Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 85: A Dull Thud

Zhuang Pengdao’s meeting was worlds apart from Jia Xu’s. Fifteen minutes later, the strategy meeting was over.

His thinking was quite close to Fang Xiu’s: the first day was for mapping, prioritizing safety, and don’t get cocky just because you’ve got a bit of ability. As for everything else…everyone here was a seasoned Disaster Resolver. There was no need to belabor the details.

Zhuang Pengdao was quite handsome, had a nice voice, and carried himself with calm composure. Yan Yan’s foxy eyes sparkled as he looked at Zhuang Pengdao, practically starry-eyed. “A real boss. Damn, he’s handsome.”

Fang Xiu, seated on his other side, asked, “Is he famous?”

Yan Yan was surprised. “Very famous. This is only his fifth ritual, and he resolved the previous four all by himself. He’s got four different anomaly skills.”

Guan He: “Huh? But…” Fang Xiu seemed to have five.

He didn’t finish the sentence… Cheng Songyun lightly patted his arm. Guan He quickly caught on and changed the subject: “…But the paper figure never told us any of this.”

“It’s normal you don’t know. When us practitioners meet, we exchange contact info.”

Yan Yan snapped his fingers, releasing a few red sparks. “Even if we’re in different rituals, we can use magic to stay in touch.”

Guan He: “…” He felt like a newbie gamer staring blankly at pro players.

So that’s it… A private strategy forum! No wonder these people became Disaster Resolvers so easily. A living, breathing information gap!

The paper figure had told them the official requirement for Disaster Resolver status was “four successful E resolutions by one team.” Fang Xiu just did such a stellar job that Guan He assumed “one person resolving everything” was normal. Apparently, that was rare.

Looks like Fang Xiu was even stronger than Zhuang Pengdao. As expected of someone “official”!

Fang Xiu didn’t care about power comparisons. “Forget the Huanxi E, but for the Mid-Autumn one, none of the other sacrifices survived. How do you know about it?”

As Fang Xiu moved closer, Yan Yan seemed uncomfortable and instinctively scooted away. “Dian’er got publicly reprimanded by the whole Tower. Every paper figure was gossiping. We just joined in.”

Fang Xiu: “Got it.”

So it was Dian’er being disgraceful. Good. That meant this group didn’t know about the Weishan E or the Fierce Wind E. He didn’t want to draw their attention for now.

While they were chatting, Zhuang Pengdao had already mobilized. With a talisman between two fingers, he gave a casual flick. A blast of protective wind surged up and the other group of people disappeared in an instant.

“Cool as hell!” Yan Yan sighed loudly, his sharp canine teeth peeking out.

Jiao Jiao didn’t react, calmly fixing her hair. “Let’s go too. On foot. We’re broke and phoneless. No bike-share for us.”

Yeah… the gap really was brutal.

Following Zhuang Pengdao’s plan, they were to scout the “ritual terrain”. Fang Xiu’s shorter-legged group was assigned to sample paranormal activity on the streets.

The morning sun was bright as two groups with completely mismatched vibes walked down the street. The Jiao Yan duo looked like they were headed to a cosplay convention while Fang Xiu’s team was dressed more sensibly and drew a lot of stares.

But the Jiao Yan duo was unfazed, clearly used to attention.

Yan Yan sniffed here and there, muttering, “I don’t smell any evil spirits. This place seems pretty normal.”

And on the surface, it really was. The city was bustling, without any obvious weirdness. There was just some faint miasma and wandering spirits hiding in the dark, which vanished under sunlight.

Fang Xiu found some signs indicating this was Youzhao City, in Xin Province. It was a totally ordinary, no-name small city.

Unfortunately, with no phones and no cash, their options were limited.

So they trudged through the morning until noon. Jiao Jiao plopped down on a clean stone step and started doing tarot readings for everyone.

After a while, she frowned at the cards. “This place is soaked in yin energy. With the interference of the E, I’m only getting vague hints.”

“How about this, I’ll look for the most ominous building in town and we’ll go check it out… Oh, do any of you have anything to add?”

She glanced at the four ordinary folks, clearly not expecting much.

Fang Xiu thought for a second. “Cheng Jie, try calling your daughter.”

Yan Yan and Jiao Jiao: “…?”

Fang Xiu shyly explained, “We normal people do things like this. When something feels off, we check in with family.”

Cheng Songyun entered a nearby shop, saying she urgently needed to call her daughter but didn’t have her phone. The owner lent her one without hesitation. But after several attempts, the voice on the line was always: “Sorry, the number you have dialed is not in service. Please check and try again…”

Cheng Songyun frowned. She was certain she had the number right. Something was definitely off about this place.

Fang Xiu followed her into the store and asked, “Boss, where’s the nearest police station? This Auntie’s a bit confused. I should take her there.”

“Oh, sure!” the shopkeeper was relieved and gave clear directions, even drawing a simple map on packing paper.

The Jiao Yan duo: “…???” What kind of weird approach was this?

Fang Xiu: “We normal people solve problems by going to the police.”

Yan Yan wanted to argue but couldn’t find the words. This logic was sound… yet absurd. He wasn’t sure if Fang Xiu was too normal, or not normal at all.

Jiao Jiao smoothed things over. “It’s bright out, so let’s check out the ominous place first. The police station’s closer to our base, so we’ll hit it tonight.”

Fang Xiu blinked and agreed.

He’d offered his plan. The police weren’t going anywhere. Honestly, he was curious how these metaphysical types did things.

……

Ten minutes later, the group stood silently in an alley.

Yan Yan and Jiao Jiao had found a derelict corner without cameras and drawn a manhole-cover-sized magic circle. Jiao Jiao pulled out a bunch of mysterious jars from her LO bag and started burning herbs on the spot.

She was definitely a wild-card practitioner. Her gestures lacked the grace of traditional occultists and resembled a chef playing with spice jars. Gray-blue smoke swirled around the circle, making Guan He cough nonstop.

In the middle of all this, Yan Yan clipped his hair and nails, added a bit of blood, and arranged them around the circle. Then he held up his hands, fingertips lit with red flame, like he was cosplaying a candle.

Given their outfits, the vibe was distinctly… middle-schooler cringe.

Even Bai Shuangying covered his face with a sleeve and turned away; he couldn’t watch such a shoddy ritual.

No wonder Yan Yan idolized Zhuang Pengdao’s magic Fang Xiu thought. Compared to this chaotic “vibe casting”, Zhuang Pengdao’s spells were downright majestic.

At last, Jiao Jiao finished her chant. The flames on Yan Yan’s fingers snuffed out instantly. He gasped and choked on the herbal smoke.

Jiao Jiao stood solemnly, stomped the circle out with her shoe, and declared, “Remember that tall building we saw when we arrived? That’s where the death aura’s thickest.”

“Let’s get lunch and check it out this afternoon.” Still squatting, Yan Yan’s stomach rumbled. “That’s easy for you to say. We’ve got no money. No wild fruit here, either…”

Jiao Jiao looked at him funny. “What are you talking about? There are people everywhere… We’ll just beg for food.”

Yan Yan: “…”

“If it were anything else, sure, but people are always willing to share food,” Jiao Jiao said earnestly.

Fang Xiu sighed, opened his Qiankun pouch, and began pulling out drinks and fruit.

Yan Yan’s eyes lit up, then flickered with pride; he couldn’t beg from a mortal. But when Fang Xiu pulled out a whole roast chicken, that pride vanished. Yan Yan’s fox eyes followed the chicken like glue.

He poked Jiao Jiao. “They have roast chicken.”

“Wow. So dignified.”

“I don’t care. I’m not begging.” He folded his arms.

“Then you eat it. I’ll figure something else out.” Jiao Jiao shrugged.

These two were pretty funny. Half-fox Yan Yan was simple-minded, while human Jiao Jiao was polite but more suspicious.

Fang Xiu understood her, so he didn’t insist. Jiao Jiao’s movements were swift. She elegantly swept out of the alley and came back ten minutes later with a bag of steamed buns.

Cheng Songyun tried to give her some drinks, but she politely declined.

“Thanks, Auntie. If Yan Yan’s eating, I’ll skip it.” She added, “We’ve encountered food curses before. Someone’s gotta stay safe.”

“And someone has to test the local food,” she muttered, clutching a tiny potion bottle.

Thus the gloomy alley became their makeshift dining hall.

Yan Yan, now with two roast chickens, warmed up to Fang Xiu immediately. As he tore into the meat, he exclaimed, “How’d you even think of this? This anomaly skill is genius!”

Guan He perked up. “Right?!”

“If we had this skill, we wouldn’t have suffered so much,” Yan Yan said bitterly. “Our last ritual was in a ruined building. There was nothing but bugs and rats to eat… ugh, even thinking about it hurts.”

Jiao Jiao, munching on a bun, rolled her eyes. “Please. Wild foxes normally eat that stuff.”

Yan Yan: “I said it was painful, not gross! And I’m half human, okay? I only eat cooked rats!”

She ignored him.

She chewed her bun slowly, always ready to down a potion. But by the end of the meal, nothing had gone wrong.

After eating, she chanted another spell, condensed a pouch of water from a plastic bag, and drank it all.

Turns out, lunch was the most thrilling part of the day.

Their investigation into the “death building” that afternoon was a total bust. It wasn’t some creepy apartment or abandoned complex but a completely functional office tower.

The building had stylish décor and was squeaky clean. Dozens of companies occupied the thirty-some floors. The group hiked floor by floor, nearly losing the will to live. And worst of all, not a single suspicious sign from the underground parking to the rooftop.

Still stubborn, they trudged back down the stairs.

Fang Xiu, for the sake of dignity, was being subtly dragged by his ghost companion by the back collar…maintaining the illusion of a “mortal leader”.

He wasn’t vain; he just knew his limits. In a building this tall, he’d walk up on two legs and crawl back down on four.

“My god, sis—are you sure you read that right?” Yan Yan, drenched in sweat, gasped. “I’ve sniffed until my nose is bleeding. Are you sure that ‘death aura’ wasn’t my own impending doom?”

Jiao Jiao’s face was flushed with fatigue. “Keep whining and it will be.”

Fang Xiu looked silently at Bai Shuangying, who frowned slightly. “The aura here is strange. The causality is chaotic. The time isn’t right yet. Wait a little longer.”

Although their spellwork might be clumsy, they clearly had some real skill to have made it this far. Fang Xiu kept pondering as Bai Shuangying carried him down.

Guan He couldn’t hold back and whispered, “Does that foreign stuff really work here?”

Cheng Songyun: “No idea. I just know gods don’t like being crossed…”

Mei Lan glanced quickly at Fang Xiu, then softly said, “Depends on the situation.”

All three looked at her.

Mei Lan bit her lip nervously. “I heard that the rules for both realms are actually pretty similar.”

“The Underworld boundaries follow the living world’s borders. Spirits can’t cross without a reason. Some people even leave the country to escape hauntings.”

“The same goes for spells. Casting magic across borders is seen as provocation, but if the caster and target are in the same country, it’s fine. I think her magic should work…”

Fang Xiu raised his eyebrows. “Thanks. Didn’t know that.”

Just then, they reached the lobby. As they moved to inspect the elevators… Thud. Several screams followed the muffled sound.

“Someone jumped!!”

“Call 120*, hurry!!”

*Emergency number in China, (like 911 in the states).

“Which floor did they jump from?!”

Amid the chaos, Fang Xiu quickly turned around.

Outside the door lay a woman.

In the blood-red sunset, her limbs were broken, and dark red blood spread quickly like a blooming flower.

Her eyes were wide and bloodshot as they stared directly at the lobby, lips curling into a weak smile…

The next moment, the world turned white.

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