Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 38: His Trump Card
After killing the Black Mirage, Guan He finally came to his senses.
Fang Xiu was truly formidable. That terrifying brute, Mazi that was as huge as a tower, was toyed with and killed as if he was nothing. Fang Xiu had only used his concealment, while also letting Guan He deliver the finishing blow. The efficiency was frighteningly high.
As expected of a professional operative from the authorities, he was indeed reliable.
As for what Fang Xiu and Lao Jin had discussed, “the Underworld raising a ghost immortal”, or “those with blood debts chosen as sacrifices”, Guan He didn’t believe a word of it. Lao Jin was a drug dealer who deserved to die, so Fang Xiu was definitely feeding him a line.
Guan He ran to a nearby shop to check the time and returned with excitement. “Fang Ge, it’s not even ten yet. We still have two hours!”
Now their only enemy left was Lao Jin!
With Guan He’s “Five-Ghosts Relocation” skill, he could start by snatching away the demon-revealing mirror. Without Mazi and that mirror, Lao Jin was like a tiger whose claws and teeth had been pulled. With Fang Xiu and Guan He, two young men, how could they not handle a guy around forty or fifty?
They’d already won, Guan He thought.
But Fang Xiu merely let out a breath, rummaging through the blood pool on the ground. “Come on, Xiao Guan, have a snack. You barely ate this morning.”
Guan He: “……”
He decided to rephrase. “Fang Ge, there are only two hours left until a quarter to noon. We still need to rescue everyone and then kill some more evil spirits…”
Fang Xiu: “Why save them?”
Beside him, Bai Shuangying was leisurely molding Mazi’s living soul. The ghost was eyeing the advertising sign at the mouth of the alley, carefully pressing the words “Mid-Autumn Festival” onto his “soul mooncake”.
Under the moonlight, one figure dressed in red, the other in white, huddled together. From head to toe, they exuded a relaxed vibe, giving no sign of wanting to move.
Guan He stared, dumbfounded. “?”
At a time like this, and he still wouldn’t rescue their own people? Why?
Fang Xiu smiled. “Xiao Guan, suppose you’re Lao Jin. Quarter to noon is almost here, and I haven’t shown up yet. What would you do?”
Guan He answered without hesitation. “I’d kill someone.”
The evil spirits that were left were quite strong. Lao Jin couldn’t possibly take them on alone.
“And of the four people in the mirror, whom would you kill first?”
Guan He frowned. “Che… Auntie Cheng…?”
Cheng Songyun was older and shorter, plus she’d been obediently tied up all night. Someone like Lao Jin would definitely pick the weakest.
At that, Guan He suddenly recalled, “But Auntie Cheng has her Resentful Ghost Shield.”
Fang Xiu laughed even more. “Then what?”
“Then…then Lao Jin discovers he can’t break the shield, so he won’t risk wasting any more time. Next, he’ll release Mei Lan…” Guan He continued to reason.
Among the remaining two men and one woman, Lao Jin would know which person was easiest to handle.
“Exactly. Cheng Jie’s shield can protect an extra person, and the shield isn’t affected by spells. Once they’re out of the mirror, they won’t be shoved back in. Then what?”
Guan He shook his head. “…I’m guessing Lao Jin won’t free Blondie and Jia Xu. He’s not that stupid. He wouldn’t release everyone so they could gang up on him.”
“…Then Lao Jin would just wait in place until he triggers the taboo,” Fang Xiu stretched, explaining casually.
“Going one-on-one with an evil spirit or continuing to release people would both be risky. He’ll figure there’s no need to take chances. Worst case, everyone triggers the taboo.”
“Even if everyone’s weak, he’s in better shape physically than Cheng Jie or Mei Lan. If he quickly kills one of them, that’s enough.”
Guan He was stunned. “But Cheng Jie…”
“Yes, Lao Jin doesn’t know that the Resentful Ghost Shield doesn’t rely on Cheng Jie’s own power. It’s sustained by the ghost’s energy. All it requires is for her to remain conscious, and the shield won’t break. She’s got decent willpower. Trust her.”
Guan He fell silent.
So Fang Xiu had sent Cheng Songyun into the mirror specifically to trip Lao Jin up.
He used trickery to separate Lao Jin from Mazi, ensuring their mutual destruction. Even at the cost of using his own companions… This so-called professional from the authorities seemed downright ruthless.
“I don’t have much choice,”
Fang Xiu said at just the right moment. “If we confronted Lao Jin right now, he wouldn’t release anyone, even if it meant triggering the taboo. Someone like him knows perfectly well that once he loses his bargaining chip, he’s as good as dead.”
As for Lao Jin’s “mirror imprisonment” ability, Fang Xiu had consulted Bai Shuangying about it.
But his ghost only stared at him for a while, indicating that the magic setup of an inanimate object was easy to read, but the “underhanded ways of humans” were unpredictable as far as gods or spirits were concerned. Fang Xiu had to let it go.
The more he thought, the more Fang Xiu sighed. “…Lao Jin will say that once he’s dead, anyone inside the mirror is trapped forever, forcing us to protect him. Who knows if that’s true. We can’t risk it.”
Guan He, confused, asked, “But according to your plan, he still won’t release Blondie and Jia Xu, right?”
Fang Xiu sighed more heavily. “If I can, I’ll save at least one person. I’m no bodhisattva. I can’t guarantee universal salvation.”
Guan He: “……”
It was logical enough, but he couldn’t help feeling Fang Xiu had a subtle “it doesn’t matter if those two die” vibe.
…Probably just my imagination, he thought.
While they spoke, Bai Shuangying finished shaping his “mooncake”.
The living soul was pristine white and round, topped with delicate patterns. It looked just like one of the snowy mooncakes sold outside. Bai Shuangying believed the shape really did matter. After fiddling for over ten minutes, he was now even more eager to eat.
He took the mooncake with deliberate care and took a small bite.
Indeed, Mazi, bearing heavier blood debts than Yan Jing or Dashun, tasted even better.
Whereas Dashun was rich and smooth, Mazi’s flavor was intense, a fiery taste that exploded in the mouth, making the ghost crave bite after bite.
The living soul revived his decrepit body a little more. Bai Shuangying felt slightly better, and as a result, even the humans around him seemed more tolerable.
He had to admit, his human was really a pro at picking which souls to harvest.
Sensing his ghost’s gaze, Fang Xiu tilted his head with a playful grin.
“Speaking of which, Half-Mountain hasn’t yet built up full strength, so how’d he manage to get recognized by the E? …Didn’t Shan Hunzi say cultivating an E is harder?”
Old Man Fu cultivated for ten years to become the village head, yet when his efforts collapsed, he went mad with rage. This pedestrian street seemed more modern than that, so it must have been built in the last decade. Half-Mountain’s cultivation time was even shorter, yet he’d already handled the E.
Half-Mountain’s power couldn’t be underestimated. Fang Xiu had no intention of letting his guard down.
Bai Shuangying recalled for a moment.
Oh, Half-Mountain, that almost ghost immortal.
“When an evil spirit cultivates an ‘E’, it also depends on whether they’re ‘in tune’ with it.”
Bai Shuangying, in a good mood from the mooncake, gave a rare explanation. “Once there was a fierce general among humans who died in battle, harboring powerful resentment. He became a vengeful ghost, and his beloved sword became an E.”
“The general had fought countless times with that sword, so they recognized each other on the spot, and he ascended to ghost immortality.”
Fang Xiu understood. Other evil spirits had to cram into a single-log bridge, but that general basically leaped straight into a PhD program.
“So the better the evil spirit ‘understands’ the E’s karma, the more easily it can cultivate it.”
Fang Xiu concluded, “Which means it comes down to compatibility. Most evil spirits have to ‘obey the superficial rules’ because that’s all they can do.”
Lacking compatibility would be like a scammer with a southern accent trying to pass as the grandson of a northern old man. It was essentially nightmare mode.
Some evil spirits remain stuck as the ‘village head’ for ten years, while others jump to ‘immortal’ in under a decade. In this case, rather than human envy, it’s ghost envy*.
*Clarity: This is a play-on of the idiom: comparing one person to another drives you to the brink of death, comparing one piece of merchandise to another make you want to throw it away (人比人得死，货比货得扔). In this case, merchandise is replaced with ghost, so the translation would come out roughly: just like humans, comparison for ghost is just as bad. The idiom refers to not comparing yourself or the things you have with others, since it will often lead to dissatisfaction or discouragement (AKA comparison is the thief of joy).
“Why are you suddenly asking about this?” Bai Shuangying inquired in turn.
“I was thinking if I should catch Half-Mountain for you to eat. But on second thought, maybe not,” Fang Xiu mumbled softly.
Bai Shuangying halted mid-bite. “You’re afraid of it?”
“No, it’s not that.”
Fang Xiu shook his head, looking unusually serious. He leaned on Bai Shuangying’s shoulder, gazing at the moon for quite a while.
“Bai Shuangying, later will you walk through the street with me again, please?”
“Mm.”
……
Quarter to noon.
Lao Jin glared resentfully at the Resentful Ghost Shield. He lay on the ground, gripping the five emperor coins with one hand and the demon-revealing mirror with the other.
At this point, he knew Fang Xiu had tricked him again.
Sure, Fang Xiu might genuinely have been delayed and not made it back, but specifically tossing Cheng Songyun into the mirror was clearly aimed at messing him up…
With time running out, he’d decisively tried to kill Cheng Songyun first. But that blasted shield was impervious. Next, he summoned that young woman, but before she could even react, Cheng Songyun pulled her into the barrier, all in one fluid motion.
He couldn’t break that damn ghost shield!
Eating that loss, Lao Jin had no choice but to stay put, waiting for the taboo to trigger.
It didn’t matter what that shield was. He couldn’t believe those two women would last indefinitely inside. It wasn’t as if they had any food or water. He himself carried a small supply.
Additionally, he had the five emperor coins to hide himself from evil spirits, so as long as he kept calm, he could still win…
Lao Jin forced his breathing to steady, a vicious glint in his eyes.
All these years in cutthroat business, he’d never expected moral integrity. But Fang Xiu was just too baffling.
Fang Xiu had the knowledge of the death taboo while he was holding Fang Xiu’s companions. They could have negotiated peacefully. Yet Fang Xiu insisted on turning on him for seemingly no benefit.
Could it be that kid was simply reckless, bent on stirring the pot for no reason?
“Boss Jin, my god, what happened to you?”
A voice that made Lao Jin’s vision go dark suddenly rang out.
Fang Xiu, red-clad and blood-stained, had arrived belatedly, with no sign of Guan He or Mazi by his side.
Lao Jin lifted his head with difficulty and spat in Fang Xiu’s direction. “What do you think?”
“Beats me. Ah, this mirror looks heavy. Here, I’ll take it.”
Fang Xiu spoke casually as he reached out to pluck the demon-revealing mirror from Lao Jin’s grasp, nearly making Lao Jin choke.
He lifted the mirror, glancing sideways. It still showed no reflection of Fang Xiu.
How was that possible?
How had this person fooled an Underworld prop? If not for the mirror failing to warn him, Lao Jin would never have let himself be manipulated…
“Don’t bother, it won’t work.” Fang Xiu patted Lao Jin’s hand. “When you’re cleaning trash, do you feel ‘hostility’ toward the trash?”
“Garbage is just garbage. All I’m doing is tidying up.”
He spoke with self-evident logic with no hatred, no murderous intent in his tone.
Lao Jin, exhausted, let go of the mirror. This is a so-called “underground Daoist”? A real underground Daoist shouldn’t be this abnormal!
This kid had come up with that cover simply because he knew they were clueless about the metaphysical, thus seizing the advantage.
Recalling how he and Mazi had been played, Lao Jin gnashed his teeth. “You’re not an underground Daoist… You’re really…who…”
Fang Xiu looked at him seriously. “Actually, I’m a hospital janitor.”
Lao Jin was so stifled he literally saw spots. “Fuck…”
He was in taboo-violation mode and stood no chance against Fang Xiu, who was still in top form. Very quickly, Fang Xiu snatched up the little brass mirror, casually tossing it in his hand as if it were a toy.
Lao Jin: “…I…I said…”
“Mm-hmm, you said that even if I get the mirror, I can’t free people,” Fang Xiu responded vaguely. “Next you’ll say that if I kill you, I still won’t undo the spell?”
Lao Jin: “……”
Lao Jin: “…Yes.”
Never had he wanted to kill someone so badly. But with Mazi gone, there was nothing he could do. Seeing Fang Xiu’s hands stained with blood, it was likely Mazi was dead too.
…Now he was completely on his own.
…Next, Fang Xiu would surely torture him, forcing him to release the people from the mirror.
That didn’t matter. It was just torture. He’d spent decades in this underworld life and had seen his share of blood.
Resources here were limited. Fang Xiu couldn’t have many ways to torment him. If he could hold out long enough, Fang Xiu still had to break the E, and once it was done, the Underworld would take them away, even if Lao Jin was on the brink of death.
Lao Jin eyed Fang Xiu coldly as he reached out, assuming the man was about to take him apart. Instead… Fang Xiu patted him down from head to toe, like an airport security check, seizing his solid gold bodhisattva and his gold-plated lighter.
Luckily, Fang Xiu didn’t take the five emperor coins.
Just as Lao Jin was about to rejoice, the little bastard ran his hand over them… and the coins vanished in a shower of glowing motes.
Right after that, Fang Xiu flicked his wrist, and two headless evil spirits materialized in place. They stood there docilely, as if ready to be slaughtered.
Lao Jin: “???” Isn’t that fucking cheating?
“All right, Cheng Jie, come on out and deal with the taboo,” Fang Xiu tapped the Resentful Ghost Shield.
Then he gave Lao Jin a meaningful smile. “You don’t really think I have no way of dealing with this mirror, do you? Taking time to lift the curse is no big deal. I can wait.”
Right… That kid was definitely some kind of practitioner.
Lao Jin swallowed hard, a chill sinking into his heart, as if he heard his last bargaining chip shattering.
No, hold on, he told himself in a panic. Fang Xiu didn’t kill him yet, meaning he still had some use. He just had to hold on…
He wouldn’t release the people in the mirror until the last second.
……
Bai Shuangying couldn’t make sense of Fang Xiu’s next moves.
Not long ago, Cheng Songyun and Mei Lan had been freed from the taboo, and Fang Xiu sent them back to the base. He only told them to eat something and rest, acting as though everything was under control.
Now, here they were again, walking the lively street.
The two walked side by side, neither fast nor slow, blending perfectly into the crowd of faceless people enjoying the night.
Following behind them was a rather puzzled-looking Guan He, who in turn was dragging a much more bewildered Lao Jin. His hands and feet were tied with plastic rope and his mouth was stuffed with a rag, being dragged along like someone’s luggage.
Half-Mountain still trailed them from a distance, making no move to attack.
Bai Shuangying was too preoccupied to bother chasing Half-Mountain away. He had too many question marks in his mind, and only enough energy left to stroll around.
The street remained as bustling as when they had first arrived. Bright ads flickered on electronic screens. In the gift shop, everything sparkled. Sweet osmanthus scents wafted from a milk tea shop. At the barbecue stand, the young folks clinked glasses, while parents let children ride on their shoulders. The entire street was peaceful, the same as always.
Fang Xiu clung to Bai Shuangying’s sleeve, fireworks reflected in his eyes.
Bai Shuangying could sense a faint reluctance in Fang Xiu. He never let go of the ghost’s sleeve, repeatedly pointing out interesting details, as if this might be their last walk together.
Strange. Fang Xiu looked even more reluctant to leave than Bai Shuangying himself.
“Let’s play a new game.”
After strolling the whole street, Fang Xiu took hold of Lao Jin’s lead rope and turned, smiling at his ghost. “Bai Shuangying, do you know the apple biting game the bride and groom play?”
Bai Shuangying shook his head honestly.
Fang Xiu gestured enthusiastically. “You hang an apple between the bride and groom on a string so they both try to bite it. Then you yank it away.”
Bai Shuangying: “?”
Seeing his ghost not getting it, Fang Xiu said dejectedly, “And then the bride and groom end up kissing, you see.”
Bai Shuangying frowned. “Mouth to mouth—what’s the point?”
From his perspective, a mouth was meant for attacking or eating. Using it for something else seemed quite odd.
That stumped Fang Xiu as well. “I…I guess I don’t really know either. I’ve never tried kissing.”
Yet almost immediately, Fang Xiu’s spirits rebounded. “Anyway, I plan to do a version of that apple-biting game.”
A small matter, not impossible.
So Bai Shuangying leaned in close, then froze. “Do you have an apple?”
At this point, Bai Shuangying bent slightly, hair slipping like water. His pale eyes fixed on Fang Xiu’s lips, their noses nearly touching.
Fang Xiu stammered, his face slowly turning red, like he was about to play the role of the apple himself.
After a few seconds, he jerked his head away. “No, no, not that. It’s not for us to play. I’m going to use Lao Jin as the apple and lure the big evil spirits so they fight each other. Won’t that be fun?”
An appallingly malicious plan, but Fang Xiu made it sound as innocent as a children’s rhyme.
He spoke so rapidly that he bit his tongue at the end.
Bai Shuangying’s attention shifted. “But I don’t want to eat those evil spirits.”
Another quarter to noon had passed, leaving six large evil spirits total. But Bai Shuangying was waiting to taste Lao Jin’s living soul. The others didn’t appeal to him just yet.
Fang Xiu thumped his chest a few times, face still flushed. “We’ve got to wipe out all the evil spirits first. Only then can we go after Half-Mountain.”
Bai Shuangying mulled it over.
Half-Mountain still hadn’t made a move, likely aiming to swoop in at the end or otherwise protect the E. Fang Xiu wanted to clear the field first to avoid interference while confronting Half-Mountain. His caution was praiseworthy.
“So this time you’re planning to kill Half-Mountain before destroying the E,” Bai Shuangying surmised.
Fang Xiu closed his eyes briefly.
“Pretty much,” he said quietly. “Think of it as me gathering my bargaining chips.”
For the first time in a while, Bai Shuangying saw that look of sorrow on Fang Xiu’s face.
The author has something to say:
After all, Lao Jin is basically useless in a fight, so he can only serve as bait.
In this chapter, the fisherman gets fished instead (×
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