other words, it was very likely that the Huang family did all this by themselves, but no one could imagine that Huang Wendong would kill his wife and children and their nanny, and then stabbed and disemboweled himself with a knife. This wasn¡¯t something a normal person would do, but according to investigation, Huang Wendong was completely normal and the relationship between the couple had always been good. The progress of this case had progressed to this point, and it was filled with oddities everywhere, so the police had invited the people from the Special Administration Bureau to participate in the investigation. The latest development now is that the police had discovered that Huang Wendong probably kept a mistress outside. There were also remnants of sleeping pills in the food that he brought back for his wife and kids. The mistress may have fled as she hadn¡¯t been caught yet. Yan Nuo and the others found traces of a magic on Huang Wendong¡¯s body. Hearing this, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help asking: ¡°What magic technique was used?¡± Mu Duo said: ¡°We think it might be witchcraft, because Huang Wendong¡¯s passport and flight records showed that he went to Southeast Asia a month ago, but we¡¯re not sure yet. We¡¯re still investigating other possibilities.¡± Since they had business to do, Dong Zhi was embarrassed to ask others for their help, so he said: ¡°Then you take care of your business. If you need anything, just call me. I¡¯ll try to solve this myself first.¡± Mu Duo said: ¡°Okay. Be careful yourself and let me know if you have any trouble.¡± After a few more words, the two ended the call. Dong Zhi looked at the gray paper in his hand and slowly frowned. The middle-age man that almost jumped off the building last night and the woman who had a heart attack just now, if they had something to do with the shikigami, it would make sense, but what about the inexplicable things like the TV turning on and off and the faucet? Was it a shikigami style to scare people? He suddenly found that the mysteries surrounding the hotel became foggier. If he hadn¡¯t been here, these strange things may still happen. Whether it was falling off a building or someone dying of a heart attack due to a failed rescue attempt, they were seemingly ordinary, so it was hard to connect it with the mystery. Dong Zhi considered whether he should ask He Jia to gather all the guests and staff of the hotel and ask them one by one, but that could scare the snake. After thinking about it for a while, he got up and walked out to chat with the young lady at the front desk. The business of the hotel was good as always. The beautiful young girl at the front desk was busy answering calls and making reservations out months in advance. Dong Zhi waited for a long time before he had an opportunity to chat with her. He first asked about what happened to the guest who had a heart attack just now and pretended to inadvertently ask about the strange things that happened in the hotel. He didn¡¯t know whether He Jia had told the girl in advance and revealed everything to her, or she was impressed by his looks, but the young girl was extremely enthusiastic and talkative. She told him a lot within a single breath, but it was just about the same information as what He Jia had told him, except that the cleaners often found that things would disappear and reappear again in another place. The kitchen sometimes would find that the food was reduced, and flowers that was placed on the balcony would appear in the lobby inexplicably. Generally speaking, this would be considered on the level of a prank. She also mentioned that there may be a recent epidemic of influenza as more and more guest became sick, as they had to prepare commonly used drugs for room service and would remind guests to take them. Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Are there many guests who would have a heart attack like that case just now?¡± The other party said no. Although strange things were happening, they were all trivial matters, so they wouldn¡¯t make people too scared to stay at the hotel. Dong Zhi said that he wanted to walk around the hotel at night and asked her to talk to the staff in the monitoring room, so they won¡¯t think of him a suspicious person up to no good. The young girl smiled and said: ¡°Feel free. The boss had already explained that there¡¯s nowhere you can¡¯t go except in the rooms of where guests are staying.¡± Dong Zhi returned her smile and said: ¡°Then I want to go to the tail room on the second floor to have a look. You should have the key, right?¡± The other party was taken aback and hesitated: ¡°Yes I do¡­¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Your boss took me in yesterday. She shouldn¡¯t have said that that room was an exception. I¡¯ll come right back out after going in and walking around for a bit. I won¡¯t damage anything.¡± The young girl was still hesitant and didn¡¯t dare make a decision, so Dong Zhi called He Jia and asked her for permission. Although He Jia liked to read the comics Dong Zhi drew and had a nagging great aunt, she herself wasn¡¯t very avid about this kind of weird and chaotic thing, so she agreed without any pushback. With the boss¡¯ approval, the young girl naturally stopped hesitating and took the key and accompanied him upstairs. ¡°In this room we let a cleaning lady come in once a week to clean it and change the offerings. No one comes in any other time.¡± The young girl said. Dong Zhi: ¡°Then have you ever heard any movement coming from inside? Or had any tenants who stayed next door reported anything?¡± The young girl shook her head: ¡°Not that I know of.¡± When the room opened, the dusty smell smack him in the face. It hadn¡¯t been cleaned for almost a week and cleaning was arrange for tomorrow. Dong Zhi brought the key with him, so the young girl didn¡¯t have to wait on him. When he watched her leave, he entered the room and closed the door, then instantly slapped a talisman on the door! He quickly walked to the window and slapped another one there. The doors and windows were now blocked. Dong Zhi glanced around the room, habitually adjusting the compass on his phone, pointed at one of the directions, and pasted another talisman. If someone else was here, just a little observation would reveal that the room was simplified in a geometric three-dimensional space in the mind. The three talisman Dong Zhi pasted were exactly on the same horizontal plane. If one were to use a ruler to measure, they would find that the margin of error would never exceed five centimeters. This turned out to be something that could be done with eyesight alone. After all, Dong Zhi had practiced this many times. When he had free time, he would set up formations in his bedroom. From the most ordinary eight trigram array to the thunder-summoning array, Liu Qingbo had seen that he was making rapid progress while Ba Sang and Gu Meiren saw that he had extraordinary talent. He was only a halfway monk, shaking and clanging a half bucket of water, but had managed to survive the experience of the training exam and was able to worship the eye-catching Boss Long. However, they didn¡¯t know how much effort and sweat he had put in behind the scenes. Being a genius was never accidental. At this moment, he was using a very common eight trigram array that exorcise demons and purify filth. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t open his eyes, so he could only judge by intuition. It was said that people who have the eyes of heaven are said to be able to understand yin and yang and could see things what ordinary people cannot. Someone people were born with the eyes of heaven, some people would only open these eyes on a certain day, and some people would only open them in a special way for certain needs, and then artificially close the door that was different from ordinary people. According to Dong Zhi¡¯s yin-biased physique, it was originally very suitable for him to open the eyes of heaven, but Long Shen refused to let him. He said that this would hurt his body. Dong Zhi had always listened to his Master¡¯s words. If his Master forbad him, there would always be a good reason for it, and it must be for his own good, so he accepted it without thinking much about it. Occasionally, when he needed to determine the enemy¡¯s position, it would be more convenient to have the eyes of heaven, but it didn¡¯t matter if he didn¡¯t have it. Dong Zhi was holding the fourth talisman in his hand and was pacing slowly in the room, but he didn¡¯t rush to paste it. The bathroom light suddenly lit up with no one there. After a few seconds, it went dark again. Lit up. Dark. After several incidents in succession, the lamp made an unbearable sound. The TV also began making trouble. After it turned on automatically it would change channels by itself that was faster than pressing the remote-control button. The antique floor fan in the room started to turn on by itself when it wasn¡¯t plugged in, causing a gust of cool breeze to blow through the room. Dong Zhi, who wasn¡¯t originally hot instantly got goosebumps. The current season was late autumn, so it was indeed very cold. If this had been the Dong Zhi who was on the train to Changbai Mountain, he would definitely be so scared that his legs would go soft, but now that he had experience all kinds of hellish training from the Special Administration Bureau and had escape near death, not only did he not feel the slightest hesitation, but he wanted to actually laugh. ¡°Besieged on all sides, but one side of the net is left opened*. I have left a way out for your excellency. If you don¡¯t drink my proposed toast, then I can only give you a penalty.¡± *(Íø¿ªÒ»Ãæ) Idiom referring giving the wrongdoer a way to escape. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care about the TV that kept changing frequently behind him. He leaned against the cabinet in front of the TV, holding the talisman in his hand, with his long legs overlapping, so he could relax. Suddenly, the lights in the room went out! There was an angry curse in the air: ¡°Laozi is staying here. Why don¡¯t you mind your own business!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t talk nonsense with it and directly pasted the talisman into its last position. The electric fan suddenly stopped turning and an unknown curse came into Dong Zhi¡¯s ears. Immediately afterwards, a gust of wind swept from behind him, as fast as lightning, threatening to penetrate his body! Dong Zhi didn¡¯t turn his head back. He stretched out his arm and pulled out the Changshou Sword besides him and using his backhand slashed with the sword. With a sharp scream, it seemed as if something fell heavily on the bed and bounced up again. The speed was so fast that the mattress squeaked. But at a time like this, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care about the bed. Using his other hand, he immediately threw out a Sunlight Talisman and locked the thing firmly in place. He still didn¡¯t feel that it was enough, so he pointed the Changshou Sword directly out the window and recited the thunder-summoning spell: ¡°The four great enlightenment, heaven and the earth are eternal, by the Jade Emperor¡®s1 orders, clear the three yuan2. The mighty sword of the Divine King, slay evil and destroy its traces¡­¡± 1(ÓñµÛ) Ruler of the Taoist Gods. You can read more about him in the Wikipedia. 2Has many meanings, but I think in this case it¡¯s either referring to the upper, middle, and lower Dantian, or the jing, qi, and soul. The thing must had some insight as when it heard the spell being recited, it yelled: ¡°You brat, I don¡¯t believe you can summon lightning! Don¡¯t you dare recite it! Recite it again and I¡¯ll ask my disciples and grandchildren to bite you to death!¡± Dong Zhi remained unmoved as he pronounced each word clearly. The thing became erratic, breaking free from the talisman paper that was stuck on it, but it couldn¡¯t break out of the talisman array that Dong Zhi had set up. It could only jump around the room, overturning furniture and smashing windows, causing the melons and fruits on the offering table to be swept away, but still, it couldn¡¯t escape. The people outside probably heard the movement and had called a staff member to assess the situation. The young girl at the front desk knocked on the door outside: ¡°Mr. Dong, what are you doing inside?!¡± The knocking on the door became more urgent and seeing that there was a possibility of them coming in, Dong Zhi had to stop his spell and said loudly: ¡°It¡¯s fine. I¡¯m catching mice. I told your boss, so don¡¯t come in!¡± The person was a friend of the boss and the boss herself had told them that he could do whatever he wanted, so naturally the young girl didn¡¯t delve much into the issue. After a while, it became quiet outside again. With the outside interference gone, Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and looked into the room as the thing kept jumping up and down, so fast that he couldn¡¯t see the real thing clearly. ¡°If you don¡¯t stop, I¡¯m going to summon lightning again.¡± ¡°Bah, are you so good at Leifa*? A small brat like you telling Grandpa that you can summon lightning? Don¡¯t make me laugh to death! If you don¡¯t let Grandpa out now, I¡¯ll make you restless in the future!¡± *(À×·¨) Taoist technique that can call for wind and thunder which can exorcise demon, pray for sunshine and rain, and stop floods and droughts. Dong Zhi calmly said: ¡°Are the strange things in the hotel related to you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s none of your business! You¡¯re too meddlesome*! Get lost!¡± *Dog catches the mouse (¹·ÄúÄ×Ó) Idiom referring to being nosy/meddlesome. It comes from the duty of the dog is to guard the house and the cat is to chase the mice, but the dog is now catching the mice, which is being meddlesome. Dong Zhi was expressionless: ¡°The four great enlightenment, heaven and the earth are eternal, by the Jade Emperor¡¯s orders, clear the three yuan. The mighty sword of the Divine King, slay evil and destroy its traces. The purple qi ascends to heaven, the landscape collides, swallowing demons and ghosts, and drinks the wind. With the sound of wind and thunder, startling ghosts and spirits from thousands of miles¡­¡± The other party didn¡¯t believe that the Dong Zhi could use the five-thunder dharma. Nowadays, there were tens of millions of charlatans. How could it be possible to attract a person with real skills? Besides, even if he was capable, it didn¡¯t mean he could attract lightning. Who knew that it really kicked the iron plate* this time? Dong Zhi recited in a fast but undulating tone. Suddenly a dull noise came from outside the window. It was a cloudless sunny day, but at this time, heavy clouds suddenly gathered, showing signs of a heavy rainstorm. *Refers to thinking something is soft and easy to bully but in reality, is better than themselves so they suffer a loss from it. The people in the streets hurried their pace for fear that they would be caught in the rain. The demon in the hotel room finally panicked. It didn¡¯t expect Dong Zhi to do what he really said. ¡°You¡ª Are you a disciple of those priests* from Mount Longhu?!¡± *[niu bi zi] (Å£±Ç×Ó) It¡¯s an old way to refer to a Taoist priest. Dong Zhi remained unmoved and continued reciting the mantra. The sound of thunder rolled in from afar and the sky suddenly became bright. ¡°Stop! Don¡¯t recite! I¡¯m convinced! I¡¯ll tell you everything! Just stop!¡± The other party finally couldn¡¯t help shouting, and there was a trace of sadness in its voice. Isn¡¯t this enough? Dong Zhi finally put his sword back in its sheath, stopping at the last word in the spell. The thunder stopped and the dark clouds dissipated, causing passersby to raise their eyes to the sky as they muttered how moody God was today. One minute there was a thunderstorm and the next it was gone to who knows where. Dong Zhi looked at the gray mass and said succinctly: ¡°Talk!¡± The thing whimpered and Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what it was scolding him. Its body slowly stretched out and only then did Dong Zhi realized that it was actually a small animal. The little animal didn¡¯t seem that young, but it was small and delicate. On its gray fur was a pair of eyes that were spinning in circles, full of aura and restlessness. The other party curled up its front paws and stood straight, ¡°staring¡± at Dong Zhi as it spat out its words. ¡°Who are you priest? Why don¡¯t you know the rules?! Didn¡¯t your teacher teach you not to be nosy when you go out?!¡± Seeing it appearance at first glance, Dong Zhi had a hard time trying not to laugh out loud. After hearing that it was still being stubborn, he raised his Changshou Sword with his hand slightly. ¡°My teacher only taught me to do my best to get rid of evil when I go out.¡± ¡°Put down the sword. I am not evil!¡± The thing jumped. Dong Zhi: ¡°Cut the crap. Why are you creating those strange things here to disturb others!¡± ¡°How can I harass others? This was originally my territory. I am the Bao Jiaxian* enshrined by the master of their family!¡± The other party screamed to defend itself. Listening carefully, Dong Zhi found traces of grievances. *(±£¼ÒÏÉ) Title of feudal folk god, usually written on paper and pasted on the wall or tablet made of wood. Some people would build small temples as well. Usually tributes it paid to them on the first and fifteenth day of each month. || I believe that they are like your local god. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know much about the Bao Jiaxian, but he had heard people talk about them. Northeast China often said that memorial tablets often referred to the four animals: fox, weasel, snake, and python. Legend has it that they needed to accumulate merits in the process of cultivation, but it wasn¡¯t convenient to show people their true bodies, so they often used human bodies to guide people and do good and accumulate virtue. This kind of thing gave rise to the worship of Ma Xian*. After coming down from Changbai Mountain, Dong Zhi had met Sister Wang from the Northeast Branch during his hospitalization, who he found out later from He Yu was a Ma Xian. *(ÏɵÄ) Local god but is female. As for the Bao Jianxian, as the name suggests, it was natural that these four spiritual objects were enshrined by some people to protect the well-being of their family. There were few people in the Northeast who didn¡¯t know what Bao Jiaxian and Ma Xian are, but outside of the northeast, fewer people knew of them. Dong Zhi was taken aback and asked: ¡°Isn¡¯t Bao Jianxian only from the northeast?¡± The other party said angrily: ¡°Which law stipulates that only the northeast can have them? Are we not allowed to travel around in our country?! Does Lucheng not belong to China or are we splitting it up?¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care for its sarcasm. Thinking about all the trouble the other party has caused, his face grimaced: ¡°Speak well. What the hell is going on?¡± Seeing his opponent¡¯s eye drooping, he directly pulled out a Sunlight Talisman and shook it in front of him. ¡°I¡¯ll be lenient if you confess, and stricter if you resist.¡± Kinky Thoughts: Just to provide more history on the tension between Japan and China, China does have legit grievances with Japan. The biggest in recent history is the Second Sino-Japanese War. Many atrocities were committed by the Japanese to Chinese citizens including the infamous Rape of Nanjing (of which death toll estimates vary from 40,000 to over 300,000, with rape cases ranging from 20,000 to over 80,000 cases), of which Japan today still have been quite reluctant to fully acknowledge. So, while some may think that the author is quite nationalistic and very anti-Japanese, do keep in mind that there¡¯s history between the two countries and it¡¯s not surprising a citizen of one country would choose their villains from another (though as the author pointed out that there¡¯s no shortage of good people in Japan) which in history had done wrong to their country and its citizens. At the end of the day, this is a work of fiction set in a fictional world. There¡¯s no blanketed statement made by the author that all Japanese people are bad. It just so happens the author has chosen some villains to be Japanese. Just some food for thought. I¡¯m not defending Japan or China; each countries have their own issues, but it¡¯s good to know your history. As the philosopher George Santayana say: ¡°Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.¡± ¡ª Bao Jiaxian (±£¼ÒÏÉ) Title of feudal folk god, usually written on paper and pasted on the wall or tablet made of wood. Some people would build small temples as well. Usually tributes it paid to them on the first and fifteenth day of each month ¡ª Ma Xian( ÏɵÄ) Local god but is female. CH 76 The talisman paper was dangling in front of it, so the other party had to temporarily halted its thoughts about running away and explain the situation. The weasel calls itself Uncle Liu. Its hometown was in the northeast, and it was originally the owner of an inn, or rather, the Bao Jiaxian of He Jia¡¯s and her great aunt¡¯s family. During the most turbulent time in China a hundred and ten years ago, her great aunt¡¯s family moved south and brought Uncle Liu with them. Later, after several turbulent times, the family went abroad, died of illness, and their family members dwindled. The younger generation grew up under the influence of science, so they didn¡¯t believe in feudal superstition and scoffed at the so-called Bao Jiaxian. Uncle Liu was enshrined in the room of this hotel by the great aunt. It was regularly worshipped and was asked to help guard this hotel. A few months ago, He Jia¡¯s aunt immigrated overseas, and this hotel was left to He Jia. Before leaving, the great aunt also consulted with Uncle Liu for advice. It told her it didn¡¯t want to go abroad so the great aunt told He Jia to keep this room and not allow any guets to stay in it. He Jia had vaguely heard some rumors, but she didn¡¯t believe in it, but since this was the request of her great aunt, she complied. The fruits and vegetables offered were in good condition, and no one came to disturb its peace, which made Uncle Liu quite happy. Uncle Liu wasn¡¯t a lazy monster who only eats and didn¡¯t work. In addition to guarding the hotel, he also bewitched people to help attract business. Hearing this, Dong Zhi suddenly realized: ¡°No wonder the hotel didn¡¯t need to advertise because they kept getting endless stream of guests. It turns out that you did all this!¡± Uncle Liu was strongly dissatisfied: ¡°What do you mean! I¡¯m a spirit! They were originally looking for a hotel to stay in and the environment and facilities here are good, so I just increased their favorability!¡± Dong Zhi sneered: ¡°If it¡¯s like this then I¡¯m afraid you¡¯ve used too much magic. Otherwise, why do some people who originally planned to stay for one night didn¡¯t want to leave and instead end up staying two or three nights? This also doesn¡¯t take into account the strange things happening in the rooms. Are you the one who¡¯s responsible for all the weird things happening in this hotel?¡± The weasel muttered: ¡°It¡¯s just a little trick that¡¯s not tantamount to murder and arson¡­¡± Dong Zhi heard its guilty conscience and said: ¡°What about that man that almost jumped off the building two days ago and that woman who had a heart attack. Was that your doing?¡± The weasel said angrily: ¡°How could I do such a thing? Do I look like that kind of wolf to you?!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it was just an accident. I saw it with my very own eyes. At that time, something prevented the rescuer from saving that woman. Who could it be if it wasn¡¯t you?!¡± Weasel: ¡°That¡¯s¡ª!¡± Its voice stooped abruptly. Dong Zhi became suspicious: ¡°Who is it?¡± The weasel whispered: ¡°The point is it¡¯s not me!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Even if it¡¯s not you, you must know who it is, right?¡± The weasel was very cunning. Perhaps seeing that Dong Zhi had no intention of killing it, it simply titled its body and fell to the ground with all four of its feet raised to the sky, as if it would die at any moment. The magic array was still there so it couldn¡¯t run even if it wanted to. Dong Zhi sat crossed legged on the bed and grabbed the Changshou Sword in his hand. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you don¡¯t say it. I might as well tell you that I¡¯m from the Special Administration Bureau. To deal with monsters like you, I have the authority to act first. I can kill you first, then charge you with attempted murder. Besides us, no one would know, and I can still make contributions and be rewarded. What do you think about this idea?¡± ¡°Not good!¡± The weasel jumped up in a daze and no longer pretended to play dead. ¡°You¡¯re just a little baby in the Special Administration Bureau! Let me tell you, I¡¯m related to someone in the Special Administration Bureau! If you dare make a move, I¡ª I¡¯ll call your leader and let him chop you to pieces!¡± Dong Zhi looked skeptical: ¡°Something like you, residing in a small hotel in Lucheng can still know people from the Special Administration Bureau.¡± The weasel said proudly: ¡°Scared to death now, huh? You¡¯re new here so why don¡¯t you go and find out! He¡¯s a capable general under Director Long of Group Two of your General Administration Bureau, Kan Chaosheng. He¡¯s the cousin of my grandmother¡¯s eldest brother¡¯s wife¡¯s cousin¡¯s husband!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ Seeing the speechless face on Dong Zhi, the weasel became bolder: ¡°How about it? Scared? Let me just say that a wolf with a background like me is not something a little baby like you can provoke. Be sensible and quickly let me go and I can still speak good things on your behalf in front of your leaders!¡± Before it could finish speaking, it squeaked and screamed, jumping three feet high. It turned out that Dong Zhi took the scabbard and smashed it towards its body, almost flattening its tail. ¡°You¡ª You¡ª don¡¯t mess around!¡± Dong Zhi picked up the phone: ¡°What a coincidence. I also know Kan Chaosheng, so I¡¯ll call him now. If he doesn¡¯t know you, you¡¯re dead meat.¡± The weasel sneered: ¡°You can¡¯t fool me. How could you know such a big figure!¡± Dong Zhi picked up the phone and pressed a number. The other party started to panic: ¡°Why are you calling? This is just a small matter. No need to bother him!¡± ¡°I might as well tell you that I was sent by the General Administration Bureau. We all have to intern in the local area for our first year. I am a member of Group Two that you spoke of. It is exactly the same group that¡¯s Kan Chaosheng is in. Our General Administration Bureau has a performance indicator this year. At least one task must be completed to pass the test, or we¡¯ll be dismissed. You¡¯re unlucky to have met me.¡± Dong Zhi spouted half-truths and lies. ¡°If you¡¯re willing to tell me the real culprit, I¡¯ll let you go. Otherwise, I only need to kill you and return back to work!¡± The weasel screamed: ¡°How can you be such a scumbag!¡± Dong Zhi spread his hands: ¡°There¡¯s not other way. Who told you not to tell me who¡¯s the real culprit? Come here, let me stab you with my sword. Soon there will be no pain.¡± Weasel: ¡°I didn¡¯t do it! I can¡¯t say it!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Why can¡¯t you say it?¡± The weasel refused to speak. ¡°Say it!¡± In order to scare it, Dong Zhi deliberately slapped hard causing the other party¡¯s fur to fluff up its little body, which made it look quite pleasant. ¡°I really can¡¯t say it! I¡¯ve been forbidden and will die if I say it. You might as well just kill me with the sword now!¡± Dong Zhi asked suspiciously: ¡°Who forbade you? Isn¡¯t this your place?¡± The weasel covered its mouth: ¡°I can¡¯t say it! I can¡¯t say it!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Then I¡¯ll ask you questions. You just need to nod or shake your head.¡± He took out a gray piece of paper. ¡°Is it related to this?¡± The weasel hesitated for a moment and nodded its little head. Dong Zhi asked again: ¡°Is it related to the Japanese?¡± The weasel turned his eyes around, first nodded, then shook his head. Dong Zhi said angrily: ¡°Is it or not?¡± Weasel: ¡°I really can¡¯t say it! If I say it, I will die!¡± Dong Zhi thought for a moment, and then asked: ¡°Apart from the man who tried to jump of the building, there are also people who almost died from illness. Has anything else happened?¡± The weasel subconsciously said: ¡°No, they just came¡­¡± Before it could finish speaking, it suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood that pooled onto the white bed sheets. Dong Zhi was taken aback. The weasel cried: ¡°I told you everything! I only use magic to attract others to come in and stay for a few more days, but recently it made them listless and sick. I didn¡¯t do it, but I can¡¯t say the rest!¡± Seeing that its performance was not as good as it was before, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t bear it and hurriedly said: ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll just ask two more questions! Is the other party still here now?¡± The weasel shook its head. Dong Zhi: ¡°Then where did that person go?¡± Weasel: ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What is their purpose?¡± Weasel: ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ this is three questions!¡± Dong Zhi rolled his eyes and began to try deceiving him: ¡°Do you want to enter the Special Administration Bureau? Since you know Kan Chaosheng, you should know that monsters are also in the Bureau. As long as you can help me do my best this time, I¡¯ll put in a recommendation to the Bureau later. This, plus your relationship with Kan Chaosheng, should be no problem for you to join!¡± The weasel looked a little excited, but he said dejectedly: ¡°But I haven¡¯t been able to transform. How could the Special Administration Bureau want a monster that can¡¯t be transformed?!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Regardless of whether you can get in or not, as long as you make a contribution, I can help you apply for benefits. At that time, you can give up your quota to your children or grandchildren. As long as you provide clues, you don¡¯t have to run errands. This couldn¡¯t be any easier for you!¡± The weasel hesitated for a while before it finally said: ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s the Japanese, but I¡¯ve seen this kind of paper in your hand. That person has arranged a lot of it in the hotel¡­¡± As soon as it said this, it spat out another mouthful of blood. ¡°Okay, okay. I won¡¯t ask you anymore!¡± Dong Zhi said hurriedly. He now regretted that he forgot to ask Li Ying or Zhang Song for a few injury medication before he left. After all, the Maoshan Sect and Longhu Sect were great school of medicine and was unrivaled in terms of their effect. Dong Zhi strung together all the clues and combed them out. On the surface, the weasel was guarding the hotel and used its magic to attract guests. The reason why He Jia and the staff weren¡¯t affected was because the weasel treated them as one of its own and didn¡¯t apply his magic to them. People with ulterior motives discovered this and set up an ambush here to create two cases of attempted murder. Judging from the weasel¡¯s words, these traps should have just been arrange not long ago, so they haven¡¯t had time yet to lead to any great tragedies and he was present to stop these to incidents. Thinking of this, his heart moved. ¡°Let me ask you, did you do anything to He Jia so that she would hate coming here?¡± The weasel nodded: ¡°I didn¡¯t use magic at first, but later I was afraid she would be in danger, so I used a little of it to drive her out.¡± Dong Zhi stared at it: ¡°You knew to protect He Jia but aren¡¯t the residents here also innocent?¡± The weasel shrank its neck, knowing that it was wrong and did not dare make a noise. The guests were ill. Two cases of attempted murder. Something similar to a shikigami. Dong Zhi frowned and tried to connect these small clues. The weasel peeked at him and said flatteringly: ¡°Well big brother, can you undo the formation first? I¡¯m suffering here!¡± Dong Zhi ignored it as he bit his fingers and thought absentmindedly The weasel didn¡¯t give up: ¡°Seeing as you know Chaosheng and we¡¯re distant relatives, can you have the heart to see Uncle Liu suffering like this?¡± Dong Zhi suddenly said: ¡°Old Liu, let me ask you. Does the other party want to absorb the anger or yang of these residents?¡± The weasel was taken aback for a moment and said angrily: ¡°Don¡¯t ask me. I can¡¯t say it. I can¡¯t say anything about it!¡± Seeing its reaction, Dong Zhi could feel that his guess wasn¡¯t that far off from the mark. He couldn¡¯t help but feel refreshed, thinking that this was another breakthrough. ¡°But there are still some questions I¡¯m unsure of. Wouldn¡¯t it be safer for the other party to absorb the yang quietly? Why do they want to kill someone and attract attention?¡± Dong Zhi immediately reached another conclusion: ¡°Did that person know that I was here and did it on purpose?¡± The weasel whispered: ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­ that person hasn¡¯t shown up for several days.¡± After speaking, the weasel vomited another mouthful of blood on the bed sheets. Although it was small in size and the blood it spat out was miniscule, it was still enough for it to suffer. It cried: ¡°My mouth is cheap. I won¡¯t speak again!¡± Dong Zhi twitched the corner of his mouth and continued to speculate on his own. ¡°That person didn¡¯t show up for a few days and set a few shikigamis here. The intention was to take advantage of your magic and take the opportunity to absorb the yang of the guests, but for two days in a row, two people almost died¡­ Could it be that those shikigamis absorbed too much yang which gave them consciousness that allowed them to make their own decisions? They couldn¡¯t wait for such a long stream of water to slowly extract yang, so they decided to collect it quickly by killing? Master said that there are similarities between shikigamis and puppets, and it¡¯s not impossible for powerful onmyojis or puppet masters to breathe life into them and turn them into living creatures.¡± Not only that, Long Shen also gave a very famous example at that time. After Nezha1 cut off his bones to return to his father and the flesh to his mother, his limbs were not saved. His master, Taiyi2 used lotus roots to reshape his body. This naturally sounded like a myth to ordinary people, but for practitioner it wasn¡¯t fantasy. Bluntly put, if one injected a soul or yang qi into these props, they could make them into a living thing. 1Protection deity in Chinese folk religion given the name ¡°Third Lotus Prince¡± when he became a deity. You can read the story on the Wikipedia link. TLDR: Nezha offended the dragon king Ao Guang who threatened to flood his hometown in response. He then sacrificed himself to appease Ao Guang¡¯s anger and cut off his bones to return to his parents as repayment for giving birth to him. He later became enshrined, and his Master Taiyi eventually brought him back to life using lotus roots and he was given his two most famous weapons, the Wind Fire Wheels and the Fire-tipped spear. 2A deity in Chinese religion and Taoism. Taiyi (lit.?¡¯great 2nd Celestial stem¡¯) means ¡°primordial unity of yin and yang¡± and Zhenren (lit.?¡¯true person¡¯) is a Daoist term for ¡°Perfected Person¡±. According to the opening of the classical novel Fengshen Bang, he is the reincarnation of the first emperor of the Shang dynasty, Tang of Shang. Dong Zhi said: ¡°Very well. I¡¯ll let you go first. You are after all the Bao Jiaxian here and you can¡¯t run even if you want to. I don¡¯t need any clues, but if that person comes again, you have to notify me as soon as possible.¡± The weasel bemoaned: ¡°But I can¡¯t beat him¡­¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°If you promise to inform me, I¡¯ll help you and ask about the method Chaosheng used to transform.¡± The weasel¡¯s eyes lit up, but then wilted again: ¡°He¡¯s born as jiao and there¡¯s only a thin line of difference between him and a dragon. I can¡¯t compare with him¡­¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Even if you can¡¯t compare to a jiao, you could be at least comparable to a willow tree. I have a colleague who¡¯s a willow and can transform, so why can¡¯t you?¡± Weasel: ¡°Really?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Why would I lie to you? I don¡¯t want you to deal with that person. As long as they show up, just tell me immediately!¡± The weasel struggled for a long time, and finally reluctantly agreed. Dong Zhi left his phone with him and told it to remember to call before withdrawing the magic array. The weasel jumped away suddenly, and he didn¡¯t know where it disappeared to. There were a few pools of blood left on the sheets of the room and there were holes in the wall left by his Changshou Sword. He didn¡¯t know what he was doing in this room just now but when he looked around, Dong Zhi realized there was a problem. ¡°Deal with the traces in this room yourself. Don¡¯t let people become suspicious!¡± The weasel didn¡¯t make a sound, so he didn¡¯t know if it had heard him. Dong Zhi felt a headache coming as he thought about how there may be dead traps hidden everywhere in the hotel. It was impossible for him alone to find all the shikigamis in the hotel and if he did, he might spook the snake. After thinking about it, he decided to call Mu Duo. ¡°Dong Zhi, what¡¯s up?¡± The phone quickly connected, and Mu Duo¡¯s puzzled voice came from the other end. It was hard to regurgitate everything clearly in just a few words so Dong Zhi asked: ¡°Mu Duo, where are you now? I have something very important to report to you. Is it convenient?¡± Hearing this, Mu Duo couldn¡¯t help but glanced at Yan Nuo. On their side, the murder and mutilation case had encountered a bottleneck. The police had tracked down the whereabouts of Huang Wendong¡¯s mistress. For the sake of safety, they called Yan Nuo and the others, but the result fell short. They went to the house where the mistress was hiding from a tip, only to find the place was already empty. Of course, the case had to continue to be investigated, and the search resumed, which left Yan Nuo and the others busy for several days, but no clues could be found, leaving them quite frustrated. Mu Duo knew that Yan Nuo didn¡¯t want Dong Zhi to participate because of the newcomer they had last year. As a result, not only did he fail to help, but he also made a mess of things. He was finally transferred away but this left Yan Nuo and the others with a bad taste, so they had no affection for newcomers since then. What¡¯s more, this time it was a newcomer with a deep background, a disciple of the Deputy Director from the General Administration. With such a rumor that Deputy Director Long had accepted such a disciple, they could only imagine how much he valued this person. According to Yan Nuo and the others¡¯ experience, this kind of newcomer with a background cannot be said to be incompetent but must be a newborn calf that¡¯s not afraid of tigers. He would be impulsive and could easily stir up trouble. His arrogance would lead him to underestimating his enemies but all he could do was scold them but couldn¡¯t fight. The best they could do was put him aside and don¡¯t let him cause trouble. If he had any self-knowledge, it would be better if he just transferred himself away. However, Mu Duo had a good impression of Dong ZHi. She also felt that it wasn¡¯t good to keep attacking is enthusiasm so she gave him the address and said he should come over. Dong Zhi soon arrived, and Yan Nuo knew that Mu Duo had taken the initiative on her own to let him know, so he couldn¡¯t help glaring at her. ¡°Brother Yan, I know you¡¯re working on something important, and I don¡¯t want to disturb you, but something has indeed happened to me.¡± He told them about the hotel and the weasel. Xiao Qi, who had a more impatient personality couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°I¡¯m afraid these things were done by the weasel. It¡¯s just made an enemy out of thin air because it¡¯s afraid you make take revenge on it!¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so, because I found this. It¡¯s similar to a shikigami used by onmyojis. Moreover, according to the Bao Jiaxian, there are still many more in the hotel. It¡¯s difficult for me to find them all by myself and I¡¯m afraid it might alarm the other party.¡± Dong Zhi handed them the pieces of paper. Yan Nuo frowned and said: ¡°In this case, we can only set up an array to surround the hotel first and then catch the turtle in a jar*, but we¡¯re not at a critical stage in our case. The police could find Huang Wendong¡¯s mistress at any time so we can¡¯t really leave.¡± *(ÎÍÖÐ×½±î) Metaphor referring to what you want to capture is already within grasp. Dong Zhi hurriedly said: ¡°It¡¯s fine. I understand your difficulties and I can set up an array, but I can¡¯t guarantee everything by myself, so I want to report to the South China branch and ask them to send someone to assist. Is this okay?¡± The three from Yan Nuo¡¯s office looked at each other. They didn¡¯t expect the newcomer to be so anxious that he couldn¡¯t wait to solve a big case within a few days. Xiao Qi rejected his proposal. His tone was bad: ¡°No way! When you encounter something, what is the reason for going to the top for help if you can¡¯t solve it first? Just keep an eye on the hotel and come to us whenever you have questions!¡± Dong Zhi disagreed: ¡°The enemy is hidden in the dark and will appear at any time. I asked the Bao Jiaxian to notify me and I¡¯m also responsible for its life. If the opponent is really an onmyoji, he must be prepared. There could be other accomplices so I can¡¯t do it alone. It¡¯ll be too late to inform you by then!¡± His tone was not as aggressive as Xiao Qi, but he was equally firm. Mu Duo decided to appease the situation: ¡°How about letting me go with you and taking a look.¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°Then I¡¯ll trouble you, Sister Mu Duo. Brother Yan, this matter is strange. I still hope you take it into consideration and report it up so that we can be well prepared.¡± Xiao Qi said angrily: ¡°Are you a little baby that hasn¡¯t been weaned? This is not your kindergarten. If you want to report, go back to your General Administration!¡± Yan Nuo shouted: ¡°Xiao Qi!¡± Xiao Qi wasn¡¯t furious at Dong Zhi for no reason. Before Dong Zhi, Mu Duo had proposed to report the case to a higher-ups because all evidence pointed to Huang Wendong¡¯s death was suspicious. It was as if there was witchcraft at play before his death. However, Xiao Qi and Yan Nuo had disagreed, because once they report it, it would be them admitting that they were incompetent and unable to solve the matter independently. In the last case, they were criticized by the above for their incompetence. Everyone didn¡¯t want to compromise their achievements, so they refused to ask for help from above. There was no need for a newcomer to know about this kind of ¡°inside scandal¡±. Yan Nuo eased his tone: ¡°I know. I will consider this matter at my discretion.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Brother Yan¡­¡± Yan Nuo raised his hand and motioned him not to say any more. ¡°The situation is unknown now so it¡¯s useless to report rashly. Let¡¯s do this. Mu Duo and you can go back to the hotel and see if there¡¯s a situation. Then we can talk about it later.¡± Dong Zhi found that the other party didn¡¯t seem to believe his words, or that Xiao Qi felt he was too eager to make achievements and was exaggerating so the reality wasn¡¯t as serious as he said. Thinking about this, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help feeling a bit helpless. He finally understood why the General Administration wanted them to come to these branch offices one by one as practice. This was obviously to train their ability to deal with the outside world, because everyone has their own different opinions. With all kinds of consideration being mixed together, it was easy to screw things up. Like now. There were four people in the Lucheng office, including him, but they couldn¡¯t even agree on the matter. Even if they exclude the newcomers, they obviously have their own considerations about the seriousness of this matter. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to have a rigid relationship with them as soon as he came and didn¡¯t want to wait until things got too out of hand that he¡¯ll have to take the blame for it, so he said euphemistically: ¡°Brother Yan, I know you have more experience than me, but I have encountered the Japanese twice. Once in Changbai Mountain and again in Yinchuan. This time, something suspected of a shikigami has appeared again so it might be related to these cases.¡± Yan Nuo said solemnly: ¡°Can you be sure that it¡¯s a shikigami?¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback, and hesitated: ¡°It should be.¡± Yan Nuo: ¡°So, you¡¯re actually not sure. If someone from the branch comes over and finally confirms that it was just a false alarm, can you take this responsibility?¡± Dong Zhi thought for a while and said affirmatively: ¡°I discovered the hotel. If there¡¯s any blame, I will take responsibility for it.¡± Xiao Qi said angrily: ¡°You¡¯re going to bear the responsibility? What kind of burden can a newcomer bear! We don¡¯t want to take your share of the blame!¡± After all, the other party was a disciple of Long Shen, so Yan Nuo didn¡¯t want to embarrass him too much, so he said: ¡°Well, I¡¯ll explain the situation to the branch as soon as possible. As for whether they¡¯ll send someone, that¡¯ll be up to them to decide. Mu Duo will go to the hotel with you first.¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t reason with them anymore so he could only nod his head: ¡°Then I¡¯ll trouble you, Sister Mu Duo.¡± As soon as he left with Mu Duo, Xiao Qi couldn¡¯t help but curled his lips: ¡°The kid wants credits so he¡¯s acting reckless. He just wants to get thigs done as quickly as possible!¡± Yan Nuo said: ¡°Don¡¯t say this. He is a disciple of Long Shen. If what you say gets back to Long Shen, you¡¯ll get more than what you bargained for*.¡± *(³Ô²»Á˶µ×Å×ß) Metaphor referring to causing trouble and having to bear the consequences oneself. Xiao Qi coldly snorted: ¡°I don¡¯t understand why the leader assigned him to us. Shouldn¡¯t a disciple of a Director go to a branch office? Do they want to bully us three with no background?¡± Yan Nuo knew that he had been brooding about sharing the blame the year before due to the newcomer, so he changed topics: ¡°All right, all right. He¡¯s still obedient now and doesn¡¯t make his own decision, and we have Mu Duo looking after him! Do you have any clue about Huang Wendong¡¯s case?¡± Xiao Qi scratched his hair irritably: ¡°If his mistress is really a proficient witch, it¡¯s possible that she could have done this unconsciously, but in this way, it¡¯s difficult for us to catch her. Why don¡¯t we have someone check the current Southeast Asia immigrants?¡± Yan Nuo: ¡°I already told Zhou Dui but it¡¯s not easy to check. In some cases, there could be fake documents, or they have gone to a neighboring province or city¡­¡± The phone suddenly rang. He didn¡¯t know what was said on the other end of the phone, but Xiao Qi saw Yan Nuo¡¯s face suddenly change and his heart was filled with anxiety. Yan Nuo hung up the phone and said to him: ¡°The whereabouts of that mistress has been found.¡± Xiao Qi felt overjoyed and thought that every cloud had a silver lining. ¡°Are we going there now?¡± Yan Nuo sighed: ¡°That woman is dead.¡± Xiao Qi was dumfounded: ¡°No! How did she die?!¡± Huang Wendong¡¯s mistress was found dead in a house in a high-end residential area. According to the investigation, the head of that household was Bai Xiangmei, who was Huang Wendong¡¯s mistress. When Yan Nuo and Xiao Qi arrived at the scene of the crime, the forensic doctor had already performed a quick autopsy. The body hadn¡¯t been removed yet in order to wait for Yan Nuo¡¯s and Xiao Qi¡¯s arrival. ¡°It¡¯s preliminarily judged that she most likely died of some sudden illness. She was sleeping when she died. She had lost her breath before she could take her medication. Other than that, there were no signs of trauma.¡± Zhou Dui of the police introduced them to the scene. Yan Nuo and Xiao Qi looked at the corpse for a while, then looked at each other and shook their heads, indicating that they couldn¡¯t find anything amiss. But Zhou Dui found many problems. ¡°We couldn¡¯t find her medical records or medicine for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in this house, but we found traces of another man in this house.¡± Yan Nuo: ¡°Huang Wendong?¡± Zhou Dui shook his head: ¡°According to the feedback from the residents of the community, they all have seen a young man who¡¯s been in and out with the deceased several times. Judging from the description of his appearance, it shouldn¡¯t be Huang Wendong. We have collected all the male items here and are ready to go back to examine for fingerprints.¡± Yan Nuo thought quickly: ¡°Where are Bai Xiangmei¡¯s belongings? Check to see if there are any missing!¡± Zhou Dui said: ¡°I have checked it. There are a several cards and more than 100,000 cash. At present, I don¡¯t know what the relationship is between that person and Bai Xiangmei, and whether that money is there for her to escape.¡± All this was too coincidental. Something happened to Huang Wendong¡¯s family, which led them to finding out about a mistress, and now something happened to said mistress. Yan Nuo, Xiao Qi, and Zhou Dui didn¡¯t believe these things couldn¡¯t be so coincidental, but all the chaotic and trivial clues made them irritable. This kind of murder and mutilation of corpses had a bad impact. Now that the internet was well-developed, many people have started talking about the case online. The case had a deadline that it needed to be solved by, which only gave Zhou Dui a major headache. ¡°The body will be taken back for a more thorough autopsy and fingerprints will be taken. The identities of those who have been in contact with Bai Xiangmei will be investigated. These results may not come out until at least two or three days at the earliest.¡± Yan Nuo asked Zhou Dui: ¡°Do you have any inferences about this case now?¡± Zhou Dui didn¡¯t hide it from him: ¡°Bai Xiangmei was unemployed and relied on Huang Wendong¡¯s for financial assistance, but recently we found out that she opened a new bank account and transferred a lot of money into it. Coupled with the strange young man the neighbors spoke of, we can almost preliminarily infer that she likely had a boyfriend outside and wanted to get rid of Huang Wendong. More importantly, before you came just now, we also found a new clue in the room.¡± He beckoned his subordinate who took out a transparent plastic bag. Yan Nuo: ¡°Sleeping pills?¡± Zhou Dui nodded: ¡°It¡¯s the same kind of sleeping pill that Huang Wendong¡¯s wife and children have inside their bodies.¡± Yan Nuo was taken aback and looked at Xiao Qi. Bai Xiangmei really had something to do with the death of Huang Wendong¡¯s family! But she was already dead, and it was a sudden death as well. The clues they had were now being disrupted again. Although a thorough autopsy hadn¡¯t been done yet, Yan Nuo had a hunch that Bai Xiangmei¡¯s cause of death was likely to be inconclusive, and that mysterious man was also likely to disappear without a trace. In this way, the case would go cold. Thinking of this, Yan Nuo¡¯s anxiety became more intense. He glanced at Zhou Dui and the other party also had an expression similar to him. Obviously if Yan Nuo had thought of it, then Zhou Dui would likely be on the same page as well. Xiao Qi was a person who refused to give up easily. He said: ¡°The body should be sent for a thorough autopsy soon. Why don¡¯t we follow along and see if we can find anything on her?¡± This was the only way. Yan Nuo nodded and agreed. Zhou Dui said: ¡°Regarding the mysterious man, we¡¯re already stepping up the search, but at present, the surveillance has found nothing. We can only ask the residents of the community and get their oral statements, so the results won¡¯t come out today.¡± The body and some items were transported to the forensics. Zhou Dui invited Yan Huo and Xiao Qi to dinner, but no one had an appetite. They hurriedly took a few bites before wanting to go back to continue the follow up. Yan Nuo and Xiao Qi received a call from Mu Duo. Mu Duo said that they had not found any other shikigami in the hotel for the time being. Dong Zhi helped her book a room at the hotel, and she would stay there to rest for the night. Yan Nuo exchanged information with her regarding the situation here. Although Xiao Qi wasn¡¯t privy to what Mu Duo was saying, he could likely guess based off of hearing Yan Nuo¡¯s words. When Yan Nuo hung up the phone, he couldn¡¯t help but say: ¡°Let me just say that newcomers are truly unreliable! Listening to what he said, it seems like there was nothing at all!¡± Yan Nuo was irritable and didn¡¯t want to say anything, so Xiao Qi shut his mouth when he saw this. At 8 PM, they went to forensics. The forensic examiner and his assistant were ready. Just after shaving the victim¡¯s hair, Yan Nuo suddenly said: ¡°Wait!¡± He walked to the autopsy table, bent down and looked carefully for a few seconds: ¡°Xiao Qi, come and have a look.¡± Xiao Qi didn¡¯t know why so he also leaned in and copied Yan Nuo¡¯s posture to look at the corpse¡¯s head. Yan Nuo said: ¡°Baihui point*.¡± *(°Ù»áѨ) Located at the intersection of the midline of the top of the head and the line connecting the tips of the two ears. There was a bleeding point there, which was a little smaller than a grain of rice. If one didn¡¯t take a closer look, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find it at all. It was just the location was at the baihui point. Yan Nuo asked the forensic examiner to slow down the autopsy and said they would observe the body again tonight. The Special Administration Bureau had the same right to participate in decision-making in these cases so naturally the examiner had no objection and went out first with his assistant. With this bleeding point as a primer, the two of them checked the body again. Without clothes and hair, the traces of the wounds on the naked victim¡¯s body became clear. Yan Nuo and Xiao Qi quickly discovered that exactly the same bleeding spots appeared on the soles of the victim¡¯s left and right feet, as well as the left and right palms. If they didn¡¯t look closely, it was easy to think it was just a blood mole, but the blood moles on the victim¡¯s body was in exactly the same position, which meant it was impossible for this to be a coincidence. ¡°Are there any killing techniques like this?¡± Xiao Qi frowned. Yan Nuo racked his brains, and in the end, he could only shake his head. ¡°Could it be¡­ bloodletting to attract souls? I heard my master say that there seemed to be such a devious way in the past, but now I haven¡¯t heard of it for a long time.¡± Yan Nuo was born into the Danfeng Sect. This was an obscure small sect with very few members. He could be regarded as the most outstanding disciple in the sect. Likewise, Xiao Qi and Mu Duo didn¡¯t have any big-school origins. Because of their similar backgrounds, the three of them often see things eye to eye so their cooperation was quite tacit. Therefore, for newcomers who didn¡¯t have a similar growth background like Dong Zhi, they would have a sense of rejection, but it wasn¡¯t enough to say that they would be excluded and suppressed. The two discussed for a long time and put forward many possibilities, but in the end, there was no results. Xiao Qi sneered: ¡°Maybe in the end, it¡¯s really as the kid said, and we have to ask the top to send someone to assist.¡± Yan Nuo didn¡¯t want to get such a result, that would only prove that they were truly incompetent. What¡¯s the point of having an office that was completely useless? Many practitioners couldn¡¯t stand the rules of the Special Administration Bureau, but some enjoyed it. Yan Nuo loves the excitement of rolling around in the secular world. He didn¡¯t deny that he has the utilitarian heart to climb the ladder, but recently several things have not been going well, and he has started to doubt his own abilities. ¡°I¡¯m going down to buy a pack of cigarettes. Do you want anything?¡± Xiao Qi waved his hand: ¡°No, I¡¯ll see what else I can find on the body, go ahead!¡± After Yan Nuo left, Xiao Qi paced back and forth in the anatomy room. The people outside had already gotten off work. Except for him, there were only corpses in the anatomy room. The bright lights didn¡¯t give people a warm feeling. On the contrary, it was even more bleak and empty, as if it was like those strange urban stories that could draw out nightmares that were enough to scare children. However, Xiao Qi didn¡¯t feel anything. After all, he was a practitioner. If he didn¡¯t even dare to stay in such a place, people would laugh to death if they found out. He was just as irritable as Yan Nuo. His gaze wandered around unconsciously when he suddenly saw some items that were taken for evidence on the table next to him. The clothes were taken for testing and the plastic bags contained some daily necessities, as well as some small objects that were indistinguishable. Xiao Qi picked it up one by one, carelessly, still thinking about the bloodletting technique in his mind when his gaze suddenly stayed on the plastic bag in his hand. There was a small bell in it. It was a very ordinary bronze bell, half the size of a palm. The workmanship was not rough but couldn¡¯t be called ingenious either. It should be something that you could buy from a crafts shop. Xiao Qi remembered. Zhou Dui said that this bell was something Bai Xiangmei was holding in her hand before she died. What was she doing holding a bell before she died? Could it be that the bell was hung somewhere, and she tore it off? Xiao Qi was puzzled just looking at it through the bag. Suddenly he heard a rush. Ding ding¡ª Xiao Qi bowed his head involuntarily. The bell was lying quietly in the palm of his hand. When did it make this sound? Ding ding¡ª The crisp bells reverberated far away, just like camel bells on an ancient road that sounded as they moved. However, Xiao Qi didn¡¯t have such literati reveries. Instead, he just felt cold, and all his hair stood up. In the middle of the night, with no one outside, where did this bell sound came from? Outside the glass door, the lights in the aisle flickered and went out, as if someone had quietly arrived. ¡°Who!¡± Kinky Thoughts: Nezha Protection deity in Chinese folk religion given the name ¡°Third Lotus Prince¡± when he became a deity. You can read the story on the Wikipedia link. TLDR: Nezha offended the dragon king Ao Guang who threatened to flood his hometown in response. He then sacrificed himself to appease Ao Guang¡¯s anger and cut off his bones to return to his parents as repayment for giving birth to him. He later became enshrined, and his Master Taiyi eventually brought him back to life using lotus roots and he was given his two most famous weapons, the Wind Fire Wheels and the Fire-tipped spear. ¡ª Taiyi Zhenren A deity in Chinese religion and Taoism. Taiyi (lit.?¡¯great 2nd Celestial stem¡¯) means ¡°primordial unity of yin and yang¡± and Zhenren (lit.?¡¯true person¡¯) is a Daoist term for ¡°Perfected Person¡±. According to the opening of the classical novel Fengshen Bang, he is the reincarnation of the first emperor of the Shang dynasty, Tang of Shang. CH 77 There wasn¡¯t a convenience store downstairs, so Yan Nuo had to run a little further past two intersection, about a few hundred meters before he got his wish to buy cigarettes. As soon as he put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it, he took a deep breath and suddenly felt a lot of irritability in his heart. Yan Nuo didn¡¯t rush back. He simply stood outside the convenience store and finished smoking his cigarette. He pinched off the cigarette butt, clapped his hands, and prepared to go back. At this moment, he received a call from Xiao Qi. ¡°Come, I have discovered something new!¡± The signal over there didn¡¯t seem to be very good as it intermittently cut in and out. ¡°What new discovery?¡± Yan Nuo¡¯s spirit felt refreshed. ¡°You wait there. I¡¯m heading back!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not in the autopsy room¡­ it¡¯s in¡­ the warehouse¡­¡± The rustling signal interference on the phone cut Xiao Qi¡¯s words into several pieces, but Yan Nuo was able to still hear the address. He said inexplicably: ¡°What are you doing in the warehouse in the suburbs? I just left for a bit and you¡¯re already there?!¡± Xiao Qi: ¡°Zhou Dui¡­ notified¡­ I¡¯m on the way. Hurry up!¡± After that, he hung up the phone. When Yan Nuo dialed again, he couldn¡¯t get through. He called Zhou Dui but no one answered. Yan Nuo ran back to the autopsy room and saw that Bai Xiangmei¡¯s body was still there but Xiao Qi was gone. He had to quickly run to the garage and drove out. He called Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui several times on the way but he couldn¡¯t get through. He knew where the warehouse Xiao Qi mentioned was, but he hadn¡¯t been there. There was almost no one around that place at night. What clues could Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui find there? Wouldn¡¯t all the clues be on the body of Bai Xiangmei¡¯s? A lot of thoughts flashed though his mind making it a mess. He didn¡¯t delay his driving speed. Lucheng in the middle of the night was still beautiful. The street lights kept passing overhead as the speed progressed. Yan Nuo always felt as if he had forgotten something when it suddenly struck him, and he called Mu Duo. ¡°Yan Nuo?¡± From the tone of her voice, Mu Duo was probably sleeping. ¡°Mu Duo, you and Dong Zhi hurry to warehouse no. 8 in Nanshan Science Park on Nanshan Road. There¡¯s progress in our case. I¡¯m rushing over. Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui are already there!¡± ¡°Okay. I see. We¡¯ll be there right away.¡± Mu Duo was taken aback for a moment before replying quickly. Yan Nuo originally didn¡¯t want Dong Zhi to be involve in this case, but during the day, the kid was obviously idle and ran into a problem with some hotel. This caused Mu Duo to accompany him over there for nothing and it turned out to be a false alarm. Yan Nuo mainly felt that there was something wrong this time and would need many people to take care of it. If it turns out to be nothing, at least he would make the kid run over and suffer a little. They were so exhausted from this case, yet that guy was sleeping comfortably in a hotel. He absolutely did not expect that such an idea he had on a whim would save his life soon after. Warehouse no. 8 was far away from the autopsy room. The road conditions were good at night so he would reached there in about forty minutes. Nanshan Science Park was quiet. Except for the streetlights, one could only occasionally see a faint light. It was the warehouse guard who was on night duty. Yan Nuo found a warehouse guard who hadn¡¯t fallen asleep yet and was playing games on his phone. He first took out his ID establish his identity, then asked him where warehouse no. 8 was. He then asked if he had seen two men coming by. The other party pointed out the direction to him and shook his head and said he hadn¡¯t seen anyone. The identity of the Special Amdinistartion Bureau was special so it was not necessarily known in the system not to mention ordinary people. In order to facilitate their activities, Yan Nuo and the others usually rely on the police to get a permit. Dong Zhi was still stuck dealing with affairs on his flight, so he didn¡¯t have this permit with him, and his name wasn¡¯t entered in the system at that time. In the end it caused a huge misunderstanding. Unable to find Xiao Qi and the others, Yan Nuo walked towards warehouse no. 8 first. The door of the warehouse was tightly locked, and Yan Nuo walked around and found that there was a small door behind him that was concealed. He gently pushed it away and was greeted with pitch blackness. ¡°Xiao Qi?¡± He yelled tentatively. Someone inside replied: ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± It was Xiao Qi¡¯s voice. Yan Nuo breathed a sigh of relief first, pushed open the door further and walked in and said: ¡°Why don¡¯t you turn on the lights? Is Zhou Dui here too?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Concise, just one word. Zhou Dui didn¡¯t make a sound either. Yan Nuo frowned slightly and slowed down. Just as he was about to say something, the concealed door behind him closed automatically. The bang when the door slam shut hit Yan Nuo¡¯s heart like a hammer. ¡°Xiao Qi! Zhou Dui!¡± He couldn¡¯t help shouting, slowly pulling out the sword in his hand as he walked in. The light above snapped twice and lit up one after another, like Moses parting the sea, extending from the top of his head to the other end of the warehouse. Besides this part, the rest of the area was dark. Far away, Yan Nuo saw three people standing on the other side of the warehouse. Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi were in front, and there was a man behind them. The man patted Xiao Qi on the shoulder, and Xiao Qi said, ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± He patted him again. Xiao Qi: ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± The tone of voice was quiet, the same as when he was lured into the warehouse just now. Yan Nuo¡¯s heart sank a little bit. He realized that he, as well as Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi, had all fallen into the man¡¯s trap. ¡°Who are you?¡± Yan Nuo asked in a deep voice. The other party smiled: ¡°Aren¡¯t you looking for me everywhere? I didn¡¯t want to be found by you but who knew you were in such hot pursuit. Anyways, I have to go. You three should be regarded as a parting gift to the beautiful city of Lucheng!¡± Yan Nuo¡¯s pupils shrank. He raised his sword and pointed at him from a distance. ¡°You¡¯re Bai Xiangmei¡¯s other lover!¡± The man smiled and said: ¡°That woman¡¯s kung fu in bed is very good, but unfortunately, her physical quality is not as good as yours. Even if you extract the soul, it¡¯s useless. Unlike you. You¡¯re strong and a practitioner. Your soul can be used to do a lot of things.¡± After that he beckoned to Yan Nuo. ¡°Come here, my third gift.¡± Yan Nuo suddenly had the illusion that he was on a cliff, with abysses in all directions. There was only a narrow road ahead. He had no choice but to move forward. He gritted his teeth, clenched his sword in his hand, jumped up and rushed towards the enemy! ¡ª When Dong Zhi was dreaming in full swing, he was awakened by a phone call from Mu Duo. He quickly got up and got dressed. With a sleepy face, he went out to with Mu Duo. ¡°Brother Yan said something happened? Why did you suddenly run off so far?¡± Until he got into the car, Dong Zhi was still rubbing his eyes trying to get rid of his drowsiness. While starting the car, Mu Duo briefly told him about the case and finally said: ¡°It should be that there are new clues at the warehouse. Yan Nuo is kind. Didn¡¯t you want to participate? Now he has given you this opportunity so don¡¯t show dissatisfaction later.¡± Dong Zhi nodded and asked again: ¡°Is Xiao Qi dissatisfied with me?¡± Mu Duo smiled helplessly: ¡°He¡¯s not specifically targeting you¡­¡± ¡°Almost forgot! Sister Mu Duo, stop the car!¡± Dong Zhi said suddenly. As soon as Muduo drove a few meters, she was taken aback when he heard the words and quickly braked. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Dong Zhi said embarrassedly: ¡°I forgot to bring my sword, so I will go upstairs to get it now. Wait a minute! I¡¯ll be right back.¡± He was busy getting dressed and heading downstairs that he didn¡¯t remember until he found that his hands were empty, and he had forgotten to bring his weapon with him. Mu Duo didn¡¯t want him to take the sword. Yan Nuo and the others were there so nothing could happen, but before she could say anything, the other party had already opened the door and hurried back to the hotel. She shook her head and thought that he was truly a newcomer. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t slow. It only took about ten minutes total for the roundtrip. Mu Duo guessed what Yan Nuo¡¯s thoughts were and estimated he would want to grind this newcomer, so she didn¡¯t say anything. She didn¡¯t feel anxious. ¡°Sister Mu Duo, what are you good at?¡± Dong Zhi asked. Mu Duo smiled: ¡°Guess?¡± Dong Zhi glanced at her. Her appearance was birght and she was dressed normally. If he hadn¡¯t known her identity, he would not have associated her with being a practioner. ¡°I can¡¯t guess.¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. Mu Duo smiled and said: ¡°I am from Hunan.¡± The other party couldn¡¯t answer the question. Dong Zhi was a little confused and he hadn¡¯t registered the hint yet: ¡°Do you like spicy food?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he finally came to a realization: ¡°You¡¯re a Miao woman? A poison user?¡± Mu Duo didn¡¯t answer and ask rhetorically: ¡°Have you heard of Xianxi Chasing Corpse*?¡± *(ÏæÎ÷¸Ïʬ) Part of witch culture also know as moving spirits. It¡¯s a technique corpse guide (see footnote below) use to lead corpses. Dong Zhi let out a sigh, and suddenly remembered a very old profession: ¡°Are you a corpse guide*?¡± *(¸ÏʬÈË) A robe-clad mage that leads corpses to walk with special sorcery. Mu Duo nodded. This was a very special occupation. In ancient times, when merchants who did business outside get sick and died in a place far from home, they would ask for help to bringing the corpse back to their hometown for burial in accordance with the custom of returning to one¡¯s roots. At that time, cremation was regarded as taboo, and some had died thousands of miles away from home. The industry of corpse guide came into being. Among them, the corpse guide in Western Hunan were the most famous. They would go out day and night. As long as there was business to be done, they would definitely be able to bring those people back to their hometown. As for how the dead was guided, there are various theories about these secrets, but only a corpse guide would truly know. Today, there were no longer a demand for corpse guides thus the profession gradually declined. Now there were very few who knew about this technique, and Mu Duo was the only one that remained. Except for immortals who could really feed on the wind and drink the drew*? Although corpse guides were practitioners, they also have family to support. Therefore, contrary to the tradition of previous generations of living in seclusion in the countryside, Mu Duo resolutely joined the Special Administration Bureau and became a member of the national practitioners. *(²Í·çÒû¶) Metaphor referring to enduring hardships of an arduous journey. However, in a place of full of hidden talents, although her abilities were rare, she wasn¡¯t particularly outstanding, so she was assigned to Lucheng and didn¡¯t advance much on the ladder. The two came to the entrance of Nanshan Science Park that Yan Nuo told them. Mu Duo called Yan Nuo and the others again, but couldn¡¯t get through, so they decided to head towards warehouse no. 8. Mu Duo pushed on the gate that was the entrance of loading and unloading goods and found it motionless. ¡°It¡¯s locked.¡± The two walked around the warehouse and like Yan Nuo before, they also found a small door in the back. Dong Zhi pushed it for a bit and found that it could be open. He signaled Mu Duo over and the two quietly went in. The warehouse was large, and the lights were on in a straight line so it wasn¡¯t completely dark but a large portion of the warehouse on either side of the light was shrouded in darkness. ¡°Yan Nuo? Xiao Qi?¡± Muduo shouted. No one responded. ¡°I¡¯ll look over here. You look over there.¡± She said to Dong Zhi. ¡°Sister Mu Duo, I¡¯d better go with you.¡± Dong Zhi followed her. Mu Duo felt a little helpess and thought that Yan Nuo was right. This newcomer¡¯s courage was too small. Could he really be counted on for anything? The two of them walked left side when Dong Zhi suddenly grabbed her. Mu Duo had begun to get impatient: ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Look at the back of the container on the right. Isn¡¯t that a figure?¡± Mu Duo looked in the direction he was pointing. In the shadow behind the container, where a faint light could not be seen, two figures where there falling to the ground. Muduo walked over with the Dong Zhi. ¡°Zhou Dui! Xiao Qi!¡± Mu Duo was taken aback and hurriedly bent over to push them. With just a push, Zhou Dui tilted directly to the ground. Mu Duo noticed something was wrong and reached out to capture the other party¡¯s pulse. ¡°How is he?¡± Dong Zhi probed. ¡°Dead.¡± Mu Duo felt cold all over. She hurried checked on Xiao Qi. ¡°He still has a heartbeat! It¡¯s very weak. Come on. Help me help him up from the ground and lie him flat!¡± As soon as the voice fell, she felt a cool breeze blowing from the back of her head. A shadow covered the top of her head. The sense of danger rose subconsciously causing Mu Duo to suddenly turn her head abruptly. A familiar face came into view, but it was followed by a glimmer of light from a sword¡¯s blade in the opponent¡¯s hand. Mu Duo¡¯s eyes widened. In a blink of an eye, she only had enough time to blink, and knew it was too late to dodge the attack. What made it even more unacceptable was that the person who wanted to kill her was her former companion. Clang! Another glimmer of light from a sword¡¯s blade flashed across her line of sight. Dong Zhi parried Yan Nuo¡¯s sword and shouted: ¡°Brother Yan, what¡¯s wrong with you? Wake up!¡± Yan Nuo of course ignored his pleas. His eyes were flushed, and he stared at Dong Zhi as if this was the person that killed his father. His offensive from his hands rained down like a storm. Dong Zhi was busy parrying and couldn¡¯t be distracted from observing his surroundings, so he shouted: ¡°Mu Duo, pay attention to the surroundings. Don¡¯t fall into their trap!¡± Without his reminder, Mu Duo had already come to the realization that Yan Nuo and Zhou Dui had been lured into a trap. Those who can bring these two people in succession was certainly not ordinary. They may be more powerful than everyone present. Now even Yan Nuo was being controlled, leaving only her Dong Zhi left. Could they turn the tide? Without a second thought, Mu Duo reached into her pocket and pulled out a bell. The bell was slightly larger than her palm and it was covered with lines, which was different from the bell Xiao Qi had seen in the autopsy room. She shook it and the bell made a heavy sound like an ancient bell that wasn¡¯t as crisp as an ordinary bell. Mu Duo rattled the bell slowly and gradually increased the speed. She slowly turned around in place staring at her surroundings. Suddenly, a container fell down from above her head! Mu Duo reacted quickly. She dodged and looked up. ¡°Behind!¡± There was a sudden shout from Dong Zhi. Mu Duo¡¯s body tensed up and almost formed a conditioned response. She hurriedly turned around and threw a long strip of something with her other hand throttling it towards the unexpected guest. A closer look turned out to be long strip of royal blue cloth. The cloth strip was much softer than a whip, but in Mu Duo¡¯s hand, it was like a spirit snake that could be long or short, soft or hard, at will. With a shake, Mu Duo¡¯s wrist vibrated, and one end of the cloth immediately rolled towards the opponent¡¯s neck, but the other party stretched out his hand and grabbed it firmly. The hand at the other end of the cloth strip turned into a poisonous snake for a moment. The bloody mouth opened and swallowed the cloth stirp inch by inch. Mu Duo was taken back and hurriedly pull the cloth back, but the poisonous snake was so powerful that she couldn¡¯t pull back at all. The man behind the poisonous snake sneered. He held a short dagger in his hand and stabbed her right in the center between her eyebrows. Meanwhile, Dong Zhi and Yan Nuo confronted each other with their swords, like two evenly matched opponents. However, Dong Zhi had only practice swordsmanship for half a month. In terms proficiency and skill, he wasn¡¯t Yan Nuo¡¯s opponent. More importantly, he had no murderous intent towards his companion. With Yan Nuo mind being controlled at this time, his eyes were flushed, and his expression was hideous. When he attacked, every move was meant to kill. He had lost his usual sanity and each contact with Dong Zhi only made him fiercer. Long Shen¡¯s teachings were still ringing in his ears. Dong Zhi quickly settled down and pinched a talisman in his other hand. He let go of the sword and using the momentum, threw the talisman towards Yan Nuo. Once the fluttering talisman touched Yan Nuo¡¯s forehead, it did not fall, and it caused Yan Nuo¡¯s body to pause slightly. Dong Zhi took this opportunity to remove his sword and directly raised his foot to his heart and kicked the person back causing him to crash heavily into various boxes. Yan Nuo didn¡¯t treat him very well before. Dong Zhi could regard this kick as ¡°avenging personal grievances¡±. After the kick, he felt more refreshed, but this thought quickly flashed away. He hurriedly ran forward, took out another sunlight talisman and pinched it on Yan Nuo¡¯s chin, then stuff another talisman into his mouth. He then picked up some rope that fell off the shelf just now and bound Yan Nuo¡¯s hands and feet together, just in case he would wake up again and make trouble. Before this was finished, there was some noise at the other end where Mu Duo was. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care about anything else. He quickly picked up his sword to break the siege. In front of the man, a poisonous snake that was about one person tall was hissing. In order to resist the man¡¯s attack, Mu Duo had to withdraw the cloth strip and watch as her weapon turned into food in the snake¡¯s mouth. The scales of the poisonous snake were colorful, giving it a tarrying look. However, Dong Zhi had also seen a three-headed giant python and stabbed its chrysanthemum, so this poisonous snake was like child¡¯s play to him. He thought about the identity of the man who was controlling this poisonous snake. ¡°An onmyoji?¡± The man showed a playful smile, and he was quite generous and admitted it. ¡°Kiyoshi Yamamoto. Pleasure to meet you.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What¡¯s your relationship with Fujikawa Aoi?¡± The man raised his eyebrows: ¡°Do you know my martial older brother?¡± It was truly a narrow road between enemies. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but secretly rolled his eyes: ¡°You immigrated here? Does Japan not have enough land to accommodate you? Do you have to come all the way here to cause trouble?¡± The man smiled and said: ¡°It seems that you have already dealt with my martial older brother. I heard that in the end, the Japanese government agreed on many conditions in exchange for him and promise not to let him or his disciples come to China for at least 50 years. But don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m not the same as him. If I were him, I would have committed seppuku*. How could I still have the face to live with such shame?¡± *Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment. Dong Zhi frowned: ¡°Then when you¡¯re defeated by me, don¡¯t forget what you said just now and commit seppuku immediately. Don¡¯t lose face in front of the world.¡± The man laughed: ¡°I just watch you play against him. It wasn¡¯t too long ago that you just learned swordsmanship, right? Child, it¡¯s not good to talk big. Doesn¡¯t the Chinese have a saying, be careful that the wind flashes your tongue*.¡± *(·ç´óÉÁÁËÉàÍ·) Refers to pay attention when you speak and don¡¯t say unrealistic or big words. Mu Duo gasped and said sharply: ¡°You killed Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi?! The blood of Bai Xiangmei and Huang Wendong¡¯s family are also on your hands! Why are you doing this?!¡± The man had a Kimura Takuya hairstyle. He had a beard on his chin and a bit of a blurred temperament. At first glance, you would think he was street artist. The bad smile on his face could attract many women, however, after knowing he was the mastermind behind the deaths of the Huang family and their companions, in the eyes of Mu Duo and Dong Zhi, all external modification were just a cover up for a ferocious beast in his heart. Yamamoto Kiyoshi¡¯s demeanor was very relaxed, which made them even more vigilant. It stood to reason that the enemy had made many pitfalls for them. They didn¡¯t know what traps the other party had laid here. It should be them, not Yamamoto, who wanted to delay time, but the other party didn¡¯t seem to be in a hurry to make a move as he patiently explained sequences of events to them. CH 78 ¡°Bai Xiangmei was a stupid woman. She was Huang Wendong¡¯s mistress, but she wanted to marry him and be his wife. According to you, this should be called a homewrecker*, right? She had been in a relationship with Huang Wendong for seven years, but not only did Huang Wendong not marry her, his relationship with his wife also still remained good. Jealousy and hatred made her more psychosis, so she decided to retaliate.¡± *Third party [di san zhe] (µÚÈýÕß) || I¡¯m putting the note here because he¡¯s specifically saying according to (Chinese) this is the term. Mu Duo said coldly: ¡°So you help her kill people!¡± Yamamoto spread his hands: ¡°I just asked Huang Wendong to kill his wife and children so that Bai Xiangmei won¡¯t be held accountable, and she could take revenge as well. I bought the snacks that Huang Wendong brought for his wife and children and put sleeping pills in them. When Huang Wendong visited Bai Xiangmei, I suggested to Huang Wendong and asked him to treat his wife, children, and even himself, as pieces of art that can be dissected. Don¡¯t you think that¡¯s interesting?¡± Dong Zhi found that this Yamamoto was crazier than Fujikawa Aoi. If everything Fujikawa did had a utilitarian purpose, then this Yamamoto had no purpose at all but simply enjoy killing people for fun. Still Mu Duo asked: ¡°What good does this do for you?¡± ¡°Of course I benefit!¡± Yamamoto laughed heartily: ¡°Didn¡¯t you find that your two dead companions only have their bodies left? Their souls were refined into shikigami by me. I originally wanted to go to Shencheng to have a look, but I didn¡¯t expect that woman Bai Xiangmei would automatically deliver them to my doorsteps. I now have three practitioners before leaving and now I¡¯ll have two more. It seems I¡¯m destined to reap a lot from this trip.¡± Yamamoto¡¯s words contained a lot of information. First, at present, it seemed that he may have done these things alone without accomplices, but this point hasn¡¯t been confirmed yet and still needed to be verified. Second, the hotel had shikigamis set up and there was a ban placed on the weasel from speaking about the perpetrator, which seemed to be related to him. Finally, in the past ten years in Lucheng, there have only been three people in this office. It could be seen that the scene was relatively quiet before. Suddenly, a character like Yamamoto had appeared, which had caused Yan Nuo tons of headaches. On one hand it showed that Yan Nuo and his group was used to peace and have little training, and on the other hand, it could also mean that most likely more of this type of things will happen in the future. It suddenly occurred to him that Long Shen had thrown him to Lucheng wasn¡¯t perhaps just to show that he was fair and to avoid suspicion. It was precisely because of the special status of Lucheng that tens of millions of tourists gathered here every year. There were vipers and snakes mixed with dragons1, and it was also the forefront of the southeast region. The sea, land, and air transportation were well developed. While not as conspicuous as Bei-Shang-Guang2, it was still a place where many people like Yamamoto would lurk and pass through. Long Shen hoped that he could continue to play a role here and turn himself from a fledgling newcomer to a sharp sword guarding the southeast. 1(ÁúÉß»ìÔÓ) Metaphor referring to the mix of good and bad people. 2Refers to the tier 1 cities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou) though there¡¯s also Shenzhen as it¡¯s colloquially known as Bei-Shang-Guang-Shen. While Lucheng wasn¡¯t big, there were still many opportunities. Long Shen not only wanted to sharpen him but also wanted to give him full freedom to develop himself. If he died here today, it would waste a piece of his Master¡¯s mind. Yamamoto didn¡¯t even look at Mu Duo, but stared at Dong Zhi, scanning him up and down, as if he knew that he had got this in the bag. The satisfied and sticky gaze made Dong Zhi feel uncomfortable, as if he was being stared down by a poisonous snake. ¡°I want to use my most beloved shikigami to hold your soul, and then use your body as a container for soul refining. I have a hunch that you¡¯ll definitely be my greatest masterpiece!¡± Yamamoto smiled and clapped with his hands: ¡°Babies, come out and greet your new partners!¡± Scattered claps sounded in the empty warehouse and when the third round of applause fell, two beautiful tigers slowly stepped out of the darkness. Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi, who had fallen to the ground, slowly got up and stared at them with white eyeballs. The poisonous snake in front of Yamamoto flickered its tongue a few times, revealing a signal that something bad was about to happen. Dong Zhi said solemnly: ¡°I remember that the most gifted onmyojis could summon two or three shikigamis at the same time. Even your martial older brother¡¯s apprentice, Kitachi Eiko, could control two shikigamis at once. It seems that Mr. Yamamoto must be famous and have an extraordinary position in the onmyoji world!¡± While he was talking to delay time, his other hand was in his pocket and was secreting pinching his palm. Yamamoto sneered and said disdainfully: ¡°What of Kitaichi Eiko? They only chose her because the talents of the Shinkawa School is withering now. If I was still there, huh!¡± He stopped talking and raised his hand. The two large tigers that had been ready to go all this time suddenly rushed towards them. The tiger¡¯s mouth was wide open, and its fangs were thick as if it couldn¡¯t wait to tear off their throats. The big poisonous snake in front of Yamamoto also jumped up and together with the two big tigers besieged Dong Zhi on all three sides. Mu Duo and Dong Zhi had their backs against each other, completely trapped. Sweat slipped from her forehead. Mu Duo had never expected she would one day face an embattled situation like things. Among the enemies were colleagues and partners who she had fought side by side with in the past. If Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi really betrayed the country, it would be fine. She could still convince herself to act without hesitation, but now they were murdered, and their souls were manipulated to turn against them. Mu Duo remembered that she was still eating and joking with Xiao Qi yesterday and her eyes couldn¡¯t help but turn red. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best to hold them off. You run first. Run as far as you can and hurry out to report the news!¡± She gritted her teeth, turned her head and whisper. ¡°You can¡¯t do it alone! Yamamoto is still waiting in the back!¡± Dong Zhi vetoed her proposal without a second thought. He then flew away with the sword and stabbed the large tiger in front of him. The large tiger jumped up and the sword just passed through its abdomen and caused a stream of blood to splash out. The large tiger landed injured, but it was even more ferocious than before. It turned its head and rushed towards Dong Zhi again. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t look back to deal with the large tiger but continue to run forward. His goal was Yamamoto Kiyoshi! Destroy the ringleader and their followers will collapse. As long as Yamamoto Kiyoshi falls, these shikigamis would naturally disappear. A bell kept ringing in his ears. It was the bell in Mu Duo¡¯s hand. Her bell seemed to be similar to Gu Meiren¡¯s bamboo flute. It could confuse the enemy¡¯s mind. It rang everywhere and the sound became more rapid. The movements of the shikigami and Xiao Qi involuntarily slowed down. Standing a few meters away, Yamamoto smiled mysteriously at Dong Zhi and the thing in his hand shook slightly. The bell was crisp and long, like jade intersection stone. It was much more pleasant than the low pitch sounding bell of Mu Duo and the volume was much smaller. However, Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui shook their bodies slightly and then got rid of the control of Mu Duo¡¯s bell and continue to launch fierce attacks on her. Two bells sounded, one big and one small, one slow and one urgent, were intertwined. The bell in Yamamoto¡¯s hand caught up and completely overshadowed Mu Duo¡¯s limelight. Mu Duo couldn¡¯t help becoming more anxious. She continued dodging while still trying to ring the bell, but her bell seemed to have lost its effectiveness on the enemy. Her weapon cloth had been torn apart just now so she could only rely on her flexible footwork to avoid the enemy¡¯s attack. Yan Nuo still remained unconscious on the ground. He wasn¡¯t controlled by Yamamoto like Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi. Mu Duo guessed that he might still be alive, and his soul hadn¡¯t dissipated yet. If they could solve the problem here, Yan Nuo might still be rescued, but they couldn¡¯t even save themselves right now. With a glance from the corner of her eye, she saw the sword next to Yan Nuo and couldn¡¯t help secretly feeling happy. A large tiger jumped towards her, and Mu Duo bent over and rolled forward, picking up Yan Nuo¡¯s sword and turned around and slash towards Zhou Dui that was attacking her. Up until now, she couldn¡¯t help but still hesitated in the weight of her choice. On the other end, Dong Zhi waved his sword away. The fishy smell behind him was faint and the back of his head was cold. When the tip of his sword swept to Yamamoto¡¯s forehead, he had to turn around and sweep it back to deal with the poisonous snake that was in hot pursuit. The poisonous snake¡¯s figure was very flexible, and its body was incredibly soft. For a moment, it looked like a woman stretching her body. It was no wonder why the world would say that snakes were beautiful like women. It could be seen that they have something in common in essence, but this snake was particularly strange. When he took a closer look, there was a vaguely human expression on the snake¡¯s face. A pair of red and shiny eyes stared at Dong Zhi and there wasn¡¯t room for anything else in those eyes. It was determined to turn him into its food. Was this snake also tempered by someone¡¯s soul? Otherwise, why would its demeanor be so human-like? In the blink of an eye, he had no time to think about it. The snake hissed and vomited out venom that splashed out its fang from time to time. When it fell to the ground, the cement on it formed into a small hole. It had faster movement than the average poisonous snake and was waiting for the opportune time to strike. Its attack speed was extremely fast. It had almost mange to bite Dong Zhi several times. After narrowly avoiding it, he would counter-attack. Despite the sharpness of the Changshou Sword, he could only cut off one or two of its scales. Dong Zhi knew that this was because he had not learned Bu Tian Gang sufficiently enough. Otherwise, if his Master was here, one swing would cut this poisonous snake into two. The poisonous snake that was slashed by him became more furious and its attack speed became faster. While dealing with it, Dong Zhi had to reach out and find the talisman in his pocket. Mu Duo¡¯s was struggling harder. She had been scratched by the tigers and had several wounds that were bleeding from her body as she was gasping for breath. Although Yan Nuo¡¯s sword was in her hand, and she could manage for a while, but she didn¡¯t normally used swords. Her movements were awkward, and she would stumble from time to time making this feat quite unsustainable. The bell on Yamamoto¡¯s side had already suppressed her bell. No matter how Mu Duo would ring her bell, it would no longer affect the enemy. She cursed secretly and simple threw the bell away as she kicked Zhou Dui away with one foot and pierce Xiao Qi in the chest with the sword. The sword was drawn out of Xiao Qi¡¯s body, bringing out a stream of blood. If they were normal people, they would¡¯ve fallen to the ground by now, but since they were already dead, their bodies were merely puppets being manipulated. Zhou Dui staggered up from the ground and desperately grabbed Mu Duo¡¯s calf, tripping her. The tiger rushed up and stepped on her with its thick claws, almost crushing her bones. Mu Duo let out a groan and chanted involuntarily. The severe pain on her wrist of being bitten by the other tiger made her hand loosen and she dropped the sword. The smell of blood in the air made Yamamoto take a deep breath, showing an expression of enjoyment and excitement. He snapped his fingers and the tiger that bit Mu Duo¡¯s wrists suddenly let go of it, turned its head and ran towards Dong Zhi. ¡°Be careful!¡± Mu Duo held back the severe pain and shouted out in a hoarse voice, unable to tell whether blood or sweat blurred her vision. She saw Yan Nuo who was laying unconscious on the ground, saw Xiao Qi who was bleeding from his chest and still had on a hideous face, crazy like a zombie, and saw how small Dong Zhi looked while fighting with the poisonous snake and a burst of despair poured into her heart. Mu Duo regretted it. She regretted calling Dong Zhi when she came tonight, otherwise, at least one person could¡¯ve escaped. Although they didn¡¯t like the newcomer who was forcibly stuffed into their team from the top in the beginning, it didn¡¯t mean that Mu Duo wanted him to die, and she believed neither did Yan Nuo. This newcomer who had just joined the Special Administration Bureau, would die here with them before he even got the chance to crawl and roll around the world of mortals. She even thought that if everyone here died, Yamamoto would be able to destroy their corpse and leave calmly. Even if the branch of the General Administration sent someone to investigate, there might not be any clues and the murderous madman would go unpunished. Judging from the way he killed so many people in Lucheng, if he was allowed to escape, there will inevitably be more trouble in the future. As a practitioner, Mu Duo knew better than ordinary people that heaven did not save people and that people needed to save themselves, but at this moment, in the state of despair, she even hoped that miracles did exists. She hoped someone from the branch or General Administration would be nearby and would come in the nick of time. But she also knew that despite so much noise coming from the warehouse, no one had come from outside. Yamamoto must¡¯ve used some sound insulation method to isolate this place from the outside world, so he could leisurely toy with them, treating them as a plaything in the palm of his hand, and slowly slaughtered them. After all, the night was still long. When Mu Duo shouted ¡°Be careful!¡±, Dong Zhi was still fighting the poisonous snake. He almost used the sword skills that Long Shen had taught him, a set of tian gang steps and swordsmanship that was barley in sync with each other. From Yamamoto¡¯s point of view, the opponent was somewhat powerless, like the end of a crossbow* that couldn¡¯t bear the load. *(Ç¿åó֮ĩ) Metapor referring to a strong force that has been exhausted. However, this lotus that had been bent by the storm refused to break completely. It had gritted its teeth and continued to bear against the torrential rain. The tiger jumped quickly from behind Dong Zhi and pounced towards him, about to knock down its prey, but Dong Zhi suddenly turned around and swept it away with his sword. The blade was like a fine white light that slashed the tiger¡¯s abdomen. Dong Zhi immediately dodged the sudden attack of the poisonous snake behind him and ran to the other end of the warehouse. The warehouse was very large, but Yamamoto was not worried about him escaping. They were just like trapped animals in a cage. Dong Zhi could only indeed run around the warehouse. The poisonous snake shikigami wasn¡¯t like a real poisonous snake. It crawled extremely fast and chased after Dong Zhi. It almost bit him several times in the back, mangling Dong Zhi¡¯s windbreaker into several pieces. As he ran, he yelled in panic: ¡°Help! Help! Don¡¯t come over!¡± Mu Duo leaned against the wall and gasped, feeling weak in her heart. Can you escape by yelling? It¡¯s better to save some effort for fighting! The impression she had just changed her outlook. She was impressed by Dong Zhi good performance that was now subverted again. She felt that the other party couldn¡¯t be counted on and there was no need to think about miracles. Either they kill Yamamoto, or they become completely annihilated today and all die together. Yamamoto was so absorbed in rattling the bell that he didn¡¯t seem to notice her, a remnant soldier. Mu Duo held her breath and move quietly, squeezing the sword with her hand. One inch, two inches. The shadow concealed her figure well and Mu Duo hoped that she would be able to take him out with one blow. Even if she couldn¡¯t kill Yamamoto, she could hit him hard enough, so they have some hope of escaping. Sweat oozed from her place where the palm of her hand came into contact with the hilt of the sword, soaking it wet. She stared at Yamamoto¡¯s back and swung fiercely! The cloth weapon that Mu Duo had just used was actually a belt. In ancient times, corpse guide would ring the bell to drive the corpses. They would put glutinous rice in their waist belt to remove corpse poison, as a way to avoid the corpse from turning stiff and hurting themselves. Later, the belt became one of the weapon used by the corpse guide. Mu Duo¡¯s belt was handed down by her master. It was soaked in special medicines that could exorcise evil and calm the mind. Of course, it was tougher than ordinary fabric, but its essence was still a cloth that was soft and flexible. In contrast, the texture of the sword was something she was not used to. Mu Duo had learned how to use the softest weapon to produce the greatest effect since she was a child, but she had never learned how to turn the sword from soft to hard like the way she could control her belt. So when she swung the sword, she secretly thought that it was pretty bad. Her heart said that her strength was not mastered well and affected her speed. Sure enough, Yamamoto had notice before the tip of the sword touched him. As soon as Yamamoto moved his wrist, the fluctuation of the bell changed again. Mu Duo who used bells herself immediately noticed the change. Lying on the side was a tiger with an abdominal injury who was about to disappear. It instantly regained its figure again, roared and pounced on Mu Duo, biting her shoulder. Mu Duo screamed in pain and had to swing her sword to sweep the tiger off, using what little reaming strength she had to fight it. Dong Zhi and the poisonous snake were still playing a game of cat and mouse around the huge warehouse. Humans had limited physical strength, but shikigamis weren¡¯t the same. Seeing that Dong Zhi was getting slower, Yamamoto guessed that his physical strength was deteriorating. He had lost interest in watching his prey struggle and was ready to end the play tonight. No matter how interesting the scene of the weak prey fighting against a beast to death was, it would get tiring if one watched it too much. The hunter felt that he should now close his net. When the prey completely becomes his puppet, he could manipulate them into whatever he wanted. A smile rose from the corner of his mouth. His hand sank suddenly, and the bell changed into a rhythm that spread out far and wide, resounding throughout the warehouse. The sound of the bell became more rapid, and the poisonous snake suddenly expanded several times and transformed into a behemoth. Although it wasn¡¯t as big as the three-headed python in the underground caves of Helan Mountain, Dong Zhi undoubtedly became an ant that could be trampled to death at any time with just its eyes. It stretched its neck, bent down, opened its mouth. The snake¡¯s tongue, which had now become several times bigger, flickered towards the back of Dong Zhi. He didn¡¯t need to wait for the snake¡¯s tongue to drag him into its fangs. As long as he was slightly stained with a little venom, and skin and clothes would be corroded and will fester. Everything happened in a flash. The snake¡¯s tongue shot out. The distance between it and Dong Zhi was only half a meter and for it, this half meter would not even take half a second! Boom! Yamamoto raised his head abruptly with an unbelievable expression on his face. A gap was blasted open at the top of the warehouse and lightning fell from above striking the warehouse. The gap was like a heavy hammer that smashed the boundary he had just laid and the movement from the outside world followed. The sky resounded with burst of thunder and the gap lit up from time to time. Another lightning struck down! Heavenly lightning! Yamamoto¡¯s mind lit up. Japanese practitioners weren¡¯t familiar with heavenly lightning. Generally, onmyojis who saw this scene might think it was a natural phenomenon, but Yamamoto Kiyoshi often traveled in southeast Asia over the years and had a certain degree of understanding of various technique. He quickly discovered that lightning was now striking the warehouse one by one. This wasn¡¯t a coincidence. The only conclusion left was that it was heavenly lightning. He knew very well that for Chinese practitioners, the method of attracting thunder wasn¡¯t something that anyone could do. This method had an inheritance system, and many practitioners of small sects couldn¡¯t learn it even if they wanted to. His impression was that it must be a very powerful practitioner who could attract lightning, but he never expected it to be the young man who wasn¡¯t even proficient in his swordsmanship just now. Lightning illuminated the entire sky above their heads. A second lightning struck at the location where Yamamoto was standing. He truly took after Fujikawa Aoi as his junior martial brother. He saw the opportunity very quickly and when the warehouse above his head was split open, he had already dodge to the side. However, the heavenly lightning seems to have grown eyes as it didn¡¯t let him go. The lightning snaked down the gap and split apart halfway, slashing towards the place where Yamamoto was hiding. Unable to dodge it, he had to grab Xiao Qi next to him and used him as a shield. With a boom, the heavenly lightning struck Xiao Qi right in the middle! Heavenly lightning was the yang that conquers the yin and punishes evil. After Xiao Qi died, he was controlled by Yamamoto¡¯s soul refinement, which the heavenly lightning considers evil, so it could be considered that Yamamoto¡¯s shield was effective. But under the nest, how could there not be eggs*. Yamamoto was unavoidably affected as well. When Xiao Qi¡¯s body was bathed in lightning, Yamamoto¡¯s body shook and he involuntarily let go of Xiao Qi and staggered back, vomiting out a lot of blood. *(¸²³²Ö®Ï£¬ÑÉÓÐÍêÂÑ) Metaphor describing when one person suffers, the whole family. The young and old, will not be spared either. ¡°Xiao Qi!¡± Mu Duo yelled in grief and anger. The shikigami who had originally bitten her disappeared because of their master¡¯s weakness. She raised her sword and slashed at Yamamoto who still had enough strength to avoid it, but soon he was pierce in the chest by another sword. It was Dong Zhi¡¯s. Dong Zhi was pale and was sweating profusely and was in a completely haggard state. However, in Mu Duo¡¯s eyes who saw him desperately rushing over, it seemed like he was descending from the sky and had turned the situation around with the power of just one person. Yamamoto was shocked. His lips trembled slightly, and his eyes looked at Dong Zhi as if he was looking at a monster. He didn¡¯t expect the other party could not only attract lightning but did it twice in a row. Under heavenly lightning, all evil was vanquished, and no demons or ghost could escape. His shikigamis were destroyed and the souls he had worked so hard to collect in Lucheng this time was completely gone. Even his own life was not guaranteed. ¡°Don¡¯t kill me!¡± Yamamoto, who was standing on his high horse just now didn¡¯t hesitate to gasp for mercy at this moment. He wagged his tail and begged for mercy without any shame or embarrassment. ¡°One of your companions is not dead yet. I only took a part of his soul, and he still has hope to live!¡± He was talking about Yan Nuo. Mu Duo¡¯s spirit felt relieved: ¡°Hand it over!¡± Yamamoto showed an ugly smile. His hair was wet with sweat, and his locks were pressed to his cheeks, showing an indescribably embarrassed state. Half an hour ago, he had used these people as prey and toyed with them, but now he was kneeling and licking the feet of said prey, begging them to spare his life. ¡°Let me go and I will let him go. A life for a life!¡± He stared at Dong Zhi. Yamamoto knew very well that his opponent still had the strength to kill him. ¡°Fine, but you must first hand over his remnant soul.¡± Dong Zhi looked at him and said slowly and concisely. ¡°You have no room to bargain with me.¡± He knew his own strength. He wasn¡¯t actually as strong as Yamamoto thought he was. He had been entangled with the shikigami several times and attracted lightning twice. He had exhausted all his strength and was barely hanging on. He had to make sure that his expression was flawless, so as not to be seen by Yamamoto. Although Yamamoto was pierced by the Changshou sword and had no power to resist, Dong Zhi had seen the repeated actions of Fujikawa and his disicples with his own eyes and knew he couldn¡¯t relax his vigilance. In other words, at this moment, the two of them were like opponents at a card table. They seem to have a high opinion of each other and while the outcome may have already been decided, they each held the last card that was their ace. Neither party knew whether they could win or not. Kinky Thoughts: Honestly, Mu Duo¡¯s the MVP here. She¡¯s fighting 2 tigers and 2 zombies while Dong Zhi only dealt with a poisonous snake for half the chapter. CH 79 Blood gurgled out of his chest and caused Yamamoto¡¯s face to become uglier. Every time he breathed; he would aggravate the wound and was becoming more bent out of shape. ¡°Yes, in my pocket.¡± He said weakly. However, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t move. He didn¡¯t even intend to bend over. Seeing as he didn¡¯t move, Yamamoto raised his hand tremblingly and touched his pocket. Dong Zhi thought he was going to make trouble again and forgot to control his strength that he inadvertently pushed the sword in another inch causing Yamamoto to spit out another mouthful of blood. He only had himself to blame for becoming a fish while giving the knife to the hands of others. Yamamoto pulled out a small glass bottle that had a cloud gray mist inside. When they looked at it closely, it was intertwined with silk thread. ¡°This is his remnant soul.¡± Yamamoto said intermittently. The gray mist in the bottle became more familiar causing Dong Zhi to recall something: ¡°Did you restrain a weasel in a hotel in this city?¡± Yamamoto shook his head with difficulty: ¡°I¡¯m not to blame.¡± Dong Zhi pushed the sword a little bit further. Yamamoto spit out another mouthful of blood and begged for mercy: ¡°It¡¯s really not me! I have killed two of your companions. If I did it, would I not say it?¡± Dong Zhi snorted coldly thinking he could always question him afterwards. The most important thing now was to save Yan Nuo first. He asked Mu Duo: ¡°Can you tell if he¡¯s telling he truth?¡± She nodded, then took the bottle and put it in front of Yan Nuo. She opened the mouth of the bottle and it began rattling. The bell rang slowly while gradually increasing its speed until the gray mist finally swam out of the mouth of the bottle and slowly floated to Yan Nuo. Dong Zhi saw the gray mist float into Yan Nuo¡¯s nose and deep into his nasal cavity. Just a few seconds after he turned his head to look at Yan Nuo, he heard a dull hum in his ears. He looked back immediately and saw Yamamoto smiled mysteriously at him. He wants to escape! As soon as the thought occurred, Yamamoto¡¯s body suddenly exploded causing a shockwave that ejected Dong Zhi a few meters away. He fell heavily to the ground and the Changshou Sword landed with a clang. Looking at the place again, a thin piece of paper laid on the ground and a big hole was opened in its heart, which was the place where the Changshou Sword had just pierced. There were bloodstains on the side as it was proof that Yamamoto had existed. ¡°Puppet technique!¡± Muduo exclaimed. Seeing that Dong Zhi picked up the sword and wanted to give chase, she hurriedly said: ¡°Don¡¯t chase. He was already prepared. He must¡¯ve have laid puppets somewhere, just in case. I have heard of this technique. Once his life is in danger, he can replace his body thousands of miles away and use the puppet to resist a fatal blow!¡± It didn¡¯t matter as Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t possibly run anymore. He didn¡¯t even have the strength to get up, so he could only sit in place and gasp. ¡°Is there a way to track him down?¡± Mu Duo shook her head: ¡°The problem is that we don¡¯t know where he¡¯s located, but I heard that every time this puppet technique is used, it¡¯ll inevitably hurt his vitality. In addition, you stabbed him again. Even if he¡¯s not dead now, he¡¯ll only have a few breaths left at most, so it¡¯ll take him at least a few years to recover.¡± After falling short, Dong Zhi was frustrated but Mu Duo felt fortunate. They were almost annihilated. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be able to summon thunder. I¡¯m really grateful for you today!¡± She said this sincerely. If Xiao Qi were to wake up, perhaps he would show some humility. After all, although the Special Administration Bureau looked at qualification and background, the most important thing was strength. Unfortunately, neither he nor Zhou Dui was as lucky as Yan Nuo. What a truly ironic and tragic situation. Mu Duo couldn¡¯t contain her tears as they fell down. Dong Zhi sighed: ¡°To summon thunder, it¡¯s necessary to match the array, with the time and place. This is indispensable. I¡¯ve tried my best. If it was unsuccessful at that time, we would all become ghost by now!¡± Mu Duo suddenly said: ¡°So that¡¯s why you led the snake around just now so you could create an array!¡± Dong Zhi nodded. ¡°That way I could temporarily avoid Yamamoto¡¯s attention. In fact, he¡¯s quite powerful. You can also feel it. I have seen his older martial brother, Fujikawa Aoi, fight with my Master before. If he¡¯s his younger martial brother, he can¡¯t be much worse than him. This time, he was careless, so I was able to take advantage of that.¡± In addition to the shock, Mu Duo couldn¡¯t help but admire the eagerness of Dong Zhi and his ability to remain calm during a crisis. In the beginning, she felt that his behavior was too squeamish since he refused to sleep in the office and went out to rent a place of his own. She suspected that the General Administration Bureau would send such a person like that here, just to help use this place as a steppingstone for his future. Now she realized that it was because the General Administration thought the Lucheng Office wasn¡¯t in good condition that they sent him over. Rather than icing on the cake, it was providing charcoal in the snow*. *(Ñ©ÖÐËÍÌ¿) Idiom referring to giving people help in times difficulty. At this time, there was a sound from the side. They turned their heads to look. Yan Nuo slowly moved for a bit as he was waking up. ¡°What happened¡­ What?¡± Yan Nuo held his forehead, recalling the scene before he lost his soul he suddenly shook his body. ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the adulterer! Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui¡­¡± His voice stopped abruptly, and his gaze fell on the body of Zhou Dui not far away. It rendered him speechless. Mu Duo hurriedly said: ¡°Yan Nuo, calm down. That adulterer has been seriously injured by Dong Zhi and ran away. Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi¡­ have died!¡± Yan Nuo¡¯s face paled. He didn¡¯t know whether it was due to excessive sadness or the side effect of losing his soul as he was completely shellshocked. Dong Zhi said: ¡°Sister Mu Duo, you should contact the police and the branch first. Let them send someone quickly!¡± He had seen what happened to He Yu¡¯s junior martial brother who lost his soul and knew that since his soul had just returned to him, he would need a period of recuperation. It was impossible to recover immediately. Mu Duo took out her phone and started to contact the relevant departments while Dong Zhi frowned and recalled the situation. He had always felt that he seemed to have missed something, but he couldn¡¯t remember. He had just touched his phone when he saw that there was a missed call. The number was unknown, but it was local to Lucheng and it wasn¡¯t He Jia¡¯s as he had saved her number. It didn¡¯t look like it was a harassing call as there was only two consecutive calls. At the time, he was busy dealing with Yamamoto, so he didn¡¯t have the time to check his phone. Dong Zhi called back. It rang twice before a female voice picked up sounding cautious. ¡°Hello?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Hello, did you call me just now?¡± The other party replied quickly: ¡°No!¡± There was a hint of vigilance and doubt in her voice that he assumed she probably regarded him as some kind of scammer. Dong Zhi felt it was odd as this voice sounded very familiar. ¡°Wait, don¡¯t hang up¡­ Are you Xiao¡¯an?¡± Xiao¡¯an was the little girl who worked at the front desk of He Jia¡¯s hotel. They had exchanged a few words when Dong Zhi was staying there. The other party answered: ¡°Yes, who are you?¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart sank as he had a bad premonition. He immediately said: ¡°I¡¯m a friend of your boss. You have seen me. I¡¯m coming back now. Please wait!¡± He didn¡¯t care that his legs were still weak. He borrowed Mu Duo¡¯s car and rushed back. The distance from suburbs to the city was pretty far. Fortunately, there wasn¡¯t much traffic in the middle of the night so the road was unimpeded. When he arrived at the hotel. Xiao¡¯an was already there. ¡°Brother Dong, it¡¯s so strange. I was just taking a nap, so I don¡¯t know who took my phone to call you. I even called you twice in a row. There¡¯s a fingerprint lock on the phone!¡± As soon as Xiao¡¯an saw him, she handed her phone to show that him that she was telling the truth. Xiao¡¯an remained calm as this wasn¡¯t the first strange thing that had happened in the hotel. Dong Zhi took it and found that there was his number in the dial list. The time was more than an hour ago. He had never given Xiao¡¯an his number so it was impossible for her to do it from her own volition, but Dong Zhi did give the weasel named ¡°Old Liu¡± his contact, so if he found the whereabouts of that person, he would immediately notify him. The only possibility is that Old Liu found something so he quickly possessed Xiao¡¯an¡¯s body to call him. Thinking of this, Dong Zhi immediately asked Xiao¡¯an for the key to the tail room on the second floor. The door was still locked and there was no sign of the lock being damaged. Dong Zhi felt a bit of relief and quickly unlocked the door and walked into the room. His face suddenly turned pale leaving him motionless. A pool of blood was visible on the big bed that was covered with white bedding and a small animal laid on its back with its limbs stiff. There was a hole in its abdomen and even its intestines were exposed. He came one step late. The window was half open, and the wind stirred the white curtains. Other than this, there were no other traces of the murderer in the room. When he thought about it, it couldn¡¯t be an ordinary person who could kill a Bao Jiaxian. Dong Zhi carefully picked up the cold weasel and wrapped it in a sheet. Although Old Liu did help him at first, he was also afraid of death and refused to tell the truth, which indirectly led to his current fate. However, Dong Zhi felt that its death was because Old Liu revealed some information, so he was partially responsible for it. Having said that, whoever the other party was, they were extremely vicious. Even if the weasel didn¡¯t give out any information, he may not necessarily be able to escape this catastrophe, because he had long been targeted by the other party and had nowhere to hide. ¡°Sorry, I was negligent, but I didn¡¯t expect the other party to not even let you go. Don¡¯t worry, I will find the murderer and avenge you.¡± He solemnly promised Old Liu¡¯s body. Judging from all the clues, it was very likely that the person who killed Old Liu was Yamamoto, but there are things that weren¡¯t adding up. For example, more than an hour ago, Yamamoto was still dealing with them in the warehouse. Even if his puppet was set in the hotel, could he still kill Old Liu after suffering from such a serious injury? Even if Old Liu couldn¡¯t beat him, he could still run away. No, something¡¯s not right! A thought flashed in Dong Zhi¡¯s mind. He remembered that when he questioned Yamamoto at that time, he said: ¡°I¡¯m not to blame.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not to blame¡± instead of ¡°I didn¡¯t do it¡±. In other words, although it may not be him, he most likely knows who did? Was there another invisible enemy hiding in the dark? For a while, Dong Zhi¡¯s thoughts became muddled. Could it be that he was too suspicious? When Long Shen was present, he didn¡¯t need to think about so many things, because Long Shen had his own way. People always rely on the strong so naturally Dong Zhi knew this path of thinking was wrong. The idea only appeared for half a second before it was tossed out from the depth of his mind. If he called for help now, his Master would say he could take care of it himself. In any case, there generally wouldn¡¯t be a Dong Zhi, but since he had entered the Special Administration Bureau and became Long Shen¡¯s disciple, he must learn to look at the bigger picture than just what was currently in front of him and solve the root of the problem in a coordinated manner, just like his Master. Xiao Qi had died, Yan Nuo had lost his soul, which meant they had lost half their combat effectiveness. This was a house that leaked with seemingly endless rain*. *(ÎÝ©ƫ·êÁ¬Ò¹Óê) Refers to when things are bad, it just so happens that there a bigger blow to adding fuel to the fire (AKA when it rains it pours). Dong Zhi sighed and called Mu Duo first to ask her about the situation. Mu Duo said: ¡°The police have already rushed over and they will help clean up the situation. Warehouse no. 8 will be fenced off as a murder scene. Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui will also be sent back for resettlement. When the people from the branch comes, they¡¯ll take Xiao Qi away. Now I¡¯m on my way back to the office with Yan Nuo. He needs to rest for a while.¡± Dong Zhi told her about what happened at the hotel. Before the warehouse incident tonight, Mu Duo and the others thought that the Dong Zhi was aimlessly wandering around. Now that the connection seemed to have formed, they realized that the water might ran very deep. Mu Duo said in horror: ¡°Do you need help over there? I can rush over right away!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°No need for the time being. My guess is the purpose of the other party for killing Old Liu is to hide himself and this matter to an end. Sister Mu Duo, remember to explain the situation to the branch and ask them to send a few more people over. Now that it¡¯s just the two of us and we¡¯re both injured, I¡¯m afraid if something happens again, we can¡¯t handle it alone.¡± Mu Duo quickly replied: ¡°Yes, I¡¯m contacting them now!¡± A day ago, Dong Zhi was still in the role of writing reports. Now it seemed their roles had inadvertently switched. Mu Duo acted naturally and felt there was nothing wrong with this. After cutting off contact, Dong Zhi called He Jia and asked her to come over. He Jia actually wanted to take Dong Zhi around the city but the male god seemed very busy every day and didn¡¯t seem to have any leisurely time. She was also reserved and didn¡¯t want to embarrass herself by harassing the other party repeatedly. She wasn¡¯t expecting to receive a call from Dong Zhi in the middle of the night that woke her up from a sweet dream. She almost thought that the male god had an ulterior motive. However, she quickly discovered how wrong she was. Even if Dong Zhi wanted to do something, it wouldn¡¯t be in the room of the second floor of the hotel that her great aunt made a dedication shrine for a Bao Jiaxian. When Dong Zhi invited her to that room and explained the entire story about the stiff weasel lying on the bed, it left her completely stunned. She thought she was listening to the Chinese version of Harry Potter. In fact, He Jia had never believed in things like Gods and ghosts. She read Dong Zhi¡¯s comics was because she was attracted by the plot and characters. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t have ignored her great aunt¡¯s warning and let him come into the room as soon as Dong Zhi asked about it. The Bao Jiaxian that she heard about from her great aunt, but never seen with her own eyes, was now the weasel that was lying in front of her around a pool of blood on the bed. This made her start to doubt the world she had been living in since she was a child. She didn¡¯t think Dong Zhi would be crazy to kill a weasel and lie to her about this. Naturally Dong Zhi skipped the parts of Yamamoto. He only told her that he was able to see strange things since he was a child. In the past few days, he stayed at the hotel, he accidently met Old Liu and got along well with him. Tonight, Old Liu had possessed Xiao¡¯an to call him but when he came over, he found that Old Liu was already dead. ¡°You mean his name is Old Liu?¡± He Jia was terrified. This weasel confirmed what her great aunt had said was true. But now that the Bao Jiaxian was dead, He Jia didn¡¯t know how to explain it to her great aunt. Dong Zhi sighed: ¡°He said his name is Uncle Liu, but I call him Old Liu.¡± Indeed, her great aunt often respected the Bao Jian as Uncle Liu, and He Jia had no doubt about this. She wanted to reach out to untie the sheets but was stopped by the Dong Zhi. ¡°Uncle Liu was killed by someone and that person cut up his belly and there¡¯s intestines everywhere. You better not look.¡± He Jia¡¯s hand trembled. Dong Zhi said: ¡°In fact, Uncle Liu told me yesterday that there are other things in this hotel besides it.¡± He Jia seemed to have aged a few decades. She had lived a smooth, peaceful, and ordinary life. Upon hearing this, she finally showed uncontrollable fear. ¡°¡­What else is here?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I have friends who are more familiar about this. I would like to suggest that you close this hotel for half a month and let my friends come over and check it thoroughly. It¡¯s not only for your own good, but also for the sake of the staff and guests here.¡± The first time He Jia came into contact with this kind of abnormal event, she thought she might be losing her mind. When she heard what Dong Zhi had said, she agreed without thinking much about it. ¡°But I have to let the staff persuade the guests to leave and pay them compensation. I also have to find them new accommodations as well.¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°This is natural, but I hope the sooner the better. Uncle Liu was originally the Bao Jiaxian of this hotel. He was worshipped by you and your great aunt. As a token of gratitude, he would attract customers to this hotel. Therefore, you often find it strange that there was an endless stream of guests. In fact, this was mainly due to Uncle Liu. Your great aunt should already know this.¡± He Jia suddenly said: ¡°Then after¡­¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°Since there¡¯s no Uncle Liu in the future, everything will depend on you. The most important thing now is that Uncle Liu died inexplicably and I¡¯m afraid the murderer who killed it is still hiding here.¡± He Jia became more and more frightened as she listened while nodding her head repeatedly: ¡°I understand, I will immediately order them to do it, and the venue will be cleared by tomorrow afternoon at the latest!¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°Also, Uncle Liu and your great aunt seemed to share a fate together. There may be some kind of connection between them. Now that Uncle Liu is dead, the connection is most likely broken so you great aunt will definitely ask.¡± He Jia could only nod. This was the first time she encountered this kind of thing was she was inevitably at a loss. After a while, she remembered: ¡°Since you¡¯re asking your friends to deal with this matter, is there a cost? How much is it?¡± Before Dong Zhi could reply, she hurriedly said again: ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, I¡¯m not afraid of it being expensive. I¡¯m just asking first, as I have a number in my heart!¡± Dong Zhi smiled: ¡°No charge.¡± He Jia was taken aback: ¡°Huh?¡± Although she wasn¡¯t knowledgeable, she has heard that many masters often charged hundreds of millions. For someone or something killed a Bao Jiaxian, that thing must be extremely fierce and could even be life-threatening. With this kind of work, no matter how much money was offered, there may not be anyone who would accept it. But the result was that Dong Zhi actually said that there was no charge? ¡°That¡¯s not good. How can you let people help for free? Brother Dong, no need to be so polite to me!¡± He Jia thought she misheard. ¡°I¡¯m not being polite to you. Have you heard of the Special Administration Bureau?¡± Since the two knew each other well, Dong Zhi was also worried that He Jia may think he had some ulterior motive. Even if He Jia believed him, her parents and elders, as well as her great aunt, would most likely have doubts. Although he couldn¡¯t reveal much, he still needed to explain what should be explain, as to not cause misunderstandings in the future. He Jia shook her head, indicating that she had never heard of it. Dong Zhi said: ¡°They are just like the police, but they don¡¯t pursue ordinary criminals, but rather criminals with special abilities. My friends work there. They have the responsibility and obligation to deal with this kind of thing. If your great aunt doesn¡¯t believe it, I will ask the police to also issue a certificate so you can show her that the police has temporarily requisitioned the hotel to handle a case.¡± He Jia¡¯s mood gradually stabilized, and she smiled: ¡°No, I will take care of my great aunt¡¯s side. Don¡¯t worry. What¡¯s more, the hotel is in my name so I have the right. But Brother Dong¡­¡± Dong Zhi was puzzled. He Jia: ¡°You¡¯re actually also from the Special Administration Bureau, right?¡± This question was not easy for Dong Zhi to answer so he simply ignored it. There was a sly look in He Jia¡¯s eyes: ¡°What you just said is that you will ask the police to issue a certificate instead of your friends. This indicate that you also have the right to decide, so your power is not small.¡± Dong Zhi denied it naturally: ¡°I¡¯m not. I just know more from my friends.¡± He Jia smiled: ¡°I understand, don¡¯t worry. I won¡¯t say anything else.¡± As soon as she finished speaking, her phone rang. He Jia looked at it and said: ¡°It¡¯s my great aunt!¡± Dong Zhi walked out with interest and stopped in front of the hotel to look up and down again but found nothing unusual. Everything disappeared with the death of Old Liu. It seemed that it had been restored to an ordinary hotel. From now on, there won¡¯t be guests who would come there inexplicably, let alone strange things. If He Jia muddles through like before, there may not be a hotel that once sheltered Old Liu and it wouldn¡¯t be long before she couldn¡¯t make ends meet. A faint sadness suddenly surged in his heart. He had met Old Liu by chance. Let alone starting a friendship, they barely exchanged a few words, but he still felt melancholic, nonetheless. At times like this, he missed Long Shen. In the long years of the past, Long Shen must¡¯ve had friends and admirers. Even if a cultivator lives longer than ordinary people, it was impossible to live for hundreds or thousands of years like Long Shen or Kan Chaosheng. As the ones he was familiar with became old and passes away, it was certainly impossible for him to be completely indifferent and unemotional to such a thing. Even as his apprentice, he could live to be a hundred years or more than that, it was destined to be impossible to support his Master¡¯s heavenly years. He suddenly realized how rare it was for Long Shen to accept an apprentice. With Long Shen¡¯s wisdom, he must¡¯ve thought about this but Long Shen still accepted him regardless. The longer they get along, the more afraid Dong Zhi was of disappointing him. Master¡¯s heart, even if it wasn¡¯t love, was enough for him to handle it carefully and cherish it properly. The author has something to say£º Love is afraid of disappointment, and always wants to make you better. At this stage of Yamamoto¡¯s life, it is actually remarkable that the Dong Zhi can seriously injure him. Of course, it is also the reason why the other party can¡¯t figure out his way and adapt to it. CH 80 ¡°Brother Dong?¡± After He Jia finished her call, she opened the door and saw Dong Zhi standing in the corridor. The other party came back to his senses after hearing his name being called a couple times. Thinking of the strange things that Dong Zhi said just now, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a little scared. She timidly said: ¡°Are you okay?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Dong Zhi gave her a soothing smile. ¡°How was the call?¡± He Jia said: ¡°It¡¯s strange. My great aunt said that she was dreaming. She dreamt that Uncle Liu said goodbye to her and told her he was leaving. She woke up and felt something was wrong before calling me.¡± Dong Zhi nodded: ¡°Uncle Liu is the guardian of your family, and his fate was tied with your great aunt.¡± He Jia smiled and said: ¡°But don¡¯t worry. I didn¡¯t say anything about what you told me I couldn¡¯t divulge. I didn¡¯t even mention your existence. I just told her that I know a master in this field who could help with things. My great aunt gave me the right to deal with it, but I have to bury Uncle Liu and set up a monument. She told me she would return home to sweep the tomb of Uncle Liu in the future.¡± Dong Zhi secretly praised the girl¡¯s reaction and tone. He didn¡¯t forget to tell her again: ¡°You can handle Uncle Liu¡¯s body yourself, but the hotel must be cleared as soon as possible. This can¡¯t be delayed.¡± On Mu Duo¡¯s side, the police had rushed over as soon as they received the news. Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi was handed over to them, while Mu Duo took Yan Nuo back to the office and hurriedly reported the matter to the branch office. She didn¡¯t conceal Dong Zhi¡¯s role in the incident, and emphasize that if it wasn¡¯t for Dong Zhi, they might not have been able to escape alive. The phone call lasted for two hours. The branch leader attached great importance to the matter and said he would send additional personnel to assist them and asked Mu Duo to formally write the situation into a report as soon as possible. At the end of the call, Mu Duo finally breathed a sigh of relief. Exhausted, she fell back to the sofa. This kind of exhaustion came not only from the body but also the mind. In just one night, she was seriously injured and almost died. She had lost two companions and in the end, she narrowly escaped death by the skin of her teeth. At that time, every second was critical so her reaction as instinctive, but now that she was settled, she felt lingering fear. ¡°Sorry, I hurt you,¡± Yan Nuo said weakly. ¡°Don¡¯t say that.¡± Mu Duo pulled out a smile. Her face wasn¡¯t much better than Yan Nuo¡¯s. Just now, Captain Zhou¡¯s subordinates wanted to take them to the hospital, but Mu Duo thought about reporting the incident to the higher ups first, so she chose to rush back to the office. ¡°Dong Zhi¡¯s injuries aren¡¯t light, but he¡¯s still busy trying to resolve this matter. On the other hand, we¡¯re dragging our feet here.¡± ¡°Before, I was too emotional and vented my dissatisfaction of the previous newcomer on him, which had affected your judgement.¡± Yan Nuo¡¯s voice was very soft, as if the wind could blow it away at any moment. ¡°I don¡¯t blame you. Not only did you make a mistake in judgement, but we also all had preconceived notions.¡± Mu Duo¡¯s eyelids felt heavy. Her internal organs were in pain, like a knife cutting at it, but she no longer had the strength to get up. Besides, she won¡¯t be able to breathe properly for a while, so she might as well just sleep first. The sky outside was getting brighter as light pierced through the gaps between the leaves and branches. All the darkness had subsided, sending hope into the heart. When she wakes up, she had to find Dong Zhi and apologize. This was Mu Duo last thought before she finally fell asleep. After waking up, it would be a new day. No matter how long the night was, the arrival of dawn would always ignite new hope. He Jia¡¯s action were fast. Before the next evening, the hotel was cleared, and all the employees were put on paid leave. For the guest who had already paid the deposit, she gave double compensation and cancelled all bookings. The police directly blocked off the hotel and prohibited anyone from entering. The lack of personnel in the Lucheng office was now manifested at this moment. Xiao Qi died, and Yan Nuo was still suffering from the aftermath of losing his soul, so he was unable to work. Before the manpower dispatched by the branch to help arrived, Mu Duo and Dong Zhi had to drag their injured bodies up and down the hotel to do another check. Unfortunately, Dong Zhi still didn¡¯t find any other traps that the weasel had told him about. Perhaps the other party had already withdrawn and in order to not leave any clues behind, they killed Old Liu. But this wasn¡¯t good news, because such an enemy were also more cunning and difficult to deal with. Those lurking in the shadows had many hidden dangers. Probably due to their high alert, the other party didn¡¯t commit crimes in Lucheng again, but it didn¡¯t mean that they wouldn¡¯t go somewhere else. When Yamamoto hadn¡¯t appeared before, both Mu Duo and Yan Nuo felt that Dong Zhi was eager to make contribution, and thought he was making a fuss about the hotel. Now, Mu Duo had naturally stopped thinking such things, and she also added this matter to the report. Meanwhile, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t remain idle. He had to recover from his injuries and find a place to rent. The agency finally found a suitable home for him. It was in the community next door to the office. It was completed just a few years ago, so the facilities were brand new, and the environment was pristine. It was more than a hundred times better than the office. It had two bedrooms and a living room. The only catch was the rent was higher, but fortunately, Dong Zhi had savings and he also earned remuneration during this period, which was more than enough to support the rent. The card Long Shen gave him had been in his wallet all this time and wasn¡¯t used once. When he paid for the rent deposit, Dong Zhi accidentally opened his wallet and suddenly remembered he hadn¡¯t contacted his Master for a whole week. Although the Special Administration Bureau was a special department, it must also follow the same protocol for doing things. It was reasonable to report to the South China Branch first and from there the branch would decide whether to report it to headquarters. Naturally, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t rely on the fact that he came from the General Administration and directly run to Long Shen as this was taboo in the workplace. Just like when he was the lead graphics designer, he would not like contradictions between newcomers under his management who would go directly over him and complain to the project manager. Although he won¡¯t leapfrog to report, he did have many doubts in his heart. For example, the gray piece of paper in the hotel that was similar to a shikigami. If it could be identified, it may help them continue to solve the case and track down the Old Liu¡¯s murderer. In terms of extensive knowledge, his master naturally was the one who possessed such thing. Taking advantage that he finally had a place to settle down and his injuries were almost healed, he directly called Long Shen. The phone rang twice before the other line picked up. ¡°Dong Zhi.¡± The tone of the voice was familiar and pleasant sounding, which made his heart throb slightly. ¡°Master, it¡¯s me. I didn¡¯t bother you, did I?¡± There was a short snort on the other end. Dong Zhi was still adjusting his mood and he didn¡¯t speak for a while. Both ends were silent for a few seconds, as they were connected by a phone call but was separated by thousands of mountains and rivers. The only thing that could maintain their connection what this small phone that could transmit sound waves. He calmed down and showed the same composure when he confronted Kiyoshi Yamamoto: ¡°Well, an incident happened a few days ago. It¡¯s a work matter. We have already reported it to the branch office, but there¡¯s a discovery that I¡¯m unsure about, so I want to ask you for help.¡± Dong Zhi roughly gave the general description of the piece of paper that he found at the hotel. ¡°That piece of paper is still with me now. I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s something weird in it, so I sealed it with a talisman.¡± Long Shen pondered for a moment: ¡°Take a picture and send it over. Make sure the shape of the piece of paper is clear and enlarge the details.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly complied. The other party answered his question normally and there wasn¡¯t anything off with his tone, but he always seemed to have an indescribable sense of disobedience. ¡°Master, have you been busy lately? Why don¡¯t you even reply to my text messages? Is Longlong okay?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Good.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­He skipped all the questions and directly answered the last one! He deliberately pressed onwards: ¡°Then is He Yu alright? Is Chaosheng okay? Is Zhong Yuyi doing well? Do you miss your lovely apprentice?¡± Long Shen was silent for a while: ¡°Let¡¯s end this here. I still have something to do.¡± Dong Zhi: ??? Before he could react, the line hung up. Dong Zhi stared at the phone for a while. Was this normal or abnormal for his Master to be like this? He still remembered that before he left, even if Long Shen didn¡¯t like to talk nonsense, he would occasionally talk to him about his daily life. Now it seemed he didn¡¯t want to say much about anything. Something must be wrong. Dong Zhi searched his mind for any shortcomings that might annoyed him and after thinking about it for a long time, he couldn¡¯t come up with a reason. He could only take a picture of the piece of paper and send it over. This time, Long Shen quickly replied: [There may be some kind of spirit attached to it.] Heroes think alike. Dong Zhi laughed and replied: [Master, can you tell me what kind of spirit it is?] Long Shen: [As you know, generally shikigamis transform into various shapes and follow their master¡¯s orders to kill people, but it will not suck away yang qi and cause people to get sick. According to what you said, combined with the photos, the shikigami may be attached to a demonic qi, resentment, or a remnant soul. At present, I can¡¯t judge which one it is. Go back and wait for the people from the branch to come and give it to them so they can test it.] He agreed. Dong Zhi: [Master, would you like to let people searching for the stone tablets come to Lucheng to look? This matter involves Fujikawa¡¯s younger martial brother. Maybe it has something to do with the stone tablets.] Long Shen¡¯s reply was simple: [The branch will handle it.] Dong Zhi didn¡¯t mention anything about his injury. He usually suffered a little injury, and he was happy to act coquettish to win attention, but now that his injury wasn¡¯t serious, he didn¡¯t want to cause worry for the other party. However, Long Shen¡¯s attitude was indeed quite strange. After thinking about it for a while, he sent a message to He Yu: [Have you left Beijing yet?] He Yu quickly replied: [No. Zhong Yuyi went first. I¡¯ll be going in two days, but the boss didn¡¯t rush me. How¡¯s it going with you?] Dong Zhi: [It¡¯s okay. I encountered a small incident, but it can be resolved. Can you help me check to see if Master is in a meeting right now?] He Yu: [No. I just met the boss. He¡¯s in his office.] Dong Zhi: [Has he been busy lately?] He Yu: [So, so. There are more meetings, but it shouldn¡¯t be very busy. Otherwise, he won¡¯t have time to call me over and scold me, saying that if I don¡¯t start working, he¡¯ll deduct my bonus and confiscate my game account. Why do you think he does this all day? I was injured on duty and my leg¡¯s broken. Why doesn¡¯t he have any pity at all!] The image of a sturdy man like He Yu typing furiously as if he was pinching his throat made him wanted to laugh subconsciously. As soon as he was about to reply, his newly raised smiled suddenly froze. Since Long Shen wasn¡¯t busy, why was he so stingy about talking to him? When he was still in the capital, the other party¡¯s attitude towards his only apprentice wasn¡¯t like this. He held the phone in his hand and hesitate for almost half a minute before he asked He Yu: [Has Master been in a bad mood recently?] He Yu: [No.] Dong Zhi: [Did he mention anything about how I¡¯m not doing well?] He Yu: [Of course not. Do you think the boss is this kind of person? I suspect that one day he¡¯ll suffocate to death because he knows too many secrets, or he¡¯ll be broken by the secrets and explode on the spot. Why are you asking? Did you quarrel with him?] Dong Zhi: [Do you think he looks like someone who can quarrel with others?] He Yu: [That¡¯s true. He usually doesn¡¯t talk nonsense. Rather just stab you to death with a sword.] Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ He felt that rather than typing word by word that would take forever to address the problem, he decided to simply call. Soon, He Yu¡¯s lazy voice came through: ¡°Hey, Little Dongdong. It¡¯s been a long time since we¡¯ve talk. Feels like many autumns ago!¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help laughing: ¡°It has been a long time. How¡¯s your leg?¡± He Yu sighed: ¡°It¡¯s okay. I can remove the plaster after two more days. When I think about going on a mission with Kan Chaosheng, my heart grows cold. I¡¯ll partner with you next time. You¡®re much more reliable than him!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I can¡¯t transform, so I won¡¯t help you much.¡± He Yu: ¡°Your voice seems a bit off. Are you hurt?¡± Dong Zhi sighed: ¡°I encountered Fujikawa¡¯s younger martial brother here in Lucheng and fought with him. It¡¯s not a big deal.¡± He was afraid that the other party would turn around and tell Long Shen, so he understated it. However, He Yu wasn¡¯t easily fooled: ¡°It doesn¡¯t seem like a minor injury.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said: ¡°It¡¯s fine. Don¡¯t worry about it, okay?¡± He Yu solemnly said: ¡°You also know about the boss¡¯ physique. It¡¯s different from ours. He can still hold on even if he¡¯s injured. Don¡¯t think that if you become his apprentice, you can be as invulnerable as him! If you don¡¯t pay attention to it now, in a few years, old and new injuries will come and attack together. Then you¡¯ll know how serious it is!¡± Dong Zhi heart warmed: ¡°I know. These days are near the end. I¡¯ll go back to the hospital later, but I just called Master and he didn¡¯t seem very happy to talk to me. Has something happened recently?¡± He Yu let out a sigh: ¡°Did you find out too?¡± This sentence made Dong Zhi emotional. ¡°What do you mean?¡± He Yu: ¡°I also think he¡¯s been weird lately; a little absent-minded, but other people think I¡¯m seeing things. Even Kan Chaosheng said that I entered menopause early!¡± He sounded aggravated. Dong Zhi was puzzled: ¡°What can make Master lose his temperament? Is it something from the higher ups?¡± He Yu: ¡°That¡¯s impossible. The boss has never cared about that. There are generally two reasons why men lose their mind. Either for fame and fortune or for personal affairs.¡± Long Shen was only distracted for a few seconds, and the result was directly exaggerated to him losing his mind. However, He Yu also analyzed it seriously: ¡°There are also several kinds of personal affairs. The boss has no parents or siblings. It¡¯s impossible for it to be related to family. According to me, its either lovelorn or in love, but then again, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s possible! He¡¯s been single for longer than my Master¡¯s age. If this is true, I¡¯ll swallow an entire durian raw!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Instead of listening to your nonsense, I might as well go to the hospital to recuperate. Bye!¡± He Yu yelled: ¡°Don¡¯t hang up, Old Zhong and Kan Chaosheng have too low EQ to discuss this kind of thing with them and they can¡¯t match my wisdom. We¡¯re in the period of Bo Ya and Ziqi1. There are high mountains and flowing water, and our hearts are connected2!¡± 1Referring to the story Zhiyin of Bo Ya and Ziqi who are considered as important part of philosophy of inter-person relationship in Chinese culture, reflecting the Chinese ideal of friendship. 2This is part of the story of Zhiyin that shows Ziqi deep understanding of Bo Ya¡¯s personality. Ziqi knew that Boya was committed to high mountains and flowing water through his music, because he himself was committed to the mountains and water in the natural world as well. Ziqi found himself in Bo Ya¡¯s music, thus making himself empathize and sympathize with Bo Ya. Sympathy and empathy in the resonance could be heading to the realm of the integration of heart and object, subject and object, which is an important content in Confucianism. What he said gave Dong Zhi goosebumps. ¡°No, no. I don¡¯t want to be your Ziqi. I¡¯m far away now. Just help me find out and see if Master has encountered any problems.¡± He Yu said: ¡°Don¡¯t joke. He has problems? It would be nice if he didn¡¯t create problems for others! Why don¡¯t you care about your lonely, injured friend?¡± Dong Zhi rolled his eyes: ¡°Wasn¡¯t the first sentence I said was to inquire about your health? Besides, even if you don¡¯t ask, I know you probably want to be lazy for a few more days and milk your injury. In fact, your legs are almost fully healed, right? Be careful not to pretend too much or you¡¯ll get burned!¡± He Yu snickered: ¡°For the sake of your usual loyalty, this brother will help you inquire about it to avoid your wrath!¡± Dong Zhi was overjoyed: ¡°Thank you brother. I¡¯ll see you later and invite you to a big meal!¡± He Yu: ¡°I don¡¯t want a big meal. Do you think I¡¯m Kan Chaosheng? That¡¯s his low-level taste!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I know, I know. Game package! You prefer high-end interest. ¡®The Great Wasteland¡¯ recently added a lot of new costumes. Do you want me to buy you a set?¡± He Yu immediately said: ¡°Dad! I¡¯m going now. Just tell me if you need anything!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ He Yu thought he was a man of integrity. He did what he said. As soon as he put the phone down, he got up and went to Long Shen¡¯s office. ¡°Boss, the most handsome jade tree in the world, lovely and amiable¡­ Your subordinate has come to see you!¡± He Yu said sweetly. Long Shen took his gaze away from the computer. His tone didn¡¯t seem affected at all. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Can¡¯t I just come and catch up with you?¡± He Yu sat down on the sofa and looked aggrieved. ¡°Boss, people get injured while on the job, yet you still drive them to work without reward. You know people¡¯s heart are made of flesh. Do you think I won¡¯t get sad when I go through hard times?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Isn¡¯t your leg healed?¡± He Yu said angrily: ¡°Who told you that?! Do you I look fine?¡± Long Shen said lightly: ¡°Last time I saw you go downstairs to get takeout. You were skipping like your legs could fly and you ran faster than Zhong Yuyi.¡± He Yu choked. Long Shen: ¡°You were injured in Yunnan this time and your overall performance was good. The mission was fruitless, so it¡¯s impossible to commend you, but Boss Song and I have applied for an injury pension for you. This should be allocated this month. You should pay attention to the transfer record.¡± He Yu¡¯s expression immediately bloomed with joy: ¡°Boss, I love you so much. I knew you would pity me!¡± The word pity was used by him without any shame. He was as calm as a dragon that he couldn¡¯t help showing a weird expression on his face. ¡°So why did you come here? What¡¯s the matter?¡± He Yu smiled and said: ¡°Helping Little Dong Zhi take care of you! Didn¡¯t I tell you how good your apprentice is. He studies hard, never talks back, is obedient, and takes great care of you. He told me he was afraid that you¡¯re stuck in meetings all day long and urge me to persuade you to rest more!¡± He sighed again: ¡°I¡¯m so envious. If I knew he was so filial, I would¡¯ve accepted him as an apprentice on the train and I wouldn¡¯t worry about game packages any longer!¡± Long Shen looked at him blankly. He Yu laughed dryly, knowing that he had gone too far, and hurriedly pulled the topic back. ¡°Actually, I also think that you¡¯ve been a little absent-minded recently. Is there anything troubling you? Even if you can¡¯t tell your apprentice, you can always talk to me, right?¡± ¡°Nothing,¡± Long Shen said. He Yu got up, limp over, and sat down on his desk. ¡°We¡¯ve been fighting side by side for many years. Although you¡¯re my boss in business, in private, I treat you as a brother. I also know that you¡¯re not like Kan Chaosheng who¡¯s ignorant of the world. If there¡¯s something wrong, it¡¯ll be known in the world. In life, how can you not have any troubles? Your heart¡¯s been hardened, but even if it¡¯s harder than diamond, you¡¯ll one day won¡¯t be able to bear it, right?¡± The corners of Long Shen¡¯s mouth curled up slightly, looking as if he was both moved and amused. He Yu pretended to be shy: ¡°Boss, if you look at me like that again, I¡¯ll think you¡¯re in love with me! Little Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare ask you, so I had to come forward to do it for him. He said that you seem to be avoiding him recently and didn¡¯t want to talk to him. I¡¯m worried if something happened to you. Look, such a filial apprentice can¡¯t easily be found.¡± Long Shen was silent for a few seconds then said, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± If he wasn¡¯t silent for those few seconds, He Yu would¡¯ve felt like Dong Zhi was being too worrisome, but he had been with Long Shen long enough, and he wasn¡¯t a heartless person by nature. On the contrary, he seemed to be careless in doing things, but in fact he was meticulous and keen. Suddenly he felt like there was an inside story. ¡°Okay, okay. If you say you¡¯re fine, then you¡¯re fine! But what should I tell Dong Zhi?¡± Long Shen¡¯s expression was faint: ¡°Just tell him I¡¯m fine.¡± He Yu tentatively asked: ¡°Boss, did¡­ Dong Zhi make you angry?¡± Long Shen shook his head: ¡°Don¡¯t try to guess. Go back and get ready. You¡¯re leaving early.¡± If He Yu could ask about this, then Long Shen, as the boss, shouldn¡¯t deserve such position. He Yu felt a little disappointed and unexpectedly, he thought to himself that fortunately, he didn¡¯t make a bet with Dong Zhi. Otherwise, he would definitely make a fortune. After returning, he immediately called Dong Zhi and went straight the point: ¡°I think my guess is quite reliable. The boss must have something on his mind!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Did you find out?¡± He Yu vividly described Long Shen¡¯s subtle changes in expression just now, and finally concluded: ¡°I guess it¡¯s a private matter, and maybe it¡¯s related to you.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°It¡¯s related to me?¡± He Yu: ¡°He usually doesn¡¯t get too close to anyone. Maybe a little closer with us, but you¡¯re his apprentice. You must be closer to him than us. He won¡¯t tell you, so what¡¯s the explanation? The reason can only be you.¡± His analysis was well-founded, and Dong Zhi was almost persuaded by him. But what could make Long Shen feel unhappy about him? If it was the incident where he read late into the night and went to practice without energy, that was so long ago and he admitted to his mistake and changed it. Long Shen wasn¡¯t a person who would be preoccupied by such thing, so it was unlikely he would alienate him because of this kind of trivial matter. But if it wasn¡¯t this then what? What else could make Long Shen alienate him like this? Could it be¡­ Long Shen knew that he likes him? The author has something to say£º He Yu: What integrity? I just need a gift package, and whoever buys it will be my father! CH 81 Dong Zhi¡¯s heart jumped wildly. He understood very well that it was too early to confess his affection, so even if he occasionally crossed the line in his speech, he would always pull it back in time, carefully maintaining that indistinct line between master and apprentice. After thinking about it, he shouldn¡¯t have said too many explicit words or action for Long Shen to see, but now his feeling of such uncharted territory had made things unpredictable. ¡°Hello? Hello? Did you go dumb?¡± He Yu didn¡¯t hear him reply for a while and couldn¡¯t help tease. When Dong Zhi recovered, he suddenly thought of something. ¡°Old He, does Master know how to connect to me? Do you know this?¡± He Yu: ¡°You know, last time when we were in danger in Yangcheng, didn¡¯t he use telepathy to guide you to find a way out?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Then can he hear the inner voices of others through this? Like their thoughts that they don¡¯t say aloud.¡± He Yu: ¡°Generally speaking, he can only get the response from other, which is equivalent to not speaking but communicating with your mind, but the kind of situation you mentioned isn¡¯t impossible. Since he¡¯s cultivated his mind to a certain level, he can indeed detect the inner thoughts of others. As the saying goes, one thought becomes a buddha and one becomes a devil*. There will be energy between thoughts, and fluctuations in those energy could be detected.¡± *(Ò»Äî³É·ð£¬Ò»Äî³Éħ) Philosophical text from Buddhist scripture. It basically boils down to one¡¯s thoughts determine one¡¯s future. ¡°Good¡± thoughts point in the direction of happiness while thoughts that have not yet caused evil foreshadows disasters. Dong Zhi felt his heart sank into the abyss. His hands and feet went cold, and he could hardly hold his phone. He Yu on the other end of the line didn¡¯t notice his strangeness and continued speaking: ¡°Why are you asking this? Do you want to use telepathy to find out what the boss is thinking? Hahaha, don¡¯t dream. I haven¡¯t seen anyone who can peep into his heart. Even if there is, can you please say something?¡± By the time he noticed that his palms were slippery and sticky, he didn¡¯t know how long it had been. He even forgot to say goodbye to He Yu. The phone slipped from his hand and fell to the sofa, and the hot temperature on it showed that he had been talking for a long time. Outside the windows, magpies were hopping up and down on the branches, chirping at him as if they had reunited with old friends for many years. His eyes were emptied, as if he was listening, but not really listening at all. In his mind, he combined Long Shen¡¯s subtle attitude during this period of time, and he felt more that his guess what correct. If Long Shen did discover this secret, then the estrangement of the other party would make sense. The enthusiastic cry of the magpie became like an impassioned funeral march, singing for him. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but held his forehead, looking up the sky and lament. Even he himself wasn¡¯t ready, so how could Long Shen be mentally prepared? It wasn¡¯t a big issue if an apprentice fell in love with their master. The real question was, he liked him before he became an apprentice. Did Long Shen felt that his apprenticeship was just a ruse to get close to him, and he had ulterior motives from the start? He now hated that he couldn¡¯t buy a plane ticket and fly back immediately, stand in front of the other party, and explain all this sincerely. Even if Long Shen didn¡¯t accept his feelings, even if it was just a simple master-apprentice relationship going forward, it was better to be like that than to let this misunderstanding continue to deepen. But he couldn¡¯t do this. He was now a member of the Special Administrative Bureau. In addition to his personal affairs, he had other responsibilities to shoulder. If he did this, then his relationship with Long Shen will truly end. It was a dilemma to die early or later. Although strong poisons and drugs are painful, there may be a chance of survival if treated promptly. Chronic poisons and drugs may manifest late and aren¡¯t as painful, but one will undoubtedly die over time. The newly rented house sat facing north to south. It was well ventilated making it breathable. The viewing balcony had been transformed into glass floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a wide recliner in front of it. When one sat in front of the window, one could look up at the night sky. Along the coast of Lucheng, the air was excellent. In late autumn, the stars were glistening, and the sea could be seen not far away. Dong Zhi loved this place so much that he rented it without hesitation, even if the rent wasn¡¯t cheap. Now, he sat cross-legged in a chair, and he had no leisure to watch the scenery. From day to night. After an entire day of contemplation, he finally picked up the phone with difficulty and took the explosives and medicine bag to confront death. The phone rang three times, but to him felt like three centuries. ¡°Hello?¡± the other party¡¯s tone was a little lower than usual. Hearing his voice, Dong Zhi gradually calmed down. All kinds of speculation and thoughts will be known tonight. ¡°Master, are you free now? I have something to tell you.¡± ¡°¡­About Yamamoto?¡± ¡°No.¡± The other party was silent for a moment. Not only did he not take the imitative to ask, but he also actually said: ¡°If it¡¯s an idle matter, there¡¯s no need to talk about it.¡± In the days when he knew Long Shen, it was unlikely for the other party to take the initiative to avoid a topic, because it didn¡¯t fit his temperament at all¡­ Unless the other party knew what he wanted to say. ¡°Master!¡± Dong Zhi crossed his heart and blurted out: ¡°Do you already know my¡­ feelings for you?¡± ¡°It¡¯s getting late. You should rest early and don¡¯t think about it.¡± Long Shen¡¯s voice was calm. He already knows! Dong Zhi was afraid of him hanging up and hurriedly said: ¡°If you don¡¯t listen to me, I¡¯ll buy a ticket overnight and talk to you in person!¡± Long Shen said coldly: ¡°Are you threatening me?¡± Dong Zhi softened: ¡°Master, will you listen to what I have to say?¡± There was no response, but he didn¡¯t hang up the phone either. Dong Zhi took a deep breath. ¡°Master, I like you very much.¡± ¡°Maybe this sentence has been said many times before, but today, I¡¯m not saying it as an apprentice, but as a man who¡¯s confessing to the person I like.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know when this feeling started. It may be the moment I met you again in the underground cave, when Uncle Qian said you were feeding the stray cat, or even earlier. I was on Changbai Mountain and saw you fighting with the bone dragon and thought you were majestic and admirable.¡± ¡°Before you became my Master, I was just an ordinary person who was aimless. It was you who taught me my abilities and made me strong. From you, I learned more about duty and responsibility.¡± He finished in a single breath. His breathing was a little heavy, so he had to stop and calmed down a bit before he continued. ¡°I know, when I say this, you may misunderstand. That I wanted to get close to you, to be the waterfront pavilion to catch the moon first*, but please believe me that I have absolutely no intention¡­ If you don¡¯t believe me, you can use your telepathy to explore my thoughts. I¡ªI want to respect you and cherish you for the rest of my life, follow in your footsteps, live and die with you, and stand by your side. Can you¡ª¡± *(½üˮ¥̨ÏȵÃÔÂ) Idiom that comes from the poem ¡°Qing Yelu¡± by Yu Wenbao. It¡¯s a metaphor referring to getting benefit or convenience because you¡¯re closer to someone/something. Unknowingly, heat surged into his eyes, and his hands shook badly. ¡°Can you give me a chance?¡± There has been no movement on the other end¡­ As if no one existed. Across the phone, he couldn¡¯t see the other party¡¯s expression, let alone speculate on the other party¡¯s mind. It was as if going in blindfolded, looking for the right way out at a fork in the road. One person was in the cloud, one was on the ground; far apart, powerless, and could only wait for the moment when the result was announced. If the other party refused to come down from the clouds, he wouldn¡¯t be able to insert wings to fly to them. ¡°¡­Sorry.¡± After a long time, he finally heard a reply. Dong Zhi smiled silently and wryly, but more importantly; it was relief-like ease. Before this, he had even made plans to conceal it for half of his life. Even if he wanted to confess, he never thought that in this situation, he couldn¡¯t even see the face of the person he was confessing to. Putting himself in Long Shen¡¯s shoe, if he was Long Shen in this kind of scenario, he would also suspect that his apprentice had ulterior motives. He would even be angry at his previous unreserved dedication and teaching. What¡¯s more, his Master was now not angry from beginning to end, which showed how well disciplined he was. Long Shen originally thought he would be angry. But he wasn¡¯t. It seemed that all the anger gradually dissipated as he knew the truth that night. When he heard the other party ask him to give him a chance, he wasn¡¯t angry with Dong Zhi as he had imagined. A strange emotion flashed in my heart, but it wasn¡¯t anger nor hatred. When he spoke again, his voice was still calm. ¡°I can¡¯t give you this chance.¡± This answer should have been enough, but Long Shen paused before adding another sentence. ¡°You should have known a long time ago that I¡¯m not a human.¡± The next moment, he heard his apprentice unexpectedly calm voice saying: ¡°Yes, I knew it a long time ago, and I also know that your true identity is a sword.¡± Long Shen was slightly startled. ¡°Because you practice with swords, loves swords, and testify for swords.¡± ¡°Do you remember the regretful expression you had when you saw the Feijing Sword in Liu Qingbo¡¯s hand?¡± ¡°At first, I thought you were regretting that such a good sword was used by Liu Qingbo, but then I realized that it was regret for the Feijing Sword that couldn¡¯t be like you. You have to encounter the opportunity to cultivate yourself to a human, right?¡± ¡°So you have collected a lot of swords. Even Uncle Qian thought you were just interested in swords and had a hobby of collecting them, but you don¡¯t. You just want to see if there are any of these famous swords that could be transformed. If there are, you won¡¯t let them fall into the hands of immoral people.¡± Deep inside, there seemed to be a string that was gently being tugged. Long Shen suddenly remember the time long time ago, when he was still a sword. For a while, he used to be the sword of a certain person. That person devoted himself to his government and the public and made contributions to his country, but he had no doubts about his love for his wife that was his soft spot. His wife had died early. The other party wasn¡¯t even over 50, but he never remarried again. He didn¡¯t even have a concubine. At that time, Long Shen had already activated his spiritual wisdom and practice with his sword body. He listened to that person preach righteousness, talk about the morality and worries of the world. Although they were only a person and a sword, for Long Shen, this relationship was like that of a master and apprentice, and father and son. Later, because of this fate, Long Shen wanted to tell the other party his way of cultivation. He believed that with the other party¡¯s qualification, even if he failed to obtain enlightenment, it wouldn¡¯t be a problem to still live a long life. However, the man rejected him and said that his wife had been waiting for him by the edge of the afterlife for a long time, and he had to abide by their agreement. They had already agreed to be husband and wife for three lifetimes. Long Shen still remembered what he asked him. ¡®Husbands and wives gather due to fate and scattered when it ends. With such unparalleled talents, why not break it?¡¯ The man smiled and said, ¡®It¡¯s people who can¡¯t be broken, not love. Love runs through the ages, including the three realms and six ways. Whether it¡¯s demons or immortals, they are born and destroyed by love. Affection towards your children is love, even flying is love. Even if you ascend to heaven, following the way and maintain the world, isn¡¯t it just a kind of seven emotions and six desires?¡¯ The other party was used to being eloquent. Long Shen naturally couldn¡¯t respond. Everyone had their own choices, and Long Shen didn¡¯t want to force others. However, later, the man did not live up to his promise to his wife. Instead, he was wronged and beheaded in front of the city gate that he once guarded. Long Shen wanted to save him, but the man was unwilling. With his own life, he finally fulfilled his promised of living and ending with love. It was just that in addition to his affection for his wife, there was also great love of his family and country. Under the nine springs*, that person could finally be reunited with his beloved wife, be worshipped for life, and never be separated. *(¾ÅȪ֮ÏÂ) Idiom referring to the underworld/netherworld. Long Shen hadn¡¯t thought of that person for a long time. Those years were already so long ago, but as long as he thought about it, he could still easily recall it, but this situation was different from that person. Dong Zhi was also different from that person¡¯s wife. Between them, there was no deep affection, only because of a shallow fate. Dong Zhi held the phone tightly, held his breath and waited for a long time to hear the other¡¯s party reply¡­ ¡°I have endless life and youth, but you don¡¯t.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to face your old face in a few decades.¡± ¡°Therefore, I have never been tempted by ordinary humans. It has nothing to do with whether we are master and apprentice.¡± Long Shen¡¯s tone was very calm, as if he was talking about how good the weather was in the capital that night and he could look up and see stars. Dong Zhi¡¯s heart went cold. It was like experiencing a downpour in late autumn, then jumping into the lake to take a swim. He drowned because of his poor swimming skills. Seeing that no one could help him, he could only let his heart gradually sink to the bottom of the lake, entangled with the aquatic plants and slowly be eaten by fish. ¡°Then why? There are so many others with superior qualification and longer lifespans, but you accepted me as your sole apprentice.¡± Long Shen heard Dong Zhi and questioned himself. Why? He didn¡¯t actually know. The consequences of today only came when he started thinking about his selfishness that day. If he couldn¡¯t reciprocate it was better to simply cut off the source. He actually regretted it a bit now. Had he not taken Dong Zhi as an apprentice and rather introduce him to Tang Jing or Yu Buhui, maybe this would not have happened. In the past many years, what little emotions he had have been paid to this world. He was cast by people, receive their grace and instruction, so he¡¯ll keep his promise and protect the peace of the world. The affection from Dong Zhi was not originally in his plans. Long Shen could feel the gradually increasing breathing sound on the other end of the phone. He stood on the rooftop of the Special Administration Building and as soon as he looked up, he could see the stars in the sky that were brilliant and magnificent. He had also been to Lucheng. In this season, if you stood by the sea, you could easily see the stars in the night sky. They were under the same sky, but Long Shen didn¡¯t speak anymore. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Master.¡± Unexpectedly, he said such unfeeling things, and the other party apologized in turn. Long Shen was silent for a while. The other party¡¯s voice trembled a bit, but he still tried to calm himself. ¡°It¡¯s my fault. I should be concentrating on cultivating. I shouldn¡¯t have said these things to you to disturb your mind.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I can let Yu Buhui teach you on my behalf. His ability is not inferior to mine.¡± Dong Zhi felt cold: ¡°Will we not be able to be master and apprentice in the future?¡± Long Shen sighed: ¡°I just don¡¯t want to make it difficult for you to face me in the future.¡± Dong Zhi was silent for a moment: ¡°What if I don¡¯t want to learn from others?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Then I¡¯ll continue to teach you. As long as you want, we will always be master and apprentice.¡± Dong Zhi wiped away his tears. ¡°Then we¡¯ll always be master and apprentice.¡± If Long Shen was a girl, or the other party showed even the slightest hesitation, Dong Zhi would persevere until his wish came true. But Long Shen wasn¡¯t. He was strong and had a deep mind. No one can force him to do what he didn¡¯t want, even his apprentice. It was this awareness that made Dong Zhi completely disheartened. The distance between himself and Long Shen was like the distance between the stars above his head and the sea. While visible to look up to, it was far away and always out of reach. He had fallen in love with someone for the first time in his life, and in the blink of an eye, tasted the lovelornness. From now one, in the vast sea of people, there may never be a person like Long Shen who could make him act reckless yet also cautious. Mu Duo knocked on the door for nearly a minute before the owner opened it. She was apologetic and felt that she should buy something instead of coming to his home empty-handed. After all, she was able to escape with her life due to the other party¡¯s graces, but she couldn¡¯t find a suitable gift this time of night, so she had to tell herself that she would owe it for now and make it up later. As a result, she was stunned as soon as the door was opened. ¡°You¡­ Are you okay?¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s expression was calm: ¡°I¡¯m fine. I just have a cold. Please come in.¡± What cold. It¡¯s clear that he was crying. Mu Duo felt a little embarrassed, feeling that she had come at a bad time. ¡°Why don¡¯t you rest first and I¡¯ll come see you tomorrow?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head: ¡°If you come here at night, there must be something important. Come in and we¡¯ll talk about it. I¡¯m fine.¡± Mu Duo did have business, so she stepped in. ¡°You found a really nice place!¡± She looked around and saw the furnishing and couldn¡¯t help but praise. The old house what they used as an office wasn¡¯t bother mentioning. It was too dilapidated. None of them wanted to live there. They all found other places to live by themselves, but the home Mu Duo was renting wasn¡¯t as good as this. Dong Zhi made her a cup of tea and said with a smile: ¡°Why don¡¯t I keep a look out for you to see if there¡¯s a place here for rent in the community? It¡¯ll be more convenient to contact each other if we live in the same area.¡± Mu Duo felt moved but soon shook her head: ¡°The rent here is too expensive, and my pay isn¡¯t enough to afford a place like this.¡± She didn¡¯t have any deep-pocketed master, but Dong Zhi¡¯s master had directly given him a bank card. When he needed to transfer money for the rent for this place, he had stopped by the bank and asked someone to help check the amount on the card. Only after checking did he found out that the card was the legendary black gold card that had no upper limits. Regarding this kind of card, there was an urban legend that told: From heaven to earth, as long as you want it, the bank will do it for you. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t plan to use that card. His own salary and savings were enough, but that was the best way Long Shen could think of for his apprentice, so he treasured it. Thinking of this, his smile couldn¡¯t help but fade. Mu Duo didn¡¯t pay attention to the change in his expression and sat down and got straight to business. ¡°There has been a reply from the branch. The two additional people are being sent to help should be able to report tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Do you have any plans?¡± Dong Zhi came back to his senses: ¡°Plans?¡± Mu Duo said: ¡°The head wants you to temporary serve as the person in charge of the Lucheng office.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback: ¡°Me?¡± Mu Duo laughed: ¡°Are you surprised?¡± Dong Zhi thought for a bit: ¡°It¡¯s quite unexpected. You should take it. I¡¯ve just been here for less than a month.¡± Mu Duo smiled and said: ¡°This is what the head wants, non-negotiable. Although you just came to Lucheng, you have made great contributions. If it weren¡¯t for you this time, perhaps I wouldn¡¯t be here now talking to you. Not only me, but Yan Nuo is also convinced.¡± Dong Zhi frowned: ¡°But I have no experience¡­¡± Mu Duo didn¡¯t care: ¡°Who¡¯s born with experience? I have read the report you wrote for me last time. You wrote it better than me. I also submitted it and added your name.¡± Speaking of this, she felt ashamed: ¡°Yan Nuo and I are mediocre in ability, and we¡¯re keenly aware of it. In the past few years, Lucheng¡¯s performance hasn¡¯t been outstanding, so we have never been able to rise. I know that we have wronged you.¡± Previously, Dong Zhi was unhappy with their neglect, but now that the other party took the initiative to admit their mistake and lower themselves, he couldn¡¯t bear to pour hot tea into Mu Duo¡¯s hand. ¡°Sister Mu Duo, the two of us have been through life and death. Why act like this?¡± Mu Duo chuckled and hurriedly said that she was wrong. The slightest suspicion of the past had also dissipated. ¡°The two people dispatched by the branch aren¡¯t small in origin. One of them is a direct descendant from Mount Longhu. I¡¯m afraid he won¡¯t be willing to listen to your command easily. I told Yan Nuo that if there¡¯s any work that needs to be done, we¡¯ll do it. You don¡¯t have to bother.¡± Dong Zhi nodded, not paying much attention. He thought about Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song and the others that had eyes above the top that were free of dust*. The people that were coming shouldn¡¯t be any more arrogant and crazier than them. *Metaphor referring to sharp-eyed and has a very strong sense of ability but also is used to describe someone haughty and arrogant. || In this context it¡¯s referring to the latter. After talking business, Mu Duo stopped talking again. Remembering the state of the other party when he came to the door just now and the sad expression he had that he didn¡¯t have time to hide it. ¡°Is there something wrong? If it¡¯s convenient to talk about, maybe I can help.¡± Dong Zhi smiled bitterly. Except for Long Shen, no one could help with this matter. ¡°I¡¯m fine. Thank you.¡± Mu Duo nodded and said no more. ¡°Then you have a good rest. I¡¯m take my leave now.¡± Watching the other party get up to leave, he couldn¡¯t help but made a sound. ¡°Sister Mu Duo.¡± Mu Duo turned her head. Dong Zhi hesitated for a moment: ¡°Have you ever heard of love between humans and monsters¡­ I mean, not monsters, but non-human races. Do they fall in love?¡± Mu Duo was stunned. She didn¡¯t have time to think about it and just nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± At that moment, Mu Duo felt that the brilliance in the other party¡¯s eyes almost illuminated her. Kinky Thoughts: Huh, I never would¡¯ve guessed Long Shen is a sword. Given his name I thought he was a dragon. Poor Dong Zhi, rejected. Common, when is this relationship gonna happen. We¡¯re already 81 chapters in and way past the halfway point of this novel! CH 82 But the brilliance lasted only for a moment. In Mu Duo¡¯s view, Dong Zhi seemed to quickly return to calmness. He said: ¡°Can you tell me more about it?¡± Mu Duo and Dong Zhi weren¡¯t too familiar yet to the point where she could ask the other about their personal life at will, so she choose to withhold her questions and thought about where she should start. The story that had long been covered by the dust of time. ¡°My great martial uncle. You also know that the corpse guide technique has been passed down from generation to generation, and we have the most dealings with zombies and corpses.¡± Dong Zhi nodded. When a person dies, the soul dissipates, and the body becomes a corpse. However, if there were grievances that persist, the soul remains and absorb the essence from the sun and moon and gather in its body or it would absorb evil energies. After a long time, the corpse would be resurrected as a zombie, which were regarded as an evil thing in this world. Ordinary zombies were afraid of the sun, so they would ambush at night to drain human blood, harming human life. They were regarded as evil, but zombies also had levels. The most powerful are ones that had been transformed into monsters, invulnerable to swords and water and fire. Even Taoists priests with deep cultivation would become helpless in the face of them. This kind of thing could no longer be called a zombie, but rather a thorny* demon. *(¼¬ÊÖ) Something that is difficult to deal with. At that time, warlords raged battles and the world was in chaos. People were starving, and mass graves could be seen everywhere. Therefore, evil spirits and demons ran rampant, and all kinds of supernatural events emerged in an endless stream. Like Mu Duo, they not only guide corpses, but sometimes took on the business of exorcizing evil spirits. Once, Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle received a commission. The client was a group of tomb robbers who discovered a great tomb of the Song Dynasty. The other party was afraid there would be some thousand-year-old liches in it and was afraid that they would not be able to deal with them, so they invited Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle to go to the tomb with them. Her martial uncle didn¡¯t want to do this kind of evil deed, but at that time, his junior martial brother, that is, Mu Duo¡¯s master, happened to be seriously ill and urgently needed a lot of money to buy medicine. As such, he had to agree to the deal. Going into the tombs itself was naturally an extremely dangerous task with little chance of survival. At that time, everyone was separated. Mu Duo¡¯s great martial uncle was in distressed in the tomb and was saved by a stranger. The other party claimed to also be a tomb robber who came down first, but was separated from his companions. Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle felt weird at that time, but he didn¡¯t detect anything strange. The two of them wandered in the tomb together. The man was powerful and protected him at every turn. He was rescued from the edge of danger several times. The two formed a deep friendship in the tomb and became sworn brothers who would share blessings and difficulties in the future together. Dong Zhi listened intently: ¡°Then what? Did they come out?¡± Mu Duo nodded: ¡°Although my great martial uncle is strong, there are many traps in the tomb. The tomb robbers who went with him died in the end, and only my martial uncle survive with the help of his sworn brother. Only the two of them managed to escape.¡± After getting out of their predicament, Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle felt that this trip was taboo against the heavens, so he would suffer retributions. He also stop thinking about returning to the tomb again, but he didn¡¯t know how he would raise the money for the medical expense of his junior martial brother. At this time, his sworn brother took out a jade cup and said that it was brought out of the tomb. Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle couldn¡¯t resist, so he took the jade cup as a gift. The jade cup was worth a few hundred yuan, which at that time was considered valuable. Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle was able to get enough to buy his junior martial brother his medicine. Hearing that his sworn brother had no father or mother, he used the remaining money leftover to buy dozens of acres of fertile land and a grocery store in town and dedicated it to the name of his sworn brother. Coming up with the excuse that he couldn¡¯t manage the store alone, he roped his sworn brother in. They ate and lived together, and their feelings deepened. Mu Duo¡¯s master knew their relationship well and saw that his elder martial brother was better, happier, and he too became happy to see their success. The days passed day by day that was plain, yet blissful. Just when Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle thought his life would pass like this, a bloody case occurred in the small town. A resident of the small town died tragically for no apparent reason. There were blood holes on the side of their necks, as if they were injured by a beast with tusks. More and more people started dying and rumors spread in town that these people were bitten by zombies. The rumors spread more widely that it made Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle more suspicious. The object of his suspicion was not others, but his sworn brother. Over the years, his sworn brother¡¯s appearance remained the same, just as he had come out of the tomb. Not only that, but his sworn brother also often dug ganoderma from the mountains to make soup for Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle to drink. As a result, Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle had always maintained his youth. Over the past ten years, their appearance did not change, but they would cover themselves when going out so the residents in the small town would not become suspicious. It wasn¡¯t that Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle never doubted these things, but he persuaded himself not to give in to his suspicions. However, this time, the case were bloody and human lives were at stake. He couldn¡¯t help but started secretly observing his sworn brother. One night, seeing that Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle was asleep, his sworn brother got up and went out. Unexpectedly, Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle had noticed and followed him quietly. Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle kept following until he saw his sworn brother sneak up on a young man who was on duty and dragged him away into a dark place. Knowing what was about to happen next, Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle rushed in to stop him. The sworn brother seemed to have known that he would come, as he looked calm as usual and there wasn¡¯t panic. Dong Zhi frowned: ¡°Is there any misunderstanding?¡± Mu Duo shook her head: ¡°No. He really did killed all those people. A thousand-year-old lich would turn into a demon. Even if they possessed the spiritual wisdom of humans, by nature they are demons. My martial uncle, a corpse guide, had turned a blind eye.¡± At first, he didn¡¯t notice, but after such a long time and with deep affection, how could he not have any inkling? He only deluded himself, hoping that the other party was different from other demons. But a demon was a demon after all. Whether it wanted to be or not, instinct would reign supreme and make it unable to control its desire to kill. His sworn brother often used the excuse to go up the mountains to pick ganoderma, but in fact, he went further. He intercepted business travelers on the official road and went to the mountains to kill bandits. For so many years, he killed many people, but they were well hidden, as many of them were foreign merchants. Others only thought they were taken away by beasts or robbed by bandits, until the other party couldn¡¯t resist and attacked the people in town. And the ganoderma that he brought back for Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle to eat was actually remnant souls of the people his sworn brother had killed and refined into ganoderma. Because there was yang essence and blood qi of living people, Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle had unknowingly eaten so many lives. When he learned the truth, he was stunned and dumbfounded, but the man still smiled and told him, ¡®From now on, we¡¯re truly connected by blood. You have me, and I have you. Isn¡¯t it great for us to live together, forever?¡± Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle shook his head and said: ¡°It¡¯s not good at all. I was wrong.¡± The man sneered: ¡°Don¡¯t forget. I saved your life.¡± Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle continued to shake his head and said: ¡°I was wrong. I shouldn¡¯t have forgotten that people and demons are different. They¡¯ll always be at odds, but I thought you were different.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned for a while before he finally asked: ¡°What about later?¡± Mu Duo: ¡°Later, my martial uncle wanted to subdue him. Originally, with his strength, he was far inferior to the demon, but over the years, with the demon feeding him the blood qi ganoderma and unintentionally planting willows, my martial uncle was able to overpower his opponent. In the end, the two of them fought a fierce battle. When my master rushed over, he happened to see my martial uncle turning into a demon under the moon and had his hand inserted through his sworn brother¡¯s chest.¡± Dong Zhi was silent for a moment, and said: ¡°Maybe, that demon deliberately let him succeed.¡± Mu Duo smiled bitterly: ¡°Maybe. After my martial uncle killed the other party, he hugged his body and said to him, ¡®You saved my life, and I¡¯ll return this life to you. From then on, we¡¯ll not owe each other.¡¯ He then committed suicide in front of my master. Before he died, he told my master to burn the bodies of the both of them and not leave any traces behind to avoid further disasters. My master did so and from then on, only the line of my master was left.¡± Did that demon did something wrong? No. Murder naturally was unforgivable, but it was a demon, and it only followed its nature. Did Mu Duo¡¯s martial uncle did something wrong? No. He stuck to his last conscience in order to stop the demon from hurting more lives, and to prevent himself from becoming another demon, he chose to die together. It wasn¡¯t an issue of race. It was completely different. In the end, they weren¡¯t compatible. Mu Duo said with emotion: ¡°Humans have limited lifespan, but demons can live for hundreds to thousands of years, or even longer. Their world is close to eternity, while ours only have four seasons. How could a person fall in love with a flower? Before he has time to develop feelings for the flower, the flower would be withered and decayed. Even if the flower blooms again on the same branch, it¡¯s not the original flower.¡± Hearing Dong Zhi¡¯s question inspired the story of her martial uncle and his sworn brother, but seeing Dong Zhi lost, she hurriedly added: ¡°But the world is vast and not everything will end up like my martial uncle¡¯s outcome. Isn¡¯t there a lot of non-humans in our Special Administration Bureau?¡± Dong Zhi sighed and said: ¡°You¡¯re right. Thank you, Sister Mu Duo.¡± After sending Mu Duo away, he wasn¡¯t in the mood to watch the stars and moon. He returned to the bedroom, but he couldn¡¯t fall asleep. He simply sat down cross-legged and practiced. He replayed the Bu Tian Gang steps that Long Shen taught him in his mind, but as he practiced, it was inevitable that he would get distracted. He almost lost his breath and got little results with twice the effort. He had to rein in his emotions. He got up and walked to the living room. The Changshou Sword was hanging on the wall. It wasn¡¯t affected by its owner¡¯s emotions. This sharp blade, which had been baptized by wind and frost for countless years, had no surprises, joy, or sadness. The body of the sword was as cold as water, just like a piece of ice that wouldn¡¯t melt for thousands of years. Crawling and rolling, the cold would not fade. Seeing it, Dong Zhi felt it was like looking at Long Shen. The confession was originally outside of his plans, but since the other party had already discovered his feelings, he had no choice. Long Shen¡¯s words and Mu Duo¡¯s story revealed a simple fact. There was an insurmountable natural barrier between them. It wasn¡¯t like he didn¡¯t have a hunch in the past, but human nature always subconsciously was risk-averse. Many things must be said by the other person before he would listen to the other party¡¯s words. Long Shen had accepted him as an apprentice in order to let him practice well, slay demons, and become the mainstay of the Special Administration Bureau; to protect others in the world, rather than letting him indulge in his own personal desires. In the urban life of men and women who tumble in the world of mortals, connections are inextricably entangled with countless strands, fishing for the moon in water* only to remain empty handed. *(Ë®ÖÐÀÌÔÂ) Metaphor for doing things that cannot be done so it¡¯ll all be in vain. In the literal sense, it¡¯s like casting your fishing rod into the lake that reflects the moon, hoping you¡¯ll catch it (it¡¯s impossible). That is not the person Long Shen wanted him to be. As soon as his fingers hurt, he retracted it reflexively, only to find that the sword body was stained with blood and his fingers had been inadvertently cut. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care. He put his fingers in his mouth and sucked away the blood beads and got a towel to wipe the blood from the sword. ¡°Huh?¡± His gaze fell on the sword unintentionally, and he suddenly stopped moving. The traces of blood flowed back slowly, returning to the lines on the sword¡¯s body, gradually filling it. It densely packed and the red lines twined and lit up the sword¡¯s body. The temperature was transferred from the sword¡¯s body to the hilt causing Dong Zhi to instantly felt that the sword he was holding became scorching! He looked at the Changshou Sword in surprise and started to doubt. This sword had never been in such a situation before. The only time it had been of great use recently was when he fought with Yamamoto Kiyoshi where he used it to summon thunder. Did Yamamoto do something to it? It wasn¡¯t possible. The opponent had never touched his sword. After he came back, he often took the sword out to wipe it, but there wasn¡¯t any abnormality. Should he ask Master? As soon as this thought flashed, he saw the surrounding scene changed. Like the unnatural picture switching of an old-style black-and-white movie. With a flash of flowers that appeared in front of him, he was no longer in his living room. There were no floor-to-ceiling windows, no recliner sofa, no Changshou Sword. What was presented within his sight was a lonely mountain, that wasn¡¯t high but uniquely shaped, resembling a thatched house. Under the mountain were densely packed trees, with a small brook gurgling out, winding about. Dong Zhi found this situation worrisome. He couldn¡¯t move his body and was unconscious, as if he had been frozen in place. He tried to close his eyes, or silently recall Bu Tian Gang in his heart to return to reality, but when he opened his eyes again, he still only saw the lonely mountain and brook in front of him. After repeating it several times, he gave up and continued to look at this ¡°screensaver¡±-like picture. Fortunately, the picture still had sound and his ears caught movements, so it wasn¡¯t entirely boring. He didn¡¯t know how long it took, but a man suddenly came into view. The drowsy Dong Zhi instantly felt refreshed as he looked expectantly at the uninvited guest who finally appeared. The other party ¡°passed by¡± Dong Zhi, turned his back to his gaze, and walked farther and farther away. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t see what he looked like at all. He could only see from his back that the man had his hair in a bun and his hair color was a mixed of gray and black. He was wearing coarse clothes, which seemed as if he didn¡¯t pay much attention to his looks, unlike the modern man. The man walked up to the brook until his body was covered by the trees and could no longer be seen. Dong Zhi was eager to look. He waited until his upper and lower eyelids started to get heavy, but the man didn¡¯t appear again. No matter how beautiful the scenery was, he would eventually feel tired. The only thing he could control was opening and closing his eyes. He felt a little depressed, so he simply closed his eyes and review the entire set of steps of Bu Tian Gang; practicing it in his head to calm his nerves. Clang! He didn¡¯t know how long he had practiced, but the sound of iron suddenly came into his ears. He slowly opened his eyes that widened instantly! If it weren¡¯t for his inability to make sounds, he would have already cried out. The mountain was still a lone mountain, but the situation under the mountain had changed. The brook under the mountain was diverted out some unknown time ago, and seven small, scattered pools appeared left and right. The water from the brook was diverted into each small pool. Next to the last small pool stood a bellows kiln with black iron weapons piled up on the side, just like a military refining workshop. Dong Zhi felt that scene felt like a d¨¦j¨¤ vu but couldn¡¯t remember where he had seen it. While thinking hard, the gray-haired man he had seen before threw away the iron hammer and looked regretful. He shook his head and sighed, turned around and entered the woods again. This time, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t wait too long. When the man came out again, he was still holding a large piece of mysterious iron in his hand. The other party threw the black iron into the furnace, and after a while, he added gold, silver, and other metals. His expression was a little more focused than when he was practicing Bu Tian Gang that he couldn¡¯t help feeling ashamed with such comparison. However, he couldn¡¯t help but want to get closer and see what that man was making. His heart moved at will and his line of sight really moved forward slowly. Looking at the golden water that has turned into liquid in the furnace, Dong Zhi seemed to be able to feel the heatwave blowing against his face and couldn¡¯t help taking a step back. At this time, the man cut his wrist causing blood to drip into the furnace turning the golden water instantly red. It tumbled endlessly releasing clouds of steam. Refining sword with blood and sacrificing for the sword with one¡¯s body was not uncommon in ancient legends. Familiar names such as Gan Jiang and Mo Ye flashed in his mind, and for a while, he couldn¡¯t tell what peerless weapon this man was refining. But dripping blood to feed the sword was just the beginning. At night, the sky was full of stars reflected in the pool. The water was glistening while the stars shined brightly. The man took a little water from each of the seven pools and poured it into the furnace separately. He didn¡¯t know whether it was an illusion, but he saw a star map slowly emerging from the furnace, shining brightly over the furnace for a few seconds, then slowly disappearing. The red in the furnace gradually turned white. It was daytime again in the blink of an eye and the spring mountain was smiling*. His vision as filled with lush vegetation. *(´ºÉ½ÈçЦ) Comes from Song Guxi¡¯s ¡°Linquan Gaozhi Landscape Training¡± describing a beautiful spring mountain. Full verse: ¡°The mountains in spring are calm like a smile, the mountains in summer are green and dripping, autumn mountains are bright and pure like makeup, winter mountains are bleak and sleepy.¡± The man came down from the mountain with a pine branch in his hand and threw it into the furnace. The furnace changed from white to yellow. Dong Zhi watched the seasons around him change three times a day, and had long forgotten the passage of time outside. He didn¡¯t know whether it was the disorder of time in the dreamland, or the acceleration of the passage. In a trance, he had the illusion of a thousand years in a day. After thousands of years of wind and rain, he watched the molten iron in the furnace surging endlessly, and he looked forward to what the other party would produce. The man brought ice and snow from the top of the mountain, rain from the sky, white haze from the forest, extracted chalcedony from the ground, and put everything together into the furnace. After repeating this several times, he finally smiled with satisfaction. After pouring the golden water in the furnace into the sword mold, he waited for it to cool down and began to temper it again. As the saying go, true gold comes from thorough tempering. When the sun on the top of his head gradually went west, the stars and the moon banished the sunset, and replaced it with a glittering night. The man repeatedly watered and tempered countless times, and the sword in his hand finally gradually shaped, revealing its original appearance. There was some faint speculation in Dong Zhi¡¯s heart. He was dragged into this fantasy with the Changshou Sword in his hand. The scene he saw must also be related to the sword. Originally, he thought that the Changshou Sword was what was tempered in the man¡¯s hand, but when the sword first took shape, he found that it wasn¡¯t. A long sword more than three feet long. The body of the sword was faintly glowing with gray light. It was curved and had countless lines, reflecting the stars in the sky and eternal solemnity. Dong Zhi heart moved and he raised his head. The bright moon was in the sky, and to the north, a string of stars was shining brightly, reflecting the seven pools on the ground. Then he heard the man said: ¡°There¡¯s a big dipper in the sky, and there are seven pools on the earth. Lift it like a high mountain and hold it like a pine. May you ascend to a high place in the future. Your nature is upright and clean. You are nine-four in the book of changes1. The hidden dragon of the abyss, deep and unpredictable. Therefore, your name shall be Qixing Longyuan2. 1Ancient Chinese divination text. It uses a divination method called cleromancy that uses random numbers. And the nine and four are turned into hexagrams which can be looked up in the text and are make up of yin or yang elements. You can read the Wikipedia for more information on it. 2Literally means Seven Star Dragon Abyss. The tone was a bit weird, but the strange thing was that Dong Zhi could understand it. The sound was like a heavy hammer that directly smashed into his heart. His heart shook slightly. He went into the clouds to see the moon and the fog dispersed. The red light and purple qi from the burning smoke of Kunwu¡¯s* iron smelting were quite impressive! *Refers to the legendary inventor of pottery manufacturing, The Qixing Longyuan Sword! Longyuan¡­ Long Shen¡­ Could it be¡ª He actually witnessed the birth of his master with his own eyes! This sword, to be precise, was just taking shape. It couldn¡¯t be regarded as a sword that was used to kill people, but was refined by Ou Yezi*, the first craftsman in the ages. *Legendary master of sword-making during the Spring and Autumn period. According to Yuejueshu, he forged five treasured words for Gan Jiang and King Zhao of Chu named, respectively, Zhanlu (տ¬), Juque (¾ÞãÚ), Shengxie (ʤа), Yuchang (Ó㳦) and Chunjun (´¿¾û). He also made three swords for King Goujian of Yue, named Longyuan (ÁúÔ¨), Tai¡¯e (Ì©°¢) and Gongbu (¹¤²¼). See Kinky notes for details of each sword or the Wikipedia. Note: It seems that Long Shen is based off a real-life sword, L¨®ngyu¨¡n (Dragon Gulf) ¨C Its shape resembled that of a high mountain and a deep gulf. Goujian used it to cut a gash in his thigh as an act of self-punishment when he mistakenly executed an innocent person. The black iron of Cishan, the essence of the sun and moon, the brilliance of the stars, the air of the mountains, the spirit of Aoki, the ice that connects the sky, the dew without roots, and the jade chalcedony of the earth. Before that, no one had ever refined swords in this way. After that, there was no such sword that could gather the spirits of all things under heaven and earth, mountains and rivers. Living in this world, he never wanted to be extraordinary. Dong Zhi¡¯s heart jumped wildly. He opened his eyes to look at the scene in front of him. Before entering this dreamland, all sadness and heartache was replaced by the shock of witnessing the birth of a famous sword through the ages. His heart was agitated and he couldn¡¯t help himself. What¡¯s more, this sword was his Master. Dong Zhi¡¯s nose instantly soured and he suddenly felt the urge to cry. In the dark, his heart felt involved. He couldn¡¯t help but want to get closer and touch the Master who hadn¡¯t yet taken human shape with his own hands. What a precious moment would be forever engraved in his mind. Unfortunately, not long after he finished his thought, not only could he not get closer to his newborn master, but his eyes went dark and his feet felt like they were on air, like falling into an abyss. The speed of the sharp fall made Dong Zhi dizzy and he had to close his eyes, but the fall lasted for a long time. His whole head became heavy, and his feet were light. The moment when he stepped on the ground, his legs couldn¡¯t help but go soft and he sat directly down. His nose was filled with a strong smell of blood. His ears were filled with fierce shouts of killing, war drums that played in unison, chaotic horse hoofs, the sound of swords, bows, knives, halberds colliding, and the noise of flesh being pierced and blood splashing everywhere. This was a battlefield. Dong Zhi opened his eyes. He stood in the center of the battlefield. Soldiers on both sides rushed to kill each other, using their greatest strength they had in their life. The close combat in the era of cold weapons was crueler and more direct than he had seen in film and television dramas. But everyone seemed to ignore his existence. Countless flesh and blood passed by him. Horse¡¯s hooves were raised high, trampling over the nearest soldiers. Immediately, the general raised his sword and unsheathed it. The white light of the long sword reflected the sun and dazzled his eyes. Master! To be precise, the Longyuan Sword held in the hands of a burly general was his Master. Even though the appearance of the sword was very different from before, he still felt the connection at a glance. The general¡¯s sword rose and fell, and the body of the sword was quickly soaked in countless blood. When the general lowered his hand, the blood slipped down the body of the sword and dropped in the soil, staining the flowers with blood. The Longyuan Sword flashed with a terrifying cold light. It didn¡¯t hurt people itself. Only when held in the hands of people did it become a weapon that hurt others. The enemy seemed to be shocked by the general¡¯s fierceness. When they rushed over, they deliberately or unintentionally bypassed around him. One of the soldiers on the general¡¯s side was holding a military flag that was blowing in the wind with the word ¡°Li¡±. Dong Zhi suddenly remembered that a long time ago, He Yu took him to visit a museum and told him how difficult it was for an artifact to become refined. The wonderful hand of the master craftsman, the favor of the sun, moon and stars, and the immersion of blood and yang qi; it couldn¡¯t be kept away from the mortal world, but it couldn¡¯t be held by petty criminals and thieves. There must be the aura of an emperor who was ambitious and sought hegemony, as well as possessed the spirit of selflessness, loyalty, and righteousness. Time, place, and people were indispensable. In the long river of history that had been rolled over one volume after another, in the years of intrigue and enmity, hatred and resentment, what role did his master play? Had he ever witnessed the rising sun and the transformation of Chang Geng into Qiming at the top of a high mountain in a desolate place*? Had he ever walked alone in the depths of the desert and seen the ancient civilization became a site of vicissitudes, and heard the sound of camel bells that was buried by the yellow sand? *This line refers to the poem : ¡°There is Qiming in the east, and Chang Geng in the west. As soon as the sun rises, the star is called Qiming; when the sun enters, the star is called Chang Geng.¡± Chang Geng is the ancient Chinese name for Venus. Qiming is the name of a star. How much blood must be stained, how many struggles must be experienced in the mortal world, how many exchanges of people¡¯s hands, and how many prosperous annihilations he had to see in order to cultivate the thousands of years of loneliness and persistent belief that was rooted in the bottom of his heart? Kinky Thoughts: Ou Yezi Legendary master of sword-making during the Spring and Autumn period. According to Yuejueshu, he forged five treasured words for Gan Jiang and King Zhao of Chu named, respectively, Zhanlu (տ¬), Juque (¾ÞãÚ), Shengxie (ʤа), Yuchang (Ó㳦) and Chunjun (´¿¾û). He also made three swords for King Goujian of Yue, named Longyuan (ÁúÔ¨), Tai¡¯e (Ì©°¢) and Gongbu (¹¤²¼). See Kinky notes for details of each sword or the Wikipedia. Swords made by Ou Yezi (´¿¾û, ´¿¹³, or ´¾¾û) Ch¨²nj¨±n, Ch¨²ng¨­u, or Ch¨²nj¨±n (Purity) ¨C Its patterns resembled a row of stars in a constellation. (տ¬) Zh¨¤nl¨²/Pil¨¹ (Black) ¨C A sword made from the finest of the Five Metals and imbued with the essence of Fire. Said to be sensitive to its owner¡¯s behaviour, it left of its own accord for the state of Chu when Hel¨¹¡¯s conduct offended it. When Hel¨¹ became aware of King Zhao of Chu¡¯s possession of Zhanlu, he attacked Chu. Haocao/Panying (Bravery/Hard) ¨C Said to have been imbued with the aspect of lawlessness and was therefore of no use to anyone. It was used as a burial object. (Ó㳦) Y¨²ch¨¢ng (Fish Intestines) ¨C A short dagger said to be capable of cleaving through iron as if it were mud. Used by Hel¨¹ of Wu to assassinate his uncle, Liao of Wu. It was hidden in a cooked fish presented to King Liao at a banquet. As a result of the assassination, the blade gained a reputation for causing its user to be disloyal. (¾ÞãÚ) J¨´qu¨¥ (Great Destroyer) ¨C Said to be incredibly durable, being able to withstand even hitting or stabbing rock. (ʤа) Sh¨¨ngxi¨¦ (Victor over Evil) Swords made with Gan Jiang (ÁúÔ¨) L¨®ngyu¨¡n (Dragon Gulf) ¨C Its shape resembled that of a high mountain and a deep gulf. Goujian used it to cut a gash in his thigh as an act of self-punishment when he mistakenly executed an innocent person. (Ì©°¢) T¨¤i¨¡ (Great Riverbank) ¨C It had patterns like the waves of a flowing river. Tai¡¯a was used by the king of Chu to direct his army against a Jin invasion. (¹¤²¼) G¨­ngb¨´ (Artisanal Display) ¨C Gongbu patterns like flowing water that stop like pearls at the spine. CH 83 In any case, Dong Zhi never expected in his lifetime he would be able to watch Long Shen¡¯s growth, let alone traveling through time and space that was only limited to a number of pictures. He didn¡¯t know who sounded the horn, but the outcome of the battlefield gradually became clear. On his Master¡¯s side, the burly general holding the sword won a great victory. The victorious side cheered with all their might, squandered their blood, sweat, and life that was previously sprinkled on the battlefield into a wild joy for the rest of their life in glory. The long sword that was held aloft gleamed in the sun, piercing his eyes. Dong Zhi had to close them but the corner of his mouth couldn¡¯t help but curl up slightly. When he opened his eyes again, his smile hadn¡¯t faded, but the world had suddenly calmed. Away from the battlefield he was in a study. He didn¡¯t know who was hiding in the void making little jokes, but time took another big leap. Dong Zhi intuitively felt that he was no longer in the era of the battlefield just now. There was a man sitting at a desk with white whiskers and upright eyebrows. From the furnishing of the study and the expression of the other party, it could be seen that he had been an official for a long time, and perhaps he was still prominent. Another person was sitting in the chair used to treat guest. But perhaps it may not be called a human, because the figure was just translucent. Dong Zhi was startled: ¡°Master?¡± Naturally, no one would hear his voice. He was now watching the past, and things that had already happened will not change in any way because of his watching. The phantom wasn¡¯t an entity, but he could vaguely see a figure. The person had long hair that was in a bun and was dressed in a black robe. Such a simple outfit emphasized the cold and awe on him. Dong Zhi knew how lethal that face was. Long Shen¡¯s beautiful and unique appearance was blessed by the heavens, but the intuitive feeling he left to others was by no means from his looks, but aura. The middle-aged official seemed familiar with him, and he wasn¡¯t surprised by such a phantom. The two were talking. Dong Zhi heard his master ask the other party: ¡°I have never wanted to be long-winded, but this time, I still persuade Lord Jie to think twice. Of course, if you do this, you can quickly cut through the chaos and ensure temporary stability, but those people may not accept your affection.¡± Long Shen¡¯s words weren¡¯t very polite, but ¡°Lord Jie¡± wasn¡¯t angry and was obviously used to his tone. Lord Jie smiled and said: ¡°Who are those people?¡± Long Shen¡¯s expression became faint: ¡°Everyone, including those who support you now. They have benefited now, and they are naturally grateful to you, but in the future, they may not be able to cater to speculative villains, and they¡¯ll pull you down when they seize the opportunity. In the end, I¡¯m afraid Lord Jie¡¯s fate may be dozens of times bleaker than it is now.¡± Lord Jie shook his head: ¡°Who said I was for them? I¡¯m for the people, for the world.¡± Long Shen spoke impolitely: ¡°But the world will not be grateful to you, and the people will only follow blindly. Who will stand up on your behalf if something happens in the future?¡± Lord Jie didn¡¯t get angry, but nodded in agreement, then said: ¡°You¡¯re right. Even if I¡¯m dismembered by five horses* in the future, they will at most stand next to me and watch. Afterwards, a few will sigh and shed tears of sympathy for me.¡± *(ÎåÂí·Öʬ) This is a form of torture and execution in ancient times where a person¡¯s head and limbs are tied to five horses which then tears the person apart. It¡¯s now used as a metaphor referring to dividing a complete thing into fragmented parts. Long Shen frowned and said nothing. He looked at the middle-aged man, but he didn¡¯t know that someone else was also looking at him. Dong Zhi found that for so many years, Long Shen¡¯s appearance had basically not changed. It really was just as Mu Duo said. For them, hundreds of thousands of years were just the difference between night and day, and this difference, for humans, was the cycle of plants and trees decaying and being reborn and one¡¯s hair had already turned gray. However, although his appearance had not changed, his temperament was somewhat different. The Long Shen in front of him showed his determination, even if he sat there without speaking. He was like a sword unsheathed, with a chilling air. In the future, Long Shen would be more like a sharp blade that returned to its sheath, with a restrained edge and unfathomable depth. No matter which Master, they were both attractive, but if he had to choose, Dong Zhi may choose the current Long Shen, because he was livelier and more emotional. When he looked at Long Shen, Lord Jie said: ¡°The people are ignorant, but justice comforts their hearts. What¡¯s more, I don¡¯t need them to preside over justice. Long Shen, what I guard is not the kings of a generation, but the peace and well-being of the world, the integrity and backbone of thousands of years, and the iron core of ancient sages.¡± Modern people have seen a lot of flamboyancy and rhetoric. Take Director Jiang, who likes to speak big and used high-sounding words. It was estimated that no one in the Special Administration Bureau could speak better than him. This person blurted out his righteousness, but Dong Zhi not only didn¡¯t feel that it was hypocritical, but contrary to that felt that was natural as his heart seemed to be steaming with heat. A truly righteous person could infect those around him. However, Director Jiang couldn¡¯t hear this. After all, people like him just like to talk big during meetings, but they weren¡¯t treacherous either. Dong Zhi was lost in thought for a moment and didn¡¯t pay attention to what they said. He saw the middle-aged man get up and leave. Long Shen sent him to the door and the phantom suddenly turned into green smoke and merged into the sword hanging on the wall. The study was restored to a deserted room. Dong Zhi blinked. He wanted to walk over and touch the sword, but as soon as he willed his mind, the surrounding scene changed again. He faintly guessed that these scenes were related to Long Shen, and they were probably the most impressive fragments of his Master¡¯s life. But the Changshou Sword was not the Longyuan Sword, so why could he see these scenes when he dripped his blood on it? Was there any connection between the Changshou Sword and the Longyuan Sword? Or did Long Shen deliberately let him see this? The last doubt had just came out causing Dong Zhi to immediately shake his head in his heart. His Master wasn¡¯t the kind of person who would publicize his life all over the world. What¡¯s more, these fragments of memory weren¡¯t something his Master would want others to easily peep at. This time it was in front of the city gate. Dong Zhi looked up and saw the sky was dark and heavy, pressing against the city gate, as if it was about to collapse at any moment. The middle-aged man was escorted to his knees on his left and right, and an executioner stood holding a sword next to him. He then saw Long Shen again. The other party was standing next to him, still in a black robe. In addition to Dong Zhi, they seemed to be invisible to everyone else. ¡°Lord Jie¡± was calm and even smiled slightly at them, though Dong Zhi knew that the other party was greeting Long Shen. Immediately afterwards, an inner attendant rushed out the door to loudly proclaim: ¡°The emperor has an order to execute!¡± There was no will, nor was it at the entrance of a vegetable market. This was the strangest execution scene he had ever seen. It seemed that everyone was in a hurry for fear of being interrupted, so they were eager to solve this matter quickly. Lord Jie had become the key to solving the problem. In front of one of the doors of the palace, the executioner raised his blade and it fell. A head rolled to the side. The top of his head suddenly burst into light and thunder rolled in. The chamberlain almost jumped up without being scared, and his face showed indescribable horror and guilt. Dong Zhi turned his head to look at Long Shen. He remained motionless and did not step forward to help, nor did he leave. At this time, Long Shen had changed a little from the time when he was in the study. The sharpness of his spirit precipitated a bit, becoming calmer and more distant. ¡°Master,¡± Dong Zhi said softly. No. Why did he suddenly wanted to call him? Long Shen at this moment should be sad. In just two short clips, he could see that Long Shen and Lord Jie were teachers and friends. They had a good friendship, and his friend had died peacefully for his ideals and morality. Long Shen couldn¡¯t stop it, and he didn¡¯t want to stop it, and felt no remorse for doing so. Dong Zhi had seen many of such thing, and no matter how soft-hearted people were, he was afraid that they would gradually develop a heart of stone and become indifferent to everything. However, Long Shen wasn¡¯t like this. Under his cold and serious shell, there was still blood that gurgle and bleed, so he would always stay with the Special Administration Bureau to fight for his ideals. He also took on an ordinary human as a disciple; to teach Dong Zhi what slaying evil and defending the way, and the heavy burden of responsibility. To Dong Zhi¡¯s surprise, Long Shen, who was supposed to be completely inaudible, suddenly turned his head in his direction as if he was aware of him. He was taken aback and was about to say something when he saw a flower in front of him. Whether it was Long Shen or the middle-aged man whose head had fallen to the ground, everything disappeared. The dark caves were familiar to the eye and the faintly glowing and swaying plants in the corner made people instantly travel through time and space to find familiar memories. ¡°In this life and in this world, this disciple Dong Zhi deeply regarded Long Shen as his Master. He must respect him with love and unwavering commitment. If there¡¯s any violation, may the heavens strike him with lightning!¡± Dong Zhi, outside of the time and space, stood in the middle of the group of ghouls. Just like them, he raised his head and quietly looked at the two figures on the cliff that was standing and kneeling. The ghouls had pale faces and holes in their eyes, and their thoughts were unknown. Dong Zhi on the other hand was thinking about what Long Shen felt at that time. Was he also happy the moment when he accepted a disciple? From a peerless sword, through the sun and moon, wind and frost, and mysterious opportunities, it finally turned into a human. After thousands of years of cultivation, Long Shen had developed a mind that was unrivaled than most humans. How fortunate was he to be able to worship such a person as a teacher? Looking at the man half-hidden in the dark, his eyes gradually moistened. Emotion and guilt intertwined, filling his heart little by little, but somehow, all of a sudden, turned into sadness and the pain made him bend down slightly. He didn¡¯t expect that in Long Shen¡¯s memory fragments, such a trivial matter of accepting a disciple could be compared to the moment when he was born. Dong Zhi thought: ¡®What virtue and ability do you have?¡¯ He was just an ordinary person who had no ambition, drew a few pictures a day, eat and drink without care, and occasionally went and travel and sketch. There were no bright spots in all his life. Just because of the experience on Changbai Mountain, his life trajectory had changed since then. It was like a swallow catching a glimpse of a phoenix in the clouds thousands of miles away perched on a branch and was attracted by the magnificent light of the king of birds. There was also a phoenix in his heart. He not only wanted to soar into the heavens, and gaze down upon the mountains and rivers, but also wanted to be side by side with the phoenix, watching the spring and autumn together for thousands of years. A few months ago, on the cliff, Long Shen was taking the sleepy Dong Zhi into his arms. The windbreaker separated the two worlds and cut off the dangers of the outside, allowing the apprentice to rest more safely. That is the love that Long Shen never resorted with words, but only expressed through his actions. Even if it may not be love¡­ Ripples slowly appeared around, and the light became brighter causing all the darkness and treachery in the cave to fade, replaced by the bright lights of a living room. The myriad phenomena of endless changes seemed to be an illusion, and only the cold and quiet square-sized world was reality. Dong Zhi slowly slid down against the wall and buried his head in his bent knees. He wanted to say to Long Shen: ¡°Why don¡¯t we start over when everything hasn¡¯t happened? I would like to treat you as a respected Master for the rest of my life, abide by boundaries, and never cross the line again. I would keep this secret deep in my heart for the rest of my life, until I step into the Yellow River.¡± It was him who had personally ruined their appropriate relationship. Looking back, it was hard to recover. ¡ª The capital. The phone rang. A white cat meowed, tilted its head and looked at the man who was silent as if a little puzzled. After three rings, the man¡¯s fingers slid across the paper and finally picked it up. ¡°Boss Long.¡± ¡°Tang Jing, what¡¯s the matter?¡± Tang Jing¡¯s environment was a bit noisy, but his voice still came clearly. ¡°There¡¯s something I like to report to you first. It happened in Lucheng. When we were investigating a murder involving dismemberment, we found¡­¡± Tang Jing didn¡¯t stop for a breath as he relayed the entire story. Long Shen didn¡¯t interrupt the other party¡¯s words. After listening from beginning to end, he let out a sigh and said the information they had found: ¡°Li Qing¡¯s identity has been confirmed. His original name is Yamamoto Kiyoshi, Japanese nationality, onmyoji origin, Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s younger martial brother, later had a falling out with his teacher and ran away. Later he committed many homicides in Southeast Asia under the pseudonym of Songen. It¡¯s suspected that he fled to Lucheng when he was in exile and forged Li Qing¡¯s identity. Interpol has issued a red notice for him, but there may be people behind him, so we must be vigilant and arrest him as soon as possible.¡± Tang Jing was taken aback when he heard this: ¡°I just reported Yamamoto Kiyoshi¡¯s name to you and you already confirmed his true identity? This efficiency is too good!¡± He immediately realized: ¡°Your apprentice reported to you, right?¡± Long Shen said: ¡°He fought against Yamamoto. He used a puppet substitution technique to escape from him. He just came to ask me about the source of this technique. He didn¡¯t mean to jump over your head to report.¡± Tan Jing smiled strangely: ¡°I didn¡¯t say that he overstepped, yet you¡¯re in such a hurry to defend your apprentice. They all said that Wu Bingtian is the best at protecting the weak ones, but Boss Long, I think you¡¯re about an equal match!¡± Seeing that Long Shen didn¡¯t answer, he didn¡¯t care and continued to laugh: ¡°Actually, this time, I have to report news to you. You¡¯ll love hearing this. There was one death and one injured in Lucheng. Only Dong Zhi and Mu Duo are able to work. I have sent two people to help them. Your apprentice performed very well this time. I plan to let him temporarily take over as the person in charge of the office. What do you think?¡± Long Shen was silent for a moment: ¡°You have the right to decide this kind of thing by yourself. You don¡¯t have to ask me.¡± Tang Jing felt that Director Long was being sullen and awkward but who let people be pressed to death at the official level. The corner of his mouth twitched. ¡°Boss Long, I¡¯m about to get on a plane. I¡¯ll go back to Shencheng tonight, so I¡¯ll talk to you later.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°I want to trouble you with one thing.¡± Long Shen, who had never asked for help, had a day where he needed to trouble others? Tang Jing felt that strange things were happening today one after another. He only heard Long Shen say: ¡°I remember that you have a Shangqing pill from Mount Longhu?¡± This kind of pill was a special elixir for internal injuries. It worked quickly, but because this kind of medicine was troublesome to refine, it was rarely produced and was rare and valuable. Not only does Mount Longhu treat it as a treasure, but it also wasn¡¯t easily given to others and often fetch high prices on the black market. Tang Jing thought for a moment: ¡°It seems we do have two left.¡± Long Shen said: ¡°Please help me out and give both to Dong Zhi. His colleagues may also need to use them. I¡¯ll resupply you later.¡± Tan Jing first agreed but felt something was wrong: ¡°Although there are few Shangqing pills, the General Administration always has inventory. Why don¡¯t you give it directly to him?¡± Although this wasn¡¯t a big deal, as a master shouldn¡¯t he give it directly to his apprentice? Why go through this roundabout way and make it such a big hassle? But Long Shen didn¡¯t want to explain further. Tang Jing wanted to ask what the hell was going on between this master and apprentice, but before he could say anything the other party said: ¡°Sorry to bother you¡± and hung up. He stared at the phone in disbelief. After hanging up, Tang Jing was still confused. He made another call to the subordinate branch and asked them to notify Dong Zhi to find a time to come to the branch office for debriefing. Long Shen¡¯s attitude made him quite interested in Dong Zhi. Tang Jing still remembered that when he was on the top floor of Tianyuan Building in Yangcheng, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know much technique, yet he dared to help He Yu set up an array to attract lightning. The performance caught his eye, but at that time, Dong Zhi was at best a little bold sheep. Was it possible that this little sheep now had horns and had become a unicorn? In any case, he¡¯ll test the ability of this unicorn. If it was worthy of the name, there would naturally be a corresponding position capable of his abilities. Otherwise, he¡¯ll let him go back to Beijing to be his master¡¯s obedient little sheep. Tang Jing made a happy decision within a few seconds, turned off his phone, and found his seat on the plane. Just as he was about to sit down, he was lightly patted on the shoulder. He turned his head and a beautiful-looking young man smiled at him: ¡°I¡¯m sorry. I have the window seat. Can you let me in first?¡± Certainly. Tang Jing got up and moved out of the way and the other party thanked him as he took his seat. Tang Jing opened a book he bought casually at a bookstore at the airport and became drowsy after reading a few pages. His neighbor suddenly asked: ¡°Isn¡¯t this book quite good-looking?¡± Tang Jing casually said: ¡°It¡¯s quite ugly. It rambles on endlessly that I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s talking about.¡± The other party continued to ask: ¡°Is the plot too boring?¡± Tang Jing couldn¡¯t doze off anymore. He glanced at the other party. The face was so beautiful that he couldn¡¯t afford to get angry. Tan Jing asked himself if he was a superficial person as it was inevitable that he would be more tolerant to good-looking people. ¡°It¡¯s not boring. I thought it was a mystery novel, but I just read a few pages and found that I was deceived. Basically, the male and female protagonist are already affectionate.¡± He shrugged: ¡°Do you want to read it? Or have you read it and want to complain about it?¡± The other party said politely: ¡°I¡¯m the author.¡± Tang Jing: ¡­¡­ Well this is awkward. He had thick skin, so he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°In fact, the writing inside is still good. Very touching.¡± He looked at the author¡¯s name again: ¡°Your name is Ming Xian?¡± The other party nodded and took out his boarding pass to show him: ¡°My pen name is my real name.¡± ¡°Tang Jing. Tang in the Tang Dynasty, and Jing from clean*.¡± *Reminder: [Jing] (¾») in his name is from [gan jing] (¸É¾») which is clean/neat and tidy. The two shook hands. For the first time, Ming Xian was ridicule by a reader in person and he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little aggrieved: ¡°In fact, this is a romance mystery novel, so there¡¯s more focus on romance. I also wrote two other books, which are mainly plot focused.¡± Tang Jing hurriedly said: ¡°I¡¯ll definitely read it if I have the opportunity another day!¡± Ming Xian became happy and took the initiative: ¡°Since this meeting is fate, why don¡¯t I give you an autograph?¡± Tang Jing was happy. It was the first time he had seen a writer take the initiative to sign a reader¡¯s book. He felt a bit bad that he had bought the book casually as he handed it over: ¡°Then please.¡± Ming Xian happily signed his name and said to him: ¡°Why don¡¯t you give me an address later, and I¡¯ll send you the other two mystery novels?¡± The beauty took the initiative to show his kindness, so Tang Jing had no reason not to accept it. He thought for a while and said: ¡°My lease is about to be up so I have to find a new place. I¡¯ll give it to you when I settled down.¡± The two exchanged contact information. Tang Jing asked him what he was doing in Shencheng. Ming Xian said that he was a middle school teacher and had just applied to a private middle school. The conditions were pretty good. Ming Xian was unguarded. In just a few words, he had already completely relaxed all vigilance. Tang Jing was surprised: ¡°Are you not a full-time writer?¡± Ming Xian blushed: ¡°Do you think I can make ends meet by writing full-time?¡± Tang Jing: ¡­True. If he hadn¡¯t been in such a rush just now, he would never have wasted money on this kind of book. Still, he comforted: ¡°I think you look very good. I do side-gigs on the weekends and help different platform. Are you interested in joining?¡± Ming Xian stopped talking and said in embarrassment: ¡°I¡¯m a serious person¡­¡± The corner of Tang Jing¡¯s mouth twitched: ¡°¡­What are you thinking? There will be an anime exhibition in Shencheng next week. A Games invited me to play as Yu Ji.¡± Ming Xian was surprised: ¡°Cosplay?¡± Tang Jing nodded: ¡°Yes. I¡¯m purely an amateur. I¡¯m going to help my friends. In fact, if you¡¯re interested, you can also develop some part-time jobs in this field. After all, your appearance is quite good.¡± Ming Xian¡¯s eyes lit up: ¡°Where will it be held this weekend? I want to see what you look like as Yu Ji!¡± His smile instantly lit up the world. Tang Jing had no resistance to this bright smile and eyes. He immediately said: ¡°Give me your address and I¡¯ll send you a ticket later.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Ming Xian happily agreed. The two talked all the way on the flight, and when their journey reached an end, they got off the plane and the two parted ways. Tang Jing found a subordinate outside the terminal to pick him up. Shu He was already waiting outside and waved at Tang Jing. ¡°Boss Tang, shall we head directly to the bureau?¡± Tang Jing nodded and the two got into the car separately. Shu He started the car and saw that Tang Jing was humming a song and couldn¡¯t help laughing: ¡°You¡¯re in a good mood. Don¡¯t you have to worry about finding the stone tablets?¡± Tang Jing rolled his eyes: ¡°Keep dreaming. Japan has been very restless recently. There have been many international incidents in Beijing and Shencheng. They¡¯re afraid that the capital is heavily guarded so maybe they¡¯ll try to do things in Shencheng. Keep a close eye.¡± Shu He said: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I have been keeping watch during your business trip. Is everything going well in the capital?¡± Tang Jing: ¡°It¡¯s fine. It¡¯s just that there aren¡¯t enough people for the meeting. I just come to help. By the way, you can call the Lucheng office later and ask the temporary in charge person to come over.¡± Shu He became curious: ¡°The disciple of Boss Long?¡± Tang Jing glanced at him: ¡°You seem quite familiar with him too.¡± Shu He said casually: ¡°Not familiar, but with so many things going on in Lucheng recently, it¡¯s hard not to know.¡± Tang Jing smiled: ¡°I almost forgot, you also wanted to worship Boss Long as a teacher back then, but it seemed you were rejected in the end, right?¡± Shu He laughed at himself: ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m curious. What kind of talent is needed to catch the eye of Boss Long?¡± Tang Jing had seen Dong Zhi, but it wasn¡¯t talent that had impressed him, but¡­ ¡°To be honest, he¡¯s better looking than you.¡± Shu He angrily said: ¡°Boss Long is not the same as you¡­ a face con!¡± He originally wanted to say shallow, but when he spoke, he quickly turned the corner to save some face for his leader. Tang Jing shrugged: ¡°Who knows! It¡¯s been so long, why can¡¯t you let it go?¡± Shu He had been smiling all this time, but when his smile faded, he face showed a bit of gloom. ¡°Because I always felt that I was no worse than others, and I did get first in overall score of that year. Moreover, what bothered me the most was not a matter of the apprenticeship, but because my father. The top kept pressing me down and refused to promote me no matter how good my performance was.¡± Tang Jing: ¡°Old Shu, didn¡¯t National Security come to ask you several times? You didn¡¯t want to go. You wanted to stay at the General Administration. If you went to National Security, why worry about not having a chance for a promotion?¡± Shu He was silent. Tang Jing patted him on the arm: ¡°In fact, you¡¯re just unwilling. Old Shu, don¡¯t be obsessed, otherwise, it will only hinder your own practice.¡± CH 84 Dong Zhi sneezed. He certainly wouldn¡¯t expect Tang Jing, who was far away in Shencheng, would mention him to Shu He, whom he had never met before. The late autumn in the south was much warmer than in the north. He came to Lucheng wearing a coat and felt that it was too hot. He had switched to short sleeve after a while. As a result, he was injured in his fight with Yamamoto a few days ago and his immunity declined. At this moment, the aftermath came out and he was sneezing and coughing endlessly. Before his internal injury healed, he already had symptoms of a cold. He got out of bed and put on a coat and looked at his phone. This was a habit he had developed now whenever he woke up. There was a missed called from Mu Duo. Seeing that he didn¡¯t answer, Mu Duo sent him a text message saying there was two things. One was Yamamoto¡¯s whereabouts. The police have been tracking him and it seems they expanded from Lucheng to the county province. However, she was afraid that there was little hope. The second was that two people who the branch was sending would arrive this afternoon and asked if he wanted to pick them up. Dong Zhi replied there wasn¡¯t a need and to just send them the office address. After sending out the text, he remembered that he was wandering like a headless fly on his first day in the old community for a while and felt that people of the branch should also experience this kind of taste. Maybe then, next time, they would be more generous when it comes to funding allocation. As for the whereabouts of Yamamoto Kiyoshi, neither Dong Zhi nor Mu Duo had much hope. No one knew where Yamamoto¡¯s hideout was, let alone where he would place his replacement puppet. If he was still a member of the Shinkawa sect, then the Special Administration Bureau could still settle accounts with the Japanese. The issue was, Yamamoto Kiyoshi had already rebelled from the sect as early as 20 years ago and killed his and Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s master. The Japanese didn¡¯t pay attention to being a teacher for a day, and a father for life*, but they were still strictly hierarchical, thus the relationship between students and teachers were the same. Yamamoto¡¯s behavior made him a target of the Japanese onmyojis at that time. His international warrant was also first issued by Japan. As a result, he completely severed contact with Japan. According to intelligence, he had been in Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam in recent years. In the past few years, he had been to Hong Kong before coming to Lucheng, so now there was also a warrant posted from Hong Kong, but there was little hope. *(Ò»ÈÕΪʦ£¬ÖÕÉíΪ¸¸) Metaphor referring to treating a teacher with the same respect as a father. Although Dong Zhi failed to kill him on the spot, this person had been roaming for many years, with his hands full of blood, and possessed a perverted hobby and specializes in targeting ordinary people. This behavior was something even practitioners would disdain, but because of his cunningness, he often escaped without leaving any clues. He was afraid of the hard while targeting the soft so generally he wouldn¡¯t provoke a stronger practitioner than himself, thus he remained elusive to them. When he arrived in Lucheng, he encounted Dong Zhi when he tried to make a move, making his previous accomplishment practically invalid. He probably wouldn¡¯t be able to commit atrocities for at least a few years, therefore, the Special Administration Bureau commended Dong Zhi for his work and rewarded him with some merits. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know if his master would be a little happy to hear the news of his merits and forget the old accounts. Thinking of this, he couldn¡¯t help but glance up at the Changshou Sword. The illusion that night seemed to really be a dream. However, what appeared in the illusion must¡¯ve happened before. He vowed to forget all feelings he shouldn¡¯t have for Long Shen and respect the wishes of the other party, so even if he wanted to contact him again, he still suppressed his thoughts. On the other hand, his curiosity of the Changshou Sword grew stronger each passing day, like a grassland slowly being overtaken by wild grass. By some miracle, his finger scratched the blade of the sword as soon as it was drawn out of the scabbard. The wound hadn¡¯t healed yet and he was traumatized again, and his pain doubled. Dong Zhi hissed and endured the pain as he wiped the string of blood. The sword¡¯s body quickly changed, just like that night, and the small amount of blood turned into red light, and quickly flowed over the sword¡¯s pattern. Seeing the scene around him began to change, Dong Zhi¡¯s heart that had tightened a lot previously was much calmer now, and he even had a little expectation. What kind of past would he see this time? The wilderness, the snow, the endless white. Moonlight, starlight, the sky and river above and the mountains below. Two people were walking on a snowy plain. A monk dressed in red monk attire, and a man dressed in black. The one in black was Long Shen. His appearance hadn¡¯t changed much. The sky was cold, and the earth was frozen. In this extremely bad weather, it was impossible for anyone to have a warm smile on their face. Long Shen looked even more cold and icy as the snow only added to this effect. Judging from their attire, this should still be in ancient times. In some places, the snow was so thick that it reached the thighs as soon as one stepped on it, while other places the snow was relatively light, it would reveal the black moss below, making the surface wet and slippery, but these difficulties didn¡¯t affect their speed of travel at all. Dong Zhi hurriedly kept up, but he could only stay a bit behind in the distance, neither near nor far. The wind and the snow were getting heavier, but the two of them didn¡¯t stop for even half a step, nor did they use any climbing tool, so they approached the top of the mountain step by step. Long Shen¡¯s physical strength was excellent, seemingly unaware of what fatigue was, while the monk didn¡¯t lag either. He was always usually around three meters behind Long Shen. After knowing Long Shen¡¯s original form, Dong Zhi naturally understood why he was so powerful, but the monk¡¯s performance surprised him. The other party seemed to be very old, but unexpectedly, his physical strength wasn¡¯t any inferior to that of his master. It was unknown how long it took, perhaps half a day, or a day, as time had lost its meaning in the illusion, but the two finally reached the peak of the mountain. The monk now showed a trace of fatigue as Dong Zhi heard him speak, ¡°That¡¯s it!¡± His tone was strange, but being in the illusion, there was no obstacles. Following the place he pointed to, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t see anything, but Long Shen¡¯s expression moved. It was a joyous expression for something¡ª Dong Zhi was now able to perceive the deeper inner fluctuations from the subtle changes of the other party¡¯s expression. Even though he was once a sword, in Dong Zhi¡¯s heart, Long Shen had long been a person of flesh and blood; a living human. The two walked to the direction that the monk pointed at, and Dong Zhi then saw a thick layer of snow covering it. He couldn¡¯t see what was underneath. The monk first lowered his body and plunged his hand into the snow, as if digging something up. Soon, the snow fell on his shoulder, and he looked happy. ¡°Sure enough!¡± He stretched out his hand that were frozen white, but the monk didn¡¯t care and only patted away the snow on his body. ¡°This must¡¯ve been given to you by the heavens, and no one can take it away. It has been here since I left, and no one has ever found it.¡± According to Dong Zhi, this place was off the beaten path, with snow that accumulated all year round and on the peak of a high mountain where birds outnumbered people. Who would come here to find something? However, the joy on the monk¡¯s face didn¡¯t show any sign of hypocrisy, and even Dong Zhi was subconsciously happy for them. Long Shen, like the monk, also ambled in and put his hand inside as the monk watch nervous to the side. ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s hard to take out. I couldn¡¯t do it before¡­¡± As soon as his voice fell, Long Shen¡¯s hand had already drawn it out. A cloud of ice crystals was overflowing with white mist on his hand. Dong Zhi thought that what they were looking for was the Changshou Sword. After all, this was an environment related to the Changshou Sword, but it turned out it wasn¡¯t. He looked curiously at the irregular ¡°ice¡± in Long Shen¡¯s hand. The monk showed joy. ¡°It¡¯s destiny. It seems that the heart of this mountain is yours!¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Mountains and stones have hearts. They have cultivated a soul for thousands of years forming this thousand-year old crystal. I want to refine it into a sword.¡± The monk asked curiously, ¡°What will you name it?¡± Long Shen shook his head and replied, ¡°It¡¯ll be nameless for the time being, but I want to name it, Changshou.¡± Monk: ¡°Always be true to your heart.¡± Long Shen: ¡°It will be the guard to a peaceful world.¡± The monk laughed. ¡°Then when you finish refining it, you must show it to me.¡± Long Shen: ¡°Naturally.¡± The brief conversation between the two ended. They didn¡¯t stay on the top of the mountain for long and soon descended. Seeing the two of them drifting away, Dong Zhi¡¯s vision gradually blurred and distorted, and he knew that his dream was almost over. Sure enough, he suddenly felt dizzy and couldn¡¯t help but closed his eyes and faint. When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the floor of his living room. Suddenly returning from the ice and snow to a warm and calm setting was a major environmental gap. Dong Zhi stayed still for a while before slowly regaining his senses. He looked at the Changshou Sword in his hand. It laid quietly in them, speaking to him speechlessly about the spring and autumn that it had seen. The more he knew, the more he felt Long Shen had traveled through many ordeals; the wind, frost, rain and snow, and the magnificent waves. To be able to see his footprints, even if they were only fragments, was a thrilling and strange encounter for Dong Zhi. But for Long Shen, that had long been carved into his bones. Other pursued legends, while he himself was one. Long Shen was already standing on the top of a high mountain, looking at the snow at the peak, and his hands could touch the stars, while he was still hesitating under the mountain. Like all inexperienced people who climbed for the first time, he marveled at the steepness of the mountain. On the way, he stopped because of hesitation and timidity. Perhaps he would stay at the foot of the mountain a little longer because of the warmth. Dong Zhi felt that if he were Long Shen, he might not be able to see an apprentice that was still groping up step by step. As far as Long Shen was concerned, the two of them were too far apart in terms of age and experience. The more things he saw in the illusion, the less he felt that he knew Long Shen, but this was also interesting to approach step by step, explore, and venture deeper and see the fragments of the past of the Changshou Sword from its birth until now. He couldn¡¯t help but look forward to it. Next time he entered the fantasy realm, what kind of Long Shen would he see? After standing up for a while, Dong Zhi began to feel dizzy. He braced himself against the wall for a bit before he felt better. Feeding blood to the Changshou Sword also consumed his energy to a certain extent and it shouldn¡¯t be done often, so Dong Zhi didn¡¯t continue. Instead, he got up and went to the kitchen to boil some water to drink. His phone suddenly rang. It was Liu Qingbo, who he hadn¡¯t be in contact recently. Dong Zhi only knew that he had gone to Ruanzhou, and he didn¡¯t know exactly what and how he was doing there. Liu Qingbo certainly had the ability and as long as he could fix his temper, he would certainly excel. The premise was that their leaders could make him look good, though he didn¡¯t know which leader would be so ¡°lucky¡± to have such a subordinate like Liu Qingbo. ¡°Lao Liu, how are you doing? Why did you suddenly call?¡± he said casually. ¡°You don¡¯t know?¡± Liu Qingbo¡¯s voice was a bit weird. ¡°Know what?¡± Listening to his tone, Dong Zhi guessed it shouldn¡¯t something big that happened, so he raised his cup and started to drink from it. Liu Qingbo angrily said, ¡°Zhang Chong and I are now circling around the address you gave. Where is the Lucheng office? Why is it so difficult to find!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Qingbo heard the spray of water from the phone, followed by a series of coughs. ¡°Are you the one sent by the branch to assist us?!¡± Dong Zhi asked in disbelief. ¡°Why? Are we not welcomed?¡± Dong Zhi imagined Liu Qingbo saying this with a dark face and found it a bit funny. ¡°Of course not. Welcome! Who is the other one? Is it also from our session?¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°No. His name is Zhang Chong. You¡¯ll be meeting him for the first time.¡± After that, he said suspiciously, ¡°By the way, you didn¡¯t deliberately fuck with me, right? Is the office really here?¡± Dong Zhi held his forehead. ¡°No it¡¯s really true. Let me take you over. I¡¯ll meet you at the entrance of the community!¡± After hanging up the phone, the more he pondered, the more he felt that the name Zhang Chong sounded familiar, but it was reasonable to say that it couldn¡¯t be so coincidental. ¡°Brother, it¡¯s been a long time since I saw you. Did you miss me?¡± When Zhang Chong saw him, he jumped three feet high and rushed over and gave him a warm hug. Dong Zhi blinked, pulled him away a little and scanned him up and down to confirm there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with his eyes. ¡°Why are you here!¡± Zhang Chong raised his chin and said, ¡°I heard that you were short of manpower here. Don¡¯t worry, with me here, nothing will happen to Lucheng in the future!¡± Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other. Liu Qingbo clearly expressed doubt in his eyes, ¡®Has he always been so blindly confident?¡¯ Dong Zhi nodded helplessly. The last time they eliminated the Archfiend in Yangchang, this guy was also full of confidence in himself, but he miscalculated and almost led to Dong Zhi being unable to save He Yu. Though both from Mount Longhu, Zhang Heng and Zhang Chong were two completely different people. One was a poster boy for the group, while the other was kicked to the Yangcheng office. Their treatment was very different. Facts have proven that it wasn¡¯t a matter of shady insider affairs but was purely due to aptitude. Of course, Dong Zhi had no opinion on Zhang Chong himself. He seems righteous, and while a bit pompous and have mediocre abilities, in general, they had a good friendly and brotherly connection, as long as they weren¡¯t on a mission together. ¡°If you¡¯re here, what would the Yancheng office do with you missing?¡± Dong Zhi said tactfully. Zhang Chong: ¡°I heard that recently, because a lot of things are happening in the south, the superiors are afraid that Shengcheng will be out of reach. They plan to set up another branch, which will be on the same level as the South China Branch. In the future, Shencheng will be the first bureau of south China, and Yangcheng will be the second.¡± It turned out that they were planning to upgrade and expand, so Dong Zhi joke, ¡°Then you shouldn¡¯t leave, so you¡¯ll be a senior of the branch in the future.¡± Zhang Chong said with traces of regret, ¡°My cousin Zhang Heng may become director of the second bureau. After all, we¡¯re in the same division and are related so we have to avoid suspicion. With him, I can rest assured that Yangcheng will be in good hands. Although my ability is also good, it¡¯s still a bit worse than him.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­Brother, I¡¯m afraid your understanding of a little bit is way off. Liu Qingbo listened impatiently to them catching up. ¡°Hurry up and take us to the office. I¡¯m going to die of thirst!¡± As soon as he spoke, he was hugged by Dong Zhi without warning. Liu Qingbo was stunned and before he could react, Dong Zhi had already released him. ¡°Thank you, Lao Liu for coming. My heart can rest easier all of sudden. It seems that we are back to the old days when we stabbed the python in the chrysanthemum together. With you, there will be no problems in the future!¡± Dong Zhi said sincerely. During this period of time, although the top affirmed their achievements in dealing with Yamamoto, the death of Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi, as well as the death of the weasel Lao Liu were all weighing heavily on Dong Zhi, silently supervising him to hurry up and recover so he could avenge them. This was also coupled with his change in relationship with Long Shen; Dong Zhi actually endured a lot of pressure in his heart. He just didn¡¯t want to transfer this pressure to others, so he never mentioned it in front of Mu Duo. Now, in front of his former companions, he would inevitably reveal some traces in his heart. Liu Qingbo looked at the red eyes and smile on Dong Zhi, and his heart suddenly became mixed and sour. He was about to say something when he heard him spoke about stabbing the chrysanthemum, and his face abruptly sank and became dark like the bottom of a pot. ¡°Stab you in the head, ah! Why are you coughing endlessly? Injured?¡± Dong Zhi coughed a few times again. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I suffered a little internal injury before, so I just need to take it slowly.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°Don¡¯t cough to death, otherwise the top will definitely let me replace you as the person in charge!¡± Dong Zhi smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to care about me so much.¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m gloating. Where are you seeing that I care about you?¡± Zhang Chong said with jealousy, ¡°Hey, what are you doing ignoring me. I¡¯m here to help too!¡± ¡°Okay, thank you! Come with me. I¡¯ll take you to the office first.¡± Dong Zhi smiled, thinking that they would probably want to stay out for a while longer. He took the two of them around the old building where the office was located and opened the door with the key. Neither he nor Mu Duo had come back in the past few days and as soon as the door opened, the smell of the dust hit their faces. Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong were stunned. Zhang Chong murmured, ¡°This is worse than the office in Yangcheng!¡± Dong Zhi patted them on the shoulders and said solemnly as a person who already went through it, ¡°Just get used to it!¡± ¡ª Also in Lucheng. In an old house of the Republic of China, the crew was in full swing on the final stage of filming. The house was originally a residence of a foreign consul. After the liberation, the consul withdrew with the diplomatic team. It was taken over by the government and later developed into a tourist attraction. During this time, in order to make a spy war drama, the crew paid a lot of rent and contracted the house to avoid being disturbed by the endless stream of tourists. Today was the twentieth day of filming, and the progress that should have ended a long time ago had been extended for a few days because of a situation. With an order from the director, Han Qi settled down and walked to the side of the stairs, ready to greet the actor. ¡°Zhiru, why are you here?¡± The actor said his lines as he walked down from the second floor, in a suit and waistcoat that looked elegant. Han Qi smiled sweetly. ¡°Why? You¡¯re not happy to see¡ª¡± Before she could finish, the actor missed his steps and stumbled down the stairs, tumbling and was crashing towards Han Qi, who was standing at the bottom. Han Qi was so shocked in the moment that she had no time to dodge and could only watch as the actor smashed down towards her. Suddenly, someone next to her stretched out a hand and grabbed her arm, pulling her aside violently. In the next second, the actor fell to where she was originally standing. ¡°Oh my god!¡± ¡°Su Fan, are you okay?¡± The filming was interrupted. The crew gathered around, helped the actor up, and then ran up to look at the stairs. They were surprised to find that the stairs that were clearly intact and was inspected before the shooting now had cracks and was partially collapsed when the actor had just stepped on it. He lost his balance and fell down. Han Qi was in shock. If she was hit just now, her back would¡¯ve taken the brunt of the fall and a fracture would probably be inevitable. The most serious might be¡­ ¡°Qi Jie, are you okay?¡± The assistant handed her a glass of hot milk, pulled her to the side, and sat her down. She then put a coat on her meticulously and considerately. Han Qi shook her head and looked up at Hui Yiguang, who also took a hot drink from the assistant. ¡°Thank you for just now.¡± Hui Yiguang smiled and said, ¡°Han Jie is too polite. It was nothing. Speaking of which, this isn¡¯t the first time, right? Based on all the things that have happened since we join the group, it¡¯s like the director didn¡¯t pray and worship God correctly when they started filming, right?¡± Han Qi smiled bitterly. Hui Yiguang wasn¡¯t the first to say that. She hadn¡¯t heard any rumors of ghosts here before, but since the crew started filming here, strange things had indeed started happening frequently. First, the chandelier above her head suddenly fell down. One of the unlucky assistant directors happened to be standing below. He couldn¡¯t dodge in time and was hit by it on the shoulders and was sent to the hospital with a broken bone. He hasn¡¯t been discharged yet. Then there was the lightning technician. After getting off work one day, he tripped over his own lighting board and smashed his head in. Then there was the third female lead. They didn¡¯t know whether it was due to negligence or maliciousness, but someone threw an old-fashion pushpin on the ground. The third female lead happened to be filming an indoor scene with Han Qi that day. She was wearing long satin pajamas that reflected the style of the Republic of China that day, when she stepped on something with her soft slippers and fell to the ground while hoarsely screaming. Everyone thought she was just acting on the spot, only then did they found out that a nail had pierce the sole of her foot and stabbed her flesh. Fortunately, the sole was padded, and the injury wasn¡¯t too serious, but she was hurriedly rushed to the hospital to remove the cold needle. Oddly enough, a lot of people were present that time, and the lights were very bright but somehow no one had noticed it. After these three strange events, rumors began circulating that there was something unclean about the crew. As for why it was unclean, no one could say. Since no one had died yet, the producers didn¡¯t want to delay the progress, so he wanted to shoot and tried to finish the scene as quickly as possible to get rid of all this bad luck. Who knew that today, something happened again? The actor pushed away the support of others and tried to stand up, but he couldn¡¯t help but groan in pain. His body tilted and leaned against the wall. The director guessed that he probably twisted his foot when he saw the actor¡¯s posture, so they hurriedly sent him to the hospital for an examination. The scenes that were to be film had to be put on hold again. Once again scenes had to be rearranged not to mention how depressed everyone was. The actors had nothing to do. They sat idly beside each other and waited for the directors to make arrangements while chatting with each other. Han Qi was a big name, so few people usually approached her. She was currently in a daze and needed someone to relieve the pressure, so she didn¡¯t refuse Hui Yiguang who sat down beside her. ¡°How did they choose this place? It¡¯s too unclean!¡± Han Qi¡¯s assistant muttered in a low voice, expressing dissatisfaction with the successive accidents. ¡°I think it may not be a problem with the venue,¡± Hui Yiguang said suddenly. Han Qi¡¯s heart moved, and she turned to look at her. ¡°What do you mean?¡± ¡°I have inquired about Du Li¡¯s since her accident,¡± she said, referring to the third female lead who had stepped on the pushpin. ¡°This house has been rented out to other crews for filming before and there has never been a problem. It was after our crew settled here that all these frequent accidents started, so I guess it¡¯s either that there¡¯s some new furnishing here that aren¡¯t clean, or¡ª¡± Knowing that she was deliberately pausing, Han Qi and her assistant couldn¡¯t help but become intrigued. ¡°Or what?¡± ¡°There¡¯s something wrong with the people in it,¡± Hui Yiguang said softly. Han Qi¡¯s heart jumped again. She couldn¡¯t help but glanced at Hui Yiguang, but the other party didn¡¯t look at her, let alone notice her strangeness. Hui Yiguang also knew that her words were a bit sensitive and easy to offend. After speaking, she stopped talking and lowered her head to drink her milk. Han Qi endured and endured, but couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Actually, I think so too.¡± Hui Yiguang was a little surprised. She thought Han Qi wouldn¡¯t pay attention to her, but she didn¡¯t expect the other party to follow her words. ¡°I came here the next day after the machine was turned on. Meng Ge was also here with me at that time. That afternoon, my assistant had diarrhea,¡± Han Qi said. Meng Ge was the second male lead in this drama. The lineup of this drama could be regarded as one of the best casts of domestic TV dramas in recent times. Although the fame of the male protagonist wasn¡¯t as good as Han Qi, he was also a very up-and-coming new actor in China. After Hui Yiguang was exposed to the scandal of betraying her former friend, she had whitewashed her reputation by doing charity and public welfare work ads and was able to star in this well-known drama. Even so, she could only provide a supporting role to Han Qi. The film party naturally attached great importance to this kind of cast, so not only did they book a high-end hotel for them to stay at, but the food was also catered to everyone¡¯s taste. Yet when everything was ready and shooting began, they encountered so many problems. After hearing Han Qi¡¯s words, Hui Yiguang¡¯s expression moved. She found that Han Qi deliberately was trying to attract the waters of disaster to the second male lead. She smiled and said, ¡°I plan to find a master to look into this in the next few days. Is Sister Han interested?¡± Han Qi was noncommitted and just showed a light smile. ¡°There¡¯s too many charlatans nowadays, so you should be careful.¡± Hui Yiguang had long been accustomed to her appearance, and she nodded and smiled when she heard those words. ¡°Han Jie is right; I will pay attention.¡± Han Qi was notoriously difficult to get close to in the circle, but she somehow became famous early, and her career had been smooth. It was rumored that she was in a relationship with a boss of a well-known investment company. No matter whether she was frosty or approachable, there would always be people who flocked to her and Hui Yiguang was no exception. However, the same sex tends to repel each other. Han Qi didn¡¯t have much affection for actresses in the circle, though she had a good impression of Hui Yiguang. After all, she was just saved by her and avoided a serious injury. Moreover, Hui Yiguang didn¡¯t try her best to overshadow her during filming, as she recited her lines honestly. Han Qi had something on her mind and wasn¡¯t interested in chatting, so Hui Yiguang got up and went to find a different place to rest. The assistant took Han Qi¡¯s milk cup and walked to the nanny car outside, ready to take it back and wash it again. A production staff member hurriedly ran past from behind and accidentally bumped into her causing the glass cup she was holding to fall to the ground. The assistant turned her head and glared at the other party who was repeatedly apologizing. The assistant was about to scold them when Han Qi said, ¡°Forget it. Go and have someone clean up the mess.¡± Seeing her in a daze, the assistant didn¡¯t dare say anything more, so she hurriedly complied and quickly walked away. Who knew that an accident happened at this moment. The author has something to say: Zhang Chong is a disciple from Mount Longhu stationed in Yancheng, Hui Yiguang¡­ You must still remember. Kinky Thoughts: After conversing with some translators, I have decided to switch to pinyin for many address terms like, ge (brother), jie (sister), lao (old), and xiao (little/young) as translating them doesn¡¯t really get across the intended meaning. I¡¯ll try to fix the older chapters when I have time. She¡¯s back~ Seems like there¡¯s more to Hui Yiguang than meets the eye. For those who forgot who Hui Yiguang is, she was the actress who almost got her body replaced by a vengeful exfriend. (See chapter 37-38) CH 85 She wasn¡¯t sure whether it was her soles was too slippery or the assistant was too impatient, but Han Qi watched as the assistant slip forward and her face slammed against all the glass debris on the ground, and she didn¡¯t have enough time to save her. The screams alarmed everyone as they hurriedly rushed over to help the assistant up. The glass residue had cut her face and the assistant was bleeding all over. Some of the glass debris had pierce into her flesh and there was even a piece that was embedded in the corner of her eyebrow, which made her look extremely terrifying. Some girls couldn¡¯t help but scream while others turned away. ¡°My god!¡± ¡°Hurry, hurry! Call an ambulance!¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late. Let¡¯s drive her over. Hurry!¡± Everyone didn¡¯t wait for Han Qi to speak as they help the assistant out. The director quickly called his driver over and asked them to rush to the hospital. ¡°Han Jie, are you okay?¡± ¡°Han Jie, why don¡¯t you go back to the nanny¡¯s car and take a break? Let us clean up here!¡± ¡°Oh, my god, it¡¯s so scary. Why did she slip suddenly?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the second case today. It¡¯s something really evil!¡± ¡°I wonder if the crew will stop work¡­¡± Chaotic voices sounded in Han Qi¡¯s ears, but she didn¡¯t hear a word. Her assistant had an accident in front of her own eyes and fell so badly that everyone was distracted and didn¡¯t notice her. On the same day, there was two accidents in a row. The crew was terrified and seeing that most of the starring actors were in no state to perform, the director had to order a half-day break and continue filming tomorrow. Back at the hotel, Han Qi sat by the bed and called her agent and asked her to go to the hospital to visit the injured assistant and then send her over a new one. Just from a look she knew that the injury was serious, and she most likely had to undergo surgery, so she won¡¯t be able to return to work in the short term. The agent expressed surprise that so many things had happened to the crew in a single day and comforted her for a while. Han Qi didn¡¯t need these useless comforts. She asked the agent, ¡°Do you know any reliable masters who help people with these things? I think I¡­ The crew may need to exorcise some evil spirits!¡± The agent said, ¡°There¡¯s an artist in our company named Liu Fei. You should know her. I heard that she usually deals with several masters, but I don¡¯t recommend looking for her. If she opens her mouth and tells the paparazzi something, it¡¯ll create trouble, and I¡¯m not sure if the ones she knows are real or charlatans¡­¡± Han Qi listened impatiently and interrupted her, ¡°Forget it. It¡¯s fine if you don¡¯t!¡± The agent seemed to sensed that she was upset, and she whispered a few words of advice, and then said, ¡°Do you want to ask Mr. Hong?¡± Han Qi was startled. Agent: ¡°Mr. Hong is connected to the political and economic circles and has a wide range of contacts. He must also know masters in this field. Why don¡¯t you ask him?¡± Han Qi frowned and said, ¡°I don¡¯t want to ask him.¡± The agent was silent for a moment: ¡°Qiqi, tell me the truth, does he still not know about your pregnancy?¡± Han Qi: ¡°¡­He knows.¡± Agent: ¡°Then¡ª¡± Han Qi squeezed the phone¡¯s slightly hard, and after a while, she said in a very unwilling tone: ¡°He asked me to come over and talk about it.¡± The agent let out a sigh, slightly angry. ¡°What does he mean? Does he just want the child or does he wants you to terminate it?!¡± Han Qi paused. ¡°What do you think I should do?¡± The agent hesitated. ¡°Qiqi, don¡¯t listen to what I just said. Since Mr. Hong said that you should also be mentally prepared. If you can¡¯t reveal the relationship, and the child¡¯s affair is exposed, it will cause a scandal that will not be good.¡± Han Qi didn¡¯t speak, but her agent knew that she understood everything in her heart. She just didn¡¯t want to accept the facts. The agent sighed. ¡°Think about it!¡± Han Qi suddenly said, ¡°Children can¡¯t fight!¡± Han Qi bit her lips and finally revealed the truth. ¡°When I went to Thailand three years ago, I met a master. At that time, I just broke up with Zhong Huan, that scummy man. I was pregnant then, but I didn¡¯t tell anyone, including you, but the master saw it at a glance. Not only that, he also told me that the child would bring me great trouble. I didn¡¯t believe it, so I had an abortion after I went back. As a result, my career soon took a nosedive after it. Several contracts that I had signed for films had been broken off by the other party without any reason. At that time, we were both at a loss. You should remember.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want to be reduced from the first line to second line*, let alone be looked down on by that scumbag Zhong Huan who thinks I can¡¯t do it without him, so I went to Thailand again and found the master. The master told me that the fetus I aborted was actually a demon fetus, it¡¯ll continue to follow me and block my luck. If I didn¡¯t come to him, my luck would continue to be bad until I died.¡± *First line is basically the top talent of an agency that gets the most resources. To be moved from first to second would be like a demotion (she¡¯ll get less resources and thus less work). After listening to these words, the agent felt like she had jumped from the entertainment industry to a horror suspense film, but she was powerless to stop what Han Qi had already done so she could only ask, ¡°Then what?¡± Han Qi: ¡°Then the master helped me make a magic array that suppressed the child and turn it into a charm, saying that it could bless my future career. In addition, he told me that this year, I would meet a man and conceive my rightful child that will be blessed by the Gods and Buddhas and will bring me great wealth and honor.¡± The agent was stunned. ¡°Do you believe him?¡± Han Qi asked rhetorically. ¡°Why not? Since he helped me do it last time, my career has indeed taken a big turn. Originally, you know that I have already started to go downhill. Male stars in their early forties can still usher in a second spring, but many actresses will be replaced in their early thirties. However, in the past three years, my career has been smooth. Instead of declining, it has been rising steadily. Even Mr. Hong said that since I became pregnant, his career has improved, saying that it¡¯s because of me. Doesn¡¯t this just prove that the master is right?¡± The agent lowered her voice, ¡°But what happened to you recently, and the last time you were on the plane¡­¡± Han Qi said, ¡°The master said that the blessed fetus I am now pregnant with is the reincarnation of Vishnu*, which can bring me infinite blessings, but because of this, there must be many unpredictable evil things around. Even the evil fetus that was suppressed by the master may be tempted by the blessed fetus and could turn into an evil thing again. Sure enough, the master was right again¡­ I suspect that these things that have happened recently may be those evil things that want to attack the child in my stomach!¡± *One of the principal deity of Hinduism. Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects and transforms the universe. The agent was silent for a long time, and said carefully, ¡°Qiqi, I don¡¯t doubt your statement, but what are you going to do now? Are you really going to give birth to the child? If Mr. Hong refuses to recognize it after it¡¯s born, what will you do? Let it carry the reputation of not knowing its father? As you said just now, the career of an actress is very short. Do you want to risk losing your career just because of something a master told you three years ago?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. I just called the master¡¯s assistant. He said that the master is in retreat, and I can¡¯t see him. I¡¯m a mess now¡­¡± Han Qi finally couldn¡¯t help it anymore and she started sobbing. ¡°I¡¯m afraid of the things that happened on the plane and in the crew. Just like the master said, it¡¯s because of the child in my stomach. I¡¯m afraid that Mr. Hong is lying to me. I¡¯m afraid that it was the assistant this time, but next time it will be me!¡± The agent was also well-informed and experienced. She had encountered many strange things over the years, but this was also the first time she had encountered Han Qi in this situation. She wanted to scold Han Qi for not being sober and being led astray by some foreign master, but things were at this point already so it was useless to scold, and she could only try to find a solution. ¡°Han Qi, listen to me, don¡¯t think about it. These things are probably just coincidences, not monsters. Now you have to finish filming first. I¡¯ll try to find a more reliable master in this area. Try to communicate with Mr. Hong. If Mr. Hong is willing to get married, it will be great. We can also take advantage of the new drama to announce the happy event, which will make great publicity for you.¡± Han Qi said in a low voice, ¡°Mr. Hong won¡¯t agree. I have been trying multiple times to convince him already. He¡¯s smart. It¡¯s impossible for him not to know. He said that when I give birth to the child, he¡¯ll give me a surprise. I dare not tell him what the master said as he¡¯s very suspicious and will definitely investigate, so I won¡¯t be able to hide that abortion three years ago!¡± The agent couldn¡¯t help her. At this point, the two of them were in the same boat, and all she could do was comfort her. ¡°Don¡¯t think too much about it. In the next few days, I¡¯ll ask a reliable friend. You can shoot with peace of mind. People in the crew must be razzle right now. Since your assistant had an accident, the paparazzi must probably know as well. Don¡¯t give people any more control.¡± After hanging up the phone, Han Qi was still upset. The room booked by the crew for her, and the lead actor was the presidential suite. She originally lived with her assistant, but since her assistant has to undergo surgery at the hospital, she was the only one left. Even if the light was turned on it still felt empty and frightening. She flipped over and couldn¡¯t sleep. After an afterglow flickered, she seemed to see a small hand coming from behind and resting on her stomach. She screamed in fright and jumped directly from the bed. On the other side of the two-meter bed was white quilt that naturally had no small hands. Han Qi¡¯s heart was beating wildly, and she was in shock. She carefully observed her surrounding environment and was slowly calming down. Suddenly, she saw a hand emerged from the side of the bed and grabbed her feet. Han Qi quickly shrank back, rolling out of bed in horror, not caring about putting on shoes and ran out the door in a single breath. Mom¡­ Why don¡¯t you want me¡­? Han Qi thought she was hearing things, but the voice became clearer and louder and was coming from the bathroom. Trembling, she stretched out her hand and opened the concealed bathroom door. Red. Bright red eyes. Blood was overflowing from the vanity, making the entire countertop blood red and was dripping down. There was a mass of flesh lying in the sink, the faucet was turned on halfway and the water slowly flowed out, diluting the blood and spreading the redness everywhere. Han Qi was stunned and hurriedly step back. Unexpectedly, her feet slipped, and she fell to the ground. Mom, why don¡¯t you want me? A resentful and tender voice sounded in her ears, and the accumulated pressure and suspicion for many days made Han Qi couldn¡¯t help but collapse and cry. ¡°Don¡¯t come here! Don¡¯t come here!¡± The mass of flesh had already taken shape and the little hands and feet crawled out of the sink. It fell to the ground, with a plop and blood splattered on Han Qi¡¯s clothes. ¡°It¡¯s none of my business. Don¡¯t bother me! If it weren¡¯t for Zhong Huan, if it weren¡¯t for that scumbag who refused to disclose our relationship, how could I kill you! It¡¯s all his fault. Why don¡¯t you go to him!¡± Han Qi burst into tears. ¡°Do you think I was willing to have an abortion! What woman would be willing to abort her own child, but if I give birth to you, my career would be over! Can¡¯t you reincarnate again. Why do you have to rely on me!¡± The mass of flesh had no skin, but it already assumed facial features. On the small head, the organs that look like a mouth opened and closed, but they were not likeable and cute like ordinary babies. On the contrary, it was horrifically terrifying. It was you who locked my soul in the jade charm and kept me from leaving¡­ She heard the ball of flesh say. ¡°You came to haunt me first! I was so entangled by you that I couldn¡¯t help it, so I asked the master to calm you down!¡± Mom, you listened to the words of others and wanted me to help you earn money¡­ Han Qi trembled and said, ¡°Baby, listen to me, I don¡¯t want any luck anymore. I will find the master and send you away. I¡¯ll burn whatever toys you want in the future, and I¡¯ll pay you back. I¡¯ll build you a monument and buy you a feng shui treasure. I will burn lots of paper money every year!¡± I don¡¯t want money¡­ ¡°Then how can you be satisfied? I can¡¯t give you anything. You¡¯re dead. Why don¡¯t you let me go!¡± Han Qi screamed. The ball of flesh slowly crawled towards her. You still have my little brother in your stomach¡­? I¡¯m not leaving¡­ Why can he stay, but I can¡¯t¡­ Han Qi opened her eyes wide, and her whole body was almost attached to the wall. ¡°Don¡¯t come over! He¡¯s different from you. He¡¯s a blessed child. He can make his mother rich and wealthy. Only when his mother is well can he give you more things in the future. You are very sensible, you are very good, and you can understand your mother, right?¡± Mom, I¡¯m going to kill him¡­ Can¡¯t let him stay¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t come, don¡¯t come!¡± Han Qi burst into tears. Her body shook like a sieve. Her mouth opened and closed, trying to shout for help, but she couldn¡¯t make a sound. Hui Yiguang came out after taking a shower and heard someone knocking on the door. She looked through the peephole but saw no one outside. If it was someone else, they may think it was a prank, but Hui Yiguang frowned and opened the door to have a look. Not a even a fly. At this moment, a chill came from the back of her neck. It was as if someone was lying on her shoulder and breathing on it. Hui Yiguang¡¯s heart tensed, and her entire body froze as she slowly turned her head back. No one. The jade bracelet on her hand that she was still wearing just a second ago suddenly broke and fell to the ground into several pieces. There was sound of dripping water above her head and drop of liquid fell on her shoulder. She turned her head and saw blood slowly dripping on her bathrobe. She raised her head abruptly! Nothing. There was no blood on her shoulder and everything she saw just now seemed to be an illusion, except her bracelet did break into several pieces. Hui Yiguang suddenly remembered something. Several of their starring roles were distributed on different floors. Han Qi and the male lead naturally had the presidential luxury suite, while she and the second male lead as well as the third female and male leads were in the luxury suite below. Her room number was also the same as Han Qi¡¯s but the only difference was the floors were different. In other words, the room above her should be Han Qi¡¯s room. Her face turned pale. She bit her finger and thought for a long time and then finally made up her mind and picked up the phone. At this time, Dong Zhi was giving a tour of the office to Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong. In fact, there wasn¡¯t much to tour at all. It was mainly because Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong was so stunned by the dilapidation of the office that they needed time to adapt. Zhang Chong boasted, ¡°Compared with here, the Yangcheng office is like a villa! I used to think that place was too unlucky being near a cemetery, but now compared to it, its absolutely a feng shui treasure!¡± Liu Qingbo also complained mercilessly, ¡°Isn¡¯t Lucheng economically developed? How come this office is so dilapidated. Did all the money get embezzled by your predecessor?¡± Dong Zhi reluctantly spread his hands. ¡°Even if he wanted to be greedy, there¡¯s no money to be greedy for. The main reason is that our business capabilities are relatively general, so the annual allocation is limited. They could only find such a place. In fact, I plan to sell this place, rent a shop, and do business in the front and use the back as an office. It¡¯ll be highly concealed and more convenient. I heard that most of the offices in various places used to be located in restaurants, but then I don¡¯t know why they closed down. I think it¡¯s a pretty good idea.¡± Zhang Chong was very interested. ¡°Then what are you going to sell?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°Aren¡¯t milk tea shops all over the place now? It¡¯ll be easy to operate without causing a lot of headaches. In the future, it could even become self-sufficient.¡± Zhang Chong was a very capable person. He immediately said, ¡°You can¡¯t have tea without dessert. You need bubble waffles. I like rousong flavor.¡± Dong Zhi estimated that an electric cake pan wasn¡¯t expensive, so he nodded and said, ¡°Then add an original flavor and a matcha flavor. We can look at how other stores priced it and then have an idea on how much to price our store.¡± Zhang Chong said readily: ¡°I¡¯ll take care of it. Have you chosen the shop?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Almost. It¡¯s in an urban area, but we have to wait for a reply from the top. Mu Duo said that we have made great contributions this time which pleased the superiors. Hopefully they¡¯ll allocate us more funds and lend us some more money. It¡¯s not difficult to buy the shop first. When this old place is sold, we can pay back the money.¡± Liu Qingbo listened to them chatting and talking about opening a shop and doing business, and couldn¡¯t help say, ¡°Do you remember what we do?¡± Dong Zhi said innocently, ¡°The office is different from the General Administration and the Branch Office. It¡¯s supposed to be hidden in the city. Where is your office over there?¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°¡­In a footbath shop.¡± Dong Zhi and Zhang Chong laughed out loud causing Liu Qingbo¡¯s face to turn black and blue. Their footbath shop wasn¡¯t really a footbath shop. It just had the sign. The shop was closed 365 days out of the year to hide from prying eyes and ears. Every time people from other offices hear about the Runzhou office, they would show a mysterious smile. Liu Qingbo goes in and out of the footbath shop every day and felt on the verge of collapse. Dong Zhi said, ¡°You¡¯re new here, and you don¡¯t have a place to live yet. You can make do for one night here or you can stay in the place I rented for a few nights, but I only have two rooms there. It¡¯s too crowded for three people so I can only take one. Which one of you wants to stay here and who wants to come with me?¡± Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong looked at each other, and they both said in unison: ¡°I¡¯ll go with you!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Rock, paper, scissors?¡± Liu Qingbo said disdainfully, ¡°As dignified practitioners, it¡¯s better to have a fight!¡± As they were still competing, Dong Zhi¡¯s phone rang. When he looked at the caller, he felt it was a strange call. His first reaction was it was probably a scam call, but after thinking about it, perhaps it could be He Jia, so he finally picked up. ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Hello, Mr. Dong, this is Hui Yiguang. Do you remember me?¡± The familiar soft female voice suddenly pulled him back to the night on the rooftop of the hospital. Dong Zhi was slightly lost for a moment. ¡°I do.¡± How could he forget? For Hui Yiguang, he still had a huge question mark. He repeatedly asked himself from the bottom of his heart, reminding himself again and again, that he needed to learn from it. He should be more cautious in everything in the future, because as practitioners whose powers were superior to ordinary people, their every decision may affect the lives of others. ¡°Miss Hui, it¡¯s been a long time since I saw you. I¡¯m curious, why did you take the initiative to call me?¡± ¡°Mr. Dong, I¡¯m sorry. If I can, I won¡¯t bother you, but now I¡¯m in a little trouble. Banxia seems to be in the northwest and can¡¯t make it. She said you are in Lucheng, so I¡¯m being very presumptuous and can only bother you.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Dong Zhi asked. Hui Yiguang knew that he had never been able to dispel his doubts about her, and she would definitely not take the initiative to call him if there was nothing wrong, so he had a hunch that this time the matter might not be small. Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong couldn¡¯t hear what was being said on the other end of the phone, so they could only guess what was going on from Dong Zhi¡¯s expressions. Ten minutes later, Dong Zhi ended the call and breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Hui Yiguang, do you remember?¡± Liu Qingbo nodded. ¡°What? Is she haunted again? ¡± Dong Zhi felt happy. If Hui Yiguang knew what Liu Qingo said she would probably be extremely angry. ¡°It¡¯s not her, it¡¯s their crew. She¡¯s filming in Lucheng. Something¡¯s going on with the crew. It seemed that there was something unclean. She went to find Chi Banxia, but she¡¯s assigned to the northwest. She¡¯s too far away so she had to come to us saying she wanted to invite us to take a look, for a fee.¡± The Special Administration Bureau didn¡¯t allow them to take on private jobs to make money. Many practitioners didn¡¯t want to be bound by this kind of restraint, so they refuse to join them. Before, they hadn¡¯t officially joined so they could still collect remuneration from Hui Yiguang in a private capacity back then, but now they can¡¯t. However, the rules are dead, and people are alive*. Although the money couldn¡¯t be used on themselves, as long as the amount was disclosed, reported to the above, and then used in the construction of the new office, it could be regarded as a confiscation. *Refers to rules should be applied flexibly according to the particular matter and could be adjusted as long as it doesn¡¯t break the law (AKA bending the rules). Liu Qingbo frowned. ¡°Why do I feel that every time we have something related to that woman, nothing good comes out of it.¡± Dong Zhi shrugged. ¡°Heroes think alike, but she¡¯s generous enough. I estimate that even if the branch allocates funds this time, the amount won¡¯t be very large. If we add the remuneration given by Hui Yiguang, our office environment will greatly improve. Thinking about it like this, isn¡¯t it more motivating?¡± Liu Qingbo was a child who didn¡¯t lack money since he was young so he never expected that after he joined the Special Administration Bureau, he would have to bow down for five buckets of rice*. *(²»ÒªÎªÎ嶷Ã×ÕÛÑü) Original is Don¡¯t bow down for five buckets of rice. It originally means to not submit to the powerful for an official salary of five buckets of rice. Now it¡¯s a metaphor referring having a backbone and being unyielding to others. || In this case it¡¯s saying since he¡¯s bowing down, he lost his backbone and is submitting for that meager salary of five buckets of rice (i.e. he prefers a better working environment than the shithole they have now). ¡°When is the appointment?¡± ¡°Early tomorrow morning. She said she¡¯ll take us to the crew first and then back to the hotel room.¡± Liu Qingbo made a strange expression. ¡°Why go to the hotel room?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°She said she suspects that the problem might be someone in the crew, and Han Qi is staying upstairs.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°Why is this name so familiar?¡± Both of them didn¡¯t chase stars, but Zhang Chong¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Han Qi? Movie Queen Han Qi? I am a fan! Take me, I¡¯m going too!¡± It¡¯s because of that that I can¡¯t take you. Dong Zhi twitched the corner of his mouth. ¡°You¡¯re responsible for staying in the office or going to the police to help follow up on the progress of the Yamamoto case.¡± Zhang Chong acted pitiful. ¡°We are old acquaintances, right? Do you have the heart to treat me like this?¡± Dong Zhi said solemnly, ¡°You also know that Yamamoto is not dead yet. I¡¯m afraid that he will make a comeback. I have to have someone as experienced and capable as you in charge of the office. I can rest assured if any instructions come from above with you here. If there¡¯s any situation on Mu Duo¡¯s side, you can let us know at any time.¡± Zhang Chong was coaxed into a smile by him, and immediately changed his original intention. ¡°Well, you guys go, I¡¯ll watch this place for you.¡± How easily coaxed. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes again. Kinky Thoughts: Taking bets whether or not there¡¯s something suspicious with Hui Yiguang. ¡ª Vishnu One of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as ¡°The Preserver¡± within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.In Vaishnavism tradition, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Devi, is described as one of the supreme, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism. You can read more about him in the Wikipedia. CH 86 Early the next morning, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo met Hui Yiguang on the set. This woman had depression some time ago, but now her entire face was radiant, and she seemed to be doing very well. Hui Yiguang greeted them very warmly and politely and told them about the news with an apologetic face. ¡°I told the director in advance yesterday, but I didn¡¯t expect management to find three people from each side.¡± Liu Qingbo frowned. ¡°They¡¯re also from the Special Administration Bureau?¡± ¡°No, no. They¡¯re feng shui masters!¡± Hui Yiguang said apologetically. ¡°I know that my colleagues are jealous of each other so this must be very disrespectful to you, but I really didn¡¯t know beforehand However, I won¡¯t let you two come in vain for today.¡± Dong Zhi smiled. ¡°We¡¯re not colleagues. There¡¯s no situation where this is taboo. Instead, I¡¯m worried that they will be afraid when they see us.¡± Hui Yiguang was stunned and puzzled. Liu Qingbo understood what he meant and snorted. They belong to the Special Administration Bureau, while these so-called feng shui masters and psychics were full of people fishing in troubled waters. Just like thieves, they have to be afraid when they see the police. Of the three people found by the investor, two came earlier than Dong Zhi, and one hadn¡¯t yet arrived. Of the two who have arrived one was an old man holding a compass in his hand, looking very friendly, while the other was a middle-aged man with a short beard on his chin. He was dressed in casual clothing and had an inscrutable smile on his face. The two of them also brought their assistants over, and at first glance they looked more stylish than Dong Zhi. Upon seeing this, Dong Zhi whispered to Liu Qingbo, ¡°Is it too late for you to pretend to be my assistant?¡± Liu Qingbo snorted coldly, indicating that he would not talk. They were looking at each other, and the other party was also looking at them. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were too young, so young that they didn¡¯t look like they were in this business at all, but more like young actors who were here to act. The old man and the others were invited over by one of the investors who introduced them. ¡°This is master Luo Nanfang, a famous feng shui master in the south, and also a visiting professor in several universities. He often gives lectures. You¡¯re very busy most of the time so it¡¯s hard to make an appointment with you in ordinary times.¡± The old man who was holding the compass smiled and nodded to everyone. ¡°I heard that I could compete with other experts, so I came. Pleasure to meet everyone.¡± The investor also introduced the middle-aged man. ¡°This is Master Zhang Han of the Zhang Family. Master Zhang is a direct descendant of Mount Longhu. He¡¯s very capable and can¡¯t be invited by ordinary people. This time, he also took time out of his busy schedule.¡± Zhang Han seemed to have a good personal relationship with him as he gave the investor quite a bit of face. When he heard this, he said politely, ¡°Oh stop. Where¡¯s our friendship? If you need help, I couldn¡¯t possibly refuse!¡± Some of people who were present had heard of the names of Luo Nanfang and Zhang Han, so they stepped forward to greet them. For actors who filmed all over the world, it was inevitable that they would encounter some strange and unexplainable things. Just choose any actor who had been in the industry for some years and they may be able to tell you about a supernatural experience. Therefore, people in the circle were more inclined to believe in this kind of strange things than ordinary people, and their pursuit and desire for fame and fortune also made them always hope to achieve their goals faster through some shortcuts. Feng shui masters and psychics had become one of the most popular routes. In contrast, the nameless Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had already earned the reputation of being charlatans. However, the investor still gave Hui Yiguang face. When he heard that she invited them over, he said, ¡°This person name is surnamed Dong and this person is surname Liu.¡± That¡¯s it? No introduction to origins or teacher? Luo Nanfang frowned and glanced at Zhang Han. Many industries require young people. The younger you were, the more energetic. However, in some industries, the opposite was true. For example, doctors and feng shui masters. Dong Zhi¡¯s and Liu Qingbo¡¯s age gave people the impression that they were too green and didn¡¯t know much. According to rules of the industry, they should¡¯ve taken the initiative to come forward to Luo Nanfeng and salute him and the others, but since they two of them didn¡¯t do anything but just smiled at them, Luo Nanfang¡¯s and Zhang Han¡¯s immediate opinion became even worse. Zhang Yan couldn¡¯t help frowning. ¡°I wonder which of your master did you learn from?¡± Liu Qingbo said lightly, ¡°Liu Yongjia.¡± That was his grandfather¡¯s name. Dong Zhi was polite but the name he said was also very strange. ¡°My master¡¯s name is Long Shen.¡± If he had said he was from the Hezao Sect, maybe the other party would still know, but Long Shen and Liu Yongjia were names that Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan had never heard of. They all had their own judgement, and they became more certain that most likely these two were charlatans, so they didn¡¯t bother to talk to them anymore. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t really care about their attitudes. Anyways, they were split into two groups, and they weren¡¯t here to fight. With Liu Qingbo temperament, since he had nothing to do, he decided to speak up. ¡°Mr. Zhang, what is your Taoist name and which generation of Mount Longhu did you learn under?¡± Zhang Han raised his eyebrows. ¡°Do you know the previous generations of Mount Longhu? It doesn¡¯t hurt to tell you. I¡¯m from the Xing generation.¡± Who knew that Liu Qingbo not only didn¡¯t show the reaction of admiration that he was used to, but he also scanned him up and down. ¡°I heard that the youngest member of the Xing generation is now at least seventy years old. It seems that Mr. Zhang has skills in aging!¡± How outrageous that before he was questioned by the other party, they had questioned him first. Zhang Han grew angry. ¡°When Master Zhang moved to Taiwan, I was the orthodox direct descendant from him. Don¡¯t compare me with those fake masters of cats and dogs!¡± The Zhang family of Mount Longhu has been prosperous since Zhang Daoling* of the Han Dynasty. In the fourth generation of Celestial Masters, the Zhang family moved from Shaanxi to Mount Longhu. Since then, it had been passed down from generations to generation and had even been sealed by successive dynasties. Their status was very transcendent. There was a saying among people that the Zhang family, like the Confucian family, was a family that had not changed for thousands of years, which showed how distinguished they were. In the Republic of China, which was the darkest and chaotic era in China, the Zhang family moved to Taiwan with the defeated national army. What remained were the lineages and branches. Since then, there had been long debates about which side was authentically Taoist, though outsiders weren¡¯t privy to these feuds. *Was a Chinese religious leader who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty credited with founding the Way of the Celestial Masters sect of Taoism, which is also known as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice and he was the founder of Taoism. Liu Qingbo chuckled and wanted to say something, but Dong Zhi jabbed him with his elbow, motioning him to stop. They were here to solve a problem, not picking fights. These two people relied on their identity and put on airs, but they haven¡¯t done anything excessive. Liu Qingbo glared at him, and finally gave him face. Interlaced like mountains*, the investor was like ducks listening to thunder. They only heard what was said, but they felt the conversation went over their heads, so they didn¡¯t rashly interrupt. *(¸ôÐÐÈç¸ôɽ) Saying which means people who aren¡¯t in the industry won¡¯t understand. || In this context all the passersby are just listening but doesn¡¯t say anything because they have no clue what Liu Qingbo and Zhang Han is talking about. At this moment, the third expert he invited also arrived. The person was about forty years old and was wearing a mandarin jacket. He was very imposing, with a red face and tall figure. He looked more like a successful man than a spiritual practitioner. However, the investor was obviously more concerned about this one. Not only did he greet the other party as soon as he got out of the car, he also personally invited the person in. ¡°Welcome, Master Chen. I¡¯m so happy that you could make it! Let me introduce you. This is Master Chen Guoliang, a master who is known to everyone in Hong Kong, and a guest of Mr. Li and Ms. Gong, the top tycoon in Hong Kong!¡± Chen Guoliang nodded modestly, didn¡¯t even bother to say anything, and only glanced at his assistant. His assistant immediately understood what he meant and said to the investor with displeasure. ¡°Boss Zhao, what do you mean by this? You invited us and others as well? Do you not trust Master Chen?¡± The investor didn¡¯t dare to offend, and hurriedly said, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry. When I contacted Lao Sun yesterday, he said that Master Chen might not be free. At that time, he couldn¡¯t give me a letter of approval. You see, I¡¯m in a rush, so¡­¡± As soon as these words came out, Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan became unhappy again. The were the replacement for the spare tire? The investor didn¡¯t want to offend these experts, so he hurriedly smiled and said, ¡°Look at what I said, in fact, this matter is really urgent. Even our male lead has gone to the hospital. The crew really can¡¯t help it¡­¡± Chen Guoliang waved his hand and finally opened his mouth. ¡°Forget it, let¡¯s take a look at the place first.¡± The investor who was just granted amnesty quickly said, ¡°I¡¯ll take you over!¡± Liu Qingbo gave a snort but there was little movement. The others were looking in front of the place, so they didn¡¯t pay any attention to him, but Dong Zhi who was next to him heard it. ¡°What¡¯s the matter?¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°I have heard of this person before. If others want to ask him for feng shui advice, they have to make an appointment at least a month in advance. The price of inviting him out is more than 500,000 yuan and he¡¯s very difficult to invite. This crew certainly has money. It¡¯s estimated it took a lot of contacts and money to invite him over!¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°It goes without saying that if Han Qi and Su Fan can be hired as the leads, how could they not have money? I heard that they¡¯re paying a lot of rent per day on this house alone. If the matter could be resolved smoothly, half a million yuan will be worth it.¡± The investor accompanied Chen Guoliang to the front, Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan followed with their assistants, while Hui Yiguang accompanied Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo at the end, drawing an obvious distance. In response to the arrival of Chen Guoliang and them, Hui Yiguang expressed her apologies again to Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo. Dong Zhi said, ¡°Those who don¡¯t know are not guilty. Miss Hui, you don¡¯t need to keep apologizing.¡± Hui Yiguang apologized and said, ¡°I have already described the general situation on the phone. I don¡¯t know if you two have any questions?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. ¡°Not for the time being. Let¡¯s take a look at the crew before going to the hotel, but I have always had a question in my heart. It has nothing to do with this matter, it has something to do with you, Miss Hui.¡± Hui Yiguang reacted quickly. ¡°Not all questions in this world can be answered.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Do you know what I want to ask?¡± Hui Yiguang¡¯s expression was calm. ¡°No matter what I say, you can¡¯t let go of your doubts, so why do you have to ask more questions?¡± After she finished speaking, she sighed softly. ¡°Since the last incident, I have woken up in the dead of night, and I often have the illusion of identity confusion. I don¡¯t know if I am Hui Yiguang or Wang Qi, or it seems that the two of us are one. I even went to see a psychiatrist, but the doctor said I didn¡¯t have any problems. Later, it took a long time before I accepted my current situation. For me, everything is over, I am Hui Yiguang, and Hui Yiguang is me. Do you think there are any traces of being possessed by evil things on my body?¡± No. The current Hui Yiguang was too normal to be normal, as if she was the most ordinary person among all living beings. Dong Zhi was speechless. Hui Yiguang: ¡°I now donate a portion of the money I earn from every project to disaster areas and poor mountainous areas. I don¡¯t want to say how many people have benefited from this, but at least, this Hui Yiguang now contributes to the surroundings and society. Do you cling to an answer from the past? Does it make sense? No matter what the answer is, there¡¯s no way to go back in time. I remember you said that the cycle of cause and effect is unpleasant. Isn¡¯t the result now conforming to heaven? Otherwise, the one who survived the heavenly lightning last time wouldn¡¯t be who the me now.¡± Dong Zhi looked at her for a while before he said, ¡°I hope you remember what you said. If there is any mistake in your behavior, I will definitely take action.¡± Hui Yiguang smiled. ¡°I will.¡± Liu Qingbo knew what they were talking about because he was also involved in the last incident, but he didn¡¯t participate in the conversation. Instead, he kept his head down and texted on his phone. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know who he was busy communicating with. The villa had a total of three floors. It didn¡¯t take them very long to tour the area. After visiting the house, the investor, Boss Zhao, asked them what they found. Luo Nanfang said that the house was a bit gloomy, but it was purely because there were too many trees outside and not enough sunlight. It wasn¡¯t a big deal. It wasn¡¯t a residential place. Since it was a tourist attraction, with tourist coming and going every day, the lack of yang energy was fine. Mr. Zhang didn¡¯t make any long remarks, but it probably meant that there was nothing wrong with the house. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other, feeling that these two did have some real skills. They didn¡¯t specialize in feng shui, and they haven¡¯t opened their eyes to the heavens. However, with the acumen as a practitioner, they could still feel the balance of yin and yang in this house, and there was an endless supply of vitality. Although the light was a little darker, as Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan said, this house was normal. ¡°We also agree with the opinions of Master Luo and Master Zhang,¡± Dong Zhi said. Picking up people¡¯s wisdom, they were probably afraid of revealing their ineptitude. Zhang Han glanced at them and had already classified Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo into the ranks of cheats under the banner of feng shui. Luo Nanfang also shook his head secretly. It was precisely because there were liars mixed in that this business varied greatly. Boss Zhao actually valued Chen Guoliang the most. Seeing the other party hadn¡¯t spoke, he politely said, ¡°Master Chen, I wonder if you have any ideas?¡± Chen Guoliang glanced at them and said amazingly, ¡°There is a problem with the house. Not only is there a problem with the house, but people also have problems. It is people who affects the house.¡± Boss Zhao was taken aback. ¡°There are no residents in this house anymore. It¡¯s now a tourist attraction¡­¡± Chen Guoliang said, ¡°It¡¯s not the original owner of the house. It¡¯s a person on the crew. Are all of you here?¡± Boss Zhao hurriedly said, ¡°It¡¯s all there, except¡­¡± The staff member next to him added: ¡°Several people have been injured and hospitalized, including the male lead. There is also the female lead, Miss Han, and the second male lead who hasn¡¯t come yet!¡± Chen Guoliang waved his hand eloquently. ¡°Then go to the hospital first!¡± Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan also saw that although Boss Zhao invited them over, among the three of them, they believed in Chen Guoliang the most. When they heard what Chen Guoliang said, they immediately asked someone to prepare a car to go to the hospital, but Boss Zhao didn¡¯t snub Luo Nanfang and others and also politely asked if they also wanted to go over and have a look together. Neither Zhang Yan nor Luo Nanfang had an opinion. To be honest, when they heard Boss Zhao say that they were in a rush and was very anxious before and said that accidents kept happening one after another and never stopped, they couldn¡¯t help but think in strange directions. However, after coming, they found that everything was normal here and there wasn¡¯t a problem with the villa or the people. Or course, everyone in the crew was still nervous, which also showed that Boss Zhao didn¡¯t exaggerate things. Although they didn¡¯t get along well with Chen Guoliang and there were also two ¡°liars¡± on the side, Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan also wanted to figure out what was going on. Dong Zhi said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the hotel where the actors are staying first. We won¡¯t go to the hospital.¡± This was because Hui Yiguang said before that she suspected that the problem might be Han Qi, so they were now going to find Han Qi. Zhang Han teased, ¡°What¡¯s the hurry you two children? We¡¯ll go the hospital first, then the hotel. Is it possible that the two of them have something urgent and want to go first?¡± Liu Qingbo snipped back. ¡°Why can¡¯t we go to the hotel first and then we¡¯ll go the hospital after?¡± Although Boss Zhao also felt that Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo weren¡¯t capable of anything, he didn¡¯t show it on his face. He smiled and said, ¡°Well, how about going to the hospital first and then the hotel? It just so happens that a few people will not be able to go back today. I have booked a room at the hotel for you.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°We live in this city. We don¡¯t need to stay in a hotel. I heard Miss Hui say that yesterday Miss Han watched the actor fall down the stairs with her own eyes and was almost hit. Then something happened to her own assistant. Maybe Miss Han found something, so I think it¡¯s better to go to the hotel first and talk to Miss Han.¡± Boss Zhao thought it was reasonable when he heard it, so he looked at Chen Guoliang. Chen Guoliang put his hands behind his back and said displeasingly, ¡°Who is in charge here? Lao Zhao, you invited me here just to let me listen to the nonsense of two people of unknown origin? Are you inviting me or them? If it¡¯s them, I¡¯m sorry but I won¡¯t be accompanying them.¡± He raised his foot to leave, Boss Zhao quickly stopped. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, I¡¯m sorry, Master Chen. I didn¡¯t think about it well, so we can do whatever you say!¡± Liu Qingbo sneered: ¡°I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s someone else talking nonsense! Master Chen Guoliang, which sect did you studied under that you dare say our origins are unknown?¡± Zhang Yan and Luo Nanfang was having a good time. They didn¡¯t like Chen Guoliang or Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi. As a result, they hadn¡¯t done anything yet when the two sides already quarreled, so they were happy to watch the show. Chen Guoliang snorted, disdaining to talk to him at all. The assistant next to him lowered his face and scolded. ¡°You dare to talk to the master like this. The master did not expose you and let you stay here. It¡¯s already a face-saving thing for you. Do you dare to make trouble?!¡± The master put on big airs, even bringing bodyguards with him when he came. The assistant called them in to escort them away. The two bodyguards were tall and burly, wearing suits and sunglasses. At first glance, they looked like that, but before they could put their hands on Liu Qingbo¡¯s shoulders, they were already in a daze. Before anyone could see what Liu Qingbo had done, the two bodyguards were already lying on the ground, clutching their arms and screaming in pain. Of course, this wasn¡¯t because the bodyguards were too weak. Chen Guoliang knew very well that these bodyguards were good at fighting opponents one against two. Now against two scrawny thin young men, they were actually put down with one move. It meant that his opponent was extremely strong. His face changed slightly. He didn¡¯t expect that after walking outside for so many years, he would lose sight of his kung fu. It was clear that these two guys were pretending to be pigs and eating tigers. Chen Guoliang settled down. ¡°Why are young people so quick to get angry? If you have something to say, you might as well say it.¡± Liu Qingbo shook his phone. ¡°Master Chen, I checked your information online. It says that you studied with Guo Yushan, a famous overseas master in your early years. Unfortunately, Mr. Guo is a family friend. I asked Mr. Guo through my father. He said that he had never accepted a disciple named Chen Guoliang. Tell me, is the information published on the Internet wrong, or is Mr. Guo so old that he doesn¡¯t even remember his apprentice?¡± Chen Guoliang barely squeezed out a smile. ¡°The information on the Internet is wrong.¡± Liu Qingbo snorted coldly. ¡°Then which famous master did Mr. Chen study from? Can you tell me so that I can follow him for long-term insight?¡± From just now, he and Dong Zhi, after seeing Chen Guoliang appear, had felt that this person was too strange. Bluntly put, he was more like a successful boss than a hidden expert. In contrast, Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan were a bit more authentic. Unexpectedly, they didn¡¯t provoke each other, and the other party actually came to provoke them. Boss Zhao felt like he was having a headache. He had now begun to regret that he shouldn¡¯t have forgotten the rules of peers being jealous of each other. He invited three people in one go and couldn¡¯t help but secretly complain about Hui Yiguang. How did she find these two people? Chen Guoliang walked among giants because of his fortune-telling and feng shui and had a large network of people in Hong Kong. Boss Zhao had asked Chen Gualiang not only to solve the current problem, but to facilitate business in the future. As a result, now that this had happened, the other party would definitely be angry with him. Thinking of this, Boss Zhao couldn¡¯t help but glared at Hui Yiguang. But Hui Yiguang¡¯s expression was calm, and she didn¡¯t seem panicked because the person she invited had offended Chen Guoliang. Boss Zhao deserved to be a flexible-minded businessman. Seeing her like this, his heart moved. He felt that Hui Yiguang was relying on him. He thought he would find a chance to talk to her and clear things up later. Thinking like this, he wasn¡¯t as angry as before. So he hurriedly said before the situation couldn¡¯t be resolved. ¡°Well, several actors are still in the hotel. I remember that Master Chen also likes watching Miss Han¡¯s works very much. Why don¡¯t we go to the hotel first and just talk to Miss Han?¡± Chen Guoliang¡¯s face didn¡¯t look good, but he became amicable. ¡°Very well.¡± Liu Qingbo wanted to say more but was held down by Dong Zhi. ¡°Let¡¯s get down to business first. This person won¡¯t run away,¡± Dong Zhi whispered. Liu Qingbo was quite obedient this time, mainly because he felt that the two bodyguards were too weak. Chen Guoliang was probably a man who only paid lip service. He didn¡¯t even need to make a single move or even use a sword to bring him down. That would be too unchallenging. The group of people got into the car in several groups. Chen Guoliang had his own car. Boss Zhao specially called Hui Yiguang to sit with him while Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo joined Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan. The three cars drove in the direction of the hotel not far away. Taking advantage of the opportunity to be in the same car, Boss Zhao asked Hui Yiguang, ¡°What are the origins of these two people you invited?¡± Hui Yiguang smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t ask, I can¡¯t talk nonsense without their consent, but there¡¯s a big story behind them. I can only say that whether it¡¯s Master Chen or Master Luo, when they come to Lucheng, they all must be under Mr. Dong.¡± The difference between her and Boss Zhao was that she had dealt with the Special Administration Bureau and is also friends with Chi Banxia. She had some understanding of them and knew that these people have dual identities as cultivators and law enforcers. Although ordinary people may not know it, they had great powers. Let alone Boss Zhao, even those who had even more money may not be able to hire them. There was more room for imagination in this sentence. Boss Zhao had an active mind, and he immediately developed a wealth of imagination. Hui Yiguang didn¡¯t say anymore and left him guessing. When they arrived at their destination, Boss Zhao¡¯s attitude towards Hui Yiguang was obviously much closer and was much more amiable to the younger generation. He also regretted that he wasn¡¯t enthusiastic about Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo just now. While taking everyone to the hotel, he thought about how to make up for it. The author has something to say: The dispute between Daoism in Mount Longhu is real. One is in Jiangxi and the other is in Taiwan. There are some historical factors and other contents are fictitious. It is inconvenient to write too much here. Interested friends can search the Internet for themselves~~ Kinky Thoughts: Is Hui Yiguang a red herring? CH 87 Han Qi was a big star with status. With such a large group of people, he couldn¡¯t rush everyone in. Boss Zhao asked the drama crew to call and inquire first. Who knew that the drama department couldn¡¯t get through to Han Qi¡¯s phone and no one answered when he went to the knock on the door. Then he called her agent and the agent said she hadn¡¯t been in contact with her since last night. Han Qi¡¯s assistant had just been injured and hospitalized, and the new assistant hadn¡¯t been sent over yet. The agent couldn¡¯t get through to Han Qi¡¯s phone, which meant no one knew what was going on with her situation. They asked Han Qi¡¯s driver again and the other party said he hadn¡¯t received any notice today, which indicated that she was probably still at the hotel. Since Boss Zhao couldn¡¯t figure it out, he simply said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll take you up there directly?¡± Everyone had no opinion. Since the episode just now, Chen Guoliang had also kept a much lower profile and dared not be standoffish any longer. The presidential suite was on the 32nd floor, which was the top floor of the hotel. It overlooked the sea and had a panoramic view of most of Lucheng. The cost was naturally expensive, but most big stars in the circle were treated like this. Some may not mind if the configuration wasn¡¯t grand, but others were quite haughty so they had to try to do their best. Boss Zhao communicated with the hotel and a lobby manager took everyone to the 32nd floor. As soon as he got out the elevator, Luo Nanfang let out a scream and stopped. Not only him, Dong Zhi, Liu Qingbo, and Zhang Han all frowned slightly at the same time. ¡°What?¡± When Boss Zhao saw them stop, he hurriedly stopped. Luo Nanfang looked at the compass in his hand and said nothing. Zhang Yan said, ¡°Very heavy in yin qi.¡± He took out his money sword from his cloth bag and looked like he was about to enter a battle. Boss Zhao and the lobby manager looked at each other. They didn¡¯t feel any yin at all. ¡°Where is Miss Han¡¯s room?¡± Dong Zhi asked. ¡°Please follow me,¡± the lobby manager said politely, leading the way in front. Occasionally, guests passed by and seeing such a large group of people that they couldn¡¯t help but gave curious glances. Luo Nanfang¡¯s footsteps were getting slower, and he had already fallen from the front to the back, and the compass pointer in his hand was also turning frantically, which gradually made his face a little more solemn. He couldn¡¯t help but grabbed the corner of Zhang Han¡¯s clothes, handed him the compass, and whispered. ¡°It¡¯s very evil. I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s hard to deal with!¡± The two of them were actually not very familiar with each other. This was the first time they had met and had a few chats on the road, but Luo Nanfang was more willing to be with Zhang Han than Chen Guoliang and Dong Zhi. Zhang Han wasn¡¯t as scared as Luo Nanfang. The main reason was that he relied on his abilities and didn¡¯t put ordinary demons and ghosts in his eyes. On the contrary, he was very calm. When he heard Luo Nanfang say this, he smiled and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯m here.¡± When the group came to the door of Han Qi¡¯s room, Luo Nanfang looked at the compass in his hand, and his heart sunk more. He usually showed people feng shui divinations, so he was considered to have seen the world, but he had never encountered such an unpredictable situation. How could such a great evil spirit come from a female star¡¯s room and rushed at them when they exited the elevator? What does this mean? It meant that there would only be a more dangerous situation in the room. Luo Nanfang regretted that he had agreed to Boss Zhao¡¯s request, and he was also annoyed by his own curiosity, but now it was too late to say anything. Since he was here, it was too late to turn around, lest he damaged his own reputation. There were several people present and he knew very well how much weight he had. It was fine if it was just feng shui, but he was an amateur when it came to exorcising and hunting demons. Chen Guoliang was just a showoff and wasn¡¯t even as good as him. The other two young people may have some kung fu, but if there were evil things here, even the best kung fu wouldn¡¯t work. Counting on this, the strongest among them all may be Zhang Han. Thinking of this, he couldn¡¯t help but get a little closer to Zhang Han as the lobby manager knocked on the door. Before that, the hotel called Han Qi¡¯s room landline, but no one answered. ¡°Miss Han? Are you inside? Would you please open the door?¡± After knocking for a long time, there was still no response inside. Unless Han Qi took sleeping pills, it was impossible not to hear. In other words, something must¡¯ve happened inside. Since no one opened the door, the lobby manager had to take out the room keycard and open it. He told everyone, ¡°If there¡¯s any situation, don¡¯t go in and destroy the scene. We¡¯ll directly call the police.¡± With a clicking sound, he pressed the doorknob with his hand and twisted it down. A strong smell of blood came, and the lobby manager was so scared that he let go and almost closed the door again. Zhang Yan pushed him away, took a step forward, and pushed the door open. Red. All they saw was red. Carpets, walls, ceilings¡­ Bloodstains everywhere. Everyone was stunned. Boss Zhao took two steps back in fright and accidentally stepped on Chen Guoliang¡¯s foot. The latter didn¡¯t even get furious because he was completely speechless. The blood was blooming on the gray walls, and there was five finger marks that were deeply scratched in it. It could be seen how fiercely Han Qi was struggling at that time. How much blood does a person have? Is Han Qi already dead? Questions flashed in everyone¡¯s minds, and then they heard a low roar inside. It was like the last warning before an animal attacked. Sound waves vibrated the eardrums, making people dizzy and nauseous. The living room was already in a mess and the furniture was in tatters. The sheets in the bedroom scattered everywhere and most of them were stained with blood. Compared to the entrance, the smell of blood here lingered even more, like thick blood that turned into substance and was suspended in the air, covering the nose and eyes, suffocating everyone and inducing nausea. The sound insulation of the presidential suite was good, and the bottom floor may not be full, so the hotel hadn¡¯t received any noise complaint since last night. ¡°I¡¯m going to puke!¡± Chen Guoliang¡¯s assistant and bodyguards had already bent over against the wall and vomited. The others weren¡¯t much better. After everyone came in, they discovered that the movement came from the master bedroom. Boss Zhao hands and feet were already soft. His face was pale, but because there was blood on the wall, he didn¡¯t dare to touch it to support himself. Resisting the urge to faint, he and the lobby manager turned around and were about to escape, but just as they thought about it, with a loud bang, the door suddenly closed on its own, locking everyone in the room. The lobby manager reached out to turn the doorknob, but found that he couldn¡¯t open it, and his face turned pale. Then he took out the walkie-talkie and wanted to contact the outside, but there was no noise or signal. In the bedroom, blood was everywhere. A cloud of gray-black mist about one meter in diameter was slowly circling over the big bed. The circling speed wasn¡¯t fast, but there was an inexplicable force that sucked everything around it in, like a black hole. When Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo walked to the door of the master bedroom, they were attracted to this powerful force and involuntarily wanted to go in. Dong Zhi¡¯s old injuries weren¡¯t healed yet, and his chest was churning. He felt his nose was a little wet and subconsciously reached out to wipe the blood from it with one hand. As Chen Guoliang walked in next to him, he yelled in horror, ¡°Help! Help!¡± Liu Qingbo drew out the long sword behind his back and inserted it into the floor, grabbed his back collar with one hand and pulled him back vigorously away from the dangerous situation. Chen Guoliang staggered back a few steps and sat down on the ground. ¡°Han Qi!¡± Hui Yiguang cried out in a daze. Only then did everyone saw a person sitting in the corner of the master bedroom near the bathroom. Han Qi¡¯s eyes widened slightly. They couldn¡¯t tell what the original color of the bathrobe she was wearing was as all they could see was a lot of blood flowing from her abdomen and lower body. She remained motionless, and they didn¡¯t know if she was still breathing. ¡°What the hell is going on here?¡± Boss Zhao shivered. No one answered him. The gray-black mist was getting thicker, but a closer look shows that the gray and black mist were actually two forces. They were at a stalemate. The black mist had the upper hand, while the gray mist was being swallowed up little by little, but its struggle was getting more intense. The air current spread out with this mass of things like a vortex and swept the entire room with a bloody aura, whistling towards everyone. The violent wind and suction swept everything in the room to the ground, and then rolled it up and blew them into the air. Everyone had to hold on to the wall to stabilize themselves. Boss Zhao was smashed with fragments of a table lamp and screamed. Zhang Yan gritted his teeth, clenched the bronze money sword, rushed up, stepped on the bed, holding a talisman in one hand and a sword in the other, he pierced the gray mist. ¡°The four great enlightened ones, heaven and the earth are eternal, water extinguished fire, gold cuts off water, and those who see demons and monsters will be destroyed, as hastily as I decree, break!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t!¡± As soon as Liu Qingbo¡¯s voice fell, there was a loud noise, like an air mass being pierced, and the airflow suddenly spread out. Everyone fell back to the ground, and Zhang Han hit the wall heavily. The black mist and the gray mist were suddenly separated. The gray mist suffered double the damage from the talisman and bronze money sword. Its color suddenly became lighter. On the contrary, the volume of the black air mass skyrocketed several times over, flying towards Zhang Han, who was still dizzy and hadn¡¯t recovered from the fall! Zhang Han reluctantly raised the bronze money sword to resist, but under the pressure of the black mist, the Five Emperors money sword he had worked so hard to collect broke scattering cooper coins everywhere. The Five Emperors¡¯ money1 was divided into different sizes. The small Five Emperors¡¯ money2 refers to coins of the five emperors of Shunzhi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong, and Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty. Because the Five Emperors¡¯ money at that time was made in brass, and society was relatively peaceful, the copper money was passed through the hands of tens of millions of people. With sufficient qi, it had the ability to exorcise evil spirits. The money of the Great Five Emperors3 was very difficult to find. It refers to Qin five-baht, the Han five-baht, and the bronze coins of Emperor Taizong or Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the coins from the Song Dynasty, and the Yong Tongbao of the Ming Dyansty. It was really difficult to gather that many people together, so the ministry replaced it with the five-baht money of the Han Dynasty, which also knows as the five-baht money sword4. 1Refers to copper coins with round square holes in them. Ancient copper coins are cast according to the ¡°outer circle and inner square¡± and ¡°the unity of heaven and man¡±, which is like heaven, law, and earth. With heavy cultural attributes, in traditional culture, the money of the Five Emperors has the functions of warding off evil spirits and bringing blessings. The five emperors, in the original sense, refer to the five heavenly emperors of the east, south, west, north, and middle. 2Refers to the copper coins cast by the five emperors of the Qing Dynasty, including Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing. 3Refers to Qin Banliang, Han Wuzhu , Kaiyuan Tongbao , Songyuan Tongbao and Yongle Tongbao. 4So the takeaway of this whole paragraph is basically a money coin sword that looks like this comprises of coins from ancient China. This chart shows you what the coins look like. The top two rows show the 5 great emperors¡¯ coins while the bottom row is the five small emperors¡¯ coins. But Zhang Yan¡¯s copper money sword was different from the small Five Emperors money or five-baht money sword on the market. This was a veritable Great Five Emperors money sword, and only a famous disciple of his background could get it. Who would have expected that this evil thing turned out to be so powerful that even his rare Great Five Emperors money sword couldn¡¯t withstand it. Zhang Han¡¯s eyes widened, unable to believe it, he could only hurriedly take out the talisman from his pocket and throw it at the black mist. Although he was a direct descendant of the Zhang family, his qualification was average, but for ordinary people, his ability to divine and ask question was more than enough. In addition, he hadn¡¯t experienced any thorny issue since being outside for decades, so it was inevitable that he was negligent in his technical skills. Unexpectedly, he had gone too far at night and finally found a nut that was hard to crack. The talisman collided with the black mist and suddenly a cloud of flames burst out. Zhang Han¡¯s talisman wasn¡¯t some charm that could be bought for dozens of yuan online, but generally was a evil warding talisman from Mount Longhu. Although for historical reasons, the Zhang family of Mount Longhu was split into two branches¡ª One went to Taiwan, while the other stayed in the mainland¡ª the things passed down by Master Zhang Tianshi, the one from Taiwan, he naturally inherited. This evil-suppressing talisman was painted by the Zhang family from Taiwan, so its effectiveness was naturally extraordinary. The black mist exploded in an instant, but before Zhang Han had time to be happy, the exploded black mist immediately condensed again and swept towards him. Zhang Han was dumbfounded. All the changes happened within a few seconds, and it was too late for him to get up and dodge, so he could only pick up the lamp that fell next to him and throw it at the black mist. The lamp passed through the black mist and fell on the bed, unable to cause any harm at all, while the black mist was close at hand! My life is over! Zhang Yan thought. Like everyone¡¯s reaction when facing irresistible danger, he closed his eyes subconsciously. The fishy smell came to his face, but his body didn¡¯t suffer from pain of being torn and wrapped in the black mist as he imagined. Zhang Han thought it was strange, so he slowly opened his eyes and felt joy that he had escaped death. He saw the glint of a sword passing through the black mist and splitting it in half and inserted into the bedroom wall! Dong Zhi jumped up and ran to draw his sword. The black mist that had been split in half trembled, and slowly was showing signs of reforming again. ¡°Lao Liu! ¡± Dong Zhi shouted to Liu Qingbo who already reached out his hand to grab the sword. Without answering, Liu Qingbo took the sword out of his scabbard and the sword¡¯s light glowed endlessly covering the black mist. While the two haven¡¯t practiced in advance, after their partnership dealing with the three-headed python together, the two seemed to have a tacit understanding on the battlefield, and they could immediately understand each other¡¯s meaning, especially at critical moments where things were rapidly changing, no opportunity could be missed. Time reversed back ten minutes ago. After coming in just now, although the black mist looked tricky and difficult to deal with, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo felt that Zhang Han as a descendant of the Zhang family in Taiwan should be able to withstand it for a while, so they went to check on Han Qi¡¯s situation first. Han Qi was seriously injured and was dying, but fortunately, she was still breathing. Liu Qingbo had learned first aid and stopped her bleeding first. There were also pools of blood in the bathroom, and pieces of flesh was hanging next to the bathtub. Only by carefully distinguishing it did Dong Zhi recognized that it was actually an unformed baby. How could Han Qi¡¯s miscarriage cause such a big thing? Where did the black and gray evil things come from? So many mysteries lingered overhead, but Han Qi had fallen into a semi-coma and couldn¡¯t give an answer. The gray mist slowly approached Han Qi and seemed to want to drill into her stomach. Dong Zhi threw a sunlight talisman over which seemed to anger the gray mist even more. The opponent suddenly swelled and shattered the sunlight talisman. The gray mist shook slightly and gradually turned into the form of a baby. Mom¡­ Delicate and tender, it didn¡¯t look like a cloud of fierce gray mist. If Han Qi heard this voice, she would definitely think she was having hallucinations, but Dong Zhi knew that it wasn¡¯t one. The voice was actually equivalent to sound waves. Bluntly put, it was transmitted by the soul to the human body. Because the two side were located in different dimension, they may not be able to hear it. Mom¡­ It seemed to want to wake up Han Qi, and with a crying sound, the gray baby became a toddler; timid, adoring but not daring to approach. Dong Zhi said solemnly, ¡°Why did you attack your mother? What is that black mist?¡± Mom¡­ don¡¯t want me anymore¡­ She found someone to lock me up¡­ It hurts¡­ Mom is pregnant with my brother¡­ But my brother wants to kill me, and he wants to kill my mother¡­ When the gray mist died, he was still a baby spirit. At this time, his ability to expressed himself was limited. He could only stumble and conveyed some messages. What Dong Zhi heard was like a fog, and he could only roughly piece together a little truth. ¡°Why did she lock you up?¡± Dark room¡­ There is a person¡­ It¡¯s terrible¡­ I don¡¯t want to stay inside¡­ I want my mom¡­ Dong Zhi asked, ¡°Where are you locked up?!¡± The gray infant spirit body trembled violently, as if it wanted to say, but it couldn¡¯t express it. Jade¡­ Jade¡­ Dong Zhi was confused, and after listening to it several times, he realized that it was saying jade. With a flash of inspiration, he turned his head and searched Han Qi and sure enough, he found a jade pendant on her neck. The rectangular jade pendant was about thumb¡¯s length and wasn¡¯t high quality. There were black spots and impurities but there was a child carved on the jade. Below was text in Thai. The branding of the jade was indescribably weird. When he first touched it, he felt a chill seeping into the palm of his hand from the jade, and it almost made Dong Zhi subconsciously withdraw his hand causing the jade to fall to the ground. The jade pendant didn¡¯t smash to pieces, but another crack was formed. Liu Qingbo stopped Han Qi¡¯s blood, took the time to take a look at the branding on the jade, and said, ¡°This should be a sorcery in Southeast Asia. A witch forcibly imprisoned the infant¡¯s spirit in the yin charm through magic, implicating the owner¡¯s luck with it. It influences and nurture each other. As the infant spirit grows up, it can serve the host and bless the other¡¯s wealth and career.¡± In other words, Han Qi had been pregnant with a child before with this gray infant spirit, but later miscarried and the child wasn¡¯t born. She found a witch and locked her child¡¯s soul into a jade charm to improve her luck. Now that Han Qi was pregnant again, there was another change this time. The mass of flesh in the bathroom was the fetus in her abdomen and the black mist was the soul of the fetus? Between the electric light flickering, Dong Zhi could only think of so much, but he always felt that there was something wrong. Before he could figure out a reason, Zhang Han couldn¡¯t withstand any longer. The black mist was unexpectedly powerful. From Dong Zhi¡¯s view, although Zhang Han¡¯s ability wasn¡¯t as good as that of Li Ying, who was also from the same family, it was only slightly inferior. It wasn¡¯t a world of difference, but even he couldn¡¯t suppress the black mist, let alone Luo Nanfang and Chen Guoliang. Just moments away from being killed, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo worked together to deal with the black mist. Under the shadow of lights from his Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword, the black mist not only didn¡¯t flinch and showed weakness, but became even stronger, and even gradually turned into the form of an adult man. The lights fell on its head, and the black mist trembled violently, scattered but not broken, and it seemed like it was about to collapse. Liu Qingbo increased his strength and pressed the sword forward another inch; the tip of the sword slightly pierced the black mist¡¯s head. At this time, Dong Zhi drew out the Changshou Sword and attacked from behind. With a bang, the black mist suddenly exploded, and the powerful air current blasted the two of them away. The black mist opened its mouth and sucked the gray baby spirit directly into its mouth. Only then did Dong Zhi understood that the black mist had only shown weakness just to devour the infant spirit while they were distracted! The two of them looked at each other in surprise from a distance and a chill rose from the bottom of their hearts. Before the black mist had completed its form, it was cunning and insidious. How difficult would it be to deal with after it completes its form and grows? Dong Zhi was even more reminiscent of the cunning and changeable Xu Wan, the Archfiend who was finally killed by the two deputy directors of the Special Administration Bureau. The black mist in front of him may still be lacking in strength and spiritual wisdom, but in time, would it eventually become something similar to an Archfiend? They must absolutely kill it here! Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo thought at the same time. The body of the man who swallowed the infant spirit was much clearer, and there was a cackling sound in his throat, as if he wanted to convey something to them. Dong Zhi seemed to see the vague blackness of his face that evoked a strange smile to him. He didn¡¯t have time to think about it, and together with Liu Qingbo, the two of them moved at the same time. One pounced on the black mist, and the other quickly took out talisman and formed an array around it. This series of changes stunned everyone else. Zhang Han was a little ashamed. He didn¡¯t expect that he had regarded himself too highly before, and in the end, he had to wait for others to save his life. Luo Nanfang held his breath and secretly prayed that they could successfully eliminate the black mist, otherwise his old bones would be buried here today. Chen Guoliang was limp and trembling by the wall, unable to say anything. Hui Yiguang had experienced the incident on the rooftop of the hospital last time, so she was calmer, while Boss Zhao and the lobby manager fainted in shock and were unconscious. Zhang Han quickly recognized the array Dong Zhi was forming. It was a confinement formation designed to trap the black mist and prevent the opponent from escaping. It wasn¡¯t that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to summon thunder, but he was injured and wasn¡¯t sure if he would be successful. It was better to choose a simpler and more effective way¡ª Zhang Han quickly took out all the evil-suppressing talisman from his pocket and helped the Dong Zhi to set up the formation. His evil-suppressing talisman could play an auxiliary role in the eight trigrams array. In other ways, it could strengthen the effect, so Dong Zhi didn¡¯t stop him. The black mist actively stretched out its hand towards the sword light, but it was instantly crushed. The man¡¯s body was shattered, and it scattered. Before Dong Zhi had time toss the sunlight talisman, the black powder in the air began to quickly condense and assembled again. ¡°Damn, it¡¯s over!¡± Liu Qingbo yelled and raised his sword to pounce on the black mist that had just condensed. White light was entangled with the black mist for a moment before Liu Qingbo angrily shouted, ¡°Dong Zhi, fuck your uncle*! Hurry up and help!¡± *(Äã´óÒ¯) Beijing dialect that¡¯s used to expressed dissatisfaction among friends. Before he finished shouting, Dong Zhi completed the formation! ¡°Go!¡± Dong Zhi shouted. Liu Qingbo understood, and directly applied his strength to the sword. The sword light suddenly brightened, almost covering the blackness. The Changshou Sword rushed in at the same time, passing through Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword light and the fine bits of black mist, directly piercing the core of the black mist. The sunlight talisman turned into bright talisman fire and cause the core to suddenly explode. Boom! There was a loud explosion in Zhang Han¡¯s ears that shook his eardrums and for a while his entire auditory world fell silent, leaving only a buzzing aftertaste. The dazzling light made him unable to open his eyes. Under the impact of the huge airflow, he smashed into the wall a second time. His back was in so much pain that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood! Will let you taste the wrath of destruction¡­ In a daze, Zhang Han seemed to hear such a sentence. He coughed a few times, resisted the tingling of his eyes, and slowly opened them. The room was even more messy and chaotic than before. The door finally opened and the hotel staff who rushed in from outside looked at them dumbfounded, not knowing what happened. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo also fell to the ground. The black mist had completely disappeared without a trace. It should have been completely wiped out by them. They seemed fine and wasn¡¯t in such an embarrassed state like he and the rest was, Zhang Han thought. ¡°It¡¯s still alive, still alive! Destroy it soon!¡± Chen Guoliang yelled suddenly, and everyone¡¯s nerves that had just been relaxed tightened again in an instant. Looking in the direction he pointed, Dong Zhi saw a cloud of black mist slowly separating from the fetus in the bathroom. It was much smaller than before. It must have been a fish that slipped through the net. He thought about and pinched a talisman with his two fingers and threw it. ¡°The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil!¡± The sunlight talisman turned into flames and wrapped the black mist and burned it fiercely. Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Seeing that the black mist was about to be completely wiped out, Dong Zhi suddenly felt a chill in the center of his eyebrows. It seemed that something jumped out of the flame, shot over quickly, and touched his brows again, but there was nothing unusual. ¡°Did you see anything just now?¡± he asked Liu Qingbo. ¡°See what?¡± Liu Qingbo asked blankly. Dong Zhi felt relieved thinking that it seemed to be just an illusion. Zhang Han was both shocked and ashamed. He didn¡¯t expect that the two people he had secretly despised before and thought were charlatans had saved everyone¡¯s lives at a critical time. ¡°Dare to ask my fellows*, is your talisman kung fu also taught by your master?¡± Zhang Han¡¯s address to Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had directly upgraded from ¡°little friends¡± to ¡°Taoist friends.¡± *(µÀÓÑ) Specific term referring to friends who practice Taoism together. The use of talismans needed to be inherited from a school. Without a school, the talisman wouldn¡¯t take effect, but the name Long Shen was strange to Zhang Han, which was why he asked. Dong Zhi said, ¡°I inherited my talisman skills from the Hezao Sect, which I¡¯m part of and whom there was another master that I had worshiped.¡± A burst of heat flushed through his ears and on Zhang Han¡¯s face. He really wanted to go back dozens of minutes ago and drag his eyes that were higher from the top so as not to embarrassed himself now. ¡°The Hezao Sect is one of the three major sects who¡¯s on par with my Mount Longhu. Although I grew up on the other side of the river, I have also heard of them. I didn¡¯t expect to see two fellow worshippers now. If I have the opportunity in the future, I¡¯ll invite you to the Zhang family in Taiwan as guests!¡± Luo Nanfang also smiled bitterly. ¡°Thanks to the help of you two today. Otherwise, an explanation would have to be made for my old bones here!¡± As they were busy buddying up, the people outside the hotel were fruitlessly trying to open the door. They had to call the police after they heard a loud noise coming from inside. When the police rushed over, the events of the inside had just come to an end. The door opened smoothly, and everyone was stunned by all the blood in the room. Since Dong Zhi had dealt with the Lucheng police because of Yamamoto¡¯s affairs, he was no stranger to them. He said, ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous. Something happened here. The Special Administration Bureau has solved it. You can give it to Deputy Song of the criminal investigation unit, or directly tell Boss Zheng.¡± He took out his work permit. The little policeman who came had been in the industry for less than a year. He had never seen such a bloody and chaotic crime scene. His mind was confused for a moment. Seeing that the work permit said he was also a policeman, he was even more confused, but he didn¡¯t dare let his guard down. He hurriedly asked his colleagues to take care of Han Qi, who was seriously injured and unconscious, to the hospital, and reported to the higher ups. In the end, he got a personal call from Director Zheng confirming that what Dong Zhi said was true, but for the sake of safety, Director Zheng still had to come in person to take a look. Dong Zhi also called Mu Duo to come over. From the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Chen Guoliang who was trying to sneak away and he couldn¡¯t help but shout, ¡°Stop!¡± The police quickly caught Chen Guoliang. ¡°What are you doing? Where do you want to go?!¡± Chen Guoliang showed a smile that was uglier than crying. As soon as he was about to speak, he couldn¡¯t help retching. ¡°I, I can¡¯t stand the smell here!¡± Liu Qingbo showed a smile that wasn¡¯t a smile. ¡°Aren¡¯t you a master from Xiangjiang? Aren¡¯t you a guest of honor of Mr. Li and Ms. Gong? You¡¯re much more knowledgeable than us. How can you not withstand a little smell? Chen Guoliang, you¡¯re suspected of cheating and spreading feudal superstitions. Now I want to take you back to assist in the investigation. First think about what you should tell us first!¡± Chen Guoliang wept, and his hands and feet grew soft, but he didn¡¯t dare resist anymore. Upon seeing this, Boss Zhao couldn¡¯t help but feel a pain in his heart when he remembered the large feng shui fee he had paid before. Kinky Thoughts: Christ, I spent too long researching that one paragraph on ancient Chinese money. ¡ª Five Emperors Money Refers to copper coins with round square holes in them. Ancient copper coins are cast according to the ¡°outer circle and inner square¡± and ¡°the unity of heaven and man¡±, which is like heaven, law, and earth. With heavy cultural attributes, in traditional culture, the money of the Five Emperors has the functions of warding off evil spirits and bringing blessings. The five emperors, in the original sense, refer to the five heavenly emperors of the east, south, west, north, and middle. The Small Five Emperor coins refers to the copper coins cast by the five emperors of the Qing Dynasty, including Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing. They are the coins in the last row represented in the picture above. The Great Five Emperor coins refers to Qin Banliang, Han Wuzhu , Kaiyuan Tongbao , Songyuan Tongbao and Yongle Tongbao. They are the coins in the first two rows represented in the picture above. Overall these coins can be use to make a ¡°sword¡± that can ward off evil spirits and bring blessing. CH 88 The police noticed the seriousness of the matter. Director Zheng came in person, and Mu Duo and Zhang Chong also arrived afterwards. Dong Zhi was now the person in charge of the Special Administration Bureau in Lucheng. Although there was still the word ¡°temporary¡± in front of the title, even so, he could make decisions on all matters under the jurisdiction of the Bureau in Lucheng. After consultation, both parties decided to cooperate in this case. The scene was blocked, including the blood mass born from Han Qi¡¯s abortion. Due to the unconventional aspects involved, it was brought back by the Special Administration Bureau for investigation. On the other hand, they took statements from unrelated personnel, the focus being on Han Qi, since everything was related to her. Unfortunately, she was now in a serious coma and had to be transported to the hospital for rescue. If they wanted to ask her about the case, they needed to wait until the danger period had passed. Other people in the crew, including Han Qi¡¯s assistant, were all key figures who may know more about the case. The ministry had to ask again for Mu Duo and the others to cooperate with the police to conduct a joint investigation. Chen Guoliang was also taken away by the police for ideological education. Zhang Han, Luo Nanfang, Boss Zhao, Hui Yiguang and others were personally questioned by Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo. The Lucheng office was so dilapidated that it was too embarrassing to bring them over, and for fear of damaging the country¡¯s image, Director Zheng empathetically lent them a conference room with bright windows at the police office. Boss Zhao was so rich and magnanimous that he immediately opened a room for them all and asked his subordinates to buy everyone new sets of clothing according to each person¡¯s size, so that everyone could wash off the blood from their bodies and changed into nice fresh outfits. Two hours later, everyone finally washed up and gathered in the conference room. Boss Zhao was impatient, and after holding back his curiosity for a long time he couldn¡¯t resist any longer. ¡°Master, what the hell is going on!¡± Dong Zhi asked rhetorically, ¡°Has Han Qi been pregnant once before?¡± Boss Zhao shook his head blankly. Hui Yiguang thought for a moment and said, ¡°Three years ago, I seemed to have heard such rumors, and I also heard that this child seemed to belong to Zhong Huan.¡± Zhong Huan was also a well-known male artist, but not as famous as Han Qi. He was on the rise and his popularity was very high. Male stars generally had a longer shelf life so it was conceivable that if there were no accidents, he would spend a long time in the circle in the future. Hearing the name, Boss Zhao let a long gossipy tone. Seeing Liu Qingbo give him the stink eye, he quickly covered his mouth with his hand and indicated that he wasn¡¯t making trouble. Hui Yiguang said, ¡°But you also know that there are many such rumors in the circles, some of which are false accusations, mixed with truths and lies, so many people didn¡¯t take it seriously, but her assistant and agent should know better.¡± Dong Zhi nodded. ¡°We will confirm this matter. I invited you here mainly to ask you one thing. Do you remember what you said before the black mist was wiped out by us?¡± Zhang Han hesitated for a moment. ¡°Yes! I thought I was just hearing things at first, but it seems to say¡­ that it will make you¡ª¡± ¡°Will taste the anger of destruction!¡± Although Luo Nanfang was old, he still had a very good memory.¡± Zhang Yan: ¡°Yes, that¡¯s it, but there was also a string of notes in front of it. It was too long to remember!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I hope you can recall the transliteration of that string of notes as much as possible. Even if you only remember a few characters.¡± He and Liu Qingbo had a good memory, but they were busy at that time, and the notes were very long. They weren¡¯t in English or Chinese so even Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t exactly sure he could remember clearly, so he invited everyone present to come over to help recall them together. Everyone began to rack their brains to recall at least one or two characters of what they heard. But Mu Duo¡¯s side had the echo first. Han Qi was still under the operating table. The amount of bleeding was so great, and it took a whole night for her to be discovered. It was unknown whether she could survive. Han Qi¡¯s assistant fell to the ground last time and had glass shards embedded in her face. One of her eyes was almost blinded by it. After the operation, she was currently recuperating in the hospital, but she was still sane and could accept inquiries. After asking, Mu Duo really found that Han Qi¡¯s assistant had some inside information. Three years ago, Han Qi really had an underground love affair with Zhong Huan. Later, the two broke up and Han Qi miscarried the child. During that time, she was in a bad mood and was always suspicious. She felt that the child¡¯s grievances were still lingering around her, so she became violent and lashed out a lot. Even her assistant wasn¡¯t spared. Han Qi¡¯s career dropped into a downward spiral until she was introduced by a friend to a master name Songen in Thailand. At that time, Only Han Qi and her friend was there. The assistant didn¡¯t follow. It wasn¡¯t clear what they said when they met the master. She only knew that Han Qi was in a much better mood after she came back. She started talking and laughing, and her attitude towards her assistant was no longer harsh and irritable as before. After returning home, Han Qi¡¯s career improved again, and she rose up the ladder eventually meeting Mr. Hong. ¡°Wait, you said Mr. Hong?¡± When she heard this, Mu Duo couldn¡¯t help interrupting her. The assistant nodded. ¡°Hong Rui, the boss of Renhe International.¡± This person was well-known, had invested a lot in real estate in the entertainment industry, and his industry net worth had attracted many people¡¯s attention, which was why Mu Duo had naturally heard of him. ¡°How did Mr. Hong meet Han Qi?¡± The assistant said, ¡°Through the introduction of a friend. She met him at a dinner party. Oh, that right, that friend was also the same one who took Han Jie to Thailand. Her name is Dong Qiaolan, and she¡¯s Han Jie¡¯s former agent. I heard that the two had a good personal relationship, and they have been in contact since the termination of her contract.¡± ¡°What happened later?¡± Mu Duo subconsciously felt that everything was inseparable from Dong Qiaolan and even Hong Rui. Assistant: ¡°Later, Han Jie told me privately that Master Songen was really powerful. What he said would come true. She was able to walk with Mr. Hong and her pregnancy came earlier than expected. Thanks to the blessing of the master and the protection charm, her career became smooth sailing.¡± Mu Duo: ¡°So she was pregnant for a second time and the child belongs to Mr. Hong?¡± The assistant nodded: ¡°But recently, Han Jie had become suspicious again. She said that the dead child came back and that the master couldn¡¯t calm the child. She was very scared. On the plane we were on that was flying to Lucheng, something almost happened.¡± Mu Duo: ¡°Does Mr. Hong plan to marry Han Qi?¡± Assistant: ¡°I don¡¯t know about this, but Han Jie wasn¡¯t in a good mood. Maybe she encountered something unpleasant on Mr. Hong¡¯s side¡­ I remember! She also said that the master said that the child she was now pregnant with was a blessing and will bring her good luck and fortune and fame. The other child from before was unwilling to let go and wanted to come back to harm both mother and son.¡± When she spoke of this, the assistant had a look of fear on her face. ¡°I think Han Jie may have gone crazy.¡± Seeing that Mu Duo couldn¡¯t ask any more information, she asked the police¡¯s help to find Dong Qiolan and Hong Rui, while reporting what she found out from the assistant to Dong Zhi. At this moment, Dong Zhi put down the phone and said to Boss Zhao, who was sitting to his right, ¡°Do you remember?¡± Boss Zhao nodded. ¡°It seemed to be saying something like¡­ Pasha Maha!¡± Dong Zhi frowned. ¡°Are you sure?¡± Boss Zhao said aggrievedly, ¡°That syllable is too long, and its fluctuating and strange. I was so scared at that moment that I really couldn¡¯t remember it.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°What I heard was, Saha Vima, but the ending was jumping too fast, so I couldn¡¯t hear it clearly.¡± Zhang Yan and Luo Nanfang also recalled the musical notes they had heard separately, and Dong Zhi recorded what they said one by one. Finally, it was Hui Yiguang. She said, ¡°I¡¯m the opposite of you. I don¡¯t remember the previous one, but the last part seems to be Bhatti.¡± ¡°Pasha, Saha, Vima, Maha, Bhatti.¡± Dong Zhi dotted his handwriting with a pen. Liu Qingbo asked, ¡°Then what did you hear?¡± Dong Zhi hesitated. ¡°What I heard seemed to be polo¡­ty, it was too fast in the middle, that I forgot.¡± Boss Zhao said, ¡°It¡¯s not like English. Is it French or something?¡± Liu Qingbo shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s not French, German, or Spanish.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Well, everyone, read what you heard accurately, I will record it for you, and then ask a linguist later. It doesn¡¯t matter if you can¡¯t remember it well, but you have to speak clearly.¡± Boss Zhao suddenly raised his hand and said, ¡°Master, I know a linguist, but in Beijing. If it¡¯s convenient for you, I will contact him right now. We can do a remote video?¡± Since the battle at the hotel, Boss Zhao had also seen among these people in the flower stand who really had true ability. For example, Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi who killed such a ferocious evil thing. Even the police were polite to them. They seemed to have deep backgrounds, so he wanted to chummy up with them. It was estimated that if Dong Zhi wanted the stars in the sky, he would be the first to rush up to buy a rocket for him. Liu Qingbo said, ¡°We want real linguistics experts, not fakers!¡± Boss Zhao laughed, ¡°Of course, of course!¡± He met this expert that he mentioned during a cultural lecture that he attended. Although a businessman like Boss Zhao was involved in the entertainment industry, there was still a large gap between them and the real cultural world. Coincidentally, the lecture happened to be sponsored by him. As such, he had a meal with the scholars and had to endure a painful conversation that made no sense to him. Finally, he got the scholars¡¯ numbers which he thought he would never dial. However, life was indeed wonderful and now said number came in handy today. Boss Zhao got through the phone and gave a brief overview¡ª Of course he was smart and omitted all the sections about demons and monsters and only said that he heard something, but it was difficult to recognize what language the other party was speaking. He wanted to ask some experts and scholars for help. The scholars naturally agreed in face of his previous sponsorship, so he connected immediately to remote video conference. Dong Zhi and the people there took turns to say the notes that they heard. The four experts at the end of the video lowered their heads and thought for a while, and each gave their own opinions. Three of them thought the language was Sanskrit, and only one thought it might be ancient Hebrew. Among the three people who thought it was Sanskrit, an old expert who specializes in Sanskrit lowered the volume of the video with the help of his assistant and said to Dong Zhi, ¡°What you just said isn¡¯t a sentence. It¡¯s probably just a word.¡± Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo actually had faint guesses in their hearts. However, guesses are one thing and still needed to be verified by the authorities. The words of the old expert undoubtedly further verified their guesses. The old expert said, ¡°If I guessed correctly, the correct pronunciation should be Pa^pi^yas.¡± He paused and read very slowly. Boss Zhao yelled first, ¡°Yes, that¡¯s right. That¡¯s how I heard it; I remember it!¡± Old expert: ¡°This is a god in ancient India. Transliterated, it is Brahavima Vasavati.¡± Liu Qingbo curled his lips: ¡°It¡¯s definitely not a good god, is it?¡± The old expert said slowly, ¡°This god, translated into Chinese is Bo Xun*, also known as Mara, is the demon king of the six desires. According to Buddhist scriptures, it likes to obstruct Buddha¡¯s practice the most, and its hearts is always full of violent desires and evil thoughts, like thinking it¡¯s fun to destroy the world. So yes, it¡¯s also known as a heavenly demon.¡± *Known as Mara, is a celestial king who tempted Prince Siddhartha (Buddha) by trying to seduce him with visions of beautiful women who, in various legends, are often said to be Mara¡¯s daughters. He tries to stop Prince Siddhartha path to enlightenment proclaiming that seat belongs to him and in the end failed. In Buddhist cosmology, Mara is associated with death, rebirth and desire. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other at the same time, and they both saw undisguised shock in each other¡¯s expressions. At this moment, the phone rang, and Dong Zhi connect it. ¡°Mu Duo.¡± ¡°Bad news.¡± Mu Duo seemed to be out of breath. It seems she had been running. ¡°Tell me,¡± Dong Zhi said. His composure seemed to infect Mu Duo. The other party gasped for a moment before she calmed down. ¡°Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan have disappeared. The entry and exit records show that they took the same flight to Thailand three days ago. We don¡¯t know where they went!¡± ¡ª The Thai-Myanmar border was densely forested. There was a vast tropical rainforest area with diverse biology, changeable climate and steep terrain. Even the most experienced outdoor backpackers wouldn¡¯t dare to set foot here easily, because entering this area meant it was easy to get lost and sick, or buried under the claws of beasts. However, the most dangerous thing was the complex and interlaced forces here. Human trafficking, the production and trade of drugs, illegal armed organization, and unimagine dangers and chaos within the peaceful world was staged here every day. The locals would turn pale and weren¡¯t willing to take a step in. Unknown flying insects skimmed the dense and thick forest leaves, flew low along the dirt road ahead, buzzing past the heads of the three people below. In front were dark-skinned guides and behind them were two well-dressed middle-aged man and women, who looked out of place. The man was thin and tall, while the women was short and fat. It seemed they had walked for a long time as they were panting currently, and their legs felt as if it had been tied to lead as each step became heavier. If Han Qi or her assistant was here, they would be quite surprised, as the two people had very deep relationship with Han Qi. ¡°Dong, did you bring water? Give me a sip.¡± Hong Rui swallowed his saliva and felt the burning pain in his throat. Sweat continued to flow out from under their hats, and the poisonous sun seemed to dry out every drop before it even fell. Dong Qiaolan took out a bottle of mineral water from her satchel, unscrewed the bottle, raised it to her head and drank what little remained, then shook the empty bottle signaling that there was no more water. ¡°You didn¡¯t even leave me a sip!¡± Hong Rui said angrily. If he was still in the city, let alone a bottle of water, he wouldn¡¯t even put ten crates of them in his eyes. ¡°If I don¡¯t drink water, I will die of thirst!¡± Dong Qioalan was obese, and she was most afraid of walking long distance. Unexpectedly, they got off at some unknown small village and had walked for nearly two hours. Before they reached their destination, she was already close to her limits as she was panting more severely than Hong Rui. ¡°I have water here!¡± When the guide heard what they said, he turned his head and handed over his water bottle. Hong Rui looked at the stains on the bottle in disgust, but in the end, he couldn¡¯t resist his thirst, so he took it and raised his head and took a big sip. ¡°What did you put in the water?¡± he asked the guide. The guide explained in broken English that there was a kind of herbal medicine in it, which was used to quench thirst and cool off, and it could also prevent mosquitoes. Hong Rui felt that the water was sweet and delicious, so he asked him when they return to give him some herbs and the guide happily agreed. ¡°Is that the master¡¯s stockade?¡± Dong Qiaolan suddenly yelled. ¡°Yes, we¡¯re almost there!¡± A word from the guide made them all happy. The two temporarily let go of their fatigue, accelerated their steps, followed the guide, and quickly walked into the stockade. Hong Rui quenched his thirst and found that after they entered the range of the stockade, the disturbing flying insects above his head seemed to disappear. Counting this time, he had only been to this stockade twice, and he still felt strange, and there was a faint sense of fear. Dong Qiaolan should have come more often than him. He wasn¡¯t sure if he was hallucinating but he felt that Dong Qiaolan¡¯s footsteps seemed to have slowed down, and the expression on her face was more cautious. Hong Rui ran an emporium, so he had met countless of people. It stood to reason that he should have cultivated some kung fu from Mount Taishan, but he still had an extraordinary fear here. This feeling was purely derived from weakness and helplessness of humans in the face of powerful abilities of the mysterious and unknown realm. Every time he met with the master, Hong Rui would taste this kind of helplessness and timidity. He couldn¡¯t even have the slightest idea of resisting, so he would only be at his mercy. Of course, this was also something he was wiling to do because Master Songen was indeed powerful and could give Hong Rui anything he wanted. When they stepped into the stockade, they smelled a strange fragrance. It seemed to permeate everywhere. It wasn¡¯t the smell of sandalwood but more intense than it. It made people feel happy and light in their body and mind. There were several stockades, scattered around with the middle being the largest. Around the complex, male and female servants in square skirts could be seen everywhere. They turned a blind eye to Hong Rui and continued doing their own thing. A maid was kneeling outside the stockade, motioning the three of them to take off their shoes and go upstairs. Hong Rui followed Dong Qiaolan and the guide upstairs. He was a little nervous and wanted to find some clues to reassure him from Dong Qiaolan¡¯s expression, but the other party kept her head down and didn¡¯t give him this opportunity. The guide opened the bead curtain and entered the hall, Hong Rui followed, and the light suddenly dimmed. There was two people in the hall. One person sat cross-legged in the middle, while the other knelt behind him. The guide knelt down first, threw himself to the ground as he pounded his head harshly on the floor. His body movements revealed extreme respect and piety. Both Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan knew him, and they bowed respectfully. ¡°Greeting Master Songen.¡± Songen¡¯s English was much more fluent than Dong Qiaolan¡¯s stumbles, and his voice was also very low, with an undiscernible charm. He held the incense in his hand and looked at the two uninvited guests, as if he wasn¡¯t expecting them. ¡°It¡¯s not the agreed time yet.¡± The house was cool and even a little cold, but Dong Qiaolan sweated more here than outside the house. She knocked her head first, and then said, ¡°Yes, but it¡¯s like this. Everything was going well on Han Qi¡¯s side, so we came to report to Master, and have something to ask Master for guidance.¡± Songen: ¡°What?¡± Hong Rui hurriedly said, ¡°I originally wanted to coax Han Qi to give birth to the child first, but she insisted on getting married, but if she gave birth¡­ and I marry her, wouldn¡¯t that be a big disrespect? But Han Qi has been unstable lately. I¡¯m afraid it will affect the fetus in her womb. What should I do?¡± Songen¡¯s eyes narrowed and when he looked down at them, it was more like he was talking with his eyes closed, but what took Hong Rui and the other by surprise was what he said. ¡°The fetus has died, and Han Qi is useless.¡± Hong Rui¡¯s face changed drastically. ¡°This, this is impossible! I contacted her when I came here three days ago!¡± Songen said lightly, ¡°The child she was pregnant with before was locked into a jade charm by me to nourish her current fetus, but the infant spirit kept trying to resist, and this time even joined together with outsiders and strangled the container that nurtured Lord Mara¡¯s demonic energy.¡± ¡°Then, what should I do¡­¡± Hong Rui¡¯s face was pale, like a dead man, and he didn¡¯t have the slightest aura of being all-powerful boss. Songen closed his eyes. ¡°My loyal tool has landed on the person who destroyed the container, and it will surely cause him to suffer serious consequences, but if it weren¡¯t for your fault, these things wouldn¡¯t have happened.¡± Hong Rui kowtowed desperately. ¡°Asking Master for forgiveness! I know I was wrong, and I¡¯ll definitely find a better container for the Lordship again this time!¡± Songen: ¡°No, I have found one.¡± He opened his eyes and showed a kind smile to Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan. ¡°Do you want to see it?¡± Dong Qiaolan wanted to say no, but she was afraid of offending the master. She glanced at the disorientated Hong Rui and said cautiously, ¡°If master wants us to open our eyes, we are naturally very honored!¡± ¡°Then come with me.¡± Songen got up and walked in. ¡°Keep up.¡± The disciple behind him turned his head and said coldly to the two of them. Seeing that Hong Rui couldn¡¯t get up, Dong Qiaolan stretched out her hand and pulled him up. Passing through a walkway, several people came to another room. The interior of the house was airtight, all the windows were closed, and a layer of black gauze was used to cover it. A row of candles was lit in the surrounding corners, and the reddish candlelight trembled and swayed, like the fire of life would cut off at any time, which made people feel suffocated. Dong Qiaolan was taken aback as soon as she entered the house. Because the woman facing her was standing in a glass coffin with an unknown yellow liquid flowing in wrapping the naked woman inside. She had blond hair and snow-white skin and a perfect body that Dong Qiolan couldn¡¯t help but look a few more times. The more she looked at it, the more she felt that this woman¡¯s beauty didn¡¯t look as if she was a real person. She had been in the entertainment industry for many years and have seen hundreds if not thousands of beauties, but no one could match the beauty of this woman. It was so stunning that she couldn¡¯t help but let out a soft sigh. After sighing, she suddenly realized her gaffe, and quickly knelt down and said, ¡°Master, I¡¯m sorry, I just lost my manners. It¡¯s really, really¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s because she¡¯s beautiful, right?¡± Songen smiled slightly, as if accustomed to her reaction. Hong Rui also stared, but hearing Songen¡¯s words, he hurriedly forced himself to avert his eyes with difficulty. Dong Qiaolan nodded hurriedly. ¡°Yes, yes! She¡¯s so beautiful that I¡¯m dumbfounded. Truly worth of your title as Master can find such a great beauty!¡± Songen¡¯s expression was also very satisfied. Looking at the woman¡¯s gaze was like looking at an unblemished work of art. ¡°I also think that she will be the best vessel to give birth to Lord Mara. A hundred times better than Han Qi.¡± Hong Rui wished that the other party would forget about Han Qi and quickly agreed with him. However, Dong Qiaolan couldn¡¯t hear his thoughts and said inappropriately, ¡°That woman Han Qi, is it fine to just leave her alone?¡± Songen didn¡¯t answer her question. At this time, there was a loan groan from the side. Dong Qiaolan and Hong Rui looked at the source and their faces suddenly changed in fright. Dong Qiaolan even staggered back a few steps subconsciously and fell heavily to the ground as her fat body couldn¡¯t support the sudden movement. Hong Rui didn¡¯t have the mind to help the other party because his own reaction was not much worse than Dong Qiaolan. The two of them, one was a successful businessman, and the other was a well-known broker, had seen countless people all over the world. Outside, many people even came to them every day and beg them for things. These two people lived at the top of the pyramid. But now, they opened their mouths, like frogs on the surface, staring at a certain place in the room without demeanor at all. Hong Rui needed to mobilize his own self-control in order to control his urge not to run away. There was a human head on the table. The other party had an Asian face with slightly long hair and somewhat drooping cheeks. Under normal circumstances, it should look like a charming and handsome face. But if it was just a simple head, it wouldn¡¯t make Hong Rui and the other who had seen a lot of the world so scared. The eyes on the head were opened slightly at this moment, and it was approaching Hong Rui with a strange smile and greeted them. Under a closer look, the other party¡¯s eyes still rotated, and his face would twitch slightly as if he was no different from a living person¡­ With the exception that he had no body. If Dong Zhi and Mu Duo were here, they would recognize this old acquaintance right away. ¡°Is it better?¡± Songen was accustomed to the existence of this human head, and his tone was kind, as if he was greeting an old friend. Yamamoto Kiyoshi didn¡¯t appreciate it, but said viciously, ¡°Do you think I can be well like this? Why don¡¯t you give it a try!¡± Kinky Thoughts: Mara Is a celestial king who tempted Prince Siddhartha (Buddha) by trying to seduce him with visions of beautiful women who, in various legends, are often said to be Mara¡¯s daughters. He tries to stop Prince Siddhartha path to enlightenment proclaiming that seat belongs to him and in the end failed. In Buddhist cosmology, Mara is associated with death, rebirth and desire. CH 89 He subconsciously wanted to turn his head, but found that he couldn¡¯t move at all, then realized that he in fact had no body. Yamamoto Kiyoshi¡¯s blood-red eyes turned and fell on Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan. ¡°You found a body for me? The woman is too fat, but the man will do. Let me use him!¡± Hong Rui¡¯s body shook. He suppressed the fear and kept silent as he lowered his body and didn¡¯t dare to move. Then he heard Songen gentle voice said, ¡°You almost lost your soul. The problem isn¡¯t your body. With this, you can¡¯t be like normal people so don¡¯t give them any ideas.¡± Hong Rui breathed a sigh of relief involuntarily as his body had almost collapsed. He didn¡¯t care that the word ¡°useful¡± was equivalent to an insult to him. The most important thing at this moment was to escape. No one knew better than him how Songen¡¯s methods were, and he didn¡¯t want these methods to be used on him one day. It was purely accidental that he would get to know this witch doctor. At that time, he and his business rival, Lin Ji were competing for a piece of land in the south. In terms of contacts and financial resources, the Lin family from Lingnan oppressed him. Hong Rui had prepared for that piece of land for a long time but had to hand it over to the Lin¡¯s in vain. Naturally, he was unwilling. At that time, Dong Qiaolan introduced him to Master Songen. The other party claimed he could make Lin Ji automatically withdraw. Hong Rui was half-convinced, but it didn¡¯t take long for him to hear that Lin Ji had fallen ill and the Lin family was exhausted trying to find a cure for him. As a result, the battle for the land naturally ended with him unscathed. Hong Rui had successfully won the land and took his career to the next level. From then on, he worshipped Songen and respected him like a God. After that, whenever he asked for something, Songen would take action to ensure he got what he wanted. A local friend in Thailand once told Hong Rui that witchcraft was extremely popular in Southeast Asia, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. There were countless sects of witchcraft and Songen was among the top that specializes in black magic. He was ruthless and excellent with his means and had all kind of spells readily at his fingertips. Not to mention ordinary people, even other witches and witch doctors were unwilling to easily offend him. This made Hong Rui more awe of Songen and he would never dare to offend. Songen told Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan that he himself was a servant of Lord Mara. When Lord Mara wakes up from his deep sleep, he would need a suitable body. He asked them if they were willing to assist him. If they were willing to help, when Lord Mara completely resurrect, they would be granted supreme power. A status that is above all others or countless money would be readily available to them. As a businessman who by nature chased interests, Hong Rui wasn¡¯t willing to agree to this illusory request for an unknown date, but he didn¡¯t dare disobey Songen. In contrast, Dong Qiaolan was much more pious than him. After she went back, she carefully selected the ¡°vessel¡± for Lord Mara and eventually chose Han Qi. As Han Qi¡¯s former agent, Dong Qiaolan was privy to all her private information. She sent this to Songen who was satisfied, so without Han Qi¡¯s knowledge, a conspiracy was tailored for her. Dong Qiaolan first brought Han Qi, who was troubled by the entanglement of the infant spirit to Songen. Songen personally looked at it and helped her expel the infant spirit, locked it in the jade charm, and painted her a bright future. After returning, Han Qi¡¯s career drastically improve, with the secret support from Hong Rui. She then met Hong Rui who was considerate and affectionate to her, and she began to trust Songen, and gradually became convinced. After Han Qi got pregnant, Hong Rui also took her to Songen, who injected her with traces of qi and told her that her birth will bring her blessings, and would make her immeasurably rich in the future, so she should take good care of it. Han Qi believed it and was full of expectations for the fetus she was carrying, until she had a little accident at this time. Her expectation of the child affected the infant spirit whose soul was locked into the jade charm. That infant spirit was the one she had aborted in the past. Seeing that its mother had used it as a tool and loved the current child, it couldn¡¯t help but become full of resentment and it finally broke through the jade charm¡¯s restraints, leading to the changes that occurred on the plane and also to a series of later events. Naturally, Hong Rui didn¡¯t know that Dong Zhi had inadvertently destroyed Songen¡¯s arrangement for Han Qi. He only knew that Songen was ruthless and vicious, and now that he had broken Songen¡¯s plans, he might also be punished. Since he was born, he had never been as worried and frightened as now. But Songen ignored him and was still talking to the head. ¡°I told you a long time ago that China is full of capable people, and you can¡¯t easily provoke them. You don¡¯t listen to advice and just went there to kill people. This time, you were taught a lesson,¡± Songen said. ¡°I could have brought back the souls of a few cultivators that are adults, but I didn¡¯t expect to be spoiled by one person. When I find a body, I¡¯ll go to him and break all his bones!¡± Yamamoto Kiyoshi¡¯s cruel and distorted expression made Dong Qiaolan tremble when she saw it, and she hurriedly lowered her body and didn¡¯t dare to look at it again. Songen: ¡°What¡¯s that person¡¯s name?¡± Yamamoto paused and said, ¡°It¡¯s a Chinese, named Dong and Zhi!¡± Puppetry was actually a combination of yin and yang technique and witchcraft. Although Yamamoto was lucky enough to escape Dong Zhi¡¯s sword, his body was already dead. At a critical moment, he could only steal the dragon and turn the phoenix* to save his current head. *(͵Áúת·ï) Refers to using despicable means to exchange the original product with a fake one to deceive people. All his cultivation base had been destroyed, and now he didn¡¯t even know if he could find a suitable body to come back from the dead. Yamamoto could only stay in this dark little house every day and survive. It was no wonder he was about to collapse and go crazy. Songen¡¯s expression move slightly. ¡°I remember you had an accident in Lucheng, China?¡± He turned to Hong Rui. ¡°Do you know where Han Qi is these days?¡± Dong Qiaolan looked confused. Hong Rui thought about it carefully and said cautiously, ¡°Before I went abroad, I seemed to have heard that she was filming in Lucheng.¡± Songen looked at Yamamoto and smiled calmly. ¡°It seems that this isn¡¯t a coincidence. I didn¡¯t expect it to be wrong. However, you don¡¯t have to be angry. I think your hatred will be avenged soon.¡± Yamamoto was extreme upset. ¡°Now I want to know when you¡¯ll find me a body!¡± Songen comforted him. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Even if you can¡¯t find a suitable body, you can certainly be reshaped when Lord Mara is resurrected.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Songen¡¯s expression suddenly changed. His eyes looked straight ahead but there was no focus. It seemed as if he was looking at something in the distance through Yamamoto. After a while, his body relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Hong Rui, ¡°My lord wants to see you.¡± Hong Rui couldn¡¯t believe his ears, he thought he had heard it wrong. ¡°Yes, that great one?¡± He didn¡¯t even dare to say his name, not out of respect, but fear. The sense of fear that spawn from the bones. Songen, however, wasn¡¯t afraid to say the name. He smiled gently at him. ¡°Yes, Lord Mara. How lucky you are.¡± Hong Rui didn¡¯t feel fortunate. He only felt scared, but he didn¡¯t dare disobey Songen. He began to regret deeply. He regretted that he shouldn¡¯t have obeyed Dong Qiaolan¡¯s temptation and set foot on this pirate ship in the first place, but now this ship had sailed into the vast sea. If he wanted to disembark, he would only drown. He had an intuition that it wasn¡¯t a good thing for Lord Mara to summon him. This intuition came from human hunting instincts for millions of years. However, Hong Rui knew that he couldn¡¯t back down. He could only slow down as much as possible, in return for the subtle hope that the great one would change his mind in the next moment. On the other hand, he couldn¡¯t help but secretly look back at Dong Qiaolan, hoping that the other party would suddenly make some noise, so he didn¡¯t have to go and become an audience. Songen smiled when he saw his small movements. Instead of interrupting him, he watched with great interest. Hong Rui was taken aback by a cold snort. He raised his head and saw that the human head was staring at him, showing a kind of malicious look. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a sudden shock, but he didn¡¯t dare linger any longer, so he quickly got up and followed Songen. In another passageway. In fact, the surrounding scenery wasn¡¯t bad with green mountains and waters, banana leaves swaying gently in the wind, and white clouds floated overhead, revealing the blue sky from behind them. But Hong Rui was sweating coldly, and he didn¡¯t have the mind to see anything at all. He was just thinking about how he could deal with this situation. He had wandered in the political and business circles and saw many big leagues, but what he was about to face was already beyond the scope of humans. With mysterious and unpredictable power, it could help lift him to the heavens, but also instantly beat him down to hell, making his life worse than death. ¡°Master Song¡ª Songen, later¡­¡± Hong Rui couldn¡¯t help asking. ¡°Shh.¡± Sogen made a gesture and Hong Rui immediately fell silent, not daring to go on. They have reached their destination. The entire room in front of him, which was tightly covered by a black veil, was the place where the soul of the heavenly demon was nurtured. Hong Rui thought fancifully that this place was located on the border and belonged to a zone that no one cared about. It was surrounded by dense jungles that covered and blocked out the sun. Coming here, let alone a road sign, if there were no locals to lead the way, one would definitely get lost and die out here. Even satellite positioning may not be able to find this forgotten corner, but this place wasn¡¯t completely isolated from the world. The needs of resources could always be moved from the prosperous world outside at any time through Songen and his servants. Perhaps it was precisely this that the great one chose to be reborn here. There was only a moment of distraction. When Songen uncovered the corner of the black veil and bent over to enter, Hong Rui immediately withdrew his attention, and followed Songen¡¯s example. He cautiously leaned into the room from the small corner that was uncovered. Fragrance overwhelmed him. The light in the house was very dark, and a few candles swayed unsteadily, but the aroma was a hundred times stronger than when he first entered the stockade. It penetrated all the organs Hong Rui used to communicate with the outside world and almost choked him out of breath. After trying to control his cough, he felt dizzy, and his hands and feet went soft. There were many things scattered inside, including glass jars containing various animals such as snakes, scorpions, insects, rats, and other animals that Hong Rui couldn¡¯t name and didn¡¯t know what their purpose were. He just thought everything was strange. Of course, since entering the stockade, all the furnishing was weird as the world of this witch doctor was very different from ordinary people. On one side, there was a jar that was smaller than pot but larger than an average jar. A middle-aged man was sitting next to it. In the dark, he could make out the typical Southeast Asian appearance, that was, his cheekbones were relatively high, his eyes were somewhat concave, but his entire body was completely wooden, and he wasn¡¯t sure if this man was dead or alive. Then Songen knelt down towards the jar, with his forehead against the floor, and said something in a weird tone that Hong Rui couldn¡¯t understand. Hong Rui didn¡¯t dare to look too much, so he followed Songen, kneeling on the ground like him. A series of long and fast words burst out of Songen¡¯s mouth. Hong Rui was confused, but he suddenly felt something moving ahead. His curiosity was overwhelmed, and he quietly looked up and glanced at it from the corner of his eyes. He saw a black mist vaguely rising from the jar, getting thicker before it finally jumped into the nostril of the man next to it. The man¡¯s body shook slightly. In the dim light, his expression seemed to be distorted. His eyes turned white, and the corner of his mouth pulled out a cold arc. Hong Rui dared not take a closer look and hurriedly lowered his head. He heard a strange voice, as hoarse as sandpaper grinding on an object. ¡°Tell me what happened outside.¡± Hong Rui was able to understand it. The sound hammered heavily in his heart, shaking his body. His heart ached, and his throat was bursting with heat. He was dizzy and his brain swelled. He couldn¡¯t help covering his mouth for fear that there would be blood coming out. He felt that the burning gaze fell on him, like a hunter looking at a prey at his fingertips. Songen lowered his body even more. ¡°Lord Mara is here. Your devout servant Songen Shawang sincerely reports to you that according to the news brought back by Yamamoto, the demon is dead.¡± ¡°Dead?¡± The strange tone was echoed, as if it came from the mouth of the man sitting but was directly penetrated into one¡¯s eardrums and knocked into the mind. Hong Rui felt even more dizzy, and he didn¡¯t know if it was because he was inhaling too much fragrance. Songen said respectfully, ¡°Yes, without the command of the Archfiend, all the Sneaky Yaksha seemed to disappear overnight. Although I can still perceive the existence of the remnants of the Archfiend, it will take at least more than a hundred years in the human world for it to reform and take shape.¡± ¡°So, what about the earth demon?¡± Songen: ¡°There has been frequent movement on Toyo side recently. It¡¯s said that they have clues from the stone tablets, and Yamamoto said that several groups of Japanese people want to attack them, so I think that earth demon may also awaken.¡± ¡°The Archfiend is too useless. You can¡¯t count on it. Since the earth demon is going for the stone tablets, you can provide it with clues about them at the right time. You know what to do.¡± The man¡¯s mouth opened and closed, conveying a magic voice like it came from the end of the abyss. Songen became even more respectful. ¡°Yes, please rest assured. I will never reveal the location of Lord Mara¡¯s place. I am your most loyal servant to my lord. I am dedicated to resurrecting you as soon as possible. No matter the earth demon or Archfiend, they are not the object of my allegiance.¡± The man laughed. His laughter was cold and chilling, enough to make a strong man shudder from the bottom of his heart. Songen trembled slightly involuntarily. The man said slowly, ¡°You can speak easily now. What if you knew that the earth demon is looking for the stone tablets for a greater goal?¡± Songen was so powerful in front of Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan, but he could only shake like a sieve in front of the great one. ¡°This servant¡ª This servant is stupid and doesn¡¯t understand what your excellency means¡­¡± The man said, ¡°When magic is abundant, it will gush out from the cracks in the ground. The red magic moon will arrive in the world and the door of the abyss will open again. The earth demon will not submit to me. What he wants to surrender to is¡ª¡± He suddenly read a string of very strange characters that Hong Rui didn¡¯t understand. He quietly raised his head and glanced at Songen, guessing that the other party might not understand either. Although he got a lot of information here, Hong Rui only became more confused. He knew that this great one was a legendary heavenly demon. After hearing it from Songen last time, he also went back to check the information and found that the heavenly demon was the demon king in Indian Buddhism. He was called Bo Xun or Mara*. From ancient times to present, he was an extremely powerful monster. It was rumored that there had been many natural and man-made disaster in history that were planned by this demon from behind the shadows. *Note: In Chinese, Mara is also referred to as Bo Xun (²¨Ñ®) or Bo Beiye (²¨±°Ò¹). I¡¯m using the translated name Mara for all these instances. In the past, Hong Rui would scoff at these supernatural legends, but after he met Songen and seeing the treacherous scene that could not be described in words with his own eyes, he couldn¡¯t help but believe it. It was only after listening to the conversation between this great one and Songen that he knew that in addition to the heavenly demons, there were also earth demons and Archfiends in the world. The Archfiend was now dead, and the earth demon seemed to be looking for stone tablets. This great one wanted to be resurrected as soon as possible. Although it was also a demon, it didn¡¯t seem to be on the same path. Songen lowered his body. The low words echoed in the space filled with strange aromas. ¡°No matter how the world changes, no one can match my devotion to you. I will always be loyal to you!¡± Hong Rui didn¡¯t dare to pretend to be dead, and hurriedly followed up when he heard the words: ¡°Me, me too. I am willing to give everything to your excellency!¡± Only then did the man seemed to notice him. The white eyes of the man quivered, and his head turned slightly to stare at Hong Rui. Songen seemed to feel something and hurriedly said, ¡°This is the person you wanted to see. His name is Hong Rui, a Chinese businessman.¡± The man said slowly, ¡°You just said that you are willing to give everything for me?¡± Hong Rui was sweating like rain, and stammered, ¡°Yes, yes. I am quite successful in business. If you need money¡­¡± ¡°I don¡¯t want money.¡± The man slowly raised his right hand and pointed at him. ¡°Your body is good. I¡¯m tired of using this one. Lend me your body.¡± Hong Rui¡¯s teeth chattered. How could he not know that his loan would not be repaid! ¡°My lord! Please let me find a better body for you! Stronger and better-looking than me. I can find anything you want!¡± The man said gloomily: ¡°I don¡¯t want them. I just want you.¡± Without saying a word, Hong Rui got up and turned his head and ran out, but as soon as he ran to the door, he suddenly had an abdominal pain like a strangulation, and he couldn¡¯t take another step. He couldn¡¯t help but scream in pain, bent over, and covered his stomach before rolling directly to the ground. ¡°Master Songen! Help me! I don¡¯t want to die. Please help me plead with the great one! I can do anything for you!¡± He grabbed Songen¡¯s trousers. His nose was full of snot, and he no longer had the demeanor of a successful person. He was more like a stray dog begging for mercy, begging for others to let him go. Songen squatted down and shook his head mercifully. ¡°Do you remember the water you drank on the way here just now? You were already hit by a curse at that time. I wasn¡¯t going to let you leave, because if you go back, you¡¯ll definitely be caught. Those who have discovered Han Qi will find clues about the great one from you. I can¡¯t let you expose my lord.¡± He touched Hong Rui¡¯s face, almost gentle, but Hong Rui shook even more severely. ¡°I have done a lot for the great one¡­ Please¡­¡± Hong Rui found that he couldn¡¯t move so he could only let Songen slender hand touch his abdomen as softly as if he was stroking his own child. The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Songen had tore open his shirt, split his flesh with his hands, and caught a three-meter-long white worm inside. Hong Rui opened his eyes wide in horror, watching the long worm squirming slowly on the floor after it came out. He felt sick and wanted to vomit and turned his head to spit out a few big mouthful of blood on the ground. ¡°Go to sleep. If you fall asleep, you won¡¯t know anything.¡± Hong Rui¡¯s last memory was of Songen putting his hand over his eyes. He wanted to struggle and wanted to escape, but all his actions were beyond his control in the eyes of others. Hong Rui heard Songen asked, ¡°Does your excellency want to use this body to go out and see the outside world?¡± The man said, ¡°No, I just want to change to a more comfortable body. My current strength is not strong enough¡­¡± Hong Rui¡¯s consciousness gradually became chaotic and blurred, his head tilted, he fell softly to the ground, and never woke up again. The man watched him completely lose consciousness and couldn¡¯t help but smile happily. ¡°When the moment the carnival comes to an end, these ant-like humans will crawl under our feet. We will have countless food and slaves. Songen, as my most faithful servant, I will allow you to enjoy all this with me.¡± The black mist slowly flowed out of the man¡¯s body, condensed and sank in the air, and gradually penetrated into Hong Rui¡¯s hair, skin, and internal organs. The man who had lost the black mist slumped on the chair as if all his bones were taken away, while Hong Rui slowly opened his blood-red eyes. ¡°Yes, thank you, my lord, for your gift.¡± Songen knelt down on the ground and kissed his feet. Dong Qiaolan waited outside. From when the sun was still in the middle of the sky to the evening, Hong Rui and Songen hadn¡¯t return. An ominous premonition gradually rose in her heart. Her palms were sweating, and her anxiety was unbearable. She wanted to run away but she dared not because Songen¡¯s apprentice was staring at her coldly. Seeing the sun set a little bit, the already dim room lost the last bit of natural light. The head on the table suddenly sneered, ¡°Do you want to run?¡± Dong Qiaolan trembled slightly, and hurriedly pulled out a reluctant smile. ¡°No, I dare not¡­¡± Yamamoto snickered and smiled strangely. ¡°Your companion won¡¯t come back anymore. I don¡¯t know if you will survive tonight.¡± Dong Qiaolan¡¯s face turned pale as she flopped on the ground and began pleading with Yamamoto and Sogen¡¯s apprentice. ¡°Masters, I have always been loyal to the master and have introduced many guests to him and taken no credit for the hard work. I¡ªI will help the master do more things in the future!¡± Yamamoto said coldly, ¡°The person surnamed Dong is from the Special Administration Bureau. They found Han Qi and they will find you sooner or later. If you go back, you will be caught!¡± Dong Qiaolan murmured, ¡°I will be very careful. I can change my name¡­¡± Yamamoto laughed. ¡°Why bother? Just stay here. I guess Songen won¡¯t mind another vessel to practice his witchcraft on, right, Songen?¡± He said to the person behind Dong Qiaolan. Dong Qiaolan subconsciously looked back, and as a result her head spun so fast that her body directly fell to the ground. Songen stepped in from the outside. ¡°My lord said Hong Rui¡¯s body is better than the original one.¡± Yamamoto Kiyoshi turned his eyes. Now he only had his head left, and even the perspective of his body was limited, so he wasn¡¯t used to it. ¡°Where¡¯s my body. When will it be ready for me!¡± Songen said lightly. ¡°Your soul is severely damaged. Even if you have a body now, it¡¯s useless. You should recuperate here. Maybe you can return to business as usual in three years.¡± Yamamoto said irritably, ¡°Three years! I have to wait three years?! If it weren¡¯t for that person surnamed Dong, how could I become like this now! I want him to die! Died a hundred times worse than me! No, I want his body, just let him be my new body!¡± ¡°What¡¯s the use of yelling at me?¡± Even though he was furious, Songen remained calm and ordered his disciple, ¡°Zabigan, send this woman to me. My spell is just short one last prop.¡± The obedient disciple nodded slightly, got up and dragged Dong Qiaolan away. The woman weighing more than three hundred kilograms was dragged away by him with one hand, without any effort. ¡ª Lucheng. It was another fine day. When most of the north had already begun to snow, there was still a slight warmth from the sea breeze. The fallen leaves weren¡¯t necessarily withered and yellow, and the branches were still full of green, making people suspect that winter wasn¡¯t coming, but spring. Without the dry sand, dust, and haze, there was only the fragrance of flowers and the faint smell of the sea. Both Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo yawned at the same time, trying their best to curb the drowsiness caused by the afternoon sun on their bodies. It was just that one person was lying down, and the other was still sitting in front of the computer typing a report. Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but showed a blank look at Dong Zhi. ¡°You¡¯re so relaxed. As a leader you don¡¯t have to do anything!¡± Dong Zhi yawned again, pulling up the thin blanket a little. ¡°Who said I don¡¯t have anything to do? Without me, can we change to a new office so quickly?¡± The author has something to say: The most terrifying thing in the world is nothing more than greed that blinds your eyes, and it is difficult to turn back. Do you remember Lin Xuan? The Lin family in Lingnan, his father was cursed by witchcraft. Now the causes and consequences are connected¡­ Kinky Thoughts: Lin Xuan appears in chapter 50. He helped the Japanese kidnapped Dong Zhi. He¡¯s trying to get dragon powder to save his father who¡¯s been cursed by witchcraft. Now we know who¡¯s behind it. CH 90 Han Qi was discovered with massive abdominal bleeding. Though she was sent to the hospital she shortly died after due to having been found too late. The news of her death directly triggered a shock in the entertainment industry. All kinds of suspicion and gossip were flying all over the world. Rumors of the death of a well-known actress in a hotel due to a miscarriage spread like wildfire. Regarding her rumored lover, her cause of death triggered a lot of fanciful speculation from the outside world. Some people even guessed that she was the mistress of a certain powerful person, and she knew too many things and had to be silenced. Her current agent announced that she died of an acute illness in the hotel, and Han Qi¡¯s fans also stood up to defend her reputation. However, at the time, there were hotel staff present at the incident, and some piecemeal insights had spread, adding more fuel to the big news. Some people even linked this incident to Hui Yiguang, saying that she was a broom star* and something would happen wherever she went. Of course, most of this kind of remarks were made by diehard fans of Han Qi, who didn¡¯t believe the death of their idol was due to an emergency attack. *In reference to Mrs. Ma from the novel ¡°Fengshen Romance¡± in the Ming Dynasty. She was married to Jiang Ziya but he wasn¡¯t good at making money, so she abandoned him. Later Jiang Ziya became famous and a god, so she regretted her decision and hanged herself giving Jiang Ziya the god of broom stars. || In this context it¡¯s saying Hui Yiguang is like a bad omen. With the death of Han Qi, the progress of the drama being filmed was interrupted. Before that, the crew had suffered many injuries, and the death of Han Qi made people even more frightened. Though the crew didn¡¯t say it, many were glad that the filming had stopped. The only person who would be unhappy were the investors. A large sum of money was floating in the water, and they didn¡¯t know how long it would take to recover it. However, Boss Zhao didn¡¯t care either way. He was rich and had deep pockets, so this investment wasn¡¯t worth paying much attention to. He could get back to his life and go on a trip. On the contrary, he felt that business wasn¡¯t a loss as he was able to develop contacts with experts like Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi through Hui Yiguang. Though he tried to visit them and give them a hefty reward, Dong Zhi had rejected all of them. Receiving money from Hui Yiguang was agreed upon in advance and the task and payment were already cleared. Moreover, Hui Yiguang had a relationship before, which could be regarded as a cause and effect. However, Boss Zhao was different. He was a pure businessman. If they were to collect money now, next time he would push other requirements forward and it was easy to entangle with such matter. Slaying and warding demons was the duty of the Special Administration Bureau. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to cause unnecessary trouble because of a moment of greed, so he strictly refused all gifts and rewards from Boss Zhao. Unable to push his agenda, he could only give up and leave in a daze. For Dong Zhi and the others, Han Qi¡¯s death wasn¡¯t part of after-dinner gossip, but an unsolved mystery. They cooperated with the police and quickly found Han Qi¡¯s lover Hong Rui and Han Qi¡¯s former agent Dong Qiaolan, but the strange thing was the two of them had took a flight to Bangkok, Thailand, a few days before the incident, and then disappeared without a trace. There was no record of them returning and no information about them had been found in Thailand. It was if they had completely evaporated from the world leaving nothing behind. As for Han Qi¡¯s first love, Zhong Huan, the two hadn¡¯t contacted each other since they broke up, and they couldn¡¯t get more useful information from him. After interrogating Han Qi¡¯s assistant and current agent, they found that the key was the related to the master Han Qi talked about, but that master was introduced to her by Dong Qiaolan. When she took Han Qi, Han Qi didn¡¯t even bring her assistant, so as soon as Dong Qiaolan disappeared, naturally, they wouldn¡¯t be able to find the master that was mentioned. Based on limited information, Dong Zhi could only draw a general conclusion. That master was most likely a witch or witch doctor who wanted to used Han Qi¡¯s child for his own desire. Out of pursuit of fame and fortune, Han Qi was tempted by the witch doctor and Dong Qiaolan and allowed it to happen. She was unaware that the witch doctor had placed a wisp of demonic qi using witchcraft on her. Eventually the demonic embryo broke loose and attacked the mother¡¯s body. It even triggered the rebound of Han Qi¡¯s original fetus, which eventually led to this tragedy. Seeing that his companion rolled his eyes, Dong Zhi smiled. ¡°Making a report in the dilapidated house is still very different from making a report here, right?¡± ¡°I just can¡¯t figure it out!¡± As the report went on, Liu Qingbo became angrier the more he thought about it. He couldn¡¯t help but stopped his movements and said in disbelief, ¡°Han Qi is a woman who wanted fame and fortune. I don¡¯t get why she would deal with those missing moths. Is it human to want to lock your dead child into a jade charm?¡± Dong Zhi was also indignant about this kind of thing at the beginning of his career, but now he had turned to appeased Liu Qingbo. ¡°The desires of human nature are endless. When you¡¯re a prime minister, you want to face the south and be emperor, one who¡¯s in charged of the world and eventually the heavens. If one¡¯s been poor, it¡¯s fine. However, Han Qi is from the entertainment industry. The luxury she has seen far exceeds the imagination of ordinary people, thus the temptation is greater than ordinary people. Some people can control it, while others cave to their desires.¡± Liu Qingbo sneered, ¡°I only pity her child, who was abandoned by her, and locked up to be use as feed for the demon. Despite this it wanted to help her drive away the demon, and finally sacrifice itself and lost its soul. In the end, with Han Qi¡¯s virtue, even if she knew it, she would only feel that she was the victim and would not have the slightest repentance.¡± Dong Zhi shrugged. ¡°So it¡¯s natural that she suffered the consequences. As you can see, she has been chasing fame and fortune, and has died disgracefully. Where will her fame be after her death? There¡¯s also us, the Special Administration Bureau here as well. We can help take care of things that God can¡¯t manage, but we are also there for those that God doesn¡¯t want to manage.¡± Liu Qingo squinted at him and sneered again, ¡°Your mouth is getting sharper, but this isn¡¯t the reason for you to be lazy!¡± Dong Zhi yawned, and not long after sitting up, he retracted into the blanket again. He wasn¡¯t sure if it¡¯s because it was winter but recently, he had become more prone to drowsiness. Although he practiced kung fu and his Bu Tian Gang a lot, he still felt that his energy couldn¡¯t keep up. He suspected the reason why was because he had been feeding his sword with his blood to see the illusions recently. He became scared so he didn¡¯t dare do it again in the past few days. The remuneration received from Hui Yiguang was reported in full and his application for reconstruction of the new office was quickly approved. Couple with allocation of the branch office, the total amount wasn¡¯t large, but it was almost enough. Although Zhang Chong liked to boast, his skill was more suitable for business. He quickly found a small two-story house for the office. The location was also good. Not far away was a school. He would sell milk tea and snacks downstairs, while the upstairs would be used as an office. He also left a room for Zhang Chong so he didn¡¯t need to rent another place and could take care of the decoration process of the shop. Thus, everyone was happy in this way. The upper floor was originally the office of a small company. The furniture was all ready-made, and the decoration was mostly new. It was directly transferred to them, so Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have to bother with such things. Moreover, the former boss was probably a very neat person with a keen eye. The office had a lot of green plants and ceramics used for decorations, and the sofa, chaise lounge, and office desk¡¯s style were consistent with each other. It gave off a very simple and comfortable feeling that made one feel at home. After Yan Nuo lost his soul, his memory had significantly decreased, and his body was slow to recover. His application for suspension from work was approved and he had already returned to his teacher¡¯s school a while ago. As a result, there was only four people left. For a branch office, such an office wasn¡¯t considered small. With Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo present, their combat power had also greatly improved. Unintentionally, the Dong Zhi had jumped from a newcomer to the top of the four. Under his leadership, the Lucheng office had been reborn and was about to embark on a new journey. Out of the need to hide from people¡¯s eyes and ears and self-financing, it was still necessary for the milk tea shop downstairs to exist. After all, the funds were too small. Once in a while, they could occasionally get some small benefits and would be able to communicate with the outside world as a way to ask for some information. With Mu Duo and Zhang Chong involved with the decoration, there was no need for Dong Zhi to bother. He and Liu Qingbo mainly followed up on Han Qi¡¯s incident. Dong Zhi tried to connect Han Qi¡¯s incident to the case of the murder of the family and the death of the weasel, Lao Liu, but so far, there didn¡¯t seem to be any clues indicating the connection between these events. If Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan couldn¡¯t be found, there would be no breakthrough in the case. Dong Zhi wrapped himself tightly in a thin blanket, revealing only his head. When the phone rang, he lazily stretched out his hand to get it and said to Liu Qingbo, ¡°Lao Liu, can you help.¡± Liu Qingbo scolded, ¡°Why are you so lazy?!¡± As he scolded, he helped him picked up the phone. ¡°Shu He. Who?¡± Dong Zhi sighed, ¡°Colleague from the Branch Bureau is calling me.¡± He took the cellphone, said a few words to the other side, hung up the phone and said to Liu Qingbo, ¡°The top asked us to go to Shencheng as soon as possible. After we came from the General Administration, we haven¡¯t been to the Branch Bureau yet. Recently, a lot of things have happened in Lucheng, so it¡¯s good to report to him in person.¡± Liu Qingbo was stunned. ¡°These days there are computers and internet, so who would make a special trip to report in person? Did you offend some leader?¡± Dong Zhi touched his chin and thought. ¡°I don¡¯t think so. I have met the director of the Branch Bureau and have cooperated with him once. I guess he may have something to tell us.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°What do you mean us?¡± Dong Zhi said innocently, ¡°It¡¯s you and me.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°¡­I¡¯m not going.¡± Dong Zhi said solemnly, ¡°Han Qi¡¯s affairs have made a lot of trouble. After all she is a public figure. Although the cause of death announced to the public wasn¡¯t murder, there were still a lot of people present at that time. There will always be some gossip that would spread. It¡¯s normal for the top to inquire about it. You should participate since you naturally report to me. Besides, showing your face in front of the leader is something many people can¡¯t wait to do. Otherwise, aren¡¯t you afraid that I will take all the credit?¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°You are so lazy to even get up and get your cellphone. Would you do such a strenuous thing as stealing credit?¡± ¡°That¡¯s right.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and closed his eyes, ¡°I¡¯ll squint for a while, and you can call me again when it¡¯s dinner time. I¡¯ll talk to Mu Duo in the afternoon and set off for Shencheng in the evening¡­¡± In the end, his tone was almost mumbled and blurred that Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t hear clearly any longer unless he got closer. Liu Qingbo: ¡°¡­Did you go sneaking around last night*?¡± *Steal chickens and dogs (͵¼¦Ãþ¹·) Refers to the act of stealing or other unethical activities. Dong Zhi ingored him and turned over, revealing only his fluffy head. Liu Qingbo frowned slightly, walked over and put his hand on the Dong Zhi¡¯s forehead. Dong Zhi was already asleep. The temperature of the palm was normal, there was no fever, and the pulse was felt normal, and there were no signs of illness. Sure enough, he was sneaking around all night! ¡ª Beijing. For Long Shen, this was an ordinary day. When he didn¡¯t have to go out in the field, his life at the General Administration was very ordinary. At three he would be either in his dorm, office, or the conference room. He would occasionally go to the rooftop to practice. This routine was broken during the apprenticeship period. When Dong Zhi was here, if he had nothing to do, Dong Zhi would take the opportunity to drag him to restaurants. Long Shen usually had no appetite. If the meal wasn¡¯t mandatory, he generally wouldn¡¯t think about eating. However, under the tireless introduction of Dong Zhi, he knew which Hunan restaurants was the best nearby, and the Cantonese restaurant in the comprehensive shopping mall next to the General Administration most authentic dish wasn¡¯t the scallion oil chicken, but the sweet and sour pork. The memory wasn¡¯t relevant, but even if one didn¡¯t specifically recall it, they would still unexpectedly remember it when they see it. He then remembered that it had been almost two months since Dong Zhi had went to Lucheng. In late autumn heading into winter, there had been several heavy snows in the capital. Long Shen¡¯s thin and chic black windbreaker attracted a lot of head turns from passersby on the road, but he didn¡¯t care. He went around the back of the building, nodded to greet the uncle guarding the door, and walked in as usual. On the way he met Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun and the two of them gave their congratulations. Long Shen had always been thoughtful and couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. ¡°Congratulations on what?¡± Song Zhicun smiled and said, ¡°Why, don¡¯t you know yet? Didn¡¯t your apprentice tell you the good news?¡± ¡°Boss Long has a very good eyes! You had never accepted apprentices before and now as soon as you got one, he turns out to be truly capable. He¡¯s only been in office for less than two months and was now promoted to the person in charge. Since the establishment of our Special Administration Bureau, this is the fastest promotion, right?¡± Wu Bingtian¡¯s tone wasn¡¯t as natural as Song Zhicun¡¯s, most likely because he also had wanted to accept Dong Zhi as his disciple. Long Shen¡¯s reaction was half a beat slower: ¡°¡­Is it Han Qi¡¯s business?¡± Song Zhicun and Wu Bingtian looked at each other. ¡°Dong Zhi really didn¡¯t tell you?¡± Long Shen shook his head. ¡°I know about Han Qi. The branch office has already reported it. He should be directly responsible to the branch office. There is no need to tell me everything.¡± But before that didn¡¯t you two have a good relationship and was super sticky to each other? Song Zhicun swallowed those words and instead said with a smile, ¡°Your apprentice is very good at things. As soon as he arrived in Lucheng, he first seriously injured Yamamoto Kiyoshi, and then destroyed the Han Qi¡¯s demonic qi in the nick of time. She didn¡¯t give birth to that child who would have caused great disaster. Yan Nuo, the original person in charge of Lucheng, had applied for sick leave due to his injury in the Yamamoto incident. The Branch Office wants to change Dong Zhi from temporarily in charge to an official position. He and Liu Qingbo will become director and deputy director of the Lucheng office.¡± ¡°I see.¡± Long Shen¡¯s expression was calm, and he didn¡¯t look happy nor unhappy. Song Zhicun couldn¡¯t figure out his reaction so he continued, ¡°However, the following is not without gossip. It¡¯s said that he privately received Hui Yiguang¡¯s money as a reward this time. Although he had already reported to the bureau and used it for the construction of the office, at the end of the day, he still used a loophole. If this precedent is set, I¡¯m afraid someone else will follow suit in the future.¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Lucheng has very little funding?¡± Song Zhicun: ¡°It¡¯s true since before this, Lucheng¡¯s performance was mediocre, and the Branch Office didn¡¯t give much. Now they have changed offices and the initial funds aren¡¯t enough. It just so happened that Hui Yiguang¡¯s crew had an incident and had asked him for help. Dong Zhi took the remuneration to cover the cost of the office construction.¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Well, all the remuneration was turned over. Let him write a review. This time the General Administration will allocate a sum of money to them in the name of meritorious service awards so that they won¡¯t have to worry about expenses.¡± Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun were stunned. There seem to be a big bend here. Why so different? The difference here was the way of allocating money. Normally, it was unorthodox for the General Administration to allocate funds directly to an office, but if it was done in the name of meritorious awards it would looked like the General Administration was commending the office. The corner of Song Zhicun¡¯s mouth twitch. ¡°They all say that Boss Wu protect his group¡¯s shortcomings1, but I think Boss Long protects the short and the home2.¡± 1The term here is (»¤¶Ì) which basically means they are shielding a shortcoming/fault/mistake of someone. He¡¯s saying that Wu Bingtian tends to cover up for his team members mistake. 2Basically, he¡¯s saying not only does Long Shen shields the shortcomings of Dong Zhi in the sense because he¡¯s in his team, but he¡¯s also shielding him as one special to him (like family). Wu Bingtian was annoyed. ¡°Where do I protect shortcomings? I have always been known to be fair, okay!¡± Yes, of course, there¡¯s totally no difference between your fifty steps and one hundred steps. Song Zhicun perfunctorily said in his heart. ¡°After all, Dong Zhi has to work under the Branch Office so it¡¯s easy for them to get a bad impression of him. Anyways, a little gossip won¡¯t affect anything. Besides, all the money was handed over to the public and he has also written a project report on it. The branch doesn¡¯t plan to do anything to him,¡± Song Zhicun persuaded. Long Shen listened, nodded, and said nothing, since the matter was already exposed. Song Zhicun breathed a sigh of relief. After the meeting, it was time to get off work. Long Shen went directly back to the dorm, fed the cat, watered the potted plants, and inadvertently saw the cellphone at hand. After hesitating for a moment, he opened the address book and found the familiar number. He would naturally defend his apprentice in front of outsiders, but he must also warn him not to do things too hastily, so as not to be caught. Although this time it was just a trivial matter, there was no guarantee that it would be a trivial every time. If one day he didn¡¯t pay attention, Dong Zhi might have a big fall. The phone rang for a long time before a voice prompt told him the call couldn¡¯t be connect at this time. He most likely had his phone turned off. Long Shen glanced at the time. It was only six in the evening, which was far from bedtime. He tried several more times but only go the same response, so he simply changed the number. The old office was going to be sold. In the past two days, they had found an intermediary buyer. Mu Duo and Zhang Chong were busy completing the handover procedures with the other party. Just after they finished the process with the intermediary and was about to head to dinner, they received a call from an unknown number. Mu Duo didn¡¯t think much about it, so she picked it up. ¡°Hello?¡± A strange male voice came from the other end. ¡°Hello, I am Dong Zhi¡¯s master. I can¡¯t get through to his phone right now. Has he turned it off?¡± Mu Duo was taken aback and quickly replied, ¡°Yes, they had an evening flight to Shencheng and should still be on the plane now.¡± The other party said, ¡°Okay, I see, thank you.¡± The tone was very polite, but it was difficult to conceal the prestige. When one heard it, they would know it was a tone that was used to giving orders. Mu Duo hurriedly said you¡¯re welcome and seeing as the other party had nothing else to say, she hung up. Zhang Chong was thinking about what to eat but he couldn¡¯t help but see Mu Duo stop abruptly. ¡°What¡¯s the matter? ¡± Mu Duo said indifferently, ¡°I just remembered that Dong Zhi¡¯s master is Director Long from the General Administration, right?¡± Zhang Cheng: ¡°It seems so. Why?¡± Mu Duo sighed. ¡°I didn¡¯t connect these two identities at first!¡± Zhang Chong scratched his head. ¡°You didn¡¯t say anything you shouldn¡¯t have, did you?¡± Mu Duo wondered, ¡°Why does the Boss Long have my number? Did he ask Dong Zhi before, or did he find someone to ask for it?¡± Zhang Cheng said, ¡°Our phone number is stored in the General Administration¡¯s data. Even if Dong Zhi didn¡¯t tell him, with his authority, it¡¯s not difficult to find it.¡± Mu Duo sighed again. ¡°As soon as the apprentice turns off his phone, he becomes worried and calls me. Why didn¡¯t my master care so much about me?¡± Zhang Cheng laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t be envious. Haven¡¯t you heard that the General Administration has three giants that protect shortcomings!¡± Mu Duo: ¡°What three giants?¡± Zhang Chong smiled and told her about the gossip of the General Administration. ¡°I heard from my elder martial brother that it was two seniors, Boss Wu and the consultant Daoist Master Li Rui who tends to protect their group¡¯s shortcomings. After Boss Long accepted his apprentice, Dong Zhi, he was added to that list which now is the big three! I heard that there¡¯s another named Li Ying, who¡¯s the son of Daoist Master Li. You should be glad that he didn¡¯t come to Lucheng for an internship. Otherwise, you might have another person who¡¯ll be calling you!¡± CH 91 When Liu Qingbo sneezed, it caused Dong Zhi to slightly curl up subconsciously in the blanket. Liu Qingbo glanced at him and seeing that the other party was still in a deep sleep, he didn¡¯t wake him up and continued to read his book. They wanted to book a high-speed train, but the time was too tight and there weren¡¯t any seats available, so they had to fly instead. As soon as the two sat down, Dong Zhi began to doze off without saying a word, but he didn¡¯t sleep well. His dreams had many shadows in them. Countless pictures passed like lanterns, chaotic and confusing. He reached out to them but was unable to catch any frames. While in a trance, it seemed that he was on a familiar street with dim lights. He walked side by side with Long Shen as they headed to a place in front of them. And he hoped the road would never end. Neither person spoke. If no one started a topic, they both would remain silent forever. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but speak up. ¡°Master, please walk slower. I have something to say to you.¡± The person by him gave a hum in a low voice and slowed down his pace. Dong Zhi smiled slightly and confessed the feelings in reality that couldn¡¯t easily be revealed, ¡°Master, I like you.¡± ¡°Like me?¡± the other party repeated in confusion. ¡°Yes, like the¡­ romantic kind.¡± ¡°How much do you like me?¡± the other party asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it can be called love.¡± Dong Zhi mustered up the courage to say. The other party asked again, ¡°Then are you willing to sacrifice your life for me?¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback, trying to say that he would, but faintly felt something was wrong. His master, even when he heard the word ¡°like¡±, told him to give up. He wouldn¡¯t ask such a thing. Was this really his master? Thinking of this, he couldn¡¯t help turning his head and tried to see the face of the person in front of him. The other party also happened to look at him and smiled slightly. The appearance was almost enchanting but¡­ It wasn¡¯t Long Shen! Dong Zhi was so startled that he subconsciously wanted to retreat, but his neck was grabbed tightly by his opponent. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that I¡¯m your master?¡± The strength of the person holding his neck was getting stronger. He placed his other hand on Dong Zhi side so forcefully that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t break away. He stretched out his hand to touch the Changshou Sword but found that it wasn¡¯t there and the talisman in his pockets were missing. He could only watch the face of the beautiful but strange face approached him gradually, showing a gentle and extreme smile. With nowhere to escape or retreat, his breathing gradually became difficult. His face changed from red to purple, and his hands involuntarily clung to his opponent¡¯s wrist. He sank his fingers deeply into them, but his struggled felt as if he was trying to break a stone with an egg, so weak that it was negligible. ¡°Your master is gone, so it¡¯s better for me to replace him.¡± The other party¡¯s breath sprayed on his face and it felt as real as if this wasn¡¯t a dream. ¡°I promise that I will treat you well and refine your soul into a part of my body.¡± No¡­ The shackles on his neck slowly tightened, and the opponent enjoyed the pleasure of playing with his prey. He wasn¡¯t in a hurry to kill him immediately as continued to watch him sink in pain little by little. What should I do without my sword or talismans? Dong Zhi closed his eyes and recited a mantra praying to God in his heart. Dong Zhi, disciple of the Hezao Sect sincerely implores if there are any spirits of the yin gods from the heavens to help this disciple. Dong Zhi, disciple of the Hezao Sect sincerely implores if there are any spirits of the yin gods from the heavens to help this disciple¡­ This time he didn¡¯t try to find a righteous God anymore, as he didn¡¯t know who would answer his call, just as long as they could dispel the enemy first. Blood rushed up from his throat and he resisted until the mantra was completely recited. Then he stopped suppressing himself and spurted out the blood. His chest was empty, and he vomited like a boulder. Bright red dots splashed on the opponent¡¯s face. The man¡¯s strange smile stagnated a for a short time, and Dong Zhi took that opportunity to smack his handprint on the opponent! The light in front of him suddenly became so dazzling that he couldn¡¯t open his eyes. In a daze, he seemed to see the shadow of the Changshou Sword flying past his head. In the strong light, the man¡¯s face was shaken and distorted, and there seemed to be a little surprise, which was immediately obscured by the light. The strength the man used to choke Dong Zhi¡¯s neck loosen and involuntarily caused him to drop Dong Zhi¡¯s body. Within the sight, between heaven and earth, there was no end to the pale snow that was boundless. Whether the enemy was dead or alive, he no longer could threaten him. Realizing this, Dong Zhi felt slightly relieved, letting his body fall sharply. Far away in Beijing, Long Shen, who originally had his eyes closed and was sitting cross-legged as he mediated suddenly opened his eyes! He looked at the wall in front of him steadily, and seemed as if he could see through the wall, looking into the distant void. On the plane, Liu Qingbo was taken back when he saw the blood slowly overflowing from the corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth and the choke marks on his neck had suddenly appeared at some point. He wanted to wake up the other party but remembered that he had heard of a kind of sorcery that could attack enemies in their sleep. Waking up the other party rashly might cause them to die suddenly. He didn¡¯t dare to move when he thought about it. He was anxiously thinking about what to do when Dong Zhi suddenly opened his eyes and woke up. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± He couldn¡¯t help but swear. ¡°Are you okay?!¡± Compared to Dong Zhi¡¯s injury, Liu Qingbo was even more shocked that he couldn¡¯t help but yell at him and was wondering if that was still the same person. ¡°Tell me, what¡¯s my name?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help rolling his eyes. ¡°Liu Bobo!¡± Liu Qingbo frowned and became more suspicious. Dong Zhi patted his hand away and coughed a few times. ¡°Feijing Sword and the three-headed python, I haven¡¯t lost my memory and I¡¯m not possessed¡­¡± Liu Qingbo¡¯s face turned blue and white for a while as he pinched Dong Zhi¡¯s wrist and restrained the desire to kick this person out of the plane. His pulse felt a little faster, but it was still normal. Dong Zhi felt a pain in his neck, so he couldn¡¯t help but reach out and touch it. ¡°I was almost strangled to death in my dream.¡± His voice was hoarse and sounded like a completely different person than before he went to sleep. ¡°There is indeed a circle of bruises on your neck.¡± Liu Qingbo looked solemn. ¡°Did you see the other person¡¯s face clearly?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I did but it¡¯s strange. I have never seen this person before.¡± ¡°The last time you dealt with that Yamamoto, didn¡¯t you let the opponent run away in the end? Could it be that he came back to seek revenge? What kind of spell did the other party use in the dream that you weren¡¯t able to fight back and let them flatten you like this!¡± Liu Qingbo became angrier as he spoke as if he couldn¡¯t wait to jump into his dream just now and strangle the other party. Dong Zhi said weakly, ¡°Brother, if I didn¡¯t put up a fight, do you think I¡¯ll be waking up right now? The opponent seemed to have been injured by the light from my Changshou Sword, but I don¡¯t know how bad the injury is.¡± Liu Qingbo gritted his teeth. ¡°Shit, he¡¯s really ballsey* daring to attack a member of the Special Administration Bureau. If I ever meet him, I¡¯ll lop off his head and chop it into eighteen pieces!¡± *Eating a bear¡¯s heart and leopard¡¯s gallbladder. It comes from the drama ¡°The Orphan of the Zhao Family¡± and is a metaphor referring to being very bold. Dong Zhi tilted his head: ¡°¡­I¡¯ll close my eyes for a bit. Wake me up when we land!¡± ¡°Are you a pig? You can still sleep at this time?!¡± Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but raise his voice which attracted the attention of everyone around him. He lowered his volume and said, ¡°What if they plot against you again!¡± Dong Zhi comforted. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I¡¯m not going to fall asleep. I¡¯m just closing my eyes to refresh my mind and regulate my breath.¡± Having said that, he already closed his eyes. Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help it so he started recounting all their opponents who could be plotting against Dong Zhi. Although they had just entered the Special Administration Bureau, there were quite a few enemies already. There was the matter of Dong Zhi killing Yamamoto Kiyoshi and stopping his conspiracy in time, but he was cunning and was able to escape with his soul leaving no clues behind. Although he was alive now, his life is certainly worse than death. He probably hated Dong Zhi to the bone and would probably be ranked second¡ª no first. There was also the matter of Han Qi. Although they killed the demon and Han Qi died, the matter should have been resolved, but Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan was also related to this matter, and they had disappeared without a trace. These two people weren¡¯t small, so they were a hidden danger. Who knew what kind of things they would plot in the dark? Besides this, last time, under Liang Weiqi¡¯s tomb, they used a cruel method on the three-headed giant python. Could the giant python also¡­ Forget it. Skipping that thought there was the group of Japanese. Could someone from there escape alive and was coming back to seek revenge? But at the same time, a large number of them were there, and they shouldn¡¯t just specifically target Dong Zhi to seek revenge. That would be acting rashly and alerting the enemy¡­ When they finally landed, he didn¡¯t know if it was due to the meditation or he had recuperated, but Dong Zhi¡¯s face looked a lot better, except for the choke marks on his neck. Dong Zhi took out a scarf from his backpack and covered it up as to not scare passersby. On the other hand, Liu Qingbo thought hard the entire trip and didn¡¯t come up with a reason, which only cause his spirit to wilt a little. This time they took a special passage so they could bring their weapons on the plane, but in order to not scare other passengers, Dong Zhi put his sword away and hid it in the qin box. At this moment, Dong Zhi took out the Changshou Sword and stroked it gently. ¡°Thank you,¡± he whispered. The sword Long Shen gave him was naturally not ordinary. In his vision, he had seen Long Shen climbed to the top of a snow-capped mountain to take the heart of the mountain and refined it into the Changshou Sword. Even if this sword wasn¡¯t as good as Long Shen, it was more of a spiritual thing. As expected, he was rescued by it just now. ¡°If this person can plot against you once, then he¡¯ll plot against you a second time,¡± Liu Qingbo warned. Dong Zhi stretched his waist. ¡°I know, but I have to figure out what the other party is before I can trace it back to who is plotting against me¡­¡± As he was talking, someone called as soon as he turned on his phone. The words ¡°Master¡± lit on the phone screen and suddenly jumped into his eyes. His heart thumped and his fingers moved faster than his brain as he press the answer button. ¡°Master?¡± ¡°Did you invite God again?¡± the other end asked directly. ¡°Yes, I was in a dream¡­¡± Dong Zhi honestly confessed to the dream just now and he was ready to be scolded. However, Long Shen didn¡¯t scold him and only asked where he was feeling unwell. Dong Zhi said he recently felt lethargic and was easily sleepy, but there were no other problems. Long Shen listened then said, ¡°After you go to Shencheng, take whatever Tang Jing gives you. After a while, I will go to Shencheng and take a look at you.¡± Dong Zhi became a little excited, but he didn¡¯t dare act too happy. He could only pretend and responded calmly. Seeing the other party had nothing else to say, he hung up the phone. Despite being thousands of miles away, Long Shen knew he had invited God. He wasn¡¯t surprised, but since the other party didn¡¯t mention it, there was probably a reason why, so he presumably didn¡¯t ask anything. However, what made Dong Zhi felt even more strange was that in the past, Long Shen had repeatedly ordered him to never invite God again, but this time he didn¡¯t scold him. Was Long Shen also aware of the unusualness of the enemy? Doubts circled his heart as he recalled the scene of the dream over and over again. Except for the man¡¯s appearance that left a deep impression of him, there were no other clues. The Branch Office had already learned of their arrival and had prepared a hotel that was next to them. The environment and facilities were at the level of an ordinary express hotel, but they couldn¡¯t be picky. It was just two members from their small office coming to report to the branch leader, so it was impossible for them to be set up in a five-star hotel. It was already pretty good that they were able to have their expenses reimbursed, but young master Liu Qingbo frowned when he saw the express hotel and insisted going to a nearby five-star hotel and spent his own money. Dong Zhi was too lazy to quarrel with him on such trivial matters, so he agreed. The people at the branch office never showed up. Only one person named Shu He called and welcomed their arrival, then said that they had worked hard on this trip. They should have a good rest tomorrow, and then go to the branch office to report the day after tomorrow. He hung up the phone after a few pleasantries, like a wave of his sleeve in farewell, not taking a single wisp of cloud with him*. *Line from the poem ¡°Farewell to Cambridge¡± by Xu Zhimo. As for it¡¯s meaning, most likely it¡¯s saying Shu He¡¯s call came and went quietly leaving no lasting impression. You can follow the link to read the entire poem (translated). Liu Qingbo was a little dissatisfied, feeling that even if they came to report, the branch wouldn¡¯t take them seriously. Dong Zhi knew a little more than he did, so he said, ¡°This Shu He is Boss Tang¡¯s assistant, an assistant of a director of a branch office. He has higher seniority and level than us. It¡¯s not simple for him to just call and greet us. If he really comes over, we won¡¯t be at ease. Since we have tomorrow off, why don¡¯t we think about where to go play?¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°I don¡¯t even know how many times I¡¯ve been to Shencheng. What¡¯s so fun?¡± Dong Zhi picked up the event brochure in the hotel and flipped it over. ¡°There are quite a lot of activities in Shencheng this month. There will be an anime convention tomorrow and a private art museum with an exhibition of the Tang and Song Dynasty cultural relics. Huh, there¡¯s also an auction there. Which one do you want to go to?¡± Liu Qingbo looked at the brochure, but he lacked interest. He wanted to mention the anime convention casually, but then he saw a familiar name and couldn¡¯t help but grinned. ¡°Let¡¯s go to the auction!¡± The auction was connected to the classical Chinese culture exhibition, which mainly exhibited some jewelry and cultural relics. It seemed to be a relatively private event and Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t sure why Liu Qingbo suddenly became interested in it. Taking another look at the special guest, he saw the name Chen Guoliang. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he suddenly understood. Speaking of Chen Guoliang, in the eyes of Dong Zhi, he was just a charlatan with no real abilities and only made money by his mouth alone. Even Luo Nanfang and Zhang Han wasn¡¯t as good as him since compared to them, his eloquence was much more refined, which made the rich people of Hong Kong eat him up. They regarded him as a master and was willing to deliver money right to his door, waiting for him to give them guidance. After what happened with Han Qi last time, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo took Chen Guoliang back and planned to teach him a good lesson, but found that when they walked in the industry of quacks, it turned out that they didn¡¯t use the name of a Daoist master. Instead, they set up a front under the guise of ¡°home environment consultation¡± that offered services to transform people¡¯s homes into feng shui, which was a business that wasn¡¯t illegal. Bluntly stated, one was willing to fight, and the other was willing to suffer*. If people had too much money to burn and were willing to send it to Chen Guoliang, then that was something they couldn¡¯t prevent. *This is saying that Chen Guoliang set up a business front so he could conduct his scheme rather than himself (think shell company), so when they came after him, they could only go after the shell company he set himself under (the one willing to suffer). However, after Han Qi¡¯s incident, Chen Guoliang became a lot more honest after being frightened by Dong Zhi and them. He didn¡¯t dare to put on the title of a master any longer. This time, he appeared as a special guest under the title of a senior antique master instead of a feng shui master, which was both quite infuriating and laughable. It seemed Chen Guoliang was quite unlucky. When he was in Lucheng, he encountered Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, and now he was invited to Shencheng and they had followed him. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t like him, so he wouldn¡¯t give up this opportunity to torment him some more. The next day. Just as Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were heading to the auction, on the other side of the city, the anime convention was in full swing. Today was the last day of the exhibition, which also drew the largest crowd. It seemed that everyone wanted to take advantage of the activities at the end of the holiday and go all out. The number of exhibitors at the Shencheng Anime Convention this year hit an all time high, and the number of people in attendance naturally broke the record as well. The organizers attached great importance to it and specially dispatched additional personnel to carry out security work. Ming Xian watched anime and read comics, but he had never participated in an anime convention. For him, this kind of occasion was generally a sea of people. Instead of fighting for his life and sweating all over just trying to get in line to buy merch, he preferred to stay home and watch more anime. However, considering Tang Jing¡¯s long hands and feet and his beautiful appearance as Yu Ji, he was still a bit fascinated, so he resolutely contributed for the ¡°first time¡±. Holding the ticket given to him by Tang Jing, Ming Xian was struggling to move forward in the sea of people. He tried looking around for traces of Tang Jing and had already started to feel regret faintly in his heart. He turned over the ticket and saw his own handwritten notes on it. C606, the booth of the ¡°Great Wasteland¡± game. The number was auspicious*, but¡­ *Clarity: In China, 6 is considered a lucky number. Ming Xian glanced at the booth closest to him. It showed 208. In other words, it was still at least half the distance from C606. Looking from his position, he couldn¡¯t help but dread as it seemed like a black ocean with no end. Ming Xian eyes almost rolled over, and he couldn¡¯t help but wish he was like a kung fu master in those martial arts novels. He could directly leap up and use the heads of people as steppingstones as he flew over to his destination in one swoop. In despair, he took a deep breath and shouted, ¡°Oh my god, who dropped this wallet. There¡¯s still 10,000 yuan of cash in it!¡± He originally wanted to say 100,000, but after thinking about it, that number would be too exaggerated, and 10,000 yuan was more in line with the actual situation. The voice was enough for everyone around to hear it in the bustling and noisy venue. As a result, the people around remained unmoved. They didn¡¯t even bother to turn their heads. Ming Xian thought to himself, ¡®Is it possible that he encountered a group of people who regards money as dirt?¡¯ At this time, someone sneered, ¡°Your trick has been used countless of times. Who would be fooled! The exhibition is so crowded. Move slowly! If you want quiet, go to a library. It¡¯s pretty quiet there!¡± Ming Xian: ¡­¡­ The distance he could usually walk in a few minutes took dozens of minutes before he finally squeezed into the booth that Tang Jing mentioned. The game ¡°The Great Wasteland¡± was very popular. The company had a lot of money and rented an amazing booth that looked very conspicuous in the venue. Due to this, there was so many people around that it was impossible to take even a single step. Ming Xian stretched his neck and looked around. There were already several cosplayers dressed as ancient mythical or historical figures in the booth, all of them with heavy makeup, that he couldn¡¯t tell whether they were originally male or female, let alone recognizing which one was Tang Jing. He was suddenly patted lightly on the shoulder. Ming Xian turned his head showing a look of surprise. ¡°You¡¯re here. Why didn¡¯t you go up?¡± Tang Jing was the same as when they met last time, white and clean. He was wearing black shirt and trousers that made his figure looked slender. It attracted the attention of many young girls. Of course, it wasn¡¯t just Tang Jing who they were looking at, but also Ming Xian. Ming Xian touched his sweaty hair and looked at the wrinkles on his clothes, which was a far cry from looking neat and chic. ¡°I just came here, and I haven¡¯t had time to put on my makeup, but I¡¯m not in a rush. Anyways I just came to help. I just show up and stand there for a while.¡± Tang Jing took out a pack of paper towels for him and then took him to the backstage lounge. Seeing him sweating profusely, he couldn¡¯t help laughing, ¡°It seems like this is the first time you¡¯re participating in this kind of exhibition!¡± Ming Xian was embarrassed. ¡°Is it so obvious?¡± Tang Jing pointed to his clothes. ¡°This kind of exhibition is crowded with people. You¡¯re wearing white clothes that won¡¯t be easily wash when you go back. Also, you drank most of your water. When you really need to use the bathroom, do you think you can endure the wait?¡± Ming Xian thought about the miserable process he had to go through to reach this area and couldn¡¯t help but turn pale. ¡°Fortunately, you ran into me. There¡¯s a bathroom in the lounge, so you don¡¯t have to run a big circle,¡± Tang Jing said with a smile. If it weren¡¯t for you, I wouldn¡¯t have come to this place, Ming Xian muttered in his heart. ¡°You can go ahead and work. I¡¯ll just rest here for a bit.¡± Tang Jing had to put on his makeup and change into costume, so he didn¡¯t have much time to entertain him. Ming Xian didn¡¯t want to go out and face the waves of people. No matter how small the lounge was, it was still better than what was waiting for him outside. Holding on to his cellphone and preparing to play a game, two staff members hurriedly came in outside. ¡°He said he¡¯s not coming? Didn¡¯t he ask for leave yesterday?¡± ¡°Yesterday he said that Xiao Nong was here, so he wouldn¡¯t come. I thought he was joking. Who knew he really wouldn¡¯t come and now we can¡¯t get through to him!¡± The conversation was interrupted abruptly when the girl saw Ming Xian. She asked suspicious, ¡°Who are you? This is the backstage lounge of ¡®The Great Wasteland¡¯. It¡¯s not for outsiders to enter.¡± Ming Xian hurriedly got up and said, ¡°Tang Jing asked me to wait for him here.¡± The girl was relieved. ¡°It turns out to be a friend of Tang Ge¡­¡± Her eyes lit up immediately as she looked Ming Xian up and down, then said to her companion, ¡°How about it?¡± The companion nodded. ¡°I think it¡¯ll work.¡± Ming Xian felt his hair stood up and uncomfortable seeing this. The girl smiled and said, ¡°This little brother, we just happened to be short of an immortal today. Would you like to try? You can make some money. How about 200 yuan an hour?¡± Ming Xian shook his head. ¡°Sorry, I came to see a friend, not to be a professional cosplayer.¡± Girl: ¡°Then, three hundred?¡± Ming Xian laughed. ¡°It¡¯s not about the money. I haven¡¯t done it before. I don¡¯t know what posture to pose when I go to the front of the showroom. Besides, I have to stand for so long.¡± The other party hurriedly said, ¡°No standing! There are chairs outside. You can just sit as you like. If someone wants to take a photo, just take a picture with them. It only takes two hours. Please help us. Your appearance is good so you must look good. How about I invite you to milk tea afterwards?¡± He was still trying to find an excuse to shirk away when a voice floated over from outside the room. ¡°He¡¯s a friend I brought. He doesn¡¯t cosplay, so don¡¯t bother him.¡± Ming Xian turned his head subconsciously and was stunned in an instant. The lapel was fluttering, and he was dressed in a wide sleeve updo. The appearance of Tang Jing in women¡¯s clothing was too much¡­ He was like a fairy. In fact, while he didn¡¯t look like a woman; at most he could only be regarded as gentle and handsome, but after putting on makeup he immediately became dignified and elegant which complemented well with his cold temperament. Ming Xian suddenly remembered that the other party was dressed as Yu Ji in ¡°The Great Wasteland¡±. Although it may not be similar to the real Yu Ji* in history, with such a look and temperament, even if the real overlord of Western Chu was here, he was afraid even he would bow down. *Also known as ¡°Yu the beauty¡± was the wife of warlord Xiang Yu, who competed with Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, for supremacy over China in the Chu-Han Contention. Not to mention Ming Xian, even the two girls who had seen Tang Jing in his costume several times couldn¡¯t help but still stare. ¡°It¡¯s right to invite Tang Ge here. With you here, our booth will definitely be the top one today. I¡¯ll let the security guards know to pay careful attention, lest people rush over and knock you down!¡± Tang Jing watched the two girls run out again and smiled at Ming Xian. ¡°Don¡¯t mind. They are probably short of people today, but I have to go out. Do you want to continue to rest here or go out with me?¡± If he went back outside, Tang Jing would now be a cosplayer working the booth. Ming Xian couldn¡¯t be close to him anymore. He would have to join the crowd and become an ordinary onlooker. ¡°Actually, it¡¯s not too bad to try it out,¡± he murmured. ¡°What?¡± Tang Jing didn¡¯t hear him clearly. Ming Xian felt a little embarrassed. His eyes darted around. ¡°I said, I can also help cosplay and fill in the role of the person missing.¡± Tang Jing raised his eyebrows. ¡°Do you think it¡¯ll be fun?¡± ¡®No. I was impressed by your beauty and wanted to enjoy it up close for a while.¡¯ But Ming Xian wouldn¡¯t admit to that, so he simply nodded. Tang Jing smiled inexplicably, but he didn¡¯t expose him. ¡°Then change your clothes first, then I¡¯ll have the makeup artist put on your makeup.¡± To play the real Taiyi* immortal, Ming Xian had to wear a white wig. The outfit was also very troublesome to wear. Ming Xiang had never cosplayed before, so he didn¡¯t even know how to tie his lace properly. Tang Jing had to help him all the while teasing him. *Was originally a philosophical concept but later develop into a star name (the North Star) and later became the highest god of pre-qin era (Taiyishen) who¡¯s regarded as the emperor of heaven (equivalent to God). ¡°I really couldn¡¯t tell but you¡¯re in really good shape!¡± Ming Xian felt a little proud. ¡°Since you say so, I¡¯ll keep working out when I¡¯m free!¡± Tang Jing deliberately patted his soft lower abdomen. ¡°When are you free?¡± Ming Xian suddenly deflated. ¡°Just¡­ once a month.¡± After helping him put on his wig and outfit, Tang Jing said, ¡°I have to go out. You can ask the makeup artist to put on your makeup and then just come out after its done.¡± After that, he turned around and left with his sleeves fluttering. Unlike the concubine who loved and hated the worlds of mortal, he was like a fairy who wasn¡¯t smeared by the smell of fire*. *Clarity: He¡¯s saying that unlike the actual Yu Ji in history, Tang Jing is more like an untouchable godly being (fairy/immortal). Ming Xian was also playing a virtuous immortal, but he felt that even if he did eat the elixir, he probably wouldn¡¯t have Tang Jing¡¯s temperament. But that was just his own feelings. When he walked to the front desk with top quality makeup, many eyes immediately flocked to him. Ming Xian also heard others exclaimed in a low voice, saying that the quality of the cosplayer in the booth of ¡°The Great Wasteland¡± this time was really high. The Taiyi he dressed up as was so handsome that even Tang Jing had a look of surprise on his face. When he saw it, Ming Xian became even more nervous. Just after taking a few steps, he accidently stepped on the hem of his costume and his entire body flew forward. Fortunately, he was stopped by an arm halfway in his descent and was saved from his fate of eating the ground. ¡°This kind of throwing yourself into the arms of others* is very old fashion, Mr. Ming.¡± *(Ͷ»³Ëͱ§) Refers to throwing yourself into the arms of others to gain favor. The joke here is that it should be Tang Jing (playing as Yu Ji, who¡¯s a consort) who should be doing this, not him. Hearing the sound of the other party¡¯s laughter, Ming Xian¡¯s face became hot, and he couldn¡¯t help but reply, ¡°Yu Ji held a male immortal, and suddenly a collection of such dog-blooded dramas such as time travel, love triangle, fantasy immortal cultivation, a beauty rescuing the hero, and the likes aren¡¯t so clich¨¦ anymore.¡± But having said that, Ming Xian didn¡¯t expect Tang Jing, who looked lanky, to have such strength. When he tripped, most of his weight was heading towards the ground but Tang Jing held him without trembling and still look as if he was at ease. With Tang Jing and Ming Xian here, the booth gained immense popularity. Fans of the game, as well as visitors passing by, had come to ask for photos. All Ming Xian had to do was sit cross-legged and posed in a meditative posture, but even so he felt tired after a while. When there were fewer people around, he couldn¡¯t help but stand up and stretch out his waist, expressing admiration for Tang Jing who looked quite relaxed. ¡°Doing this for an entire day, how do you persevere? It¡¯s so tiring!¡± Tang Jing smiled and said, ¡°I just came to help my friends. I don¡¯t charge money and doing this purely out of interest. This isn¡¯t a job for me, but if they want to give me money later, I don¡¯t refuse it.¡± Ming Xian was curious. ¡°Then what is your job?¡± Tang Jing smiled mysteriously. ¡°Do you want to know so much about me? Do you like me?¡± Ming Xian spread his hands. ¡°I feel like I have nothing to hide in front of you, but I don¡¯t know anything about you.¡± ¡°Sometimes not knowing is better.¡± Tang Jing stretched out his hand and stroked the white hair on his shoulder. The scene of Yuji and Taiyi talking in low voices and their heads being so close was too ambiguous. Many people picked up their phone and started taking pictures. Ming Xian curled his lips disapprovingly. ¡°I think you¡¯re more of a novelist than me!¡± Seeing that he looked tired and boneless, Tang Jing said, ¡°Go for a walk. Don¡¯t go too far.¡± Ming Xian came back to life at that and decided to wander around for a bit. As a result, because he was so well dressed, many people came to take pictures with him and asked him where he was cosplaying. After Ming Xian pointed them in the direction, he suddenly realized that this might be a ¡°conspiracy¡± set up by Tang Jing who was treating him as a younger brother to try and solicit more customers. Wouldn¡¯t this add more popularity to the booth? He couldn¡¯t laugh or cry and let out a sigh and thought that Tang Jing was too cunning. He thought about putting such a character in his own novel next time but would definitely make him the villain. Unknowingly, Ming Xian wandered a little too far and when he raised his eyes, he saw an anime booth that happened to use the image of Yu Ji. On closer inspection, the appearance of that cosplayer was far inferior to that of Tang Jing, and the booth didn¡¯t seem very popular. Several cosplayers sat there unnoticed and the entire scene felt rather desolated. The ¡°Yu Ji¡± was bored and was looking around as she fanned herself. Next to her was the ¡°Overlord of Western Chu*¡± who was wearing a golden armor, who was just sitting there with his head motionless and in a daze which made quite a funny scene. *Xiang Yu. Was a Hegemon-King of Western Chu during the Chu-Han contention period in China. He was Yu Ji¡¯s husband. Ming Xian couldn¡¯t help stepping forward, wanting to touch the two long trembling whiskers on the helmet of the Overlord of Western Chu. The ¡°Yu Ji¡± probably couldn¡¯t bear to see the ¡°Overlord¡± being looked down upon, so she stretched out her hand and nudge him without much force, but the ¡°Overlord¡± fell straight to the side causing his heavy helmet to come tumbling off his head. The heavy helmet rolled on the ground several times creating a loud noise. Even though the venue was chaotic, this scene still caused many people to turn their heads to look. The cosplayer who was playing Yu Ji was also taken aback for a moment before she hurriedly stepped forward to help the person up and found that the ¡°Overlord¡± was soft all over. She thought the other party had fainted from the heat and hurriedly called her companions to help, until Ming Xian came over and probed the other party¡¯s breath and pulse and said to her, ¡°He seems to be dead.¡± Yu Ji was stunned for three seconds, then suddenly screamed! Kinky Thoughts: Do I sense a side CP? CH 92 Ming Xian subconsciously took a few steps back. People around him rushed to check, and he was quickly pushed out. His expression was still a little stunned and he didn¡¯t seem to understand how that person could be dead. The sudden death of a cosplayer caused a small commotion, but more people didn¡¯t know what was going on. The venue was too big. Ming Xian looked around blankly, holding a cellphone in his hand, hesitating whether to call the police or call an ambulance, when his arm was suddenly caught. He turned his head, and it was Tang Jing. Ming Xian didn¡¯t have time to think about why Tang Jing ran over, but when he saw the other party, he couldn¡¯t help but breathe a sigh of relief. ¡°Someone¡¯s dead!¡± he said sharply. ¡°I know, there¡¯s also an incident over there.¡± Tang Jing grabbed his arm. The casual smile on his face was no longer present and the pretty face that had makeup on looked faintly demonic. ¡°Go find the nearest exit and leave. I have to notify security and the police. They will come over soon and evacuate the crowd.¡± Seeing him turn around, Ming Xian couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°What are you looking for? I¡¯ll help you find it!¡± ¡°No, you need to leave first. Hurry up!¡± Tang Jing let go, and before Ming Xian had time to say more, he was gone. While Tang Jing participated in this anime convention as a hobby, it was only a secondary reason and he used helping out friends as an excuse. The real reason was to ensure the smooth progress of the event. Recently, because of the search for the stone tablets, the Special Administration Bureau had loosened its grip on the outside but tightened it on the inside, especially regarding the Japanese. In particular, since Shencheng was an international metropolis and close to Japan, it was better to be vigilant. With all these unreasonable events, somehow there tend to be a loose connection to them. Large-scale events or meetings like this convention could attract unwanted attention and thus the focus was on prevention. Soon, there would be a high-profile international conference held here. In this case, not only would the police be on high alert, even the Special Administration Bureau would have to cooperate and assist. The Branch Office had a lot of manpower and most of them had their own duties. During these three days of the anime convention, Tang Jing personally took Shu He and Huo Jie to guard here. He thought they would simply be going through the notion, but he didn¡¯t expect something to happen on the last day. Together with the cosplayer just now, two people had already died suddenly. Shu He and Huo Jie were one step late when they found out. Tang Jing knew very well that even if they manage to get a forensic doctor for an autopsy, there would be no results. At most, it was a myocardial or cerebral infarction. But just now, he clearly smelled a trace of magic¡­ In a flash, it was covered up by the yang from the sea of people. This method was truly clever. As soon as that ray of magic aura entered the sea of people, it instantly became like a fish in the water, disappearing without a trace, occasionally leaving a cunning tail behind. When the hunter heard the news, it had already disappeared. Even for Tang Jing, it was difficult to trace the ray of magic in such a huge venue among tens of thousands of people. Some people already knew that two people had suddenly died and the unexplained panic made them want to run away. Those who didn¡¯t know yet continued to wander around in a daze, but the news would eventually spread like wildfire. Even with security personnel, it was inevitable that there would be a stampede when everyone panicked, making the scene more chaotic, and it would become more difficult to catch that ray of magic when the time comes. Tang Jing had an extra mirror in his hand. When he was illuminated by the lights of the venue, he suddenly emitted a dazzling light. Many people¡¯s eyes swept to him. Before they could remove their gaze, they immediately felt their eyes tingling, and they couldn¡¯t help but cover their eyes and scream. But Tang Jing caught a flash of a black shadow in the light. It was extremely fast and fleeting like a blink of an eye. Northwest gate! Tang Jing pushed away the crowd and ran towards the northwest gate. He didn¡¯t seem to use much force, but the people around him fell to the side as soon as he pushed them. Tang Jing left all the curses behind, and quickly rushed towards the door. No matter how fast he was, at the end of the day, he was running on two legs, which was incomparable with an ethereal and invisible demonic energy. Seeing that he was about to lose chase, Tang Jing squinted his eyes and casually touched the hairpin on his head and threw it. The hairpin turned into white light and chased after the demonic energy at such a high velocity that no one had time to see clearly. The light quickly hit the demonic energy and suddenly stagnated its movement. In a blink of an eye, Tang Jing had already arrived. The northwest gate was a small gate, which was not usually open. There was a long and narrow alley behind it, and at the end was a warehouse. The demon energy condensed, landed and looked back. It roared lowly at the person blocking its path. ¡°A soul eater?¡± Tang Jing looked surprised and puzzled. ¡°How could this thing be mixed with demonic energy?¡± The name sounded terrifying, but in fact, this kind of strange beast ate the souls of the dead, or those souls who refused to pass on and still lingered in the living world. They often haunt cemeteries or crematoriums. In a sense, humans didn¡¯t need to be afraid of it. But now it was clear that interested people have taken advantage of the characteristics of the soul eater and injected it with demonic energy, turning it from an ordinary and harmless soul eater to a monster that devoured the anger of the living. In this kind of venue with tens of thousands of people and a lot of mobility, it was difficult to trace if it were to swallow up a little bit of anger. At most, those it devoured would only feel a bit weak and their traces of anger would leave them. However, if its target happened to be weak, then it became life threatening. The soul eater also seemed to be aware of the threat posed by Tang Jing, and after roaring, it slowly retreated, in order to pave the way for its next attack. Tang Jing didn¡¯t give it such an opportunity. He skillfully threw out the ribbon in his arms, and the soft, slender ribbon suddenly shot straight at the soul Eater, directly entangling its neck tightly. Tang Jing shook his wrist, and the soul eater was involuntarily pulled over. ¡°What is this?!¡± There was an exclamation from behind. Another soul eater was waiting for an opportunity to act, and its body lowered slightly, then jumped directly up and pounced on the person behind Tang Jing. Tang Jing closed his five fingers one by one, and dazzling light poured out of his palms. Before Ming Xian could see clearly, the soul eater that was covered with black demonic energy was shrouded by light and instantly crushed. The magic energy exploded into fine powder and dissipated into the air leaving no traces behind. Ming Xian¡¯s face was shocked, as if he just watched a fantasy blockbuster. ¡°Didn¡¯t I told you to leave. Why did you follow me?¡± Tang Jing pulled his hand, and the remaining soul eater also entered the light. The ribbon was burned by the demonic energy, and he put it aside. His hair and clothes were still neat, and Tang Jing still looked like the charming Yu Ji. On the other hand, Ming Xian was covered in dust and his wig was tangled everywhere. ¡°There are too many people at the exit, I can¡¯t squeeze through. Seeing you running over, I just followed, wanting to see if there is anything that can help¡­¡± Ming Xian swallowed and couldn¡¯t help but take two steps back. ¡°If I say I didn¡¯t see anything, is it still too late?¡± Tang Jing showed a grim smile. ¡°What if I say it¡¯s too late?¡± Ming Xian said weakly, ¡°Then you¡¯re not going to kill me, are you?¡± Before he finished speaking, his chin was pinched. Ming Xian involuntarily raised his head slightly, letting the other party¡¯s slender five fingers slowly slide to his neck, which was tantamount to exposing his fatal weakness and was just waiting to be slaughtered. He wanted to cry without tears. ¡°You, are you really going to kill me?¡± Tang Jing¡¯s face slowly approached, and the pair of beautiful eyes under his slender eyebrows seemed to be smiling but not really smiling. Ming Xian looked at it steadily, unwilling to blink. If he was going to die, he might as well die looking at this peony flower. It would be quite romantic if he became a ghost. Then he made a request that was even scarier than death. ¡°Then, can I kiss you before I die?¡± Tang Jing raised his eyebrows, not as sullen as he had imagined. ¡°Where my dear?¡± He could still choose? Ming Xian was overjoyed, and his gaze fell on Tang Jing¡¯s lips. ¡°You¡ªYou close your eyes first.¡± Of course Tang Jing didn¡¯t close his eyes and instead directly slapped him. ¡°What are you thinking?! Let¡¯s go!¡± Ming Xian was dragged away by him in a daze, while looking back. ¡°Those things¡­¡± Tang Jing casually said, ¡°I took care of them.¡± If it weren¡¯t for the presence of people from the Special Administration Bureau, these two lives would at most be regarded as they suffered from suffocation and fainted. Their sudden death was attributed to too many participants in the event, and they would make the local daily headlines. The people involved in this conspiracy had absorbed a lot of yang energy from the living this time. Tang Jing couldn¡¯t speculate out of thin air what they were planning, but he felt a headache when he thought that security must be strengthened at all large-scale events and conferences in the future. Ming Xian was unaware of his distress, and said with interest, ¡°You¡¯re really not an ordinary person, are you? In fact, I saw it on the plane. You have a mysterious aura, just like the male protagonist in my novel. Tangtang, I want to write you as my male protagonist and promise not to reveal your real name and keep your privacy. Is that okay?¡± What kind of mysterious aura? Tang Jing slowly turned his head. ¡°Who are you calling Tangtang*?¡± *Calling someone¡¯s name like this indicate fondness and closeness (whether it be their last or first name). Ming Xian: ¡°Then Jingjing?¡± Tang Jing: ¡°I prefer it if you just shut up.¡± Back at the venue, the crowd had been almost evacuated. The exhibition hall closed early on the grounds that the lighting failure affected safety. This reason naturally caused some people to be dissatisfied. They felt that they had spent money but suffered a loss. As soon as the crowd dispersed, it wasn¡¯t easy for the other party to absorb a lot of yang energy. Shu He and Huo Jie were still searching constantly, trying to discover the real murderer behind the scenes. Tang Jing couldn¡¯t help frowning. At today¡¯s anime convention, exhibitors and players would dress up in different novel costumes. With the various cosplay to provide a convenience cover, it was easy for demonic activities to take advantage of this. That¡¯s why Tang Jing personally came to monitor the area. In fact, the Special Administration Bureau had already made arrangements in advance. There were magic arrays all around the venue, which were difficult for normal people to detect. If it was a demon with an evil aura, it would trigger an alarm and be discovered by them. But the magic arrays didn¡¯t sound any alarms the entire day. That is to say, whether it was the murderer or the soul eaters, it was very unlikely that they snuck in from outside. What the hell went wrong? Tang Jing raised his eyes to look at the various light on the steel frames at the top of the venue. His gaze swept across the venue that gradually became empty, and finally fell on Ming Xian beside him. Ming Xian: ??? Tang Jing frowned at him. Ming Xian looked back blankly and innocently. Tang Jing: ¡°Did you notice anything unusual before you saw that person fall to the ground just now?¡± Ming Xian said indifferently, ¡°No, it was his companion who pushed him, and he fell down in a daze, but now that you mentioned it, I remembered that when I was walking in the crowd before, the venue was extremely crowded, so it was pretty stuffy. I¡¯m not sure why but every now and then, there would be a few cold breezes blowing from my neck. I thought it was the air conditioning at the time.¡± Tang Jing: ¡°Neck?¡± Ming Xian nodded. ¡°I felt it on the back of my neck. The breeze jumped into my clothes from below and blew out from my collar.¡± Below¡­ Tang Jing looked behind Ming Xian, his eyes slowly looking down. Ming Xian moved embarrassedly. ¡°Don¡¯t¡­¡± Tang Jing could see what was going on in the other party¡¯s mind from a glance. The person on the plane looked pure, but he didn¡¯t expect that yellow waste* had already flooded his mind. He was indeed worthy of being a novel writer. *Refers to crude/explicit things. Basically, he¡¯s saying Ming Xian has a dirty mind. In normal times, he might tease him, then take him home, and fornicate amidst the golden autumn wind and the jade-glistening dew*, but there were more important business matters at the moment. When the words of ridicule came to his lips, Tang Jing took those thoughts back. *This is referencing Meeting across the Milky Way from the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl tale. I¡¯ve explained this in an earlier chapter but it¡¯s the story of the romance between a weaver girl and a cowherd which was forbidden and thus they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river (the milky way) and are only allowed to meet for a single day once a year. The golden autumn wind and jade-glistening dew represent the season in which the cowherd and the weaver girl get to meet. || In this context it¡¯s basically saying he would take him home and bang him (put in a cruder way) but more poetically written (alluding to the single day of the year where the cowherd and weaver girl meet¡­ and you know what they would do as lovers since they could only meet once a year). He saw a bulge that was temporarily covered. It was originally supposed to be a ground plug, which was generally used to connect the power supply. It was everywhere in the exhibition hall. In order to prevent everyone from tripping over it, the red carpet had specially covered it. The wires led to the underground and also to the outside. This was a loophole in the magic array. Because the venue was too big, they only have time to arrange the surroundings, and they couldn¡¯t cover the upper and lower parts. It would take too much energy and the gain wouldn¡¯t be worth the loss. Even the head of Mount Longhu couldn¡¯t do it, thus the other party took advantage of this and came from underground and walked the grounds absorbing yang energy without them knowing. How smart. Tang Jing smiled coldly. ¡ª The other side of Shencheng. The auction was located on the second floor of a gallery. The content was exhibitions and auctions. However, when he checked online, Dong Zhi found that the auction had been held several times. It was initiated by a well-known local collector. The target was mainly aimed at high-end customers. If they had stayed at the express hotel originally planned, they wouldn¡¯t receive this kind of promotional brochure. Although there were brochures, generally speaking, this kind of activity would usually be people in the circle bringing acquaintances with them. Very few outsiders would rush over to participate like Dong Zhi. A well-dressed young lady entertained them. When she saw the two of them coming, she didn¡¯t show any surprise and contempt for these country bumpkins. She still smiled and asked, ¡°Are you two planning only to visit the cultural and entertainment exhibition, or do you plan to participate in the auction together?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Is there any difference?¡± The other party patiently explained, ¡°The exhibition is mainly based on classical Chinese culture. There are paintings, calligraphy, antiques, jewelry, and the likes. It is a collection from various folk collectors. As long as you two register you can enter and look at the exhibits. If you still want to participate in the subsequent auctions, you have to pay a deposit of 500,000 per person. When the event is over, if the two of you didn¡¯t bid on anything, the deposit will be refunded by the full amount. If you bid on something, then the money will be directly deducted from your deposit, and what remains will returned.¡± Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t participated in this kind of high-end auction, so he looked at Liu Qingbo. Anyway, it was mainly the young master who wanted to participate so he could make some trouble. Liu Qingbo frowned and said, ¡°How do I know that the deposit will be refunded?¡± The young lady¡¯s smile stagnated slightly. ¡°Sir, our event is held five times every year. Mr. Xiang Mu is a well-known collector in our city and has both a good reputation at home and abroad. Moreover, this event is in cooperation with Christie¡¯s Auction House*. Your concerns can be said to be non-existent.¡± *British auction house founded by James Christie. Dong Zhi had heard of the name Xiang Mu, but only knew that he was an entrepreneur. He didn¡¯t realize that the name was also associated with a collector. Now that he thought about it, it was normal. In trouble times buy gold, while in prosperous times buy antiques and art. Only those with considerable financial strength could afford such thing. Liu Qingbo curled his lips and took out a card. ¡°Okay, register for us. We¡¯ll participate in the auction.¡± The lady smiled slightly and said apologetically, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but I didn¡¯t make it clear just now. It¡¯s half a million is U.S. dollars. This could potentially freeze your credit card. It won¡¯t be an issue for the two of you, right?¡± Liu Qingbo raised his brows. ¡°No problem.¡± Dong Zhi jabbed him with his elbow. ¡°You also pay for my half million!¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t Boss Long give you a black card?¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback. ¡°How did you know?¡± Liu Qingbo said arrogantly, ¡°The last time I saw you going through your wallet, I accidentally saw it. If I didn¡¯t even have this kind of eyesight, what kind of sword would I practicing?¡± Dong Zhi spread his hand. ¡°If I swipe that card, Master will immediately know that we are messing around here. I promised him last time not to run around casually. My own money is in the treasury. I won¡¯t be able to get so much cash for a while. It¡¯s up to you. Anyway, it doesn¡¯t matter to me if I participate or not. Otherwise, you can just go by yourself, and I¡¯ll take a stroll outside and we¡¯ll find a place to meet.¡± Liu Qingbo originally went because of Chen Guoliang. If Dong Zhi was missing, he would have no one to share the fun with, so he said angrily, ¡±Go, go, I¡¯ll pay for you!¡± Between, the two them, one million U.S. dollars was spent, which was roughly between six to seven million yuan. Young Master Liu didn¡¯t even bat his eye when he swiped the card directly and signed his name. They both got the invitation letter for the function, and he went in with Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi gave a thumbs up. ¡°So chic! So arrogant!¡± Liu Qingbo snorted, ¡°Isn¡¯t your black card more arrogant than me when you take it out?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°That¡¯s my ultimate lethal weapon and cannot easily be displayed.¡± The two of them went to the second floor as they chattered. The exhibition would be open from 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon. There would be a cocktail party and meals at noon, all of which were provided free of charge, but only guests who had paid a deposit were allowed to participate, while ordinary guest could only visit the cultural exhibition for free. They originally thought that the cultural exhibition was just a gimmick, and the focus was still on the auction, but as soon as they entered, they knew that they had the wrong idea. There were really a lot of good things in the exhibition. Of course, whether it was genuine or not, the two of them weren¡¯t experts and they couldn¡¯t tell with their naked eye, but the richness and heritage of the collection was still beyond imagination. It spanned thousands of years of history of China. From the royal families to the nobles to the common people, there had been wars and displacements, changing of dynasties, and many treasures had been scattered overseas, while untold amount of treasures were buried in dirt. Although the collection of the museum was precious, it was only a small part of all the treasures still yet discovered, and by chance these could be acquired by folk collectors. Like collections, wealth will always be collected and circulated slowly, and eventually it would be acquired by the very few. These collectors had a dazzling array of things in their hands. If they only collect and enjoyed it themselves, there would be some regret, but they were reluctant to donate their treasures, thus this kind of private exhibition existed, which was open to the public for viewing, but really was to satisfy their own ego and sense of accomplishment. After all, the idea was similar to children who possessed novelty toys and wanted to show off to their friends. Dong Zhi looked down at the catalogue of exhibits he took at the door. Today¡¯s exhibits were quite mixed. It included things from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. There were also a few from the Qin and Han Dynasties. It was mainly porcelain, calligraphy, and paintings, and there were also some ancient jewelries. The latter was gorgeous and dazzling, with various precious inlaid gems that was quite colorful. It was the highlight to most visitors. Many people lingered around the jewelry showcase and used their phones to take pictures. Liu Qingbo was quiet for a while, and then he couldn¡¯t help but complain, ¡°I think it must be fake¡­ Fuck! Look over there. It said that this is a Chenghua Doucai chicken cup*. How fucking laughable! Do you know the price tag on this thing outside? And the guy just puts something worth hundred of millions on display that¡¯s only separated by a piece of glass for everyone to see? If you ask me, it must be an replica from the Qianlong period!¡± *Bowl shape Chinese porcelain painted in the doucai technique and decorated with chickens, hens, and roosters. There are currently 13 authentic Chenghua cups help by museums and 3 owned privately. According to auction records, the highest price one of these ever sold for was for $36.05 million USD. Compared to Liu Qingbo who was a skeptic, Dong Zhi was truly interested in looking at the collection seriously. With a background in painting, he paid more importance to the lines and color of each collection. Facing the patterns of the porcelain, he could stand there motionless and look at it for a long time. Of course, as Liu Qingbo said, there may be fakes mixed in, but even if they were fakes, at least the workmanship was delicate enough that it could be appreciated as a work of art. Seeing that he hadn¡¯t moved for a long time, Liu Qingbo was too impatient to wait so he went around the exhibition hall first, but when he looked back, Dong Zhi still hadn¡¯t moved a step, so he came back and urged him. ¡°What¡¯s so good about a bunch of fakes?¡± ¡°Look at this painting,¡± Dong Zhi said. He was talking about a landscape painting in front of him. The name was of an unknown painter. According to the introduction next to him, the painter¡¯s name was Wei Kun and he was a person from the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. This painting was from the 19th year of Yongle. When he passed by the foot of Shaohua Mountain and saw the setting sun on the peaks mixed with the emerald greenery in autumn, he painted this painted with that emotion. There were two poems next to it. An unremarkable feng shui painting. For things like brushwork and artistic conception, Liu Qingbo had no artistic bone and couldn¡¯t see it, but it could be seen from the painter that this painting must¡¯ve not a name in history. At most it was old and well-preserved, so it was worth some money. However, Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t bored enough to tease him on such trivial matters, which made Liu Qingbo suppressed his impatience and took a serious look at the painting, seeing if he could really find something in it. ¡°You mean, this?¡± He pointed to a rocky road by the forest. There was a forest at the foot of the mountain. The water flowed down from the top of the mountain and gradually flattened and turned into a stream under it. Pieces of red leaves fell on the stream and the stones that occupy the stream. There was a large stone tablet standing crookedly, half buried in the soil, as if it washed down by heavy rain. It looked like a tombstone, but it didn¡¯t seem like it was one because there was no grave next to it, and no one would put a grave next to the edge of a stream. Dong Zhi nodded. ¡°Take a closer look at the words above.¡± Wei Kun¡¯s painting was painted with great care, which was specifically reflected in his presentation of the details. When one looked closer, one could still see the lines of trees and stones, and the feathers of birds. Not only that, but even the text on the exposed half of the stone tablet was portrayed beautifully. Liu Qingbo squinted for a long time, and finally remembered that the stone tablet they found in the underground alter in Yinchuan had exactly this kind of rune! Although half of the stone tablet was still buried underground, the painter painted the other half that was exposed. However, even with just half to go off of, Liu Qingbo confirmed that it wasn¡¯t a mistake. After returning from Yinchuan at that time, before they resealed the alter, Long Shen had specifically copied the runes of the stone tablet and distributed it to everyone. It was used as an internal circulating material for them to study. Although everyone was still puzzle by the meaning behind the runes, they were quite familiar with it and could recall it after seeing it. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t expect that he would actually make a shocking discovery on a whim of wanting to tease Cheng Guoliang. CH 93 The mood of Dong Zhi was actually similar to his. The two of them were relatively speechless, and it took a long time for them to recover. ¡°Is this painting an auction item?¡± Liu Qingbo asked calmly. Dong Zhi flipped through the auction catalog. ¡°It¡¯s not in the auction catalog.¡± Liu Qingbo said without hesitation, ¡°Find the owner of the painting and buy it!¡± As long as the bid was high enough, he didn¡¯t believe that there wasn¡¯t anything in the world that couldn¡¯t be bought. Dong Zhi: ¡°We don¡¯t know the seller¡¯s situation yet. Let¡¯s inquire about it first. There will be an auction in the afternoon. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Liu Qingbo read the introduction next to the painting again and confirmed that the owner of the collection was not written on it. He found the security personnel patrolling on the floor to ask, but the other party didn¡¯t know either. Dong Zhi grabbed him. ¡°Don¡¯t be impatient. It¡¯s not good to let others see that we care too much about this painting. Someone might know.¡± For example, the young lady who had entertained them just now. Although the other party was only responsible for the hospitality of guests, she must have a certain understanding of this exhibition, so it was suitable to her questions first. Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°Lao Liu, here¡¯s your chance to perform.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°¡­Why me?¡± Dong Zhi looked innocent. ¡°You look more like a rich and handsome than me!¡± Liu Qingbo would never admit that he was flattered by this sentence, so he said reluctantly, ¡°I¡¯m here for work under the Special Administration Bureau.¡± Dong Zhi buttered him up without hesitation. ¡°That¡¯s right. There¡¯s no doubt on your ideological enlightenment as you¡¯re the top in our class!¡± Liu Qingbo went valiantly but came back with a bad face in less than ten minutes. ¡°No way, you can¡¯t even handle such a trivial matter?¡± Dong Zhi felt incredulous. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°That woman is too difficult to talk to.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°What did she say?¡± Liu Qingbo said in an annoyed tone, ¡°I asked her who the owner of this painting is. She said that anything that¡¯s not signed is something that the owner doesn¡¯t want to disclose, and she couldn¡¯t disclose it. I just said that if she told me, I would invite her to dinner and give her two thousand dollars. Who knew this woman would pull down her face and gave me a scowl!¡± Dong Zhi smacked his forehead. ¡°If you say that how would anyone tell you anything!¡± Liu Qingbo sneered: ¡°I say this woman is too hypocritical. When she heard I was going to invite her to dinner, she obviously smile. I was just trying to show her that I was wealthy, not that I¡¯m promiscuous!¡± Dong Zhi sighed. ¡°If you hadn¡¯t invited her to dinner, it might¡¯ve been better. She thought you were trying to pursue her. Who knew you just wanted to make a deal with her. Although love is a deal, it¡¯s also has a romantic element. Some people can equate romance with money, but others are unwilling to compromise. Let me try!¡± Liu Qingbo was taken aback. ¡°Who told you this stuff?¡± Dong Zhi waved his hand, with a gesture that looked ethereal, and then brushed his clothes, ¡°Dong-Tchaikovsky*-Zhi.¡± *Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the Romantic Period. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin. || The context here is Dong Zhi is making the joke basically saying let me the master of romanticism (by referencing Tchaikovsky) work my magic. Liu Qingbo: ¡­¡­ He originally thought that Dong Zhi would return fail, but he didn¡¯t expect the other party to come back soon, with a spring breeze on his face. ¡°It¡¯s done?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s a veteran of this place, one of the top two people. The owner of this painting is one of the organizers of this event, Xiang Mu.¡± Liu Qingbo was in disbelief. ¡°What did you say to move her?¡± Dong Zhi patted him. ¡°Thanks to your support, I said that you have never chased girl and you regretted what you did until your stomach was blue, so you asked me to go over and apologized. I also booked a place at a nearby Michelin three-star restaurant for you two. Please be sure to go.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­ He simply had the urge to unscrew the head of the person in front of him and kick it like a ball. Dong Zhi smiled at him. ¡°Calm down, calm down. Think of it as a sacrifice of your appearance for our country. Don¡¯t you suddenly feel proud when you think about it like this?¡± Liu Qingbo bit his cheek and smiled. ¡°Not at all!¡± Dong Zhi broke it down for him. ¡°If I¡¯ve gone first, there wouldn¡¯t be a need to do it a second time. Since you went first, I could only make up for it on your behalf. Alright, let¡¯s not worry about this kind of trivial matter. All in all, Xiang Mu, as the organizer, should also be present at the reception later. Let¡¯s find him first and set up a meeting with him and see if we can buy this painting directly. If we can, great. If not, we¡¯ll have to reassess then.¡± Liu Qingbo gave him a sideway glance. ¡°I don¡¯t want to eat with that woman. You can do it yourself!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Alright how about this. You go to order and pay and then I¡¯ll call you halfway to get you out of there early¡­¡± With such a discovery, neither of them had the mind to watch the exhibition again, so they walked around at will. They stayed there until noon. The tourist who came to see the exhibition for free gradually left while Dong Zhi and those who had paid the deposit were invited upstairs to the cocktail party. The food at the cocktail party were excellent, and there were a lot of good wines. This was a glamorous social occasion. Many people¡¯s minds weren¡¯t on eating. They gathered in groups of three to five as they chatted and laughed. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo separated to looked for signs of Xiang Mu. Dong Zhi soon saw a middle-aged man surrounded by several men and women, who looked a lot like the Xiang Mu he searched for the internet. He walked over with a wine glass nonchalantly, pretending to be attracted by the content of their conversation and stopped to listen. A few people were talking about the recent antique market situation and future prospects which went way over his head. Dong Zhi got bored just listening to their chatter, but they wouldn¡¯t leave so he could only continue to listen with a thick face. Suddenly, Xiang Mu suddenly said, ¡°Sir, you just entered this circle, right?¡± Dong Zhi blinked and realized that the other party was talking to him, so he smiled and said, ¡°Yes, but in fact, I am just a fan of art and calligraphy. I have heard of Mr. Xiang¡¯s name for a long time and found that you were holding an exhibition here today, so I had to rush over and see it for myself so I can learn your teachings!¡± Xiang Mu also smiled. He had read countless people, and he could see at a glance that the other party wasn¡¯t part of the antique circle but he didn¡¯t call him out on it. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Dong, Dong Zhi.¡± ¡°Mr. Dong, the visitor is a guest. I wonder what it is that you wish to inquire?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s not me who likes art and calligraphy, but actually my grandfather. However, he¡¯s too old to move around so he could only let me run errands in his place. After I came here today, I saw a painting that was very much in line with that old man¡¯s taste. I heard that the owner of that painting is you, so I took the liberty to come over and ask if you would be willing give up your love?¡± Xiang Mu raised his eyebrows. He thought that the other party was a business rival who came to inquire about news, but he didn¡¯t expect that he actually wanted to buy a painting. ¡°Which one are you talking about?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡®The Travel Map of Shaohua¡¯.¡± The painting must not have much impression for Xiang Mu, or it may be that he had too much in his collection as it took him quite a while to remember it. Then he shook his head. ¡°Sorry, I won¡¯t sell that painting.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart sank. The last thing he wanted to hear was such an answer. ¡°May I know the reason? If it is a matter of money, I believe that in the end, I can give a satisfactory figure to Mr. Xiang.¡± Using the identity of the Special Administration Bureau would only be a last resort. Now that so many things had happened recently, Dong Zhi had become more cautious. He wasn¡¯t sure if there were traces of enemies hidden among ordinary people and he didn¡¯t want to scare the snake as a possible consequence and lose the game. Xiang Mu smiled apologetically. ¡°It¡¯s not about money. That painting is a relic passed down from my wife¡¯s family, so I don¡¯t want to sell it.¡± He was obviously not interested in continuing the conversation with Dong Zhi as after he replied, he turned around and walked away, but his expression suddenly changed from calmness to surprise. No longer interacting with Dong Zhi, Xiang Mu enthusiastically walked over and greeted a person who can came in from the other end. ¡°Master Chen, it¡¯s been a long time since I saw you. I was waiting for you!¡± When Dong Zhi saw who it was, he almost couldn¡¯t control his facial expression and almost laughed out loud on the spot. Who else but it was none other than Chen Guoliang who Liu Qingbo had been ¡°longing for¡±. This Master Chen was still dressed in a black jacket with an extraordinary style. With an assistant bodyguard by his side, he magnanimously made his entrance. From a glance, his posture looked as if he was the protagonist of a novel, which attracted a lot of attention. After Chen Guoliang was let go, he didn¡¯t have the face to stay in Lucheng for long. He wanted to go back to Hong Kong and he wouldn¡¯t come back to the mainland for a few years. Coincidentally, at this moment he received an invitation to attend a cocktail party and auction to lecture distinguished guests about feng shui metaphysics. It also came with a private commission with a high appearance fee. Chen Guoliang conscience was moved, and he felt that it was a blessing from God to give him this chance to make money. He had no reason to doubt this, and it wasn¡¯t too late to eat one last meal before he left, so he decided to come. He didn¡¯t think that the enemy¡¯s path was so narrow and the world would be so coincidental. His smile completely froze when he saw the person next to Xiang Mu. Seeing Liu Qingbo coming from the other end again, his smile could no longer be maintained, and he collapsed instantly. Liu Qingbo also chuckled. ¡°Master Chen, what a coincidence. Truly a coincidence that we meet again. This must be fate at work for us to meet thousands of miles away!¡± Chen Guoliang reluctantly pulled out a smile that he thought was very calm and took the initiative to stretch out his hand. ¡°It turns out to be Mr. Liu and Mr. Dong. Indeed, how fateful this is!¡± ¡®A truly evil fate,¡¯ he added in his heart. Liu Qingbo looked at him with a smile for a long time and when Chen Guoliang looked uneasy, he finally stretched out his hand. Chen Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly held his hand and shook it twice, and greeted the Dong Zhi enthusiastically. Xiang Mu was surprised. ¡°It turns out that Master Chen knows these two gentlemen?¡± ¡°I know, I know!¡± Chen Guoliang¡¯s face twitched revealing the half-truth half-lies. ¡°With these two masters here, why bother to invite me. Honestly!¡± Xiang Muguo was really surprised. He knew Chen Guoliang¡¯s reputation in Hong Kong. Last time he went to Hong Kong on business, he got to know this Master Chen thanks to the introduction of a rich man named Li. This time, he was invited to come over for a feng shui lecture. Secondly, more importantly, he encountered a difficult problem that Chen Guoliang urgently needed to solve. ¡°This meeting must be destiny. Three masters, I have prepared a VIP room for you. Why don¡¯t you come inside, and we can have a detailed discussion? The lecture hasn¡¯t started yet and I happened to have a little personal question I want to ask the three of you.¡± He may have felt he had embarrassed Dong Zhi before so he added, ¡°If Mr. Dong wants that painting, in fact, it¡¯s not that I can¡¯t give it away.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to give it away. As long as you give a price, we¡¯ll try our best to raise the funds.¡± Xiang Mu smiled. ¡°I am not short of money.¡± The implication was that he didn¡¯t need to make money by selling paintings. Thinking about most of the collection in the exhibition hall, Dong Zhi became speechless. Xiang Mu led them into the VIP reception room. It was much more gorgeous than outside, and there were many more personal decorations. Dong Zhi guessed that this place, including the exhibition hall downstairs, should be his property. It was no wonder why he didn¡¯t put a price on that painting. For a wealthy man like Xiang Mu, even if the paintings sold for hundreds of millions, it would just be another number added to his property. However, his problems were often unsolvable by money. Therefore, ordinary people look at many rich people and laughed at them. After they become prosperous, many would pray to Buddha or God but as a result they would worship the wrong door and encounter too many gods. In fact, it was because they ask for too much and it was often too complicated. The method was no longer suitable for them, and the gods were too elusive, and it was impossible to give them a quick solution. In the end, they could only turn to so-called experts and masters. If they encountered someone like Chen Guoliang, they would be fooled at most but for those that stumbled upon Songen or Yamamto, it was most likely they wouldn¡¯t be able to save their own lives. Xiang Mu didn¡¯t have a habit of stating his private affairs to strangers. He waited for Chen Guoliang to introduce Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo¡¯s origin, but it seemed that Chen Guoliang behaved quite cramped. He would look at Dong Zhi from time to time, as if he was waiting for him to issue orders. The other party¡¯s abnormality made Xiang Mu felt even more confused. He originally thought that even if Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were a bit capable, it was only Chen Guoliang¡¯s modesty, but now this didn¡¯t seem to be the case. ¡°Master Chen, would you like to introduce me?¡± He finally broke the awkward atmosphere. ¡°The title master is really not worthy. These two are the real masters and experts. Uh, Mr. Dong and Mr. Liu, I have already introduced them just now. Let¡¯s focus on them today. I¡¯ll just listen on the side!¡± Chen Guoliang¡¯s complexion twitched slightly. He didn¡¯t dare to tell the identity of Dong Zhi. He wanted to prevent any trouble and didn¡¯t want to make the other party unhappy. He could only pray that they would give him some face and not expose him in front of Xiang Mu. As soon as the voice fell, Liu Qingbo showed him a smirk, which made Chen Guoliang shudder in fear. His heart was divided between being exposed or not and he was entangled and uneasy that it felt like he was wandering on the edge of death. Compared to Liu Qingbo, Dong Zhi still gave Chen Guoliang a little face, or rather, he had no intention of teasing Chen Guoliang now. ¡°My name is Dong Zhi. This is Liu Qingbo. We have our own practices, but it¡¯s not the same as Master Chen¡¯s way. If you have any problems, Mr. Xiang, you can tell us. Let¡¯s discuss in detail together.¡± Hearing him calling him Master Chen, Chen Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief. In addition to being grateful, he quickly followed up. ¡°Yes, tell them. Mr. Dong and Mr. Liu must have a way!¡± As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Qingbo glanced at him again which stunned Chen Guoliang. Could it be there these two people didn¡¯t intend to show their true identity, but he had inadvertently exposed them? He couldn¡¯t help but become more nervous. In fact, with his reputation among the rich and powerful of Hong Kong, he wouldn¡¯t have fallen so far. It was just that last time, he was shell-shocked by how Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had subdued the demonic energy and he later received several days of ideological education. It was truly eye-opening and awe-inspiring that it led him to be more respectful and also feared the profession. It was the last thing on his list to see Dong Zhi again, yet who knew that the enemy¡¯s path would be so narrow. When he ran to Shencheng, they also followed him here. When Chen Guoliang return to Hong Kong, he would change the name of his feng shui master and going forward would keep a low profile as to not run into experts like them. He really couldn¡¯t eat and walk away*. *(³Ô²»Á˶µ×Å×ß) Metaphor referring to ignoring the situation and causing trouble or adverse consequences and you have to bear it yourself. || It¡¯s basically saying, he can¡¯t escape the consequences of his previous action (being a fraud) because he has once again ran into Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo. Xiang Mu greeted them with a few pleasantries then talked about calligraphy, paintings, and writings, to the feng shui furnishing in the room here. He refused to get to the point. Dong Zhi knew that such a successful businessman was usually suspicious. If he didn¡¯t disperse his doubts, it was estimated the other party wouldn¡¯t be able to communicate at all with them, so he said, ¡°Mr. Xiang, my friend here is a descendant of Liu Yongjia, a well-known swordsmaster of the Republic of China. Maybe you have heard of him. On the other hand, I am a named disciple of the Hezao Sect. I studied under Taoist Master Fang Yangfang. I also have another master, but he¡¯s not a member of the Hezao Sect, so I won¡¯t mention him.¡± Chen Guoliang said hurriedly, ¡°In the past, the Hezao Sect was on par and ranked third among Mount Longhu and Mount Maoshan, but in modern times they¡¯ve been much lower-key. I have seen these two slay demons with my very own eyes and I have great respect for them in my heart!¡± Compared with the Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo who he just met for the first time, Xiang Mu was of course more inclined to believe in Chen Guoliang, who had already had a great reputation in Hong Kong. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t expect that they would have to rely on Chen Guoliang to prove their identity in turn and felt the situation was quite ridiculous. Sure enough, Xiang Mu suddenly became a lot more solemn when he heard this introduction. ¡°Just now, I have eyes but failed to see Mount Taishan*. I didn¡¯t expect to bump into such great people by mistake. I¡¯m very sorry!¡± Xiang Mu apologized to them. *(ÓÐÑÛ²»Ê¶Ì©É½) Metaphor for having eyes too narrow thus failing to recognize someone of excellent skill/status. Liu Qingbo became impatient. ¡°Mr. Xiang, let¡¯s get to your situation.¡± Xiang Mu smiled bitterly. ¡°In fact, this matter is really weird, and it has something to do with my wife.¡± It had been almost five years since Xiang Mu¡¯s wife passed away. They also have a daughter who was now studying abroad. It stood to reason that Xiang Mu has a good appearance and was wealthy. As a middle-aged and widowed man with no son, there were no problems with women clamoring for him, but Xiang Mu was an exception. He had a good relationship with his wife, and he hadn¡¯t remarried in the past five years despite persuasion of his friends. His wife had a bracelet that was passed down from her mother¡¯s family. After her death, Xiang Mu kept this bracelet and was prepared to give it his daughter when she got married, but the problem lied in this bracelet. Starting about a year ago, Xiang Mu began to frequently have a recurring dream. In the dream, he reunited with his late wife. His wife was still in the prime of her appearance. Xiang Mu was naturally extremely happy. After a long parting, the old relationship was rekindled. The whispering between the two quickly turned into a love affair. When he woke up, the pillow was still cold, and the whereabouts of his wife were gone. He was quite saddened by it. However, after that, Xiang Mu began to meet his wife in his dream again and every time it would end with a spring dream. Over time, Xiang Mu stumbled upon the jade bracelet he kept in the bedroom safe. It seemed that it had become smoother and more lustrous. ¡°This bracelet was originally worn by my wife for decades during her lifetime. She never took it off. I originally wanted to put it in the bank with other things, but every time I saw the bracelet, I couldn¡¯t help but look at it and think about it. I can¡¯t help leaving it so far away from me, so I put it in the bedroom.¡± Having said that, there was a trace of unspeakable expression on Xiang Mu¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m not afraid of your jokes telling you this. I¡¯m not old in age and I usually exercise. I¡¯m a man with normal needs, but I haven¡¯t had this kind of dream before. I once doubted if there were any physical or psychological problems, but the test results were all normal. It was no wonder that my dreams are so beautiful. I seemed to have returned to the days I spent with my wife when I was young. As time goes by, it¡¯s inevitable that I would be indulgent.¡± All the people present were men, and they were not ordinary people. Not only did no one express the meaning of ridicule, but they all nodded in understanding. Xiang Mu was encouraged, relaxed a little, and continued. Despite that, having a spring dream so often, no matter how healthy or strong Xiang Mu was, it was inevitable that it would take a mental toll. What was even more strange was that later, he occasionally had an extended version of the dream. After his wife was happy with him, she began to cry silently. No matter what he asked, she would refuse to speak and kept crying until Xiang Mu woke up. Since then, Xiang Mu¡¯s night had basically been trapped in such a dream, unable to extricate himself. ¡°You keep leaving the bracelet in the bedroom?¡± Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help asking. Xiang Mu: ¡°Yes.¡± Liu Qingbo frowned. ¡°So many things have happened. Why don¡¯t you throw away the bracelet or destroy it? Are you waiting to be sucked dry?¡± This was straightforward that it made Xiang Mu a little embarrassed. ¡°In fact, since my wife passed away, I have always missed her very much, and for this reason I have never remarried¡­¡± He didn¡¯t go on, but the implication was already obvious. Xiang Mu meant that he enjoyed his spring dreams, not mention that the object in his spring dream was his wife. On the one hand, he could see his dead lover in his dream, and on the other hand, he could relive his youth with his lover. He couldn¡¯t help but indulge in it, knowing that something was wrong, but he couldn¡¯t bear to leave. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. As soon as he heard this, he knew that Xiang Mu was not willing to destroy the bracelet or stay away from it. The other party had to go around in a big circle for things that could be solved simply. Dong Zhi asked bluntly, ¡°Mr. Xiang, there must be a problem with your bracelet, but we can¡¯t give you an answer before we see the real thing. I want to ask you first, how do you want us to help you?¡± Xiang Mu pondered for a moment, and said, ¡°I want to know, is my wife¡¯s soul trapped in that bracelet to support my dreams?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What if it is?¡± Xiang Mu hesitated, and he hadn¡¯t figured out what to do. Dong Zhi said, ¡°Even if it is really your wife¡¯s soul, it¡¯s not good for you or her to go on like this. She is sucking your essence night by night, nourishing her ghostly bodily and overtime she won¡¯t be willing to be trapped in the bracelet and perhaps she may even possess your body!¡± Xiang Mu laughed. ¡°This is impossible. She was very kind during her lifetime!¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°There is nothing impossible. After a person dies, everything will disappear. If she misses the world and refuses to die, her temperament will definitely change. If she is really dedicated to your sake, how can she be willing to suck your energy every night?¡± Chen Guoliang also said, ¡°Mr. Xiang, people cannot come back from the dead. Humans have human ways, and ghosts of theirs. The three realms and six paths* has their own rules. If those rules are broken, you may also delay your wife¡¯s end.¡± *Reference to Samsara. The three realms referred to the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the realm of immateriality, while the six paths are typically divided into three higher realms (good) and three lower realms (evil). You can read my Kinky Thoughts for more details on this but it¡¯s basically a belief in what happens after one dies and goes through reincarnation/rebirth. Xiang Mu sighed. ¡°Can you do this? After the auction, I will take you to my house first to see the bracelet. If you can, please help persuade my wife so that she can go to reincarnation with peace of mind as soon as possible!¡± Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other. The purpose of their trip was the painting, so naturally they had to help Xiang Mu solve his troubles first. ¡°Yes.¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll have to trouble you!¡± Xiang Mu was very grateful. Kinky Thoughts: Three Realms and Six Paths. The three realms referred to: The six paths refers to Samsara. Each path (realms) are split into 3 higher realms (representing good, fortunate) and 3 lower realms (representing evil, unfortunate). Below is a description of each realm courtesy or Wikipedia: CH 94 Xiang Mu was afraid that the Dong Zhi and others would be hungry, so he asked the chef to cook their dishes personally. They ate in the VIP room. Xiang Mu had a lot of worries, and it was rare that he didn¡¯t use his exquisite strengths to chat with everyone. Chen Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief. In front of experts, he was afraid to crack jokes and cause more blunder to himself. After the reception, there was an hour and a half lecture on feng shui. Chen Guoliang was the keynote speaker. Liu Qingbo was very interested. He dragged Dong Zhi to listen to it. Originally, this occasion was Chen Guoliang¡¯s specialty, and he could talk for an hour without any problems. Now, with Liu Qingbo staring him down, he had broken out in cold sweat and had stumbled several times before finishing his lecture. Fortunately, it had little impact and he still won a full round of applause. In fact, although Chen Guoliang had no real ability, his eloquence was indeed good, and it was estimated that he had read a lot of feng Shui books. The theories were already set so it was really easy to fool the laymen. Liu Qingbo saw that he was being honest and couldn¡¯t help feeling bored and didn¡¯t bother to find faults any longer. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t participate in the auction. Although Xiang Mu was the organizer, he didn¡¯t need to be there personally, so he invited the three of them to his house, took out the box from the bedroom and opened it in front of them. A green bracelet caught everyone¡¯s eyes. Chen Guoliang had seen a lot of good imperial green, so he recognized it at a glance. On the market, such water could be sold for at least millions. Of course, for Xiang Mu, it was only a drop in a bucket. ¡°You said before, this bracelet was passed down from your wife¡¯s family? Is there any origin?¡± Dong Zhi picked it up and held it to the sun and found that the jade quality was almost perfect. It was crystal clear and had a thrilling green. Xiang Mu said, ¡°I don¡¯t know the origin, but in their family, it should have been passed down for more than four generations. I have asked someone to identify it, and they all said that this is Laokeng Emperor green*, the best variety in jade. ¡± *According to basic research, to determine the jade value, one looks at the condition of its texture, and color. It is believed that the greener the color, the more expensive. Laokeng Emperor green is considered one of the top color among jade and sometimes the color could also be called emerald. Dong Zhi handed the bracelet to Liu Qingbo. ¡°It feels a bit strange. ¡± Liu Qingbo took the bracelet and nodded. ¡°There seems to be an aura in it.¡± He handed the bracelet to Chen Guoliang again. Chen Guoliang had to bite the bullet and took it and looked at it seriously for a while. ¡°My opinion is the same as the two of them.¡± In fact, he didn¡¯t notice any aura, but he couldn¡¯t say that he didn¡¯t feel anything. Chen Guoliang¡¯s heart was about to collapse when he looked at Liu Qingbo¡¯s teasing eyes, thinking that he would not come to the mainland again lest he would be killed. Dong Zhi said, ¡°Well, Mr. Xiang, if you don¡¯t mind, we will stay here for one night, and I will set up an array in your bedroom. If there¡¯s anything at night, we¡¯ll find out as soon as possible.¡± Xiang Mu said anxiously, ¡°Then will my wife lose her soul?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Assuming it¡¯s your wife, of course we¡¯ll be polite and then fight.¡± Xiang Mu breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully, ¡°Then thank you so much. When we left the venue, I had already refunded the deposit. I will also have the ¡°The Travel Map of Shaohua¡± packed and delivered soon.¡± Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other. The other party¡¯s direct and refreshing attitude made them feel very good. Xiang Mu was well versed in business rules and such things usually didn¡¯t proceed so smoothly. However, since he was so happy about the bracelet matter, they naturally would deal with this issue solemnly and helped Xiang Mu resolve his problem. Dong Zhi had never deployed a soul-summoning array, but he had heard He Yu talked about it. He still understood the general rules and taboos, but the soul summoning talisman had to be written now. When he came over, he only carried his sword but didn¡¯t bring anything else. However, these materials were a cinch for someone as rich as Xiang Mu. As long as a call was made, someone would deliver it within half an hour. When drawing talismans, concentration was needed. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t intend to avoid the eyes of others as what he was drawing wasn¡¯t an unspoken secret that was passed down. He washed his hands and face, stood still for a moment with his sleeves rolled up. The tip of his brush rolled on the adjusted cinnabar a few times before he dipped it in ink and began copying the strokes of the soul summoning talisman in his mind. He exhaled and concentrated as the brush began to move. Chen Guoliang and Xiang Mu held their breath and stood far away, not daring to disturb him. Even Liu Qingbo, who usually liked to quarrel with Dong Zhi, sat quietly drinking tea and looking at his phone without making a sound. Xiang Mu witnessed how skillful Dong Zhi was as several pieces of talisman paper were drawn one after another. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a little puzzled. Chen Guoliang whispered to him, ¡°Painting talisman is not a matter of painting successfully in one go. It depends on each person¡¯s skill. Those with deep skill have a high success rate, like Mr. Dong. It¡¯s already pretty amazing that he¡¯s able to succeed with five or six out of ten.¡± Chen Guoliang had been an ¡°entertainer¡± for many years, so he knew a little bit about the way of doing things, otherwise those rich people who weren¡¯t complete fools couldn¡¯t be easily coaxed by him. As if separated by a mountain, Xiang Mu suddenly realized that he had added a layer of awe for Dong Zhi. The young man stared at the talisman paper in front of him. With his pen-like movements, Chen Guoliang and Xiang Mu vaguely felt that there seemed to be an invisible air flowing slowly all over him, but in Liu Qingbo¡¯s eyes, this air flow had turned into substance, and the mist-like white air circled around Dong Zhi and gradually spread away. In the beginning of the universe, the great ultimate of yin and yang tai chi, with the three powers*, creation was infinite and life was endless. *Refers to heaven, earth, and man. Note: this whole sentence is basically like a chant so that¡¯s why it¡¯s like broken with incomplete sentences. Liu Qingbo still remembered that during the training period, he was particularly uncomfortable watching Dong Zhi. He wanted to cause some trouble to the other party quite a few times. At that time, he saw that this guy had no foundation at all. Everything he learned was a half-way monk. He felt embarrassed when he lost and didn¡¯t look glorious when he won, so he never used his true style. After Dong Zhi became Long Shen¡¯s apprentice, he thought about it for several days and couldn¡¯t figure it out. Now it seemed that the other party¡¯s qualification may rival even his. As soon as he got into the water, he turned into a dragon. With the training and teaching of a famous teacher, the strength Dong Zhi had gradually emerged and now he could partner with him without holding him back. Although Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t draw talismans, he knew very well that although painting talismans required talents, it was more important to practice hundreds of times in repeated cycles. It could be seen that Dong Zhi put a lot of sweat and tears into it. If a person that had talent and was willing to work hard, his future wouldn¡¯t be too bad. Liu Qingbo himself was such a person. While his impression of Dong Zhi had greatly improved, he also became more sympathetic towards him. Suddenly, Liu Qingbo frowned and almost made a sound. He must¡¯ve seen it wrong just now, but he saw a wisp of black air mixed with the white air, but it disappeared in a blink of an eye, as if he was hallucinating. A few talismans had been painted, and more than an hour had passed, but this was already much faster than when Dong Zhi first learned to draw talisman. His spirit was completely relaxed when his eyes suddenly darkened. If he hadn¡¯t held onto the edge of the table, it was very likely he would have fallen to his feet. ¡°Okay,¡± Dong Zhi said to the client. ¡°I will arrange these talismans in your bedroom. You will put the bracelet in the place I designated later. Don¡¯t move it. Go to bed at night. Don¡¯t worry. We will guard in the living room and go in as soon as there¡¯s a situation.¡± Xiang Mu naturally agreed to everything, and it was up to him to arrange it. Dong Zhi raised his chin slightly and nodded to Chen Guoliang: ¡°Master Chen, come and help me set up the formation.¡± Chen Guoliang pointed to himself. ¡°Me?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Is it inconvenient?¡± Chen Guoliang didn¡¯t dare to respond and said hurriedly. ¡°It¡¯s very convenient, very convenient!¡± His attitude towards Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo was unconsciously a little flattering and fearful, and Xiang Mu naturally saw it. Although Xiang Mu felt strange, he didn¡¯t ask much. His experience in the business world over the years told him that the less he knew about these things that had nothing to do with him, the better. Painting talismans was a very energy-consuming thing. Dong Zhi originally felt that he was easily tired recently. After more than an hour, he was dizzy, and his hands and feet were soft. He simply found a chair to sit down and instructed Chen Guoliang to set up in the bedroom. Poor Chen Guoliang, a famous master of feng shui, had been held high by the rich people of Hong Kong over the years, but when Dong Zhi arrived, he was commanded like he was his grandchild, but he didn¡¯t dare resist. He glanced at the Dong Zhi plaintively, wiped a handful of sweat, and accepted his fate and got busy. Liu Qingbo also followed, but he wasn¡¯t interested in arranging the array and instead only stared at Dong Zhi. Seeing this Dong Zhi felt inexplicable. ¡°Is my face blushing?¡± Unusually, Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t quip back and said solenly, ¡°Have you felt uncomfortable recently?¡± Dong Zhi thought for a while. ¡°After the last fight with Yamamoto, my injuries haven¡¯t healed, but I didn¡¯t get hurt much fighting with the demonic energy at Han Qi¡¯s place¡­ If it had to be said, the moment the demonic energy was eliminated, I felt a cold feeling between my brows, as if something had entered my body, but afterwards, except for being tired easily, there was no other discomfort, and the my injuries is slowly healing.¡± Liu Qingbo told him about the black wisp he had just seen. ¡°It¡¯s definitely not that I¡¯m seeing things this time. When you see Boss Tang, you¡¯d better tell him the situation and have him take a look.¡± Dong Zhi nodded. ¡°Actually, now that you mention it, I also think it¡¯s a bit strange. Do you remember the nightmare I had on the plane? I suspect someone may have marked me so they could track me at any time.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much about the technique. If Boss Tang can¡¯t solve it, you can find Boss Long. Anyway, you must solve the matter. I don¡¯t want to take an oath in front of your tombstone when the newcomers comes to the Special Administrative Bureau in the future!¡± In the end, his tone wasn¡¯t very good. Dong Zhi joked. ¡°Then you have to burn me more money. I heard that if you don¡¯t have enough money, you will be bullied if you are poor!¡± Seeing Liu Qingbo¡¯s face getting uglier, he hurriedly raised his hand in surrender. ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll stop talking!¡± Chen Guoliang interjected at the right time and said weakly, ¡°Master Dong, I have arranged it according to the direction you said. What do you think I should do next?¡± Next, Dong Zhi placed a bagua mirror in the array and small bells were tied with red ropes around it. One by one they hung on the surrounding walls, and the box containing the jade bracelet was taken out and placed at the end of the bed. After arranging all this, Xiang Mu was finally allowed to enter the bedroom. He looked at the talisman and bells with a wry smile. ¡°I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to sleep.¡± Dong Zhi comforted him. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I will give you two drops of lavender essential oil on your pillow to make sure you sleep well tonight.¡± As night fell, Dong Zhi looked at his watch. ¡°It¡¯s cloudy at eight today, which is suitable for evoking spirits. There are still a few minutes left. Go to bed quickly boss.¡± Xiang Mu went to bed, while they waited outside. Chen Guoliang was a little restless. The current scene could only be regarded as a small case compared to the horror of bloodshed last time, but he didn¡¯t know what would happen, and the feeling of unpredictable good or bad was simply nerve wracking. Upon seeing this, Dong Zhi took the initiative to start a conversation. ¡°Chen Guoliang, in fact, you know quite a lot. Why don¡¯t you go to a teacher to learn rather than rely on your mouth to deceive people?¡± Chen Guoliang smiled bitterly. ¡°It¡¯s easy for you to say, but it¡¯s not that easy to worship a teacher. I met a Taoist master many years ago. It¡¯s a pity that people think I have no talent and refuse to accept it. This time¡­ You saved me face, thank you.¡± He arched his hands to the two of them. In the bedroom, Xiang Mu didn¡¯t say anything, but he was still a little nervous. He felt that it was impossible to sleep, but within a few minutes, he didn¡¯t know if the essential oil worked or the effect of the array, as soon as he touched the pillow, he closed his eyes, and after a while, he really fell asleep. Xiang Mu had already given leave to all the servants in the household. Except for the bodyguards outside the villa, only the three of them were guarding him in the living room. The bell rang suddenly, and the three of them subconsciously shuddered, then got up and rushed to the bedroom. Xiang Mu laid on the bed with his eyes closed tightly. Unlike ordinary people who are trapped by nightmares, he looked relaxed and had a smile at the corner of his mouth, as if immersed in a wonderful dream. The jade bracelet at the end of the bed was quietly placed in the box, no different from before. But both Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo frowned. Because in their eyes, the jade bracelet had changed, and the color had become more intense. Against the background of the dim table lamp, a ray of black air curled up from the jade bracelet, and then slowly floated towards the door. Beside his bedside pillow, faintly, there was a thick green mist. In the mist, a human form was looming, and it could almost be seen that it was a woman. Chen Guoliang took in a deep breath. Dong Zhi no longer hesitated, and the long-prepared sunlight talisman in his hand was thrown directly at the green mist. The talisman came into contact with the green mist, and suddenly a female scream resounded in the air causing Xiang Mu to wake up and sit up abruptly! The green mist moved back quickly, as if to float back into the jade bracelet, but it was Liu Qingbo who was faster than it. He quickly picked up the jade bracelet and retreated directly to the outside of the array. The green mist was bounced by the red line in the array and fell back. It then actually split into two and turned into the figure of two women. Xiang Mu lost his voice. ¡°Xiao Jun!¡± The two women were translucent. The green light was floating, trembling constantly, as if they would dissipate at any time, but their figures and appearance could be seen. The strange thing was that both of them look exactly the same. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t expect that waiting for a rabbit, they would catch two souls and couldn¡¯t help but look at Xiang Mu. ¡°Which one is your wife?¡± Xiang Mu was also dumbfounded. ¡°Husband, I miss you so much!¡± The young woman looked at Xiang Mu with tears in her eyes. The other one didn¡¯t speak, frowning tightly, even more sad. Chen Guoliang was speechless and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Could it be that your wife¡¯s soul was divided into two halves?¡± Xiang Mu murmured, ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­¡± The sad one said, ¡°After I died, I saw you sad every day, and I didn¡¯t know what to do, so I went into the jade bracelet. In fact, I was with you every night. It was not my will. It was the spirit in the jade bracelet that coerced me!¡± The other woman shook her head, tears streaming across her cheeks: ¡°This jade bracelet was passed down by my grandmother. When I was a child, I heard my elders say that this jade bracelet has a spirit. I didn¡¯t believe it before. Until I died, my soul was trapped in the jade bracelet. I watched this woman grow into me day by day, until she looked like before I died. Then she forced me to go into your dreams¡­ and suck out all the yang energy from you¡­ Husband, I¡¯m sorry. I wanted to tell you for a long time but she placed a restraint on me that wouldn¡¯t allow me to speak about it in your dreams!¡± One was Mrs. Xiang, and the other was that the jade bracelet that had become an essence. The jade bracelet had been soaked in popularity for a long time and now had a soul with its own consciousness. It also envied the love of Xiang Mu and his wife, so it took on the appearance of Mrs. Xiang and seduced her husband in his dreams all night long, sucking his energy and making it difficult for him to extricate himself. Of course this was all inferred by Dong Zhi based on the dialogue between the two of them. Being born human was blessed by nature. He didn¡¯t know how much effort other species needed to make if they wanted to cultivate into a human body. The soul of this jade bracelet could transformed into a human form so it could be seen that it had reach the last step into its cultivation. As long as it cultivated for a few more years, it may be able to stand under the sun, just like Long Shen, like Liu Si, and the others, and walk among the world of humans. But this step may be a few years, decades, or even hundreds of years, depending on the individual¡¯s cultivation and fortune, but this jade bracelet obviously didn¡¯t want to wait that long, so it chose a shortcut. Liu Qingbo sneered, ¡°Although you can be transformed into a human form now, you can only appear in the dead of night. When you truly become a human, you have to experience a calamity. Do you think you can survive a calamity safely like this?¡± Two identical women spoke at the same time. One said, ¡°Husband, break the jade bracelet so that the monster has no place to go. I would rather lose my soul than harm you!¡± The other said, ¡°Husband, let the master take care of this evil. If you continue like this, your spirit will be sucked dry by it!¡± Listening to their tone, they both thought of Xiang Mu more than themselves, so he couldn¡¯t tell which one was his real wife. ¡°Xiao Yun, if I tell these two masters to exorcise the monster in the jade bracelet, will it affect you?¡± Dong Zhi answered on his behalf, ¡°Mr. Xiang, in this situation, your wife¡¯s soul is probably already integrated with the jade bracelet. No matter what you do to the jade bracelet, it will hurt your wife. The best way is to distinguish them. I will send your wife away, and then subdue the monster.¡± Xiang Mu understood Dong Zhi¡¯s meaning. His gaze wandered back and forth between the two women, thought for a moment, then asked, ¡°When is our wedding anniversary?¡± ¡°June 16th!¡± ¡°June 16th!¡± The two women spoke almost in unison. Xiang Mu: ¡°Do you remember what I said, when our daughter gets married, what I will give her?¡± One of them spoke first, ¡°You said that you would give her the villa on the other side of Dongjiang to let her use as a wedding room and you also said you hope that she would find someone who¡¯s Chinese so as not be separated between mountains and rivers in the future.¡± The other also said, ¡°This jade bracelet was originally planned to be given to her. You also said that you have taken a lot of jewelry over the years, as you have to use it as her dowry to let her marry in a beautiful way.¡± Xiang Mu was troubled and said to Dong Zhi, ¡°They are both right.¡± Liu Qingbo said impatiently, ¡°Can¡¯t you ask something more difficult?¡± The two women looked at Xiang Mu with the same eager and expectant eyes, as if they also hoped that he would ask more difficult questions. Xiang Mu sighed: ¡°Xiao Yun, in fact, after you passed away, I found it boring to do anything. Although business is getting better, no matter how much money I make, without you, my life will be like this. Others have persuaded me to remarry. Even our daughter is also very open-minded. It¡¯s me who can¡¯t get through the difficulties in my heart. Sometimes, I really hope that like other men, where I see the one I like, marry her, and keep others outside, so that you won¡¯t have to worry about me after you die. But I miss you and want you to stay here.¡± ¡°Do you remember, when we were young, we had no money. When you gave birth to our daughter, we couldn¡¯t afford to buy even a can of milk powder. I begged my grandfather to ask my grandmother, and finally begged your parent¡¯s house. Your father finally lent me the money, but he also spoke out and told me that a daughter who is married is water that has been spilled*, so I can¡¯t go back to them even if anything happens in the future. I was afraid to make you feel uncomfortable so I have never told you about it, but since then, I swore to myself that I must let you live a good life so that your family will never dare to look down on you again.¡± *(ÄãÊǼ޳öÈ¥µÄÅ®¶ùÆóöÈ¥µÄË®) Proverb that means as soon as a girl gets married, she is like water that¡¯s already been spilled, and her parents aren¡¯t allowed to intervene. ¡°Later, in order to do business, I often went out to socialize. Everything at home was left to you to take care of. Thanks to your care, my parents were able to live so long. I also know that some people talk nonsense in front of you, saying that I have a lover outside, and saying that I go out to socialize so much that I must be messing around, but you have never questioned me. I took the initiative to ask and you said that if you hadn¡¯t believed in my character, you wouldn¡¯t have married me. For this, I will never do anything to wrong you in my life.¡± His two ¡°wives¡± blushed when they heard the words. One stared at him in a daze, speechless. One said, ¡°Thank you, husband.¡± Xiang Mu shook his head. ¡°I should thank you.¡± Dong Zhi looked closely at them but their expression towards Xiang Mu seemed to come from the heart, without revealing the slightest flaw. Not only him, but Liu Qingbo and Chen Guoliang didn¡¯t see anything either. In the past, they disagreed over a single word, and they fought each other at every turn. This was the first time they had encountered such a situation where they both agreed with each other. It was more a test of decision than force. Xiang Mu looked at the Dong Zhi for help, ¡°Master, I can¡¯t tell which one is the real and which is the fake.¡± Dong Zhi thought for a moment, ¡°Then there is only one way now, just break the jade bracelet.¡± The jade bracelet was the original body of the spirit. As long as it was broken, it would be greatly affected. At that time, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo would be able to quickly distinguish them and subdue the jade bracelet spirit. The disadvantage was that Mrs. Xiang¡¯s soul may also be damaged as a result. Xiang Mu said without thinking, ¡°No, don¡¯t break the jade bracelet. I¡¯m afraid I¡¯ll hurt my wife!¡± Hearing these words, both women¡¯s expressions changed. One was moved. The other was mostly happy. Although the difference between the two emotions was not as great between joy and anger, there were always subtle differences. It fast and fleeting but they quickly moved. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo shot separately. One drew his sword out of its sheath and stabbed one of them, and the other threw out a talisman. The talisman fell on the green mist and fixed on one of the women. At this time, Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword had already pierced into the body of the other woman. The woman screamed fiercely, and the sword light completely shattered the green mist, turned into green stars, and scattered it all over the room. That little soul that had cultivated this far for a long time in the end became just this fleeting moment. Liu Qingbo was a little dazed when he saw Dong Zhi, thinking that he felt that his hands were hot, and he said angrily, ¡°It was self-inflicted. There¡¯s no good end to abusing compassion!¡± Dong Zhi recovered and shook his head. He just suddenly remembered Long Shen, and it hurt him. In the process of deepening his dragon form, he must¡¯ve experience unimaginable difficulties and temptations. The top of the snow-capped mountains, the far reaches of the polar regions, and under the stars were all past experiences that he had not participated in. No one knew how much a sword needed to go through from its birth to its rebirth, and whether it was more difficult than the things refined by Taishang Laojun¡¯s1 Liuding Shenhuo2. 1Also known as Daode Tianzun, he¡¯s a high Taoist god and one of the Three Pure Ones. 2This is the divine fire of the gossip furnace owned by Taishang Laojun in ¡°Journey to the West¡±. Magic weapons such as the golden hoop rods, nine-tooth nail rake, and the purple gold bells were all forged using the gossip furnace with the divine fire. || The context here is that these weapons were extremely powerful, forge by divine fire, while compared to them, Long Shen was much more ordinary so the amount of effort it took to cultivate to where he is today must be incredible. But despite such a thorny cliff road, Long Shen walked step by step. The jade essence in front of him had only got a chance, but it wanted to achieve its goal through harmful shortcuts. How could it compare with Long Shen? It was precisely because he had met Long Shen, Liu Si, and others that he believed this jade essence had only itself to blame. After seeing Long Shen¡¯s past in the illusion, he always wanted to call the other party and say, ¡®Master, no matter how difficult the road is in the future, I am willing to walk with you, even if I can¡¯t keep up with you and fall far behind, I¡¯m willing to keep going. At least, when you look back, you can always see someone there, proving that you¡¯re not alone.¡¯ But how many times, after he opened the phone¡¯s address book, he didn¡¯t have the courage to follow through. Long Shen¡¯s previous words were still ringing in his ears, repeatedly, so that he could no longer add more trouble to the other party in the name of love. If he were to walk to his door, he would raise his hand to knock, but would freeze and stand there for a long time before leaving silently. Love was companionship, restraint, willingness not to regard other¡¯s time as your own, and willingness to dedicate the best of your life to each other. But he didn¡¯t want to make the other party unhappy and awkward. When he was a child, he liked flowers, so he always picked them and took them home to raise, but then he learned that after the flowers were picked, life would only pass faster, so when he grew up, even if he liked those numerous branches, he would restrain his desire to pick them and not interfere with their life trajectory. He would let the flowers continue to bloom on their own branches. Long Shen wasn¡¯t a flower. He was more precious than any flower in the world. Thinking of this, Dong Zhi sighed softly in his heart as he watched Xiang Mu walk towards the remaining woman and told her his long-lost affection. The slender figure wrapped in the green mist trembled, but brilliance continued to flow. It was dazzling and graceful as if the jade beads were glowing, adding a bit of amazement to the woman, but both Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo knew that this kind of beauty was short lived and dangerous. Now that the jade essence was gone, the aura of the jade bracelet had disappeared, and it had become a dead object. He still didn¡¯t know if there was an opportunity to continue to cultivate into a human form, but the jade bracelet was no longer suitable for the other woman to stay in. There was only one way left, and that was ashes returned to ashes and dust returned to dust. ¡°Mr. Xiang, I¡¯m afraid you have to hurry up. The time limit for the talisman is only two hours. After the time has passed, your wife must go back to the jade bracelet,¡± he reminded. Xiang Mu eyes reddened. ¡°Then will she go to the underworld to reincarnate?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°As I said, it doesn¡¯t matter whether she¡¯s reincarnated or not, but everyone has their own places to go after death. Your wife has already passed. She should have a place that she needs to return to. If she continues to stay, even if she could live in the jade bracelet, her soul will gradually decline, so she must be sent away as soon as possible.¡± In the language of science, the soul was a kind of magnetic field, which existed in a space that was a different dimension from them. That space also had its own rules and laws, as well as its own law enforcers, whether it was the underworld or the afterlife, they were all just different name for another world. Xiang Mu nodded, expressing understanding. Dong Zhi said, ¡°Neither Lao Liu nor I are good at sending souls to the beyond, but don¡¯t worry, after I go back, I¡¯ll find the right master to come and help, and I¡¯ll help you get it done.¡± Xiang Mu could also see now that Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were the ones with real abilities. As for Chen Guoliang, he may have some ability, but definitely not as big as the other two, so he was completely inclined to listen to Dong Zhi¡¯s words. ¡°Then please, master.¡± He removed the talisman causing the woman to turn into a cloud of green mist and slowly returned to the jade bracelet. Xiang Mu carefully closed the box and held it in his arms, like a treasure. There were many rich and powerful people in this world, but few were as deeply in love. Xiang Mu was an exception and even Liu Qingbo felt a little moved. Dong Zhi promised Xiang Mu to help him with this matter within a week. The three of them politely declined Xiang Mu¡¯s invitation to stay the night, thus Xiang Mu could only present them with the ¡°Travel Map of Shaohua¡± and gave Chen Gualiang a big red envelope and sent them on their way. CH 95 After parting with Xiang Mu, Chen Guoliang smiled and said to Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, ¡°Masters, I won¡¯t bother you so late. Please come to Hong Kong when you have time. I¡¯ll definitely greet you both!¡± He had seen the two of them subdue demons and monsters twice now and knew that they were from the Special Administration Bureau, so he naturally wanted to chummy up with them. Dong Zhi said lightly, ¡°Master Chen, we know that you have a high reputation in Hong Kong, but for things like fame, you are only worthy of your fame as much as the ability you have. If your virtue doesn¡¯t match, sooner or later, you¡¯ll suffer the consequences yourself. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Chen Guoliang said with shame, ¡°I understand. I¡¯ve learned a lot during this time. I¡¯ll keep your words in my mind. I¡¯ll try to keep a low profile and won¡¯t talk nonsense anymore!¡± He knew very well how much weight he pulled, and it was fine to cheat the rich, but if he really ran into a situation like Han Qi¡¯s demon fetus, he would have no one to blame when he died. How could he not dare learn his lesson? What¡¯s more, being able to get to know Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo was a great opportunity for him. He still wanted to make friends with them, and this was simply another way for him in the future. Dong Zhi eased his tone and said, ¡°Regarding Han Qi¡¯s case, we want you to do us a favor.¡± Chen Guoliang hurriedly said, ¡°Please speak!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan disappeared strangely after traveling to Thailand and have not returned yet. We guess that these two people will very likely never return.¡± Thinking of the bloody scene he saw in the hotel room that day, Chen Guoliang couldn¡¯t help but shudder secretly, feeling that he didn¡¯t want to experience it again in this life. He heard Dong Zhi say, ¡°But Dong Qiaolan has a best friend named Qi Rui who has a good relationship with her. The police speculate that Dong Qiaolan may have told her something. She may know more than we thought, and she¡¯s likely to be in Hong Kong as to avoid the limelight because she owes a high amount of debt in the mainland. It is said that this person likes to go in and out of high-class social occasions and famous brand stores in Hong Kong. The police are already in contact with them to find out, but Master Chen, you have frequent contacts with the wealthy in Hong Kong. We would like to ask you to help pay attention to it. If you catch wind of Qi Rui whereabouts, please contact us immediately.¡± Chen Guoliang agreed immediately. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Mr. Dong. I will find someone to inquire when I go back, and I will notify you as soon as there is news!¡± Dong Zhi sent him his contact and Qi Rui¡¯s photo. Seeing Chen Guoliang get in the car and leave, Liu Qingbo said, ¡°What are you going to do with this painting?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Looking for the stone tablet is an instruction from the General Administration. I will ask the Boss Long first, and then see his decision.¡± Liu Qingbo sneered, ¡°He¡¯s your master. What kind of boss are you talking about!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless. ¡°Are you offended?¡± Liu Qingbo said sharply, ¡°I¡¯m as broad-minded as the vast sea, and I don¡¯t have the same view as you. That¡¯s on you. If I let you act like this, can you still even face Boss Long?¡± He first stepped into the hotel. Dong Zhi touched his nose and followed. Well, Liu Qingbo wasn¡¯t able to become an apprentice in the end so he could only let him take advantage of him now. Xiang Mu really kept his promise. When they returned to the hotel, the painting also came back with them. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo spread out ¡°The Travel Map of Shaohua¡±. Seeing this painting up close again, the two of them saw at a glance the stone tablet by the stream at the foot of the mountain that most people wouldn¡¯t notice at first glance. Dong Zhi had to buy a magnifying glass. Under the action of a magnifying glass, the inscription of the exposed part of the stone tablet was exactly the same as what they had seen before. The two of them looked at each other at the same time, first with a sigh of relief, and then with a heavy feeling, since the appearance of the stone tablet meant most likely a storm was brewing again. ¡°You can report to the Boss Long,¡± Liu Qingbo said. ¡°Wait, let¡¯s sort out our thoughts first,¡± Dong Zhi said. ¡°During the Yongle Period of the Ming Dynasty, a painter was playing at the foot of Shaohua Mountain and painted the surrounding scenery. He accidentally included this stone tablet into the painting. In the painting, the stone tablet is already half exposed to the soil. It may be that after being dug up, but since it seemed useless it was ignored. From Ming Yongle to present, at least 600 years have passed. I think that even if we find a place corresponding to the scenery in the painting, the stone tablet is probably no longer there.¡± Liu Qingbo impatiently reasoned, ¡°Let¡¯s not worry about this kind of thing. We are now 180,000 miles away from Shaohua Mountain. The General Administration will definitely send people from the Northwest Branch to be responsible for this matter. We can take this picture and compare the position of it on the map. Shaohua Mountain is so big that honestly, I¡¯m not very optimistic, but it¡¯s still a clue.¡± Dong Zhi rolled up the painting and then dialed Long Shen¡¯s number. ¡ª Tang Jing came out of the bathroom and saw the person sitting on his sofa reading comics with relish and couldn¡¯t help rubbing his forehead. ¡°I haven¡¯t figured it out yet. Why did I bring you home with me?¡± Ming Xian raised his head with an innocent expression on his face. ¡°Because I said I was scared, and the stalker insisted on coming back with you. By the way, Tangtang Ge, I also want to do an interview with you for material for the male protagonist of my new novel.¡± ¡°You will go back tomorrow, and don¡¯t call me Tangtang Ge. I won¡¯t do any interviews, and you¡¯re not allowed to write about me in that book!¡± Tang Jing took out a set of clean pajamas and bath towels from the bathroom and threw them on Ming Xian¡¯s head. ¡°Go take a shower!¡± Ming Xian let out a sigh and raised the book in his hand. ¡°I also bought this comic. The author¡¯s drawing is very interesting. Don¡¯t you think that the story in the comic seems a bit similar to your job?¡± Tang Jing glanced at the ¡°The Incident Book of the Relevant Department for Subduing and Eliminating Demons¡± in his hand, and said casually, ¡°It¡¯s similar to so many comics out there. This is an autographed book given to me by a friend. I don¡¯t read domestic comics, but he forced me to accept it. If you like it, take it back and read it!¡± Ming Xian frowned then smiled. ¡°Thank you Tangtang!¡± With Ge being omitted, it made it even more tiring hearing just the rest of his name. Tang Jing moved his mouth and endured the urge to correct him. With outsiders present, he couldn¡¯t do any business. Anyway, he didn¡¯t usually come back to this room, and there would basically be nothing related to the Special Administration Bureau here. Picking up the comic that Ming Xian was reading, Tang Jing lowered his head and turned a few pages before he heard Ming Xian shouting from the bathroom, ¡°Tangtang, you forgot to give me underwear!¡± Tang Jing: ¡­¡­ He accepted his fate and got up and went to the bedroom to get a pair of underwear and delivered it. Ming Xian shyly opened the door of the room and stretched out a hand. Tang Jing said annoyed, ¡°Is it possible that you¡¯re still a woman dressed as a man?¡± He pushed the door open and walked in. Ming Xian didn¡¯t move an inch. With drops of water and heat on his body, he watched in a daze as Tang Jing walked towards him and his face flushed red. Tang Jing walked towards him step by step. The other party had already removed Yu Ji¡¯s makeup and outfit at the venue and had put on casual clothes. Under the disguise of the female dress, that figure that seemed slender was actually pretty sturdy and well-built. There was nowhere to escape. Ming Xian was a little nervous. Swallowing his saliva subconsciously, his eyelashes trembled slightly, and finally lowered his eyes, almost closing them to compromise. Then a huff came in his ear. Ming Xian raised his eyes again, watching in surprise as the other party¡¯s hand passed through his ears, grabbing the toothbrush and water cup behind him. ¡°Do you have any bad intentions towards me?¡± Tang Jing seemed to be smiling. ¡°You¡¯re teasing me!¡± Ming Xian¡¯s ears were red, and he grabbed the underwear in his hand and was about to leave, but he was stopped by the other party first. Tang Jing pinched the other party¡¯s chin and leaned over to kiss him. ¡°Satisfied?¡± Seeing Ming Xian¡¯s stunned stupidity, he couldn¡¯t help but tease him, and kissed him again, but his neck was hooked by the other party and was suddenly pulled closer. Their lips collided with each other, which was the way people would think of expressing their love, though it was too early for them to talk about love as Tang Jing felt he was just attracted to just the face. It was actually a wonderful experience to be able to celebrate a Spring Festival in the evening with the owner of such a face. It was just¡­ ¡°Are you sure?¡± leaving the other party¡¯s red and swollen lips that he had sucked on, Tang Jing asked. Ming Xian answered him by directly pulling his neck down. His eyes were beautiful and docile with a bit of expectancy behind those timid eyes. It was like waiting for someone to go in for a kiss, or rather, to ravage. If a beauty took the initiative and didn¡¯t cater, it would be extremely harmful to reason and nature¡­ and Tang Jing never did anything that would hurt reason and nature. ¡ª After a night of love making, even for Tang Jing, it was inevitable that he slept a few minutes longer than his usual biological clock before slowly getting up from bed. The sheets and pillows were a mess, showing how fierce last night battle was. There was no one next to him, and even Ming Xian¡¯s backpack wasn¡¯t there. When Ming Xian left, Tang Jing knew, but he didn¡¯t stop him. It was originally a chance encounter and they both wanted it, so there was no need to talk about regrets. There was a text message Ming Xian had left him: [I have to go back to class. See you later.] There was also some cute emojis at the end. Tang Jing glanced at it but didn¡¯t reply. He scratched his hair remembering that Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo might have already reported to work at the branch now. He got up and walked to the bathroom, ready to take a shower before setting off. On the other side, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo got out of the car and looked at the building in front of them for a few seconds. Although the two of them didn¡¯t communicate, they invariably had the same thoughts in their mind. Really rich! Although the situation was different from place to place. For example, the appearance of the General Administration was dilapidated, but in fact there was a universe inside. Or for example, the Lucheng office was underfunded, so it was originally rented in a dilapidated community. There wasn¡¯t even a serious office space, but they didn¡¯t expect¡­ The East China Branch was actually so dignified. It was located in the center of Shencheng¡¯s most prosperous business district, in a high-rise building in Lujiazui. The signboard of the South China Branch of a certain environmental management company was hung outside. It was a bit similar to Master Chen Guoliang who had walked rivers and lakes under the guise of feng shui. Not only was the rent here expensive, but even the facade decoration revealed a fashion-forward style. At first glance, that was what it really looked like. The receptionist at the front desk saw someone coming in and got up to greet them. ¡°Hello. Do the two of you have an appointment?¡± Dong Zhi went through the address in his mind and confirmed that he had not gone to the wrong place. ¡°Hello, we have an appointment with President Tang, his name is Tang Jing.¡± ¡°Dong Zhi, Liu Qingbo?¡± The beautiful young girl lowered her head and checked her notepad to confirm with them. Dong Zhi: ¡°Yes.¡± The receptionist said, ¡°Please show me your work permit.¡± After receiving the documents handed over by the two of them, the front desk took them to the machine to scan and verify. When the green light lit up, she nodded calmly. Her face remained the same as she led the way in front with her hand. ¡°Mr. Tang hasn¡¯t arrived yet. Please follow me.¡± Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other and had to keep up with the receptionist¡¯s footsteps. Passing through the spacious office space, they saw many people sitting at their desks, tapping on computers, or lying on the desks for a nap. There were also many empty seats, which was no different from white-collar workers in an ordinary office building. As if noticing their gaze, the receptionist turned her head and whispered to them, ¡°There was a small incident at the Anime Convention yesterday. They all just came back from working overtime last night.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the incident?¡± Liu Qingbo asked. The receptionist said, ¡°Two soul-eaters took advantage of the crowd to mix into the venue, sucked a lot of anger, and caused two deaths. Mr. Tang, ah, Boss Tang wiped them out, but he suspects that there¡¯s someone behind it. Recently, Shencheng has frequently held international events. Boss Tang is worried that the mastermind behind it will use the same technique again, so it¡¯s necessary to strengthen security.¡± With an urban beauty dressed in a glamorous suit telling them about soul eaters; it created quite an absurd scene. The receptionist took them to the conference room. ¡°Sit for a bit. I¡¯ll inform Assistant Shu first.¡± She smiled and closed the door before Dong Zhi had the chance to refute. The conference room was also composed of glass doors and windows, which was transparent inside and outside, seemingly making the sense of space more vast. Even a young master like Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help being speechless. ¡°You said that if we were transferred to a branch, will our treatment increase several times?¡± Dong Zhi grinned. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that the dignified Young Master Liu would bend his waist for five buckets of rice*?¡± *Reminder: Metaphor for flattery. Basically, lose one¡¯s backbone for profit. Liu Qingbo curled his lips. ¡°I¡¯m just speaking aloud. What is a soul eater?¡± Dong Zhi said: ¡°I heard Chaosheng say that that thing only eats dead souls, and it generally doesn¡¯t hurt the living. It¡¯s not as terrifying as the name. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on this time¡­¡± The door of the conference room was pushed open and a man walked in. ¡°Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, right? Welcome, I¡¯m Shu He!¡± The other party smiled kindly, and before anyone arrived, he stretched out his hand towards the Dong Zhi. ¡°Hello, Shu Ge, we have already spoken on the phone¡ª¡± Dong Zhi was about to shake hands with him, but suddenly his face changed, and he backed away quickly. Liu Qingbo was inexplicable. Before he had time to ask, he saw two colors of red and gold flying out of Shu He¡¯s cuffs, turning into two monsters with sharp horns and long hair, landing steadily and staring at him and Dong Zhi. ¡°Your response is very fast!¡± Shu He smiled at Dong Zhi. ¡°Boss Tang hasn¡¯t come yet, let Fengsheng and Huosheng play with you for a while!¡± With a snap of his fingers, his figure disappeared instantly. The two monsters roared in a low voice and opened their mouths to spit out white energy at them, one was wind and the other was fire. The wind amplified the fire, causing a raging inferno that ignited the conference room. The heat wave swept across their faces. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo flashed quickly, and one drew out his sword while the other turned over and jumped two corners. ¡°What the hell! Are we in the wrong place?!¡± Liu Qingbo wiped his face. He was almost disfigured just now. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have time to answer him, and he couldn¡¯t come up with a suitable answer within a few seconds. The two strange beasts had turned their heads and rushed towards them again. With a kick of their hind feet, the beasts made wind and fire causing another wave to swept through the air. Even the conference room table was burning, and the entire room was filled with fireworks, almost suffocating the two of them. Liu Qingbo had a lot of hidden swords in his family. After the Feijing Sword was lost, he changed to the Yinxiu Sword1. The name didn¡¯t sound as majestic as the Feijing Sword, but the Yinxiu Sword was bigger than the Feijing Sword¡ª It was said to be the sword used by Zhao Kuangyi2, Emperor Taizong of the Song Dynasty. 1Yinxiu means hidden. Lit. translation is Hidden Sword. 2Second emperor of the Song Dynasty. He succeeded the throne in what was rumored to be fratricide. You can read more about him in the Wikipedia. Although the Feijing Sword was stained with Cao Pi¡¯s1 imperial luck, but after all, Wei had three kingdoms and didn¡¯t unify into one country. Compared with that, the dynastic luck of the Song Dynasty was naturally even more extraordinary2. Although Zhao Kuangyi was not the founding emperor, he was also the emperor who had followed his brother to the east and fought in the west. The emperor who started with martial arts, coupled with Liu Qingbo¡¯s increasingly refined understanding of swordsmanship, the Yinxiu Sword was extraordinary in his hands. The white aura lingered, as if there was a ¡°hidden world refined by hundreds of rivers into the sea¡±. 1First emperor of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. He was the second son of Cao Cao. He¡¯s also an accomplished poet and scholar. You can read more about him in the Wikipedia. 2Basically it¡¯s saying that the Feijing Sword was under Cao Pi which hadn¡¯t had a unified country yet because it was during the Three Kingdoms period where essentially (ancient China) was split. During the Song Dynasty, the country was mainly united, thus the power/luck behind the Yinxiu Sword is greater because of the era. The wind was extremely fierce, but when it encountered Liu Qingbo, it found that the violent wind it was spewing couldn¡¯t stop its opponent. Instead, Liu Qingbo took advantage of the wind and used the sword qi to cut countless scars on it. The temperature in the room was getting higher, the two of them were sweating profusely. Their vision was blurred by sweat causing their eyes to sting from saltiness, and their clothes were soaked. ¡°Hurry up and put down that fire-breathing one! Destroy it, no matter how strong the wind is, it¡¯s useless without it!¡± Liu Qingbo roared. Huosheng needed to take a break every time it finished spraying fire. Dong Zhi took the opportunity to approach and wanted to jump on its body to control it. Who knew that as soon as his hand touches the long hair of the strange beast, he retracted it in an instant. ¡°It¡¯s so hot!¡± This place was obviously sealed by an enchantment and the glass doors and windows were blurred for some time. The outside scene couldn¡¯t be viewed at all. Otherwise, with such a big movement here, the outside world would¡¯ve known about it a long time ago. During this time, Dong Zhi two fingers pinched a sunlight talisman and threw it at the strange beast. The talisman turned into a little light rain of fire in the air and fell. But for Huosheng, fire was equivalent to it playing with a feather. The strange beast raised its head and opened its mouth wide and ate it. Most likely it was still playing around with Dong Zhi. All it took was for this moment! A figure leaped high from behind it. The Changshou Sword was slashed into the back of the beast from top to bottom! The expression of Dong Zhi¡¯s ambition stagnated. In the brilliance of the sword, the strange beast shattered like fragments, like phantom bubbles, looking like flowers in the fog. In another corner of the conference room, fireworks condensed in the air, and little golden lights flew from all directions. The golden wheel was spinning like a sun and was dazzling and brilliant until a fire-born beast was reborn in an instant from it. It shook its head and roared into the sky and rushed towards Dong Zhi again! ¡°What the fuck is going on!¡± Looking at Liu Qingbo¡¯s side, it was almost the same situation. His Yinxiu Sword had obviously been inserted into the body of the strange beast, but it was empty. If the strange beasts were just illusions, the wind and fire they brought couldn¡¯t be more real! Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were sweating wildly. They suspected that if they went on like this, they would have to be roasted alive before they were burned to death! Liu Qingbo roared, ¡°Hurry up and get some heavy rain to extinguish the fire!¡± Dong Zhi panted, ¡°I¡¯m not a dragon!¡± Liu Qingbo said angrily, ¡°Water talisman! Use a rain talisman! The sea talisman! Don¡¯t you have any of those? Hurry up and get one out!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless for a moment, and he joked casually, ¡°Your name is Qing and Bo*. There¡¯s enough water there so this heavy responsibility will be handed over to you!¡± *Qing (Çå) = clear. Bo (²¨) = wave. Combined together becomes clear wave. || The joke here is that his name is related to water so he should handle the responsibility of finding said water. Liu Qingbo: ¡­ He felt that he was about to die, either by being roasted or being pissed off to death by Dong Zhi. Neither of them expected that someone was monitoring their every move in the conference room next door. The other side of the glass wall was simultaneously transmitting what was happening inside the conference room. Shu He glanced at his watch and said calmly, ¡°It¡¯s been an hour, Boss Tang. Let me remind you that if you don¡¯t let them out, you will be charged with mutilating the newcomers of the Special Administration Bureau. Especially when one of them is a disciple of your immediate boss, Boss Long.¡± ¡°Wait a bit longer.¡± Director Tang Jing of the South China Branch sat lazily in his director¡¯s chair with his legs crossed as if he was watching an American blockbuster. ¡°If Long Shen¡¯s disciple have such little potential, then I would be quite disappointed.¡± Shu He rolled his eyes secretly. ¡°If you want to test them, don¡¯t let me do it. They will now have a bad impression of me when they see me in the future!¡± Tang Jing glanced at him. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you don¡¯t want to see what kind of apprentice Long Shen has accepted.¡± Shu He legs were sore from standing so he sat down. ¡°I am curious as he was just an ordinary person before he became an apprentice. You asked me to set up this test, but you didn¡¯t even leave them a way out. If it¡¯s one of our people, most likely only a few would be able to break through. In all fairness, he was able to reach this level in such a short time, which is beyond my expectations. It¡¯s not incomprehensible that Boss Long accepted him as a disciple.¡± Tang Jing shook his head and looked at Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, who were jumping around in the sea of fire, and suddenly said something that was seemingly irrelevant. ¡°There has been a gap in the world, and demons are coming from all directions, and the crisis is imminent.¡± Shu Gou nodded. ¡°Yes, not only in our country, but the whole world has been troubled in recent years.¡± Desire give birth to demonic energy which flowed in the world and amplified the desires deep within the hearts of others. Disasters were always reincarnated with time. Light and hope were the most precious virtues in human nature, but darkness and destruction always accompanied growth and survival, never to disappear. It was rare for Tang Jing to say just serious words. ¡°There is too little time left for us, and these group of people must grow up quickly.¡± Just as Tang Jing was talking to Shu He, Liu Qingbo was about to be driven crazy. The phantom beasts that couldn¡¯t be killed kept coming back to life and there were no weapons that could restrain them. If this continued, they could only be consumed alive here. Even if this could be a test, Liu Qingbo was absolutely unwilling to fail. He leaned against the wall and gasped, and the flame-scorched wall transmitted an unbearable high temperature. Liu Qingbo suddenly remembered the unforgettable zombie city test that they experienced when they were training in the General Administration. At that time, he boasted of his extraordinary abilities and didn¡¯t want to be held back. He simply ran back to the General Administration alone, but he was surrounded by zombies and didn¡¯t have the imagined killing spree. If he hadn¡¯t been lucky enough to find a hiding place, he alone wouldn¡¯t be able to survive until the end of the trial. At that time, alone, hiding in a corner, he silently counted his heartbeat and refused to bow his head due to his pride and stubbornness. Now, even though he had learned to cooperate with his companions and give trust to his partners, his pride and obsession had never changed. He was Liu Qingbo, and he would definitely be able to get out of trouble. Kinky Thoughts: So the side CP, which was just established a few chapters ago already rolled around in the bedsheets but the main CP still hasn¡¯t even went up to bat yet let alone cross first base? I mean I¡¯m all for more gay stuff but common! Seeing as how it developed, I¡¯m assuming Tang Jing is the gong and Ming Xian is the shou, which is surprising since usually danmei sets up the shou to be the girly(ish) one. I¡¯m all for it though. Or their vers (that¡¯s even better). What would actually be better if I could read what happened in that room¡­ CH 96 Liu Qingbo looked at Dong Zhi. The other party, like him, was moving slowly on the wall, coping with the attacks of two strange beasts from time to time. Despite suffering internal injuries that hadn¡¯t recovered yet, the other party still had persisted until now, and hadn¡¯t unloaded all the burden onto him. When he first entered the Special Administration Bureau, Liu Qingbo looked at this soft, cute, and good-tempered appearance and couldn¡¯t believe that such a person could join. In must be that the examiner was blind, but then he recognized the strength and perseverance of the other party. Until now, he couldn¡¯t help but admit that the persistence and pride in the other person wasn¡¯t less than his own. A name given because he was born on the Winter Solstice. It was an ordinary name that heralded the day of ice and snow and the return of all things but had a temperament that could withstand the tempering fire that could forge gold and stone. This was his partner. With this partner, he could be rest assured and have confidence that he had his back. His thoughts passed in a blink of an eye. Suddenly, Liu Qingbo felt a sudden chill down his back This was it! Without the slightest hesitation, he turned around, raised his sword, and slashed. For a moment, like a groundbreaking work of art, the boundless sea of fire became clear. The sword light tore a crack in the smoke-filled space! But the moment he turned around, the two strange beasts of fire and wind also looked at this empty space and rushed up at the same time. It was too late. They moved too fast and simultaneously. Almost at the same time, Dong Zhi approached and used his sword to slash at both wind and fire. The two strange beasts instantly turned into sparks of flames, then suddenly dissipated! The two of them tumbled out of the rift that was torn open from the enchantment; their faces was covered in dust and embarrassment. Tang Jing clapped a few times and said in appreciation, ¡°Your tacit understanding is very good. How did you find out the eyes of the array?¡± Dong Zhi had seen Tang Jing as early as the time when they fought the Archfiend in Yangcheng. Although Liu Qingbo had never met him, it didn¡¯t prevent him from guessing the identity of the other party. Regardless of whether he was a team leader or director, Liu Qingbo still rolled his eyes. They were here to report on their work, not to be tested. Shu He stepped forward and helped them up, then apologized, ¡°I was order by him. Please forgive me!¡± The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched. It was difficult for him to maintain a peaceful attitude, ¡°Tang Ge, your way of welcoming is truly ingenious!¡± Tang Jing smiled and said, ¡°How can I show that I value you if I don¡¯t make it special? But don¡¯t be angry. I have something good for you later. Answer me first, how did you find out?¡± Dong Zhi glanced at Liu Qingbo and saw that the latter had no interest in speaking, so he had to accept his fate. ¡°The space is sealed by an enchantment, but no enchantment is perfect. Wind and fire are different beasts that are born together. You can¡¯t kill them. Even if there¡¯s water, it won¡¯t help. Thus you have to find another way. The only exit to an enchantment must be connected to the outside world. In this case, it won¡¯t be affected by the fire. The surrounding walls were all charred and the temperature had increased everywhere except for one area where it was normal. Naturally, this had to be the weak point.¡± Shu He was slightly moved, and his eyes couldn¡¯t help showing surprise and admiration. Tang Jing nodded. ¡°Very good, let Shu He take you to clean up and give you a change of clothes first. I¡¯ll see you in the conference room in half an hour.¡± Shu He smiled at them and said, ¡°Follow me.¡± On the way to clean up, Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but ask him, ¡°Are those two strange beasts real or hallucinations?¡± Shu He smiled. ¡°Of course they¡¯re real. They are more special, but not invincible. The reason why you think they can¡¯t be defeated is just because you haven¡¯t touched their weaknesses yet. But then again, there have been many small pranks like this from Boss Tang on many colleagues who came from local offices before to debrief. However, the number of them who could break out within an hour could be counted with one hand.¡± Liu Qingbo curled his lips. Feeling upset he deliberately acted thorny. ¡°How can you make sure that the clothes will fit us? I don¡¯t wear what others have worn.¡± Shu He turned his head and said, ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they are all new, and they¡¯re available in all sizes, but the styles are relatively simple. They are all casual pants and T-shirts. In the past, we often came back from missions in a mess so Boss Tang asked people to buy enough clothes for people to change into. With that, we didn¡¯t have to run back home so it saved us a lot of time.¡± But such a method could only be thought of by the head of the East China Branch who wasn¡¯t short of money. Switch this with the Northwest or Northeast Branch and this would be impossible. Dong Zhi was very curious. ¡°Isn¡¯t the funds allocated to the branch office the same every year? Does the branch office also generate its own income?¡± Shu He let out a sigh. ¡°You don¡¯t know anything. A long time ago, we had a popular saying here that we would rather have a bed in Puxi than a room in Pudong. At that time, the land price in Pudong was so cheap that no one wanted it. Our former director was extremely discerning and used the funds to buy it as training land. Later, the land price in Pudong soared, and he sold it. He also contracted some land in the suburbs to sublease to others. We don¡¯t have to worry about our annual funding, and we even have places to practice.¡± Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other, thinking that compared with this, they were selling snacks and milk tea like they were playing house. An hour later, after cleaning up, they returned back to the conference room. Large tracts of sunlight poured in from floor-to-ceiling windows, with panoramic views of the nearby high-rise buildings and the Huangpu River in the distance. Not only were the magnificent mountains and river breathtaking, but in the face of such an urban jungle, it could easily awe the viewer¡¯s emotion giving thought that such ingenuity that transformed the world was through human hands. Tang Jing had long been accustomed to everyone who entered the conference room subconsciously looking out of the floor-to-ceiling window. After a few seconds, he knocked on the conference table. ¡°Let¡¯s have a meeting.¡± In addition to Dong Zhi and the others, there was also another young man with a fresh face in the conference room. Tang Jing said, ¡°Introduce yourself.¡± The man grinned revealing white teeth. ¡°My name is Huo Jie, the Huo from fearless1, the Jie from admonish2. I¡¯m from Zhennan Mountain with no sect.¡± 1Huo (»ô) from fearless (»ôÔª¼×). 2Jie (½ë) from admonish (ѵ½ë). There were many hermits on Zhennan Mountain. It was said that until the rapid development of modern science and technology, there were still thousands of people practicing in the mountains. Many of them were experts in low-key seclusion. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t expect to see one in the flesh today. ¡°Hello, I¡¯m Dong Zhi.¡± Liu Qingbo also nodded. ¡°Liu Qingbo.¡± Tang Jing got to the point. ¡°Have you all heard about what happened at the Anime Convention yesterday?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Shu He gave us a debriefing about it just now.¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°We¡¯re now investigating the source of the demon energy. Basically all our manpower has been sent out, and some are working to find the stone tablet. You should also know about this. Thus there¡¯s not many people left in the branch right now. If something is wrong, and I¡¯m not here, you can find Shu He to warn them.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Boss Tang, yesterday we went to see a cultural exhibition and found a painting.¡± He took the painting out of the painting tube and spread it out on the wide conference table, then gave a general description of what happened yesterday. Tang Jing didn¡¯t expect them to go to an exhibition and had such an adventure, so they all gathered around and took a closer look at the painting. Of course, the focus was on the stone tablet that was half-exposed on the ground by the river. ¡°Have you reported to the General Administration?¡± Dong Zhi was a bit at a loss for words. He didn¡¯t know whether he should say yes or no. After all, this kind of thing would be considered leapfrogging over your superior at work, but from a personal point of view, he would definitely seek his master¡¯s opinion as soon as possible. Tang Jing didn¡¯t get an answer, so he raised his head and glanced at him with a half-smile. ¡°I won¡¯t find fault with you. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Dong Zhi coughed softly. ¡°Well, Boss Long wants us to send the painting to the General Administration and then they will transfer it to the Northwest Branch for processing. After all, Shaohua Moutain is in the northwest, and this painting was made during the Ming Dynasty. With hundreds of years already passed, I¡¯m afraid we have to be prepared that the stone tablet is probably damaged.¡± Tang Jing nodded and expressed his appreciation for their performance in dealing with Xiang Mu. ¡°In today¡¯s meeting, I will mainly tell you a few things.¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°Last time you encountered two cases in Lucheng one after another. One was the internationally wanted criminal Yamamoto Kiyoshi who snuck into Lucheng and created a murderous scene of dismemberment. This person had committed a lot of crimes in Southeast Asia. There¡¯s an association of white robed witches from several countries such as Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, and Malaysia that had issue warrants for Yamamoto.¡± Seeing that they didn¡¯t know much about the concept of the white robed witches, Shu He added, ¡°Witchcraft is popular in Southeast Asia. There are those that are white-robed and black-robed witches. Generally speaking, white-robed witches tend to obey secular laws, live with ordinary people, and are healers. Black-robed witches are secretive and have a mix of good and bad. Most of them are mavericks and don¡¯t participate in any official organizations.¡± Tang Jing continued, ¡°We have been in contact with the head of the White Robe Witches Association. We now have evidence that the puppet swap technique that was used by Yamamoto may have come from a certain black-robed witch doctor. However, most of these people live in seclusion in the jungle and mountains so it¡¯s difficult to find their traces. Regarding the case of Han Qi that you encountered later, according to the feedback from the White Robe Association, she was obviously bewitched and deceived by a black robe witch. There are many examples of this kind of deception to those who blindly chase fame and fortune and, in the end, losing their life is pretty common in Southeast Asia.¡± ¡°Thus we have reason to suspect that there may be a certain connection between the two cases. It¡¯s very likely that the same gang is associated Yamamoto and Han Qi.¡± When Dong Zhi and the others had destroyed the parasitic wisp of demonic energy in Han Qi¡¯s abdomen, they heard it say something in Sanskrit. Afterwards, they confirmed that it was the name of a legendary demon in India. Therefore, the matter was immediately reported to the branch and the General Administration. Dong Zhi¡¯s thoughts immediately jumped quickly as he thought about the energy they found at the bottom of Fuxian Lake in Yunnan province. Yunnan was very close to Southeast Asia, so perhaps it had something to do with the heavenly demon*. *This is referring to Mara. He raised this question, and Tang Jing responded. ¡°Yes, I have also thought of this, but the biggest problem now is that the other party has hidden their identity so it¡¯s impossible to prevent their actions. Of course we also can¡¯t close our borders, so international cooperation is extremely important.¡± Liu Qingbo also raised a question. ¡°According to this, is there a connection between the heavenly demon and the Archfiend?¡± Tang Jing shook his head. ¡°The heavenly demon and the Archfiend are just the names given to them by the ancients to facilitate their distinction. In the West, the names are different. What can be learned at present is that the Archfiend was in close contact with the Japanese side. It had cooperated with Onmyojis several time to attack the stone tablet. It can be seen that there¡¯s a greater force on the Japanese side that¡¯s manipulating things behind the scenes. Their purpose is the stone tablet. On the Southeast end, we found no connection between the heavenly demon and the stone tablet for the time being, so it can be regarded as two different forces.¡± He continued, ¡°The international situation is becoming increasingly serious, not only in Japan but also Southeast Asia. According to the feedback we have received, the probability of strange and intractable events in many countries and regions has increased significantly, especially south China in the future, which has a large population and a mixed of fish and dragons and is the window that connects all over the world. Practitioners like Yamamoto who fake their identities to sneak into the country are difficult to detect in the early stage. I hope that you¡¯ll all remain vigilant.¡± After looking around for a while and seeing everyone had nothing to add and no objections, Tang Jing said, ¡°Alright, then meeting adjourned. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo stay back.¡± When Shu He and Huo Jing left, Tang Jing took out a box and pushed it towards Dong Zhi. ¡°These are Shangqing pills from Mount Longhu. You fought against Yamamoto last time and your injuries hasn¡¯t healed yet. Take it with you and be sure to take them to treat your internal injuries.¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly thanked him and opened the box. There were three pills inside. Mu Duo had also suffered internal injuries last time, so he would bring one back to her. Tang Jing finally showed a familiar smile. ¡°Just call me Tang Ge in private. What do you think of the environment here?¡± Dong Zhi also smiled. ¡°It has the configuration like a local tyrant. To be honest, although the location of the General Administration is quite expensive, it looks nothing like this!¡± ¡°Actually, there is a reason why it¡¯s here.¡± Tang Jing got up and walked to the window, condescendingly, looking at the ships coming and going on the river in the distance, ¡°Look at the high-rise buildings and heavy traffic outside. Isn¡¯t it like seeing the blood flow of a city center?¡± Both Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo nodded. Tang Jing said, ¡°We have a special identity and special responsibilities. We chose this place not to let you overlook the scenery of Shencheng, but to let everyone see that everything we do allow Shencheng to continue to maintain such vitality. The prosperity and peace that these eyes can see needs someone to guard it.¡± Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were suddenly in awe. Presumably everyone who was a newcomer would sigh at the lavishness of the East China Branch, and then they would be shocked and convinced by such an idea. Tang Jing recovered and laughed lightly. ¡°Well, you don¡¯t have to thank me for the Shangqin pills. Your master specially prompted me to give you them. Otherwise, how would I know that you have suffered from internal injuries?¡± Dong Zhi was startled. ¡°I didn¡¯t tell him either.¡± Tang Jing raised his eyebrows. ¡°Did you two not talk on the phone? He can tell even if you don¡¯t tell him? If you ask me, Boss Long is uniquely good to his one and only apprentice. He originally told me to give you two but given how much danger you had faced, and your performance was good, the extra one is a gift from me at my own expense.¡± The physical fitness of practitioners was much better than that of ordinary people. In the same way, if they were injured, ordinary medicine wouldn¡¯t be effective on them. Injury medicines from places like Mount Longhu and Yuanming Palace had been sold on the black market for over 100,000. Often time there wouldn¡¯t even be a market for them as one may not be able to buy them even if they wanted to. Such medicine was quite rare. Dong Zhi frowned and accepted it while thanking Tang Jing. Tang Jing changed his words. ¡°You were injured on duty. No matter how rare the medicine is, it¡¯s not as important as your life. Learn from this for the future. After you¡¯re injured on duty, you must take the initiative to apply for medicine. Also, since you¡¯re here, don¡¯t return in a hurry. We have a case now and the branch is short of manpower, so go and have a look.¡± Dong Zhi good impression was instantly shattered. It turned out that they came here to be coolies*. *Term for low-wage laborer, typically of South Asian or East Asian descent. The two of them took the document and flipped through it speechlessly, while listening to Tang Jing. ¡°It¡¯s an artificial lake that used to be reservoir. Until now, people often use it go swimming in the summer. The water is very deep. It¡¯s said that it¡¯s connected to Dianshan Lake. Every year we would always have a few cases of people drowning.¡± Liu Qingbo frowned. ¡°Aren¡¯t there warning signs against swimming?¡± Tang Jing asked rhetorically, ¡°Do you think that it¡¯s useful?¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­¡­ Even with a sign erected that said ¡°The water here is deep. There have been many cases of drowning. It is forbidden to enter the water¡±, it was useless. People who wanted to seek death couldn¡¯t be stop no matter what. To put it bluntly, such is fate. Tang Jing: ¡°In the past, I had asked people to go there to see and clear up a few things. Later, we had fewer incidents, but this year it had increased. From summer to now, there have been a total of five deaths. I suspect that there are still things in the water that hasn¡¯t been taken care of. I originally wanted to wait for a while before sending someone to take a look, and now that you¡¯re here, I¡¯ll leave this case to you. Mu Duo and Zhang Chong is in Lucheng still so if anything happens, you can rush back at any time.¡± Since their leader had spoken, how could they not agree. Thus, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at the information with resignation. The file said that the artificial lake was called Lake Wangyue. Since ten years ago, there had been drowning incidents every year. The death toll seemed to be normal, seven people. Later, this incident was reported and attracted the attention of the branch. Tang Jing sent someone to check and found that there were water monkeys* under the lake. *Reminder: Legendary creature that lives in a water and looks like an ape. They commonly known as water ghosts/water lion ghost/water corpses in folklore. You can check the lore glossary chapter 1 for its lore. Water monkeys were known as water ghosts among the commonfolk. It was said that they were people who couldn¡¯t reincarnate after drowning. In order to find a scapegoat, they continue to harm people, but in fact, practitioners knew that the water monkeys are just a type of demon that were good at using illusions to confuse people before they drag them into the depths of the water to drown them, then they absorb their soul for food. It also ate livestock, but for water monkeys, humans were more delicious. Tang Jing said, ¡°At that time, Shu He and Huo Jing went there, and they eliminated a water monkey. After that, Lake Wangyue was calm for two years. Although there were occasional drownings, it had nothing to do with demons. Until this year, it was said that someone saw the heads of strange beasts infesting the lake. A couple was walking by the lake and accidentally fell in. The surveillance showed that the two people were originally some distance away from it. Later, only one was rescued. The man said that his girlfriend somehow had to go into the water. In addition to this, there were four other cases, two of which are students from a nearby private high school. You can drop by when you have time.¡± Dong Zhi closed the file. ¡°I see, we¡¯ll go take a look.¡± ¡ª Yin Xiangxue* was a sophomore in Yasheng Private High School. In stark contrast to the imaginative and wonderful name, she was morbidly obese. She was a typical adolescent girl that was prone to gain weight and had an uncontrolled diet. For this reason, she usually encountered strange gazes at school. Her popularity and grade were very average. All this combined, gave her quite a low self-esteem that she wouldn¡¯t even dare tell her friends who her crush was let alone run to the other to confess her feelings. *Xiangxue (ÏãÑ©) translated means fragrant snow. Tomorrow was the school festival; therefore, school was let out early so everyone could help their respective classes prepare for the festivities. This kind of activity required one to show up and was always a great opportunity for the active girls in glass. Yin Xiangxue didn¡¯t participate. She didn¡¯t want to stand in the spotlight and be ridiculed, so she simply left class and wandered around the school to relax. Before she knew it, she came to Lake Wangyue that was north of the school. Lake Wangyue covered a large area. There was a bridge in the middle that divided the lake into two halves. On one side of the bridge belonged to Yasheng High School, while the other side was public land for the public to enjoy. For safety reasons, the school had closed all roads leading to the bridge. In other words, students could only walk on one side of the lake but couldn¡¯t go to the other side. Not only that, calf-high stones were built around the lake, which were of different heights and had ornamental value, and at the same time, was also there to prevent students from stumbling into the water. Yin Xiangxue had no interest in swimming, let alone taking a dip into the water during the cold winter of December, so she turned around and prepared to turn back. Who knew that at this time, she saw someone. The school grass* and male god of their school and also the object of her crush, Jiang Lang. *Term used to describe the handsomest boy in the school. In addition to him, there was another girl that Yin Xiangxue vaguely recognized. It seemed to be Fang An¡¯an, the class flower* was next to him. *Term used to describe the most beautiful girl in the class. Out of some inexplicable thinking at that moment, she didn¡¯t leave, nor did she step forward to disturb the two of them but chose to hide in a corner and observed them. At this time, the sky had gradually darkened, and the streetlights by the lake were on. Even so, it wasn¡¯t as bright as during the day. The lake was dark and sparkling, and the shadows of trees hung down heavily, covering the two figures in their shadow. Yin Xiangxue heard Fang An¡¯an say to Jiang Lang, ¡°Jiang Lang, it¡¯s too dark here. Let¡¯s talk about it tomorrow!¡± Jiang Lang hurriedly said, ¡°An¡¯an, I have something important to say to you! I¡ª I like you very much. Will you be my girlfriend?¡± Yin Xiangxue had heard countless rumors about Jiang Lang in school. All in all, he was a tall, rich, and handsome star pupil*, but she didn¡¯t expect the male god to be so innocent that he brought the girl he liked here to confess. *The term is [xueba] (ѧ°Ô) which refers to someone who¡¯s good at learning thus easily gets high grades. This is not a derogatory term like ¡°nerd¡±. She felt a little sour in her heart. On the one hand, she knew that she would never be like Fang An¡¯an and enter Jiang Lang¡¯s sight, and on the other hand, she strangely hoped that Fang An¡¯an would reject him. The God of Hope seemed to hear her prayer as Fang An¡¯an responded, ¡°In fact, I also have something to say to you. Your attention to me in school has caused me trouble. Those girls who like you think I¡¯m pestering you. I hope it won¡¯t be like this in the future. I¡¯m very sorry, I can¡¯t accept your feelings. I hope you will find someone you like better soon. Goodbye!¡± After that, Fang An¡¯an turned around and left. Not only did Jiang Lang not have time to stop her, but even Yin Xiangxue, who was hiding in the corner, was stunned. The school grass that was chased by countless girls in the school was just rejected by Fang An¡¯an? Yin Xiangxue looked at Fang An¡¯an¡¯s back, a little confused for a while. She envied the other party¡¯s chicness, and once again felt deeply inferior. If she had been Fang An¡¯an, when she heard Jiang Lang¡¯s confession, she would have been dizzy with joy. Why would she care about other girls¡¯ unhappiness to his confession? After thinking about it for a while, Yin Xiangxue¡¯s legs became sore from standing for so long and she couldn¡¯t help but move. She found that Jiang Lang was still standing there motionless. He must be sad because of his rejection just now. Should she come forward and comfort him? Naturally, Yin Xiangxue knew that Jiang Lang wouldn¡¯t like someone like herself, but she was a young girl who still had adolescence dreams¡ª Like a fantasy of love, perhaps if she were to comfort him gently in his moment of sadness, she would be able to move him a little. Before she could finish her entanglement, Yin Xiangxue saw Jiang Lang take a step forward in the direction of the lake. He¡¯s not committing suicide, right? She groaned inwardly. Just as she was about to go up to stop him, she heard Jiang Lang say with joy, ¡°An¡¯an!¡± Where? Yin Xiangxue looked around. Where was Fang An¡¯an? The other party had already left. But Jiang Lang was still talking. ¡°An¡¯an, during the last debate competition, you performed so well on stage. At that time, I probably fell for you.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter. We can keep our relationship private for now. After graduating next year, we¡¯ll make it public, okay?¡± ¡°No, it won¡¯t affect my studies!¡± Yin Xiangxue watched Jiang Lang step on the stone by the lake step by step, and a chill rose from the bottom of her heart. She wanted to shout out, but for some reason, maybe it was due to fear in her heart, she couldn¡¯t, or perhaps reason told her that things weren¡¯t so simple. Yin Xiangxue watched Jiang Lang bend over and sit on the stone. Half his body was already submerged in the lake and was slowly sinking. On the surface of the lake, the swarthy monster that she couldn¡¯t see clearly was pulling the happy Jiang Lang along as it was slowly sinking into the lake! Yin Xiangxue covered her mouth tightly. Her body was so stiff that she could no longer feel her existence. Her face was pale, her eyes stared ahead, and she didn¡¯t dare to blink. ¡°An¡¯an, where are you taking me?¡± Jiang Lang¡¯s happy voice came, but the second half of the sentence was gradually submerged in water and turned into gurgling bubbles. Yin Xiangxue watched Jiang Lang disappear into the lake. She trembled all over as she shrank back into the corner and burst into tears. She was wearing a down jacket that was tightly wrapped around her, but she clearly felt the chilly wind constantly drilling into her clothes. Yin Xingxue¡¯s legs softened, and she fell directly to the ground. She didn¡¯t know how long it took before she suddenly jumped up, staggering on the ground. She didn¡¯t even dare to turn her head back as she ran in the opposite direction of Lake Wangyue. CH 97 She ran back to the dorms like this. While climbing the stairs, Yin Xiangyue looked at Fang An¡¯an who was coming downstairs, and she suddenly screamed. She quickly turned around and ran away, leaving Fang An¡¯an with an explicable expression on her face as she turned and asked her classmate, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with her?¡± The classmate shrugged. ¡°Who knows. Hasn¡¯t Yin Xiangxue always been neurotic?¡± Fang An¡¯an thought about it and didn¡¯t take it to heart. Yin Xiangxue took a different staircase and returned to her dorm. She was in shock. She sat on the bed most of the night while ignoring anyone that spoke to her. Although her popularity wasn¡¯t particularly high, her roommate was afraid something was off with her and asked her what was wrong. Yin Xiangxue raised her head and glanced at her roommate. Her face was pale and full of fear, but she didn¡¯t say anything. When her roommate saw that she couldn¡¯t get a response from Yin Xiangxue, she simply ignored her. Yin Xiangxue usually could sleep pretty well. As soon as her head touched a pillow, she could drift off into slumber, but tonight, she had unprecedented insomnia. She kept her eyes open in a dazed until it was almost dawn. Early the next morning, someone from the well-informed dormitory next door ran over and yelled, ¡°Something¡¯s wrong!¡± Yin Xiangxue¡¯s body trembled. As if she had a premonition, her whole body that wanted to get up shrank back into the blanket. Sure enough, she heard her classmates stammering, ¡°I heard that Jiang Lang didn¡¯t come back at all last night. Then his roommate went to tell the teacher and the teacher, and the school staff was looking for him all night. Guess what?¡± Jiang Lang was the focus of everyone¡¯s attention at school. Her roommate urged the speaker not to be coy and tell the story quickly. Yin Xiangxue¡¯s heart sank a little bit. The classmate said with a ghastly face, ¡°Jiang Lang jumped into the lake and died. They fished up his body last night. I heard¡­ I heard that he asked Fang An¡¯an to go the lake last night so he could confess. Fang An¡¯an rejected him, and he must¡¯ve lost his mind for a bit, so¡­¡± A girl screamed. ¡°It¡¯s impossible! How can he like Fang An¡¯an!¡± Someone asked again, ¡°Is he really dead?¡± The classmate who came to deliver the news cried out, ¡°I, I didn¡¯t see it, but I saw him covered with a white cloth, and the police are here!¡± Her crying infected other girls, and soon the entire girl¡¯s dormitory was filled with crying. Yin Xiangxue shrank in the quilt, covering her head and face. She was trembling. Rather than crying, she was afraid. Soon, the news that Fang An¡¯an rejected Jiang Lang causing him to jump into the lake to commit suicide spread around campus. All the girls who liked Jiang Lang felt a dark cloud in their hearts and was deeply saddened by his death. Many were jealous of Fang An¡¯an because of this and thought she had indirectly killed him. Today was originally supposed to be a big day for the school festival; with such big news, the school struggled to finish it. Everyone felt that Jiang Liang¡¯s life was smooth sailing, and he wouldn¡¯t accept a small setback like this and embarked on a road of no return. Only Yin Xiangxue knew the truth wasn¡¯t like that. ¡ª The high price of the Shangqing pills fetch on the black market showed that it was indeed worth the money in some ways. At least after he took the medicine, after a day of rest, Dong Zhi felt a lot better. The symptoms of faint chest pains from time to time had also disappeared. He even felt that he could immediately wave his sword in the sky and attract up to ten heavenly lightening. Of course, in order to avoid hitting Liu Qingbo, he dismissed this idea. Early the next morning, the two set off for Lake Wangyue as written in the file. Although there was a direct subway station near their destination, with both of them being armed, it was more convenient to take a taxi. Seeing his appearance in good spirits, Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but wonder. ¡°Is your injury really healed? No nightmares again?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. Liu Qingbo frowned. ¡°Then did you ask Boss Tang in private?¡± Dong Zhi said helplessly, ¡°I asked.¡± After he used Shangqing pill yesterday, although he felt pretty good, he went to Tang Jing just to be extra cautious. ¡°He said that I don¡¯t have magic energy on my body, and he couldn¡¯t figure out the specific situation currently. He told me to use the Shangqing pill first to recuperate and then look into my issue in more detail when the soul eater matter comes to an end.¡± Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t believe it: ¡°There is no magic energy? Then why did you get hurt in your dream?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head indicating that he didn¡¯t know either. It was also strange to say that since he fought the weird man in his dream on the plane that day, the choke marks on his neck had gradually faded and he hadn¡¯t seen the culprit in his dreams or in reality. Afterwards, he drew a picture of the culprit¡¯s appearance and showed it to Tang Jing and passed it on to Long Shen, but no matter who saw it, they had never seen such a person. There was a weird and terrifying guess in his heart. Naturally, Liu Qingbo had also seen the portrait. ¡°Could the man you saw in your dream be Songen who place witchcraft onto Han Qi?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Songen should have a typical Southeast Asian look. You haven¡¯t seen the man with your own eyes. He was too domineering and evil. I don¡¯t feel like it¡¯s Songen, but more like¡­¡± He didn¡¯t say any more as Liu Qingbo replied softly, ¡°Mara.¡± For a while, both of them were silent. Although Dong Zhi survived in his dream, he had to invite God to counterattack with his Changshou Sword to repel his opponent, but the sense of oppression and deterrence of his opponent was so great that he still had lingering fears in retrospect, as if there was a hand that was still wrapped around his neck, ready to choke him to death at any moment. Is this the power of a heavenly demon that could summon wind and rain and shake the world? Even if he didn¡¯t know any techniques at first, before he stepped into the cultivation world with half a foot, he had never felt such an aura even when facing Xu Wan, the Archfiend. If this was the case, a heavenly demon was already difficult to deal with and it this was only a wisp of demonic energy. If its real body really did appear, could the combination of him, Liu Qingbo, and even Tang Jing, Wu Bingtian, and Long Shen be able to deal with it? Rather, were there any power in this word that could stop a heavenly demon? The two of them were lost in their own thoughts and said nothing all the way until they arrived at their destination. Although Lake Wangyue was an artificial lake and covered a small area, it drew water from Lake Dianshan and was surrounded by green trees which provided a lot of shade during the summer and sunbathing on the benches in the winter. Thus, all year round there were many people there making the area quite lively. When Dong Zhi got out of the car, he saw the conspicuous warning sign erected at the lake from a glance. [The water here is deep. Swimming is not allowed.] The black characters on a yellow background couldn¡¯t be any clearer, yet accidents still occurred every year, which also added to the gossip of nearby residents. Liu Qingbo looked around and saw that on the other side of the bridge, in the area separated by barbed wires, there were obviously many more people than here, and most of them were standing by the lake, including police officers. ¡°Man, is it such a coincidence that we stumble upon trouble the minute we arrived?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°The information seems to say that there¡¯s a school over there. Let¡¯s go and have a look.¡± It was indeed a coincidence. When they passed by, Jiang Lang had already been transported away by ambulance. His parents who were still crying and still held onto a glimmer of hope left with him, but everyone knew that Jiang Lang would probably never come back. The police were exploring the surrounding environment to determine whether he committed suicide. The area was fenced off, and others stood outside the restricted area to watch the excitement. There were many guests today due to the school festival. Unexpectedly, they became bystanders in the case. Everyone talked about Jiang Liang, a promising student, and they all couldn¡¯t help but sighed. Dong Zhi flashed his credentials and was able to enter. Although the Special Administration Bureau was mysterious, the departments were in frequent contact with each other due to the nature of their work so when the policeman saw them, he became relieved. ¡°Brothers, you are too timely. I was just about to ask someone to invite you over!¡± Dong Zhi walked with him to the lake. ¡°Is there anything wrong? Isn¡¯t it suicide?¡± The other party said, ¡°It¡¯s not that there¡¯s anything wrong. There were no traces of fighting or struggling, so it should be chalked up to suicide, but aren¡¯t there incidents in Lake Wangyue in the past two years? I heard that you caught something in the lake last time¡­ So¡­ Your head had specifically talked with our head saying that if we encounter anything relating to suicide again, we have to notify you guys.¡± Liu Qingbo stepped on the stone and looked down. The lake was glistening. It wasn¡¯t crystal clear, but compared to the ones in the cities, this was relatively clean. A few fallen leaves floated on it, but it only added a bit of melancholy to the scene. It was no wonder why nearby residents like to linger here. Even the half of the lake that was owned by Yasheng High School was also featured on their pamphlet. The sun was shining and warm. The lake was rippling and occasionally fish would spew out bubbles. It was hard to imagine what would appear here, but Liu Qingbo wasn¡¯t an ordinary resident. He knew that even if something happened underwater, the surface would appear calm. He bent down, as if inadvertently sweeping the water with his hand. The water was biting cold during winter, but this cold wasn¡¯t enough to make Liu Qingbo pull his hand away. He rolled up his sleeves and stirred the water several times. The water spread over his lower arms and slid between his fingers. Nothing. Just as he was about to withdraw his hand, something seemed to pass through the back of his fingers at a very fast speed. Liu Qingo grabbed it with his back hand but came up empty. Due to the speed, he leaned forward and almost fell into the water. A hand suddenly grabbed his back collar. Dong Zhi grabbed the person back and joked, ¡°How old are you that you¡¯re still playing with water?¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes back. He raised the back of his hand and stuck out his middle finger. The fingernail was bent a bit and there was a shallow red mark, but he wasn¡¯t sure if it was because of a fish or something else just now. ¡°What? Is there really something?¡± Dong Zhi asked. ¡°Nothing.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I want to go to the hospital to see that boy first. He had just recently died so maybe we can find some clues.¡± ¡°Alright.¡± Liu Qingbo had no opinion. Although he usually quarreled with the other party, he also understood that when it comes to doing things, Dong Zhi was actually better than him in terms of carefulness and assessing the overall situation, thus the two of them were able to cooperate tacitly being partners so far. ¡ª ¡°Captain Long, I have already given Shangqing pill to your little apprentice. Dare I ask when you will be here? The meeting will start next month.¡± In front of the floor-to-ceiling windows with an excellent view, Tang Jing called Long Shen. Looking for the stone tablet, the soul eater incident at the Anime Convention, and the upcoming international conference, all these things adding up were making Tang Jing, the director of the side branch, overwhelmed. To outsiders, they saw East China Branch as having deep pockets. Even their office was located in the most prosperous central area of a first-tier city. The conditions were comfortable and enough that they were miles ahead of any other branches. However, the more you get, the more you pay. This was also the busiest branch of them all. Without being capable, it was impossible to sit in Tang Jing¡¯s position. Even the directors of other branches were among the best in the Special Administration Bureau. Shu He knocked on the door twice and got a prompt to enter. He opened the door and saw Tang Jing had his two legs resting on the table, holding a phone in on hand and an unfinished cigarette in the other. He looked like an unprofessional yuppie. He automatically and consciously lightened his steps, closed his mouth, sat at his desk, and waited for his leader to finish the call. There was no long talk as imagined. This time, Tang Jing hung up the phone without saying much. Perhaps it was because the person on the other end of the phone didn¡¯t like talking nonsense either. ¡°How is the inspection of the venue?¡± Tang Jing put out his cigarette that he hadn¡¯t smoked yet in the ashtray. Shu He said, ¡°Everything is normal. This time we have strengthened our manpower and reorganized the venue again. From top to bottom, east to west, not a spot was missed and there will be no more mistakes.¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°Representatives from all over the world will be coming in a few days. This time, the specifications are high. Just in case, the Boss Long and Boss Song will come over in person. You should do things well, so as not to be picked on by these two and disgrace our branch.¡± Shu He smiled in horror. ¡°The two deputies of the General Administration coming out in person? This battle is too big!¡± ¡°It¡¯s not big. After all, it¡¯s a summit where leaders from all over the world gather. I don¡¯t know how many pairs of eyes are staring secretly. It¡¯s better to be safe than sorry.¡± Tang Jing spoke slowly. Shu He found that he was holding a book in his arms. He seemed to be reading it as it was opened halfway. ¡°Yo, I didn¡¯t expect that our Boss Tang also has the heart of a little girl!¡± Shu He¡¯s eyes were sharp and found that it seemed to be a romance novel. ¡°It¡¯s mainly for the plot, supplemented by romance.¡± Tang Jing corrected him. Shu He shrugged. ¡°Well, I don¡¯t normally read novels but if you strongly recommend it, I¡¯ll definitely read it. Is the author a friend of yours?¡± ¡°I want you to help me find someone.¡± He raised the book in his hand. ¡°This author.¡± Shu He was puzzled. ¡°What is the situation?¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°I checked on the internet. This author is very low-key. The real person never shows up and there¡¯s no photo of him circulating online. The publishing house should have his ID information. Check it as soon as possible.¡± Shu He seemed to understand something, but he pretended that he didn¡¯t as he tentatively asked, ¡°business or private?¡± It was rare for Tang Jing to show a trace of hesitation. He paused for a while before replying, ¡°It¡¯s a private matter.¡± ¡°Oh¡ª¡± Shu He stretched his tone, showing an unspoken smile. Speaking of Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrived*. As soon as Shu He left, a call came from Ming Xian. *Metaphor that refers to talking about someone who had arrived after is/just being discussed (AKA speak of the devil and he¡¯ll appear). Tang Jing smiled unconsciously. ¡°I thought you wouldn¡¯t call again.¡± Ming Xian¡¯s voice sounded a little embarrassed. ¡°I was assigned to go abroad for training. Before I left, I thought about saying goodbye to you.¡± Tang Jing was surprised. ¡°I remember you just started your job, didn¡¯t you?¡± Ming Xian laughed. ¡°It¡¯s a long story. Why don¡¯t we talk about it when we meet?¡± Tang Jing naturally agreed. The two of them made an appointment in a cafe next to a park. It was still daytime on a weekday so there weren¡¯t any guests besides them. As soon as Tang Jing and Ming Xian entered, it was equivalent to a private meeting. ¡°In fact, the training quota was originally not up to me. It just happened that a female teacher was pregnant, and it had to be pushed. After a comprehensive evaluation of various indicators, I was actually chosen.¡± ¡°Where and for how long?¡± Tang Jing put two sugar cubes into the other party¡¯s coffee. This was the habit that he had learned from Ming Xian when he took him home after the Anime Convention and made him coffee. ¡°Japan. It may be a year. The good news is that this should be a boost to my professional title after I come back.¡± Ming Xian gave me a helpless smile. Tang Jing smiled back. ¡°Then congratulations. ¡± Ming Xian laid down on the table groaning. ¡°I don¡¯t want to leave my hometown. A year is too long.¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°Then you can also reject the quota.¡± Ming Xian tilted his head to look at him: ¡°Are you going to keep me?¡± Tang Jing smiled charmingly at him. ¡°What do you think?¡± Ming Xian seemed to be encouraged, and he laughed. ¡°I think you will.¡± Tang Jing consciously teased enough. He lowered his head and took a sip of coffee and then slowly said, ¡°It¡¯s only a year. It¡¯ll pass by in a blink of an eye.¡± Ming Xian said unknown whether it was intentional, ¡°One year is enough for many things to change, including fragile feelings.¡± Tang Jing raised his eyebrows. ¡°So, if I ask, will you stay?¡± When Ming Xian heard this, his shoulder half collapses and he said weakly, ¡°I just entered the school not long ago. After all, it was the leaders who wanted me to focus on my training, so they gave me such a place. If I don¡¯t know what¡¯s good from bad, my career will probably be frozen in the future.¡± Tang Jing smiled. ¡°Then, I wish you a safe journey.¡± Ming Xian returned with a slightly astringent smile. Tang Jing knew very well that the other party had a good impression of him, but this trace of good impression wasn¡¯t enough for him to keep him nor was it enough for the other party to stay. Their contact was too short, and it was only sex, which had aroused some confusion. But after that night, everything should be back on track. Ming Xian said, ¡°I don¡¯t know if you have heard. There was an incident in our school. A boy committed suicide by jumping into the lake because of his lovelornness.¡± Tang Jing stirred the coffee with his hand. ¡°Jump into the lake? Lake Wangyue?¡± Ming Xian nodded. With a sneaky expression, he lowered his voice and said mysteriously, ¡°You¡¯re a powerful person, right? What with your abilities to breathe fire and flying over walls, you probably work for the government, right? Will you accept my interview? Don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t reveal any secrets. At most, I¡¯ll use you as a prototype for the protagonist in my novels¡­¡± Tang Jing pushed his face away. ¡°You read too many comics. Have a cup of coffee and calm down.¡± Ming Xian complained with grievance. ¡°We have even slept in the same bed but you¡¯re being so ruthless!¡± Tang Jing raised his chin. ¡°Then do you want me to pay you? I¡¯ll do it, but I¡¯m afraid it¡¯ll be an insult to you.¡± Ming Xian slapped his hand angrily. Tang Jing: ¡°Having said that, is your school by Lake Wangyue? Why haven¡¯t I heard of it?¡± Ming Xian said strangely: ¡°Yasheng High School, a private high school. It¡¯s quite famous. I teach Chinese in the high school department.¡± Seeing that the other party had already finished his coffee, Tang Jing signaled the waiter so he could pay. Ming Xian complained, ¡°I still want to eat cake.¡± Tang Jing laughed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you leaving? I happen to be free today to accompany you for a walk, or are you going to waste your time eating cakes here?¡± Ming Xian: ¡­¡­ ¡°Congratulations, Mr. Tang. Your beauty trick has worked.¡± He solemnly stretched out his hand to Tang Jing. Tang Jing grabbed his hand and shook it. ¡°I¡¯m flattered, but when it comes to beauty tricks, you¡¯re better than me.¡± The cold winter months in the south was gorgeous with the fallen leaves on the ground yet there was no sense of desolation on the empty branches. After leaving the caf¨¦ and walking to the area around the park, Ming Xian suddenly laughed out loud, causing Tang Jing to turn his head and look at him. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that I would come to the park with a man. I had the impression that this should be a place for the elderly or children.¡± Tang Jing spread his hands. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that I would sneak out to play with you during work hours. Fortunately, our boss isn¡¯t here today, otherwise I will be scolded.¡± Ming Xian blinked. ¡°I thought you are the boss.¡± Tang Jing: ¡°What gave you that idea?¡± Ming Xian laughed. ¡°Although you try your best to be approachable, it¡¯s inevitable that you¡¯re still a bit domineering. It¡¯s estimated that you¡¯re used to being a leader. Have I ever told you that the intuition of an author is very sensitive?¡± Someone was taking photos of two girls in ancient costume not far away. They were posing under the guidance of the photographer. Tang Jing glanced at it and then looked away. ¡°I heard that it¡¯s popular for people who write novels promote them with beautiful titles and author pictures. If you¡¯re willing to expose your appearance, your fame will definitely be much greater than now.¡± Ming Xian pursed his lip and wryly laughed. ¡°I write novels as a hobby, and I have never thought about using this to gain popularity.¡± Tang Jing was surprised. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect you to be someone with such advance taste.¡± Ming Xian smiled. ¡°Did this deepened the degree of how much you like me by a bit?¡± Tang Jing nodded: ¡°Maybe more than a bit.¡± He was being truthful. Ming Xian¡¯s heart moved slightly, and his face slowly turned red. The way the two tall handsome guys stood and talked together was very pleasing to the eye, and occasionally passersby couldn¡¯t help but look over a few times. Tang Jing leaned against the trunk of the tree and pulled out a cigarette to light it. Seeing that he was suddenly cramped, he couldn¡¯t help but tease. ¡°What kind of content were you thinking that isn¡¯t suitable for children?¡± Ming Xian coughed softly, refusing to admit it and casually found a different topic. ¡°I¡¯m just looking at the girls over there. None of them are as good looking as you.¡± Then he heard Tang Jing approach his ear and whispered something extremely inappropriate for children. Ming Xian almost choked to death on his own saliva. What Tang Jing said was, ¡°Are you thinking about me wearing women¡¯s clothing while I fuck you?¡± Ming Xian¡¯s face flushed, and he didn¡¯t know if it was because he was coughing so much or because he was embarrassed and ashamed. Then Tang Jing kissed him. The tobacco-flavored lips made Ming Xian subconsciously resist, raised his hand to push his shoulder, but his wrist was caught and pressed against the trunk of the tree. The stout tree trunks barely covered the stature of the two of them. Passersby quickly walked by them, not realizing that they were two men, but even if they knew, they were too embarrassed to stop and watch. However, in broad daylight, the sense of shame in public still made Ming Xian¡¯s hand and feet soft and he could only slowly raise his slender neck and let the other party plunder his mouth. ¡°Your place or mine?¡± The breath blew on his face and the smell of tobacco was faintly cold making Ming Xian dizzy for a while. He raised his other uncontrolled hand to cover his eyes, as if he couldn¡¯t stand the dazzling sunlight, and murmured, ¡°No, I really have to go back and pack my things¡­¡± ¡°Really?¡± Tang Jing raised his knees and pushed it against a place where there was already a reaction. ¡°Really!¡± Ming Xian took a deep breath, used some strength, pushed the other party away a few steps, and groaned, ¡°I really have something to do¡ª¡± Tang Jing raised his brows. Ming Xian changed his words spinelessly. ¡°Tomorrow!¡± Tang Jing burst out laughing very shamelessly. Ming Xian: ¡­¡­ His hand that was covering his eyes was raised to support his forehead. The two left the park and parted at the entrance of the caf¨¦. Tang Jing offered to give Ming Xian a ride, but he refused, saying that he was going to see a relative, and he didn¡¯t want to be a bother. Tang Jing didn¡¯t force the issue and just left by car. Ming Xian stood on the side of the street, watching the vehicle pass through the traffic light intersection and drift away, before picking up his phone. When the phone connected, he said to the person on the other line, ¡°I want to see you.¡± When he faced Tang Jing just now, that carefree smile completely disappeared. Coldness and indifference replaced the former, completely opposite of how he was. ¡°I¡¯m going to look for you.¡± CH 98 After hanging up the phone, Ming Xian hailed a taxi and took it to another district, then transferred to the subway before finally coming to an abandoned factory on the outskirts of town. It was at least a two-hour drive from the city center. For many people who had just arrived in Shencheng, they may find it difficult to imagine that the prosperous international city in their impressions would have such a desolate place. Ming Xian walked to the tin house next to the factory, raised his hand and knocked on it a few times. The door opened quickly, and a tone of dissatisfaction came from the darkness. ¡°Don¡¯t knock so loudly. I can hear it!¡± The voice wasn¡¯t old, young even, but it was gloomy like a dark cloud that covered the skies in June and was about to herald in a violent storm at any moment. However, Ming Xian was indifferent to this. He followed the other party into the dimly lit room and took a brief panoramic glance of the harsh environment. ¡°Why don¡¯t you change to a better place?¡± He didn¡¯t think the other party lacked money to this extent. The man said gloomily, ¡°Do you think I don¡¯t want to? However, my soul refining practice creates too much movements. There are too many old women in the city and any little trouble would make them run to the police. To avoid making any mistakes, I can only help Mr. Otowa here. Stop talking nonsense. What the hell are you doing?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just soul refining,¡± Ming Xian said lightly. ¡°I don¡¯t care how many people you want to kill, but you were almost discovered at the Anime Convention, and now you¡¯re doing it at Lake Wangyue. Do you know that those places are being targeted by the Special Administration Bureau? They already suspect me.¡± The man sneered, ¡°Isn¡¯t that good? You¡¯re responsible for diverting their target while I carry out the plans.¡± Ming Xian still looked indifferent. ¡°I won¡¯t help you clean up your mess. You have to do it somewhere else.¡± The man categorically refused. ¡°Impossible! Shencheng has a large population and a lot of vitality. It just happens that the veins of the earth flow there, and there¡¯s a killer weapon that I have prepared for a long time. Now only two lives are needed, and the seal can be broken. At that time, Mr. Otowa¡¯s goal will be one step closer. Going a step further, since you know that the Special Administration Bureau is eyeing us, you should come forward and help me lead them away!¡± Ming Xian: ¡°Do you think the people in the Special Administration Bureau are fools? Sooner or later, they will find out about you.¡± The man raised his eyes and stared at him. His eyes were bloodshot and his face was covered with blue veins, which looked especially terrifying. ¡°All you have to do is help me delay them through this time period. When the seal is broken, we can leave!¡± Ming Xian: ¡°I can¡¯t guarantee this.¡± The man sneered. ¡°Ming Xian, don¡¯t forget who your master is, and don¡¯t forget who made you into human from a zither. If you refuse to cooperate, you¡¯ll end up ruining Mr. Otowa¡¯s big plans. Can you afford the consequences!¡± Ming Xian remained cold and indifferent, refusing to budge an inch. ¡°My master is Mr. Otowa, not you. It¡¯s not up to you to decide what the consequences will be. You just need to do your own part well. That¡¯s enough.¡± The man was furious. He grabbed an evocation flag and drew it directly towards him. Ming Xian stepped back and a silk thread in his hand shot out, firmly entangling the opponent¡¯s hand. With a little force, the man screamed and was pushed forward involuntarily and staggered to the ground. Ming Xian didn¡¯t have any interest in beating a drowning dog*, so he just said, ¡°Be a lackey and don¡¯t cause me any trouble.¡± *Idiom referring to hitting someone while they are down. ¡°Yes?¡± The man¡¯s voice suddenly changed its tone, vaguely echoing. Strands of black air rose behind him, gradually forming a vague black shadow. Ming Xian frowned slightly. ¡°Ming Xian, Otowa Ming Xian.¡± The young voice gradually became old, and Ming Xian was startled by the familiar tone of voice. ¡°Otowa¡­ sir? How are you?¡± The man¡¯s mouth opened and closed, his eyes were godless, like a puppet. ¡°He has a trace of my magic on him, and I can use him to monitor the progress of my plans.¡± Ming Xian lowered his eyes to cover his emotions: ¡°I see.¡± The man smiled gloomily. ¡°The destruction of the stone tablet is very important to us. Although Long Shen and the others tried their best to stop it, the fact that fate cannot be transferred to anyone¡¯s will. Our Demon Lord is destined to resurrect and rise again, and the gates of hell will open returning the world into the abyss. Ming Xian, my dear child. Shencheng is very critical. No matter what he wants you to do, you must cooperate, understand?¡± Ming Xian was silent for a moment. ¡°I understand.¡± ¡°I believe you can do it, don¡¯t let me down.¡± After saying these words, the black energy suddenly retracted into his body and the man body¡¯s softened. He knelt down on the ground and coughed violently, choking on his tears. Ming Xian looked at the other party¡¯s embarrassed appearance coldly and had no interest in coming forward to help. The man held his grudge when he saw this but since a good man didn¡¯t suffer from immediate loss*, he gloomily said, ¡°Now it¡¯s clear. I have the demonic aura of Mr. Otowa in me. You¡¯d better not fight me!¡± *Colloquialism referring to a wise person can understand the current affair and temporarily avoid unfavorable situations so as not to suffer losses and humiliation. || Basically, he knows he can¡¯t fight Ming Xian and as to avoid further humiliation he relents on trying to repay back his grudge. Ming Xian condescendingly looked at him with his hand clasped behind his back, just like he was looking at a vicious dog that was all bark but no bite. ¡°You¡¯re just a microphone for Mr. Otowa. Play your part well so as not to be abandoned when you¡¯re useless.¡± ¡°You!¡± The man was furious, but he didn¡¯t dare act up again. He knew he wasn¡¯t Ming Xian¡¯s opponent. ¡°I heard that you still have a part of Chinese soul in you. When Mr. Otowa promoted your transformation, he also integrated a person name Dong Jilan into your body. Are you still thinking about taking the opportunity to seek refuge with the Special Administration Bureau?¡± Ming Xian had no interest in bickering with him, so he turned and left. The man sneered behind him. ¡°I advise you not to be delusional. If you have Chinese blood on your hands, the Special Administration Bureau won¡¯t want you! According to Mr. Otowa¡¯s instructions, you¡¯d better remember that there are still two lives left, and I will be done soon!¡± Ming Xian¡¯s footsteps didn¡¯t waver even for half a second. ¡ª The progress on Dong Zhi¡¯s side wasn¡¯t going well. The boy named Jiang Lang had stopped breathing when he was taken to the hospital. At the strong request of his parents, the medical staff tried their best to rescue him, but the rescue was ineffective, and the boy was sent to the morgue. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo then rushed over and intervened in the investigation in an official capacity. However, after an hour at the hospital, the two of them found no traces of foul play on the body. In other words, the other party did indeed die by drowning. The two of them were a little disappointed by this result, but they soon received news from the police that Jiang Lang¡¯s parents, due to excessive sadness, was angry at the girl who rejected Jiang Lang¡¯s confession. The two sides were now quarrelling on campus. This kind of dispute had nothing to do with them but the two of them wanted to look for clues at the school, so they rushed over again. As for the other party, An¡¯an, this was a complete disaster. She had no relationship with Jiang Lang, and she simply refused the other party¡¯s confession. Who would have thought that Jiang Lang couldn¡¯t bear it and ran into the lake to commit suicide. It couldn¡¯t be any more wrong to put the blame on Fang An¡¯an. However, for parents who had just lost their child, they also had lost their reason. They ran directly to Fang An¡¯an¡¯s dorm and found her locked in her room. They yelled at her to come out. Jiang Lang¡¯s mother even made gestures with her hand that scared a little sophomore girl, making her face turn pale with fright. The teachers hurried over and the scene delved into chaos. When Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo passed by, Jiang Lang¡¯s parents had already been taken away by school security. Fang An¡¯an was crying silently in the dorm while her roommates and classmates were all comforting her. The dorm administrator brought Dong Zhi and them in and the group of little girls stared at them. With the presence of two strange men, their originally panicked expression became even more uneasy. ¡°Hello, students, we are the police. I want to come over and ask Fang An¡¯an a few questions. Would you please go out for a while? Just for a few minutes.¡± Seeing Fang An¡¯an¡¯s face showing fear, the dormitory administrator hurriedly said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I will be here too.¡± Dong Zhi bent over and looked at Fang An¡¯an, and said warmly, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I heard from your teacher just now that Jiang Lang¡¯s parents were beating people and it was caught on surveillance. I can help you get justice.¡± Perhaps it was his approachable tone, or his gentle and harmless appearance, but it made Fang An¡¯an gradually lowered her guard. After everyone went out, Fang An¡¯an, accompanied by a teacher, told the story about last night. The matter was very simple. Jiang Lang called her to the lake, confessed, and then was rejected. She left quickly and didn¡¯t stay long at all. Moreover, it was too dark at the time. Fang An¡¯an didn¡¯t even see Jiang Lang¡¯s expression clearly. Lake Wangyue had surveillance, but the trouble was that the place they were in that night happened to be a blind spot. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo failed to gather any clues from Fang An¡¯an¡¯s testimony. Since Jiang Lang¡¯s death happened after she left, Fang An¡¯an didn¡¯t witness the scene at all. After comforting the little girl with a few words, they got up and left the girls¡¯ dormitory. When passing by one of the dorms on the same floor, a little girl poked out her head and asked timidly, ¡°Excuse me, are you a policeman?¡± Dong Zhi turned his head and smiled at her. ¡°Yes, is there anything wrong?¡± The chubby girl looked around, took another step forward, and lowered her voice. ¡°Do you believe there are demons in this world?¡± If this was someone else, one would think that the girl was joking and would just turn around and leave, but Dong Zhi was taken aback and nodded. ¡°I do.¡± Yin Xiangxue got excited. She thought she would be scolded, but she didn¡¯t expect the other party to respond positively. ¡°I¡ªI saw how Jiang Lang died!¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s expression became serious. ¡°Did you really see it?¡± Yin Xiangxue: ¡°Yes, I saw Jiang Lang go to the lake at that time. I was curious, so I followed him. I didn¡¯t expect him to make an appointment with Fang An¡¯an. Later, when Fang An¡¯an left, and I saw¡­¡± Thinking back to what she saw that night, she still couldn¡¯t help shuddering, and she couldn¡¯t spit out the words to her mouth. ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous.¡± Dong Zhi patted her shoulder, seemingly to encourage her, but in fact with a casual stroke he raised the yang fire on her shoulder with his Bu Tian Gang. Everyone was born with yang fire on their heads and shoulders, which could exorcise evil spirit and reduce yin. If the yang fire was extinguished, their luck would decline. Yin Xiangxue didn¡¯t know why but she suddenly felt her body becoming warmer and her courage was suddenly lifted up as she loudly spoke up with great triumph. ¡°Then I saw Jiang Lang standing there muttering to himself, not knowing who he was talking to. There seemed to be questions and answers and he was talking and laughing. I was so scared that I didn¡¯t dare run over and look. As a result, Jiang Lang climbed onto the rocks by the lake himself and then slowly went into the water¡­¡± She swallowed. ¡°Then drowned.¡± Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other, and both of them were silent. Liu Qingbo said, ¡°Then did you see anything strange?¡± Yin Xiangxue thought for a while, then suddenly said, ¡°That¡¯s right! I also saw a dark thing floating in the water. I don¡¯t know what it was. Jiang Lang stretched out his hand to pull it, as if calling Fang An¡¯an¡¯s name!¡± This matter was too strange. Yin Xiangxue didn¡¯t dare to tell anyone, for fear that others would think she was making up nonsense, or that she pushed Jiang Lang into the water herself, so she kept holding it in her heart and became even more scared. When she saw Dong Zhi just now coming to question Fang An¡¯an, and heard that they were from the police, she couldn¡¯t help but call out to them. At this moment, the phone rang. Dong Zhi picked it up. ¡°Boss Tang?¡± Tang Jing didn¡¯t say any superfluous greeting and went straight to the point. ¡°Where are you now?¡± Dong Zhi looked up. ¡°The second floor of the girls¡¯ dormitory of high school of Yasheng Private School.¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°Just right. I want you to go to the high school department and check on someone. His name is Ming Xian. If there¡¯s no issues, he should be a Chinese teacher in the high school department there.¡± Dong Zhi keenly knew the meaning of his words. ¡°What do you mean if there are no issues? Is his identity fake?¡± Tang Jing said lightly, ¡°I hope not, but my hope may in vain. I suspect that this person has something to do with the recent soul eaters at the Anime Convention as well as the cases involving Yasheng High School. After you meet him, be sure he¡¯s brought back into the bureau for questioning.¡± After Dong Zhi agreed, he heard that there seemed to be someone talking on the other end of the line, and the sound was quite familiar, so he didn¡¯t hang up. ¡°Boss Tang, your side¡­¡± Tang Jing then casually said, ¡°Oh, by the way, your master is here too.¡± Dong Zhi: ??! At that moment, his hair almost exploded all over his body, and even his expression became extremely weird. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t know what Tang Jing said. Seeing him like this, he made a questioning gesture. Dong Zhi really didn¡¯t know how to describe his mood at the moment, so he waved his hand at him to indicate that he was okay. He couldn¡¯t help but touch his heart that was beating a little fast. For fear that his voice would tremble, he could only use a few seconds to calm himself down quickly. Tang Jing said hello twice then said to Long Shen, ¡°The kid hung up the phone without even saying a word.¡± Then he disconnected the call. Dong Zhi had done a good job of mental construction and was about to answer when he heard the dial tone on the other end. He couldn¡¯t laugh or cry. Liu Qingbo urged impatiently: ¡°What did he say?¡± Dong Zhi settled down, put away the phone, and decided to get down to business first. The two went to the high school, found the person in charge of the personnel department, and asked for a person named Ming Xian. The person in charge said, ¡°Teacher Ming is our new teacher who just came this semester, but something seems to have happened to his family and he said he wanted to resign. The resignation report had been handed in. Today¡¯s the school festival so he was still saying his goodbyes to his students on the playground just now.¡± Dong Zhi said strangely, ¡°As soon as the semester had just started, he resigned?¡± The person in charge smiled bitterly. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m a bit surprised too, but if someone¡¯s wants to leave, it¡¯s not like we can stop them! If you want to find him, you may still be able to see him if you go to the playground now.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Are there any photos?¡± The person in charge said yes, found the high school teacher profile files and flipped through it before he presented them with a photo. ¡°Here.¡± Liu Qingbo glanced at it, only to feel inexplicably familiar, but he couldn¡¯t remember it for a while, and said casually, ¡°If you recruit such a good-looking teacher, aren¡¯t you afraid that it will distract the female students from their studies?¡± The person in charge laughed. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me. This teacher Ming has become the most popular male teacher in our school not long after he came. Those sloppy teachers have stepped aside. I heard that Teacher Ming¡¯s is very good that even the principal felt sorry for his departure!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t say a word, and suddenly turned his head and ran out. Liu Qingbo was inexplicable and hurried to follow. ¡°What¡¯s wrong with you!¡± Dong Zhi said with a calm face: ¡°I have seen this person in Liang Weiqi¡¯s tomb. He was with Fujikawa Aoi and the others!¡± Liu Qingbo wrinkled his brows and thought for a moment, then suddenly realized. ¡°Is that the one who escaped after being injured by you?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Yes!¡± When he was underground under Mount Helan, next to the alter, at that time, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know Ming Xian¡¯s name. He thought the man looked very beautiful, but his behavior was quite strange. He obviously had multiple opportunities to kill him, but he didn¡¯t do it. He was with Fujikawa Aoi and wanted to destroy the stone tablet, which obviously wasn¡¯t a good thing, but at that time, everyone was busy dealing with demons and Fujikawa¡¯s men, such as Liu Qingbo, that they didn¡¯t have time to pay attention to Ming Xian¡¯s appearance. After returning from Yinchuan, Dong Zhi painted a portrait according to his memories and the Special Administration Bureau had searched for this person¡¯s whereabouts, but unexpectedly, with their opponent¡¯s ability, it wasn¡¯t difficult to avoid the eyes and ears of the Special Administration Bureau. If he ran back to Japan, it would be even more impossible to find him. Who would have thought that after wearing out iron shoes*, Ming Xian would be found in a high school in Shengcheng. *(̤ÆÆÌúЬ) Metaphor for sparing no effort in searching for something. Did the other party wanted to hide in the world or, like Yamamoto Kiyoshi, felt that with so many people in Shencheng, it was a convenient place for hiding? While talking, the two of them had already arrived at the playground. The school festival here was nearing the end. People were in groups of three or five, talking, laughing, and exchanging pleasantries. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo split up to find their target, but looking through a crowded playground, it was difficult to find Ming Xian in it. The two of them were like swimming against the current of the crowd, sweeping their eyes from one face to another that eventually they started developing a faint cognitive discrimination disorder that they started confusing the faces of men and women together. Dong Zhi finally found a student who helped maintain order and asked him if he had seen Ming Xian or if he knew a student that had seen him. Who knew that the student pointed somewhere and said, ¡°Teacher Ming is there. I just came from there!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°You take me there; I urgently need to find him!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± The student happily agreed, leading the Dong Zhi as they swam left and right through the crowd and finally stumbled upon a large group. He glanced around, grabbed his classmate and asked, ¡°Where¡¯s Teacher Ming?¡± The classmate said, ¡°Teacher Ming went to the back mountain of the school and said he wanted to go there to take some photos as a souvenir.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart sank. He felt that with Ming Xian¡¯s ability, it was impossible that he hadn¡¯t found out that he was being followed until now. The only possibility was that he had already known and was deliberately leading them there. Even if he knew that it was likely to be a trap, he had to get past it. Dong Zhi took out his phone and called Liu Qingbo. ¡°Lao Liu, don¡¯t look for him. I know where he is. Come and meet up first.¡± Yasheng High School was located in the suburbs surrounded by mountains and rivers. The water of Lake Wangyue was from Mount Yuzan. Just like Lake Wangyue was an artificial lake, the altitude of Mount Yuzan was less than 500 meters. Originally, it didn¡¯t even have a name. The locals called it Mount Tuwei, which was renamed later to Mount Yuzan by the school as they felt Mount Tuwei was too unpleasant sounding and would make people think such a name was too tasteless and they wouldn¡¯t come. A soon as the name was changed, it became much more elegant*. *Original name Mount Tuwei = Bald-Tailed Mountain it was renamed to Mount Yuzan = Jade Hairpin Mountain. But this mountain really wasn¡¯t big. It was quite small but was unique and exquisite. Usually in spring and autumn, the schoolteachers would occasionally take their students to do outdoor activities and they often would come to Mount Yuzan. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo rang quickly up following the guide signs and reached halfway up the mountain. Since it was winter now, no one was climbing up the mountain. When Dong Zhi saw a figure in the pavilion halfway up, he subconsciously paused. ¡°Ming Xian?!¡± The other party was unhurried, as if he had expected it, and turned around and smiled at them. Sure enough, it was him. Dong Zhi¡¯s heart sank, and he clenched the Changshou Sword in his hand. ¡°We meet again.¡± Ming Xian obviously remembered him as well. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about the last time. I didn¡¯t mean to kill you.¡± The other party talked like they were old friends, relaxed and natural, while on the contrary, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were quite nervous. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t let down his guard. ¡°We have our own positions, so I¡¯m afraid I can¡¯t apologize. This time, you¡¯re alone?¡± ¡°I know what you want to ask.¡± Ming Xian smiled slightly, took out a black gadget from his pocket, and threw it to Dong Zhi. When Dong Zhi picked it up, he was a little cautious for fear that the other party would make a small move, only to find out that it seemed to be an¡­ electronic device? ¡°A tracker.¡± Ming Xian solved his doubts. Dong Zhi: ¡°Whose?¡± Ming Xian: ¡°Tang Jing is one of you, right? He put it on me. Just ask him, but this time, you have found the wrong person. It¡¯s not me who created the soul eaters, and it wasn¡¯t me who killed Jiang Lang.¡± Liu Qingbo snorted coldly. ¡°Whether it¡¯s or not, you have to go back with us to assist in the investigation first!¡± He didn¡¯t have a good impression of the person in front of him. Last time, he was the one who threw the explosives in the alter. If it wasn¡¯t for his quick reaction in the end, they all would¡¯ve been sleeping underground with the stone tablet by now. How would they even be here to arrest such a person? Ming Xian shook his head and jumped up suddenly, but instead of running down the mountain, he turned and leaped towards the outside of the pavilion off a cliff. It was too late to act as he was too fast. Dong Zhi, who had been staring at his every move also rushed out and chased him closely and also jumped off the cliff as well. Liu Qingbo: What the fuck?! Look where you¡¯re jumping. There¡¯s a fucking cliff behind this thing! He was bewildered. The author has something to say: Dong Jilan is mentioned in chapters 63 and 64. Kinky Thoughts: For those who forgot, Dong Jilan is an agent from the Special Administration Bureau sent to Japan to thwart some evil thing. His body was never found, and Long Shen wanted to use Fujikawa Aoi release as a bargaining chip to get him back or at least determine if he¡¯s dead. Also note that Dong Jilan and Dong Zhi are not related (the Dong are different Chinese characters). CH 99 Although this mountain wasn¡¯t high, this jump¡­ Even the enemy may die and the person surname Dong didn¡¯t bring a parachute! Is he crazy?! Afterwards, Dong Zhi faced Liu Qingbo¡¯s incessant scolding, saying that he didn¡¯t think too much at the time, but since Ming Xian dared to jump then he would definitely not die. He had already failed to catch him once in Yinchuan, so this time he must not let him get away again. Time returned to the present. Liu Qingbo blurted out, ¡°Are you crazy?¡± Before he had time to think about it, he also raised his sword and jumped down. But with this jump, he realized that the cliff wasn¡¯t as steep as he thought. Firstly, this is just the mountainside, not at the peak of the mountain. Secondly, the forest in the mountains was rich and lush. In the cold winter of the south, there was still no desolation, which gave the descending body a good buffer. After all, they were practitioners and had vigorous qi to protect their bodies. Although they may not be able to fly ten meters and directly ignore gravity like martial arts novels, they were naturally still lighter and in better physical fitness. From a glance, Ming Xian shot out silk strings from his hand and wrapped them around branches one by one and swung quickly through the trees. He looked like a light swallow with his quick movements. On the other hand, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, although their posture wasn¡¯t as graceful as Ming Xian, they still tightly followed behind. They grabbed on branches to stabilize their figures and leaped forward. Dong Zhi used his Changshou Sword to open the way and Ming Xian was unable to shake them off. Seeing that he was about to reach the foot of the mountain, Ming Xian suddenly turned around and shot silk threads towards Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi thought he was going to attack and was about to dodge, but instead the branch his feet was directly cut by the silk thread and it started to toppled. Dong Zhi had no balance to stand on and he could only try to save himself. He reacted slightly slower for a few seconds, which gave Ming Xian the chance to run off. Dong Zhi grabbed a tree next to him as a buffer, and jumped off the tree again. Liu Qingbo quickly caught up. ¡°Still lost him?¡± Dong Zhi hummed. ¡°But just before he left, he told me saying that the answer we seek is under Lake Wangyue.¡± Liu Qingbo frowned. ¡°You mean, he¡¯s indeed not the murderer.¡± Dong Zhi took out a band aid and affixed it to the small cut on his palm made by the branches. ¡°I don¡¯t know, you can report to Boss Tang first. He¡¯s still waiting for our news.¡± Tang Jing didn¡¯t expect to for their news to come so soon. After learning that they had lost Ming Xian, Tang Jing didn¡¯t react too unexpectedly, let alone blame them. After listening to Liu Qingbo¡¯s paraphrase of Yin Xiangxue¡¯s insights, he was silent for a moment and said, ¡°Okay, you go to Lake Wangyue and investigate first. I¡¯ll ask Shu He and Huo Jie to bring diving equipment to assist you. I¡¯ll take care of Ming Xian.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°He returned the tracker to us. Do you still need it?¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°No need.¡± He ended the call and looked up at Long Shen on the opposite side. The conversation was on speakerphone just now so naturally Long Shen heard everything. Long Shen said, ¡°Ming Xian knew you put a tracker on him a long time ago.¡± This sentence wasn¡¯t doubt but affirmation. Tang Jing nodded. ¡°So what we know is what he wanted us to know.¡± Long Shen looked at him and suddenly smiled. ¡°Do you feel like you¡¯re playing chess with an opponent?¡± Tang Jing didn¡¯t know how Long Shen could still laugh. In the past, Long Shen was always the most serious one when encountering this kind of thing, but now the other party was cracking jokes. He suspected that he had become more relaxed because he was about to meet his apprentice, but now Tang Jing wasn¡¯t in the mood for jokes. ¡°It was my fault. I misjudged my opponent. Right now, he doesn¡¯t have enough time yet to leave Shencheng. I¡¯ll contact the police and for them to make a full arrest. I hope to delay him before he leaves Shencheng.¡± They met from a chance encounter and tested each other. Tang Jing boasted that he wouldn¡¯t touch his body, but in the end he still missed his move and lost this game of chess. ¡°Wait.¡± Long Shen stopped him from trying to pick up the phone. Tang Jing didn¡¯t know why. Long Shen said, ¡°You have lost your sense of proportion now, meaning you have lost your usual standard level.¡± Tang Jing was silent, neither admitting nor denying. Long Shen didn¡¯t pursue the subject but asked, ¡°Is the tracker remotely connected to the internet?¡± Tang Jing: ¡°Yes, the places he has been to are all synchronized here.¡± Long Shen: ¡°Then you don¡¯t need to issue a warrant. Take a look at the place where he appeared on the tracker.¡± Tang Jing had momentarily lost his judgement but when he was reminded of this, he reacted immediately. ¡°Boss Long, do you mean he¡¯s waiting for us on purpose?¡± Long Shen nodded: ¡°Since he discovered the tracker a long time ago, he didn¡¯t tell us until now, indicating that there must be things we need to know in the places he has been before. Find them and investigate them one by one.¡± Tang Jing didn¡¯t talk nonsense. ¡°I¡¯ll do it right away.¡± ¡ª Shu He and Huo Jie moved quickly. Dong Zhi had just evacuated the crowd around Laken Wangyue with the police and barred of the area when they arrived bringing the diving equipment. ¡°This is a scuba. I know that practitioners can hold their breath underwater for a long time and while this is Lake Wangyue, an artificial lake, it draws water from Lake Dianshan. I heard Lake Dianshan is very deep so I can¡¯t guarantee there¡¯s something under there, but you might stumble over it so it¡¯s more convenient to have a scuba.¡± Shu He handed them the equipment and taught them how to use it. Dong Zhi said, ¡°Let¡¯s go directly from Lake Wangyue. The underwater situation is unknown so let¡¯s not try to be too far apart.¡± The orders for Shu He and Huo Jie were to assist, that was to say, they were auxiliaries for Dong Zhi while he leaded. Technically, regardless of administration level or position, Shu He was above Dong Zhi, and he should¡¯ve been humble and let him take the lead in this matter, but when things were urgent, he didn¡¯t think much about it. Shu He felt a little uncomfortable, but he didn¡¯t show it, so he only nodded. Without any more delays, the four of them took off their down jackets and coats and put the scuba tank on their back and went directly into the water. Although it was an artificial lake, the depth was still considerable, especially given that it was winter. When they got in the water, they felt a biting chill directly through their soaked clothes, pouring in from all directions. Dong Zhi shuddered involuntarily as Shu He swam in front of him. He had already been surpassed by everyone by a figure, so he had to speed up so as not to be dragged down so far. Time was of the essence, so they didn¡¯t have time to find an underwater searchlight. Only the most ordinary waterproof flashlight as used. The range was limited, and the water was muddy. Various algae floated in front of them from time to time creating very low visibility. After looping a circle, they slowly moved closer to the center of the lake. The closer they got to the center, the deeper and muddier the water became. It was almost impossible for the flashlight to illuminate too far away. There were occasionally aquatic plants swaying at the bottom of the lake, floating in the water, gently brushing their bodies, as if it was a gentle girl wanting her lover to stay. Although Shu He and Huo Jie didn¡¯t see Jiang Lang¡¯s death with their own eyes, they had killed a water monkey here two years ago and knew that Lake Wangyue wasn¡¯t a safe artificial lake. Suddenly, Huo Jie¡¯s figure sank, as if he was being pulled down by something and his whole body dropped sharply. Shu He was in front of him and didn¡¯t noticed but Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi were behind and could clearly see. Liu Qingbo stretched out his hand and grabbed Huo Jie¡¯s shoulder in time, but because the force was so strong, his whole body also sank with him. Dong Zhi hurriedly grabbed the clothes on Liu Qingbo¡¯s shoulders. With this catch, he knew how strong the force holding Huo Jie was. It wasn¡¯t a force that humans could resist at all. He refused to let go of Liu Qingbo and was also dragged down. The three of them were involuntarily swept down and the lower they went, the more rapid the surrounding water flow became, eventually forming a whirlpool that sucked everything inwards. Not only them, but also passing fish and all aquatic creatures were sucked in without exception as soon as they entered the scope of the whirlpool. It was only then that Dong Zhi suddenly realized that when they came to this area, the reason why all the surrounding fish had disappeared all at once was because they were instinctively avoiding danger. But why did such a whirlpool appear in an artificial lake. Was it related to Jiang Lang¡¯s death? His eyes were cloudy due to the turbid water and his flashlight had been swept away. His hand was still holding onto Liu Qingbo¡¯s clothes tightly as they drifted with the current, circling in the water, unable to distinguished between north and south or east and west. Dong Zhi felt as if he had become dirty laundry that was loaded in a front-load washing machine that was kept running with no pause, spinning until all the clothes was completely dehydrated. Time had become a useless foil. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know how long he had been rolling in this ¡°washing machine¡±. When he realized that he had surfaced, his whole body was still light, and his head was spinning frantically like a disco ball. He had to close his eyes and wait for the dizziness to completely pass. ¡°This is¡­ Where?¡± Huo Jie¡¯s voice also seemed like he had been floating in outer space and hadn¡¯t returned to earth yet. ¡°Didn¡¯t you go under the water two years ago. You didn¡¯t find it here at that time?¡± Liu Qingbo covered his head and groaned. Huo Jie leaned back on the stone and panted. ¡°No, where¡¯s Shu He?¡± When he said this, the others discovered that Shu He was gone. Dong Zhi said, ¡°He was in front just now, and I guess he didn¡¯t see us being dragged in by the whirlpool.¡± Liu Qingbo took a look at with his flashlight and found that it was a concave cave. It seemed this was formed a long time ago when water used to fill it, but when the water level dropped, a hollow area was created. There was also a small place to rest on the side and you could breathe even if you take off the scuba equipment. The three of them were drenched. Although they were practitioners, no one liked the feeling of being sticky, wet, and cold and unable to change clothes. Dong Zhi opened a small waterproof bag, reached in and took out a few things for a while, and threw it to them separately. ¡°What are you doing bringing a heat pad* when we¡¯re going into water?!¡± *It¡¯s a heat pad that becomes warm through a chemical reaction in the pad (no electricity or other things required). Liu Qingbo took a look at his hand, showing an expression of whether he was crazy. Dong Zhi said innocently, ¡°Such a bag can¡¯t fit in a pocket. I just bought it when I bought water in the school store. It only take a moment to stick to my stomach and it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± The corners of Liu Qingbo¡¯s mouth twitched. He wanted to smear this heat pad all over Dong Zhi¡¯s face but in the end, he resignedly tore off the package and stuck it on himself. Huo Jie could barely contained his praise. ¡°Man, it feels really nice like qi is being delivered to your dantian except it¡¯s on your stomach!¡± Dong Zhi happily said: ¡°Right? Next time you need to go into the water, take it with you!¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­Why are you taking it so seriously to people casually complimenting you? He felt that his cultivation was really getting better. In order to save some face for his leader, Dong Zhi, he actually had to endure and hold back this sentence abruptly. The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and began to discuss countermeasures. The oxygen in this cave was very thin, so it was impossible to stay for a long time, and they would eventually have to go back into the water. Liu Qingbo thought it was odd. ¡°Lake Wangyue is an artificial lake, and you could see the opposite side from a glance. Where did this kind of cave come from?¡± Huo Jie said, ¡°The water from Lake Wangyue is drawn from Lake Dianshan, but the pipeline shouldn¡¯t be here.¡± It was most definitely not here. This cave wasn¡¯t artificially carved out. ¡°It¡¯s said that it was a big puddle at the time and it would get muddy everywhere when it rained. The water in the puddle wouldn¡¯t dry all year round, which had a great impact on the surrounding residents. Later, the pit was simply transformed into the current artificial lake. Now it has become part of the landscape, but I¡¯ve never heard of whirlpools in puddles before.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°Where did you catch the water monkey?¡± Huo Jie: ¡°I met it soon after I went into the water. It was easy to find it, but it took a some effort to catch it. Later, we looked at the lake again but we didn¡¯t find any.¡± Liu Qingbo shrugged. ¡°It looks like we¡¯re going to return in vain today.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly shh. He lowered his voice. ¡°Look¡­ on the opposite side.¡± Liu Huo and Huo Jie looked in the direction he was saying. The cave wasn¡¯t big so the flashlight could barely reach the opposite side. In the faint light, only wet stones being slapped by the lake water and the slightly rippling water surface was visible. ¡°Yes¡ª¡± Liu Qingbo wanted to say something, until he saw it. A hoop was hooked on a rock with sharp edges and corners protruding forward from the lake. On a closer look, it seemed to be a link from a chain. The three of them were silent, but many questions popped up in their hearts. This chain link looked very thick and they didn¡¯t know what it was connected to, but Huo Jie could be sure that there was no such thing in Lake Wangyue. Since it wasn¡¯t from Lake Wangyue, where did it come from? Lake Dianshan? Dong Zhi said, ¡°I¡¯ll go and have a look.¡± Before anyone else could speak, his body sank and he had already entered the water again. He swam over with both hands, grabbed the chain, and plunged his head in again. Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie also got back in the water. They quickly found that the iron chain was very long; so long that it was dragged down for several meters. They pulled tried pulling it for a few meters before they gave up. Dong Zhi proposed, ¡°How about Lao Liu and I follow the iron chain and have a look. Huo Ge, will you go back and report this first?¡± Of course Huo Jie vetoed it: ¡°I¡¯ll join you.¡± The three of them reached an agreement and decided to swim along one end of the chain to find out what it was attached to. The chain was almost as thick as an adult man¡¯s arm. It was freezing cold to the touch, but at least with this chain as a guide, they would have a sense of direction when they swam, and they wouldn¡¯t get lost again. It was about half an hour later when the doubts in the three of them not only didn¡¯t diminished but grew stronger. Huo Jie suspected that they had already passed through the bottom of Lake Wangyue and came to another lake, because there was no iron chain in Lake Wangyue and it was impossible for them to swim for so long without losing sight of their heads. The chain gradually extended upward, as if directly connected to the surface of the lake. A faint light slowly swayed above across the lake. The oxygen in their scuba tank was getting low, so the three of them immediately accelerated upwards. Water splashed everywhere when Dong Zhi surfaced. He wiped the water away from his face and opened his eyes and looked around and was dumbfounded. Not only him, but Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie were also a little dazed. Why was it another hole? The iron chain was connected from underwater to the water, and then extended deep into a cave in front, with no end in sight. The luminous object they originally saw underwater that they originally thought might be a light emitted by a fishing boat or something similar was actually a light source that was on a stone in the cave, blue and faint. It wasn¡¯t the same as the flowers that Dong Zhi saw in the underground cave of Yinchuan. ¡°It seems to be phosphorescent.¡± Huo Jie said after taking a look. Dong Zhi said, ¡°We just went into the water at Lake Wangyue, will we have reached Lake Dianshan by now?¡± Huo Jie said, ¡°It¡¯s possible, but it¡¯s not clear where Lake Dianshan is. Let¡¯s go ahead and have a look.¡± As soon as his voice fell, the chain moved. None of the three of them touched the iron chain, but it suddenly slid down, like¡­ Like something on the other end was pulling it. Liu Qingbo had a strange feeling in his heart. He bent over and grabbed the iron chain in his hand and began to drag it in the opposite direction. Huo Jie and Dong Zhi saw and helped. They quickly found that there was also a force in the opposite direction to contend with them. The force was so great that the three of them were caught off guard and almost all of them were dragged back into the water. They glanced at each other, their hearts became more horrified, and they accelerated their speed and pulled the chain to their side. One meter, ten meters, twenty meters; more and more of the iron chain pile under their feet. The force that was pulling against them was also increasing in strength. The three of them had to use dark force*. Huo Jie shouted and sat down crossed legged while holding the iron chain firmly in his hand, like a fixed mountain stone. Dong Zhi suddenly found that the pressure became a lot less. *I don¡¯t really get it but apparently, it¡¯s a training method for kung fu and stuff (like boxing) but like an extreme method when releasing a type of force. ¡°Are you practicing a 1,000-pound drop?¡± Liu Qingbo glanced at him curiously. Huo Jie shrugged. ¡°I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s true. I¡¯ve been practicing with Master in the mountains since I was a child, and Master didn¡¯t give it a name. After going down the mountain, for the sake of prestige, I gave it a name myself. It¡¯s called Dinghai Shenzhen.¡± While speaking, the power on the other end of the chain seemed to have suddenly disappeared, causing Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo to lose their balance and staggered forward. At this moment, Huo Jie suddenly frowned and said loudly: ¡°There is something underwater, step back!¡± Before the words were finished, a behemoth jumped out of the water, and its sturdy body rushed straight towards Dong Zhi¡¯s head. ¡ª ¡°Here?¡± Tang Jing looked up at the surrounding environment and the rusty tin house that had been abandoned for a long time and couldn¡¯t help frowning. Ming Xian¡¯s tracker showed the three places he had been to during this time, Yasheng High School, Garden Community, and here. Yasheng High School was where he worked, and Garden Community was the teacher¡¯s dorm. Only here, far from the city, wasn¡¯t like a place that a high school teacher would go. It was the most conspicuous. In his impression, Ming Xian wasn¡¯t a person who would come to such a place. Even if he was hiding from eyes and ears, he would definitely choose a clean and beautiful setting. Even if they didn¡¯t know each other well enough, he had an inadvertent attention to Ming Xian that he himself didn¡¯t notice but would unexpectedly pop up from the corner of his heart. Tang Jing still remembered the two of them were kissing in the park and Ming Xian was pressed against the tree trunk as he muttered dissatisfiedly. Tang Jing didn¡¯t care at that time, but in hindsight, the other party said that his clothes were going to be soiled. This person was a bit of a neat freak. So if Ming Xian deliberately exposed this location to them, what was his intention? Half an hour ago, Long Shen and Tang Jing had already gotten out of the car, and they walked this section by foot. Song Zhicun also came to Shencheng with Long Shen this time. The summit of various countries was approaching. They didn¡¯t come here specifically for this case, but since they happened to hit it, they couldn¡¯t stay out of it. With Song Zhicun sitting in the branch office, Long Shen and Tang Jing could do whatever they wanted. It was getting late, and few people pass by this section of the road. The front has been closed due to the renovation, but the sparse street lights were still on. A lonely tin house stood there which made the scene looked even more desolated. ¡°Someone¡¯s coming,¡± Tang Jing whispered. They stood in the weeds on the side of the road and saw a car driving to the side and parked in front of the tin house. The lights went out and a person stepped out. It was Ming Xian. The weeds were only half a person tall and not enough to cover their stature. What¡¯s more, Ming Xian was also a practitioner, and he soon saw Long Shen and Tang Jing. ¡°Tangtang,¡± he greeted Tang Jing as usual, with a relaxed tone, as if they were still in that caf¨¦ next to the park. Tang Jing¡¯s eyes narrowed as he stared at him. Mingxian laughed out loud. ¡°Do you need to look at me like this? Anyway, I have provided you with a lot of clues.¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°Then do you want to abandon the dark and turn to the light? Care to trade a name?¡± Ming Xian shrugged. ¡°Even if I say yes, you won¡¯t believe it.¡± ¡°If¡­¡± As soon as Tang Jing said those words, Ming Xian raised his hand to stop him. ¡°I think with Boss Long out here in person, even if I didn¡¯t take the initiative to provide you with clues, you will be able to find it here soon. Why don¡¯t we just be straightforward so as not to waste each other¡¯s time.¡± Ming Xian stretched out his hand and knocked on the door a few times. The sound came far away in the quiet night. A vigilant voice came from the room. ¡°Who did you bring here?!¡± Tang Jing¡¯s response was to kick the door open directly. Behind the door, a man covered with black cloth all over his body seemed to be choking himself. Looking at Ming Xian and Tang Jing and Long Shen behind him, he suddenly turned around and ran, but Tang Jing was faster. He jumped in with a sweep of his figure, grabbed the opponent¡¯s black robe and tore it off. In the dim light, the man turned around and tried to grab back the black robe, but failed, and his panicked face caught everyone¡¯s eyes. Long Shen¡¯s calm expression moved slightly. ¡°¡­Cheng Yuan?¡± The man staggered and fell, holding himself with his hands around his shoulders, as if it was very cold, but he kept backing away. He stared at Long Shen, showing a look of fear and terror. Long Shen¡¯s face showed coldness. ¡°You have fallen so far.¡± Cheng Yuan, a person who had also applied for the Special Administrative Bureau, also participated in Hui Yiguang¡¯s case with Dong Zhi, Liu Qingbo and the others, but later didn¡¯t stay to the end. At that time, Dong Zhi had a good friendship with him and asked Long Shen about him. Long Shen didn¡¯t say much, and only said succinctly that Cheng Yuan didn¡¯t meet the standard. In fact, Cheng Yuan¡¯s unqualified performance wasn¡¯t because of his lack of ability or poor grades, but because Long Shen and others saw based on the questions he answered in the interview that this person¡¯s personality was too utilitarian and planned to observe him for a while, so he was unexpectedly rejected. It was just that Long Shen didn¡¯t expect that Cheng Yuan would appear here after failing his application. He was covered with green and black veins, which seemed to be poisoned at first glance, but Long Shen knew that this was the manifestation of long-term corruption of demonic energy. Ordinary people who were courted by demonic energy would over time become a demonic corpse that was neither human nor ghost, just like those ordinary people who were eroded by demonic energy on the train to Changchun. However, practitioners like Cheng Yuan could still retained their own sanity and even their abilities would become stronger and more difficult to deal with because of the fusion between their qi and the demonic energy. Kinky Thoughts: For those who forgot, Cheng Yuan is the psychic during the Special Administration test arc. CH 100 Cheng Yuan couldn¡¯t help cowering when he heard these words. He had a kind of bone-deep awe for Long Shen, which came from his experience in the Special Administration Bureau. At first glance, when he saw Long Shen, he was greatly disoriented. But he soon remembered that he was no longer the newcomer who needed to tremble before the Special Administration Bureau. Those high and mighty practitioners didn¡¯t look up to him, but he was no longer what he used to be. He had the power now to make the people of the Special Administration Bureau prostrate themselves at his feet and tremble for mercy. With judgement returned back to his head, he looked at Ming Xian and angrily said, ¡°You brought them here!¡± Ming Xian ignored him and said to Tang Jing and Long Shen, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to find the real culprit who manipulated the soul-eaters? He¡¯s inside. Recent events are indeed not at my hands. If it were me, I would have done it without leaving any traces.¡± Tang Jing asked rhetorically, ¡°Do you feel guilty?¡± Ming Xian smiled at his mockery. ¡°Consider it as a reward for your dewy love and the end of the obsession in my heart. Cheng Yuan snapped, ¡°Shut up! Ming Xian, you dare disobey Mr. Otowa¡¯s intentions?!¡± Long Shen no longer wanted to listen to his nonsense, so he stretched out his hand and grabbed him. Who knew that Cheng Yuan reacted extremely quickly. His body shrank and moved back. He suddenly stood up and reached out with both hands, which had long and sharp nails. Long Shen dodged, grasped his wrist with a slight force, and the sound of broken bones clicking could be heard, but Cheng Yuan smiled strangely. His chest suddenly burst open, and two withered claws sprang out towards Long Shen¡¯s chest as fast as lightning. It pierced through Long Shen¡¯s windbreaker, looking as if it was about to puncture his chest and abdomen! This forced Long Shen to let go, which Cheng Yuan took advantage of to twist and run away. He leapt forward, trying to escape through the window, but his back was violently pulled back. In the blink of an eye, Long Shen grabbed his long sword with his backhand and inserted it into Cheng Yuan¡¯s heart. The entire process flowed smoothly and neatly. Suddenly, Cheng Yuan¡¯s eyes were wide open, full of resentment. The look became more intense, causing the green and black veins on his face to seemingly come alive as they began to slowly flow. Long Shen noticed something was wrong. Cheng Yuan suddenly grabbed his sword with both hands as a cackle came out of his throat, as if the bones were being pinched off one by one. The blood flowed out of his hands, but it wasn¡¯t the normal human dark red, but a green-black color. However, within a few seconds, his body turned into black air and flew away, then condensed back into human form again behind Long Shen. ¡°The Special Administration Bureau is nothing more than that! Long Shen, why do you look down on me? Why didn¡¯t you let me into the Special Administration Bureau? Today, I want you to have a taste of life that¡¯s not as good as death!¡± The black air suddenly turned into a gale and swept towards Long Shen. Ming Xian was obviously in the same camp as Cheng Yuan, but he watched coldly, as if he had no interest in intervening. Tang Jing didn¡¯t move in order to keep an eye on him. Although the opponent didn¡¯t make a move, Tang Jing intuitively felt that this person¡¯s ability was very strong, even comparable to his own. ¡°I think the battlefield between us should be broader.¡± Ming Xian suddenly smiled, turned around, and ran out. Tang Jing chased him without a second thought. The two landed in the middle of the wilderness full of wild grass as they stared at each other. It wasn¡¯t the kind between two enemies that were about to fight to the death, but rather a pair of friends who hadn¡¯t yet finished or a couple after breaking up. Tang Jing laughed slightly in his heart because of his rich imagination. They were never officially together, so what was he even thinking about? Ming Xian¡¯s eyes were soft and harmless, like the little writer who talked a lot but wasn¡¯t annoying when he first met him on the plane. But Tang Jing knew that it was just one side of Ming Xian, a mask that he used to hide the true Ming Xian. He wasn¡¯t a writer, and the author of those books wasn¡¯t him at all. He just took advantage of the fact that the writer never showed his face and got close to him under false pretenses. As if guessing what Tang Jing was thinking, Ming Xian suddenly said, ¡°When I was on the plane, I didn¡¯t know your identity yet.¡± Tang Jing said lightly, ¡°I have an innate sense of closeness to you, and you took advantage of this to let me lower my guard against you.¡± Ming Xian shrugged and spread his hands. ¡°But you didn¡¯t. Didn¡¯t you put a tracker on me and send someone to check on my background? Moreover, you should know why you feel so close to me.¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°Because you and I are the same.¡± Min Xian smiled, magnanimously, without concealment. ¡°My body is a zither.¡± The night was late and moonless. The distant streetlamp shone on the side of Ming Xian¡¯s face. There was a different kind of softness to it. Even if the enemy was clear and irrevocable, Tang Jing still saw the rippling waves and the stars and moon in those eyes. When he suspected that the other party was an artifact, Tang Jing also guessed his original shape. He thought that with Ming Xian looking so beautiful, his true form must be elegant and lovely. It took at least thousands of years of elegance to give birth to such gracefulness. Tang Jing said, ¡°I am a mirror.¡± Ming Xian quickly guessed his origin, ¡°A mirror from the Tang Dynasty?¡± Tang Jing nodded. ¡°Thousand Autumn Coiled Dragon Mirror*.¡± *Qianqiu Panlong Mirror (ǧÇïó´Áú¾µ) I believe the author is referencing the Sunflower-shaped Thousand Autumn Dragon Mirror (¿ûÐÎǧÇïÁúÎƾµ) or something of that nature. It¡¯s a bronze mirror with a dragon on it from the Tang Dynasty that has the inscription of ¡°Thousand [Qian]¡± and ¡°Autumn [Qiu]¡± on it, which should be related to the Qianqiu Festival celebrated during the Tang Dynasty. Also, as a reminder, the Tang in his name is the Tang in Tang Dynasty. Going back thousands of years, he was once a Tibetan mirror in the Tang Palace, created by a famous craftsman and later given by Emperor Xuanzong* to his sister Princess Yuzhen. Under pure chance and coincidence, the princess never married and became a monk who loved to travel around the world, searching for immortals and visiting hermitages. By coincidence, Tang Jing also encountered mountains and rivers, the essence of the sun and moon, and finally cultivated into a human body after being refined by the wind and frost. *Seventh emperor of the Tang Dynasty, he¡¯s credited with bringing Tang China to a pinnacle of culture and power. Ming Xian smiled and said, ¡°No wonder I feel close to you when I see you. In terms of age, you and I are not far apart. It¡¯s a pity that I don¡¯t have as good of luck as you.¡± Tang Jing: ¡°Are you a Chinese artifact spirit?¡± Ming Xian shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I was made by the Tang people or by Easterners early on. I have no roots, no name. I only know that when I was first formed, there were several inscriptions under the zither, and the sound of my strings can cleanse an evil heart. Although positive, the feeling is also deep. Elegant and solemn, yet no forbidden extravagance. Smooth and upright, joyful but not obscene.*¡± *This is the actual inscription under the zither (ËäÓÐÕýÐÔ£¬Æä¸ÐÒàÉî¡£´æÑÅÈ´Ö££¬¸¡³ÞÊǽû¡£Ìõ³©ºÍÕý£¬ÀÖ¶ø²»Òù.) I tried my best with the translation, but I really can¡¯t make it poetic. Tang Jing was startled and blurted out, ¡°The Gold and Silver Pingwen Zither*?!¡± *Jinyin Pingwen Qin (½ðÒøƽÎÄÇÙ) It¡¯s an artifact collected to the treasure house of the Sh¨­s¨­-in (an imperial treasure house belonging to Japan) around 814 AD to Emperor Saga. The gold and silver pingwen zither was a national treasure of Japan and was now part of the collection of the Sh¨­s¨­-in*. *Treasure house of T¨­dai-ji Temple in Nara, Japan that houses artifacts connected to Emperor Shomu and Empress Komoyo. The reason why it was called the gold and silver pingwen zither was because it had gold and silver plain decoration on its body, so it was name after its characteristic, not after the timbre or the marker, as in the case with Chinese zithers. The name Ming Xian* was also given to him after he first gained sentience. *Translated means bright strings/chords. ¡°Then the one in Sh¨­s¨­-in¡­?¡± Tang Jing couldn¡¯t help but say. Ming Xian gently spat out, ¡°Imitation.¡± Tang Jing understood. The gold and silver pingwen zither was created in the Heian Period of Japan, which was the same period as Emperor Tang Xianzong* in China. It was no wonder Ming Xian would say those two were similar in age. *14th Tang Emperor formerly known as Li Chun. He reigned from 805-820. ¡°Japan¡¯s land is limited, so the spiritual energy is thin. Even with the power of the entire country, there are very few artifacts that could be spiritually refined. Originally, my spiritual wisdom was first developed, but it would take at least a few more decades to cultivate into human form. However, at that time, Otowa Hatsuhiko got a Chinese practitioner and injected his soul into my body, forcibly helping me take shape in advance.¡± Ming Xian¡¯s tone was leisurely, as if he was talking about other people¡¯s affairs. Tang Jing¡¯s heart tightened as he had already developed a guess. He would rather have this guess be wrong. However, the other party still slowly said the answer he didn¡¯t want to hear the most, ¡°That person, his name is Dong Jilan.¡± Of course, Tang Jing knew who this was. A few years ago, he was a carefree, rambunctious wanderer who didn¡¯t care about the affairs of the world. At that time, he was still laughing at Long Shen, Zong Ling, and others who had bound themselves. They had an endless life span and the ability to ascend to heaven, but they would rather put themselves in a cage and obey human law and be governed by humans. How suffocating. Later, he inadvertently encountered a big problem and ran into an extremely tricky enemy and almost lost his life. He didn¡¯t even manage to protect his original form. Fortunately, a man named Dong Jilan passed by and helped him. Tang Jing was grateful and didn¡¯t want to owe any favors, so he offered to repay him. Dong Jilan told him that he was about to leave the Special Administration Bureau to perform a secret mission. At that time, the Special Administration Bureau was short of manpower, so he wanted Tang Jing to help them instead of him. After five years, whether he returned or not, Tang Jing could leave on his own. Five years passed, then another five, year after year, but Dong Jilan never came back. Tang Jing got used to life at the Special Administration Bureau and gradually became accustomed to living under their rules, but he had never heard about Dong Jilan again. Many people who knew of him felt that this brisk and spontaneous man was probably sacrificed in a foreign country. Even last time, Long Shen and Song Zhicun wanted to exchange Fujikawa Aoi for hostages with Japan, they failed to get him back. But now, what Ming Xian said, there was a wisp of Dong Jilan¡¯s soul in his body. Tang Jing was silent for a long time, as if mourning a friend who could not return to his homeland. ¡°So, Dong Jilan is completely dead?¡± ¡°Yes. He is, after all, only human. I watched Otowa pour hot molten iron on him with my own eyes, torture him with all kinds of methods, just to stimulate his power to the extreme, then extract his soul. But he never begged for mercy from beginning to end.¡± ¡°In my spiritual wisdom, there are Japanese mountains and water, flowers and birds, and¡ª¡± He pointed to his heart, ¡°The soul of a Chinese.¡± Ming Xian smiled slightly, but there was a line of pain and helplessness at the corner of his mouth. ¡°I envy you very much, Tang Jing. You have the purity and freedom that I don¡¯t have. If I could, I don¡¯t want to be your enemy.¡± Tang Jing couldn¡¯t help but take a step forward. Ming Xian took a step back. ¡°You can change all this.¡± Tang Jing looked at him. ¡°It can¡¯t be changed,¡± Ming Xian said lightly. ¡°From the moment I took shape, everything has been predetermined and irreversible.¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°I¡¯ll help you. If I can¡¯t, Long Shen can. If Long Shen can¡¯t do it, there are many capable people in the Special Administration Bureau and even in China as a whole.¡± ¡°It¡¯s too late.¡± Ming Xian looked far away, with sorrow in his eyes. ¡°When I was about to take shape, in order to control me, Otowa Hatsuhiko incorporated his own blood into my body, refined me again, and took out a part that he kept with him. It¡¯s impossible for me to break away from his control.¡± That touch of sorrow passed extremely quickly, so quickly that Tang Jing thought it was just his own illusion. ¡°I approach you, but I remind you everywhere, providing you with clues. This is my gratitude to Dong Jilan. Without him, there would be no me today. I know that he never forgot his motherland and had a passion for the people here. I couldn¡¯t save him back then, and now I can only help you here. Otowa has also manipulated Cheng Yuan, but I think Director Long should have a way to deal with him.¡± Ming Xian finished speaking slowly, took off his suit jacket, rolled up his sleeves one by one, and exposed his slender, fair arms. He stared at Tang Jing and said, softly yet cruelly, ¡°Now, it¡¯s time for us to fight to the death.¡± ¡ª Long Shen quickly discovered that there was something else wrong with Cheng Yuan. It hadn¡¯t even been two years since Cheng Yuan was rejected from the Special Administration Bureau. Even if he made rapid progress during this time, he wouldn¡¯t be as strong to the point where he could match Long Shen¡ªeven if Long Shen hadn¡¯t used his best effort. His body had merged with demonic energy, and he could change his form as he pleased between fantasy and reality at will. Whenever Long Shen¡¯s sword was about to cut him, he would turn into demonic energy and dissipate, then regroup behind Long Shen. Taking advantage of his unpreparedness, he would counter-attack. With Cheng Yuan as the center of the circle, the surrounding air flow got bigger, surging like the gale before the tide. It was raging, wanting to completely destroy everything in the world. The debris in the house was swept up by the air flow and was swirling around him. From time to time, under Cheng Yuan¡¯s command, it would smash into Long Shen. Long Shen didn¡¯t parry it back. Using his sword, he cut the old refrigerator that was flying towards him in half. The refrigerator suddenly broke in half and fell to the side with a loud crash. If it weren¡¯t for the desolate surroundings, they would¡¯ve been discovered by others from the sound. ¡°I can¡¯t believe it. I¡¯m not a newcomer who can be flattened and rolled around by you anymore!¡± Cheng Yuan smiled grimly at Long Shen. His whole body was overflowing with black energy. The demonic energy suddenly soared several times, almost reaching the roof, then it surged towards Long Shen, trying to swallow him up. As far as he could see, all the light bulbs shattered with a bang, and the whole room was instantly surrounded by black air, as if the sun was covered and no light could pierce through. In the darkness, the wind howled as the black demonic energy swept towards Long Shen from all directions. Even the air couldn¡¯t help but moan and wail, and the dead trembled beneath the ground, unable to resist the powerful and demonic invasion. However, around Long Shen¡¯s body, a faint white light formed a layer of astral energy that the demonic energy couldn¡¯t penetrate. No matter what Cheng Yuan did, he couldn¡¯t break through. His bright red eyes narrowed. His five fingers, which were thin like withered claws, opened and closed as they released a few souls. These were objects that he once took their life and used to refine his soul. There were handsome boys, young girls with sad expressions, ignorant children, middle-aged women with angry faces, and a weasel whose fur was faintly visible. They were manipulated by Cheng Yuan and rushed towards Long Shen from all directions. They had already been refined and merged into part of the demonic energy. Now the remnant souls were just residues of demonic energy after being corrupted, but they still carry the grievances of their unjust death during their lifetime. The fierce and vicious spirit of resentment surrounded Long Shen, gnawing away at his astral energy. These resentful souls and demonic energy rushed up without hesitation, trying to bite off his flesh and eat his body. Long Shen stood still. It wasn¡¯t that he didn¡¯t want to move, but that his whole body was so tightly pressed by the demonic energy that he couldn¡¯t even take a step. However, even under such an overwhelming attack, the demonic energy couldn¡¯t advance. The two sides maintained a delicate and dangerous balance. Long Shen¡¯s gaze fell on the gray weasel. ¡°You were in Lucheng, colluding with Yamamoto Kiyoshi to kill people?¡± Cheng Yuan: ¡°I am one of Mr. Otowa¡¯s men. How could I cooperate with him! That idiot boasts that he has the support of Mara, so he was unscrupulous, treating Lucheng as his own territory and even almost exposed me! As everyone knows, his master is nothing more than an unformed demonic energy until now. How can he be comparable to Mr. Otowa!¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Your qualifications are good. Even if you can¡¯t pass the interview this year, you still have a chance next year. Even if you don¡¯t enter the Special Administration Bureau, it doesn¡¯t mean you have to cooperate with demons.¡± Cheng Yuan said angrily, ¡°You were born high and mighty, so of course you would say this kind of thing. Do you know how hard it is for me to live? I don¡¯t have a sect with a strong background or a master with deep connections. Even if I join the Special Administration Bureau, how many years will it take to sit in your position? It¡¯ll never be possible! But Li Ying, Liu Qingbo, and your apprentice¡ªhow long did it take them? I heard that Dong Zhi has already become the leader of the Lucheng office. It¡¯s no wonder it¡¯s easy to lean on the back of a big tree, while I, who¡¯s obviously more capable than Dong Zhi, can¡¯t even enter the entrance of the Special Administration Bureau just because I don¡¯t have a good master!¡± Long Shen¡¯s expression was faint in the dense demonic aura. ¡°Your dismissal has nothing to do with whether you have a good master or not. It¡¯s because you, as a psychic, walk between yin and yang, and those with uncertain minds are more likely to be affected and go astray. We originally planned not to let you pass the interview this time and observe you for a year. If you are good enough and willing to take the exam again, we would have admitted you next year and put you directly in charge of an office.¡± But obviously, Cheng Yuan didn¡¯t pass the test. Because he got rejected, he resented the Special Administration Bureau and turned to the demon camp. Greed, anger, madness, ignorance, and doubt, the five poisons of Buddhism were inherent in human nature. They were buried deep in the bones and blood and were difficult to eradicate, but some people could restrain and resolve them, while others let them spread and eventually become like Cheng Yuan. Cheng Yuan¡¯s expression changed. The greenish-black demonic energy corrupted his entire face hideously, but when he heard Long Shen¡¯s words, his complexion twitched slightly. The demonic energy subsided for a bit, and his normal complexion gradually surfaced. Regret and shock flashed across his face, but soon, the demonic energy that quickly extended from his neck to both cheeks occupied his face again, and the demonic energy became even denser than before. ¡°Why are you observing me! Why not observe the Dong Zhi and Li Ying?! Why do you have to treat me differently? Where can I not compare to them?! In the end, it¡¯s because you guys are biased!¡± Under his fury, the demonic energy rushed over, forming a high pressure on Long Shen, tightly oppressing his astral energy that covered his body. As long as his astral energy showed a little weakness, the demonic energy would immediately take advantage of the gap and enter, completely crushing his body! Long Shen said nothing more. In fact, he didn¡¯t even want to say what he just said, but he always saw things through. Since he didn¡¯t let Cheng Yuan pass the interview in the beginning, he should give the other party an answer today. He had been in the world for thousands of years, and he had also seen human nature for these thousands of years. Mortals rolled around the world and persisted for daily necessities, fame, and fortune all their lives. Human nature always showed a very different polarization in darkness and light. Just as in times of crisis, there were heroes who stood up and sacrificed themselves for others. There were also villains who were greedy for life and feared death and stabbed others in the back. They were also humans, and after death, their bodies turned into dust, and only their souls remained in the world. The souls of some were like the brilliance of stars. Although sometimes hidden, they never go out, shining in the long night with their faint light. Most of human nature in the mundane world was like time frozen at the moment before sunrise. The darkness was constant, and many people were like Cheng Yuan, thinking that the day was dark, so the world must be too. But there were also some people, even if the number was small, who were still willing to shine by themselves and become the enlightenment that led to the sunrise. They bravely step forward in order for others to see the magnificent mountains and rivers, dyeing the world with a touch of their warm light. Long Shen had been disappointed by the thinness of human nature only because he had seen too many betrayals and killings. But he had also seen those souls who weren¡¯t afraid of danger and walked in the wind and snow. All things under the heavens and the earth were born to be human, not to experience misery and pain but to use human spiritual wisdom to listen to the wind and rain, sing and write poems, feel joy and wonder, the pleasure of the world, and feel the emotions that only humans would have and pursue for life. And now, there was another person who called him Master; who was willing to work hard for him and be a better person. Even if Long Shen felt that he couldn¡¯t give what the other wanted, the other would never give up on himself as a result. The magic pressure increased a little, but the aura around Long Shen compressed a bit. Soon, there was only a thin layer left, which could be crushed at any time, making Long Shen not look as powerful and invincible as before. Cheng Yuan¡¯s fear of him gradually disappeared, replaced by contempt and ridicule. ¡°Now I don¡¯t need you to look at me differently! As long as Mr. Otowa is around, I¡¯ll have endless power to sway the rivers and seas around the world! Look at you, Long Shen. I can¡¯t forget the way you looked at me at that time. It was like looking at an ant that could be crushed at any time. But what about now? You¡¯re now at my mercy!¡± With Cheng Yuan¡¯s crazy words, the demon pressure on Long Shen¡¯s body became heavier. Long Shen could almost hear the arrogant and crazy clamor of the demonic energy. If there was even a single break, the demonic energy would get in immediately¡­ A demon-surging shadow loomed behind Cheng Yuan. Through the heavy darkness and mist, Long Shen confronted those eyes. He saw an old man sitting in a room surrounded by an endless void. After the void, after the galaxy, there was an endless sea of blood. As far as he could see, the thick blood spread out, and the sickening smell of rust lingered. There was killing, hatred, and betrayal everywhere. Humans use the most cruel and vicious methods to kill each other. Heads and limbs were floating in the sea of blood as a demon hid at the edge of the darkness with a hideous smile. A round red full moon slowly rose at the end of the darkness. The abyss was connected to the sea of blood. The demon opened its bloody mouth and devoured the limbs in the sea of blood one by one. The wailing and crying were endless, and the voices were full of despair, sharp and tragic, piercing through the heavy void, through the chaotic time, straight into the heart. Long Shen! The old man opened his mouth slightly. His voice was like a mosquito, but it was like a heavy hammer, hitting Long Shen¡¯s eardrum heavily. Boss Long! That may be from Song Zhicun, or perhaps from someone in the Special Administration Bureau. It overlapped heavily, making it sound familiar yet unfamiliar. Boss! That was He Yu¡¯s voice, and also Kan Chaosheng¡¯s and Zhong Yuyi¡¯s. Long Shen once led them through life and death countless times, turning danger into safety, but now they were also sinking into the sea of blood, unable to save themselves and could only look at him from afar, full of pain and despair. Master! There was another person whose face was blurred, and he couldn¡¯t see clearly, but he would never forget that voice. Only that voice passed through the layers of demonic barriers, mountains of corpses and the sea of blood, out from the red moon that covered the world, and from the wreckage everywhere, so that he would never mistake it. But it was like the top of Mount Tai was pressing directly on his heart and crushing it, along with his last layer of astral energy. Long Shen shook slightly, and the corners of his mouth overflowed with bright red. The author has something to say: Dong Zhi said, ¡°You¡¯re the flower in my heart. You show me the wings of the sun and lead me to a magnificent world. You are the guide in the dark, and you¡¯re the most respected Master and my favorite person.¡± P.S. The word ¡°Qianqiu¡± in the Qianqiu Panlong Mirror refers to the mirror given by the emperor. During the first year of Emperor Xuanzong¡¯s reign, the Tang Dynasty ushered in the peak of prosperity in the world. The ministers proposed that Tang Xuanzong¡¯s birthday be used as the Qianqiu festival. During the festival, the mirror will be given to Princess Yuzhen by Tang Xuanzong. I hereby explain it so that everyone won¡¯t misunderstand that Qianqiu is the name of the mirror. Kinky Thoughts: To answers some questions since there hasn¡¯t been a release in a while, I have not dropped Bu Tian Gang. I¡¯ve been fixing my translations in previous chapters before I planned to release more, which took some time to do. Unfortunately, I recently contracted COVID, so I¡¯ve been recovering from that. Thankfully I am on the mend, but releases will be slower until I fully recover. Speaking of Thousand Autumns, congratulations to Meng Xi Shi. Her novel has been licensed by Seven Seas. I¡¯ve heard good things about this novel so do support her and buy it when it¡¯s released CH 101 It seemed like Long Shen wouldn¡¯t be able to hold on for much longer. The sword light in his hand suddenly dimmed, and the demonic energy caught a glimpse of the crack and immediately jumped into the sword light involuntarily. It quickly wrapped around the sword¡¯s body, moving upwards until it reached his wrists, then arms, shoulders, and neck until it covered Long Shen¡¯s entire body. Seeing this, Cheng Yuan laughed wildly as he waved his arms. All the demonic energy gathered in an instant, trying desperately to devour his prey. As a result, the dark shadow behind Cheng Yuan¡¯s figure sored and his face became clearer. Just when Cheng Yuan was sure of his victory, he saw that in the black energy, a white light suddenly emerged. Although it was only a little, the brightness was almost comparable to the stars. It was so dazzling that he was unable to look at it directly. Cheng Yuan couldn¡¯t help but blink. And it was in this blink of an eye that the white light skyrocketed, rapidly spreading from one point as it broke through the blanket of dense demonic energy heading straight for Cheng Yuan! Cheng Yuan only felt the murderous aura that was like the surging tide, irresistible, and he couldn¡¯t help but take a step back. However, wherever the white light went, the demonic energy was crushed and scattered, turning into dust! Within this half second, Cheng Yuan didn¡¯t have the time to react. He suddenly understood that Long Shen had deliberately shown weakness just now to actually deceive him! When this thought came to his mind, the white light had already reached his eyes. Cheng Yuan only felt a pain in his body. Within sight, he watched as his body was split by the white light before the demonic energy scattered into the air. Long Shen was so powerful that he was no match for such an opponent! This was the last thought he had in the last moment of his life before his eyes went black and all his consciousness faded away. His soul had long been swallowed and fused with the demonic energy, and now that it had been wiped out by the white light, everything had returned back to square one. Cheng Yuan¡¯s ambitions and desires were nothing more than a dream of seeing flowers in the mist*. *(ÎíÀï¿´»¨) Idiom originally used to refer to blurred vision and poor eyesight can also mean incomprehensible. It comes from Tandoori Fu¡¯s poem ¡°Small Cold Food Boat¡±. || In this context, it basically means Cheng Yuan¡¯s ambitions are nothing more than a pipe dream. However, Long Shen hadn¡¯t stopped yet. Crossing the ruins of chaotic time, taking advantage of the demonic energy created by the enemy to confuse him, the sword light broke through the limitations of space, then from here to there, from now to then, like a roar from the king of beasts that would make demons from the dark corners prostrate and tremble. The powerful pressure didn¡¯t stop for anyone. It fanned out its gorgeous and brilliant tail feathers across the starry sky and annihilated the corpse mountain and the sea of blood and pounced on the ultimate initiator of darkness! At the end of the void, the old man in the room suddenly opened his eyes. The white light suddenly came, piercing through the center of his brows with full might, forcing all the darkness back outside the realm. The shadows dispersed while the demonic energy wailed and moaned, as if the end was coming. The old man¡¯s face looked hideous as he forced out the white light inch by inch. ¡°Long Shen!¡± he yelled as his demonic energy condensed before bouncing the white light back fiercely! Long Shen, on his side of time and space, took two steps back. But the white light turned into flames for a moment before it returned and exploded, wrapping the old man in flames, like a red lotus on fire, burning all the evil in the world. ¡°My doppelganger!¡± The wailing penetrated from the other side of the void and echoed repeatedly in the room in the lingering aftermath. There was only a pile of ashes left where Cheng Yuan was standing. Those souls whom he had killed disappeared with him, leaving no traces behind. However, for them, this was actually a kind of liberation. ¡ª Ming Xian was the incarnation of a zither, and his weapon was also the zither¡¯s strings. His silk string was comparable to that of a sharp knife that could cut a human as if they were a leek. Last time, he only used it to bind Dong Zhi, being merciful and gentle; but now, when using it against Tang Jing, it was ruthless and cruel, leaving no room for error. The silk string shot into the center of Tang Jing¡¯s forehead like a sharp arrow. Tang Jing dodged. His hand rose and fell, and the silk string was disconnected in an instant. However, in the next moment, two more silk strings arrived within the blink of an eye. One left and one right shot at his shoulders. Tang Jing raised both hands and cut them off decisively while his figure leapt up. He spread his arms like wings and pounced on Ming Xian while slashing his hand that held golden light at his opponent. He almost hit the head but missed and only cut a few strands of hair. Almost at the same time, the silk string penetrated his shoulder blade and then quickly retracted, bringing out a string of blood beads. Tang Jing frowned at the pain. ¡°This is your true strength? Tangtang, this is such a great letdown.¡± Ming Xian used the gentlest tone, but his words sounded unfeeling. ¡°If you show me any more mercy, you will have no bones left.¡± As soon as his voice fell, several silk strings shot sharply from all directions, blocking Tang Jing¡¯s room to fight back and his way to retreat. Ming Xian showed no mercy and directly hit Tang Jing¡¯s key points. Tang Jing¡¯s brows sank. He didn¡¯t retreat. His body fluttered, passing through the silk string formation, going straight for Ming Xian¡¯s neck. Ming Xian didn¡¯t expect that when Tang Jing got truly serious, his attack would be useless against him. He couldn¡¯t help frowning slightly, withdrawing the silk string, and flashing back. However, his opponent¡¯s speed was too fast. As soon as his hands moved, Tang Jing¡¯s hand had already caught his neck. A sharp pain came from his neck immediately. Ming Xian flew back as Tang Jing¡¯s five fingers fell on his shoulder instead, directly tearing off the shirt there and the flesh underneath. The blood quickly dyed the white shirt red and dampened his entire shoulder. Rather than being angry, Ming Xian smiled. It seemed he didn¡¯t need the silk strings anymore. The two of them could just get at it with their bare hands. Although they were empty-handed, the two of them were human-shaped killing machines. They fought with astral energy, and the fight was naturally fierce. Ming Xian was a bit inattentive, and his ribs were scratched. The flesh from the wound was pulled out, revealing the bones underneath. Of course, Tang Jing didn¡¯t fare much better. One of his arms was kicked by Ming Xian and was no longer usable, most likely broken. He turned his head and spat out a mouthful of blood, then flew up to kick Ming Xian¡¯s chest and abdomen. Ming Xian dodged, reached out and grabbed his ankle, then punched his chest with the other hand. Tang Jing spun around and broke away through the trees as Ming Xian¡¯s palm connected to the tree behind him instead. With a bang, the tree broke apart and fell before shattering into powder that fluttered everywhere. If Tang Jing reacted a little slower, he would be like that tree at this moment. He believed that Ming Xian was really going to kill him. The two of them were murderous, but there was an indescribable beauty between them, as if this wasn¡¯t a life-or-death duel, but just sparring practice. However, only when you were in the middle of it could you feel the air currents that were circling around them. Wherever they went, the human-person-high grass was cut uniformly to the base of their roots. The strong affection between the two of them in bed before was gone. Today, Tang Jing and Ming Xian were enemies of two different camps. They had no room for compromise or reconciliation. Even if they had an unforgettable love, the two would never be merciful to each other. What was more, they hadn¡¯t. Tang Jing knew that the silly pure sweetness that Ming Xian had shown in front of him was fake. The real Ming Xian was a highly poisonous rose that killed without even blinking. At the moment of life and death, Tang Jing couldn¡¯t help but think, if they weren¡¯t harboring ghosts*, didn¡¯t meet purposefully, and went back in time and got to know each other again, would the results be different? *Metaphor referring to two people who are together, but the relationship isn¡¯t in harmony because they each have different plans in their hearts. But time didn¡¯t go back, and everything was on the established track. Ming Xian shot fiercely, all of them aimed at Tang Jing¡¯s vitals. His cheeks were splashed with beads of blood, which made his original beautiful features more bewitching, like the reincarnation of Asura*. In his eyes, Tang Jing was no longer a living being but something that was dead and was about to wither. *A demigod or titan of Kamadhhatu. They are described as having three heads with three faces each and either four or six arms. They were both instrumental spirits, and each knew each other¡¯s weaknesses best. They were far stronger than ordinary people, but their bodies weren¡¯t invincible. Tang Jing was transformed from a mirror that had gold and stone for his body, but since he had become human, naturally he obtained the characteristics of a human, like internal organs, a head, and a neck; these were all fatal. A starless and moonless night. Inside the house, Long Shen was passing through Cheng Yuan and was fighting with Otowa Hatsuhiko thousands of miles away. Outside the house, wherever Ming Xian and Tang Jing went, grass flew everywhere, getting caught in a cyclone that was spinning madly. The wind was fluttering, dark clouds covered the sky, and the streetlights not far away flickered a few times, one after another, announcing the end of life. Once Tang Jing was focused and left no room for errors, Ming Xian began to feel the strain. He was punched several times in the chest. Most likely, the impact had broken a few of his ribs and caused internal injuries to his organs, but these injuries weren¡¯t fatal. The most terrible thing was that he was just kicked in the head by Tang Jing. An ordinary person would¡¯ve died a long time ago, but Ming Xian was still able to jump up and ignore the dizziness as he continued to attack Tang Jing like a storm. Tang Jing wasn¡¯t in better shape either. One of his arms was dislocated and broken, but he continued to fight Ming Xian in an awkward posture. His neck, which once laid on the bed as they were tossing in the rain, was now being crushed by Ming Xian. A large piece of flesh was torn off that revealed the white bones underneath. Blood gushed out, covering his clothes that no longer looked like their original color. He looked just as wretched as Ming Xian. But even with just one hand, it was comparable to that of a sword. If not stopped, he could cut gold and jade with just one shot. As a result, the ground around them had countless holes and was a complete mess. However, this fierce battle would eventually come to an end. Ming Xian¡¯s long legs flew up, right in the middle of Tang Jing¡¯s abdomen causing him to instantly spat out a mouthful of blood. He turned around and fell to the ground. However, just the second before he was kicked, he plunged his hand through Ming Xian¡¯s chest, leaving five blood holes. Instead of pausing, Ming Xian took advantage of Tang Jing¡¯s fall and flew up. Then, with all the silk strings in his hand, he directly pointed them at his opponent¡¯s head. The transparent and colorless silk string was cut off by a golden light halfway. Before Ming Xian had time to react, the golden light had already reached his eyes. He only felt a dull pain in his chest. A fishy sweetness surged in his throat, and he couldn¡¯t help but spit it out. The soil next to him was stained with blood, flowing along the veins of the land, deep into the roots of the grass. Ming Xian touched his heart, which was now a big hole, from the front to the back. An ordinary human would¡¯ve died by now, but he was still breathing weakly as he lay on the ground. Once, when he was just transformed, he thought he wouldn¡¯t die, but it turned out that he was wrong. He could still feel pain and was on the verge of death due to excessive blood loss and heavy injuries. There was a large swath of darkness in front of him as blood flowed from his forehead, slid across the corners of his eyes, and blurred his vision. Ming Xian didn¡¯t even have the strength to wipe it away. A figure seemed to be stumbling towards him. Ming Xian had completely lost his strength and fighting spirit and no longer wanted to move. He heard that humans always saw a flash of their deepest memory of their life before passing, but Ming Xian found that his mind was now blank. He didn¡¯t even think about anything. On the contrary, he felt that it was good to be able to lie down quietly like this all the time. It was just like before he had yet to cultivate his body. As a zither, he stayed in one place quietly, with no one to disturb him, and allowed the time to leisurely fly by. He couldn¡¯t help sighing softly. He wasn¡¯t sad, but relieved. Holding up the back of his head with one hand, Ming Xian actually couldn¡¯t see much anymore, but still smiled at the other slightly. ¡°Will you be sad when I die?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He heard Tang Jing reply like this. ¡°Because I am your kind?¡± Ming Xian asked again. Tang Jing swallowed the blood churning in his throat and gently wiped the blood from the corners of his eyes for the other party. ¡°No, because I found out that I seem to like you a little.¡± Ming Xian laughed. ¡°You already said this sentence in the park last time. Has Mr. Tang lost his memory?¡± Tang Jing: ¡°My liking is a little deeper than at that time.¡± Ming Xian: ¡°Only a little?¡± Tang Jing: ¡°More than a little.¡± Ming Xian smiled. ¡°There is one more thing.¡± He couldn¡¯t see, so he simply closed his eyes to save some effort. ¡°The stone tablet is part of an ancient demon suppression array. It¡¯s suppressing a great demon from ancient times. Its power is far above that of all other demons. Once the array is broken, the great demon will be resurrected. It¡¯ll reverse yin and yang, overturn the rivers and seas, plunge the stars into disarray, and bring disaster upon the entire world. Regarding the array, when the Tang envoys were sent back to the country, they also took away some files that recorded the matter. Later, China went through many dynasty changes and most of the classics were damaged and scattered, but no matter how the war broke out in Japan, the royal family had always been the same for all ages, so those classics collected in the palace have been preserved. Otowa is doing everything possible to send people to China to destroy the stone tablets that originated from this.¡± Ming Xian spoke lightly in a whisper. If it weren¡¯t for the situation between the two of them now, it was like he was telling a tale or legend to a classroom in a pleasant and soothing voice. In fact, there had been much speculation about this matter within the Special Administration Bureau, which was roughly the same as what Ming Xian said, but Tang Jing didn¡¯t interrupt the other party. He just held him in his arms and listened to him quietly. Ming Xian continued, ¡°I know that you are also looking for the stone tablets now, racing against time against Otowa¡¯s men, but you¡¯re going in the wrong direction.¡± He coughed a few times as blood foam overflowed from his mouth. Tang Jing raised him a little higher so the other party could be more comfortable, and tried to inject his own vitality into Ming Xian, hoping to save his life, but the other party stopped him. Tang Jing¡¯s actions were to no avail, and Ming Xian didn¡¯t need it either. He said slowly, ¡°The stone tablet is on the dragon vein.¡± Tang Jing was slightly shocked. The dragon veins were not feng shui specially designed to produce the emperor¡¯s geomantic omen. In the vast land of China, mountains and rivers were everywhere, and naturally, there were countless dragon veins that hid wind and gathered water. For example, the Kunlun Mountains were considered by all feng shui masters from ancient times to the present as the ancestors of all mountains and the source of the dragon veins. In addition to the Kunlun Mountains, there were numerous large and small dragon vein branches. The recognized ancient capital of the ten dynasties was also where the dragon veins were located. Changbai Mountain was also a dragon vein in the northeast, and Mount Helan was also considered a small dragon vein, nourished by dragon energy from the Western Xia dynasty. Ming Xian said, ¡°Not all dragon veins will have stone tablets. I heard Otowa say that there are only eight of them.¡± Previously, based on the stone tablets that had been unearthed, the Special Administration Bureau speculated that the stone tablets might be located on famous monuments. Now it seemed that this kind of speculation wasn¡¯t even close but was a thousand miles away. Tang Jing immediately thought of one thing. ¡°Is there a stone tablet in Shencheng?¡± Otherwise, Otowa Hatsuhiko wouldn¡¯t go to great lengths here. Ming Xian: ¡°Yes, under Lake Wangyue. There¡¯s a tunnel leading to Lake Dianshan, and under that there¡¯s a water channel leading to a river. The stone tablet is there. It¡¯s guarded by a strange beast. Cheng Yuan¡­ Wanted to break the seal and let the beast destroy the stone tablet.¡± Tang Jing frowned tightly. ¡°Do you know the specific location of the remaining stone tablets?¡± Ming Xian shook his head with difficulty. ¡°Otowa is also vigilant against me. He doesn¡¯t trust anyone, so that¡¯s all I know, but I suspect he may not know where they are. Otherwise, the array would¡¯ve been broken a long time ago.¡± Otowa Hatsuhiko. This person had frequently appeared in their sights since the beginning of the bone dragon incident on Changbai Mountain. In front of the public, he was a successful entrepreneur. The Otowa Consortium was very important to the Japanese industry and had deep connections in both their political and economic circles. After the Changbai Mountain incident, Otowa Hatsuhiko entered the sights of the Special Administration Bureau. It wasn¡¯t that they hadn¡¯t investigated him, but Otowa had taken precautions. Not only was their investigation blocked, but the Special Administration Bureau also found that the power of this person was beyond their original imagination. Tang Jing frowned. ¡°Otowa Hatsuhiko is a demon?¡± Ming Xian smiled mockingly. ¡°He¡¯s different from an Archfiend. An Archfiend is originally a demon that only disguises itself in human skin, while Otowa was originally human, but because of desire, he willingly turned himself into a demon. His current identity is a disguise after changing his name¡­¡± He lost too much blood, and his body was gradually dissipating heat, causing his words to be broken. Tang Jing found that the vitality he had injected into the other party¡¯s body had fallen into the sea and was completely ineffective. He couldn¡¯t help but feel heavy in his heart. Ming Xian gasped for a while and barely managed to say, ¡°His original name¡­ is¡­ Asaka Hatsuhiko.¡± At the end, it was difficult to continue. He coughed violently, spilling blood from his mouth, nose, eyes, and ears, then his eyes began to relax. Tang Jing tightened his arms, put Ming Xian in place, and closed his eyes. For the first time, he felt he wanted to work hard to do one thing, but there was nothing he could do. ¡°If artifact spirits also have a next life, I hope to be like you. Not to travel far away, not to be refined into a killing tool. I hope if we can meet again, we will have a good start, not like now¡­¡± There was a faint smile floating on Ming Xian¡¯s face, and he looked a little dazed. His consciousness had gradually separated from his body and flowed into an unknown distance. ¡°Goodbye, Tangtang.¡± His hand slowly drooped, falling to the ground that had been discolored with blood. Tang Jing watched the person in his arms gradually become transparent, turning into a spot of light for a moment, then scattering in the air like a stream of fireflies¡­ Leaving no traces behind. Just like between them. It was over before it even began. Tang Jing didn¡¯t move for a while. He thought it was blood, but when he reached out and touched it, it was a transparent wet mark. Thousands of miles away, within the Ise Shrine, an old man suddenly turned pale and vomited a large mouthful of blood. ¡°Mr. Otowa, are you okay?¡± The boy serving beside him was so panicked that he quickly reached out to help him, but immediately, the boy¡¯s eyes widened, and his life ended in a moment of disbelief. The old man drew his five fingers from the boy¡¯s chest and held a beating heart in his hand. He swallowed the heart in a few bites and then rang the bell to call for someone to drag the boy¡¯s body away. The black-clothed attendants had long been accustomed to seeing this, as they showed no surprise or change in their faces. They came in silence and left in silence. There was a trail of blood on the floor, but someone would soon come clean up and restore everything to its original state. The old man, who had eaten a fresh heart, seemed to feel better, but it was only for a little while. His heart was still restless, and he felt unbearable, surging with the desire to kill and see blood. His manic mood forced him to get up and walk back and forth, but he still had the urge to destroy everyone and everything that was in front of him. ¡°Your Excellency, Your Excellency!¡± Another boy ran in from the outside, looking dazed, but when he saw blood on the ground, his voice stopped abruptly. The old man wasn¡¯t tall, he even looked a bit rickety and thin, but he was full of oppression. Under the forced gaze and his bloodshot eyes, the boy¡¯s legs went soft, and he fell to his knees. ¡°¡­Your Excellency, something has happened to the gold and silver pingwen zither.¡± ¡°What happened?¡± The boy trembled and couldn¡¯t speak. Otowa Hatsuhiko originally wanted to eat his heart to replenish his vitality, but when he heard his report, he changed his mind. ¡°Take me to see it.¡± He followed the boy through the ancient corridors and courtyards and came to a room. The view suddenly darkened. In modern society, it was almost like traveling through time and space. There were no electric lights, and only a few candles were faintly shining in the corners. The boy knelt down at the door and didn¡¯t dare to come in and said, in a trembling voice, ¡°I came to clean just now. As usual, I wanted to wipe the zither, but I found that it had already¡­¡± The zither that was originally placed on the long table had all its strings broken, and its body was cracked by a deep mark from the eye of the string to the dragon pond. It was split in half and was broken beyond repair. Otowa Hatsuhiko never lets anyone into this room. Only a boy with his permission could come in every day to clean the area and wipe down the zither. He knew what a cruel and bloodthirsty person his master was, so he was too scared to say a word. He couldn¡¯t figure out why a good zither, which no one had touched, suddenly broke. Otowa Hatsuhiko walked over and stroked the scarred zither with his wrinkled hand. The haze in his eyes was so strong that it almost overflowed. ¡°Do you think you can escape the palm of my hand by destroying yourself like this?¡± A cold laugh echoed lowly in the room. The swaying candles seemed to be infected as they became fainter and dimmer. ¡°Prepare the car, I¡¯m going out,¡± he whispered. No one responded. Otowa Hatsuhiko turned his head and found the boy kneeling on the ground motionless. He walked over, raised his foot, and pushed the boy over. The boy had fallen down in response; his pupils dilating and his mouth slightly agape. He was actually scared to death. Otowa Hatsuhiko glanced at him in disgust, walked out, and asked someone to drag the dead away. An attendant stepped forward and said, respectfully and carefully, ¡°What are your orders?¡± Otowa Hatsuhiko: ¡°Prepare the car and private jet. I¡¯m going to Nara.¡± The attendant responded and asked again, ¡°What can I prepare for you here?¡± Otowa Hatsuhiko glanced back. ¡°Take the zither and have Sh¨­s¨­-in prepare it. I want a replica of the gold and silver pingwen zither.¡± ¡ª In a humid cave, Dong Zhi and his companions were faced with a dilemma of advancing or retreating. A monster suddenly jumped out of the water, dragging the clanging chain, and suddenly rushed towards Dong Zhi! It suddenly flashed into view that was a stone¡¯s throw away that Dong Zhi was able to finally see the appearance of the behemoth. An ape-like creature with eyes that shined like gold and its body was covered with fur that opened like a halberd. It was clearly big, but it moved swifter than any animal. Dong Zhi was about to draw out his talisman when his back collar was pulled fiercely back by Huo Jing. The distance between Dong Zhi and the monster was too close just now. Huo Jing thought he was frightened and unprepared, so he pulled him away. In a flash, Liu Qingbo came to his senses and raised his sword to greet it. Huo Jing followed closely behind. The two fought against the monster as a pair. They flew about for some time, hitting against the wall and sometimes in the water, stirring up unrest and ripples that pattered against the stone wall above the top of their heads. Within a few seconds, the scene devolved into chaos as the stone wall above their heads was slashed by sword energy. Debris fell one after another while the monster slapped its hands on the ground, causing the cave to shake. Dong Zhi took a closer look, only to find that the other end of the chain turned out to be locked on the monster. It passed through one side of its lute bone and out the other, firmly tying the monster to it. The other end of the chain extended directly into the cave behind them, into an unknown darkness. Kinky Thoughts: The side CP already went offline?! So fast. Is this the end of Ming Xian? CH 102 Earlier, Ming Xian said that Jian Lang¡¯s death wasn¡¯t his doing. Could it be that this monster did it? But what about the soul eaters? At this time, the three of them didn¡¯t know that Long Shen and Tang Jing were rushing to the suburbs and would be entangled in a dangerous match with Ming Xian and Cheng Yuan. During the few seconds of watching the battle unfold, Dong Zhi caught sight of something strange. The iron chain was rusty, signaling it had been around for quite a long time. It definitely wasn¡¯t something made in modern times, and this monster didn¡¯t seem as if it had been locked up recently either. Last time Tang Jing said that a water monkey was exorcized under Lake Wangyue. This monster in front of him looked ferocious and had a heavy murderous aura, so it would be impossible for the Special Administration Bureau not to notice. Either it appeared in the waters of Lake Wangyue after Tang Jing had cleaned it up, or it wasn¡¯t what killed Jiang Lang. However, Dong Zhi quickly overturned the latter guess because as soon as the monster saw the three of them, its murderous aura was inherent in its face, treating Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie as its mortal prey. Its facial features were faintly dyed blue and black, and its entire body was covered with golden hair. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was due to it soaking in the water for so long that it also began to turn black in large areas. Was this¡­ a sign of being corrupted by demonic energy? The monster was extremely powerful. With one scratch, it left deep marks on stone, not to mention what would happen if it connected to the flesh of Liu Qingbo or Huo Jie. What was even more terrifying was that the monster had such strength, but its speed remained fast, leaving Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie stunned. They were overwhelmed, panting, and many wounds covered their bodies quickly. He couldn¡¯t tell whether it was sweat or water sliding down from his forehead, and his vision was starting to blur. Liu Qingbo wiped his face while the monster was in the air for half a second, but suddenly found that it had turned to Dong Zhi and was rushing towards him with a snarl! ¡°Dong Zhi, what the hell are you doing?!¡± His usual stoic face was broken as he immediately cursed. Seeing Liu Qingbo suddenly acting abnormally and scolding him, and Huo Jie looking exhausted and having lost his fighting power, Dong Zhi felt something was wrong and immediately took out two talismans from the waterproof bag and held them in one hand. Using his other hand, he pulled Liu Qingbo¡¯s ankle down as the monster pounced towards him and quickly sacrificed the two talismans. One of them was the pure-heart talisman, which he directly stuffed into Liu Qingbo¡¯s mouth while flicking the other towards the yingtang point between the monster¡¯s brows. ¡°Awaken!¡± The other was the sunlight talisman. The target was, naturally, the monster. He recited the mantra silently with his mouth. The monster¡¯s brows suddenly burst into flames from the sunlight talisman, causing it to wail. It slammed its big hands towards Dong Zhi, who jumped away quickly. In order to pull Liu Qingbo away, Dong Zhi had to take a hit. At that moment, he only felt pain coming from his arm. Most likely, it cracked his bone and caused a fracture. Dong Zhi grimaced with pain. However, he didn¡¯t care about anything else. He took out another pure-heart talisman and pinched it between his fingers, and then did the same thing to Huo Jie. The two of them, whose mouths had been stuffed with talisman paper, had their cheeks bulging. Their expressions were like they were waking up from a dream. At this time, the monster slammed into the stone wall. It still remembered that it was burned by the sacred fire from Dong Zhi and rushed over again. Its eyes were golden and fierce, and its only focus was aimed at Dong Zhi. If its anger could be turned into substance, Dong Zhi would¡¯ve been torn to pieces by just that alone! At that moment, Dong Zhi also discovered that the monster wasn¡¯t without weaknesses. It was afraid of fire! Without saying a word, he pinched one hand while holding a talisman in the other. The talisman turned into a fireball and swept towards the monster. The monster let out a scream and avoided it, looking as if it was full of fear and hatred. Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie also recovered from their trance hallucinations. Seeing Dong Zhi¡¯s situation, there was no need to say more as they already understood the situation and immediately split towards two ends, one left and one right, and rushed to attack the monster. Contrary to the scene before, of being chased and beaten as if they were a punching bag, with the containment of the sunlight talisman, Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie immediately turned against the monster and started chasing it around the cave. They learned from their experience and specifically targeted the key points of the monster. While Liu Qingbo had the magic Yinxiu Sword and Huo Jie¡¯s fleshy palms weren¡¯t inferior either, the monster¡¯s body was as hard as steel. It was hit repeatedly by strikes on its chest, stomach, lower body, and back, causing it to howl in despair. The light and shadow in the cave became chaotic as three figures flashed around like wind. Seeing that the sunlight talismans were growing fewer, Dong Zhi urged the other two to hurry things up. The monster seemed to understand sporadic human words. Just when Dong Zhi threw the last sunlight talisman, it broke through Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword aura and Huo Jie¡¯s attacks. The body that was like Mount Tai fell from the sky and was crashing straight towards Dong Zhi. Unexpectedly, the enemy that it thought could only ¡°throw fire¡± suddenly pulled out a long sword from behind him. His body leaped through the raised edges and corners of the stone beside him and flashed towards it. The light from the sword was so dazzling that the monster had to close its eyes, giving Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie the opportunity to fly behind it. The Yinxiu Sword pierced the monster¡¯s ear while Huo Jie slammed his palm directly on the other side of the monster¡¯s head. The monster avoided Dong Zhi¡¯s sword but couldn¡¯t dodge Liu Qingbo¡¯s and Huo Jie¡¯s attack. Blood spurted out as the monster rolled frantically around the cave, setting off a monstrous wave in the deep pool. Dong Zhi shouted ¡°go¡± and then ran into the cave with Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie. The three of them ran at full speed in the cave for half an hour before gradually leaving behind the roars of the monster. Out of breath, they couldn¡¯t run any longer and leaned against the wall and bent over, gasping for air. Liu Qingbo spit out the talisman in his mouth and breathlessly said, ¡°That thing looks like an ape. Is it a water monkey?¡± Huo Jie shook his head and panted, ¡°No. We killed a water monkey, and it didn¡¯t look like that!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I heard that the girl who witnessed Jiang Lang¡¯s death said that she saw Jiang Lang talking and smiling into the air, calling the name of the girl he had a crush on, and holding the monster¡¯s hand in the water. When you fought against that monster just now, you were almost hypnotized by its illusion. It seems that the murderer of Jiang Lang should be it.¡± Huo Jie was puzzled. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t make sense. Look at this iron chain. This monster has been underwater for a long time. Why were there no accidents two years ago? Did it kill people in other waters before?¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°If you can¡¯t figure it out, don¡¯t think about it. Anyway, we have to find a way forward. Let¡¯s see where this iron chain is connected. That thing has a special grudge. We just hurt it, so it¡¯ll certainly bear a grudge against us. Maybe it¡¯ll try to catch up later.¡± He then asked Dong Zhi, ¡°How many talismans are left?¡± In order to make it easy to get into the water, Dong Zhi brought a portable waterproof small bag wrapped around his waist. There weren¡¯t many things he could carry. He reached in and all he took out were a few heat pads. Liu Qingbo, Huo Jie: ¡­¡­ ¡°You didn¡¯t make room for a few more talismans but instead brought useless things!¡± The veins in Liu Qingbo¡¯s head were pulsating, and he couldn¡¯t restrain his temper. He really couldn¡¯t give his boss face in front of outsiders. Dong Zhi said innocently, ¡°I brought all the talismans with me. They were all used up just now. Do you want a heat pad? One for each person, just to lighten my burden.¡± The corners of Huo Jie¡¯s mouth twitched, but he still shamelessly asked for one and put it on the clothes outside his stomach. Liu Qingbo watched on in disgust. Dong Zhi said, ¡°That monster is extremely afraid of fire, but this is under a lake, so the environment is very humid. Even if my sunlight talismans weren¡¯t used up, it¡¯s pointless to rely on a little talisman fire alone. Let¡¯s find a way while walking.¡± The three of them took a break, then continued to follow the source of the chain and moved forward. However, the longer they walked, the more they became frightened. Huo Jie was silently calculating the time and distance while they were walking. A practitioner¡¯s feet were fast and they had walked for more than an hour, yet there was no end to the cave in sight and the iron chain was always there. If the cave was formed naturally, such a long iron chain was completely beyond their imagination. Every step forward only led to more questions. In order to save energy on their way, they didn¡¯t speak. Except for footsteps and breathing, there were only occasional water droplets that sounded in the cave, so when the sound of the iron chain pulling on the ground came, everyone¡¯s nerves became tense. ¡°The monster is catching up!¡± Liu Qingbo said. Huo Jie¡¯s tone was even more rushed. ¡°Go, go!¡± Needless to say, everyone accelerated their steps. As the movement of the chain became louder, they all started to run. The strength of that monster was too great. A pair of sharp claws was enough to cut off any hard thing in the world, so it would be a cinch to kill them. Although they were lucky enough to hurt it just now, they weren¡¯t sure if they would succeed a second time. The monster¡¯s figure was extremely fast. They had been advancing for more than an hour, but it had caught up to them within a few minutes. A strong wind came from behind, and with it a pungent smell and a murderous aura. It swept towards them and made a huge sound of wailing that echoed through the cave! They were forced to turn around to meet the enemy. The three faced the monster head-on. When Hua Jie was studying martial arts under his teacher, his palms were tempered in ice, snow, and iron sand so that they could even shatter stones, but under the fury of the monster, he actually felt great pain when his hand came into contact with the monster. He fell back and hit his head on a stone, causing it to break out and bleed. With this new injury combined with his old, he could no longer get up. The monster roared. Its right paw grabbed the sword in Liu Qingbo¡¯s hand directly. The sword¡¯s light wrapped around its hairy fist, but the monster¡¯s eyes were focused on Dong Zhi. Its left paw swiped indiscriminately while it bared its thick fangs as if it couldn¡¯t wait to bite off Dong Zhi¡¯s head. It was obvious its hatred was directed towards Dong Zhi. Except for the vitals of the monster¡¯s body, nothing could penetrate it. The Yinxiu Sword and the Changshou Sword were ineffective. The Changshou Sword was grappled by the monster¡¯s paw, and he couldn¡¯t escape. Dong Zhi could only watch as the other side¡¯s huge head rushed towards him like a flash of lightning, breathing out a fishy smell and eager to swallow its prey. At a critical moment, inspiration struck Dong Zhi. He took out a handful of things from his pocket and threw them into the monster¡¯s wide-open mouth. The monster let out a roar and backed away. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo took the opportunity to grab Huo Jie on either side and ran. The monster covered its mouth and wailed, then turned around and ran in the opposite direction. The three of them were finally able to catch their breath. Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What did you throw into its mouth?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Heating pads!¡± Liu Qingbo: ??? He thought Dong Zhi was pulling his leg but Dong Zhi took the initiative to solve his puzzlement. ¡°Aren¡¯t the heating pads packed with materials such as iron and activated carbon? It¡¯ll automatically oxidize when it encounters air to produce heat energy. The monster is probably afraid of fire and heat. Since you didn¡¯t want a heat pad just now, I was bored, so I dug a hole in it with my hands. What a lucky mistake!¡± When Liu Qingbo heard him say, ¡°I was bored and dug a hole in it with my hands¡±, his eyes were about to roll towards the sky. But if Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t been bored, most likely they would¡¯ve lost their lives just now. ¡°Who the hell locked this shit underwater? If they have the ability to lock it here in the first place, why not just kill it!¡± Liu Qingbo shouted, annoyed. ¡°I don¡¯t think this Ming Xian has a good heart. Otherwise, why would he speak half truths and not directly tell us how dangerous it is underwater!¡± They were all injured just now. Although it wasn¡¯t serious, they had been swimming for a long time, then they fought and ran, so their physical strength had been mostly exhausted. At that moment, they were still holding Huo Jie. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have the strength to talk,. He wasn¡¯t sure where Liu Qingbo, who was scolding Ming Xian and the person who locked this monster down here, found his strength right now. They didn¡¯t know how long they walked. Their legs gradually became numb. Huo Jie had recovered a bit and insisted on walking on his own, but his physical strength had reached its limits, so they had to stop their advance. Even their poor phones had used up almost the last of their power and were about to declare a strike. Liu Qingbo looked at the flickering flashlight in his hand that was starting to become uncooperative. He didn¡¯t even have the strength to complain now. Suddenly, at that moment, the iron chain sounded again. This meant that the monster stopped for a while and began to follow their breaths again. The three of them looked at each other in the dark. The first thought that came to their heads was that they couldn¡¯t run away again. If they were to be bitten to death, then so be it. However, in the end, it was still the desire for survival that prevailed. Liu Qingbo reluctantly lifted his sore arm. The Yinxiu Sword became a thousand pounds heavier in his arm, as if he had just learned how to hold a sword when he was a child. It also meant that his physical strength was like the flashlight; it had started to sound the final alarm. The sound of the iron chain became more rapid. It was endless, which foreshadowed that the enemy was getting closer to them. The most difficult thing was the endless darkness enveloping their surroundings. They didn¡¯t know where the danger would come from. The hearts of the three of them were stuck in their throats. Since joining the Special Administration Bureau, they had encountered countless dangerous situations. Fujikawa Aoi, the three-headed giant python, the Archfiend, Yamamoto Kiyoshi, and the likes. Many of them were more cunning and treacherous than this monster, but the monster in front of them now had exerted their speed and strength to the extreme. If they were at the peak of their physical strength, they may still have had the power to fight, but now they were exhausted and injured. It was difficult to compete with this monster. Dong Zhi even suspected that this monster was of great origin. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be so difficult to deal with; that and it was chained down here. The iron chain suddenly trembled violently, as if there was an unexpected change at the end. However, the figure of the enemy didn¡¯t appear. Huo Jie held his breath for a long time and couldn¡¯t help but leak it out and coughed. ¡°Could it be that Shu Gou has come down?¡± He said in a low voice. Liu Qingbo¡¯s heart pounded. ¡°Isn¡¯t there that fire-breathing beast with Shu Gou? It fought us last time. If that thing is there, we can destroy that monster!¡± Huo Jie frowned. ¡°Then shall we go meet him? I¡¯m afraid he¡¯s alone and isn¡¯t a match for that monster.¡± Dong Zhi scowled and silenced them. ¡°Listen. Stop!¡± He was referring to the iron chain. The movement that had originally echoed from a distance slowly subsided and soon became calm again. At this time, the flashlight had used up the last trace of its power and was tremblingly extinguished. The last traces of light disappeared and the world returned to darkness. Although Liu Qingbo prided himself on not being afraid of heaven and earth, he found that he still liked light better than darkness. Perhaps it was imprinted in his human genetic code, or maybe it was a habit inherited from ancient times. In the depths of every human subconscious, darkness and danger usually go hand in hand. More importantly, the dark environment could easily lead to feelings of fear, helplessness, and dependence. For practitioners, these emotions were precisely taboo. Sometimes it could lead them to lose their judgement and, inevitably, death. The Special Administration Bureau wasn¡¯t only a job but also a spiritual practice. There would never be a shortage of accidents and danger here. Those who treaded between humans and demons and survived countless difficulties were like the gold panned beneath the waves after blowing away the yellow sand; they must be the elites of the Special Administration Bureau and would grow rapidly and move towards the peak of practitioners. Realizing all this in an instant, Liu Qingbo calmed down. He couldn¡¯t sense the state of mind of Dong Zhi and Huo Jie, but he felt that those two should be similar to himself. Huo Jie entered the Special Administration Bureau earlier than he and Dong Zhi did. Perhaps his psychological aspect is even better. Then he saw a light slowly illuminated, like a flower blooming in the dark. Liu Qingbo: ¡­¡­ ¡°Where did you get a flashlight? Didn¡¯t it fall into the water?¡± Huo Jie sounded surprised. Naturally, it was impossible for the light to illuminate the entire cave, but it was better than nothing. The most important thing was to be able to see the path under one¡¯s feet clearly. Dong Zhi lowered his voice. ¡°Spare. I just saw that yours could still be used, so I didn¡¯t take it out yet. Now it is finally useful, right? Aren¡¯t you surprised?¡± Surprise? Liu Qingbo wanted to hit something. Why didn¡¯t you take it out earlier! He resisted the urge to curse and listened to the movements in the distance instead. The iron chain was no longer dragging, but with his practitioner¡¯s keen institution, he felt that something was approaching them. ¡°Do you feel anything?¡± He couldn¡¯t help asking. ¡°Did the monster break free from the chain?¡± Huo Jie said. If it wasn¡¯t the monster, it was a more powerful character than the monster. He didn¡¯t dare imagine such things. Just now, that joke relieved some tension. Dong Zhi turned off the flashlight and the three of them stopped talking. They were on guard. Dong Zhi held his breath, clenched his Changshou Sword, and mobilized all his remaining physical strength, ready to launch a surprise attack at any moment. ¡°Wait for it to come over. No matter what it is, Lao Liu and I will go first. Huo Ge, you don¡¯t have to support us. It doesn¡¯t matter if you see an opportunity.¡± Huo Jie nodded, then realized that the other party might not be able to see him nodding in this environment, and hurriedly said, ¡°I understand!¡± He was the first to hit the ground when they fought against the monster previous and suffered the heaviest injuries. Now, if any of them suffered more, it would only drag the other two down. Dong Zhi knew he didn¡¯t have the strength, so he said it just now. Huo Jie didn¡¯t feel offended. The new visitor was getting closer to them. Dong Zhi felt that its movement wasn¡¯t close to a monster but more like¡ª Walking forward quickly? If it was a person¡­ ¡°Shu Gou? Shu Ge?¡± He stated cautiously. The sound hovered and echoed in the inner layers of the cave, spreading far into the distance. At this time, making any sound would undoubtedly reveal their position, but if they didn¡¯t call out, they could easily hurt their teammate by mistake. ¡°It¡¯s me.¡± It wasn¡¯t Shu Gou but another familiar voice. Dong Zhi was stunned for a moment. Liu Qingbo was overjoyed. ¡°Boss Long!¡± Seeing that there had been no movement for a while, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but grab the flashlight, turn it on, and shine it towards the figure. The range of the light exposure was limited, and it took a long time for the figure to be faintly illuminated. Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie weren¡¯t sure yet, but Dong Zhi instantly recognized the figure. It was indeed Long Shen. He never expected that master and apprentice would meet again at such a time and place. His mind became blank. He had forgotten many things he had planned and prepared before this moment, until he was pushed by Liu Qingbo. The other party whispered, ¡°Is that really Boss Long? Why don¡¯t you say something? This is weird.¡± When Dong Zhi came back to his senses, he found that Liu Qingbo suspected that Long Shen was a fake due to his silence, and he couldn¡¯t laugh or cry. ¡°It should be.¡± The other party¡¯s footsteps weren¡¯t slow. The faint light of the flashlight that shone on him made him feel warm. Long Shen¡¯s outline gradually became clear as both Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie breathed a sigh of relief. Even if their will was already firm and strong among many, it was inevitable that they would still be surprised, and they were glad that surprise didn¡¯t lead to death. ¡°Boss Long, why are you here?¡± ¡°Have you encountered the monster?¡± Huo Jie and Liu Qingbo asked questions almost at the same time. Long Shen, like them, was drenched all over. His clothes stuck tightly against his skin, revealing his well-proportioned figure. He probably came from underwater just now, but due to the darkness, it wasn¡¯t obviously. It could only be seen when he approached. ¡°We had just solved the issue with Ming Xian and a demon. Tang Jing is cleaning up the aftermath while I rushed over. The Wuzhiqi* was injured by me and won¡¯t be able to catch up for a while. Let¡¯s find the source at the other end of the chain before resting.¡± *Supernatural being in Chinese mythology, popularly depicted as a monkey-like aquatic demon. Long Shen¡¯s eyes swept across them and fell on Dong Zhi, where they lingered for a moment. He spoke few words, and they were concise and to the point, but Liu Qingbo and the others could sense a turbulent storm from these words. Kinky Thoughts: Wuzhiqi Supernatural being in Chinese mythology, popularly depicted as a monkey-like aquatic demon.The earliest description of Wuzhiqi can be found in the early 9th century collection of stories from the Tang dynasty, Guoshi bu (‡øÊ·Ña) by Li Zhao, which briefly tells of a fisherman in Chuzhou (³þÖÝ) who encounters a monkey demon with a black body and a white head in the Huai River. Wuzhiqi is also described in the Song dynasty anthology Taiping guangji as a ¡°monkey-like demon¡± residing in the Huai River; it is defeated by Yu the Great and imprisoned under Turtle Mountain (ý”ɽ) as part of his effort to control the Great Flood. CH 103 When Dong Zhi saw the other party reaching out towards him, he suddenly reacted and took a step back. Long Shen¡¯s hand stopped in midair. Dong Zhi grabbed Liu Qingbo and asked him to step back as well, with a cautious expression. ¡°I think what we¡¯re seeing now could be another illusion created by that monster.¡± For no other reason, he just felt that what was in front of him was too unreal. Although he missed him thousands of times in his mind, he didn¡¯t expect to see the other person just when he was in danger. The moment his dream came true, it became illusory. When Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie heard this, they all looked at Long Shen with inquiry and vigilance. No matter how calm he was, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little. ¡°I¡¯m not an illusion.¡± Liu Qingbo suddenly asked, ¡°On the first day of our training at the Special Administration Bureau, Director Jiang gave us a lecture. What happened after that?¡± Long Shen: ¡°After that, you were trapped in a simulation training of a zombie city. You left your group and hid in the Special Administration Bureau and managed to survive by luck and passed the test.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡®¡­Why did I ask such a cheap question?¡¯ When his black history was mentioned, his face flushed. Long Shen said to Huo Jie, ¡°Shu Gou is fine. He couldn¡¯t find you, so he returned to shore first.¡± His gaze finally fell on Dong Zhi. ¡°Before you left Beijing, you gave me a painting.¡± Now the three of them could finally be sure that Long Shen¡¯s arrival was indeed timely, and it wasn¡¯t their hallucinations. Dong Zhi moved forward, a bit embarrassed. ¡°Master, I didn¡¯t know just now¡­¡± Long Shen: ¡°You¡¯re vigilant enough. You didn¡¯t relax just because you saw me. That is good.¡± After being soaked in the lake for so long, they felt clammy and cold inside and out. As soon as this person appeared, everyone had regained their motivation, especially Dong Zhi, but he didn¡¯t show it. There was Huo Jie, who, whether unintentionally or not, had distanced them. Long Shen didn¡¯t seem to notice. Liu Qingbo asked about the situation on the shore. Even if Long Shen spoke succinctly, what he said took several minutes. At the end, he said, ¡°According to the clues provided by Ming Xian before his death, below this water area is a small dragon vein where a stone tablet is located.¡± In just a few hours, so many things had transpired that everyone took a moment of silence in order to digest them. As for Cheng Yuan, although Huo Yuan didn¡¯t know him, he was an old acquaintance of Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo. They even participated in the incident regarding the female star, Hui Yiguang, who was possessed by an evil spirit. At that time, everyone didn¡¯t expect that Cheng Yuan would fail the interview, but after they came out, they felt regretful. Cheng Yuan had doubted the results of the exam and wasn¡¯t in high spirits. He told them he was going to train for a period of time. Who knew that when they met again, he had already sided with the enemy¡¯s camp and was willing to merge with demonic energy to become a representative for a demon and fight against his former companions? They all thought how Cheng Yuan had fallen so far. Huo Jie asked, ¡°Boss Long, do you think that monster is a Wuzhiqi?¡± Long Shen sighed. ¡°Ancient records say that water beasts are dangerous. King Yu the Great* trapped it underwater in the Huai River. It¡¯s called a Wuzhiqi. Shaped like an ape, with golden eyes and snow-white teeth, and extremely nimble.¡± *Legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction to flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty, which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominently in Chinese legend of ¡°Great Yu Who Controlled the Waters¡±. As an ancient beast, the Wuzhiqi once turned the Huai River upside down so that later generations even used it as a prototype for the Great Sage Monkey King*. It was no wonder that they weren¡¯t a match for it at all. *Also known as Sun Wukong featured prominently in Journey to the West. In fact, the strange beasts like the Wuzhiqi and the three-headed giant python that had survived for thousands of years, although they hadn¡¯t reached the point of immortality, they all contained the fate of heaven and earth. They were closely related to the heavens in a way which made practitioners reluctant to kill them, if they actually had the strength to do it. What was more, they were powerful tyrants. The last time they were underground, they failed to kill the three-headed giant python. At most, they could only throw a few punches then flee. Liu Qingbo was puzzled. ¡°But the Huai River is far from here¡­¡± Long Shen said, ¡°A few years ago, the Huai River wasn¡¯t connected to the Yangtze River. Now the Huai waters have finally poured into the Yangtze River. The underground water veins are already crisscrossed, and many undercurrents can¡¯t be known from just above ground.¡± Most of the books written by the ancients were just estimates. Even if they say that they were in Junshan, they weren¡¯t necessarily in it. So if they said they were in the Huai River, it didn¡¯t really specify where exactly that was. From ancient times to the present, legends were simply just legends. As members of the Special Administration Bureau, they could occasionally confirm legends with reality, but for ordinary people who couldn¡¯t see the magnificent fantasy world, this was impossible to do. Dong Zhi slowly recovered from the shock and embarrassment of suddenly seeing his master and gradually regained his ability to think. He quickly sorted out the general context. ¡°Was it because, in order to let the Wuzhiqi guard the stone tablet, he didn¡¯t kill it but locked it in here, just like the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain? After Yamamoto Kiyoshi learned about it, he asked Cheng Yuan to come over, kill people and refine their souls to lure the Wuzhiqi with demonic energy and allow it to destroy the stone tablet?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°My guess is similar, but in the end, we still have to find the stone tablet first.¡± His words solved everyone¡¯s doubts that they had since they went underwater. The three of them were exhausted and had no time to think about it anymore. For a moment, the cave was extremely quiet, with only the rustling of footsteps as they moved forward. He wasn¡¯t sure whether it was too tired, or they were walking too fast, but Dong Zhi had accidently tripped over and fell towards the stone wall. He used his arm that had just been swiped by the Wuzhiqi and broke out into a cold sweat before letting out a groan. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Long Shen asked. His hand was already stretched out to help Dong Zhi up. Long Shen¡¯s tone of voice was always cold, but his hands were warm, which made Dong Zhi tremble slightly. ¡°No, it¡¯s nothing.¡± He found that no matter how many times he had done psychological preparations, when he touched the other party¡¯s skin, he would still have a strange feeling in his heart. He didn¡¯t want the other party to notice, and he didn¡¯t want him to misunderstand that though he had promised to maintain their master and apprentice relationship on the surface, deep down, he was still harboring frustration. He forced himself to bear the pain and took the initiative to pull his arm back and sidestepped a distance away. ¡°Your hand may be fractured. Show me when we get out.¡± Long Shen knew he was exhausted and wanted to carry him. Seeing that his apprentice took the initiative to avoid him, he remembered how they had unhappily parted last time. He pursed his lips and didn¡¯t mention carrying him. He only put his hand on Dong Zhi¡¯s waist and helped steady him. Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie didn¡¯t seem to notice the awkwardness between master and apprentice. Huo Jie was drowsy and lacked stamina. He had to keep himself awake by talking to himself or to Liu Qingbo. Dong Zhi and Long Shen had unknowingly fallen behind. The road in the cave was bumpy and wasn¡¯t spacious, forcing them to walk side by side. It was difficult to avoid each other as their shoulders would occasionally bump into each other. Dong Zhi had the intention of getting rid of this awkward situation, so he consciously moved his steps away, but almost stumbled into a sharp corner of the wall. This time, a hand grabbed his shoulder just in time and led him to the middle with a slightly forceful command. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s body stiffened. The distance between the two was close to zero. With Long Shen¡¯s support, he was able to move much more easily now. In fact, this kind of awkwardness was inevitable after the milk had been spilt. They had already talked about it, and Dong Zhi knew that his master only regarded him as an apprentice. Only he was unable to let go. Though he looked no different than a human, his master was a transformed sword who didn¡¯t hold human temperaments. He wouldn¡¯t think about these thoughts and become entangled in embarrassment and other emotions. This feeling existed only within him alone. In order to divert his attention, Dong Zhi focused his brain, which was spinning wildly, on the matter of the stone tablet and the Wuzhiqi, and gradually the atmosphere became more natural. ¡°Master.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Long Shen felt that his apprentice¡¯s body had naturally relaxed and felt a little joy in his heart. When he heard the other party calling him, his tone was unconsciously a little softer than before. ¡°Are you not going to kill the Wuzhiqi?¡± Long Shen was surprised by Dong Zhi¡¯s question. He was surprised by his sharpness. ¡°If the stone tablet is intact, I¡¯ll drive the demonic energy away from it.¡± Even though the Wuzhiqi was originally suppressed here and was a fierce beast, it had guarded the stone tablet for thousands of years without any credit for its hard work. It was only because of Yamamoto Kiyoshi and Cheng Yuan, who had ulterior motives, that it rekindled its ferocity and became calamitous. In the end, it was also being used. Secondly, if the Wuzhiqi died, the stone tablet would be left unguarded. Since the stone tablet was part of an array, it was impossible to dig it up and transport it back to the Special Administration Bureau for protection. Thus, the Wuzhiqi was still its best guardian. Long Shen didn¡¯t plan to say this just now, but Dong Zhi had already guessed it. Although everyone¡¯s footsteps weren¡¯t as fast as when they first started, they had been moving forward for quite some time, but the cave seemed to have no end in sight. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t even bother to calculate the time any longer. He looked as if he had two heavy weights tied to his legs. Each step took great courage and reminded him of the days when he was ordered by his grandfather to run with sandbags tied to his legs. Huo Jie¡¯s injuries were more severe than Liu Qingbo¡¯s, but he still insisted on walking on his own, which made Liu Qingbo more reluctant to show weakness. All topics that could be talked about had been discussed to the point where Huo Jie¡¯s mouth was dry. He really didn¡¯t have the strength to speak any longer, and the two fell into silence. Behind them, Dong Zhi was telling Long Shen about his experience in Lucheng, which barely distracted everyone. In fact, what Dong Zhi did in Lucheng was already written in the reports that were received by the General Administration Bureau. Long Shen had already known about it, but reports were written and didn¡¯t have a human touch to its details. This was the first time Long Shen had heard Dong Zhi talk about it. Putting aside the confession that made him unable to respond, his apprentice not only lived up to his expectations, but actually surpassed them. In the past, when he saw Dong Zhi, who was obedient and did whatever he was told, Long Shen thought he wouldn¡¯t be able to adapt to work when he was alone on the outside. However, facts had proved him wrong. Dong Zhi not only adapted well, but he also made such great achievements that when the General Administration mentioned Dong Zhi, they would say how he never accepted apprentices and the first one he accepted was incredibly good. He once thought that exorcizing demons and maintaining order on earth were the only requirements he needed in an apprentice, but now he wasn¡¯t sure. He hoped that Dong Zhi would remain well, wouldn¡¯t get hurt all the time, and always be happy every day, just like how he used to be in front of him, where he could simply smile for half a day while pulling him excitedly to introduce him to restaurants around the Special Administration Bureau. He knew that when Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun talked about their children and disciples in private, they occasionally showed worry about them. Long Shen could now understand it. He thought that he might not be able to give what Dong Zhi wanted, but he cared about this apprentice more than anyone else before. Is this love? He didn¡¯t know, but when he listened to the other party¡¯s every word that he spoke, combined with the joy of reunion, there was a faint happiness in his heart. That kind of feeling was like the first time he climbed to the peak of a dangerous cliff after he took form. On top of the high mountain, he looked down at the world from a human perspective, listening to the wind, the sounds of birds fluttering their wings, and seeing the clouds rolling into misty fog and flowing in all directions. Even though this situation was different, the subtle joy was similar and made him feel hot-blooded and his heart would race. He was indeed a human that had the emotions humans should have along with their mood changes. Long Shen frowned slightly, listening to Dong Zhi talk about the nightmare on the plane. He stretched out his hand to hold his wrist and put three fingers on his pulse. The slightly warm fingertips touched his skin, causing Dong Zhi to subconsciously freeze before he relaxed again, letting Long Shen pinch his key points. ¡°There¡¯s no evil aura in you.¡± Long Shen came to the same conclusion as Tang Jing, but Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help breathing a sigh of relief when it came from his master. ¡°Then I shouldn¡¯t have made a fuss about it.¡± In the dark, Long Shen made a solemn expression. In fact, he had another guess, but it hadn¡¯t been confirmed yet. He didn¡¯t want to say anything unnecessary to trouble Dong Zhi. ¡°After we get out, I¡¯ll look more closely at it.¡± Dong Zhi responded well, but after a moment, he felt something was off. Long Shen kept his hand on his wrist. It didn¡¯t feel like there was any ambiguity in this as he felt Long Shen injecting his qi into it. The warmth rose little by little until it made the wet clothes that stuck to his body no longer uncomfortable. Then Long Shen let go. ¡°Can you walk on your own?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± It was impossible for the injuries to not be painless even if he was injected with qi, but Dong Zhi had regained a bit of strength. Before he could think, ¡°he was like a child of his master, a treasure,¡± Liu Qingbo¡¯s flashlight suddenly shook. ¡°Look, there¡¯s something up ahead.¡± This underground cave could be considered an underwater passage, but no one currently had the strength to marvel. Even though they felt that this place wasn¡¯t naturally formed, the craftsmen who could chisel such a passage were by no means ordinary people. Perhaps tens of millions of years ago, there were dragons and beasts living here, or immortals with the ability to move mountains and seas. They explored the bottom of the river, full of the vicissitudes of life with miraculous workmanship. However, it seemed that time was still here. No one spoke as they had a pessimistic expectation that the road ahead would never end. When they saw the stone tablet half-exposed in the ground, everyone was shocked. Huo Jie, in particular, almost couldn¡¯t breathe and fell directly to the side. Liu Qingbo took the flashlight that he had snatched from Dong Zhi and ran over. Dong Zhi and Long Shen shortly arrived. The stone tablet looked old, and due to having been soaked and exposed to the humid environment for so many years, the top of it was covered with moss. Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi picked up the stones next to it and scraped off a bit of the moss, causing it to gradually reveal the inscriptions underneath. It was the kind of familiar yet unknown runes. When everyone looked at it, they immediately knew this was the stone tablet they were looking for. Liu Qingbo was puzzled. ¡°Is there a dragon vein in Shencheng?¡± Huo Jie took a deep breath and said, ¡°Yes! This place gathers wind and water. Although it¡¯s not as good as the capital, it¡¯s still a good spot for a dragon vein. The heart of this vein is in the city, and there should be a viaduct above it.¡± Hearing a bit of it, Dong Zhi said, ¡°It¡¯s said that when the pile bridge was built, they couldn¡¯t continue, but the urban construction couldn¡¯t stop. Later, they invited an eminent monk to look at them and then added carvings of dragons to the pillars to block the qi leakage when the pillars were built.¡± Huo Jing said with a smile, ¡°Rumors are always exaggerated and fictitious. It is indeed where the ¡®dragon heart¡¯ is located, but it¡¯s not as divine as the world says. Now it seems that the stone tablet here should be the ¡®dragon head¡¯.¡± Unlike the stone tablet they discovered before, this stone tablet still had an iron ring embedded in it. The iron ring was connected to the chain that was tied to the Wuzhiqi. This proved that Long Shen¡¯s speculation was correct. Many years ago, someone suppressed the Wuzhiqi here and made it guard the stone tablet. ¡°It seems a bit worn out and there are cracks in it.¡± Liu Qingbo leaned closer with the flashlight to look at it. ¡°It should be due to demonic energy. Cheng Yuan was using it to corrupt the Wuzhiqi and, through its chain, had affected the stone tablet. When the demonic energy accumulates to a certain extent, even if the Wuzhiqi didn¡¯t go crazy and destroy the stone tablet, it would crack because of the demonic energy,¡± Long Shen said. Dong Zhi: ¡°Is it useful to cut the chain so it will cut off the connection between the Wuzhiqi and the stone tablet?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°We can¡¯t kill the Wuzhiqi, and there¡¯s no need to. It and the stone tablet are now connected. Without it, the stone tablet will have no guardian and the situation will become more dangerous.¡± Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but curse. ¡°That motherfucker Cheng Yuan is really cunning to think of such an evil move! If he had stayed on the righteous path, wouldn¡¯t he have been a winner long ago?!¡± It may not be Cheng Yuan¡¯s idea but Otowa¡¯s. After all, Cheng Yuan had already dedicated his soul to the demon at that time and was no longer himself. However, at that moment, Long Shen didn¡¯t explain much and only said, ¡°The Wuzhiqi has rested for a bit, so it should have recovered. It will undoubtedly come after us for vengeance. I want to draw away the demonic energy, so I¡¯ll need your cooperation. Since it holds hatred for Dong Zhi, it¡¯ll be attracted to him. Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie will work together to hold it off for a bit while I¡¯ll wait for the opportunity to start.¡± Everyone had no objection, including Dong Zhi, who immediately agreed to be arranged as bait to ¡°draw hatred¡± because he knew Long Shen didn¡¯t assign this most dangerous task to him due to him being his apprentice, but because Dong Zhi drew the most ire from the Wuzhiqi. As soon as the Wuzhiqi saw them, it most likely would attack Dong Zhi first and the most efficient counter was to fight for the greatest initiative. The next thing to do was ¡°wait and see¡±. More importantly, they needed to rest and quickly recover their physical strength to cope with the upcoming intense battle. Needless to say, everyone sat cross-legged and adjusted their breathing. They closed their eyes and refreshed their minds. The cave was extremely humid. The soil was so muddy that it felt disgusting to sit on it. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t want to stay in this environment for even a second, but the members of the Special Administration Bureau often had to deal with such harsh environments and faced difficult conditions. Compared to what he saw in front of him, he suddenly found that hiding in a narrow and cramped room during the zombie simulation, combined with the anxiety of listening to the zombies passing by, was nothing at all. The harsher the environment, the stronger people would become. Everyone was like this. After Dong Zhi rested for a while, he felt that his spirits and physical strength had recovered quite a bit. On the contrary, since he had been sitting for so long, he felt a sense of laziness that he didn¡¯t want to move, so he had to open his eyes and look around. In order to not consume power, Liu Qingbo adjusted the brightness of the flashlight to the minimum. With such faint light, the outlines of everyone could only be vaguely illuminated. Long Shen was sitting next to him, motionless. He should also be taking the time to recuperate. Dong Zhi¡¯s gaze fell on the outline of the other party that was cast by the faint light, and he felt slightly absent-minded. The tranquility of this moment made him feel that it would be great if things could continue like this. Seemingly aware, Long Shen¡¯s eyelashes twitched, and he opened his eyes, causing Dong Zhi to quickly close his. Then he felt a hand on his pulse as if he was checking his physical condition. After a shiver, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare to move. He knew he had failed to pretend to be asleep, so he could only open his eyes. Seeing that he was fine, Long Shen took his hand back. At this moment, the chain suddenly moved, as if it had been pulled by something not far away. Everyone instantly opened their eyes and moved! Huo Jie turned off the flashlight. Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi picked up their swords, while Long Shen leaped lightly, sticking to the ceiling of the cave in a seamless manner. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t expect his master to have such bat-like abilities, but now wasn¡¯t the time for jokes. He moved across the stone tablet and slowly walked forward. The iron chain¡¯s movement became more violent. The sound echoed in the cave, overlapping, and was beating down the mood. To be bait, one needed the consciousness of bait. After taking a few dozen steps, Dong Zhi was some distance away from Liu Qingbo and the others. He stopped and listened to the unpredictable danger ahead. The Changshou Sword was in his hand, Long Shen was behind him, as were his companions and friends, with whom he had been through thick and thin. At this moment, he had no fear and was as calm as the long drops of water in this cave. It was getting closer, the sound was getting louder, and the fishy smell that penetrated his nostrils became heavier. It¡¯s coming! A gust of wind blew against his face. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t even think about it. With the greatest of his strength, he swung his sword! The speed of the sword¡¯s edge had already turned into a white rainbow. Its potential was like a thousand waterfalls flying off a cliff into hundreds of rivers and returning to the sea; the turbulence was unmatched. However, the Wuzhiqi was worthy of being an ancient beast. Even though the Changshou Sword had left deep cuts in its hand, it also aroused its ferocity. The monster clung to the sword¡¯s body and pulled it back as it roared, wanting to break Dong Zhi¡¯s neck. In the blink of an eye, Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie also arrived and pounced on the Wuzhiqi, one on the left and the other on the right. One was swinging his sword to prevent its claws from falling towards Dong Zhi, while the other attacked the soft parts of its chest and stomach. Shortly after, Long Shen¡¯s figure descended and swept down from above. The long sword in his hand pierced straight into the baihui point above the Wuzhiqi¡¯s head! The author has something to say: Dong Zhi: Observing in the dark.jpg Kinky Thoughts: Yu the Great Legendary king in ancient China who was famed for his introduction of flood control, his establishment of the Xia dynasty, which inaugurated dynastic rule in China, and his upright moral character. He figures prominently in the Chinese legend of ¡°Great Yu Who Controlled the Waters¡±. CH 104 The Wuzhiqi let out a roar as it swiped its claws indiscriminately, all aimed at Dong Zhi. It grabbed Long Shen¡¯s sword with one of its forearms. However, at this time, there was a strange change in the sword¡¯s light. In the increasingly dazzling light, black energy seemed to be drawn out of the Wuzhiqi¡¯s body, little by little, and it started to seep towards Long Shen. The Wuzhiqi¡¯s body trembled and was momentarily frozen before it became more manic and restless. It grabbed the sword¡¯s light with both hands and tried to drag Long Shen towards it, intending to tear him to pieces. Dong Zhi gasped for breath when he saw this and tried his best to support Long Shen and continued to attack, leaving no room for idleness. However, this time, the Wuzhiqi seemed to sense that Long Shen was the most important one. Ignoring how many wounds were drawn by Dong Zhi, it twisted the sword¡¯s light with its giant pair of arms, wrapping it around the sword¡¯s body, causing the sword¡¯s light to tremble violently. Seeing that he was about to be interrupted, Long Shen continued to absorb the demonic energy without paying heed to any distractions. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth. Regardless of whether being underwater could attract lightning or not, he pinched the sword in one hand and started to recite the mantra to summon heavenly thunder. He closed his eyes and separated himself from the dazzling light, Long Shen¡¯s persistence, and Liu Qingbo¡¯s and Huo Jie¡¯s fierce battle from his inner world. When all the distractions had subsided, pure and clean incantations rose. The four great enlightenments, heaven and the earth are eternal, by the Jade Emperor¡¯s orders, clear the three yuan. The mighty sword of the Divine King, slay evil and destroy its traces. The purple demonic energy ascends to heaven, the landscape collides, swallowing demons and ghosts, and drinks the wind¡­ The demonic energy absorbed from the Wuzhiqi¡¯s body was condensed by Long Shen in the sword¡¯s light. If they could succeed, he would seal up the demonic energy and bring it back to the Special Administration for research. However, the Wuzhiqi didn¡¯t seem willing to lose this demonic energy that had reawakened its fierceness, and the demonic energy wasn¡¯t willing to leave this rare host body. The two sides converged into a powerful force. It fought Long Shen to the death, making a final struggle before its destruction. But it was precisely its death throes that gave rise to astonishing potential. In order to absorb the demonic energy, Long Shen couldn¡¯t be distracted and fight it. The Wuzhiqi¡¯s violent power caused the cave to shake as debris kept falling above them. Even the ground had started to quake. If Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie couldn¡¯t stop it, the cave would most likely collapse. At that time, the lake water above their heads would pour in and drown everything. Even if they managed to escape the monster, they would still fall short. Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie gasped. They were exhausted, with countless wounds on their bodies that were still bleeding. Although it wasn¡¯t fatal, it was enough to drain what little physical strength they had. The two of them tried their best to suppress the Wuzhiqi¡¯s manic stamina, but its power was endless. Even the softest area in its waist and abdomen couldn¡¯t be easily approached. It had been injured by them before, so now it was full of hatred and madness that it couldn¡¯t wait to crush all of them into dust. After Cheng Yuan designed it to swallow demonic energy, the demonic energy integrated with it, awakening its unknown temperament from ancient times and also enhancing its strength, but now Long Shen wanted to draw these powers away. How could it allow it? Naturally, it had to use everything to fight back. The Wuzhiqi roared as the cave shook more violently. Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie almost lost their balance, but Long Shen was still attached to the stone wall. The sword¡¯s light in his hand didn¡¯t even hesitate for a moment as it steadily kept drawing the demonic energy from the Wuzhiqi¡¯s head, which only caused it to become more infuriated as a result. Across the cave, above the lake above their heads, there was a muffled sound in the distance. Liu Qingbo thought it was the Wuzhiqi¡¯s power echoing underground, causing a flash flood. He couldn¡¯t help but sink his face and secretly curse, but he couldn¡¯t think of any way to stop it. He could only grit his teeth and rush up to attack the Wuzhiqi¡¯s eyes¡ªeven if that would very likely cause another fury from his opponent. But at that moment, there was a loud bang above their heads. The sword¡¯s light between Long Shen and the Wuzhiqi suddenly flourished. The white light mixed with the black demonic energy flowed into a blueish-purple brilliance for a moment before it instantly penetrated the Wuzhiqi¡¯s protective aura and wrapped around it! It¡¯s heavenly thunder! Liu Qingbo was suddenly overjoyed. He looked at the Wuzhiqi that was struggling in the lightning, but it was all in vain. In the blink of an eye, the last trace of demonic energy was sucked away by Long Shen, and all the light disappeared in an instant, returning the cave to darkness. Everyone hadn¡¯t adapted to the sudden darkness and could only feel the pain in their eyes. Liu Qingbo fumbled around and finally found the flashlight and turned it on. If the flashlight could be refined, he would probably have witnessed a terrifying battle just now in full view, but no matter how weak it was, it could finally get rid of his predicament of blindness. The Wuzhiqi fell to the ground motionless, unknown whether it was dead or alive. Huo Jie leaned against the stone wall, completely exhausted and out of breath, but he finally felt relief. There was also Dong Zhi, who was being checked on by Long Shen, so he didn¡¯t need to worry about him. Before Liu Qingbo had time to lament that ¡°a child of a master is like a treasure¡±, he suddenly remembered the stone tablet and quickly turned to look back. ¡°The stone tablet is fine,¡± Long Shen said. He should have already gone to check on it. Liu Qingbo breathed a sigh of relief and once again realized the gap between Long Shen and them. While they were tired to death, Long Shen had caught up with them from the water and walked the same long way as them. He also fought against the Wuzhiqi but was still able to think about everything in a short time after the battle. Everything was considered carefully. In the dim light, the Wuzhiqi¡¯s ragged panting sounded normal. Liu Qingbo asked Long Shen, ¡°Should we lock it up?¡± ¡°I¡¯m already locked up here¡­¡± A voice with a strange accent answered him. Liu Qingbo was stunned for a while before he realized that it was actually coming from the Wuzhiqi. ¡°It¡¯s been many years.¡± The Wuzhiqi slowly got up. Its golden bronze bell-like eyes opened, looking at the people who had scorned it. ¡°Who are you guys?¡± It asked. Liu Qingbo felt that it should be speaking the language of ancient times, but magically he could understand it. After a few seconds, it finally dawned on him that it wasn¡¯t actually the Wuzhiqi speaking, but it was conveying a message to them through its consciousness. Long Shen said, ¡°Thousands of years have passed since you were imprisoned underwater. We are the enforcers of the current world. We can be called the order keepers.¡± ¡°Has it been thousands of years already?¡± The Wuzhiqi was obviously injured as its consciousness was intermittent. ¡°Many years ago, I was locked here. At the same time, I made an agreement to guard the stone tablet underwater. When five thousand years expired, I would be free again. Unexpectedly, not long ago, a man came and sent me a message with a water spirit, saying he could provide me with demonic energy to increase my strength and let me out in advance. I couldn¡¯t resist the temptation, so I accepted the demonic energy.¡± Long Shen said in a deep voice, ¡°That demonic energy is refined from human life and grievances. You should know that it¡¯s no benefit to your cultivation. Although that person imprisoned you here to have you guard the stone tablet, he must also have wanted you to practice your cultivation with peace of mind, but now that your foot was right at the door, you have fallen short. All your previous efforts have been in vain.¡± ¡°Then I will start over. I just wanted to go out in advance to see if that person is still alive¡­ That¡¯s all. I only have myself to blame. That person must also hope that I will guard the stone tablet for a long time, so I¡¯ll tack on another 5,000 years. Why not!¡± The voice that came into their minds sounded as if it had both laughter and tears, and in the end, turned into a sigh. ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± Liu Qingbo was puzzled. Those who could live for thousands of years couldn¡¯t possibly be humans, right? ¡°You guys, leave,¡± the Wuzhiqi said. It obviously didn¡¯t want to answer this question. ¡°The stone tablet here is very important, so I¡¯ll have to trouble you elder,¡± Long Shen said. Wuzhiqi: ¡°I know that it¡¯s a demon suppressing array consisting of eight stone tablets, and this is one of them.¡± Everyone was shocked, but Long Shen reacted faster. ¡°Dare I ask elder if you know where the remaining stone tablets are?¡± Wuzhiqi: ¡°A great ancient demon was born and wreaked havoc across the land. Powerful people gathered the essence of the four seas and used the sacred stones left by Nuwa* in the past as the stone tablets. They engraved runes on them. It is distributed in eight places, repelling demonic energy for thousands of years. At that time, I was the great monster of the Huai River. I made wind and waves and fought with many for thousands of years until I was defeated. At that time, I vaguely remember from the man¡¯s words that the eye of the array was in Kunlun, but the rest is not clear.¡± *Mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. As creator of mankind, she molded the upper-class individually by hand with yellow clay, and as she grew tired, she instead used a string to pull up the clay faster and form the lower-class. Kunlun1 wasn¡¯t a place but an area. The Kunlun Mountains2 stretched for thousands of miles, vast and boundless. It had been a place where legends have appeared frequently since ancient times. This clue was almost as good as just not even knowing, but it was still better than nothing. At least they finally had a goal, which was better than looking for a needle in a haystack. 1A mountain range in Chinese mythology that¡¯s an important symbol representing the axis mundi and divinity. The mythological Kunlun is based on various sources¡ªmythologic and geographic¡ªof the modern so-called Kunlun Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and Mount Kailash (as an archetypal omphalos). Many important events in Chinese mythology are based around Kunlun. 2One of the longest mountain chains in Asia extending for more than 3,000 kilometers. Many Chinese mythology is based off this mountain range. More importantly, Long Shen compared what he said with the clues Ming Xian had left, which confirmed that what Ming Xian had told them was true. Dong Zhi let out an exhale and took the flashlight to the stone tablet to take a closer look and found that the demonic energy on it had disappeared. He turned around and apologized, ¡°Sorry, elder. Just now, in order to help my master draw out the demonic energy, I had to attract thunder and hurt you. Please don¡¯t blame me.¡± ¡°What is there to blame than not being as skilled as other. You guys go quickly so as not to upset me more!¡± The Wuzhiqi was beaten up by them, and its injuries weren¡¯t light. It itself was greedy from a moment of temptation and was corrupted by demonic energy. There was nothing it could say except to ask them to leave and hope that they wouldn¡¯t meet its contemporaries and divulge the fact that it had merged with demonic energy and was struck by heavenly lightning. ¡°If they find out, I¡¯m afraid my reputation will be ruined forever,¡± the Wuzhiqi said in dismay. ¡®Even if we don¡¯t tell anyone, with you being locked up here all this time, there is no reputation for you to lose,¡¯ Liu Qingbo chided secretly in his head. He couldn¡¯t help rolling his eyes at the thought of this great monster who still wanted to save face. ¡°If you keep walking along the front, you can see a pool of water. There¡¯s an exit above the pool. You can leave from there.¡± The Wuzhiqi gave them directions on how to leave. ¡°How far is it?¡± Liu Qingbo asked. The Wuzhiqi thought for a while. ¡°It¡¯ll only take a few hundred steps!¡± They all bid farewell to the Wuzhiqi and continued to move forward, but everyone quickly discovered that the Wuzhiqi¡¯s so-called few hundred steps weren¡¯t quite the same to them¡­ because they were walking weakly to the point where their faces were pale, but they hadn¡¯t reached the pool of water the Wuzhiqi told them about. Only then did Liu Qingbo remember that the Wuzhiqi walking speed was extremely fast, rather like it was running or flying, so a few hundred steps was probably more like a few thousand or even tens of thousands of their steps. He felt so cold in his heart that he almost thought of turning into a young master and throwing a tantrum, but he didn¡¯t dare because Long Shen was also present. The other party walked in front and led the way for them. Huo Jie, who was the most injured, still persisted, so Liu Qingbo had to swallow his grievances and continue on his way. Suddenly, a hand stretched out and held a bottle of mineral water. The bottle was a mini-size and the top hadn¡¯t been opened. Most likely, one could finish the entire content inside in one swallow, but what surprised Liu Qingbo was¡ª ¡°Where did you get this water?¡± Dong Zhi said innocently, ¡°It was in my waist bag. Space is limited, so I can only bring such a small bottle. You can time a sip with Huo Ge. I¡¯m not thirsty.¡± After a pause, he asked again, ¡°Master, do you want some?¡± ¡°No need.¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t turn his head around. His voice came steadily. The corners of Liu Qingbo¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°I¡¯ve heard you complain that your bag is too small just now. How many things do you still have in it?¡± Dong Zhi reached in and took the contents out. ¡°There¡¯s also a bar of chocolate, which was bought from the canteen of Yasheng High School. Other than that, nothing else. Do you want to eat it?¡± ¡°No!¡± Liu Qingbo shouted and handed the water to Huo Jie. Huo Jie was indeed thirsty and had no care about being polite. He unscrewed the lid and raised his head to take a sip. He returned the remaining half to Dong Zhi while also giving him praise. ¡°Thank you. Dong Zhi, you have such good habits. Even if we¡¯re practitioners, we can¡¯t withstand long-term physical exertion. You carry food with you and could meet unexpected needs. This time, it¡¯s all thanks to Boss Long for catching up with us.¡± Otherwise, with the three of them, let alone extracting the demonic energy from the Wuzhiqi, most likely they would all be turned into ground beef by it. When the seemingly immortal flashlight in their hands slowly weakened and was about to die, they finally saw waves reflected not far away. Looking up, the top of the cave was stretched and narrowed, turning into a round hole. There was an opening at the end, faintly leaking a hint of the blue lake, as if you could see the crescent moon hanging in the sky. Long Shen said, ¡°The top should be a wellhead, which is sealed by an iron net. I¡¯ll go up and open it first, then you¡¯ll go up through the iron chain later.¡± There was an iron chain hanging from the wall that sank into the deep pool, but it wasn¡¯t an iron chain that was locked to the Wuzhiqi. It was just a gimmick of legends for tourism, which was now convenient for them. Long Shen jumped into the water, but instead of grabbing the iron chain, he swam to the steep stone wall on the other side of the pool. His body moved quickly, sticking to the stone wall like before, and he quickly climbed up with vigor and lightness. After a while, his figure became smaller in their sights and finally turned into a black spot that disappeared at the end. Outside was a scenic spot. The wellhead was sealed with an iron net. Originally, it wasn¡¯t there, but later, many curious tourists came here and probed down. Once, because there were too many people, someone fell down and died. Since then, the scenic area had been sealed with an iron net. However, for young adventurers, this iron net had undoubtedly stifled their desire to verify legends. It was dawn at this time, but the sky had not brightened yet. The cool moon was still hanging overhead. Several young people were planning to go up the mountain to catch the sunrise. They passed by this area and couldn¡¯t help but stop and talk about the myths and legends of this place as they looked into the well. As a result, a sharp-eyed person saw a hand sticking out from under the iron mesh and grabbing hold of it. During their chatter, the iron mesh that was welded to the edge of the well showed signs of falling off. The young man stared blankly for a few seconds, making sure that there wasn¡¯t anything wrong with his eyes, then suddenly screamed. His companions also saw the hand. Although it was very beautiful and its fingers were slender, few people had the mind to watch it carefully. Various legends of demons and ghosts appeared in their minds, all of which were hideous and terrifying. Everyone turned their heads and ran screaming, and no one dared to look back. Long Shen held up the iron net and crawled out of the well. From a distance, he could see several figures fleeing as they kicked up dust. He didn¡¯t have time to mind that though. He turned around and pulled on the iron cable, motioning to the people below to come out. Not long after, Liu Qingbo, Huo Jie, and Dong Zhi all followed the iron cable in turn and saw the sun again. Unlike the underground, the fresh air mixed with the mountain breeze that blew on their faces made everyone who was wet shudder at the same time, but also feel relaxed and happy. Liu Qingbo dumped out the water stuck in his ears as he said, ¡°I thought I heard someone screaming just now?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Tourists. I¡¯ll have someone come back later to weld the iron mesh back together again. Let¡¯s go down the mountain first.¡± In fact, everyone had already squeezed out the last traces of their strength. Let alone fighting the Wuzhiqi just now, even if someone who knew how to fight or some kung fu came, it was estimated they could beat them up. They were all eager to return home. After staying in the underwater environment for so long, everyone felt puffy and swollen. They all wanted to rush back as soon as possible, take a hot bath, and get some good sleep. Liu Qingbo raised his eyes and looked around, but couldn¡¯t help but wonder, ¡°Where is this? It¡¯s not in the vicinity of Shencheng, is it? Wait. The Wuzhiqi mentioned the Huai River. Are we near it now?¡± He turned his head and saw the stone tablet of the Wuzhiqi standing beside him and couldn¡¯t help but be taken aback. Long Shen nodded. ¡°We¡¯re not in Guishan. It¡¯ll take more than four hours to drive back to Shencheng.¡± The corners of Liu Qingbo¡¯s mouth twitched. They had already arrived at the border of the neighboring province. No wonder they felt that the road would never end. From day to night, and from night to dawn, their speed was actually quite fast. If they were ordinary people, they might be trapped down there forever. Dong Zhi felt a little weak, so he knelt down. He thought he must¡¯ve drunk too much water by mistake from the pool just now. At this moment, his hands and feet were soft; his chest was stuffy, as if he had drunk too much water and it got stuck in his stomach. He couldn¡¯t help coughing a few times before vomiting out water. After vomiting, the feeling of weakness eased. When he opened his eyes, he saw Long Shen looking at him with a drastically changed expression. Dong Zhi had been with Long Shen for some time and knew that although he had few expressions, it wasn¡¯t like he had facial paralysis. He occasionally smiled and frowned, but more often he was calm and serious. After being with him for so long, he had seen these expressions more than others. Usually, there was nothing that could easily move him, but he had never seen such a panicked look on his face. He lowered his head subconsciously and found a pool of blood on the ground that was completely black. Dong Zhi was stunned for a moment before he reached out to wipe the wet marks on the corner of his mouth, only to realize that the pool of blood came from him. Liu Qingbo¡¯s and Huo Jie¡¯s faces also changed. Before Dong Zhi could grasp the situation, Long Shen had already come over and supported his limp body and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. ¡°How are you? Do you feel discomfort?¡± ¡°I¡¯m okay,¡± Dong Zhi felt strange. ¡°It¡¯s just my legs are a little weak. I guess it¡¯s because I walked a lot and my chest was a little bit tight, but after I vomited, I feel much better. Maybe it was from the injury I suffered from the Wuzhiqi.¡± Seeing that Long Shen wanted to carry him, he became quite embarrassed, so he refused. ¡°Master, I¡¯m not uncomfortable¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t move!¡± Long Shen¡¯s tone was stern, but his actions were the exact opposite. Dong Zhi was taken aback, stopped resisting, and allowed the other party to carry himself obediently. Liu Qingbo frowned. ¡°Could it be that he suffered an internal injury just now?¡± Seeing that everyone¡¯s expressions weren¡¯t good-looking, Dong Zhi tried to comfort them. ¡°Boss Tang gave me an extra Shangqing Pill last time. I should be fine when I go back and take it.¡± As he spoke, he felt a stream of heat surging up in his chest, eager to find an exit. Dong Zhi finally felt something was wrong. He covered his mouth, but he couldn¡¯t control the flow of liquid. Black blood overflowed directly from his fingers and dripped on Long Shen¡¯s shoulders. Liu Qingbo was shocked. ¡°Boss Long, he vomited blood again and it¡¯s black!¡± ¡°I know.¡± Long Shen¡¯s footsteps didn¡¯t stop as he strode forward steadily, not letting the person on his back suffer even the slightest bump. ¡°Master¡­¡± Dong Zhi finally felt a trace of confusion. He didn¡¯t know what was wrong with him. It seemed that the fatigue that had been accumulating for some time had hit his lungs. His limbs were sore and weak, but his mind was still wide awake. Long Shen said, ¡°You may have been cursed.¡± Liu Qingbo was startled, then suddenly said, ¡°Last time, when we subdued Han Qi¡¯s demon fetus, he said he felt something jump into his body!¡± Long Shen let out a deep sigh. ¡°A heavenly demon should be able to invade the dreamland through curses and map its energy into reality. Therefore, if he¡¯s at a disadvantage in his dream, his spirit will be damaged, and it¡¯s reflected to the body where he¡¯ll also be injured.¡± He didn¡¯t say this before because he wasn¡¯t sure and wanted to wait until they got out of the underground cave to check on his apprentice carefully, but he didn¡¯t expect trouble would arise at this time. Even for practitioners, curses, like witchcraft, belonged to a particularly mysterious realm, which was unpredictable and hard to prevent. Long Shen didn¡¯t hear any response from Dong Zhi and thought that the other party was worried by the news. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid, I¡¯m here.¡± Kinky Thoughts: Nuwa Mother goddess of Chinese mythology. She is credited with creating humanity and repairing the Pillar of Heaven. As creator of mankind, she molded the upper-class individually by hand with yellow clay, and as she grew tired, she instead used a string to pull up the clay faster and form the lower-class. CH 105 This was the county seat. The nearest office was a branch office in Shencheng, which would take a few hours to drive to. Everyone was a mess. They could only find a nearby farmhouse to take a break before heading back. However, Liu Qingbo found a very important problem. They forgot to bring money and their cellphones were left ashore since they were going underwater. At this time, Dong Zhi pointed to his pocket and said weakly, ¡°I seem to have a little cash. Looking through it, it should be enough for the boss and us to have a meal and a shower.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­¡­ Like Dong Zhi said, the pocket space was small, and there was a few hundred dollars left in cash. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t know how he managed to stuff that much in such a small crevice. When the owner of the farmhouse saw that their group was carrying weapons and was covered in blood vomit, he didn¡¯t dare take them in. Liu Qingbo had to call Tang Jing, who notified the relevant local department, who then sent out a police car to pick them up. It took quite some time before everyone finally returned to Shencheng. Except for Long Shen, everyone was exhausted and didn¡¯t want to speak. Halfway before returning, Dong Zhi had fallen asleep on Long Shen¡¯s shoulder. When Long Shen got out of the car, he carried him to the hospital. Together with Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie, who both had various degrees of injuries, they were all admitted for an examination. After arranging all this, Long Shen and Tang Jing returned to the branch office to rendezvous with Song Zhicun, who had been waiting for them for a long time. ¡°How are they?¡± Song Zhicun asked as he greeted them. He received the news early in the morning. After Tang Jing went to pick them up, he stayed at the branch and waited while arranging the relevant security work for the international conference that was soon to begin. Seeing Long Shen return unscathed, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. Long Shen briefly explained the matter. Song Zhicun held Long Shen¡¯s hand and shook it vigorously. ¡°Boss Long, it¡¯s really hard on you!¡± He knew that despite Long Shen¡¯s few words that sounded unremarkable, in fact, this journey was probably full of dangers. If Director Jiang, who wasn¡¯t in the know, was here, he might really think that Long Shen and the others had easily triumphed. ¡°You¡¯ve worked hard as well.¡± Long Shen patted him on the shoulder. The three of them sat down. Long Shen spoke about the stone tablet and what the Wuzhiqi told them, then finally said, ¡°Tang Jing told me the clues provided by Ming Xian before his death. Both of them corroborated, indicating that the information should be truthful.¡± Hearing the word ¡°death¡±, Tang Jing¡¯s face changed slightly and his hands on the table slowly clenched, but in the end he said nothing. Long Shen¡¯s and Song Zhicun¡¯s attention weren¡¯t on him. Song Zhicun frowned. ¡°The Kunlun Mountain Range is so vast. It¡¯s definitely not easy to find!¡± Long Shen: ¡°I¡¯ll talk to the Northwest Branch first and have them start the search operation. We must also pay attention to the movements on Tokyo side. We know that Otowa Yasuhiko may not know about it.¡± Song Zhicun nodded, then suddenly remembered something. ¡°By the way, speaking of Otowa, we have already found his true identity, but it might sound a bit bizarre. Boss Tang can tell you.¡± Tang Jing cleared up his mood and said solemnly, ¡°According to what Ming Xian said, we have found a person named Asaka Yasuhiko.¡± He pressed the remote control in his hand, and a black and white photo appeared on a large screen on the wall. ¡°Asaka Yasuhiko, born in 1887, Japanese imperial family, uncle of Emperor Hirohito. He is known as Prince Asaka in the Imperial Palace. He served as a general during World War II.¡± Tang Jing¡¯s paused slightly. ¡°He¡¯s also the culprit who ordered the Nanjing Massacre*.¡± *Also known as the Rape of Nanjing, was a mass murder of Chinese civilians in Nanjing during the Second Sino-Japanese War and was one of the worst atrocities committed during World War II. It seems that this character is based after Prince Yasuhiko Asaka who commanded the army during this massacre. It is disputed whether he ordered it or simply stood by as this happened, but he took no action to stop it. ¡°But after the war, he was not sent to a military court. Due to the cover-up by the United States, the entire royal family was able to escape the guilt. Asaka Yasuhiko was only deprived of his imperial status. He still retained his wealth and lived until he was ninety-four years old before he died*.¡± *This is mainly true. You can read more on the Wikipedia on Prince Yasuhiko Asaka for more information. ¡°We also checked on the Otowa Consortium. It rose sharply after World War II and started in the military industry. Generally, this kind of industry has a political and economic background behind it, but the Otowa Consortium seems to appear out of thin air, and the same goes for its founder. However, if we connect it with Asaka Yasuhiko, if he secretly prepared it in advance in another capacity, it makes sense.¡± ¡°After Boss Song discussed this with me, we all believed that Otowa Yasuhiko might have inadvertently learned the secret of obtaining demonic energy. With the help of the Japanese onmyojis and priests, he successfully transformed himself into a demon so he would be able to live forever. In order to hide this, he died as Asaka Yasuhiko at the age of ninety-four, and continued to live as Otowa Yasuhiko, who was well prepared.¡± The amount of information was so astounding that even Long Shen needed a moment of silence to process it. ¡°Anything else?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± Tang Jing said. ¡°Ming Xian¡¯s true body is the Gold and Silver Pingwen Zither. This is a national treasure of Japan, which means it¡¯s impossible for Otowa Yasuhiko to easily obtain. However, since he¡¯s part of the royal family, naturally it would be easier for him to get these resources than others. Based on the fact that he was able to repeatedly send Fujikawa Aoi and other onmyojis to China, those priests and onmyojis has a deeper connection with him than we thought.¡± Song Zhicun added in a heavy tone, ¡°I also notified Boss Wu about Dong Zhilan. His soul¡ª¡± Thinking of the torture that Dong Zhilan had suffered before the end of his life, Song Zhicun couldn¡¯t continue for a moment, even for a person like him who had worked for many years and had endured many angers and sadness. ¡°Since his soul has been integrated with Ming Xian¡¯s soul by Asaka, there must be no ashes left. Boss Wu said that he will do a posthumous recognition and memorial service for him.¡± ¡°Good.¡± Long Shen had no objection. At the end of the meeting, Song Zhicun was busy contacting the General Administration to arrange various aftermath matters. When he got up and was about to leave, Long Shen stopped him. ¡°Boss Song, ten days later, when the international conference is over, I will not return to Beijing. I will be taking Dong Zhi to Hainan.¡± Song Zhicun was startled. ¡°What?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Dong Zhi has been cursed. It may be related to the Han Qi incident. I will take him to visit the Chi family to see if there¡¯s a way to lift the curse.¡± Although his face wasn¡¯t obvious, how could Song Zhicun not see through this. He immediately happily said, ¡°Go, go. There¡¯s still me and Boss Wu at the General Administration!¡± After thinking for a while, he comforted, ¡°That child Dong Zhi is blessed. I don¡¯t think anything bad will happen.¡± Long Shen nodded his head to express his gratitude. After Song Zhicun left, Long Shen looked at Tang Jing, who was obviously depressed. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Tang Jing reluctantly smiled. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just need some time alone. Is there anything else, Boss Long?¡± Long Shen said, ¡®Before we came out of the well, we broke the iron net that closed it off. When you get the chance, please ask someone to reweld it so as to prevent any accidents.¡± Tang Jing: ¡°Will do.¡± He really wasn¡¯t in the mood for further discussion. He pressed his hands on the table and slowly got up, but he couldn¡¯t help but sighed unintentionally due to being so physically and mentally exhausted. ¡°You, are you with Ming Xian¡­¡± It was rare for Long Shen to hesitate. Because of his temperament, he never inquired about other people¡¯s affairs. Although Ming Xian was a vessel spirit created by Asaka Yasuhiko, he was now dead. As with all things, once dead, everything would disappear. What was more, Tang Jing wasn¡¯t negligent in his dealings with Ming Xian, so he couldn¡¯t be accused of improper behavior. As soon as he spoke, Long Shen suddenly realized that it was selfish to ask something like this. Tang Jing didn¡¯t notice this. All kinds of emotions in his heart poured in, scrambling together and piling up like a mountain that was crumbling, and he was in urgent need of venting. Long Shen¡¯s question just opened the gap between this fragile state that was about to collapse. ¡°I thought we were just acting on the spot. I wasn¡¯t human and he wasn¡¯t either. Don¡¯t you think it¡¯s ridiculous for a mirror to like a zither? But when he died, I cried,¡± Tang Jing murmured, as if he was talking to himself. Long Shen was silent. He knew the other party didn¡¯t need his response. ¡°If he had nothing to do with Otowa Yasuhiko, maybe it would be possible. Between us, it was never pure from the beginning. There¡¯s no point in talking about whether it was love or not.¡± Tang Jing closed his eyes, as if he wanted to laugh at himself, but he could only utter a smile. The corners of his mouth were forced, but his eyes were red. ¡°Actually, I just realized now that after living for so long, it¡¯s rare to suddenly meet someone who can see through my origins and be in harmony with me in bed and under the sheets. It turns out that I will be lonely and miserable. Boss Long, will you also?¡± Will he? Long Shen thought for a while. He never stopped for anyone or anything, but now he had an apprentice that walked slowly and would cause him to stop in his tracks from time to time and made him wait for him to catch up. Both sides had different thoughts so the conversation naturally ended. Tang Jing said, ¡°As soon as matters are over, I want to take a long vacation and have a good rest.¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°Submit a leave report at that time. However, if there¡¯s an emergency, you¡¯ll need to report back.¡± Tang Jing smiled. ¡°Of course. It is my duty. Boss Long, if you deal with Otowa Yasuhiko in the future, even if you want to go to Japan to kill him in person, you must count me as one of the people among your group.¡± Long Shen stared at him for a moment. ¡°Okay.¡± Long Shen returned to the hospital after leaving the branch office. He first went to see Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie. Their injuries had been properly dealt with. As for their internal injuries, those could only be healed slowly. Long Shen had already asked the General Administration for Shanqing Pills, which would be delivered soon. Everyone needed rest after such a long and thrilling battle. When Long Shen passed by, Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie were fast asleep, and Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t an exception. This hospital was a public security hospital, so there was a Special Administration Bureau attached to it. The three of them were injured on duty and were assigned separate wards. There was also a small living room and a separate bathroom. The conditions weren¡¯t so bad that even the temper of Young Master Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t pick out any dissatisfaction. Long Shen sat in Dong Zhi¡¯s ward for a while, motionless. He was still thinking about many things in his mind, including Dong Zhi¡¯s curse, Otowa Yasuhiko, Mara, and the stone tablets. Thousands of thoughts rushed in all at once. Now that there was a major breakthrough and progress on the stone tablets¡¯ clues, the direction of their search should also be changed, and they had to quickly do it ahead of Otowa. In the era of the end of law, demons had been resurrected one after another. In addition to Otowa Yasuhiko and Mara, many incidents had been going on in the west. Perhaps they needed to strengthen their intelligence exchanges with the other side. They should take advantage of the opportunity during the World Exchange Conference. There was also the upcoming international conference. Otowa Yasuhiko was driven back in time with the demise of Cheng Yuan and Ming Xian, but he would surely not give up. He had to strengthen his precautions and would discuss it with Song Zhicun and Tang Jing again¡­ Perhaps due the surrounding environment was too quiet, or he was infected by Dong Zhi¡¯s sweet sleeping that Long Shen felt a little tired himself, and all his thoughts finally faded away, like the dark scene at the end of a movie. Everything returned to nothingness. His consciousness precipitated and he sank into the deep pool of dreams. ¡ª Dong Zhi blinked several times as he looked at the snow-white ceiling above his head and listened to the cheerful cries of birds jumping under branches outside the window. Finally, he was sure that he was lying safely in a hospital bed and not in a dark underwater cave. There was pain in his limbs from overdrawing his physical strength. His arms were medicated, and the back of his hand had a tingling feeling. He saw an IV bag hanging by his bed that was almost finished. He pulled out the needle and sat up. Except for a little dizziness, there wasn¡¯t any particular discomfort. If it weren¡¯t for Long Shen¡¯s words, he¡¯d never have thought he¡¯d be able to lay his head on his shoulder. The room was quiet, so quiet, that when he turned his head to the other side, he saw Long Shen sitting on the sofa asleep. In his impression, Long Shen rarely rested and always seemed energetic. When everyone was tired after their battle in Yinchuan, Long Shen was still in high spirits. He once felt that Long Shen might have slept for too long before his transformation, so he no longer needed to sleep after being refined, though he only dared joke about this in his heart. Now that he saw Long Shen asleep, he finally felt that his master also needed rest in the real sense. He picked up the blanket by the bed casually and wanted to get out and put on his shoes, but suddenly changed his mind and instead stepped on the floor barefoot, walked over silently, and gently covered Long Shen with a blanket. He didn¡¯t expect Long Shen to be as alert as he was, and almost as soon as he got close, he had already woken up. Dong Zhi¡¯s movement stopped mid-action and he could only explain, ¡°I was afraid you¡¯d catch a cold.¡± Long Shen sat up straight, nodded, and took his blanket, but didn¡¯t cover himself and just put it aside. ¡°Master, why don¡¯t you sleep some more?¡± ¡°No, I slept all night.¡± Long Shen glanced at his feet. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you put on slippers?¡± Dong Zhi smiled embarrassedly. ¡°I was afraid to wake you up.¡± As a result, he still woke up Long Shen. ¡°Let me see your body,¡± Long Shen said. Even though the room was heated, it was indeed a bit cold being barefooted. Dong Zhi sat cross-legged on the sofa while holding the blanket while Long Shen checked his pulse. Dong Zhi took a closer look and found that Long Shen¡¯s expression hadn¡¯t changed much. He couldn¡¯t tell from the other person¡¯s face whether he was terminally ill and the situation was hopeless or if it was a minor problem. ¡°Master, is my curse serious?¡± he asked tentatively. Long Shen said, ¡°I can feel that there¡¯s a force in your body that doesn¡¯t match, but as for the specifics, we have to go to the Chi family and have them take a look at you. I don¡¯t know much about curses.¡± It felt worlds apart due to the differences in their professions. Dong Zhi could only nod. Dong Zhi said honestly, ¡°I¡¯m okay.¡± He was really okay. Those few mouthfuls of black blood felt like hallucinations, and he didn¡¯t even smell the blood in his mouth. ¡°Master, are you done? How are you preparing for the international conference?¡± After their reunion, they were finally alone for the first time. He didn¡¯t know how to get along with Long Shen. He wasn¡¯t enthusiastic, nor was he indifferent, but he had nothing to say. Seeing that Long Shen didn¡¯t answer, he thought he inquired too much and had overstepped his authority, so he hurriedly apologized. Long Shen shook his head. In fact, he was just thinking about Dong Zhi¡¯s problem just now, and his thoughts trailed off for a bit. ¡°The meeting will end at the end of this month. After that, we¡¯ll go to Hainan. Before then, you can rest a bit more.¡± Dong Zhi reacted quickly. ¡°The Chi family?¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°The Chi family is the only clan that are witches and witchdoctors in China. Chi Banxia¡¯s father is an excellent witchdoctor. We have also considered recruiting him into the Special Administration Bureau before.¡± Dong Zhi became curious, so he took advantage and asked, ¡°Didn¡¯t he want to?¡± ¡°At that time, Zhang Xiankun, the former director of the bureau, paid more attention to his family background and believed that curses and witchcraft belonged to the evil path. Chi Banxia¡¯s father was young and arrogant at that time. He couldn¡¯t bear it, so he left and threatened that he would never return to the Special Administration Bureau again in his life.¡± Dong Zhi was quite surprised. From his impression, Chi Banxia was a sweet, lively little girl. He didn¡¯t expect her father¡¯s temper to be so hot. Having said that, Chi Banxia was now working with the Special Administration Bureau. Even if it was only for the sake of his daughter, he would not shut them out. Dong Zhi just had a faint feeling that witchcraft may not be so easily understood. Long Shen must had recognized this, so he deliberately mentioned the Chi family and gave him some reassurance. The deeper the understanding, the more Dong Zhi could feel his care under the indifference. ¡°Master, I¡¯m sorry I made you worried. You didn¡¯t need to go through all this trouble, and now you have to take up your time to attend to my private matters.¡± ¡°You were injured while on duty, so it¡¯s not a personal matter.¡± After saying this and seeing Dong Zhi¡¯s astonishment, Long Shen added, ¡°I have a year¡¯s worth of vacation and I haven¡¯t been to Hainan for a long time. This is just a short tour.¡± Dong Zhi was relieved to hear this and joked, ¡°There are many nice sea view hotels in Sanya, as well as an infinity swimming pool. If I ask you to stay for a few days, will you treat this as a vacation between master and apprentice?¡± He said this purely casually and never thought that the other party would agree. Who knew that Long Shen thought about it and nodded. ¡°Okay.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback for a moment before a scene of Long Shen swimming breaststroke in the water blankly appeared uncontrollably. No. Stop. If he thought about it, his Master¡¯s reputation would become defiled in his brain for the rest of his life! The days of recuperation were nothing more than the same. He would eat when he woke up, go back to sleep after eating, occasionally visit Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie, who were next door, and more often than not, he would lie in bed, as if to make up for the vitality he had lost in the past few days. Long Shen was extremely busy each day, especially as the international conference was approaching. Although Song Zhicun and Tang Jing were also there, he was indispensable. Dong Zhi watched the news introducing the international conference on TV, which said that this year was a new record for participating countries over previous years. While the leaders of many countries met with each other, he couldn¡¯t imagine the amount of effort Long Shen and the others put in behind the scenes to run everything smoothly. But no matter how busy Long Shen was, he would go to the hospital to visit Dong Zhi almost every other day and would stay there for a long time every time. During this period, Dong Zhi vomited black blood twice more. However, his body didn¡¯t further deteriorate, nor did his eight meridians open up. His state wasn¡¯t bad but leaned towards lethargy. His biological clock gradually extended from the original eight hours of sleep to about ten hours, but this didn¡¯t really mean anything. When he went to school in the past, he knew some of his classmates wanted to stay in bed for 24 hours when winter came. On the other hand, Dong Zhi learned that in order not to scare the snake, the original search for the stone tablets continued like headless flies on the surface, but the General Administration had secretly ordered a search to focus on the dragon vein. There were many dragon veins, large and small, in the south. One was the Qinhuai River area that included Jinling, which was consistent with the direction He Yu and the others were looking for before, and now they could narrow the scope even more. First, the Yanchang area; although it had been a land of barbarians since ancient times, a dragon vein wasn¡¯t dependent on whether there was an emperor or not. Still, it could barely be considered a dragon vein and it extended west into the region of Bashu, which radiated out with Chengdu as the center. This included Emei Mountain and Qingcheng Mountain in the search scope. In this way, the workload of He Yu, Kan Chaosheng, and the others had greatly increased. In order to avoid worry, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t mention to them that he was cursed, but He Yu had probably heard it from Long Shen, as he came up with a bunch of messy thoughts. Even Kan Chaosheng called and said that if necessary, he could provide a piece of a Jiao¡¯s scale. Dong Zhi could hear both concern and reluctance in his tone, and his heart couldn¡¯t help but feel moved that he disregarded his wallet and promised to buy three large boxes of snacks and willingly signed an unequal contract. The calm and lively days weren¡¯t always smooth. There was bad news from the Northwest Branch. According to the ¡°Shaohua Travel Map¡± provided by Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, the Northwest Branch searched up and down near Shaohua Mountain. With all their efforts and troubles, they finally found the location of the stone tablet at the foot of Shaohua Mountain, but when they dug three feet into the ground and dug out the stone tablet, they found the last thing they wanted to see. The stone tablet was broken to the point where it couldn¡¯t be restored, but even if it could, the array had already been invalidated. According to the comparative study of the soil composition around the stone tablet, the people of the Northwest Branch found that the soil around it hadn¡¯t been moved for hundreds of years. This meant that the stone tablet might have been damaged hundreds of years ago after the painting. Perhaps it was due to unintentional destruction by ordinary people. The Northwest Branch flipped through the local county records and ancient books in Hua County, where Shaohua Mountain was located, and they found a clue that could be related to this. A few decades after the ¡°Shaohua Travel Map¡± was painted, in 1556 AD, a severe earthquake was recorded in the Ming Dynasty that was extremely catastrophic, leaving more than 800,000 dead. According to the county records preserved in the local area to this day, it was around midnight at the time of the earthquake. Some people saw the area around Shaohua Mountain lit up as bright as day, mixed with red light, like the rising sun. It seemed as if day and night had flipped upside down, and there was a terrifying earth movement. Of course, this discovery didn¡¯t explain anything. After all, the writings of the ancients, no matter what natural or man-made disasters occurred, were always attributed to the ways of heaven. It was incomprehensible. However, this matter wasn¡¯t without gain. There was at least eight stone tablets, of which four were currently known, with one damaged from Shaohua Mountain. This meant that they only needed to find the remaining four stone tablets. It was only at this time that Dong Zhi realized the trouble caused by his curse. Like Liu Qingbo and Huo Jing, although they were still lying in the hospital, resting in the name of recuperation, if there were no accidents, they would soon be able to return to work. As for him, this would be longer. Unconsciously, he had become accustomed to the thrilling days of adventure, while painting had become a lifelong hobby. In the Special Administration Bureau, he had found ideals and dreams that were worthy of his constant pursuit. There was a group of companions of different personalities, and there were friends who were worthy of entrusting his life to, and even more people that he liked and respected. Long Shen wasn¡¯t idle either. He sent an email to the Association of White-Robe Witches in Southeast Asia to inquire about Dong Zhi¡¯s situation and quickly got a reply. The one who replied to him was a well-known witchdoctor in Thailand and the Vice-President of the association. His name was Xinchai. It was rumored that he was also one of the witchdoctors of the royal family. Xinchai told Long Shen that since he couldn¡¯t meet Dong Zhi himself, he didn¡¯t dare make any conclusion lightly, but according to the description, Dong Zhi was indeed very likely to have been cursed, and it was by a witchdoctor that specialized in black magic. There were thousands of types of curses in the world, among which there were many that were created by the witchdoctor himself. They could be described as strange and imaginative. There was always a cause and effect in the world, and naturally, curses were no exception. Curses harm people, and the person who harmed them would also suffer backlash, some serious enough that they could die from it. Many witchdoctors and witches would be unwilling to do such a thing, but there were some that used unscrupulous means. If they had to kill someone, they would use substitutes to eliminate the backlash of their curse, so they could continue to do whatever they wanted. Some would even capture their target and torture them in all kinds of ways, causing them to die in resentment. They would then refine their grievances into their curses, which only made them more complicated and deadly. The letter then ended with a meaningful sentence: I have traveled all over the world over the years and have seen countless bizarre things. Long, my dear friend, you can never imagine how vicious humans can be. Good luck to you and your apprentice. Although he didn¡¯t say it clearly, the implication was that even if he saw Dong Zhi himself, he would be helpless to lift the curse on Dong Zhi. If even a master-level figure among witches and witchdoctors like Xinchai said so, was it even necessary to visit the Chi family in Hainan? Kinky Thoughts: Correction on a name: Otowa Yasuhiko was originally translated as Otowa Hatsuhiko. Previous chapters should be fixed, but if you have read before the fix, please note this. If there are any chapters I have missed, please let me know so I can update. CH 106 When Dong Zhi came back from his visit next door, he saw Long Shen frowning and contemplating at the computer screen. ¡°Master, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing.¡± Seeing him coming over, Long Shen closed his laptop. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t show it to the other party, but he felt it wouldn¡¯t help even if Dong Zhi saw it. On the contrary, it might make him worry even more. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t ask much and raised the food bag in his hand. ¡°These are pan-fried buns that the nurse gave me just now. She said they ordered too much and couldn¡¯t finish it, so they gave some to me. It¡¯s still hot. Shall we have some together?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± In the past, Long Shen would¡¯ve probably refused. He wasn¡¯t the foodie-type like Kan Chaosheng, but recently, even Dong Zhi had noticed that Long Shen had indulged him and made a lot of compromises, almost to the point of spoiling him. After that night, when Long Shen categorically rejected Dong Zhi¡¯s confession, he had suppressed all thoughts he shouldn¡¯t have to the deepest corner, and now he only felt as if Long Shen¡¯s change was related to him being cursed. He bent over and opened the box, causing the patient number to slide down his shoulder, exposing his collarbone along with his slender back and neck. Long Shen¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°Behind you, what is it?¡± ¡°What?¡± Dong Zhi looked up blankly. Long Shen said, ¡°Sit down and turn around.¡± Dong Zhi untied his clothes following Long Shen¡¯s orders. Long Shen brought a mirror and asked him to turn his head. There, Dong Zhi saw a rose-red mark on his back shoulder. On a closer look, it resembled a peach blossom. It had an ambiguous romantic flair to it and appeared to be a mark from a novel that would only appear when you met the right one. However, not only did Long Shen not feel any ambiguous feelings, but his face also turned cold. Dong Zhi let out a sigh. ¡°Where did this come from? It wasn¡¯t there yesterday.¡± Five words appeared in Long Shen¡¯s mind. Ghost-faced peach blossom curse. Dong Zhi also remembered and said, with some uncertainty, ¡°Wasn¡¯t Lin Xuan¡¯s father also cursed by this?¡± Long Shen confirmed his guess. ¡°Yes.¡± But there were many kinds of curse techniques. Even if they had the same name, because of the different habits of witches and witchdoctors, the methods of resolving them may not be the same. Last time, Lin Xuan¡¯s father only suffered from an ordinary ghost-faced peach blossom curse. He was tortured almost half to death and had almost lost his life. In the end, Lin Xuan got a dragon bone from the Special Administration Bureau and was able to lift it. This time, a heavenly demon had fought Dong Zhi in his dreams through this curse, which only meant the curse was a hundred times more difficult to resolve. While Long Shen was in deep contemplation, Dong Zhi patted him and handed him a pair of chopsticks. ¡°Master, let¡¯s eat the buns first. It¡¯s getting cold. If you don¡¯t eat any, I¡¯ll be too embarrassed to start.¡± Although he was worried, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to add any more trouble or pressure to Long Shen, because he knew that Long Shen wanted to lift the curse more than himself. Sure enough, the bun had become cold. After taking a bite, they had lost their crispy and warm taste, and even the soup inside had become a bit fishy. When Dong Zhi took a bite, he didn¡¯t want to continue eating. He sighed, ¡°In this weather, it would be great if we could eat hot pot!¡± He had been hospitalized for many days and ate standard hospital meals. Even if he wasn¡¯t as addicted to eating as Kan Chaosheng, he couldn¡¯t help but start craving food. Long Shen also put down his chopsticks. ¡°What kind of hotpot do you want to eat?¡± ¡°The best is the Mandarin duck hotpot, divided into four different soups. A tomato base, a clear base, a spicy base, and a mushroom base. Then we¡¯ll have shabu-shabu, some mutton, fat tendons, and duck tongue. It¡¯s best to drink the tomato soup after eating the shabu-shabu. At the end, you can add noodles or vermicelli. It¡¯s very tasty!¡± Because he had been craving real food for so long, Dong Zhi swallowed his saliva as he spoke. After fighting with the wild and rough Wuzhiqi, Dong Zhi had grown thicker-skinned and pretended that he didn¡¯t hear his stomach growling. Seeing that Long Shen picked up his phone and started ordering hotpot for takeout, Dong Zhi hurriedly stretched out his hand and held the phone down. ¡°Master, you can¡¯t eat hotpot in the ward.¡± Long Shen said, ¡°There are only a few of you on this floor. I¡¯ll talk to them. They¡¯ll make an exception.¡± When Dong Zhi heard this, he couldn¡¯t help smiling. ¡°Okay, then I¡¯ll go call Lao Liu and Huo Ge. Lao Liu has been complaining about the light food every day. If he finds out I didn¡¯t call him, he¡¯ll scold me to death!¡± Naturally, Long Shen had no objection. He gave Dong Zhi his phone and asked him to order what he liked, then he got up and walked out to give notice to the hospital in advance. ¡°Master.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly spoke up. Long Shen stood still and turned his head. His disciple hadn¡¯t shown so much hesitancy in so long. Although Long Shen didn¡¯t like this expression, he still waited patiently for the other party to speak. A few times before, the words had come to his mouth, but he was too timid to speak out. At this moment, taking advantage of the atmosphere, Dong Zhi finally said, ¡°What I said on the phone last time, I was joking. I didn¡¯t mean to annoy you. Just treat it as me being impulsive. I want to apologize to you, Master. I¡¯m sorry for causing you trouble.¡± He finally said his apology, which also meant that going forward, he must hold all unreasonable thoughts firmly in his heart. He must never cross the line, not even by half a step, and always abide by the other person¡¯s boundaries. Today, he finally understood that he liked Long Shen, but he didn¡¯t want him to have the slightest burden of anger. Liking someone was to make the other happy. If this liking couldn¡¯t bring happiness to them, then giving up was the best result. But instead of reacting with relief or nodding indifferently as he had imagined, Long Shen smiled instead. It was a pure smile, without any hint of sarcasm. Dong Zhi was completely stunned. Before he could figure out what this smile meant, Long Shen had already opened the door and walked out. He wanted to jump up and stop him for questioning, but he didn¡¯t dare stop his Master, Director Long, who dared to fight to the death against the Wuzhiqi, so he could only watch as Long Shen left while closing the door behind him. So, in fact, the person who had been cursed wasn¡¯t him, but his master, right? After thinking about it for half a day, Dong Zhi could only draw this conclusion. The hotpot that night opened with a lively scene but ended unexpectedly. Everyone failed to have fun because when Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were fighting over a fish ball, Dong Zhi had a sudden angina attack that hurt so much he dropped his chopsticks, bent down, and his entire body fell to the ground, sweeping away the vegetables and shiitake mushrooms on the table. His face had turned completely pale at the time, which scared everyone. Before Dong Zhi fell to the ground, Long Shen hugged him and supported him, but it didn¡¯t ease the pain. His heart seemed to be gripped tightly in someone¡¯s hand who was repeatedly kneading it. The pain radiated from his heart to all the nerves in his body. Every breath felt like unbearable torture. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t even realize that he was being held in Long Shen¡¯s arms. He was sweating profusely and trembling all over. The only thing he could do was cling to the clothes near his heart, wanting to reach inside his chest, grab his heart, and throw it out, so he didn¡¯t have to endure this kind of pain any longer. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know how much time had passed before the wave of pain had eased. He panted for breath and slowly regained his consciousness. He found that the hotpot gathering was over. Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie had left some time ago. There were lots of leftovers on the table that had gone cold. The hot soup in the pot was still kept warm and the heat was curling up, but there were no ingredients inside, making it look quite lonely. ¡°Master¡­¡± As soon as Dong Zhi spoke, his voice was a little hoarse and there was a sense of wetness and weakness in his body. This was the aftermath of excessive sweating. ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Long Shen let him go. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt anymore?¡± Dong Zhi nodded. Seeing the blood marks he left on Long Shen¡¯s wrist and the back of his hand, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. ¡°Your hand¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine. Your situation can¡¯t be delayed any longer. We¡¯ll go to Hainan tomorrow.¡± Long Shen helped him up. Since he didn¡¯t have the strength to stand, Long Shen directly picked up Dong Zhi and put him on the bed. ¡°Don¡¯t shower today. I¡¯ll get a towel and wipe you down.¡± Dong Zhi grabbed Long Shen¡¯s wrist but couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Master, this situation¡­ Will another attack like this happen again?¡± Long Shen had already seen the peach blossom mark on Dong Zhi¡¯s back just now. It had become a bit darker than before, but he didn¡¯t confirm anything and instead just said, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid.¡± Dong Zhi was weak all over. His pale face couldn¡¯t recover so quickly. He smiled softly when he heard Long Shen¡¯s words. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid that I¡¯ll scratch you in the future. When I have a seizure next time, you can grab me a plush doll instead.¡± ¡°No need.¡± Long Shen wiped the sweat from Dong Zhi¡¯s forehead with his hand. After thinking for a bit, he added, ¡°I¡¯m here.¡± Long Shen moved very quickly. While Dong Zhi was resting, he had already booked the plane tickets and the hotel and arranged a meeting time with the Chi family, then he took Dong Zhi directly to Hainan. Before parting, Liu Qingbo and Huo Jie went to see them off. With Dong Zhi¡¯s absence, Liu Qingbo became the temporary person in charge of the Lucheng office. Dong Zhi was worried given Liu Qingbo¡¯s violent temper, so it was inevitable that he would give him a few words of advice. It was nothing more than cautioning him to mind his temper, but Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes when hearing this. Still, he didn¡¯t turn around and leave, and instead listened to all of what Dong Zhi told him. ¡°Geez, if you¡¯re so worried, just come back to Lucheng with me. Why are you so long-winded?¡± Dong Zhi smiled dryly. ¡°I used to be there, so you vented all your energy when you bicker with me. This time, I¡¯m afraid that there¡¯ll be no one there to cheer you up and you¡¯ll get lonely!¡± Liu Qingbo: Still a fucking comedian. How can he still be cracking jokes! But for Dong Zhi¡¯s sake, due to his illness, Liu Qingbo held back. ¡°There¡¯s still Zhang Chong. That guy is owed a lot of scolding, so I¡¯ll just scold him every day!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ He really wanted to know what Zhang Chong¡¯s expression was if he heard these words. ¡°Alright, alright, go, go. Hurry up and lift the curse and come back!¡± Liu Qingbo waved his hand, as if he was swatting away flies. At the end, he added something that didn¡¯t sound so straightforward. ¡°You must return safely. If you become a ghost, I¡¯ll find a psychic to trap your soul so I can scold you constantly. You won¡¯t be able to rest in peace!¡± This was Liu Qingbo¡¯s unique way of expressing concern for his friends. Dong Zhi accepted it with a smile and bid goodbye to Huo Jie. He asked him to send his greetings to Tang Jing as he entered the security checkpoint with Long Shen. The two watched them leave the area until they had gone through security and walked away. When their figures disappeared, Huo Jie sighed softly. ¡°I hope he is safe.¡± ¡°Definitely,¡± Liu Qingbo replied. ¡ª The Chi family¡¯s residence wasn¡¯t hidden in the mountains or some old forest, as Dong Zhi imagined they would live an isolated life. In fact, Hainan had a tropical climate with plenty of sunshine and moisture. It was like the fruit paradise of many people¡¯s dreams. The Chi family started in the fruit business very early and had now become one of the best fruit wholesalers in China. Strictly speaking, curses had become their side gig rather than their main business. Such a secularized family naturally saved Long Shen a lot of effort. When they got off the plane, someone from the Chi family came to pick them up. The other party was a junior from the Chi family and Chi Banxia¡¯s cousin. They treated Long Shen very politely and respectfully and drove them to the villa on the outskirts of the city. When they learned that Long Shen had already booked a hotel and didn¡¯t plan to stay in their home, Chi Banxia¡¯s cousin asked for another car to take their luggage to the hotel first. Long Shen originally contacted Chi Banxia¡¯s father, but because he attached great importance to Long Shen, the current patriarch of the Chi family, Chi Banxia¡¯s grandfather, Chi Xing, wanted to meet him in person at their villa. ¡°I have heard about Boss Long for a while now. It¡¯s a pity that there were various reasons in the past when our fate did not align. Fortunately, I finally got to meet you today. I can die now without regrets!¡± Chi Xing was extremely enthusiastic. He waited at the door of the villa in person and stepped forward with his cane to shake hands with Long Shen. Long Shen said, ¡°Now that international exchanges are increasing day by day, talents like Mr. Chi¡¯s are welcome by the Special Administration Bureau. The position of Honorary Consultant of our General Administration is always open for you.¡± Elder Chi narrowed his eyes with a smile and repeatedly said he wasn¡¯t worthy. Chi Banxia¡¯s father and uncle stood to the side. Elder Chi personally introduced Long Shen to them. Only then did Dong Zhi find out that not everyone in the Chi family was a witch or witchdoctor. Chi Banxia¡¯s uncle, for instance, was an ordinary businessman. Magic required talent. Chi Banxia and her cousin, who picked them up, were regarded as the most talented in the current generation of the Chi family. After a few pleasantries, Elder Chi knew that Long Shen specifically came for his apprentice, so his eyes fell on Dong Zhi. ¡°Little one, put out your hand and let me see.¡± Chi Banxia¡¯s father added, ¡°My father is the most powerful figure in the Chi family!¡± The implication being that if this Elder couldn¡¯t help him, there was even less to be said about the rest of the Chi family. Dong Zhi stretched out his hand, following Elder Chi¡¯s instruction. The Elder¡¯s thin palms kneaded his head repeatedly, then started moving slowly up inch by inch until he finally stopped at the elbow. ¡°This is the ghost-faced peach blossom curse.¡± Elder Chi let go of Dong Zhi¡¯s hand and let out a soft sigh. The rest of the Chi family¡¯s expressions changed color when they heard this. Chi Banxia¡¯s father looked solemn. ¡°The last time it was the Lin family that was hit by this kind of curse.¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°Yes, I heard that it only through the hands of Elder Chi that it was resolved, so I can only bother Elder again.¡± Elder Chi smiled bitterly. ¡°You flatter me too much. In fact, it was like trying to save a dead horse as if it was still living*¡ªat that time, I wasn¡¯t completely confident. Bluntly put, everyone has different techniques and different solutions. Although the Chi family¡¯s techniques were learned from Southeast Asia, they are one of many. The jungle is dense, filled with crouching tigers and hidden dragons. There are many witches that use techniques that I myself have never seen. Not all can be known. According to my judgement, I¡¯m afraid Xiao Dong¡¯s curse is a bit tricky.¡± *(ËÀÂíµ±×÷»îÂíÒ½) Colloquial saying referring making a last-ditch effort to save a hopeless situation. Long Shen said, ¡°Elder, please try whatever you can.¡± Elder Chi: ¡°Since Boss Long thinks so highly of me, I¡¯ll do my best. I wonder if Boss Long brought me the dragon bones?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°I did.¡± He handed over the bag he was carrying. Only then did Dong Zhi know the extent of the preparation work his master had done without his knowledge. Elder Chi took the bag and asked his eldest grandson to follow him in while Chi Banxia¡¯s father stayed to talk to Long Shen. Since the uncle was just an ordinary person, he kindly apologized and left first so as not to get in the way. Chi Banxia¡¯s father was the one who wanted to enter the Special Administration Bureau when he was young, but he left with a lot of anger. Decades later, his temper seemed to have subsided as his entire persona looked quite calm. Dong Zhi saw that he respected Long Shen quite a lot. It wasn¡¯t like the respect shown to a Deputy Director of the Special Administration Bureau, but one of meeting one¡¯s idol. The other party told them more about curse techniques in the jungle. ¡°The world thinks that the most powerful black magic is the head-descent technique*. In fact, this is in terms of difficulty for the cultivator. The truth is, the most vicious of all kinds is the ghost technique, because the cultivator could detain a person¡¯s soul who had died a violent death or in vain and use various methods to arouse their grievances. Then they would refine their souls and add them as servants to various families. This kind of black magic is extremely difficult to deal with. *(·ÉÍ·½µ) Technique in which the cultivator disconnects his head from his body and flies it around. There are 7 stages, and once the final stage is reached, the cultivator can live forever. Long Shen heard the implication from Chi Banxia¡¯s explanation. ¡°Is the ghost-faced curse on Lin Ji different from that of Dong Zhi?¡± The other party nodded. ¡°Although it¡¯s also called the ghost-faced peach blossom curse, Lin Ji¡¯s curse was in his heart, while Dong Zhi¡¯s is on the back. I don¡¯t think this is accidental. It may be that the method used by the person was different. Last time, Lin Ji offended someone while doing business. It could be the one offended sought out a master to curse him and the master didn¡¯t take Lin Ji seriously, but this time¡­¡± Chi Banxia¡¯s father gave Dong Zhi a difficult look and didn¡¯t continue. Both Dong Zhi and Long Shen understood. This time, Dong Zhi was in the process of eradicating a demon fetus. The other party was probably eyeing him. There was even a figure of a heavenly demon. Despite Long Shen bringing a dragon bone, the Chi family dared not be optimistic. After a while, a young man came out to inform them that they could go in. Dong Zhi followed Long Shen and walked into the room and was immediately blurred by the steaming heat. The layout of the room was very strange. It was surrounded by a circular sink and there was a large wooden barrel, half a person high, in the middle. It was full of dark hot water and a strange aroma wafted from it. Elder Chi said, ¡°Where is the peach blossom mark on your body? Let me see it.¡± Dong Zhi took off his shirt. The ¡°peach blossom¡± was under his right shoulder on his back. The color was much darker than yesterday. Even Long Shen couldn¡¯t help frowning. Elder Chi said, ¡°When the Lin family came to ask for him, Lin Ji¡¯s situation was much more serious than yours. I hope that your case is like his. I¡¯ll give it a try.¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Thank you.¡± ¡°Boss Long is too polite. Those crooked black-robed masters rely on their own secret techniques to unscrupulously harm people. They act as if there¡¯s no one in China that could control them!¡± Elder Chi spoke arrogantly. ¡°Xiao Dong, get in the barrel. The water is a bit hot, but bear with me. Soak in it until it reaches your neck. Until I say so, don¡¯t come out.¡± Dong Zhi asked, ¡°Elder, do I need to be naked?¡± Elder Chi: ¡°No, this is fine.¡± Dong Zhi looked at Long Shen. Seeing the latter nod slightly, he no longer hesitated. He walked to the barrel and jumped in. The water was so hot that it burned him, and he almost jumped out. Elder Chi seemed to be aware of this. When Dong Zhi¡¯s body moved, Elder Chi directly pressed his head down, forcing him to stay still. At that moment, all Dong Zhi could feel was his skin and flesh being scalded. He only remembered that Long Shen was by his side, so he gritted his teeth and endured without shouting. Elder Chi said solemnly, ¡°I know you¡¯re very uncomfortable now, but you have to bear it. It¡¯s up to you whether this can be solved or not. The powder made from dragon bones is added to the medicinal soup. Don¡¯t let your Master¡¯s effort go to waste!¡± He didn¡¯t know how, but he knew. Though Long Shen was a Deputy Director, the dragon bone is precious beyond compare. Given Long Shen¡¯s self-discipline, it meant he made an extreme exception for this case just for him. After soaking for a long time, the pain had become dull and numb. It wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t bear it, but his heartbeat was getting faster; so fast that he felt it would jump out of his chest. Later, his breathing and consciousness began to blur. There was turbulent flow in his body, surging about, as if something was unwilling to be burned to death and was eager to find an exit to escape. Eventually, the turbulent flow surged from his throat. When Dong Zhi opened his mouth, a large amount of black blood spewed out! ¡°Help him!¡± Elder Chi shouted. Long Shen and Chi Banxia¡¯s father, who were standing behind him, were already in place. When they heard Elder Chi¡¯s words, they immediately started to lift Dong Zhi from the water and out of the barrel. At this time, Dong Zhi felt weak and there was a burning on his face, while his lips were ghostly pale. Chi Banxia¡¯s father brought him a bathrobe and asked him to put it on. Elder Chi said, ¡°Help him to the guest room and take a good rest. When the heat on his body recedes, I will have a look.¡± CH 107 The Chi family was well prepared. The guest rooms had been carefully cleaned and were spacious. The bedding and pillows were also new. Dong Zhi¡¯s skin hurt from being scalded by the hot water so badly that he couldn¡¯t fall asleep due to his clothes agitating the pain. He could barely change into clean clothes, then sat on the bed to take a short break. An hour quickly passed. Elder Chi couldn¡¯t help but sink his face when he looked at the ¡°peach blossom¡± behind Dong Zhi. It had gotten lighter in color but hadn¡¯t disappeared. When Dong Zhi looked in the mirror, he naturally saw it. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. My abilities are limited. It seems there are too many masters in this world!¡± Elder Chi shook his head. Although unwilling, he could only give a bitter smile. ¡°In this situation, the curse has been suppressed for a bit, but treating the symptoms is not a cure. If you want to lift the curse, I¡¯m afraid there¡¯s only one way. Solve the source. You need to find who cursed him and kill that person, and the curse would naturally be resolved.¡± He also knew that what he said was tantamount to not saying it. There was no doubt how vicious this person was that could create a curse like this. How could the other party let Dong Zhi easily find them? Even if he went to great lengths to track him down, it would most likely be too late by then. Dong Zhi was a little disappointed, but this was what he expected. He had a hunch that things wouldn¡¯t be resolved so easily. ¡°Elder Chi, if this curse can¡¯t be lifted, what will be the final result? Will I die?¡± Elder Chi hesitated for a moment, but he saw the answer on Dong Zhi¡¯s face. ¡°Then if I die, will my soul be used by the witch to do other things?¡± Dong Zhi was afraid of dying. He yearned and loved life just like every person who was instinctively born with the desire for survival. He still had many dreams that hadn¡¯t been fulfilled, but he was even more afraid he would be used as a puppet after he died, standing on the opposite side against his former friends and companions. It was truly hopeless whether he would survive or die. Before Elder Chi could answer, Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulders were pressed down. Long Shen said, ¡°You won¡¯t die.¡± Elder Chi secretly sighed and expressed his regrets and apologies to them again. It could be seen that the old man was hit hard, not only because he failed Long Shen and Dong Zhi, but also because this incident realized that although he was considered powerful, there were still too many curses in the world that rendered him powerless to help. The curse lifting had failed. Neither of them had the heart to attend the reception banquet hosted by the Chi family. Elder Chi knew that what they needed most now was to rest and discuss countermeasures, so he didn¡¯t keep them. He personally sent them on their way and promised that if there was any progress in the future, they could come back to him at any time if they needed help. Chi Banxia¡¯s cousin, the young man who had picked them up, drove them back to the hotel in person. ¡°I have already done the check-in procedures for you. All your luggage has been taken in, so you can just go directly to your rooms.¡± Dong Zhi thanked him, took the room card, and went upstairs with Long Shen. They booked two adjacent rooms on the same floor. The location was excellent. There was a huge, floor-to-ceiling window in the room. When he opened the curtains, he could see the gorgeous sunset slowly falling into the sea. People in twos and threes were strolling on the beach, creating a scene that was perfect for romance. ¡°Master, do you have any plans for the next step?¡± Dong Zhi could barely cheer up. Long Shen said, ¡°Take you to the northwest and meet someone. He may have a solution.¡± Even Long Shen said ¡°may¡±, which meant he wasn¡¯t confident, but Dong Zhi continued to ask, ¡°Will we leave tomorrow?¡± Long Shen shook his head. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you wanted to stay here for a few days? I booked five nights.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°That¡¯s great. We can walk around the seaside and eat seafood for the next few days. I¡¯ve been to Sanya, so I¡¯ll be your tour guide and take you to all the fun places.¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°Master, I¡¯m a little tired, so I¡¯ll sleep first. I¡¯ll find you tomorrow morning. You don¡¯t need to call me for dinner.¡± It was rare for the two of them to have alone time, but Dong Zhi took the initiative to send off Long Shen with a sense of fatigue between his brows, and his voice was a little weak. Long Shen stared at him for a moment. ¡°Then have a good rest.¡± Watching the other party leave and closing the door, Dong Zhi could finally breathe a sigh of relief. He was overwhelmed by the surging pain. He bent down, his back against the door, and slowly slipped down to the floor. His hands were clenched tightly on the clothes on his chest, and the pain penetrated to his back as if he was being pierced by a needle. The pain was so excruciating that he couldn¡¯t do anything else but do this to relieve some of it. In fact, this attack wasn¡¯t as intense as last time. Perhaps Elder Chi¡¯s method had alleviated some of it, but Dong Zhi still didn¡¯t want Long Shen to see such an embarrassing side of him, because just now, he clearly saw the pity in Long Shen¡¯s eyes, knowing that there was nothing they could do. Long Shen was supposed to be omnipotent and all-powerful. In the thousands of years he had traveled, he had experienced many winds, frost, rain, and snow, and now he finally accepted an apprentice. Not only did he not enjoy the benefits of having one, but he also had to worry about him. Even Dong Zhi thought he wasn¡¯t worthy of Long Shen. As an apprentice, not only did he not have a long lifespan like his master, but as soon as he made some achievements, he was cursed and was about to meet a terrible end. If he went back in time, he most definitely would have regretted this. Thinking of this, he couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud, but it caused another pain in his heart. This time it was a bit more intense. Dong Zhi closed his eyes and told himself that he just had to fight back. The last time he had such a severe attack, he survived. This time, he would certainly be fine. However, tears still came out unconsciously. He saw the Changshou Sword placed by the bed with his luggage and wiped away his tears. He staggered over, grabbed the sword, and held it in his arms, as if this would give him a little strength. He was afraid of death. He was afraid of the dark and unknown world. He wanted to keep fighting with He Yu, Kan Chaosheng, Liu Qingbo, and the others, facing the dangers of the future. He wanted to stay behind Long Shen silently, even if he was healthy and could only live for a few decades and stay master and apprentice all his life. He wanted to draw another picture of Long Shen. He wanted to remember the words, ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid. I¡¯m here,¡± firmly in his mind. Even if one day he fell into the underworld, he would never forget. Tears surged out and dripped onto the scabbard of the Changshou Sword. At that moment, it seemed that only the cold temperature could convey a little comfort. ¡®I¡¯m sorry, Master,¡¯ Dong Zhi said silently. He should have been more cautious so that he wouldn¡¯t be plotted against. Because of his own selfishness of wanting to be Long Shen¡¯s apprentice, he was now exhausting his master and hurting him. His master should have an apprentice who could accompany him through the long years and be as strong as he was, not someone weak and useless like himself¡­ The edges of the scabbard caused pain to his face, but the pain wasn¡¯t as painful as a tenth of a thousand compared to this curse. Cold sweat had soaked his entire back as he tried to hold back his groaning, using the scenery outside to divert his attention. The round red sun had been completely submerged by the sea, dyeing the sky a bright orange that still had a touch of blue remaining. Soon, the sky was no match for the overwhelming night. Darkness covered the sky and the earth, as lights flickered on the beach one by one, but such sporadic firelight couldn¡¯t warm the coldness in his heart. The wind blew in from the window. Even though there was no severe cold here all year round, the winter nights still brought some coolness. Dong Zhi was motionless, sitting by the bed as if he was asleep. He didn¡¯t realize when he had lost consciousness. When he woke up, he found he was covered with a blanket and there was hot porridge with side dishes by his bedside, with a familiar person nearby. ¡°Master.¡± When Dong Zhi opened his mouth, he found that his throat was hoarse, his nose was stuffed, and his voice was muffled. He thought for a while and suspected he might¡¯ve caught a cold from the wind when he sat down near the window and fell asleep. Long Shen let out an ¡°Nn¡± and said, ¡°Eat your porridge first. Then take medicine.¡± Dong Zhi felt guilty as he didn¡¯t dare say anything and acted as if nothing had happened. He obediently picked up the bowl, drank all the porridge in one go, then took the water and medicine handed by the other party and swallowed it. He couldn¡¯t help laughing afterwards. ¡°Master, how did you get in?¡± ¡°I have the keycard to your room.¡± Then Long Shen probably saw him holding the sword as streaks of tears ran down his face? Dong Zhi felt even more guilty now. ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± He hurriedly apologized, hoping his frankness would bring leniency. Long Shen looked at him. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you call me when you had an attack?¡± Dong Zhi lowered his head and whispered, ¡°I know you have spent a lot of effort on my affair and done many things I don¡¯t know about. I can¡¯t help you, so I didn¡¯t want to make you more worried.¡± Long Shen said lightly, ¡°In this matter, I don¡¯t want you to keep it from me. You are my apprentice and the only apprentice I have taken on so far. I care about you and do not think that it¡¯s a burden.¡± At the beginning, Dong Zhi could only obediently nod and didn¡¯t dare to respond. After hearing this, he couldn¡¯t help but look up at Long Shen. Long Shen said, ¡°I¡¯m not the kind of person who doesn¡¯t care about anything like you imagine. I also have emotions and desires. They may be weaker and duller than ordinary people, but in the end, they do exist. In the past, I thought that I was moved by your persistence and hard work, so I accepted you as an apprentice. But the more I thought about it, if I wasn¡¯t looking at you from the start, how could I have known that you were persistent and hard-working?¡± Dong Zhi was in a daze. He found his ability to understand had deviated. For the first time, he couldn¡¯t understand Long Shen¡¯s words, and he didn¡¯t dare to think in that direction at all. Long Shen didn¡¯t continue this topic. ¡°Do you want to continue to sleep?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. Long Shen: ¡°The weather is okay today. Want to go for a walk?¡± Hearing the surging waves coming from the window, Dong Zhi felt a little moved, so he nodded. He had a bit of a cold. Long Shen brought him his coat and asked him to put it on. He opened the blanket and Dong Zhi got out of bed. He had forgotten that he was weak, so after lowering his head, his feet got soft and he almost fell forward. After hesitating for a moment, he said to Long Shen, ¡°Master, why don¡¯t we go tomorrow?¡± Long Shen saw that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to be carried. It was indeed troublesome to carry someone on his back in the middle of the night. The key point was that they might not be able to find a place to sit by the beach either. Long Shen paused, said, ¡°Wait a bit,¡± then he turned around and left. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what Long Shen was doing, but ten minutes later, Long Shen came back with a wheelchair. ¡°Sit on this. It¡¯s more convenient this way.¡± Dong Zhi joked, ¡°Master, is your nickname Doraemon*?¡± *Cat-like robot from the future. I believe it has the ability to pull things out of its pocket, which is why Dong Zhi makes this joke. Long Shen explained quite seriously, ¡°The hotel has wheelchairs for loan.¡± It was really convenient to get in and out with a wheelchair. Long Shen also covered Dong Zhi¡¯s knees with a thin blanket. The aftermath was that others thought he was disabled and gave way to them. In the elevator, Dong Zhi met a girl who gave him the flowers on her head and wished him a speedy recovery. In front of the hotel was the beach. There were many people walking on it at night, but since it was late at night, there were few tourists. The vast emptiness was greeted by the smell of the sea, which made people¡¯s minds suddenly clear. There was a shower during the day, so the night was cloudless. The sky was full of stars rushing out to guard the moon. There was no need for artificial light. The waves were sparking as they rushed onto the beach, then quickly retreated, leaving lonely wet marks behind. A couple ran while laughing. The girl was barefoot in a long skirt. Her long hair was being blown by the wind, and she covered her face as the boy who was behind her picked up his phone and started taking pictures, capturing his girlfriend¡¯s best moments. Even if the night wasn¡¯t bright enough, this moment would be imprinted in his heart. The boy quickly caught up with his girlfriend, and the two kissed under the presence of the stars and moon. Perhaps because they caught a glimpse of Dong Zhi, the girl became a little embarrassed. She hurriedly pushed her boyfriend away, then dragged him along, leaving behind a few hurried footprints on the sand. The tide came and went, wiping out their traces, but the faint smell of love was still in the air. The two walked away with a smile, leaving footprints on the beach, while Dong Zhi involuntarily sighed, feeling envy and regret. Long Shen stood behind him and suddenly spoke. ¡°Do you envy them?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m just happy for their simple and beautiful bliss.¡± After all, not everyone in this world could get what they wanted. Those people, like the two just now, were able to find each other in a vast sea of people, fall in love, and would one day get married. ¡°Do you think this is happiness?¡± Long Shen asked. Dong Zhi said with a smile, ¡°It should be. Some people still yearn for happiness. Despite the entire world in front of them, they still feel as if they could get more. Some people want very little happiness. Even if they see the sea, the stars, or even the person that they like, they can feel happy for a long time.¡± Another wave came. It was still some distance away before it flooded the area, so they didn¡¯t have to quickly retreat. However, the footprints left by the couple just now were almost completely gone, swept away into the sea. As far as Dong Zhi could see, the young couple had also disappeared. Perhaps they walked into the darkness in the distance and quietly whispered loving words, or maybe they went back to rest. His eyes followed where their figures had disappeared, while his heart felt inexplicably lost. Suddenly, a small shadow shrouded him in front of him. Before he could react, his lips felt warm. Long Shen bent forward and gave him a light peck. Dong Zhi suddenly stiffened, completely petrified and unable to respond when their lips parted. ¡°Now, do you feel happy?¡± Dong Zhi settled down. He almost thought he had experienced an illusion just now. The illusion felt so real that even the heat on his lips seemed to remain. His heart skipped a beat and then started beating faster. He couldn¡¯t help but grab his chest for fear he would aggravate the curse. ¡°Master, what did you do just now?¡± His voice was a little airy. If it wasn¡¯t his hallucination, then it may be that Long Shen thought this was a way to express a master¡¯s love to his apprentice, or perhaps Long Shen originally wanted to kiss him on the forehead or nose, but he couldn¡¯t find the right direction, so he made a miscalculated move. He began to think of excuses for Long Shen, but then heard his reply. ¡°I¡¯m kissing you.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Dong Zhi was confused. He looked back at the sea in front of him, as if to see if the waves would bloom into flowers. He remained frozen and didn¡¯t dare turn back, afraid that this would give his emotions away. However, Long Shen¡¯s tone was more puzzling than his. ¡°Don¡¯t you like me? I thought you would be happy if I did this.¡± Happy. Of course, he was happy. The great tide of joy came and he was like a string of footprints that was submerged in an instant. He was at a loss, wishing time would freeze at this moment, and even if he died, it would be without regrets. However, the joy turned into severe pain in an instant, like a sharp blade cutting into his heart. The pain was so bad that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but bend over slightly and stoop. It made his eyes sore and swollen, and he wanted to shed tears. Long Shen saw that Dong Zhi was lowering his head. He wanted to pick Dong Zhi up, but when he crouched down, he was held back. ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Long Shen felt Dong Zhi¡¯s forehead. The temperature was normal, and the skin was clean and free of sweat. Dong Zhi took a deep breath, as if he had survived the pain, and said, ¡°In fact, when I entered this field, I had already considered the dangers, knowing that I might be injured or even sacrificed. Since my parents are gone, even if something really happens, no one will have to worry about me.¡± Long Shen listened quietly. ¡°Even ants are greedy for life*. I¡¯m also afraid of death. I¡¯m even more afraid that I¡¯ll become a soulless servant after the curse, like Ming Xian, and one day fight against you. At that time, I¡¯ll be just a puppet, no longer your apprentice, no longer a human with feelings and thoughts.¡± *(ò÷ÒÏÉÐÇÒÌ°Éú) Saying refers to that even a tiny creature is greedy to live, so humans should cherish life even more. Dong Zhi thought he had finally calmed down, but when he saw Long Shen squatting down in front of him, looking at the other party¡¯s forced expression, he could not help but let his tears flow. ¡°You won¡¯t become like that. I will try my best,¡± Long Shen said, reaching out to wipe his tears. ¡°I have already contacted the director of the Northwest Branch. He¡¯s an extremely powerful figure. Perhaps there¡¯s a way.¡± ¡°Master, I don¡¯t need any sympathy, including yours.¡± Dong Zhi held Long Shen¡¯s hand. The slight coldness was met with warmth and was quickly wrapped in it. ¡°I am a disciple of Long Shen. Even if I can¡¯t be as strong as he is, I should strive to be nonetheless.¡± Long Shen frowned. ¡°I¡¯m not sympathizing with you.¡± He didn¡¯t know how Dong Zhi came to such a conclusion. ¡°I never force others or myself to do things I don¡¯t want.¡± He pinched Dong Zhi¡¯s chin and pecked him on the lips again. This meaning should be clear, right? ¡°Sorry, Master, I regret it.¡± ¡°You also know that humans, especially men, have a bit of an inferiority complex, so they think what they can¡¯t get is the best. After you kissed me, I actually recognized how I felt about you. I may have been wrong before. I was just confusing admiration with love.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re right. When I¡¯m old and you still look the same, I¡¯ll definitely be angry and self-conscious and wouldn¡¯t be able to accept such a situation. I now understand. What I like should be a sweet girl, like the one just now. Lively, a little coquettish, and ordinary, unlike you, where I will have a sense of pressure and distance.¡± He had gritted his nails into his palm and was using the pain to sober himself up so that he could say these words without missing a beat. A hand came up and broke apart Dong Zhi¡¯s fingers, one by one. ¡°You¡¯re lying,¡¯ Long Shen said. ¡°When you feel guilty or nervous, you clench your fists, just like last time when you tried to get me drunk.¡± He looked at Dong Zhi¡¯s frozen expression. There was a trace of a smile in his eyes. It was rare for Long Shen to be mischievous. He deliberately asked, ¡°Hm, did you forget?¡± How could Dong Zhi forget? He remembered it clearly, but he didn¡¯t expect Long Shen to remember such small details so early on. ¡°This time, I may not be able to live. Even if I can, I will only have a lifespan of decades at best. I can¡¯t accompany you through your whole life. I can¡¯t just look at my life and ignore yours. We¡¯re not suitable for each other and I¡¯m not worthy of your affection.¡± Life was nothing but give and take, constantly taking and giving up, and giving something up in the process of getting it. He once confessed to Long Shen in order to ¡°get¡± Long Shen¡¯s love, his affectionate gaze; getting what he wanted, and in the end, it turned into a kind of possessiveness. But now he had ¡°given up¡±, abandoned what he wanted, choosing restraint instead, just so that the other party wouldn¡¯t be sad because of their concern for him in the future. If this was the Long Shen who had just transformed into a human, or the Long Shen who calmly watched as Lord Jie went to his death, he might not understand Dong Zhi¡¯s giving up, but he had been in the Special Administration Bureau for many years. How could he not notice that Dong Zhi was pretending to be calm and duplicitous. His heart was slightly moved. There was emotion that even he couldn¡¯t tell what it was. Long Shen said, ¡°There is no such thing as worthiness in the world. Only whether I like it or not.¡± He lowered his head again, this time kissed Dong Zhi more deeply. He left a red mark where he had pinched Dong Zhi¡¯s chin. Dong Zhi¡¯s eyelashes trembled, and his eyes drifted as his breathing became ragged. ¡°I have never done this to anyone before,¡± Long Shen said. Dong Zhi was probably the first and only. ¡°Without you, I would continue to go on like this. With you, at least for these decades, I¡¯ll have someone to walk with me. Are you willing?¡± Long Shen¡¯s face was half hidden in the darkness, but the hot air he breathed out was still visible. Dong Zhi blinked, as if to blink away the dense fog. Before the other party could wait for his answer, Dong Zhi had let go of Long Shen¡¯s hand and got up. His impulse preceded his reason, and he grabbed Long Shen¡¯s neck and took the initiative to meet him, giving Long Shen a light peck on his cool lips, then quickly separated. ¡°Are you sure it¡¯s not revolting?¡± Long Shen shook his head and even asked him, ¡°Do you want to try again?¡± ¡°No need!¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly said. The heat on his face was steaming, and he thought how fortunate it was that it was dark so the other person couldn¡¯t see him clearly. Then he heard Long Shen¡¯s voice ringing in his ears. ¡°I have never loved anyone, and I don¡¯t know what love is, but I¡¯m willing to try to be a Long Shen, one of flesh and blood, and work to understand love and hate for you.¡± The mist that had lingered in Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes finally dissipated. Dong Zhi trembled and buried his head in the crook of Long Shen¡¯s neck. Even though he hadn¡¯t cried when facing the many dangers that nearly cost him his life, in front of Long Shen, he always looked weak. Tonight, he wanted to be weak again. The darker the night, the cooler the sky. The sound of the waves was still. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t sure when the surging tide had changed to consistent harmony. With a fiery body around him, he couldn¡¯t help but sneeze. ¡°Let¡¯s go back,¡± Long Shen said. Long Shen got up and pushed the wheelchair in the direction of the hotel. As he did, Dong Zhi turned his head and glanced in the direction of the sea. The lights of distant ships were on, twinkling, like the echoing stars in the sky. The starlight came from billions of light-years away, traveling through time and space, converging into a wonderful destiny. Perhaps there were countless such fates in this vast universe, just like his and Long Shen¡¯s. Even if he was like the ship¡¯s light that would go out tomorrow, at the very least, they had met and the stars knew that there was such a little light in the sea of a certain planet, accompanying them through the long night. Kinky Thoughts: Happy Halloween. I figured a release would fit the theme quite well given the supernatural element of this novel, but this chapter was kind of the opposite, given how sweet it is. For those interested in this kind of modern-day supernatural genre, you can check out my newest project from one of my favorite authors: Evil As Humans. The prologue has been released. CH 108 When Dong Zhi woke up the next day, as usual, he habitually lay in bed for a while, confirmed his position, then slowly woke up. He leaned to the side casually but touched a warm body. He couldn¡¯t help being startled and quickly turned his head. The spacious bed was enough for two people. He used to sleep on one side while letting the other side be empty with pillows, but now instead of pillows, there was a person lying there. The other person had a perfect appearance, but his eyes were closed, as if he were seducing others to wake him up with a kiss. After Dong Zhi stared for a while, he looked away and turned his gaze to the ceiling, but the corners of his mouth couldn¡¯t help but curl up quietly, the arc becoming bigger and wider. ¡°What are you smiling about?¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know when the person next to him had woken up. Long Shen¡¯s voice didn¡¯t seem sleepy. Perhaps he had woken up a while ago and was just closing his eyes to refresh his mind. ¡°Master, can you pinch me?¡± Dong Zhi was in a daze upon seeing Long Shen. He felt that this request would be too strange, so he coughed lightly. ¡°I dreamed of the heavenly demon on the plane before, so I¡¯m afraid everything now is an illusion woven by him¡­¡± Naturally, Long Shen didn¡¯t pinch him but instead responded by giving Dong Zhi a kiss. When the other party was almost out of breath, Long Shen finally eased up. The hot and humid breath slowly rose, when suddenly Dong Zhi remembered a serious problem. ¡°Is the curse contagious?¡± ¡°What?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t understand. Dong Zhi said embarrassedly, ¡°Transmitting through kissing.¡± He thought of this because he had heard that the poison the Gu witches used was actually a kind of bacteria that entered the body through direct contact between humans. If curses were homologous to gu, then they should follow the same principle. ¡°No.¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t know where his apprentice had gone with his rich imagination. Even if it was contagious, they had kissed so many times last night that it was too late now. Dong Zhi blushed and took the initiative to put his arms around Long Shen¡¯s neck. ¡°Then kiss again?¡± Long Shen saw Dong Zhi¡¯s shyness and anxiety, so he lowered his head and gave Dong Zhi another peck on the lips. ¡°Getting up?¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. He was staring at the blue sea and bright sky outside, in a room with a comfortable temperature, in the company of the person he loved most, and he wanted this moment to last forever. Long Shen rarely had leisure, so he didn¡¯t rush Dong Zhi. The two cuddled like this, quietly leaning on the bedside while enjoying the hard-won tender moments. ¡°Master.¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± ¡°When the Changshou Sword was stained with my blood, it took me to a fantasy realm and showed me a vision of all you have experienced. Is the Changshou Sword your clone?¡± ¡°No.¡± Long Shen frowned slightly. He didn¡¯t expect such a situation from the Changshou Sword. Dong Zhi looked at Long Shen. ¡°Does it have a spirit inside it?¡± Long Shen was silent for a moment. ¡°Did you see the process of how I was forged in the vision?¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know whether this would offend the privacy of the artifact spirit and felt a little uneasy. ¡°I saw it, but I didn¡¯t mean to. The time and place that the Changshou Sword showed me seemed to be random.¡± ¡°I know.¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t accuse him. ¡°Then do you remember how I was formed?¡± Naturally, Dong Zhi remembered. ¡°From the qi of the air of the mountains, the spirit of the green wood, the ice of the sky, the dew without roots, the chalcedony of the earth, the brilliance of the stars, the essence of the sun and moon, and the blood of Ou Yezi?¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°These eight things are fused together and eventually refined into my sword. After thousands of years, they helped me transform and take shape so that I could decompose my own essence more easily than ordinary people. When you left Beijing, I injected a ray of my soul into the Changshou Sword, which is why when you dreamt of the heavenly demon on the plane, I could sense it.¡± Dong Zhi also remembered. At that time, they did take a special passage, and he took the Changshou Sword with him. When he dreamed, he held it and didn¡¯t let go. He was slightly shaken. He never thought that Long Shen had liked him so early. His master took such trouble because he was afraid that he was a fledgling, didn¡¯t have the experience, and would lose his life. That was why Long Shen sent a wisp of his soul into the sword so he could perceive Dong Zhi¡¯s situation at any time. In this way, the spring breeze and rain gave life*, silently nourishing him. If he hadn¡¯t asked about it today, he would¡¯ve never known. *(´º·ç»¯Óê) Metaphor referring to good edification and education. || It¡¯s basically saying Long Shen is a very good master because he was looking out for his disciple all this time. But did he deserve to be treated this well by Long Shen? ¡°Master, can you take your soul back?¡± Long Shen shook his head but didn¡¯t explain much. He only said, ¡°No, it doesn¡¯t have much effect on me.¡± Dong Zhi took Long Shen¡¯s hands and clasped them. ¡°I think the most correct thing I have done in my life was on Changbai Mountain. Even when you said it was impossible for me to join the Special Administration Bureau, I didn¡¯t give up.¡± Long Shen smiled faintly but didn¡¯t say it. It was precisely because Dong Zhi was unwilling to give up no matter what, and he passed the written test and interview with excellent grades, and he didn¡¯t give up on any ordinary people during the zombie simulation, that his idea of taking on an apprentice came into being. Perhaps since then he had put Dong Zhi in his eyes but forgotten that his eyes were connected to his heart, so his feelings could only slowly penetrate it from his eyes. After lying around for a while this morning, Dong Zhi¡¯s stomach finally protested, and Long Shen no longer indulged him. He called room service so Dong Zhi could continue to stay in bed. The weather outside was lovely. The sun was shining brightly, and the surface of the sea glistened differently from the brilliance of last night. As far as the eye could see, there was a clear line between the blue and light blue, just like him and Long Shen. Originally, they were from two different worlds, but in the end, they became a common part of the sea. Dong Zhi still felt a bit of regret. He originally wanted to take Long Shen parasailing and snorkeling, but now his body couldn¡¯t handle any strenuous activities. If he had another angina attack while parasailing and died in midair, it would cause a lot of trouble for the owner of the company, so Dong Zhi dispelled this idea. Fortunately, Long Shen didn¡¯t feel bored. Given his temperament, he had no problem staying in the room for the entire day. After eating, Dong Zhi stretched his waist, sat on the sofa in front of the window, and took out the drawing board he had brought and started painting. Long Shen took out a book and read next to him. The atmosphere was quiet for a while. Since opening up last night, Dong Zhi wanted to kiss and hug Long Shen the moment he saw him, but he didn¡¯t want Long Shen to think he was being too clingy, so after a few glances, he looked away and focused on painting. ¡°Master, do you have anything you wish to have drawn?¡± he asked. Long Shen thought for a while. ¡°Help me draw a picture of you.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned. ¡°You only drew me last time.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°Okay.¡± His pen moved quickly on the tablet, scribbling and changing. An outline soon appeared on the screen. The lines were slowly corrected from the draft, and then color was added. The sun slipped from overhead to the other side of the sea as an afternoon was spent in the aroma of coffee and tea. Long Shen raised his eyes and saw that the drawing had been almost completed, just short of its finishing touches. The picture Dong Zhi drew wasn¡¯t complicated. It was still in a dark environment. Long Shen, Dong Zhi, Liu Qingbo, and Huo Jie were walking forward in pairs. Long Shen recognized that this was when they were in the cave underwater, but he could see that his own image was finer and more attentive in the painting. Dong Zhi even remembered the details of his clothes at the time. When he compared that to the image of Dong Zhi, he found that Dong Zhi¡¯s was much rougher. Long Shen said, ¡°You can draw yourself finer.¡± Dong Zhi smiled. ¡°I think it¡¯s good.¡± ¡°When you finish coloring, send it to my email.¡± Dong Zhi agreed and continued to color his drawing. Suddenly, Long Shen¡¯s phone rang. He answered in the room without avoiding Dong Zhi. After a while, he hung up the phone and said to Dong Zhi, ¡°It¡¯s a call from the Northwest Branch. Boss Che is out of seclusion and will be free in two days. We¡¯ll go to Xi¡¯an the day after tomorrow.¡± Dong Zhi had heard about all the branches in the Special Administration Bureau, but only in the literal sense. It was said that the director of the Northwest Branch was Che Bai. After they came out of the underground in Yinchuan last time, the aftermath was handed over to the Northwest Branch. Long Shen and Song Zhicun were relieved and immediately took a flight back. There was no need for them to stay in the local area to continue supervision, which showed that they had great trust in Director Che. Seeing as how Long Shen hadn¡¯t found a way to resolve the curse on Dong Zhi and thought about asking the head of a branch for help instead of going back to Beijing to find Zong Ling, Zhang Xiankun, or the other big consultants, this wasn¡¯t due to personal feelings but because Long Shen thought Director Che was more capable. After staying in the Special Administration Bureau for so long, Dong Zhi gradually understood a rule. He would not be able to rise if he wasn¡¯t capable enough. Some were purely for personal reasons, such as Long Shen. With his qualifications and abilities, he could have sat in a much higher position. Some people aspired for promotions as officials to make fortunes, while others liked to take action. Long Shen was obviously the latter, as he preferred to do things himself rather than watch others do it. Seeing the world achieve peace by his own hands would make him happier than getting any high-ranking position. It seemed that this Director Che Bai was such a person. ¡°Master, is Boss Che very powerful?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°He doesn¡¯t have a teacher lineage, but he is also a spirit that cultivated its form.¡± Although he had expected this, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. He now knew that most artifact spirits¡¯ names hinted at what their true form was. For example, Long Shen was transformed from the Long Yuan sword. Tang Jing was a homonym for a mirror of the Tang Dynasty*. Ming Xian, if carefully thought about, was indeed related to the zither. So what would be the original form of Director Che Bai? *Clarity: Tang Jing uses the Jing from clean (¾») which is a homonym for mirror (¾µ). He couldn¡¯t help but come up with some guesses and then said, ¡°Is Boss Che transformed from a carriage* of some form?¡± *Che Bai (³µ°×) means white car/vehicle, which is why Dong Zhi guessed this. Even for a serious person like Long Shen, he couldn¡¯t help but find this amusing. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you guess if he¡¯s a white deer or a white fox?¡± Well, that would also make sense. Dong Zhi wrinkled his brows. ¡°Then why is his surname Che? Was it randomly chosen?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Most names are accidental. Some people associate their origin with their names just to express a kind of gratitude or commemoration.¡± Dong Zhi nodded. He knew that in Long Shen¡¯s heart, he must feel deeply for Ou Yezi. ¡°Master, do you know where Ou Yezi has a shrine or tombstone that we can pay homage to? I want to worship him and visit his shrine every year in the future.¡± Long Shen smiled and held Dong Zhi¡¯s hand. He had never experienced this kind of feeling; the feeling of someone knowing his own heart so easily. Although it felt unfamiliar, his heart was beating with a slight joy that he couldn¡¯t ignore. So this was love. ¡°No need. Everything becomes empty when you die. You only need the intentions in your heart. The form isn¡¯t important.¡± The topic returned to Che Bai. Long Shen said, ¡°The name of Boss Che is indeed related to his origin, but it¡¯s removed from his surname. If you take the left radical of Xuanyuan, you get Che, and taking the right from cypress you get Bai*.¡± *Clarity: [Xuanyuan] (ÐùÔ¯) Both characters use the radical [Che] (³µ) for their left radical. Cypress [°Ø] uses the radical [Bai] (°×) as its right radical. The speed at which Dong Zhi blinked his eyes sped up. Even if he saw the three-headed giant python or the Wuzhiqi at this moment, they wouldn¡¯t shock him, because he had just learned that the director of the Northwest Branch turned out to be the Xuanyuan Cypress* planted by the Yellow Emperor himself. *Refers to the cypress in the Xuanyuan Temple of Huangling. Supposedly, it was planted by Emperor Xuanyuan (Yellow Emperor) himself. In other words, Dong Zhi was about to meet the ancestor of his own nation, the living Xuanyuan Cypress? He had long known that the Special Administration Bureau had crouching tigers and hidden dragons, but when he heard Che Bai¡¯s original form with his own ears, it took several seconds to digest it. ¡°I have seen testimonials that the Xuanyuan Cypress was actually planted in the Han Dynasty?¡± Long Shen shook his head. ¡°During the Spring and Autumn, Ou Yezi and I traveled all over the world. At that time, we already had a meeting with Boss Che.¡± Dong Zhi was fascinated. Thinking about the era when heroes gathered and hundreds of families were fighting, he hated that he wasn¡¯t born thousands of years earlier, even if Long Shen was still a sword at that time. Long Shen said, ¡°The reason why curse techniques are regarded as witchcraft is precisely because they¡¯re related to the person who casts them. Even Boss Che may not be able to completely resolve it. I just hope you won¡¯t be disappointed when the time comes.¡± Dong Zhi smiled. ¡°No.¡± He never dreamed that his feelings would be accepted by Long Shen. Now that even this wish had been fulfilled, Dong Zhi suddenly discovered that life and death weren¡¯t actually so important to him anymore. Long Shen seemed to see through his thoughts, and his expression slightly softened. ¡°Also, because of the need to hide his identity at work, Boss Che was once married, but his wife died prematurely due to illness. Although you and I are confirmed, it is best not to behave too much in front of him, so as not to arouse his sadness.¡± Dong Zhi found this unexpected. ¡°Artifact spirits could also get sick?¡± His thinking was simple. Since Boss Che was an artifact spirit, then the person with him would naturally be one as well. However, Long Shen said, ¡°His wife was an ordinary person.¡± From these few words, Dong Zhi could make up a thrilling and touching story, but what surprised him even more was an artifact spirit getting married. In his opinion, most of them were clear-headed, like his master, with the exception of Tang Jing. Seeing that he wanted to say something but held himself back, Long Shen asked, ¡°What did you want to say?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t restrain his curiosity. ¡°Aren¡¯t all spirits single-mindedly focused on cultivation?¡± Long Shen was surprised by this question. ¡°Since artifact spirits can take form, naturally they have also gained the seven emotions and six desires, which make them no different from ordinary people. They just have a longer lifespan and can¡¯t have children.¡± After a pause, Long Shen continued, ¡°You¡¯re not in good health now, so you can¡¯t do too much intense exercise or there¡¯s a risk it could trigger an attack. If you want, we can talk about it after the curse is lifted.¡± Although Long Shen had a mild temperament, he was more magnanimous than anyone else. He was never keen on the human behavior of holding back one¡¯s appetite and refusing to eat. Dong Zhi¡¯s heart collapsed. He wanted to say he didn¡¯t want it, or didn¡¯t need it, but such a reply would seem strange and would look as if he was trying to cover things up. His fair complexion suddenly turned red at a speed visible to the naked eye. He looked at Long Shen, trying to defend himself, but he felt it was a bit ridiculous, so he could only endure. Apparently, the degree of spiritual communication between them wasn¡¯t enough. Long Shen misunderstood his reaction and suddenly laughed, ¡°In fact, if you want, we don¡¯t have to have physical contact.¡± Before Dong Zhi understood what the other party meant by this, he saw Long Shen reach out and point his finger at his brow. A stream of heat immediately swirled in front of Dong Zhi¡¯s brows. ¡°Close your eyes,¡± Long Shen said. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what was going on but still obediently obeyed. Around his body was darkness, but suddenly there was a flash of light. Dong Zhi found himself in an empty world that seemed to be between the ethereal universe. A breeze was rippling everywhere, but it was as warm as spring. However, it was hazy, like looking at flowers in the fog. He only felt a laziness emerge from his bones. When he woke up, he couldn¡¯t help but want to stretch, but he couldn¡¯t move. He was standing on a lone flower branch, and each step he took made it shake. He had become a flower. A bud on a branch that was waiting to bloom. This thought rose vaguely in his heart. His soul was separated from his body. He clearly saw that he was drenched by the torrential rain, and he felt wet all over, but the rain wasn¡¯t cold; it felt warm like a hot spring. The flower became more lazy as it was gently caressed by fingers, slowly stretching out into the sun and breeze. It swayed gently as the buds flapped out, petal by petal, in the wind. The sun shone on him, drying out the raindrops, but he still retained their moisture. It was warm and fragrant, and he felt drunk but without the wine. His soul was independent of the flower, yet he could clearly feel the texture and everything the flower felt. In a flash, between the heavens and earth, all things loved; as the mountains and rivers embraced, there was only him. When Dong Zhi opened his eyes, he found himself lying on the bed, but his complexion was flushed and his chest fluctuated violently, as if he had just experienced an indescribable and wonderful journey. He felt extremely tired, like he had run 8 kilometers, and his body was in a delicate state of lethargy. He gasped, ¡°This is¡­¡± ¡°Divine intercourse,¡± Long Shen said. There was no physical contact in this intercourse, but a mingling of the consciousness. It could achieve a more intense spiritual pleasure than the body. Dong Zhi had seen this in novels before. At that time, he thought it was just the novelist¡¯s fabrication, and he didn¡¯t expect one day he would be able to experience this firsthand. It may not be possible to describe this feeling. If he had to use a word, all Dong Zhi could think of was: ecstasy. He looked at the ceiling in a daze. He didn¡¯t even have the energy to look at Long Shen. The sweat from his forehead was wiped off by Long Shen, but following it in his heart was a dense feeling of shame. His face flushed red, and he couldn¡¯t wait to bury his entire being under the blankets. Long Shen looked at Dong Zhi¡¯s fluffy head, which was exposed outside the blanket. ¡°Although the pleasure of divine intercourse is stronger than physical contact, it does consume qi, so it can¡¯t be done often. If you want, we can do it at most once a week.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not a stallion that thinks with his dick*!¡± *Sperm head (¾«³æ) It¡¯s used to describe impulsive and reckless behavior due to male hormones (sexual impulse). Dong Zhi could no longer hold back. He emerged from the blanket and issued a strong protest. His face was flushed, unknown whether it was because he was angry or embarrassed, or because he smothered himself inside the blanket for too long. When he saw Long Shen¡¯s meaningful eyes, he knew that the other party was teasing him. For the first time, Dong Zhi realized that his master also had a sense of humor. ¡­¡­ The good times always passed in a flash. The situation they were about to face was unknown and treacherous. Two days later, they checked out of their hotel and flew directly to the historic ancient city in the northwest. The Northwest Branch was perhaps the most formal office space among all the branches and offices Dong Zhi had seen. It was located in a small building next to a research institute in the city. The same signboard was hung outside the research institute. Only when they entered the small building did they see a small plaque on the wall that read: [Northwest Branch of the Special Administration Bureau of the People¡¯s Republic of China]. Director Che of the branch was different from the gray-haired old man Dong Zhi imagined. The other party looked to be about 40 to 50 years old. His hair was combed back, and he was wearing a Chinese-styled suit paired with gold-rimmed glasses. He looked more like a university professor than a practitioner. Facing the director of the branch, whose age was comparable to that of this nation¡¯s civilization, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare be neglectful and followed Long Shen to respectfully salute him. Che Bai was amiable and smiled before he said anything. There were fine lines on the corners of his eyes. He had learned the story from Long Shen a while ago, and he didn¡¯t delay much time with small talk. He directly asked how Dong Zhi was feeling. Dong Zhi replied, ¡°I just vomited blood yesterday, but I haven¡¯t had any attacks today. I feel okay, but I¡¯m easily tired, and my hands and feet often get weak.¡± Che Bai took his pulse, pondered for a moment, and frowned slightly. ¡°This isn¡¯t just a simple curse. I¡¯m afraid that the demon has also placed certain restrictions through this curse, so it¡¯s difficult to solve.¡± This was the first time Dong Zhi had heard this, but Long Shen¡¯s expression wasn¡¯t surprised. It was obvious he knew about this already. ¡°Yes, that¡¯s why I can only ask for Che Lao¡¯s help.¡± Che Bai sighed. ¡°If this was ten years ago, I would still have some certainty, but now that my lifespan is approaching, I¡¯m afraid I might not have the strength. I will try first.¡± Long Shen showed an astonished expression. ¡°We can think of another way.¡± Che Bai smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. One¡¯s life is determined by God, and there¡¯s nothing humans can do. It has nothing to do with helping you or not. Come, Dong Zhi, sit down. Close your eyes and relax as you usually do with your breathing exercise.¡± Dong Zhi closed his eyes and sat crossed-legged on the sofa as he practiced his kung-fu tona as usual. He quickly forgot about Long Shen and Che Bai beside him. At this time, Che Bai took out a small bottle, opened the cork, and placed it under Dong Zhi¡¯s nose. The mouth of the bottle faintly curled up with light smoke and quickly slipped into Dong Zhi¡¯s nasal cavity. There was a subtle change in his expression. ¡°Open your eyes,¡± he heard Che Bai say. Dong Zhi slowly opened his eyes, and in front of him was a dense jungle that almost covered the sky. The sun was fierce above his head, but the soil exuded a humid smell. Most likely, it rained not long ago. The plants had such unique characteristics that Dong Zhi thought they were in the tropics as soon as he saw them. ¡°Go on.¡± Che Bai¡¯s voice sounded, but when Dong Zhi looked around, he didn¡¯t see anyone. He calmed down and started to move. He realized that he wasn¡¯t an entity at this moment, but more like a ghost passing through time and space. As he moved forward, the plants, branches, and leaves continued to rustle under the sun, providing shade for the soil. The author has something to say: A unique kind of car*¡­ *Euphemism for sex. Kinky Thoughts: This is probably intentional by the author as the chapter that they have ¡°sex¡± in also introduces a character named Che¡­ which means car and is a euphemism for sex¡­ If that¡¯s the case, the author¡¯s note would be a triple entendre. Well that¡¯s a first. I¡¯ve never read about divine intercourse before, but I still prefer reading about physical intercourse. I mean, Long Shen looks like this (in the manhua)¡­ How can you not want to get banged by that Dong Zhi?! CH 109 When Dong Zhi ¡°walked¡± forward out of the disordered jungle, he could ¡°see¡± a small path. The road was the most rudimentary dirt road in the countryside, as if it had been formed by being trampled thousands of times by humans. It was muddy and difficult to walk, but Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have much feeling. After all, he wasn¡¯t an entity now. When he moved forward, he got a wider view and could ¡°see¡± the smoke from the distant village, and nearby was an abrupt and conspicuous stockade. The stockade stood by the water¡¯s edge, just across from the village. The villagers on the other side of the river were extremely careful when drawing water. They didn¡¯t dare cross even half a step past the river. Dong Zhi took a few ¡°glances¡± in a daze, then turned his gaze on the house in front of him. He floated into the house along with his own mind. The light suddenly dimmed. A dark-skinned young man was kneeling in front of a middle-aged man, listening to his teachings. They communicated in the local language. Dong Zhi ¡°listened¡± but didn¡¯t understand, so he turned to ¡°look¡± at the surrounding furniture. Everything around could be considered weird. The walls were hung with skeletons and animal skulls of different shapes and sizes, along with a mess of talisman papers with runes painted on them. Dong Zhi carefully examined it and determined that it wasn¡¯t a Chinese talisman. He couldn¡¯t identify the runes on the talismans at all. There were colorful feather arrows on the table and a row of urns in the corner. Looking at them at a glance, he counted about ten in each row. The urns¡¯ shapes ranged from fat to thin. Although he didn¡¯t know what was in them, it would inexplicably arouse a feeling that it wasn¡¯t anything good. Since he couldn¡¯t understand what they were saying, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t stay long and floated from the passage behind the door to another room. The same darkness. The furnishings were pretty much the same as well. The difference was that there was a messy head half-hidden in the dark. Its cheek was still moving like a living person. There was a mass of trembling flesh on the ground. When Dong Zhi looked closely, it was a fat person. She was holding a rag in her hand and was wiping the floor. At this time the head actually spoke. ¡°Ugly woman. Just the sight of you disgusts me. Get out!¡± The woman¡¯s fat body trembled for a while, as if trying to get up, but eventually she knelt on the ground and kept shivering. Before Dong Zhi got any closer, the middle-aged man, who was in the front room just now, came in. The woman was finally pardoned under the instructions of the other party, and she retreated quickly. The middle-aged man began to communicate with the head and spoke very quickly. For a short time, the two seemed to be having an unpleasant conversation. The head began to speak loudly in an angry tone. The middle-aged man snorted coldly, but didn¡¯t continue to argue with him and instead walked to the back of the room. At this time, Che Bai¡¯s voice no longer sounded in his ear. Intuitively, Dong Zhi felt he wanted to follow the middle-aged man instead of staying where he was, so he quickly followed him closely. He went through a corridor and came into a hut without a trace of light. He kind of understood the spell that Che Bai used on him. It was a bit like ¡°clairvoyance¡±. He was following the breath of the witchdoctor who cursed him and had directly traced it to someone in this hideout, so he was now equivalent to a cloud of illusory consciousness. He had no entity or even a soul. This kind of spell that could trace thousands of miles was naturally extremely powerful. So far, although Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t identify who the person who cursed him was due to the language barrier, he had received enough information. In the hut, the middle-aged man, who had been arrogant and calm in front of the young man and the head, had become like a sheep in a blink of an eye. He knelt down on his knees in front of an offering table. Even his tone of speech was pious and respectful. There was a person sitting in the dark with his eyes slightly closed, but the middle-aged man didn¡¯t even dare raise his head as he whispered softly. His forehead remained on the ground for fear of disturbing the other party. Most of the time, it was the middle-aged man talking. The person in the dark occasionally responded to a sentence or two. His tone was strange. His voice didn¡¯t seem to come from his throat, but rather from the void. With a sense of haziness, there seemed to be an invisible barrier around him that prevented Dong Zhi from moving forward. However, Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t reconciled. He had a hunch that this person was important and perhaps related to the witchdoctor who cursed him or perhaps even the heavenly demon, so he tried his best to break through the barrier with his consciousness and observe the man closer. The barrier was like plasticine with excellent elasticity. He tried his best to move forward but was always fiercely rejected. However, Dong Zhi refused to admit defeat. He chanted the spell for the sunlight talisman and finally tore a hole in the barrier. His ¡°entire being¡± rushed in. The man suddenly opened his eyes! Dong Zhi looked straight into it, and his heart couldn¡¯t help but be shocked. He couldn¡¯t help but think, ¡®Bad¡¯, believing that he had been discovered. At this time, he saw the man¡¯s face clearly. It wasn¡¯t the monstrous face that he had seen in his dream, but an ordinary middle-aged face. There were still traces on his face that showed proper maintenance from the past, but now it was green and black, like an evil ghost, and it looked somewhat familiar. Then he heard the man laugh coldly and actually speak in Chinese. ¡°Look, you have brought guests. Do you not know how to entertain?!¡± The middle-aged man looked up blankly, obviously unable to see Dong Zhi¡¯s existence. The man in the dark stretched out a hand and pointed towards Dong Zhi. ¡°He is there. There.¡± Before the middle-aged man was ordered to attack, Dong Zhi went straight to the man in the darkness to ¡°attack¡± him. He was extremely fast. At that moment, he quickly recited the heavenly thunder incantation, hoping that his consciousness could attract lightning so he could use it to kill this person directly, but at that moment, a sneer suddenly sounded in his ear. The laughter was even more gloomy than just now. It was cold and creepy, as if the ice and snow covering a rotting corpse in the depths of a primeval forest on a winter¡¯s night were poured directly into one¡¯s bones. Dong Zhi felt his ¡°eardrums¡± trembling and in pain. His ¡°body¡± seemed to be blocked by something. He was far from his opponent, but he could no longer move. He guessed that his body was likely to react, but he didn¡¯t put much thought into it. He recited the incantation over and over again, and the cold laughter never stopped, echoing repeatedly in all directions, hauntingly as they got closer and closer. ¡°You¡¯re so bold. I didn¡¯t go to you, but instead you came to me. It¡¯s better that you stay!¡± The last word that was spat out was as if there were a mouth right next to his ear. It felt like a hammer hitting his mind hard, and Dong Zhi¡¯s consciousness started to blur. He could no longer recite the heavenly thunder incantation and was almost led away like this. But soon, Che Bai¡¯s voice sounded from above. ¡°Om!¡± The morning bells and evening drums and the Sanskrit sounds washed away like dirt. All the turbidity was swept away. His mind was greatly shaken as it slowly returned to clarity from the chaos! This was the first word from the Dharma mantra1. Legends had it that the bodhisattva2 Avalokite?vara3 granted this mantra to mortals so that they could cleanse their minds from earthly asceticism, suppress the sounds of demons, eliminate all diseases, purify karmic hindrances, and remove all evil spirits. 1[Om mani padme hum] Six-syllable Sanskrit mantra associated with the four-armed Shadakshari form of Avalokite?vara. The precise meaning and significance of the words remain much discussed by Buddhist scholars. The literal meaning in English has been expressed as ¡°praise to the jewel in the lotus¡±, or as a declarative aspiration possibly meaning ¡°I in the jewel-lotus¡±. 2A person on the path towards bodhi (¡®awakening¡¯) or Buddhahood. Basically, reaching enlightenment. 3A bodhisattva who embodies all the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, though in Chinese Buddhism, he has evolved into a female form called Guanshiyin. Dong Zhi clearly saw the man¡¯s face change heavily. The pressure that imprisoned him suddenly became clear. ¡°It turns out rescuers are brought in. No wonder you have nothing to fear!¡± The man sneered again, but Dong Zhi had no time to listen. His consciousness was quickly dragged back by a force, escaping the room, the stockade, and the dense forest. Dong Zhi¡¯s body shook suddenly. Blood overflowed from the corner of his mouth, but this time it wasn¡¯t black but normal bright red blood. He slowly opened his eyes and saw Long Shen and Che Bai sitting in front of him. ¡°Boss Che?¡± Che Bai also happened to open his eyes and look at him. ¡°How do you feel?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°My chest hurts a little.¡± Che Bai said, ¡°This is normal. You just confronted a heavenly demon. Even if it hasn¡¯t been fully resurrected, it¡¯s still a legendary heavenly demon, nonetheless. Just now, you only had a ray of consciousness, not even your soul. If you rashly try to summon thunder, you won¡¯t attract it and instead will get burned in the end.¡± Dong Zhi said in shame, ¡°I was reckless. Thank you, Boss Che, for rescuing me.¡± Che Bai said, ¡°You¡¯re not in the wrong. I didn¡¯t tell you what to do in advance just now. I just wanted you to sneak up on the demon. If I had mentally prepared you, he would have noticed your vigilance. It¡¯s just¡­¡± He sighed. ¡°I¡¯m far less powerful now than before. In the end, I still couldn¡¯t lift your curse. I can only suppress it temporarily, so you won¡¯t have an attack for a period of time. Treating the symptoms won¡¯t eliminate the cause. If you want to completely resolve this problem, you have to find the one who cursed you. The demon has not yet formed, and he was just injured again by me, so he won¡¯t recover so quickly in a short period of time.¡± Long Shen said, ¡°You¡¯ve bought us enough time.¡± Dong Zhi said sincerely, ¡°Thank you, Boss Che. I thought I was going to die. It¡¯s all thanks to your hard work!¡± Che Bai waved his hand and smiled wearily. He looked obviously much older than he was just now. The lines in the corners of his eyes became a bit deeper. ¡°Even if you didn¡¯t mean a lot to Long Shen and was just an ordinary member of the Special Administration Bureau, if I can, I will do my best.¡± Dong Zhi suspected that Che Bai had seen through his relationship with Long Shen, but Che Bai had spoken as if it was uninteresting. Watching Che Bai go back to rest, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t hide his uneasiness. ¡°Master, Boss Che¡¯s body won¡¯t be affected because of me, right?¡± Long Shen shook his head. ¡°No one in the world can live forever, not even spiritual weapons. This is simply the cycle of life and death. Boss Che is simply reaching that point, and it has nothing to do with you.¡± Since Dong Zhi learned of Che Bai¡¯s original form, he had subconsciously regarded the branch director as a walking ancient tree who was extremely precious. He couldn¡¯t help but sigh when he heard this. Long Shen smiled when he saw that Dong Zhi still had time to worry about others. ¡°Boss Che has bought us some time. We must use it to find the witchdoctor. What did you see just now?¡± Dong Zhi described the jungle and stockade he saw. He had a good memory, and he was an artist. The description was very pictorial, and he could remember it all at once. ¡°That stockade should be the lair of the witchdoctor, and it seems he worships Mara, so he must have a lot of ties with him¡­ Regarding that man, it should be Han Qi¡¯s gold master, Hong Rui, and that fat woman should be Han Qi¡¯s former agent, Dong Qiaolan. I have seen their photos before. It seems that they also have something to do with Mara!¡± Having said that, Long Shen frowned. ¡°It¡¯s strange. The man I saw in my dream last time was shaven and was very young and beautiful. Why does Mara look like Hong Rui this time? Could it be that Mara, like the Archfiend, can wear different human skins?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Mara has not been fully resurrected and formed. What you saw in your dream is the real form of his consciousness condensed, and what you saw just now should be him temporarily possessing Hong Rui¡¯s body. Most likely, it makes it more convenient for him to act.¡± Dong Zhi was surprised. He didn¡¯t expect a great demon with an evil nature like Mara would have such a beautiful appearance. Long Shen seemed to sense what he was thinking and said, ¡°Demons are invisible and colorless, but in order to confuse the world, naturally they will give birth to bodies that appeal to the world so they can recruit more believers. Although Mara hasn¡¯t taken shape yet, it can still fight Boss Che through the void. Most likely, the day for its resurrection is not far off. Once Mara is resurrected, wherever it goes, it will become hell on earth.¡± A heavenly demon didn¡¯t necessarily need to kill in person. It could use its demagogue to compel and manipulate human sanity and use them to its will, just like turning Hong Rui into its own believer to set up a pit for Han Qi. Playing with human lives like they were at the palm of its hands. It was true that Han Qi also had weaknesses. If she wasn¡¯t greedy for fame and fortune, wanting to climb over the dragon and attach to the phoenix*, she wouldn¡¯t have been taken advantage of by Hong Rui, but everyone had weaknesses. If someone liked honey today, the demon would transform the poppies into honey. It was tempting to become addicted, and one wouldn¡¯t be able to stop it. Tomorrow, if someone gave birth to traces of evil thoughts, under the influence of a demon, their evil thoughts would expand unknowingly and eventually make them do heartless things. *(ÅÊÁú¸½·ï) Idiom referring to attaching yourself to someone powerful in order to achieve prosperity. After all, everyone had demons in their hearts. It was only dependent on whether they could stick to their original intentions and prevent evil thoughts from prevailing. However, that was simple to say, but many in the world couldn¡¯t do it. Although the curse on Dong Zhi was suppressed, they still faced a great problem now. As soon as they go abroad, the name of the Special Administration Bureau would no longer be useful. It was also in Southeast Asia, which was usually not an issue to travel to. However, once you wanted to do something serious, you would face all kinds of forces, which were bound to make things difficult to move. In some areas where armed forces had seceded, even the local government wouldn¡¯t be good. Under such circumstances, finding an unnamed black-magic master was tantamount to finding a needle in a haystack. Long Shen had asked the White-Robed Association for help, but it would be impossible to find anything for a while. He was unwilling to tell these things to Dong Zhi as it would only add to his troubles, and Dong Zhi naturally didn¡¯t ask, remaining calm so as not to put any pressure on Long Shen. When the stone tablet was unearthed last time, the Northwest Branch had become quite lively. Now that the seal on the stone tablet had been strengthened and there were people stationed there to guard it, the manpower had been dispatched elsewhere to look for other stone tablets, so it had suddenly become deserted, which was a good thing as, contrary to what one may think, if it was lively it usually meant there was trouble. Since there was no liveliness, there was no need for Long Shen, a deputy director from the General Administration, to supervise and inspect. He had long been accustomed to working, but now that he was free, he felt a bit out of place. Dong Zhi proposed they go to the natural history museum. In fact, he had already been to Xi¡¯an. The museum was naturally a must-see place for art students. However, since he became a practitioner, he couldn¡¯t help but look at antiques through a different lens, as they remind him of his master. Though he wasn¡¯t able to witness the moment his master transformed, when he looked at ancient swords, it made him feel a bit better about his regret. Long Shen shook his head and said he didn¡¯t want to go. While those artifacts were rare treasures to the eyes of ordinary people, in Long Shen¡¯s view, for various reasons, they no longer had the opportunity to take form and turn into humans. It wasn¡¯t beneficial to look at them but, on the contrary, actually added to the sorrow. Dong Zhi held his master¡¯s slender hand and felt that his master had not seen enough. ¡°Then is there anywhere you want to go? The Giant Wild Goose Pagoda? The Stele Forest? Or maybe Tang Paradise? Long Shen thought for a while and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go to the food market.¡± The food market, regardless of the season or whether it was a holiday or not, best reflected the eating habits of the people of the country because it was bustling all year round. It was packed with people walking shoulder-to-shoulder. Dong Zhi thought Long Shen would dislike such a place, but he didn¡¯t expect for him to take the initiative to come. The two of them ate hot and sour dumpling soup and hulatang. After eating a few barbeque skewers, Dong Zhi felt full. He could only look at the roasted chicken he had just packed up with a tangled face. If Kan Chaosheng were here, let alone this roasted chicken, the food market would be emptied. Though it was Long Shen¡¯s suggestion to come, he didn¡¯t eat much himself. The two of them found a place to sit and watch the noise. White smoke was steaming out, and they couldn¡¯t hear what each other were saying unless they spoke loudly. In the midst of the excitement, Long Shen¡¯s expression was peaceful and calm. He didn¡¯t care about what to eat or whether it was noisy or not. It seemed he was far more interested in the crowd than the food itself. Upon seeing this, Dong Zhi joked, ¡°Master, are you here to people watch?¡± Long Shen nodded. Watching the fireworks and the various states of the world, seeing the joys and sorrows of all beings, and truly feeling those living their lives were precious existences that needed to be guarded. Of course, there was countless darkness in the world, which often discouraged the weak-willed, but anyone who put in effort, even if it was like Jingwei filling the sea1, or Kuafu chasing the sun2, one could not say that the world was hopeless. 1The original idiom tells of the god bird Jingwei bringing wood and stones, determined to fill the sea. In the old days, it¡¯s a metaphor for deep hatred and determination to take revenge. Now, it refers to a firm will that¡¯s not afraid of difficulties. You can read the story by clicking the Wikipedia link. 2The original idiom tells a story of Kuafu wanting to pluck the sun, so he began to race against it. Eventually he died of thirst, and after his death, his walking stick turned into a peach forest, and his body turned into Kuafu Mountain. It¡¯s now used to refer to people who are brave and optimistic and willing to overcome all obstacles to reach their goal. You can read the story by clicking the Wikipedia link. Dong Zhi¡¯s heart was moved. Somehow, he now understood Long Shen¡¯s thoughts more. With just a look and one sentence, Dong Zhi could understand the other party¡¯s words and what he was thinking. In fact, Long Shen had never been difficult to understand. He could even be called pure and simple, but no one had ever been willing to patiently understand him before, and he had never stopped to wait for others to understand. By chance, Dong Zhi became this person, not only because he was willing to take the initiative but also because Long Shen was willing to open up and let him in. The man he loved had great love in his heart and a heavy burden on his shoulders. His eyes could hold the entire world. At this time, it would be too petty to make a joke and ask what would be more important, him or the world, but Dong Zhi stilled joked, ¡°Then am I a small responsibility attached to master?¡± Long Shen lowered his head and looked at the hands that were tightly clasped together. He suddenly smiled slightly. ¡°You are a small caprice of mine.¡± Responsibility was deeply imprinted in the bones, but capriciousness came from the heart. Dong Zhi was stunned. The hot feeling immediately spread from the neck up, as if he had just drank a bowl of spicy soup. His stomach was burning, but it wasn¡¯t uncomfortable when it dissipated into every pore of his body. He used to see Long Shen as cold and stern, but he didn¡¯t know that such a person would be so deadly to pick up. Every sentence Long Shen said could hit the softest part of his heart, take root, sprout, and never be pulled out again. ¡°Master, when did you change your mind about me and discover that¡­ there is more than just a relationship between master and apprentice?¡± After the huge impact from a few days ago, he started to calm down. This question lingered in his heart for a long time. It may not be that Long Shen mistook his sympathy for love, but perhaps out of curiosity or puzzlement. If he said it was on the beach that night and it was simply a random idea, that would certainly be impossible. Long Shen talked less and often did more, but every time he did something, he always considered the outcome of his decision. He was by no means an impulsive person. But if it wasn¡¯t that night, then when? After thinking about it carefully, when they were separated for a period of time after they became master and apprentice, during that time, Dong Zhi experienced many things in Lucheng. He saw Long Shen¡¯s past from the illusion derived from the Changshou Sword, and his state of mind changed a lot. But what about Long Shen? Long Shen thought for a while, then shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Facing Dong Zhi¡¯s faintly expectant and instantly dim gaze, Long Shen smiled. ¡°I have something to show you when we get back. I can¡¯t explain clearly here.¡± As soon as his voice fell, Dong Zhi¡¯s phone rang. The caller ID displayed Chen Guoliang. Dong Zhi raised his brows and looked at Long Shen, who motioned for him to answer. Pressing the accept button, Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°Master Chen, are you planning to come to the mainland to develop your business again and are calling me to report in advance?¡± ¡°No, no!¡± Chen Guoliang laughed. He would never set foot back on the mainland for at least another 3 to 5 years. He was afraid that this master would catch him and send him to the bureau for ideological education again. ¡°It¡¯s good news. I found the person you asked me to pay attention to last time!¡± Dong Zhi sat up straight all of a sudden. ¡°Qi Rui?!¡± After Han Qi¡¯s incident, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo investigated Qi Rui. She was best friends with Han Qi¡¯s former agent, Dong Qiaolan, and she was the one who was most likely to know the whereabouts of Dong Qiaolan and Hong Rui. She was so addicted to gambling that she owed a lot of debt on the mainland, so she went back to Hong Kong to escape her debts. Since then, her whereabouts have been unknown. At the time, Dong Zhi speculated that Qi Rui might¡¯ve gone to Macau to avoid the limelight. There was a casino there, so she could satisfy her addiction, but after several undercover searches, they didn¡¯t get any news about her. Now Cheng Guoliang called and said he knew her whereabouts. Kinky Thoughts: Avalokite?vara Also known as Avalokitasvara, is a bodhisattva who embodies the compassion of all Buddhas. He has 108 avatars, one notable avatar being Padmap¨¡?i. He is variably depicted, described, and portrayed in various cultures as either male or female. In Chinese Buddhism, he has evolved into the female form called Guanshiyin. ¡ª Guanyin a Bodhisattva associated with compassion. She is the East Asian representation of Avalokite?vara and has been adopted by other Eastern religions, including Chinese folk religion. She was first given the appellation ¡°Goddess of Mercy¡± or ¡°Mercy Goddess¡± by Jesuit missionaries in China. Guanyin is short for Guanshiyin, which means ¡°[The One Who] Perceives the Sounds of the World.¡± CH 110 According to Chen Guoliang, after Qi Rui went to Hong Kong, she quickly clung onto a wealthy businessman and became his kept mistress. She abandoned her original identity and changed her name. With the help of her gold master, she applied for a new ID and appeared in the social scene of high society under the name of Martha. Her face was also different from the photos that Dong Zhi had shown Chen Guoliang. Most likely, she had extensive plastic surgery. Chen Guoliang also said that there would be a charity dinner in two days. The wealthy businessman he knew would be on the guest list, but he didn¡¯t know whether the man would bring his wife or his mistress. This was indeed a valuable piece of information. When Dong Zhi let Chen Guoliang off the hook, he expected that the other party would hide away and wouldn¡¯t make big splashes, but he didn¡¯t think he would be so capable and provide him with such an important clue. Dong Zhi hung up the phone and relayed what he had learned. Long Shen asked, ¡°Can this Chen Guoliang get us an invitation to this banquet?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°He should be able to. On such occasions, he would usually bring an assistant or a female companion. I can ask him to give us the invitation for his plus one, but in this case, there¡¯s only one.¡± Long Shen shook his head. ¡°You go. I won¡¯t. I don¡¯t know if Qi Rui has also been cursed. You investigate first, and I¡¯ll come forward in due course.¡± Since he said that, Long Shen probably had a comprehensive plan so Dong Zhi naturally agreed. Their rare leisure time was interrupted again. Long Shen was concerned about Dong Zhi¡¯s curse and didn¡¯t want to delay any more time. The two went back to take a short break, then took a flight directly to Hong Kong in the evening. The history of Hong Kong wasn¡¯t long, but this century was enough to make it world-famous. Due to some complicated factors, the Special Administration Bureau hadn¡¯t set up an office here. Later, it was managed by the Pengcheng office across the river. It was precisely because of the high degree of liberalization in the city that people like Chen Guoliang, who were just ordinary and liked to flaunt, were so sought after and respected by the rich, and there was no Special Administration Bureau to interfere with him. However, after suffering a great blow from them, this Master Chen had become much more low-key. Nine out of ten banquets couldn¡¯t get his attendance, and it was even more difficult to meet him. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what he had learned during his ideological education trip on the mainland, but speaking of him now, he seemed more sophisticated and respected. Hearing that Dong Zhi was coming, Chen Guoliang personally brought his assistant to the airport to pick him up. The assistant had followed them to the hotel the previous time and witnessed the bloody and fierce battle, but that didn¡¯t deter him from resigning. This time, he didn¡¯t feel that Chen Guoliang was making a mountain out of a molehill, and instead, he followed in his boss¡¯ footsteps and looked at Dong Zhi with respect and admiration, not daring to be neglectful at all. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t elaborate on Long Shen¡¯s position in the Special Administration Bureau, only saying that he was his master, but this title alone was enough to make Chen Guoliang¡¯s eyes straighten as he stretched out his hands in a dreamy expression to greet him. ¡°It turns out you are Mr. Dong¡¯s master. Hello, hello. I have heard so much about you. How should I address you?¡± Long Shen shook his hands lightly. ¡°My surname¡¯s Long.¡± Despite not revealing his full name, Chen Guoliang didn¡¯t care but actually felt that this was the panache of a true master. Thinking about how powerful Mr. Dong was, it naturally didn¡¯t need to be said regarding his master. Chen Guoliang stretched out a thumb that had a jade ring on it, and, like many enthusiastic Hong Kong people, he exclaimed repeatedly, ¡°Long is a good surname. Only such an elegant name like that could be worthy of a master like you! No wonder, when I saw you from a distance, I thought you were very different. Now it¡¯s even more amazing looking at you up close. It¡¯s just like¡­¡± The assistant finished the sentence for him. ¡°An immortal! A person of wonder!¡± Chen Guoliang: ¡°Yes, yes. An immortal hidden among the mundane world.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ After a wave of touting, Chen Guoliang thought he had ignored Dong Zhi, so he opened his mouth to prepare for the next wave. Dong Zhi seemed to sense this and quickly interrupted him. ¡°When will the banquet start?¡± Cheng Guoliang: ¡°Tomorrow night! I have two invitations. You two¡­¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I¡¯ll go with you. My master has other arrangements.¡± Chen Guoliang was a little disappointed. He felt that having a master like Long Shen present would have a strong effect on his performance, but given that Dong Zhi was looking at him, he didn¡¯t dare protest. He hurriedly said with a smile, ¡°I have arranged a hotel for the two of you. How about the Four Seasons Hotel? It¡¯s the best hotel in Hong Kong!¡± They didn¡¯t intend to play on this trip, so it didn¡¯t matter where they were staying. Naturally, they had no opinions. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want Chen Guoliang to pay so they asked him for the cost and reimbursed him for the expense. Chen Guoliang didn¡¯t expect that his flattery had rubbed them the wrong way, which made him a little annoyed for a while. He resolved to do everything he could next time to satisfy Dong Zhi. Early the next morning, Long Shen left, saying that he had to make other arrangements. Chen Guoliang waited downstairs in the lobby on time at 8. He thought he would see Long Shen again, but when he learned the other party wasn¡¯t there, he couldn¡¯t help but be disappointed. Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°Master Chen, did you see a thicker thigh, so you no longer want my arm?¡± Chen Guoliang was a slick person. When he heard this, he smiled and said, ¡°How dare I? Your arm can stand up to dozens of others. You can take me down with just a finger. Besides, Mr. Long is a thigh, and you¡¯re an arm. It¡¯s a perfect match for you two father and son to fight a tiger*!¡± *Referring to the idiom (´ò»¢»¹µÃÇ×Ðֵܣ¬ÉÏÕóÐë½Ì¸¸×Ó±ø) which means regarding matters of life and death, only people who are as close to brothers and sons can do it together. Naturally, he didn¡¯t know the relationship between Long Shen and Dong Zhi, but hearing that they were a perfect match made Dong Zhi happy. ¡°Master Chen came here so early. Where are you taking me?¡± Chen Guoliang asked, ¡°Did you bring a suit?¡± ¡°No.¡± Chen Guoliang seemed to have expected this answer, as he showed a confident smile. ¡°Tonight¡¯s dinner is dominated by people from the financial sector, the rich and powerful, and those from the entertainment industry. If you don¡¯t have status, you can¡¯t enter the venue, so you need to wear more formal clothing. I will take you to buy a suit.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t expect that Chen Guoliang would be so mindful about this matter, so he thanked him. The two then went out together as Chen Guoliang¡¯s assistant drove them to their destination. On the way, Chen Guoliang asked how Dong Zhi¡¯s stay last night went. ¡°I wonder if you have heard of the reputation of the Four Seasons Hotel in Hong Kong? This is known as the Swiss Bank of Hong Kong. As long as you enter this hotel, all your personal information will be kept strictly confidential. No matter what your identity is outside, at the hotel it will be absolutely safe. I know you two came to do business and certainly wanted to keep it low-key, so I arranged this place for you. Are you and Mr. Long satisfied?¡± The words were asked with respect and modesty, but his face showed a look that begged for praise. Dong Zhi raised his eyebrows. ¡°How do you know that we wanted to keep a low profile this time?¡± Cheng Guoliang was stunned and thought, ¡®Did my flattery rub him the wrong way again?¡¯ Dong Zhi lowered his voice and said mysteriously, ¡°Actually, did you know? With the confidentiality of this hotel, mixed with fish and dragons, also means that there¡¯s likely someone who¡¯s not human among us. Even if it kills someone, changes into their skin, and re-assumes their identity, no one will know.¡± All of Chen Guoliang¡¯s hair stood up. He immediately recalled that day when he followed Dong Zhi and saw Han Qi covered in blood, as well as her magic fetus. ¡°Stop, stop. Don¡¯t say any more!¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t hold it in and said happily, ¡°I¡¯m just teasing you. I can¡¯t believe you fell for it!¡± Chen Guoliang: ¡­¡­ He wanted to get angry, but he didn¡¯t dare, so he could only hold back his grievances. Dong Zhi patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Okay, you provided us with a good clue this time. If we can really find Qi Rui tonight, you¡¯ll be rewarded for your contribution.¡± Chen Guoliang immediately became excited. ¡°What kind of reward?¡± ¡°What do you want?¡± Chen Guoliang tentatively said, ¡°Why don¡¯t you teach me a move so that I can become someone like you?¡± Dong Zhi glanced at him. Chen Guoliang immediately understood and pressed a button. A barrier rose between the driver¡¯s seat and the back seat, blocking the front from hearing their conversation. ¡°Master Chen is very skilled in this business, just like an agent in a spy movie!¡± Dong Zhi joked. Chen Guoliang smiled bitterly. ¡°You joke. Those rich people come to me for help, so privacy is often required. I have no choice but to do so.¡± Dong Zhi stopped harping on the issue and returned to the original topic. ¡°For those of us who cultivate, you either have a teacher or you have to join the Special Administration Bureau to get relevant training.¡± Cheng Guoliang hesitated. ¡°The requirements for the Special Administration are very strict, right? Since I took that ideology class, I should be able to pass the test. I still remember the words I was taught last time.¡± ¡°Then, can you recite the core values?¡± When Chen Guoliang heard this, he straightened up his waist. ¡°Prosperity, strength, democracy, civilized, harmony, patriotic, dedication, honesty, and friendliness!¡± Dong Zhi was slightly impressed. ¡°Do you really remember it in your heart?¡± Chen Guoliang said proudly, ¡°Of course. You have to be sincere!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°We plan to set up a liaison office in Hong Kong. After all, this is an international city where many forces converge. Once something happens, it¡¯ll usually be one step late to get feedback from Pengcheng.¡± Chen Guoliang¡¯s eyes lit up, and he quickly agreed. ¡°Yes, yes. It¡¯s more convenient to have a liaison office!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°However, we are still investigating the liaison personnel. If Master Chen is interested, you can sign up.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the main responsibility of this liaison officer?¡± ¡°The liaison officer is a non-staff member, so they are not considered part of the Special Administration Bureau, which means their task won¡¯t be as heavy. The main purpose is for us to have a direct channel of contact. If something happens, you can contact us directly.¡± Of course, such a liaison also wouldn¡¯t be privy to too many things about the Special Administration Bureau to prevent secrets from leaking. Chen Guoliang was really interested. In fact, this position was tailored for him. Being who he was, Chen Guoliang wasn¡¯t qualified to enter the Special Administration Bureau, but he wasn¡¯t a bad person. He had a firm position and a bottom line. At best, he could be regarded as a not-so-bad person, but he did have extensive contacts in the three religions and a wide network in Hong Kong. This was very in line with the needs of the Special Administration Bureau. Therefore, after discussing it with Long Shen, Dong Zhi decided to give him a shot. The contact point in Hong Kong wouldn¡¯t be affiliated with a branch office but would be directly under the jurisdiction of the General Administration Bureau. Chen Guoliang hesitated for a moment, then smiled. ¡°Then, may I ask, do non-staff also get paid?¡± Dong Zhi smiled. ¡°How about authentic talismans from a Taoist sect?¡± Chen Guoliang¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°There are exorcism talismans from Mount Longhu, Maoshan, Qingcheng, Yuanming Palace, and Mount Wusha. Wearing them can calm your nerves and dispel evil spirits, but I can¡¯t give you much. Within the scope of my authority, I can only give you one every month. Don¡¯t think this amount is too small. Although they are the most common exorcism talismans, fakes are rampant outside. I dare say that you can¡¯t get an authentic Taoist talisman like this in all of Hong Kong!¡± Chen Guoliang smiled hurriedly. ¡°It¡¯s enough. It¡¯s enough!¡± If he had these real goods in hand, he wouldn¡¯t need to use tricks in the future. Not to mention he would develop a connection with the Special Administration as a result, which meant he would also have a big backer! Dong Zhi seemed to see through his mind and said, ¡°Don¡¯t be too preemptively happy. Non-staff members also need to take a test before joining. The Special Administration Bureau is a law enforcement department, not a tool for you to show off your identity to the outside world. You must not disclose them to the public, and you must never use their names to deceive others, let alone do things that violate the law and national interests.¡± ¡°Understood, understood!¡± Chen Guoliang said it repeatedly with a bitter face. ¡°Oh, Dong Ge, you look down on me. Although I¡¯m native to Hong Kong, I¡¯m also Chinese. How can I do anything that goes against national interests? Moreover, since I hadn¡¯t formally entered a Taoist sect before, I could only rely on lip service. Now, in the future, I can really help others!¡± ¡°That would depend on actions rather than words. If you want to join, I will send you a form later. You can fill out your personal information. If you sign up, I¡¯ll let you know if there¡¯s news later.¡± Chen Guoliang smiled. Dong Zhi reminded him, ¡°I know you have a close relationship with many rich people, but the most important thing in cultivation is to do good and accumulate virtue. This kindness is not only for the rich but also for the poor. We treat everyone equally. Don¡¯t just make money and connections and forget about the important foundations of life. Otherwise, sooner or later, it will come back to bite you.¡± Chen Guoliang hurriedly responded, ¡°I now donate to charities every year, and in the future I will regularly go to welfare homes to distribute cold clothes and food to the elderly and actively participate in volunteer work!¡± As they were talking, they had arrived at the mall, which was just opening. There was no one inside the store. Dong Zhi quickly picked out a suit and refused Chen Guoliang¡¯s offer to pay. He took out a black card that Long Shen gave him, which shocked Chen Guoliang, who no longer dared rush to the checkout. Long Shen hadn¡¯t contacted Dong Zhi, nor did he tell him what he was planning, but Dong Zhi knew that the other party had his own business, most likely related to work, so he didn¡¯t bother him. He went to lunch with Chen Guoliang. After lunch, Chen Guoliang had an appointment, but he pushed it off because of Dong Zhi¡¯s arrival. However, the other party kept calling, saying that it was an urgent matter. When Dong Zhi saw his predicament, he offered to go with Chen Guoliang to have a look. Naturally, Chen Guoliang was happy and hurriedly drove him to the client¡¯s home. The villa was located on a hillside. It was said that in the colonial era, only those bestowed the title of peacemakers by the British and the Queen of England were eligible to buy homes here. Naturally, there was no such rule now, but the price of these villas was still high, especially in Hong Kong. The other party¡¯s name was Nie Gui, the head of the Nie family. The Nie family was engaged in real estate and the jewelry business in Hong Kong. The family¡¯s business was not publicly listed, but according to a gossip newspaper, their assets should be within the top ten in Hong Kong. However, none of this was earned by Nie Gui, who was your typical second-generation dandy. He had been eating, drinking, and having fun since returning from studying abroad. However, his parents suddenly died, and the huge industry fell into his hands. It was said a while ago that Nie Gui went to court with his uncles and brothers and fought several lawsuits before finally getting most of the business, but the Nie family didn¡¯t continue to flourish under his hands. Recently, there had been rumors that Nie Gui had been lingering in nightclubs, chasing women all night long. Everyone said that the Nie family would sooner or later end in his hands. And it was this Mr. Nie who contacted Chen Guoliang at this time. As soon as Dong Zhi saw him, he felt that this person hadn¡¯t slept for a few days, as his eyes were sunken and there were heavy bags under them. Nie Gui¡¯s temper was also a bit impatient. When he saw Dong Zhi come in, he thought he was Chen Guoliang¡¯s assistant, so he waved his hand and said, ¡°Master Chen, just the two of us today. Let your assistant go outside and wait!¡± Chen Guoliang said hurriedly, ¡°This is Master Dong, who is a very powerful practitioner. Today, he happened to be visiting Hong Kong to do business. To give me face, he came specially with me. With multiple people, we can help Mr. Nie much better!¡± Dong Zhi looked too young, and his baby face was cute and harmless. When Chen Guoliang introduced him like this, Nie Gui looked at Dong Zhi suspiciously for a while before he extended a hand. ¡°Master Dong, right? It¡¯s a pleasure to meet you.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t mind his attitude. Since entering the Special Administration Bureau, he had seen such attitudes before, including Chen Guoliang, and later, without exception, such attitudes would change 180¡ã. Nie Gui began to talk about his own affairs. In fact, it was simple. It was nothing more than that he had recently lost energy. He always felt that he didn¡¯t sleep enough, which made him more tired during the day. He had drunk many traditional Chinese medicines and taken various supplements, but they weren¡¯t effective. He always felt that someone was whispering in his ears, so he went to the hospital for an examination. The result came back that there was nothing wrong with him; no auditory hallucinations, no mental illness¡ªso Nie Gui had to turn from science to metaphysics and ask for Chen Guoliang¡¯s help. Chen Guoliang asked him if he had encountered any strange people or things recently. Naturally, he said no, but his expression was weird, making it easy to doubt his words. ¡°I haven¡¯t been in good health recently, so I haven¡¯t even gone to nightclubs!¡± Speaking of this, Nie Gui lowered his voice. ¡°Master Chen, do you think I¡¯m being haunted by a vixen?¡± Chen Guoliang: ¡°I don¡¯t think so? You said you always hear someone talking in your ear. Do you remember what they said?¡± Nie Gui scratched his head and said, ¡°It seems to be my mother talking, but I don¡¯t remember exactly what she said. When she¡¯s still alive, she always nags me, saying I¡¯m the only child, and they¡¯re worried I¡¯ll be bullied by my uncles and brothers after they leave, but I¡¯m fine, aren¡¯t I? Master Chen, do you think it¡¯s my mother¡¯s ghost that has not moved on? Do we need to do a ritual or something?¡± The corner of Chen Guoliang¡¯s mouth twitched. He wanted to say, ¡°It wasn¡¯t you who killed your mother, so why would her spirit haunt you?¡± but he heard Dong Zhi say, ¡°I saw it.¡± Nie Gui was puzzled. ¡°What did you see?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Your mother. She came down from the stairs and is now standing at the bottom looking at you.¡± Nie Gui suddenly turned around and saw no one at the stairway. Soon his scalp exploded, and he had goosebumps all over his body. Dong Zhi said slowly, ¡°She¡¯s wearing a bright yellow skirt and a top hat, and she seems unhappy. Oh, she started talking. She said that you are alone, with no one to care about you now. All you do is go pick up girls all day long. Given that your business has already shrunk by half, you will lose all of the Nie family¡¯s business sooner or later, even if you don¡¯t have relatives fighting with you.¡± Nie Gui¡¯s face turned pale. He was about to open his mouth to retort but was interrupted by Dong Zhi. ¡°Oh, she¡¯s speaking again. She said that she always wanted you to start a family before she died, but you didn¡¯t want to. At this rate, it¡¯s better that you have erectile dysfunction so you don¡¯t go out all night and catch something.¡± Nie Gui¡¯s face turned even paler. ¡°Mom! You can¡¯t treat me like this. Aren¡¯t you cursing your own son? If I get erectile dysfunction, who will take over the Nie family!¡± Dong Zhi said coldly, ¡°You can adopt, or it can be directly inherited by your uncle and others when you get sick and die.¡± Nie Gui looked angry, as if he were about to attack something, but Dong Zhi¡¯s next sentence, ¡°Your mother is waiting for you to speak,¡± immediately shut him up. Chen Guoliang was secretly happy when he saw this. He had long heard that the Nie family was headed by a woman. When Nie Gui¡¯s mother was alive, the affairs of the company were basically decided by her. Under the standard style of a strong woman, children would either be cowardly and incompetent or rebellious and debauched. Nie Gui was obviously a combination of the two. He wasn¡¯t afraid of heaven and earth, but only his mother. It was indeed an effective move by his mother. Nie Gui promised that he wouldn¡¯t go out and mess around in the future. He would reform himself and learn how to run the family business, and he wouldn¡¯t lose the business that his grandfather and mother had built and left behind for him. Dong Zhi also gave him a talisman. ¡°This is a soothing talisman. After you wear it, your body and sleep will gradually improve. If you do more good deeds and accumulate virtue, the previous unhappiness will naturally disappear, but the ghost will continue to live here. If you relapse, even the gods may not be able to save you, let alone Master Chen.¡± Nie Gui looked at the talisman suspiciously. ¡°Is this really useful?¡± Dong Zhi drew back his hand. ¡°Then I¡¯ll just take it back.¡± Nie Gui hurriedly snatched the talisman back. ¡°I was just speaking casually!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Don¡¯t move. I will help regulate your body now.¡± In fact, Nie Gui didn¡¯t initially put Dong Zhi in his sights at first, but he discovered that it was Dong Zhi who did everything from beginning to end. Chen Guoliang rarely interrupted, and it could be seen that his attitude towards Dong Zhi was also very respectful. It didn¡¯t take a smart man to realize who was the dominant of the two, let alone Nie Gui. However, he was uneasy about how young Dong Zhi looked. At this time, he saw the other party flick him on both sides of the shoulders, asked him to sit down again, and pressed on his baihui point. ¡°Wake up!¡± In Chen Guoliang¡¯s ears, Dong Zhi¡¯s volume was about the same as usual, but in Nie Gui¡¯s ears, the sound was nothing short of a jackhammer. With a sudden ringing in his eardrums, his mind was suddenly awakened by a deafening wake-up call. Nie Gui¡¯s eyes suddenly changed when he looked at Dong Zhi. ¡°Master, Master, what divine art did you use on me? Why do I feel as if my spirit has all of a sudden improved?¡± ¡°This is called a Lion¡¯s Roar.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s expression became more profound in Nie Gui¡¯s eyes. He didn¡¯t explain much, but Nie Gui felt that this was how things should be. A master should be arrogant and temperamental. ¡°Master, can you,¡± Nie Gui leaned closer and lowered his voice, ¡°send my mother away. With her here, I¡¯m under a lot of pressure!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°She hasn¡¯t had her wish fulfilled, so I can¡¯t forcibly send her away. This is against the harmony of heaven, understand? And it¡¯s useless to whisper to me. She heard everything and has been staring at you this whole time.¡± Nie Gui¡¯s face turned pale. Dong Zhi said, ¡°When you get married, have children, and turn to the path of righteousness, she will naturally leave as soon as her wish is fulfilled. Remember what I said. Otherwise, no matter how much you try, it¡¯ll be useless even for me to help you.¡± Nie Gui responded with a bitter face. Chen Guoliang finally spoke. ¡°Mr. Nie, you are also attending tonight¡¯s dinner, right?¡± Nie Gui nodded. ¡°Yes, why? Is Master Cheng going too?¡± Chen Guoliang smiled and said, ¡°Mr. Dong wants to find Mr. An. Can you help with the introduction, Mr. Nie?¡± Mr. An was the gold master of Qi Rui. The An family was also a famous and powerful family in Hong Kong. Mr. An was also recognized as a peacekeeper, so his family background was a bit deeper than the Nie¡¯s. Chen Guoliang hoped to make a good impression on Dong Zhi, so naturally he had to do his best, but he had no friendship with the An family and was worried he would be treated coldly. If Nie Gui was there, the scene would be much better. Nie Guo agreed. ¡°No problem. I¡¯ll take care of it!¡± Now that he had witnessed Dong Zhi¡¯s abilities with his own eyes, he no longer had any doubts. ¡°Master, can you give me your contact information? If there¡¯s anything wrong, would it be convenient for me to contact you?¡± Nie Gui¡¯s Mandarin wasn¡¯t very good, so he often speaks sloppily and bluntly. Dong Zhi gave him his number. Nie Gui wanted to give him a red envelope, but he was rejected. Nie Gui regarded him as a respectable master and enthusiastically retained them for afternoon tea. Chen Guoliang felt that this was a good opportunity to get closer and kept making eye contact with Dong Zhi, but Dong Zhi didn¡¯t seem to notice his ¡°ogles¡± and inferred that they had something to do, so they left the Nie villa shortly after. Nie Gui felt reluctant to let them go. ¡°Master, see you tonight!¡± Sitting in the car, Chen Guoliang looked puzzled. ¡°Dong Ge, do we have something else to do?¡± This form of address was confusing as he was older than Dong Zhi, but Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother to correct him. Dong Zhi said casually, ¡°No, but if we stay any longer, he will definitely ask me to ask his mother about business matters and pass on the information to him. I can¡¯t just make things up on the fly. Of 36 strategies, the best is to get away at once*!¡± *(ÈýÊ®Áù¼Æ×ßΪÉϼÆ) Idiom referring to once you reach an irreversible point, there¡¯s no other way but to run away. This comes from the original saying that refers to if you¡¯re unable to resist the enemy, the best policy is to escape. Chen Guoliang was speechless. ¡°Did you lie to him just now?¡± Dong Zhi blinked. ¡°Of course. Do you think there are that many monsters and ghosts out there that you can just run into them so casually? He¡¯s not sick at all. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s been overindulging in sex, leading to dysfunction, mental fatigue, and hallucinations.¡± Chen Guoliang felt that his brain seemed to have rusted, and he was left speechless for a while. ¡°Then how did you describe what Madam Nie¡¯s clothes were?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°That¡¯s easy. There¡¯s information online. I just checked on the way there. His mother¡¯s photo is also on the internet, so I just picked an outfit.¡± Chen Guoliang was at a loss. ¡°And what¡¯s the point of pressing his baihu just now?¡± ¡°He¡¯s been upside down day and night for a long time. His yang was declining and his yin growing. After so long, he wouldn¡¯t be able to raise it, so I raised his yang fire on his shoulder a little higher, then used the Lion¡¯s Roar to restore his sanity. As long as he doesn¡¯t go to sleep drunk, he¡¯ll slowly get better.¡± ¡°The truth mingles with the false, what¡¯s false is true, and what¡¯s true is false. You have great skills, just like a master in the art of war!¡± Chen Guoliang stood in awe and gave him a thumbs up. ¡°Dong Ge, you are really born to do business. You¡¯re simply talented and have deep wisdom. Why don¡¯t we start a company together? I¡¯m sure that within a few years, we¡¯ll take over the world!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know how to reply to this and could only say, ¡°I¡¯m a public official. Unless there are special work needs, I¡¯m not allowed to take on private work.¡± Chen Guoliang¡¯s face was full of regret. ¡°Then it¡¯s not a problem with money?¡± Dong Zhi gave him a look. Chen Guoliang laughed. ¡°Yes, yes. I know public officials in Hong Kong are also like this, so how could I not be aware of the rules in the mainland?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Then shall we find some time to participate in ideological education again?¡± Chen Guoliang immediately shut up. This episode didn¡¯t delay them too much. At this time, it was about two hours before the banquet. Many people would arrive in advance. Chen Guoliang took Dong Zhi to get his hair styled. Seeing that the time was getting closer, the two of them arrived at the Peninsula Hotel and presented the invitation letter at the door. The waiter then led them into the banquet hall. Recently, an international financial forum was held in Hong Kong, so the banquet was also hosted for these guests. When Dong Zhi and Chen Guoliang arrived, there were already many people present. Naturally, there were those who liked to flaunt and would arrive late to show off their status. The author has something to say: A small theater that has nothing to do with the text: He Yu: Boss, look at Dong Zhi. Now he¡¯s more deceitful than anyone else. I don¡¯t know where he got it from. Long Shen: From you. He Yu: ¡­ No, according to the script, you should ask me what¡¯s wrong. Long Shen: What¡¯s wrong? He Yu: Last time I saw a man named Nie Gui calling him and saying that he has changed and asking if Dong Zhi could send his mother away. Later, I asked Dong Zhi what was going on. Boss, be careful when you¡¯re sold by him to help count money. Long Shen: It¡¯s okay. He has a black card and a secondary card, so he¡¯s not short of money. He Yu: According to the script, you should say that you¡¯re willing to be sold by him¡­ Wait, no. Why does he have a black and a secondary card? I want one too!!! I want to recharge my game packs and buy a new character! Hey, wait, Boss, where are you going?! CH 111 Chen Guoliang was a well-known feng shui master in Hong Kong. Although not everyone in the room knew who he was, the majority of the local wealthy knew him and would naturally come to greet him and see Dong Zhi by his side. People judge others based on their clothes. When they saw Dong Zhi¡¯s appearance, they couldn¡¯t believe that he was a practitioner. Of course, they wouldn¡¯t mistake him for being Chen Guolaing¡¯s assistant either, but rather some young master from an elite family. Given his cute and harmless smile, the young master looked as if he didn¡¯t know the difficulties of the world. ¡°Where¡¯s Mr. An?¡± Dong Zhi looked around as he asked Cheng Guoliang. The women were all dressed up and covered in jewels. He had only seen Qi Rui¡¯s picture. At first glance, it was difficult to tell who Qi Rui was among the crowd. Besides, rumors had it that Mr. An had many lovers and he might not bring her today. ¡°Not here yet,¡± Cheng Guoliang said. With an identity like his, he likes to be ostentatious and appear last in the finale.¡± In a short while, Nie Gui also came. Uncharacteristically, he went straight to Dong Zhi and greeted him enthusiastically instead of the beautiful women. ¡°Master, Master Chen, you guys are so early!¡± Nie Gui glanced around mysteriously, then whispered, ¡°Master, please look to see if my mother came with me.¡± Dong Zhi smiled. ¡°Yes, the madam is standing at the entrance to the banquet hall.¡± Nie Gui almost wanted to wail. ¡°Why won¡¯t she let me go!¡± Nevertheless, he was a lot more honest, didn¡¯t dare flirt, and followed Dong Zhi. After all, the world of yin and yang was different, and after experiencing it, he was left with awe for ghosts and gods. Many people came to greet them, including many young, beautiful, and rich women¡ªnaturally, they didn¡¯t come for Nie Gui. When Chen Guoliang introduced Dong Zhi as his mainland colleague and friend, their eyes lit up, and they asked kindly, ¡°Then will Mr. Dong please read my palm?¡± Many of these rich ladies were quite open and flirtatious. Naturally, they had no reservations about chasing boys. Seeing that Dong Zhi was so handsome, they entertained the idea of trying to get to know him first. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry. As he was trying to think of how to get rid of them, he heard Chen Guoliang say softly, ¡°Mr. An is here.¡± Dong Zhi raised his head and saw Mr. An walking in with a female companion. Many people with sharp eyes instantly saw him and took the initiative to greet him. However, Mr. An just smiled modestly and only said a few words to them. It was self-evident how influential the An family in Hong Kong was. Only Dong Zhi¡¯s attention was on the woman who was holding Mr. An¡¯s arm. ¡°That¡¯s Qi Rui. She¡¯s changed her name to Martha now!¡± Chen Guoliang whispered. Dong Zhi felt his heart flutter as he looked at Qi Rui carefully. The other party was wearing exquisite makeup, and a smile was plastered on her face. He could see that she had been living a good life. Her face looked richer than originally, but there were still some similarities in the previous photos. However, the real-life person was more enchanting than the photos. Every move was alluring, but then again, if she wasn¡¯t outstanding, how could she possibly catch Mr. An¡¯s attention? But when Dong Zhi finally saw her, all he could feel was relief, like a ray of light shining in the darkness. There were many people around Mr. An, so it wasn¡¯t easy for Dong Zhi to get close. When the crowd eased up, Nie Gui told them to follow him and took Dong Zhi towards Mr. An. Relying on the reputation of the Nie family, Mr. An gave Nie Gui a positive look. Nie Gui smiled back and said, ¡°Uncle An, it¡¯s been a long time since I¡¯ve seen you!¡± Mr. An said slowly, ¡°It has, hasn¡¯t it? Your parents have been gone for a long time now. It¡¯s about time to get serious, right?¡± He spoke to Nie Gui like an elder and, based on his words, classified Nie Gui¡¯s life as ¡°immoral¡±, but Nie Gui didn¡¯t raise a fuss and simply just smiled dryly. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m planning to reform myself. Come, let me introduce you to Mr. Dong, a colleague from the mainland of Master Chen. He¡¯s also an extremely powerful master.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve heard so much about Mr. An, but unfortunately, I haven¡¯t had the pleasure of meeting you,¡± Cheng Guoliang said as he hurriedly extended his hand. Mr. An shook hands with them and slightly nodded. ¡°I have also heard of Master Chen. The peers you can bring here must be very capable.¡± When shaking hands with Dong Zhi, Mr. An deliberately gave him a special look. ¡°Master Dong is not like a feng shui master but rather a scholar. There are deep waters and many dragons* in the mainland, so it¡¯s really different.¡± *(Ë®ÉîÁú¶à) Idiom referring to with sufficient environmental conditions, more talents can be cultivated. || In this context, he¡¯s saying China has many resources so they can cultivate extremely talented people (like Dong Zhi). Dong Zhi was incompatible with Chen Guoliang¡¯s temperament. Being a shrewd businessman, Mr. An could see it at a glance. ¡°Mr. An flatters me. In fact, this time I came from the mainland to look for your girlfriend, Miss Qi Rui.¡± He stretched out his hand to the lady companion beside Mr. An and said her real name straightforwardly. ¡°Hello, Miss Qi. Do you remember your old friend Dong Qiaolan?¡± Qi Rui¡¯s face changed. Instead of shaking hands with Dong Zhi, she looked at Mr. An instead. Mr. An said lightly, ¡°It seems you have some ulterior motives. Her name is Martha now. I don¡¯t want anyone to make trouble at the banquet. Mr. Dong, if you don¡¯t listen to my advice, then I¡¯ll have to ask someone to escort you out.¡± Now that Qi Rui¡¯s identity had been confirmed, there was naturally no need for Dong Zhi to worry. ¡°Sorry, Mr. An, I think you have misunderstood. This friend of Miss Qi, Dong Qiaolan, is involved in a case, and her current whereabouts are unknown. I was just hoping to ask Miss Qi to cooperate with me in the investigation.¡± Qi Rui angrily said, ¡°I don¡¯t know who that person is!¡± Dong Zhi took out his cellphone and showed her a photo of her and Dong Qiaolan, which was found on Dong Qiaolan¡¯s social media account. ¡°Miss Qi, I think you should have heard about the death of the female star Han Qi. Dong Qiaolan and Hong Rui are suspected of being indirectly involved in her death. I hope I can ask you about their whereabouts. Why don¡¯t we find a place to have a good chat?¡± Qi Rui refused to cooperate. She grabbed her gold master¡¯s arm and begged, ¡°Mr. An, I don¡¯t want to talk to him. Can you drive him out?¡± Mr. An said coldly, ¡°Mr. Dong, this is Hong Kong, not the mainland. You¡¯re not the Hong Kong police. You have no right to take anyone away for questioning. My girlfriend also has the right to refuse you. If you continue to pursue this matter, I¡¯ll have security escort you out at once.¡± ¡°Then it¡¯s the Hong Kong police that have the power to take her away?¡± A voice came, accompanied by a flurry of footsteps. The crowd looked at the sound and saw four people quickly walking in. The man in the lead had a cold face. It was Long Shen, whom Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t seen all day. Three men behind Long Shen stepped forward and showed their credentials to Mr. An, indicating their identities. They wanted to take Qi Rui away to assist in the investigation. Only now did Dong Zhi realize that Long Shen had disappeared this morning to communicate with the Hong Kong police. It was natural for the Hong Kong police to step in, which was more justifiable and in line with the procedures. The laughter in the banquet hall stopped as all eyes were focused on the scene, creating a silent deadlock. Qi Rui pulled on Mr. An with teary eyes while the police impatiently said, ¡°We only need to question you to extract testimony. We¡¯re not here to arrest you. Miss Qi, why are you acting so emotional?¡± Many people laughed out loud when they heard this. Those who knew Qi Rui¡¯s true identity were secretly disdainful of her. At that moment, many mocking glances were projected at her, which made her feel as if she was being pricked by needles. Seeing that Mr. An¡¯s face was getting uglier, she knew that he, who loved face the most, was unhappy, and she dared not cry anymore and could only resign herself to go with Long Shen and the others. Dong Zhi thanked Nie Gui and said goodbye to Chen Guoliang, then got in the police car with Long Shen. ¡°Master, why are you here now?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°There is no Special Administration Bureau in Hong Kong. It¡¯s more cumbersome to connect with the police of the two places. Moreover, Qi Rui is not a criminal and is only assisting in the investigation, so the local police must be present when we take her back for questioning.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°If I had known you were going to ask the police to come forward, I wouldn¡¯t have made such a big detour.¡± Long Shen: ¡°It¡¯s not like you didn¡¯t gain anything today.¡± Dong Zhi scratched his nose, thinking that his master was quite good at comforting people. ¡°Can it be considered a gain to know a dandy?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you dress like this. It looks good.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned for a second, feeling like he had been fed candy as the sweetness from his mouth dripped to his heart. A serious person was deadliest when flirting. Dong Zhi could now appreciate the essence of this sentence. Qi Rui was in another car. The two of them were sitting in the backseat. Since there was a driver in front, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare make a move in front of people, so he reached out and touched Long Shen lightly as a way to express his feelings. Who knew that the other party directly grabbed his hand and held it, and wasn¡¯t shy about the possibility that the driver might see it. The car quickly reached the police station. Before that, Long Shen had already communicated with relevant personnel, and the Hong Kong police sent a person to accompany them for questioning. Qi Rui¡¯s attitude was extremely uncooperative, and she refused to admit that she knew Dong Qiaolan. However, according to the information obtained by Dong Zhi, before Qi Rui came to Hong Kong, the two of them had been best friends and talked about everything. Dong Qiaolan even wanted to introduce Qi Rui to Hong Rui, but this was probably the source of the fallout between the two. Figuring this out, Dong Zhi decided to change his thinking. ¡°Did you have a falling out with Dong Qiaolan because of Hong Rui?¡± Qi Rui¡¯s face changed slightly. He knew he was right. ¡°Miss Qi, you have to know that now that we¡¯re getting information from you to pursue them, if you refuse to cooperate and they come back to you in the future, even if Mr. An is powerful, it¡¯s impossible for him to protect you. I might as well tell you that Dong Qiaolan and Hong Rui are probably dabbling in Southeast Asian sorcery. If they want to retaliate against you, it will be very easy. You don¡¯t want to wake up one day and be cursed, right?¡± When they were at Che Bai¡¯s place, he had used a spell on Dong Zhi that allowed him to see that Dong Qiaolan and Hong Rui had become puppets of Mara and Songen, so it was impossible for them to come back, but this was something Qi Rui didn¡¯t know. When she heard this, she turned pale. ¡°What do you want to know? I did have a good relationship with Dong Qiaolan before, but then we had a falling out, so I don¡¯t know much about her anymore.¡± At this point, she knew that cooperation was the only way. Dong Zhi: ¡°Why did you have a falling out?¡± Qi Rui said, ¡°Because I found that she was getting eviler. She flew to Southeast Asia for three days, and when she came back, she was extremely hyperactive and behaved strangely. During that time, her career was in a slump, so she often prayed to God and worshipped Buddhas. At that time, I was preoccupied with my own thing, so I didn¡¯t care¡­¡± She spoke vaguely, but Dong Zhi saw through it. ¡°Because you were evading your debt?¡± Qi Rui said embarrassedly, ¡°Now, Mr. An has helped me with that. At that time, Dong Qiaolan came to me and gave me a jade bracelet, saying that she went to Thailand to find a master to bless it, which would allow me to make a lot of money. I believed her and went to a casino in Macau with it. Indeed, I won a small sum of money.¡± ¡°I was quite happy, so I went to Dong Qiaolan and wanted to invite her to dinner. Who knew that I happened to overhear her talking on the phone. Dong Qiaolan said that she had found a target, and it was me. After some time had passed, their plan would be successful. I felt something was wrong, so I went in to confront her. Dong Qiaolan is a person who¡¯s unable to lie, so she kept stammering and unknowingly made some remarks. I only know that she was cooperating with others to experiment with some kind of sorcery that would make her powerful and immortal. I thought she went crazy. At that time, I broke off the jade bracelet, threw it at her, ran to Macau, and never contacted her again.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Did she contact you after that?¡± Qi Rui nodded. ¡°She called many times, but I didn¡¯t answer. Later, she changed her number, so I completely lost contact with her. To be honest, I really don¡¯t want to have anything to do with her anymore. I¡¯m just a gambler, but she¡¯s killing people! You don¡¯t know how terrifying her home became after she started believing in all that voodoo. I even saw a baby puppet in her room, and I don¡¯t know what it was for!¡± When she mentioned this, her face was full of nausea and fear. She hugged her arms as if she didn¡¯t want to think about it for a second time. After Dong Qiaolan disappeared, Long Shen and the others found this puppet when they searched her home. It was speculated that it was a prop used for curses, similar to the use of voodoo dolls. Dong Zhi asked again, ¡°Then do you know, what is the name of the black magic master that Dong Qiaolan believes in? She often goes abroad. Has she ever mentioned to you where she was going?¡± Qi Rui frowned and tried to recall. ¡°Once I asked. She said that the place she went was in northern Thailand close to the border. It¡¯s far away, and she had to take a train then transfer to a car when she arrived. But she said all that hard work was worth it because the master was very powerful.¡± Dong Zhi asked, ¡°Did she tell you his name?¡± Qi Rui: ¡°It seems to be¡­ It was¡­¡± Suddenly, inspiration flashed. ¡°Songen!¡± No one expected that as soon as Qi Rui had just finished speaking, her face suddenly changed. Red rushed from her neck to her cheeks, and her whole face quickly turned purple. The policeman who was accompanying Long Shen for questioning was completely stunned, but Long Shen and Dong Zhi had already reacted. The two of them stepped forward at the same time and were about to act when Qi Rui suddenly opened her eyes and rolled them backwards. Her expression became hideous and distorted. ¡°I heard you want to find me?¡± She giggled. As if her throat were being choked, her voice was extremely shrill and different from just now. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for you!¡± Qi Rui¡¯s eyes slowly turned, her pupils were almost rolled to the back of her head, and her eyes were dead white. This kind of terrifying situation was as if she had been possessed by a ghost. The policeman next to her had never seen anything like it before and immediately subconsciously reached for his gun. Long Shen said in a deep voice, ¡°Where are you?¡± Qi Rui said eerily, ¡°Aren¡¯t you capable? Find me yourself. I¡¯ll be here waiting for you!¡± After that, her body trembled, and the corners of her mouth overflowed with black blood. Long Shen stepped forward, pressed on her temples on both sides, and shouted, ¡°The sunlight talisman!¡± Given his experience and tacit understanding, Dong Zhi¡¯s reaction wasn¡¯t slow. As soon as Long Shen¡¯s voice fell, he pinched the sunlight talisman and opened Qi Rui¡¯s mouth with one hand, then stuffed the talisman in. The Hong Kong policemen who were watching the surveillance at the other end thought that Long Shen and Dong Zhi were abusing the witness, so they quickly opened the door and ran in. As a result, everyone was stunned when they saw such a weird scene. In fact, there was no shortage of urban oddities in Hong Kong. It wasn¡¯t unusual for these policemen, who have been in the industry for many years, to encounter a few cold cases. It was just that the impact was great when they saw it with their own eyes. After seeing Qi Rui¡¯s mouth stuff with the talisman, her body convulsions gradually slowed down, and her eyeballs slowly returned to normal. She fell onto the chair and wanted to open her mouth to speak but found that it was stuffed. Subconsciously, she spat out the sunlight talisman that had turned completely black. ¡°What are you doing!¡± Long Shen said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. You were hit by a taboo curse.¡± Witnessing all this from start to finish, the policeman in the room with them felt his worldview had greatly been affected and couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°What is a taboo curse?¡± Long Shen: ¡°It is a curse technique that¡¯s placed on words. When it is cast on a person, usually nothing will happen unless the person says a word that the black magic master doesn¡¯t want her to say, which will then trigger the curse. If treatment isn¡¯t successful, they will likely die.¡± Hearing this and seeing Dong Qiaolan¡¯s weird things, Qi Rui screamed in fright and immediately bounced up, wanting to grab Long Shen. Long Shen avoided her, and she almost slammed into the table. ¡°Then¡ªthen I¡¯ll be fine, right?!¡± Dong Zhi answered her, ¡°The other party¡¯s curse on you isn¡¯t severe. It should be through Dong Qiaolan¡¯s hands to just monitor you. We have already resolved it for you.¡± Qi Rui was about to cry. ¡°Can¡¯t you look at it again? I really don¡¯t want to die!¡± Dong Zhi sighed. Since the other party provided them with a key clue, he complied and took out a talisman. ¡°You¡¯re all right now. If you¡¯re still worried, take this with you. You can¡­¡± Before he could finish, the talisman had already been snatched away. Qi Rui grabbed her clutch bag off the table and stuffed it into Dong Zhi¡¯s hand while clenching the talisman paper tightly. ¡°All for you! I¡¯ll give all the money I have in it to you. You can keep the change!¡± ¡°¡­Calm down.¡± Dong Zhi reluctantly finished his sentence. When the matter came to an end, Mr. An happened to send someone over to inquire about the situation. The police escorted Qi Rui, who wasn¡¯t in good mental condition, out. Long Shen politely declined the invitation from the chief of the Hong Kong police and left the police station with Dong Zhi. ¡°Where are we going now?¡± Long Shen: ¡°To the hotel to rest first. I¡¯ll have someone start to find the location.¡± Although these black magic masters lived in seclusion in the mountains and forests and weren¡¯t easy to find, as long as they had a name and a general location, it would be much easier than before. But Long Shen didn¡¯t want to raise Dong Zhi¡¯s hopes and then have them crushed, so many of the things he arranged were done in silence. He would rather tell the other party the results. This was also a habit that was formed by being alone for many years. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t ask. Even if he didn¡¯t ask, he knew very well that Long Shen would never give up hope. He used to be afraid of death, but now he dared to stand on the edge of the cliff and stare at the abyss under it because now he had someone beside him. Long Shen had lived for more than two thousand years, and almost all the special things in his life were now his alone. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t dare to disappoint him. If life could be converted to love, perhaps he had stopped breathing at this moment. ¡°Master.¡± Long Shen turned to look at him. Dong Zhi clasped his fingers. His palm felt the warm touch, which gave him relief. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. I just want to say thank you.¡± Thank you for giving me such special treatment. Thank you for responding to my feelings. Maybe I wasn¡¯t strong enough to stand side by side with you before, but after, if I can survive, I¡¯ll work hard. Even if I can live one more year, or maybe two, so I can accompany you even longer. Many sentimental words came to him, but they couldn¡¯t be expressed articulately. Sometimes they would turn into embarrassment. Even if Dong Zhi had deep affection for Long Shen, he felt that when the words were spoken, their meaning would change. It was better to collect them properly and hold them in his heart. He thought that Long Shen wouldn¡¯t understand such an inexplicable thanks, but the other party turned his head and thought about it seriously, then said, ¡°You¡¯re welcome. I¡¯m also very happy.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned. For a while, he couldn¡¯t believe that the other party understood his extrinsic voice. The two of them then suddenly connected, and when he looked into the other¡¯s eyes, he could really see the faint joy and happiness in them. Long Shen was happy because they had finally found a breakthrough in this matter, and Dong Zhi was no longer entangled with life and death. He could face the fate of the heavens calmly and could do so because, before Dong Zhi encountered an accident, Long Shen was able to figure out the particularities of his opponent. At this moment, without words, Dong Zhi could almost perceive all the reasons for the other party¡¯s happiness. Perhaps skin-to-skin, hand-to-hand could really make people have an instant telepathic connection. Long Shen was really like as he promised. He was slowly becoming an ordinary person of flesh and blood, who understood love and hate. Under such a focused and serious gaze, no one could remain calm. The heat slowly poured from his neck to his cheeks. Dong Zhi felt a little stuffy in the car. He couldn¡¯t help but pull on his collar. Their driver was dedicated and kept looking ahead. He wasn¡¯t sure whether the driver was pretending to ignore their interaction or wasn¡¯t really interested in it, but from beginning to end, he never looked back. Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief. After returning to the hotel, he wanted to go to the bathroom and change out of his clothes, but Long Shen said, ¡°Wear it for a while.¡± Facing Dong Zhi¡¯s blank stare, Long Shen said, ¡°You look good in it.¡± Dong Zhi blinked, then blinked again. Pretending to be calm, he asked, ¡°Where does it look the best?¡± Long Shen really gave him an answer. ¡°You have a thin waist and long legs, so it¡¯s very suitable for wearing a suit. I want to look at you in it for a while longer.¡± CH 112 A man who never lied was extraordinarily provocative when he said this kind of thing. Dong Zhi felt as if his heart had been hit so hard that he was having a sudden attack from the curse. He thought Long Shen would never be moved by his appearance, but in fact this was just a misunderstanding. According to legends, even the gods preferred beautiful-looking people. Love and hatred were almost instinctive to all creatures, but those who were skilled at restraint would not be perplexed or shaken by this, but it didn¡¯t mean Long Shen couldn¡¯t appreciate beauty. In a daze, Dong Zhi had already put his arms around Long Shen¡¯s waist, raised his slender neck, and slightly accepted his kiss. This kiss was long and gentle, and almost all the feelings between them were poured out. The warmth in the beginning from Dong Zhi, the precipitation later, the indifference of Long Shen at first, and the melting later; they were like water flowing deep as light as dust. It wasn¡¯t only Dong Zhi that was flushed; Long Shen¡¯s breath also became unstable, but he was still able to calmly end the kiss and take the initiative to pull Dong Zhi away. ¡°Have a good rest tonight. I¡¯ll write an email to Xinchai.¡± The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched, as if it were a kind of laughter that came to an abrupt end. Seeing that he wasn¡¯t moving, Long Shen explained, ¡°Your curse hasn¡¯t been lifted yet. It¡¯s best to do it as soon as possible. Dong Zhi raised his forehead. He obviously didn¡¯t mean that. ¡°Master, why do you always regard me as always a stallion in your heart, regardless of the time?¡± In fact, he was already satisfied with being able to hug and kiss like this. His master was slow to warm up, so he even planned to spend his whole life in platonic love, but who knew they were progressing so fast that they skipped sex and advanced to divine intercourse? If this was him in the past, he wouldn¡¯t even have imagined such a step. Hearing this, Long Shen was puzzled by his words and said strangely, ¡°But I have heard that men¡¯s desire for sex is often greater than love. Are you not like this?¡± After all, he himself was a transformed artifact, so his desires were weaker than those of ordinary humans. When he heard about this view before, he felt that it was logical and wasn¡¯t difficult to understand. Ordinary humans had a variety of feelings and emotions, and they wouldn¡¯t deliberately restrain themselves. When they met someone they liked, this desire would only become stronger. Dong Zhi had to justify humanity. ¡°I can¡¯t say no, but there are exceptions. Besides, compared to sex, I actually want to experience what happened last time more.¡± Long Shen looked at his embarrassed expression and smiled. ¡°You mean divine intercourse?¡± Dong Zhi coughed lightly. Even though he had experienced divine intercourse and knew that it was purely spiritual and didn¡¯t have any erotic undertones, he couldn¡¯t help but blush a little when he heard this term. Long Shen pinched Dong Zhi¡¯s chin and dropped a kiss. His other hand held the back of Dong Zhi¡¯s head, and he pressed his index finger onto the jade pillow point*. *Also called the Yuzhen point, located 2.5 inches straight above the center of the posterior hairline and 1.3 inches to the side. Picture. Dong Zhi felt a buzzing in his ears. Suddenly, his vision darkened, and his body slid downward in a weightless state. He didn¡¯t realize that in reality he had also softened his legs and fallen softly into Long Shen¡¯s arms. The light was not in one piece but lit up bit by bit in the distance. He found himself suddenly in a vast universe, surrounded by stones of various sizes. In the distance or beyond, there were different shades of brightness, and he was one of many meteorites slowly moving forward, involuntarily, as if there were a force pulling him into the darkness. The force was like an indescribable joy; like the uncontrollable feeling of having a secret meeting with his sweetheart on a snowy night; like the joy and anxiety of first love. He didn¡¯t know what was waiting for him, but he knew that it was something he had been looking forward to for a long time, and all he could think about was it. The closer he got, the stronger the joy. He seemed to know what it was subconsciously, but the anticipation in his heart didn¡¯t fade. The light was getting brighter and more dazzling. He closed his eyes and allowed the warm light to envelope him. It entered every inch of his body; like a spring breeze turning into trickling rain. A lazy comfort washed over the bones of his limbs so that he couldn¡¯t help but keep his eyes closed, like he was soaking in a hot spring while being wrapped around by his beloved. It was the most moving happiness in the world and the ultimate bliss that words couldn¡¯t describe. He didn¡¯t need to look, didn¡¯t need to listen, as all the voices had left a mark on his body, pushing the warmth into it. Finally, the light and stone fused turning the unknown meteorite into a star. One day, he would become a star that could shine on others and warm them. And everything was brought about by this light. Time turned into nothingness; the sea changed into mulberry fields; the desolation became the past. Even the brilliant stars were fleeting. What remained was the mind that was unchanged, becoming eternal. His body shuttled between light years while his consciousness was frozen in the years. Every cell was decomposed and swayed in the universe, and when it condensed again, it was gently arched in arms that were carefully placed down, properly treasured, until the end of time. Dong Zhi¡¯s eyelashes trembled several times before he slowly opened his eyes. Outside the window, he saw the high-rise buildings of Hong Kong. The ships were sailing in and out of the port in the distance. The realism of modern society instantly slapped him in the face, making the experience he had of jumping between time and space feel illusory, until he saw Long Shen slowly opening his eyes. The last time they had divine intercourse, he was caught off guard and didn¡¯t fully perceive everything. He was overwhelmed by the storm of information that hit him from beginning to end, just like a person who had never seen water was suddenly thrown into a hot spring. Even if the hot spring was pleasant, he didn¡¯t have time to notice it because he was preoccupied with something else. Compared with the last one-sided initial exploration, this time it could truly be called divine intercourse. Divine intercourse wasn¡¯t a glimpse into the other¡¯s mind, but an opening to their sea of consciousness, allowing the other person to enter. The two ideologies meet and merge, starting with probing, approaching, and then understanding. It was far more impactful than a verbal confession. In this process, one party couldn¡¯t guard against the other, so if the other person had ill intentions and wanted to take the opportunity to plot, no matter how strong the other side was, this moment was like peeling off the hard shell protecting the soft heart and having it at their mercy. For practitioners, who have been walking in danger for so many years and have a heavier sense of preparedness than ordinary people, the fact that Long Shen did this undoubtedly showed his attitude. Dong Zhi¡¯s curse was still unresolved, and there could be other mechanisms at play that they didn¡¯t know about. The mark still remained on Dong Zhi¡¯s body. In this case, Long Shen bore a great risk that his heart could be invaded due to this. Compared with sweet words, Long Shen was more willing to use action to show that if he wasn¡¯t sure, he would never export easily. Just like when he heard Dong Zhi¡¯s confession on the phone, he had cleanly refused, but as long as he said it himself, it would certainly be honored. Neither of them spoke. At this time, words seemed superfluous. Compared with the calm from last time, Long Shen was obviously more emotional, as his face was slightly red. Dong Zhi was still immersed in the scene just now. He saw Long Shen¡¯s completely open consciousness. It was a magnificent and endlessly dreaming universe. It was the end of the stars, the place where all things returned. Its beauty and grandeur couldn¡¯t be described in words. In that sea of consciousness, his own ¡°string¡± had docked and merged with Long Shen; the two seas of consciousness finally started to slowly connect, just like strings and music instruments finally composing a song together. Even though the timbre was still monotonous, they were indeed gradually forming. And this kind of satisfaction was greater than any kind of sexual intercourse he could imagine. ¡°Master, what did you see?¡± he asked Long Shen. Long Shen was silent for a moment. ¡°I saw the top of a snow-capped mountain. Everything was as white as the eye could see. The wind was blowing snow, and it was freezing to the bone.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback. Could it be that the scenes seen by either side weren¡¯t the same during divine intercourse? ¡°Then what?¡± ¡°Then I saw a small plant emerging from the snow. The world was gray, and it was the only green. Its life was tenacious and vigorous. I walked over and used my hand to cover it from the snowflakes as it began to grow slowly. It eventually became a sapling, standing side by side with me, then continued to grow taller to become a towering tree on the top of my head, shielding me from the wind and rain.¡± Long Shen¡¯s tone was slow and calm, but Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes were slightly moistened as he listened to him speak, as if he could see the vigorous life going towards the most prosperous trajectory. ¡°When I looked at it, I felt happy inside,¡± Long Shen said. The corners of his mouth curled up, causing Dong Zhi to unconsciously follow that smile. ¡ª- The response from the white robe master this time was unexpectedly fast. In the evening of the next day, Master Xinchai sent an email to Long Shen. He told Long Shen that Songen was a man who was once a prominent witchdoctor in Myanmar. Decades ago, he joined the rebels during the war in Myanmar, where he was regarded as a guest of honor. When the rebels were defeated, he also disappeared, but in the decades since then, he was still known. It was rumored that he was still quite famous in the area, and even those unscrupulous drug lords who passed by Songen¡¯s territory would be honest and respectful, daring not to offend him even slightly. Because of this, once Qi Rui provided the two keywords, ¡°Songen¡± and ¡°Northern Thailand¡±, Xinchai quickly helped Long Shen find him and even provided the specific location. Further north in Thailand, on the edge of the dense forest was a small village called Xianda, which was Songen¡¯s territory. For those who sought him, they had to travel thousands of miles to Xianda, then ask someone to report to Songen first and obtain permission before they could enter Songen¡¯s stockade. Just as Long Shen and Dong Zhi were still reading the email, Xinchai called and suggested that he wanted to go with them. It would be great if he could persuade Songen to lift the curse on Dong Zhi, but if not, he might still be able to help. Naturally, Long Shen wouldn¡¯t refuse. He thanked Xinchai, and the two sides made an appointment to meet in Chiang Mai and then go north together. When Long Shen hung up, he told Dong Zhi about it. Dong Zhi felt a bit odd. ¡°Why does Xinchai want to come with us all of a sudden?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Songen is a black-robed witchdoctor, so he¡¯s at odds with Xinchai. Except for Han Qi, Songen has been using his techniques to harm the people of his country. It¡¯s just that he¡¯s extremely powerful, so few people dare to provoke him. Xinchai isn¡¯t sure he will win. Now that we have joined forces, he naturally wants to take the opportunity to eradicate Songen. Xinchai is also a master of curses. With him joining, this will increase our winning chances.¡± Dong Zhi understood what he meant. After all, they not only had to deal with Songen this time but also the heavenly demon behind him. It was conceivable that this would become a bloodbath. Through Qi Rui, Songen already knew that they would come to his door sooner or later. When they arrived, what awaited them could be a well-prepared trap, but Long Shen and Dong Zhi had no choice. If they kept hesitating, the long night would be fraught with dreams*. It was better to solve the problem directly and head-on. Long Shen suggested they take a short break and then set off immediately, to which Dong Zhi had no objection. *(Ò¹³¤Ãζà) Metaphor referring to undue delay may bring trouble. However, they encountered an episode before their departure. He Yu had sent a message to Dong Zhi, concerned about his curse. Dong Zhi gave him a general description of the progress of the matter, to which He Yu enthusiastically said he wanted to come and help him. This was unfortunately seen by Long Shen, who immediately deducted half a month of his bonus as punishment for intending to go AWOL on his post. Seeing this, He Yu didn¡¯t dare mention anything else. After confirming the information and route, Long Shen immediately booked tickets to Chiang Mai. When the two arrived, they soon met with Master Xinchai, who was waiting for them nearby. Xinchai¡¯s face was dry, and his figure was thin. He had piercing eyes that made people afraid to look at him for too long. In general, witchdoctors were out of place in society, which made people uncomfortable, but Xinchai was connected to the royal family and frequently attended public events, so he blended in so well to normal society that he could even be considered humorous on occasion. He also brought an apprentice named Kenta. Both were dressed up as monks, which was common in the local area. Xinchai¡¯s reputation and status in his country were indeed well-known. When the local administrator heard of his arrival, he wanted to come and treat them to a feast personally but was politely declined by Xinchai¡¯s apprentice. The four of them didn¡¯t delay much and took the train all the way north the next day. The train terminal ended at the border, and the next part of their journey had to be done by car. The four of them made a big round trip, and only after an arduous journey did they finally arrive in the village of Xianda that Xinchai had mentioned. CH 113 Because of the long-term fighting in Myanmar and the division of various forces, comprehensive peace hadn¡¯t been restored. Artillery fire was common in some areas, with fighting during the day and cursing at night. For people who lived in a peaceful country, such things were unimaginable. In the border areas between the two countries, hundreds of thousands of refugees gathered. These people were homeless and could only do small business on the border. Life was extremely precarious, and they could barely survive. The village of Xianda was at the foot of a high mountain on the border. There was dense jungle around the area. Without the guidance of the locals, it wasn¡¯t difficult for outsiders to get lost, let alone find Songen. Although Long Shen and Dong Zhi were practitioners, they weren¡¯t omnipotent immortals. They had to ask for directions. Xianda had a small population and was very sensitive to outsiders. If there was anything amiss, Songen would know about it in advance and that would put them in a passive situation. At this time, Dong Zhi proposed they split into two groups. One person would walk separately ahead with light, while the other three followed in the dark, so they could disperse being targeted and also have someone watching their backs. Master Xinchai said, ¡°Splitting up is a good idea. I¡¯ll have Kenta join you.¡± Dong Zhi shook his head. ¡°You¡¯re all natives here. They¡¯ll notice right away that you¡¯re not ordinary people because of how you¡¯re dressed. I¡¯ll go alone and pretend to be someone seeking Songen¡¯s help, which will lower their guard. You should stay far away. If you can find another way to get in, that would be even better. Since Songen expected that we would find Qi Rui, he must be waiting for us to deliver ourselves to his door.¡± Their opponent probably expected Long Shen to come, but they might not have expected that Xinchai would join as well. At this time, the more cards they hold, the greater their chances of winning. Since this was Songen¡¯s territory, no matter how fierce a dragon was, it was easy to fall into a trap set by the local snake. Hearing his point, Xinchai nodded and agreed to the plan. ¡°Don¡¯t be reckless,¡± Long Shen said to Dong Zhi. Hearing his concern, Dong Zhi smiled at him and waved his hand. He turned and walked in the direction of the small town. After walking for a while, he looked back and found that Long Shen and the others were gone. When he reached the town, he took a car to the terminal. After passing through the small town, the terrain became rugged, and there were more dense plants covering the area. A path that was man-made could be seen on the ground, but there was not a single figure along the way. There was a village in the distance around the corner, but despite walking for more than half an hour, he didn¡¯t seem to get any closer to it. At noon, the sun was just at its highest point. The temperature here was much higher. Dong Zhi had to roll up his sleeves to relieve a bit of heat. The qin case he was carrying with the Changshou Sword was on his back and was soaked in sweat. His shirt was sticky, and it made him feel uncomfortable. At this moment, there was a scream in front of him, as if someone had been bitten by something. Finally hearing the voices of people, Dong Zhi cheered up and ran over. When he turned the corner, he saw a man sitting on the ground. At first glance, the other party looked like a local boy with a dark complexion, about 17 or 18 years old. He had baggy pants that were rolled up, revealing his calf, and his face showed a painful expression, and he was curled up in a ball. Hearing the sound of the footsteps, the young boy turned his head. Seeing that Dong Zhi was an outsider, he immediately showed a vigilant expression. Dong Zhi pointed at the boy¡¯s leg and made a gesture, then said in English, ¡°What¡¯s wrong with your leg? Do you need help?¡± He was already prepared to take out a translation software if the other party didn¡¯t understand, but who knew the other party would also reply in English? ¡°I was bitten by a snake just now. It seems to be poisonous, and I can¡¯t stand up now. Can you help me to my house? It¡¯s right there.¡± After Dong Zhi took a look, he did indeed find a bite mark on the boy¡¯s leg, which was bleeding. The boy wrapped a cloth strip around his leg and tied it there to temporarily prevent the toxins from flowing through his body faster. ¡°Of course. Do you need to be taken to the hospital?¡± The young man shook his head. ¡°We have detoxifying herbs in our family.¡± Dong Zhi raised the young man¡¯s arm and put it on his shoulder, helping him walk to the village in the direction guided by the other party while seemingly unintentionally asking about it. He learned that the young man was named Suqi and that he was a villager from Xianda, the village located on the border. In the past, when Thailand and Myanmar relations weren¡¯t good, the village was often implicated. Many refugees from Myanmar fled, but they were not welcomed by the government here. Suqi¡¯s family were refugees who fled because of the war in Myanmar, but after Master Songen came, everything changed. Many people came from afar to meet the master, which benefited the villagers of this village. Even the drug lords who used to control the area didn¡¯t dare cause trouble. Dong Zhi glanced at the poppy fields in the mountains in the distance. He knew that in some parts of Southeast Asia, this plant was grown as a cash crop, and many depended on it for survival. He¡¯d also heard that, more than ten years ago, the local government was under international pressure to destroy the majority of the poppy fields and make the drug trade illegal, though that was only on the surface and they had never stopped. The local government tried to get residents to grow coffee beans and flowers, but the alternative crops didn¡¯t make as much money as poppies, and remote places like Xianda had complex situations that often couldn¡¯t yield much. Just when Suqi enthusiastically introduced him to the poppies that were about to bloom in the distance, all Dong Zhi could think about was how China¡¯s national borders were able to guard the peace and tranquility in the country, but outside the national borders, there was still a steady stream of poppies being planted. For the locals, it was an economic source for survival, but the manufactured products were used as a source of malice that tempted the depravity of human nature. Time and time again, narcotics officers were exhausted and sacrificed silently, and countless families were ruined. ¡°Dong, why are you in a daze? Don¡¯t these flowers look good?¡± Suqi couldn¡¯t tell the difference between ¡°Dong¡± and ¡°Dong¡±* so his pronunciation was off, but Dong Zhi didn¡¯t correct him. *[D¨­ng] (¶¬) vs [D¨¯ng] (¶­) The former being the Dong in Dong Zhi¡¯s name. The accent marks on each of them affect the pronunciation slightly. Dong Zhi smiled, didn¡¯t say more, and instead inquired, ¡°So, does everyone know Master Songen? If I want to visit him, can you introduce me?¡± ¡°I knew you were looking for him. Every year, many people come to see the Master. They have many wishes and want the Master to help them realize them. Do you have them too?¡± Suqi showed a sly smile. Dong Zhi pretended to be distressed and sighed. ¡°Yes, my girlfriend left me, and I want her back. I heard that Master Songen can help me become richer. If I have money, I can beat all her suitors and win her back!¡± Suqi nodded. ¡°Then Master Songen will help you. He¡¯s a very good person.¡± For the villagers here, the grace that could protect them was naturally considered good. While talking, Dong Zhi and Suqi reached a home. An old woman was sitting at the door. When she saw Suqi¡¯s wound, she hurriedly got up and walked away. After a while, she came back with a bowl and applied crushed herb and juice to the wound. Suqi said a few words to her and then pointed to Dong Zhi, as if explaining the purpose of Dong Zhi¡¯s visit. The old woman nodded at Dong Zhi and smiled kindly as she folded her hands. This was the meeting etiquette of the locals. Dong Zhi did the same gesture and greeted her back. ¡°She is my grandmother. Her name is Sara. I told her that you helped me back. She¡¯s going to prepare lunch for us. After eating, I¡¯ll take you to the Master,¡± Suqi explained. Lunch was simple. It was a common meal of grilled fish and rice. While it didn¡¯t taste delicious, Dong Zhi was a bit hungry, so he thanked Suqi and his grandmother and finished eating with them. After they finished their meal, Suqi brought out two glasses of water and told him, ¡°It¡¯s the juice of a plant called kalanchoe. We often use it as a drink. It¡¯s very tasty.¡± Dong Zhi took a sip. He found that it tasted very sweet. Soon, he felt a little dizzy and couldn¡¯t even stand. He had to hold onto the edge of the table and look at Suqi. At this moment, this simple young man showed an ambiguous smile. ¡°What did you put in it?¡± Dong Zhi held his forehead with a horrified expression on his face. Suqi gave a smug smile. ¡°You¡¯re not here to ask for Master Songen¡¯s help, are you? I have long seen through you. You want to harm the Master. You¡¯re a bad person. Now that you can¡¯t move, you can watch me consciously as I cut off your hands and feet, then dedicate your head to the Master. He can use your head for his arts. This is the last contribution you can provide to him.¡± Dong Zhi frowned. ¡°You¡¯re so young, yet you¡¯re this vicious? Does your grandmother know this?¡± Suqi sneered. ¡°Of course I know that Master Songen is our benefactor. Whoever wants to harm him is working against us! Are you numb all over and unable to move?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°No.¡± Suqi: ????? Dong Zhi stretched out his hands and moved them. ¡°Look, I can still move. Is your poison not working?¡± Suqi: ¡­¡­ Dong Zhi said innocently, ¡°I think the reason why I got dizzy just now was maybe because I ate too much. Could you have eaten the poison yourself?¡± Suqi was furious. ¡°How¡¯s this possible?! What I gave you was cursed!¡± As soon as his voice fell, his face changed. He covered his stomach and bent down, groaning in pain. The old woman who was hiding somewhere suddenly ran out and held Suqi. She was panicked and said many things in the local dialect that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t understand, so he ignored her. ¡°I¡¯m telling you, you must have given it to yourself. Now you¡¯ll need to see Songen and have him relieve it.¡± He looked at Suqi as he said this with a smile. ¡°Impossible. I obviously watched you drink it just now, and it¡¯s also in the food!¡± Suqi refused to believe that he had been tricked. Dong Zhi shrugged and showed a look of regret. ¡°Sorry, I have already taken an antidote before I came here. I heard that you¡¯re sheltered by Songen, and he¡¯s someone you respect, so he probably taught you some small tricks. Being a local here, do you think it¡¯s reasonable that you got bitten by a snake out in the wide open area like this? I can only say I¡¯m smarter than you.¡± This place was hard to guard against. Although they came in a hurry, they didn¡¯t forget to make preparations. Not only was this place dangerous, but there were also many snakes, insects, rats, and ants. Even if they weren¡¯t cursed, it was easy to become poisoned. Xinchai had given them preventative measures in advance and even taught them how to fight back. Although many curse techniques were complex, and there was no guarantee that their methods would be effective against them, small tricks like this were not a problem. Taking 10,000 steps back, Dong Zhi already had the ghost-faced peach blossom curse in his body, so he didn¡¯t worry about his debts. Compared with Songen, Suqi¡¯s small trick could only be considered superficial. As he was speaking, Suqi was already suffering from abdominal pain and was rolling on the ground with his arms around his stomach. The old woman was sweating profusely. She eventually kowtowed to Dong Zhi again and again, speaking in a language he couldn¡¯t understand but didn¡¯t need to in order to know that she was begging for mercy. In normal times, Dong Zhi may be soft-hearted, but knowing that her grandson had tried to curse him and the old woman didn¡¯t stop him, it could be seen that she wasn¡¯t much better, so facing her begging for mercy, Dong Zhi was indifferent and said to Suqi, ¡°I¡¯ll give you two choices. Either you take me to see Songen and I will give you the antidote, or you take me to see Songen and have him detoxify you.¡± Suqi wanted to ask what the difference was between the two choices, but he couldn¡¯t speak due to the severe pain. He could only look at Dong Zhi full of resentment. This kind of pain made people unable to do anything, but it wasn¡¯t to the point of death. Suqi was so uncomfortable that he thought it would be better if he died. He really couldn¡¯t bear it, so he had to agree with Dong Zhi¡¯s request. ¡°I¡¯ll take you¡­¡± Dong Zhi pointed to the old woman. ¡°Let your grandmother take me there. When I see Songen, I¡¯ll give her the antidote.¡± Suqi responded intermittently, ¡°Only I know where the Master lives. I am the most trusted person in this village¡­¡± Dong Zhi said suspiciously, ¡°Are you still able to walk?¡± Suqi said, ¡°I can¡¯t walk, so you have to get rid of the poison first.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Oh, let¡¯s not go. You can just die in pain.¡± Suqi: ¡­¡­ If Liu Qingbo could be angered to the brink, then how could a mere Suqi compare? In the end, he could only endure the pain. He clutched his stomach and stumbled in front of Dong Zhi as he led the way. Suqi led Dong Zhi around to a dense jungle behind the village and took him through it. They made various twists and turns before they finally came to a river. Seeing the river meant that he was out of the dense jungle. Dong Zhi widened his eyes as the scene evoked a sense of familiarity for him. At Che Bai¡¯s place, he once came to this place in spirit form and had a brief confrontation with the heavenly demon. Rather, it was Che Bai who had the brief confrontation with the unformed heavenly demon. As a legendary demon, Mara was not only evil, but also powerful. It shouldn¡¯t have been resurrected yet. Songen, one who yearned for the darkness, forcibly broke the balance of the world by trying to summon and resurrect Mara. If it completely formed, no one would be a match for such an opponent. There was also Yasuhiko Otowa, who wanted to destroy the stone tablet and awaken an even more powerful demon. The consequences would be unimaginable. Therefore, it was better to destroy the heavenly demon before it was fully formed. This was the best chance they had. Once he arrived at this spot, Dong Zhi no longer needed Suqi to lead the way. In the jungle on the other side of the river sat a two-story stockade that had its roof exposed. This was where Songen was. He had no time to think about whether Long Shen and the others were hiding somewhere or if they had already entered the stockade earlier than him. Dong Zhi had heard from Xinchai that the territory of a top black-robed master would be full of dangers and traps, and his opponent knew that they were coming, so he didn¡¯t have to imagine what kind of consequences lay there. He followed Suqi, and while he was walking, he sprinkled powder that Xinchai had given him all over his body. Suqi was waiting for Dong Zhi to step into a trap by himself, but when he turned around to look at him, he was surprised to find Dong Zhi was still walking forward as if nothing had happened. Suqi¡¯s face quickly changed. Seeing Suqi acting sneaky, Dong Zhi confirmed that there were traps abound. ¡°Are you also a sorcerer? Are you here to find out about the Master¡¯s fighting method?¡± A trace of fear finally appeared on Suqi¡¯s face. ¡°Yes,¡± Dong Zhi said casually. ¡°Did any sorcerers come here to fight him before?¡± ¡°A lot, but none have come out alive.¡± Suqi snorted. ¡°When they went, their attitude was more arrogant than yours, but now they have become vessels for Master¡¯s cultivation, and among them is Tisong!¡± When he said the name of this person, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know who it was, but he could guess that it was probably a very famous sorcerer. Xinchai had told them that Songen had killed many sorcerers over the years and made countless enemies. There were even several famous sorcerers who banded together to destroy him, but they were ultimately unsuccessful. Of the five, two had perished, and due to this battle, it made Songen famous in one fell swoop. Later, he hid in a corner and didn¡¯t come out to cause trouble, so everyone turned a blind eye and pretended this person didn¡¯t exist. But now, with rumors spreading that he was secretly trying to summon a heavenly demon, even Xinchai couldn¡¯t sit still. Once the heavenly demon was born, the first to bear the brunt of its destruction would be where it first landed its feet. There would be mountains of corpses and a sea of blood, which no one wanted to see happen. ¡°Master, I am Suqi. Please forgive me for bringing your enemy here. I was coerced!¡± When the two reached the outside of the stockade, Suqi knelt down on the ground and hugged his stomach as he wailed in the local language. From the outside of the wooden fence, Dong Zhi saw a few people cleaning the yard. Obviously they had heard their movements, but they acted as if they hadn¡¯t heard anything and continued to mind their own task. However, after Suqi said these words, he suddenly jumped up. Before Dong Zhi could stop him, he had already rushed into the yard, stood on the steps outside the building, turned around and leaned against the wall to catch his breath, then gave Dong Zhi a weird smile. Dong Zhi had no time to look at this smile. Under his feet, countless thin snakes suddenly appeared under the soil. They had copper ring lines and were black and gold. They hissed at him, not afraid of the powder on his body, and erected themselves, opened their mouths, and tried to bite at his calf. Dong Zhi jumped up and took a few steps back, but soon the number of thin snakes condensed, and had surrounded him from all sides. Their speed was extremely fast. In the blink of an eye, the first group of snakes was already half a step away from him and about half a second from biting him. Suqi knew this trap. He had also seen several sorcerers and some enemies who dared disrespect Master Songen fall for this line of defense. Swallowed by ten thousand snakes, riddled with holes, and died without leaving a corpse. There was no doubt in his mind that Dong Zhi wouldn¡¯t be able to escape this time. But the next moment, Suqi¡¯s vicious smile froze on his face. He saw Dong Zhi take out two pieces of yellow paper with both hands and start chanting something, then he threw those two pieces of paper to his front and back. As a result, the moment the two pieces of talisman paper touched the snakes, they spontaneously ignited, and the fire quickly swept through the entire group of snakes, devouring them all. ¡°What kind of sorcery is this?!¡± Suqi screamed in a daze. In his mind, Master Songen was almighty, and he prided himself on being on the righteous side. He couldn¡¯t wait for Dong Zhi to fall to his death. Who knew that instead of things going the way he wanted, the other side had broken through the first line of the stockade¡¯s defense. Dong Zhi also discovered that, after the curse was suppressed by Che Bai, he was no longer sick at every turn. It seemed that his original abilities had also improved a bit. Long Shen said that this was because the Shangqing pill was originally an excellent medicine for conditioning the body, but at the time when he took it, he was in a rush and his body hadn¡¯t had time to fully recover yet, so the effect of the Shangqing pill hadn¡¯t fully played out. Now that Che Bai had temporarily suppressed his curse, his full strength could be naturally utilized. He wouldn¡¯t have to worry about anything once the curse was lifted. Just as the snake was useless, a person walked out of the building. Siqi turned his head and said with joy, ¡°Master Shawang!¡± Songen¡¯s disciple, Shawang, ignored Suqi. His gaze was on Dong Zhi, and there was a sneer at the corner of his mouth, as if he were looking at a dead man. ¡°You¡¯ve really come.¡± Dong Zhi spread his hands. ¡°Didn¡¯t you tell me to? Where¡¯s Songen? So scared that he¡¯s hiding in his house?¡± Shawang snorted coldly. ¡°My Master doesn¡¯t need to deal with you. Call out all your helpers so I don¡¯t have to clean them up one by one later!¡± ¡°Are you talking about me?¡± Kenta, Xinchai¡¯s apprentice, appeared on the fence of the stockade. He was holding a large snake with a bowl-shaped mouth that was as thick as an adult male arm. The snake¡¯s body was black and golden, and only its eyes were red and bloody. It didn¡¯t look like anything good at first glance, but in Kenta¡¯s hands, it was stiff and surprisingly well-behaved. Shawang¡¯s expression sank. ¡°Let it go!¡± Kenta threw the golden snake to the ground. It trembled twice and finally stopped moving, completely losing all its breath. ¡°Who are you?!¡± Seeing his beloved pet killed this way, Shawang flushed with anger. Kenta folded his hands and walked over. ¡°I won¡¯t tell those who are evil my name.¡± He whispered to Dong Zhi, ¡°Mr. Long has already gone to find the heavenly demon. Let¡¯s bait out Songen first.¡± Dong Zhi nodded softly. He understood what Kenta meant. The enemy was still in the dark. With Master Xinchai still hidden, when he appeared, it would catch the opponent even more off guard. Seeing them whispering, Shawang became even more furious. He bent his index finger, bit his mouth, and whistled. Four figures rushed out from behind the building towards Dong Zhi and Kenta. The four people were covered in gold and were completely expressionless. Before Dong Zhi had time to observe carefully, he heard Kenta shout, ¡°They are medicine men*. It¡¯s useless to shoot them. Don¡¯t fight head-on!¡± *(Ò©ÈË) Term used for drug tester. In the context of this setting, they¡¯re basically people soaked in various poisons/medicines, so they are impervious to them. Dong Zhi quickly understood what it meant by it being useless to shoot because, as soon as his Changshou Sword came out of its sheath, it swept towards the neck of his opponent. Normally, this was the most vulnerable part, but the part the sword cut was unscathed. Taking advantage of the situation, the opponent grabbed his sword and tried to drag Dong Zhi in his direction! Naturally, the Changshou Sword couldn¡¯t be torn off. Dong Zhi used this opportunity to leap up and sweep towards another opponent, using his first opponent¡¯s shoulder as a springboard, and aimed the tip of his sword at the center of the other opponent¡¯s forehead. The tip of the sword managed to poke a hole in the center, but that was all, and soon two other people surrounded him. Dong Zhi had to withdraw his sword to retreat, but his shoulder was caught and pulled to the point where it almost tore to pieces. These so-called medicine men were cut open when they were about to die and stuffed with various poisons, then had voodoo performed on them, causing them to lose their self-awareness and completely become puppets. Some of these people were Songen¡¯s enemies, while others were those who had come to ask for Songen¡¯s help and had accidentally offended him. Some of them were villagers from Xianda, where Suqi lived, because they refused to pay tribute to Songen and accept his asylum. There was never a shortage of all kinds of various containers for refinement, and there were all kinds of sorcery that many couldn¡¯t imagine that could be seen here. The author has something to say: Long Shen: Don¡¯t be naughty. Dong Zhi: Okay, then I will pretend to be poisoned for a longer time next time and cooperate with them. Kinky Thoughts: To celebrate my 1-year anniversary of starting danmei translation, here¡¯s the rest of the current arc of Bu Tian Gang. Happy reading. CH 114 Dong Zhi dealt with the three medicine men alone. Although his life wasn¡¯t in danger for the time being, he couldn¡¯t think of a better way to deal with them, so he could only dodge and retreat. The perimeter of the stockade had been rearranged by Shawang¡¯s black magic. There was also still Songen in the house, who hadn¡¯t appeared yet. Even if they wanted to run away now, it was too late. Today¡¯s battle was a situation where it would only end with either their deaths or the others¡¯. Kenta was dealing with another medicine man and didn¡¯t seem to be at a disadvantage, but in Shawang¡¯s eyes, they were already a turtle caught in a jar*. In fact, if it weren¡¯t for Lord Mara¡¯s fancy for Dong Zhi, who wanted to use the other party as a vessel for his temporary residence before his resurrection, he would have released thousands of corpses and insects long ago to devour these two people. Why would he bother to have them consumed so slowly? *(ÎÍÖÐÖ®±î) Metaphor referring to under control and cannot escape. At this moment, a violent shout rose to the ground. ¡°Where is my enemy!¡± As soon as the voice fell, a head flew out of the room extremely fast and hovered in the air. A pair of bloodshot eyes slowly turned, swept over Kenta and the medicine man, and finally fell on Dong Zhi. Even if that figure had turned to ashes, Yamamoto Kiyoshi would still recognize it. ¡°Dong Zhi!¡± Yamamoto Kiyoshi, who only had his head left, would never forget his nightmarish experience in Lucheng. The unbeatable man was actually beheaded by the sword of some unknown guy. If he hadn¡¯t left a backup, he would truly be a dead man now. When enemies met, they wouldn¡¯t be happy to see each other let alone an enemy who had killed him. Yamamoto Kiyoshi¡¯s fierce face locked on the target and rushed straight towards Dong Zhi. Kenta couldn¡¯t help but explain, ¡°Flying head descent!¡± Flying head descent was an extremely complicated and difficult black magic technique. It was said that if the master exercised this technique, he could detach his head from his body and take people¡¯s lives from thousands of miles away. Generally, this was a technique black robe masters were passionate about, and Xinchai regarded it as an evil technique and strictly forbade his discipline, Kenta, from practicing it. Strictly speaking, what Yamamoto Kiyoshi was now doing wasn¡¯t considered a flying head descent because he had no body left. Songen had used a secret art to seal his soul into a skull so he could survive. Seeing that Yamamoto was heading straight for Dong Zhi as if he was going to smash him into pieces, Shawang angrily said, ¡°Stop! That is the body specified by Lord Mara and is not allowed to be damaged!¡± However, Yamamoto couldn¡¯t care less. Although Songen promised to help him recover his body, finding a suitable one wasn¡¯t easy. Most people here were darker and had high cheekbones. Those that Yamamoto found pleasing to the eye weren¡¯t suitable because they didn¡¯t match his physique. As the days went by, he became more anxious and manic from being unable to find a body. Now, seeing Dong Zhi in front of him, how could he bear it? He couldn¡¯t wait to bite into him, tear off a piece of flesh, and swallow it to stifle the hatred in his heart! Seeing that Yamamoto wasn¡¯t listening to his command, Shawang, who was afraid that he would accidentally bite into Dong Zhi¡¯s neck, leaving Lord Mara without a vessel, was ready to intervene, but suddenly he felt a strange itch on the soles of his feet. He quickly took two steps back and looked down. As a result, Shawang felt a tingling sensation in his back, prompting him to yell, knelt, and stare in disbelief as an inexplicable hole appeared in his heart, directly from his back to the front. He was unaware of how this had happened! Who! Who else was hiding in the dark?! Shawang raised his eyes and looked around, only to see that Dong Zhi and Kenta were busy dealing with the medicine men and Yamamoto, so they didn¡¯t have time to plot against him. He couldn¡¯t believe that a proud discipline of his dignified Master Songen could be so easily cursed. ¡°Master!¡± Blood gurgled from his throat as he screamed in pain while covering his heart. A pool of blood had already formed under him. A hand touched his back. Using some unknown method, Shawang¡¯s bleeding temporarily stopped, and his frazzled and frightened expression gradually calmed down. Songen, who had been hiding inside, was finally forced to appear. He stood next to Shawang, holding his apprentice¡¯s shoulder with one hand, and looked at the rustling shadows of the trees outside the fence. ¡°If you don¡¯t come out, I will kill your apprentice!¡± Not long after, in the direction he was looking, Xinchai walked out slowly. Songen¡¯s face showed an expression of ¡°it¡¯s really you¡±. ¡°I knew that after you lost the duel you had been resigned to revenge, but I waited for so many years, but you were afraid of death and didn¡¯t dare come. Do you think you will win today because you found helpers?¡± Perhaps it was because of his long-term practice of sorcery, but even in his calm voice, Songen gave them a gloomy and indescribable feeling, as if there were invisible bugs biting all over them. Xinchai looked at him and said in a deep voice, ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were trying to resurrect Mara. Otherwise, I would have come here a long time ago!¡± Songen laughed. ¡°Xinchai, your brother died at my hands, but you didn¡¯t dare come to me to get revenge for decades. A coward like you still has a day where you would show up at my door!¡± Xinchai smiled sadly and sighed. ¡°He learned dark arts by mistake and harmed people¡¯s lives. It was purely self-inflicted.¡± Songen shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s a pity. If he were alive now, he would definitely become a greater sorcerer than you! A person like you, who has no talents and is rigid, shouldn¡¯t have learned any sorcery. It¡¯s because of you that the dark arts have become a protective umbrella for the rich and powerful and are looked down upon by others! I am the one who carries forward black magic. Me! These are all my masterpieces. Those medicine men were created by a dark art not seen before. Can you do such a thing?!¡± Songen raised his voice. ¡°Of course not. You only crawl under the feet of the powerful and lick their boots, begging them to give you a little glory so you can show off your power in front of ordinary people!¡± Xinchai was unmoved and wasn¡¯t angered by him. ¡°Demons have their own places, but you want to lead them into the mortal world. Do you think it will really remember your service and make you its loyal servant? On the day that Mara is truly resurrected, even you will become one of its victims!¡± Songen laughed. ¡°I¡¯ll be very happy! I¡¯m willing to dedicate every drop of my blood, my life, and even my soul to Lord Mara! Those with power have the right to dominate this world that has been occupied by incompetent humans for too long. I will change its owner and make it better!¡± Xinchai looked at his crazed expression. Knowing he didn¡¯t need to go on, he raised his staff and slammed it heavily on the ground. Suqi, who was hiding at the door, quietly poked his head out and found that the horizon had been shrouded in dark clouds for some unknown time. The dark clouds gradually descended and flew towards Songen. Looking closer, he found that they were countless flying insects, densely packed together. They buzzed closer and closer. Following the command of Xinchai¡¯s gesture, they wrapped tightly around Songen. Suqi¡¯s heart sank, not for the sake of faith but for his master. Those insects flapped their gray wings, and they connected one by one, forming an airtight sheet. The net made out of bugs made his scalp numb, but he couldn¡¯t help but look at it. The insect net gradually shrank its enclosure, but Songen, who was wrapped in it, didn¡¯t move. Suqi wondered if he was being eaten little by little by the flying insects. Songen¡¯s apprentice had a hole in his heart. Even if he had used a secret art to save his life, he lacked the ability to fight back for the time being. He fell to the ground and his breathing became more labored, not to mention commanding the medicine men to help Songen. Yamamoto Kiyoshi was bent on revenge with all his heart and was frantically attacking Dong Zhi. Kenta and Dong Zhi were dealing with the four invulnerable medicine men, and their situation looked deadlocked for a while. Suddenly, the insect net was torn open! Xinchai¡¯s slightly closed eyes abruptly opened and looked in the direction of the insect net. He saw Songen¡¯s head sticking out of the torn hole, and with a loud bang, the entire insect net was completely broken apart and scattered! Master Songen was truly the most powerful! Suqi, who was watching the battle, became happy again and continued to pray for him. ¡°You¡¯ve been so busy flattering the rich all these years that you probably didn¡¯t have time to improve your cultivation. Did you want to trap me with this trick?¡± Songen laughed out loud. Suqi only saw his hand raised as if to release something, but when he took a closer look, there was nothing. Xinchai¡¯s face changed because he saw Songen release a small, translucent bug. Only one bug. But it was able to dig a hole through the dense insect net. When the insect saw that bug, it instinctively avoided it and didn¡¯t dare fight with it. ¡°Poison*?!¡± Xinchai said it in a daze. *(Ò©½µ) Similar to gu, the practitioner uses various medicines, such as oils, insects, and hair, to curse their opponent. The technique was in the same vein as Chinese witchcraft, since it was related to the insects used in gu techniques. The so-called poison was actually a kind of bewitched insect refined with a secret technique. When this technique was achieved, the bewitched insect would become completely transparent and unrecognizable to the naked eye. Wherever this thing went, it would eat human flesh, bones, and blood. It was an extremely powerful black magic technique that couldn¡¯t be easily refined. Like the one released by Songen, its outline could vaguely be seen, and it wasn¡¯t completely transparent; while it wasn¡¯t in the most powerful form yet, at this stage it was nonetheless quite amazing. This translucent bug rushed towards the center of Xinchai¡¯s brows menacingly, and ordinary methods couldn¡¯t resist it. In a few seconds, Xinchai¡¯s head would be pierced by two blood holes. Under the strong will of Xinchai, the insect net resisted timidly, trying to stop the bug, but they quickly fell to the ground one after another. The speed of the bug didn¡¯t decrease but rather increased, and its prey wasn¡¯t the insect net, but Xinchai who was not far away! Time reversed half an hour ago. Before Dong Zhi entered the stockade under Suqi¡¯s guidance, Long Shen and the others weren¡¯t far behind in the stockade. Long Shen didn¡¯t rush to protect Dong Zhi but went around the rear of the stockade alone and sneaked into it quietly, looking for traces of the heavenly demon. The most dangerous opponent of their journey, in his opinion, was not the powerful Songen, but Mara, whom he served. Even if it was a heavenly demon that was not fully formed, it was still powerful enough to cause great damage to the world. In the entire stockade, there was an area that was densely covered in demonic aura. It was rich and overflowing, signifying that this was where the heavenly demon resided. The stockade was full of dangerous traps. Along the way, Long Shen encountered hands that suddenly popped out of the ground, poisonous arrows shot out in the dark, and countless tricks, but this didn¡¯t hinder him. Whenever the sword light went out, evil spirits and demons would all turn into ashes. The room filled with demon qi was at the end of all dangers. The door and windows were tightly closed, making it impossible to see a trace of them. Long Shen didn¡¯t rush forward in a hurry. He raised his sword and broke the door from a distance of more than ten meters. Wind poured in from outside, slamming the door against the wall and causing it to bounce back with a loud bang. But nothing came out of it. Everything was extremely quiet, as if Long Shen had disturbed the good sleep of the resident inside. The quiet was surprisingly eerie. Long Shen walked in slowly. There wasn¡¯t any light inside. The only single candle that was burning was blown out by the wind. The light from outside came in, adding a little bit more pop to the room. Long Shen looked around and found bottles and jars everywhere on the table. There was a large table against the wall that only had a dark clay pot about a meter high. The jar was an ordinary pottery jar that could be seen anywhere, but Long Shen knew well that what was in the jar might be the focus of this room. Incense was lit next to the clay pot, and the entire room was full of strange smells. The fishy sweetness was too sweet, as if it were wrapped in a thick sea of blood. Beside the table, there was a person sitting, half leaning against the edge, with his head lowered, as if he was asleep. At the other end, a glass coffin had been erected, containing a blond woman soaked in yellow liquid. Her abdomen was bugling like a ball, and a mass of blackness flowed slowly from there, ready to come out. Soon, there was a loud noise from not far away. It should be that Dong Zhi had started his confrontation with Songen. Long Shen didn¡¯t rush to turn around to go help. Dong Zhi was grown up enough to take the lead, and he should give him his full trust. He moved suddenly. With the long sword in hand, he slashed at the woman in the glass coffin towards her abdomen! The sword light swept away, and the glass coffin cracked into countless pieces as the yellow liquid gushed out. However, the woman¡¯s abdomen wasn¡¯t cut by the sword¡¯s light but suddenly broke open. The mist-like black ball swelled sharply, circled quickly, and formed into a small black cyclone. It merged with the black qi that was jumping around in the pottery jar next to it and spun in the air in the same place, swallowing the sword light with it. At the same time, a small stream of black qi from the black ball flowed into the top of the man¡¯s head. The man immediately opened his eyes and raised his head, smiling at Long Shen. The light coming in from outside shone on the man¡¯s face. It was Hong Rui, the mainland businessman, who had been missing all this time. ¡°After today, I will be able to take shape. Your body is good. Stay and be my 99th vessel!¡± Hong Rui cackled. It wasn¡¯t so much Hong Rui¡¯s voice but more like a demon crawling out of hell through Hong Rui¡¯s throat. Long Shen didn¡¯t say any nonsense. His hands rose and fell, and another sword light slashed out towards Hong Rui. He then leaped up with his strength and swept towards the rapidly rotating black mist with his sword. The sword was as powerful as a rainbow, almost as fast as lightning, and almost unmatched. When the sword light pierced the black cyclone, the black qi wrapped along the sword light and quickly engulfed the entire sword¡¯s body and spread. At the same time, Hong Rui gave a grin and attacked Long Shen from the side. Long Shen had to take some effort to pull the sword out of the cyclone and instead dealt with Hong Rui who was attacking him. Hong Rui¡¯s figure was extremely fast. He was no longer an ordinary person who was bent on pursuing power and glory but was directly possessed by the demonic qi of the heavenly demon. He was soaked in it day and night, and his body became semi-demonic, becoming a vessel for the demon. Even so, despite how powerful the heavenly demon was, it was impossible for a mortal body to carry all its power. Before its own body was fully formed, it had to keep replacing its body over and over again. Long Shen previously felt that with him and Xinchai, even if he couldn¡¯t completely destroy it, he could temporarily seal it up, or drive it back into the abyss of hell, but at this moment, he found that he had underestimated its power. It was a great demon, and when compared to the Archfiend, it should be several levels higher. Legends told that the heavenly demon, Mara, often blocked Buddha¡¯s cultivation and did everything possible to prevent Siddhartha from becoming Buddha. Although he was finally defeated by Buddha¡¯s light, even Buddha could not completely destroy him. He could only let it transform into a heavenly demon, which showed how powerful this thing truly was. Forces that were too powerful would automatically be excluded from the world, so the complete body of Mara couldn¡¯t completely descend into this world. It could only accept sustenance from Songen and from the space of the abyss of hell, separate its qi little by little, and finally condense into shape, which would be its so-called resurrection. But for this world, such power was enough to cause great damage. At this time, Long Shen was held back by Hong Rui, and he had no time to deal with Mara, so the cyclone kept getting bigger and bigger. There was a strong wind blowing around, and all the furniture in the room was swept away by it. The cyclone at the center was spinning frantically, but Long Shen and Hong Rui were able to stabilize themselves. The two fought against each other around the cyclone, almost turning into two shadows in the wind with sword light crisscrossing, but Hong Rui was able to match Long Shen by relying on the qi provided by the cyclone. He smiled grimly and said, ¡°You¡¯re too late. Twenty years on earth are enough for me!¡± After saying these words, he didn¡¯t take the initiative to attack Long Shen. Instead, he turned around and ran into the expanding cyclone. His body was immediately engulfed by the black mist. Long Shen¡¯s face suddenly changed. He raised his sword, turned around, and rushed out. At this time, the black qi behind him had quickly spread out and filled the entire room. An explosion sounded, and the roof was overturned. The black cyclone instantly turned into a hurricane and rushed straight into the sky. As a disciple of Xinchai, Kenta was talented with the dark arts, but he wasn¡¯t very good at melee combat. Facing the deadly crazed attacks of the medicine men, despite dealing with just one, it was already difficult. Dong Zhi had to deal with the other three, plus the crazy head of Yamamoto Kiyoshi. Although the medicine men were still humans, they had lost their fear and other feelings that normal people have. Even if their hands and feet were useless, as long as their bodies could still move, they would attack endlessly. From this view, the medicine men were no different than zombies. At this time, Long Shen¡¯s teachings showed their advantage. Before entering the Special Administration Bureau, although Dong Zhi envied Long Shen because of how powerful he was, he also knew that he had been an ordinary person since he was a child, so it was impossible to reach the same level as Long Shen in this life. After he worshiped the Hezao Sect and was named a disciple, Dong Zhi felt that if he could combine the sunlight talisman with the five thunder dharma, the result would be quite amazing. When he became a disciple of Long Shen, he decided to explore it again. Under Long Shen¡¯s strict requirements, he not only got up earlier than chickens but also worked more diligently than chickens. He continued to practice his kung fu tona and sword paintings on a daily basis. Over time, his physical fitness greatly improved, and his agility and reflexes were significantly different than before. It was like his entire being was reborn. It could be seen that people¡¯s potential was unlimited. The difference was only whether there was someone out there to tap into their abilities and if the person was willing to put in that kind of hard work to achieve their goals. Dong Zhi used to think that he was lazy and unambitious and was just muddling through. Like countless ordinary people in the world, he worked a nine-to-five, rushing back and forth to the steel jungle, arguing with his project manager every day, and maybe meeting up once or twice with friends on the weekends for dinner or karaoke. Occasionally, on a whim, he would bring his drawing board and get on a train bound for spring and use his own brush to paint the scenery before his eyes. Perhaps he would meet an ordinary but cute girl, have a love that was no different from others¡¯, get married and have children, and run around in the exhaustion of life, spending his entire life in such an uneventful way. But that night on Changbai Mountain, an unprecedented and magnificent world opened up for him, allowing him to see a gorgeous world different from one of feasting and revelry*. Since then, he had been unable to calm down. Whether he admired Long Shen or the restless throbbing in his bones, today he finally understood that this was the life he wanted. *Red lanterns and green wine (µÆºì¾ÆÂÌ) Idiom describing a corrupt or pleasure-seeking life. It¡¯s also used to describe the bustling and lively scenes of cities or entertainment venues at night. Everything was just right. He just happened to get on that train, happened to meet Long Shen, happened to have the curiosity to explore, and since then, his world had been turned upside down. Like a breach was blasting through a valley and stream, the course was changed and was heading straight towards a surging river. Even if he were to meet death, even if he ascended to heaven and earth and explored the depths of the sea and mountains, he was able to find the love of his life and find a goal that he was willing to follow and work endlessly towards. He was willing to do his best for this, to give his blood and sweat, and even pay with his life, and he would have no regrets! The wind was blowing behind him. Dong Zhi let out a loud cry, and white mist condensed and shot out from his sword. The medicine man staggered to the side a few times, and before he could stabilize, tried grabbing Dong Zhi again. In the gap of half a second, Dong Zhi had already thrown the sunlight talisman out. The talisman ignited and was followed by the tip of the sword, shooting straight towards the center between the medicine man¡¯s eyes. ¡°The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil!¡± The talisman fire burned the medicine man¡¯s eyes, causing him to go blind. He scrambled aimlessly and could no longer pose a threat. Without looking back, Dong Zhi lowered his body and stretched out the sword, knocking away Yamamoto Kiyoshi¡¯s head that was trying to bite him, then turned around, spun twice in the air, and landed on one knee. He stuck the sword to the ground and pulled out the talisman paper. He slid his fingers across the edge of the sword and smeared blood on the talisman paper. He avoided another medicine man¡¯s attack, twisted his arm with his backhand, and pulled it to his side towards the sword. Dong Zhi slapped the talisman between the medicine man¡¯s eyebrows and drew a blood mark on it, causing the talisman to ignite. As Dong Zhi broke away from the medicine man, he stuffed an unburned talisman into his mouth, causing the medicine man¡¯s figure to instantly fix in place. Dong Zhi raised his foot and kicked him carefully, causing the medicine man to fly out, breaking the stockade¡¯s barrier and rolling into the river. This series of actions were all done so smoothly, like floating clouds and flowing water, but Yamamoto Kiyoshi didn¡¯t have the mind to appreciate his opponent¡¯s heroic posture. He couldn¡¯t wait to gnaw on Dong Zhi¡¯s bones and eat his flesh. After being swept away by the Changshou sword, he quickly flew back again. Facing the talisman fire thrown by Dong Zhi, Yamamoto Kiyoshi opened his mouth and swallowed the talisman. He sneered, ¡°Is that all you have?¡± When he opened his mouth, black mist spewed out and rolled towards Dong Zhi. On the other end, the third medicine man also roared and rushed over. His opponent was already big, so it felt like a small Mount Tai pressing down on him. After being attacked relentlessly by the enemy, it only took Dong Zhi a quick second to react. After the black mist spewed out of Yamamoto¡¯s mouth and drifted towards him, it surrounded him from three sides, but Dong Zhi remained motionless and didn¡¯t panic like Yamamoto had expected. Well, it didn¡¯t matter. Even if he wanted to hide, it was too late! Yamamoto showed a hideous smile. His head could move freely and much faster with the assistance of Songen, but as a person who had lived for decades, how could Yamamoto Kiyoshi get used to his current appearance of being neither human nor ghost? He hated that he couldn¡¯t cut off Dong Zhi¡¯s head and let him experience this hell! No, simply beheading wasn¡¯t enough. He wanted Songen to turn Dong Zhi into a medicine man so that the other party could still maintain his sanity while being tortured by him, begging for death. Rumble. Yamamoto suddenly heard a muffled sound that came not from the front but from the top of his head. With his body physically restricted, he couldn¡¯t look up, but soon, there was another rumbling sound in his ear. This brought back bad memories for him because he had first heard a similar sound inside the warehouse on the outskirts of Lucheng¡­ Heavenly thunder! Yamamoto¡¯s face changed drastically. No! It took time for his opponent to summon thunder, and this time around, it was much faster than last¡­ The bright sky suddenly changed color. Dark clouds rolled in with lightning that illuminated them. The thunder had already arrived! At the moment when he heard the thunder, Yamamoto Kiyoshi subconsciously withdrew and flew back, but he never expected that heavenly lightning would have a tracking function. Even though he had flown back several meters in an instant, the heavenly lightning was impartial and still struck him squarely, as if to make up for its regret at not being able to completely kill him like last time. Yamamoto didn¡¯t even have time to say his last words before he was immediately burned into charcoal! The power of the heavenly lightning was so great that even Songen, who was busy fighting Xinchai, couldn¡¯t help but lose focus. He never thought that by cursing Han Qi¡¯s body through Hong Rui would bring him so much trouble and consequences. But it was too late to regret it now. When Yamamoto¡¯s head was burnt by the heavenly lightning, Dong Zhi flew directly sideways and kicked his head like a ball and shot it towards the medicine man that was entangled with Kenta! Kenta¡¯s reaction was quite fast. When he heard Dong Zhi say ¡°duck¡±, he didn¡¯t hesitate and immediately lowered his head to dodge. Yamamoto¡¯s head flew over Kenta and directly smashed into the medicine man, instantly burning him up. Kenta breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn¡¯t good with words, so he gave Dong Zhi a thumbs up, which Dong Zhi replied with the same gesture. CH 115 Although Dong Zhi was temporarily out of trouble, the fight between Xinchai and Songen was at a stalemate. The styles of the two sides were different, but there was no doubt that they were both extremely talented masters. Perhaps Xinchai was slightly inferior to Songen in his methods, but Songen wasn¡¯t able to easily gain the upper hand. Dong Zhi was a little worried about Long Shen. Seeing that Long Shen hadn¡¯t appeared, it could only mean that his side was more difficult to deal with. He was about to leave for Long Shen¡¯s side when he saw the building at the end of the stockade explode. The explosion lasted only a moment, but the movement was earth-shattering. Even Xinchai and Songen, who were fighting to the death, couldn¡¯t help but pause for a moment. Dong Zhi and Kenta not only witnessed the explosion, but also saw the roof collapse and a black cyclone rise into the sky. The dark clouds above their heads surged endlessly, responding to one another, as if the sky was being torn apart by a hurricane and was opening a passage to a different world. ¡°What is that?!¡± Kenta said in a low voice. Dong Zhi rushed over without thinking, and at that moment, he only thought that Long Shen was there. Xinchai was held back by Songen, unable to get away, but his face changed when he saw the scene. Only Songen was overjoyed and was laughing wildly. ¡°It¡¯s the power of the great Lord Mara! Our lord has returned from the abyss, and you ants who dare disrespect him will all die here!¡± As he spoke, the hurricane was getting smaller, but the force was getting more powerful. Everywhere it went, it razed the ground, causing countless fragments to fly and circle in the air. The trees were uprooted, and the water in the nearby rivers was sucked up and turned into countless drops of water, becoming water vapor that then condensed into a black mist around the hurricane. In the eyes of mortals, it was like a scene of the sky and sun being covered. Even Suqi couldn¡¯t be bothered with the pain in his stomach. He kneeled to the ground, trembling, and kept chanting Mara¡¯s name. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t get close. He struggled to move forward on the edge of the gale, and his face turned pale. He knew that Long Shen was powerful, but in the end, artifacts were still only flesh and blood, while Mara was a legendary demon that made the gods and Buddhas tremble. Even if the demon was just newly born and hadn¡¯t yet gained full power, and the two sides were still comparably matched, this battle was still bound to be bloody. He hated that he didn¡¯t have the ability to teleport to Long Shen¡¯s side. Even if he did his best, it would be better than doing nothing here. When the surrounding buildings were razed, the field of vision became wider. The black hurricane gradually shrank into a small cyclone. Its height was still connected to the clouds in the sky, and the center was filled with black qi, making it impossible to see the situation inside. Dong Zhi¡¯s steps were stopped in their tracks. Kenta had finally caught up after the remaining medicine man was subdued, and he saw that Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t moving and felt it was a little strange. When he saw the situation ahead, he couldn¡¯t help being stunned. In the black mist, a man walked out. To be precise, a naked man walked out. He had no hair, and his appearance was extremely handsome. His nose was high, and he had deep eyes, a fair complexion, and a figure that was the perfect golden ratio. His muscles were strong and elastic, as if his body had been designed with the word perfection in mind. That was the ultimate pursuit of all mankind, and it was a perfection that even Michelangelo couldn¡¯t imitate, but such perfection didn¡¯t cause marvel or envy. Dong Zhi and Kenta only had chills running through their bodies, and they only felt fear. It was because of evilness. They saw in the man¡¯s eyes the cruelty and viciousness that destroyed everything in the world. Through that man¡¯s eyes and face, all extreme and unimaginable evil was seen. The human form was just a body to facilitate his walk in this world. He was born for the purpose of death and destruction. Wherever he walked, there would be plagues and wars, suffering and wailing, piles of corpses scattered with limbs, and sticky blood that would flow through the soil. The living dead would become his servants, and heaven and earth would be much darker. At that moment, Dong Zhi and Kenta seemed to witness such a scene, and their limbs remained frozen. This was not a scene they chose to see, but rather what the other party wanted them to see. The demon that came out of the abyss of hell, a creature that should not appear in this world, would eventually destroy the world, but the door was opened by humans themselves. The man walked towards them, step by step, slowly and calmly. He was the most beautiful, but he had the most chilling smile on his face. Even his voice was magnetic, as gentle as a spring breeze blowing across one¡¯s cheek, which made people¡¯s bones lax, but Dong Zhi and Kenta knew this was just an illusion by the demon to confuse people¡¯s hearts. People were born to be attracted to flesh. If a beautiful person stood next to an ugly person, even the most self-proclaimed fairest people in the world couldn¡¯t deny that they would look at the beautiful person more. And demons, knowing the weaknesses in the depths of the human heart, would transform into their favorite appearance according to human preferences. Mara raised his hand slightly, and a stone at his feet flew to his hand. He clasped his palms together, and the stone immediately turned into dust and flowed from his fingers. He looked unhappy, like he wasn¡¯t satisfied with his current strength. Dong Zhi and Kenta remained motionless. It wasn¡¯t that they didn¡¯t want to move, but they couldn¡¯t move. The tremendous magic pressure overwhelmed them, and it was surprising that they could maintain their stature without retreating or kneeling. ¡°¡­Where, is, Long, Shen!¡± Almost bursting out of his teeth, Dong Zhi stared at Mara and asked him word by word. Mara tilted his head. His expression was puzzled, as if he didn¡¯t understand what Dong Zhi was talking about. ¡°Lord Mara! You¡ªyou are the honorable Lord Mara!¡± Suqi ran over and kneeled directly on the ground. He crept forward step by step, looking up at Mara. Tears were streaming down his face as if he had seen a real god descend to earth. ¡°My lord, please help me. My stomach hurts so much¡­ I am your most pious servant. My name is Suqi¡­¡± The man retracted his magic pressure and Suqi suddenly felt the pressure on his body was light. He couldn¡¯t help but become overjoyed, speeding up his movements as he crawled towards his god. Mara looked at him with a bit of curiosity. Suqi reached his feet, hurriedly lowered his body, and kissed it carefully. ¡°My lord, I would like to be your most loyal servant. Please accept me!¡± His abdominal pain hadn¡¯t been eliminated, so the words he spoke were intermittent. ¡°Servant? You?¡± Mara repeated what Suqi had said. ¡°Yes!¡± Suqi smiled with joy. He turned his head and pointed at Dong Zhi and Kenta. ¡°My lord, they are the enemy. They wanted to stop your resurrection!¡± His voice stopped abruptly, and the smile on his face froze. In the last moment of Suqi¡¯s life, he only heard a click, which was the movement of his neck being broken. Then, his vision went completely dark, and his breathing disappeared in an instant. Naturally, he didn¡¯t know that his neck was twisted off by Mara and blood was spurting out of his broken torso. The nerves caused by the body that had lost its head convulsed reflexively for a long time before dying. The blood and brain matter that was flowing from the detached head went directly into the man¡¯s mouth. Mara ate quite well, without even looking at Dong Zhi and Kenta. The unstoppable blood flowed down from the corner of his mouth. His perfect face was stained with blood, and it became even more cruel among the beauty¡ªa kind of beauty that was laced with death. The battle between Xinchai and Songen had also reached a critical point. These two masters knew that this battle would never end. They had already sacrificed their best techniques. After Songen¡¯s poison was cracked by Xinchai, he summoned the ghosts he had refined for many years. About eight skeletons flew out of the house and pounced on Xinchai. These skeletons were preserved using a secret method and soaked in a corpse bag. Anything they came into contact with would become infected with corpse poison. Xinchai summoned ten thousand insects to fight against them. The skeletons met with thousands of insects in mid-air, and the bugs fell and died one by one when they encountered the corpse gas, but there were some who were persistent and managed to bypass the skeletons to pounce on Songen. At this time, Mara had resurrected and was walking towards them, step by step. Songen was overjoyed to see the heavenly demon but when he saw Suqi killed by the demon without saying a word, doubts suddenly arose, and his focus was inevitably loosened. Xinchai saw this gap and released his five poisons*, causing Songen to vomit blood and fall to the ground. *(Î嶾) Refers to centipedes, poisonous snakes, scorpions, geckos, and toads. With its controller damaged, the skeletons fell one after another, but Xinchai also suffered heavy losses as well. Those insects that he cultivated were infused with the essence of his own blood. Every time an insect died, it meant he himself also suffered backlash. He was now exhausted and injured and was no longer able to fight. However, though the threat of Songen was temporarily lifted, a bigger enemy was born. Mara was still sucking on the head with his hand, savoring the taste. It seemed that this was perhaps his first food after coming into the world, and maybe he was really hungry, so he cherished it like a treasure, refusing to waste even a single drop of blood. Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t found Long Shen¡¯s figure, causing his mood to sink. He didn¡¯t want to think about it, but what he faced was most likely bad news. He clenched the hilt of his sword and felt that the magic pressure seemed to have eased a little. Knowing that this was the moment when the demon¡¯s defense was most relaxed, he suddenly jumped up and poured all his qi into the sword. He even felt that he had truly understood the essence of swordsmanship because this was almost the fastest attack he had ever used. With all his strength, Dong Zhi was dazzling. Only then did Dong Zhi find that when people were extremely sad and angry, their minds would go blank. The sword¡¯s movement was getting faster, and the sword light turned into a stream of rainbow as it pierced the demonic pressure around the heavenly demon! Originally, the heavenly demon, who hadn¡¯t put the enemy in his eyes, finally raised his head and showed a trace of surprise. Mara raised his hand, causing the sword light to penetrate his palm and head straight towards his heart. The vast plain was flat, which made the advance unstoppable. However, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have any time to rejoice. He found that his sword could no longer advance. At the same time, a huge reaction force came from the opposite side, pushing him back a little. Bu Tian Gang qi and the demonic qi collided, bursting into the sky. Dust scattered everywhere as grass and rocks danced wildly in the air. Kenta flew back without being able to grab onto a fixed object, while Songen and Xinchai were unable to dodge; countless small wounds began to appear on their faces and bodies. A few seconds later, the duel ended with Dong Zhi¡¯s failure. He immediately followed in Kenta¡¯s footsteps as his entire body was overturned by the demonic qi and fell heavily to the ground a few meters away! ¡°You look much better than him.¡± Mara looked at the head, which had all its brains sucked out, and threw it away before walking towards them again. Suddenly, he could speak a language that others could understand. Dong Zhi suddenly understood that this was due to the absorption of Suqi¡¯s flesh and blood. The ¡°he¡± in the mouth of the heavenly demon was Suqi, who had just been disembodied. This poor, sad young man blindly worshiped a powerful being and ended up being buried at the hands of the demon he wished to serve¡ªa demon that didn¡¯t give a damn about him. ¡°I like you.¡± Mara smiled faintly at Dong Zhi with unparalleled tenderness. ¡°I¡¯m going to save you for last and enjoy it when I eat you.¡± But this kind of gentleness was only skin deep. His eyes were cold and ruthless, and he looked at Dong Zhi and Kenta as if they were no different than dirt. In the eyes of the demon, any living thing was dead. They were born to destroy, and the pain of the world was the most enjoyable music to their ears. Their most proud masterpiece and greatest pleasure was watching humans struggle and sink in their desires, wailing for mercy in order to survive, and willing to be servants to the demon. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth and said nothing. He held onto the Changshou Sword with one hand and secretly started pinching his hand for another trick. Mara didn¡¯t take him seriously. In the heavenly demon¡¯s eyes, Dong Zhi was just a fun toy that could be played with slowly. He looked around for a while, and his eyes fell on Kenta. He started to slowly walk towards him. Kenta naturally refused to sit still. He propped up his body and sat cross-legged on the ground. He held a wooden staff in one hand and tapped it on the ground as he opened and closed his mouth, as if he were chanting a curse. With his movements, the ground seemed to move slightly and then calm down again. He was the proudest disciple under Xinchai and was extremely talented with witchcraft. Otherwise, Xinchai wouldn¡¯t have brought him along. At this moment, he specialized in snakes, which he studied for over ten years¡ªhundreds of highly poisonous snakes¡¯ species were mixed together, letting them kill each other until only one surviving snake remained. It could penetrate gold and jade, into earth and water, and kill people invisibly. It was similar to witchcraft practiced in the Miao area. Mara¡¯s brows moved, and he suddenly stood still. Kenta stared at him nervously. Mara lowered his head and stretched out his hand, slowly pulling out a small golden snake from his chest and abdomen. The palm of his hand that was pierced by the Changshou Sword just now hadn¡¯t healed, but there was no blood flowing out. This time too, the little snake had opened its teeth and drilled a hole through his chest and abdomen. Others would probably feel their bones run cold, but Mara didn¡¯t take it seriously. He opened his mouth and ate the poisonous snake in one bite. Kenta let out a low growl and rushed forward, where he was directly grabbed by the throat by Mara. Seeing the situation, Dong Zhi no longer hesitated. His pinching had attracted thunder, and clouds billowed in the skies, filling them with dazzling electric arcs. Suddenly, lightning struck and covered Mara, but in the light, only Kenta¡¯s screams could be heard. Dong Zhi¡¯s heart thumped, and after a second, the lightning dissipated, leaving behind a scene of Kenta with a hand impaled in his chest. Mara was completely unscathed after that attack. He even had the leisure to smile at Dong Zhi. A slender and soft hand was stirring and digging inside Kenta¡¯s chest and abdomen, causing his face to turn red and the corner of his mouth to overflow with blood. Kenta struggled with all his might, but it was to no avail. A single hand firmly controlled him. Xinchai tried his best to get up from the ground. He used his wooden staff to command the insect net to fly and surround Mara, trying to rescue his disciple, but the bugs fell one after another the moment they touched the man. Dong Zhi took the opportunity to raise his sword and leapt towards Mara. The sword pointed directly at his skull, while at the other end, Xinchai also attacked with his wooden staff. Dong Zhi¡¯s sword light was extremely fast. He had saved up for this moment to strike. The blade of the sword gathered heavy murderous qi, broke through the black mist around the man, and went forward into a heavy siege. ¡°Are you looking for the man just now?¡± Mara suddenly smiled at Dong Zhi. His accent was rough, but his words were clear and unambiguous. ¡°He has been crushed by my demonic qi so that not even bones remain. What a pity. I originally wanted to taste him.¡± When he spoke, Mara licked his lips as if he couldn¡¯t help himself, and there was a trace of regret on his face. The tip of Dong Zhi¡¯s sword trembled. Mara laughed as if he were waiting for this tremble. His hand grabbed the body of the sword and ignored the blade. He twisted his hand, leaving a deep cut on his wrist, and demonic qi swept over, causing the sword light to suddenly shatter and blow Dong Zhi back. On the other side, Xinchai¡¯s eyes widened. The wooden staff he had been carrying for 30 years, given to him by his village, splintered. The last sight he saw was a hand stretching out towards him. ¡°Master!¡± Kenta roared. His eyes flushed. He saw Mara¡¯s hand directly insert into his master¡¯s skill, crush it, and directly take out the warm matter inside and begin to feast. Although Kenta¡¯s chest and abdomen temporarily stopped bleeding, he desperately wanted to move, but he was powerless in the end. He could only watch as his master died under the poisonous hands of the heavenly demon in order to save him. Songen got up from the ground and didn¡¯t foolishly rush up to show his loyalty. He stood not far away, as if observing whether Mara still recognized him as a loyal servant, but Dong Zhi found that he was in a clever position where he could attack and retreat. As long as he killed Songen, he would be free from the ghost-faced peach blossom curse. Before the change, Dong Zhi would have done this long ago, but with Long Shen¡¯s death, he changed his mind. He had to conserve his strength and hope that he could land a blow. Even if this killed him, he had to take the heavenly demon down. The heavenly demon wasn¡¯t allowed to leave. Otherwise, it inevitably set off a bloody storm. Even Xinchai had died, so those unarmed ordinary people outside were like vegetables waiting on the chopping block for the demon. If they lost here, the outside world would become purgatory. His dim eyes slowly raised, sweeping past Kenta, who was dying and in grief. He still refused to give up and moved towards the heavenly demon, sweeping past the black whirlwind that hadn¡¯t stopped behind the heavenly demon. Even if it was a world that he wasn¡¯t familiar with, Long Shen vowed to guard it with all his heart, and it was also the world that he had grown up in since childhood. Dong Zhi closed his eyes and focused all his energy on the Changshou Sword. The dull edge suddenly glowed slightly, and the light kept strengthening. Mara finally dropped the skull in his hand. He glanced at Kenta with disinterest and finally landed on Songen, not far away. Stared at by those sad and joyless eyes, Songen¡¯s legs softened, and he knelt down immediately. ¡°Lord Mara¡­ Do you remember me? I am Songen, your loyal servant, who helped you return to the world!¡± Mara smiled at him. He didn¡¯t know if he remembered or not. Songen felt uneasy, and his voice became softer and more sincere. ¡°On the night of the full moon twenty years ago, I summoned you into this world with great sincerity. For the past twenty years, every day, I have tried my best to find suitable vessels from all over the world and to refine your soul and provide you with nutrients. You said that when you are resurrected, you will make me your most loyal servant under your seat!¡± ¡°Me, did I say that?¡± Mara smiled. His voice was soft, but his face, neck, and hands were covered in blood, which provided a stark contrast. Songen¡¯s heart sank. He barely pulled out a smile. ¡°Yes. Have you forgotten all about it?¡± Mara beckoned him. ¡°You, come here.¡± Songen didn¡¯t move. Mara narrowed his eyes. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say that you wanted to be my most loyal servant?¡± Songen hesitated. ¡°Do you remember everything?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± Mara smiled. It was bright and radiant, dazzling and intoxicating. ¡°My most loyal servant, Songen. How are you?¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Songen was overjoyed. He took a few steps forward, looked at Mara, and knelt down slowly. His face was pious and moving. ¡°You have finally returned from the abyss of hell. I am very excited. From now on, I will follow you, obey your orders, and fight for you.¡± Mara walked over slowly. He looked at Songen and stretched out his hand. Whether it was intentional or not, Songen had bowed his head against the soil just out of Mara¡¯s reach. Mara smiled slightly. His hands were as swift as lightning as his five fingers turned into sharp claws and pierced Songen¡¯s head! As if Songen had eyes behind the back of his head, before he raised it, his body quickly reached out, grabbed his dying apprentice, Shawang, next to him, and threw it at Mara. The demon grabbed him and broke Shawang¡¯s neck with a click. He lowered his head and smelled it, as if a little disgusted, and threw Shawang away like a rag doll and continued to walk towards Songen, unconcerned. Songen¡¯s vicious and mean eyes in the past were full of fear at this moment. He couldn¡¯t believe the heavenly demon he had resurrected with all his heart was going to kill him in the end. However, he reacted quickly. Even if he couldn¡¯t believe it in his heart, he still turned and ran away at the fastest speed of his life. However, the cat-and-mouse game was finally over. Mara¡¯s figure moved. When Songen was about to run out of the stockade, there was a sharp pain in the back of his neck. Songen didn¡¯t even turn his head as he felt a hand insert into his back and pulled out his beating heart. Songen felt cold, and his body lost all its strength and fell limply to the ground. ¡°I don¡¯t need any servants.¡± The heavenly demon smiled happily. ¡°But since you summoned me from the abyss, I will eat your heart as a reward for your deeds.¡± In a daze, Songen seemed to hear something being said in his ears, but the voice seemed to be nothing, and it quickly floated to an unknown distance. He opened his mouth, unable to spit out even a word of regret or scolding, and then lost his breath. His eyes were wide open, full of sadness and regret. The black-robed master, who had been rampant in Thailand and Myanmar for decades and had claimed countless lives, had lost his own life in such an ironic way. At the same time, Dong Zhi felt cold in the center of his brows, as if something had been taken away from there. He couldn¡¯t help but reach out and touch it, but he didn¡¯t touch anything. He understood that Songen¡¯s death meant his curse was lifted. Mara ate Songen¡¯s heart one bite at a time. But it wasn¡¯t enough. He turned his head and looked around, finally focused on Dong Zhi. He was covered in blood, as if he had returned from a bloody battlefield, with an extremely evil smile on his face. His perfect figure covered in blood formed a visually impactful scene. With each footstep, black lotuses bloomed in the soil, withered, and then instantly turned to ashes. The beauty of extreme evil could be admired and desired, but Dong Zhi would never be that person. He recited the spell silently, and the sword light in his hand became brighter. Mara didn¡¯t care. His steps didn¡¯t slow and kept a steady pace. In the eyes of the heavenly demon, everything in the world, whether it was Songen, Dong Zhi, or even the grass or woods, were just toys that he could play with at will. The only meaning of these toys was to allow him to kill and destroy for his own amusement. This was supposed to be an extremely evil demon that shouldn¡¯t exist in this world, but Songen forcibly tore open the gap in space and summoned it into the world, setting off a stormy wave that created a monstrous sea of blood. Mara stretched out his hand towards Dong Zhi, while at the same time Dong Zhi met it with his sword light. Thunderclouds surged in the sky, and lightning illuminated half the sky. The sword light suddenly flourished with the thunder and pierced Mara¡¯s chest. ¡°You can¡¯t kill me like this, stupid.¡± Dong Zhi was horrified. He couldn¡¯t believe that two heavenly lightning bolts in a row had no effect. Could it be that the legendary heavenly demon was so invincible that there was nothing in this world that could kill him?! The heavenly demon smiled and stretched out his hand and grabbed Dong Zhi¡¯s neck. The strength choking him tightened, and Dong Zhi¡¯s complexion turned blue. He grabbed at the wrist that was pinching him in vain with one hand and kept pushing the sword light further with his other. Under the power of the lightning, the black qi around Mara frequently dispersed, and even his body fluctuated and was starting to become unstable. There was finally a look of impatience on the heavenly demon¡¯s face. He didn¡¯t want to play with this ¡°toy¡± any longer. Dong Zhi¡¯s constant provocation had finally made him feel irritable. He wanted to leave because there were more delicacies waiting for him outside. At this moment, the black whirlwind behind him suddenly changed! In the midst of a loud noise, the whirlwind suddenly collapsed and turned into countless spots of light, and among the spots of light, a figure emerged from the void, holding a long sword, like a god descending. Kinky Thoughts: RIP Xinchai. So if this is the casualty level in the battle with Mara¡­ How many are going to die battling the earth demon in the final arc? CH 116 It was Long Shen! Dong Zhi widened his eyes. He almost forgot about his desperate situation on the verge of death as he stared at the figure that suddenly appeared. Long Shen raised his sword high and slashed from behind the demon! The sword light was like a heavenly sword, splitting from the sky. Purple lightning covered the sun, sending stormy waves, as if the heavens were judging Mara for the crime of trespassing by leaving the abyss without permission. At this time, the grip around Dong Zhi was tightly pinched by the heavenly demon with one hand, and he was unable to move. He even felt he was losing his breath and that his sanity was wandering from the realm of yin and yang, unable to distinguish between reality and illusion. He didn¡¯t know whether the Long Shen he saw was real and out of danger or whether it was an illusion moments before his death, but this illusion was so beautiful that he couldn¡¯t bear to blink. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth, flicked his wrist, and his qi cleansed the sword. He laboriously lifted the Changshou Sword, which felt as if it had become tens of millions of pounds heavier than himself, pinched with his left hand, and started chanting out the words that he had already memorized without any padding to summon heavenly thunder. ¡°The four great enlightenments, heaven and the earth are eternal, by the Jade Emperor¡¯s orders, clear the three yuan. The mighty sword of the Divine King, slay evil and destroy its traces. The purple qi ascends to heaven, the landscape collides, swallowing demons and ghosts, and drinks the wind. With the sound of wind and thunder, startling ghosts and spirits from thousands of miles¡­¡± Mara¡¯s perfect face was like a hellish ghost in his eyes, unable to tempt or shake him in the slightest. The top of his head suddenly lit up. Thunderclouds surged, announcing the arrival of Long Shen¡¯s qi! The heavenly demon finally changed his color slightly. When Dong Zhi had exhausted the last bit of strength in his entire body, he thrust the Changshou Sword into the heavenly demon¡¯s body and was thrown away like a rag doll. In the last scene, he saw a fusion of lightning and the sword light that was dazzling white, mixed with a trace of purple. Clouds had gathered from all sides, forming layers upon layers, and the sky had descended. Heavy clouds accumulated under the power of thunder and wrapped the heavenly demon in them. With the heavenly demon at the center of the circle, the white light was intertwined with a huge cyclone. Dust flew everywhere, and the breathing was mixed. Even the remnant body of Songen¡¯s disciple was swept in and thrown about in all directions before it fell into the river and was quickly washed away by the turbulence. The next moment, Dong Zhi fell heavily to the ground. All his bones and limbs were in severe pain. It felt as if he had broken his neck, but he couldn¡¯t feel any pain. He closed his eyes and let himself fall into boundless darkness. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t see it. In the cluster of light, the heavenly demon watched in disbelief as his hands were swallowed up by the light and turned into ashes, followed by his arms, shoulders, and finally his entire body. He shouted miserably, just like the screams made by the people whose necks he broke, but this cry was sharper and angrier, as if it were coming from the abyss. It roared with the intention of making a final struggle. Suddenly, a ray of black qi desperately broke free from the light cluster and swept towards the back of Long Shen, where the original black cyclone appeared. Long Shen frowned. His heart moved at will. The sword was already let go, and the sword light turned into a rainbow shadow chasing after the black qi. As if knowing this was its only chance to escape, the black qi sped up to a speed that the sword light couldn¡¯t catch up to. The passage to the abyss was blocked by Long Shen, and the black cyclone disappeared with it. Before the body of Hong Rui, which the heavenly demon used as its vessel, fell to the ground, black qi had emerged from his nostrils, merged with the escaped black qi, and flown into the sky, disappearing without a trace. Seeing as it had lost its target, the sword light stopped in the sky. The dazzling light, together with the presence of Long Shen, made the nearby villagers think that this was a punishment from the gods, and they kneeled down and kowtowed. Long Shen recalled the sword light, slowly landed, and looked around at the wreckage of the flat terrain. Just in this battle alone, almost everything within a 10-mile radius had been destroyed, including Songen¡¯s stockade and the nearby villages; all were reduced to ashes. His gaze swept past Kenta, who was holding onto Xinchai¡¯s body and sobbing, then fell on Songen, not far away. Songen¡¯s heart had been eaten by the heavenly demon just now, and there was a big hole through his back, but his other body parts were still intact. Long Shen walked over and thrust his sword into his head! Sorcerers¡¯ shenanigans were endless. Since Songen could curse Dong Zhi, there was no guarantee that there weren¡¯t some unknown secrets that remained in this dead person. Long Shen would not give him the chance to resurrect again. ¡°Burn him!¡± Kenta¡¯s voice suddenly came. He carefully put down his master, strode over, took out a bottle of unknown liquid from his arms, and poured it on Songen¡¯s body. He lit a fire and threw it down. The fire instantly ignited, setting Songen on fire. ¡°As long as the body is burned, he will no longer be able to do mischief!¡± Kenta said angrily, with tears streaming down his face. After taking care of Songen, Long Shen strode towards Dong Zhi and helped him up. He rubbed his hand against Dong Zhi¡¯s arm and found it was broken and couldn¡¯t help frowning. He found a wooden board, took off his coat, and made a temporary splint, then gave Dong Zhi a Shanqing pill. After a while, Dong Zhi slowly woke up. He wanted to open his mouth but choked instead and coughed due to the sudden inhalation of air. ¡°Don¡¯t talk,¡± Long Shen said. He shook his head and saw that there was blood at the corner of Long Shen¡¯s mouth. He couldn¡¯t help but reach out and wipe it away, but when he raised his hand, he found it was fixed to a wooden board. Long Shen noticed his gaze. ¡°Your hand is fractured. It should have been when you landed just now. Other places should be fine. We¡¯ll check once we return.¡± Since entering this job, injuries had been commonplace, so fractures were nothing. Dong Zhi nodded. ¡°I just thought you¡­¡± Long Shen knew exactly what he was going to ask and said slowly, ¡°This heavenly demon isn¡¯t a real heavenly demon.¡± To be exact, it was the heavenly demon Mara, but not its true form, which could make even Buddha helpless. Its power, even if it could not match Buddha¡¯s, was still quite powerful, and by no means could mortals compare to it. Simply put, it was a powerful existence that didn¡¯t belong in this world. The universe had its own unique laws for maintaining balance, and the forces that would cause the world¡¯s balance to run askew would naturally be abandoned. As in ancient mythology, when Pangu created the world and the door of heaven and earth opened, chaos was first created. A being such as Pangu was too powerful, so he was no longer suitable for the world. Because his joy and anger and every little move would lead to the world¡¯s premature destruction, he decided to decompose himself and divide his power into mountains and rivers, vast lands, and scatter it to every corner, finally allowing the world to exist safely. Naturally, Mara didn¡¯t have such great love as Pangu, so he could not come into the world in his complete and true form. He had to separate a phantom of his body through the gap in the abyss. Using Songen¡¯s long-lasting worship, the phantom was nourished by flesh and soul. When the so-called resurrection day commenced, even if it was a demon¡¯s phantom, it could still set off a huge bloody storm, involving countless people. ¡°Like Xinchai, I initially assumed that because it hadn¡¯t been fully resurrected and was only a phantom of a heavenly demon and not its true form, it wouldn¡¯t be too difficult to deal with. I didn¡¯t expect that our arrival would prompt its resurrection in advance, but we managed to kill it because of its unstable strength when it was first born.¡± ¡°The reason why you can¡¯t kill that heavenly demon just now is because of the black cyclone. That¡¯s actually the entrance to the abyss. He draws power continuously from it, and as long as the passage is opened, no one can kill him.¡± Hearing this, Dong Zhi finally realized something. ¡°So you have to seal the passage just now before you can kill the demon!¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°The entrance is in the body of the woman who gave birth to the magic fetus. When the magic fetus is born, the woman becomes a natural passage to the abyss. In order to find such a suitable vessel, Songen must have found many people, Han Qi being one of them.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Is the passage completely sealed now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s sealed. When the heavenly demon is first born, it¡¯s also its weakest moment. I had to seal the passage to cut off its power source, so I wasn¡¯t able to help you just now. However, the heavenly demon is extremely cunning. There are still traces of the demonic qi that escaped. We can only hope to find another opportunity to destroy it next time.¡± Long Shen showed a trace of exhaustion between his brows. Dong Zhi leaned against a tree. The pain in his body made him not want to move. As soon as he pulled on Long Shen, the other party also sat down, and the two watched as Songen¡¯s corpse burned in the raging fire that was gradually shrinking. The villagers nearby had most likely noticed the commotion, but no one came. Rather, no one dared to come. They were probably hiding in their own rooms, trembling, not knowing that the mysterious and powerful Master Songen had been reduced to ashes. Dong Zhi lowered his head. Master Xinchai had died in order to save his disciple, without even leaving any last words. Kenta must have a good relationship with his master. He knelt beside Master Xinchai¡¯s body, lowered his head, and remained motionless for a long time. Only four people came to find Songen. Dong Zhi felt wronged, because he knew that Long Shen was strong¡ªstrong enough to bring down a bone dragon alone, so he didn¡¯t call a few extra people for help. This was probably within Long Shen¡¯s consideration. Seeing Xinchai¡¯s death, he couldn¡¯t help but feel guilty, because in the end, it was indirectly because of him. ¡°It has nothing to do with you,¡± Long Shen said. Dong Zhi found that he seemed to have spoken his thoughts unknowingly and hurriedly said, ¡°Master, I¡¯m not complaining about you.¡± Long Shen: ¡°I understand what you mean. The Special Administration Bureau is running around trying to find the stone tablets, and we can¡¯t mobilize more manpower. If you bring a few people casually and aren¡¯t prepared, you¡¯ll only die in vain. The United States can help, but if they get involved, things will only get more complicated, so this time, it was my decision after discussing it with Xinchai.¡± At that time, they speculated that there was still some time before the heavenly demon was fully resurrected and that its body was unable to descend due to space constraints. The heavenly demon in front of them wasn¡¯t sufficient, so the four of them were enough to destroy it. Looking at the entire Special Administration Bureau, there were few who could match or were stronger than Long Shen. Those who were most likely played other important roles. It was impossible for them to leave their posts. If there were more people like Dong Zhi, Long Shen would get distracted and would be bound, unable to let go like he did just now. What was more, Xinchai was a peer and a top sorcerer. Things didn¡¯t turn out as planned as the heavenly demon was born in advance, which they didn¡¯t expect, and with the battle constantly changing, there were countless possibilities. Just as when he was in the underground tomb in Yinchuan, no matter how many people there were, ultimately there would be sacrifices. Life and death were entirely dependent on oneself. But Long Shen didn¡¯t say much about these things. He believed that Dong Zhi could figure it out on his own. When the Special Administration Bureau didn¡¯t have so much manpower back then, Long Shen single-handedly manned many missions that had just as much of a risk factor as this one. He was used to this feeling of not being burdened. It wasn¡¯t so easy to find a tacit combat partner. In the past, he had tacitly cooperated with Song Zhicun, but later, Song Zhicun got promoted to deputy director and led a group himself. It was impossible for the two of them to have the opportunity to go on missions together. Currently, Zhong Yuyi couldn¡¯t do it. Seeing that Kan Chaosheng¡¯s temperament was too jumpy, let alone He Yu, could barely do it. Since He Yu was the best in Group 2, he had more opportunities to take the leading role, but he was likely to take Kan Chaosheng with him on missions. Dong Zhi was like a rising star. Long Shen found that his performance often surprised him, but in reality, he was surprised beyond what he expected. At that time, he had been busy blocking the passage to the abyss and hadn¡¯t appeared in a while. In Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes, he most likely thought that he had encountered misfortune, but Dong Zhi didn¡¯t lose his sanity or fighting spirit. He was able to support him until he came back. Compared to the young man who was pale with fright and was at a loss when they met on the train that day, Dong Zhi had grown up more than expected, and it had only been a year since then. Long Shen wiped away the blood stains on Dong Zhi¡¯s face with his hands. Dong Zhi seemed to be able to sense his mood. He rubbed his face against Long Shen¡¯s hand, but there were no other intimate actions. The two sat under the tree and enjoyed this rare moment of peace. In just a few words, Dong Zhi already understood the dark tide that was surging under the calm. ¡°Master, is there any progress on the stone tablet?¡± Long Shen was silent for a moment before revealing amazing news. ¡°Ding Lan from Group 3, together with Yu Buhui and Li Ying, have gone to Japan.¡± Dong Zhi was silently stunned, then let out an exhale. China was vast, so it wasn¡¯t easy to find a few stone tablets on land that was 9.6 million square kilometers. Even if they knew that the stone tablets were hidden on dragon veins, there were many of them, small and large, and they were inextricably linked. Not to mention anything else, the Kunlun Mountains alone stretched for thousands of miles, and its terrain was so vast that the stone tablets could be anywhere. And with this, it seemed that Otowa Yasuhiko and Songen were two separate groups. Otowa didn¡¯t care about the heavenly demon that Songen was about to resurrect, so whatever he wanted to release by destroying the demon seal array must be more powerful than a heavenly demon. Instead of continuing to look for a needle in a haystack, the most effective way was to go to Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s lair and either kill him or find the source on which he relied on. Naturally, once that was over, everything else would be resolved. Dong Zhi had never met Yu Binghui. He had heard about him several times but wasn¡¯t familiar with him. He only knew that he was a powerful figure in the Special Administration Bureau. Ding Lan was Song Zhicun¡¯s deputy. When Song Zhicun was absent, Ding Lan would take charge of Group 3. Dong Zhi remembered that during the Special Administration training when the groups were split into two, he and Chi Banxia followed Zhong Yuyi to summon God, while Li Ying, Liu Qingbo, and the others followed Ding Lan into an unearthed tomb. Naturally, these three people weren¡¯t small fry by any means, but Japan was Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s home turf. Such a visit would be extremely dangerous. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help asking, ¡°Then they are now¡­¡± Long Shen said, ¡°This is an internal decision by the General Administration. I don¡¯t agree with it, but most people think we can try it. Ding Lan and Yu Binghui also volunteered. Before we came here, they should have already set off as well. There¡¯s no news yet.¡± When they set off and when they started, these were top-secret information that would affect the safety of the operators at every turn. It wasn¡¯t possible to inquire at Dong Zhi¡¯s level, so he no longer asked. Long Shen pressed Dong Zhi¡¯s hand to probe and, after a long while, breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°Your curse has been completely lifted.¡± This was the best news of this trip. Even Long Shen couldn¡¯t help but feel relieved. ¡°Let¡¯s help Kenta send back Xinchai first. In Bangkok, there are a few people from all over the world who are waiting to meet me. Since you¡¯re here, you¡¯ll go with me as well.¡± Naturally, Dong Zhi had no objection. The rope around his neck had been cut, and the remaining injuries were minor in comparison. After the darkness dissipated, the sky was still bright as the sun peeked out from behind the clouds again. Being close to the equator, the night was overwhelmed by the battering daylight that was reluctant to descend. Dong Zhi realized it had only been a day since they came to Xianda village. Though a day had passed, it felt like he had walked through the underworld, surviving near death. Some people were dead, and some were still alive, but everything wasn¡¯t over yet. Those who were still living had to continue to fight. ¡°Happy birthday.¡± He heard Long Shen say. Dong Zhi was stunned for a moment and suddenly realized that today was the winter solstice and also his birthday. Though there was no cake or candles, the one he loved was by his side. This, Dong Zhi felt, was the best gift he had ever gotten. Dong Zhi thought for a while and said, ¡°I hope that every year and every birthday will be spent with you in the future.¡± ¡ª- Over the years, Songen practiced many dark arts, of which most were appalling. He used the human body and soul as an introduction to his curses, and he wasn¡¯t afraid to maximize the evil of human nature. To him, it was nothing to take others¡¯ lives. After killing many people, he used their bodies as a vessel, and even their souls would be imprisoned eternally. However, the heavenly demon that he tried his best to summon didn¡¯t take him seriously at all and killed him without hesitation. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t understand how he felt if he knew this. Now, as the stockade had turned into ruins, those bottles and jars and insidious magic arts were all destroyed without leaving any traces behind, which saved them a lot of trouble when addressing the aftermath. Accompanied by Dong Zhi and Long Shen, Kenta packed up his mood and burned the body of his master on the spot. There were many unknown special doorways in witchcraft. Death, in the opinion of a sorcerer, was not the end of everything. There were at least a hundred ways to use human corpses to do various things through witchcraft, and Kenta would never let his master be used in such a way after his death. There would be no peace, so he hurriedly cremated the body and took the ashes back. When the three of them left, none of the villagers in Xianda dared to stop them. They all regarded Dong Zhi and his group as more powerful sorcerers. Even Suqi¡¯s grandmother, who had appeared before, was missing. Dong Zhi had thought about negotiating with the local government and having them burn the poppies but was stopped by Kenta. Kenta told him that the United Nations had brought a lot of seeds for alternative crops and taught these villagers to grow coffee and other cash crops to replace poppies, but the villagers believed that those alternative crops didn¡¯t earn money fast enough like poppies, so after the United Nations staff left, they all secretly planted poppies again. In fact, the government had banned them several times, but to no avail. Due to the proximity of the border and being located in the high mountains and dense jungle, if the poppies were burned, the villagers would hide in the mountains and come out after the limelight faded. Then things would only get worse. If the entire village was destroyed, they would start cooperating with drug lords and create vicious circles, so the local government could only turn a blind eye in the end. In human nature, there was both the good that was willing to help others and the evilness of being extremely selfish and only caring about immediate interests. Long Shen and Dong Zhi weren¡¯t omnipotent either. They could kill real monsters, but they were helpless against such weak-willed people who were willing to serve as slaves to demons. Such people were inexhaustible, and they existed as citizens of every country, including their own. Since their own government couldn¡¯t intervene, Long Shen could only at most negotiate at the government level and strictly guard the national borders to prevent these raw materials and finished products from entering the country. After leaving Xianda and moving all the way to Chiang Mai, the traces of modern civilization came back. What Dong Zhi experienced in Xianda seemed to be an illusion, but he knew very well that those people and things had really existed, and even the trace of the heavenly demon qi that escaped may also become a hidden danger in the future. Xinchai¡¯s hometown was in one of the provinces of Chiang Mai. In order to prevent his master¡¯s rivals from learning that his ashes were returned to his hometown, Kenta divided Xinchai¡¯s ashes into several parts: one to a lake, one to fertile soil, and one to his parents¡¯ tombstones. After doing this, Kenta set off to Bangkok with Long Shen and Dong Zhi. Recently, not only China but also other parts of the world, like the United States¡¯ Group 51 under the CIA, heard that Long Shen had come to Southeast Asia and specially proposed a meeting before the World Exchange Conference, to which Long Shen agreed. The original white robe master from the White Robe Association who was originally going to attend was Xinchai, but now that he was dead and his apprentice wasn¡¯t qualified enough, they could only send another senior white robe master in his place. At first, Dong Zhi thought that Group 51 was the 51st group of a certain department, but he later discovered it was completely different. The code name 51 came from Area 51*, one of the most mysterious air bases in Nevada, USA. It was claimed that it gathered all of the United States¡¯ mysterious research results that were not open to the public, including extraterrestrial civilization and the like. Group 51 had little to do with Area 51 but invoking this code name was enough to imagine the mystery. *A highly classified United States Air Force facility in Nevada. Details of its operations aren¡¯t made public, but it¡¯s said that it¡¯s an open training range and is commonly thought to support the development and testing of experimental aircraft and weapons systems. There have been many conspiracy theories about UFOs related to it. Of course, this was for ordinary people. In the eyes of Long Shen and the others, Group 51 wasn¡¯t mysterious and was nothing more than the same relevant department as the Special Administration Bureau. The members of the group were all practitioners, but they call themselves demon hunters over there. They also had scientific workers dedicated to high-tech research. The zombie simulation training they had received during the administration test was the result of a joint effort between Group 51 and the Special Administration Bureau. It was said that this system was now being introduced in Britain, France, and other countries. The price was still being negotiated. Knowing this was eye-opening for Dong Zhi, who suddenly realized that this kind of simulation system could be used to make a lot of money. CH 117 After the group arrived in Bangkok, Long Shen and the others met Songla, the white-robed master who would be attending the meeting. He was also an important figure in the White Robe Association. It was said that his status in Southeast Asia was almost equal to that of Xinchai, but unlike Xinchai, Songla was tall and looked more like an athlete than a sorcerer. He didn¡¯t speak fluent English, so Kenta attended as his translator. The deputy team leader of Group 51 was an American named Carlos. Long Shen and him seemed to be old acquaintances. The two didn¡¯t have just a courtesy meeting but instead met in a small conference room for a while before moving to the large conference room. Long Shen didn¡¯t avoid Dong Zhi during this time and even asked him to stay and listen to their separate meeting with Carlos. Carlos had known Long Shen for many years. Hearing that Long Shen was introducing his own apprentice, he couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. ¡°I heard that you never accept apprentices. This time, you made an exception. It seems that this little guy must be extraordinary, right?¡± Long Shen nodded, holding no intention of explaining too much about it. Although there was frequent international cooperation now, they were still two different countries. It was hard to say when they would stand on opposite sides. Long Shen had no intention of developing any deep friendships with practitioners outside his own country. However, this time, because he wanted to lift Dong Zhi¡¯s curse, kill Songen, and destroy Mara, Long Shen briefly mentioned these things to Carlos. Carlos looked relaxed the entire time. When he heard that the heavenly demon had managed to escape, he couldn¡¯t help but complain. ¡°You can¡¯t stop Mara from escaping? Long, this isn¡¯t like your ability!¡± Long Shen said indifferently, ¡°I couldn¡¯t stop it at that time, but you can certainly try.¡± Carlos curled his lips. ¡°Then you should have called a few more people when you went, such as notifying Group 51 in advance, instead of acting on your own and now telling us.¡± Long Shen sneered, ¡°Songen has been there for decades. How come I haven¡¯t seen you guys find Mara and go over and do justice?¡± Carlos was speechless for a moment and then laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t be like that, Long. I¡¯m just joking!¡± His performance changed within a split second, which surprised Dong Zhi. However, Carlos didn¡¯t feel that he was thick-skinned. ¡°Long, you know we¡¯re all working for the top. Now that something so big has happened, I will have to make a report on it. Where is that place? I¡¯ll let someone go and investigate later. Maybe I can find something.¡± Long Shen told him the location. When they left, they had done a thorough check, so there was no omission. Even if Carlos sent people there now, it would be impossible to find anything. Carlos naturally knew this, but in order to have something to account for, he had to ask. ¡°In your opinion, after Mara¡¯s demonic qi escape, where will it go?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Well, the United States is far away. It may not get there for a while.¡± Dong Zhi almost laughed out loud. He discovered that the relationship between Long Shen and Carlos was a bit like the current relationship between the two countries. They cooperated with each other but also tested each other. While trust wasn¡¯t something on the table, it wasn¡¯t to the point that they would tear each other¡¯s faces. In the past, he didn¡¯t know that Long Shen would have time to chat with others so leisurely, but now that he had seen it, he found it quite entertaining. Carlos also heard the other party¡¯s ridicule and smiled bitterly. ¡°I already apologized for my previous recklessness earlier. Isn¡¯t that enough? You may have heard that recently, the United States and Europe have also discovered traces of demons. Among them, there is a plague demon. We¡¯re very worried that something like the Black Death* will happen again. The demon hunters are quite understaffed right now. We hope to get your help.¡± *Bubonic plague pandemic that was the most fatal pandemic recorded in human history, causing the deaths of 75-200 million people. Long Shen shook his head. ¡°We also have important things to deal with.¡± Carlos inquired suspiciously, ¡°Isn¡¯t Mara already eradicated?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°There¡¯s something else.¡± Seeing that he refused to divulge more, Carlos smiled slyly. ¡°Is it Japan? Do you need our help?¡± Given Carlos¡¯ abilities, it wasn¡¯t impossible for him not to know something. Long Shen replied, ¡°Thank you, but I don¡¯t need it for the time being.¡± Carlos was disappointed that he didn¡¯t get any other information. He shrugged and spread his hands. ¡°Well, let¡¯s talk about the World Exchange Conference. We¡¯re planning to send five people to participate this year. How about you?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°We haven¡¯t decided yet, but it shouldn¡¯t exceed previous years.¡± Carlos glanced at Dong Zhi and said with a smile, ¡°Your disciple has never participated before. It seems that you plan to let him attend this year?¡± There was nothing to hide about this, so Long Shen nodded. ¡°Where is the location this year?¡± Each conference had a host country. Because it had a competition aspect, the location would change every time. This year was Carlos¡¯ country¡¯s turn. Carlos said, ¡°On a deserted island in the Atlantic Ocean. We will use the latest simulation equipment to perform holographic simulations. The old rule is that the team that gets the designated props first will naturally win.¡± After speaking, he saw Long Shen frowning deeply in a contemplative state. ¡°What are you thinking?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°The escape wisp of Mara¡¯s demonic qi can¡¯t pose much threat for the time being, but it will definitely seek opportunities for growth in the future.¡± Carlos nodded. ¡°Yes, demons like to draw nutrients from the breath of the living, and it¡¯s likely to go to a prosperous metropolis.¡± Long Shen: ¡°No matter how much the breath of a living person is, it¡¯s not as pure as the breath of a practitioner. Given Mara¡¯s nature, I think he would prefer this shortcut.¡± Carlos was slightly shocked. He immediately understood what Long Shen meant. ¡°You mean it will take advantage of the World Exchange Conference to attack!¡± Long Shen: ¡°I¡¯m just raising a possibility.¡± Carlos sighed. ¡°It seems that this time it¡¯s destined to be uneasy again. Fortunately, I¡¯m not leading the team, so I can leave this trouble to someone else for the time being.¡± Long Shen raised an eyebrow. ¡°Who¡¯s leading the team?¡± The World Exchange Conference aimed to facilitate the exchange and cooperation of practitioners from all over the world. For the competition portion, there was an unwritten rule that only newcomers who had never participated before would compete. In principle, they weren¡¯t allowed to participate a second time. The leader of the team was a senior, but they weren¡¯t allowed to participate in the competition. They could only lead the team. Carlos smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s been confirmed that Lily will be leading the team. Otherwise, I really want to see your disciple¡¯s abilities. After all, he is your only one.¡± He didn¡¯t hide his interest in Dong Zhi and would look at him from time to time. Dong Zhi maintained his usual style in front of outsiders. He would smile politely, giving off a soft and cute feeling every time. Carlos couldn¡¯t help sighing. ¡°Long, did you figure out what you lack so you specially found a disciple who¡¯s completely opposite of your personality?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t bother answering. When they left the small conference room, the three of them headed to the meeting with practitioners from all over the world. The content was mainly to exchange current monster incidents in various places. Japan had sent their onmyojis, who, whether intentionally or not, didn¡¯t communicate with Long Shen, and Long Shen didn¡¯t take the initiative to talk to them. The two sides maintained a delicate cold war until the end of the meeting. This was the first time Dong Zhi had been involved in this kind of event and met with so many practitioners from all over the world. Although their names were different, their mannerisms weren¡¯t much different from ordinary people. After all, a country wouldn¡¯t send someone who had been isolated in a deep forest or mountain to a world exchange. Even the wizards from Africa wore suits and ties and spoke fluent English, which Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help finding contrary to the fantasy in his head. Everyone communicated on the whereabouts of Mara¡¯s demonic qi and agreed that Long Shen¡¯s speculation was most probable, which made the upcoming world conference heavier. Carlos expressed that this was a good opportunity to tempt the heavenly demon to throw itself into their net and hoped to take advantage of the conference to completely eliminate Mara so as to avoid future troubles. All parties didn¡¯t immediately express their opinions on this. They believed that they needed to go back and discuss further before making a decision. The meeting ended quickly. Long Shen didn¡¯t stay in Bangkok much longer. After bidding farewell to Songla and Kenta, they returned to China. On the plane, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t restrain his curiosity and asked Long Shen, ¡°The person for the exchange conference has been selected?¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°Before we confronted Songen, it was already settled. It should be you, Li Ying, Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song, Liu Si, and one more. Now that Li Ying has gone to Japan, he will be replaced.¡± Dong Zhi pondered. ¡°Didn¡¯t Carlos say that a senior can lead the team. We¡¯re all newcomers though?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Most of the bureau is busy with the stone tablet right now, and they can¡¯t find a reliable candidate. Rather than finding a random person, it¡¯s better to compose the team with all newcomers. The tacit understanding you developed during your training is better than others.¡± Dong Zhi nodded, thinking this was true. ¡°I understand Master¡¯s painstaking efforts.¡± Long Shen raised his brows. ¡°What painstaking effort?¡± ¡°The painstaking effort to take me to this meeting!¡± Dong Zhi said with a smile, ¡°Although I may have been buying soy sauce* all that time, I have also watched a lot and listened. I now at least know how to deal with practitioners from other countries.¡± *(´ò½´ÓÍ) It has two meanings. The internet buzzword meaning (which applies here) refers to not caring about public topics (acting like a passerby). || In this context, Dong Zhi is basically saying, he didn¡¯t participate in the meeting and just sat there and listened. Long Shen smiled inwardly but didn¡¯t show it on his face. ¡°Then tell me.¡± Dong Zhi spoke a lot. ¡°Our relationship with Group 51 is a bit like the relationship between the two countries. It¡¯s neither too close nor too far away. We must cooperate but also guard against it. There are several independent institutions in Europe. They usually do their own thing, which makes it difficult to cooperate at critical moments. This is why the European monsters are so chaotic. Southeast Asia mainly has the White Robed Association, but this association is relatively loose and isn¡¯t an official association. There are also practitioners from Japan, which are now controlled by Otowa Yasuhiko. During the meeting, I noticed that their onmyojis didn¡¯t greet us. In the end, we all have our own positions and interests. It¡¯s fine to cooperate to eliminate demons, but the stone tablet is a matter of great importance, and we can only solve it by ourselves.¡± Long Shen looked approvingly at him. In fact, the new members of the Special Administration Bureau from Dong Zhi¡¯s training class were the best in terms of overall quality in recent years. For example, Zhang Song¡¯s qualifications and abilities were quite high, but his personality was too rebellious, which made him unable to become a team leader. Liu Qingbo, in terms of strength, wasn¡¯t any inferior to Dong Zhi, but he was too easy to fold and also lacked a bit of resilience that could bend and stretch. Others have their own deficiencies in terms of strength. If it had to be said, the most favored ones were Li Ying and Dong Zhi. This wasn¡¯t just a bias that Long Shen had for his apprentice. Even Wu Bingtian, Song Zhicun, and even Zong Ling and the other bigwigs believed that Li Ying and Dong Zhi may be the mainstays of the Special Administration Bureau ten or twenty years from now, so when Long Shen brought Dong Zhi to this meeting, it was actually decided internally by the top. Dong Zhi, Liu Qingbo, and others may not think so, but many people were secretly cultivating and nurturing them. This time, Long Shen went because of Dong Zhi¡¯s curse. He had brought a slew of precious pills with him. Although these pills didn¡¯t come in handy in the end, this wasn¡¯t something that Long Shen could bring casually. He needed written consent from Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun. Seeing his expression, Dong Zhi became happy and tilted his head to ask for merit. ¡°Did my answer make you feel like you didn¡¯t receive an apprentice in vain?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be mischievous.¡± This was said with a softness that Long Shen himself didn¡¯t notice, as if he were joking. Was this being mischievous? Dong Zhi grabbed Long Shen¡¯s finger and put it on his mouth, gently nibbling on it, then deliberately smiling. ¡°Is this also being mischievous?¡± Long Shen held onto Dong Zhi¡¯s mischievous hand and pressed it onto the armrest. ¡°That¡¯s called teasing.¡± Dong Zhi burst out laughing. His master, who was such an unearthly person, actually said teasing. ¡°Then, has Boss Long been teased successfully?¡± Long Shen shook his head. He looked like he was in a good mood as he joked, ¡°I¡¯m not messing around.¡± When Dong Zhi¡¯s hand was held down, he wanted to move his feet, but before he could move a toe, the other party seemed to have noticed his intentions in advance. ¡°If you move again, I¡¯ll forcefully enter your sea of consciousness here.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ He didn¡¯t want to be misunderstood by others with his face flushed and his body soft on the plane, so he immediately retracted his hand and stopped teasing his master. Long Shen turned his head and smiled silently. They hadn¡¯t rested much since their great battle. On the plane home, with Long Shen sitting next to him, Dong Zhi relaxed his mind and fell asleep before takeoff. The noise and movement on the plane during takeoff failed to wake him up. Long Shen wasn¡¯t sleepy at first, but perhaps seeing Dong Zhi sleep soundly infected him, and he gradually became tired. He pulled the blanket covering Dong Zhi up, closed his eyes, and subconsciously took a nap. A few hours later, they returned to the Special Administration Bureau. Dong Zhi looked at the familiar building in front of them and felt nostalgia as he saw the familiar doorman. The uncle sat there with his arms folded and was dozing off, but his ears had already heard them approaching. He raised his head and glanced at them with his sharp eyes and saw Long Shen and Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi hurriedly greeted the uncle, who nodded slightly at him, then lowered his head and continued to doze off. Every time Dong Zhi passed this doorman, he felt that there was something mystical about him. At all hours of the day, he would enter and exit the back door and would always see the uncle sitting there. He felt that as long as the Special Administration Bureau existed, he would always be there. If he had to select the number one mysterious figure in the Special Administration Bureau, this uncle was definitely at the top of the list. He once suspected that the doorman wasn¡¯t a human, but now it seems that even ordinary monsters may not have this energy. Given that Dong Zhi¡¯s old injuries hadn¡¯t healed yet and the World Exchange Conference was going to be held soon and Liu Qingbo and the others would meet in Beijing, Long Shen asked Dong Zhi to stay in the capital to recuperate first, so there was no need for him to run back and forth. Besides, the network was so well developed that he could communicate remotely at any time. It happened to be in the afternoon. Because the two were busy, there was no deep affection as imagined between the two lovers. Long Shen and Dong Zhi first went to greet Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun and reported their trip to the two directors. He found that both Boss Wu and Song had looked a bit thinner, which showed that they hadn¡¯t been idle these days. At that time, Long Shen was busy closing the abyss passage while Dong Zhi was engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the heavenly demon. The two complemented each other¡¯s story to fill in the blanks. Although Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun weren¡¯t there in person, they were people who have been through many battles. How could they not hear the danger? Song Zhicun sighed at that moment. ¡°I should have gone with you. This trip was way too close to death for comfort!¡± Long Shen¡¯s expression was indifferent, and he replied simply, ¡°Since we have returned safely, there¡¯s no need to talk about this. How¡¯s your side?¡± Song Zhicun had just returned from Sichuan and was covered in dust. He didn¡¯t even have time to go home and take a shower and spend a little bit of time with his wife and children; instead, he had to rush back to the General Administration for a meeting¡ªbecause the Special Administration Bureau had found another stone tablet, but things weren¡¯t good. The eight stone tablets made up an array and were found along several dragon veins. When the stone tablet at the foot of Mount Shaohua was discovered, it had already been broken for hundreds of years and was unable to be restored. After that, the people of the Special Administration Bureau accelerated their actions but found nothing. This forced them to divide their forces. While they sent Li Ying and the others to Japan to find Otowa Yasuhiko, they continued to search for the remaining stone tablets. Coincidentally, at this time, an ancient tomb near Sanxingdui was excavated. Archaeologists found half of a broken stone tablet in the main tomb. The runes above were incomprehensible and were almost regarded as a new type of text that had never been discovered before. The Southwest Branch rushed over immediately after learning the news. When they completed a comparative survey, it was found that the half stone tablet was indeed one of the stone tablets they were looking for. In 316 BC, during the reign of King Huiwen of Qin, the ancient Kingdom of Shu was destroyed by Qin troops. The king of Qin appointed Minister Chen Zhuang as head of the Kingdom of Shu. The owner of the tomb who excavated the half stone tablet was Chen Zhuang¡¯s deputy. He should be a nobleman of the Kingdom of Qin at that time and one of the important figures who conquered Shu. According to the epitaph, the stone tablet was handed down from ancient times. It was regarded by the Shu people as a gift from heaven, and it was regarded by the King of Shu as a mandate from heaven. No matter how many kings changed in Shu, the stone tablet was preserved intact in the ancestral temple. However, since the Qin empire wanted to annex the Kingdom of Shu, they naturally wanted to break the King of Shu¡¯s theory on the mandate of heaven, so Chen Zhuang ordered the stone tablet to be broken in half. Half of it was shipped back to the Kingdom of Qin and dedicated to the King of Quin, while the other half was kept in place. In the following decades, the situation in Shu gradually calmed down, and the political significance of the stone tablet was gone. Chen Zhuang¡¯s deputy, who was the owner of the tomb, brought half the stone tablet to study it. He later died of illness and was buried alongside the stone tablet, which was discovered thousands of years later. This news, however, was bad for the Special Administration Bureau. The stone tablet had been broken in half. Even if they found the other half, it wouldn¡¯t help. This meant that there was another gap in the demon seal array. Hearing this, Wu Bingtian couldn¡¯t help but huff bitterly. ¡°We now have three broken stone tablets.¡± Song Zhicun sighed. ¡°There¡¯s a total of eight stone tablets that form the eight-sided demon seal. I¡¯m worried that the formation will be loosened now that three of the eight have been destroyed. I hope that Ding Lan and the others will gain something in Japan. Even if we know where the formations are, we won¡¯t be so passive.¡± CH 118 Wu Bingtian wiped his face, as if intending to erase the fatigue of staying up late. ¡°I haven¡¯t had time to tell you. The day before yesterday, I had a meeting with Zong Lao and Zhang Lao. They all agree that the eye of the array should be on Mount Kunlun. However, Mount Kunlun is too big. The exact location can¡¯t be determined yet. We can only start little by little. Zong Lao and Zhang Lao have rushed over and participated in the search as well.¡± Mount Kunlun wasn¡¯t just a mountain but an endless range of mountains. It was regarded as the ancestor of ten thousand mountains of China and the starting point for all dragon veins. Numerous myths and legends originated there and had never been cut off since ancient times, so it was indeed likely that was where the eye of the array was located. However, this place had 19 peaks that were 6,000 kilometers tall, and the snow caps didn¡¯t melt all year. Not only that, but there were also deep caves and trails that no one had ever set foot in before. If they were to search them one by one, it would take at least five years, not to mention the countless natural wonders out there. Long Shen asked, ¡°Are there any news from Ding Lan and the others?¡± Wu Bingtian shook his head. ¡°I told them to put their own safety first, and they don¡¯t need to keep in touch unless it¡¯s extremely critical.¡± Li Ying lacked experience, but he wasn¡¯t the leader of this three-person operation. With Ding Lan and Yu Buhui, they could act according to the circumstances. However, Otowa Yasuhiko had been in business for many years, so it was impossible to not expect anyone to come to his door. Ding Lan and others had to act calmly as there were many hidden dangers. Long Shen turned his head and said to Dong Zhi, ¡°Go back and rest first.¡± Dong Zhi had listened to them this entire time and heard a lot of news but couldn¡¯t assist in any way. Seeing that the atmosphere was turning solemn, he felt uncomfortable. He nodded and got up when he heard Long Shen¡¯s words. ¡°Wait.¡± Song Zhicun stopped him and handed over a folder. ¡°This is the information from the exchange conferences in previous years. Take a look at it. When everyone gathers, I¡¯ll say a few things, but you¡¯ll have to come up with the specific division of labor on your own.¡± Dong Zhi was taken aback. He thought the candidate for team leader was only verbal and had to go through a specific assessment, but after hearing Song Zhicun¡¯s meaning, it seemed a foregone conclusion. He subconsciously looked at Long Shen, who nodded slightly with encouraging eyes. Dong Zhi suddenly showed composure and courage. He took the documents and said goodbye to Song Zhicun and the others before leaving. Watching him gently walk to the door, Song Zhicun finally showed a smile that had been missing for a few days. ¡°Your apprentice did a good job. I regret it a bit now. If I had rushed to grab his hand from you, perhaps he would be calling me master today.¡± Wu Bingtian chuckled. ¡°Really? I thought he didn¡¯t eat anything cooked by people*. It turns out that his heart wasn¡¯t move, but he met someone who moved it.¡± *(²»Ê³ÈËégŸŸ»ð) Idiom has a few meanings but refers to the Daoist belief that celestial beings never eat cooked food. This later on is used to describe a person who has other-worldly qualities similar to those of celestial beings, but it could also mean being out of touch with reality. || In this context, Wu Bingtian is jokingly saying he thought Long Shen didn¡¯t touch things that were mortal, as his heart is unmoved by them, but it turns out that he touched things that moved his heart (Dong Zhi). Although these words were easy to misunderstand, what they were teasing about was actually just the matter of accepting disciples. Long Shen smiled slightly, and his brows loosened a bit. He had no intention of actively mentioning his relationship with Dong Zhi, but he wouldn¡¯t deliberately conceal it either. ¡°Dong Zhi is really good.¡± Song Zhicun smiled again. ¡°I was worried before. As soon as Li Ying left, Dong Zhi was cursed. Liu Qingbo and Zhang Song aren¡¯t capable of taking on the responsibility of leading the team. If that didn¡¯t work out, we would¡¯ve had to re-select people again. Now it¡¯s fine. Dong Zhi has worked with Liu Qingbo a few times. With him, who can restrain Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song should be a cinch.¡± Wu Bingtian added, ¡°After they come back from this exchange, we can put a heavier burden on them.¡± The three of them took advantage of this topic to relax for a while. Long Shen talked about the result of his meeting with Carlos and the others in Bangkok. ¡°The remnant qi of the heavenly demon may take advantage of this exchange to mix in with the practitioners. I suggest sending two more people to the team to replace Li Ying.¡± Wu Bingtian said, ¡°This is fine. I will find suitable candidates as soon as possible. How about Chi Banxia?¡± She had been accepted as Song Zhicun¡¯s apprentice, so naturally he had more say on this issue. Song Zhicun shook his head and said, ¡°She¡¯s not suitable at this moment. The most important thing for this kind of experience is team cooperation. She and Li Ying are in love. I¡¯m afraid with Li Ying¡¯s life and death right now on the line, she¡¯s too concerned and may not be able to concentrate on the competition.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what Long Shen and others would discuss next. After he left the conference room, he went back to the dorms. He hadn¡¯t been back here for more than half a year. The mattresses were still stacked up where he left them, still neat and deserted, but the tables and chairs weren¡¯t covered with dust. There was a gap in the window, and the pots and plants on the windowsill were also well taken care of. When he looked at the coffee table again, there was a note saying: [The cat is being watched at the pet shop at 175 North Point Lane. The foster care fee has already been paid for half a year.] This should have been written by Long Shen before he went to Shencheng. At that time, he probably felt he wouldn¡¯t have returned so soon, so the note was probably for the person entrusted to read it. Dong Zhi paused for a moment to reflect. The two of them had met again in Shencheng and then went to Hainan before going to Thailand and Myanmar to kill Songen and eliminate the demon. Accidents happened one after another, so when he looked at this note and recalled what had transpired, he found that he had experienced quite a lot. When he went from the capital to Lucheng, he had already been prepared to not return to Beijing for several years. After confessing to Long Shen, he felt he would never come back in his life. Who would have expected that life would always turn around and miracles would occur? The feelings that he thought were hopeless were responded to by the sea in Sanya. Being here again, it was inevitable that he would have the illusion that these things were a lifetime away. There was no need to clean up. Dong Zhi sat down at the desk and decided to call Liu Qingbo first. When the line connected, the other party didn¡¯t even give him a chance to speak as a flurry of questions bombarded him. ¡°Where are you now? Have you returned? Did you solve the curse? Is Boss Long with you?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry. ¡°Which question do you want me to answer?¡± Liu Qingbo quipped back, ¡°All Of them, one by one!¡± ¡°Okay, okay, okay,¡± Dong Zhi replied good-naturedly. ¡°I¡¯m in the capital now. My curse has been lifted. The exchange conference is about to be held, and I¡¯m injured. Master asked me not to go back and forth, so I¡¯ll recuperate in the capital and wait for you to come. When will you be coming?¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°In two days. Mu Duo wants to report the situation here through video chat. Is it convenient now?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Dong Zhi was just about to ask, yet the other party took the initiative and brought it up. The two hung up and used the communication software to start video calling. Dong Zhi quickly saw Mu Duo and Zhang Chong on the other side. Nothing had changed. Zhang Chong was still carefree and happy, Mu Duo was just the same as before, and Liu Qingbo naturally still had airs of a young master. ¡°The Lucheng branch has worked hard during my absence. When I return, I¡¯ll treat everyone to a meal,¡± Dong Zhi said sincerely. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°We have worked so hard for so long, and that¡¯s only worth a meal?¡± Dong Zhi smiled. ¡°Then what do you want? Except for my body, I can agree to anything.¡± Liu Qingbo scoffed. ¡°Cut the shit! Let Mu Duo tell you about what happened during this time!¡± Hearing this, Dong Zhi knew that his deputy director was probably a handful during this time. Liu Qingbo had never had the patience to deal with specific affairs, let alone cumbersome interpersonal contacts, so no matter how capable he was, he would never be able to lead a team like Li Ying or Dong Zhi. Either he could be a lone ranger, or he could only be led. This was also his shortcoming. There was no shortage of lone rangers in the Special Administration Bureau. Most people could take the lead alone, but there weren¡¯t many who could lead. During this session, Li Ying was the favored one, and now there was also Dong Zhi. Mu Duo began to report on the work progress to Dong Zhi. The milk tea shop had been renovated and was open for business. Unfortunately, business wasn¡¯t booming, so the first month was a loss, but after it stabilized, it could basically make ends meet. In fact, this was just a cover for the office to be hidden from the world. No one expected it to make money, and all profits would be used for the operations of the office. The initial proposal by Dong Zhi was good. The location was close to a school, and students often came to buy drinks. Mu Duo and Zhang Chong were busy at times, so they hired two young men to help. On the pretext that the shop owner was a novelist who liked to collect supernatural stories, they often communicated with customers to collect rumors. During this exchange, if they heard anything strange, whether it was true or false, Mu Duo would screen the stories. She was, after all, meticulous. Among the gossip, Mu Duo found some abnormalities. Finally, it was discovered that there was a transnational drug smuggling case. After it was handed over to the relevant departments, they cooperated with them and arrested the drug dealers. During the bust, there was even a gunfight. A policeman was almost injured. Luckily, Liu Qingbo was there at the time and managed to block the bullet with his sword. Seeing how his sword was faster than a bullet, everyone looked at him as if he were an alien. For this matter, the office received praise from the top and thanks from their sister departments. Wu Bingtian believed that this method of concealment in Lucheng was worth promoting throughout the world¡¯s offices, so he frequently asked them to write summaries of their experiences. Naturally, Liu Qingbo was impatient to do this, and Zhang Chong¡¯s writing disgusted Mu Duo, so she had been writing summaries until she was about to vomit. When Dong Zhi heard what had transpired, he was stunned. He didn¡¯t expect so many things to happen in the office after he left for a short time. In this way, it seemed that he was more incompetent than a ¡°negligent¡± leader. Mu Duo saw his apologetic face and laughed. ¡°These changes are only after you came to the office. We would still be a lifeless office if it weren¡¯t for you. Director, when you go to the exchange, you must fight and get some face for our office!¡± Dong Zhi pointed to Liu Qingbo. ¡°With Deputy Director Liu here, there will be no problem.¡± Dong Zhi then said to Mu Duo and Zhang Chong, ¡°Since Lao Liu and I will not be in Lucheng, if you have anything, you should report it to Boss Tang. Don¡¯t try to take it on yourself. I¡¯ll send some sunlight talismans later. Put them on your body to drive away evil spirits and calm your mind if you don¡¯t have any use for them.¡± Mu Duo recognized his generosity and immediately expressed her gratitude, wishing them good luck on their journey and a safe return. Not all practitioners were from extraordinary origins like Liu Qingbo, who was so arrogant that they didn¡¯t even bother to engage with others. After all, there were those who went to extremes, such as Cheng Yuan. There were many, like Xiao Qi and Yan Nuo, who were more capable than ordinary people, but were also influenced by human nature. They would be afraid or jealous and push back or procrastinate. Naturally, such a personality wouldn¡¯t achieve anything great. For a few years after Mu Duo entered the Special Administration Bureau, she went from being ambitious to being so indifferent that she had considered resigning; in the end, she met Dong Zhi. This young man was tender and inexperienced, but he was smart and studious. These were the necessary qualities to become an excellent practitioner. What was even more rare was that he was willing to take responsibility when things happened and didn¡¯t hog the credit afterwards. On the contrary, he was willing to share it with them. Mu Duo felt that working with such a person was like a spring breeze. If she had to add a comparison, she had to say that Dong Zhi was much stronger than Yan Nuo and Xiao Qi. Only such a person could truly lead everyone forward and make people willing to follow him, even through heaven and hell, life and death. Dong Zhi said a few more words to Liu Qingbo before ending the call. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the information that Song Zhicun had handed over when he left just now. The full name of the World Exchange Conference was actually the World Unknown Field Cultural Exchange Conference. It began after WWII but was not held on a regular basis every two years. It had been suspended several times due to some reason or another. Nowadays, once every two years, the executive council of each member country takes a turn hosting. The so-called unknown field of cultural exchange was actually a general term for the practitioner world. It was a term that was all-encompassing, including Taoism, witchcraft, yin and yang techniques of the East, psychic spiritualism, demon hunting, voodoo, and the like. Many practitioners were naturally willing to take this opportunity to enhance their understanding and expand their influence. Today, the exchange conference was actually an arena for practitioners from all over the world. Many unknown practitioners had gone on to become world famous after leaving here. Naturally, some fell and lost their lives. Teams from various countries or regions were generally organized to participate in the conference. Individuals weren¡¯t allowed. China had participated five times, of which Long Shen was included as a team leader once but did not participate in the competition. Seeing this, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but smile. He knew why Long Shen didn¡¯t participate¡ªsimply because he was too strong. Once this man joined, there would be no chance of anyone else winning. As a senior member of the Special Administration Bureau, Long Shen didn¡¯t actually need to be in the limelight. Carlos obviously knew a bit about Long Shen¡¯s abilities, which was why he regretted not being able to see the skills of Long Shen¡¯s apprentice with his own eyes. With Long Shen¡¯s ability, even if he didn¡¯t deliberately show it, it was destined that it couldn¡¯t be hidden in the crowd. Dong Zhi could imagine, in the years he wasn¡¯t able to participate in Long Shen¡¯s past, what a dazzling light this man had shed and how heartbreaking his strength and tenacity were. On Changbai Mountain, Long Shen still had old wounds on his body, yet he was still able to fight the bone dragon. This time, he even sealed the passage to the abyss with his own strength. It was no wonder he dared to break into Songen¡¯s lair with just his apprentice. Even though Dong Zhi could be considered his closest, he still couldn¡¯t explore the limit of what this man¡¯s strength was. He had already missed a lot of the former Long Shen but would not miss Long Shen¡¯s future for the rest of his lifetime. Dong Zhi¡¯s fingertips rubbed the familiar name as he continued to look at the folder. He Yu had participated once, but he didn¡¯t see Kan Chaosheng. This was not because of his lack of abilities, but most likely because the Special Administration Bureau feared that Kan Chaosheng didn¡¯t have enough self-control and, in some cases, would expose his true body, causing unnecessary trouble. He Yu took part in it on the Siberian ice fields at the time. Participants needed to fight against strange beasts in the snow and eventually get the items designated by the organization. That time, He Yu and the others were able to achieve the final victory. He had participated with Zhang Heng and Yu Buhui. The appearance of these familiar names meant that the stars were shining during that time. After that, the last exchange was a competition held in Africa, where black magic was prevalent. Everyone fought in an environment full of witchcraft and traps, with the United States ultimately coming out victorious. Dong Zhi took a look at the people who participated last year and saw two acquaintances from the Northeast Branch, Zheng Sui and Wang Jinguan. Naturally, Lao Zheng and Wang Jie weren¡¯t newcomers who had just joined the special administration bureau. Being in the Special Administration Bureau for so long, Dong Zhi had developed a deep understanding and knew they weren¡¯t the elites of the Special Administration. The fact that they participated last time meant there were no great talents that year, so they had to temporarily fill the participants. It was said that this time, there would be even more teams participating than ever before, so by allowing Dong Zhi to participate, the Special Administration Bureau hoped that they would win this year. When Dong Zhi closed the file, he breathed a soft sigh of relief. He never thought that he could take on the responsibility of leading the team. This trust came too suddenly, and he only felt a heavy weight on his body, diluting the sense of honor and happiness that he should be feeling. Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song, and Liu Si were all considered future elites by the Special Administration Bureau. They had performed equally well in training and actual combat. If there was no accident, the future of the Special Administration would belong to them. A year ago, he didn¡¯t even dare think that such a position would also be his own. At first, he was attracted to the ¡°beauty¡±, and then he was retained by the magnificence of the new world. He could no longer move his eyes from it. He was originally self-aware and felt that, at best, he would become an ordinary staff member in logistics in the Special Administration Bureau. Just having the chance to look at his male god from time to time would be enough satisfaction, but every time something happened, he wanted to try his best. He didn¡¯t want others to look down on him, and he wanted to feel worthy of himself. So step by step, he got to where he was today. When he looked back, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh. He had walked all the way only looking at the front, walking on thin ice and trembling, but when he suddenly looked back, he found that he had inadvertently sprinkled a large number of seeds. Those seeds had broken through the soil and blossomed before his eyes, bringing about unexpected joy that could be considered a reward from heaven. Dong Zhi was full of anxiety. He was worried that Zhang Song¡¯s temperament would not accept him and that it would be difficult to integrate into the team. He was also worried they would not be able to win the competition this time. They would lose face not only for the Special Administration Bureau but for their country as well, but now that the matter had been settled, he didn¡¯t think about shirking or evading and instead began to plan what to do and how to do it well. After his return, he didn¡¯t rest much, so he fell asleep on the table before he knew it. A cold wind blew from outside the window, causing Dong Zhi to sneeze. He rubbed his eyes and found that an hour had passed. The dorm outside was quiet, which meant Long Shen hadn¡¯t come back yet. He put on his coat and went out for dinner first, then would pick up Longlong on the way back. He hadn¡¯t seen it in more than half a year. Longlong had grown up and was well-groomed. The advantages of a white cat were now fully revealed. When Dong Zhi saw its round and innocent face, he almost told the pet shop owner that they had given him the wrong cat. ¡°When Mr. Long brought it here, he specifically specified a certain brand of cat food. We have been feeding it one can per week during this time. We just gave him a physical exam last week, and everything looks healthy.¡± The clerk smiled and handed over the results of the physical examination. After seeing the results, Dong Zhi marveled at their meticulous care. Of course, such meticulous care came at a high price. Dong Zhi found that the cat food they had been feeding Longlong was exactly the one he had bought before he left. Long Shen¡¯s thoughtfulness was usually not easily noticed by others. After confirming his identity, the shopkeeper praised Longlong¡¯s breed and his good behavior with the other cats. She even remembered Long Shen¡¯s appearance and mistakenly thought Dong Zhi was Long Shen¡¯s younger brother, saying that both siblings were so good-looking that it was hard to forget. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother rectifying it and just laughed at the shopkeeper¡¯s compliment. Before leaving, the shopkeeper gave him a generous 20% discount and a free bag of cat food so that he would use their service here next time. When Dong Zhi left the pet store, he held the cage and said to Longlong inside, ¡°I had to sacrifice my appearance for your cat food.¡± Longlong meowed, stretched out its fat paw, and rested it on Dong Zhi¡¯s hand, as if he hadn¡¯t forgotten his cheap owner. Dong Zhi nodded. ¡°I¡¯m taking you back to see your other master.¡± As night fell, one person and one cat returned to the Special Administration Bureau. Long Shen had already returned. The door to his dorm room was ajar, and light was streaming out from inside. ¡°Master?¡± Dong Zhi opened the door and poked his head in. ¡°Your back.¡± Long Shen had just come out of the bathroom. From a few meters away, Dong Zhi could feel the moisture exuding from Long Shen¡¯s body. ¡°I picked up Longlong.¡± Dong Zhi opened the cage and let the cat out. Longlong wasn¡¯t afraid at all. He walked around their legs a few times and curled his tail up and down their legs. ¡°Leave the Changshou Sword with me for now. During this time, it accompanied you through many hard battles. The sword¡¯s body will inevitably be polluted. I¡¯ll take it to have it purified and return it to you later,¡± Long Shen said. Dong Zhi naturally had no objection. Even if Long Shen didn¡¯t explain it, as long as he asked him for it, Dong Zhi would not hesitate to give him the sword. There was a trust between them that didn¡¯t need to be expressed. ¡°Master, when you blocked off the abyss passage, were you also injured? I¡¯m not going to leave right away, so it¡¯s okay to release the Changshou Sword in advance.¡± CH 119 Long Shen shook his head. ¡°I¡¯ll be fine after I get some sleep.¡± After saying that and seeing that Dong Zhi was still worried, he stretched out his finger and pointed it at Dong Zhi¡¯s brow. ¡°Or you can probe?¡± Dong Zhi blushed and stepped back to avoid it. ¡°Don¡¯t use this to change the subject.¡± There was a little more smile in Long Shen¡¯s eyes. ¡°I¡¯m not. The restorative power of an artifact spirit is already stronger than that of ordinary people. I¡¯ve had some opportunities, so my energy will be better.¡± Dong Zhi said solemnly, ¡°But you¡¯re not an immortal.¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± Both inside and outside the Special Administration Bureau, many people regarded Long Shen as omnipotent and a powerful existence, but he wasn¡¯t an immortal. He could still be injured and get fatigued. But Long Shen didn¡¯t need to be omnipotent to see the worry on Dong Zhi¡¯s face. Only this person truly regarded him as a person and would be concerned and worried. Long Shen was now slowly beginning to experience those feelings he had never felt before¡ªthey were soft and gentle, like a fluffy ball that was buried deep in his heart. ¡°I have a sense of proportion. Songen spent decades, but even with that, he only managed to open a hole in the abyss.¡± After returning from Xianda, it was the first time Dong Zhi heard Long Shen talk about the passage to the abyss in detail. Hearing this, he asked, ¡°If the energy opening the passage is large enough, can the Mara¡¯s true body come out?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°In theory, it¡¯s possible, but Songen can¡¯t do it because there¡¯s no entrance to the abyss in the first place. It was only his power going against the heavens. He collected souls to summon the demon¡¯s qi, and after it condensed to a certain extent, he transplanted it into the abdomen of a human body, and that body was used to give birth to the demon fetus.¡± Dong Zhi was stunned when he heard this. After he recovered, he couldn¡¯t help but remain horrified. ¡°He used a human abdomen as a passage?!¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°When I went to that room, I saw the woman he used to give birth to the demon. Her belly was enlarged, as if she were seven or eight months pregnant. The demon fetus would soon be born. We were one step early and accidentally prompted the premature birth of the heavenly demon, so its strength wasn¡¯t as good as expected. However, even if he were born as scheduled, Mara would only be a phantom split off from his real body. In the end, there¡¯s a limit to Songen¡¯s sorcery.¡± ¡°So it wasn¡¯t difficult to seal the passage to the abyss. Don¡¯t worry.¡± After he finished speaking, Long Shen gently rubbed Dong Zhi¡¯s smooth chin and applied heat with his fingertips. It seemed that through this method, both parties were given the same sense of security. Long Shen began to understand why couples liked to express their love through hugs and kisses. It wasn¡¯t necessarily out of lust, but because when they were in physical contact, the heat of the other party could convey their hearts and make each other feel dependent on that warmth. He was now slowly able to understand this behavior. After thinking about this for a while, Long Shen hugged Dong Zhi, patted him on the back again, and repeated, ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± The person in his arms was special to him. At first, he was his only apprentice. He wanted Dong Zhi to grow up quickly and hoped that he wouldn¡¯t be afraid of any storms. Later¡­ When thinking about Dong Zhi, he couldn¡¯t help feeling happy in his heart. Long Shen once thought this was similar to the feeling Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun had for their apprentice, but later he found out that it was different. At the very least, he knew that when Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun spoiled their favorite disciple, they wouldn¡¯t have the idea of divine intercourse, kissing them, and hoping that they would walk with them for the rest of their lives. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t moving and frowned slightly, feeling that something was wrong. ¡°Master, are you hiding something from me?¡± ¡°No, wait a moment before you go. Make sure to take a Shangqing pill and practice your kung fu tona before bed. Also, don¡¯t miss your morning practice.¡± Long Shen said this in a flat tone, the same as in the past, and let go of Dong Zhi¡¯s hand. He patted Dong Zhi¡¯s waist and motioned for him to sit down. Dong Zhi: ¡°What about you?¡± Long Shen returned with a puzzled expression, not understanding what he was talking about. ¡°During this time, you¡¯re not going to leave the capital, right?¡± Dong Zhi tried to confirm. ¡°Yes. When I blocked off the passage to the abyss, I was swallowed by demonic qi, so I have to recuperate, just like you.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I remember when you were dealing with the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain, He Yu said you were injured. Have you recovered from your old injuries?¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°After all, I am a transformed artifact spirit. My body is different from ordinary people, and my recovery speed is faster. Otherwise, the passage to the abyss wouldn¡¯t have been sealed so quickly.¡± Dong Zhi finally felt relieved and smiled. ¡°You haven¡¯t eaten tonight. Why don¡¯t I order some barbecue?¡± Long Shen wasn¡¯t actually hungry but still agreed. This made Dong Zhi happier, and he quickly ordered barbecue takeout and beer from his phone, then ran downstairs to get them. Dong Zhi was already prepared that his curse wouldn¡¯t be lifted and that he would meet an untimely death. Now that he had survived such a catastrophe, he inevitably felt that he was quite fortunate to get his life back. He knew that Long Shen was a good drinker, so he dragged him to drink a lot of beer. He turned on a singing talent show and sang along with the singers on TV, singing love songs to Long Shen. Listening to Dong Zhi¡¯s singing for half the song, Long Shen was able to follow and hum a few lines. It must mean that Long Shen was probably in a good mood. Otherwise, he would never make a sound. Dong Zhi almost thought his master had been swapped. ¡°Master, have you never sung a song before? I remember He Yu likes to invite people to karaoke.¡± Long Shen shook his head. ¡°I have never gone with them. If I don¡¯t sound good, then I won¡¯t sing.¡± ¡°No, no, no!¡± Dong Zhi hurriedly spoke while holding Long Shen¡¯s face and giving him a sincere look. ¡°It¡¯s very nice. Your voice is very suitable for this song. I¡¯ve just never heard you sing before. Can you sing it again, yeah?¡± His apprentice¡¯s soft tone sounded in his ear. Long Shen looked at Dong Zhi¡¯s tipsy eyes and smiled. If you¡¯re the fireworks at sea, Then I¡¯m the foam of the waves. For a moment, your light illuminated me. If you¡¯re a distant galaxy, It¡¯s so dazzling that you make people cry, My eyes are chasing after you, Always looking at the night sky when I¡¯m lonely. ¡­ ¡­ Long Shen had an excellent memory. After only listening to it once, he could sing all the words. There was some mistake in his pitch or tone, but Dong Zhi didn¡¯t care about this. He rested his forehead on Long Shen¡¯s shoulder and hummed softly. He didn¡¯t have to think about it. This must be the first time Long Shen opened his mouth to sing. His master hadn¡¯t broken many things in his life, and almost all of them should be for him. Dong Zhi felt that even a few years or even decades later, he would never forget what happened today. However, in the end, he still couldn¡¯t listen to Long Shen finish the song. Because he was fatigued and under the influence of alcohol, he fell asleep halfway through hearing it. ¡°Go back to bed and sleep.¡± Long Shen patted Dong Zhi on the cheek. Dong Zhi let out a confused mumble and moved slightly but failed to open his eyes. Seeing him like this, Long Shen knew that he was tired and didn¡¯t bother to rouse him again. He picked him up and placed Dong Zhi in his bed, then covered him with a blanket. The wine wasn¡¯t intoxicating, but Long Shen felt a bit tipsy. Perhaps the atmosphere was too good. It was different from the time at the seaside, and also different from the heavy thoughts on the eve before they fought Songen. At this moment, peace and beauty, calm and realness, were feelings that Long Shen had never thought of. Even if he didn¡¯t say anything, looking at Dong Zhi¡¯s sleeping face, he could feel a faint joy in his heart. He used to guard the world, but the world was vast, and eventually human became just a broad term. Now, there was an exact object from that vague concept. Dong Zhi was part of the world but also independent from it. The two weren¡¯t contradictory, but they were an unexpected surprise. Unconsciously, Long Shen leaned his head on the bed and fell asleep for a while. When he woke up again, the clock on the wall displayed midnight. Long Shen looked sideways and found Dong Zhi dreaming in full swing. The corners of his mouth were slightly raised, which meant he was probably dreaming of something good. Long Shen pulled the blanket that had slipped off the other party¡¯s shoulder, quietly got out of bed, and walked through the mess of cups and plates in the living room and left the dorm room. Time passed slowly on the rooftop. At this moment, the scenery was still reflecting the haze of the autumn water. Long Shen waved his hand, causing the haze to fly away, and the day instantly changed into night. Countless stars twinkled, illuminating the night sky. ¡°The sunset is infinitely good. Why did you change it to night?¡± A voice came from behind the rocks. Long Shen glanced over and saw Zong Ling. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were here,¡± Long Shen said. ¡°Should I restore it?¡± ¡°Forget it.¡± Zong Ling waved her hand. ¡°I just want to come up and get some air. The scenery is all the same. Is Xiao Dong Zhi okay?¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°The curse has been lifted, and he¡¯s safe and sound.¡± Zong Ling looked at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled. ¡°You reconciled? Are you not angry with him anymore?¡± Long Shen hummed softly. Zong Ling smiled again. ¡°What did I tell you? Don¡¯t disappoint your heart. I¡¯m very happy that you listened to it. Life¡¯s too short, but the lifespan of monsters and spirits is too long. They often don¡¯t know how to cherish it. When they finally react, it¡¯s already too late.¡± Long Shen arched his hand towards her and silently expressed his gratitude. Without Zong Ling¡¯s enlightenment, it was indeed very likely he wouldn¡¯t be able to take that next step until now, or perhaps even much later. ¡°Is Zong Lao in a bad mood?¡± Zong Ling had lived for thousands of years, and her state of mind wasn¡¯t comparable to anyone¡¯s. Seeing that she was here in the middle of the night, Long Shen guessed that there was something troubling her. ¡°No, I was just looking at my fate,¡± Zong Ling said slowly. Long Shen¡¯s heart jumped. Seeing his solemn expression, Zong Ling smiled instead. ¡°Even the celestials have their decline. All life cycles have ups and downs. I have lived for so long. If I lived longer than the heavens, isn¡¯t that abnormal?¡± Long Shen was silent for a moment. ¡°We met with Boss Che in Yinchuan before, and he said that his lifespan is approaching.¡± Zong Ling sighed. ¡°If he has no will to live, no matter how long his life is destined to be, it will be useless. I¡¯m different from him. After I became human, I lived for thousands of years, and it was time for me to enter the reincarnation process for exhausted gods. Originally, I wanted to go to Japan in person, but I didn¡¯t know when my strength would be completely exhausted, and I didn¡¯t dare to hold anyone back. Otowa Yasuhiko has bewitched others and been hiding for decades. Although Yu Buhui and Ding Lan are strong, I¡¯m afraid they are not a match for Otowa.¡± Long Shen said, ¡°I¡¯ll go.¡± Zong Ling was surprised but immediately vetoed. ¡°No, it¡¯s too risky with you alone!¡± Long Shen: ¡°There¡¯s also Wu Bingtian and Tang Jing. They will come also.¡± Zong Ling¡¯s expression was solemn. ¡°In fact, I have always suspected that the reason why Otowa Yasuhiko was able to become a demon was perhaps because he got hold of a certain magic artifact and managed to crack its secrets. Doing so, he¡¯s able to obtain a steady stream of power from it, so he could afford to be unscrupulous. If this is the case, this person will be harder to deal with than any monsters or demons you have encountered before. Unfortunately, this was during the time when I was dormant and didn¡¯t walk around the world. Otherwise, I would have noticed it much earlier.¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°Not only that, but we also suspect the reason he wants to destroy the stone tablet is most likely to completely open the passage to the abyss. You are the longest living being in this world. Do you know anything about the demon seal back then?¡± Zong Ling smiled bitterly. ¡°Xiankun and the others have already asked me this question several times. The history of the demon seal is longer than my own lifespan. At that time, I was ignorant, only knowing to wake up in the summer and hibernate in the winter. When I took form, it was past the period when the ancient gods emerged and the great powers fell and retreated one after another. At that time, I was still a little-known monster. Who would tell me about the rise and fall of the demon seal? The gods, Buddhas, and demons became myths, and the great wars of the past became legends. The existence of the stone tablets is even more unknown. Perhaps a few words had been passed down, but I¡¯m not privy to this.¡± ¡°However, when I was a child, I heard my parents say that there were several great wars in ancient times. In one of them, a demon god was born and almost destroyed the world. Later, the place where the three realms met was completely sealed, and the spiritual energy of the world gradually depleted. Because of this, you should have noticed that after the Tang and Song dynasties, there were fewer and fewer records of immortal ascensions. It wasn¡¯t because of the degradation of human spiritual intelligence, but because of the weakening of the world¡¯s spiritual energy.¡± If the demon seal composed of the stone tablets were the bind that led into the abyss of hell, it was understandable that Otowa Yasuhiko would try everything possible to destroy them¡ªhe wanted to release a demon that was more powerful than a sneaky yaksha, than an Archfiend, and even the phantom of Mara. Perhaps it could be the complete body of Mara, or maybe the demon god in the abyss. Zong Ling had no way of knowing. She raised her head. Clouds had floated over at some point, covering the gleaming stars and darkening the world. The wind and rain were about to come. A huge crisis was looming, and her lifespan was approaching. What could she do for this world? Even if the world was full of human desires and the cruelty and viciousness of human nature were often worse than those of demons, this was the world that gave birth to her; a place where her beloved once existed, as well as Long Shen and Dong Zhi. Countless people she had high hopes for. Zong Ling didn¡¯t want to see them destroyed. ¡°I¡¯m going to find Che Bai and go to Kunlun with him to find the eye of the array,¡± Zong Ling said. She turned around and looked at Long Shen. ¡°If you get news about the array, notify us immediately.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Long Shen paused. It was rare that he showed hesitation. ¡°I don¡¯t want to tell Dong Zhi about this for the time being. Please keep it a secret for me.¡± Zong Ling was slightly surprised. ¡°Why?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°He¡¯s about to lead the team at the exchange conference. I don¡¯t want him to be distracted by it.¡± Zong Ling immediately saw through his thoughts. ¡°You¡¯re just afraid that he will be worried. If he knows, he¡¯ll definitely ask to go with you. You don¡¯t want him to take risks. Long Shen, you finally have the selfishness to protect someone. If you treat him as an apprentice, you should want him to face the storm even more. Even if he loses his head and his life, it must be in order to live up to his original intention.¡± Was it like this? Long Shen couldn¡¯t refute it. Indeed, it was. The experience and competition of the exchange conference were also life-threatening, but he believed Dong Zhi could cope. Just like when they went to find Songen, Long Shen didn¡¯t say anything, but he was sure, so he took Dong Zhi with him. But during this trip to Japan, Long Shen wasn¡¯t sure he could protect him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± he said to Zong Ling. There was a slight compassion in Zong Ling¡¯s eyes. ¡°You don¡¯t need to apologize. This is natural. If you love someone, you will hope that they are safe and sound. Even if you are rolling in a sea of swords and flames, you don¡¯t want him to even touch half a spark.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know what happened last night. When he woke up, Long Shen was beside him, sleeping peacefully. For fear of waking him up, Dong Zhi quietly opened the blanket and prepared to get out of bed, but as soon as his body moved, Long Shen woke up. ¡°Master, are you going to work today?¡± Long Shen¡¯s voice was a little drowsy and lazy. ¡°No need.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and gave him a good morning kiss. This was a habit that developed after his confession. At first, Long Shen felt it was a bit too raw, but now it felt natural. When Dong Zhi leaned over, Long Shen raised his chin slightly to accept it. ¡°Then sleep more! I¡¯ll go to the rooftop for my morning session before you nag me again.¡± Dong Zhi quickly put on his clothes and went to the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. From the moment he woke up, the picture seemed to come alive. Long Shen stared at the background until it disappeared before closing his eyes again. Dong Zhi stayed on the rooftop for a full two hours. He still had a plaster wrapped around one hand, but this didn¡¯t affect his performance. The Changshou Sword was temporarily taken away, but Long Shen gave him the Qingzhu Sword again, allowing him to use it when he practiced. The Qingzhu Sword was also an old friend to Dong Zhi, and it felt natural in his hand, but what surprised him the most was the change in his body. After the ghost-faced peach blossom curse was lifted, his ability seemed to have also increased by a level. The most obvious contrast was the qi that he managed to draw from the sword. The power of the qi was much greater than before, and the time it took to summon heavenly thunder seemed to have been shortened. Dong Zhi was clear about his own situation. He knew that he was talented and had worked hard to keep making progress, but this kind of progress was orderly, like climbing stairs, one step at a time, but it seemed this time he had taken two steps at once, as he felt it wasn¡¯t as difficult as before. He thought for a moment and finally believed the root cause should have been when Che Bai helped him suppress the curse; it seemed to have also benefited his body. Now that the curse was lifted, the threat alarm in his body stopped sounding, so naturally he could exert 100% of his abilities. With the qi gathered, he cut a rainbow arc in the air, and a big stone not far away quickly cracked before it split in half with a loud bang. Before Dong Zhi could give birth to a sense of accomplishment, his stomach growled shamelessly. Regardless of whether he was a sword master or an immortal, eating was his first priority. When he returned to the dorm, Long Shen was no longer there. The bed was neatly made, as if no one had slept on it, and even the upper and lower creases of the blanket were in complete parallel. Dong Zhi suspected his master might¡¯ve been in the army before; otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have such a strong OCD. He sent a message to Long Shen asking him where he was and got a reply a few moments later, saying that he was in a meeting and that breakfast was already made in the kitchen and he could help himself to it. Long Shen did say he didn¡¯t need to go to work today, but he didn¡¯t say that he would have a meeting. Dong Zhi thought about this helplessly as he made his way towards the kitchen to find breakfast. Soy milk and fried dough sticks were on the table. While a common breakfast, the soy milk and dough sticks were kept warm on the rice cooker. When Dong Zhi took a bite, the meat-stuffed buns were still hot. He began to live a life of being fed the day after entering cohabitation. Dong Zhi nestled comfortably on the sofa and took out his phone to start reading information¡ªhe had to change to a temporary phone card when he went abroad, and only now, after he returned, did he have spare time to use his cellphone. When he used to work for the game company, he would only use it to play games or paint. Sometimes, when he had to work overtime and it was too late to go home, he would spend the night in the company¡¯s lounge, grab his phone, and play games in the middle of the night before falling asleep. Later, he gradually got tired of this kind of life. In addition, their project manager was constantly nitpicking all day long and kept making repeated demands. Dong Zhi reached his breaking point, resigned, and, on a whim, decided to go on a trip. But when he looked back at the life he was tired of at that time, he couldn¡¯t help but think it was a kind of comfort and happiness. Only after experiencing so many near-death experiences did he learn to cherish the short-term peace now. Except for him and Long Shen, the others in Group 2 were still on the field. Dong Zhi sent a message to the Group 2 chat saying he had returned to Beijing. He Yu and Kan Chaosheng started screaming, while Zhong Yuyi, with his slow reflex, took a while to reply. He Yu hadn¡¯t seen him in a long time and started posting a few photos, saying that he was looking for the whereabouts of the stone tablet near Zijin Mountain, while Kan Chaosheng said he swam the Qinhuai River a few times but found no trace of any stone tablets. Dong Zhi told them about how he and Long Shen managed to kill the phantom of the heavenly demon in Xianda Village. He Yu reacted quickly and said that the boss must have guessed that this heavenly demon wasn¡¯t a true heavenly demon, so he only took the four of them to kill it. It was likely that He Yu didn¡¯t have much chance to speak when he was out on the field, as he flooded the chat endlessly with his ramblings. He didn¡¯t even bother to type those words out and instead just sent large paragraphs of voice messages. He Yu: ¡°According to my guess, the stone tablets we¡¯re looking for now should be related to the abyss. This is why Otowa Yasuhiko is so emboldened and didn¡¯t cooperate with Songen. It¡¯s because he has an even bigger ace up his sleeve!¡± His voice was accompanied by the sound of wind, full of smugness and confidence, and it was the familiar Lao He in Dong Zhi¡¯s impression. Dong Zhi thought for a while and found that what he said was reasonable. Yamamoto Kiyoshi was Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s martial brother who defected from his teacher and ran to Southeast Asia to buddy up with Songen. He was determined to serve the heavenly demon with all his heart. Since Fujikawa Aoi was Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s lackey, it was impossible for Otowa not to know about this, but he chose not to join forces with Songen and instead became just a spectator. It could be seen that Otowa didn¡¯t take Songen¡¯s movement seriously. He firmly believed that what he was doing was for the greater cause. He had been planning for so many years, from after World War II to the present. His secrets were still unknown, and until now, the conspiracy had gradually surfaced. Yu Buhui, Li Ying, and Ding Lang had gone to Japan, but could they really kill Otowa and stop all this? Dong Zhi realized it would be difficult. Thinking of last night, he found Long Shen¡¯s attitude quite abnormal, and this made Dong Zhi¡¯s heart thump. He hurriedly said to He Yu, ¡°Lao He, I can¡¯t chat anymore. I have something to do. See you later! He Yu: ¡°??? Where are you going?!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother to reply to him. Poor He Yu. He finally caught someone to talk to, but Dong Zhi had already run away. Dong Zhi lost his leisurely move just now. He put on his coat and ran upstairs. He ran all the way to the outside of the conference room. The heavy door had cut off all sounds, and it wasn¡¯t easy for him to push in the door and disturb the meeting, so Dong Zhi could only linger outside and wait. Finally, the door opened, and a strange man and woman came out. When the two sides met, both were stunned. The author has something to say: In fact, Long Shen has been growing up, but Dong Zhi tempers his physical will, so what he perceives is the state of mind. Master shoulders morality and justice with a pair of iron shoulders, but now there are small fireworks in his world~ CH 120 When Song Zhicun saw this, he smiled and said, ¡°You¡¯re just in time. These two colleagues are about to join your team and go to the exchange conference with you. Li Han¡¯er, Li Ying¡¯s sister, from the East China Branch. You should have heard about her. And this is Yang Shouyi, a disciple from Qingcheng Mountain Yuanming Palace. This should be your first time meeting!¡± Li Han¡¯er did resemble a bit of Li Ying, though the contours of her facial features were more beautiful and softer. She had a kind of classical beauty but didn¡¯t make people think she had a quiet temperament. Seeing Dong Zhi in shock, she took the initiative to extend her hand. ¡°So you¡¯re Dong Zhi. I¡¯ve heard so much about you.¡± ¡°You flatter me. Welcome.¡± Dong Zhi shook hands with the two of them and said with a smile, ¡°The others haven¡¯t come yet. I¡¯m currently the only one in the General Administration. Why don¡¯t I give you a tour?¡± Although Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had gone to Shencheng and visited Tang Jing of the East China Branch, he failed to see this long-famous beauty. He had known about her a long time ago, not only because she was Li Ying¡¯s sister and the daughter of Taoist Master Li Rui, a consultant for the General Administration, but also because he still vaguely remembered He Yu saying before that Li Han¡¯er liked Long Shen. Unfortunately, the goddess had a heart, but King Xiang had no dreams*, and in the end, nothing came of it. *(ÉñÅ®ÓÐÐÄ£¬ÏåÍõÎÞÃÎ) This is referring to the original idiom ¡°King Xiang has dreams, but the goddess has no heart¡±, which refers to the story of King Xiang chasing Goddess Fu in his dream, but she rejects his advances in order to be loyal to the deceased King and maintain her propriety. The author flipped the idiom by saying the goddess has a heart, but King Xian doesn¡¯t have dreams, meaning Li Han¡¯er has feelings for Long Shen but the king (Long Shen) has no feelings for her (thus he doesn¡¯t dream of the goddess). Given her origins, it was inevitable that Dong Zhi would look more carefully at Lin Han¡¯er. Unfortunately, she had a keen woman¡¯s intuition and sharp eyes, so she immediately noticed. The other party smiled at Dong Zhi and said, ¡°Did Director Dong forget that my dad is a consultant for the General Administration so I have come here a lot?¡± It seemed reasonable to address Dong Zhi by his position in the Lucheng office, but she had entered the Special Administration Bureau much earlier than Dong Zhi and even her own brother, so her position in the East China Branch wasn¡¯t low. Dong Zhi could faintly perceive a less friendly tone when he heard ¡°Director Dong¡±. He knew that Li Han¡¯er liked Long Shen, but he didn¡¯t want to have unprovoked jealousy with a girl because of an illusory past, so he was just a bit curious about her at first, thinking that she was quite beautiful, but her sudden hostility confused Dong Zhi. Yang Shouyi: ¡°I heard that the rooftop of the General Administration uses a very clever design. If I have the opportunity, I would like to take a look.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°No problem. I can take you up now. There are three groups, and each of the spaces used is different. I only have access to Group 2, so I can only take you to see their space, but the scenery is much the same.¡± Though he saw Long Shen inside, he couldn¡¯t leave his new partners behind and run to Long Shen to have a talk. He only had enough time for a brief glimpse before he took Yang Shouyi and Li Han¡¯er away. On the way, Dong Zhi remembered Yang Shouyi¡¯s division and asked, ¡°Fellow Daoist Yang, are you a junior of Boss Wu?¡± ¡°Yes, Boss Wu is my senior.¡± Yang Shouyi made light of the situation and didn¡¯t say more about it. Among the six people who went to the exchange this time, except for Yang Shouyi, they were all members of the Special Administration Bureau. Yang Shouyi felt that he was selected purely because of his abilities, and he was indeed the best of the new generation of Yuanming Palace. Moreover, he didn¡¯t want people to think he came through the back door using his connections. Coincidentally, when the group walked to the rooftop, Zhang Song happened to come back from out of town. He was assigned to an office in Central China, and it just so happened that there wasn¡¯t anything eventful going on, so he returned earlier than the others. Zhang Song only knew that he had been selected for the exchange group. He rushed back to Beijing and went directly to the director¡¯s office to report. As a result, he heard that the captain of the delegation was given to Dong Zhi, and the smile on his face faded. Seeing that he was unhappy, Song Zhicun comforted him in a gentle voice. ¡°Li Ying has a mission and cannot participate in this exchange. Your ability is naturally not inferior to others, but the candidate for the captain of the team needs to be considered in all aspects, so we have decided to give it to Dong Zhi.¡± Zhang Song replied in a jarred voice, ¡°Isn¡¯t it because he¡¯s a disciple of Boss Long?¡± When Song Zhicun heard his response, his smile faded. ¡°Are you not a direct disciple of Mount Longhu? Do you think it would be fine to communicate with each other in the future just based on who has the most background? You are in a group. Boss Wu should have talked to you, but he is currently busy. I hope you will understand our intentions. Zhang Song, in terms of ability, you¡¯re not much different from Li Ying or Dong Zhi, but if you don¡¯t change your temperament, the road will be difficult for you in the future. Choosing you this time means that we place trust in you and hope that you will do well for yourself.¡± Zhang Song didn¡¯t answer. Song Zhicun waved his hand and let him go, but he shook his head secretly in his heart. It wasn¡¯t easy to change the people chosen this far out. Not only did Dong Zhi have to contend with external forces, but he would also have to fight internally. Most likely, there would be many problems, as even Yang Shouyi and Li Han¡¯er weren¡¯t easy-going. Those who were capable would inevitably have a little temper, so it was even more rare for someone who was capable to be mindful of the overall situation. Thinking of Li Ying and the others that were far away in Japan, Song Zhicun couldn¡¯t help sighing again. Although Li Han¡¯er said she had been to the General Administration many times, when Dong Zhi took Yang Shouyi to the rooftop, she still followed. Dong Zhi knew she was familiar with the place, so he didn¡¯t say more. He was purely doing this to introduce Yang Shouyi to the General Administration. ¡°The spatial deviation technique used here can adjust the seasons and even day and night by itself, but the sun, moon, mountains, and water are all real.¡± Dong Zhi walked to the stream and scooped up a handful of water, which flowed through his fingers, and returned to the stream, murmuring away. In the distance, the mountains were green, and the flowers were in full bloom. Outside, the trees were bare in the winter months, but inside, the scene was as if the earth had returned to spring. Yang Shouyi looked amazed at such a sight. Qingcheng Mountain Yuanming Palace was also surrounded by an enchantment that enclosed the space, but it was impossible to control the four seasons or day and night as they pleased. Being in the know, Yang Shouyi knew how difficult it was to create such a space, not to mention three different spaces that overlapped each other. With such a feat, the Special Administration Bureau could easily suppress outsiders. However, Yang Shouyi only expressed admiration for the crouching tigers and hidden dragons of the General Administration. In his eyes, Dong Zhi, who was two years younger than him, wasn¡¯t counted as a ¡°dragon¡± or ¡°tiger¡±. ¡°Fellow Daoist Dong, I heard that you¡¯re leading the team for the delegation this time. It must be because among all of us, you¡¯re the best.¡± Yang Shouyi got to the point. Based on these words, it could be seen that he wasn¡¯t a euphemistic person. Otherwise, he would have beat around the bushes a few more times tacitly. Dong Zhi pretended to play dumb. ¡°The leadership of the team is decided by the top. I¡¯m not privy to their decision making.¡± Yang Shouyi couldn¡¯t hold back, so he expressed his intentions. ¡°Whether it¡¯s true or not, I heard that Daoist Dong didn¡¯t join a circle for a long time, but he was favored by Boss Long and was accepted as his apprentice. It can be seen that you must be outstanding. I wonder if we could spar so that I have a chance to learn from you?¡± Dong Zhi coughed. ¡°I¡¯m not going to lie. I just came back from a mission, and I¡¯m still healing from my injuries.¡± To show that he wasn¡¯t lying, he raised his left hand and shook it, showing the cast that was wrapped around it. Any practitioner had experienced fractures and dislocations several times. Not to mention anything else, Yang Shouyi had suffered countless injuries since he was a child. He didn¡¯t think a fracture was all that serious, because while he was still limping, in the cold winter of December, his master had thrown him into the icy river to practice. Looking at Dong Zhi¡¯s face, which was ruddy, and his steps, which were light, Yang Shouyi didn¡¯t think he had any internal injuries, but he refused to spar just because of a broken arm. Yang Shouyi: ¡°We can learn from each other using just one hand. If you¡¯re afraid of accidental injury, we can just use branches instead of swords. How about it?¡± Dong Zhi still shook his head. ¡°My other hand hurts too, so much so that I need to be fed when I eat.¡± Yang Shouyi was speechless for a moment, then said, ¡°It¡¯s not a hundred-day injury, is it? We¡¯re setting off in half a month. If you can¡¯t even move your hands, will you be okay by then?¡± Dong Zhi gave him a lax smile. ¡°How can that be? To go out and fight for our country, even if you shed blood and sweat, you can¡¯t shed tears!¡± Yang Shouyi: ¡­¡­ His provocation failed, and he couldn¡¯t force the other to take action. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t a man; he was too grinding and whined too much. Thinking that such a person was their captain and was about to command them to fight against many practitioners from all over the world, Yang Shouyi couldn¡¯t help but feel disappointed. He wasn¡¯t the only one, but Li Han¡¯er was as well. For a long time after hearing news that Long Shen had accepted a disciple, Li Han¡¯er felt incredulous. Not many people know about Long Shen¡¯s true body, but she was one of the very few. Because of this, she couldn¡¯t imagine that Long Shen, who was otherworldly and had eyes above the top, would fancy a disciple. She knew deep down she had some hard feelings, which made her more curious about Dong Zhi. This wasn¡¯t conducive to her cultivation, but all humans have desires and emotions, love and hate. Sometimes when one couldn¡¯t understand the reason, they couldn¡¯t help but think about it. Unfortunately, she was busy when she was in the East China Branch, so she failed to meet with Dong Zhi when he visited Shencheng. She happened to be in the northeast then. This time, because Li Ying was unable to attend, she, as his sister, took his place and came to the General Administration to see the person that she couldn¡¯t forget. In her mind, those whom Long Shen would accept as disciples must be extremely talented and similar to his character. Perhaps they would be taciturn, or maybe cold and proud, but they would never be like this young man with such a carefree smile and no serious aura around him at all. In addition to Li Han¡¯er¡¯s disappointment, there was a trace of indescribable anger. She didn¡¯t know whether it was because he wasn¡¯t worthy of Long Shen or if he wasn¡¯t worthy at all. After a few words, seeing that Dong Zhi refused to make a move, they lost their interest in talking. Li Han¡¯er suggested going back to rest. As Wu Bingtian¡¯s nephew, Yang Shouyi had a place to stay in the capital, so he was ready to leave with her. Dong Zhi seemed indifferent to them and even enthusiastically invited the two of them to dinner. Naturally, they declined. Dong Zhi sent the two of them off and immediately went downstairs to find Long Shen. As a result, Long Shen wasn¡¯t in his office, but he bumped into Zhang Song, who wasn¡¯t in a happy mood. ¡°Lao Zhang, you¡¯re back? Li Han¡¯er and Yang Shouyi just left. If you chase after them, you can probably still catch up. There are not many people here today. When Lao Liu and Liu Si come back, I¡¯ll invite us all to have a meal together!¡± He was anxious to find Long Shen and instead casually greeted Zhang Song. Who knew his wrist would be coldly pulled on? Dong Zhi jerked back, but Zhang Song¡¯s grip was tight and didn¡¯t budge. Dong Zhi turned around in confusion. Zhang Song said bluntly, ¡°If Li Ying was leader, I would have nothing to say, but if it¡¯s you, I¡¯m not convinced.¡± Dong Zhi blinked, didn¡¯t say anything, and instead viciously headbutted Zhang Song! Zhang Song was taken aback and subconsciously leaned back to dodge. Dong Zhi took advantage of the situation by twisting the other¡¯s wrist with one hand and pressing him against the wall. Zhang Song struggled hard but couldn¡¯t break away. He quickly raised his knees to kick Dong Zhi¡¯s stomach, but Dong Zhi saw through his intentions, and his body flashed to the side, stepping on his foot. Zhang Song yelled out in pain, causing the doors of several offices in the corridor to open as people poked their heads out. Dong Zhi took the opportunity to let go, then retreated. ¡°Lao Zhang, I¡¯m still injured. How can you do this?¡± Do what! Zhang Song¡¯s feet were in so much pain that he could barely breathe. He gritted his teeth and glared at Dong Zhi. ¡°I thought you had changed when you went out, but why are you still the same?¡± Dong Zhi shrugged then said, ¡°Actually, I don¡¯t want to be the captain of this team either, but if you have the ability, go get the higher-ups to change their minds and don¡¯t vent your anger out on me. What¡¯s the use in that? If you don¡¯t like it, you can choose to quit, but don¡¯t add trouble for me in a foreign country. Otherwise, it¡¯s not only me that¡¯ll lose face, but our country.¡± After speaking, without waiting for his reaction, Dong Zhi turned and left. Back downstairs, Long Shen was feeding the white cat. The cat was enthusiastic today because of the can in his hand. As soon as Long Shen grabbed the cat food, it kept meowing and spinning around him. ¡°Master.¡± Dong Zhi squatted down beside him. ¡°What do you think of them?¡± Long Shen asked about his opinion on Li Han¡¯er and Yang Shouyi. Dong Zhi: ¡°Seems good, but they want to compete with me, but I refused and made an excuse to hide.¡± Long Shen glanced at him. ¡°You can¡¯t hide.¡± It was inevitable that he would need to drop ten meetings with one force*. *(Ò»Á¦½µÊ®»á) Metaphor referring to in face of absolute strength, all strategies are useless. || Basically, he¡¯s saying to show your force and bend them to follow you. Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°When everyone comes together, there¡¯s bound to be discussion about it. It¡¯ll be quite troublesome. Besides, the longer they are depressed now, the stronger the shock will be when the time comes. This way, I can solve everything in one go, right?¡± Long Shen¡¯s only response to this was, ¡°How mischievous.¡± He crouched on the ground and held the can food towards the white cat and let it eat from his hand while letting Dong Zhi lean on his back and rest his chin against his neck. Despite having the weight of a person on his back, Long Shen didn¡¯t even shake and remained completely stable. He didn¡¯t push Dong Zhi away or make any protest. Dong Zhi was thick-skinned and continued to take advantage of it. ¡°Lao Zhang was in the same class as us, but he¡¯s still rebellious. There are also Yang Shouyi and Li Han¡¯er. One isn¡¯t affiliated with the Special Administration Bureau, and the other has seniority over me. They are both arrogant and disobedient. Since Lao Liu has worked with me a few times, we have a tacit understanding. Otherwise, there would be another one who would oppose me. Master, when you decided to let me be captain, did you expect this?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°The two of them are no worse than you. If they are used well, they will be a great help. It¡¯s impossible to find someone with average abilities to go to the exchange this time. Otherwise, in your session, Chi Banxia, Gu Meiren, and the others are better in terms of cooperation, but it¡¯s not as important as being able to come back alive.¡± Dong Zhi looked at the information beforehand and learned that it was indeed possible to die in the competition. Although the probability wasn¡¯t high, the danger was there. Moreover, he had attended the meeting in Bangkok last time. The wisp of the heavenly demon qi that escaped would most likely sneak into the exchange conference to restore itself faster by absorbing the vitality of the practitioners. With Yang Shouyi and Lin Han¡¯er joining, it was undeniably two major fighting powers, but only if everyone was willing to work together. If not, they would each go their own way, and the team would be disbanded. Thinking about it gave Dong Zhi a headache. ¡°I¡¯ll try my best in the competition and to bring them back intact.¡± Long Shen smiled. Dong Zhi was finally chosen because of his sense of responsibility. ¡°I trust you.¡± Dong Zhi got off Long Shen¡¯s back and gently cupped his face. ¡°Then Master, are you hiding something from me?¡± Long Shen¡¯s face didn¡¯t change. ¡°No.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Really?¡± Long Shen patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Go take a shower, rest early, and get up early to practice tomorrow.¡± Dong Zhi coldly stretched out his hand and grabbed Long Shen¡¯s wrist. Long Shen shrank back, but he followed. The two made a few movements in the blink of an eye. Since leaving Beijing to go to Lucheng, master and apprentice had never actually fought with each other. At this moment, Long Shen didn¡¯t exert his full force, and Dong Zhi didn¡¯t go all out, but he was still surprised to find that he was able to match Long Shen for more than a dozen moves. It could be seen that the various combats he had experienced had tempered him, and actual combat was indeed more practical. Long Shen felt that it was about time, so he grabbed Dong Zhi¡¯s hand and stopped his movements. ¡°Not bad.¡± Students who had taken Boss Long¡¯s class knew that getting a compliment from him was more difficult than winning the lottery. Dong Zhi arched his brows. ¡°That¡¯s all because Master taught me well, but this disciple has never concealed anything from you. Shouldn¡¯t Master repay the same?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t like to lie, nor was he good at it. In his long life, he either said or didn¡¯t say what he wanted. No one had ever been able to force him or make him want to hide things. Dong Zhi was the first. It turned out that his skills needed improvement when he lied for the first time. He needed to practice more. ¡°I¡¯m going to Japan.¡± In the end, Long Shen told the truth. Dong Zhi¡¯s expression changed. With palpitations and panic in his eyes, he quickly calmed down again. ¡°Master, you didn¡¯t want me to go with you, so you put me in charge of the team for the exchange conference?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t answer directly, but said, ¡°Wu Bingtian and Tang Jing will be with me. Don¡¯t worry.¡± Although Wu Bingtian was keener on officialdom than the other two directors, Dong Zhi had no doubt in his abilities. It was unnecessary to talk about Tang Jing. Both were far superior to the current him. Long Shen often went out in the field because he liked to do it. Given his strength, he was probably one of the strongest people in the world. If this time, Wu Bingtian and Tang Jing were coming along, it must mean that Li Jing and the others couldn¡¯t hold anymore. Seeing that he was suspicious, Long Shen took the initiative to answer his doubts. ¡°Ding Lan¡¯s soul lamp went out.¡± When a practitioner was out, his master would light a soul lamp. Ding Lan¡¯s master wasn¡¯t from a major sect, so his soul lamp was sent to the Special Administration Bureau. If the soul lamp was extinguished, it meant the body was dead and the soul was gone, and there was no room for recovery. ¡°Then what of Li Ying and Yu Buhai?¡± Dong Zhi was no longer in a playful mood. ¡°Li Ying¡¯s soul lamp is still on, but its light is much dimmed. Yu Buhai doesn¡¯t have a soul lamp,¡± Long Shen said. Seeing Dong Zhi with a solemn expression, he added, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. We¡¯re going over to investigate.¡± Japan was the lair of Otowa Yasuhiko. Before Li Ying and the others went, they were prepared to sacrifice themselves and even wrote their last will. Among the three, Ding Lan and Yu Buhai weren¡¯t fledglings. Dong Zhi even heard that if Yu Buhai wasn¡¯t happy at his station, he would at least become a director of a branch or a deputy director of the General Administration. Although Li Ying had lighter qualifications, he wasn¡¯t impulsive like Zhang Song. Surely when the three of them went to Japan, they were fully prepared with ample plans in place, but in the end, they still encountered unpredictable dangers. Long Shen said, ¡°During World War II, Otowa obtained the secrets of the stone tablet in China. He sent someone to search for information and bring it back to Japan. If he couldn¡¯t bring them back, he would set fire and blow them up. Furthermore, he is reliant on the magical weapon within his body, which transformed him from a human to a demon. His power may be even greater than that of the previous Archfiend, or the phantom of Mara¡¯s body.¡± He didn¡¯t want Dong Zhi to worry, but since the other party had already found out, he didn¡¯t want to hide it any longer, so he directly told Dong Zhi what he knew and speculated. Dong Zhi: ¡°What about compared to the Wuzhiqi?¡± Long Shen was silent for a moment and said, ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s heart sank. He quickly collected his thoughts and said with a smile, ¡°Master, then also give me your soul lamp.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have a soul lamp.¡± Long Shen paused for a while, then said, ¡°But I will inject my qi and soul into the Changshou Sword, so that you can sense my vitality.¡± Naturally, if he died, Dong Zhi would feel it. Only then did Dong Zhi realize that when Long Shen said he wanted to purify the Changshou Sword and took it from him, he had in fact had this plan long ago. ¡°Will this affect you?¡± He asked Long Shen. ¡°No, people have three souls and seven spirits, so missing one soul or spirit would not work, but I am not human. There will be no effect.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes reddened, and he lowered his head to push the sourness back while trying to maintain his usual relaxed and happy smile. Long Shen liked to see him smile like this¡ªlively and energetic. ¡°Don¡¯t write a last will. I don¡¯t want to receive it,¡± Dong Zhi said. Long Shen nodded. ¡°Then I won¡¯t.¡± Not writing a last will seemed to mean that he would come back. Dong Zhi calmed down a bit. ¡°When will you leave?¡± Long Shen: ¡°In a few days. I have to apply for forged documents and create a disguise.¡± Dong Zhi understood that they had to forge documents and identities to enter the country, just as Fujikawa Aoi came here. Otherwise, as soon as they leave, the Japanese would already be on alert. ¡°Master, when this matter is over, you should stop taking jobs for a while.¡± His master was a model worker. He almost never took annual leave on a yearly basis. If these annual leaves were accumulated, he could at least take a year and a half off. Long Shen: ¡°Okay.¡± Dong Zhi cheered up a bit. ¡°Then let¡¯s go to Lijiang¡ªno, Lugu Lake. It¡¯s quiet and beautiful. I remember that there are several hotels that are built on top of Lugu Lake. We¡¯ll rent a room with a lake view for half a year and sit on the balcony every day to watch the scenery and bask in the sun!¡± Long Shen: ¡°Okay.¡± No matter what Dong Zhi said, Long Shen would agree. After settling down, Dong Zhi sat next to Long Shen on the sofa. He was so sleepy that he forgot what he said. He vaguely praised the yulu plant, which had not been watered all this time, saying that it was still alive and well. Then he heard Long Shen tell him not to talk to the yulu in the future and instead just tell him directly if he had anything to say. The voice became vague, and eventually Dong Zhi fell asleep. Before falling asleep, a thought flashed in his mind. Long Shen seemed to have said that he would show him something when he returned, but he forgot what was said and everything became hazy. Dong Zhi slept until dawn¡ªa peaceful but dreamless night. Tang Jing had arrived at the capital the next day and had a rendezvous with Long Shen. Together with Wu Bingtian, the three of them had a small meeting. Presumably, they were making plans to enter Japan. The meeting was held in private, and no one could enter. Except for a few people, including Dong Zhi, no one knew that they were going to Japan to complete an important but extremely dangerous mission. Like Li Ying, except for a few leaders in the bureau, even his sister, Li Han¡¯er, didn¡¯t know that her brother¡¯s life was uncertain. On the other hand, Liu Qingbo and Liu Si arrived in Beijing soon after. The group of six was finally together. Song Zhicun immediately summoned them together for a small meeting and told them the main purpose and process of the exchange conference. CH 121 ¡°You will meet in the United States first. The process of the meeting in the first few days is nothing more than an exchange of the respective situations over the past two years. When we first participated in the past, we didn¡¯t understand, so we asked a deputy director to lead the team. Later, we found that it was actually just a regular exchange. However, the competition part does need to be paid attention to. This is not only a means of honor but also an occasion for you to exercise and communicate with others. The world isn¡¯t closed. Over the years, the entry of foreign practitioners has increased, and many emergencies will catch you by surprise. You¡¯re the future pillars of the Special Administration Bureau. I hope you can make good use of this opportunity.¡± Deputy Director Song spoke as if he were like a mother hen, which made everyone drowsy when he started babbling, until they heard him say they were free to ask any questions. Li Han¡¯er raised her hand. ¡°Boss Song, is there any news about this year¡¯s competition?¡± Song Zhicun said, ¡°No. The United States is hosting this year. As you know, the Americans like things that are high-tech. All we know now is that the competition is held on an uninhabited island in the Atlantic Ocean. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if they move the zombie simulation there. Oh, by the way, neither Shouyi nor Han¡¯er have experienced that system, right? I can let you experience it later alone.¡± Seeing Li Han¡¯er turn her gaze to Dong Zhi, Song Zhicun smiled knowingly. ¡°Dong Zhi and the others have already experienced it last time when they took the exam and passed it with no problems. I believe you won¡¯t be any inferior.¡± That exam was Liu Qingbo¡¯s black history. He didn¡¯t even want to mention it, so he looked at the floor and pretended to be deaf. Yang Shouyi looked troubled. ¡°Boss Song, I heard on the first day we have to speak and communicate. My foreign language isn¡¯t very good. Will there be interpreters there?¡± Song Zhicun smiled. ¡°Of course there is. The captain and vice-captain of the delegation will oversee the meeting. There may also be a link for free communication. After discussion, the bureau decided that Liu Qingbo will be vice-captain of the delegation. Liu Qingbo, is this okay with you?¡± Liu Qingbo raised his head blankly and nodded slowly. If the head of the team was Zhang Song or someone else, he wouldn¡¯t be convinced, but since it was Dong Zhi, he could reluctantly accept it. Besides, when he was in Lucheng, he had already been Dong Zhi¡¯s deputy, which wasn¡¯t something to be ashamed of. Zhang Song didn¡¯t expect that not only was he not selected to be captain, but even vice-captain. He pursed his lips, but in the end, he didn¡¯t say anything. Yang Shouyi wasn¡¯t actually interested in being captain of the team, or vice-captain. He only had doubts about Dong Zhi¡¯s abilities. Li Han¡¯er¡¯s expression was a bit subtle, but she didn¡¯t object. Only Liu Si was the calmest, and he had no opinions. Song Zhicun¡¯s gaze swept across the faces of these young people, amused. ¡°When it comes to free exchange, I must remind you of one thing. The exchange conference is for practitioners from all over the world. Of course, most people are friendly, but it doesn¡¯t rule out that there will be some hostility. Some people will make more excessive jokes, and sometimes it¡¯ll be easy to rile you up. I hope everyone can maintain their dignity without destroying friendships.¡± This sentence was meaningful, as everyone¡¯s mouth twitched when they heard it. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo even thought to themselves that they couldn¡¯t believe a man like Boss Song, who was carefree and upright, would speak so bureaucratically like Boss Wu. Wasn¡¯t it basically asking them to ¡°try not to move with your mouth first, and if you do, make sure to put a sack in it¡±? Why bother to speak so cryptically? ¡°Together with the competition, the annual exchange conference over the years has lasted for about 20 days. In these 20 days, you must have sufficient tacit understanding and team spirit. I don¡¯t care what you thought about each other before, but from this moment on, it¡¯s best to let go of stereotypes and look at each companion objectively.¡± After Song Zhicun finished his debrief, he left the room for them to communicate among themselves. Dong Zhi took the initiative to get up and walk in front of everyone. ¡°Since I¡¯m fortunate enough to be selected as captain this time, I¡¯ll be brazen and say a few words. I believe everyone here is no stranger to me, but I would like to introduce myself. My name is Dong Zhi. I was once an ordinary person who painted, but coincidentally, I entered the cultivation world.¡± His smiling look had no deterrent. Liu Qingbo curled his lips and couldn¡¯t help but think how stupid this was. If he were Yang Shouyi and the others, it would be strange if they could be convinced by this look. After being with Boss Long for so long, couldn¡¯t he even learn the way of speaking with a cold face? Naturally, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t hear Liu Qingbo¡¯s thoughts, but he turned his words around. ¡°To you, I¡¯m a junior, and I was originally not qualified to lead everyone. If you have any objections, you are welcome to ask for a replacement of the leader. I¡¯m happy to give way, but if you don¡¯t raise any opinions, then I will acquiesce that you¡¯ll all obey orders. I¡¯ll try my best to be responsible for everyone, and I hope you can cooperate. This time there is only one team leader. I don¡¯t think anyone wants second place, right?¡± The soft and hard tone made everyone a little uncomfortable. Yang Shouyi spoke up. ¡°I have no other requirements. I just want to spar with you. If you can beat me, I will be convinced. If you say east, I will never go west, but it¡¯s hard for me to believe that you can lead us to victory. It¡¯s better for me to just quit early now.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Yes, shall we go to the rooftop later?¡± Yang Shouyi was a little surprised by this response and happily nodded. Dong Zhi looked at the others. ¡°Besides him, who else wants to spar?¡± Zhang Song said, ¡°You have an injured arm now and have to fight with Yang Shouyi. If I fight with you again, won¡¯t that look like I won with a handicap?¡± The implication was that he also wanted to fight with Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi shrugged. ¡°Then I¡¯ll spar with you tomorrow.¡± Liu Qingbo said to Zhang Song, ¡°I¡¯ll spar with you on his behalf.¡± Zhang Song: ¡°You?¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°What? I¡¯m the vice-captain of the team. Am I not qualified?¡± He turned and looked at Yang Shouyi again. ¡°His arm is injured. What can he do right now? So I¡¯ll do it for him. If I beat you, it¡¯ll be as if Dong Zhi has beaten you.¡± Dong Zhi knew that Liu Qingbo took the initiative to stand out because he was afraid his injury wouldn¡¯t heal properly and there would be sequelae. He smiled and said, ¡°Lao Liu, no need. I can do it.¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°What can you do?! You didn¡¯t even bring a sword with you!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°The sword is in my dorm. I can get it now. As for the arm, it¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll just fight with one hand. There are many emergencies in a real combat environment. It¡¯s not like we haven¡¯t encountered things like this before.¡± Coincidentally, this time, most of them used swords. Even Li Han¡¯er carried a long sword with her. The tassels on the sword were golden, and it swayed with each of her steps, graceful and dainty, but she wasn¡¯t like Zhang Song or Yang Shouyi, who took the initiative to pick a fight. Dong Zhi first went back to his dorm and got the Qingzhu Sword, with Liu Qingbo following him. ¡°If you¡¯re not sure, don¡¯t be brave. Let me help you.¡± Liu Qingbo was still trying to convince Dong Zhi otherwise. Dong Zhi said strangely, ¡°I never said I wasn¡¯t sure. In fact, you want to fight Yang Shouyi, right?¡± Since he was the center of the matter, he kept quiet, but his hands were still itchy. Dong Zhi: ¡°Well, let¡¯s do it this way. You¡¯ll spar with Zhang Song tomorrow, while I¡¯ll fight with Yang Shouyi today. This group has just taken form. If I don¡¯t gain their respect, I¡¯m afraid the team will be disbanded before we even start.¡± Liu Qingbo questioned, ¡°Can you fight with one arm?¡± Dong Zhi shrugged. ¡°Well, I didn¡¯t really suffer any injuries at all. It¡¯s just that my arm was fractured, and I need to take care of it for a few more days. I¡¯ll be fine if I just fight with one hand.¡± Liu Qingbo narrowed his eyes. ¡°I heard that you encountered the phantom of the heavenly demon this time. There¡¯s also a very powerful sorcerer as well. Were they so easy to fight like weak chickens?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Did you forget that my master was there as well? Even so, it wasn¡¯t an easy fight.¡± He pulled down the collar of his sweater and showed Liu Qingbo his neck. Liu Qingbo saw that there were clear pinch marks on it, which had gradually faded, but he could still imagine what kind of life-and-death situation Dong Zhi experienced that day. ¡°Who told you not to bring me along? If I was there, I could¡¯ve prevented you from suffering more!¡± Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t forget to highlight his position as an afterthought. ¡°Okay, okay. If you don¡¯t want to go up later, I¡¯ll take both of them on!¡± Dong Zhi said casually, ¡°In fact, it doesn¡¯t matter if I lose. It¡¯s impossible for me to be kicked out of the exchange group because I lost to Yang Shouyi. If they continue to make trouble, it¡¯s even more impossible to be captain of the group. At most, the head of the group will be replaced by you, and I¡¯ll be your deputy. They can¡¯t avoid me in any case, so wouldn¡¯t that just make them even more angry?¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­It turns out you had this kind of idea. But after thinking about it carefully, this was really the kind of thing Dong Zhi would do. He would never change. Even if everyone was angry, he would always stand still. Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but wonder. ¡°Boss Long is such a serious person. After accepting such an apprentice, doesn¡¯t he feel as if he received the wrong goods?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°How is that possible? Where would he find such an obedient and motivated apprentice?¡± Liu Qingbo wanted to vomit blood. When the two of them returned, Zhang Song and the others were waiting for them impatiently. Dong Zhi took everyone to the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau. Because of his arrogance, in order to show fairness, Yang Shouyi tied up his left arm as he pulled out his sword with his other hand and said to Dong Zhi, ¡°Now it¡¯s fair.¡± He was so serious that Dong Zhi could no longer put on his casual smile. The two stood next to the stream with their swords in hand. Neither moved as if they were testing each other¡¯s patience. Yang Shouyi stood in place, as did Dong Zhi. At first glance, they looked similar, but under careful examination, they could be distinguished. Yang Shouyi was solemn. His gaze was like an eagle¡¯s or a falcon¡¯s, looking for the slightest flaw in his opponent. While Dong Zhi looked relaxed on the outside, he was tense inside. His grip on the sword tightened along with his body. The waterfall that flowed down from the top of the mountain would splash a few drops of water on their bodies from time to time, gradually condensing before dripping down, but no one wiped it. A water drop hung at the corner of Dong Zhi¡¯s eyelash, but it didn¡¯t drop. Feeling the weight on his eyelash, Dong Zhi slightly blinked. At this moment, Yang Shouyi suddenly moved! His sword was longer and wider than the Changshou Sword, but when his wrist moved at this moment, it immediately diffused dazzling sword light, as if the sword were an insignificant object in his hand. He used this light to seal off all retreat in front of and behind Dong Zhi. No matter which way Dong Zhi wanted to dodge, the sword light would rush towards it and cut him off. Liu Qingbo¡¯s light-hearted expression was instantly restrained and became serious. Li Han¡¯er and Zhong Song looked surprised. Except for Liu Si, everyone present was an expert in swordsmanship. Even if Li Han¡¯er and Zhang Song used talismans together with their swords, they had practiced with them since their childhood. Naturally, they could see how dazzling Yang Shouyi¡¯s swordsmanship was. Not only dazzling but also murderous, as fierce as ice and snow. After this attack passed, how would Dong Zhi deal with it? Dong Zhi knew his shortcomings. After all, he hadn¡¯t practiced since he was a child. For more than a year, no matter how good his talent was, even if he was practicing every day outside of eating and sleeping, it was impossible to achieve the same proficiency as Yang Shouyi and the others. Long Shen also knew this well, so the cultivation plan he formulated for Dong Zhi was to promote strengths while avoiding weaknesses, allowing Dong Zhi to make full use of his advantages. For instance, in sword practice, Long Shen didn¡¯t teach Dong Zhi that kind of cumbersome and dazzling swordsmanship. Naturally, it could confuse the enemy, but if the fire wasn¡¯t there, it would be easy for him to bind himself. Instead, he taught Dong Zhi practical moves, like stabbing, sweeping, slashing, thrusting, and turning, without the fancy and superfluous movements. Long Shen had even asked Dong Zhi to stand still and not fight back to meet his countless attacks, then told him to try and find an escape route and retaliate. At first, Dong Zhi was scared to death, but later he gradually calmed down, and his eyes didn¡¯t even blink. It could be said that this was all the experience accumulated through blood and tears. Long Shen had come from thousands of years of bloodshed, not to mention that he was originally an artifact spirit. Furthermore, given his swordsmanship, even someone at Zong Ling¡¯s or Che Bai¡¯s level may not be able to find a weakness, let alone a rookie like Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi could only try to escape and fight back from attack after attack, and finally he was barely able to retreat. Long Shen also explained to him the various points of active and passive attacks during a fight. It could be said he was imparting his own experience on Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi, who was talented and willing to work hard, couldn¡¯t justify himself under such learning conditions if he couldn¡¯t at least achieve a basic satisfactory result. So when Yang Shouyi¡¯s sword struck, Dong Zhi¡¯s instinct turned on. Since Yang Shouyi was wielding the sword with his right hand, the place where he defended most tightly was naturally the right side of his body, leaving his left side negligent. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t meet him head-on but moved in the direction of his left arm. He jumped, causing the sword light to rise and fall, while his other hand, wrapped in gauze, grabbed a talisman. Accompanied by the sword light, he stuffed the talisman into his mouth and spat it at his opponent¡¯s right arm. The talisman paper turned into a flash of fire and swept towards the sword wind. Yang Shouyi¡¯s sword cut the talisman paper in half before it ignited and aimed it at Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulder, but the moment the talisman fire was split by the sword wind, sparks splashed everywhere; some going into Yang Shouyi¡¯s eyes. This made him close his eyes, and his movement stagnated for a moment. But it was in this moment of stagnation that Dong Zhi had already reached Yang Shouyi¡¯s left shoulder with the Qingzhu Sword! Yang Shouyi felt a chill on his cheek, as if liquid had fallen. The hair tie on the bun on top of his head loosened, causing his hair to spill, scattering all over his head. Yang Shouyi grew up on Qingcheng Mountain, so he naturally wore his hair in a Daoist bun. On the way from Qingcheng Mountain to the General Administration Bureau, he was noticed by passersby, who gave him salutes. Yang Shouyi stretched out his hand and touched it, finding that there was blood on his fingers. Seeing this, Dong Zhi said apologetically, ¡°I couldn¡¯t hold back just now. Sorry!¡± Zhang Song frowned and said, ¡°He was using a sword with his hand tied. Is it fair for you to use both sword and talisman together?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°Lao Yang¡¯s sword is too fast. I really can¡¯t win without a talisman. Do you want to try again?¡± Yang Shouyi shook his head. ¡°No, I didn¡¯t say that you only have to use swords. Since you won, I recognized you as the captain of the team.¡± Zhang Song said, ¡°I don¡¯t!¡± Liu Qingbo clenched his fist and smiled grimly. ¡°Why wait for tomorrow? Let¡¯s have a match right now!¡± Zhang Song said, ¡°Let¡¯s go. You think I¡¯m afraid of you?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Let me do it. Lao Zhang, you can use talismans, and I¡¯ll also use talismans. We¡¯ll have a match between talismans, and you don¡¯t need to tie your hand. Is that fair?¡± Zhang Song curled his lips and nodded, then said, ¡°Daoist Dong, please don¡¯t be so familiar with me. My name is Zhang Song, not Lao Zhang.¡± Dong Zhi let out a sigh. ¡°Okay, Xiao Zhang.¡± Zhang Song: ¡­¡­* *Clarity: As a reminder, using Lao before a name generally is a sign of closeness, so Dong Zhi is like saying ¡°Zhang, my old bud¡±, but Zhang Song doesn¡¯t like this address, so Dong Zhi got cheeky and called him Xiao (generally used for someone younger than you) instead. This address was even more unpleasant, as if he had been relegated to the younger generation, but Dong Zhi refused to change it now. Zhang Song¡¯s face twitched when he heard this, and he thought he would cut this person to death in a while. The two sides stood still, each holding a talisman while chanting a mantra. Zhang Song was worthy of being a great disciple from Mount Longhu. He pointed his sword, which was standing in front of his chest, as he pinched a talisman with one hand to trigger the four directions and the five elements. Not long after, Dong Zhi felt the soil under his feet loosen, but before he could move, the originally solid ground suddenly softened and swallowed his feet. It wrapped around him like he¡¯d fallen into a swamp. It was difficult to extricate himself as there were a pair of arms grabbing his feet and pulling him down, and soon, all parts below Dong Zhi¡¯s ankle were swallowed. Zhang Song wasn¡¯t idle either. He took out another talisman and threw it in the air. Under his manipulation, the talisman paper turned into a spark and quickly flew towards Dong Zhi, just like how Dong Zhi had dealt with Yang Shouyi just now. It was obvious Zhang Song wanted Dong Zhi to taste defeat with the same move he used to win previously. But at this moment, he heard a noise in the sky. From far away and getting closer, he couldn¡¯t help but look up and see rolling thunder clouds covering the sun. His hand accelerated faster, pulling out several talismans, which ignited and became fireballs. Before Dong Zhi had time to lead the thunder successfully, those fireballs flew towards him. It was enough to burn him to a crisp. Unfortunately, while it was fast, lightning had already struck. It was a small bolt, as thin as silk. Seeing this, Zhang Song couldn¡¯t help but laugh and think that such a small bolt wouldn¡¯t even extinguish the talisman fires, let alone kill him. While he was lost in his thoughts, the lightning bolt didn¡¯t strike him or the talisman but instead split the pool under the waterfall. When the bolt struck, the surface of the pool of water was instantly disturbed, splashing water everywhere. Nothing in the area was spared. Zhang Song was doused with a faceful of water, and even the fireballs were extinguished. Zhang Song: ¡­¡­ Before he could get angry, another lightning bolt struck. This time, the thunder clouds had been brewing for a long time, so the power was much greater, and the target was directly aimed at Zhang Song. Zhang Song didn¡¯t have the mind to care about Dong Zhi any longer. He turned around and jumped onto the branch of the tree next to him. Seeing the heavenly lightning in hot pursuit, he had to jump to the stone nearby, then to a few other places, to avoid the lightning. Lightning finally struck the stone he had just been on a second before. With a loud noise, the stone exploded, causing Zhang Song¡¯s hands and feet to be scrapped by the flying debris. Drops of water dripped down on his head and face, making him look entirely wretched. Dong Zhi had taken advantage of this time and pulled himself out of the quagmire. Although he also became a drenched chicken*, it was obvious who the victor was between the two drenched chickens. *(ÂäÌÀ¼¦) Metaphor for a person who is soaked or has suffered a great loss of fame and fortune but could also referred to someone being physical drenched in water. If it was a fluke that Dong Zhi beat Yang Shouyi just now, it couldn¡¯t be said that he could be lucky so many times. It was due to his flexibility and adaptability that he was able to take full advantage of the battlefield. Naturally, Yang Shouyi didn¡¯t dare underestimate the new leader of the team, and even Li Han¡¯er was slightly shaken. In any case, being able to attract heavenly lightning in such a short period of time was itself a manifestation of strength. Li Han¡¯er had been on Maoshan since she was a child and naturally knew that summoning lightning wasn¡¯t an easy task. More importantly, she knew that Long Shen didn¡¯t know this technique, which meant Dong Zhi learned it from somewhere else. If he could learn to summon thunder so easily, was it also effortless for him to learn other things? Was it because he was extremely talented and flexible that Long Shen looked at him differently? Just as she was thinking this, Dong Zhi asked Zhang Song, ¡°Still want to fight?¡± Zhang Song felt embarrassed as he was defeated in front of Li Han¡¯er and Yang Shouyi. He wiped the beads of water from his face and said coldly, ¡°No, I lost.¡± Liu Qingbo sneered. ¡°Lost? What do you mean lost? Let¡¯s have another fight if you¡¯re not convinced.¡± He was anxious to stir up more trouble and couldn¡¯t wait to roll up his sleeves and have a fight with Zhang Song. Zhang Song ignored Liu Qingbo and kept looking at Dong Zhi. ¡°Is there anything else we need to discuss today? If not, I want to go back to change clothes.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°If there are no other opinions, then today¡¯s sparring is over. I have something to say first. Starting tomorrow, I don¡¯t want anyone to have any more grievances or dissatisfaction.¡± Dong Zhi was drenched and had his arm hanging. Given his image right now, there really was no heavy aura, but he was expressionless. He had just won two matches back-to-back. Even Zhang Song didn¡¯t object. And with no objection, that meant they had to acquiesce to Dong Zhi. Li Han¡¯er said, ¡°Captain, will we come here for training tomorrow?¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s expression relaxed and softened a bit. ¡°No need. This time it¡¯s going to be a long trip. Everyone must have a lot of things to bring, so prepare your luggage first. If there¡¯s any notice from Boss Song, I¡¯ll let you know. Wait for the day of departure and we¡¯ll meet and talk then.¡± He originally wanted to take advantage of the fact that everyone had just met, especially given the two new team members, and invite them all out for a meal to get better acquainted, but it seemed that no one had any intention of going to dinner. He might as well save some time and spend more of it with his master. After the dissolution, Zhang Song quickly disappeared. Yang Shouyi and Li Han¡¯er at least greeted Dong Zhi before leaving. Liu Si said he still had things to do, so he also left, leaving only Liu Qingbo behind, who curled his lips at Dong Zhi. ¡°You know it¡¯s not easy being captain, right?¡± Dong Zhi spread his hands. ¡°Then do you want it? I actually don¡¯t want it.¡± Liu Qingbo gave him a look of ¡°no thanks¡± and said, ¡°Forget it. I¡¯m afraid I won¡¯t be able to hold myself back from beating a someone surnamed Zhang.¡± Dong Zhi laughed. ¡°You have to hold yourself back. We still have to spend more than ten days together. Let¡¯s go. I¡¯ll treat you to dinner later, after we wash off.¡± Dong Zhi pondered whether his master and Boss Wu had finished their meeting. The two of them stopped by the conference to have a look. Long Shen had just come out from inside, looking extremely tired. Dong Zhi poked his head around and found that Wu Bingtian and Tang Jing weren¡¯t there. ¡°Master, have you finished your meeting?¡± Long Shen nodded. ¡°Is there anything wrong?¡± ¡°No, I just wanted to ask if you wanted to have dinner together with us, but you should go back and rest!¡± Seeing him like this, Dong Zhi felt a bit distressed. Long Shen hummed. ¡°Go on your own. I have other things to do with Boss Wu and Tang Jing.¡± He was indeed tired; not the fatigue from physical exhaustion but being mentally overdrawn after the meeting. Dong Zhi nodded and added, ¡°Then you don¡¯t have to wait for me at night.¡± In the past few days, he had been sleeping in Long Shen¡¯s dorm. If he needed to read information at night, Long Shen would accompany him until he finished reading. Their living habits were getting closer to each other. Long Shen didn¡¯t say anything, but he was gradually learning to trust and tolerate the other out of desire. Facing the kindness of his apprentice, he raised his hand and touched Dong Zhi¡¯s face, then told him not to stay out too late, and then walked to the other end of the corridor. As the relationship between the two changed, there were more intimate actions, and often inadvertently, they became natural habits. His movements were so natural that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t notice anything wrong until he looked away and realized that Liu Qingbo was still standing by his side. The author has something to say: Liu Qingbo: ????????????????? Kinky Thoughts: Liu Qingbo inadvertently ate a handful of dog food without knowing it. CH 122 Liu Qingbo said with an odd expression, ¡°Your relationship between master and apprentice is really good!¡± He didn¡¯t know what Long Shen¡¯s true body was. He just faintly knew that Long Shen¡¯s age might not be as young as he looked on the outside. Even so, because of his young and handsome face, he really couldn¡¯t treat Long Shen as an elder. He thought if Long Shen had touched his face like just now, he would have gotten goosebumps. Then the question arose, was it related to his personal style that he didn¡¯t succeed in being accepted as an apprentice? Boss Long looked unkind, but in fact, he liked the sticky and coquettish apprentice like Dong Zhi? When Liu Qingbo asked this question, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know how to answer, so he asked rhetorically, ¡°When did I become sticky? Do you see me being sticky? Am I sticky to Boss Wu or Boss Song?¡± That was true¡­ Liu Qingbo rubbed his chin, still feeling confused. He felt that Long Shen¡¯s action just now was indeed a bit strange. In fact, there was nothing wrong with this issue at first. It was just Long Shen, and Dong Zhi didn¡¯t intend to take the initiative to publicize it. Dong Zhi sighed and decided to take the initiative to solve Liu Qingbo¡¯s mystery in order to prevent him from continuing to slide into the abyss of strange thoughts and beginning to doubt Long Shen¡¯s character. ¡°Master and I are together.¡± Liu Qingbo looked even more confused. ¡°What do you mean, together?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Like in love, having sex. Is this explanation clear enough?¡± It was clear enough, but Liu Qingbo was so shocked by the sudden news that he forgot to close his mouth. ¡°You, with Boss Long?¡± Dong Zhi nodded, waiting for Liu Qingbo to slowly digest it. ¡°But you¡¯re master and apprentice!¡± Liu Qingbo said in disbelief. Two men falling in love¡ªwell, it wasn¡¯t unusual. After all, even the Australian Parliament had legalized same-sex marriage now, but it was mainly because he couldn¡¯t associate Long Shen, who was indifferent for thousands of years, with ever falling in love. Thinking about it like this, his brain circuit suddenly turned in a mysterious and unpredictable direction. Then, it finally dawned on him, and he blushed. ¡°Is it possible that the prerequisite for being accepted by Boss Long is to fall in love with him?¡± Since he thought about it that way, should he be glad he didn¡¯t succeed in becoming his apprentice? Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ ¡°I think it¡¯s a pity you joined the Special Administration Bureau. With your imagination, you would be popular writing fantasy novels,¡± Dong Zhi suggested sincerely. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m a normal person. It¡¯s reasonable that I can¡¯t react for a while from the shock, okay?¡± Dong Zhi thought, ¡®You blow hot air at every turn and often act tsundere. In my heart, you¡¯re anything but normal.¡¯ But he kept it to himself and didn¡¯t dare to say anything. Otherwise, the young master would probably walk away without talking to him for at least half a month. After the shock, Liu Qingbo gradually returned to normal and didn¡¯t ask any more questions. After all, that was a private matter between the two of them. As long as it didn¡¯t interfere with business, it had nothing to do with him. This was Liu Qingbo. If it were He Yu, he would already make a fuss about it and run to Long Shen for verification. As soon as He Yu¡¯s big mouth knew it, Kan Chaosheng and Zhong Yuyi would as well, and then the entire Special Administration would probably know. Thinking of this, Dong Zhi twitched the corners of his mouth and decided it was better not to tell He Yu and the others for the time being. These days, the Lucheng office was doing well. It was said that after the superiors praised the Lucheng office, several offices in the same province sent people to learn from them. One of them included Ba Sang, who was in the same training session as them. Liu Qingbo wasn¡¯t familiar with Ba Sang. Originally, he didn¡¯t want to have idle chatter, but to give Dong Zhi some face, the two still exchanged a few pleasantries. Ba Sang said that he had found a girlfriend. The other party wasn¡¯t a practitioner but a high school teacher. He asked Liu Qingbo to tell Dong Zhi that he would come visit him to play when he was free. There were many single, beautiful girls at his girlfriend¡¯s school that he could introduce Dong Zhi to. Since the end of training, everyone had gone their separate ways. Dong Zhi, along with others, had been busy. Although there were various online groups, there wasn¡¯t an opportunity for everyone to get together and chat. After Liu Qingbo went to Lucheng, he also knew how busy Dong Zhi was. From the dismemberment case to Yamamoto Kiyoshi, and later Han Qi, who led them to Southeast Asia, to fighting the Wuzhiqi and discovering the stone tablet, everything happened so quickly that they forgot to contact old friends. Hearing Ba Sang¡¯s recent situation, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°This kid is so fast. He¡¯s already got a girlfriend!¡± Liu Qingbo narrowed his eyes. ¡°You have the nerve to talk about other people when you¡¯re near the water tower*?¡± *(½üˮ¥̨) Metaphor referring to getting some kind of benefit or convenience because of being close to someone/something. || In this context, he¡¯s chiding Dong Zhi for making that comment considering how close he is to Long Shen. ¡°Then why don¡¯t I introduce you to someone?¡± Dong Zhi scratched his nose. Ever since he started pursuing Long Shen, he seemed to have increased the thickness of his skin. Liu Qingbo snorted and refused straight away. ¡°Forget it. The one who¡¯s worthy of me hasn¡¯t been born yet!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ Though the two hadn¡¯t been separated for long, there was a period of time when Dong Zhi was in Southeast Asia that they didn¡¯t have contact. Liu Qingbo was interested in how they dealt with the phantom of the heavenly demon and the sorcerer Songen. Last time, due to time constraints and network delay, he didn¡¯t get to ask much on the video chat. Now he inquired about it again, and Dong Zhi went into more details. After listening, his face didn¡¯t relax but became more solemn. ¡°According to this, will the wisp of the demonic qi of the heavenly demon be more difficult to deal with than the Archfiend?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°It¡¯s hard to say. Although it¡¯s just a wisp of demonic qi from the phantom of Mara¡¯s body, the qi comes from the demon king Mara himself. Master reminded me that since the phantom body can become independent from the main body, this wisp of demonic qi must have self-awareness. It may hide, disguise, and then wait for the opportunity to attack others. Before we set off, I¡¯ll find an opportunity to talk to Zhang Song and the others, but I¡¯m afraid they will not be relieved after hearing this. In the end, we still need to be extra cautious.¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°Understood. I¡¯ll ask my family to send me a sword tomorrow.¡± Dong Zhi was puzzled. ¡°Don¡¯t you have the Yinxiu Sword?¡± ¡°My grandfather has a sword, which is said to be the sword used by Zhong Kui*. It¡¯s most suitable for slaying demons and spirits. This time, I¡¯ll exaggerate the matter of the demonic qi, so I believe he¡¯ll be soft-hearted!¡± Liu Qingbo was pumping himself up, eager to try. *Deity in Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher or ghosts and evil beings. He¡¯s depicted as a large man with a big black beard, bulging eyes, and a wrathful expression. He is also known as the king of ghosts. Dong Zhi was speechless. ¡°Swords also have spirits. Is it really okay for you to like the new and tired of the old?¡± Liu Qingbo sighed. ¡°Boss Long also mentioned this problem, but whenever I see a good sword, my heart gets itchy. This time, after I switch to using my grandfather¡¯s secret sword from Zhong Kui, I won¡¯t change it again. It¡¯s only a sword like that that can match me!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­¡­ He suddenly felt that it wasn¡¯t such a big deal for him to talk about master-apprentice love, because there was a much more narcissistic person here. After eating, the two parted ways. Liu Qingbo¡¯s family had a house in the capital, so he didn¡¯t have to stay at the Special Administration Bureau. He also needed to rush back to pack his things and get up early tomorrow for practice. Dong Zhi, on the other hand, returned to the Special Administration Bureau. He first went to his dorm to feed the cat and found that it wasn¡¯t there and saw that its rice bowl was still full. He went to the opposite room and, sure enough, saw Long Shen casually lying on the sofa while the big white cat was lying next to him. The lights in the living room were turned off, but the light in the foyer turned on when Dong Zhi entered. No matter how lightly Dong Zhi moved, Long Shen immediately opened his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re back.¡± In the past, Long Shen wouldn¡¯t say much of this knowing nonsense. He often had a confusion that was unlike that of normal humans, and precisely because of this, he sometimes couldn¡¯t understand this kind of detailed behavior. But now, he gradually understood. In fact, things like ¡°I¡¯m back¡± or ¡°I¡¯ve eaten¡± seemed meaningless, but when said with concern, they were meaningful. From just one sentence, Dong Zhi could hear the fatigue in Long Shen¡¯s voice. ¡°Why don¡¯t you go to sleep in the room? It¡¯s uncomfortable here.¡± Instead of walking towards Long Shen as usual, Dong Zhi went to the bedroom first, took out a thin blanket, and covered Long Shen. ¡°I¡¯m not going to catch a cold.¡± Long Shen thought what Dong Zhi did was interesting and couldn¡¯t help but chuckle. ¡°It¡¯s more comfortable like this.¡± Dong Zhi leaned over and sat next to the two of them. The white cat didn¡¯t bother moving and instead flicked its tail as if to greet him. Dong Zhi petted the cat¡¯s head and saw the information spread out on Long Shen¡¯s knees. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± He didn¡¯t lean over to look. Although the relationship between the two was different from before, in business matters, Dong Zhi always adhered to the principle of confidentiality at the Special Administration Bureau. He would not ask questions that shouldn¡¯t be asked. He felt that this was the minimum of professional ethics. It had nothing to do with whether the two of them were inseparable. ¡°You can read it.¡± Long Shen took the initiative to hand over the information. After scanning the contents, Dong Zhi found that it was information on Atsuta Shrine. ¡°Is it related to the whereabouts of Li Ying and the others?¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Every autumn and winter, Otowa will retreat to Atsuta Shrine or Ise Shrine. According to the news received, he went to Atsuta Shrine not long ago and hasn¡¯t left since.¡± Dong Zhi immediately reacted. ¡°This may be a trap!¡± The other party was waiting for the rabbit¡ªwaiting for someone from the Special Administration Bureau to take the initiative to come to their door and get caught. Long Shen said in a deep voice, ¡°Yes, but we have to go. In any case, it¡¯s necessary to save Li Ying and Yu Buhai, and there must be an end to the matter of the stone tablets.¡± Like Songen, Otowa Yasuhiko liked to use magic qi to refine souls, creating all kinds of appalling and unimaginable monstrosities, which, in their opinion, were extremely creative. Although Ding Lan¡¯s soul lamp was extinguished, they wanted to verify if he was still alive or find his corpse if he was dead. It was impossible for the Special Administration Bureau to leave them outside and let them fend for themselves. The tragedy of Dong Zhilan had happened once, and it must not be repeated. More importantly, they must thoroughly find the key to the demon seal from Otowa and solve the mystery of the stone tablets once and for all. Dong Zhi knew that Long Shen and the others would be well prepared, but the enemy was hiding in the shadows while they were in the clear, so it was impossible not to worry. ¡°It¡¯s getting late. Are you going to sleep?¡± Long Shen asked him. Dong Zhi shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t drink just now, so I¡¯m not sleepy.¡± ¡°Then let¡¯s go.¡± Long Shen got up and said, ¡°Let¡¯s go out for a walk.¡± It was rare for Long Shen to take the initiative to invite him. In the past, Dong Zhi would have been overjoyed, but now he was less enthusiastic. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± Seeing that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t move, Long Shen stretched out his hand and pulled him up. ¡°Shall I carry you?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°Really?¡± Long Shen nodded. In the end, he didn¡¯t let Long Shen carry him. The two went downstairs to the underground garage and got into the Land Rover that hadn¡¯t been driven in a long time. Dong Zhi saw Long Shen drive out of the garage and head towards the highway, as if he had a destination in mind, and it wasn¡¯t simply going out for a walk like he said. ¡°Master, where are we going?¡± he couldn¡¯t help asking. ¡°My house,¡± Long Shen replied. Dong Zhi¡¯s brain suddenly short-circuited. He suddenly became nervous and even stammered a little. ¡°Are there elders? Do I need to buy gifts?¡± ¡°I have no parents, so where would there be elders?¡± Long Shen felt a bit helpless. ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you a long time ago that I have a house in the city?¡± He casually fished out a set of keys from the glove compartment and handed them to Dong Zhi. ¡°Car and house keys. Take it and use it when needed. You don¡¯t need to ask me.¡± Dong Zhi stared at the strings of keys and didn¡¯t take them. ¡°No, I live in the dorm pretty well, and I don¡¯t need a car.¡± He said this in a low voice and turned to look at the scenery passing by the car window, not wanting Long Shen to find that his eyes were turning red. Long Shen didn¡¯t say anything but instead stuffed the keys into his hands. Dong Zhi clenched his palms tightly, as if he didn¡¯t feel any pain from the sharp edges of the key jabbing into his skin. ¡°Master, can you stop acting as if you¡¯re handing out your last will?¡± ¡°I¡¯m really not sure about how things will turn out in Japan,¡± Long Shen said, ¡°but giving you these things has nothing to do with my trip. This is just making it more convenient for you.¡± Dong Zhi took a deep breath and said slowly, ¡°I don¡¯t want the key. If you want to give it to me, just wait until you return, okay?¡± Seeing that he insisted, Long Shen didn¡¯t force the issue. ¡°Okay.¡± Dong Zhi said in a low voice, ¡°I really want to go to Japan with you in spite of everything.¡± Long Shen freed up one hand and patted Dong Zhi¡¯s leg, silently comforting him, then retracted it and continued to hold the steering wheel without saying anything. Long Shen knew that his apprentice was just talking and had already learned how to take responsibility, for himself and for others. His future would be bright, and not only would he become an excellent practitioner, but he would also advance to a suitable position. Even without his guidance and care, Dong Zhi would still be able to spread his wings and soar. Although Dong Zhi refused the key, he had already taken the car out, so Long Shen took him to his house anyway for a tour. The house was large, and the location was good. It was a small villa that was quiet in the middle of nowhere, away from the hustle and bustle. Since no one had stayed there for too long, it had a cold and desolate feeling. Dong Zhi looked around and found that apart from a few personal decorations, the rest of the house was just basic facilities. It could be seen that Long Shen rarely stayed here himself. For Dong Zhi, the value of the home lay in the people who lived in it, and a place without Long Shen was the same anywhere. Seeing that he wasn¡¯t interested, Long Shen didn¡¯t say much and took him away again. ¡°Go back?¡± It was rare for them to go out, so Dong Zhi thought for a moment. ¡°Let¡¯s go around and find a lively place to go? Today¡¯s Christmas.¡± In fact, he had already forgotten what day it was, and he didn¡¯t remember until he saw the decorations on the street. Most Easterners may just want a lively Christmas, but this didn¡¯t prevent businesses from taking the opportunity to promote activities and enhance the festive atmosphere. Over time, everyone would have the jolly feeling of the holidays, with Christmas being a hodgepodge of their holiday spirit. Walking along the streets with Long Shen, Dong Zhi saw no less than three flower shops offering Christmas flower delivery along the way. The long and clean street was crowded with people and got even livelier after nightfall. They walked against the crowd, seemingly going against the flow and looking out of place. Dong Zhi suddenly laughed out loud. ¡°I remember that once you took me to get the Qingzhu Sword, and we were walking on such a road. At that time, there were no people, and I hoped that the road would never end.¡± There was always some bitterness to a secret love, but after it was uncovered, it would turn into sweetness. Long Shen: ¡°I didn¡¯t know at that time.¡± He didn¡¯t know that Dong Zhi wanted to worship him because he had such feelings for him. Dong Zhi was curious. ¡°What would happen if you knew it then?¡± Long Shen: ¡°What do you think would happen?¡± Dong Zhi thought about Long Shen¡¯s initial reaction and scratched his nose embarrassedly. ¡°I might have been beaten up and thrown out of the capital!¡± Not to mention the apprenticeship, he probably couldn¡¯t even enter the gate of the Special Administration Bureau. From then on, he would have no chance of seeing Long Shen again. Thinking about it that way, it seemed a bit tragic and comical. Long Shen said, ¡°There is no if, and now is now. Asking about it assumes that you¡¯re asking for trouble.¡± A young girl came over with a basket of flowers. When she saw couples walking together, she would ask if they would like to purchase one. During this kind of holiday, she could easily sell bundles in the blink of an eye. When she came to Dong Zhi, there were a few scattered flowers left in the basket. She glanced at Dong Zhi and Long Shen. She originally saw two men and didn¡¯t think much about it. When she was about to pass by, she caught sight of the backs of their hands touching under their coats and thanked her lucky stars. She hurriedly stopped and smiled sweetly at them. ¡°Two little brothers, do you want to buy flowers? There are just a few of the most beautiful ones left, so won¡¯t you buy them?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t move. He didn¡¯t have the idea of gifting flowers to express romance yet, but Dong Zhi had already rejected the other party. ¡°I have a boyfriend who¡¯s more beautiful than flowers. Why would I need them?¡± The girl was dumbfounded, not knowing whether she was stunned by his outright, but righteous, stinginess or that he could blurt out such cheesy words without even blinking. Did one have to be extremely flirtatious these days to find a handsome guy as their boyfriend? Before she could collect her thoughts, Dong Zhi and Long Shen had already walked away. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t couples use flowers to express their feelings?¡± Long Shen asked. Although he lived far longer than most people, he never took the time to ponder or pay attention to trivial things that he had never experienced or that didn¡¯t matter to him. Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°Not necessarily. There are many people who think that beautiful words can lift their mood, and usually they are said to women by men.¡± Long Shen questioned, ¡°But flowers are the reproductive organs of plants, so doesn¡¯t sending flowers mean you want to reproduce with the other party?¡± Dong Zhi almost choked on his spit. According to this logic, there was no need to send flowers between men since they couldn¡¯t have children. He even thought of the first divine intercourse when he was transformed into a delicate flower that was devastated by the storm. Later, he knew the scenes he saw in the divine intercourse were all consciousness incarnations taking on a figurative form, but looking back, he still couldn¡¯t bear to look at them directly. ¡°Master, please stop talking.¡± His voice became a little weak. Long Shen really stopped. He held Dong Zhi¡¯s hand, ignoring whether it was crowded or not. As long as he wanted to, he didn¡¯t care about the eyes of others. The two walked for a while until Dong Zhi saw the logo of the Oriental Plaza* in front of them and proposed to find a caf¨¦ to sit in for a while. Long Shen naturally had no objection. *One of the largest comprehensive commercial buildings in Beijing. It has a mixture of entertainment, commercial buildings, shopping, and food. Pushing the glass door open, the warm wind blew on his face. It felt like he instantly went from winter into late spring. Inside the plaza, it was livelier than outside. Christmas music was playing everywhere, and glass balls and colorful lights covered the shopping malls. There was a large Christmas tree in the middle with many people gathered around it taking pictures. Dong Zhi found a caf¨¦ next to the Christmas tree and took Long Shen there. He ordered two matcha lattes, with his own drink with less sugar while Long Shen¡¯s with full sugar. He still remembered that Long Shen had no obsession with eating, and the only thing that could be called a hobby was his preference for sweets. ¡°When I used to live by myself, I would bring a few bunches of flowers to my house every New Year¡¯s, but after I met you, I didn¡¯t like it anymore,¡± Dong Zhi said. He held his latte and lowered his head to take a sip. The warm and sweet taste made Dong Zhi show a slight sense of happiness. Long Shen looked at him for a moment without blinking. ¡°Why?¡± The sweetness flowed down his throat into his stomach and warmed up his body. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but let out a comfortable sigh. He smiled and said softly, ¡°Because after knowing your original form, I vowed to take good care of all creatures in the world.¡± Because of Long Shen, whenever he saw a sword or knife, he would feel that they may have a chance to transform. Even if it were a flower or grass, he would involuntarily soften his heart. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t feel that he was great, but he just loved the house, which extended even to the crows perched on its roof*. *(°®Îݼ°ÎÚ) Metaphor referring to loving a person and caring about the people and things related to him. His heart was originally small, but it was Long Shen who put the world in it. On Christmas Eve, the caf¨¦ was bustling with activity. Couples could take a couple¡¯s photo and would get a free second cup, but the photos had to be hung on the caf¨¦ board. With the excellent appearance of the two, it naturally attracted inquiries from the clerk. The clerk said that the couple didn¡¯t need to be of opposite sexes. It was open to anyone as long as they were willing to take a couple¡¯s photo. Dong Zhi and Long Shen had a special profession, so photos usually weren¡¯t taken when they went out. Dong Zhi was about to decline when Long Shen said, ¡°Can you take a photo of us? We don¡¯t need the free drink. I want to keep the photo for myself.¡± The clerk readily agreed and took Long Shen¡¯s phone. She took a few pictures of the two sitting together, making sure to capture a good angle of Dong Zhi under the lighting. Long Shen thanked her and gave her a tip. Dong Zhi asked Long Shen to let him see the photos, then chose the best one and made it his phone¡¯s wallpaper. When Long Shen saw this, he caught on and also set a photo as his phone¡¯s wallpaper. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°Master, this will make it easy for you to be questioned by others!¡± Especially the big bosses of the Special Administration Bureau who interacted with Long Shen, and even the higher ups. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t imagine their expression when they saw this. Although the two of them were next to each other in the couple photo, there wasn¡¯t any excessive behavior. At most, Dong Zhi was smiling brightly, and the corners of Long Shen¡¯s mouth were slightly hitched, but what master would use a photo of his apprentice as their phone¡¯s wallpaper? Although he was his master¡¯s closest person now. Long Shen didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± The two sat until about 8, when the mall was about to close. They didn¡¯t talk much. Most of the time, they sat like they were in a daze. Dong Zhi shrank lazily on the caf¨¦ sofa. He felt good as he watched the tourist leave, and he didn¡¯t want to move an inch. ¡°Sleepy?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t have much free time throughout the year, so sitting quietly and doing nothing was a bit uncomfortable at first, but gradually he was able to enjoy his rare leisure time. ¡°It¡¯s okay. I just don¡¯t want to go back.¡± Dong Zhi yawned. Tomorrow, Long Shen would leave the Special Administration Bureau and go to a secret place with Wu Bingtian and Tang Jing, then leave the country under a false identity. In other words, tonight would be the last night they spend together before parting. ¡°Let¡¯s go. It¡¯s closing soon.¡± Long Shen got up and pulled on him. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t move and instead grabbed Long Shen¡¯s hand. Long Shen felt a bit helpless. He would always indulge his apprentice in non-principle matters. ¡°I¡¯ll carry you on my back.¡± Dong Zhi felt a bit embarrassed, but Long Shen had already squatted down with his back to him and motioned for him to climb on, so he could only go with it. Among the surprised gaze of many, Long Shen walked out steadily carrying Dong Zhi on his back. Dong Zhi coughed lightly and buried his head into Long Shen¡¯s neck like an ostrich. ¡°Master.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± ¡°I love you.¡± His voice was close, and even the heat passed through the ears and straight to the heart. Kinky Thoughts: Yes, Dong Zhi did say [wo ai ni] (ÎÒ°®Äã) so this is not just a simple ¡°like¡±. This marks the end of the anniversary release. I will be taking a break for the rest of this month, so releases will be extremely sporadic until at least January. Thank you everyone for your support, comments, Ko-fi donations, and help throughout the past year. Here¡¯s hoping for more danmei in 2023. Wishing everyone an (early) happy holidays. ¡ª- Zhong Kui A deity in Chinese mythology, traditionally regarded as a vanquisher of ghosts and evil beings. He is depicted as a large man with a big black beard, bulging eyes, and a wrathful expression. Zhong Kui is able to command 80,000 demons to do his bidding and is often associated with the five bats of fortune. He became the King of Ghost after committing suicide when he was stripped of his title top-scorer by the emperor due to his disfigured and ugly appearance. Seeing potential in him, Yama bestowed the title ¡°king of ghosts¡± on him and tasked him with hunting, capturing, taking charge of, and maintaining discipline and order among all ghosts. CH 123 Early the next morning, before dawn, Long Shen had already woken up, while Dong Zhi was still sound asleep. Long Shen hugged Dong Zhi and touched his forehead, which roused him. Dong Zhi opened his eyes in a daze and saw Long Shen standing neatly dressed by the bed. The last bit of his drowsiness immediately dissipated. ¡°Are you leaving now?¡± Long Shen hummed. ¡°You should go back to sleep. It¡¯s not even 5 yet.¡± Dong Zhi rubbed his eyes, got up, and gave Long Shen a hug, then quickly let go. ¡°Master, come back soon. Everything will go well.¡± ¡°Okay.¡± After taking a deep look at Dong Zhi, Long Shen turned and left without looking back. As soon as he left, he was the armored and invulnerable Long Shen again. Leaving the Special Administration Bureau, Long Shen took a taxi to an ordinary residential area in the city. In that area, which was comparable to a maze, he made many twists and turns before arriving at his destination. He swiped his card and entered the elevator, which went straight to the 9th floor. When he stepped out, he knocked on the door of one of the two households. A few moments later, Tang Jing opened the door, and behind him was Wu Bingtian. A map was spread out in the living room, which showed the internal structure of Atsuta Shrine. ¡°News just came from Maoshan,¡± Wu Bingtian said. ¡°They said that Li Ying¡¯s soul lamp hasn¡¯t been extinguished, but it may not last long. We need to hurry.¡± Ding Lan¡¯s soul lamp had already been extinguished, while Yu Buhui didn¡¯t have a soul lamp, so his status was unknown. All that was left was Li Ying. Tang Jing said, ¡°Otowa may have deliberately killed Ding Lan, leaving Li Ying as bait.¡± Still, knowing the other party¡¯s intentions, they couldn¡¯t help but take the bait. In order to rescue Li Ying and Yu Buhui and bring back Ding Lan, two of the three deputy directors of the Special Administration Bureau were personally dispatched. Although Tang Jing was a branch director, he was also extremely capable. This time, it was equivalent to sending the elites of the bureau. Wu Bingtian gave a bitter smile. ¡°Maoshan attaches great importance to Li Ying. If we don¡¯t make a move, they will. I have temporarily stabilized them for now.¡± If Li Ying hadn¡¯t entered the Special Administration Bureau, he would probably have been designated as a candidate for the next sect leader. This showed that the elders of Maoshan attached great importance to him. Even though Maoshan was powerful, they couldn¡¯t compete with the Special Administration Bureau in terms of organization and resources. Li Ying¡¯s master even offered to come with them to rescue him, but Wu Bingtian refused. This time, the more people didn¡¯t mean it was better. Tang Jing said, ¡°Since Boss Wu is going in person, they should be relieved.¡± ¡°To be honest, it¡¯s been a few years since I¡¯ve been out, so I¡¯m a little weak.¡± In front of Long Shen and Tang Jing, Wu Bingtian admitted truthfully. While they knew that Otowa Yasuhiko would definitely set a trap for them, they didn¡¯t know what methods he would use. Although the Special Administration Bureau used various channels to inquire, if the other party wanted to hide it, how could any news leak? Just like how an outsider would have no way of knowing the inner workings of the Special Administration Bureau. At this time, Long Shen put the box he was holding on the table and opened it using the key in his pocket. Wu Bingtian saw that there was a special restriction spell placed on it so that even if someone had the key, they wouldn¡¯t be able to open it. Just as he was about to inquire, he saw light leaking from the box. When the box was fully opened, the entire room was filled with such dazzling light that even the headlights in the room were eclipsed by it. Wu Bingtian and Tang Jing had to turn away to avoid the brightness. Long Shen stretched out his hand and wiped it, causing all the light to instantly disappear. The object itself, which had just been obscured by the light, finally revealed itself. Tang Jing was shocked, while Wu Bingtian hitched his breath. ¡°This is¡ªthe Four-Elements Star Lamp?!¡± ¡°Zong Lao gave it to me,¡± Long Shen said, as he let Tang Jing and Wu Bingtian take a closer look. ¡°But isn¡¯t this lamp useless?¡± Wu Bingtian muttered. The lamp was small and delicate enough to hold in one¡¯s hand. The place where a candle was originally lit was empty. The lamp was square in shape, with lifelike divine beasts wrapped around it. The entire lamp was dark green, carved from jade. However, what shocked Wu Bingtian and Tang Jing wasn¡¯t its age or carvings that were ingenious enough to become a national treasure, but the mysterious origins that had always surrounded it, as well as its top-secret status in the Special Administration Bureau. Tang Jing took a closer look for a while, then suddenly raised his head and looked at Long Shen. ¡°Is it this, Zong Lao¡­?!¡± Long Shen nodded. Wu Bingtian looked back, saw their expression, and quickly understood. ¡°Zong Lao¡¯s sacrifice is too great.¡± He sighed, but there was no doubt that with this lamp, they had a much better chance of winning against Otowa Yasuhiko. Long Shen: ¡°This is just in case. It¡¯s best if we don¡¯t need to use it.¡± He closed the box again. ¡°Have our new identities been created?¡± ¡°Here.¡± As Tang Jing spoke, he took out three sets of documents from a suitcase. IDs, passports, and various forms were all readily available. ¡°Going forward, after entering the country, we¡¯ll be a newlywed couple traveling with our old father to Japan. When we arrive near Atsuta Shrine, someone will pick us up. At that time, I¡¯ll have a new identity, and you¡¯ll each have to act separately. In this way, even if Otowa expects us to come to his door, he won¡¯t know when we¡¯ll show up. If we find that the situation is wrong, we can always escape and try again another day.¡± Wu Bingtian casually said, ¡°Who¡¯s playing the old father?¡± As soon as his voice fell, he found that Tang Jing and Long Shen were both looking at him. Wu Bingtian: ¡­¡­ ¡°How am I old? Can¡¯t you let Boss Long pretend to be the old father?¡± He was unconvinced and protested. Tang Jing smoothly said, ¡°Then it¡¯ll be like some bigshot traveling with his mistress and bodyguard.¡± Wu Bingtian¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°That¡¯s also good!¡± It seemed quite refreshing to have Long Shen call him boss with a flat face. Tang Jing immediately vetoed it. ¡°No, the vehicle and accommodations that are picking us up in Nagoya have already been arranged. It doesn¡¯t fit the identity of some rich elite at all. We¡¯ll be exposed with just one glance. Besides, this helps save us some money!¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡­¡­ This sentence sounded familiar. When the East China Branch asked the General Administration to increase the budget last year, he had blocked it saying such a line. It was true that fortune does turn, and retribution comes quickly. Tang Jing saw that neither of them had any opinions, so he handed them the information. ¡°Your hairstyle and face must change, as well as your expression and tone of speech. I¡¯ll do the makeup while you practice your expression and tone. This is the script.¡± There¡¯s a script? Wu Bingtian was beginning to get a headache, but when he saw that Long Shen had no opinion, he could only swallow back his muttering. When he picked up the script, Wu Bingtian was elated. ¡°It seems that my role isn¡¯t such a big deal. Have you played this kind of role before, Boss Long?¡± Long Shen shook his head. ¡°Let me try.¡± He picked up the script and began to memorize it seriously. ¡­¡­ A day later, two men and a woman walked out of the building. The woman was very young, with bangs draped down on her forehead and long hair. She was dressed in a fashionable dress that had a nondescript taste. The other old man was similar. He wore plain trousers and a shirt, but the shirt was loose but he wore a belt, making the size look a bit inconsistent at first glance. He was bald on top of his head, which was commonly known as the ¡°Mediterranean Sea*¡±. *Basically, referring to baldness where it starts at the top of your head, but the surrounding side still has hair (similar to that of the Mediterranean sea, where it¡¯s the sea that¡¯s surrounded by land). Like this. The young man, who looked like the woman¡¯s husband, was a little better, but not by much. His hair was messy, as if he hadn¡¯t combed it, and the back of it was cocked. He was carrying a backpack and dragging a suitcase, revealing a kind of anxiety that was more like being late for work than going on a trip. ¡°The subway station has a direct route to the airport. Let¡¯s take the subway!¡± The young man said to the other two. The woman glared at him. ¡°You really want to save such little money? Can¡¯t we just call a taxi?¡± The young man didn¡¯t respond as the woman stomped on her high heels and went to hail a cab. The old man rambled in the back, ¡°What does it matter, ah. It¡¯s just the subway!¡± The young man smiled bitterly. ¡°Dad, forget it. Let¡¯s just take a taxi. It¡¯s a bit troublesome to go to the subway with so much luggage!¡± As soon as others listened to the conversation between these people, they could immediately guess the relationship between them. The young man and woman were a couple. They probably had just gotten married but had no children, while the old man was probably the woman¡¯s father, because the man was polite when speaking to him, and wasn¡¯t as casual as he would be to his biological parents. This was probably a family that was going out on a trip, and it seemed like it was their first time going somewhere far away, so their rush had unintentionally or not shown off a bit. Passersby who surmised all this information would probably praise themselves for their Sherlock Holmes-like deduction skills, but they would never have guessed that these three people were just following a script. If Dong Zhi was present, he would award all three with an Oscar. Acting required a full set. Thus, Long Shen, Tang Jing, and Wu Bingtian, dressed as a family of three, embarked on their journey to Japan with large luggage. Their first stop wasn¡¯t Nagoya but Tokyo, where normal tourists would go. On the other side, Dong Zhi, who stayed in the capital, began to prepare for various matters to go to the exchange conference. Time flew quietly amidst such chores. After New Year¡¯s, the new year had officially arrived, and the day of their departure was getting closer. He made a few copies of information from the previous year¡¯s exchange conference and distributed it to the other five members. He was also busy making reports to apply for various injury medicines that might be used. The competitive process was cruel and intense, and the imagination of the Americans was endless, so it was hard to predict what tricks they would play this year. Dong Zhi had followed Long Shen when he talked with Carlos a while back, so he felt that this time it could be the most difficult test in history. Naturally, life was more important, but team honor was just as important. If one of them were to lose their life and they didn¡¯t even get a good ranking, it would be losing one¡¯s wife as well as one¡¯s soldiers*. *(ÅâÁË·òÈËÓÖÕÛ±ø) Idiom referring to suffering a double loss. Both Long Shen and Wu Bingtian had gone out for official duties, and Director Jiang didn¡¯t care about specific matters. The remaining deputy director, Song Zhicun, was quite amicable. When he saw the report, he agreed with a wave of his hand and directly approved them for a double dose of Shangqing Pills. The number of other injury medicines was also considerable. If Wu Bingtian were here to look at this, he would certainly faint on the spot. However, Deputy Director Wu wasn¡¯t privy to such information, and Dong Zhi happily tucked away the approval paperwork and went with Liu Qingbo to meet with the others. ¡°The last session was held within the valley of an Egyptian Pharaoh. The theme was to get rid of a curse. The one before that was on a ghost ship. You have all the information you need in your hands regarding previous competitions. You¡¯re free to speculate on what the organizer may hold this time in order to prepare. Also, please tell me about your respective areas of expertise. I mainly use swords with talismans, so I can be regarded as a dual user.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t include his ability to invite gods. After all, Long Shen had forbidden him to use this method again. Liu Qingbo said, ¡°I use a sword. The sword I¡¯m using is Zhong Kui¡¯s Fumo Sword*.¡± *Demon sword. As he spoke, he took out his sword from its sheath and spun it into a sword flower. The sword¡¯s light flashed in everyone¡¯s eyes, blinding them. Dong Zhi was speechless at this ostentatious behavior, but it could also be seen that Liu Qingbo was happy about getting this sword. He had never seen him show off his Feijing or Yinxiu sword before. Thinking of this, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but shed tears for those stepmothers swords. Since most of them were experts in sword use, they were interested in this sword that had a simple and crude name but an extraordinary origin. Li Han¡¯er even asked Liu Qingbo if she could take a look, but it seemed that the Fumo Sword was quite spiritual. When it arrived in Li Han¡¯er¡¯s hands, it began to vibrate and tremble. When it was returned to Liu Qingbo¡¯s hand, it returned to normal. Liu Si didn¡¯t have any particular thoughts. He was in the same training group as Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi and later joined Group 2. Although he didn¡¯t particularly have close interaction with them, he was undoubtedly closer to them than the others. After hearing Liu Qingbo¡¯s introduction, Liu Si took initiative to say, ¡°I use a whip made of willow wood. It¡¯s useful for dealing with ghosts, but not effective against demons.¡± Since three people have gone, the others started to chime in. Li Han¡¯er said, ¡°I¡¯m from Mount Maoshan and have learned some swordsmanship, but I¡¯m better at talisman.¡± Having said that, she glanced at Dong Zhi before continuing, ¡°But I can¡¯t summon thunder.¡± Dong Zhi gave her a puzzled look. When he heard her say she couldn¡¯t summon thunder, he quickly added, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you can summon thunder or not. Last time when we dealt with the doppelganger of the heavenly demon, heavenly thunder didn¡¯t do much.¡± His reassuring words didn¡¯t have much effect, as Li Han¡¯er simply nodded and said nothing else. Yang Shouyi: ¡°I can only use swords and am almost at the state of human-sword unity*.¡± *Clarity: It¡¯s a term used (usually in martial arts novel) to describe one¡¯s masterfulness at using a sword, as if it was your hand. He said it lightly, as if it were an understatement, which made Liu Qingbo itchy, as he considered finding someone to discuss this with after their meeting. What state of human-sword unity? Liu Qingbo was almost there as well but being almost there and being there were still ultimately different. Yang Shouyi was worthy of being the leader of the new generation of Yuanming Palace. If it hadn¡¯t been for Dong Zhi¡¯s trick last time, it might not be so easily decided who was the victor. The advantage Dong Zhi had was that he knew complicated techniques and could integrate them. Yang Shouyi specialized in swordsmanship. His depth and comprehension of the sword were not something others could just catch up with after a few years of practice. It could be seen that everyone in this six-person group was indeed capable, but whether Dong Zhi could hold these people down would be entirely dependent on his own abilities. Though there was a ton of pressure on Dong Zhi, it also acted as motivation. Long Shen had high hopes for him. Naturally, he didn¡¯t want the other party to hear the news of their defeat when he returned. Zhang Song finally spoke up. ¡°I¡¯m a dual cultivator of talismans and swords. I mainly focus on fire talismans.¡± Dong Zhi kept their specialties in mind. He nodded and said, ¡°This time when we go out, if you have any opinions, you can tell them to me privately. Don¡¯t be too impulsive when you encounter anything. Remember, we¡¯re representing more than just ourselves.¡± This sounded harsh but wasn¡¯t something everyone could refute. After all, this was a fact. There could be no infighting. If they were to leave and fight again, it would only make them look like a laughingstock. ¡°Do you have other needs or suggestions? While we¡¯re still in China, I can do what I can.¡± Dong Zhi picked up a pen and paper and began to prepare to take notes. Liu Qingbo had long felt that this mother-in-law Dong Zhi was quite long-winded. As soon as the other party¡¯s voice fell, he spoke enthusiastically. ¡°I think since this year is hosted by the Americans, according to their style, it¡¯s very likely we will be directly given a hodgepodge of zombies. Maybe the key props are hidden inside the zombies. Not only do we need to defeat them, but we also have to cut open every zombie and dig through their heart and liver!¡± Everyone: ¡­¡­ The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Your taste is really heavy!¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°It¡¯s not my taste that¡¯s heavy, but the Americans¡¯. Haven¡¯t you watched horror movies? They are always bloody and gory. It seems they have some kind of special complex for zombies. According to the information, there haven¡¯t been any zombies that have appeared yet. Doesn¡¯t that mean the possibility is quite high? If you ask me, there are only a few days left. We can borrow the zombie simulation system from the bureau and go in and practice. That¡¯ll get us to first place!¡± Li Han¡¯er said slowly, ¡°The simulation system has been purchased by many countries now. It¡¯s precisely because everyone thinks zombies are most likely to appear that I think the organizers won¡¯t choose it.¡± Liu Qingbo, who had been completely overturned, made a snide remark. ¡°Then what¡¯s your opinion?¡± Li Han¡¯er said, ¡°Since it¡¯s known that it¡¯s being held on an island in the Atlantic Ocean, I think the content may be related to Atlantis. We may need to go deep into the ocean to find props requested by the organizer, so the enemies we face may also be related to strange beasts at the bottom of the ocean.¡± Although it was all conjecture, this one was so well-founded that Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t really think of a rebuttal for it. Dong Zhi said, ¡°Is everyone good in the water?¡± He got an affirmative answer, so he asked Li Han¡¯er, ¡°Does Fellow Daoist Li have anything to add?¡± Li Han¡¯er shook her head. ¡°We don¡¯t have much information now, so we can only adapt to the changes.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I got two pieces of information from Boss Song. One is that Japan will send their onmyouji to participate this time. You must also know that because of the stone tablet, we¡¯re at odds with Japan. Although Otowa Yasuhiko can¡¯t control the entire Japanese onmyoji world, there are many who have malicious intentions against us. Please be careful. Boss Song stresses that if the other party stays calm and doesn¡¯t cause trouble, there¡¯s no need for us to take the initiative to provoke.¡± After a pause, he continued, ¡°The second piece is from the last session that He Yu¡¯s team participated in and took first place. At that time, they had an accident with a practitioner from England during the competition, and one person died. The United Kingdom didn¡¯t participate in the last session. This year, they have signed up. There is a participant on the list that¡¯s the sister of the deceased, named Grace Smith. She may be targeting us, so we should also pay attention.¡± Liu Qingbo curled his lips. ¡°In other words, we¡¯re facing internal and external troubles this time, and enemies are coming in from all sides. It¡¯s like swaying in the midst of a raging storm*!¡± *(·çÓêƮҡßÂ) Idiom referring to a precarious situation. Dong Zhi smiled brightly at him. ¡°Classmate, you learn idioms so well, so wish us some good luck!¡± It didn¡¯t take long for half a month to pass. When Dong Zhi removed the bandages from his hands, they finally got on a special plane that was flying to Los Angeles and officially embarked on their journey. The reason the organizers chose Los Angeles as the base was out of consideration for the practitioners from all over the world. Among them, there were those that were unique. With a world-famous movie theater set nearby, no matter how weird someone dressed, it could be chalked up to blending in with the atmosphere. When others saw it, they would only think it¡¯s a staff member or a tourist and wouldn¡¯t make much of a fuss. When Dong Zhi and his group of six got off the plane, a special car was waiting outside to pick them up. There was a driver and a young man in the car. ¡°Hello, welcome to Los Angeles. This is a very vibrant city. You¡¯ll fall in love with it after only staying for a day! Oh, my name is Ivan. Who is the leader of your team?¡± ¡°Me, Dong Zhi.¡± Dong Zhi stretched out his hand as he answered. He couldn¡¯t help laughing when he found the young man couldn¡¯t quite pronounce the ¡°Zhi¡± and could only call him Dong Chi*. ¡°Just call me Dong. Are you a member of Group 51?¡± *Clarity: Zhi (ÖÁ) vs Chi (³Ô). Ivan was enthusiastic and outgoing. He winked at him and shook his hand. ¡°To be precise, I¡¯m a logistic staff member from Group 51. I¡¯m just an ordinary person, but I really wanted to join, so I¡¯ve been working hard on my marksmanship recently!¡± Including Dong Zhi¡¯s team, there were ten participating teams this time. Including China, the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and Japan had formed separate teams. The other teams were all regional teams, such as Southeast Asia was considered a team, as well as Africa, Northern Europe, and Southern Europe. India originally wanted to form a separate team but later canceled for some reason and incorporated with the Southeast Asia region. In fact, situations like this weren¡¯t uncommon. After all, practitioners weren¡¯t just casually grabbed, and those who disdain integrating with the world, like those black magic masters, would not come to participate in this kind of exchange. Ivan said that they were the second last team to have arrived. All the other teams except for Africa were already staying at their hotel. Starting tomorrow, there would be three consecutive meetings and exchanges. Ivan, who really wanted to be the frontline member of Group 51, was excited that he was given the opportunity to observe the exchange. Liu Si and Yang Shouyi weren¡¯t fluent in English, so they didn¡¯t speak much, while Li Han¡¯er and Zhong Song weren¡¯t the talking types. Since Dong Zhi was the team leader, he mainly talked with Ivan while the others listened along the way. Young Master Liu Qingbo had a bad temper and at most would only say a few words occasionally; he didn¡¯t bother dragging in a logistical staff to inquire endlessly. In fact, what everyone wanted to know, Dong Zhi had already asked. Ivan told them that they were staying at the Franklin Hotel. When he said this, Ivan¡¯s face was a little weird. Dong Zhi gave Liu Qingbo a wink. The latter immediately went online on his phone to look up the relevant information about the hotel. In less than a few minutes, Dong Zhi knew all about it. This hotel was very famous not only because it was located near the theater for the Hollywood awards ceremonies but also because of its reputation for various supernatural events. It was said that many people would come stay at the hotel every year just to see celebrity ghosts. But if that were the case, Ivan wouldn¡¯t give such a strange look and instead would talk about the various supernatural events in the hotel. Since he worked in logistics for Group 51, he must have heard many anecdotes and strange rumors. Dong Zhi asked him, ¡°Is there a purpose to this arrangement?¡± Ivan blinked. His tone slowed. ¡°I think so, maybe?¡± From a glance, it seemed he wasn¡¯t good at lying. If he met a veteran, Dong Zhi would¡¯ve had to find another way to deal with it, but the task now was simple. He picked up his phone and said with a smile, ¡°If you don¡¯t tell me, I¡¯ll directly ask Carlos. I know he¡¯s not leading the team this time, but as deputy director of Group 51, Carlos should have no reason not to know, right?¡± Ivan was taken aback. ¡°You know Carlos?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°He¡¯s familiar with my master. My master¡¯s name is Long. Maybe you have heard of him.¡± Ivan suddenly said, ¡°Director Long? Oh my god, it turns out you¡¯re Director Long¡¯s apprentice.¡± He suddenly became excited. ¡°They didn¡¯t tell me that Director Long¡¯s apprentice would be leading the team this time! Of course I have heard of him. Carlos told us about Long¡¯s deeds. They once cooperated to capture a blood demon!¡± This was something of Long Shen¡¯s past that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know, but then again, his master had pretty much experienced anything that others have in half their lifetime. Long Shen didn¡¯t think he needed to say anything, but in others¡¯ eyes, it was no different from a legend. ¡°Ivan, what¡¯s the reason why you¡¯ve arranged for us to stay at this hotel? Tell me. If you want to enter Group 51, how about I recommend you to Carlos later?¡± Ivan¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Really?¡± Dong Zhi shrugged. ¡°But I can¡¯t make any guarantee that he will admit you. It¡¯s just a simple letter of recommendation. Whether you can be admitted or not will still entirely depend on yourself.¡± Ivan was so happy that he started to speak incoherently. ¡°Thank you, thank you! As long as there¡¯s a letter of recommendation, that¡¯s enough. I¡¯ll try my best to let him discover my highlights!¡± Based on what Ivan said, the hotel was a bit evil. From time to time, strange things would happen. After every accident, it would be calm for a while, but the accidents would continue. Ordinary people would think it was just a hotel that spawned supernatural rumors as an attraction. They regarded it as fresh and exciting but didn¡¯t really know the hidden dangers behind it. The time of the accidents was usually regular¡ªonce every one to two years¡ªand it would happen at the beginning of New Year¡¯s, after Christmas. There were monsters that appeared in the hotel the year before last. Fortunately, they were discovered and dealt with by Group 51 in time, so they didn¡¯t cause a big stir. No major events happened last year, so they speculate that the hotel might be noisy again this year. Coinciding with the exchange conference, the Americans discussed it and decided to let teams from all over the world stay in this hotel as a way to help them exorcize the evil, killing two birds with one stone. The author has something to say: The hotel is just a prototype, but because the content had some empty spaces, the name had to be changed. Otherwise, I could have used the original name~ CH 124 After everyone heard this, their foreheads twitched. They didn¡¯t know what kind of expression to use to respond. The Americans dared treat them as demon slayers to be hired for free?! Liu Qingbo: ¡°Since there are so many things going on in this hotel, why don¡¯t you just close it down?!¡± Ivan spread his hands. ¡°This isn¡¯t Group 51¡¯s property. Besides, the hotel has grown with Hollywood, attracting countless visitors every year where it¡¯s now a huge selling point. Since the business is good, how can we close it down?¡± Liu Qingbo sneered. ¡°Then if someone is killed, who will be responsible?¡± Ivan smiled and shrugged. ¡°Liu, don¡¯t be angry. Anyway, it¡¯s not you and I that are responsible. What I want to tell you is that in the next three days, the organizing committee has chartered the entire hotel, so only the national teams are staying there. Don¡¯t worry about ordinary people getting injured if an accident happens. Your room is on the 9th floor. All the rooms on the 9th floor are reserved for your team. You can stay in any room you want. When you get to the hotel, I¡¯ll help you get your keys, and then you can assign them yourself.¡± Dong Zhi patted him. ¡°Thank you, Ivan. Are there any reminders or warnings?¡± Ivan: ¡°No, since you¡¯re the ones staying this year, even if there¡¯s a demon, I¡¯ll be wishing it good luck. This is my number. I¡¯ll be responsible for your daily travel for the next three days. You can contact me at any time if you need anything. Oh, by the way, when I came out, I met an English woman. She specifically asked me if the Chinese were here yet. Her expression wasn¡¯t friendly, so I think you need to pay attention.¡± Everyone looked at each other and immediately realized that this woman might be the Grace mentioned in the information. Speaking of which, the accident was truly an accident. At the time, monsters snuck into the ghost ship and attacked the teams from all fronts. After the monsters had killed some contestants, they directly controlled them using their tentacles, manipulating the dead to kill others. Grace¡¯s sister was killed by one of the monsters. When she was being controlled, she was still breathing when she happened to encounter He Yu¡¯s team. They thought she was dead, so everyone took action to destroy the tentacles and accidentally killed Grace¡¯s sister. As a result, disputes formed on both sides. It was understandable that she would harbor grudges against them, but Dong Zhi and the others didn¡¯t believe they had done anything wrong. They wouldn¡¯t go out of their way to provoke, but if someone came to their door, they¡¯d fight it out. Ivan was a talkative person. Dong Zhi chatted with him all the way to the hotel. By the end, he even knew the name of the godfather and his sister¡¯s newborn child. ¡°Rest early tonight. Tomorrow morning, there will be a meeting and exchange. I¡¯ll come pick you guys up. Just call me if you need anything.¡± He sent everyone to the hotel and handed the keys to Dong Zhi, then waved his hand and left. Perhaps it was because the hotel was booked out that the lobby was much quieter, without the hustle and bustle of people. They didn¡¯t see teams from the other countries, but they would definitely encounter them at the meeting tomorrow, so they weren¡¯t in a rush. Li Han¡¯er looked around and suddenly said, ¡°The feng shui in this place is a bit strange.¡± Zhang Song: ¡°What¡¯s so strange?¡± Li Han¡¯er: ¡°As the saying goes, to store wind and gather qi, water is best*. There¡¯s water and wind, but the wind is too strong here, so you can¡¯t gather qi. When there¡¯s too much wind, it¡¯s easy to produce evil spirits and invert the yin and yang. Therefore, there are often monsters and demons in places like this because of the environment. The builder should know such things. Otherwise, if they had built a house here instead of a hotel, more people would die. Since there are many guests coming and going in a hotel, they bring in yang energy that¡¯s barely able to maintain the balance of the yin and yang here.¡± *Basically, according to feng shui standards, a place must be auspicious, and to do that, it should have water, which allows you to catch wind and gather qi. After all, she was born on Maoshan, so even if she didn¡¯t practice feng shui, she was still privy to it on the surface. This may be the reason why the hotel always had accidents every few years, and every time, someone would take action to settle it, but after a while, trouble would arise again. The hotel wasn¡¯t closed, so this situation would continue. While she was talking, Dong Zhi had already completed the check-in procedures. He came over and asked everyone to choose their room. There was only one girl in the entire team, so naturally everyone gave Li Han¡¯er the first choice. Li Han¡¯er humbly said, ¡°Captain can pick first. Both men and women are equal.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I¡¯m not picky. There¡¯s so many rooms that everyone will find something they like.¡± Li Han¡¯er didn¡¯t continue the polite pleasantries and asked for a suite. Dong Zhi: ¡°Xiao Zhang, Lao Yang, Lao Liu, how about you guys?¡± Zhang Song: ¡­¡­ The others each picked the room type they wanted, but Zhang Song couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Don¡¯t call me Xiao Zhang anymore!¡± ¡°If neither Lao Zhang nor Xiao Zhang work, then how do you want me to address you?¡± Dong Zhi gave him an innocent expression that was saying ¡°You¡¯re so hard to please¡±. Zhang Song angrily replied, ¡°Don¡¯t I have a name?!¡± Dong Zhi was amiable and said, ¡°Xiao Song, calm down. Your image is important. Don¡¯t let outsiders see you like this.¡± Zhang Song took a deep breath. Seeing Liu Qingbo¡¯s gloating face, he became even angrier. Everyone dragged their luggage towards the elevator. There was a floor-to-ceiling-length mirror in the lobby of the magnificent hotel, which was placed next to the elevator. When everyone passed by, they glanced at it from the corner of their eyes and saw a white shadow floating past the mirror in the lobby. The white shadow seemed to have spotted them and stopped. It turned its head and showed them a charming smile. If they were ordinary people, they probably would have run away screaming or made a fuss and given it a closer look, but this time, they weren¡¯t ordinary. Dong Zhi swept his gaze across it expressionlessly, turned his head, and entered the elevator, as if he didn¡¯t see anything. The six people split up between two elevators. Li Han¡¯er, Yang Shouyi, and Zhang Song went up first, while the rest entered the second elevator. As soon as Dong Zhi was about to close the elevator, he heard a ¡°wait¡± outside. He reopened the elevator and saw a young man with curly hair walk in. He glanced at Dong Zhi and them curiously. Dong Zhi smiled at him gently, and the other party gave him a nod. ¡°Hi, my name is George. I¡¯m from France.¡± ¡°Dong, China.¡± The two shook hands. George smiled and said, ¡°I can see it, since the Japanese team have already checked in, and your clothes aren¡¯t obviously the attire of a black magic master, so you must be the China team.¡± He carried a long stick on his back and a short dagger around his waist. This kind of attire wasn¡¯t conspicuous here, especially since the other people in the elevator also carried long boxes on their backs. George pressed the button for the fifth floor, and the elevator closed. ¡°We¡¯re on the fifth floor. After you¡¯re settled, you can come and hang out with me. This is my first year participating in the exchange conference, so I can¡¯t wait to see how good you guys are!¡± Dong Zhi laughed and said, ¡°I¡¯m afraid it¡¯s the first time for all of us participants.¡± George let out a sigh. ¡°My mistake. I¡¯m just so excited!¡± While chatting, Dong Zhi and the others suddenly felt a slight tremor under their feet. The elevator had stopped. When they looked up, the elevator had stopped on the third floor. This meant someone was pressing the elevator on the outside. Normally no one would mind, but when the elevator door opened, they didn¡¯t find anyone outside, and there was no light in the entire walkway, making it pitch black. Dong Zhi pressed the closed button on the elevator, but the door didn¡¯t move. When he pressed the call button, there was no response. George walked out of the elevator first and pressed the button to call another elevator. That one was parked on the ninth floor and didn¡¯t seem to change. ¡°It seems like it malfunctioned,¡± he said helplessly. Dong Zhi: ¡°Is anyone staying on the third floor?¡± George said, ¡°I don¡¯t know. I only know that the Russians are one floor above us.¡± Dong Zhi said to Liu Qingbo and the others, ¡°Then we¡¯ll take the stairs.¡± The others had no opinions. They were all practitioners, and a mere suitcase wasn¡¯t much trouble for them. There weren¡¯t any traces of light on the entire floor. Even the signs and lights for the emergency passage were off. Although the elevator door wasn¡¯t closed, the light that came from inside barely allowed them to see the direction clearly, which made it even more weird. When they stepped on the floor, the movement of their suitcase dragging along was almost silent. Liu Si suddenly said, ¡°The Frenchman is gone.¡± The three of them turned their heads, and sure enough, George, who was walking behind them, had disappeared. A stern cry sounded from the other end of the corridor, and a white, translucent ghost rushed towards everyone at lightning speed! It was too late to say anything. But soon, a sunlight talisman was thrown by Dong Zhi. In the rapid chanting of the mantra, the talisman ignited and directly collided with the ghost shadow, bursting into an explosion. Dazzling sparks erupted as the ghost was burnt to a crisp, leaving ashes that shortly disappeared after. However, this wasn¡¯t over yet. Ghosts started flashing out from the ceiling, the corridor carpet, and even the rooms with their doors closed on both sides of the corridor. Their figures were blurred, and they had hideous faces and sharp fangs. Liu Si whipped the carpet. Not only did the ghosts scream and dissipate, but even the carpet instantly showed scorch marks. Liu Qingbo sneered: ¡°Trying to play tricks!¡± He didn¡¯t even make preparations but instead actively moved. He kicked open the room nearest to him, jumped in, and used his long sword to pierce the ceiling. In the darkness, a dark shadow was exposed under the light of his sword. Seeing that Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword was unstoppable, the opponent had to dodge the blade, but this dodge left him in a passive position. Liu Qingbo slashed his Fumo Sword all the way, causing his opponent to directly flee the room and into the corridor as he shouted, ¡°I¡¯m a competitor too. I¡¯m just playing a prank on you!¡± Liu Qingbo replied in Chinese, ¡°Fuck you, I don¡¯t understand English!¡± Regardless of whether he really understood or pretended not to, the other party was chased to the end of the corridor. He finally found a gap and took out a pistol. He unlocked the safety and pulled the trigger within half a second. Bang! A gunshot echoed in the hallway. Everyone¡¯s expression changed. Liu Qingbo turned his head to avoid it at the critical moment, causing the bullet to graze his ear. However, his sword was already in motion and had directly pierced the clothing of his target, stabbing into flesh. The smell of blood drifted faintly, and the dark shadows fell to the ground, wailing. On the other end, Dong Zhi had already chased the ghost in the direction of the emergency access stairway. With the Changshou Sword, he directly split the hidden door and used the sword¡¯s qi to sweep across it, knocking down the dark shadow behind it. Before the opponent could take out his weapon, the Changshou Sword had become like a winding hand and was already wrapped around his opponent¡¯s neck. ¡°Turn on the lights! Turn on the lights!¡± The man shouted hysterically. The dark environment suddenly brightened. The person who Dong Zhi was stepping on was George, the Frenchman who was with them in the elevator just now. ¡°Let him go!¡± A red-haired woman shouted. The gun in her hand was aimed directly at Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi said coldly, ¡°You can try to see if your gun is faster than I can kill him.¡± George grasped the sword that was wrapped around his neck as blood kept oozing from the edge, quickly dyeing his collar red. ¡°Don¡¯t shoot! Put it down! Put the gun down! Fuck, can¡¯t you see I¡¯m about to die! If you don¡¯t drop it, how will he let me go!¡± The red-haired woman glanced at the other young man, reluctantly lowered her arm, and threw the gun away. ¡°We just wanted to play a prank on you. Just a prank. Can you let me go now?¡± George barely managed to muster a smile that was worse than crying. Dong Zhi finally let him go. The Changshou Sword made a loud sound and popped itself straight again. He put the sword back in its sheath and didn¡¯t forget to kick his opponent in the chest when George was trying to support himself. ¡°You yellow-skinned pig!¡± The red-haired woman wanted to rush up but was held back by her companion. ¡°Captain!¡± Li Han¡¯er and the others rushed from another emergency passage. All three of them were carrying their swords in a menacing posture to help out. Unfortunately, the fight was already over, but with their addition, the numbers of their own camp instantly overwhelmed the other side. Though they all had internal discord, they by no means showed it to outsiders. Facing the hostile red-haired woman, Li Han¡¯er and the other two jumped to action and decisively stood behind Dong Zhi. Without saying a word, they were ready to strike at any moment. ¡°Please watch your language. Otherwise, if you curse again, I¡¯ll kick him again. Even if he loses blood here and dies, it is your responsibility.¡± Though Dong Zhi said this with a smile, it made the other party shudder. He often looked well-behaved like a cute, obedient baby in front of Long Shen, and would play dumb and make cute jokes in front of his teammates, but they had never seen the face Dong Zhi made when facing the red-haired woman. In their eyes, this young man from the East was like the devil incarnate. ¡°We¡¯ll kill you!¡± The red-haired woman shouted. ¡°Look at who¡¯s killing who!¡± Liu Si appeared. The whip in his hand was slightly raised, and his murderous aura was revealed. He usually didn¡¯t talk much, but that didn¡¯t mean the enemy could just ignore his existence. The scene was deadlocked for a while, until someone called from the corner of the stairs. ¡°Oh my god, what happened here?!¡± A tall, young man with brown hair walked down from above, followed by two people. George clutched his neck and cried weakly, ¡°Help me stop the bleeding!¡± No one paid attention to him. A man behind the brown-haired young man walked out. ¡°I¡¯m the leader of the French team, Galan. You have seriously injured members of my team. I want to appeal to the organizing committee to disqualify you from the competition!¡± He wasn¡¯t bluffing or speaking rudely like the red-haired woman, but his tone was obviously more threatening. The other party stared at Dong Zhi with a pair of light-colored eyes, almost with the sharpness of a hunter locking on his prey, which could make someone feel a sense of awe. Unfortunately, he was facing a practitioner like himself. ¡°Sorry, but we¡¯ll also appeal too. We came to participate in the exchange but were insulted and attacked by your team for no reason. If this kind of despicable behavior is how you welcome competitors, then we¡¯ll never participate in this kind of exchange in the future!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know if the Special Administration Bureau would support him on this, but it was always right to put harsh words out first. Dong Zhi pointed to the red-haired woman who was making an unflattering expression. ¡°Aren¡¯t you more politically correct? What this woman said is considered a racial slur, so I¡¯ll be filing a complaint against her directly.¡± Then he pointed to the wailing George. ¡°And this person, in the future, he best not let us see him again, or we¡¯ll beat him to a pulp!¡± His tone was surprisingly upbeat, even playful. ¡°There¡¯s still one lying in the corridor!¡± Liu Qingbo walked over, shook off the blood beads on his sword, and smiled contemptuously at Galan and the others. ¡°Well done!¡± Applause rang out as a young girl with blond hair and snow-white skin appeared out of nowhere. She was applauding Dong Zhi while taunting George¡¯s side. ¡°They played this disgusting trick on us when we first checked in, but we didn¡¯t catch the bastard last time!¡± The girl finished speaking and stretched out her hand toward Dong Zhi. ¡°You¡¯re Dong, right? I¡¯m Anna, from Russia.¡± The brown-haired young man scratched his head and glanced at Galan and the others. He raised his hands and walked toward Dong Zhi. ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong. I¡¯m not with them. I¡¯m the deputy captain of the American team, William. We have no issue if you want to appeal or fight, but this hotel is innocent. For God¡¯s sake, can you please change the place and time? Also, for the loss of the carpet and door just now, I think it should be compensated by the people who initiated the prank first, right?¡± George gasped again, unable to speak. The red-haired woman helped him leave while Galan said with a grim face, ¡°Wait until I address George¡¯s injury first.¡± After that, he hurriedly left. William shrugged and said to Dong Zhi, ¡°They have done this to two teams before, ah, including Anna¡¯s and yours, but I didn¡¯t expect them to be so hard this time. I heard the commotion and rushed over too late. Sorry!¡± Did the other party really come too late, or did they come early and were just hiding by the side to watch the show? Dong Zhi thought it was the latter, but he had no intention of exposing William. He decided to take a lesson from the other party¡¯s indifferent tone and replied, ¡°It¡¯s fine. Besides, it¡¯s not us who were taught a painful lesson.¡± William laughed. ¡°That¡¯s right! The strong are always fearless. Good luck to you!¡± He stretched out his hand and patted Dong Zhi on the shoulder. Dong Zhi took a step back, causing him to miss. With some embarrassment, he smiled at them and waved goodbye, then climbed back up the stairs. Only then did Dong Zhi have time to talk to Anna. Anna said, ¡°I have heard that something will happen during the exchange. I didn¡¯t expect it to be true. It seems that person just now won¡¯t be able to participate in the competition. However, you should be careful. That Grace seems to hate you very much. Now you have a grudge against two teams.¡± It turned out that the red-haired girl was Grace, the one who lost her sister in a previous exchange. Dong Zhi and the others suddenly realized, but they found it strange. ¡°Isn¡¯t Grace from England? George clearly said he was from France.¡± Anna: ¡°Oh, I came two days earlier than you. I saw George courting Grace every morning, so he¡¯s probably pursuing her.¡± So that¡¯s why. Dong Zhi spread his hands. ¡°Thank you for your advice, but we may already have a grudge with more than just two teams.¡± If the people from Japan were Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s men, then they already had enemies everywhere. Anna wasn¡¯t privy to this and thought he was just joking. Dong Zhi said, ¡°We need to check into our rooms and settle down first. We¡¯ll contact you later.¡± Anna replied, ¡°No problem. My room is 625. You¡¯re welcome to hang out with me!¡± After they exchanged contact information with Anna and waved goodbye, the three of them dragged their suitcase that had been left in the corner for a while and, together with Li Han¡¯er and the others, went back into the elevator. This time, the elevator returned to normal, and they smoothly went to the ninth floor. Liu Qingbo snorted coldly when he saw this. ¡°This hotel belongs to the Americans. To say they have no knowledge of this whole scheme¡ªI don¡¯t believe it!¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s better than him telling you he knew everything and was just watching on the sidelines, right? At least people are still willing to give you face!¡± Liu Qingbo curled his lips. ¡°That¡¯s not a good thing!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Of course, everyone has their own positions. Only the people in our team are real, such as your invincible and lovely leader, handsome Liu Si, and the beautiful Daoist Li, and there¡¯s also Lao Yang and Xiao Zhang!¡± Liu Si and Yang Shouyi laughed while Li Han¡¯er slightly raised her lips. Xiao Zhang: ¡­¡­ Liu Qingbo: ¡°Barf!¡± CH 125 This time, they finally arrived on the 9th floor safely. Li Han¡¯er¡¯s group suitcases were still at the entrance to the stairs. The six of them found their own rooms. Dong Zhi laid down on the big bed lazily, not wanting to move. However, he was the leader of the team and had things to do. After thinking about it, Dong Zhi picked up his phone and called Zhong Zhicun to tell him what had happened just now. When Song Zhicun heard that they beat up people from the British and French teams, he didn¡¯t reprimand him but instead said, ¡°I¡¯ll let someone deal with the appeal. You can just continue the meeting and don¡¯t worry about it.¡± ¡°Boss Song, it was our impulsiveness that caused you trouble.¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t think beating someone wasn¡¯t that bad, but he still had to pretend to be good in front of their leader. Song Zhicun laughed. ¡°If they attack, you can only respond. I¡¯ve been to the exchange conference before. I know what their faces are like right now without you telling me. This is a world that respects the strong. We have only participated in five sessions, so our foundations with them aren¡¯t deep. They don¡¯t understand our strength, which comes with some benefits, but they will also underestimate you. This requires you to give full play. However, because you¡¯ve offended some people, you¡¯ll definitely be targeted, so be careful.¡± Dong Zhi smiled wryly. ¡°If you have too many debts, you¡¯ll stop worrying about it. We¡¯ll focus on one thing at a time first.¡± After hanging up, Dong Zhi slept for a while, then got up and took a shower. When he changed clothes, there was a knock at the door. Outside the door stood William, the deputy head of the United States, whom they had just met. William smiled and said, ¡°I didn¡¯t bother you, did I?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°I¡¯m just about to go eat.¡± William: ¡°Just in time. I haven¡¯t eaten either. Shall we?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Sorry, I need to be with my team members.¡± William¡¯s face was probably thicker than the walls of this hotel. When he heard Dong Zhi¡¯s response, he still smiled and said, ¡°Dong, don¡¯t do this. What happened just now really has nothing to do with us. As the organizer, it¡¯s impossible for us to use such childish methods to tease other teams. Otherwise, what kind of prestige will there be in the future? You can¡¯t vent your anger on them at me!¡± Dong Zhi curled his lips. ¡°What¡¯s the point of saying this now?¡± William laughed. ¡°Indeed, we can only move forward, but regarding this exchange competition, you must have learned more news in advance than the other countries. How about we exchange information? Our leader asked me to come over, hoping that we would have a chance to cooperate with each other.¡± Dong Zhi glanced at him. ¡°Then shall we eat together?¡± William¡¯s smile immediately brightened several folds. ¡°Yes!¡± Dong Zhi called Liu Qingbo and the others. He asked William to take everyone downstairs for dinner and give them a list of good restaurants nearby, then asked about the situation of the other teams¡ªsince the grunt came to deliver goods, it was best not to waste it. He had to admit that it was good to have thick skin. It was difficult to smack someone with such a smiling face. After their meal, William gave them quite a bit of news, and everyone¡¯s impression of him had reversed, so much so that they couldn¡¯t put back on their cold faces. As the organizer and deputy leader, William knew a lot of gossip. For example, there were two powerful new members on the French team this year. One of them also assisted Group 51 in eliminating the plague demon. The other was said to have an aristocratic background. The family had been demon hunters for generations. They even had several archbishops in their lineage and had close ties to the Vatican. Putting it in Chinese words: the French were feeling snarky this year, and they walked with wind*. They were the second group to arrive at the hotel. After that, they launched two pranks on the Russian and Nordic cultivators, picking on the soft persimmons. The French had heard about the mystery and horror of the dark arts masters of Southeast Asia, so they didn¡¯t dare provoke them. *Describing walking with gusto and giving off an elite, powerful vibe. || In this context, it¡¯s basically saying the French, having two elites in their group this year, is quite arrogant and was putting on quite a bravado. Dong Zhi found that the French leader didn¡¯t instruct his members to prank them. It was George on their team who was pursuing Grace from the British team. Hearing that Grace hated the Chinese, he called a few friends and wanted to teach them a ¡°lesson¡±. Who knew they would get beat up instead. ¡°That guy George lost too much blood, so he was sent to the hospital for treatment. Although his life can be saved, it¡¯s estimated he won¡¯t be able to participate in the competition!¡± William showed a bit of gloating. ¡°But this matter is all their own initiative. Their leader, Galan, the person you met just now¡ªhe regretted it a bit. He asked me to tell you that both parties should go through the appeal channel so that the competition remains fair and competitive.¡± Liu Qingbo sneered. ¡°They started things, and now they want to cry to their parents after getting beat up? Nice try!¡± William shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just the messenger. It¡¯s up to you whether you want to do this or not. However, those ghosts weren¡¯t created out of thin air. There are more evil spirits on the third floor, which is why the entire floor is empty. They just happened to use it. Speaking of which, I have to thank you on behalf of the hotel for helping solve a big problem. It seems we can spend the next year in peace again.¡± These were just trivial matters. Dong Zhi was more concerned about the competitive segment. ¡°William, how much do you know about the competition?¡± ¡°Not much, but maybe a little more than you. After all, we are the organizers, so it¡¯s impossible to keep it completely confidential.¡± William thought he was being cute as he gave a wink, but no one was buying it. Liu Qingbo waited impatiently for him to continue. It looked like he would be beaten if he didn¡¯t elaborate, so William could only continue. ¡°There will only be one winner in the competition, but the process has a variety of challenges. It will be difficult to complete with just one team. We hope to form an alliance with you guys. What do you think?¡± Dong Zhi questioned, ¡°Alliance?¡± William smiled slyly. ¡°It¡¯ll be a limited alliance. In the process, if we need to cooperate, we can¡¯t take action against each other until the difficulties are resolved. How about it?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Why us?¡± William smiled and said, ¡°Because your team has the most potential out of all the teams at the moment. The others are too weak. Though the group of dark arts masters is very powerful, they¡¯re not good when it comes to fierce battles. It¡¯s hard to imagine they can curse powerful monsters.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly showed the same cunning smile. ¡°So, you must know what the content of the competition is?¡± William said, ¡°I don¡¯t know much. I only know that the venue will be on an island in the Atlantic Ocean.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°We already know this. It can¡¯t be considered a secret, nor can it be included in your agreement.¡± William: ¡°¡­Dong, you¡¯re quite shrewd. You should be a businessman. What a waste to go into this profession.¡± Flattery had no effect on Dong Zhi. ¡°Continue.¡± William: ¡°Then the theme may be related to a golden apple.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What golden apple?¡± William: ¡°In Greek mythology, Gaia, the Goddess of the Earth, gave it to Zeus and Hera as a wedding gift. Later, Eris took the golden apple to instigate discord between Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite, the Goddess of Love*.¡± *Clarity: The mythology behind the golden apple is that Eris (the Goddess of Discord) inscribed ¡°to the fairest/most beautiful¡± on the golden apple and tossed it during the feast of the gods at the wedding of Peleus and Thetis as a prize, thus sparking a vanity-fuel dispute among Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite that eventually led to the Trojan War. Dong Zhi suddenly realized. ¡°I remember a very famous story. You mean, the golden apple may be the last prop we¡¯re looking for?¡± William snapped his fingers. ¡°Smart!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°This information is useless to us. Props are originally what we are looking for. Even if you don¡¯t say it, the organizing committee will announce it before the start of the competition.¡± William: ¡°Well, the Senluo Islands are composed of four uninhabited islands in the Atlantic Ocean. They are shrouded in fog year-round. There¡¯s a research base from Group 51 there. It¡¯s difficult for ordinary ships to enter, but it¡¯s not a problem for us. Have you heard of Gullinkambi*?¡± *From Norse mythology. It is a rooster who lives in Valhalla. Apparently, it is one of three roosters whose crowing is foretold to signify the beginning of Ragnar?k. He dipped his fingers in water and wrote it in English on one of the tables. Liu Qingbo and the others searched the internet and immediately found it. This thing was a creature in Norse mythology. It was a big black rooster and was said that its cry meant the final battle was coming, so it was regarded as awakening the ¡°twilight of the gods¡±. William said, ¡°Rumor has it that the person in charge of planning this year is a lover of Western mythology, so the competition process will incorporate many elements of Greek and Norse mythology, such as this ancient Gullinkambi and the harpies*.¡± *A half-human and half-bird personification of storm winds. Dong Zhi was shocked. ¡°Where can they find so many ancient monsters?¡± Even in China, it wasn¡¯t easy to find a Wuzhiqi for a test. Not only that, a Wuzhiqi¡¯s intelligence was equal to that of humans, so getting them to cooperate was also a different matter. William shrugged. ¡°As long as you find them, give them satisfactory conditions, make a deal with them, and then let them stay on that island for a while, you can reap the benefits. This is easy to understand, no? Just like your Chinese dragon, it¡¯s a legend to ordinary people, but you know it must be real, right?¡± Dong Zhi was speechless. William said, ¡°But the unpredictable factors are also there! Although the monsters have spiritual wisdom, they don¡¯t cherish human life, so they don¡¯t know how to do things in moderation. Once there¡¯s a battle, your lives will easily be in danger. I bet the number of deaths this year will be higher than ever before. I suspect the organizing committee¡¯s brains were kicked by donkeys. Why did it happen during our turn!¡± He complained angrily. Seeing that Dong Zhi looked calm, he couldn¡¯t help but suspect they didn¡¯t know anything about the origin of these monsters. ¡°You have heard of a harpy before, right?¡± Dong Zhi shook his phone. ¡°I do. The internet is well developed now. Legends say that it¡¯s afraid of the sound made from beating bronze. At that time, just have a few bronze objects on you.¡± William: ¡°Please. Legends are just legends. Who knows if that¡¯s true or not! Well, what do you think about the alliance I mentioned?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I¡¯ll discuss it with my teammates first and give you a reply later.¡± William: ¡°Then answer me before you go to bed tonight.¡± Dong Zhi was puzzled. ¡°Do you need to be so anxious? Isn¡¯t there still a few days left before the competition?¡± William said, ¡°You don¡¯t understand. The signal on that island isn¡¯t good. Basically, you can¡¯t use your phone to contact others. If you agree, we will provide a special communication method at that time, only between our teams.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Okay then.¡± After sending William away, Dong Zhi asked his teammates who had been silent. ¡°What do you think? Xiao Zhang, say something.¡± Zhang Song: ¡­¡­ He had the urge to murder the captain of the team. ¡°The British and French are unreliable, and the Americans are not much better. In case they have an accident, we have to rush over to save them. When we have an accident, they will pretend they¡¯re dead, and we can¡¯t do anything about it!¡± Zhang Song answered in a deep voice. Liu Qingbo liked to disagree with Zhang Song the most. When he heard this, he said, ¡°But even if we agree, it won¡¯t be a loss for us. The Americans must know more than we do, so there must be information that hasn¡¯t been said. If we meet, we can cooperate with them all the way to the end and eliminate all the obstacles, then fight again to get the prop. Isn¡¯t it better than being headless flies trying to break in?¡± Dong Zhi set his sights on Li Han¡¯er and the others. Li Han¡¯er thought for a while and said, ¡°There¡¯s some truth in what Daoist Liu said.¡± Liu Qingbo became smug. ¡°See, I¡¯m right!¡± Yang Shouyi and Liu Si then said, ¡°We have no opinions and will leave it up to the captain to decide.¡± In the end, Dong Zhi patted the table. He would first agree with William, and then wait for them to arrive on the island to see what happens. Just as they were eating, other teams also came over. The news of the French prank failing and getting beaten up had already spread. When most people passed by Dong Zhi¡¯s table, they looked at them strangely. Many others took the initiative to come forward to greet them. The Russian girl, Anna, brought her friends, and the Nordic team that had been maliciously pranked also gave them a warm greeting. Dong Zhi felt as if they were like rare animals on display at a zoo. They didn¡¯t get to eat much as they were constantly patronized and greeted. They had to deal with the strange questions of these people from time to time. For example: Do Easterners know how to use magic? Are you the top group of spellcasters? Do all Eastern practitioners fly on dragons? and so on that made Dong Zhi and the others dumbfounded. It could only be said that these people¡¯s understanding of the East was quite shallow. However, it seemed that they knew Dong Zhi¡¯s group prestige well as the next few days when they stayed in the hotel, no one dared to provoke them. But naturally, this didn¡¯t apply to creatures other than humans. Late at night was the time to ¡°party¡± at the hotel. Both Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo chose rooms with balconies by the swimming pool. As a result, they heard laughter and splashing from it in the middle of the night. It was so noisy that Liu Qingbo ran to the balcony and shouted, ¡°Shut up¡±. It did stop for a while, but just as he was about to lie down, the sound of laughter rang out again. The hotel had been chartered off by the organizers, and he didn¡¯t see any figures around the pool. It was so late that there couldn¡¯t possibly be anyone having a party there. If this was an ordinary person, most likely they would have been scared to death and perhaps it would even leave a psychological shadow on the city of Los Angeles on them. However, this time it was the turn of those unlucky unknown creatures. The British, who were staying on the 7th floor, threw a few crosses down, which quieted the pool for half an hour before it resumed back to its old state. The Japanese onmyouji, who stayed on the 4th floor, released several shikigamis, who ran all over the pool and fought against those unknown creatures. The results were even more noise, which attracted the dissatisfaction of all the guests, forcing the onmyoujis to retract their shikigamis. Finally, the Americans who stayed on the 10th floor fired a few shots into the pool. After some screams, most of the night resumed its peacefulness. Dong Zhi heard that their bullets were special. It had some exorcism materials added to it, but the formula was confidential. The Americans had never disclosed it to the public, but they had been at the forefront of the world in research on the combination of high-tech and spiritual magic. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had no intention of being in the limelight. Thanks to the Americans, they had a good night¡¯s sleep. Early the next morning, Yang Shouyi, Li Han¡¯er, and the others looked a bit weak. After asking, they found that they had spent the night feeling like they were inside an American blockbuster. While the swimming pool stopped, other places didn¡¯t. When Yang Shouyi took a bath, he released a tank full of blood. He let the water drain without any change in his expression and decided to take a shower instead. When he was halfway through the shower, the water in the shower head started to turn into sticky blood. A woman appeared in the mirror with a hideous face and wanted to pounce on him. As a result, Yang Shouyi had put his sword by the sink. The murderous aura from the ancient sword suppressed the evil spirit in the mirror, so it didn¡¯t make a move. ¡°After washing for half a day, I still feel the bloody smell on my body!¡± During breakfast, when everyone was talking about last night¡¯s experience, Yang Shouyi couldn¡¯t help but complain. He was a bit of a clean freak. Later, he had to light sandalwood in the room to suppress the smell of blood. Dong Zhi asked, ¡°Then how did you solve it later? Did you just kill her?¡± Yang Shouyi: ¡°No, she found she couldn¡¯t do anything to me, so she changed from being fierce to sobbing. She told me a lot of things, like how she died tragically and wanted to find vengeance. You know my English isn¡¯t good. After listening for a long time, I couldn¡¯t understand, so I told her to go to the 7th floor to find the British. I told her they would understand her, so she happily left.¡± Pfft! Zhang Song spurted out a mouthful of coffee. Liu Qingbo, who was sitting opposite him: ¡­¡­ Although Zhang Song lowered his head in time, the coffee still splashed on the cup and plate in front of Liu Qingbo. ¡°Zhang Song, are you crazy?! How can people eat this!¡± Liu Qingbo said angrily. ¡°Calm down, calm down. The image of our country!¡± Dong Zhi suppressed his smile, but his shoulders kept shaking. It wasn¡¯t because Zhang Song sprayed coffee, but rather because of what Yang Shouyi just said. ¡°Lao Yang, you¡¯re quite good. It seems those British people didn¡¯t get a good night¡¯s sleep. Liu Si, Daoist Li, did you guys encounter anything?¡± Liu Si smiled and said, ¡°Those things probably sensed that I¡¯m not human, so they didn¡¯t bother me.¡± Li Han¡¯er said lightly, ¡°I seemed to have encountered a pervert who was peeping at me while I was taking a bath and changing clothes. I directly sent them to see their God with a talisman.¡± Zhang Song yawned. He didn¡¯t get much sleep last night. The main reason was because there was a ping-pong noise coming from upstairs. He didn¡¯t know if the Americans were fighting evil spirits or if the evil spirits were having a party. While they were chatting, a group of people came up to them. Grace, the familiar red-haired woman, was part of the group. They looked at Dong Zhi. The British all looked tired, with dark circles under their eyes. Dong Zhi¡¯s group didn¡¯t have to think about it. They knew that the British had encountered much more noise and trouble last night than them. Just as Grace and the others passed by, Liu Qingbo suddenly sneered. ¡°Some people didn¡¯t sleep well last night. Don¡¯t worry, they will definitely sleep worse in the next few days!¡± Grace stopped suddenly. Her hand suddenly grabbed the back of Liu Qingbo¡¯s neck. She moved so fast that almost no one could see clearly. Only Dong Zhi, who was closest, saw that her nails were long, like a sharp blade. Because of the speed, the air around it ignited traces of white smoke. However, since Liu Qingbo dared to curse, naturally he was prepared. He dodged to the side abruptly, casually pulled off the tablecloth, and shook his wrist. All the cups and plates on the table were lifted up and dumped towards Grace! Dong Zhi¡¯s sunlight talisman and Li Han¡¯er¡¯s talisman shot almost at the same time. The two talisman fires pounced on Grace head-on. While she kept attacking Liu Qingbo, she stretched out her hand to wave away the two talisman fires. Who knew that there was something hidden in the talisman fire? The moment she touched it, it exploded with a bang. Grace screamed in pain as the cups and plates immediately smashed into her face, causing her to fall to the floor. Grace¡¯s companions were about to take action when they saw this, but the man who looked like their captain of their group acted. ¡°Stop!¡± In the restaurant, the other teams came around. The Russians were the first to speak up. ¡°We all saw it. That British woman moved first!¡± ¡°Yes, that British woman!¡± Dong Zhi jumped ahead and said, ¡°Did you hear that? It was your companion who attacked mine first. If he hadn¡¯t reacted quickly, he would have been injured just now! First the incident from yesterday, and now this? Are you guys trying to finish us off early to win the competition? Sorry, you might lose a couple of your team members to achieve your goal!¡± The captain of the other party¡¯s face turned blue for a while. Yesterday there were a few witnesses, and most of them were French. They still had room to clear suspicion. Today, they did it in full view of the public. In any case, their actions couldn¡¯t be justified. He knew Grace despised the Chinese because of her sister¡¯s death, but he also warned her not to act on personal matters; he didn¡¯t expect that she couldn¡¯t restrain herself. ¡°Grace, apologize!¡± Hearing her captain say this, Grace still had a cold face. ¡°I won¡¯t! I wish I could send all these yellow-skinned pigs to hell! They shouldn¡¯t exist on this earth!¡± Liu Qingbo sneered. ¡°How terrible. Not only is she a racist, but she also wants to commit genocide!¡± The captain of the British team took a deep breath and asked his companions to forcibly pull Grace away. He then said to Dong Zhi¡¯s group, ¡°Sorry. Our teammate is too impulsive and can¡¯t control her emotions. We will reconsider letting her continue to participate in the competition!¡± Liu Qingbo sneered. ¡°You must let her continue. Otherwise, we won¡¯t have a chance to teach her another lesson!¡± The other party was obviously much calmer and smarter than Grace. He still apologized politely, expressed his willingness to compensate for all the losses caused in the restaurant, and asked people to bring injury medication to Dong Zhi. In fact, no one was injured on Dong Zhi¡¯s side, while Grace was burned by two talismans just now. Her arm was still bleeding when she was pulled away. Seeing as there was no more excitement to watch, the people around dispersed one after another. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t continue to be aggressive. Otherwise, public opinion on them would reverse. ¡°After all, this is a personal vendetta. We understand it, but we also hope that this kind of personal behavior ends with her. This is an exchange conference to foster friendship, so there should be fair competition in the arena, don¡¯t you think?¡± Dong Zhi said. The other party smiled and took the initiative to extend his hand. ¡°Of course. We¡¯re determined to stop Grace¡¯s behavior. My name is White. It¡¯s nice to meet you.¡± Dong Zhi shook hands with him. ¡°I¡¯m Dong. This is twice now that Grace has crossed with us. I hope you understand that there won¡¯t be a third time. My companion has a bad temper. Grace might die next time. As captain of your team, I don¡¯t think you want this to happen.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Leave it to me to solve the matter with Grace. I hope this will not affect the friendship between our two countries or teams.¡± White was cultured. He didn¡¯t get angry when he heard this kind of provocation. It could be seen that he was quite shrewd. Dong Zhi smiled at him. ¡°Of course!¡± Onlookers expressed disappointment that the opening scene of guns and fires ended peacefully. Many of them wished that the two sides would fight and directly eliminate each other from the competition so there would be fewer competitors. Everyone had just eaten half their breakfast, so they had to change tables after the mess. Liu Qingbo said in a bad tone, ¡°Captain, who did you say has a bad temper?¡± Isn¡¯t it you? Dong Zhi thought to himself but said, ¡°Naturally, it¡¯s me!¡± Young Master Liu couldn¡¯t respond to such an answer. Looking at the hot quiche and milk that were remade and served, Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°I can finally have a healthy meal!¡± The author has something to say: A small theater that has nothing to do with the text: The complaints of the Evil Spirits of the hotel. Evil Spirit A: Yesterday, I met a group of people who came to stay at the hotel. Oh, I have never seen anything so terrifying. My buddy just peeked at an Eastern woman taking a bath and he was beaten and sent directly to hell! Evil Spirit B: Who asked you to provoke the Easterners? They don¡¯t understand English, so I went to play with the British last night, hehehe. Kinky Thoughts: For all you interested in Greek mythology. What sparked the Trojan War was the golden apple. As the three goddesses fought for the golden apple, Zeus delegated it to Paris to judge who among the three was the fairest/most beautiful. Each goddess tried to bribe Paris by giving him a gift in exchange for awarding it to them. Hera offered to make him king of Europe and Asia Minor, Athena offered him wisdom and skill in battle, and Aphrodite offered the love of the most beautiful woman, Helen of Sparta, who was already married to King Menelaus. Paris chose Aphrodite, a decision that sparked the Trojan War and eventually led to the destruction of Troy and Paris. Man, this makes me want to reread the Iliad again. Given that the golden apple often represents discord, there¡¯s a lot of symbolism here if this is truly the prop the teams are fighting for.It seems to me like they¡¯re staying at the hotel in The Shining. CH 126 After they finished eating, Ivan was already waiting for them outside. As soon as everyone got in the car, he couldn¡¯t wait to show an exaggerated, gossipy expression. ¡°I heard you fought with the British and French?¡± It was obvious he had his own news channel as he already knew all the ins and outs. Seeing that Dong Zhi and the others were too lazy to speak, he happily talked on his own. ¡°To be honest, we sometimes hate the British. They like to put on airs and look down on us. They always try to look superior, but I really don¡¯t know what they can be proud of. They haven¡¯t been to the competition for many years. Do they still have any decent demon hunters left?! Last time, a practitioner wanted to immigrate to the United States, but he was detained by them. How ridiculous!¡± Seeing Dong Zhi and the others¡¯ lack of interest, Ivan finally stopped and scratched his nose. ¡°Is what I said not funny?¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°Do you think we still have the spirit to listen to you after a night of staying in that damn hotel?¡± Ivan smiled dryly. ¡°Sorry, but that wasn¡¯t arranged by me. If I had the right to arrange accommodation, I wouldn¡¯t let you stay there! However, in previous years, the exchange accommodations for the exchange conference were never good. It¡¯s as if to test the practitioners in a harsh environment.¡± The car quickly arrived at the venue. Everyone was staying in the same hotel, so the time that people would arrive wasn¡¯t too different. When Dong Zhi and them entered the venue, the Americans and Russians had already arrived, and the other teams slowly trickled in after Dong Zhi. After the meeting started, according to the process, each team would take turns making a regular speech and reporting to each other on some situation in various countries over the past two years. As countries opened their borders, the world gradually became one. It wasn¡¯t uncommon for monsters to occasionally run from one country to another. It was under this premise that the exchange conference was established. Dong Zhi glanced around and found that George, the Frenchman whom he injured yesterday, and Grace, the British redhead who had just provoked them, weren¡¯t present. The former was most likely recovering from his injuries. If there was no accident, he probably wouldn¡¯t be participating in the competition. The latter was probably forced to stay at the hotel. This was actually for the best. They were here to participate in the exchange and competition and didn¡¯t want to waste their time on unrelated matters. The speeches were all written in advance. When it was their turn, Dong Zhi read directly from the script, and the others that followed were no exception. In previous years, there wasn¡¯t anything unexpected about the meeting and exchange. It was nothing more than everyone chatting and arguing. Some became friends during the exchange, and some clamored to draw their swords against each other in the competition. The ability of a practitioner was stronger than that of ordinary people, but they may not necessarily have the mind that surpasses ordinary people. The strong desire to win was instilled in most laymen and was perhaps even stronger in a practitioner. On the Chinese side, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were the main speakers. They were already prepared to have a big fight with the British. After all, Grace, who hated them to the bone, was from the British team, so most likely the people on her team also disliked them. Unexpectedly, with White present, the British team was calm and showed no visible hatred similar to that which Grace had for the Chinese. On the contrary, the French team, led by Galan, looked like they were cockfighting. Whenever Dong Zhi or Liu Qingbo would say something, they would always jump out and object or sneer, making their disdain for Dong Zhi and the others clear. Just when Dong Zhi mentioned the heavenly demon¡¯s doppelganger, a person from the French team questioned, ¡°Since it¡¯s the legendary demon king Mara, even if it¡¯s a doppelganger, how can it be so easily eradicated? I seriously suspect that you¡¯re exaggerating!¡± Liu Qingbo refused to bite the bait and directly replied, ¡°Believe it if you want, or don¡¯t! Besides, your leader is a person who relies on his elder brother, who¡¯s the deputy director of the Guardianship Bureau, to become leader of your exchange group. With a group led by such a person, what reliable information can everyone expect from you?¡± This information was provided by Ivan. It could be seen that the desire to stir up trouble was truly common in all humans, regardless of race. The leader of the French team, Galan, angrily replied, ¡°Watch your words! I was able to become captain because of my outstanding abilities, and it has nothing to do with my family¡¯s position!¡± Liu Qingbo raised a brow. ¡°Really? Then why don¡¯t you ask your team if they truly believe that? Even if they believe it, do you think the people here really believe it?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Why don¡¯t we discuss yesterday¡¯s prank? I heard that in addition to us, there are two other teams who were also victimized.¡± ¡°Every exchange conference has a welcome ceremony. This kind of joke is very common. It¡¯s rare for country bumpkins like you to see it. Besides, you have seriously hurt our companion. What else do you want!¡± someone on the French team said. Dong Zhi got up and pretended to stop Liu Qingbo. ¡°Forget it. We¡¯re all civilized people. Don¡¯t quarrel with barbarians like them.¡± France had long been the center of European culture, and its people were usually the ones who discriminated against others. Having never been called barbarians before, Galan and the others became infuriated. The teams they teased yesterday, as well as some Americans who were watching the excitement, also followed suit. The topic was successfully transferred from Mara to the French. For a while, Galan and the others became the target of the crowd. They were besieged by various languages and started sweating profusely. In the end, they had to bow their heads and apologize, explaining that it was just a joke made by some in their team and didn¡¯t represent the team as a whole. However, it was too late. Everyone was so enraged by their alleged ¡°joke¡± that they continued to mock them. The Russians directly turned yesterday¡¯s suffocation into actual actions as they started a fight with the French. The free discussion then turned into a brawl. Liu Qingbo was afraid there wasn¡¯t enough fuel to the fire and began egging them on, adding more chaos to the scene. With Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo around, Li Han¡¯er, Liu Si, and the others were happy to watch the show. They didn¡¯t need to lift a finger, but their opponents were already furious. Even Zhang Song felt that Liu Qingbo¡¯s mouth was perfect to use in dealing with outsiders. There was also Dong Zhi, who tried to ¡°make peace¡±, which simply angered the French even more. However, this exchange wasn¡¯t all bad. At least Dong Zhi met an old acquaintance, Kenta. After the death of Master Xinchai, his disciple naturally inherited the mantle and attended the meeting with the witchdoctors from Southeast Asia. However, with his qualifications, he was unable to serve as the leader of the team. The leader of the team was an old man, who was probably the oldest of all the practitioners there, but no one dared underestimate him because this old man was said to be the most famous white-robed witchdoctor in Malaysia. Naturally, he wasn¡¯t here to participate in the competition. When old friends met, it was inevitable that they would chat. Kenta told Dong Zhi that as vice captain of the team, he would lead the team in the competition, but most of the witchdoctors who came this time were fledglings and didn¡¯t have rich practical experience, so their goal wasn¡¯t to win the competition, but to increase their knowledge and gain more experience. He also hoped that Dong Zhi and the others would successfully defeat the other teams and take the championship. ¡°I think of the people here, you¡¯re the strongest, so naturally the people you lead are strong as well. No one can beat you,¡± Kenta said sincerely. Dong Zhi had spent some time with him and knew that this person was straightforward in the things that he said, and wasn¡¯t just blowing air. Dong Zhi gave a wry smile. ¡°Although I¡¯m happy you look up to me so much, the other teams are very strong this time. It¡¯s unknown whether we can actually win or not.¡± Kenta patted Dong Zhi on the shoulder and bluntly said, ¡°If I say you can, you can!¡± The three-day meeting and exchange kicked off in a chaotic atmosphere. The Americans complained that this was the most chaotic exchange conference in history, while Dong Zhi thought it was pretty good. After all, they could argue with the French, and the other party couldn¡¯t fight back. It was interesting to watch them suffocate, especially at night when it became more lively. Ever since Li Han¡¯er took care of the perverted evil spirit, other ghosts didn¡¯t dare harass her anymore. The exorcism talismans from Mount Longhu were affixed to all their doors so they could get a good night¡¯s sleep. It was unknown what method the witchdoctors who were staying on the second floor used, but the evil spirits didn¡¯t dare go to that floor. On the fourth floor, since the Japanese were used to dealing with spirits, they had no issues either. The Americans also seemed to have used some kind of shielding device. But other teams weren¡¯t so lucky. For the next two days, they spent every night constantly dealing with exorcism. Eventually, an Italian said that for the next event that would be held in southern Europe, he would suggest to the organizing committee to find a cemetery with the most evil spirits in all of Italy and pack the Americans there and let them experience the excitement. Three days quickly passed in these small episodes. The Japanese were surprisingly low-key this time. They didn¡¯t take the initiative to find fault with the French, and they didn¡¯t put on a high-profile performance. For three days, it was like they were invisible. If people weren¡¯t paying close attention, it was like the team didn¡¯t even exist. However, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t think they were friendly. After all, it was a competition, so every team was a potential opponent, even their allied Americans. On the last night of the meeting, everyone was called to the hotel conference room, where a middle-aged woman with blond hair wearing black-rimmed glasses was waiting for them. ¡°Good evening, everyone. I¡¯m Lisa. I¡¯m part of the organizing committee and have been appointed to explain to you the competitive session that¡¯s starting tomorrow.¡± Lisa didn¡¯t look young anymore, but she had a unique affinity when she smiled, which made people want to involuntarily listen carefully to what she was saying. The organizing committee of the Exchange Conference was a cultural institution affiliated with the United Nations, and Lisa was part of this organization. Unlike other international events, the Exchange Conference had no spectators. There were only practitioners from all over the world. Although it was a competition, it was different from ordinary competitions, because what they were about to face was a world of fantasy on the other side. ¡°Compared to all of you who are extraordinary, I¡¯m just a normal civil servant, so please be gentle. Even if you like me or want to applaud, don¡¯t suddenly throw a fireball, or conjure a lion. That¡¯ll frighten me.¡± Everyone laughed when they heard her opening remarks, which deliberately reconciled the atmosphere. Lisa thoughtfully slowed down her talking so that the interpreters could pass her words through the headset in everyone¡¯s ears. ¡°Tomorrow, you¡¯ll be sent to an archipelago in the north of the Atlantic Ocean. That archipelago is called the Senluo Islands. It¡¯s shrouded in fog all year round so it¡¯s difficult for outsiders to find it. The Senluo Islands have a very wonderful landscape and many creatures, so you won¡¯t regret going there.¡± ¡°However, since it¡¯s also the research base of Group 51, this time, in order to perfectly reflect the theme of the competition, the organizers have placed various things on the islands. Perhaps you¡¯ll be surprised or frightened.¡± ¡°There are four islands in the Senluo Islands. Two to three teams will be arranged on each island. The landing locations are scattered, but for the sake of fairness, the islands are determined by lottery. Now, please come up and draw lots.¡± Lisa picked up a box next to her and motioned for everyone to reach in and draw a ticket out. The order of the lottery was sorted alphabetically by countries. Even if it wasn¡¯t arranged, since the Americans were the hosts, they were eligible to draw first. Their group leader was a woman named Lilith. As she drew from the box, a golden ball emerged. When it was unscrewed, there was a note inside. ¡°I got Full Moon Island.¡± Lisa smiled and said, ¡°Congratulations. It¡¯s an island with a beautiful name.¡± Lilith shrugged. ¡°I hope our luck is as beautiful as it.¡± The French drew Princess Island, while Dong Zhi¡¯s team drew Diana Island¡ªthe names of these islands were becoming dreamier one after another that Dong Zhi started to suspect a 17-year-old girl had named them. Coincidentally, they didn¡¯t share an island with the French or the Americans, but in the end got the Japanese. Dong Zhi glanced at the leader of the Japanese team, who was staring at him. They were both probably in the same mood at the moment. The path of enemies was indeed narrow. Lisa said, ¡°In this competition, you¡¯ll need to get one prop, the golden apple. It could be hidden in any corner of the island, including underground and in the sky. After 20 days, the team that gets the golden apple will win. In addition, some creatures and specific places will have special silver coins. If no one can find the golden apple after 20 days, then the top three teams will be decided based on the number of silver coins each team has. Does everyone get this?¡± Someone asked, ¡°The archipelago is so big. How can we find a small golden apple? Are there any clues?¡± Lisa shook her head. ¡°There are no clues, but I promise, it¡¯s definitely something you¡¯ve experienced. It will depend on whether or not you¡¯re paying attention.¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°If the golden apple is hidden in the stomach of monsters, we can¡¯t just cut open their stomachs every time we kill them, right? Isn¡¯t that such a huge waste of time?¡± His words aroused the echoes of others. Lisa thought for a while and said, ¡°Okay, then let me give you a hint. The goddess shrouded in the clouds will eventually take off her mysterious veil.¡± Everyone: ¡­What the hell kind of hint is this? Seeing everyone¡¯s confused faces, Lisa couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡°Don¡¯t worry if you don¡¯t understand the hint. Since the golden apple is the key to winning the competition, it must be in a conspicuous place where everyone will notice. Rest assured, we didn¡¯t throw the prop into the sea and have you go diving for it.¡± ¡°What about silver coins? Shouldn¡¯t you give some clues for them?¡± Some people weren¡¯t satisfied. Lisa refused to reveal more. ¡°There is a large amount of silver coins. Don¡¯t worry. You will find some.¡± ¡°What kinds of monsters or difficulties are on the islands? This you can tell us, right?¡± Everyone was paying full attention, not letting go of any hints. Lisa smiled awkwardly. ¡°Sorry, I really want to tell you, but I don¡¯t know. I¡¯ve heard that this year¡¯s difficulty is the toughest in history. In other words, this competition is likely to be extremely dangerous.¡± Everyone¡¯s expression was calm, and there wasn¡¯t any unexpected reaction to this. Originally, there would be some people who would die in every competition. The difference was just the numbers. The appalling rules of the game to the mundane world were nothing to practitioners. Those who fear danger and wouldn¡¯t go all out wouldn¡¯t bother signing up. While teams composed of strong individuals naturally had a higher chance of winning, as long as weak teams united and cooperated, they still had a chance to win. The winner not only received prestige for their country or region, but everyone in the team would also become famous in one fell swoop. For example, since Kenta was acquainted with Dong Zhi, if they could win the competition this time after returning, Kenta would become a well-known witchdoctor and would no longer need to be officially bestowed the title of Master Xinchai¡¯s successor in order to be recognized. Fame and profit were intuitive benefits that the Exchange Conference could bring. Practitioners were also humans. While their areas of pursuit were different from ordinary people¡¯s, it didn¡¯t mean that they didn¡¯t have the desires and goals of ordinary people. Their human nature was, in essence, still the same. ¡°There will be a considerable number of speedboats on the shores of each island. If it gets to a point where it¡¯s really unbearable, you can take the nearest speedboat to leave. There¡¯s an automatic navigation system on the speedboat. You don¡¯t need to operate it. It will take you out of the island area and back to the ship that¡¯s staying on the high seas to pick you up. It¡¯s safe there. However, I want to remind you that as long as one person chooses to leave halfway, then that person¡¯s team will automatically be disqualified. No matter what the results or achievements the team has reached, they will all be counted as invalid.¡± Lisa looked around for a while, then solemnly said, ¡°I hope you will all be safe and sound, and I hope you will give full consideration to your teammates. This competition is not only your personal show but also represents the honor of your team. Finally, good luck to you all!¡± On the last night of staying at the Franklin Hotel, those troublemakers were finally wiped out. Everyone had a quiet night, but on the eve of the competition, many had trouble sleeping. Dong Zhi picked up his phone before going to bed and opened up a chat window with Long Shen. After looking at it for a few seconds, he turned off his phone. Long Shen and the others should have arrived in Japan by now if there were no problems. He didn¡¯t know if they had found Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s lair and slain him, but they were probably in disguise. Most likely, this number was disconnected, and no one would reply to his message. However, Dong Zhi still sent a text: [Master, everything is going well. I¡¯ll work hard.] After sending the message, he smiled slightly, with inner strength. Early the next morning, the organizer sent someone to pick everyone up at the airport. They took a flight to the east coast and then took a boat to their destination. The person in charge of picking Dong Zhi and the others up was still their old buddy Ivan. He seemed worried that Dong Zhi and the others wouldn¡¯t return, so he kept urging Dong Zhi to fulfill his promise and write the letter of recommendation for him. Dong Zhi found it funny and had to send a short email to Carlos while in the car. ¡°Honestly, Ivan, do you really think we won¡¯t return?¡± Ivan smiled and said, ¡°How could you say that? In my mind, you¡¯re the strongest. Dong, you must get the golden apple. If I can be interviewed by Carlos, I¡¯ll treat you to dinner to celebrate.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°You¡¯re American, but you actually want us to win?¡± Ivan winked at him. ¡°Of course. They didn¡¯t write me a letter of recommendation!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless. He thought, ¡®Buddy, you¡¯re really sincere.¡¯ The plane ride to the east coast took nearly 10 hours. They arrived in Norfolk from Los Angeles and then took a passenger ship from Norfolk to the legendary Senluo Islands. The teams didn¡¯t bother with any tit-for-tat or pretenses. They quickly found their cabin on the ship and prepared for the competition. As if to carry the narrow path to its end, Dong Zhi¡¯s cabin happened to be adjacent to the Japanese. This time, the Japanese only came with four people¡ªthree men and a woman. They were the least numerous and the most low-key of all the teams. Though they stayed in the same hotel for several days, they didn¡¯t even meet face-to-face with Dong Zhi until now. The ordinary-looking young man who came face-to-face with him seemed surprised that Dong Zhi was next door. The two nodded to each other as a greeting but didn¡¯t say a word. After the young man entered his room, Liu Qingbo also came to Dong Zhi¡¯s room. ¡°They sent so few people this time. It doesn¡¯t look like they¡¯re trying to win the competition. It¡¯s strange. Are they targeting us?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°There¡¯s no evidence now, and it¡¯ll be too late for the country to check their identities. However, Fujikawa Aoi plays an important role in the onmyoji world in Japan, and we have forged such a deep relationship with him. It¡¯s normal that he would send a few disciples to trip us up.¡± Liu Qingbo curled his lips. ¡°There are also the British and the Americans. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re scheming. The Americans say they are allies with us, but they probably know more than they let on!¡± Dong Zhi spread his hands. ¡°We cover ourselves to them so how can we expect them to be whole-hearted to us? No one is a fool. We can just take what we need from each other. I think the French are acting dumb this time. Everyone else is quite shrewd. Yang Shouyi and the others have started focusing on the competition, so start paying more attention to it.¡± Although the room was small, based on the details, it could be seen that they tried to provide the most comfortable environment possible for the guests. However, given the space, they could at most read a book or sleep. It was impossible to practice swordmanship in it. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to go on deck to practice and be watched by others, so he had nothing to do. He decided to sit cross-legged on the bed and practice his breathing technique. Liu Qingbo and the others were also in a similar situation. Everyone tried to reduce the number of times they went out to eat. Since he didn¡¯t have any other friends besides Kenta, it was better to not waste time with fake pleasantries and not say anything at all. Since they were staying on a ship, no matter how big it was, it wasn¡¯t as comfortable as being on land, and the scenery was just the ocean. The ship traveled through the vast sea, undulating on the waves. After a few hours, it finally sailed into the white fog ahead. As soon as it entered the foggy sea, the surrounding line of sight was immediately white, and nothing could be seen. Dong Zhi heard from William that the fog that enveloped the islands seemed to have magical properties. It lasted all year and enclosed the islands tightly, like an enchantment. Because the magnetic field was strong, radar was prone to failure. In an era where there was no radar, countless ships that were blinded by the fog would stray into this area and as a result hit the rocks and sank. After Group 51 discovered this place, they used it as a test base. However, William had only heard about it from his predecessors and had never actually been here before. Looking around, all the dangerous and unpredictable unknown mysteries seemed to be hidden behind the white mist, waiting for them to be uncovered. The Changshou Sword beside him vibrated slightly and made a buzzing sound. Dong Zhi noticed it and held it in his hand. This wasn¡¯t the first time the Changshou Sword reacted like this. There were only two times in Dong Zhi¡¯s impression. The first was when he was facing the Wuzhiqi under the Huai River. The other was when he went to Xianda Village to find the heavenly demon. Both times were extremely dangerous experiences. Now that the Changshou Sword was vibrating again, this meant it sensed tricky and powerful enemies ahead. Dong Zhi held the sword tightly and whispered, ¡°Don¡¯t worry. If there are any difficulties, we¡¯ll face them together.¡± It seemed that, feeling its master¡¯s heat and comfort, the Changshou Sword gradually calmed down and returned to normal. Anton, a Russian who was in his room, looked up at the vast fog outside the window. Suddenly, his eyes widened. In the gray-white fog, there seemed to be a few strands of black qi. The black qi slowly drifted away and started to coalesce together, finally turning into a black cloud the size of a human head, which stood out conspicuously in the white fog. Anton stared blankly. He didn¡¯t feel anything strange from the black qi, but the sweet smell made him involuntarily relax his spirit and body. He stared at the black qi, unable to look away. The black qi wasn¡¯t blocked by the porthole. It seemed to have noticed Anton and gradually approached him. It penetrated through the porthole and entered his room, smelling like a plate of freshly baked strawberry muffins, exuding a sweet aroma in front of him. Anton¡¯s eyes became a little blurred. He heard another voice in his head trying to stop him from reaching out to the black mist. ¡°What are you?¡± he heard himself ask. ¡°I am you,¡± the black mist replied. ¡°I am part of you. I am what you want, and I am what you¡¯re afraid of.¡± Anton frowned. His face tensed as he muttered to himself. ¡°No, I don¡¯t need it. I smell death on you. Quickly leave or I will expel you¡­¡± The struggle became more intense. Sweat dripped from his forehead, and his chest was undulating. He was gasping for air as his fists clenched and loosened several times. Finally, he raised his hand, stretched out a finger, and pointed towards the black mist hovering in the air. ¡°You need me. You need me to overcome your timidity. I can satisfy all your desires and make you the most powerful person in the world. Everyone will kneel down and surrender at your feet. You¡¯ll no longer be a despised psychic but a god that others will worship!¡± The bewitching voice echoed in his ears as Anton¡¯s finger finally connected to the black mist! In an instant, he seemed to see fireworks exploding in his mind, directly stunning him. Various scenes passed before his eyes, and he felt as if hundreds of people were talking into his ears at the same time. The noise of various languages made him involuntarily cover his ears and roll on the bed. ¡°I like your physique, and I like your weak willpower even more. I especially like people like you who are always complaining and dissatisfied!¡± He heard a voice that didn¡¯t belong to him say, but that voice was indeed coming out of his own mouth. Anton opened his eyes wide in horror, as if he were sober but being involuntarily manipulated like a marionette. ¡°This body is a bit weak, but whatever. It¡¯s only temporary.¡± Anton had typical Eastern Slavic characteristics. He was tall and had a pale complexion. Though he was in his mid-thirties, he had properly maintained his figure and wasn¡¯t balding, which was rare. His appearance was decent and could even be considered handsome. This was the first time someone had commented on how poor his health was, but he couldn¡¯t refute, seeing as how it was his own voice that was saying it. ¡°Our new journey has just begun, Anton. From now on, I am you.¡± No¡­ Anton struggled desperately. He wanted to resist and even used his remaining consciousness to curse the most unpleasant thing he could say so that this lone evil spirit that came from nowhere would leave his body. As a psychic, he knew hundreds of ways to exorcize an evil spirit, but that didn¡¯t include the situation where one possessed his own body. Tap, tap, tap. There was a knock on the door. In just a moment of distraction, all of Anton¡¯s consciousness was swallowed up by a bloody mouth. My¡­ body¡­ The author has something to say: [Unrelated to the main text] Small theater: Under the tossing of all the practitioners day and night, the hotel was finally cleared. Evil Spirit A was biting a handkerchief at a corner not far from the hotel: Wuwuwu, I dare not go back. Evil Spirit B: Forget it, forget it. They¡¯re all leaving. I heard they will go to a very dangerous place this time, and there will be something more powerful than us to deal with them. Evil Spirit C: I checked the internet just now. There¡¯s a not too shabby hotel nearby. Do you want to go there? Evil Spirit A: No, I like my bed. Forget it. I¡¯ll bear it a little longer. These people are leaving today. Evil Spirit D came to report: They¡¯re leaving! Those scourges are finally all gone! All the evil spirits cheered: To celebrate, let¡¯s go to the bar and drink all night. We¡¯ll possess a few more people so we can drink more! CH 127 Anna waited outside the door for a long time before it opened. ¡°Anton, what are you doing in there? Why are you taking so long to open the door?¡± There were a total of seven people on the Russian team, five of whom were from the special agencies under national security, which was somewhat similar to the Special Administration Bureau that Dong Zhi¡¯s team worked for¡ªsuch agencies were often unknown to outsiders, but they did exist. The other two, including Anton, were selected through civilian recruitment. However, Anna and the others didn¡¯t like Anton very much, not only because he was often taciturn and had barely a presence, but also because he seemed out of place on the team. He didn¡¯t look like a well-trained practitioner at all. At best, he was thought to be mediocre. Hearing Anna¡¯s complaint, Anton blinked slowly, showed a na?ve smile, and said embarrassedly, ¡°I may have dozed off just now.¡± ¡°Come out quickly. It¡¯s dinner time!¡± Anna didn¡¯t say much more before tossing her sentence and turning around to leave. Naturally, she didn¡¯t notice that Anton¡¯s smile became weird at some point and the corner of his mouth seemed to slightly tilt upwards then curled down again. It was eerie to the degree of terrifying that could make people¡¯s hearts tremble. When the passenger ship arrived at its destination in the vast sea, many people were so energized to see dry land that their tiredness from the journey was forgotten. It also meant that the harmony between teams easily disappeared, and the mood became nothing short of a competitive relationship. Although under normal circumstances, there would be no malicious killings, Dong Zhi knew that in this archipelago, there was no supervision or restraint by external forces. Even if there was a man-made accident, the murderer could easily get away with it. This was why Grace had been pursuing Dong Zhi and them, adamant that the Chinese had murdered her sister on purpose. However, the environment and conditions at that time showed no evidence of this, so in the end, it could only be dismissed, and she chose to take her revenge in her own way. This logic was reasonable, but unfortunately, she chose the wrong target. Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t interested in harming others, but no one was allowed to plot against his teammates. The organizing committee would drop each team off at their designated location in turn, based on the pre-calculated latitude and longitude, and then let them take a speed boat to their island. The passenger ship traveled forward a bit, then started lowering other teams to their speedboat. In this way, even if two teams had the same island, the two sides would have different settlements, which was equivalent to being in different locations on the island. That meant it would be difficult for them to encounter each other at first. The organizers also equipped everyone with a watch that had a 20-day countdown. The time started from now and 20 days later would mark the end of the competition. Before the separation, William found Dong Zhi privately and gave him a cellphone. There was no signal on the island, so texting wasn¡¯t available, which was tantamount to being isolated from the world. However, the phone given by William was an exception. Although they were unable to communicate with the outside world, they could still get in touch with the one in William¡¯s hand. ¡°I believe that the Japanese won¡¯t be your opponents, so if there¡¯s no golden apple on the island you¡¯re staying on, just let me know so we don¡¯t have to go there and search again. Likewise, I¡¯ll tell you about the situation on my side as well,¡± William said. Dong Zhi asked rhetorically, ¡°What if you find the golden apple first? Will you also tell us?¡± The rules of the competition stipulated that when one team got the key prop, the other teams weren¡¯t allowed to snatch it unless they encountered unpredictable dangers. However, Dong Zhi was doubtful this rule would be effectively implemented. Once they arrived on the island, it was equivalent to losing the power of supervision. If a person were to take advantage of that and kill someone, as long as they didn¡¯t leave any traces behind, no one would notice. William gave a playful smile. ¡°Yes, why not? When we leave the island by boat, I¡¯ll definitely tell you so you won¡¯t continue to sweat mercilessly!¡± Dong Zhi looked indifferent. ¡°Then we¡¯ll do the same.¡± William: ¡°Don¡¯t be like this, Dong. I worked hard to get these two phones. They are very useful. First, we can eliminate all the islands without the golden apple, which saves us a lot of time and avoid letting other teams take the lead. I believe we¡¯ll be the strongest of all teams here, no? Also, trust is mutual. I swear I won¡¯t lie to you, but everyone wants the golden apple. The deal is, if we get the golden apple, we¡¯ll leave the silver coins to you, allowing you to get second place. Well?¡± Dong Zhi thought for a while. ¡°Okay, deal.¡± William thought to himself, ¡®Dong can vye for first place, but that¡¯s pointless. They can rack their brains, but no one knows where the golden apple is. First place is destined to be ours.¡¯ Dong Zhi thought to himself, ¡®Who wants second place? That¡¯s reserved for the Americans and will be like that for the next competition and the next one after that as well.¡¯ The two shook hands, indicating their alliance had been reached, and they both smiled tacitly. There were four big islands that made up the Senluo Islands and a few small islands and reefs that could be seen at a glance. Those weren¡¯t part of the competition. Lisa had clearly told them that the competition would only be on the four main islands. The island where Dong Zhi landed was called Diana Island. Diana* was the goddess of the moon in Roman mythology, but she had also a lesser-known counterpart. Diana was also the goddess of the forest, so as the name suggests, the island was densely wooded and full of tall trees. Coupled with the surrounding white mist on the canopy, it was enough to become the background of a horror movie. *Goddess of the countryside, hunters, crossroads, and the Moon. She¡¯s equated with the Greek Goddess Artemis. All six people in Dong Zhi¡¯s group weren¡¯t scared, but they were vigilant. They found the island to be much larger than they thought, and the large forest that wasn¡¯t far away made it easy to hide, making ambushes more deadly. Inside, anything could happen. Liu Qingbo looked up. He originally wanted to see when it would get dark, but instead of the clouds and sun, he only saw white mist. ¡°Damn, this fog is endless. You can¡¯t even see the sun!¡± Dong Zhi looked at his watch. ¡°It should be almost dusk. The light is darker than when we were on the boat. No matter what kind of creatures there are, they most likely attack in the dark. This island is definitely not as calm as it seems. Let¡¯s find a relatively safe place to settle down and spend the night and make plans for tomorrow.¡± Liu Si said, ¡°Let me ask.¡± As Liu Si walked towards the trees, Zhang Song felt inexplicable. ¡°Who are you going to ask?¡± Liu Si looked back and smiled. ¡°Have you forgotten my original form?¡± Only then did Zhang Song remember that Liu Si¡¯s was originally a willow, so naturally he could communicate with trees. Neither Yang Shouyi nor Li Han¡¯er expected that Liu Si wasn¡¯t actually human, but they didn¡¯t want to pry too much into that kind of thing. They both chose to remain silent, but their faces showed interest. Liu Si walked over, put one hand on the trunk of the tree, stood still for a moment, and then walked back. ¡°These trees are a bit strange.¡± When he came back, his expression was a little confused. ¡°They have lived for a long time, but they can only communicate very little information. I¡¯ve tried a few of them. They only know that the edge of the forest is safe, but there will be danger when we go in. As for what the danger is, they can¡¯t tell. They can only convey vague messages.¡± Liu Si suddenly paused. ¡°Based on this information, it can only mean endless death.¡± Everyone was silent for a while. It was Dong Zhi who spoke first. ¡°Then let¡¯s spend the night outside the forest.¡± Fire starting tools and drinking water were readily available. Practitioners like Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t yet reached the realm of abstinence*, but they ate less than ordinary people and had longer endurance. Li Han¡¯er took out some compressed biscuits and shared them. After eating two pieces, everyone was full. They started a fire and sat around it for warmth. *Realm of Bigu. Abstinence from eating. In terms of cultivation, basically, if you reach this realm, you no longer need to eat. Liu Qingbo frowned and said, ¡°It¡¯s strange that this is a competitive venue and a research base for Group 51. Even if it¡¯s dangerous, it¡¯s impossible for it to be linked with endless death. What the hell is the organizing committee thinking?¡± Li Han¡¯er said softly, ¡°Maybe they¡¯re not up to something, but something uncontrollable happened.¡± Through the thick fog, the sky gradually darkened; the speed of which seemed to be faster than normal. After a while, everything sank into darkness. With the bonfire at the center, the fire blazed within a radius of three to five meters, but after this range, it was only darkness, the woods, and the fog. The sea and the island seemed to merge as unpredictable dangers quietly bred in the darkness. It was as if, at any moment, something would jump out and swallow life itself. The minds of everyone were already much stronger than ordinary people, but in this atmosphere, only by seeing the faces of their companions around the burning bonfire could they feel a trace of their own breath in the world rather than being swallowed by the overwhelming fog. Sitting idly without anything to do, Yang Shouyi pondered the riddle Lisa had told them that was related to the whereabouts of the prop. ¡°The beauty shrouded in the clouds will eventually take off her mysterious veil¡­ Isn¡¯t Diana a goddess? Does the riddle refer to our current island?¡± Li Han¡¯er shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that simple. Beauty could refer to something specific, such as a mountain peak or a specific place. If the meaning of the riddle is so broad and general, then we have to search every corner of the island. This possibility feels unlikely.¡± Dong Zhi asked Liu Si, ¡°Lao Liu, what do you think?¡± Liu Si didn¡¯t say much, but generally the things he said were quite informative. Liu Si thought for a while, then said, ¡°Could it be that the riddle is just deliberately confusing and misleading us?¡± Zhang Song frowned and said, ¡°But this isn¡¯t in line with the rules, right? Is there precedent for the organizing committee deliberately spreading false information?¡± Liu Qingbo smiled. ¡°Haven¡¯t you taken a closer look at the information distributed in past competitions? Of course they have! When the last session was in the Valley of the Emperor, the organizing committee announced five clues, but in the end, it was confirmed that three of them were fake. Many people mistakenly took the fake clues as real clues and were misled from the start. One team also suffered two deaths and four were injured as a result. I really doubt what you¡¯ve been doing when the information was handed to you.¡± His tone was particularly flat, which made Zhang Song¡¯s hand itchy. He couldn¡¯t help but want to stage a wonderful beating of the deputy captain. Before the infighting started, Dong Zhi forcibly rounded things up and changed the subject. ¡°Anyway, we¡¯re here now. Tomorrow, we¡¯ll go into the woods and investigate. Tonight, make sure to get enough energy. I¡¯ll stand watch for the first half of the night. Lao Liu will guard the second half, and Xiao Zhang tomorrow¡ª¡± Seeing Zhang Song roll his eyes, Dong Zhi quickly changed his words. ¡°Lao Zhang and Lao Liu will be on duty.¡± Yang Shouyi took the initiative to say, ¡°Let me stand watch tonight. I¡¯m in a good state, and I¡¯m not tired. You¡¯ll definitely be exhausted tomorrow, Dong Zhi, so don¡¯t keep vigil tonight.¡± Li Han¡¯er said, ¡°Then I¡¯ll do the second half of the night. The others can discuss it tomorrow.¡± On Rose Island, Anton, the Russian, was walking in a valley with his companions. Rose Island, as the name would suggest, should be romantic, but in fact, there wasn¡¯t a single rose on the island. Rather, it was full of mountains and valleys. Unfortunately, the height of these mountains was quite inadequate, and added to that were the silent inhabitants, which only gave the contestants a headache. The Russians went to the same island as the British and Southern Europe, but the three parties had different landing points. The island was also quite large, so at present, the teams hadn¡¯t yet met. Anton didn¡¯t actually want to participate. His profession was called a psychic in Russia, but he only did this job purely to make a living. There were no ideals of exploring the unknown and advancing to a higher realm. Signing up this time was also because he would get a generous bonus. After the ship sailed into the fog, he felt groggy all over. Sometimes it seemed that he didn¡¯t speak and would do things beyond his will, and even his memories were becoming foggy. However, as a psychic, his physique was far more sensitive than others. He could easily perceive magnetic field fluctuations that others couldn¡¯t detect, which allowed him to sense the aura of death in the mist. This aura was many times stronger than what he had experienced before, and it surrounded him overwhelmingly from all sides, which frightened him to the point where he couldn¡¯t wait to turn around and run. Before disembarking, he even told the team leader that he was unwell and hoped to withdraw from the competition and go home. Naturally, he was denied. They had come all the way here, so how could they give up halfway? The leader, Alexander, taught him a hard lesson and told him not to affect other people¡¯s emotions. Anton had no choice but to keep his muttering and dissatisfaction to himself. The fear in his heart grew stronger as the team traveled deeper into the island. As a psychic, such a premonition was extremely abnormal. ¡°Captain, let¡¯s not go further!¡± He couldn¡¯t help shouting. ¡°What are you spouting off again!¡± Alexander was annoyed. ¡°I warned you. We¡¯re here to compete, so of course there¡¯s danger. Since you chose to sign up, you should have expected this!¡± The others laughed. ¡°Come on, Anton. Your mouth has been complaining since we landed. Are you really a psychic? How did you pass the screening?¡± ¡°Look at this coward. Are you an ordinary person who snuck in?¡± Anton roared, ¡°Enough! Can¡¯t I regret it now? I want to leave. I don¡¯t want to stay in this shithole anymore!¡± Alexander suddenly stopped and turned around abruptly. He grabbed Anton by the collar and slammed him against the mountain wall. ¡°Do you not understand my warning? No one can leave before the game is over! Either you stay well and do things honestly, or just leave by yourself. If you want to die, no one will stop you!¡± Alexander felt that this kind of competition shouldn¡¯t have recruited practitioners from the private sector to participate. Looking at their quality, they had no team spirit. How could they expect to find the golden apple? Anton collapsed and yelled, ¡°But I sense the aura of death! It¡¯s all death! We¡¯re all going to die here¡ª¡± His voice abruptly stopped. The back of his neck was pinched by Anna, and he rolled his eyes and fell softly to the ground. Anna said calmly, ¡°His mood isn¡¯t right. Let¡¯s take a break right now. It¡¯s dark now anyway. Let¡¯s see if Anton will get better when he wakes up.¡± There happened to be a cave nearby, which could keep them from the cold and rain. Anna proposed to spend the night in it, and everyone agreed. Alexander took the initiative to explore the cave and found it wasn¡¯t very deep and there weren¡¯t any animals, such as bats. It was dry and clean, as if it were a natural habitat provided to passersby on a special trip. They lit a fire in the cave and looked at Anton, who had fallen unconscious. It was inevitable that they would pick up the topic and tease him again. Another practitioner who was selected from the private sector felt embarrassed. Everyone was wondering where they would find the golden apple while Anton kept dragging his legs, so he proposed they wait for Anton to wake up and send him to the beach so he could leave by himself. ¡°No!¡± Anna instantly rejected this proposal. ¡°Did you forget the rules? If someone leaves first during the competition, the entire team will be disqualified. Not only can we not leave Anton behind, we have to keep an eye on him lest he find a chance to escape. Then this trip will all be in vain!¡± Alexander tossed the lighter to the ground carelessly. ¡°This bastard ruined all our plans!¡± Anna said, ¡°When he wakes up, let me have a good talk with him. As long as he doesn¡¯t do anything bad, he can do what he wants.¡± It seemed that this was the only way. Alexander couldn¡¯t help but glare at Anton again and begin to arrange for his teammates to take turns resting. It was Anna¡¯s turn to take vigil for the second half of the night. When she woke up, the mist in the sky was blown away by the wind, revealing a crescent moon. The bright moonlight spread down, making the island look peaceful. Compared to a competitive game, it was more like a romantic place for a date. She even wondered if there were any so-called obstacles on this island, but if not, where would they go to find the golden apple? Did they have to dig into every piece of suspicious land they found? The campfire was still burning, but it was much weaker. Several people were sleeping on their sides, except for Anton. Anna was startled and quickly walked outside, only to secretly breathe a sigh of relief when she saw Anton sitting outside with the night watch. ¡°Hey, Lev, go get some rest. I¡¯ll stay here!¡± She greeted her companion, who was at the vigil. Her companion got up and patted her, yawned, and walked into the cave. During this process, Anton was silent before Anna sat down. ¡°Anton, it seems I haven¡¯t asked you. Where are you from?¡± ¡°¡­A rural area in Siberia. You haven¡¯t heard of it,¡± Anton said weakly. Anna tried to soften her voice. ¡°Listen to me Anton, if you go back now, that means we all will fail before the competition even starts. This is a cowardly act that will ruin your reputation if you go back. Everyone will know that you¡¯re a coward who wanted to escape because he got cold feet. No one will believe you anymore, and your career will be greatly affected.¡± ¡°That¡¯s better than losing your life,¡± Anton murmured. ¡°If you stay here any longer, it¡¯s not only me and you, but everyone will die!¡± Anna said solemnly, ¡°What did you see? Tell me!¡± Anton said in a daze, ¡°I can¡¯t say it, but I can feel the sickle of death hanging above our heads.¡± Ordinary people would be fooled by such exaggerated words, but Anna, as a practitioner, couldn¡¯t help but become enraged and wanted to reprimand him. However, at this moment, a scream suddenly came from inside the cave! Anna didn¡¯t even think. She turned around and ran towards the cave. Lev, who had just changed shifts with Anna, was leaning against the stone wall and was immersed in his sleep, was being choked tightly by claws sticking out of the stones. He rolled his eyes and couldn¡¯t break free. The sharp claws pierced his neck, splattering blood instantly. Lev subconsciously wanted to scream, but the next moment, his trachea was cut off, and the last sound of his life disappeared. Everyone was instantly awakened. Alexander immediately drew out his gun and fired about five rounds at the unknown creature attacking them within two seconds. The shots all hit, and the screams of those creatures echoed in the cave. They fluttered their wings and attacked all the humans more frantically, filling the entire cave with a strong smell of blood. Although the Russians were at odds with the Americans, there were always many coincidences in their lives. For example, the bullets they used were specially made materials that could not only kill people but were also lethal to strange beasts and demons. This was a finished product that had been tested many times, but the unknown creatures in front of them were too big. Not only did they have limbs similar to humans¡¯, but they also had a pair of huge wings on their backs. A closer look showed that the ends of those limbs weren¡¯t normal human fingers but were similar to an eagle¡¯s claws. The monster was covered with long hair that covered its head, revealing only its face. The green and faint eyes were particularly creepy in the dark. The practitioners, who were far more agile than ordinary people, flew all over the walls of the cave, but these monsters were quicker than them. In just ten minutes, everyone had wounds on their bodies. ¡°God, what the hell are these things? What monsters did the damn Americans put in!¡± During the struggle, someone couldn¡¯t help but curse. ¡°Run! Run!¡± Alexander roared as he threw the guns that were empty of bullets away. He pulled out a katana and slashed at the incoming monsters head on! The monster wailed, and most of its wings were cut off by him, but Alexander also recoiled from shock. At this time, several of his companions had already escaped, but they didn¡¯t notice that in the midst of the chaos, Anton wasn¡¯t there. At this time, Dong Zhi was taking a break during the long night. The winter night was bitingly cold. As the wind blew through the forest, it brought not only the rustling of the branches and leaves, but also a trembling chill. Dong Zhi¡¯s team had all brought sleeping bags and found a relatively clean place. They lit a campfire and spread out the sleeping bags around it before burrowing into it, which made things much warmer. Yang Shouyi was responsible for the first half of the night, while Li Han¡¯er would take the second shift. Seeing that the time had passed the agreed 2 o¡¯clock, Yang Shouyi felt that he wasn¡¯t sleepy yet and decided to let his companion sleep a little longer, so he didn¡¯t wake up Li Han¡¯er. Although he didn¡¯t really understand why Dong Zhi was captain at first, Yang Shouyi now knew why the top had appointed him as leader of their team. On their team, they weren¡¯t weak in terms of combat ability, but when they were abroad, they couldn¡¯t convince the public by just fighting. Whether they were being pranked when they first arrived at the hotel or when they fought with the French, with Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo around, they wouldn¡¯t suffer any losses and instead would just piss off their opponents. Dong Zhi used his own unique humor to reconcile and resolve everyone¡¯s discomfort in an unfamiliar environment. Facing the barriers of different cultures and people, he gradually brought a few arrogant people together. This was indeed quite remarkable. Yang Shouyi thought he couldn¡¯t do it if it was himself. As he looked at the six of them, the younger practitioners certainly couldn¡¯t do it. After figuring this out, Yang Shouyi¡¯s dissatisfaction towards Dong Zhi gradually dissipated. He could see that Li Han¡¯er and Zhang Song¡¯s views had also changed, similar to his own. CH 128 Practitioners were light sleepers and always alert, especially in an unfamiliar environment, and especially women. Li Han¡¯er woke up automatically without Yang Shouyi calling. She rubbed her eyes and looked at her watch, then quietly got up and walked over. ¡°Go sleep. I¡¯ll stand watch,¡± she said to Yang Shouyi. Yang Shouyi nodded and was about to get up when there was some movement coming from the forest behind him. It sounded like something had stepped on a branch on the ground, making a subtle sound, but both Yang Shouyi and Li Han¡¯er keenly caught it. The two glanced at each other. One went to wake the others up while the other got up and walked a few steps towards where the sound came from. The direction of the forest was dark and couldn¡¯t be seen clearly. A flashlight flashed, but visibility was limited. The others were awakened one after another. Everyone moved quickly. They slept with their outfits on, and all held onto their weapons as they slept. At this time, when they crawled out of the sleeping bags, they were all wide awake. ¡°There was a sound just now, like someone or an animal stepping on a branch. It might be a false alarm, but I think it¡¯s better to wake you guys up,¡± Yang Shouyi said apologetically. ¡°Be careful when sailing for a thousand years*. Anything can happen in this place. It¡¯s right to be cautious.¡± Dong Zhi gave him a thumbs up, got up, and walked forward with his Changshou Sword. ¡°I¡¯ll go over and have a look. You guys wait where you are.¡± *(СÐÄñ‚µÃÈfÄê´¬) Proverb referring to one can always be safe if one is careful. ¡°Let¡¯s go together,¡± Li Han¡¯er said. Everyone started following without saying much. Dong Zhi felt touched by the sentiment and let them do as they pleased. Before leaving, William revealed a few important pieces of information. First, on these islands, there were monsters from Western mythology and legends, such as harpies, female monsters that had eagle claws and wings. There were also the black roosters, Gullinkambi. Second, William didn¡¯t know much more. The above two were some of the monsters he knew about. There were other unknown dangers waiting for them, so they shouldn¡¯t take things lightly. Dong Zhi and the others had no idea about the fighting powers and true temperament of these ancient monsters. Myths were just myths after all. They would no longer be accurate after years of refinement and word-of-mouth. Dong Zhi had personally encountered the Wuzhiqi, a legendary great demon who brought calamities and scourge, and discovered that not only was that inaccurate, but it actually kept its promise better than humans. For thousands of years, its enemies and friends had all died, but it was still guarding that stone tablet. If it hadn¡¯t been corrupted by demonic qi, there would never have been the subsequent killings of those students at Shencheng. But one thing was certain, these monsters were not to be underestimated. They may often possess intelligence just as good as humans. The organizing committee thought they could control the competition within a reasonable range, but in fact, they may not. Dong Zhi had a vague premonition that the time spent on this island during the competition might slip into an uncontrollable abyss. Just as he was thinking, several people slowly stepped forward to where Yang Shouyi heard the movement. There was nothing, but indeed, there were branches on the ground. Dong Zhi bent down to pick it up. The branch had been broken in half, but the bark was still stuck together. ¡°Be careful!¡± Liu Qingbo¡¯s hand was already outstretched, grabbing Dong Zhi¡¯s arm and pulling him towards him when he blurted out! At the same time, just where Dong Zhi was standing, a hand popped out of the soil with sharp fingernails. It wanted to grab the back of Dong Zhi¡¯s ankle, but Liu Qingbo interrupted, so it only grabbed air. The reason Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t paying attention to his feet was because he was distracted by what was at the top. Yang Shouyi took out his sword and slashed the hand, directly cutting it off, but more hands emerged from the soil around them, trying to grab them. ¡°There¡¯s something in the trees. Go back to where you were!¡± Dong Zhi suddenly yelled. Right as he spoke, a dark shadow swept straight down from the trees, as fast as lightning! Li Han¡¯er and Zhang Song drew their swords at the same time. It was at this point that Dong Zhi witnessed Li Han¡¯er¡¯s dual cultivation of swordsmanship and talisman, which was indeed well-deserved. Her sword wasn¡¯t slower than anyone else present. The light of two swords flashed, blocking the black shadow for a while, but it came too fast, blowing back Li Han¡¯er and Zhang Song. The dark shadow was about to pounce on them when two more swords from Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo arrived! A shrill sound pierced the sky as Liu Si¡¯s whip lashed at the monster¡¯s back, causing it to roar involuntarily. Even though the monster was extremely fast and powerful, it wasn¡¯t a match for the siege of five people. It quickly looked around and then escaped into the deep forest with a leap. Zhong Song subconsciously wanted to pursue, but Dong Zhi quickly pulled him back. ¡°Don¡¯t chase!¡± The six hurriedly left the woods and returned to their original resting place. The campfire was almost burnt out, with only a small flame left that was still strong enough not to be extinguished by the cold wind. Everyone looked at each other. The situation was too sudden just now. Although it wasn¡¯t close to death, it was still a bit shocking. ¡°It seems that the message the trees conveyed to me was correct.¡± Liu Si broke the silence. ¡°It said that the forest is a place of death, and the deeper you go in, the more dangerous it¡¯ll be.¡± Li Han¡¯er bent over and picked up some firewood and threw it in the fire, rekindling it and bringing back warmth to everyone again. Liu Qingbo said, ¡°But it also means that the possibility of the golden apple appearing in the forest is the greatest.¡± Yang Shouyi frowned. ¡°Why did those things look like zombies just now?¡± Zhong Song curled his lips. ¡°Didn¡¯t you experience the zombie simulation when you were at the Special Administration Bureau? Those things are zombies, but I guess the Americans must have an upgraded version here. The thing that jumped from the trees and attacked us just now is probably the same as last time; the advanced version we encounter with preliminary intelligence.¡± Li Han¡¯er said, ¡°At that time, Boss Song originally agreed to let me and Yang Shouyi experience the simulation, but the system seemed to be corrupted that day. They couldn¡¯t fix the virus, so it was delayed.¡± Everyone: ¡­¡­ The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°How does a high-tech product from China and US cooperation get infected by a virus?! Could it be that the person who operates the system is watching porn every day with it!¡± Yang Shouyi was helpless. ¡°So what are we going to do now?¡± Dong Zhi pondered for a bit, then said, ¡°Now that we¡¯re on the island, we have to go to the forest, but it¡¯s too dangerous at night. We¡¯ll set off again during the day. Before it gets dark tomorrow evening, whether we find anything or not, we must leave the forest. I found that there seemed to be a line between here and the forest. As long as we don¡¯t cross the line, it¡¯s safe.¡± This opinion was the safest. Although Zhang Song felt the leader of the group was being too cautious, this was for everyone¡¯s safety, so others naturally didn¡¯t object. Liu Si smiled. ¡°Aren¡¯t the Japanese also on the same island as us? Perhaps they¡¯re struggling now!¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°Let me just say, the Americans love zombies so much that they would definitely free up an entire island for them. Fuck, my prophecy has come true!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Thank you. Now predict that things will go well for us next!¡± Liu Qingbo scratched his face. ¡°I think it¡¯ll be difficult. Perhaps we¡¯ll meet a terrifying zombie¡­ Mmph!¡± Dong Zhi and Liu Si, who were sitting on either side of him, quickly reached out and covered Liu Qingbo¡¯s crow of a mouth at lightning speed. Even with Liu Qingbo¡¯s quick reaction, he couldn¡¯t avoid the two hands, so he could only brush their hands fiercely away afterwards and roll his eyes. Li Han¡¯er couldn¡¯t help laughing out loud. With Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, it seemed that no matter how big the problem was, it wouldn¡¯t be frustrating. In the second half of the night, everyone was able to spend it peacefully. In order to ensure everything was safe, Li Han¡¯er also set up a simple talisman array around the area where they were resting. As soon as something approached, it would react immediately. Due to the fog, day on the island came much later, and night came much earlier, which made the daytime short. As soon as dawn arrived, everyone packed up and started to enter the forest. Dong Zhi said, ¡°I remember that when I participated in the zombie simulation, those zombies all had grades. The most common ones should be the ones that emerged from the ground last night. The second level is the one that ambushed us in the trees. Its mobility is quite fast, and it has low-level wisdom. There is also one, which Li Ying and the others encountered. They have higher intelligence and can pretend to be ¡®invisible¡¯ like a chameleon. I suspect that the Americans have also studied the third kind of zombie heavily, so we must be extra careful. After entering the forest, try not to get separated.¡± Li Han¡¯er thought for a while and took out a few bells from her backpack and distributed them to everyone; one for each person. ¡°This kind of bell can sense an enemy attack. It will ring the moment the enemy attacks you, but the time is very short, but at least it¡¯s better than nothing.¡± Even if it was only a second or half a second, it could ensure they were quickly prepared and reduce casualties. Everyone put the bells on them and entered deeper into the forest. Every once in a while, Liu Si would try to communicate with the trees, but according to him, this forest was covered by the aura of death, and the roots of the trees had gradually decayed. These trees couldn¡¯t provide any useful information. They could only tell Liu Si that the Americans were likely using this island as an experimental base for cultivating zombies. Later, it was found that the situation had gotten out of control, so they decisively abandoned it, leaving all the creatures here infected with corpse poison. When Liu Qingbo heard this, he scolded. ¡°I knew the Americans were worse than us. They threw all their shit here and now we have to clean it up!¡± Dong Zhi smiled. ¡°Maybe the situation on William¡¯s side is worse. At least we haven¡¯t encountered a harpy. Our leaders didn¡¯t send us to die. If they did, there wouldn¡¯t be another such exchange conference in the future. Boss Wu and Boss Long wouldn¡¯t sit idly by!¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes and was about to say when the entire group was wiped out, the day lily would already be cold, so what was the point of revenge? After thinking about it, he felt this would destroy his prestige, so he switched topics. ¡°By the way, Boss Long and the others, are they on another mission?¡± Dong Zhi thought about it. They were on an island in the Atlantic Ocean that was 180,000 miles away. Whether they knew it or not, there was no possibility of secrets being leaked out. When they returned, Long Shen and the others should have already completed their mission, so he nodded. ¡°Yes.¡± Zhang Song suddenly asked, ¡°Boss Wu and Boss Long went to Japan?¡± Dong Zhi was shocked. ¡°How did you know?¡± Zhong Song: ¡°Before we left, only Boss Song showed up and spoke to us. In normal times, a person who loves to perform so much, like Boss Wu, will definitely not let a chance like that go. This time it¡¯s so abnormal that they must be on a mission.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­That makes sense. But it still left him speechless. Everyone couldn¡¯t help but look at the ¡°loves to show off¡± Boss Wu¡¯s nephew. Yang Shouyi said, ¡°Continue. I didn¡¯t hear anything.¡± Zhang Song said, ¡°We have been looking for the stone tablets for a long time now, but there have been no clues. Everyone is saying, rather than catch a thief, just catch the king. The leaders must have thought this too. Only by finding that motherfucker Otowa Yasuhiko can everything be settled.¡± Dong Zhi gave a thumbs up. ¡°A modern day Di Renjie*!¡± *A Chinese politician of the Tang and Wu Zhou dynasties, serving as chancellor twice during Wu Zetian¡¯ reign. He was one of the most celebrated officials during Wu Zetian¡¯s reign. Supposedly, he¡¯s an amazing detective and is featured as a great detective in many works of fiction, which is what Dong Zhi is referencing Zhang Song as (due to his inferences). Liu Qingbo laughed. Although everyone was chatting, they had been highly focused and didn¡¯t relax for even a second. At this moment, Liu Si¡¯s, who was walking at the end, bell suddenly rang! Immediately after, Dong Zhi¡¯s, who was at the front, bell rang as well! The enemies were attacking them in both directions! This thought rose in Dong Zhi¡¯s mind. In the next second, there was a noise in the air that was so subtle that if you didn¡¯t listen carefully, you would miss it¡ªa figure suddenly jumped out of the tree closest to Dong Zhi. Its body was like the bark of a tree and had no aura at all, so Dong Zhi passed by it unaware! Dong Zhi quickly realized that this should be the kind of zombie that Li Ying had encountered. It was extremely intelligent and would pretend to be ¡°invisible¡±. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t expect to run into it so soon. The opponent was extremely fast, but Dong Zhi already had his sword in hand. He drew it the moment he heard the movements. The sword pierced into the zombie¡¯s flesh and left a gaping hole in its chest. However, the monster didn¡¯t retreat and kept swiping its claws at Dong Zhi. The pressure of its body quickly pressed against him, forcing Dong Zhi to repeatedly back up. At the same time, Liu Qingbo¡¯s sword swept heavily across. With the power of the Fumo Sword, the monster¡¯s head was directly chopped off from behind. However, this wasn¡¯t the end. Liu Si also encountered a high-level zombie on his side. Li Han¡¯er was working with him to deal with it. The others had no time to rescue them as countless ghostly hands suddenly stretched out from the ground and grabbed them. The fingertips were sharp, and each claw could penetrate through their clothes, straight into the skin. On closer inspection, the nails were purplish black, indicating typical corpse poison. Once the skin was cut, it was possible to be infected and gradually become a zombie. During the last training period, Dong Zhi had lost several teammates in the simulation environment, but that was only a simulation. Now these zombies really existed, but compared to that time, they were much stronger, so naturally it wouldn¡¯t be easy to deal with them. At this time, the six people spontaneously occupied a position not far from each other, so as to facilitate rescuing and being rescued at any time. The high-level monster that attacked Liu Si was extremely difficult to deal with. It had wisdom similar to that of humans. Seeing that Liu Si and the others were prepared and strong, it quickly made a decision to retreat and disappeared within a second. With the concealment of its aura and the vast forest around them, even Liu Si couldn¡¯t sense its existence. Others were cleaning up the ghostly hands that came up from the ground. Zhang Song¡¯s fire talisman had an extraordinary effect at this time. When the talisman landed, fire ignited. Those ghostly hands struggled and wailed in the fire and were quickly burned to a char. Liu Qingbo said casually, ¡°It¡¯s better to set fire to this forest and let it burn quickly to destroy all those damn zombies!¡± The corners of Zhang Song¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Do you want to tire laozi to death? How much talisman fire do you think it will take?!¡± Dong Zhi smiled bitterly. ¡°Brother, don¡¯t be ridiculous. This forest won¡¯t burn down even if we burn it for three days and nights!¡± Since they still had time to chat, it could be seen that although these zombies were annoying, they didn¡¯t pose much of a threat. This was also due to the fact that there were no weak teammates among them. Zhang Song¡¯s talisman fire happened to be the nemesis of the zombies. If this team switched to another, things might not end up going as smoothly. Zhang Song fired a few talismans and burned at least a hundred ghostly hands. The ghostly hands seemed to know what fear was and finally stopped appearing. Even those high-level zombies that could turn invisible didn¡¯t come back out. Even so, Dong Zhi still reminded everyone to be vigilant because no one knew if there were zombies watching them in secret. The bell given by Li Han¡¯er wouldn¡¯t ring as long as the enemy wasn¡¯t close. Because some of these zombies possessed intelligence, they became tricky to deal with. They had enough patience to lurk and wait in the dark until the humans relaxed their vigilance. That was the moment when they would succeed. They were destined to outlast the will and endurance of ordinary people, which would naturally grow tired over time. The invisible zombie just now was quite strong. The sword Dong Zhi pierced into it didn¡¯t hurt its key points, and since zombies felt no pain, it kept attacking him. In just a brief moment, their explosive power was barely manageable for someone like Dong Zhi, let alone an ordinary person. Calm returned to the surroundings. Li Han¡¯er found that there wasn¡¯t even the sound of birds in the forest, as if everything had lost its vitality. It wasn¡¯t so much calm but more so like dead silence. She was about to express her feelings when she realized her companions had already noticed. Liu Si said, ¡°When those trees couldn¡¯t provide me with information, I felt that besides us and the Japanese, there were no other living things.¡± Perhaps there used to be, but they were all wiped out by the zombies. The Americans had fenced off the forest, so the zombies couldn¡¯t leave, which meant that if other living things entered the forest and were infected by corpse poison, they too wouldn¡¯t be able to leave. The inside of the forest and the outside were like two worlds. Not long after everyone walked forward, they heard a woman¡¯s panicked voice. Li Han¡¯er said, ¡°It seems that the Japanese are shouting for help!¡± Liu Qingbo said slowly, ¡°Move slowly. Let them fend for themselves. It¡¯s best to wait for them to die before we pass.¡± Because of Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s affair, everyone had no affection for the Japanese. Although the others didn¡¯t speak, they all had the same thoughts. After pondering for a while, Dong Zhi decided to go and have a look. He blocked the other people¡¯s opinions with one sentence. ¡°What if they have the golden apple?¡± The call wasn¡¯t far from them. Everyone hurried over, and after a few minutes, they saw a young woman trapped between two second-level zombies. She was holding a long stick with a rope wrapped around it and struggling to fight them. The second-level zombies were agile. Although they weren¡¯t ¡°invisible¡±, they moved quickly and had strong attack power. It was difficult for her to defend herself against the two zombies, but the zombies also seemed to be afraid of the long stick in her hands and dared not come closer. When the woman¡¯s physical strength was exhausted, that would be when she became their prey. Her skills were actually quite good, but ultimately, she was outnumbered. One of the zombies rushed up, was smacked in the head, and was instantly decapitated. Unfortunately, the other zombie took the opportunity and jumped from behind her. When the woman heard the movement, she hadn¡¯t had time to recover from her attack and felt despair as she thought she couldn¡¯t escape this onslaught. In fact, she had already caught a glimpse of Dong Zhi and the others not far away, but she didn¡¯t think the Chinese would be willing to save her. Perhaps they were just waiting for her to be killed by the zombies before they took action to resolve the zombies themselves. Thinking of this, Yoshida Noriko didn¡¯t ask for help. She closed her eyes and waited for death to come. But it didn¡¯t arrive as scheduled, and her neck wasn¡¯t bitten off by the zombie. A talisman fire swept from the other direction and landed directly on the head of the zombie, who was pouncing on her. Together with its upper body, the zombie instantly caught fire. The monster fell heavily to the ground as Yoshida Noriko opened her eyes and watched it burn as it crawled towards her. As she yanked her stick over, she couldn¡¯t help but take a few steps back. The burning zombie was instantly smacked away, while the other zombie¡¯s head that was decapitated was pulled away by Liu Si¡¯s whip. The feeling of escaping death made Yoshida Noriko¡¯s face blank for a moment before her palpitations quickly calmed down. ¡°Thank you very much. My name is Noriko Yoshida.¡± She bowed to Dong Zhi and them as she spoke in rigid Chinese to thank them. Zhang Song curled his lips. If it weren¡¯t for Dong Zhi¡¯s request just now, he would never have done it. ¡°You¡¯re welcome,¡± Dong Zhi said. Of course, he didn¡¯t have much affection for the Japanese, but between humans and zombies, only humans could be allies. If those zombies killed Yoshida, they would be next. For zombies, the killing would never stop unless there were no more living things in the world. Their arrival undoubtedly smelled delicious to the long-hungry zombies on this island. ¡°Where are your companions?¡± Yoshida¡¯s face changed and hurriedly said, ¡°We got separated. I still have a companion who was overtaken by zombies not far ahead. Can you come with me to save him?¡± Liu Qingbo sneered. ¡°If your companion was overtaken by zombies, why are you here, leaving him to fend for his life alone?¡± Yoshida hurriedly explained, ¡°No, we were running for our lives and got separated accidentally. There were two other people, but we had a disagreement, and I left with another person¡­¡± She was being vague, which only made Dong Zhi more wary of her, so he didn¡¯t agree to her request to save her companion and instead said, ¡°We have to move on. If you want to come with us, you can, but I¡¯m not guaranteeing we¡¯ll save your companion.¡± Yoshida was a little disappointed, but she knew that she was incapable of forcing them. Now she was alone. Naturally, it was safer to follow a larger group, so she immediately agreed. She seemed to sense that the others didn¡¯t like her very much, so she only followed Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi saw her stick tied to a rope wrapped around her hand and asked, ¡°Are you a miko*?¡± *Shrine maiden. A young priestess who basically are like shamans, performing tasks ranging from sacred cleansing to sacred dances. Yoshida nodded. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m a miko of the Meiji Shrine.¡± Dong Zhi gave a wry smile. ¡°Then you should know who Fujikawa Aoi is, right? I heard that he¡¯s a famous priest* and onmyoji among you Japanese practitioners.¡± *Shinkan. A government official in Japan, who worked at a shakaku ranked Shinto shrine, and had been appointed an official position. Commonly, shinkan were officially appointed kannushi. Yoshida whispered, ¡°Since ancient times, priests and onmyoji have been two distinct occupations. Mr. Fujikawa is a master that can practice both, so he is a model in the Japanese practitioner world.¡± From these words, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t tell whether her allegiance was with Fujikawa Aoi or not, so he didn¡¯t inquire further. ¡°Mr. Dong¡­¡± Yoshida wanted to say something, but as soon as she opened her mouth, she was interrupted by a movement not far away. Before she could react, Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song, and the others had already taken out their swords and collided with the second-level zombies who were rushing towards them. The two sides quickly fought as a group. Just as they were dealing with the zombies, two more third-level zombies were hidden in the dark. Taking advantage of Liu Qingbo and Zhang Song¡¯s distraction, they set their sights on Dong Zhi and sneaked around, attacking unexpectedly from behind. Their movements were extremely fast, but since Dong Zhi was wearing Li Han¡¯er¡¯s bell, he was already prepared. He turned around and swung his sword. The sword¡¯s energy directly pushed the zombies away, but they were much stronger than ordinary zombies. After half a second, they grabbed his sword with one hand and tried to aim for his head with the other. Dong Zhi bent over to avoid it and was about to slash one of the zombies when the end of Yoshida Noriko¡¯s stick swung over and directly hit its side. This further enraged it, causing it to switch targets and pounce on her. Li Han¡¯er was facing a second-level zombie. It was fast, but it couldn¡¯t hide itself. Her opponent not only had sharp claws but also fangs that could cut through gold and jade. From time to time, it would open its bloody mouth, spewing saliva everywhere. It looked disgusting, and Li Han¡¯er didn¡¯t want to be splashed by its spit. At the beginning, she was more defensive. The monster thought she had figured out its attack pattern and decided to rush in the direction she habitually didn¡¯t avoid. Unexpectedly, Li Han¡¯er slashed her sword at this moment as Zhang Song¡¯s sword light came from behind. Li Han¡¯er made one cut after another, finishing off the zombie. ¡°There¡¯s someone there!¡± Li Han¡¯er gasped. Zhang Song looked in the direction she pointed out and saw a piece of cloth protruding out from the corner behind a tree, as if someone was leaning against it. The two walked over and saw that it was one of the Japanese who was with Noriko Yoshida. ¡°Mr. Watanabe!¡± Yoshida ran over with a pale face. The other¡¯s chest had a bowl-sized hole open, revealing dense white bones inside. The flesh appeared to have been ripped off directly by the monster. Judging from the painful and frozen expression on his face, it was conceivable what kind of torture he had experienced before his death. Zhang Song bent down and found Watanabe¡¯s right hand was clenched into a fist, as if he were holding something. He stretched out his hand to break it, but the other party¡¯s grip was so tight that he couldn¡¯t open it. Zhang Song had to put in some effort before finally pulling out two silver coins from the man¡¯s palm. The author has something to say: Boss Long¡¯s part won¡¯t be skipped. There¡¯s also an important battlefield over there~ P.S. In case anyone forgot, the golden apple is the prop to win the competition, and the silver coins are the second prop that determines the ranking. If no one finds the golden apple, whoever has the most silver coins will determine the victor. If the golden apple is found, whoever has it will be in first place. CH 129 Zhang Song let out a sigh, picked up the coins, and looked at them. ¡°Is this what the organizing committee wants us to find?¡± Li Han¡¯er: ¡°It seems to be. Take it over and ask the captain.¡± Suddenly, Watanabe¡¯s body twitched. Before he could open his eyes, Zhang Song had raised his sword and lopped off Watanabe¡¯s head. There was no doubt that he was already dead. If there was a sudden movement, it was probably because he was infected with corpse poison, so Zhang Song wouldn¡¯t be so merciful. On Dong Zhi¡¯s side, one of the invisible zombies ran away while he killed three second-level zombies. It wasn¡¯t easy, but everyone was fine. ¡°This is indeed the silver coins. The rules of the competition say that if you can¡¯t find the golden apple, the number of silver coins will be taken into account.¡± He took a closer look at the silver coins in Zhang Song¡¯s hand, which were printed with the English abbreviation of the Exchange Conference, as well as the patterns of the four islands, each with its corresponding English name under it. ¡°Diana Island. Look, this is where we are now.¡± Dong Zhi found that this silver coin could also be used as a simple orientation map; at least from the map, he could see the location of their island and the others. ¡°Diana Island is surrounded by three other islands. When we leave, we can head to Full Moon Island first, and then from there to Rose Island.¡± Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help complaining. ¡°Why do these islands have such nice names? Are these Americans psychopaths? What Rose Island, Full Moon Island, Diana Island? There are zombies running everywhere here!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°It¡¯s quite romantic!¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°Be serious!¡± Yoshida looked at them with some envy. In her own team, there were always strict and distinct ranks. She was the lowest among the four, so she could only obey the captain unconditionally. It was impossible to have a joking and harmonious atmosphere like Dong Zhi¡¯s team. If she were in such a team, even with the dangerous environment, the pressure wouldn¡¯t be so great. ¡°Mr. Watanabe is our leader,¡± Yoshida said suddenly. ¡°Him?¡± Dong Zhi pointed to the body that had just been decapitated. Yoshida nodded and said sadly, ¡°After we got ashore, Mr. Watanabe wanted to enter the forest to find the golden apple, but he encountered a group of zombies, and the four of us dispersed. I was with Mr. Watanabe, but I didn¡¯t expect¡­¡± Dong Zhi asked, ¡°Did you have a good relationship?¡± Yoshida said, ¡°Mr. Watanabe was the priest of the Ise Shrine. We¡¯ve only met once, so we¡¯re not familiar with each other. I heard that no one came forward to organize this exchange conference, so Mr. Watanabe approached my master, who recommended me. I heard that one of the requirements to participate in the conference was that each team must have four or more people. When our team reached the minimum count, Mr. Watanabe applied to the higher authorities, and then the government came forward to facilitate our trip. Among the four, my qualification is actually the lowest, so I only need to obey orders.¡± Her Chinese wasn¡¯t bad, but since she wasn¡¯t speaking her native tongue, she spoke slowly. Dong Zhi praised, ¡°You speak Chinese fluently.¡± Yoshida was a little embarrassed. ¡°I studied Chinese as my foreign language in college. When I was a junior, I entered the shrine by chance and became a miko.¡± Dong Zhi handed one of the silver coins over. ¡°Without your companion, we might not have found these silver coins so quickly. This is what he traded for his life. Take it.¡± Yoshida was stunned and didn¡¯t react for a moment. Liu Qingbo curled his lips and thought that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t need to be so polite to little Japan, but he also knew to give his captain face in front of outsiders. Besides, there were grievances and debts, but their feud was with Otowa Yasuhiko. It was impossible to be angry at every Japanese person, but it was inevitable that there would be some animosity. ¡°Are you aligned with Otowa Yasuhiko?¡± Just as Yoshida stretched out her hand to take the silver coin, Dong Zhi asked coldly. He deliberately chose to do so at such a time because, when people were caught off guard, it would be difficult for them to fake their expressions unless the other party had the psychological quality level of an actor. This was what he picked up from Long Shen. Yoshida¡¯s strength wasn¡¯t top tier. Otherwise, she wouldn¡¯t be crying for help when she was chased by the zombies. It stood to reason that her psychological quality wasn¡¯t as good either, and that it would be hard for her to quickly calm down and lie on the spot. ¡°Who is this Otowa Yasuhiko you¡¯re talking about?¡± Yoshida¡¯s face showed obvious confusion. ¡°Are you referring to the president of the Otowa Consortium?¡± The Otowa Consortium was well-known in Japan, so it was impossible for Yoshida to have never heard of Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s name. But in the eyes of ordinary people, the president of the Otowa Consortium was just a business mogul. Adding the prefix of a profound background, at most, would not connect him with the practitioner world. Dong Zhi: ¡°Yes.¡± Yoshida shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know him.¡± Dong Zhi looked into Yoshida¡¯s eyes. The latter didn¡¯t avoid his gaze. It seemed that she wasn¡¯t aligned with Otowa Yasuhiko and had nothing to do with Fujikawa Aoi¡¯s affairs. Otowa Yasuhiko had hidden his identity deeply and pushed Fujikawa Aoi to the front of the stage. While it seemed that Fujikawa was capable, in reality he was just a puppet for Otowa. Although the old man was released last time, given his serious injuries and the fact that he was almost on the brink of death, it was unlikely he would have the strength to come out and cause trouble for the time being. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just asking.¡± Dong Zhi apologized. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Yoshida smiled and held the silver coin in her hand. Her appearance could be considered delicate, but she had a childish cuteness when she smiled. ¡°Mr. Dong¡­¡± Yoshida hesitated to speak, but before she could say anything, another voice grabbed everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°There are also silver coins here.¡± Li Han¡¯er bent over and picked up a silver coin not far from Watanabe¡¯s corpse. The ground was covered with a thick layer of dead branches and fallen leaves. The silver coin fell directly into the gaps of the debris just now. If she hadn¡¯t been careful, they would¡¯ve probably missed them. With such a discovery, everyone followed the direction of the silver coins and found two more, which were scattered in different positions in the same direction. Searching in that direction, they walked another few meters and saw a small sack the size of a palm on the ground. There was a big opening, and several coins were scattered around it. Judging from the traces, the sack was probably thrown at a high altitude. Yoshida exhaled. ¡°I didn¡¯t find this sack before Mr. Watanabe and I were separated.¡± In other words, this sack was discovered by Watanabe after they got separated. He was probably surprised when he picked up these silver coins and lost his vigilance to the surrounding environment. As a result, he was ambushed and killed by the zombies. The praying mantis hunts the cicada while the oriole stalks behind*, but ultimately it was them who became the beneficiaries. *Idiom refers to pursuing a narrow gain while neglecting the greater danger. Yoshida was smart. Before Dong Zhi could speak, she said, ¡°Mr. Dong, Mr. Watanabe is dead, and I don¡¯t know where my other two companions are. I can¡¯t go to the end alone, so these silver coins are useless to me. Since you found them, it should be yours.¡± In fact, even if she hadn¡¯t said it, Liu Qingbo and the others wouldn¡¯t have given her those silver coins, but since she took the initiative to make a statement, it undoubtedly added a touch of goodwill. Dong Zhi said, ¡°What are your plans next?¡± Yoshida asked cautiously, ¡°Can I go with you first?¡± With her alone, it was impossible to search for the whereabouts of her other two companions. As long as she was alone, it would be less than ten minutes before she would be besieged by zombies. Dong Zhi: ¡°What about your two companions?¡± Yoshida said, ¡°I want to get out of the forest and then wait for them outside. If they appear, I¡¯ll persuade them to leave early and withdraw from the competition. After all, with the three of us alone, the possibility of getting through is almost non-existent. The other three islands are surely more dangerous.¡± This was a wise choice. The girl didn¡¯t have any kind of hostility towards them, unlike the Japanese Dong Zhi had encountered. Her temperament was calm and harmless, like Li Han¡¯er¡¯s. She was indeed not suitable for staying in this kind of environment. Although Dong Zhi was the captain, it wasn¡¯t a dictatorship. This kind of thing naturally required the opinions of his teammates. Li Han¡¯er, who was also a woman, had a better attitude towards Yoshida and agreed to her request. Liu Qingbo also agreed, but his motives were because, rather than leaving her behind and letting her scheme something secretly where he couldn¡¯t see, it was better to keep her under his nose. Since the captain and the deputy captain agreed, the others had no opinions. Watanabe died here. Most likely, his body wouldn¡¯t be taken back for burial. Since Yoshida was a miko, she performed a simple funeral ceremony and then burned his body to purify it with flames. Yoshida put her hands together and recited a prayer in a low voice. After all this, Dong Zhi and the others searched around the area and picked up all the silver coins they could. They now had a total of eleven silver coins, which seemed like a lot, but at present, without knowing how much other teams would get, it was impossible to estimate their own chances of winning. Yoshida temporarily gained everyone¡¯s trust, but they wouldn¡¯t completely let go of their vigilance. She was very conscious and took the initiative to walk in front of the team without waiting for others to speak. They didn¡¯t encounter any danger along the way. Presumably, the ordinary zombies were wiped out, leaving sporadic second-level and third-level zombies. These zombies possessed preliminary intelligence, while the third-level zombies even had a deep understanding of cunning hunting habits. Now that it was broad daylight and this group of people was quite strong after the previous lesson, these zombies would definitely lie in ambush in the dark and wait for an opportunity to attack rather than rushing out to their deaths. However, this didn¡¯t relax anyone¡¯s vigilance. After walking for most of the afternoon, the sky gradually darkened. Seeing the long road ahead, it was likely there was still a considerable distance before they reached the other end of the forest. Dong Zhi proposed to find a slightly flat and empty area to spend the night first, then hit the road in the morning. Everyone brought enough dry food, but that wasn¡¯t as good as eating hot rice that could warm their stomachs. Just as Liu Qingbo looked at the compressed biscuit he took out of his bag in disgust, he saw Dong Zhi take out a small bag of rice from his backpack and a jar of dried pickled radish. ¡°When did you put rice in? Why didn¡¯t I know about this?¡± Liu Qingbo showed an incredulous look. Dong Zhi: ¡°Just before going abroad. Didn¡¯t I ask if you wanted to bring rice?¡± The corner of Liu Qingbo¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Didn¡¯t I say no?!¡± Dong Zhi said innocently, ¡°But I want to eat it. Don¡¯t you want to?¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­¡­ He couldn¡¯t say that he wanted to eat it but didn¡¯t want to bring it. In order to save water resources, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t bother washing the rice. He directly added some water and cooked it over a pot on the fire. When the sky was completely darkened, the aroma of rice floated out of the pot. Accompanied by the woody fragrance of the firewood, even Yoshida Noriko couldn¡¯t help swallowing her saliva. White rice with pickled dried radishes was regarded as the most rudimentary and ordinary food outside, but on a deserted island like this where there were only zombies and no game, it was a rare delicacy. Everyone didn¡¯t eat anything delicious while they were here, so at this moment, seeing the fragrant and soft rice awakened their sleeping Chinese stomachs. Even if the rice was barely enough to feed everyone and they wouldn¡¯t get full with such an amount, it was still enough to comfort their stomachs after a long journey. Yoshida didn¡¯t expect to get a small bowl herself. When she was holding the rice, she was so moved that she was about to cry. She thanked Dong Zhi repeatedly. It wasn¡¯t just this bowl of rice that hurt, but also the death of her companion and the uncertainty of her own future. The small jar of dried pickled radish was decreasing at a rate visible to the naked eye and was about to bottom out. Dong Zhi then pulled a small jar of pickled cucumbers out of his backpack. ¡°Come on, if you don¡¯t have enough to eat, there¡¯s more here.¡± Everyone: ¡­¡­ Everyone carried a backpack but only brought daily necessities. Naturally, water was essential. The organizers have put freshwater tanks on each island, so as long as they got out of the forest, there was no need to worry about a lack of fresh water. In addition to daily drinking water, they only packed a sleeping bag and dry food. Who would have thought that the leader of their team would be so capable? While his backpack didn¡¯t look big, it was stuffed full of things. Compared to other people¡¯s admiration, Liu Qingbo was already numb. After all, Dong Zhi brought heating pads when they went to chase the Wuzhiqi, so it was strange if he didn¡¯t bring a jar of pickled radish. Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help but rub his forehead. ¡°To be honest, apart from these, what else did you bring?¡± Dong Zhi took out a bag of noodles. ¡°This is our food for tomorrow.¡± Liu Qingbo: You really brought it?! Liu Si couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°Just noodles with a plain broth?¡± Dong Zhi smiled. ¡°I also brought salt, as well as dehydrated vegetable buns and a dried egg drop soup pack.¡± Yang Shouyi couldn¡¯t help but cast a respectful glance at Dong Zhi. Looking at the captain of the team, even everyone¡¯s eating habits had been taken into account. If it was him, would he really think of all these details? Yang Shouyi felt that he probably couldn¡¯t, so this only made him more convinced of Dong Zhi. Li Han¡¯er was a little reserved and didn¡¯t speak, but she did have a great change of outlook on Dong Zhi. From the start, she felt that he wasn¡¯t worthy of being Long Shen¡¯s disciple. Now, although she didn¡¯t say it, she followed what Dong Zhi said and did without questioning it. She may still not like him, but she couldn¡¯t deny his ability. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t notice Li Han¡¯er¡¯s subtle mood, but even if he did, he wouldn¡¯t pay too much attention. ¡°There are ten more days left. According to my expectations, this forest covers almost half the island. If we want to cross over, it¡¯ll take at least one or two days. During this time, we¡¯ll definitely run out of drinking water, so when we get out of the forest, we¡¯ll divide into two groups. One group will look for fresh water, while the other will look for speedboats to leave here.¡± This arrangement was thorough, so everyone nodded. Liu Qingbo said, ¡°I don¡¯t think the golden apple is here. It¡¯s better to leave early. It¡¯s quite annoying to face these zombies all day long.¡± Dong Zhi nodded in agreement. ¡°The silver coins we picked up just now; the sack was broken. Most likely, it was airdropped directly by the organizers. They probably didn¡¯t even land on this island. Even if the golden apple is here, it¡¯s most likely been airdropped like the silver coins. Whether we can find it will depend on fate. We can¡¯t spend all our time on this island. If we leave the forest, we¡¯ll go directly to the next island.¡± In this place, the usual dried pickled radishes and pickled cucumbers became rare delicacies. Everyone ate until there wasn¡¯t a single grain of rice left. The campfire conveyed warmth, giving off a toasty and lax atmosphere. Tonight was Dong Zhi¡¯s turn to watch the first half of the night. Liu Qingbo was responsible for the other half. Everyone took out their sleeping bags and slept in a circle around the campfire, trying not to stay too far away in case of trouble. Yoshida brought a sleeping bag, but after she laid down, she didn¡¯t feel sleepy. Looking at Dong Zhi¡¯s figure sitting by the campfire, she bit her lip and struggled for a moment, but finally got up. Dong Zhi immediately noticed and looked back at her. Yoshida was afraid of waking the others, so she gestured if she could sit down next to him, to which Dong Zhi nodded. ¡°Mr. Dong, there¡¯s something that I have hesitated for a while, and I think I should tell you,¡± Yoshida whispered. ¡°In addition to the head of the team, Mr. Watanabe, who came with me, there are two other onmyojis, Tomo Nakai and Tomomi Eguchi.¡± When he heard the names, Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help being taken aback. He remembered the four members of the Japanese team¡ªone woman and three men. The other three must be men, but the name Tomomi Eguchi, no matter how it sounded, was a girl¡¯s name. But then he remembered another past event. He Yu once told him that the Aoi in Fujikawa¡¯s name was common for women. He was ridiculed for it before he became famous, but after he established his position in the Japanese practitioner world, this ridicule became praise, and even fanatics, in order to curry favor, changed their names to a female name. Thinking of this, Dong Zhi blurted out, ¡°Is that Tomomi Eguchi a disciple of Fujikawa Aoi?¡± Yoshida was a little surprised. ¡°You know?¡± Dong Zhi smiled bitterly. ¡°When you said the name, I guessed it. The Japanese team¡¯s roster was released last. We didn¡¯t know when we set off. Later, I saw that the surname wasn¡¯t Fujikawa, so I didn¡¯t pay much attention.¡± Yoshida nodded. ¡°I see. I¡¯m not familiar with Tomomi Eguchi. I heard that his original name was Takashi Eguchi, but he changed it to a woman¡¯s name later. It can be seen that he admires Mr. Fujikawa very much. When I was with them, I also heard Eguchi say that Mr. Fujikawa was seriously injured because of Long, and since you are Long Shen¡¯s disciple, he wanted to seek revenge against you. An eye for an eye, was what he said.¡± She looked worried. ¡°Mr. Watanabe said before that we should focus on the overall situation and not mess around. Now that Mr. Watanabe is dead, no one will stop him, and we¡¯re also separated. If he¡¯s still wandering around the island, it may not be good for you. You have to be careful.¡± In fact, even if Yoshida hadn¡¯t said this, Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t too worried. First, they had more people and weren¡¯t afraid of a single Eguchi, and second, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t think Eguchi was that powerful. Otherwise, he would be the captain of the Japanese team. He could tell that Yoshida struggled to tell him this for a long time. Dong Zhi said sincerely, ¡°Thank you. I know you must be under a lot of pressure for telling me.¡± Yoshida smiled bitterly. ¡°In fact, I hesitated for quite some time. If I told you, I would undoubtedly become a traitor, but you have treated me so well and didn¡¯t leave me behind. If I didn¡¯t say it, I¡¯m afraid my conscience would be condemned.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I won¡¯t tell anyone what you told me. You don¡¯t have to tell the others either. When you leave the forest, just take a speedboat and go back to your hometown.¡± Yoshida mustered up some courage. ¡°Then, can I come to China and find you in the future?¡± Dong Zhi blinked. ¡°If you come with a delegation for a visit, I¡¯ll certainly entertain you.¡± This wasn¡¯t the answer Yoshida wanted. She felt a little disappointed hearing the polite response of the other party, but she still nodded with a smile. ¡°Okay. Our shrine will be doing foreign exchange visits every year. After I go back, I¡¯ll apply with my master. He likes me very much, so he¡¯ll definitely agree.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Won¡¯t you be punished if you come back empty-handed?¡± Yoshida sighed in a low voice. ¡°No way. There are only four of us. Our numbers were originally small, and with Mr. Watanabe passing away, leaving only three people, we can¡¯t possibly complete the task no matter what. In fact, this is good. I didn¡¯t want to fight other people. If Eguchi is still here, most likely he will find a way to take revenge on you.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°It¡¯s fine. Since he¡¯s brooding, even if it¡¯s not this time, there will be another time sooner or later.¡± Yoshida opened her mouth and was about to say something but found Dong Zhi getting closer. The distance between the two had exceeded the boundaries of ordinary friends. ¡°Dong¡ªMr. Dong?¡± She stammered. She could even feel Dong Zhi¡¯s lips only a few feet away from her cheek, as if he wanted to kiss her. ¡°Don¡¯t move.¡± She heard him whisper. ¡°Don¡¯t look back. There seems to be an invisible zombie not far behind you.¡± Yoshida didn¡¯t look back, but her hair stood on end and her body suddenly froze. The author has something to say: Dong*Doraemon*Zhi* makes his grand debut. *Referencing the Doraemon 4D pocket that it uses to pull out random things. Liu Qingbo: I still remember that day under the Huai River, the fear of being dominated by the heating pads¡­ Dong Zhi: Are you moved? Liu Qingbo: (expressionless) Dare not be moved. Kinky Thoughts: Dong Zhi, master of deflection, breaking little girls¡¯ hearts left and right (see arc 1). CH 130 The intelligence of the third-level zombies had evolved to a certain level. They discovered that Dong Zhi and the others were wearing bells that would ring as long as they were close to a certain range, so they stalked Dong Zhi¡¯s team just outside the safe range of the bell. Night was the time when people¡¯s vigilance was at its lowest, and it was also the best time for the zombies to launch an attack. Therefore, when Dong Zhi was talking to Yoshida just now, he didn¡¯t dare relax his vigilance. Sure enough, when he turned his head inadvertently, he vaguely saw a pair of eyes in the darkness. It flashed in the light of the fire. Although it was only a second or two, it was enough for Dong Zhi to confirm their identity. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t want to alarm it. Otherwise, they would be more vigilant next time and would be harder to catch, but if he summoned his teammates to gather, the zombies wouldn¡¯t easily appear and would only wait until they were alone to attack. Their opponents didn¡¯t need to eat or drink, so they certainly could outlast them. Instead of fighting passively, it was better to take the initiative to attack. He whispered to Yoshida, ¡°Don¡¯t move. I¡¯ll pretend to go to the bathroom and lead it away while you wake up the others.¡± Yoshida was so nervous that she didn¡¯t dare move and only exhaled from her nose, making a barely audible sound. Dong Zhi got up and walked in the direction where the zombie was lurking. He left the bonfire and walked a certain distance. When he suddenly heard rustling noises behind him, he subconsciously turned around and swung his sword. A black shadow rushed towards him in an instant but disappeared without a trace. The Changshou Sword swept across, slicing only air. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help being taken aback. Another dark shadow swept from behind. Dong Zhi felt a trace of coolness on his neck, causing goosebumps to appear. He stabbed his sword with his backhand but still pierced only air. He seemed to be fighting with air. His opponent seemed to be an invisible person who couldn¡¯t be seen or touched, instead of a hungry zombie made of flesh. Could it be a third-level zombie that can turn invisible? It shouldn¡¯t be, because his bell didn¡¯t ring twice. With a thought in his heart, he suddenly turned his head and ran towards the fire! The bonfire was still burning. The flames had merged violently with the wood, making crackling sounds from time to time. However, his partners Liu Qingbo, Liu Si, Zhang Song, and the others, as well as Yoshida Noriko, all fell to the ground in disarray. Blood snaked out from under them and slowly flowed to his feet. Dong Zhi was in disbelief. ¡°Lao Liu! Liu Si!¡± He paused, then turned to Liu Qingbo. At this moment, danger was quietly approaching from behind him. Ever since he came to the exchange meeting and saw Dong Zhi, Eguchi wanted to kill Dong Zhi. He may not have been the most powerful disciple under Fujikawa Aoi, but he was the most loyal and fanatical; he even changed his original name and adopted a female name just to imitate his teacher. When Fujikawa Aoi was exchanged back to Japan, although he survived, he was also seriously injured. Eguchi knew well that with his own abilities, even if he were to replicate ten more of himself, he wouldn¡¯t be able to kill Long Shen and the other high-level officials of the Special Administration Bureau. But the conference was different. The teams participating were all newcomers who hadn¡¯t had time to become famous. Even if he could kill one or two, it could be regarded as avenging his master. So he found Watanabe and took the initiative to sign up. Watanabe was still worried about the small number of people, but seeing a disciple of Fujikawa Aoi take the initiative to volunteer, naturally he was overjoyed and added him. It wasn¡¯t until the group came to the United States and met the other teams that Eguchi found out that Long Shen¡¯s apprentice, Dong Zhi, was also participating in the conference. In this way, it was more in line with Eguchi¡¯s original intention. He directly narrowed the target from all the Chinese participants to one person. Coincidentally, the two sides drew lots and landed on the same island. This simply provided Eguchi with the right time and place to commit his crime. Eguchi knew that it wouldn¡¯t work if he took the direct approach, and Watanabe would stop him, so it was much more convenient if he found the chance to attack alone. On the ship coming to the island, he originally wanted to do it, but Dong Zhi kept hiding in his room and wouldn¡¯t come out. The only time he got his chance was when the other party finished eating and went back to his room alone. In the narrow passage, Eguchi could hardly restrain the urge to push the other party into the sea, but someone stopped him. A Russian. The other party claimed to have a deep hatred against Dong Zhi as well and gave him something, saying this thing was enough for Eguchi to protect himself on the island, and told him that Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t be killed on the ship. He would have more opportunities to kill Dong Zhi and even all the Chinese without anyone noticing when they landed on the island. Eguchi was suspicious, but the thing the Russian gave him did allow him to survive in the forest where the zombies were wandering. He took advantage of the zombies leaving him alone and found the Chinese and followed them. He saw Yoshida Noriko, his teammate, hanging out with the Chinese without even blinking, talking and laughing without the slightest shame. Eguchi gritted his teeth and secretly vowed that when he cleaned up the Chinese, he would deal with her as well. But along the way, Dong Zhi¡¯s team was always alert. Not only did they rarely act alone, but even waves of zombies weren¡¯t a match for them. Eguchi finally used the zombies to draw his opponent out and lure him directly into an enchantment. The illusion made him unable to extricate himself, and he would take the opportunity to attack. At this time, his opponent was kneeling on the ground while shouting the names of his companions, while Eguchi held a short blade in his hand and approached silently. The sharp blade was a stone¡¯s throw away from his opponent¡¯s back. He was about to stab into the body of his hated enemy and put him to death. Eguchi unknowingly raised a bloodthirsty smile in the darkness. He wanted to kill this bastard and avenge his teacher! But at this moment, Dong Zhi suddenly turned around and looked straight at Eguchi! Eguchi was taken aback. He was moving so fast that it was too late to stop his momentum, so he could only continue forward and crash into Dong Zhi. His opponent didn¡¯t dodge; his wrist moved slightly, and a sharp sword light flashed out in front of Eguchi. The oncoming qi was so fierce that it shocked Eguchi. Instead of his knife stabbing his opponent, he felt a severe pain in his shoulder. Eguchi missed his attempt and quickly tilted to the side, but Dong Zhi had already predicted his actions. The sword light came and went in several directions, blocking all of Eguchi¡¯s retreat routes. Eguchi turned around and ran without saying a word. He took out a piece of white paper from his pocket, clamped it between his fingers, and threw it back. The fluttering piece of paper became a samurai holding a katana when it landed. The samurai shouted and raised his katana, then rushed towards Dong Zhi. ¡°You worked so hard to draw me out and even set an enchantment to trap me. Is that all you got?¡± Dong Zhi laughed as he raised his sword to parry the samurai¡¯s attack. Although the samurai was fierce, the number of ways he could attack was limited. Dong Zhi had quickly figured out his movements. This shikigami was much inferior to the ones he encountered before. Let alone Fujikawa Aoi, Eguchi wasn¡¯t even as good as Fujikawa¡¯s first disciple, Kitachi Eiko. ¡°Are you Fujikawa¡¯s worst student? I have never seen such a bad onmyoji like you. It¡¯s better for you to change your career and become a fitness instructor. It¡¯s fine to teach ordinary people your three-legged cat kung fu*!¡± *Metaphor for people who have little knowledge and skills and aren¡¯t very proficient. While fighting with the samurai shikigami, Dong Zhi even had time to taunt Eguchi. Though Eguchi didn¡¯t speak Chinese, he could understand a little. He cursed back in Japanese, but Dong Zhi simply made an expression as if he didn¡¯t understand what he was saying, which only made Eguchi even more infuriated. He couldn¡¯t help but pull out what the Russian gave him from his pocket. A small box the size of a palm. With this box on him, Eguchi was safe even if he was alone in the forest. Those zombies would retreat and turn a blind eye to him. He wanted to open it several times to see what was inside, but every time he pressed his fingers on the lock of the box, the words of the Russian name Anton would echo in his ears. The other party said, ¡°When you¡¯re closest to your enemy, open it.¡± Eguchi¡¯s hand pressed on the box. He was short of breath. Seeing that his shikigami was cut in half by Dong Zhi and its figure turned back into a fluttering piece of paper, Eguchi no longer hesitated. He turned the box toward Dong Zhi and unlocked it. The box was originally light, and the weight didn¡¯t change after it was opened. Eguchi¡¯s eyes widened. No imaginary hideous giant popped out of the box to kill his enemy, let alone a strange beast or monster; there was nothing. However, Dong Zhi saw it. A cloud of seemingly endless blackness floated out of the box and immediately moved back. The sword light swept away, and the black cloud rebounded into Eguchi¡¯s hand that was holding the box and quickly disappeared. Eguchi¡¯s expression changed, and he cursed loudly. But Dong Zhi didn¡¯t give him a chance to escape or fight back. With a shake of the Changshou Sword, the light of the sword turned into a sky full of stars, shaking off the starry rain one by one as it swept towards the enemy. In this ten thousandth of a second, even if Eguchi suddenly grew wings to escape, it was probably too late. But instead of running away, the other party gave a sinister grin and rushed towards Dong Zhi. The moment the Changshou Sword pierced Eguchi¡¯s body, a cloud of black mist rose all over him, and even his face became distorted. In a trance, it seemed like it was another face that inexplicably felt familiar and terrifying. The Changshou Sword, which hadn¡¯t even pierced halfway through, suddenly encountered an obstacle and could no longer move forward. Eguchi grabbed the sword¡¯s blade with one hand, not caring that his hand was dripping with blood, and his other hand grabbed Dong Zhi, moving swiftly and violently. Dong Zhi gritted his teeth. He suddenly abandoned the Changshou Sword, quickly took a few steps back, and took out a sunlight talisman from his pocket. As he recited the mantra, talisman fire hit Eguchi¡¯s hand but was grabbed and crushed in the center of his palm. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t hesitate. He took out three talismans, one after another, and threw them. The three talisman fires flew away in three directions: upper, middle, and lower. When Eguchi stretched out his hand to block, Dong Zhi stepped forward and tried to pull out the Changshou Sword, but Eguchi caught him by the chest. His down jacket was immediately scratched. The opponent¡¯s strength was so great that it was like five iron whips sweeping across Dong Zhi¡¯s chest, almost breaking his sternum. Even so, Dong Zhi staggered a few times, hitting the tree trunk next to him. A searing pain rose from his chest. He didn¡¯t need to look down to know that his skin was broken and he was bleeding, perhaps even bruised. The opponent suddenly became extremely powerful, as if he had gone through a rebirth. Dong Zhi never believed that this was Eguchi¡¯s true ability, because he wouldn¡¯t have attacked if he knew his opponent would be so powerful. All the changes came from the box just now. A thought flashed in his mind, and a terrible conjecture appeared. ¡°¡­Mara?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but ask tentatively. Eguchi smiled at him. If such a smile from a handsome man like Mara was still creepy, then Eguchi¡¯s smile was even more terrifying. The black qi around the other party became more intense, almost merging with the darkness. He didn¡¯t speak, and slowly walked towards Dong Zhi, as if he was quickly gathering strength to control Eguchi¡¯s body so he could put Dong Zhi to death. ¡°Your body is much better than his, so it suits me better.¡± Eguchi paused with every word, using English, but the tone of the pause was exactly the same as Mara¡¯s that day. As soon as these words were spoken, Dong Zhi was sure that the other party was the ray of demonic qi that escaped that day. At that time, Mara was only the phantom of the heavenly demon, so he could be pressed and beaten by Dong Zhi. Now, Mara couldn¡¯t even be called a doppelganger, but was just a ray of demonic qi that the phantom was unwilling to let perish. It hid in the dark while replenishing its energy and wanted to make waves again. Still, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t think he wouldn¡¯t be able to beat it again. ¡°Then it depends on whether you have the ability to take it!¡± Dong Zhi laughed loudly. The Changshou Sword twisted into sword light that filled the sky, covering Eguchi¡¯s entire body, including the black qi around him. But Eguchi didn¡¯t look at the dazzling sword light. He just stretched out his hand flatly, accurately grabbed the Changshou Sword from among the thousands of sword lights, and twisted his backhand. The Changshou Sword twisted into a ball of great power, but it never cracked or broke. On the contrary, it glowed slightly in the dark, just like its owner. The more it suffered, the more it refused to succumb. The enemy¡¯s power was continuously transmitted through the Changshou Sword. If Dong Zhi hadn¡¯t gritted his teeth and persisted in resisting with the Bu Tian Gang qi, he might have been eroded by the demon qi on his opponent¡¯s body by now. After the battle in Xianda Village, Dong Zhi also had a little understanding of the heavenly demon, who had an ultimate appearance that could charm the world, and thus he would also love all beauty, including those who looked good and were well-proportioned. When he was in Xianda, Mara thought about possessing his body as a host. Unexpectedly, despite just being a ray of demonic qi, Mara¡¯s nature of liking beautiful appearances remained unchanged. Compared to Eguchi¡¯s mediocrity, it was natural that Dong Zhi was more attractive to the demon. Seeing Dong Zhi retreat step by step, Eguchi advanced slowly until Dong Zhi reached the tree trunk behind him. There was nowhere to retreat as the black qi kept getting closer. Even the Changshou Sword was mostly submerged in black qi. He raised his hand slowly and reached out to Dong Zhi¡¯s forehead. The black qi on his fingers lingered and churned endlessly. It would sometimes suddenly be like an evil dragon that chooses people to eat, or suddenly a raging black flame, quietly coming from the unpredictable depths of the abyss, with boundless darkness, eager to engulf its prey, turning the entire world into another hell. ¡°You weak mortal. Why bother to struggle in vain?¡± Eguchi said with a sinister smile. ¡°Give me your body and memory completely, and I will put you above all mortals and let you stand at the pinnacle of this world!¡± ¡°You¡¯ve already been annihilated. What kind of peak are you still delusional about? Go back to hell!¡± Dong Zhi gritted his teeth. His hand that had been clenched into a fist suddenly loosened, and a cloud of talisman fire flew from his hand and quickly rushed to the top of his head. At this time, there was a loud noise in the sky, and dazzling light pierced through the heavy fog, illuminating most of the forest. At that moment, the entire island of Diana shook. The sporadic living things wandering in the dark forest trembled under the power of heaven. The towering trees on the verge of death shook their remnant branches and leaves, and the unknown dark shadows hiding under the trees fled in a hurry. Even the ignorant zombies involuntarily wailed from the depths of their throats, knelt down on their knees, and curled into a ball, as if performing some kind of mysterious ritual. The enchantment laid by Eguchi was completely shattered by heavenly lightning. Reality was connected again, and the illusions were destroyed. Cut off outside the barrier, Liu Qingbo and the others, who had just fought a fierce battle with the zombies, finally saw Dong Zhi¡¯s figure. ¡°Dong Zhi!¡± Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t realize his voice had become high-pitched. Just after Dong Zhi left, before Yoshida woke up the others, the zombies suddenly appeared and pounced on her, whom they determined was the weakest among them. Like all hunters at the top of the food chain, when they felt threatened, they would become impatient. They couldn¡¯t wait to drag away their prey and go to a safe place to slowly enjoy it. Zombies had lost their human intelligence and only had an instinct for flesh and blood, so naturally this was no exception. But at this time, Liu Qingbo and the others were already awake, and everyone launched a siege against the zombies. Originally, even if the third-level zombies were powerful, it would be more than enough for a few people to deal with one. However, something happened, and it seemed that all the zombies in the forest were suddenly drawn over. Three third-level zombies and four second-level zombies appeared all at once. The pressure on everyone doubled in an instant, and a fierce battle for life and death commenced. When all the zombies were wiped out, everyone discovered that Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t there. After he told Yoshida to warn the others, he vanished without a trace. It stood to reason that it was absolutely impossible for him to wander too far away. There was so much movement here that he should have returned a long time ago. But everyone searched the surrounding area and couldn¡¯t find him. It was as if Dong Zhi had evaporated from the world without leaving any traces. No one thought he would leave the team and run away. Everyone faintly felt that he might have encountered a bigger crisis. Inevitably, everyone expected that Dong Zhi had suffered an accident. As soon as she thought of this possibility, Li Han¡¯er found a trace of panic in her heart. This kind of emotion hadn¡¯t appeared in her for a long time. She grew up in a famous sect since she was a child. She was talented and not much inferior to her brother, Li Ying. After joining the Special Administration Bureau, she had also experienced many things, and her qualifications were much deeper than those of Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo. This time, Dong Zhi was appointed captain of their group. At first, she understood that the higher-ups wanted to train newcomers, but she didn¡¯t think he was qualified to be the captain of the team. But along the way, unknowingly, Dong Zhi had become the cornerstone of stability in everyone¡¯s hearts. In this boundless, dark forest, with her companions by her side, Li Han¡¯er wasn¡¯t afraid but felt more revolted. However, with Dong Zhi, this kind of negative emotion seemed to drop to its lowest point, and everyone was able to maintain a relaxed pace. Li Han¡¯er knew that Yoshida envied their harmonious atmosphere, and she knew that most of this originated from Dong Zhi. His existence maintained a delicate balance between everyone. Without him, this balance would be broken. With the tempers of Liu Qingbo and Zhang Song, those two would definitely fight; and neither Yang Shouyi, Liu Si, nor herself had the ability or the heart to subdue the two of them. The result could only be that the entire team would be torn apart, and their trip would come to a premature end. When the enchantment was broken and everyone saw Dong Zhi again, Li Han¡¯er couldn¡¯t describe her mood at the time. Liu Qingbo¡¯s excited cry appropriately expressed everyone¡¯s mood, including hers. At that moment, her heart almost jumped out of her chest, and she had to take a few deep breaths to calm down. Everyone rushed over. The sky was struck by thunder, and lightning covered Eguchi. Dong Zhi pushed the Changshou Sword forward with force while the Bu Tian Gang qi entangled the front of the sword. The subtle vibration could almost be ignored amidst the thunder, but the light on the sword was growing brighter and finally merged with the heavenly lightning. A roar broke out of Eguchi¡¯s mouth, but under the rolling thunder, the roar eventually turned into a wail as the black qi completely turned into dust, like stars. The aftermath of the thunder dissipated the night, and it was no longer as gloomy and terrifying as before. At the same time as the black qi dissipated, Eguchi¡¯s body shook slightly and then softened. Dong Zhi kicked him away, and the other party staggered back, bleeding from all seven orifices as he died, ending his short life. Liu Qingbo and the others rushed over. ¡°Are you okay!¡± Dong Zhi had overextended himself just now and didn¡¯t have the strength to speak at this moment, so he just shook his head. Zhang Song and Yang Shouyi searched around and quickly found the box where Eguchi had released the demonic qi. ¡°What happened just now? We encountered a large wave of zombies. Was it all caused by this guy?¡± Dong Zhi took the water handed over by Li Han¡¯er and took a sip, finally recovering a little. ¡°It should be that Eguchi didn¡¯t know there was demonic qi in there. It was hidden in this box. He originally wanted to use the demonic qi to deal with me. Who knew that Mara had picked a soft persimmon and attached itself to him, but I cleaned it up.¡± Yoshida walked over and looked at the empty box carefully. After a while, she shook her head and said, ¡°This isn¡¯t an onmyoji prop or something that came from a shrine.¡± Li Han¡¯er: ¡°The pattern on it is complicated. It looks European.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°If someone gave it to him, it means that the demonic qi hasn¡¯t been completely wiped out yet. The heavenly demon is inherently volatile and can divide itself into many clones. Perhaps the person who gave it to him was on his team.¡± Everyone looked at each other, and finally their eyes fell on Yoshida. Yoshida couldn¡¯t help but take two steps back and hurriedly say, ¡°It¡¯s not me. I¡¯m normal!¡± Li Han¡¯er also said, ¡°It¡¯s not Yoshida. The bell is sensitive to all abnormal monsters and zombies. If it doesn¡¯t ring, it means she¡¯s not.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Everyone stayed in the hotel for several days at that time and then came here together. It¡¯s entirely possible for Eguchi to come into contact with anyone. The scope is too large.¡± After killing the zombies, Liu Qingbo¡¯s face didn¡¯t look much better. He told Dong Zhi, ¡°When we killed those zombies, we found that one of the third-level zombies showed some strength in addition to hiding its body. It seems it has undergone an evolution in strength and can also use tools.¡± Dong Zhi¡¯s face became solemn. ¡°Use tools?¡± Liu Qingbo nodded. ¡°It had a samurai sword in its hand and was using it to attack us with it. The sword should have been left by Watanabe or another person.¡± Although zombies were humans during their lifetime, after they died, the soul belonging to their humanity disappeared, and they would become a kind of low-level creature that only lived on flesh and blood. Zombies with initial intelligence appeared in the zombie simulation before, but after all, that was a simulation, and this was now real life. The biggest difference between humans and animals was that people used tools. If a zombie appeared in the world that not only had powerful attack power but also had an intelligence that wasn¡¯t inferior to humans and it started eyeing the human world, what consequences would this cause? Even if this was far from the real world, it was still a chilling thought. Liu Si said, ¡°The Americans are really desperate to develop such a monster. Don¡¯t they think the world isn¡¯t chaotic enough?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Humans always think they can control everything.¡± Being at the top of the food chain, humans had a sense of superiority over all other beings. This sense of superiority motivated them to continue to explore, but it was also a double-edged sword. ¡°We should have killed all the monsters here. When we meet the Americans, we must question them carefully. Don¡¯t let this kind of creature continue to proliferate. Who knows how they will evolve!¡± Liu Qingbo said. Dong Zhi nodded. Liu Si stretched out his hand to help him up. Dong Zhi stood up and patted the dust off his body. ¡°Is everyone okay?¡± Everyone was more or less injured. If it were another team, they would probably be worried about the risk of contracting corpse poison. However, Mount Maoshan and Mount Longhu had been professionals at catching zombies since ancient times. The medicine Li Han¡¯er and Zhang Song carried with them was enough to solve these hidden dangers, not to mention the various medicines the Special Administration Bureau gave to Dong Zhi. At that moment, he distributed a Shangqing pill to everyone. ¡°Come, it¡¯ll treat disease if you¡¯re sick and strengthen your body if you¡¯re not. Anyway, you have to pay it back when we return, so don¡¯t waste it. Since you have it, just eat it!¡± The author has something to say: A small theater that has nothing to do with the text: After returning from the competition, Song Zhicun brought everyone together. Song Zhicun: Please describe the performance of your team leader during the competition. Liu Qingbo: Did his duty and brought a lot of things¡­ Liu Si: Yes, was dutiful and brought many things. Zhang Song: Yes, brought many things that I didn¡¯t bring. Song Zhicun: Is there anything else? Zhang Song: He gave us all a Shangqing pill issued by the bureau so that we would have the opportunity to make up for it. We didn¡¯t waste any of it. Song Zhicun: (Roaring with heartache) Each of those pills is more than 100,000! Dong Zhi, you brat*! *Bear boy (Ðܺ¢×Ó) Slang describing someone who is young and ignorant, like a naughty child. CH 131 Li Han¡¯er took the Shangqing pill, dumbfounded. Without hurrying to eat it, she put it in her pocket and pointed her fingers at Dong Zhi¡¯s chest. ¡°Boss, your clothes are torn. Don¡¯t you feel air leaking in?¡± Before Dong Zhi had time to understand the significance of the change from addressing him as captain to boss, he hurriedly looked down. He was wearing two pieces of clothing; a down jacket on the outside and a long-sleeve one-piece on the inside. They were both torn by the collar just now. Not only was the white stuffing exposed, but even the shirt inside was torn. Not to mention, when Li Han¡¯er mentioned it, he suddenly felt his skin being blown by a cold wind and got goosebumps all over. Dong Zhi covered it with his hands and said embarrassedly, ¡°I¡¯m exposed.¡± Liu Qingbo was speechless. ¡°Grand master, what¡¯s wrong with being looked at?¡± Dong Zhi laughed and said, ¡°There are two ladies present!¡± Li Han¡¯er said, ¡°Did anyone bring a sewing kit? I can sew it back up. Otherwise, you won¡¯t be able to wear them. It¡¯ll always leak.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°¡­Except for him, no one else would take that kind of thing on a long trip like this.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I didn¡¯t bring a needle and thread, but I brought something else. Lao Liu, where¡¯s my bag?¡± Just now, everyone had put their backpacks next to the campfire. When the zombies came, they immediately turned the sky asunder, so who would keep in mind their backpacks? Fortunately, the zombies weren¡¯t interested in the backpacks. Although they were scattered, their luggage was still there. Liu Qingbo grabbed Dong Zhi¡¯s backpack, and he couldn¡¯t help baring his teeth. ¡°What the hell is in here? Why is it so heavy?¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Just some daily necessities,¡± Dong Zhi said while rummaging inside for a long time. He finally found a compressed vacuum bag. He opened the zipper exposing the vacuum bag to the air, and the thing inside expanded quickly. At first glance, it turned out to be a brand-new down jacket. Everyone: ¡­¡­ Liu Qingbo felt like he was going crazy. ¡°What the hell is up with your backpack?!¡± Dong Zhi said innocently, ¡°I brought some spare clothes. After all, we¡¯re on an island. In case it¡¯s windy and rainy, won¡¯t it be uncomfortable if your clothes get wet? Well, this just happened.¡± Liu Qingbo expressed serious doubt. ¡°The weight of your backpack just now doesn¡¯t seem to have the weight of an extra down jacket.¡± Dong Zhi thought for a while. ¡°Oh, that might be the two cans of canned beef. I was planning to take them out when we go to another island in two days. We¡¯ll eat them in front of the other teams and make them jealous to death while we get to eat good food. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t want to talk anymore, and everyone else laughed. Dong Zhi asked strangely, ¡°Why, don¡¯t you like to eat beef? Xiao Zhang, you practice Quanzhen* so you¡¯re vegetarian, right?¡± *Currently one of the two dominant denominations of Daoism in China. You can read more about it on Wikipedia. Zhang Song was annoyed. ¡°I¡¯m not a vegetarian! Didn¡¯t you already call me Lao Zhang before? Why did you change it again? Stop calling me xiao!¡± Dong Zhi responded, ¡°It turns out you like to be called Lao Zhang. Before, you were just being duplicitous and were too embarrassed to say it. You should have told me earlier. I also think Lao Zhang is better. Calling you Xiao Zhang makes me seem old.¡± He looked at Zhang Song¡¯s grinding teeth with an expression that was saying: You should¡¯ve said something earlier. The trip on the island had just begun, and everyone understood that there were even greater challenges ahead of them. This was just a small battle. Everyone needed to relax. It was also clear that Dong Zhi was just joking to lighten the atmosphere. In contrast, Yoshida, as an outsider, couldn¡¯t mix in. There were only four people on her team. Now, except for her, two had died, and one was still unaccounted for. Until they set off again the next day and traveled all the way through the forest, she had little hope of seeing her missing companion again. The jungle covered a large area. If it weren¡¯t for her good luck, Yoshida wouldn¡¯t have met Dong Zhi and the others, and even if she hadn¡¯t died at the hands of the zombies, she most likely would be lost in the boundless dark forest, lingering on her last breath without knowing whether she would live or die. In the second half of the night and even the next day, they set off again. Until the evening of that day, everything proceeded smoothly, and everyone walked out of the forest. It seemed they had wiped out the zombies, as they never appeared again. The sea broke into everyone¡¯s sight again. It just happened to be high tide. The sea surged in and splashed heavily against the rocks, causing waves a few meters high. This wasn¡¯t the place where they landed, but there were still several speed boats tied to a boulder on the shore, and there were also some jars next to them. They were tied to the stones with ropes and floated heavily in the rising and retreating tide, but they wouldn¡¯t be washed away. The fog was vast, which reduced the visibility of the sea by a lot. There was really nothing to see, but since they had spent a few days in the forest and only saw gloomy trees and zombies, looking at the sea immediately made the stuffiness in their chest disappear. Their mood had lightened up a lot, and even their breathing became refreshed. Zhang Song couldn¡¯t help but stretch his arms open and embrace the sea breeze. The clothes on his body were blown by the wind, creating flapping sounds. Standing on the reefs, there was a sense of floating on the wind. But at the moment, the wind was high, the waves were rough, and it was going to be dark again. It was obviously not suitable for sailing yet. Everyone opened the jars and poured the fresh water in them into their own water bottles. They were ready to spend the night on the rocky beach and set off tomorrow morning, depending on the weather. Since Yoshida was by herself, it was obviously impossible to continue the competition. She planned to wait here a few more days. If her missing companion didn¡¯t come out by then, she would leave the island and quit the competition. There were several speedboats, and the storage capacity of the fresh water tanks was sufficient. Since Yoshida had made up her mind, Dong Zhi didn¡¯t try to persuade her. He wished her a smooth journey and would contact her when he returned to China. He also opened a can of canned beef in advance and cooked it with noodles around the campfire that night. It was regarded as their memorial to their last night on Diana Island. When the last ray of light receded from the white mist and the world finally returned to night, not far behind the campfire, the dark forest was still lifeless and desolated, with only the footprints they left behind. Dong Zhi glanced back at the dense forest shrouded in mist, took out an empty box that Eguchi had used to release the demonic qi from his pocket, and weighed it. Then he pulled back his arm and tossed it hard. The box made an arc and fell directly into the sea, where it was swept away by the waves and disappeared. ¡­¡­ Nagoya, Japan. An elderly man with mixed black and gray hair stepped out of a hotel. He put on a bright yellow tour hat and walked out of the hotel, pausing every few steps to take out his phone to take pictures of the pedestrians on the street. He would show admiration from time to time, making it easy to guess his identity. Maybe he was someone from a small town who stayed there all his life, and this was the first time he went abroad and came to Japan with a tour group for sightseeing, but he accidently fell behind since he was casually strolling along and didn¡¯t look rushed at all. He slowly came to the outside of the Atsuta Shrine, and just in front of him was the tour group that was preparing to enter. He quickly hastened his steps to catch up to the others. When they saw him dressed in a similar hat, they didn¡¯t pay much attention. The old man followed the foreign tourists in line and leaned towards the Chinese tour guide. After listening to the introduction, he turned around and went to the bathroom until the tour group moved on to the next attraction. A few minutes later, the old man came out of the bathroom, didn¡¯t seem rushed to catch up to the tour group, and instead walked in the opposite direction. Atsuta Shrine was an open tourist attraction, but not every place was open. There was a hidden path between the Hakkeng¨± and the Yaoyorozu Shrine. There was a sign indicating that visitors weren¡¯t allowed to enter. A normal tourist would usually stop here, but the old man continued to walk forward. There was a courtyard at the end of the path. Hidden among the sparse shadows of flowers and trees, the scene inside couldn¡¯t be seen clearly through the fence. There was no one around, and the courtyard door was closed. The old man didn¡¯t approach. He just watched quietly for a while, then turned around and was about to leave, but at this time the courtyard door opened behind him, and someone stopped him. ¡°Guest from afar from China. My master wants to see you.¡± The other party spoke in Chinese, but his accent was weird. It sounded like he was just a beginner. The old man turned his head and saw a young boy in traditional clothes standing there. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± The old man looked confused as he spoke in a thick Chinese accent. The boy was also a little puzzled when he heard his response, not sure if this was the person his master was looking for. The two looked at each other for a moment, and the old man waved his hands. ¡°It¡¯s not uncommon for someone to get lost. I¡¯m in the wrong place!¡± He raised his foot and was about to leave, but unexpectedly, another person appeared in the place where the trail led to the exit. The other person looked a little older than the boy behind him. ¡°Sir, since you¡¯re here, why pretend we don¡¯t know each other?¡± This young man was much more fluent in Chinese. There was a smile on his handsome face, but there was obvious malice in his smile. The old man¡¯s confusion became stronger. ¡°Know what? I came with a tour group, and I was separated. Now I¡¯m trying to find my tour group again. Do you want to take me to find them?¡± The young man snorted coldly. ¡°Don¡¯t pretend. You are from China¡¯s Special Administration Bureau. Since you came to Nagoya, your every move has been under the control of Mr. Otowa. Aren¡¯t you here to save someone? If you leave like this, are you not afraid the person you want to save will die?¡± The old man looked at him for a moment and finally said, ¡°When did you find out?¡± Once he adjusted his accent, his entire person seemed to change, even in temperament. The young man proudly said, ¡°After you came to Nagoya, haven¡¯t you contacted your agent, who has been lurking here? In fact, he has been under our surveillance for a long time. As soon as he met you, we knew that you must be a special agent sent by the Special Administration Bureau.¡± The old man said with a smile, ¡°It seems that Otowa tentacles are quite long. He even knows the list of our secret agents.¡± Young Man: ¡°Master¡¯s power is greater than you imagine. Call your companions and come out together. What¡¯s the point of hiding?¡± The old man sneered. ¡°Laozi can crush you all by myself. What kind of companions do I need?¡± The young man snorted, apparently not convinced. The distance between him and the old man was originally about ten meters, but the old man saw his figure move slightly, and the distance was reduced to only a few meters in a blink of an eye and even disappeared out of thin air, as if it had evaporated in an instant. But the old man simply snorted and suddenly grabbed somewhere in the air. After hearing a scream, the young man suddenly appeared and fell to the ground. His arms had been twisted into a weird posture, most likely broken. ¡°With your ninjutsu skills, you dare challenge me?! Even your ninjutsu master, Takuya Suzuki, doesn¡¯t even dare to be so brazen in front of me!¡± After the old man said this, all the bones in his body clicked. In the surprised eyes of the young man, the old man¡¯s rickety waist slowly straightened. The old man took off his glasses and tore off the wig on his head. His figure immediately grew taller, and his age and momentum also changed by 180 degrees. The young man got up in pain but didn¡¯t dare make any movements and respectfully said, ¡°May I ask your excellency¡¯s name?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t change your name when you go, don¡¯t change your surname when you sit*. Go and tell Otowa Yasuhiko that laozi is Wu Bingtian and I¡¯m here to smash his place!¡± the other party said with his hands clasped behind his back. *(Ðв»¸ÄÃû£¬×ø²»¸ÄÐÕ) Idiom referring to not concealing one¡¯s real name under any circumstances. The young man hesitated, then, respectfully, while holding his arm in pain but not daring to take care of it, extended a polite invitation gesture to Wu Bingtian. He led him to a small hut with an open door. There was no furnishing inside; only four lamps were lit by candle in the corners. There was a screen in the middle lined with gold and silver and having lacquer brushwork. The painting showed a hundred ghosts walking at night. Humans were being crushed by evil spirits, with their limbs and arms broken and their blood flowing like a river. Their wails and screams of pain were silently transmitted through the gorgeous brushstrokes, as if the pieces of the cherry blossoms depicted in the corner of the screen were stained with blood after falling, expressing the ultimate fragility and beauty of cruelty. Wu Bingtian¡¯s gaze stayed on the painting on the screen for a moment and soon fell on the person sitting in front of the screen. Otowa Yasuhiko. This was an old man with gray hair and a straight spine. Just from his appearance, no one would think he was anything special, and before Wu Bingtian knew his true identity, he only regarded him as an entrepreneur with deep ties to Japan¡¯s political and economic circles. Otowa was making tea. He acted like a human and made it himself, but his movements were slow, as if he were performing a solemn and grand ceremony. Without looking up at Wu Bingtian, he said, ¡°The famous Director Wu has arrived, but why is he alone?¡± Wu Bingtian pretended to be surprised. ¡°A demon can speak human language?¡± Otowa said slowly, ¡°Director Wu, your companion is still in my hands. Do you think it¡¯s useful to deliberately irritate me?¡± Wu Bingtian said lightly, ¡°Since you know that I¡¯m Wu Bingtian, you should know that even if I come alone, I can achieve my goal.¡± Otowa sighed. ¡°I¡¯m afraid that you¡¯ll also fall here. So, who did the Special Administration Bureau send to back you up? Long Shen? Or Song Zhicun?¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°I don¡¯t need it. It¡¯s enough for me to deal with you. I¡¯m here today, not only to ask you for someone but also to recover a blood debt from you.¡± He stared at Otowa and said heavily, word by word, ¡°The blood debt of December 13, 1937, Asaka Yasuhiko. Do you remember?¡± ¡°How can I not remember?¡± Otowa paused while pouring tea and finally raised his head, as if he were looking at Wu Bingtian, but more like looking at others through Wu Bingtian. He was at ease, not at all nervous that his identity had been exposed, but instead showed a nostalgic expression. ¡°At the beginning of that year, I was appointed the commander of the Shanghai Dispatch Army. I later went to Nanjing to replace Matsui and become the commander-in-chief after the capture of Nanjing. At that time, Tanaka came to ask me what to do with the hundreds of thousands of soldiers and civilians in Nanjing. At that time, I was suffering from a splitting headache, and I wished to kill everyone who was an eyesore, so I told him to kill them all and leave no one behind.¡± Otowa said happily, ¡°From that day until two months later, my subordinates have been killing people for two full months. Ammunition couldn¡¯t be wasted, so they were chopped with swords. I went to see and saw that the sabers had been cut to the point where the blade curled. Blood flowed everywhere, staining the grass at the base of the city wall red, but when I saw the blood and heard the screams, my headache got much better, so I asked them to bring prisoners to me so I can try it myself.¡± Wu Bingtian clenched his fist, but he didn¡¯t want to interrupt Otowa. He even controlled his breathing very well, letting the other party go on with interest. Recalling the past, Otowa seemed reminiscent. Let alone regret, he looked filled with joy, as if the massacre itself would bring him endless happiness. ¡°Before that, I hadn¡¯t killed anyone with my own hands. Those captives were tied up, but I didn¡¯t have them gagged. Two of them kept scolding me while two of them cried. They beg for mercy and to let them go.¡± ¡°There was another person who was very interesting. He thought that the killings were just the rampant actions of the officers below, and he thought that I didn¡¯t know. He kept persuading me to be noble, to be kind, to love the people, and not to be overbearing. It¡¯s really ridiculous. These aren¡¯t my people. Why should I love them?¡± Otowa smiled slightly. ¡°I thought he was very annoying, so I started with him first. I wanted to try your ancient forms of Chinese torture on these people, but it was too troublesome to burn them, and I wouldn¡¯t have the pleasure of doing it myself. I still prefer lingchi. Cutting the flesh off of him one knife at a time, making him bleed, suffer, and cry but unable to die. Look, when it comes to cruelty, the ancestors of your country aren¡¯t much crueler than me. At the very least, I can¡¯t think of a worse way than cutting someone up with more than 3,000 cuts.¡± ¡°Why, those people invented such a cruel punishment, yet you don¡¯t condemn it. I just killed a few people, and you chased me?¡± At the end, his expression was a little surprised, as if he were discussing an extremely esoteric topic with Wu Bingtian. Wu Bingtian was originally good at acting, but he couldn¡¯t maintain his smile anymore, leaving only indifference. ¡°I haven¡¯t met such a person you mentioned, but if I run into him, I won¡¯t let him go.¡± Otowa suddenly said, ¡°Oh, is that so? Well, let¡¯s continue talking about that person. I started with him first, but for the first time, it was inevitable that my technique was unskilled. I only cut him more than thirty times before I accidentally killed him. But practice makes perfect. My skills greatly improved with the other three, and the last one died after being cut by more than two hundred times.¡± ¡°But the most interesting thing is their reaction before they die. I put those who cried and begged in the front and those who cursed me in the back. When it was one of the scolders¡¯ turn, he no longer could curse me but instead kept crying and begging me to let him go. Sorry. I¡¯m being long-winded. Does Director Wu still want to listen?¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°Yes.¡± Only by knowing more clearly could it be possible to dig out more of the inside story of that year and find out more details about the enemy. But why was Otowa talking so much to him, whom he had just met for the first time? Wu Bingtian didn¡¯t know. His understanding of Otowa Yasuhiko only stopped at the name that occasionally appeared in the news. Even the information in the archives of the Special Administration Bureau didn¡¯t describe this well-known entrepreneur too much. He only knew that Otowa had no children and had a huge net worth. Perhaps it was because Otowa had been hiding for too long and he hadn¡¯t met someone who was evenly matched, so this aroused his desire to confide in him; maybe Wu Bingtian, as a Chinese visitor, reminded him of the past; or maybe, he already regarded him as a turtle trapped in a jar and he had nothing to fear. Otowa nodded and said leisurely, ¡°I have heard people say that the first time you kill someone, your hands will tremble and you can¡¯t sleep all night. But it¡¯s strange. Instead of feeling this way, I felt warm and comfortable all over. Since then, I have known that killing can make me happy.¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°Just because of this, it¡¯s impossible for you to turn into a demon.¡± Otowa: ¡°Of course, there was a lot of killing at that time. I wasn¡¯t the one who killed the most. At most, I just realized the true meaning of killing. If you want to talk about the opportunity, we have to go back to the aftermath of Nanjing.¡± Wu Bingtian couldn¡¯t help but let out a sneer. It was the first time he had heard that a massacre still had true meaning. Otowa said seriously, ¡°Director Wu, you regard promotion as your life goal, and my dream is to paint the world with charcoal and turn it into hell. Is there a difference?¡± Wu Bingtian said angrily, ¡°I¡¯m not as shameless as you, abandoning your humanity to become a beast!¡± Otowa smiled. ¡°Well, let¡¯s not argue about this. I¡¯m only telling you because I also have unanswered questions in my heart and need to ask you to help me solve them. Are you sure you want to end this conversation?¡± Wu Bingtian remained silent. Otowa continued, ¡°That year, a Japanese ship sank in the Yangtze River. At that time, it was suspected that the Chinese were secretly doing something, so a large-scale search and salvage was carried out. Unexpectedly, a stone box was salvaged from the Yangtze River. The Japanese in charge of the salvage heard that I like to collect antiques, so they asked someone to send the box to me. As soon as I saw the box, I thought it was very strange because it looked like a complete stone, but there were seams on the top and bottom, and the carvings were exquisite, but there was no keyhole, let alone a lock. Tell me, can it still be opened?¡± Wu Bingtian snorted coldly. ¡°As long as you want, you can open it. You can even use explosives!¡± Otowa didn¡¯t care about his tone and just shook his head. ¡°No, you can¡¯t use explosives. At that time, I was afraid the contents inside would be destroyed.¡± Wu Bingtian knew that he was about to hear the critical details next, perhaps related to the secret of how Otowa Yasuhiko became a demon, so he didn¡¯t interrupt him and listened calmly. CH 132 Otowa continued, ¡°At that time, I hadn¡¯t returned to Japan. In order to find the origin of the stone box, I recruited talented people from all over the world in the name of research. An old man told me that the stone box contained a demon that was sealed in it in ancient times. Because of the balance of heaven and earth, one black and one white, demons can never be killed or destroyed, so there are common people with great abilities who use it to suppress demons with great powers and seal them in stone boxes to prevent catastrophe to maintain the balance.¡± Wu Bingtian knew as soon as he heard this that the person who told Otowa this had to be a practitioner who had a deep understanding of the laws of the universe. The old monk warned Otowa Yasuhiko, who was Asaka Yasuhiko at that time, not to open the stone box. Otherwise, disaster would befall the world, but he obviously didn¡¯t know Otowa¡¯s cold-blooded demonic nature that enjoyed torturing people. Naturally, Otowa wouldn¡¯t listen to such advice, and after hearing what the old monk said, it actually increased his desire to open the box. ¡°No matter how coercive I was, the old monk refused to help me open the box. In order to prevent the secret from leaking, I had to kill him. There are many dragons and tigers hiding in China and Japan. Eventually I found those who were willing to help me, and it took three years before I finally opened the box.¡± Otowa¡¯s breathing became rapid, as if recalling the scene of that year again. He even showed a dreamlike expression, completely ignoring the only audience present. Wu Bingtian moved his fingers slightly, wondering if he should just violently kill Otowa right now and end everything. But he quickly found that this idea wouldn¡¯t work because he noticed that there was a very thin red line on the tatami mat between him and Otowa. If he didn¡¯t observe carefully, he would have missed the obvious line. It was very likely there was an enchantment between him and Otowa, or that the Otowa Yasuhiko in front of him was just a phantom being projected here. Naturally, Wu Bingtian could choose to launch a sudden attack, but if he failed, he would lose his chance to save the hostage. In a duel with an old fox like Otowa, a slight mistake would be enough to destroy the entire plan. Wu Bingtian retracted his gaze from the red line and confronted Otowa. The latter showed him a knowing smile, causing his heart to tremble. It was indeed the correct decision to not act rashly just now. ¡°So what did you encounter after you opened the box?¡± Wu Bingtian asked as if nothing had happened. Otowa said, ¡°At that time, when the box was opened, of all the people present, the two craftsmen and four servants were all swept up by a black qi and fell to the ground. They all died except for me.¡± Having said that, an unusual look of excitement appeared on his face. ¡°Only me. The black qi came to me. Instead of engulfing me, it circled me a few times and finally got into a sword that was in front of me!¡± Wu Bingtian said, ¡°And the sword didn¡¯t jump up and kill you?¡± Otowa ignored the sarcasm in his tone and seriously answered, ¡°Director Wu, do you think this proves that I¡¯m the legendary person of destiny and the master to receive this demon¡¯s qi? Otherwise, why did everyone that was present die except for me?¡± Wu Bingtian also found it strange, but he didn¡¯t show it. He just sneered and said, ¡°Maybe you¡¯re a born demon, and the demonic qi smelled its own kind, so naturally it didn¡¯t kill you.¡± Otowa felt that it made sense and nodded. ¡°After thinking about it, I seem to have only this answer. It may be because I killed so many people in China at that time and finally realized that the ultimate happiness in the world isn¡¯t fame or wealth but eternal killing, which fits quite well with the qi in the stone box. That is why it chose me, and I also chose it.¡± Wu Bingtian frowned. ¡°Such a sword possessed by demonic qi isn¡¯t an ordinary sword, is it?¡± Otowa smiled. ¡°Truly worthy of your title, Director Wu of the Special Administration Bureau. You discovered the key right away. It is indeed not an ordinary sword, but a divine sword that¡¯s unmatched in Japan.¡± Wu Bingtian thought for a while, then blurted out, ¡°Kusanagi no Tsurugi*!¡± *Legendary Japanese sword and one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor. It is also allegedly kept in the Atsuta Shrine (where they are now). Due to Shinto traditions, no one is allowed to see the sword. The Kusanagi no Tsurugi, one of the three artifacts of Japan, also known as the Kusunagi Sword, was obtained from the body of the famous eight-headed snake monster*. It was rumored that it was white all over and was enshrined in Atsuta Shrine for many years. Even the Emperor wasn¡¯t allowed to see it. *Yamata no Orochi. Legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent. In the Edo period, a priest recorded its appearance and then suffered a curse, eventually leading to his death. This cast a layer of mystery on the Kusanagi no Tsurugi, but outsiders would never have thought that the sword was actually obtained by Otowa as early as the 1940s and he even used it to refine magic qi. As a person of Otowa¡¯s background, it was naturally more convenient to do these things than others. Otowa nodded. ¡°The Kusanagi no Tsurugi is worthy of being a divine weapon. Not only does it absorb all magic qi, but it¡¯s also able to infuse it little by little into my body, allowing me to turn it to my own use. When I was young, I was in a car accident. I suffered from painful aftereffects and developed headaches as a result. Since I slowly merged with the demonic qi, my body has changed quite a bit. Even the headaches had healed without medicine. More than that, even my aging has slowed down. Now, as long as I eat a fresh heart regularly, I can maintain my life and strength. Don¡¯t you think this is amazing?¡± Wu Bingtian said, ¡°The Kusanagi no Tsurugi is known as a Japanese artifact and is heavily guarded. Even if you are part of the royal family, they might not be willing to let you take it out so easily and pollute it with the magic qi, no?¡± Otowa laughed. ¡°You¡¯re wrong! Where is the Kusanagi no Tsurugi? What kind of artifact is it? Since it came from the body of a demon, naturally, it¡¯s a veritable magic sword. Besides me, who else can control it? If it wasn¡¯t for the demonic qi from the stone box, I wouldn¡¯t have had such an opportunity. How many people in ancient and modern times wanted to obtain the secrets of the Tsurugi Sword but lost their lives. Only me! Only when I was greeted by fate, blending the magic qi in the stone box, and turning into a demon was I qualified to become the master of the Kusanagi no Tsurugi!¡± Wu Bingtian said in disdain, ¡°How vain. You have outlived most of your usefulness and are nothing more than an old coot, and your knowledge is short-sighted. The Mara we killed in Southeast Asia is a real demon. You¡¯re just a mouse hiding in the gutters with some demonic qi. What¡¯s there to boast about?¡± Otowa didn¡¯t care about Wu Bingtian¡¯s deliberate provocation and said with a sneer, ¡°Mara? That¡¯s just a doppelganger of the Demon King. It¡¯s not the Demon King himself. Just because it was separated from the main body and has a sense of autonomy, it thinks that it¡¯s self-righteous. Songen was also an out-of-control idiot who thought he would become a demon by assisting it. If he had handed over the demonic qi to me, I wouldn¡¯t have delayed for so long. But it¡¯s not too late now since I have a more ambitious goal and I¡¯m already gradually realizing it.¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°The stone tablets.¡± Otowa smiled mysteriously. ¡°Yes, the stone tablets. Do you think it¡¯ll be useful for you to work so hard to prevent me from destroying them? In fact, what I told you was just what I wanted to tell you.¡± Wu Bingtian¡¯s heart thumped, but his expression remained calm. ¡°Your information about the stone tablets was stolen from China. Do you think we don¡¯t know it? Why bother with such charades?¡± Otowa shook his head. ¡°You don¡¯t know, because this is a message I got when I merged with the demonic qi from that stone box.¡± Wu Bingtian wanted to wait for him to say the most critical message, but Otowa stopped and refused to continue. He glanced at Wu Bingtian slyly, as if he could see through the anxiety under his calmness. ¡°Director Wu, I have two suggestions now. Do you want to hear them?¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°I have been sitting here listening to your nonsense all this time. Do you still have to ask?¡± Otowa smiled. ¡°My first suggestion is to switch to my camp. As you know, I¡¯m from a royal family. Even if I change my name now, I still have unlimited wealth and power. In Japan, there is nothing I can¡¯t do. I heard that Director Wu¡¯s favorite thing is to be an official, but how much can the mere title of Deputy Director of the Special Administration Bureau give you?¡± Wu Bingtian snorted coldly. ¡°What a joke! Leave China¡¯s Special Administration Bureau and join you to be a lackey?¡± Otowa said, ¡°Of course China is vast, but you¡¯re subjected to many restrictions. If you¡¯re in Japan, it¡¯ll be different. I can let you take charge of the priests and onmyojis in Japan, and you¡¯ll receive countless amounts of money and power. When the darkness completely descends into the world and swallows it up with its demonic qi, those who looked down on you in the past and suppressed your position will prostrate at your feet, crying bitterly and begging for your forgiveness.¡± Wu Bingtian was suspicious. ¡°When will the darkness fall?¡± Otowa smiled. ¡°That you don¡¯t need to know for now.¡± Wu Bingtian: ¡°And your second suggestion?¡± Otowa: ¡°The second suggestion is you meet the same fate as Dong Zhilan or Ding Lan.¡± Wu Bingtian narrowed his eyes. ¡°It seems that Ding Lan really died at your hands.¡± Otowa smiled and said, ¡°Do you want to see him?¡± He clapped his hands, and the surrounding environment became pitch black, as if he were in a closed room that had all its lights suddenly turned off. Even Otowa disappeared into thin air. Although Wu Bingtian knew the other party was prepared, he couldn¡¯t help but secretly rejoice that he hadn¡¯t acted rashly just now. Otherwise, he would definitely fall into a trap. A faint light flickered and dimmed, floating in from outside. Wu Bingtian seemed to feel something, turned his head abruptly, and saw a boy walking slowly with a round white lantern. That boy had an ordinary face that didn¡¯t match Ding Lan¡¯s at all. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were going to show me Ding Lan? Where is he?¡± Wu Bingtian said coldly. ¡°Ding Lan¡¯s heart was eaten by me while his body was refined with magic qi. I¡¯m afraid you won¡¯t be able to see it. The only thing you can see is probably this lantern.¡± Otowa¡¯s voice came into his mind from an unknown, dark place, as if he were everywhere around him. ¡°This is his body oil that is used to light this lantern. Director Wu, this is the only memorial left by your colleague in this world.¡± If he could hold back when he heard this sentence, then he wasn¡¯t a man, and he couldn¡¯t even call himself a human. Wu Bingtian felt that he was at least a human. When compared with such a beast as Otowa, he could even be considered a saint. He didn¡¯t choose to be patient any longer. Suddenly, a gray shadow burst out from his hand. It didn¡¯t jump towards the boy holding the lantern, but at a certain point on his right! In the darkness, someone seemed to be surprised. Wu Bingtian felt that his whip had indeed hit something, but there was still darkness in front of him. He could only act based on his intuition and couldn¡¯t help but think of Long Shen and Tang Jing, hoping there was progress on their side. ¡­¡­ At noon, Atsuta Shrine was relatively quiet. Tourists from tour groups either had already made their visit and went to eat or would come later in the afternoon. At this moment, there were more individual tourists or locals. Many people were wearing traditional outfits as they brought the elderly and the young. Long Shen, who was dressed in casual clothing and wearing a backpack, was mixed in. Because of his tall and upright figure, even though he was wearing sunglasses, he still attracted a lot of attention. After the three of them arrived in Tokyo, they acted separately. Wu Bingtian was in the light, Tang Jing was in the dark, and Long Shen was between the two. He didn¡¯t disguise himself like an old man like Wu Bingtian, but his face was slightly modified to become less handsome, though even then it was still regarded as handsome, nonetheless. ¡°Sir, are you a photographer?¡± A young girl couldn¡¯t help but step forward to strike up a conversation. ¡°I can only be considered an amateur at best.¡± Long Shen took off his sunglasses and grinned. For people who have met Long Shen before, they would never witness such a sunny and bright photography enthusiast as he was now. Long Shen showed the girl photos from his camera. The girl exclaimed, ¡°This level is the same as a professional. You¡¯re being too humble!¡± If Dong Zhi were here, he would be surprised to hear his master speaking in fluent Japanese almost without having to think about it. The pronunciation was a standard Tokyo accent, and the girl was convinced and regarded him as a native Japanese who often traveled around the world. Long Shen could have gone in alone, but if a man and woman were traveling together, the goal was always better than traveling alone. The two of them talked as they strolled along. As he was disguised as a photography enthusiast, he picked up on the history of the shrine easily and spoke with eloquence, earning him admiration from the girl. The two kept talking as they strolled along, all the way into the shrine. ¡°Sorry, Yoshiko, I have to go to the bathroom. Why don¡¯t you go on ahead?¡± Long Shen said. The girl hurriedly replied, ¡°Just go. I¡¯ll stroll around here and wait for you!¡± Long Shen nodded and turned to walk to the bathroom. After entering the bathroom stall, Long Shen locked the door and took out three short incense sticks and a small porcelain bottle from his pocket. The porcelain bottle contained a talisman stained with Li Ying¡¯s blood. Before they set off that day, Li Ying¡¯s master on Mount Maoshan specially sent it to them. With this, Long Shen could find Li Ying¡¯s location. As soon as he entered the shrine just now, he keenly felt an aura that was seemingly absent. According to the time, Wu Bingtian and Tang Jing agreed to act on the same day with him, and now they had to act separately. He didn¡¯t know if the fluctuation came from Wu Bingtian or Tang Jing. Without stopping, Long Shen lit the short incense and inserted it into the porcelain bottle. The incense curled up, but it folded down in mid-air, as if an invisible hand pinched the smoke and forcibly twisted it in one direction. Long Shen looked in that direction. The topographic map of the shrine he had seen before appeared in his mind. He immediately found the direction it was referring to. He pinched the smoke, threw the short incense into the toilet, and flushed it. He then cut his fingers and dripped the blood into the porcelain bottle. After doing all this quickly, he put the porcelain bottle back in his pocket, opened the door, washed his hands, dried them, and walked out of the bathroom without stopping for a moment. The entire process only took a few minutes. The girl who was wandering outside wasn¡¯t annoyed by the neglect at all. Just when she wanted to invite Long Shen to visit the treasure museum, she heard the other party apologetically say, ¡°I just received a call. A local friend heard that I was here and wanted to see me. I¡¯m afraid we won¡¯t be able to continue anymore.¡± The girl was a little disappointed and couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°If he doesn¡¯t mind¡­¡± Long Shen smiled embarrassedly. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s a girl.¡± The girl immediately understood and forced a smile. ¡°That¡¯s okay. I¡¯ll give you my number. If you want to go somewhere during your stay here these days, I can be your guide, Mr. Tanaka.¡± Under the cherry blossom trees, there were a few tourists who occasionally stared at this man and woman. The man was handsome and upright, and the woman was delicate and beautiful. When she spoke, her words were shy and timid. It was inevitable that it was reminiscent of first love. The truth was far from what others imagined. Of course, the girl had a good impression of Long Shen. However, they met by chance, and Long Shen simply used her as a cover. With someone walking with him as they chat, it would look more natural than him looking around by himself, which made it look less suspicious. Long Shen bid goodbye to the girl, then hurriedly left under the other party¡¯s disappointed gaze as he walked towards the gate. He went out the main entrance but turned in another direction and walked around the perimeter of the shrine, turning from the main road to a small path, and finally stopping at a place. Long Shen took out the small porcelain bottle, and suddenly a wisp of green smoke rose from it. Just like in the bathroom, the smoke broke halfway and pointed forward. This method of finding people was taught by the school in Mount Maoshan, and it was somewhat like He Yu¡¯s way of looking for his junior brother in Guangzhou. Long Shen¡¯s gaze fell on the corner of the wall. Three flowers grew there. They were wildflowers of an unusual variety that were often seen everywhere. They grew at high altitudes and were resistant to cold and drought, which made them a favorite to use as a decoration on grass. Though it was winter, the sun was warm, and the flowers and trees swayed gently, giving off a leisurely, calm atmosphere. But this wasn¡¯t the reason why Long Shen was staring at them. Of the three wildflowers that grew side by side, only the middle one remained motionless in the wind, as if its entire body was firmly clung by an invisible force. Long Shen suddenly stretched out his hand and pulled out the wildflower in the middle. He used very little strength, as ordinary wildflowers weren¡¯t difficult to pick. As soon as he picked it, the scene in front of him changed. The stone wall that was blocking him suddenly gave birth to a door that was trembling slightly, as if it had been visually distorted after being steamed in hot weather. Without hesitation, Long Shen pushed open the door and walked in. Immediately, after he fully entered the doorway, the stone wall returned to its original state. Except for the missing wildflower, everything else was the same. Several tourists passed by and stood by the stone wall for a group photo, but they didn¡¯t notice anything unusual. But Long Shen knew that the door was actually an enchantment, and the wildflower was the key to triggering it. He had now entered the enchantment. He was still in the shrine, but it wasn¡¯t considered part of the shrine. The surrounding area was a space opened by magic, just like the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau. However, the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau was a collection of efforts from several masters and was slightly superior compared to this. There was no rotation of the four seasons, nor was there day and night. Long Shen looked around and saw that the clouds above him hadn¡¯t changed positions since he entered. The stones and bricks on the ground were neatly arranged, and a path stretched from his feet to the door of a house in front of him. The light smoke from the porcelain bottle rose intermittently, pointing towards that house. Long Shen walked slowly along the path, but just as he took his sixth step, the surrounding scenery suddenly changed. The ground beneath his feet had warped into a crater with boiling lava inside, while he was on a suspension bridge that could barely accommodate a person. All around him was a tumbling sea of fire. Sparks were flying, and the billowing heat was steaming up from the lava below. After a while, his shoes became so hot that they almost melted. The wooden planks were baked at a high temperature, with occasional pieces falling into the molten sea, leaving only a few isolated iron cables on the bridge. Without the wooden planks, each link was at least five or six steps away, making it hard to maintain physical balance, let alone cross the bridge. A little spark splashed on the back of his hand. The burning pain quickly passed from his skin to his nerves. Long Shen knew well that all this in front of him wasn¡¯t a simple illusion, but a product of a combination of illusion and reality. Now that Otowa had turned into a demon, he must have mastered the ability to distort space; overlapping the real lava sea of fire with the location here, creating a space where truth and lies could blend, just like the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau. If he were an ordinary practitioner, most likely he would think that it was just an ordinary illusion, but if he were to accidentally step on air and fall, he would inevitably fall into real magma, leaving not even bones behind. Long Shen¡¯s complexion remained the same. As soon as he turned his wrist, he immediately added a long sword to his right hand. The entire body of the sword was dark, but it faintly glowed with white light. He let go of his hand and let the long sword fall straight towards the magma, but halfway through the fall, the sword suddenly stopped and then made a sharp turn. It flew up instead and landed on Long Shen¡¯s feet. The blade rapidly became bigger and turned into a golden light that directly covered the iron suspension bridge. Long Shen walked forward. His sword was as stable as a rock, and even the chains on the suspension bridge didn¡¯t shake. In just a moment, he had already walked the entire length of the bridge, and the surrounding scenery suddenly changed. The courtyard was still a courtyard, and the path was still a path, as if everything was just a dream. Long Shen didn¡¯t hesitate much and opened the door directly on both sides. In a very ordinary Japanese-style room, Li Ying sat crossed-legged in the middle. There was also a boy beside him, holding a dinner plate, as if to deliver food. Hearing the movement of the door opening, both of them walked towards it. Li Ying was overjoyed. ¡°Boss Long!¡± The boy was taken aback when he saw the stranger¡¯s face and scolded, ¡°Who are you?! Leave at once!¡± Naturally, Long Shen didn¡¯t comply and instead strode towards them. The boy let out a low growl and rushed towards Long Shen, but halfway through he turned into a white wolf with bloody fangs. ¡°Boss Long, be careful!¡± ¡°How¡¯s the situation now?¡± Long Shen asked as he turned his head sideways to avoid the wolf¡¯s fierce pounce. The white wolf moved extremely quickly. As soon as it landed, it turned around and pounced again. Long Shen made a casual move, and the sword light swept in from the outside and flew steadily into his hand. He raised his sword and slashed. Suddenly, the strong wind howled, and the snakes danced wildly. The white wolf was hit by the sword on its waist and abdomen. A deep bone wound appeared instantly, causing it to wail as it pounced at Long Shen again. Li Ying seemed to be trapped by something. Seeing Long Shen¡¯s arrival, he sat still, but he wasn¡¯t unhindered from speaking. He also knew that Long Shen had limited time, and he didn¡¯t know when Otowa would be alarmed, so he hurriedly briefed him. ¡°Ding Lan is dead, Yu Buhui¡¯s whereabouts are unknown, and I¡¯m trapped in an enchantment! Otowa is extremely powerful¡ªmuch more than any human or demon. He seems to have completely turned into a demon and has an arsenal of magic weapons and monsters in his hands. He is a beast. I watched him burn Ding Ge¡¯s body with my own eyes, and he refined it into a lamp with corpse oil¡ª¡± Having said this, Li Ying choked for a moment. His eyes were red, and he gritted his teeth, barely able to finish speaking. ¡°Otowa didn¡¯t kill me because he wanted to use me as bait to lure you over. Boss Long, please leave me. Otowa has placed a ban on me, and he has even more powerful means¡­¡± As soon as he finished speaking, the white wolf was beheaded by Long Shen. Li Ying suddenly disappeared. The messy room seemed to have triggered some mechanism and instantly turned into an overlapping space composed of dozens of mirror images. There was the same room everywhere, and the same Li Ying was trapped in each room. ¡°Long Shen.¡± A voice came from afar, illusory, that sounded old and gloomy. ¡°You¡¯ve finally come. I¡¯ve been waiting for you. I didn¡¯t think Wu Bingtian would really dare to come alone.¡± Long Shen moved slowly in the mirror space, as if he wanted to find the source of the sound. Seeing this, Otowa smiled. ¡°Don¡¯t waste your energy. I¡¯m not here at all. This space is perfect. You won¡¯t find any flaws. I¡¯d like to see if the famous Director Long is really that powerful!¡± Long Shen said, ¡°There¡¯s no absolute perfection in the world. Any formation and space always have a fulcrum.¡± Otowa: ¡°I¡¯m afraid your companion will be dead before you find a way out. Your Director Wu has just been caught by me. But don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t kill those ordinary people so easily, especially you. You¡¯re my rare and precious prey. I¡¯ll refine you into the most powerful weapon in the world.¡± Long Shen¡¯s movements weren¡¯t affected by Otowa¡¯s words. He walked slowly in the space, stopping from time to time as if to check on the surrounding movements. Whether Wu Bingtian was captured or whether Otowa was lying, neither had the slightest effect on Long Shen¡¯s heart. Through a mirror, Otowa could clearly see his enemy trapped in the mirror space, just like in real-time surveillance. With a smile at the corner of his mouth, he watched like a hunter determined to capture his prey. ¡°I heard that Long Shen isn¡¯t human,¡± he said. ¡°I have also heard this kind of rumor. I also have heard that his true body is the famous Seven Star Longyuan Sword in China.¡± The person sitting next to Otowa was the familiar Fujikawa Aoi that had gone to Yinchuan to destroy the stone tablet and was later captured. He had lost half his life when he returned to Japan. The other party¡¯s face was pale, and his figure looked ricketier. No longer was he the cold and majestic person on Changbai Mountain, but he now looked more like an ordinary old man. But this little old man was once an all-powerful figure in the Japanese practitioner circle. ¡°The Seven Star Longyuan Sword?¡± Otowa smiled playfully. Kinky Thoughts: Kusanagi no Tsurugi A legendary Japanese sword and one of the three Imperial Regalia of Japan. It was originally called Ame-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (Ì셲년‡, ¡°Heavenly Sword of Gathering Clouds¡±), but its name was later changed to the more popular Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi (¡°Grass-Cutting Sword¡±). In folklore, the sword represents the virtue of valor. ¡ª Yamata no Orochi A legendary eight-headed and eight-tailed Japanese dragon/serpent. CH 133 Long Shen stopped. He didn¡¯t hear the conversation between Otowa and Fujikawa. The reason he stopped was because he found himself in a mirrored space. With every step he took, he would enter a new mirrored space. These spaces were covered one by one and were endless. He would eventually be trapped in the deepest part of the space and could no longer break free of the enchantment. ¡°Li Ying, where are you?¡± he asked. ¡°I¡¯m here!¡± Each of Li Ying¡¯s mirror images replied, with countless identical voices stacked on each other, just like many people speaking at the same time. Each Li Ying wasn¡¯t far from Long Shen, but Long Shen could never reach them. The distance between the space didn¡¯t look far to the naked eye, but in actuality it was infinitely far away, just like the stars seen by people on earth seemed to be the same distance as the sun and moon, but in fact they were hundreds of millions of light years away. ¡°Where¡¯s Ding Lan?¡± Long Shen asked. He had already asked this question before and now he asked it again. ¡°Ding Ge is dead!¡± ¡°Dead!¡± ¡°Dead!¡± Countless voices sounded again. Long Shen quickly turned around. His sharp gaze swept across dozens and hundreds of ¡°Li Ying¡±, as if to observe their expressions and discern authenticity from them. On the other side of the mirror, Otowa seemed to see through his intentions and couldn¡¯t help smiling. ¡°Director Long, do you think you¡¯re a god? Can you really tell the difference between so many Li Ying? What if they¡¯re all fake?¡± ¡°Then I¡¯ll kill,¡± Long Shen replied coldly. The sword light in his hand suddenly brightened as it divided into several directions and flew towards each mirror image. Its target was directly at all the Li Yings! Wherever the sword light went, the mirror images would shatter one after another. Fragments fell all around him. After it fragmented, everything seemed to return to reality, but Li Ying disappeared and was replaced by Wu Bingtian. The other party was struggling forward in a sea of blood and skeletons. He was using a whip to knock away the surging monsters, but those monsters would resurrect once they fell into the sea of blood. They seemed to be unkillable. Wu Bingtian¡¯s face was pale, and there were already many wounds on his body. His neck had been scratched by monsters, and blood was slowly oozing out. Though Wu Bingtian aimed for higher prestige, it didn¡¯t mean he only knew how to flatter others. All officials below the Director of the Special Administration Bureau earned their positions through real skills and experience. If Wu Bingtian only knew how to suck up to his superiors all day long, even if he had the status of a master of Mount Maoshen, he wouldn¡¯t be able to gain the support of others. His ability was demonstrated by his appointment as a deputy director alongside Long Shen and Song Zhicun. As for how strong he was, newcomers like Dong Zhi may not know much, but Long Shen once explored the remains of a shipwreck under the Yangtze River with him. At that time, Wu Bingtian was able to hold his breath and stay underwater for nearly an hour without any diving equipment and even defeat a water demon. But now, this strong Wu Bingtian was trapped in a sea of blood. His hands and feet were entangled with demonic qi, showing a desperate situation where he had almost exhausted all his strength and was unable to move. He was facing a life-threatening crisis before his eyes as countless demonic qi rushed towards him. When he turned his head and saw Long Shen, he couldn¡¯t help being overjoyed and urgently cried out, ¡°Help me, Long Shen!¡± Long Shen stared at him. Seeing that he wasn¡¯t moving, Wu Bingtian became shocked and angry. ¡°Long Shen, help me!¡± Long Shen finally moved. The sword of light shot out from his hand and straight into Wu Bingtian. Wu Bingtian watched in shock as the sword light got closer and closer, until it finally overwhelmed him with its light. The light covered the sea of blood, causing the demonic qi to wail as it disappeared. Even Wu Bingtian vanished as well into the white light. Otowa said in surprise, ¡°Director Long, I didn¡¯t think your heart would be so cruel that you could kill your own companions. Sure enough, you don¡¯t have such cumbersome and useless feelings like ordinary people, right?¡± Long Shen didn¡¯t answer. He stood quietly, waiting for the white light to spread out and swallow up the sea of blood. Otowa didn¡¯t care if he answered or not and continued to ask, ¡°Director Long, I also have a spirit weapon, which was transformed from the Gold and Silver Pingwen Zither. However, he actually fell in love with the enemy and, in the end, didn¡¯t hesitate to destroy himself. Shouldn¡¯t all artifacts be as cold-blooded and ruthless as you?¡± On the edge of the burning white light, the sea of blood disappeared little by little, and then another scene beneath it was revealed. An isolated island surrounded by the sea. The trees were all tall and gloomy, and the bottoms of them were covered with moss. Someone came flying from a distance. The figure was blurry and small, but Long Shen recognized it at a glance. It was Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi was running fast. It was obvious something was chasing him from behind. He was holding his Changshou Sword, and his face was stained with blood. Perhaps he had just escaped from a fierce battle. ¡°Master!¡± When the other party saw Long Shen from a distance, after a moment of surprise, he ran towards him. There was a familiar light in the delicate eyes. Even if he didn¡¯t look at them, Long Shen could still picture those eyes smiling in his mind; they were curved and the eyebrows were softened. Long Shen liked seeing those smiling eyes, as if they could illuminate the world and be carefree. However, it didn¡¯t mean he was heartless or blindly optimistic. Dong Zhi just treated life with an optimistic attitude, including the people and events in his life. He was like a small sun. Although he was consciously ordinary, he always radiated warmth. Warming others, warming Long Shen. ¡°Master!¡± At the moment Long Shen blinked, Dong Zhi let out a scream. A huge figure descended from the sky, pressing Dong Zhi to the ground. It was a monster with eagle wings and claws. It had the body and face of a woman. Its long hair covered half of its face, but it was as wild and rough as withered grass. The long claws of the monsters pierced into Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulders. Blood splashed out suddenly, and even a few drops splashed on Long Shen¡¯s face, leaving a sweet and warm feeling on his skin. ¡°Master!¡± As Dong Zhi fell to the ground in exhaustion, he dropped the Changshou Sword. He raised his slender neck sadly, not understanding why his master, who was nearby, didn¡¯t help and just kept watching him being eaten alive by a monster. Long Shen looked into Dong Zhi¡¯s shocked eyes, and the expression in his previous memory had changed to disbelief at this moment. The other party even stretched out his wounded hand, as if he wanted to grab onto his clothes. ¡°Master¡­¡± Long Shen felt a tug in his heart. Before he realized it, his hand had already stretched out. But at this moment, a sudden change occurred, and all the sorrow in Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes suddenly turned into a weird smile. The other party took advantage of the situation and grabbed Long Shen¡¯s hand and dragged it in his direction! Long Shen wanted to break free, but he couldn¡¯t. The surrounding scenery changed again! Otowa laughed. ¡°It turns out that Director Long¡¯s weakness is his apprentice!¡± Following his voice, a white mist surged from an unknown place. Black monsters moved with the mist, shuttling around it as they whistled and howled endlessly. Long Shen¡¯s fingers moved slightly. His entire body was suddenly covered by sword light, isolating all the demonic qi. However, the demonic qi surged and quickly gathered, suppressing the sword light. The sword light was suffocating, struggling in a difficult battle with the demonic qi; the two sides were in a deadlock. Fujikawa couldn¡¯t help but say, ¡°Lord Otowa, do you need me to take this opportunity to take him out?¡± Otowa said lightly, ¡°The demonic qi can¡¯t harm him for the time being.¡± Fujikawa was surprised. From his viewpoint, Long Shen had broken through the mirror trap just now and immediately got caught in another one. Now that he had lost his opportunity, it would be difficult for Long Shen to win. But just as Otowa¡¯s voice fell, the sword light around Long Shen suddenly exploded! The extreme light was dazzling, and even the reflection from the mirror was blinding. Fujikawa subconsciously tilted his head and raised his hand to cover his eyes. ¡°Huh?¡± Even Otowa couldn¡¯t help uttering a meaningless cry, seemingly confused. Long Shen¡¯s voice came from the mirror. ¡°So you¡¯re here.¡± His tone was slow, as if he was pausing after every word. The volume of his voice wasn¡¯t loud, but Otowa¡¯s face changed slightly. Fujikawa turned his head and saw the mirror was slowly cracking. ¡°Lord Otowa!¡± He couldn¡¯t help shouting. With a crack, the mirror completely shattered! Otowa was originally sitting cross-legged, but he straightened his body, showing an unusual loss of composure. ¡°He found our location!¡± Fujikawa looked pale. He didn¡¯t expect this ancient mirror to be vulnerable. ¡°No, he didn¡¯t.¡± Otowa calmed down, but his face was still a little gloomy. ¡°He¡¯s using spiritual speech.¡± Fujikawa was startled. The art of spiritual speech, as the name suggested, was a technique that attached to syllables and the attack is achieved through language. This kind of technique had been shown in many works in Japan, but in fact, there were few people who could be proficient in it. It was rumored that this was something taught by the Great Amaterasu. Until now, as far as Fujikawa was aware, almost no one in Japan could master it. Even if they dabbled slightly, they could only use a few syllables at most. But Long Shen¡¯s spiritual speech skills had reached the state of ¡°beyond practice*¡±. *(ÑÔ³ö±Ø¼ù) It¡¯s an idiom referring to ¡°words must be followed by actions¡± or ¡°promises must be kept¡±. It¡¯s often used to describe someone who always follows through on their words. || In this context, it has a double meaning. First, referring to that Long Shen has practiced spiritual speech to the point of mastery, and second, in the literal sense that his words are used as an attack. The most important thing was that the mirror was broken, and they didn¡¯t have a way to detect Long Shen¡¯s movements. Seeing Otowa¡¯s gloomy expression, Fujikawa took a deep breath. He thought about this in his heart, but he didn¡¯t dare say it. On Wu Bingtian¡¯s side, he wasn¡¯t as miserable as the illusion Long Shen saw in the mirror, but his situation couldn¡¯t be considered all that great either. He was trapped in an enchantment of a sea of blood and skeletons, fighting against many monsters. His dragon bone whip was wrapped around the neck of a monster. With a tug and twist, the monster wailed and scattered, but immediately, more demons swept in from all directions, like an endless tide. Looking around, all he could see was blood red, an ocean of dead bones and blood, and countless demonic qi that covered the sky and turned dark clouds into blood clouds. No matter how powerful Wu Bingtian was, in the end, he was just one person. There would come a point where he would be exhausted. Now that Otowa had turned into a demon, his demonic qi would naturally flow continuously and inexhaustibly. Unless Wu Bingtian could find the key to breaking the enchantment, he could be trapped here forever and be exhausted to death. While his hand was holding the whip and his steps were still steady, on careful observation, his breathing was slightly faster than before. There were two ancient mirrors in front of Otowa. Although Long Shen¡¯s side was broken, there was still Wu Bingtian¡¯s side. As soon as Wu Bingtian¡¯s breath changed, Otowa immediately looked over. ¡°It seems that Director Wu is still slightly inferior to Director Long.¡± His voice overlapped and spread into the enchantment where Wu Bingtian was. The words were like edicts, instantly turning into demonic voices and causing countless waves of demonic qi to surge. The sneaky Yaksha and skeleton soldiers transformed by the demonic qi rose from the sea of blood and attacked Wu Bingtian like an army. One wave fell and another surged up. Wu Bingtian stood alone in the same spot, unable to move. If any of the demonic qi got to him, it would corrupt his sanity and cause him to fall into defeat. Hearing Otowa¡¯s words, Wu Bingtian sneered. ¡°If you have the ability, come and try it!¡± Naturally, Otowa wouldn¡¯t fall for such provocation. He was just happy to watch Wu Bingtian, trapped like a beast, struggling to deal with those monsters that couldn¡¯t be killed. Compared to the calm on Long Shen¡¯s side, it was much more interesting watching Wu Bingtian¡¯s side. Fujikawa Aoi whispered, ¡°Your Excellency, there¡¯s another person among the first group of people who came that hasn¡¯t been found.¡± Otowa said lightly, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about him. At most, he¡¯s just hiding somewhere. When Long Shen and Wu Bingtian are about to die, he¡¯ll naturally jump out to help and we¡¯ll clean them all up at the same time.¡± Fujikawa Aoi responded respectfully, lowering his head slightly, ¡°Then Kitaichi¡­¡± Otowa glanced at him. ¡°Are you sure you want to restore your female disciple?¡± Fujikawa lowered his body and prostrated. ¡°Kitaichi was raised by me since she was a child. She¡¯s no different from my daughter. She¡¯s talented and intelligent. If she can be properly trained, she will definitely be the number one onmyoji in Japan in the future. I hate that she has been injured by the Chinese and is now bedridden. Please, for the sake of my loyal service to you, save her life!¡± Otowa: ¡°There¡¯s only one way for me to save her, and that is to infuse her with demonic qi, turning her into a half-demon.¡± Fujikawa trembled slightly and was silent for a long time. Still, resolute with his original intention, he said, ¡°As long as she can wake up and regain her sanity, I will not hesitate.¡± Otowa suddenly showed a weird smile, but the smile was fleeting. Fujikawa had his head lowered and didn¡¯t notice it. ¡°Okay then, take this box to her. As long as she absorbs the magic qi inside, those old wounds will soon heal.¡± Fujikawa was overjoyed. ¡°Thank you, Your Excellency. I can¡¯t thank you enough!¡± With Otowa¡¯s permission, he couldn¡¯t wait to get up and leave. He walked out on crutches, passed through the corridor, came to an inconspicuous hut, and pushed the door in. Kitaichi Eiko, the talented girl who made a stunning appearance on Changbai Mountain but was eventually seriously injured when she returned, was lying quietly inside. She seemed to be asleep, and her life was uncertain. Since returning to Japan, Kitaichi, who had been severely injured, had been coughing up blood from time to time. Even her two shikigamis failed and dissipated. Not to mention her abilities as an onmyoji, she had difficulties just getting up and walking. Fujikawa tried his best but was helpless. Later, he went to Yinchuan to destroy the stone tablet in order to ask Otowa to save Kitaichi, but he didn¡¯t expect that even he would almost die there in the end. He wanted to save this disciple with all his heart, not only because of the bond between a father and daughter, but also because Kitaichi was the best of all his disciples. If there was no accident, Kitaichi would inherit his legacy and carry it on. This meant that his legacy would not decline and the name Fujikawa would be passed down forever. Fujikawa knew very well that he himself was already the lingering sun after autumn*. His other disciples had fought against the Special Administration Bureau, and they were either dead or injured. Their talents and abilities weren¡¯t as good as Kitaichi¡¯s, so the only hope for his legacy lay solely with this female disciple. *(Çïºó²ÐÑô) Metaphor referring to the end of something. || In this context, it means he knows his peak is almost over and someone else has to take over. After getting the box from Otowa, Fujikawa was excited. He carried it in his arms all the way to Kitaichi. He pushed the boy serving the decoction away and carefully took out the box. He put the box under Kitaichi¡¯s nose according to Otowa¡¯s instructions and then opened it. Black air diffused out of the box, soon following Kitaichi¡¯s breathing and jumping into her nasal cavity. Otowa was now a demon. Fujikawa witnessed such power with his own eyes. Even Long Shen, who he couldn¡¯t beat before, was trapped in an enchantment, unable to move an inch. If Kitaichi became a real demon, her strength was bound to become stronger than before, and the status of the Fujikawa school would continue to be stable as a rock. Fujikawa stared at Kitaichi nervously, feeling a hint of anticipation. When all the magic qi was absorbed by the girl, the black qi slowly flowed through her entire body along the veins on the surface of her skin. Her once fair complexion turned greenish-black at a visible speed, and the black qi slowly flowed under her skin, being absorbed by her body. Her skin gradually regained its fair complexion and was even whiter than before. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, and the girl finally opened her eyes. ¡°Eiko!¡± Fujikawa couldn¡¯t help but cry out. He looked at his proud disciple expectantly. ¡°How do you feel?¡± The girl looked dazed and struggled to get up from the couch. ¡°¡­Master?¡± Fujikawa: ¡°It¡¯s me. Are you uncomfortable? Do you feel the strength in your body has further increased?¡± Kitaichi looked down at her palms. It was soft and white, with delicate fingers. Everything seemed to be the same as before she fell ill, but it also seemed to change a lot. Her body no longer felt sore and weak, her internal organs and limbs no longer ached, and there was a surging power in her body. These forces were all gathered in one place, all of which were sending her a message. ¡°I¡¯m hungry.¡± Fujikawa was taken aback. ¡°I¡¯ll let someone make you something to eat. You can take a good rest.¡± After all, he was a little softhearted. He didn¡¯t treat the girl in front of him as harshly as he did his other disciples. He raised his hand and tucked back the scattered bangs on the girl¡¯s head behind her ears and was about to call for someone. But when he suddenly turned around, he felt a pain in his back. The severe pain came from his back, as if his flesh, bone, and blood had been cut open, and then the pain pierced his heart. Fujikawa lowered his head. There was a dent in his chest, and a hand pierced through his back, pulling out his heart. Blood gushed from his back, staining his entire back red as it flowed to the ground, seeping into the tatami. Then there was a chewing sound behind him. Fujikawa turned his head slowly. ¡°Eiko¡­¡± Kitaichi Eiko took another bite and ate the hot heart with relish. The heart that was still beating seemed to be a delicacy in her mouth. There was a look of contentment on her beautiful face. She didn¡¯t bother to look up at Fujikawa, as if she was afraid he would steal her food from her, and continued to eat the heart until it was completely devoured. She even stuck out her tongue and licked away the blood on her hands, little by little, even digging it into her nails. The pink tongue and the white fingertips formed an almost erotic ambiguity, but the room was deadly silent, and no one could appreciate such a scene. ¡°Master, your heart is delicious.¡± Kitaichi finally licked her fingers clean. She raised her head and showed a bright and satisfied smile to Fujikawa. With a thud, Fujikawa fell to the ground with eyes wide open, still filled with unbelievable shock and fear. Kitaichi stretched out her fingers and dipped them in a bit of blood that was still flowing from her master¡¯s wound. She put it in her mouth, puckered her lips, and seemed to feel that the taste wasn¡¯t as good as before, so she didn¡¯t go back for more. She slowly stood up. Her figure was delicate and weak, as if she were a little girl who had been bedridden for a long time, looking harmless and gentle. She looked around in confusion. After a while, she leaned against the wall and walked out, step by step. Fujikawa laid on the ground and remained still, never moving again. A few minutes later, one of the walls twisted and shook, and a person appeared in the room. A young man walked towards Fujikawa, squatted down, and looked at him for a moment, then shook his head and said with a sigh, ¡°Being killed by your most beloved disciple like this is considered karma.¡± ¡°I think this retribution is quite cheap for him.¡± ¡°Who!¡± Suddenly hearing a second voice, Yu Buhui instinctively looked towards the source of the sound, and a sword appeared in his hand. ¡°You haven¡¯t seen me in a while that you can¡¯t even recognize the voice of an old acquaintance?¡± Another person ¡°walked¡± out of another wall. It was Tang Jing who had followed Wu Bingtian and Long Shen. After Tang Jing separated from Director Long and Wu in Tokyo, he went to Kyoto for a few days before coming to Atsuta Shrine to apply for a job. The shrine recruited part-time mikos every year to help sell goods and attract customers during the tourist season. Tang Jing¡¯s female attire and fluent Japanese were naturally quickly approved, but this kind of part-time status was limited, and generally he wouldn¡¯t be able to enter forbidden areas of the shrine. Tang Jing used his identity to confuse a priest and asked him to reserve a place for him to help bring in offerings¡ªthe shrine would send people in regularly to bring in some melons and fruits every once in a while. According to rumors, every time the mikos who were assigned to do this job would occasionally leave without returning. It was said that they were favored by the master here and were recruited to stay so they could train to reach a higher level, but there was also another rumor that this mysterious person liked to eat people¡¯s hearts. Most likely, those mikos who have gone and never returned probably met misfortune. Tang Jing knew that the latter rumor was the truth, but this didn¡¯t prevent him from pretending to yearn for mystery and adore power, so he took the initiative to recommend himself to the priest. The other party might have known some inside information, as he hinted to Tang Jing not to be stupid, but Tang Jing acted perfectly like a high school girl and insisted on coming in and delivering the offerings. The priest had no choice but to agree. So, while everyone else snuck in secretly, only Tang Jing came in openly. After he came in, he didn¡¯t dare go to the core area rashly. He first investigated the surrounding layout and ended up bumping into Yu Buhui. Seeing him, Yu Buhui said in surprise, ¡°You¡¯re here too?¡± Tang Jing nodded. ¡°There¡¯s also Boss Long and Boss Wu.¡± Yu Buhui: ¡°Ding Lan is dead.¡± Tang Jing: ¡°We expected it. His soul lamp was extinguished. Where¡¯s Li Ying?¡± Yu Buhui: ¡°He should still be alive, but I don¡¯t know where he is. The three of us also came in separately. The two of them joined up. Ding Lan blocked a fatal blow with his body to save Li Ying. If I had shown up, there would be only another body count.¡± Tang Jing sighed. ¡°You made a wise choice.¡± Yu Buhui was silent for a moment. ¡°But I have always regretted it. If I had come out at that time, I still had a certain chance to save them, but now I have completely lost that chance.¡± Tang Jing patted him on the shoulder. ¡°No, aren¡¯t we here?¡± Yu Buhui: ¡°Otowa is an immortal who has already turned into a demon. He also has Kusanagi no Tsurugi to protect him, which makes things even more difficult to deal with.¡± Tang Jing: ¡°Even if we all die together, it doesn¡¯t matter. Since we¡¯re already here, what¡¯s there to fear!¡± Yu Buhui: ¡°I heard your little lover is also here.¡± Tang Jing smiled bitterly. ¡°Maybe when we meet, the first person he wants to kill is me.¡± Yu Buhui: ¡°What are the arrangements from Boss Long?¡± After Li Ying was captured, Yu Buhui had been lurking here. This was the safest place outside the core enchantment and was still within Otowa¡¯s territory. It was difficult for him to save people and kill Otowa alone. If he tried to save Li Ying and couldn¡¯t kill Otowa, it would make Otowa more vigilant, which would make things more difficult if they were to infiltrate again, so he could only choose to wait and hope the Special Administration Bureau would send more people over. ¡°There are no arrangements. I¡¯ll see how things go after I get in,¡± Tang Jing said while shrugging. Yu Buhui was speechless. How can you be so casual? However, he also knew that the situation here was complicated. Before he and Ding Lan came in, they didn¡¯t have a careful plan, but when they entered, all their plans wouldn¡¯t have worked anyway. Indeed, they could only act in accordance with what unfolded. ¡°Are you still chasing that little girl?¡± he asked. Tang Jing chuckled. ¡°When she went out just now, I¡¯d already placed a tracking spell on her. It was given to me by Lao Wu. If it¡¯s not authentic, I¡¯ll demand compensation tenfold, and if it¡¯s faulty, I¡¯ll demand triple the compensation! After all, it¡¯s from Yuanming Palace in Qingcheng Mountain.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, his expression changed slightly. ¡°There are fluctuations in the enchantment. She seems to be moving. Let¡¯s go and take a look!¡± ¡­¡­ Under Yoshida¡¯s farewell, Dong Zhi and the others took a speedboat to Full Moon Island. This was an island that looked like a full moon from the sky; thus, it was named as such. Despite its romantic name, it didn¡¯t reflect the dangers on the island. After their experience on Diana Island, everyone was cautious about the new island and never thought it would be easier or safer than before. After they officially set foot on Full Moon Island, they were stunned by the scene in front of them. Yellow sand, desert, endless. It was hard to imagine that there would be such an island that was surrounded by the sea. Compared with the wet and cold of Diana Island, although it was equally cold here, it was obviously much drier. The topography and climate were also different from Diana Island. The only thing in common was that the entire island was also covered in white mist, which made it difficult to tell whether it was day or night. What appeared in front of them was a fortress made of loess in the distance. Li Han¡¯er snorted. ¡°Why is the terrain and environment here completely different from Diana Island? Is it because of the mist?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I guess this should be a man-made island.¡± ¡°Who would create this earthen city?¡± Zhang Song looked around. It was truly appropriate to call the fortress an earthen city based on how it looked. From a distance, those khaki-yellow buildings were short and flat, but they were like an unfinished earthen city piled up with only walls and no buildings. ¡°Americans, Norse, Africans,¡± Liu Si replied. Liu Qingbo looked back at the seaside; beside their own speedboat, there was another one tied there. ¡°One of these three teams should have also landed here.¡± They were on Zombie Island¡ªah, rather¡ªDiana Island a few days ago, while the other teams were on different islands. They weren¡¯t sure if whichever team was on this island had gained any valuable information. ¡°It would be great if we could meet a team. At least we¡¯ll know if they got anything from this island.¡± If not, they could just turn around and go to the next island immediately. ¡°Didn¡¯t the Americans give you a cellphone?¡± Liu Qingbo looked at Dong Zhi. ¡°Let me ask.¡± Coincidentally, as soon as Dong Zhi picked up the phone, he heard the sound of a speedboat engine disturbing the waves from a distance on the other side of the foggy sea. Everyone turned their heads, and after a while, a speedboat passed through the fog and entered their view. There was a person standing at the front. Seeing Dong Zhi, his eyes lit up, and he waved vigorously. ¡°Dong! Dong!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Am I hallucinating?¡± Liu Qingbo pursed his lips. ¡°You¡¯re not seeing things. It¡¯s really the Americans.¡± CH 134 Seeing several speedboats getting closer, Li Han¡¯er said in disbelief, ¡°Didn¡¯t they land on this island? Why are they coming here again on a speedboat?¡± Dong Zhi joked, ¡°It may be we¡¯re seeing things, and it¡¯s actually a group of zombies.¡± But no one thought he was joking. Everyone actually thought it made sense, and they grabbed their weapons, looking wary. The speedboat quickly docked, and the Americans jumped off the top. William, who was shouting on the speedboat just now, was the first to get off. He looked excited. ¡°Hey, Dong! What a coincidence. I wanted to call you, and we just ran into you!¡± Yang Shouyi: ¡°If he has turned into a zombie, with this language ability, he must be at least a level 6 zombie or above.¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry. But it wasn¡¯t just the Americans. A total of three speed boats came over. The other two were carrying the British and the Southern Europeans. Compared to the Americans, the latter two looked much more miserable. Seeing their faces were strange and motionless, William¡¯s steps slowed down, and his smile faded a bit. He asked suspiciously, ¡°What happened? Why are you all looking at me like that?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°My companions suspect your existence is an illusion, but in fact, you¡¯re all zombies.¡± William laughed. ¡°My god, why would you think that? Are you so crazy about killing zombies? I¡¯m the real William¡ªyour old pal. Don¡¯t you remember the cell phone I gave you? Zombies won¡¯t remember this!¡± Liu Qingbo sneered. ¡°That¡¯s not necessarily true. The zombies we met before were using weapons to attack. How many living experiments have you done on that island, and how many people have turned into zombies?¡± Seeing the scowls on their faces, William quickly put away his joking demeanor and raised his hands. ¡°Don¡¯t get angry. Calm down. I didn¡¯t put zombies on that island!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Zombies are different from monsters. They were all ordinary people during their lifetime. The zombies we encountered have evolved and are able to use tools. This shows that sooner or later, they will evolve to a level of human wisdom. You must know something.¡± ¡°Let me explain.¡± A young woman walked over from behind William. It was Lilith, the captain of their team. ¡°The discovery of the zombie virus was accidental, but unlike in movies, TV shows, or novels, some people deliberately research it with malicious intentions. Once, when we were chasing a wolf demon, we found a victim who was infected with this unknown virus. It was initially suspected that this virus was composed of wolfsbane, the rabies virus, and demonic qi. However, the discovery was too late. A group of people have already been infected. In order to avoid the continued spread of this virus, Group 51 transported them to one of the islands here for long-term observation.¡± Lilith frowned, then continued, ¡°This island was originally an experiment base, but it was abandoned later. In order to observe the zombies, some staff members left behind tracking records. Who knew that later the zombies would have mutated and evolved, and the staff would also fall? We found that although these zombies are fearless, they still have some fear of exorcism marks, which may be due to the demonic qi in their initial composition. In the end, we could only set up an exorcism barrier on the edge of the forest to prevent them from escaping. As for the zombies using tools, we really don¡¯t know. It seems that they have evolved after long-term wandering. That¡¯s all I know.¡± Hearing her explanation, the faces of Dong Zhi and the others finally improved. Dong Zhi asked, ¡°The forest is full of zombies, and there¡¯s no food. How can they maintain their attack power?¡± Lilith said, ¡°At the beginning, we would regularly airdrop some live animals down. Later, we stopped feeding them and wanted to see how long they could survive without any food source. We later found that these zombies were almost immortal. They did show signs of exhaustion, but this took at least three years, so there are signs, but it¡¯s very slow.¡± Speaking of this, she hesitated for a moment. ¡°I heard that some people in Group 51 think that humans may be able to get inspiration from the delay of life exhaustion from the zombies. They hope to extract anti-aging elements that can benefit ordinary people.¡± Liu Qingbo sneered. ¡°So you guys have been treating them like treasures all this time? Come on, the reason they don¡¯t easily get tired is because they have demonic qi inside their bodies! Do you guys also want to try injecting some demonic qi in your bodies?¡± Lilith smiled bitterly. ¡°Some people think that demonic qi can be controlled within a certain safe range and can benefit mankind. This issue has been debated by the Minister of Internal Affairs for a while now, but I can only tell you this. The party that proposed to completely eliminate the zombies finally won. We can¡¯t risk dancing with the devil.¡± Zhang Song sneered. ¡°In other words, you have long known that there will be zombies on that island, and you brought us here to help destroy them!¡± William yelled from the side. ¡°You can¡¯t say that. Every island is dangerous. We don¡¯t know which island you would draw. Moreover, didn¡¯t I provide you with a lot of information?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°We didn¡¯t encounter anything dangerous that your information provided so it¡¯s useless. Since you have concealed the zombies from us, then there must be other things that you¡¯re also hiding.¡± William: ¡°Come on, we don¡¯t know a lot about the contents of the competition. We¡¯re just newcomers to Group 51. Even if we have the advantage as the host, those above won¡¯t tell us much. Just like this Full Moon Island. We thought it was dangerous, so we didn¡¯t get very close at all. We turned around and went to another island. Since we¡¯re all here, why not explore together?¡± It was best not to bite the hand that feeds you. Dong Zhi realized that even though the Americans might know a lot, they weren¡¯t necessarily obligated to tell him everything. The fact that he could come to them for cooperation was an opportunity, and he naturally wanted to take advantage of it. Therefore, he relaxed his expression. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about the situation on your side first.¡± William told them that the news they had received in advance was just piecemeal. They only knew that the golden apple was related to a certain behemoth, but they didn¡¯t know exactly what that behemoth was. After they landed on Full Moon Island, they saw this earthen city and wanted to send out two people to investigate first. If the situation wasn¡¯t good, or if they felt that there might not be the golden apple on it, they would immediately leave and go to another island instead of wasting time. If they encountered any danger, they would release flares in time and let the people outside come rescue them. Lilith said, ¡°I went in with Tom.¡± After Lilith and Tom entered, they found the earthen city was actually a huge maze made of earthen walls. The walls inside divided the huge space into countless roads, which were intricate and complex. If one wasn¡¯t careful, they could get lost in it forever. The two of them didn¡¯t dare to separate too far, sticking extremely close to each other for fear that something might happen. They didn¡¯t even walk too fast and made many marks along the way to prevent themselves from getting lost. However, something did go wrong. ¡°Tom was walking in front of me. There was a corner at that time. I hadn¡¯t seen it clearly, but he seemed to have been suddenly dragged away by something. He disappeared before my eyes without making a sound!¡± Recalling the previous events, Lilith became a little nervous. Her other companions patted her on the shoulder silently to comfort her. She took a deep breath, then continued, ¡°I hurried to catch up, but something strange happened. The front was completely empty, and there was no Tom, as if he had just simply vanished.¡± Dong Zhi and the others looked at each other. ¡°What do you mean vanished?¡± Lilith: ¡°Vanished. I don¡¯t know how to explain it. You have to know that he was right in front of me. From being dragged away to me catching up, it took at most two seconds. Tom is agile and strong, but he just disappeared out of thin air. I was stunned at the time. I shouted for him and looked around for a while, but found no trace of him. I knew he must have encountered some kind of unknown danger, so I took advantage of the fact that the exit wasn¡¯t far and decided to leave first and discuss this with William and the others.¡± William said, ¡°Among our members, we all have mobile phones to contact each other, but we can¡¯t contact Tom. The rest of us argued for a long time and finally decided to go in and save him, but after entering, everyone searched for a day and couldn¡¯t find Tom. There was nothing inside except the maze of earthen walls. At that point, we decided to give up and go to another island.¡± Liu Qingbo looked at the city wall that was at least six meters high and asked suspiciously, ¡°How did you back out and return the same way? Flying Chinese kung fu?¡± William asked curiously, ¡°What is flying Chinese kung fu? ¡° Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t change the subject.¡± William shrugged. ¡°Well, actually, um, we brought a personal aircraft.¡± He turned around and showed Liu Qingbo and the others his aircraft. It actually looked like a backpack but contained flying machine¡¯s equipment. Only half the space was used to store things. They had never seen this kind of equipment before, so it was probably the latest black technology from the United States. Li Han¡¯er looked at it curiously. ¡°How do you control this aircraft? Does everyone have it?¡± William smiled. ¡°This requires a little skill. Of course not everyone can do it. For example, it requires body balance. We all need to receive special training before we can use it.¡± He didn¡¯t elaborate, and Li Han¡¯er didn¡¯t ask more. She felt that the world was so big and that there were so many wonders. These Americans weren¡¯t like practitioners but more like people who only used modern technology and strayed into a fantasy world full of monsters. William then added, ¡°But when it comes to beautiful ladies, I certainly have nothing to hide. After the competition, let¡¯s go for a cup of tea, and I¡¯ll slowly tell you all about it. How does that sound?¡± Li Han¡¯er said, ¡°Forget it. I rather not know.¡± William looked deflated while the Englishman next to him laughed mercilessly. Lilith became irritated. ¡°Gentlemen, can we get down to business?¡± William hurriedly said, ¡°Okay, okay.¡± William described that after leaving the maze, they went to Rose Island, but encountered an overwhelming number of harpies. The harpies attacked them mercilessly, as if they were crazy. The British and Southern Europeans also encountered the Americans in the process of fighting the harpies, so everyone joined forces to defeat them and then left the island. Dong Zhi said, ¡°I remember the Russians also went to Rose Island. Didn¡¯t you see them?¡± The British captain, White, shook his head. ¡°No, we didn¡¯t encounter any Russians along the way, but those harpies were definitely strange. I have encountered them once before in Scotland and know they understand human language and don¡¯t act that crazy. I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on, but it seems as if they were suddenly bewitched by some kind of magic.¡± He looked at William and the others. ¡°Could it be that the organizing committee did something?¡± William smiled bitterly. ¡°The competition is for competitive exercise, not for killing people. I think something must have gone wrong in this competition.¡± Dong Zhi interjected. ¡°It may be related to the influx of demonic qi.¡± He briefly talked about his team¡¯s experience in the forest. It was just as thrilling as the other islands. After hearing that a Japanese was possessed by demonic qi and could command zombies to ambush and besiege them, Lilith¡¯s face changed drastically. She muttered, ¡°Things really are wrong. It shouldn¡¯t be like this!¡± White had lingering fears. ¡°So, the sudden madness of those harpies may also be related to demonic qi?¡± During their discussions, the Southern Europeans kept silent as if they were invisible. Most of the time, they just went along with the commands of others, reducing many disagreements. William said, ¡°The only good news is now we have ruled out two islands. Diana Island and Rose Island. The golden apple shouldn¡¯t be there. What¡¯s left are Full Moon Island and Princess Island, where the French is. Let¡¯s hope God blesses Princess Island with no golden apple!¡± Dong Zhi asked, ¡°So what¡¯s in the maze?¡± William shook his head. ¡°We don¡¯t know. If we knew, maybe we wouldn¡¯t have lost Tom. Now that we have four teams here, maybe we can make plans so we can be more efficient without harming each other¡¯s interests.¡± Everyone had no objections. At this time, the sky gradually darkened. Everyone decided to rest first, come up with a plan, and enter the maze early tomorrow morning. There were few trees on Full Moon Island. They were scattered about on the periphery of the maze. The old trees were withered and dying, but it was enough to give them firewood for the night. With many hands of varying strengths, the task became easy. In no time at all, they all returned with several large bundles of branches on their backs. Putting some branches against the stone wall, White took out his lighter but couldn¡¯t light it, most likely because it was too damp. He borrowed a different bundle from his companions, but even those branches were damp as well. After several attempts, he failed to light a fire. Zhang Song, who was next to him, curled his mouth when he saw this and directly pulled out a talisman. His mouth opened and closed a few times, and the talisman caught fire between his two fingers. He threw the talisman at the piled-up firewood, and it instantly burst into flames. The fire was raging, glowing in everyone¡¯s eyes. The British: ¡­¡­ William grinned and thought in his heart that it was wise for him to choose the Chinese to form an alliance. He couldn¡¯t help but gloat, and he said to White, ¡°Why don¡¯t you seek help from our Chinese friends?¡± The Americans and the British didn¡¯t have much conflict, but they didn¡¯t really get along privately either. They often didn¡¯t see eye to eye with each other, so White responded coldly, ¡°You can seek help yourself. No need to use us as an excuse.¡± William shrugged. ¡°We don¡¯t need it!¡± He turned his head and fired a shot at the pyre. It wasn¡¯t a bullet that came out of the barrel, but a flame. Fire instantly ignited at once, but in order to pose in a handsome posture, his shooting technique was a little awkward, making a twig bounce off from the flames and hit Lilith in the forehead. Lilith was furious and raised her hand to beat him, which William quickly avoided. White laughed mercilessly. When fire was finally lit for all four teams, the captains and vice captains on each side sat around the fire to discuss strategies. Now that the Americans were missing Tom, there were only five people on their team. The British didn¡¯t lose anyone, but the red-haired Grace had caused so much trouble with Dong Zhi¡¯s team that White was afraid she would cause more trouble after she came, so he left her at the hotel and didn¡¯t bring her. Now there were only six of them; the same as Dong Zhi¡¯s side. One of the Southern Europeans was seriously injured in the fight with the harpies. The injured person was still in a semi-comatose state and was placed by his companions to rest by the fire, which was equivalent to losing a fighting power. Thus, they only had five people on their team. Lilith said, ¡°I have a suggestion. There are many forks in the maze. We won¡¯t always be together and will inevitably be separated. Whoever finds the golden apple first must signal before leaving the island so others can see it. What do you think?¡± Everyone thought this was a good idea. Not only would it prevent robbery, but it would save everyone time, so they all nodded in agreement. The British brought their own flare guns, so Lilith gave Dong Zhi and the captain of the Southern Europe team a flare gun. Lilith: ¡°Our companion is Tom. If you see him tomorrow and he¡¯s still alive, please help him. We¡¯ll be very grateful!¡± White asked, ¡°Do you have any photos?¡± William thought for a moment and then said, ¡°I¡¯ll draw a picture.¡± He took out a pen and paper and drew a sketch on it. Dong Zhi leaned over curiously to look. In the next second, he couldn¡¯t wait to slap himself from two seconds ago. William turned his head to him and asked, ¡°Nice, right?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Does he have a lot of acne on his face?¡± William: ¡°That¡¯s nonsense!¡± Lilith rubbed her forehead. ¡°Alright, stop drawing! He¡¯s probably around six feet tall, quite burly, bald with a golden beard, and round-faced. You should be able to recognize him when you see him.¡± Everyone looked at William¡¯s sketch and felt that Lilith¡¯s description was more graphic. They all agreed they would look out for him. Lilith once again expressed her gratitude and asked, ¡°Do you have anything to add? If not, let¡¯s rest early.¡± Dong Zhi thought for a moment, then said, ¡°I hope that in this competition, everyone will try to stand united when facing monsters. Even if you see the golden apple, don¡¯t ignore the safety of your competitors. After all, monsters are our true enemies, and the glory that comes from that is more worthy of respect.¡± Naturally, everyone nodded and agreed. As for whether they truly thought so in their hearts, it was unknown. White secretly laughed in his heart, feeling that Dong Zhi¡¯s seriousness was a bit na?ve. Of course, it was easy to say this kind of thing when it was all talk, but in a real battle, those who wanted to snatch the golden apple were considered enemies. And who would be merciful to their enemies? However, he would later discover that it wasn¡¯t Dong Zhi who was na?ve but himself. The other party had said these words not to make their enemies merciful, but for their own good. But at this moment, White had no such experience for the time being. The author has something to say: A small theater that has nothing to do with the text: Now, White: Oh, how naive! Future, White: Dad, show mercy! CH 135 After getting down to business, everyone lost interest in idle chatter. Liu Qingbo got up to arrange sleeping bags, and everyone else was busy with their own things. Four teams of more than 20 people formed a row on the shore far from the sea, which looked like an adventure team outing. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t expect that the old-fashioned British brought only sleeping bags while the carefree Americans came with tents. Although they only had two, it was enough for their team of five to sleep in. Watching the Americans set up their tents, the others didn¡¯t say anything but were inevitably envious. Looking at the shabby sleeping bags in their hands, their enthusiasm immediately faded. Although there were many people, everyone still maintained a certain degree of vigilance. There were people in each team who were responsible for the vigil. Those on night watch gathered together around the fire and chatted, making things livelier. The person in charge of the vigil for the southern European team was a Greek who wasn¡¯t fluent in English. Most of the time, he just listened to what others said and remained silent. Dong Zhi originally wanted to keep the vigil, but William quietly pulled on his clothes and took him into the tent. ¡°We suspect that the golden apple isn¡¯t on this island.¡± William lowered his voice, making it clear he didn¡¯t want the two parties outside to hear. Dong Zhi learned from him and also lowered his voice, as if they were having an underground meeting. ¡°Why do you think so? You got this news in advance?¡± William smiled bitterly. ¡°Why don¡¯t you believe me? If we knew this in advance, do you think we would let our companion disappear here?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Okay, sorry. Please continue.¡± William: ¡°There are two main reasons for my suspicion. One is that this doesn¡¯t match the riddle of the golden apple. The beauty shrouded in the clouds will eventually take off her mysterious veil. Don¡¯t you think this riddle is like talking about a certain mountain hidden in the mist?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°All the islands are shrouded in mist, including the maze here. I think the riddle itself is very unreliable. It seems that it could be applied to any of the islands, but it doesn¡¯t seem to match.¡± William: ¡°But the maze is so ugly. It obviously has no resemblance to beauty like a woman¡¯s. Even the name isn¡¯t related. At least Diana Island and Princess Island have some relation.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°¡­Maybe there¡¯s a beautiful woman waiting for us in the maze?¡± William shook his head like a tambourine and said, ¡°No, no, no! That¡¯s too scary! Don¡¯t you think of anything when you see the maze?¡± Dong Zhi was at a loss. ¡°Think of what?¡± William sighed. ¡°Easterners! Forget it. Like I told you before, the people in charge of organizing the competition are obsessed with Western mythology, especially Greek and Norse mythology! I suspect that the maze here is an imitation of the Cretan maze in Greek mythology. Have you heard of the myth?¡± Suddenly, Dong Zhi remembered something. This was also a well-known Greek mythology, but it couldn¡¯t be blamed that Dong Zhi didn¡¯t think of it. After all, he was a native of the East. If William had said something before, he would have immediately realized it was the story of the Water God*. *Clarity: Dong Zhi is referring to Poseidon (in Greek mythology), but he¡¯s using the name Gongong, which is the name of the water god in Chinese mythology. Note that these two are not related, as they have their own mythic origins in their respective cultures. The term is used in a general sense in this context. Legends had it that the wife of the king of Crete fornicated with the ox of Poseidon, the god of the sea, and gave birth to a son that was half-human, half-bull, which became the Minotaur*. The king built a labyrinth for him, imprisoned him in it, and regularly sent boys and girls to it. *Half-man, half-bull that resides in the Labyrinth created by Daedalus and his son Icarus. This was Minos¡¯, the king of Crete, punishment for keeping the snow-white bull he offered to Poseidon as a sacrifice. Poseidon then made his wife, Pasiphae, fall in love with a bull and mate with it, eventually giving birth to the monstrous Minotaur. It was eventually killed by the Athenian hero Theseus. Dong Zhi: ¡°So you mean, the monster in the maze is possibly the half-human, half-bull monster?¡± William: ¡°Not necessarily. Even if the organizing committee can find harpies, they might not be able to find this legendary ancient monster. Besides, it was killed long ago. Maybe it¡¯s something else, but it must be dangerous. After all, our companion fell inside. What¡¯s more, there are demons watching us. The possessed Japanese you mentioned won¡¯t be the first, nor will he be the last.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly showed a gloomy smile. ¡°That¡¯s right. I may also be possessed by a demon.¡± William was taken aback and quickly reached out to touch his gun. When he saw Dong Zhi smirking, he knew the other party was deliberately scaring him and couldn¡¯t help but collapse his shoulders. ¡°Dong, don¡¯t scare me. My bullets don¡¯t have eyes!¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°It¡¯s just a joke to lighten the atmosphere. I didn¡¯t expect you to draw your gun so quickly!¡± It was not just simply quick. In almost the blink of an eye, the gun was already in William¡¯s hand. Previously, Dong Zhi had always thought he was too carefree when speaking, but now he realized that the American¡¯s strength was quite impressive. William blinked at him. ¡°Then do you want to consider helping me persuade Miss Li to date me?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°No problem. I can convey it for you, but it¡¯s up to her whether she agrees or not.¡± ¡°Oh my god, you¡¯re the cutest person I have ever seen! When I first saw you, I knew you must be a lovely friend and rival!¡± William said affectionately, wanting to give him a hug, but Dong Zhi pushed him away mercilessly. ¡°Hurry up and get down to business!¡± William said, ¡°Well, I suspect that someone outside has been possessed by a demon.¡± This time, it was Dong Zhi¡¯s turn to be taken aback. He subconsciously thought that William was also joking with him, but when he raised his head, the other party¡¯s expression was serious. He also became serious. ¡°Are you sure?¡± William nodded. ¡°At that time, we decided to go to Rose Island to see the situation. We happened to meet the British and Southern Europeans fighting the harpies. This stuff has been said already, but what I didn¡¯t mention was that after that, we searched for the whereabouts of the golden apple and passed the night. That night, I fell asleep soundly, but suddenly I felt a chill in the back of my neck, followed by a pain in my back. If it weren¡¯t for being alert quickly, I might have died.¡± As he spoke, he took off his coat and pulled down his clothes. Dong Zhi saw five purple bleeding marks on his back, which resembled a person¡¯s five fingers. The strength was so great that it seemed as if it wanted to penetrate flesh and rip out his heart. ¡°Who was next to you?¡± William said, ¡°The deputy captain of the British team, the man who was sitting next to Liu just now, but it shouldn¡¯t be him, because he was asleep when I woke up. However, that doesn¡¯t rule out that he was just pretending. I thought it was a monster that was lurking in the dark and hurriedly told the others to be vigilant. Then nothing happened. They laughed at me for making a fuss, but when I heard you talking about the Japanese being possessed, I felt that there may be something weird that night. In short, be careful. I only told Lilith about this. We are still observing whether the people on our team are reliable or not.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Thank you. I¡¯ll pay attention.¡± William smiled and said, ¡°Is this just a verbal expression of gratitude?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Do I owe you a favor?¡± William: ¡°Yes, get Miss Li to date me.¡± Dong Zhi was expressionless. ¡°Fuck off.¡± Leaving William¡¯s tent, there was nothing amiss on Dong Zhi¡¯s face, but when he passed by the campfire, the bell on his body suddenly rang. Jingle, jingle! The sound was so subtle that only he could hear it. Dong Zhi¡¯s footsteps paused. There were five people sitting next to the campfire. An American, two Britons, and a pair of men and women from the southern European team. Dong Zhi remembered that they seemed to be Italians. Liu Qingbo and the others weren¡¯t introverted, but they didn¡¯t like to interact too much with practitioners from other countries. While the other three teams also came from different countries, they had similar backgrounds and values, making it easy for them to get along. At this point, Liu Qingbo and his team were almost done resting, while the others were still chatting enthusiastically. They were only missing some barbecue to turn it into a party. There was a range limit on the bell. Li Han¡¯er said that it would only ring if it was very close. For example, the distance between Dong Zhi and William in the tent just now, but William was normal and the bell didn¡¯t naturally ring. And now, Dong Zhi was also very close to these five people, which triggered the bell. Was there a problem with the British man closest to him, or was there a problem with the Italians? Although the American was sitting on the opposite side and was the farthest away, he was also suspected. Dong Zhi was considering whether to walk around them to test it, but that would be a bit obvious. Since he was standing still, he had attracted the attention of the five people. ¡°Hey, Dong. Why are you standing still? Do you want to come over and join us around the campfire?¡± One of the Italians greeted. ¡°He seems to have lost his soul since he came out of William¡¯s tent. Isn¡¯t it because he confessed to William and was rejected?¡± the British man joked. Everyone else laughed. Dong Zhi also laughed. ¡°I just heard you talking about barbeque just now, so I got a little hungry.¡± When he mentioned barbeque, everyone else couldn¡¯t help but drool. In fact, it wasn¡¯t necessarily because they were hungry, but since they boarded the ship, they hadn¡¯t eaten any delicious food, and after arriving on the islands, they had been eating dry rations for several days in a row. Now, even if they could only eat grilled sausages, they would still find it delicious. Suddenly, everyone smelled something. At first, they thought they were hallucinating due to gluttony, but when they turned their heads, they saw Dong Zhi take out a bunch of vacuum-packed sausages from his backpack at some point and hand them to his team members. As soon as Yang Shouyi got his sausage, he wanted to skewer it with his sword and roast it, but the sword had just been stained with zombie blood the day before. Li Han¡¯er couldn¡¯t bear to watch, so she took out a bamboo hairpin and asked him to roast it with the hairpin, then take the sausage off once it was cooked to roast the next one. Everyone had become numb to the seemingly endless surprises coming from their captain¡¯s backpack, but it was the first time the foreigners saw it, and they stared in amazement. The Americans had brought tents but didn¡¯t bring sausages. William shamelessly came over to mooch some food, and Dong Zhi gave him one. ¡°You came just in time to get the last one.¡± William looked at the small and exquisite sausage in his hand, opened the package, and quickly finished it in front of the envious eyes of others. Finally, he smacked his lips and said, ¡°This is the most delicious sausage I have ever had. It even has the faint fragrance left by Miss Li¡¯s bamboo hairpin in it!¡± Yang Shouyi rolled his eyes. Why wasn¡¯t he praised for his good roasting skills?! The corner of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched, and he patted William on the back. ¡°Spit it out for me. That¡¯s my sausage!¡± William hurriedly said, ¡°No, no, thank you for your gift. It¡¯s because of your generosity that I can eat such delicious food!¡± While the two were bickering, Dong Zhi took the opportunity to lower his voice and told him about the bell ringing just now. William looked shocked. ¡°Who do you think it is?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°I¡¯m not sure. At that time, your companion was farthest from me, so I suspect the other four more. You can also observe and communicate at any time you have news.¡± William made an OK gesture. With this discovery, Dong Zhi had to stay behind to keep watch. He gathered Liu Qingbo and the others, privately told them about the situation, and asked everyone to be vigilant and observe secretly. However, nothing happened overnight, and the next morning, before dawn, everyone had packed up and was ready to enter the huge maze. From a distance, the maze looked like a huge fortress standing on the yellow desert, blending in with the island. As they approached, they realized that the maze was even larger than they had imagined. Standing beneath the five- or six-meter-high walls, they felt a sense of insignificance. If it weren¡¯t for them being practitioners, ordinary people who entered the maze would find it difficult to get out. The four teams entered the maze together, but not one could foretell what would happen. There was no thread that the Princess of Crete used to help the hero escape the labyrinth*, so everyone coincidentally made marks on the ground or the walls to avoid getting lost. *Clarity: In the myth, Princess Ariadne fell in love with Theseus and decided to help him. She gave him a thread and told him to unravel it as he penetrated deeper into the Labyrinth, so he would know his way out once he killed the monster. Because of this, he was able to escape the Labyrinth after slaying the Minotaur. Inside the maze, besides the tall walls, there was nothing else. The walls were rough but sturdy. Zhang Song had to exert some effort to make marks on the wall with his sword to draw talisman symbols. The others also made their own distinct marks, with the British using a twig dipped in red ink to insert into the gaps between the bricks. Sure enough, as the Americans said, not long after they had walked, everyone turned a corner, and three forks appeared in front of them, leading in three different directions. There was a female astrologer among the southern Europeans. She took out tarot cards and divined that the middle passage was the most auspicious, so she decided to take the middle path. The British looked at Dong Zhi and Lilith, then followed the Southern Europeans. Lilith asked Dong Zhi, ¡°Which way do you want to go?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Whichever way is fine.¡± Li Han¡¯er said, ¡°Life is death, and death is life. The doors of life and death here are interconnected, and every path contains both vitality and hides death. No matter which path you take, the result will not change.¡± She didn¡¯t speak English, so Lilith didn¡¯t understand. Dong Zhi had to translate for her. ¡°What my companion means is that everything is relative, and safety is also accompanied by danger. You can choose.¡± Lilith: ¡°Then we¡¯ll go right.¡± William waved his hand at Dong Zhi. ¡°Remember your cell phone and contact me anytime you need anything.¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry and thought that even if they got in touch, given the distance between them by then, they wouldn¡¯t be able to catch up. Watching the Americans go, Zhang Song made a mark and asked Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi, ¡°Why did you keep staring at the female astrologer just now?¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°She was one of the five people around the campfire last night.¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Do you doubt her?¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but after what you said last night, I went to test it out. So far, I have had close contact with three people, and my bell hasn¡¯t sounded. The only ones I haven¡¯t had close contact with are the female astrologer and the British guy named Luke.¡± Li Han¡¯er suddenly said, ¡°I think it¡¯s the female astrologer.¡± Liu Qingbo raised his brows. ¡°Why?¡± Li Han¡¯er: ¡°When the captain took out the sausage last night, everyone else¡¯s attention was more or less attracted. Only the woman glanced away and didn¡¯t seem interested.¡± Zhang Song said, ¡°Maybe she¡¯s trying to lose weight, or that women tend to be more reserved.¡± Li Han¡¯er raised her eyebrows slightly. ¡°Do you have to argue? I watched her several times, and she doesn¡¯t seem interested in eating or even trying to resist. She is completely different from the others. Unless she¡¯s vegetarian, most people who have been eating dry rations for days and suddenly smell the aroma of grilled sausages would at least take a look.¡± Seeing that the two were about to argue again, Dong Zhi quickly interjected. ¡°Well, anyway, we didn¡¯t go with them, so let¡¯s just be cautious.¡± The maze that accounted for most of the island was indeed vast. After Dong Zhi¡¯s team separated from the others, they followed the path for a few hours. During this time, they encountered countless forks. Until noon, the big sun was hanging above their heads, and they didn¡¯t know how far they had walked. They could only tell from the marks they made that they had probably reached the center of the maze. Everyone leaned against the wall to rest for a while, and Liu Qingbo couldn¡¯t help complaining, ¡°How long do we have to walk? It was better fighting zombies!¡± As if to respond to his words, a loud bang sounded not far away. ¡°It¡¯s the sound of gunfire!¡± Li Han¡¯er reacted quickly. In fact, they received firearms training, and each of them was given a gun before departure, but they were all loaded with regular bullets. For them, using a sword or talisman was faster than using a gun, so everyone¡¯s guns were buried at the bottom of their backpacks. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that they had to turn them in when they returned, they would¡¯ve just thrown them away to save trouble. Needless to say, it had to be people from the other three teams who used guns. After one sound, about four more sounded in succession, vaguely mixed with shouts. Everyone¡¯s hearts were gripped with anxiety, but they couldn¡¯t see what was happening, and they couldn¡¯t help feeling agitated. They couldn¡¯t help but prick up their ears to listen, but after that sound, the surroundings were quiet again, but there was a feeling of tranquility before the storm. They looked at each other, and they got up at the same time, clenching their weapons. Dong Zhi was about to say ¡°continue walking¡± when there were rapid footsteps approaching and a familiar figure appeared in front of them. ¡°Dong!¡± Dong Zhi had never seen William show such an anxious expression. The other party always had a carefree smile on his goofy face, but now that face was full of panic, as if he had encountered the most difficult obstacle of his life. ¡°There are monsters. My companions have been attacked. Come and help me!¡± he said hurriedly. They didn¡¯t have time to think. Dong Zhi and the others quickly followed. ¡°Did you fire the gunshots just now?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± William didn¡¯t look back. ¡°There was a huge monster with many tentacles that suddenly appeared and attacked everyone. Only I managed to escape!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Then how do you know that we were here?¡± William: ¡°I was running around and stumbled upon you!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Dong Zhi said. William stopped and turned his head impatiently. ¡°Please, Dong. My companions are waiting for me to save them!¡± Dong Zhi took out his cellphone. ¡°Here¡¯s your phone back. You left it with me just now!¡± William reached out to take the phone, but suddenly the hand holding the phone turned into a sword, which startled him, and he quickly stepped back! Liu Qingbo attacked him with a sword, causing William to dodge as he angrily said, ¡°Are you crazy?!¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°When you saw us just now, there was no surprise on your face. It seems that you expected it. Who are you?¡± Zhang Song and Yang Shouyi blocked William¡¯s retreat on either side and directly forced him to the corner of a wall. But William suddenly smiled strangely, and his figure turned into a huge fuchsia pillar of flesh, which danced frantically and rushed towards everyone. Liu Qingbo cursed. ¡°What the fuck is this?!¡± ¡°It¡¯s a squid¡¯s tentacle!¡± Yang Shouyi shouted. ¡°Your head¡¯s a tentacle!¡± Zhang Song angrily said. The fleshy column was thick at the top and thin at the bottom. The tail was slightly curled, and there were dense suction cups attached to it, which seemed to have a special gravitational force that could suck swords onto it. They had to exert some strength to pull their swords back, and when the sword struck, they could feel a slight elasticity. Wasn¡¯t this a huge tentacle? The tentacle was familiar to them and could speak, which was unheard of, but at the moment, the group didn¡¯t think much about it. They just wanted to keep the tentacle and study it carefully. Liu Qingbo jumped up and hugged the tentacle, climbing up to the top by sliding along it. Then, he found that the tentacle had crossed over the maze¡¯s walls, and there was an even larger tentacle attached to the other end of the wall, stretching from one end of the wall to the other. Liu Qingbo gasped. Could this be some kind of octopus monster? Without hesitation, Liu Qingbo transformed his Fumo Sword into sword light and slashed towards the tentacle at the top of the wall. For demons and monsters, the Fumo Sword was their natural enemy. Under the sword light, the tentacle as thick as an adult man¡¯s body was cut in two, and the other end seemed to have felt the pain, quickly retracting and soon disappearing. The large part that was cut off by him fell to the ground. Zhang Song was a little slower flashing away, and the tentacle hit his feet, causing him to scream in pain as he scolded Liu Qingbo, ¡°Won¡¯t you pay attention!¡± Liu Qingbo¡¯s answer was to directly roll his eyes. When they looked at the tentacle again, it turned out that when it was coiled up during the attack, they didn¡¯t realize its actual size, but now that it was stretched out, it was at least three meters long, with a thinner tail and a thickness comparable to an adult man¡¯s thigh. Liu Qingbo jumped down. ¡°This should be just part of its body. I seem to have seen it run away just now!¡± Li Han¡¯er picked up the tail of the tentacle and smelled it. ¡°It smells like the sea.¡± Zhang Song: ¡°That¡¯s an octopus monster. How could this thing run from the sea to the maze? And looking at the size of this tentacle, how big is the body?!¡± Proportionally, even if this octopus monster was about the same size as the maze, it wouldn¡¯t be that surprising. The problem was, where was it hiding? Yang Shouyi recalled how it had transformed into William¡¯s appearance just now and that it could speak human language, so he asked in disbelief, ¡°Can this octopus monster take on a human form?¡± Liu Si said, ¡°Ordinary octopuses have the ability to pretend to be other creatures in the ocean. If this one is so huge, it¡¯s not surprising that it can turn into a human form and speak human words. But in the end, this was simply an illusion. As soon as Lao Liu¡¯s sword slashed just now, the illusion was broken.¡± Li Han¡¯er said solemnly, ¡°Then we must be careful. If it turns into our appearance and replaces one of us without anyone noticing, it can be quite dangerous.¡± Zhang Song disagreed. ¡°We didn¡¯t separate. Even if it wants to plot, it¡¯s not hard to discover. At most, it can only become us to deceive the other teams. Just like now, we saw through it at once¡­ What are you doing?¡± He looked at Dong Zhi, who was squatting on the ground and pulling out a knife to cut the tentacles into pieces. ¡°Cutting up our supper!¡± Dong Zhi replied without raising his head. Everyone: ¡­¡­ CH 136 The tentacles were long. Dong Zhi specially picked out the fat and tender meat and cut it. After filling a small bag, he stood up contentedly. ¡°The weather is cold now, and this is raw. It can at least keep for a day. This means we don¡¯t have to eat dry food all the time.¡± Empathizing with the same kind, Lui Si, who also transformed to a living form, looked at the scattered tentacle ¡°corpse¡± that had been cut into pieces on the ground and couldn¡¯t help but twitch at the corner of his mouth while softly whispering, ¡°What if this thing is poisonous?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°It¡¯s okay. The tentacles of ordinary octopuses aren¡¯t poisonous. If the tentacles were poisonous, we would have been poisoned a long time ago. I brought salt and cumin, so there¡¯s no need to waste it.¡± Liu Si originally had some psychological barriers, but when he heard about cumin grilled octopus tentacles, he couldn¡¯t help but silently swallow his saliva. Liu Qingbo: ¡°¡­I can understand salt, but why did you think to bring cumin?¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°When we were staying in Los Angeles, I went to the back kitchen. The chef found me favorable and gave me a small bottle of cumin powder. At that time, I thought that foreigners liked BBQ and might bring it for grilled meat, but who knew that they didn¡¯t bring any and we ended up with grilled octopus.¡± Liu Qingbo held his forehead. ¡°Who taught you this habit of bringing everything with you? Does Boss Long know about this?¡± Long Shen, who was far away in the eastern ocean, couldn¡¯t answer this question. Dong Zhi happily packed up the pieces of tentacles and continued forward. They weren¡¯t sure if it was because of the loss of a tentacle, but along the way, they didn¡¯t encounter any obstacles. They also didn¡¯t run into people from the other teams. Until the evening, when the sun set, everyone had been walking in the maze for an entire day. Compared to fighting zombies in the forest, naturally it was easier here, but everyone, including Dong Zhi, always felt that danger was lurking under the calm, and the upcoming night was the best protection for it. Often many accidents happen late at night, not during the day. Dong Zhi looked up at the sky and said, ¡°Let¡¯s wait until it¡¯s completely dark before stopping to rest. We can still walk for a while.¡± As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a few drops of dark liquid on the ground at the corner in front of him. It was blood. Dong Zhi subconsciously wanted to step forward but was grabbed by Liu Qingbo. Dong Zhi gave him a comforting look and pulled his hand away as he slowly approached. A person was leaning against the wall. His body was half-turned, and his eyes were closed. When the other party heard the sound of footsteps, he immediately opened his eyes again and made an attacking posture. When he took a closer look and found that it was Dong Zhi and the others, he breathed a sigh of relief. ¡°It¡¯s you guys!¡± Dong Zhi was also surprised that the other party was actually Tom, who William said disappeared in the maze halfway. ¡°Why are you here?¡± Tom said weakly, ¡°Don¡¯t mention it. Do you guys have any food? I¡¯ve finished all my dry rations.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Did you bring a BBQ stove?¡± Tom: ¡°Yes. I still have it in my backpack.¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°Then I invite you to have some BBQ octopus with us.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡­¡­ The American was so hungry to the point of dizziness that he couldn¡¯t even remember to ask where the octopus tentacle came from. Dong Zhi took out the mini grill from his backpack, skewered the octopus pieces, and grilled them. He also sprinkled salt and cumin on them, and in an instant, a fragrant smell wafted over, making even Liu Qingbo¡¯s mouth water, let alone Tom¡¯s. The other party didn¡¯t wait for the octopus slices to be fully cooked. He grabbed them and stuffed them into his mouth, greedily gobbling them down. His expression was so moved that he almost cried. ¡°God bless. Fortunately, I met you. Otherwise, it wouldn¡¯t be monsters who killed me, but starvation!¡± He finished off most of the big bag of octopus slices and looked at the nearly empty bag apologetically. ¡°Sorry, I ate your meal.¡± Li Han¡¯er and the others didn¡¯t speak but only stared sharply at him, making Tom break out in a cold sweat. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Did I eat too much?¡± Li Han¡¯er: ¡°Are you feeling unwell?¡± Tom touched his stomach. ¡°No, it¡¯s good. My stomach is full, and it¡¯s very delicious!¡± The corners of Liu Qingbo¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Since it¡¯s delicious, you can have the rest.¡± Tom was moved. ¡°You¡¯re so kind!¡± After saying this, he reacted belatedly. ¡°But where did you get these octopus slices? Could it be¡­¡± His face turned a little pale as Dong Zhi comforted him. ¡°It¡¯s not what you think. We fished it from the sea.¡± In a sense, octopus monsters should indeed live in the sea. Tom was comforted and didn¡¯t dare delve into it anymore, so he hurriedly divulged what had happened to him in the past two days. Tom was walking in front of Lilith, but when he turned the corner, a tentacle suddenly stretched out. Before he could make a sound, it blocked his mouth and swept him away. He was caught off guard and couldn¡¯t react in time, failing to take out his gun. In the end, he almost fell into the octopus¡¯ mouth and became food. Fortunately, a group of Nordic people passed by and rescued him in time. At the beginning, the Americans, Africans, and Northern Europeans were the ones who landed on Full Moon Island. However, after Tom disappeared, the Americans chose to withdraw halfway. They first went to Rose Island, which was infested with harpies, and then brought the British and Southern Europeans back. In other words, if there was no accident, there should be many teams in this maze now. Although Tom didn¡¯t find his companions, he was happy to meet humans instead of tentacles, so he joined the Nordics. There was also a Russian member there. It was said that the other party was Anton. He was separated from his companions on Rose Island. Since he couldn¡¯t find his companions and didn¡¯t want to retire early to affect the honor of the team, he came to Full Moon Island alone. He also encountered the tentacles in the maze and was rescued by the Nordics. Walking with a group of people was, of course, much safer than walking alone, but Tom didn¡¯t expect that this was the beginning of his nightmare. All of them rested on the spot that night. Tom¡¯s sleep quality was never good, but because he was too tired during the day, he soon fell asleep and fell unconscious until he was woken up by a sharp pain in his chest. ¡°It was this little guy who saved my life.¡± Tom took out a little squirrel from his arms. The other party was holding a pine nut and gnawing endlessly on it without making any sound. It wagged its big, fluffy tail and seemed to be in a good mood. ¡°This is my little pet. It¡¯s very sensitive to smells. It bit me in the middle of the night and woke me up in pain. Guess what I saw?!¡± Zhang Song was inpatient. ¡°Don¡¯t leave us hanging. Hurry up and tell us!¡± Tom said that he saw a scene he would never forget. In the darkness, a person squatted in front of another person, took out a bloody heart from his body, and chewed it with gusto. After all, Tom was a practitioner, and no matter how frightened he was, he wouldn¡¯t scream like an ordinary person. He thought he was dreaming and stared intently for a while, only to find that everyone else, except himself, had fallen asleep in various positions on the ground, covered in a mixture of the smell of blood and sweetness that was so strong it made people sick. However, they had not been awakened by the smell. Tom quietly pulled a gun from his pocket, but the slight movement still alarmed the other person. The person stopped eating and turned his head to look, at which point Tom pulled the trigger. ¡°The exorcism bullet was useless on him!¡± Tom¡¯s breathing was short. ¡°He rushed towards me. I fired a few random shots, turned around, and ran away. He kept chasing me, but he couldn¡¯t catch up. I ran for a long time before I was out of danger!¡± Dong Zhi glanced at Liu Qingbo and immediately realized that, most likely, that person was possessed by the demonic qi. ¡°Did you see him clearly? Who is he?¡± Tom shook his head. ¡°I only know it must be a man, but in fact, I couldn¡¯t see him very well. It was too dark, and I was too anxious at the time to carefully look.¡± Dong Zhi patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Then you can go with us.¡± Tom nodded and looked at them carefully. ¡°You guys¡ªnone of you are possessed, right?¡± Dong Zhi asked for a bell from Li Han¡¯er and threw it to Tom. ¡°Tie it around you. If a monster approaches you, it will ring.¡± Tom whistled. ¡°How magical. Is this your eastern exorcism spell? What is it called?¡± Dong Zhi lied. ¡°It¡¯s called an Octopus Bell.¡± Li Han¡¯er: ¡­¡­ Tom murmured, ¡°What a strange name.¡± Night had arrived. Everyone gathered around a fire to rest. There were high walls to block the wind, so it wasn¡¯t too cold. This was probably the only advantage over staying in the forest, since the wind kept blowing at them from all sides. The news brought by Tom was very useful. At least now they knew the demonic qi was also in this maze, and they would be more vigilant. It was Zhang Song and Yang Shouyi who kept vigil at night. Perhaps it was because the team was heavily guarded that the first half of the night was calm and safe. After the second half of the night, Zhang Song yawned and was about to wake up Yang Shouyi when something changed. He saw countless huge black shadows falling from the sky, sliding down the wall from above, silently touching the people resting against the base of the wall. At almost the same time he yelled, the bells on everyone¡¯s bodies also rang. Tom yelled, ¡°The Octopus Bell is ringing! The Octopus Bell is ringing!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Liu Qingbo and Li Han¡¯er spoke at the same time as two sword lights struck the tentacles on the wall. Although those tentacles were huge, they were extremely flexible. Despite not having eyes, they accurately sensed threats. At the moment when the sword lights were about to hit them, the tentacles shrank quickly, causing the sword lights to hit the wall and leave two deep indentations behind. A few tentacles waved in the air and immediately fought with everyone. The tentacles had great strength and strong destructive power. Most of the time, they were heavily pulled down. Even if people dodged, the tentacles would hit the maze wall, causing broken bricks and stones to fall. Even if it wasn¡¯t fatal, it was still painful. Li Han¡¯er was busy dealing with the tentacle in front of her when suddenly another one appeared behind her, wrapping around her waist and lifting her up in the air. Liu Si¡¯s eyes were sharp, and he acted quickly. He whipped his whip at the tentacle, causing it to shrink back in pain. Li Han¡¯er fell from mid-air and flipped over, landing steadily. Tom also drew out a big knife on his back to fight the tentacles. Despite his tall stature, his speed wasn¡¯t bad. However, the tentacles were impervious to the knife. Only by infusing a blade with true qi could he cause damage. Otherwise, even bullets were useless. For a while, the sword lights and whip shadows danced around the thick and tough tentacles, leaving scars on them, which seemed to only anger them and make them launch an even fiercer attack. A tentacle was thrown against the wall. The yellow stone brick wall quickly cracked, and the gap immediately widened. In the loud noise, the wall collapsed like a building and pressed down on everyone. The tentacles seemed to be aware of the damage the brick wall could cause them, so they started to slam against the wall. Visibility was originally in the dark. Even though Zhang Song and the others were agile, they could only protect their heads and were unable to avoid injuries to their hands, feet, and backs. Their faces were also scratched by the flying stones. However, the tentacles continued their rampage and even increased in number, dancing above everyone¡¯s heads while being covered by the mist. The strong smell of the sea spread around them and was almost suffocating. Liu Si whipped his whip and fended off the tentacles that came towards his head, but immediately another one attacked from behind. He reacted quickly, turned around, and launched an attack. However, the immense strength of the tentacle almost dragged his whip away. Liu Si poured his qi into it, causing the whip¡¯s aura to become fierce and icy, like the wind on top of a cold mountain. The cold made the tentacle helpless and unable to find a gap to invade, so it switched targets, looking for another victim. Zhang Song held a talisman in one hand and a sword in the other. After igniting the talisman with flame, he shot it out with his sword qi. One after another, the talismans fell onto the tentacles. The tentacles seemed to fear the fire and immediately shrank back. Zhang Song was like a person who discovered a new world, slowly, step by step, moving forward. Mount Longhu was rich and powerful, and Zhang Song was the legitimate heir of the Neishan School. No one knew how many talismans he brought this time. Although the fire talismans he used now weren¡¯t as valuable as the Shangqing pill, they were still valuable goods for ordinary Taoists without any source. If they saw Zhang Song treating the fire talismans as toys, they would definitely curse him for wasting money. Tom cut a gap in the tentacle with his knife and was so tired that he was gasping for breath. When he turned his head to look at Zhang Song, his eyes straightened. ¡°Oh my god, are you a magician or a wizard who knows who to play with fire?¡± Zhang Song rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re ignorant. This is called talisman magic!¡± Tom imitated his tone, ¡°Talisman flowers*?¡± *Clarity: Because Tom isn¡¯t a native Chinese speaker, he misheard Zhang Song say talisman magic [fu hua] (·û»¨) and pronounced it back as talisman flowers [fu fa] (·û·¨). Because he was distracted, a tentacle slapped down and almost hit Tom¡¯s shoulder. At a critical moment, Zhang Song pulled him back and used his sword to fend off the tentacle, causing his hand to become numb from the impact. Compared to Zhang Song¡¯s dazzling skills, Yang Shouyi seemed much more stable, but his attack wasn¡¯t weakened in the slightest and was more than enough to fight three tentacles alone. Although everyone was unhindered by the attack of the tentacles, this was only temporary. The owner of the tentacles was a giant monster with great strength. Even if they were practitioners, it was still difficult to deal with it, and with the passage of time, the loss of physical strength would only increase, which would eventually doom them. Dong Zhi put on thick gloves, leaped onto a brick wall, and climbed up through the gaps between the bricks on the wall. He was fast and looked like he had practiced climbing trees on the rooftop of the Special Administration Bureau building all day¡ªthe wall was five or six meters high. When Dong Zhi climbed to the top, he turned on his flashlight and tried to find the body of the octopus monster. To capture the thief, first capture the king. If they wanted to stop the tentacles, they had to completely get rid of the octopus monster. The light of the flashlight was limited. The huge body of the octopus writhed and waved in the darkness, covering a large area of the city wall. As far as the eye could see, the source of the tentacles couldn¡¯t be seen. Without saying a word, Dong Zhi jumped directly onto one of the tentacles and grabbed it tightly with both hands. The tentacle felt something and shook hard in the air, trying to get rid of him, but Dong Zhi grabbed the suction cup of the tentacle and started climbing up on it. The tentacle failed to shake him off. Liu Qingbo was stunned, but that didn¡¯t stop him and instead he imitated Dong Zhi and grabbed the tentacle closest to him and climbed up. There was mucus on the tentacles, which made things slippery. If it weren¡¯t for the dense suckers, it would be impossible for anyone to grab it, especially when the octopus monster kept waving its tentacles around, making an even greater obstacle for their action. Liu Qingbo¡¯s hands were sticky and slippery. As he smelled the fishy smell like seafood itself, he almost gagged. ¡°Fuck your uncle, Dong Zhi, I only wore this outfit*!¡± Not only did Liu Qingbo have to hold onto the octopus tentacle, but he also had to hold his breath from time to time due to the smell, which was more uncomfortable than being slashed with a knife. *It¡¯s an expression expressing frustration or dissatisfaction with one¡¯s current situation, implying that they weren¡¯t adequately prepared and didn¡¯t expect to encounter a difficult situation. || In this context, Liu Qingbo is basically just venting his frustration. Dong Zhi ignored him, or more precisely, Dong Zhi was unable to divert his attention to Liu Qingbo. He struggled to move to the end of the tentacle and aided by the light of the flashlight, saw a huge black shadow moving on the city wall from more than ten meters away. Its body was so huge that it was like a small mountain, which was truly a rare sight. In order to find the stone tablets, in the underground river behind Liang Xuan¡¯s tomb, they had fought against a three-headed giant python, but compared with the behemoth in front of them, the three-headed giant python seemed petite. Dong Zhi found himself encountering a difficult problem. There was only a small portion of the suction cups on the end of the octopus tentacle. He had climbed to the end of the suction cup, and beyond that was a smooth tentacle with no friction. He couldn¡¯t stabilize his body on it, let alone get close to the octopus monster. Dong Zhi laid on the tentacle, being tossed around like he was on a rollercoaster. He was racking his brains, but then he saw Zhang Song ¡°playing¡± with the tentacles with talisman fire below. His eyes lit up, and he suddenly had an idea. He took out a Sunlight talisman from his pocket, chanted a spell, ignited the talisman, and threw it towards the tentacle. The octopus monster was highly sensitive to fire. As soon as the symbol touched the tentacle, it immediately retracted. Dong Zhi was ready for this and held on to the tentacle tightly. He felt like he was riding a rocket as the tentacle retracted, bringing him closer to the octopus monster. He had made the right bet! Excitement, anticipation, and nervousness surged through him. He gripped his Changshou Sword. Having lost his flashlight somewhere along the way, he had to rely on instinct to judge how far he was from the octopus monster. There seemed to be something blocking his way ahead, but Dong Zhi wasn¡¯t sure. At that moment, a vigorous roar came from behind. ¡°Dong Zhi, your grandmother is a bear*!¡± *(ÄÌÄ̸öÐÜ) Offensive expression generally use to insult someone¡¯s intelligence or character. It¡¯s a euphemism for the more explicit and profane insult (grandmother¡¯s legs), which is considered even more offensive. Dong Zhi felt that Liu Qingbo might have become angry because he wasn¡¯t as smart as him. He had recently directed his anger towards his uncle, but now he was directing it towards his grandmother. Dong Zhi wanted to tell him that both his uncle and grandmother had passed away long ago and that he had to look for someone else*. *Clarity: Basically, Liu Qingbo first cursed using his uncle, and now he¡¯s cursing using his grandmother. This is a joke on those curses in the literal sense that Dong Zhi¡¯s uncle and grandmother are already dead, so it was better to find another curse saying from a relative that was still alive. Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t have talisman fire, so he couldn¡¯t use fire to force the tentacle back like Dong Zhi. He could only cling to the tentacle as it thrashed about. While cursing Dong Zhi¡¯s mother, he struggled to take out a flashlight and turned it on. Because he was too far away, the light could only vaguely illuminate a silhouette, but it was enough! Dong Zhi saw a pair of dark and round eyes slowly turning, which then flashed away under the light of the flashlight, allowing him to instantly determine the direction of the octopus monster. With a flick of his wrist, the Changshou Sword turned into sword light and flew towards the target. The sword was cold, like dazzling starlight in the eternal night, and it was able to break through all the dark prisons and finally reach the other side of light. The moment the sword light came into contact with the octopus monster, he seemed to hear an extremely shrill scream. It wasn¡¯t a substantive sound, but it was like a heavy hammer pounding a hole in his mind. The shock caused Dong Zhi¡¯s body to shake violently, almost causing him to fall from the air. The tentacles also trembled violently, swinging in the air with an even crazier arc, as if reflecting huge pain from the body¡¯s owner. At the same time, not only Dong Zhi but an earth-shattering cry sounded in everyone¡¯s mind. Liu Qingbo¡¯s hand trembled, and he almost dropped his sword. He subconsciously thought it was Dong Zhi crying, but then he realized that it sounded wrong. Such an impactful soundwave couldn¡¯t be emitted by a human. Holy shit, the noise is terrible! He watched in disbelief as the tentacles he was holding suddenly shrank sharply, quickly shrinking to a size that was thinner than his sword. He could no longer hold on to it and fell directly from the air. Dong Zhi was similar but a little better than Liu Qingbo. He managed to land on top of the wall. With a buffer, he didn¡¯t fall too badly. The Changshou Sword also fell from mid-air and Dong Zhi reached out to catch it. The huge tentacles disappeared in an instant, leaving everyone stunned. They didn¡¯t know what happened. Only Dong Zhi, who was the closest, was able to guess the truth. He hurriedly took out his phone from his pocket and took a few random shots. From his high vantage point, Dong Zhi was indeed able to find something useful quickly: a black lump under the base of the wall on the other side. The thing moved slowly on the ground. Because one eye was blinded by Dong Zhi, black blood was flowing out and formed a small puddle underneath its body. Dong Zhi was stunned as he looked at the octopus, slightly larger than his palm, unable to imagine that this was the octopus monster that had almost swept away everyone just now. The crying continued in his mind. Whether it was the behemoth or the delicate little octopus in front of him, the crying voice was equally harsh and unpleasant. Zhang Song couldn¡¯t bear it and shouted, ¡°Stop crying!¡± The little octopus really stopped crying, but its voice still trembled. Everyone¡¯s temples seemed to ache along with its voice. ¡°They lied to me. They said only my tentacles would be cut, but they didn¡¯t say my eyes would be stabbed too!¡± the octopus cried. Dong Zhi discovered that the soundwaves transmitted by the little octopus could actually be turned into a tangible language and passed through his mind. Although it was English, it indicated that this octopus monster could communicate. ¡°Who are they?¡± he asked. ¡°The people who brought me to this island,¡± the little octopus replied. ¡°The organizing committee? Did they send you here to test us?¡± Dong Zhi asked. Octopus: ¡°Yes, they said there would be a competition here. They asked me to come to this island and act as an obstacle. I will be rewarded after the competition.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What¡¯s the reward?¡± The octopus cried out, ¡°If you cut off one of my tentacles, they¡¯ll compensate me with a ton of fish, but they didn¡¯t say that they would compensate me if you poked out my eyes!¡± Everyone: ¡­¡­ The author has something to say: Let¡¯s wrap up this part first and then move to the other side of the story, Boss Long¡¯s plot. Otherwise, there will be suspense left, so we need to let Boss Long fly for a little longer~ ¡ª- A small theater that has nothing to do with the text: Dong Zhi: Master, I brought some local specialties back for you. Long Shen: A specialty from the United States? Winter Solstice: No, seafood. Long Shen: ??? Kan Chaosheng rushes over: I want it! Dong Zhi: ¡­You¡¯re both born from the same root. Why are you in such a rush to kill each other? Kinky Thoughts: ¡°The same kind¡± refers to all non-humans. Whether it¡¯s Kan Chaosheng, Liu Si, or the octopus monster, they basically cultivated enough to gain sentience, knowledge, and form similar to that of humans. It¡¯s kind of a joke as once they gain this cultivation form, it would be considered cannibalistic to eat ¡°the same kind¡±, which is why Liu Si empathized at first when Dong Zhi was harvesting the tentacle. Thinking it from another perspective, if one day cows, chickens, ect, possessed human knowledge, can communicate with you, will you still be able to eat them? CH 137 Facing such a small octopus that was completely different from the arrogance just now, Dong Zhi actually felt a trace of guilt. ¡°Sorry, we didn¡¯t know you were a staff member invited by the organizing committee. Can your eyes still recover?¡± Octopus: ¡°Yes. My eyes and tentacles can regenerate.¡± Dong Zhi squatted down. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go back and tell them to pay more remuneration, okay?¡± ¡°Really?¡± The octopus raised its head and stared at him with its only remaining eye. Dong Zhi: ¡°But we still have a few questions. I hope you can help us answer them.¡± Octopus: ¡°Half a ton of fish for one question.¡± The corners of Dong Zhi¡¯s mouth twitched. ¡°Okay.¡± The octopus was immediately elated. ¡°Then ask!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Have you seen the remnant soul of a heavenly demon? Or, have you ever seen a person possessed by a demon?¡± Octopus: ¡°What is a demon?¡± Dong Zhi was speechless for a moment, then could only say, ¡°It looks like a cloud of black air, but in fact, it can enter the body of the living and control their minds, performing behaviors that are different from ordinary humans. For example, digging out people¡¯s hearts.¡± Octopus: ¡°Ah, then I have seen it. Is that a demon?¡± Everyone was shocked. Dong Zhi asked, ¡°Where is it?!¡± Octopus: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but I saw him when he dug out the hearts. He ate several human hearts, but one person ran away.¡± Tom hurriedly said, ¡°That¡¯s me! Why didn¡¯t you stop the demon at that time?!¡± The octopus asked strangely, ¡°Why stop it? The rules of the competition only prevent me from harming humans. It didn¡¯t say that I have to protect them.¡± Liu Qingbo was suspicious. ¡°You saw it? Why didn¡¯t it kill you?¡± Octopus: ¡°I don¡¯t know. Why should it kill me?¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°Your power is so great. Why didn¡¯t it attach to your body and use your power to kill?¡± The octopus was silent. Liu Qingbo became more convinced that his speculation was a possibility. He had already drawn his sword before he heard its confused voice. ¡°I don¡¯t know. It did try to attack me, but found that it couldn¡¯t control me, so it ran away¡­ I remember!¡± The octopus said aggrievedly, ¡°It said that I was too stupid. I kept thinking about eating fish all day long in my head, and my strength wasn¡¯t strong enough. It felt like it was a shame to enter my body.¡± Everyone: ¡­¡­ It was rare that his thoughts aligned with Mara¡¯s, but Liu Qingbo felt no honor. The ignorant octopus was like a child whose spiritual wisdom hadn¡¯t fully developed. It was both powerful and childish, and even the words it was saying couldn¡¯t make people laugh or cry. ¡°So is it still on this island?¡± Dong Zhi asked. Octopus: ¡°No, it went to another island, because there¡¯s a more terrifying monster on it. It should have gone to find it.¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°What monster?¡± Octopus: ¡°I don¡¯t know, but it¡¯s terrible. I can sense its power, which is extremely huge and profound, making it irresistible. I dare not approach it. It¡¯s sleeping now, but I don¡¯t know when it will wake up. If it wakes up, it will be a very terrifying scene. The sea will flow backward, the sun will be replaced by the moon. I will also die!¡± It spoke in a confused manner with mixed-up language, but they could hear the extreme fear in its tone. Zhang Song frowned and said, ¡°Is that monster also invited by the organizing committee?¡± Octopus: ¡°No, no. They don¡¯t know it exists. No one knows it exists, but I can sense it. The demon you mentioned should be able to do the same, so it went to find it. I was scared. Oh, I¡¯m going home¡­¡± Everyone never expected that the huge octopus that was so powerful just now turned out to be a monster with a child¡¯s mind after shrinking. Liu Qingbo said viciously, ¡°Don¡¯t cry. Answer our questions carefully. Which island did it go to, and what¡¯s on the island?!¡± As a result, the octopus cried even louder. Li Han¡¯er couldn¡¯t bear it and bent over to comfort it with a warm voice. Perhaps due to the gentle power of women, the little octopus¡¯ cries finally subsided, and everyone¡¯s sore heads were relieved. ¡°Meika.¡± Li Han¡¯er even got the octopus¡¯ name. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that the monster will wake up? We¡¯re going to destroy the demon to prevent it from waking up the monster, but you have to tell us which island the demon went to and what is on the island before we can be sure we can defeat the demon.¡± Octopus Meika said, ¡°There is ice, glaciers, and a huge city of ice and snow on the island.¡± Li Han¡¯er was surprised. ¡°The ice and snow haven¡¯t melted?¡± Meika: ¡°The mist is an enchantment, frozen with ice and snow, so it won¡¯t melt. They deliberately brought the glaciers here, but they don¡¯t know there is a monster beneath them. The monster is sleeping and must not be awakened. Otherwise, there will be big trouble.¡± The ¡°they¡± it was referring to was Group 51. Li Han¡¯er: ¡°Since the monster is sleeping, the demon shouldn¡¯t be able to wake it up, right?¡± Meika: ¡°No, it can get into the consciousness of the monster, anger it, and then control it.¡± Tom looked at Dong Zhi. ¡°Dong, we must find Lilith immediately, tell them the truth, and then go destroy the demon!¡± Dong Zhi continued to ask Meika, ¡°Is there a golden apple on this island?¡± Meika: ¡°No, only silver coins. Do you want them?¡± ¡®It¡¯s good that it¡¯s not fish or shrimp,¡¯ Dong Zhi thought. ¡°Where are the silver coins?¡± The little octopus opened its mouth and spat out several silver coins. ¡°Here. It¡¯s all here. Take it!¡± Liu Si picked up the silver coins, causing the little octopus to let out a gasp. As if discovering a new world, the octopus excitedly said, ¡°You¡¯re not human either!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± Liu Si smiled. Meika was very curious. It looked at him up and down with one eye. ¡°Then is this also a disguise using illusions that you look like this?¡± Liu Si shook his head and said, ¡°I have studied through cultivation and have undergone a complete transformation of my body. I won¡¯t be easily seen through by others.¡± Meika: ¡°How can I transform? I want to transform too!¡± Liu Si smiled. ¡°Isn¡¯t it good to be an octopus?¡± Meika said in distress, ¡°It¡¯s not very good. I can only live in the ocean all the time. After leaving the coast, humans will treat me as food.¡± Dong Zhi, who had just cut off a section of the tentacle not long ago, felt a little guilty, but Tom, who had eaten the charcoal-grilled tentacle slices, felt even more guilty. The two looked at each other by coincidence and quickly looked away. Meika continued, ¡°If I can transform into a human, I don¡¯t have to stay in the water all the time, and I can eat more delicious fish. I heard that grilled fish is more delicious than raw, right?¡± In the end, it was just for fish. Liu Si was also a little speechless about this unambitious octopus monster. He said, ¡°It should be, but it is indeed more convenient to be able to change shape at will. If you¡¯re interested, you must learn Chinese first. There are many methods of cultivation, and only those who know Chinese can understand them correctly.¡± Meika: ¡°Okay, then can you teach me? I can give you a gift. Do you want a shark or a whale?¡± Liu Si: ¡°¡­Neither.¡± Dong Zhi came up with an idea. ¡°How about this? If you can maintain this reduced body shape, after the competition is over, we¡¯ll communicate with the organizing committee and take you back to China. I will take you to a place where there is also an elder who has awakened his intelligence through animal form. If he is willing to accept you as his disciple, you will learn many useful skills.¡± The Wuzhiqi had kept a promise to stay underwater for thousands of years, willingly. However, Dong Zhi thought that if he had a disciple to teach, it might alleviate his loneliness. Besides, he had damaged one of the octopus¡¯ eyes, so he had to repay the debt. Of course, if the Wuzhiqi wasn¡¯t satisfied with this disciple, then Dong Zhi would also find a way to compensate the octopus. The Special Administration Bureau was full of talent, and it shouldn¡¯t be impossible to accommodate an octopus. The octopus was elated. ¡°That¡¯s great. Then I¡¯ll wait for you to finish the competition and follow you back to China!¡± Tom interrupted the octopus¡¯ elation. ¡°Wait, Meika. I want to know. How are my companions?¡± Meika: ¡°Who is your companion?¡± Tom: ¡°It¡¯s one of the teams that came in.¡± Meika said honestly, ¡°Some are dead, and some are still alive. I don¡¯t know who¡¯s dead, and I don¡¯t know who¡¯s still alive.¡± Tom was shocked. ¡°How did they die?!¡± Meika: ¡°There seems to be some infighting. One of them is possessed by a demon, which is the one I mentioned before.¡± Tom said in a low voice, ¡°Isn¡¯t it already gone?!¡± Meika: ¡°It doesn¡¯t have a fixed form and can be divided into many parts. The part that called me stupid is its main body, but outside of its main body, it has also split up some clones to occupy human consciousness. Do you understand what I mean?¡± Tom didn¡¯t understand. Dong Zhi said, ¡°The heavenly demon¡¯s remnant soul may have already taken action on the ship. After possessing someone, it uses temptation and manipulation to pass on the demonic qi to people with evil intentions, using them to commit killings. We¡¯ve encountered one in the forest before. Now, what we can do is hurry to Princes Island and stop it before the demon¡¯s remnant soul awakens that monster.¡± Meika said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Besides the monster, there is also my friend Elizabeth on Princess Island. She has the golden apple. I can take you to find her.¡± Dong Zhi asked, ¡°Is Elizabeth also hired by the organizing committee to help?¡± Meika nodded its head. ¡°Yes, we all signed a contract. She will be responsible for stopping you from getting the golden apple. In return, she will receive many beautiful dresses.¡± Dong Zhi suddenly thought about the organizing committee, which had told them the riddle about the golden apple. ¡°Could it be the riddle that the beauty shrouded in the clouds will eventually take off her mysterious veil is referring to your friend?¡± ¡°Beauty?¡± Meika naturally praised its friend. ¡°Elizabeth is indeed beautiful, and she¡¯s very shy. The only thing she cares about is art. If the art is destroyed, she will be very angry.¡± Everyone suddenly realized that they had found the truth. Dong Zhi said, ¡°Meika, can you take us out of this maze?¡± The octopus was quite happy to be able to visit its friend. ¡°Yes. Before you came, I had already visited this maze several times, and I remembered the route!¡± ¡°You remembered all the complicated routes?¡± Zhang Song wasn¡¯t quite convinced that an octopus could remember the route out of a maze. Meika sensed his doubt and unhappily said, ¡°Of course! Have you ever seen an octopus that speaks English?¡± Zhang Song: ¡­No. Meika said proudly, ¡°I must be the first octopus that speaks English, and the only one!¡± The little octopus got up from the ground. When Dong Zhi saw its eye, he felt sorry for it. He lifted it up and let it point in the direction as everyone followed along. ¡°When will your eye recover?¡± ¡°Maybe in a dozen or twenty days. Octopus have strong regenerative abilities.¡± Dong Zhi apologized. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. The enemies we encountered before were all very fierce, so we had to give it our all each time.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Meika didn¡¯t seem to mind. ¡°I will use this to get more pay from them. This time, I want ten tons of fish. What do you think?¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry. ¡°Where can you store so much fish? And you can even become small. Can you eat all that fish?¡± Meika: ¡°I can keep track of it. I¡¯ve been trading with them like this for years. They owe me more than ten tons of fish now, and with this catch, it will last me for a long time. I can even remember the route through the maze, let alone what they owe me! The only reason I shrunk down to talk to you is all for communication. Normally, I prefer to be my original size, swimming freely in the ocean. All marine creatures give way when they see me. Aren¡¯t I majestic?!¡± The octopus was originally an intelligent creature. Meika, who was in front of him, was obviously smarter than an ordinary octopus and possibly even smarter than ordinary humans. After all, humans wouldn¡¯t be able to remember the route out of a maze. If Meika could carry out systemic learning, perhaps its wisdom would one day surpass many humans. ¡°I know a dragon who also loves food. You¡¯ll be able to become good friends when you meet.¡± Dong Zhi was talking about Kan Chaosheng. Meika: ¡°A dragon? Can it breathe fire?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°No, no. He¡¯s not the kind of dragon in the west, but a dragon in the east. He hasn¡¯t really become a dragon yet, but will soon.¡± As the two of them were chatting, Liu Qingbo suddenly made a sound from behind and grabbed Dong Zhi. ¡°It smells like blood!¡± Everyone else also smelled it. They drew out their weapons to be on guard. Meika said, ¡°There¡¯s no danger ahead.¡± But Dong Zhi and the others weren¡¯t at ease. They walked slowly around the corner and found a corpse lying on the ground. Tom exclaimed, ¡°Isn¡¯t this the female astrologer?!¡± Liu Qingbo stepped forward to check and found that she had been dead for a while. Her fingers were stained with blood, but there was no wound on her hand, indicating that the blood was someone else¡¯s. There was also a blood hole in the center of her brows, which should have been caused by a bullet. Tom also squatted down. He looked at it for a while and said, ¡°This should be our bullet.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°We suspected before that she might have been possessed.¡± Coupled with the fact that they heard gunshots during the day, it wasn¡¯t difficult to make the connection. Dong Zhi asked the octopus, ¡°Are there any remaining monsters in the maze now? Can you feel them?¡± Meika: ¡°I used to be able to see as long as I got bigger, but now you have cut off several tentacles and one of my eyes is gone. I¡¯m seriously injured and need to recuperate. There¡¯s nothing I can do for the time being.¡± Tom: ¡°What about my companions? Can you tell where they are?¡± Meika: ¡°They have either left or they have gone back to the fork in the road. There is no other test here except me.¡± Of course, the demon was an accident. Mara¡¯s remnant soul was elusive and unpredictable. Everyone expected the beginning, but not the process. Aside from this accident, the levels of the four islands had their own characteristics. Diana Island was a forest infested with zombies. Rose Island had the harpies. Full Moon Island had a maze with a giant octopus monster. Princess Island had a beautiful city of ice and snow. If there was no demonic qi infested by the remnant soul of the heavenly demon, everyone would be looking towards Princess Island, which would also be the destination of their ultimate goal, the golden apple. Dong Zhi tried to call William using the cellphone he gave him, but he couldn¡¯t get through. Zhang Song and the others curled their mouths, thinking that no matter how powerful the technology was, it wasn¡¯t as reliable as a sword. But looking at Tom¡¯s gloomy face, they didn¡¯t say this out loud. Although Tom was anxious, he had no choice but to follow Dong Zhi and the others and continue onward. With the octopus leading the way, everyone returned to the fork in the maze again. Before dawn, they had already walked out of the maze smoothly, but along the way, they didn¡¯t encounter any humans again. Tom was concerned about Lilith and William, so he didn¡¯t want to go to Princess Island with Dong Zhi, so Dong Zhi gave him the cellphone and told him to keep in touch with William and the others. If necessary, he could take the speedboat to Princess Island to find them, or he could withdraw from the competition. Under Tom¡¯s gaze, the group of six, together with the octopus monster, took a speedboat to Princess Island. The fog outside Princess Island was far more intense than that of other islands. The almost milky white mist surrounded the entire island, forming a natural barrier. As the speedboat approached, Princess Island gradually appeared in their sights behind the white fog. Li Han¡¯er thought to herself that her concentration was good, but at this moment, she couldn¡¯t help but let out an exclamation. The island was almost covered in white. The castle on the island was built by glaciers, as if a fairy tale had suddenly leapt from the book into the real world. However, this place wasn¡¯t close to the polar regions. The ice and snow were all transported here and fixed in place by special methods. For the sake of this competition, the Americans certainly went all out. ¡°Who drew Princess Island before?¡± Yang Shouyi asked. ¡°The French and the leaders of Southeast Asia,¡± Li Han¡¯er said. Because the French had teased them with Grace before, everyone didn¡¯t have a good impression of them. If the French were the first to win this competition, it would be more irritating than if William and the others won. ¡°Is there any test on this island?¡± It was Meika who answered them, ¡°Only the ice trap and Elizabeth, but Elizabeth won¡¯t let them get the golden apple so easily.¡± Liu Qingbo: ¡°What¡¯s your Elizabeth good at?¡± Meika: ¡°She has soldiers¡ªmany soldiers¡ªwho can come out at any time, anywhere.¡± This sentence sounded a bit vague, but Dong Zhi and the others soon knew what it meant. At the moment they set foot on Princess Island, the city of ice and snow, as if sensing their arrival, created countless sharp thorns made of ice that pierced through the ground and sprouted around them like a silent welcoming ceremony. Everyone was startled and hurriedly dodged, but the ice thorns emerged far faster than they thought. Within seconds, the thorns had rapidly surrounded them, forming a large expanse of white ice crystals as far as the eye could see. Liu Si reacted a little slower and narrowly missed having a sharp ice crystal pierce through the sole of his foot, creating a pair of holes through his shoe. ¡°Meika, can you contact your friend?¡± Dong Zhi asked. The little octopus was slumped on Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulder and replied weakly. ¡°I can¡¯t. All my body¡¯s energy has been depleted. Even transforming into a larger size is very difficult.¡± Everyone had to walk cautiously through the ice and snow. Li Han¡¯er was inattentive and brushed against a sharp edge of an ice crystal, immediately tearing her clothes. ¡°Be careful. These ice crystals are even sharper than real swords!¡± In such a world, ice and snow were no longer just a breathtaking natural phenomenon or a work of art for viewing. They were deadly weapons. Dong Zhi suddenly felt that even if the French team arrived here before them, they might not necessarily have an advantage. Besides, the other team didn¡¯t know that the golden apple was on this island. They might have turned to other islands after encountering setbacks. So overall, the rules of the game were quite fair. While strength was undoubtedly important, luck also played a significant role. When they finally made it through this patch of ice thorns, they found another large patch emerging from the ground. Zhang Song was impatient and drew out his sword. With a flick of his wrist, the sword flew out and directly cut through the thorns and ice crystals in front of him, leveling everything below his calves. More thorns continued to grow, and the light from the sword intersected and crisscrossed in the air, creating a dazzling white. Under the sunlight, shards of ice crystal covered the path they had walked on, shining like scattered jewels that no one had picked up. Meika was amazed to see this, and as they sheathed their swords, they expressed regret. ¡°You guys should keep going!¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh or cry at the octopus. Despite its large size and intelligence, it was definitely not more mature than Kan Chaosheng in terms of mental maturity. ¡°We need to enter this ice and snow city. Are there any traps inside?¡± he asked. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I haven¡¯t been there before. I¡¯ve been living under the arctic ocean all this time, but Elizabeth has a lot of weapons, and this is her world.¡± As if in response to the octopus¡¯ words, snowflakes falling from the sky condensed in the air for a moment, turning into soldiers in armor with spears in their hands. ¡°Throwing beans to make soldiers*!¡± Yang Shouyi¡¯s tone was full of astonishment. He didn¡¯t expect that someone would be proficient in such Taoist techniques in this kind of place. *Idiom referring to the legendary story where a general was able to create an army out of farmers by scattering beans on the ground and shouting a command, causing the beans to transform into soldiers. Figuratively, it means to be able to turn something small or insignificant into something big and powerful. ¡°That Elizabeth should be able to control ice and snow!¡± Liu Qingbo said. He had always been a person who grew braver in battle and faced difficulties head-on. This time, he brought out his Fumo Sword, and he couldn¡¯t wait to show it off. However, foreigners didn¡¯t know the origins of the Fumo Sword or who Zhong Kui was. He was frustrated that he couldn¡¯t gain a sense of accomplishment from killing zombies, but now that there were so many enemies, he became excited. The Fumo Sword seemed to sense its owner¡¯s emotions and was restless in his hand, buzzing loudly and eager to be used. Kinky Thoughts: Meika is so cute! CH 138 Liu Qingbo let go of his grip and let the Fumo Sword fly out. The Fumo Sword encountered the ice soldiers like a wolf entering a flock of sheep, reaping them like cutting leeks. Wherever the sword light went, the heads of the ice soldiers fell to the ground, while their bodies remained in the moment of charging forward. Looking around, the ice soldiers without heads were neatly lined up. ¡°It¡¯s a bit like the Terracotta Army,¡± Liu Qingbo murmured as he sheathed his sword. ¡°I wonder if the people behind us will be scared when they see this,¡± Dong Zhi said, looking at the headless soldiers with amusement. ¡°The ground is cracking!¡± Li Han¡¯er shouted. Everyone looked down, and sure enough, the ground under the feet of the ice soldiers cracked and quickly spread in all directions. At the same time, the gray sky began to snow. The snowflakes quickly gathered in the air and turned into sharp ice cones, raining down like arrows from above! The sudden attack caught everyone off guard, and they had to wield their swords to defend themselves. Although they had encountered icicles and ice soldiers before, they thought this place wasn¡¯t much different. Although they didn¡¯t say it, they subconsciously relaxed their vigilance, and they were immediately caught off guard. The icicle rain was extremely fast and dense. Zhang Song was slightly careless, and his shoulder was immediately scratched. This was because he dodged quickly. If he had been a little slower, his shoulder would have been pierced. But on the other hand, Li Han¡¯er wasn¡¯t so lucky. Her sword wind was a bit slower, and a stray icicle fell and directly pierced her palm. Dong Zhi heard her scream in pain, turned around, and saw her hand covered in blood. Yang Shouyi yelled, ¡°We have to go back to the ship!¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°No, it will be even more difficult to land again if we go back. We can¡¯t retreat at this time!¡± There shouldn¡¯t be any icicles in the castle, but the castle was still about thirty meters away from them. Dong Zhi estimated the distance in his heart and shouted, ¡°Han¡¯er in the middle. Everyone else around her. Weave a net with your sword qi. I¡¯ll shout, and we¡¯ll run together. Pay attention and keep the same pace!¡± This was indeed a good idea. Everyone moved at the sound of the shout, blocking the icicles from above while retreating to the middle until they surrounded Li Han¡¯er. Then, at Dong Zhi¡¯s command, everyone began to run towards the castle. Except for Li Han¡¯er¡¯s sword-holding hand injured, which she was unable to defend herself, five people¡ªfour swords and a whip¡ªcovered their heads, and their protective qi washed over them. They formed a shield of white mist that dissipated the icicles into white steam as they came into contact with the sword qi and whip wind. But this was also extremely exhausting. By the time the six of them ran into the open gate of the castle, they were all gasping for air and unable to speak. Li Han¡¯er¡¯s palm was pierced by an icicle, leaving a bloody hole. Luckily, it wasn¡¯t poisonous. After Liu Si treated her with medicine and gauze, she was able to move her hand. Although her movements were still a bit sluggish, she could still hold a sword with no problem. Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi began to look around. Upon closer inspection, they found that the castle¡¯s gate was originally locked, but now the lock was broken. The building was entirely constructed of ice and snow. Even the gates and walls were filled with beautiful Victorian-era paintings and sculptures. In the center of the castle¡¯s first floor hall, there was a huge statue of a person, at least three or four meters tall. The face wasn¡¯t very clear, but it was wearing a beautiful dress, and even the jewels on the necklace it was wearing, as well as the slightly curled short hair, were vividly depicted. ¡°It¡¯s just a place for a competition. Is it necessary to spend so much money and effort on it?¡± Zhang Song sneered. ¡°This is Elizabeth¡¯s life-size statue. It must have been created by her. Group 51 only gave us a deserted island and a large glacier.¡± Octopus Meika explained. ¡°Life-size statue?¡± Dong Zhi was surprised. ¡°Are you saying Elizabeth is that tall?¡± Octopus Meika said naturally, ¡°Yes. Compared to me, she¡¯s still very small. Every time I talk to her, I have to shrink to her size, which is very inconvenient!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless, thinking that William¡¯s information was indeed correct. The other party said that the golden apple was in the hands of a colossal woman, and it was indeed a female giant. Liu Qingbo picked up Octopus Meika from Dong Zhi¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Will your friend set any traps for us? You¡¯d better tell us everything at once. Otherwise, we¡¯ll roast you and eat you as a snack!¡± Octopus Meika blinked its remaining eye. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Elizabeth does like to play pranks, but she¡¯s just mischievous and won¡¯t harm me!¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°You have tough skin and flesh, so you won¡¯t be hurt. We¡¯re different. Her prank just now was already at the level of murder!¡± Octopus said, ¡°But the organizers did say that we should try our best to hinder you. Otherwise, we won¡¯t get paid!¡± Liu Qingbo cursed the organizers in his heart. Normally, these obstacles were nothing. At most, they would suffer some injuries and lose some blood. But in the current situation where the remnant soul of the heavenly demon was lurking, trying to awaken some ancient monster, these tests had become a nuisance and added to their troubles. Dong Zhi pointed to the ice chips on the ground. ¡°Someone has been here before. There should be no danger in the hall now. Even if there are traps, someone has already stepped on them.¡± Octopus also said, ¡°That¡¯s right. Let¡¯s hurry up and find Elizabeth. I feel a very dangerous energy lurking underground here, slowly awakening. If we find Elizabeth, she can use the ice to suppress whatever is down there and prevent it from awakening.¡± The group walked through the magnificent hall and quickly entered the adjacent corridor. Sunlight streamed in through the exquisitely carved windows, making the sparkling ice crystals shine and creating a stunning and gorgeous scene. It was like a work of art. Compared to the clueless octopus, its giant friend had a very high sense of aesthetics. If it weren¡¯t for the urgent situation, Dong Zhi almost wanted to slow down and admire the building, even sketching every detail of it. On one side of the corridor, there were even ice sculptures of various shapes. There were knights holding long swords, women holding torches while holding up their dresses, and¡ª Even a Frenchman aiming a gun with a look of anger and surprise on his face? ¡°Isn¡¯t this one of the people from the French team?¡± Li Han¡¯er exclaimed. She couldn¡¯t remember his lengthy name, but she recognized his appearance. There were seven ice sculptures in the corridor, and two of them were French, one holding a gun and the other holding a long, curved warrior sword high above his head, frozen in mid-air with a shocked expression on his face. ¡°This is Elizabeth¡¯s favorite game,¡± the octopus said. ¡°Turning living things into ice sculptures. She¡¯s frozen me before!¡± Dong Zhi asked, ¡°Can they be restored?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± said the octopus. ¡°When the temperature rises and the surface melts, they can come out.¡± Although this trick was harmless, no one wanted to be frozen inside it. Liu Qingbo said, ¡°If there is no risk to our lives, let¡¯s not bother with them. Let¡¯s go. We still need to find the heavenly demon!¡± Dong Zhi was speechless but took out two sunlight talismans and threw them at the two ice sculptures. The symbol fires burned on the foreheads of the sculptures, melting the ice slowly, but it didn¡¯t last long before the talisman fires burned out. After all, he wasn¡¯t skilled in using the fire talismans, so the effect wasn¡¯t very good. Dong Zhi scratched his head and shamefully said to Zhang Song, ¡°Lao Zhang, can you help out?¡± Zhang Song reluctantly took out a fire talisman and said, ¡°Why waste it on them?¡± Dong Zhi grinned and said, ¡°Let them melt slowly. As long as they can come out, it¡¯s fine. There¡¯s no need to rush.¡± Zhang Song cast out two fire talismans that hung over the ice sculptures¡¯ heads. The flames were much larger than Dong Zhi¡¯s sunlight talismans and didn¡¯t burn out as quickly. Under this kind of roasting, the heads of the ice sculptures slowly began to melt, and it wouldn¡¯t be long before the two people inside could get out. The group didn¡¯t stay in one place for long. Behind the corridor were one room after another, modeled after European castles, with portraits hanging on the walls, draped four-poster beds, and European-style sofas, but everything was made of ice. The luxury made people feel chilly. They passed through the rooms and walked up the stairs at the end of the corridor, going up to the second floor, then the third floor, which were all much the same. Because the octopus said that Elizabeth might be on the top floor of the castle, they didn¡¯t look at each floor carefully until they stepped onto the staircase of the fourth floor. Suddenly, without warning, countless icicles fell from above. ¡°Fall back!¡± Icicles fell like rain, forcing them to take refuge in the nearby corridor and stopping everyone from moving forward. ¡°Hey, you guys!¡± A cry rang out not far away, and a dark face appeared in the sight of Dong Zhi and his companions. ¡°Follow me, I know another passage that leads up!¡± The person beckoned to them. ¡°I recognize him. He is Kenta¡¯s friend. Let¡¯s follow him!¡± Dong Zhi said. Dong Zhi had a deep impression of Suge because Kenta, a disciple of Master Xinchai, had introduced him and said that he was also an apprentice of some kind of witch doctor. Suge was outgoing and talkative and had even invited Dong Zhi to visit Thailand at the time. Now, seeing Dong Zhi and the others retreating, Suge hurriedly said, ¡°Kenta and the others are upstairs. I¡¯ll take you there!¡± ¡°Have you found the golden apple after all this time?¡± Dong Zhi asked. Suge was panting as he replied, ¡°We¡¯ve been trapped on the sixth floor, along with the French. Everyone is trapped in an ice cage, except me. It¡¯s so good to see you. I can¡¯t save them alone!¡± He led the group to the end of the corridor, where there was indeed a narrow staircase. It was easily mistaken for a dead end because it was blocked by a wall, causing people to miss it. ¡°Is Kenta also on the sixth floor?¡± Dong Zhi asked. Suge nodded. ¡°Yes, he is.¡± Suge led the way, and Dong Zhi and the others followed behind. Suddenly, Octopus Meika said, ¡°I sense an evil aura approaching.¡± Liu Qingbo retorted angrily, ¡°Aren¡¯t you one of the evil auras too?¡± Suge was taken aback and turned around. ¡°Who¡¯s speaking?¡± ¡°Our new friend we just met,¡± Dong Zhi said with a smile. Octopus Meika was unhappy with Liu Qingbo¡¯s comment. ¡°I am a worker assigned by the organizing committee, not an evil aura! Haven¡¯t you been to a haunted house? I¡¯m like one of the staff inside, being beaten and scolded for little pay!¡± Li Han¡¯er was surprised. ¡°You actually know about haunted houses? Have you been to the human world?¡± Most of the time, this octopus seemed like a naive creature, but sometimes it displayed unexpected intelligence. ¡°I haven¡¯t been there, but Elizabeth has. I heard it from her,¡± Octopus Meika said. Dong Zhi brought the topic back. ¡°Where is the evil aura?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. It was close just now, but it seems to be getting farther away,¡± Octopus Meika replied. Everyone was confused and had no idea what it was talking about. Then, Liu Qingbo, who was walking behind Dong Zhi, suddenly tapped him on the knee. Dong Zhi was caught off guard and instinctively fell forward onto the steps. The people behind him also stopped. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, captain?¡± Liu Si, who was behind them, couldn¡¯t see what had happened. Suge also stopped and looked confused. ¡°It¡¯s nothing. Liu Qingbo just had another fit of madness. I¡¯ll teach him a lesson after we get the golden apple,¡± Dong Zhi said lightly. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. The others were completely bewildered. Only Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo knew what had just happened. Just a moment ago, Liu Qingbo hit Dong Zhi¡¯s upper body and caused him to fall crooked on the steps. He had to use his elbow to support his body, and his gaze naturally lowered. From his angle, he happened to see Suge¡¯s steps up the stairs, but he discovered a shocking phenomenon. Suge¡¯s heels didn¡¯t touch the ground but were slightly raised upward with a small and subtle arc. It wasn¡¯t obvious, so they hadn¡¯t noticed it before, but this was obviously very abnormal because no normal human would walk like this. Unless they weren¡¯t human. In the hotel in Changchun and on Changbai Mountain, those who were killed by monsters and manipulated as puppets all walked like this. However, Suge spoke and behaved normally, and even his anxious emotions were just right. The bells on Dong Zhi and the others¡¯ bodies hadn¡¯t even rung. If it weren¡¯t for Liu Qingbo¡¯s sharp eyes, they wouldn¡¯t have noticed it at all. Dong Zhi was almost sweating with anxiety, but he didn¡¯t say anything, not even glancing at Liu Qingbo. He continued to follow Suge as if nothing had happened, but one hand had quietly reached into his pocket, ready to use the sunlight talisman at any time. He intentionally slowed down his pace and argued with Liu Qingbo. Liu Qingbo also noticed his intention and cooperated very well. The two of them argued from the fourth floor to the sixth floor. Li Han¡¯er and Liu Si thought they really had a falling out and quickly tried to stop them, but Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t stop, but instead their arguing intensified. ¡°Liu Qingbo, don¡¯t think I won¡¯t do anything to you. If you have the ability, fuck off then!¡± ¡°Who do you think you are? It¡¯s just because your master is Boss Long that you were able to become the team captain. Otherwise, how else were you chosen?¡± ¡°Then you can fuck off now!¡± ¡°Do you want me to leave so you can go back and complain? I won¡¯t!¡± Liu Si and Li Han¡¯er looked at each other, not understanding why the two of them suddenly argued as if they were going to fight for real, even though they often argued with each other. However, they were also worried that things would really get out of hand. Liu Si quickly advised, ¡°Qingbo, just talk less!¡± Li Han¡¯er also said, ¡°Yes, Captain, we¡¯re close to the golden apple. Don¡¯t start infighting now!¡± Dong Zhi snorted, unusually tough. ¡°What infighting? He and I are not on the same side. He always puts on airs and thinks he¡¯s better than others. Look at Lao Zhang and Lao Yang. Who isn¡¯t dissatisfied with him?¡± Zhang Song: ¡­I didn¡¯t say anything this time! Yang Shouyi: I got shot even when I¡¯m not even involved. Despite the two of them arguing loudly behind, Suge never turned his head and kept walking forward. The others were busy trying to stop them and didn¡¯t notice this detail. Only Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo secretly paid attention. As soon as Suge stepped onto the sixth floor, two sword lights shot at him from behind, unexpectedly from Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, who had just been arguing fiercely! However, Suge seemed to have eyes on the back of his head. He jumped up flatly and leaped more than three feet high, directly rushing up to the top of the dome like a monkey. At the same time, he let out a creepy laugh. ¡°Long time no see, my friend. How have you been?¡± The voice sounded like it came from underground, and yet it seemed to surround them from all sides, sometimes far away and sometimes near. The octopus shouted, ¡°It¡¯s the evil aura!¡± Without needing to say anything, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo already knew that the remnant of the heavenly demon were indeed hiding in the shadows, waiting for them to come to it. Suge flew up to the dome and rushed towards Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo again, holding a huge icicle that he had broken off a wall sculpture halfway through, and thrusting it towards their heads! His expression had lost its liveliness, appearing dull and speechless. His limbs seemed to be controlled by invisible threads, and his whole body was like a puppet without free will, becoming a tool of the demon to kill his companions. The icicle came down, and everyone scattered to avoid it. The ground, also made of ice and snow, was hit with a huge force, and a hole was blasted open. Cracks rapidly spread from the hole. Before they could grab onto something to stabilize themselves, the ground collapsed with a loud noise! One level, two levels, three levels¡­ The collapse was like a domino effect, unstoppable. The ice and snow buildings were sturdy yet fragile. Once the supporting points collapsed, the entire structure could no longer be sustained. Dong Zhi, Liu Qingbo, and Liu Si were walking at the forefront and were the unluckiest. The three of them fell from the sixth floor, but they quickly realized that even though they had reached the first floor, there was no solid ice on the ground as they had imagined. Their bodies were still falling rapidly until they fell into cold water. Li Han¡¯er, Zhang Song, and Yang Shouyi, who were walking behind, managed to grab onto an unbroken ice ladder and escape unscathed. They turned pale as they watched their companions fall. ¡°Let¡¯s go save them!¡± Zhang Song wanted to jump down but was pulled back by Li Han¡¯er. At the critical moment, the cool headedness of women came into play in their minds. ¡°We must first find Elizabeth. Meika said that Elizabeth is the owner of the ice castle, and only she has the power to suppress the heavenly demon and the monster it wants to awaken and avoid greater disaster!¡± ¡°Han¡¯er is right!¡± Yang Shouyi also realized. ¡°The captain and the others are powerful and should be able to hold on for a while longer!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Zhang Song hesitated for a moment but made up his mind and climbed up the remaining ice ladder. Saltwater rushed into their noses and mouths, and their bodies were instantly enveloped in coldness. In the unfathomable ocean, the three of them lost the composure of practitioners and could only struggle to survive like ordinary people. Although Liu Si had transformed from a willow tree, his water skills weren¡¯t particularly good; he could barely swim. His thick clothes became heavier after being soaked in seawater, and he was soon dragged down. At this moment, a tentacle reached out and wrapped around his arm, pulling him up. After surfacing, Liu Si finally breathed a sigh of relief. He found that the octopus monster had become a lot bigger. Although it was not as exaggerated as when it was first encountered, it was now as big as a round table with ten people sitting around it. Even the tentacles have become thicker so it was no wonder they could be dragged out of the water. ¡°Oh my god, if such a beautiful ice castle is smashed into a big hole, Elizabeth will go crazy!¡± Hearing the octopus complain in his ear, Liu Si raised his head, and he saw the ice building above his head with a huge hole. Although this only occupied a corner of the entire ancient castle, the castle wouldn¡¯t collapse in a short time, so how could they have fallen directly into the water from the sixth floor? Wasn¡¯t the ancient castle built on an island? Did they smash through the island? Before he could think of an answer, there was the sound of violent fighting not far away. The sea water rose from the sea from time to time and immediately turned into a human form, just like the guardian of the sea god Poseidon in mythology, holding a halberd, while attacking humans. The object of their attack was three Frenchmen. There was nothing here except for inexhaustible seawater in all directions and an endless stream of shape-shifting sea monsters. The exhausted Frenchmen who were fighting against them were still unable to break free from their grasp. Bullets were useless against these sea monsters formed from water, and swords could only serve as self-defense. However, when these sea monsters swung their halberds, they could truly cause harm to human bodies. When Dong Zhi and them descended, the three Frecnhmen were already covered in wounds and in a sorry state. Now, the sea monsters had discovered a new target: three Chinese people. The waves surged and condensed into humanoid forms in mid-air, wielding halberds and slashing down towards Dong Zhi. ¡°Don¡¯t hurt my friend!¡± Octopus Meika angrily shouted. The sea monsters paused for just a moment before continuing their attack. Dong Zhi quickly rolled to the side, not caring about his posture, as survival was the most important thing. Octopus Meika exclaimed in surprise and fear, ¡°They seem to be controlled by an evil aura and aren¡¯t listening to me at all!¡± The French, who had previously looked down on Dong Zhi and his companions, suddenly saw them descend from the sky. Even the French captain, who despised Dong Zhi the most, became so excited he couldn¡¯t help shouting. ¡°Dong! Dong! Dong!¡± ¡°Stop shouting! We¡¯re not deaf!¡± Liu Qingbo retorted. He swung his sword and split a sea monster in half turning it into a puddle that accumulated on the ground. But more sea monsters quickly emerged from the water, making it impossible to kill them all. It was no wonder that the exhausted Frenchmen were already as good as dead, even though they were still standing. CH 139 ¡°What are these things?!¡± Liu Qingbo angrily exclaimed. ¡°No matter how we kill them, they don¡¯t stay dead!¡± The Frenchman was so frustrated that he wanted to cry. ¡°We don¡¯t know either!¡± Above them, Suge, possessed by the demonic qi, flew down with an icicle in his hand, once again flying towards Dong Zhi¡¯s head! Dong Zhi swung his sword, cutting the icicle in half with one blow. He grabbed Suge¡¯s ankle with his left hand and pulled it down hard, dragging Suge down. His eyes were red, his face strange, and he grinned at Dong Zhi, curling his fingers as he grabbed towards Dong Zhi, fiercely and mercilessly. He seemed determined to rip Dong Zhi¡¯s heart out. At this close distance, Dong Zhi saw a faint black qi floating around Suge¡¯s head, almost imperceptible unless one looked carefully. You¡¯re the one! The Changshou sword buzzed with astral qi and flew towards Suge¡¯s head, as if it were guided by spiritual assistance. Dong Zhi followed with a leap, but his target was not Suge but the void behind him! ¡°The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil!¡± A spark of talisman fire shot out of Dong Zhi¡¯s hand, exploding into a dazzling light. The Frenchman had no idea what Dong Zhi was doing and thought he had also been possessed by a demon. The captain, Galan, was hesitating about whether to come to the rescue. Under the light of the talisman fire, a dark shadow appeared in his line of sight, vaguely revealing a human form. ¡°It¡¯s Anton!¡± exclaimed a member of Galan¡¯s team. ¡°That Russian guy!¡± The shadow gradually became clear, and it was indeed a tall man, with a ferocious and strange expression, staring at Dong Zhi. ¡°Old friend, we meet again!¡± Dong Zhi didn¡¯t have many ¡°old friends¡±. Apart from normal friends, they were probably the demons he had enmity with, and it was obvious that the one in front of him belonged to the latter. Although this heavenly demon, Mara, was incomplete and couldn¡¯t even be considered a complete incarnation yet. It was just a remnant soul that had survived Long Shen¡¯s pursuit but still retained the consciousness of the heavenly demon, and its strength had recovered to a certain extent after this period of nourishment. It no longer had to hide in the dark corners, waiting for an opportunity. Mara divided his power into several parts, targeting the weak-willed participants, possessing them, and taking advantage of their unpreparedness to attack their teammates, such as the Japanese participant, Eguchi, who was determined to win back his master Fujikawa¡¯s honor, and the Russian in front of him, Anton. The reason why demons could wreak havoc was because everyone had inner demons, whether big or small. The small ones could be resolved by themselves, but the big ones were coveted and used by demons. There were also natural-born demons like Otowa Yasuhiko, who, although born with human skin and a human heart, would one day voluntarily become a demon and a scourge in the human world. ¡°Old friend, you¡¯re not dead yet?¡± Dong Zhi smiled slightly and threw three more talisman fires. The three talisman fire split into three paths¨Ctop, middle, and bottom¨Clike arrows shot out with almost no reaction time. The three Frenchmen were stunned, unable to react. Even though they were all practitioners, each of them had different methods. They saw Dong Zhi use fire with such ease that they started to believe he was a wizard. However, the powerful technique that impressed the Frenchmen was extinguished with a wave of Mara¡¯s hand. Not only that, but Mara was unafraid of the sword qi and directly attacked Dong Zhi¡¯s face. Suddenly, Dong Zhi missed Zhang Song. Although he was rude, he was the best at using talismans on the team. With him, the power of the talisman fire would increase significantly. The puppet Suge, controlled by Mara, attacked Dong Zhi from behind. The Frenchmen and Liu Qingbo were entangled by sea monsters and unable to help. Even if they could get rid of the sea monsters, they couldn¡¯t reach him in just one or two seconds. Suge¡¯s hand holding the icicle smashed towards the back of Dong Zhi¡¯s head but was suddenly entangled by a soft tentacle. He roared low and twisted to attack the octopus entangling him. Although the tentacles and eyes of the octopus Meika were not fully grown, its thick skin wasn¡¯t affected. Although Dong Zhi and the others had cut it for a long time before, it only left a few superficial wounds on its body. Now, even Suge couldn¡¯t cause any harm to the octopus. Instead, the octopus became impatient and lifted him up. ¡°Is he a contestant? Can I kill him?¡± It asked Dong Zhi and the others. ¡°He has been possessed by the demon and is beyond help!¡± Liu Qingbo said. The octopus nodded and shook its tentacles. Suge was tossed high into the air and heavily thrown towards a distant snow building. His body hit an ice column, which collapsed, and a large piece of the building fell with a crash. ¡°I¡¯m done. Elizabeth will kill me!¡± The octopus murmured. ¡°Who cares?¡± Liu Qingbo said unkindly. ¡°Look at how you turned out!¡± On the side of Mara, a whip was drawn from behind and cut through the air, directly wrapping around Mara¡¯s neck. Liu Si exerted a little force, and Mara¡¯s whole body was dragged back and fell. Dong Zhi took the opportunity to strike with his sword and aimed directly at Mara¡¯s forehead. The sword light completely devoured the demonic qi, and Anton cried out in pain. He tightly grabbed the willow whip wrapped around his neck with such strength that it could almost tear a living person apart. However, the willow whip was the true body of Liu Si and was different from ordinary whips. No matter how hard Anton tried, the whip only tightened around him until the sword light entered his body. Black and white clashed and trembled in the interweaving, and the demonic qi rolled and roared. This was its last struggle, unwilling to completely dissipate. Although it was only a trace of a remnant soul, the strength of the heavenly demon avatar couldn¡¯t be underestimated. It occasionally broke free from the sword light and rushed eagerly towards Dong Zhi, but was quickly destroyed by talisman fire. This repeated several times until the demonic qi finally gradually dimmed. At this moment, everyone suddenly felt the ground shake. The shaking became more and more intense, and the snow buildings collapsed one after another. The sea was also churning, and even the sea monsters trembled and shattered in such a tremor. People couldn¡¯t stand steadily and fell to the ground one after another. The demonic qi took advantage of the opportunity to escape from the sword light, and immediately broke through the encirclement and burst into laughter. ¡°God, what¡¯s happening!¡± exclaimed a Frenchman. ¡°Oh my god, that huge creature¡¯s waking up!¡± the octopus also cried out. The Frenchman had no idea what the huge creature in his eyes was. The giant octopus was already a huge creature to them. But Dong Zhi and the others had heard a few words from the octopus just now and could guess that there was a monster on this island that even the organizing committee didn¡¯t know about. The heavenly demon wanted to awaken the sleeping monster and create more trouble. Now it was obvious that the disturbance was caused by the monster that was about to awaken. ¡°Meika, can you stop it from waking up?¡± Dong Zhi shouted. ¡°I can¡¯t. I don¡¯t even know where it is!¡± The octopus replied with panic. ¡°Elizabeth may be able to freeze it and let it continue to sleep, but she doesn¡¯t know where it is!¡± ¡°No one can stop it now!¡± This was the voice of the heavenly demon. ¡°My consciousness will eventually merge with it. All of you will die here!¡± ¡­¡­ William and his team finally escaped from the maze and met Tom, who was waiting for them by the sea. They learned that Dong Zhi and the others had already taken the speedboat to Princess Island. They had thought that the organizing committee had gone to great lengths to build the maze, so the golden apple must be inside it. They had been circling inside the maze, and even fought with the possessed contestants. They didn¡¯t find the golden apple but had a fierce battle with the demon. After finally getting out of the maze and were told that the golden apple was not on this island, William and his team despaired. Helpless, they and the other teams who managed to get out of the maze had to quickly take the speedboat to Princess Island, praying in their hearts that the challenge on Princess Island would be extremely difficult and that the golden apple hadn¡¯t yet fallen into anyone¡¯s hands, meaning everyone still had a chance. They didn¡¯t know if their collective prayers made things more effective, but just as William and his companions set foot on Princess Island, they hadn¡¯t had time to feel the shock of the ice castle before they were shaken to the ground by the sudden earthquake, unable to get up for a while. The earthquake caused the waves to become higher and higher and soon formed towering waves that surged towards the shore one after another, almost like a tsunami. The sky and the earth turned dark, the mist was chaotic, and in the face of such power, everyone seemed so small. William and his companions did not have time to think of anything else and rushed towards the ancient castle inland. Their speed was already fast enough, but the speed of the fierce winds and waves was even faster than they imagined. Some people ran slightly slower and were immediately swept away by the sea, never to be seen again. But this wasn¡¯t the most terrible thing. William and his companions soon discovered that the ground on the island was also cracking, causing the ice to quickly split into small pieces. Something seemed to be slowly rising in the center of the island, causing all the shattered ice to slide towards the ocean. The yellow soil exposed under the ice layer also shattered inch by inch under the power of the earthquake. The whole island suddenly came alive, with the surrounding seawater churning endlessly. Waves over ten meters high rushed towards them, and the beautiful ice castle collapsed from the middle and quickly collapsed from bottom to top. If nothing unexpected happened, it would turn into ruins in a few minutes. ¡°Oh my god, is this an earthquake!¡± William and his companions clung to the ground firmly, staring in disbelief at everything in front of them. ¡°It must be what Dong did!¡± ¡°This is not something that can be caused by human strength at all. What happened!¡± People screamed in the fierce wind, but soon they knew the answer. When the ice castle on the island completely collapsed and disappeared as the whole island roared. The yellow soil layer under the ice layer also cracked, revealing the dark object underneath. In the center of the island, where the ice castle was located, a black object slowly rose, and as it rose higher and higher, the cracking on the ground accelerated. The ice and loess fell into the sea together. William was lucky enough to catch the speedboat that was originally anchored by the sea in time. His body rose and fell in the waves, and he could still see the true form of the black object¡ª Holy shit, it¡¯s a giant snake, almost as big as the entire island! No, it is this entire island! William suddenly understood that this sea snake had been sleeping on the sea surface for who knows how long, covered in thick rocks, and had become an island. No one knew that there was actually a snake under this island. Now the sea snake had awakened, and the soil layer on its body had fallen off. In other words, the whole island had come ¡°alive¡±! ¡°Oh my god¡­¡± William looked up at the huge sea serpent slowly rising from the sea with its layer of soil still falling off, causing the surrounding seawater to boil. The spray from the waves mixed with the original mist. It was as if he were witnessing the creation of the world by God. Although it was spectacular and rare in his life, William didn¡¯t want to experience it at all if he could. The speedboat kept flipping in the huge waves, and William had to hold it tightly to ensure that he wouldn¡¯t be swept away silently. Despite his efforts, he used almost all his strength, and his head was already dizzy from the dramatic change. He had completely forgotten about the golden apple, and now his only thought was to save his life! A figure next to him flowed by, also swept up by the waves and was about to pull away. William quickly grabbed the person and pulled them back. The other person, who could surprisingly maintain relative clarity and agility amidst such turmoil, grabbed him back, and together they grabbed the speedboat. ¡°Miss Li!¡± William exclaimed with joy. Li Han¡¯er was soaked all over. Her hair was all wet, sticking to her head because of the strong wind and sea water. She was a mess, without any elegance or composure, but William didn¡¯t have any romantic thoughts either. He was purely happy to see a familiar face after such a dramatic change. The huge sea serpent finally shook off all the soil on its body and washed away the dirt that had been stuck to it for years in the sea, but it just shook its tail, immediately causing a towering wave to come crashing towards William and Li Han¡¯er. ¡°This is J?rmungandr*! It must be J?rmungandr!¡± William murmured, as if he were possessed by a demon. *Also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth (Midgard) and biting his own tail, an example of an ouroboros. As a result of it surrounding Midgard (the Earth) it is referred to as the World Serpent. When it releases its tail, Ragnar?k (the final battle of the world) will begin. ¡°What is that?¡± Li Han¡¯er was confused. William turned around abruptly and said to her, ¡°In Norse mythology, J?rmungandr¡¯s body is large enough to wrap around the world, and it will bring disaster to the world!¡± Li Han¡¯er asked, ¡°Is it the black rooster you mentioned before, called Gullinkambi?¡± William replied, ¡°No, that was a joke I made up to fool you. I didn¡¯t expect them to bring a monster from Norse mythology. Oh my god, are the organizers crazy? Are they trying to destroy the world with this competition?!¡± Li Han¡¯er¡¯s face turned black when she heard that William had lied to them before. William quickly explained, ¡°That was just a little joke I made to confuse you, as we were competitors. But I didn¡¯t lie to you about the harpies, did I?¡± While he was busy explaining to Li Han¡¯er, the sea snake opened its huge mouth and its massive neck bent down slightly, suddenly spewing a large amount of water that rushed towards the people floating in the ocean. Even outstanding practitioners could only struggle to survive against such a giant creature with no other choice. ¡°Quick, call the emergency contact of the organizing committee on the speedboat and ask them to take this thing back!¡± William shouted. Li Han¡¯er was closer to the button on the speedboat. She stretched out her hand and pressed the emergency contact with all her strength, but she was almost swept away by the huge waves with just this simple action. ¡°It¡¯s useless. This is not from the organizing committee at all!¡± she shouted at William, with no trace of a ladylike manner. ¡°It was awakened by the remnant soul of Mara!¡± William turned pale. ¡°My ice castle! You destroyed my castle!¡± A sharp voice suddenly sounded in the huge waves, like that of a five- or six-year-old girl. A white figure rushed towards the sea snake from the sea surface. Although her figure was far inferior to the sea snake¡¯s, her whole body was as tall as the sea snake¡¯s head. The giant was completely transparent, as if made of ice. She waved her hand, and the seawater surged up and condensed into ice arrows, shooting towards the sea snake. ¡°Who is that?¡± William was startled. ¡°It¡¯s Elizabeth!¡± A few minutes ago, the character who had caused Li Han¡¯er a headache was now the vanguard to deal with the sea snake. It was quite surprising, as if dawn were breaking through the darkness. When Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo fell into the hole created by the heavenly demon, Li Han¡¯er, Zhang Song, and Yang Shouyi had to go find Elizabeth, who was mentioned by Octopus Meika. The twists and turns of this journey need not be mentioned. Elizabeth was so capricious and mischievous that, from the sixth floor to the eighth floor, Li Han¡¯er and her companions were baptized with countless ice weapons. Even inconspicuous snow piles in the corners of the walls could suddenly turn into soldiers and attack them. They went through many obstacles that were no less difficult than Dong Zhi¡¯s and Liu Qingbo¡¯s, who were fighting the sea monsters and the demon under the hole. Finally, they saw the holder of the golden apple. According to the octopus¡¯s description, Elizabeth was a girl who loved beauty and shiny, pretty toys, like all girls who had a dream of becoming a princess. Even though they knew that whoever guarded the island here couldn¡¯t be a simple character, they were still shocked when they saw the real Elizabeth. Elizabeth, who could manipulate ice and snow, was indeed a demon made of ice and snow. She was huge, with ice crystals as white as snow. At first glance, she looked like the life-size ice sculpture in the first-floor hall had come to life. However, even if she became friends with Octopus Meika, Ice Demon Elizabeth¡¯s mentality wasn¡¯t mature enough to the point where she would help the three of them eliminate the heavenly demon. Not only did she refuse to cooperate, but she also caught Li Han¡¯er off guard and created an icy prison for her. Elizabeth demanded that Zhang Song and Yang Shouyi break the ice prison and rescue Li Han¡¯er within a limited time frame, or else she would turn Li Han¡¯er into an ice sculpture forever. Zhang Song¡¯s hot temper was immediately provoked by Elizabeth¡¯s childish trick, but before he could confront her, a violent earthquake occurred, causing even the ice castle to completely collapse. Amidst this unprecedented chaos, Li Han¡¯er was left to fend for herself, and she became separated from Zhang Song and Yang Shouyi. She narrowly avoided being swept away by the giant waves, but she was at a loss as to how to subdue the sea serpent. Unexpectedly, Elizabeth appeared and engaged in a fierce battle with the sea serpent. Dong Zhi, Liu Qingbo, and Liu Si were not far apart, with their arms tightly entangled by Octopus Meika, preventing them from being swept away. Nearby, the Frenchman was lucky enough to grab a piece of driftwood on the island. ¡°My god, the demonic qi has merged with the sea serpent! Elizabeth can¡¯t defeat it!¡± The octopus floated in the water, firmly holding onto a huge coral reef with one of its tentacles. Elizabeth waved her hand, and the seawater around the sea serpent instantly froze, but this was only a difficult test for humans. The sea serpent didn¡¯t care at all. With just a slight movement of its body, the ice immediately shattered. Its tail raised, slamming heavily on the surface of the sea, causing another disaster of towering waves. The sea serpent lowered its head, and in its two huge eyes, it saw the small figure of Dong Zhi looking up at it. In its eyes, Dong Zhi was like an ant, not even large enough to get stuck in its teeth after swallowing him. But in Dong Zhi¡¯s eyes, in the crimson pupils of the sea serpent, there was a black flame burning fiercely. That was the remnant soul of the heavenly demon, which had escaped from Long Shen¡¯s sword in Xianda Village and eventually came here, merging with the sea serpent, awakening it, and wanting to use it to create disasters. The remnant soul summoned by Song En from the abyss of hell wasn¡¯t actually the true demon Mara. It only had the desire of a demon but had already separated into an independent consciousness. With the inferiority of a residual soul, it even refused to admit that it was a remnant soul. Based on this, its nature became more extreme and radical. It came to the Senluo Islands not only to absorb the vitality of the practitioners but also to find a suitable host. Dong Zhi knew that he was originally one of the possible vessels for the remnant soul of the heavenly demon because his appearance was attractive enough for it. However, dark creatures naturally gravitate towards power, so when the remnant soul of the heavenly demon found a stronger creature, it immediately shifted its target. It would have to pay a considerable price to successfully possess Octopus Meika, who had a simple mind and no inner demons. Therefore, it set its sights on the sleeping ancient monster, the huge sea serpent hidden under Princess Island. The sea serpent, which had been asleep for who knows how many years, was suddenly awakened and became an unstoppable killing machine. As the saying goes, ¡°one force can conquer ten*¡±, under this power that could destroy half of the world, almost no creature would be its match. *(Ò»Á¦½µÊ®»á) Idiom referring to a single individual can accomplish great feats through hard work, perseverance, and determination, and that the power of one can have significant impact on a group or situation. The octopus monster was already large enough before it was injured, but compared to the sea serpent in front of them, Meika was like its little brother. ¡°Is it going to eat us?¡± The octopus trembled in the sea, and its tentacles involuntarily wrapped around Dong Zhi a little tighter, like a child trying to hold onto something to ease their fear. ¡°Meika, I need your help,¡± Dong Zhi suddenly said. ¡°I need to deal with this sea serpent.¡± ¡°What, what! I can¡¯t do it. It will eat my head in one bite!¡± Meika said with a sob. Liu Qingbo angrily said, ¡°Why are you so useless!¡± The demonic pressure emanating from the sea serpent spread out, controlling the surrounding waves and causing chaos. It also suppressed everyone, making it impossible to move. Countless people disappeared in the hurricane and raging waves, and many people like William were struggling to survive. Even Meika, who wasn¡¯t afraid of anything, began to feel fear. ¡°Your friend is fighting it! If we don¡¯t help, she will soon be defeated and die! If she dies, the next one will be us!¡± Dong Zhi made up his mind and said in a deep voice, ¡°I will fight it. You will be responsible for dealing with its tail and supporting us. Do you hear me?!¡± Liu Qingbo was confused in the wind. ¡°What do you mean? What are we doing?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°It¡¯s you, me, and Lao Liu. The others are too far away to help. Let¡¯s give it a try!¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°What the hell? Did you ask for my opinion?¡± Dong Zhi said, ¡°Now it¡¯s time for your Fumo Sword to show off in front of all the practitioners in the world. Isn¡¯t this what you¡¯ve been dreaming of? Don¡¯t miss this great opportunity!¡± In the raging wind and waves, he reluctantly turned his head back and asked, ¡°Lao Liu, any questions?¡± Liu Si said, ¡°No problem!¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Dong Zhi shouted loudly, ¡°Changshou Sword, come out!¡± Kinky Thoughts: What¡¯s wrong with all these people? At no point did any of them even raise the question of, maybe we should tell the organizing committee about this demon running amuck and trying to awaken an even bigger demon¡­ Nah¡­ the golden apple is too important. ¡ª¡ª J?rmungandr Also known as the Midgard Serpent or World Serpent, is an unfathomably large sea serpent or worm who dwells in the world sea, encircling the Earth (Midgard) and biting his own tail, an example of an ouroboros. As a result of it surrounding Midgard (the Earth) it is referred to as the World Serpent. When it releases its tail, Ragnar?k (the final battle of the world) will begin. CH 140 The Changshou sword flew out from behind him with a clang and suddenly hung in the air. Dong Zhi grabbed the tentacles of Octopus Meika, leaped with force, and merged with the sword light, rushing towards the sea serpent. William, who was not far away, was stunned. ¡°What is that? Did he also bring a flying device?!¡± ¡°That should be a flying sword, or rather, a sword-flying technique.¡± Li Han¡¯er said this in Chinese, so William naturally didn¡¯t understand. Considering Dong Zhi¡¯s background, she was no less shocked than William. Maoshan was known for its talismans among the three main sects, but besides talismans, they had other cultivation methods that were also very powerful. Li Han¡¯er practiced sword and talisman cultivation, naturally knowing that sword-flying technique was a very difficult realm to reach. Some people may spend their entire lives stuck at this threshold without being able to take another step forward. Sword-control and sword-flying weren¡¯t the same thing. The former used divine control of the sword, while the latter combined body and sword, and was obviously more difficult. She was shocked that Dong Zhi had achieved so much in such a short time after entering the world of cultivation. If he had been practicing since childhood, what kind of amazing realm would he be in now? Not only her, but also Liu Qingbo and Liu Si behind Dong Zhi were also surprised. Especially Liu Qingbo, who had fought side by side with Dong Zhi before, had never seen him hide such a hand. However, Liu Qingbo thought that it should be a special method that Long Shen had taught before they set off. With Long Shen¡¯s understanding of swordsmanship, it wasn¡¯t surprising that Dong Zhi had made such rapid progress in such a short time. But in fact, everyone was mistaken. Although the Changshou Sword didn¡¯t have the same reputation as Liu Qingbo¡¯s Fumo Sword, nor could it gather the essence of heaven and earth like Long Shen, it was still an ancient sword with a lifespan of thousands of years. As a weapon for cutting gold, breaking jade, and slaying demons, Long Shen even infused a part of his own soul into it to trigger a transformation. The reason why Dong Zhi was able to see Long Shen¡¯s past through the Changshou Sword was because the mountain fog and the wood spirit in the ancient sword had worked together. Later, after they returned from the battle in the Xianda village against the heavenly demon¡¯s shadow, Long Shen infused a few strands of his own soul into the Changshou Sword to repair it. Long Shen wasn¡¯t a human and didn¡¯t need to have all three souls and seven spirits intact. His soul fragments had no effect on him. Instead, they were like human hair or skin. Losing some of them would cause them to grow back. However, for the Changshou Sword, it underwent a transformation. If one had to describe it, it was like a computer upgrade, from a Pentium IV to a Core i7* all of a sudden. After Dong Zhi returned and was healing at the General Administration Bureau, he mainly learned how to better control the Changshou Sword under the guidance of Long Shen. *Computer processors. || I have no clue about this stuff, but I¡¯m assuming the Core i7 is a much better processor than the Pentium IV. So now Dong Zhi¡¯s ability to control the flying sword wasn¡¯t because he had really reached that realm, but because of the Changshou Sword itself. The sword light was like a rainbow, carrying numerous water vapor lifted by the waves, sweeping toward the head of the sea serpent. Amidst the turbulent intersection of mist and tides, countless people were floating in the sea, struggling to survive. Only the Ice Demon Elizabeth kept futilely creating icicles to trap the sea serpent, which were easily broken by the monster. The icicles that caused great trouble to humans were nothing but an annoying prank for the sea serpent. This ancient monster, awakened from a long sleep and influenced by the remnant demonic qi, loathed the ¡°ants¡± in front of it, who disturbed its peace. It opened its mouth, spewed out a raging flood, and swept its tail to smash all the icicles into pieces. Being swept up into the air and then falling back down was like a new disaster for everyone. However, in the midst of this storm, the sword light of the Changshou Sword was like a bright light suddenly shining in the dark world. It was like the arrow shot by Hou Yi* towards the sun, rushing straight towards the head of the sea serpent. *Mythological Chinese archer sometimes portrayed as the god of archery who descended from heaven to aid mankind. In Chinese lore, when the world had 10 suns, Hou Yi shot down 9 of them. ¡°Elizabeth, cooperate with me, hold it down!¡± The Ice Giantess heard the Changshou Sword¡¯s command and immediately shouted, ¡°But it¡¯s not afraid of my ice!¡± ¡°A few seconds will do!¡± The sword flew past her side without hesitation. Hearing the request, Elizabeth no longer hesitated. She waved her hand, and an icy wind blew in from the air. The seawater around the sea serpent¡¯s body instantly froze into ice, which rapidly spread as if the king of winter had arrived with a howl. Liu Qingbo and Liu Si were quick to react. The octopus lifted them high, and then they were thrown in the direction of the sea serpent with all their might! Fuck! Regardless of whether the octopus had ancestors or not, Liu Qingbo immediately cursed it for its incompetence. The silly octopus didn¡¯t find the correct position or angle when it threw them out, causing Liu Qingbo to fly headfirst. His handsome posture of exorcizing demons and slaying monsters was ruined! In just a few seconds, Liu Qingbo actually had time to think about this, but he quickly adjusted his angle and summoned his Fumo Sword. He and Dong Zhi, from two different directions, stabbed the eyes of the sea serpent. On the other side, Liu Si was quite as capable. He leveraged his strength, leaping up into the air, and landed directly on the sea serpent¡¯s huge head. The willow whip fiercely struck the black demonic qi hovering over the sea serpent¡¯s head! ¡°My God,¡± William muttered, ¡°I should do something too!¡± He fumbled for his personal flying device. ¡°I hope it hasn¡¯t been damaged by seawater!¡± Li Han¡¯er reached out and grabbed him. ¡°Take me with you!¡± ¡°Miss, you shouldn¡¯t participate in such a dangerous activity. My dear, wait for me to come back, okay?¡± ¡°Who are you calling dear?!¡± Li Han¡¯er laughed instead of getting angry at the foreigner¡¯s behavior of taking advantage of the situation, even at the moment of death. ¡°Take me with you. I am much more useful than you. Can your bullets penetrate its scales?¡± William looked up at the shiny black scales of the sea serpent and found that even small bombs might not be able to blast through its scales, let alone bullets. ¡°But your sword won¡¯t work either!¡± he protested. Of course, ordinary swords wouldn¡¯t work, but weapons enhanced with astral qi and magical talismans weren¡¯t included in this category. Li Han¡¯er was too lazy to explain more and simply grabbed William¡¯s collar roughly and threatened, ¡°Are you taking me or not?¡± William looked at her in horror, his eyes incredulous, as if he had thought she was a classical lady, but who knew she would suddenly transform into an unbelievable Tyrannosaurus rex? No one in the group of six, including Dong Zhi and the others, was more familiar with dealing with such a slippery giant creature. After all, they had rich experience dealing with the three-headed python, but circumstances had changed, and even Liu Qingbo didn¡¯t want to stab the sea serpent¡¯s chrysanthemum again, let alone him. Even if he wanted to, with the sea serpent¡¯s ability to overturn the river and the ocean¡¯s complex environment, they couldn¡¯t replicate the previous ¡°success story¡±, so the only visible weakness of the enemy was its eyes. The target of the eyes was large and round, making it easy to find, but the sea serpent wasn¡¯t a stupid creature waiting to die. When two sword lights attacked, it roared lowly, turned its head, and opened its mouth, swallowing both the Changshou Sword and its owner in one gulp! A stench hit Dong Zhi before he realized that any of the fangs of the serpent was as big as his body. In the moment when he was completely sucked into its mouth, he had only one thought: Has this sea serpent never brushed its teeth since birth? Liu Qingbo never expected Dong Zhi to become the other side¡¯s food in the blink of an eye, but once the sword was drawn, there was no turning back. He knew this was an opportunity created by Dong Zhi¡¯s sacrifice for him. He gritted his teeth, and the sword light of Fumo Sword suddenly shone several times brighter, piercing the sea serpent¡¯s eye directly! The bright red eyeball was instantly pierced by the sword light, and after the vitreous shattered, blood and foul liquid splashed all over Liu Qingbo¡¯s head and face, but he didn¡¯t have time to wipe it off. He shouted loudly, swung his sword, and slashed the fragile tissues around the sea serpent¡¯s eyes. The sea serpent, which had lost an eye, immediately entered into a frenzy; its huge body rolling and twisting in the ocean. Liu Si was directly thrown off, but before being thrown away, he didn¡¯t forget to tightly wrap the demonic qi attached to the sea serpent and take it away. If he had Dong Zhi¡¯s sunlight talisman or Zhang Song¡¯s exorcism talisman at this time, they could completely eliminate the remnant of the demonic qi. However¡­ Liu Si looked around but couldn¡¯t find Zhang Song¡¯s figure, and Dong Zhi was still inside the sea serpent. He regretted not having learned talisman magic at this moment. The demonic qi was about to break free from his whip¡ª ¡°We are coming¡ª¡± Liu Si suddenly turned around. One, no, two people suddenly rushed up from the sea! William held Li Han¡¯er¡¯s waist with one hand and aimed his gun at the demonic qi, firing several shots that squarely hit it. The specially made anti-demonic bullets posed a deadly threat to the demonic qi, which trembled violently, and its struggling strength suddenly increased, vaguely forming the shape of a roaring man. It was the consciousness of the remnant of the demon that was unwilling to dissipate. It was no longer the handsome man who first condensed in Xianda, but it would still reveal its original appearance at the critical moment of life and death. That was Mara¡¯s pursuit of ultimate beauty and desire. However, the remnant soul, which could not even be regarded as a doppelganger, were ultimately much weaker than the clone. Awakening the sea serpent already cost it too much energy. Faced with Liu Si¡¯s whip and the anti-demonic bullets, the demonic qi desperately tried to break free and take revenge on the mortals who dared to attack it! Seeing that the bullets could not completely eliminate the demonic qi, William became a little anxious. His personal flying machine was out of control after being soaked in water. He only had one bullet left in his gun and was still holding Li Han¡¯er in his other hand, making it impossible for him to reload. Just then, Li Han¡¯er held a talisman in her hand and said to him, ¡°Listen to my command. When I say shoot, you shoot!¡± ¡°Why should I listen to your command?¡± William opened his mouth but didn¡¯t say the words out loud. His body had already subconsciously obeyed her words. He aimed at the demonic qi and fired another shot, while Li Han¡¯er also threw out a talisman. What would happen when Chinese talismans were combined with Western exorcism? No one had tried it before, but William and Li Han¡¯er accidentally broke this record. The talisman fire and bullet were shot at the same time, merging into a ball of flame in mid-air and exploded on the demonic energy. Even Liu Si was pushed away by the huge air current. ¡°We did it! The demonic qi was really eliminated!¡± William shouted and danced, unable to resist kissing Li Han¡¯er¡¯s cheek. Before Li Han¡¯er could respond, the flying machine started to malfunction, and William flew over Liu Si¡¯s head uncontrollably, falling in another direction. The two of them were frightened. ¡°Quick, control it! The ground is below!¡± Li Han¡¯er urged. ¡°I want to, but I can¡¯t control it. It¡¯s broken!¡± William cursed a string of swear words and hugged Li Han¡¯er tightly. ¡°I have to go back and complain. Those who invented this flying machine treated us as guinea pigs, damn it!¡± The two of them glided over the skyline in a parabola, straight towards the island below. The ground was getting closer and closer. Li Han¡¯er recognized the island. They had just had an adventure there not long ago. There was a dense forest, tall trees, and maybe even some residual zombies. But even with trees as a buffer, it was useless at this height and speed. If they fell, they would only face death. After a brief panic, William surprisingly calmed down. He turned to Li Han¡¯er and said, ¡°My dear, I didn¡¯t expect that we would die together so soon after we met. This is also a wonderful fate. Can you accept my confession?¡± As soon as he finished speaking, there was a loud bang from behind. A colorful parachute automatically opened, carrying the two of them down slowly. Li Han¡¯er and William: ¡­ The two looked at each other in silence for a second, then William said, ¡°My dear, can you pretend that nothing happened just now and let me continue to confess my love?¡± Li Han¡¯er was expressionless. ¡°No, shut up. You¡¯re so annoying.¡± The demonic qi completely dissipated, and Liu Si also fell into the sea from mid-air. But the battle was far from over. He looked up anxiously, watching the sea serpent raging in the ocean. After Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, two Frenchmen and the leader of the American team, Lilith, climbed onto the serpent¡¯s body one after another, wanting to attack it. But without exception, all of them failed. The sea serpent had almost no weak points all over its body. Its scales were almost invulnerable. Even if they tried their best, they could only leave a slight wound on it, which was insignificant for the sea serpent but would only further enrage it, causing it to destroy everything in sight. The flood submerged the nearby Rose Island and Full Moon Island, and it was gradually getting worse. The sea serpent¡¯s fury also brought a hurricane, forming new vortexes on the sea surface, sucking everything around into them. Yang Shouyi and Zhang Song, as well as two British people not far away, struggled to survive in the sea. Though the physical fitness of practitioners was much higher than ordinary people, in the face of the power of the sea snake that could overturn the world, they were simply weak. Even Octopus Meika couldn¡¯t hold onto the coral reef. It fell over from the giant wave and covered Zhang Song¡¯s head, almost making him spit blood. Fortunately, it shrank its body at a critical moment, from the size of a round table to the size of a palm, sticking tightly to Zhang Song¡¯s head. ¡°I can¡¯t do it anymore. My head is spinning, and I¡¯m going to vomit¡­¡± the octopus said weakly, spitting out seawater, which splashed on Zhang Song¡¯s face. ¡°You¡¯re an octopus. Why are you dizzy from water?¡± Zhang Song was going crazy. ¡°Even an octopus can get dizzy¡­¡± Meika was dizzy, feeling the world spinning around it, and the sea was also upside down. Liu Si urged, ¡°You must grow bigger and send us up again! Dong Zhi was swallowed by it, and we don¡¯t know what happened to him!¡± The octopus replied weakly, ¡°I can¡¯t do it. I really don¡¯t have any strength left!¡± Zhang Song said angrily, ¡°Even if you don¡¯t have strength, you have to summon some for me!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± A woman swam over, grasping a piece of driftwood that had been washed away from Diana Island. Zhang Song and Liu Si turned their heads to find that it was Lilith, the leader of the American team. ¡°I have a flying device. Who wants to come with me?¡± Lilith said, gasping for breath. ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go!¡± Zhang Song and Liu Si almost simultaneously exclaimed. The two looked at each other, and Zhang Song said in a deep voice, ¡°I can use talismans. I¡¯ll go.¡± ¡°Okay, Lao Zhang, make sure to bring back the captain!¡± Liu Si said. Zhang Song grumbled, ¡°What if I can¡¯t bring him back!¡± Seeing Liu Si frown, he waved his hand and said, ¡°Okay, okay, I¡¯ll do my best!¡± Lilith grabbed Zhang Song¡¯s shoulder and said breathlessly, ¡°Hold onto my waist!¡± Zhang Song frowned and said, ¡°I¡¯m heavier than you. Why don¡¯t you give me the flying device, and I¡¯ll control it!¡± Lilith snapped, ¡°You haven¡¯t been trained. Hurry up and don¡¯t waste time!¡± Zhang Song had no choice but to tightly hug her waist. The two almost stuck together, and Lilith¡¯s slim and curvy body was tightly pressed against him, making Zhang Song feel a little embarrassed. However, he soon forgot about that once Lilith pressed the button on the flying device. They flew up into the air, but the flying device was clearly not very reliable. Just now, William almost turned in the wrong direction. At this moment, the two of them were flying around haphazardly, almost flying over the sea snake¡¯s body. It was only when Zhang Song snatched the control device and desperately held onto it that they managed to control their speed and direction. When the two flew past the small mountain-like body of the sea snake, Zhang Song suddenly let go of Lilith and leaped forward, jumping onto the body of the sea snake. He drew his sword and held a talisman in his other hand. ¡°Zhang Song, the sixty-seventh generation disciple of Mount Longhu, humbly implores the gods of the world¡­¡± If the elders and masters of Mount Longhu were here, they would immediately stop Zhang Song when they heard the spell he was chanting. However, now there was only Zhang Song, and no one knew that he was chanting a forbidden spell of Mount Longhu. This spell sacrificed blood to the heavens and summoned wind and thunder. Its power wasn¡¯t inferior to that of the Five Thunders, but it was easier to summon heavenly thunder than the Five Thunders. However, for the person who chanted the spell, it was a great risk, because if they weren¡¯t careful, their blood and qi would flow backward, and the heavenly thunder wouldn¡¯t strike the intended target but rather the one who was chanting the spell. Summoning thunder required opportunity and luck, but this forbidden spell didn¡¯t require that, so in a way, it was more effective. However, ordinary people were afraid of the backlash and dared not use it casually. Only daring kids like Zhang Song had no qualms and used the forbidden spell without hesitation in critical moments. In an instant, dark clouds and strong winds gathered around him; the clouds dispersed the fog, and the sound of thunder rolled from afar. The thundercloud gathered energy, and a dazzling light fell from the sky, wrapping around the head of the sea serpent. At this moment, Liu Qingbo happened to thrust the Fumo Sword into the other eye of the sea serpent. The sea serpent roared silently, turned its body over, and everyone was thrown into the sea in an instant. Surging floodwaters spewed out from the mouth of the ancient monster, and some people disappeared directly into the waves. Elizabeth rested for a while and then jumped out of the sea again, rushing toward the sea serpent. Using the power of the heavenly thunder to buy time, she commanded the seawater to turn into ice layers, quickly spreading from the sea surface and soon freezing most of the sea serpent¡¯s body. The violent winds gradually stopped, and the surging waves gradually calmed down. Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief. Zhang Song stood on the frozen sea serpent, suffering from the backlash of the forbidden spell, and spat out a mouthful of blood. The blood quickly penetrated into the ice layer below, and Zhang Song looked down, his face changing drastically. ¡°Not good. It¡¯s resisting. It will thaw again soon. Quick, strengthen the spell!¡± he shouted at Elizabeth. ¡°I don¡¯t have the strength!¡± Elizabeth shouted back even louder. Everyone: ¡­¡­ In the face of the absolute power of the ancient monster, all efforts seemed futile. Not to mention that the organizing committee couldn¡¯t receive their message and rush here in such a short time. Even if they came, they probably wouldn¡¯t be able to do anything anyway. The sea serpent, which had been blinded, had already entered an extremely frenzied state. Although the remnant soul of the heavenly demon had been eliminated, when it was awakened, it had already left a mark in the sea serpent¡¯s body. At that moment, all negative emotions were mobilized, and the raging sea serpent was almost unstoppable. The ice layer freezing it was visibly cracking, and it would soon break free from this weak restraint. In a short time, perhaps not even a few minutes, no one would be able to escape when it regained its freedom. Even the most powerful creatures had weaknesses, and Liu Qingbo firmly believed in this. But what could be the weakness of this sea serpent? He struggled to stay conscious in the sea, but the sudden inertia of being thrown off made him feel drowsy, and his vision became blurry as a result. Dong Zhi¡­ He remembered his companion, who had been swallowed by the sea serpent and was now in an unknown state of life or death. He gritted his teeth and held tightly to the Fumo Sword. The sword suddenly emitted a bright light. Dong Zhi was still alive. He hadn¡¯t been digested by the sea serpent¡¯s stomach, but he suspected that he would end up dying in the most embarrassing way in history¡ªsuffocated by the smell inside the sea serpent¡¯s body. This was an experience he absolutely didn¡¯t want to recall, provided that he could get out of it this time. Last time, it was Liu Qingbo who took action against the three-headed giant python. After reminiscing countless times about the disgusting expression on Liu Qingbo¡¯s face afterwards, Dong Zhi found it funny. But the tides had turned, and now it was finally his turn to take action. Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t laugh anymore. With the protective qi, besides the unpleasant smell, the inside of the sea serpent¡¯s body was spacious, and he encountered no obstacles along the way. However, he had to work hard to find a weakness inside the sea serpent that he could break through from the inside. If he couldn¡¯t find one, he might never be able to leave. CH 141 Unlike the scales on the sea serpent¡¯s body, its internal organs were soft. But Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know which organ would be the breakthrough point, so he decided to try every part. As a result, Liu Qingbo and the others outside witnessed the sea serpent suddenly going berserk, causing chaos and upheaval. Even the sea serpent itself didn¡¯t expect that the ¡°little insects¡± it had casually swallowed could ¡°expand its territory¡± inside its body, causing unbearable pain and forcing it to open its mouth and vomit, trying to expel the source of trouble within its body. Dong Zhi also felt uncomfortable inside the sea serpent¡¯s body, but he wanted to continue exploring. However, the sea serpent desperately tried to vomit him out, so he had to rely on the light of his sword to clear a path and venture deeper into the area. Stomach, small intestine, large intestine¡­ Suddenly, his eyes lit up. He realized that if he went further down the large intestine, wouldn¡¯t it be the same method they used to deal with the three-headed python last time? However, it was Liu Qingbo who took action last time, and this time it was up to him. Dong Zhi glanced at the Changshou Sword and sighed softly, saying, ¡°I¡¯m sorry.¡± The sword emitted a faint light, flickering and responding to his words. Under the power of the sea serpent, the Senluo Islands were now in ruins. Not only were the islands completely submerged by seawater, but even many trees were uprooted, let alone Liu Qingbo and the others who were at the mercy of the tsunami. If they weren¡¯t practitioners, they would have long been reduced to bones. The Ice Demon Elizabeth carried two people on her shoulders, Liu Qingbo and Lilith. Elizabeth was the only creature present who could float in the air. The raging winds and waves had no effect on her, but she was powerless against the monstrous beast before her. ¡°My ice castle! I spent three days and nights building that ice castle! This despicable monster¡ªI¡¯ll kill it!¡± Tears of sadness streamed down Elizabeth¡¯s face, like droplets emerging from an ice sculpture, making it difficult to distinguish. Only from her infuriated tone and the hint of a sob in her voice could one recognize her current emotions. ¡°You can shout all you want, but you can¡¯t kill it. Instead, save some energy and think about what to do!¡± Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. ¡°And what should we do?¡± Elizabeth asked, confused, as she sucked her thumb in her mouth, resembling an ordinary three-year-old girl. Liu Qingbo pondered for a moment. ¡°The head is its most vulnerable spot. Its eyes are already blind. We can enter through its eyes and destroy its brain to kill it completely! Elizabeth, can you still attack it with ice?¡± Elizabeth replied, ¡°I can, but it doesn¡¯t fear it at all. When the ice arrows hit it, they automatically melt, and even the ice layer can¡¯t hold it for long. We already tried earlier!¡± Liu Qingbo said, ¡°As long as you can buy us a few minutes, freeze the area below its neck with ice. We¡¯ll concentrate our full force on attacking its eyes and see if we can kill it!¡± Lilith suddenly exclaimed, ¡°Uh-oh, it¡¯s coming out again!¡± With her words, the layer of ice surrounding the sea serpent shattered, and it was on the verge of completely breaking free from the icy restraints. Liu Qingbo urgently said, ¡°There¡¯s no time. We must act immediately. I¡¯ll count to three, Elizabeth. Freeze it again. Lilith, take me up. We¡¯re ready to strike!¡± Lilith, perhaps due to her military background, spoke and acted in a decisive and efficient manner. She didn¡¯t compete for command authority with Liu Qingbo at such a critical moment and simply agreed, allowing Elizabeth to lift her to Liu Qingbo¡¯s position, ready to activate the aircraft. At Liu Qingbo¡¯s command, Elizabeth swung her arms once again, reinforcing the layer of ice around the sea serpent. White ice piled up, eventually freezing the sea serpent in the center of the ice mountain. Amidst the seemingly chaotic ice peaks and edges, there was a touch of artistic beauty. Lilith suddenly thought that if Elizabeth wasn¡¯t a demon, perhaps she could pursue further studies at an art academy and become a talented student loved by professors. But those were thoughts for the future. At this moment, she and Liu Qingbo flew into the air. Suddenly, Liu Qingbo drew his sword from its sheath, and before Lilith could react, he pushed her aside and leaped towards the sea serpent¡¯s head. Was he out of his mind? They were still in mid-air! Lilith widened her eyes, thinking that Liu Qingbo would fall. But suddenly, the sword radiance surged, enveloping him entirely, transforming into a dazzling sword aura and piercing into the sea serpent¡¯s eye. The original eye area was now just an empty cavity, bloodied and mangled. The sword light burst there, causing the sea serpent to roar in pain. Its body twisted, and the ice layer suddenly shattered. Elizabeth hurriedly reinforced the ice, but it was futile. The deranged sea serpent completely shattered the thick layer of ice. Its sharp fangs opened wide and bit off one of Elizabeth¡¯s arms! Amidst Elizabeth¡¯s screams, the tail of the sea serpent heavily whipped onto the nearby Full Moon Island, causing the entire maze to collapse, turning into mud and flowing into the sea. Octopus Meika, unable to withstand the waves, had to enlarge its size to prevent its miniature body from being washed away. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to drown!¡± it yelled in panic, distraught. The Frenchman, clinging tightly to its tentacles and avoiding being swept away, couldn¡¯t help but twitch his face. He had never heard of an octopus drowning! Lilith piloted the aircraft and descended on top of the sea serpent¡¯s head. She clung to its body and aimed at its other eye, firing several shots, unsure if they hit the soft flesh inside the sea serpent¡¯s body. However, she was fiercely thrown off. Kenta clung to a speedboat, floating in the water. As an apprentice of Master Xinchai, he wasn¡¯t the most outstanding witchdoctor on this mission. However, due to his participation in the previous battle against Songen and Mara, he retained a certain level of vigilance and caution. While his companions were lured into the ice castle, he held a different opinion and was ultimately left outside. As a result, he survived the collapse of the castle. Unfortunately, his curses had no effect on the colossal sea serpent. Instead, it only fueled its madness. He could only go with the flow, watching the sea serpent grow increasingly frenzied, feeling more and more hopeless. Given the current situation, they had no chance of killing the sea serpent. Who could have predicted that a seemingly innocent competition would turn into a deadly journey for everyone? Kenta remembered his Master Xinchai sacrificing himself to protect him, trading his life for his. Now, instead of making a name for himself and bringing honor to his master, he was likely to perish here. He couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of desolation. Suddenly, a loud noise rang out from above. Kenta quickly looked up and realized that the mist had completely dissipated, replaced by dark clouds filling the sky. Faint lights flickered within the clouds, hinting at an approaching storm of greater magnitude. At a time like this, a storm would only worsen the situation, Kenta thought in despair. He discovered that the curses that humans feared and changed color upon hearing were nothing more than children¡¯s play in this situation. It was not only ineffective but also utterly useless. He had once had his own pride, but now that pride was completely shattered. He could only beg for mercy from the heavens, hoping for a way out. After the lightning, thunder rolled in, but it didn¡¯t strike above Kenta¡¯s head as he had imagined. Instead, it continuously struck the sea serpent¡¯s body. Kenta then noticed someone not far away, holding a sword in one hand and summoning thunder with talismans in the other. It seemed like they were¡­ invoking heavenly thunder? Zhang Song was still using forbidden incantations to attract the lightning. This time, he directly used his own blood as the conduit, summoning even more powerful heavenly thunder. Amidst the lightning, Elizabeth continuously bolstered the ice and snow, but the sea serpent continued to thrash, causing chaos on the water¡¯s surface. Not to mention practitioners, even beasts like the three-headed python wouldn¡¯t have been able to withstand such intense attacks. However, the sea serpent¡¯s power was immeasurable. It repeatedly broke free from restraints, ignored the attacks, and continued to wreak havoc. Zhang Song coughed up another mouthful of blood, not only because using the forbidden incantations drained his mental energy but also because he had been accidentally struck by the sea serpent earlier, likely causing internal injuries. But the situation wasn¡¯t any better for the others. Yang Shouyi had attempted to attack the serpent¡¯s tail but disappeared after taking a heavy blow. The Frenchman who had been on the sea serpent¡¯s body was long submerged in the water. Octopus Meika¡¯s figure was faintly visible amidst the surging waves, but that was because its size allowed it to firmly grasp onto the coral reef underwater. Even so, Zhang Song could still hear its cries for help coming from nearby. They were both monsters, so how could it end up in such a pathetic state? Zhang Song cursed inwardly. He twirled his long sword in his hand, and another lightning struck the sea serpent¡¯s head. This lightning exhausted the last of his strength. Zhang Song¡¯s grip loosened, and the sword fell into the sea, slipping through his fingers. No, he couldn¡¯t hold on much longer¡­ Zhang Song could almost hear the violent thumping of his own heartbeat within his chest. With each beat, it felt as if it was about to burst out of his body. As the final lightning descended, his legs gave way, and he fell directly down. Feeling completely drained, just as he was about to close his eyes, Zhang Song suddenly sensed a surge of brightness before him. He instinctively raised his hand to shield his forehead and struggled to keep his eyes open. In the next moment, his eyes widened. He saw a dazzling burst of light erupt from the white chest of the monster, merging with the lightning. It enveloped the sea serpent, and with a thunderous sound, in the area where the dark clouds split open, it was as if an invisible hand had hurled the long-awaited energy ball of lightning, directly striking the sea serpent. There was someone else attracting the lightning! Zhang Song realized this and immediately became excited. He desperately flailed in the water, but his limbs wouldn¡¯t respond. A tentacle reached out and wrapped around his waist, and amidst cries for help, he was saved. The cries echoed in his ears. ¡°Wuwuwu, why did it suddenly thunder? It¡¯s so scary!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Zhang Song couldn¡¯t bear it any longer and shouted at the top of his lungs. However, his roar was overshadowed by the thunder. All eyes were drawn to the commotion on the sea serpent¡¯s body. Suddenly, a burst of light erupted from the monster¡¯s chest, soaring into the sky before arcing back down, heading towards the sea serpent. The light pierced through the sea serpent¡¯s brain like a sharp arrow, followed by another thunderbolt striking down. The sea serpent, now headless, finally toppled towards the sea. It was Dong Zhi! Zhang Song opened his mouth wide, but he realized his voice had become hoarse. Dong Zhi, wielding his sword, emerged from the sea serpent¡¯s body while simultaneously invoking the Five Thunder Talisman internally. This perfectly complemented Zhang Song¡¯s external thunder invocation. Under the dual pressure of internal and external forces, the power of the heavenly thunder increased dramatically. With the previous efforts of Liu Qingbo, William, and the others, they finally succeeded in completely defeating this ancient monster. The thunder rolled down, and Dong Zhi, suspended in midair, appeared as if a divine being had descended. He punished this monster that had evaded heavenly tribulation and deceived time itself. The gigantic head of the sea serpent dropped into the sea, creating a massive tsunami. However, at this moment, Dong Zhi reappeared in a dazzling manner, capturing everyone¡¯s attention even more than the monster itself. Dong Zhi raised his sword high above his head. The tip of the sword connected with the purple lightning, as if guided by some divine will or instruction. In this awe-inspiring moment, Dong Zhi resembled a mythical figure, radiating a brilliant halo that made it impossible to look directly at him. His down jacket had long disappeared during the fierce battle, leaving him dressed in black clothes. Standing at the center of the swirling hurricane, he lacked his usual smile, exuding an almost cold and indifferent calmness. The sea serpent roared and writhed, unwilling and filled with resentment, even after losing its head. It wanted to destroy the world and drag everything down with it. The nerves that had already been contaminated by demonic qi seemed to be venting their final trace of resentment. Even though its body had been pierced by the Changshou Sword and was in tatters¡­ ¡°Oh my God, is that Zeus*! Han¡¯er, is your team leader the reincarnation of Zeus?¡± William, holding onto a piece of driftwood, mumbled. He even mispronounced Li Han¡¯er¡¯s name, making it sound like ¡°Hane¡±. *God of Thunder in ancient Greek mythology, who rules as the king of the gods on Mount Olympus ¡°That¡¯s right, he must be Zeus. Only the divine king Zeus can wield the power of thunder and subdue the enemy. Oh my, he¡¯s so handsome!¡± Li Han¡¯er restrained the urge to roll her eyes. ¡°That¡¯s Taoist thunder magic, not Zeus!¡± William: ¡°No, my dear, you don¡¯t understand. In that instant just now, he must have received the divine will of Zeus. I wouldn¡¯t mistake it. Look at his figure and aura. It¡¯s not how he usually is. Only those called by the gods would¡­¡± Li Han¡¯er rubbed her sore head. If this person hadn¡¯t pulled her down with him during the descent, she would have kicked him away by now to prevent further rambling. In fact, not only William but even Liu Qingbo wondered inwardly when he saw Dong Zhi¡¯s expressionless face looking in his direction: ¡®Has this guy been possessed by a god again? Otherwise, why would he have that expression? He can attract thunder, but does he not recognize his comrades anymore? Zhang Song isn¡¯t like this! They locked eyes for a while, but Dong Zhi shifted his gaze away before Liu Qingbo had a chance to fully contemplate the situation. Liu Qingbo narrowly avoided being crushed by the sudden falling body of the sea serpent. Even in death, this sea serpent, which may have caused several calamities in ancient times, stirred up a terrifying storm. Several islands were once again submerged by the surging floodwaters. When it fell, it happened to land on Full Moon Island, instantly causing the remnants of the maze that hadn¡¯t been washed away by the sea to collapse completely. The end of its existence also marked the destruction of the remaining structures. It was unlikely that the organizers, when they came to clean up the aftermath after the flood receded, would recognize the original form of this island. If they had died under the rampage of the sea serpent rather than drowning in the flood, it would have been too embarrassing. That was what all the participants thought. They exerted all their strength to find a way out of the flood. Zhang Song and Liu Qingbo were relatively fortunate. At the critical moment when they were about to be struck by the massive corpse of the sea serpent, a tentacle reached out and wrapped around them, throwing them onto the least affected Rose Island. Rose Island had the highest elevation. Although most of it was submerged, some areas emerged as the water gradually calmed down, providing a relatively safe place. The whereabouts of the speedboat were unknown, so everyone had no choice but to swim desperately towards this location and wait for the organizers¡¯ rescue. Zhang Song weakly raised his hand and waved it toward the octopus, saying, ¡°Thanks.¡± Octopus: ¡°You¡¯re welcome. Five tons of fish.¡± Zhang Song: ¡­ He was completely exhausted and had no energy left to speak. He simply fell to the ground and played dead. But he didn¡¯t need to pretend because, given their physical condition, they were indeed not far from death. Elizabeth was still venting her anger about her ice castle, fiercely pounding the sea serpent¡¯s corpse. Several other people were saved by Octopus Meika, sparing them the arduous task of swimming over, including Dong Zhi. Dong Zhi leaned against the ground, took a few steps forward, and gasped as he asked Liu Qingbo, ¡°Why didn¡¯t you ask Elizabeth for the Golden Apple earlier?¡± Liu Qingbo was taken aback. He had actually forgotten about it. ¡°With such a dangerous situation just now, who would remember such a thing?¡± Dong Zhi expressed his dissatisfaction. ¡°Didn¡¯t I keep giving you signals after invoking the thunder just now?¡± Liu Qingbo replied in annoyance, ¡°Who could tell that you were giving me signals? I thought you were just showing off after inviting god!¡± Dong Zhi angrily retorted, ¡°I was trying to attract other people¡¯s attention so that you could buy time to get the Golden Apple!¡± Liu Qingbo was also angry. ¡°I¡¯m not a mind reader. We were the ones who put in the most effort and made the greatest contributions. Even the final fatal blow to the sea serpent was delivered by you. The Golden Apple is rightfully ours!¡± Dong Zhi helplessly said, ¡°Then go quickly and call Elizabeth over, so that we don¡¯t waste time.¡± Liu Qingbo gathered his luck in his lower abdomen and suddenly shouted, ¡°Elizabeth, Dong Zhi said he has a gift for you, many beautiful dresses. Come over here!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡­ Elizabeth, with teary eyes, raised her head and glanced in this direction, sobbing as she flew over. ¡°Where are the dresses?¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°Elizabeth, thank you. Without you this time, we would probably be dead by now. I will request a significant increase in your compensation from the organizers. You want many beautiful dresses, right?¡± Elizabeth: ¡°Yes, I want a lot, enough to fill an entire island, embroidered with gold thread and adorned with gemstones, just like¡­¡± She turned her head and glanced at the four islands, pointing to the largest Full Moon Island. ¡°I want that many!¡± Dong Zhi: ¡°No problem. You deserve it.¡± Who asked the organizers to choose such a place that almost caused their complete annihilation? Afterward, Dong Zhi not only wanted to secure compensation for Elizabeth but also demanded reimbursement for their mental distress. Elizabeth cheered. ¡°That¡¯s great! My dearest Dong, I love you so much!¡± Dong Zhi smiled and said, ¡°So, my dear Elizabeth, give us the Golden Apple.¡± Elizabeth blinked. ¡°Okay.¡± But at that moment, someone suddenly said, ¡°The Golden Apple should go to the ultimate victor!¡± Captain White of the French team, thrown up by Octopus Meika, gasped for breath as he spoke. William, eager to stir up trouble, joined in, ¡°That¡¯s right, Dong, it seems we haven¡¯t decided who the Golden Apple should go to. You can¡¯t cheat!¡± Li Han¡¯er directly pointed her sword at his neck and said coldly, ¡°Didn¡¯t you just say that Dong Zhi is the reincarnation of Zeus? Now it¡¯s cheating? Don¡¯t forget who saved you all!¡± William tried to appease her, saying, ¡°Darling, don¡¯t be so rude. Let¡¯s talk things out. We¡¯re all civilized people. Dong Zhi is indeed formidable. I admit that without his final blow, we might still be under the rampage of the sea serpent. But my admission is of no use unless others also acknowledge it, right?¡± Li Han¡¯er sneered, ¡°I don¡¯t care about others. I¡¯m asking if you acknowledge it!¡± William hastily said, ¡°I acknowledge, I acknowledge!¡± Dong Zhi smiled faintly at White. ¡°If you¡¯re not convinced, we can fight right now. The winner gets the Golden Apple. How about that?¡± White couldn¡¯t even lift his fingers now, let alone fight. A wise person would know the current situation. Under the intense gaze of Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song, and others, White fell silent for a moment and reluctantly said, ¡°I acknowledge that you are the winners of this competition.¡± William also grinned, ¡°Although I¡¯m the deputy captain, in the absence of the captain, I can also announce¡­¡± ¡°Who said I¡¯m absent!¡± Lilith stumbled over, falling to the ground in a disheveled manner, but no one laughed at her. Everyone¡¯s condition was more or less the same. ¡°Dong, this time, your team is indeed qualified to receive the Golden Apple. Congratulations.¡± Elizabeth opened her mouth, and a golden object appeared in her palm. Her gaze lingered on it, reluctant to let go. Dong Zhi chuckled helplessly and took out a small linen bag from his body. His backpack was long gone, but he kept this bag close to him, saving it from the disaster. Inside were the silver coins they had collected along the way. ¡°These silver coins are in exchange for your Golden Apple,¡± he said to Elizabeth. Elizabeth¡¯s eyes lit up, feeling that it wasn¡¯t such a bad deal, and immediately made the exchange. Although the Golden Apple was palm-sized, it wasn¡¯t heavy in her hand. Dong Zhi didn¡¯t know if it was made of pure gold, but seeing the Golden Apple in his hand, he felt a heavy burden lift from his heart. Countless days and nights filled with fear, tension, and sleeplessness. Demon remnants, zombies, harpies, labyrinths, an octopus monster, an ice giant, and an ancient sea serpent. So many hidden crises, constant dangers, almost causing their demise. Holding this Golden Apple that was almost exchanged with their lives, they knew that their journey was not in vain. Lilith looked at the Golden Apples in Dong Zhi¡¯s hands, unable to hide her melancholy expression. White was not only melancholic but also disappointed. However, they couldn¡¯t deny the efforts of Dong Zhi and the others. In the recent battle, Dong Zhi¡¯s performance was so brilliant and outstanding that everyone saw it. It was something that couldn¡¯t be taken away or erased. Even if they didn¡¯t admit it, even if they had another match afterwards, offending others wouldn¡¯t necessarily lead to victory. Instead, it was better to be generous, admit defeat, maintain dignity, and foster friendships. After all, the competition was only once, while there would be many opportunities for future interactions. Though they thought rationally like this, seeing their efforts of the past few days go to waste and gaining nothing after going through a life-or-death ordeal, it was inevitable for others to feel disappointed and melancholic. After this battle, Dong Zhi¡¯s reputation would undoubtedly spread to various countries. The practitioners who participated in the competition would surely recount the performances of everyone involved upon their return. When Lilith and the others had just arrived in Los Angeles, they couldn¡¯t have anticipated that this new member who had joined the Chinese Special Administration Bureau less than two years ago would lead his teammates to victory. Meanwhile, at that time, the Frenchman George, who planned a prank targeting the Chinese in his pursuit of Red-haired Grace, had already played tricks on two teams in a row and was confident that the Chinese would also fall victim to it. If he could make Dong Zhi and the others feel afraid or even withdraw from the competition in advance, it would be even better. Little did he know that this prank would end with him lying in the hospital and unable to participate in the upcoming match. If time could be reversed, if George, still lying in the hospital, could foresee the current result, he probably wouldn¡¯t dare provoke Dong Zhi and the others. The author has something to say: Small theater unrelated to the main text: Dong Zhi: Wasn¡¯t I constantly giving you signals earlier? I was trying to snatch the Golden Apple! Liu Qingbo: Oh, I thought you were suffering from some post-summoning syndrome. Like you summoned a Western version of Zeus, and then Zeus naturally had an eyelid twitch or something. Dong Zhi: ¡­ CH 142 Li Han¡¯er lay drenched on the sandy ground. In the past, she would have felt uncomfortable all over, wishing she could rush to take a shower and change clothes immediately. But now, as the mist hadn¡¯t yet gathered, sunlight shone down from the sky cleared of dark clouds, warming her body and filling her heart with a sense of contentment. She gazed at Dong Zhi from a distance with a slight smile forming at the corner of her mouth and exhaled a long breath. Li Han¡¯er still remembered the moment she learned that she had been temporarily assigned to the exchange team and that the team captain was Dong Zhi. There was a sense of dissatisfaction in her heart. Although she wouldn¡¯t go to the leader to strongly protest and request a replacement, she did harbor ill intentions towards Long Shen¡¯s disciple. Because of the unrequited affection she had once held for Long Shen, she found anyone who was favored by him displeasing in her eyes. But when did this emotion change? Perhaps it was during the time when everyone was in a state of disappointment and despair, yet Dong Zhi remained calm and composed, seemingly unfazed by any difficulties. Perhaps it was when Dong Zhi took the lead, running at the forefront in the face of danger. Or perhaps it was during his bantering with Liu Qingbo, repeatedly pulling unexpected things out of his backpack to ease their tension and give them new hope. Li Han¡¯er had to admit that Dong Zhi was simply not someone you could hate. Instead, he had a charm that made you involuntarily like him. It was as if, wherever he was, the vitality of the world could be seen. Who could possibly dislike the vibrant and warm sunlight? If it were Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song, or even her own elder brother, Li Ying, serving as the team leader, perhaps they could still achieve the final victory. However, it would inevitably come at the cost of sacrificing one or two people, and they would not have the same cohesive force as they did now. Only Dong Zhi could achieve this. ¡°My dear Han¡¯er, who are you looking at?¡± William followed her gaze and couldn¡¯t help but widen his eyes. ¡°Are you looking at Dong? My goodness, do you have a crush on him? Do I still have a chance?¡± His astonished tone attracted a lot of attention, and Li Han¡¯er wished she could sew his mouth shut. ¡°Who said I have a crush on him!¡± Li Han¡¯er gritted her teeth. This person seemed to challenge her good manners every time. Li Han¡¯er suspected that if this continued, by the time they returned home, she might age several years due to anger. ¡°You were looking at him just now, with a sad smile!¡± William had an innocent look on his face. ¡°Han¡¯er, although my skin isn¡¯t as fair as his, I¡¯m taller than him and have a better physique. I can make you happy. Besides, he clearly doesn¡¯t like you!¡± ¡°That¡¯s not sadness; it¡¯s contentment! Get it right!¡± Li Han¡¯er couldn¡¯t hold back any longer and grabbed his ear, shouting, ¡°And you don¡¯t call it a good physique, you call it strong*!¡± *Clarity: William is using the term ¡°good physique¡± (Éí²ÄºÃ) in the sense where it¡¯s a slim, fit, aesthetically pleasing figure, whereas Li Han¡¯er is correcting him using the term ¡°strong¡± (ÐÛ׳) which is more of a muscular, strong, robust figure. Everyone: ¡­ ¡°Dial it down. Calm down. Think about your ladylike demeanor. Think about our reputation,¡± Dong Zhi said. Li Han¡¯er took a deep breath, smiled slightly at William, and spoke softly, but her words sent a chill down one¡¯s spine. ¡°If you keep talking nonsense, be careful; I¡¯ll twist your head off and use it as a ball.¡± William looked at her in horror, thought for a moment, and whispered, ¡°If you¡¯re willing to accept my pursuit, it¡¯s okay to let you play with my head. Don¡¯t you Chinese have a saying that goes, ¡®Even if one were to die immediately, it¡¯s worth it if they can kiss the most beautiful flower?''¡± That¡¯s called ¡°dying under the peony flower, remaining a romantic ghost*.¡± Li Han¡¯er was furious but couldn¡¯t help laughing. ¡°If you can learn Chinese and use idioms proficiently, then I¡¯ll accept your pursuit.¡± *(ĵµ¤»¨ÏÂËÀ£¬×ö¹íÒ²·çÁ÷) Idiom referring dying for love is seen as romantic. William¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Really?¡± But he wasn¡¯t stupid. He immediately added conditions. ¡°Is it okay if I just become fluent in spoken Chinese?¡± Li Han¡¯er thought that the conditions shouldn¡¯t be too difficult, or the other party would suspect something was amiss. So she nodded. ¡°That¡¯s fine. But you have to understand idioms and their origins. I don¡¯t want to be in a relationship with a man who can¡¯t even understand simple idioms like ¡®tiger¡¯s back and bear¡¯s waist*.''¡± *(»¢±³ÐÜÑü) Idiom referring to someone who has a robust and strong physique (broad muscular back and well-defined waist) || Basically, what William¡¯s physique is supposed to be. She said the last sentence in Chinese. ¡°Tiger¡¯s back and bear¡¯s waist?¡± William imitated her tone and looked puzzled. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Li Han¡¯er remained unfazed. ¡°It means you¡¯re handsome and suave.¡± William became excited. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, my dear. I know you¡¯re concerned that I¡¯m just temporarily enthusiastic, but I have genuine feelings for you. Give me six months, and I¡¯ll learn Chinese. But during these six months, you can¡¯t have a boyfriend.¡± Li Han¡¯er nodded. ¡°Of course, I am a person who keeps promises.¡± The two reached an agreement, and everyone was happy. Dong Zhi and the others pursed their lips but ultimately didn¡¯t say anything. They could all tell that Li Han¡¯er was teasing William. However, who knew what the future held? Perhaps William would give up on his own before six months, or maybe the two of them would develop into a pair of happy enemies. Life was always full of variables, and no one could predict the future. The storm subsided, and the sea gradually calmed down, but the islands were left in ruins. Diana Island seemed to be the most devastated, with trees falling or leaning haphazardly, in a state of disarray. The flood had not completely receded, leaving pits and ditches between the trees¡ªa distressing sight. In the distance, a ship emerged from the mist and gradually approached. It was the boat sent by the organizing committee to pick them up. Liu Qingbo sighed. ¡°Like the movies, the police always arrive hastily after everything has settled.¡± Dong Zhi couldn¡¯t help but laugh. ¡­¡­ Japan, Atsuta Shrine. Long Shen carried his sword and kept moving forward. In every direction, there were countless mirrored spaces, one after another, with no end in sight. The space beneath his feet extended infinitely, but unless something unexpected happened, no matter how he walked or where he went, he could never escape from here. However, Long Shen didn¡¯t stop his steps because he knew that once he halted, his perspective would easily be confused by the mirrored contents, and he would lose his way. Losing direction was just the first step, and eventually, even his mind would be lost in the mirrored space. He had just shattered the surveillance of Otowa Hatsuhiko, but if he couldn¡¯t find an exit, he would be forever trapped here. The scenes within each mirrored space were roughly the same, but there were subtle differences. For example, every Li Ying inside had a different expression¡ªsome looked anxious, some looked worried, some smiled, and even exhibited happiness and the seven emotions, making it difficult to distinguish which Li Ying was real. While Long Shen seemed to keep moving forward, he was actually observing each Li Ying at an extraordinary speed that ordinary people couldn¡¯t match. He believed that there must be one real Li Ying among them. ¡°Li Ying,¡± Long Shen said in a deep voice. ¡°Keep speaking. It doesn¡¯t matter what you say, just don¡¯t stop your voice.¡± ¡°Boss Long!¡± Numerous Li Yings responded in the mirrored space, their voices overlapping like countless echoes. However, no matter which Li Ying it was, their tone sounded weak, indicating that they were likely seriously injured. ¡°Boss Long, if I can¡¯t return, I have to trouble you to please inform my master, parents, and my sister Han¡¯er for me. Tell them that I¡¯m incompetent, unable to complete the mission. And for Han¡¯er, ask her to take good care of our parents¡­¡± Li Ying gasped for breath. ¡°And also, Banxia. Tell her I¡¯m sorry and ask her not to wait for me anymore!¡± A true man sheds no tears easily, and Li Ying didn¡¯t cry when mentioning his master and parents. However, when he uttered the name Banxia, he couldn¡¯t help but shed tears. He recalled the time when he first joined the Special Administration Bureau, seeing that lively and smiling girl who instantly captivated his attention. He remembered the ambiguous interactions between them during missions, and he recalled how he abandoned a promising team to join the so-called miscellaneous group of Team Three, which caused his father to be furious. But Li Ying had no regrets. Throughout his life, he had been mature and responsible, considering the overall situation. His every word and action were almost a model among his Maoshan peers. After joining the Special Administration Bureau, he became the future pillar in the eyes of his superiors. Many people couldn¡¯t understand why he didn¡¯t choose the outstanding junior sister in Maoshan but fell for a mysterious and unpredictable witch instead. Li Ying had always thought that he would follow a steady path in his cultivation journey, either inheriting the position of head of Maoshan or joining the Special Administration Bureau like his father, Li Rui, and gradually climbing the ranks to become a high-ranking official, perhaps even a Director with considerable power. However, he had never expected that he would meet his downfall before achieving his goals. Besides the fear and unease towards death, what constantly came to his mind was the face of Chi Banxia. He knew that Chi Banxia would never be able to escape the shadow of his death. Perhaps when others saw the title of a witch, they would feel a sense of mystery and fear, not daring to provoke, but Li Ying knew that this lively girl was more sentimental than anyone else. As Long Shen swept his gaze, numerous reflections of Li Ying displayed expressions of pain. However, most of the mirrored Li Yings had a sluggish and numb kind of pain, like puppets imitating their agony with poor acting skills, which failed to touch anyone¡¯s heart and instead felt eerie. There was only one. The only one that genuinely revealed pain and fear on his face. Even though he was a practitioner and more outstanding than most of his peers, Li Ying was still human. He was still young and couldn¡¯t remain calm in the face of true death, especially when he faced eternal separation from his loved ones and family. Even Long Shen would be moved, let alone Li Ying. Without hesitation, Long Shen immediately shot out a beam of sword light, directly aimed at the Li Ying with the most genuine expression of pain! The mirror shattered, and Li Ying stared in astonishment at the swiftly approaching sword light. He instinctively wanted to dodge, but with his severe injuries and facing Long Shen, there was nowhere to escape. The cold and sharp sword aura reached his forehead, causing a stinging sensation. His arm was already tightly restrained by someone. ¡°Boss Long!¡± He looked at Long Shen, who appeared beside him, with both surprise and joy. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± As soon as Long Shen spoke, his figure didn¡¯t stop, and Li Ying felt the world spinning before his eyes. Countless images flew backward, layers of mirrors shattered, and fragments scattered throughout the space, cutting through his clothes and skin, causing him to feel pain. ¡°This is real!¡± Long Shen seemed to perceive his confusion and rapidly explained, never stopping his footsteps as he pulled Li Ying along. A protective energy surrounded Long Shen, preventing the fragments from coming near, but after being trapped for days, Li Ying¡¯s mind was in a haze. Sometimes he would see Chi Banxia and his senior martial brothers, and other times he found himself in the depths of hell, surrounded by skeletons and evil spirits, unable to break free. His consciousness was already somewhat confused, and now he couldn¡¯t tell if he was truly saved or in another illusion. In a moment of desperation, he reached his hand beyond the protection of the energy and touched the fragments. As expected, his fingertips stung, and blood droplets immediately emerged. ¡°Isn¡¯t this an illusion?¡± Li Ying said in confusion. ¡°True is false, and false is true. Any illusion is based on reality,¡± Long Shen replied, turning his head with a furrowed brow. He extended his finger and flicked Li Ying¡¯s forehead. Li Ying¡¯s body trembled slightly, and his expression instantly became much more sober. ¡°Boss Long¡­¡± His voice was hoarse, as if he had just been pulled out of water, drenched in sweat. ¡°Don¡¯t move, don¡¯t speak.¡± Although Long Shen had seen through the formation that Li Ying was trapped in, the surroundings were still filled with numerous illusions. He couldn¡¯t afford to spare attention for Li Ying and needed to focus entirely on finding a breakthrough. Li Ying, indeed, dared not speak again. He was being pulled forward by Long Shen, unable to resist. He watched as countless fragments of mirrors came towards them, only to diverge and create paths as Long Shen passed through. It was as if wherever Long Shen went, the sinister entities and inner demons automatically made way for him. From this, Li Ying gained a deeper understanding of this man¡¯s strength. Unaffected by external factors and not swayed by any emotions of weakness, Long Shen¡¯s heart was as firm as a rock. These illusions naturally couldn¡¯t influence him. Coming from a prestigious sect, Li Ying didn¡¯t possess the same strong desire for performance as Zhang Song and Liu Qingbo. His sharpness was naturally restrained, which made him appear stable in the eyes of his elders. However, he couldn¡¯t help but carry the pride of a disciple from a renowned sect. Before joining the Special Administration Bureau, apart from Wu Bingtian¡¯s team, he regarded the other teams as being average. Although Long Shen¡¯s name was already widely known, in Li Ying¡¯s heart, Long Shen was ultimately just one person and couldn¡¯t compare to the profound heritage of renowned sects like Maoshan and Mount Longhu. Yet at this moment, he realized that even the head of Maoshan would speak of Long Shen with solemnity, not because Long Shen was a Director of the Special Management Bureau, holding high status and seniority, but because of Long Shen¡¯s true strength. Whether on the righteous path or among demonic beings, human society and the animal world, fundamentally, there wasn¡¯t much difference. They all sought continuous self-improvement and pursued strength. The strong may not earn respect through their character, but they would make others have no choice but to face them. Suddenly, Li Ying felt fortunate. He was glad that Long Shen was on his side and not an enemy. Otherwise, he wouldn¡¯t have the opportunity to escape now. He would be like Ding Lan, with his soul trapped or even dead without a complete corpse. Thinking of Ding Lan, Li Ying couldn¡¯t help but shudder. In the brief moment that he lost focus, Long Shen had already found the final exit of the mirrored space. The sword light in his hand flew up and shot forward according to his will, finally piercing into a piece of debris containing a pine tree. Li Ying couldn¡¯t figure out why that pine tree was the key to breaking the formation, but Long Shen could see it with just one glance. Wherever the sword light reached, the pine tree vanished with a loud noise, and all the floating fragments of the mirrors also disappeared in an instant. The scenery around them suddenly changed! No more countless repetitions of mirrors, no more confusing reflections and fragments obstructing their vision. They found themselves on an open lawn, not far away from a picturesque lake and mountains, reflecting the blue sky, serene and peaceful. It was an excellent vacation spot. If Long Shen had assumed his previous disguise, he would have been delighted to immediately take out a camera and start framing shots. However, he wasn¡¯t a genuine photography enthusiast. It was just an identity he randomly adopted to infiltrate the Atsuta Shrine. Li Ying became even more nervous. Without Long Shen needing to say anything, he also knew that this couldn¡¯t be the original scene in the Atsuta Shrine. In other words, had they once again entered an illusion? ¡°Boss Long, is this an illusion?¡± he asked in a low voice. Unexpectedly, Long Shen gave him a surprising answer. ¡°No.¡± Before Li Ying could ask further, Long Shen answered his doubt, ¡°This is also real.¡± If this was real, did it mean that they were still within the barrier of the Atsuta Shrine? Or perhaps, they had already left the Atsuta Shrine and arrived in another place? Li Ying noticed that Long Shen¡¯s words were cryptic and could be interpreted in various ways. Just then, the man beside him spoke again. ¡°Don¡¯t forget what I said earlier.¡± Li Ying forced a bitter smile. He suddenly sympathized with Dong Zhi. How high of an understanding did he have to stay by Long Shen¡¯s side without constantly doubting his own intelligence? But he also understood that with his serious injuries and his mind not as clear and sharp as usual, Long Shen wanted him to engage his thinking abilities, ignore his own condition, and avoid falling into a state of unconsciousness due to severe injuries. The fragrant breeze blew on their faces, inducing drowsiness. There seemed to be distant singing, clear and melodious, reminiscent of the way his sister used to sing when she was little, innocent and carefree. In such an environment, it was difficult for anyone to muster their fighting spirit, and Li Ying was no exception. He almost involuntarily relaxed his mind. However, deep within, he suddenly remembered Long Shen¡¯s reminder. True is false, and false is true. This sentence felt as cold as ice on his spiritual platform, forcefully pulling him back from the sleepy warmth. Li Ying pinched the palm of his hand, feeling the stinging sensation and the sticky liquid, instantly alerting him. There was no warm fragrance, no singing. The lake was still a lake, and the grassland was still a grassland. Indeed, it was an endless illusion of reality and falsehood. Li Ying couldn¡¯t help but break out in a cold sweat, unable to imagine the consequences if he had truly fallen asleep just now. Perhaps he would never wake up again. He couldn¡¯t help but look towards Long Shen beside him, hoping to draw some confidence from him. But Long Shen had disappeared. Li Ying¡¯s heart skipped a beat, and he couldn¡¯t help but panic. The feet that were stepping on the grass unknowingly sank downward. Li Ying lowered his head and realized that the grassland had turned into a marsh, with rampant wild grass growing around the lake. He was trapped in the swamp, unable to free himself, and his body slowly sank. In an instant, the water reached his knees. He struggled to move forward, but it only caused his body to sink further. There was nothing around to grab onto or hold onto. Li Ying instinctively reached behind, only to remember that his sword had been taken away during his previous confinement. ¡°Boss Long? Boss Long!¡± He pinched his palm forcefully, closed his eyes, and then opened them again, but before him was still the marsh. His body had sunk up to his chest, and breathing was starting to become difficult. It wouldn¡¯t take long for the swamp to block his breath, cover his eyes, and bury his entire being. Over the course of several decades or centuries, he would slowly dissolve, merging with the swamp. Li Ying felt liquid flowing down his nose and reached out to touch it. His hand was stained with a bloody red color. It was likely caused by the pressure on his original wound in the chest and abdomen. His body was sinking rapidly, and the swamp had already reached his neck. Breathing became increasingly difficult. He couldn¡¯t convince himself that this was an illusion, so he closed his eyes and silently recited the spiritual mantra of Maoshan. After a few sentences, his mood gradually calmed down, and he felt the pressure on his chest lighten. He bit his tongue, spewing out a mouthful of blood, and then opened his eyes. As expected, it was an illusion. Long Shen was still standing beside him, with grass beneath his feet and a lake in front of him. Li Ying¡¯s body weakened, and he was about to collapse. Long Shen reached out and grabbed his arm, looking calm as if he wasn¡¯t surprised that he looked like he had just finished running a five-kilometer race. ¡°How long has it been¡­¡± Li Ying gasped. ¡°Only three seconds,¡± Long Shen replied. Three seconds, but it felt like he had experienced a lifetime. Li Ying forced a bitter smile, relying on Long Shen¡¯s strong support to stand unsteadily, and apologized, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Boss Long. I¡¯m so useless.¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Otowa has set up multiple layers of illusions here. It¡¯s already impressive that you managed to break free in such a short time.¡± Li Ying couldn¡¯t help but ask, ¡°Compared to Dong Zhi?¡± It was inevitable for outstanding peers to have a sense of comparison, and Li Ying was no exception. Suddenly, Long Shen smiled. This smile was like a clear sky after rain, with stars hanging in the vast expanse. Li Ying was momentarily captivated by it. But before he could examine it closely, Long Shen had already regained his usual calmness. ¡°He¡¯s about the same as you. Have confidence in yourself.¡± Li Ying doubted that these were just words of consolation from Long Shen himself. Otherwise, why would he smile so happily when mentioning Dong Zhi? But he didn¡¯t delve further into it. The exhaustion from breaking free of the illusion had drained all the strength from his body. He didn¡¯t have time to ponder further because, the next moment, the calm surface of the lake suddenly trembled violently. Ripples spread out from the center of the lake, growing larger and larger. After a few seconds, a colossal creature burst out of the water, announcing its presence with a roar! At first glance, the body of the monster almost obscured the sky and earth, casting a shadow that blocked the light from Long Shen. When the majority of the monster¡¯s body emerged from the water, Li Ying¡¯s heart couldn¡¯t help but tremble, and his expression changed drastically. It looked like¡ª Eight giant snakes twisted together, with blurred flesh at the junctions, but they were indeed connected as one. Eight ferocious heads swung in the air, and eight tails thrashed the surface of the lake restlessly. Each of their wide-open mouths spewed out a massive poisonous breath, exuding impatience and greed, revealing their arrogant desire to devour everything. Yamata no Orochi? Li Ying couldn¡¯t believe it. Wasn¡¯t this legendary monster from Japan supposed to have been killed long ago? ¡°Is this another illusion?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s real. Be careful!¡± Just as Long Shen finished speaking, a large snake tail was already lashing towards them. Long Shen pulled Li Ying to evade, and the snake tail struck the grassy ground, leaving a scorch mark in an instant. Li Ying could even smell the scent of burnt grass. He was pushed aside by Long Shen, stumbling back a few steps and falling to the ground. Meanwhile, Long Shen leaped up and gestured, summoning a beam of sword light from an unknown source, shooting it towards one of the snake heads. Li Ying understood that his physical condition rendered him unable to fight. It was already good enough if he didn¡¯t become a burden. He quickly found a concealed spot to hide and watch the battle, hoping that the Yamata no Orochi wouldn¡¯t notice him; otherwise, Long Shen would be distracted. CH 143 Li Ying was still confused, but Long Shen knew very well how this Yamata no Orochi appeared. To be precise, it was a fusion of onmyoji techniques with a shikigami using demonic energy. It was easy to imagine that someone like Otowa Yasuhiko, with his abnormal traits already evident when he was still a normal human, would only intensify those anti-human and antisocial tendencies after fully transforming into a demon. It was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. He tirelessly sought to open the abyssal passage to turn the world into purgatory. For Otowa Yasuhiko, who had already become a creature of darkness, he undoubtedly desires the complete arrival of darkness. He not only wanted to rule the world but also wanted to fully connect different dimensions, using abundant demonic energy to enhance his own power and surpass all living beings. Ultimately, it was the consequence of infinitely amplified desires. Therefore, it wasn¡¯t surprising that Otowa Yasuhiko longed for ancient monsters and decided to create a new Yamata no Orochi based on the original one. Long Shen had never seen the legendary Yamata no Orochi, but in his eyes, the power of this monster was incredibly strong, perhaps even stronger than the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain that day. It must have been nurtured carefully by Otowa. A sword light pierced through one of the snake heads, causing the enormous snake head to fall to the ground with a heavy crash, thoroughly enraging the Yamata no Orochi. Its tail lashed towards Long Shen, while the other seven heads lunged at him, completely trapping him. When the stench-filled wind came rushing in, even Li Ying couldn¡¯t escape its impact and couldn¡¯t help feeling nauseous. However, Long Shen remained calm and moved swiftly among the sword light, effortlessly evading the seven heads and eight tails. If Wu Bingtian, who excelled in talismans, were here, he might not be able to handle this colossal beast. But Long Shen, despite having injuries back then, was able to subdue the bone dragon on Changbai Mountain. Now that his injuries had healed, though the Yamata no Orochi appeared terrifying and immensely powerful, when facing Long Shen, it seemed like a worthy opponent. The serene lake surface had long vanished amidst the chaos, with the water flowing backward and monstrous waves surging. The fierce wind swept in, turning the grassy field into a swamp. Li Ying had to tightly grasp the tree trunk beside him to avoid being swept away by the water. He looked up, and the sky around him had unconsciously darkened, with only a hint of blood-red gradually spreading, as if foretelling some ominous sign. Suddenly, a mournful scream came from Long Shen as one of the snake heads seized his body in mid-air. The snake¡¯s fangs closed, and Long Shen¡¯s head and body separated, with his severed limbs falling to the ground. No! Reality is also an illusion, and illusion is also reality. Li Ying silently recited these words, closed his eyes, and opened them again. Sure enough, Long Shen wasn¡¯t dead. He was still locked in battle with Yamata no Orochi, and the sky wasn¡¯t blood-red but a twilight blue. Li Ying took a deep breath. Although he didn¡¯t have to participate in the fight, war had never been far away from him. He still needed to struggle against the constant illusions, until he conquered them. He sat down cross-legged and began practicing the mental techniques of his sect. Long Shen shook himself back to reality. He saw Dong Zhi charging towards him with a sword, but in the blink of an eye, Dong Zhi transformed into a ferocious snake head with menacing fangs, intending to devour him whole! Without changing his expression, Long Shen extended his sword and sliced off another snake head. Indeed, despite their tremendous power, these colossal creatures had obvious weaknesses. Their physical responses were much slower than their minds. However, the illusions created by demonic qi were constantly influencing him, or rather, this entire environment was a product of illusion. Only Yamata no Orochi was real. In reality, they were still trapped in a mirrored space; but now they had entered a deeper level of reflection than before. Long Shen had been searching for a way to break the illusion, and now he had finally found it. The solution was to kill Yamata no Orochi! A faint purple radiance emanated from the white light as Long Shen stood amidst the sword¡¯s radiance, his body nearly ethereal. The Yamata no Orochi roared and lunged at him with its fangs and claws, but it missed. The next moment, Long Shen appeared behind it, and his sword struck down, severing one of the snake heads. Blood spurted out, splattering his body. In Long Shen¡¯s eyes, it was Dong Zhi¡¯s head that he had personally cut off. The head flew into the air, frozen in the moment of utmost terror. Long Shen¡¯s hand trembled slightly as a sudden, intense pain shot through his back. The snake¡¯s tail struck his back with tremendous force, enough to crush bones to powder. Only due to Long Shen¡¯s unique constitution did he manage to escape. Seizing the opportunity, he leaped up and unleashed his sword, cutting off two snake tails at once! Everything was an illusion. Long Shen¡¯s rationality reminded him of this fact. However, it didn¡¯t mean that his emotions remained unaffected. He once thought that he wouldn¡¯t be easily swayed by emotions like a true human. But now he realized that it wasn¡¯t that he couldn¡¯t be moved, but rather that he hadn¡¯t encountered that person before or reached that level of attachment. When emotions were deep, even the slightest movement could be seen. Ever since the day he could perceive the spring rain and autumn frost, the day he transformed from a sword into a human form, he had already become a human. And as a human, he had vulnerabilities, loves, and biases. His vulnerability belonged to Dong Zhi, his love belonged to Dong Zhi, and his bias belonged to Dong Zhi. Long Shen¡¯s mind was clear, and the sword in his hand became even more steady. Even if everything he saw when he opened his eyes was Dong Zhi, he no longer wavered or hesitated. With each stroke of his sword, light and shadows danced. The Yamata no Orochi roared and thrashed on the lake surface, as if trying to poke a hole through the sky. The grass was uprooted, and blades swirled in the air. Even though this space was an illusion, it had been destroyed almost completely by Yamata no Orochi. Long Shen realized that the most challenging aspect of dealing with the Yamata no Orochi was not its colossal size and destructive power, but the fact that its snake heads and tails would regenerate after being severed, perpetuating an endless cycle. This battle would never end, so he had to completely destroy it before the snake heads regenerated. ¡°Li Ying!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Li Ying trembled slightly and opened his eyes. Long Shen leaped into the air, landing lightly on the body of the snake. His voice echoed from a distance. ¡°I need your talisman fire to completely burn the wounds where the snake heads were severed, stopping their regeneration. How are you holding up now?¡± ¡°No problem!¡± Li Ying stood up, supporting himself against a tree trunk. He still saw illusions in his eyes, with the snake heads constantly transforming into Chi Banxia. Time and time again, they were cut down by Long Shen. After taking a moment to adjust himself, Li Ying¡¯s mind had become much clearer. As long as he firmly believed that those illusions weren¡¯t real, he wouldn¡¯t hesitate to take action. Long Shen raised his hand, and a sword light swept towards Li Ying. Instinctively, Li Ying reached out his hand and found himself holding a long sword. The sword shone like a clear spring, reflecting his own face. Li Ying saw his own weariness, doubt, and eagerness. He tightened his grip on the hilt, took a deep breath, and exerted force under his feet, rushing towards the snake heads. He pulled out a talisman that he hadn¡¯t used before from his pocket. ¡°Boss Long, I¡¯m here!¡± They were fighting for themselves and for their loved ones. Giving it their all. ¡­¡­ Tang Jing and Yu Buhui followed the trail of Kitaichi Eiko, arriving outside a courtyard. They saw her figure disappear at the entrance of the courtyard. Yu Buhui gave Tang Jing a meaningful look, asking if they should continue pursuing. After a moment of contemplation, Tang Jing nodded slightly and made a hand gesture, indicating that he would go ahead first while Yu Buhui provided support from behind. They entered the courtyard. The sky had completely darkened, and lanterns were lit in the courtyard. Candlelight flickered through the gauze, casting an uncertain glow. There was no electricity here; only the oldest wax candles, scattered like stars fallen to the mortal realm, adding a touch of romance. But Tang Jing had no intention of appreciating the scene. He noticed that Kitaichi Eiko¡¯s aura had completely vanished upon reaching this place, replaced by a faint and elusive sound of a qin coming from the inner room. The music was simple, and the melody disjointed, but each note tugged at Tang Jing¡¯s heart. As if there were some kind of invisible force pulling him, he pushed open the door before him to explore what lay beyond. Tang Jing sneered, not interested in playing along with the other party¡¯s tricks. He waved his hand, and the sliding door automatically pushed open, revealing the person sitting inside the room. The person held a qin and looked up, gazing at Tang Jing. Tang Jing¡¯s footsteps halted, intending to launch an attack, but his movement froze as his expression turned even colder. ¡°Long time no see,¡± the person said with a slight smile. ¡°Tangtang, how have you been?¡± Tang Jing replied coldly, ¡°You¡¯re not him at all.¡± Ming Xian revealed an intriguing expression and raised an eyebrow. ¡°How can you tell?¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°He¡¯s already dead.¡± Ming Xian smiled and said, ¡°As I told you before, a part of my soul was controlled by Otowa. The part that died is indeed dead, but the part that was still alive was resurrected by him. So, I am still me.¡± Tang Jing retorted, ¡°If it were truly him, he wouldn¡¯t want to be alive. He wanted to leave this world cleanly, untainted. Yet, here you are, clinging on, surrendering to Otowa¡¯s will, becoming his tool for murder. You are not Ming Xian at all!¡± His voice grew louder, and with his final words, Tang Jing suddenly made a move. Countless dazzling fragments flew towards Ming Xian like a shower of rain. However, Ming Xian swiftly leaped into the air, breaking through the roof, and descended from above, still holding the qin. The strings of the qin split into five strands and shot towards Tang Jing! Tang Jing reached out and grabbed one of the strands, ignoring the blood that dripped from his palm due to the sharp strings. Using the momentum, he soared into the air. A silk ribbon woven from ice silk wrapped tightly around Ming Xian¡¯s wrist, pulling him close. They faced each other at a close distance, with Tang Jing able to perceive the frequency of Ming Xian¡¯s breath and even see his own reflection in Ming Xian¡¯s eyes. ¡°Ming Xian is already dead. So, you should die too,¡± he said calmly, and with his bloodstained hand, he swiftly reached out and tightened his grip around Ming Xian¡¯s neck. ¡°Your words make me sad.¡± Ming Xian chuckled, and in an instant, he disappeared from Tang Jing¡¯s hold. ¡°I have prepared a sumptuous feast for your arrival. Are you ready to enjoy it?¡± Ming Xian¡¯s voice echoed from all directions, ethereal and dreamlike, both distant and near. The next moment, numerous hands formed by black demonic qi burst out from the ground tiles. The closest strands of demonic qi coiled around Tang Jing¡¯s ankles, gradually climbing up, pinning him to the ground, rendering him unable to move. At that moment, a figure shot out from the side like a beam of light. Wherever this figure passed, all the demonic qi in the courtyard was shattered and dispersed; the tiles cracked and scattered, turning into sharp blades that attacked Tang Jing and Yu Buhui. Back to back, one with a sword and the other with the silk ribbon made from ice silkworms, the two of them protected themselves tightly, allowing no air to pass through. Astonishingly, the shattered fragments were cleansed and rebounded by their qi, shooting back into the room. ¡°You came out too fast. I can handle it!¡± Tang Jing felt a bit speechless. He thought that without fighting together before, they lacked synergy. Even if it was Long Shen or Wu Bingtian, let alone his right-hand and left-hand in the bureau, they could coordinate better. ¡°You were originally my hidden piece, with a greater role to play at a critical moment. But now you¡¯ve been exposed early, like showing our cards to the enemy!¡± Yu Buhui impatiently said, ¡°Stop babbling. You didn¡¯t tell me when to come out, so of course I acted accordingly. What should we do now?¡± Tang Jing replied in an annoyed tone, ¡°Break through the encirclement! What else can we do? You take the left, I¡¯ll take the right. You go ahead, I¡¯ll follow!¡± As soon as the words fell, the two of them flew out simultaneously. Amidst the intertwining light and shadows, a massive airflow swirled around them, causing chaos in the entire courtyard. All the doors and windows in the houses were overturned, and there was no one inside. ¡°He escaped?¡± Yu Buhui nudged Tang Jing with his elbow. ¡°Your ex-lover ran away?¡± If the timing had been different, Tang Jing would have wanted to sew Yu Buhui¡¯s mouth shut. Because right after Yu Buhui finished speaking, they heard Ming Xian¡¯s voice say, ¡°That was just the appetizer. The main course is yet to come.¡± Although Tang Jing confidently claimed that Ming Xian was no longer the same as before, in reality, he himself couldn¡¯t be sure if the person calling him Tangtang, smiling exactly like before, was truly Ming Xian. He understood Ming Xian¡¯s desire for freedom better than anyone else before his death. Ming Xian never wanted to become Otowa¡¯s puppet. The ability for an artifact spirit to take on human form was originally a blessing, but for Ming Xian, it was just the beginning of fate¡¯s mockery. If what Ming Xian said was true and Otowa used the remaining part of his divine soul to resurrect him, it meant that Tang Jing had to kill him once again. Tang Jing closed his eyes, observing the white-clad evil spirits that had appeared from eight directions in the courtyard. Their waist-length black hair revealed a pale, eyeless face with only a mouth, grinning in a terrifying manner. ¡°What are these things?¡± Yu Buhui had never seen this kind of formation before and found it somewhat intriguing. ¡°It¡¯s the Eight-Directional Bhavacakra* Formation,¡± Tang Jing explained. *A symbolic representation of samsara (or cyclic existence). It is found on the outside walls of Tibetan Buddhist temples and monasteries in the Indo-Tibetan region, to help non-Buddhists understand Buddhist teachings. It is used in Indian Buddhism and Tibetan Buddhism. In this context, ¡°bhavacakra¡± wasn¡¯t a Buddhist term but referred to a type of evil spirit in Japan*. Even in death, they clung to their resentments, with boundless grudges that incited them to manipulate and kill for pleasure. However, these eight bhavacakra were undoubtedly refined by Otowa, becoming a fusion of evil spirits and demons, making them even more difficult to deal with. *Clarity: Most likely it¡¯s referring to the Preta (hungry ghost) in the three lower realms depicted in the bhavacakra. They are ghosts that undergo suffering greater than humans, particularly to an extreme level of hunger and thirst. ¡°The most troublesome aspect of this formation is that the Eight-Directional Bhavacakra is interconnected, continuously cycling. It¡¯s not enough to kill just one,¡± Tang Jing explained. Just as Yu Buhui had beheaded one bhavacakra that pounced on him, he heard Tang Jing¡¯s words. Immediately after, he saw that after the white light dissipated, the bhavacakra quickly revived in their original positions. ¡°Why didn¡¯t you say that earlier? How do we break the formation then?¡± Tang Jing said, ¡°We kill them simultaneously!¡± There was no need for further words. With one in front and one behind, the two of them acted simultaneously! Although Tang Jing knew that there were truths and lies in this courtyard, and that appearances could be deceiving beyond the formation, he might not have guessed that Ming Xian was standing just outside the formation, not far from him. As he watched the two break the formation, Ming Xian remained motionless. Beside him, Kitaichi Eiko coldly said, ¡°According to the master¡¯s orders, now is the best time to kill them.¡± Ming Xian calmly responded, ¡°I know what I¡¯m doing.¡± Kitaichi Eiko suddenly stood up, intending to move towards the formation, but Ming Xian had already anticipated her actions and reached out to stop her. The two exchanged several moves in an instant. Kitaichi Eiko¡¯s voice turned icy. ¡°Are you planning to betray the master?¡± Ming Xian grabbed Kitaichi Eiko¡¯s collar, pulling her closer. Their noses almost touched, but the expression on the girl¡¯s doll-like face remained indifferent, devoid of any emotional fluctuations. She had completely lost the most basic human emotions. ¡°Did you kill your master?¡± Kitaichi Eiko remained indifferent. ¡°He died for the master¡¯s great cause. A death he deserved.¡± Ming Xian suddenly burst into laughter. His laughter was filled with sarcasm, disdain for Fujikawa¡¯s worth, and self-mockery. When Kitaichi Eiko awakened, she was no longer the same Kitaichi Eiko as before. She had been possessed by demonic qi, becoming Otowa¡¯s tool for killing. The first thing she did upon waking up was to dig out Fujikawa¡¯s heart, the man who raised her, and devour it to replenish her energy. She was now here to execute Otowa¡¯s command and deal with Tang Jing and Yu Buhui. Compared to her complete transformation, Ming Xian felt like a failed or unfinished product. When life restarted, it brought him not the joy of resurrection, but pain and torment. ¡°I envy you,¡± he whispered softly to Kitaichi Eiko. Otowa used the materials of a counterfeit Gold and Silver Ping Wenqin to repair the real qin. Then, using a portion of his own divine soul that he had held onto, he restored Ming Xian. Naturally, this process involved infusing him with demonic qi, and the existing soul of Ding Lan was used to compensate for any potential defects in the resurrection of Gold and Silver Ping Wenqin. However, even after the resurrection, Ming Xian still didn¡¯t become what Otowa had hoped for¡ªan obedient killing weapon like Kitaichi Eiko. He constantly teetered between good and evil, and his consciousness often became muddled. Just like now, two voices constantly battled within him, sometimes forcing him to set up the formation to lure and kill Tang Jing, while other times compelling him to involuntarily consider leaving a way out for Tang Jing. He couldn¡¯t even determine whether he was still the same Ming Xian or if he had only inherited some of Ming Xian¡¯s emotions and memories, ultimately becoming a completely different person. His hand was already on Kitaichi Eiko¡¯s neck, but it hesitated for a moment, allowing her to break free and push him away forcefully. ¡°Otowa Mingxian, don¡¯t forget your mission,¡± Kitaichi Eiko said coldly. ¡°If you don¡¯t obey, the master will kill you.¡± ¡°I wish he could really kill me. I¡¯m afraid he¡¯ll just use me as an experiment again.¡± Ming Xian laughed and stopped her from entering the formation. ¡°Ming Xian, my child, are you being disobedient again?¡± The voice of Otowa Yasuhiko echoed in Ming Xian¡¯s mind, causing his body to tremble slightly. His eyes were instantly filled with black demonic qi, and his expression became as cold and indifferent as Kitaichi Eiko¡¯s. The demonic qi once again gained the upper hand. Ming Xian¡¯s lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but even he had forgotten what he wanted to say a moment ago. ¡°Enter the formation and kill them,¡± Otowa Yasuhiko commanded. Ming Xian looked at Kitaichi Eiko¡¯s figure, seemingly about to take a step forward, but an invisible force stopped him. He shouldn¡¯t have been like this. Deep in his mind, there seemed to be a consciousness that faintly resisted. But what was he originally like? Numerous scenes flashed before Ming Xian¡¯s eyes, and he couldn¡¯t even distinguish whether they were experiences of his original self, forcefully implanted memories from Otowa, or memories belonging to Ding Lan. His face twisted, splitting into a half-kind and half-evil expression. One half showed the sorrow and pain of a Buddha, while the other half displayed a malicious and fierce sinister smile. ¡°Kill them!¡± Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s voice grew louder, filled with anger. It was like an invisible hand that ruthlessly grabbed his nerves and pulled with force. Involuntarily, Ming Xian moved forward, slowly raising his hand. The silk string suddenly shot towards Tang Jing within the formation. ¡­¡­ Wu Bingtian struggled to move forward in the sea of skeleton and blood. He still had his sword-wielding hand, but the other hand had been mostly devoured, leaving behind an empty sleeve and bloodstains on the remaining half of his arm. The demons, formed by the condensed demonic qi, surrounded him, reaching out hungrily, wanting to devour his flesh and blood. If it weren¡¯t for Wu Bingtian¡¯s protective energy, he would have turned into a pile of bones by now. However, even so, he was becoming increasingly exhausted. His steps grew slower and slower. After all, he was only one person. Although he had swept through the blood sea with his sword energy and used all his talismans, completely clearing the blood sea, he couldn¡¯t find a way to break the barrier within a short time. As a result, the demonic qi had recondensed, enclosing him tightly. It gradually drained Wu Bingtian¡¯s strength and even corroded his arm when his mind was distracted. Determined, Wu Bingtian bit his tongue, causing blood to spray onto the sword. Although it was the blood from his tongue, the tongue was connected to the heart, so it was equivalent to heart¡¯s blood. He wouldn¡¯t easily resort to it unless absolutely necessary. A fleeting red light flashed, and he raised his sword high, leaping into the air. Chanting the nine-character mantra*, the red light fiercely slashed down from above. *It refers to 9 specific Chinese characters or syllables used in incantations. The specific characters are believed to possess special spiritual power and are often recited or written as a form of spiritual protection. The exact characters vary depending on the tradition and practices of the sect. The sword¡¯s energy was chilling as it surged forth, expanding from a single point to a wide area, covering the boundless sea of blood. Under the radiance, the demons wailed, and the evil spirits howled. All the demonic qi and malevolent beings scattered into ashes. But before Wu Bingtian could catch his breath, within the boundless darkness, the demonic qi slowly bred once again. It drifted from the corners, gradually taking shape as slow-walking men and crawling women. Trapped in the suffering of the mortal world, unable to find liberation, they were eternally confined. Their inner demons surged with desires, drowning in fame, wealth, and love. Seeking but not obtaining, obtaining but not satisfying, they ultimately became a mass of unconscious demonic qi, refined by Otowa to revel in torment and erosion, boundless and endless. Wu Bingtian was irritated beyond measure. He also wanted to possess the fierce gaze of a Vajra warrior from the Buddhist tradition and directly subdue the demons from all directions. However, he no longer had the strength. The previous strike had depleted all his energy. In a short period, he couldn¡¯t gather any true qi. He had considered giving it one final desperate try, to see if that strike could completely eradicate these evil beings. Naturally, he lost the gamble. Otowa had somehow turned the barrier into an impervious dead knot, with no breakthrough in sight. The demons murmured incessantly in his ears, various voices lingering without rest. They tried to seize the opportunity, finding any flaws or desires within his heart, magnifying them, and tempting him to fall into the demonic path. Fuck! Wu Bingtian couldn¡¯t help but curse fiercely. Did he not know his own weaknesses? He wanted to hold an official position, ideally for a lifetime. But was that desire or an ideal? The author has something to say: A small theater unrelated to the main text: Wu Bingtian: Being an official is not a desire; it¡¯s an ideal. Song Zhicun: But you want to become a high-ranking official. Wu Bingtian: So it¡¯s a grand ideal. Song Zhicun: ¡­ Kinky Thoughts: The fight between Long Shen and Yamata no Orochi is similar to Hercules and the Hydra. In order to stop the hydra from spawning more heads, Hercules burned the wound after he cut off its head. Are we going to get an HE or a BE for Ming Xian and Tang Jing? CH 144 The sound was annoying beyond frustration. He swept his sword again, but this time its power wasn¡¯t as great. Under the red light, the evil spirits and demons were only pushed back a few steps and quickly closed in again. They were eager to feast on this rare opportunity of a body. Could it be that he would perish here before becoming the head of the bureau? Wu Bingtian felt somewhat unwilling. Exhausted, he leaned on his sword. The sword light could no longer stop the relentless onslaught of the monsters. He was like a glowing, fragrant food, tempting the creatures to devour him even if it meant their own destruction. Another swing of the sword, but this time the sword light was much weaker. The monsters were no longer afraid. The ones in front were just eliminated by the sword energy, and the ones behind came rushing forward with a roar. A black shadow covered his head. Wu Bingtian weakly raised the long sword in his hand. His chest was heaving, his body weary and feeble, yet his heart was beating fast. His mind was in chaos. He closed his eyes, allowing his overwhelming frustration to surge through his heart. He thought to himself that this time he had failed, but even if he became a ghost, he would tear Otowa apart. A wave of heat rushed toward him, but the excruciating pain of being devoured by countless demons didn¡¯t materialize. Through his half-closed eyelids, he could feel the heat and light that could penetrate even the thinnest skin, compelling him to open his eyes. Before him was a bright scene, and all the monsters were vanishing under the light. Two figures approached slowly. At first, they were just blurry silhouettes, but gradually they became clearer, and the person in the lead was tall and familiar. ¡°Long Shen!¡± ¡°Boss Wu!¡± It was Li Ying¡¯s voice. Wu Bingtian had never been so ecstatic before. He sincerely welcomed Long Shen¡¯s arrival. When the two of them were in the Special Administration Bureau, they clashed many times. Just because Long Shen had the appearance of a hermit and seemed detached from worldly matters, it didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t compete with Wu Bingtian. Outsiders often thought that the head of the bureau didn¡¯t do anything, and that Deputy Director Wu had the upper hand. In reality, the Special Administration Bureau operated under a system of checks and balances among the three of them. Wu Bingtian had also been suppressed by Long Shen on numerous occasions. Putting that aside, in terms of assigning tasks to the new recruits this time, the two of them had clashed repeatedly. But that was internal strife, and chaos among their ranks didn¡¯t matter. Now facing a formidable enemy, Wu Bingtian was on the verge of death. When Long Shen suddenly appeared, how could he not be overjoyed? Even someone who had resigned themselves to death wouldn¡¯t resist such a result if they could avoid dying. ¡°How did you get in?¡± Wu Bingtian asked breathlessly. ¡°We killed Yamata no Orochi, tore through the enchantment, and came to your location,¡± Long Shen replied succinctly, with Li Ying appearing behind him. ¡°The legendary Yamata no Orochi?¡± Wu Bingtian was shocked by the words. ¡°Most likely. That demon beast has eight heads and eight tails. To completely kill it, all the heads and tails must be dealt with simultaneously,¡± Li Ying said, his face covered in bloodstains, looking even more disheveled than Wu Bingtian. He didn¡¯t want to recall the fierce battle they had just experienced. In order to simultaneously sever the eight heads of the giant snake, while Long Shen unleashed eight sword lights, Li Ying had to simultaneously summon eight talisman fires to burn the eight fragmented bodies, preventing their regeneration. Normally, Li Ying would grit his teeth and bring forth the eight talisman fires, but at that moment, he was heavily injured to the point where he couldn¡¯t even use a sword. He had to almost spit out his own blood to summon the eight talismans. Due to the light, Wu Bingtian didn¡¯t have the intention to look at Li Ying closely. Otherwise, if he had observed carefully, he would have noticed that Li Ying¡¯s steps were unsteady and his complexion was pale, relying solely on the medicinal pills brought by Long Shen to sustain himself. He had consumed hundreds of thousands, even millions, worth of pills from the black market. Compared to the Shangqing pills Dong Zhi had eaten, they were nothing. ¡°It seems that the enchantments are connected!¡± The two deputy directors met, and upon hearing the account of Long Shen¡¯s experiences, Wu Bingtian immediately drew a conclusion. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here first and then discuss. Do you still have the energy?¡± Long Shen asked. ¡°I lost my arm, but I can use talismans. You can clear the way with your sword, and I¡¯ll cover the rear with talismans,¡± Wu Bingtian said, sheathing his sword on his back and taking out talisman slips from his pocket. ¡°How about Li Ying?¡± Li Ying said ashamedly, ¡°My actions may be slow.¡± After all, he had suffered serious injuries and couldn¡¯t even lift a sword, which would also affect the efficiency of his talisman usage. Wu Bingtian didn¡¯t waste time with unnecessary words and couldn¡¯t spare the effort to comfort him. ¡°Then you stay in the middle and don¡¯t leave our protective circle.¡± Long Shen said, ¡°Otowa is observing us with a mirror. He should know that we have arrived.¡± Wu Bingtian grinned. ¡°I¡¯ve already broken that thing. He can¡¯t monitor us now!¡± Long Shen nodded. Upon hearing these words, he no longer had any concerns. He swung his sword and slashed the countless demonic qi in front of him. In an instant, a myriad of mournful cries echoed from all directions, filled with despair and anguish. There were the cries of children and the pitiful pleas of women, but the three of them remained unaffected, steadily advancing step by step. Wu Bingtian was at the end. His missing arm didn¡¯t limit his movements. With his remaining intact hand, he pulled out talisman slips, chanted incantations, and the papers turned into a large number of armored soldiers that rushed towards the demonic qi. Li Ying stood in the middle, guarding with talismans. Whenever he detected demonic qi approaching, he would burn them with talisman fires. Long Shen cleared the way in front, and with his sword light, he swept through the air, obliterating any trace of demonic qi. After breaking through the mirrored space, rescuing Li Ying, and killing Yamata no Orochi one after another, his grip on the sword remained steady and his gaze unwavering. Even the radiance of his sword and the aura it emitted were unmatched. Li Ying followed closely and realized that he had no idea where Long Shen¡¯s physical limit lay. This man¡¯s strength was truly terrifying. ¡°There¡¯s no use killing them like this. The demonic qi will just circulate endlessly!¡± Wu Bingtian couldn¡¯t help but speak up. ¡°Boss Wu, Boss Long just discovered a gap in the enchantment. We need to go there now!¡± Li Ying explained. Wu Bingtian¡¯s spirits lifted. ¡°Where is it?¡± Long Shen: ¡°Not far.¡± Within this enchantment, time became meaningless. Wu Bingtian didn¡¯t even know if he had been here for an hour or two, a day or two. But he knew that his ¡°not far¡± and Long Shen¡¯s ¡°not far¡± certainly had a significant difference. After walking for a while, Wu Bingtian¡¯s remaining hand started to feel a prickling pain, a sign of extreme exhaustion. Even the efficiency of using talismans had greatly decreased. Wu Bingtian had to speak up. ¡°Boss Long, how much farther?¡± he asked. Long Shen chuckled lightly. The laughter wasn¡¯t loud, but both Wu Bingtian and Li Ying heard it. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect the patience of Boss Wu to be so poor.¡± Li Ying was surprised that Long Shen could speak in such a teasing tone. Wu Bingtian replied indignantly, ¡°You try losing an arm and see. I¡¯ve already exerted every ounce of strength I have!¡± After all, they had been partners for many years. Upon hearing Long Shen¡¯s relaxed tone, Wu Bingtian knew that the exit of the enchantment was not far away. As expected, right after he finished speaking, Long Shen shouted, ¡°Break!¡± The syllable felt substantial as it hammered on the eardrums of the other two. Since Wu Bingtian happened to be speaking at the time, the nauseating sensation from the vibrations was greatly reduced for him. However, Li Ying wasn¡¯t so lucky. His ears buzzed, and the sound directly pierced into his heart, causing him to immediately spew a mouthful of blood. ¡°Open your mouth.¡± Hearing Long Shen¡¯s voice, Li Ying instinctively opened his mouth, and a pill passed through his tongue and into his throat. The burning sensation in his chest instantly subsided. ¡°Oh, this is Boss Long¡¯s private stash!¡± Wu Bingtian keenly observed. Li Ying had originally wanted to ask for the name of the pill, but upon hearing those words, he silently swallowed his question. He put on an innocent and clueless expression, afraid that even if he sold himself, he still wouldn¡¯t be able to repay the debt. Of course, Long Shen didn¡¯t ask him for it either. With that shout, the surroundings were instantly illuminated, and the curtain of darkness fell, replaced by flickering lantern lights and white mist. Li Ying squinted his eyes and examined for a while before realizing that the flickering lights were actually lanterns, and the white mist was formed by humanoid evil spirits. ¡°Boss Long!¡± He turned his head towards the voice and saw Tang Jing, the director of the East China Branch, and Yu Buhui. Everyone had finally reunited. Li Ying was very excited, and he also saw the joy on Wu Bingtian¡¯s face. ¡°How are you all?¡± Wu Bingtian asked as the five of them quickly gathered together. ¡°We¡¯re fine!¡± Tang Jing replied. He then noticed Wu Bingtian¡¯s empty arm, and his voice faltered. ¡°Don¡¯t get distracted. Breaking the enemy is the priority!¡± Long Shen seemed to sense his emotional fluctuations and reminded him in a deep voice. One corner of the Eight-Directional Bhavacakra Formation connected to Wu Bingtian¡¯s enchantment. With the enchantment broken and the Bhavacakra shattered, the power of the formation greatly diminished. Tang Jing and Yu Buhui¡¯s spirits soared, taking the opportunity to make a move and eliminate two Prajna* entities. *Often translated as ¡°wisdom¡±, ¡°intelligence¡±, or ¡°understanding¡±. However, Li Ying could no longer hold on. He stumbled and fell forward, but Long Shen¡¯s keen eyes and quick hands grabbed him and gently sat him down on the ground. ¡°He¡¯s dying,¡± Wu Bingtian said as he glanced at Li Ying. No one considered Li Ying weak. In the situation where Ding Lan had already died, his ability to hold on until reinforcements arrived was no easy feat. Although there was the reason that Otowa Yasuhiko wanted to use him as bait, even if it were someone else, they probably wouldn¡¯t have been able to fight their way out alongside Long Shen and Wu Bingtian. ¡°Don¡¯t move, close your eyes and rest. We¡¯ll handle things here,¡± Tang Jing quickly said. Li Ying sat down cross-legged, nodding weakly. At that moment, three white tigers leaped into the scene, roaring and pouncing towards everyone. Tang Jing caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye and noticed a slender figure. ¡°It looks like Eiko Kitaichi!¡± Wu Bingtian was shocked. ¡°Didn¡¯t she suffer severe injuries and fall into a coma?¡± Tang Jing sneered and briefly explained the situation. ¡°Fujikawa brought his apprentice back to life with demonic qi, but Eiko Kitaichi ended up killing him.¡± Anyone who saw Fujikawa¡¯s fate would understand that they had brought it upon themselves. It remained unknown whether Fujikawa would regret his attempt to profit from others*. *Plotting to skin a tiger (Ó뻢ıƤ) Metaphor referring to when someone tries to take advantage of a powerful or dangerous person or entity, often with the intention of benefiting from their resources or influence. No onmyoji could summon more than two shikigami at the same time, but Eiko Kitaichi could. The reason she was hailed as the genius girl of their generation was precisely because of her outstanding performance in onmyoji techniques. However, she had now become a puppet of Otowa Yasuhiko, a beautiful girl devoid of expression, manipulating three shikigami to coordinate with the Bhavacakra Formation, intending to trap Long Shen and the others inside. Just as everyone was fully focused on breaking the formation, Tang Jing heard a familiar voice say, ¡°Follow me!¡± The figure of Ming Xian then leaped into the formation, his expression anxious, urging Tang Jing and the others. ¡°I know the flaws in the formation, follow me!¡± Tang Jing¡¯s heart trembled, filled with uncertainty. He reached out to grab him, and Ming Xian made no resistance, allowing Tang Jing to tightly grip his arm, though he only furrowed his brows slightly. ¡°Otowa injected demonic qi into my body, but I still retain a part of my original consciousness. However, I don¡¯t know how long I can hold on. Quickly follow me out before I completely lose my sanity.¡± Tang Jing subconsciously took a few steps with him before remembering to turn his head and look at the others. It was during these short steps that he suddenly realized the special place Ming Xian held in his heart. The once carefree and worldly Tang Jing, who dismissed everything in the world, found an exception in Ming Xian. He was a thorn in Tang Jing¡¯s heart. This thorn wasn¡¯t lethal, but it pricked his flesh constantly, causing him pain. When Tang Jing turned his head, Long Shen furrowed his brows slightly, giving him a glance without saying anything. With the situation urgent, Yu Buhui didn¡¯t have time to think much. Seeing Tang Jing following the other person, he quickly followed suit. Sure enough, Ming Xian was well-versed in the formation. He led them towards one of the rooms in the courtyard. It seemed ordinary, but the Prajna Entities and shikigami did not catch up with them. They seemed to encounter an invisible enchantment and became stagnant in a certain place, only roaring and glaring at them with resentment. The courtyard seemed small, but they had been walking for quite a while. Li Ying was starting to struggle, so Yu Buhui directly carried him on his back. Wu Bingtian, despite missing an arm, seemed to be in good spirits and didn¡¯t need assistance from others. ¡°Wait,¡± Long Shen suddenly spoke up. Naturally, everyone stopped in their tracks. Ming Xian suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood, splattering it onto the lantern he was holding, causing the candlelight to dim slightly. ¡°Ming Xian!¡± Tang Jing exclaimed in shock, just managing to support his weakened body. In the flickering light, he suddenly saw a faint smile on Ming Xian¡¯s blood-stained lips. ¡°Ming¡­¡± The next moment, Tang Jing felt a sharp pain in his chest. He lowered his head and saw Ming Xian¡¯s hand inserted into his body; his fingers were covered in blood. Drops of blood fell to the ground, mixing and intertwining with the blood that Ming Xian had sprayed earlier. It was unclear whose blood was whose. The incident happened in the blink of an eye. By the time Wu Bingtian and Yu Buhui realized something was wrong and tried to intervene, Ming Xian¡¯s figure had already disappeared from the spot, reappearing several meters away, still holding half of Tang Jing¡¯s heart. With half a heart, could a person still survive? Tang Jing didn¡¯t know. At that moment, he thought that, as a spirit that had taken human form, perhaps he could indeed survive. The cries of his other companions echoed in his ears, but those voices gradually grew distant from Tang Jing. He didn¡¯t even know that he had fallen to the ground, only feeling a sharp pain in his chest, accompanied by a faint chill, as if a body that had just been heated was submerged in icy water during the harsh winter months. I¡¯ve really messed up this time. All those lighthearted thoughts have gone to the dogs. Tang Jing self-mockingly thought. Until a finger touched his brow. Tang Jing regained some clarity and opened his eyes to see Long Shen in front of him. ¡°I¡¯m fine¡­¡± Tang Jing tried to speak but coughed up more blood. He struggled to prop himself up. ¡°All the enchantments are connected. Otowa deliberately lured us here for an ambush.¡± No further explanation was needed. Everyone understood. Otowa had never shown himself, using Li Ying as bait to make Ming Xian appear. It was all part of a bigger trap to eliminate them all at once. As soon as those words were spoken, a tremendous upheaval occurred all around them. The ground cracked, and the sky turned a fiery red. Lightning flashed and thunder roared within the clouds. The floor tiles rose into the air, swirling like a vortex in the center of a hurricane. Suddenly, everything came to a halt, and sharp edges flew toward them. Ming Xian, who had been watching them from a distance, gradually became blurred. ¡°That¡¯s the exit!¡± Wu Bingtian shouted. ¡°Yu Buhui, take them out!¡± Long Shen left those words behind and leaped into the air. His speed was astonishing, merging with the sword light in mid-air. Li Ying couldn¡¯t even see what he had done before the fragments of bricks and stones suddenly stopped and converged into a tidal wave rushing towards Ming Xian. A path was opened! ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Yu Buhui carried Li Ying in his left hand and held onto Tang Jing with his right hand. They followed behind Long Shen, with Wu Bingtian in front. Ming Xian narrowed his eyes, seemingly surprised that his plan to capture them all had been disrupted by Long Shen. He waved his hand, and Eiko Kitaichi leaped from behind, accompanied by the Prajna Entities and shikigami, pouncing towards Tang Jing and Li Ying, who were the most severely injured among the group. No matter how powerful Yu Buhui was, he couldn¡¯t attend to both of them. Li Ying felt a chilling sensation coming from the back of his head. It was dense and bone-piercing, freezing his neck and preventing him from turning to look. His body felt incredibly heavy, and he couldn¡¯t lift his limbs. Li Ying knew that it was the pressure emitted by the approaching demon. Under normal circumstances, he wouldn¡¯t be affected, but now he could only become a burden to everyone. Just as he was about to grit his teeth and let Yu Buhui give up on him, Tang Jing¡¯s movements were faster than anyone else¡¯s. He swiftly turned and moved towards the back. As his palm flipped, a dazzling radiance poured out from between his fingers, freezing both the Prajna Entities and shikigami in their tracks. They howled and disintegrated into ashes. Tang Jing spat out a mouthful of blood. Li Ying glanced at it, only to see a faint golden hue. He couldn¡¯t help but be startled. Tang Jing had already collapsed. Li Ying didn¡¯t know what the radiant light Tang Jing had used to kill the enemies was, but Ming Xian saw it clearly. The ancient mirror was capable of warding off evil, and it was Tang Jing¡¯s true body¡¯s mirror light. He had pushed Tang Jing to the point of severe injuries and powerlessness, forcing him to reveal his true form as a last resort. Only Eiko Kitaichi was unaffected by Tang Jing¡¯s radiant light. After a brief pause, she flew towards Li Ying, who was defenseless. Yu Buhui acted swiftly, blocking Eiko Kitaichi¡¯s path and engaging her in a fight within the vortex. ¡°Take them out first!¡± Yu Buhui shouted. Wu Bingtian heard the command, but he only had one hand. He gritted his teeth and carried Tang Jing on his back, while his hand grabbed Li Ying and led them out. However, Ming Xian was waiting for them outside. Ming Xian smiled slightly at Wu Bingtian and said, ¡°Director Wu, you look so tired.¡± Upon closer inspection, his smile only covered half of his face, while the other side remained cold and expressionless. In the dim light, his eyes seemed to be red. Wu Bingtian¡¯s hair stood on end from his smile. Even though Wu Bingtian believed he could deal with Ming Xian, he wasn¡¯t confident that he could handle both Ming Xian and protect Li Ying and Tang Jing at the same time. However, Ming Xian didn¡¯t give him much time to think. As soon as the words were spoken, Ming Xian made his move. Meanwhile, Long Shen remained alone in the formation. After clearing the path for the others, he didn¡¯t rush to leave. He descended from the sky and thrust his sword into the broken ground where the tiles had been destroyed. With a loud explosion, a massive shockwave spread outwards from the connection between the sword and the ground. Regardless of friend or foe, everyone was involuntarily flipped over and thrown out, except for Long Shen, who firmly held onto the sword handle without wavering. Eiko Kitaichi and Ming Xian were impacted by the sound waves, crashing into the pillars and then falling to the ground. The others didn¡¯t fare much better. Yu Buhui stabilized himself by plunging his sword into the ground, reaching out to grab Li Ying, preventing him from becoming a flying brick. However, Tang Jing wasn¡¯t as fortunate. He was also lifted into the air and slammed forcefully into a wall. The impact reverberated through his internal organs, and the intense pain in his chest and abdomen made him realize that his injuries had worsened. Tang Jing smiled wryly. Seeing Ming Xian reaching for the back of Li Ying¡¯s head, he could only muster the strength to stand up and intervene. A powerful radiance erupted from the connection between the sword and the ground. It was the starting point of all enchantments and the end of all entanglements. Long Shen¡¯s target had always been Otowa Yasuhiko! The hurricane caused by the burst of light destroyed the entire courtyard. All the dark creatures were exposed under the intense light, howling and screaming as they scattered in all directions. However, they were eventually swept up by the incoming hurricane, torn to pieces, and completely obliterated. Eiko Kitaichi struck Yu Buhui¡¯s shoulder with her palm, and the demonic qi immediately corroded his flesh, revealing a charred wound. Yu Buhui winced in pain, but he retaliated by kicking Eiko Kitaichi, sending her flying backward. At that moment, Eiko Kitaichi was engulfed by the hurricane and drowned in the brilliant light. Yu Buhui quickly realized that the entire space was being torn apart by the intense light. Starting from Long Shen¡¯s feet, a deep rift extended rapidly, like a gigantic invisible hand tearing the cracks open. ¡°The Seven-Star Longyuan Sword is indeed well-deserved of its reputation!¡± At the end of the rift, a figure appeared within everyone¡¯s sight. The person was short and hunched, gradually approaching amidst the intense light. He was dressed in traditional Japanese clothing, bearing all the characteristics of an old-fashioned Japanese individual. With deep facial lines and a stern countenance, he didn¡¯t stand out among the crowd. However, at this moment, all eyes were focused on him. Otowa Yasuhiko, who had been hiding behind the scenes, finally revealed his true form. With an undisguised gaze of admiration and greed, he carefully scrutinized Long Shen from head to toe. ¡°My spiritual companion, there¡¯s no one with your heroic bearing and pride. Director Long, can you tell me the secret of your tremendous power?¡± Otowa Yasuhiko didn¡¯t look at anyone else; his gaze was firmly fixed on Long Shen, seemingly unable to look away. Long Shen ignored his question and coldly asked, ¡°Where is Ding Lan¡¯s soul?¡± ¡°The Seven-Star Longyuan Sword should possess such magnificence!¡± Otowa Yasuhiko exclaimed in admiration. However, his brows furrowed soon after. ¡°The aura emanating from Director Long is something I have never seen in Ming Xian. In my presence, he can only behave like a dog, obediently bowing his head. I¡¯ve wondered countless times which link went wrong, causing him to not only lack the charisma of Director Long but also repeatedly betray me.¡± Upon hearing these words, Tang Jing couldn¡¯t help but let out a sarcastic laugh. CH 145 In the depths of Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s character, there was a nearly obsessive admiration for strength. The reason he fell into madness was also because of his yearning and pursuit of great power. Long Shen¡¯s immense power was the embodiment of his ideal spiritual weapon. In his eyes, Long Shen was like a perfect work of art. He longed to hold it in his arms, to admire and play with it every day. That was why he painstakingly created such a vast enchantment, intending to trap them inside. However, he didn¡¯t expect Long Shen¡¯s power to completely exceed his expectations. The opponent not only severed his surveillance, but also broke through all the barriers and reunited with their companions, forcing him to reveal himself in the end. Of course, this betrayal also involved Ming Xian. Otowa Yasuhiko glanced sinisterly at Ming Xian and waved his hand. Ming Xian was thrown out like a puppet with its strings cut, forcefully crashing into the wall. The impact was so strong that even the wall showed a crack. Tang Jing clenched his fist but didn¡¯t make a move. Just now, Ming Xian suddenly appeared and volunteered to lead the way, with everyone following behind him. However, when he passed by Long Shen, he suddenly paused for a moment¡ªjust a short second¡ªwithout doing anything. Later, when Ming Xian was leading the way, he paused again at a certain point, which was exactly where Long Shen believed the key point of the barrier was. Long Shen knew that Ming Xian was giving him a hint, but he didn¡¯t know if this was another deliberate loophole shown by the opponent under Otowa¡¯s control. When his speculation coincided with the other¡¯s hint, Long Shen decided to take a gamble. And he made the right bet. At the moment Otowa Yasuhiko appeared, he suddenly understood. The so-called exit didn¡¯t exist anywhere within this barrier. The only connection the key point had was with Otowa Yasuhiko. Otowa was the key to all the barriers. In other words, only by killing him could everything be completely ended. This aligned perfectly with Long Shen¡¯s intentions. They traveled a long way to come here, not only to save people but, more importantly, for Ding Lan, Dong Jilan, and the countless innocent souls who died in the war, for those heroic spirits who still couldn¡¯t find peace. They aimed to reclaim the blood debt from decades ago. Whether it was Otowa Yasuhiko or Asaka Yasuhiko, they must die! If the laws of the world were no longer able to pass judgment, then let him take action! The brilliance of the sword intensified, as if echoing its master¡¯s mood. The sword in Long Shen¡¯s hand buzzed loudly, the movement and noise growing stronger and uncontrollable. It seemed eager to be released and thirsted for the enemy¡¯s blood. Long Shen¡¯s figure suddenly vanished in place, and the next second, he appeared less than three meters away from Otowa Yasuhiko, with his sword slashing down fiercely! Otowa Yasuhiko suddenly retreated. His body was ethereal and elusive, appearing and disappearing in the sword light. The sword strike from Long Shen was incredibly powerful, causing a huge wave of energy that even Wu Bingtian and others felt the killing intent rushing towards them. They had to defend themselves with their swords, but surprisingly, Otowa remained unaffected. His figure almost transformed into a black demonic qi, within which faint white mist was intertwined. Li Ying focused his gaze and noticed that Otowa also held a weapon in his hand. The sword¡¯s blade resembled a cattail leaf, with a white and golden hilt and a slightly raised tip, appearing strange and peculiar, resembling both a sword and a knife. ¡°Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi.¡± He heard Wu Bingtian say beside him. ¡°Long Shen, I have been waiting for this moment for a long time. Today, I want to see if the Longyuan Sword is stronger than my Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi!¡± Otowa laughed loudly, and his demonic qi suddenly rose several feet high, carrying a fierce sword qi, rushing towards Long Shen like an overwhelming force. The lanterns seemed to be nearby, but in reality, they were outside the barrier. Even though there was flying sand and rolling rocks inside, and a fierce wind blowing, everyone was affected by the tremendous commotion caused by the duel between the two, continuously retreating until they had no choice but to press against the base of the wall. However, the lanterns continued to flicker and sway, completely unaffected. But the faint dim candlelight was unable to allow everyone to see the battle clearly. Otowa¡¯s demonic qi and Long Shen¡¯s sword light intertwined, forming a massive vortex of airflow around them, roaring and howling, turning the heavens and earth upside down. If it weren¡¯t for the restrictions of the barrier, Li Ying had no doubt that the Atsuta Shrine would already be reduced to ruins. He didn¡¯t care about the existence of the Atsuta Shrine; he cared about whether Long Shen could win this battle. Enduring and enduring, Li Ying couldn¡¯t help but say softly, ¡°Boss Wu¡­¡± Wu Bingtian seemed to sense his state of mind and said, ¡°Long Shen possesses the body of a half-immortal. No need to worry.¡± Li Ying was momentarily stunned. In the era of rampant materialism, the chance to become an immortal was rare and unattainable. Even the body of an immortal wasn¡¯t something an ordinary person could easily covet. Li Ying recalled the anecdotes he had heard from his senior mentors and looked at Long Shen with a gaze that carried a few traces of reverential fervor. Kitaichi Eiko slowly climbed up from the ground. She had lost her own consciousness and awareness, so naturally, she wouldn¡¯t attempt to escape. Her mind was filled only with Otowa¡¯s commands. And Otowa commanded her to kill everyone present. She staggered toward the heavily injured Tang Jing, who had fallen to the ground. Tang Jing was severely wounded. Since the day his spirit took on human form, he had acquired a flesh and blood body. Although he had stronger vitality than ordinary humans due to his original form, that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t die easily. But not dying easily didn¡¯t mean he wouldn¡¯t die. Kitaichi Eiko was getting closer to him. Yu Buhui and the others were on the other side of the barrier, with the battlefield in between, and distant water couldn¡¯t extinguish the nearby fire. Given Tang Jing¡¯s current condition, he didn¡¯t even need Kitaichi Eiko to make a move. Just an ordinary person with a dagger could inflict a fatal injury on him. Tang Jing didn¡¯t move. He was simply too tired. In his thousand years as an adult, he had seen the most splendid scenery, heard the most beautiful melodies, made friends with the most generous and open-minded people. He had lived in a tent at the border of a desert and a forest, built a cottage on the summit of a snowy mountain to admire the moon. He had ventured into the most dangerous and mysterious underwater caves and soared with the Kunpeng* in the sky. *Species of mythical magical beasts in Chinese mythology that¡¯s a hybrid between a bird and fish. Peng is a giant bird that transformed from a Kun, a giant fish. The one thing he had never experienced was falling in love with someone. But that was before he met Ming Xian. Once upon a time, he had met a shy and cheerful young man on an airplane. Pointing to the book he had casually bought to pass the time; he claimed it was his own work. Ming Xian, without any embarrassment, instead felt an instant connection and exchanged contact information. Others might find it hard to imagine that even spirits had their worldly escapades, but Tang Jing was one of them. Perhaps his background destined him to embody the romantic and bold spirit of the Tang Dynasty, an era long lost in the river of history, but always alive in Tang Jing¡¯s heart. He fell in love with Ming Xian like a raging fire sweeping over him. This relationship enriched his life but also left a scar in his heart that had yet to heal. He still maintained his carefree attitude, his love for laughter. No one felt that his brief affair with Ming Xian had any impact on him, but only Tang Jing himself knew that he could never go back to how things were before. Because someone once said to him, ¡°If there¡¯s a next life, I hope we can meet again with a beautiful start, hoping that we can be pure and untainted, without a speck of dirt.¡± Every time Tang Jing remembered that sentence, it pierced his heart with pain. In countless midnight dreams, he would dream that he was still on that airplane, and Ming Xian would point to the novel placed beside him and ask, ¡°I wrote that. Do you want me to sign it for you?¡± Then, countless times, Tang Jing would eagerly tell him the ins and outs of everything, revealing that he knew Ming Xian¡¯s true identity, hoping that Ming Xian would stop in his tracks and start everything anew. But the dream always ended with Ming Xian suddenly changing his expression and attacking him, or Ming Xian disappearing, leaving Tang Jing abruptly waking up. It wasn¡¯t until then that he understood that beauty and youth could never stay, and moments and scenes he wanted to preserve could never be retained in this mortal realm. Tang Jing¡¯s fingers twitched slightly. He could sense Kitaichi Eiko approaching from behind, but he no longer had the strength to turn around, stand up, and fight back. However, it wasn¡¯t an expected attack. Instead, the sound of Kitaichi Eiko¡¯s scream reached his ears. Tang Jing¡¯s heart trembled. Summoning all his strength, he managed to turn his head slightly and indeed saw a familiar figure just within reach, as close as stretching out his hand. Tang Jing grabbed the person¡¯s hand. Ming Xian made no resistance, allowing him to hold on, and his body fell down, with blood spilling onto Tang Jing¡¯s hand. Tang Jing trembled, never releasing his grip on the hand. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that I¡¯ll kill you?¡± Ming Xian smiled. Tang Jing calmly replied, ¡°You can go ahead and kill me.¡± Ming Xian reached out, but instead of killing Tang Jing, he covered his mouth and spat out a glowing bead. ¡°This is Ding Lan¡¯s residual soul.¡± Tang Jing¡¯s expression changed. Ming Xian coughed a few times, his voice hoarse and weak, as if he had exerted all his effort to speak from his throat. ¡°When Otowa was refining Ding Lan¡¯s soul, I couldn¡¯t stop him. But I did my best not to absorb the power of his soul, leaving behind this trace, insufficient to resurrect him. However¡­ it can be considered as a remembrance for you, so that you can help him transcend. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Upon hearing those last words, Tang Jing finally couldn¡¯t hold back, and tears streamed down his face. He carefully took Ding Lan¡¯s residual soul and placed it in his embrace. ¡°Go ahead and kill me,¡± Ming Xian said. Tang Jing responded without hesitation, ¡°No!¡± ¡°Kill me,¡± Ming Xian smiled, his face partly calm, partly ferocious. As he firmly held Tang Jing¡¯s hand, warmth emanated from their grip. However, on the other side of his body, Ming Xian¡¯s hand had turned dark and purplish. Threads of demonic qi flowed from his fingertips, and he had to desperately cling to the ground to prevent himself from losing control. ¡°At first, Otowa wanted a pure spirit, so he only placed a restriction inside me. But the second time he resurrected me, due to my severe injuries and depleted energy, he infused me with demonic qi. I will eventually become like Kitaichi Eiko. If you don¡¯t kill me now, I fear I won¡¯t be able to control myself.¡± Suddenly, Tang Jing spoke, ¡°If I kill you and destroy the demonic qi inside you, will you still survive?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± Profound exhaustion emerged from Ming Xian¡¯s brow, and his voice gradually grew faint. Tang Jing tightened his grip on his hand, feeling the other person¡¯s temperature growing colder, as if he was holding onto ice. ¡°Can you take me home?¡± ¡°Okay.¡± Tang Jing¡¯s throat choked, and he forced himself to remain calm. A half-smile crept up from the corner of Ming Xian¡¯s mouth, while the other half of his face grew increasingly fierce. ¡°Do it¡­ quickly,¡± he said. Tang Jing closed his eyes, no longer hesitating. Suddenly, he made his move, grabbing the other person¡¯s neck. The force grew stronger and stronger. Ming Xian instinctively struggled, but his remaining consciousness held him back. As Tang Jing¡¯s grip tightened gradually, Ming Xian¡¯s face turned purple, and his breath grew weaker. The other half of his body twitched as if trying to resist but was quickly subdued by Tang Jing. Eventually, Ming Xian¡¯s breathing stopped completely, and the dark aura refused to stay in the body, swiftly dissipating towards Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s direction. Tang Jing reached out, grabbing and squeezing it, enveloping the dark aura with a white light, completely dissipating it. As Ming Xian lay on the ground, his form gradually became transparent, eventually transforming into a three-foot-long ancient qin. The strings were all broken, the body of the qin was damaged to the point of near fracturing, and the decorative patterns on its surface were completely worn away. This cold and broken ancient qin no longer revealed its original appearance. Even the most skilled restoration expert would consider it severely damaged, beyond repair. However, Tang Jing carefully cradled it in his hands, treating it as if it were a rare treasure. ¡°I will take you home.¡± ¡­¡­ In the midst of a massive cyclone, the battle between Long Shen and Otowa Yasuhiko continued. Otowa truly lived up to being an earth demon who had absorbed demonic qi from the ancient stone box. He was far more difficult to deal with than any enemy Long Shen had encountered before. Otowa¡¯s demonic qi and the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi complemented each other, almost endless in their supply. As long as the sword was present, the demonic qi could regenerate and circulate seamlessly, leaving Long Shen helpless for a moment. The demonic qi from the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi surged, constantly emanating from Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s body, sweeping towards Long Shen. Although it was temporarily blocked by Long Shen¡¯s protective qi, it completely enveloped him, rolling and churning with black demonic qi, obscuring all light. Long Shen looked around with his eyes wide open, as if the heavens and earth were plunged into darkness, unable to see any trace of brightness. However, it remained at this level. Long Shen remained motionless, seemingly unable to find a breakthrough, and Otowa Yasuhiko couldn¡¯t find a flaw in Long Shen¡¯s defenses, unable to make any further progress. ¡°Director Long, I have come up with a brilliant idea.¡± In the unending stalemate, Long Shen suddenly heard the voice of the other person. Otowa Yasuhiko¡¯s tone remained unhurried, but Long Shen narrowed his eyes, catching a subtle hint of aging and hoarseness. It seemed that this confrontation with him wasn¡¯t an easy task for Otowa either. Otowa was cunning and crafty. If there was an opportunity to kill the other person, Long Shen believed that neither of them would hesitate. But now, trapped in a stalemate, both Otowa and himself needed to find a defensive flaw that would shake the other¡¯s concentration, in order to annihilate the enemy in one fell swoop. Knowing that Otowa Yasuhiko was trying to find his weaknesses through words, Long Shen remained silent. But Otowa continued, ¡°Your power is the strongest I¡¯ve ever seen in my life. However, I can tell that you¡¯ve been stagnant for a long time, making no progress at all, right? How about I give you the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi? With its abundant demonic qi, it will help you further advance your cultivation. In this way, the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi can also be fully utilized. What do you think?¡± Surrounded by the demonic qi, Long Shen adjusted his breath. Within his protective qi, Otowa couldn¡¯t easily detect his presence or discern his life or death. However, Otowa didn¡¯t believe that Long Shen had no weaknesses at all. Everyone had desires¡ªsome wished for immortality, some for fame and wealth, some to return to the past, and others to resurrect their deceased loved ones. The variety of desires were endless, and as a former human, Otowa understood this well. Although Long Shen¡¯s true form was a sword, which meant his mentality was more steadfast than an ordinary human, not easily swayed, the previous illusions had revealed to Otowa that Long Shen wasn¡¯t without weaknesses. ¡°Director Long, your disciple is just an ordinary person. He can¡¯t be immortal like you. Sooner or later, he will grow old and may even change his heart. Mortals are always so fragile and unreliable. Only time, when frozen, can preserve everything. Even with your abilities, you cannot retain his years. However, if he possesses demonic qi, everything will be different. You can infuse him with demonic qi, making him, like you, immortal and eternal. Then, you can keep him by your side until the end of time.¡± Otowa thought this idea was perfect. He didn¡¯t actually hate Long Shen and hadn¡¯t thought of killing him. He even admired Long Shen as a perfect weapon spirit. He was just regretful that Long Shen was born in China and had been brainwashed by the Special Administration Bureau or certain individuals, making his thinking rigid. If Long Shen was willing to absorb demonic qi, Otowa wouldn¡¯t hesitate to offer the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. He would be glad to have another comrade. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you done the same for the person you love?¡± Long Shen finally spoke up, his voice transmitting through the layers of protective qi and demonic qi, sounding slightly distorted but unmistakably his voice. Otowa thought he had struck a chord, feeling pleased. ¡°It seems Director Long doesn¡¯t understand me. I have lived for hundreds of years and have never loved anyone, including my parents. They were just vessels that bore me. As for wife and children, they were merely tools for procreation! Only this demonic qi you see always exists, full of vitality. If it were human lifespan, I would have long decayed in the ground. But this demonic qi has given me a second life, allowing me to experience the most wonderful flavors of the world, making my body light and powerful. I should have turned into a demon long ago. I only regret not opening that stone box earlier, so the demonic qi could have entered my body decades earlier!¡± Long Shen calmly stated, ¡°In that case, you would accumulate even more blood debts. Although you haven¡¯t fully repaid them now, I¡¯m not interested in waiting and then having to dismember you.¡± Otowa laughed loudly. ¡°Director Long, I¡¯ve never understood why, even though you¡¯re not human, you would protect their interests more than humans themselves. Have you been brainwashed and turned foolish by them? Don¡¯t forget, you are the Seven-Star Longyuan Sword, born from the hands of Ou Yezi¡ªa divine weapon with countless incarnations. Among them, the Longyuan Sword is undoubtedly the one that Ou Yezi poured the most effort into. There is only one of you in the heavens and the earth, yet you choose to leave behind more powerful forces and instead spend your time on useless matters. I find it pitiful for you!¡± ¡°Humanity believes itself to be the superior species, but human hearts never know contentment. In Nanjing, there was a family that took in a penniless beggar on the verge of starving to death. They fed and clothed the beggar, helped him find work to sustain himself. But that beggar, after the Japanese army entered the city, voluntarily led them and was the first to go to the house of his former benefactors. Even I look down on such an ungrateful wretch. When he was reported to me, I had him killed, and his eyes were gouged out to feed the dogs.¡± At this point, Otowa sneered. ¡°You see, if it weren¡¯t for these wicked desires that abound, the soil for the birth of demonic qi would be gone. Compared to pure demonic qi, it is human hearts that are the most filthy and dirty. Therefore, it is not demons but humans who should be eliminated!¡± Long Shen remained silent. He couldn¡¯t deny Otowa¡¯s words. Human nature was indeed impure. If we talked about ingratitude, when the Tatar soldiers besieged the city hundreds of years ago, Yu Qian stepped forward in the face of danger, saving an entire city and even the fate of a country. Afterward, he was framed by petty people and beheaded. Who had stopped all of that? The history books casually mentioned ¡°the world¡¯s injustice¡±, but how could that compare to what Long Shen had witnessed with his own eyes? ¡°But he has never regretted it,¡± Long Shen suddenly said. ¡°Who?¡± Otowa narrowed his eyes. ¡°Neither have I,¡± Long Shen replied. The light of his sword surged in his hand, breaking through the layers of protective qi and striking the demonic qi, creating a sudden gap! The darkness trembled violently. Otowa Yasuhiko was taken aback, quickly gripping the Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi and thrusting it into the ground. The demonic qi instantly spread from the sword¡¯s edge, billowing in black clouds and raging around, not only enveloping Long Shen but also surrounding Otowa himself, forming a new barrier that blocked the view of Wu Bingtian and the others. A massive explosion rapidly spread from the center of the battlefield. Wu Bingtian acted quickly, using his remaining hand to grab Li Ying by the collar and drag him away. However, both of them were still knocked down by the residual shockwave, and Wu Bingtian was almost crushed to death by Li Ying¡¯s weight. ¡°Get off me! You¡¯re crushing me to death!¡± Li Ying apologized repeatedly, quickly crawling off his superior. Unexpectedly, another wave of explosions followed. Before he could stand up, the force of the shockwave knocked him down again, and Wu Bingtian, with old wounds not yet healed, suffered new injuries. His face turned even bluer. Within the vortex of airflow, Long Shen furrowed his brow slightly, feeling a flicker in his heart as if he had caught hold of a certain thread in the enemy¡¯s plan. ¡°Yasuhiko Asaka, you detest human nature and detest even more the experience of being born as a human. That¡¯s why you destroyed the stone tablet and opened the array, not just because you yearn for the depths of hell, but because you want to completely abandon everything from the past and enter a new world, isn¡¯t that right?¡± The demonic qi around them trembled even more violently because of his words. Long Shen quickly turned around, trying to find a breakthrough amidst the turmoil. ¡°Exactly!¡± Otowa¡¯s angry voice resounded. ¡°Japan could have achieved victory in the war, but because of the weakness and incompetence of those people, the opportunity was delayed, and in the end, the war reached our homeland! We could have dominated the world, but because of those incompetent fools, we became nothing more than a second-rate country, a lapdog to the United States. If they had listened to me, we would have¡­¡± Long Shen coldly interrupted, ¡°We would have perished long ago.¡± Otowa smirked sinisterly and fell silent. But Long Shen could sense that beyond the qi, the demonic qi was overwhelming, rushing in like a tidal wave, roaring and howling, baring its fangs and claws as if it wanted to crush and shatter him before stopping. However, under the tremendous pressure, the enemy¡¯s inner weakness was exposed. Long Shen released his defenses, and the demonic qi immediately took advantage of the opening, infiltrating in wisps and tendrils. Seeing his slight vulnerability, it advanced further, wrapping around his wrist and swiftly spreading from there to his arm, neck, chin, and finally seeping in through his brow. Long Shen closed his eyes. If he didn¡¯t enter the tiger den, how could he catch its cubs? His approach undoubtedly carried significant risks, but if he didn¡¯t do this, he feared he would have to contend with Otowa for a long time. He could wait, but Tang Jing and the others couldn¡¯t afford to wait. In reality, the invasion of the demonic qi wasn¡¯t as painful as he had imagined. He only felt a coolness on his forehead, as if something had started to move within his body, gradually gaining control over his emotions and bringing negative fluctuations. Whether it was influenced by the demonic qi or not, Long Shen suddenly remembered his cultivation on the peak of a snowy mountain many years ago. The swirling snowflakes were no longer the greatest obstacle. The more difficult part was the endless gusts of wind that felt like knives against his face. If the wind carried snowflakes, his face should have been numb from the cold, yet he could still perceive the pain. Even though his true form was much more resilient than an ordinary human, that didn¡¯t mean he couldn¡¯t feel pain. The average person couldn¡¯t even stand it for three days, but he stayed there for a whole thirty years. It was an extremely unforgettable experience. In the early stages of his life, his unstable physical body was tempered in the wind and snow, forging an ability that matched his willpower and further strengthening his determination. Now, the demonic qi flowed through his limbs and bones, resembling the edge between persevering and potentially giving up in the past. He had been honed in various ways, yet his spirit became increasingly clear. In the past, what supported him to continue was his perseverance in wanting to undergo a transformation. But now¡­ Now, it was the belief in upholding the righteous path in the mortal world, the life and death of his comrades outside, and the unwavering determination to meet Dong Zhi once again. A faint flame ignited within his consciousness, but in an instant, it blazed fiercely. The demonic qi lets out a howl, hastening its pace, attempting to escape from this soil that prevented its growth. The time is now! Long Shen swiftly took out an object and held it in his palm. It was given to him by Zong Ling before he left the Special Administration Bureau. The Four Symbols Star-Setting Lamp.