Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 102: Unexpected Answer

Fang Xiu turned on the room’s stereo and pulled out a few bags of snacks. Finally, he leaned back against the headboard, taking the posture of someone gearing up to gossip with a friend.

Bai Shuangying didn’t know what “Truth or Dare” was, but the moment he heard it involved asking any question, he quietly moved back to his seat after almost slipping away.

He sat across from Fang Xiu. “…How do we play?”

The dog rolled happily between the two as Fang Xiu stroked its belly. “We take turns asking questions. You must answer truthfully. If you really don’t want to answer, then you have to obey the other person’s command and do a punishment.”

“You? Tell the truth?”

Alarm bells went off in Bai Shuangying’s head.

That word had little to do with Fang Xiu. In just a few short months, he had witnessed plenty of bloody lessons.

Fang Xiu popped a milk candy into his mouth. “I haven’t lied to you much, have I?”

“You were faking sleep just yesterday—”

“I told you before, I’m a light sleeper.” Fang Xiu sounded quite righteous. “Even if I woke up, my body was exhausted, and I had no strength to open my eyes. How is that lying?”

Bai Shuangying was speechless.

Fine. He’d just be careful. This was a great chance to learn about Fang Xiu. Consider it a little exercise in understanding human hearts. There was no real cost anyway.

“You broke the Immortal E, so you’re in the wrong. I get to ask first.” Fang Xiu watched Bai Shuangying’s face as he sucked on his candy with a grin.

“The Shrine of All E’s doesn’t look like just a storage site. The Immortal E suppress evil spirits with terrifying strength. Put them all in one place, and the power’s unimaginable.”

“And yet you broke the Immortal E while I was ‘asleep’. Clearly, the Underworld is collecting them to suppress beings like you, right?”

“Yes.” Bai Shuangying’s fingertips twitched slightly.

Strictly speaking, the shrine wasn’t used to suppress “them” but “him” alone. But answering with a simple “yes” was still the truth.

That too was a trick he’d picked up from Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu’s tongue pushed the candy around in his mouth. His eyes wrapped around his ghost entirely.

Bai Shuangying wasn’t good at twisting the truth.

Usually he spoke the moment he opened his mouth, with a kind of effortless flow. But when he just answered Fang Xiu, he’d paused for a second.

After pretending to sleep for a bit, Fang Xiu realized: his ghost might be more powerful than he’d imagined.

Bai Shuangying wasn’t just “knowledgeable about spiritual artifacts”.

He’d previously guided the Weishan God and the dog spirit to ascension. Then he casually manipulated the karmic bonds of the living souls of Meng Xiaomeng and Zhuang Pengdao. His powers were downright strange, increasingly unlike a “harmless support”.

Add to the pause earlier…

Even if the Shrine was suppressing countless demons, Bai Shuangying must be among the heaviest hitters.

Given his constant curiosity about the place, Fang Xiu guessed that Bai Shuangying hadn’t known much about it until he saw its interior.

But how did Bai Shuangying end up being suppressed to that extent?

Honestly, Fang Xiu couldn’t imagine it.

Bai Shuangying had nothing to do with the word “madness”. Compared to those malevolent evil spirits from stories, he was more like a reckless beast—or a majestic typhoon passing through in a grand display. He gave off a kind of raw force that didn’t involve scheming.

People like that usually suffered small setbacks or made dumb mistakes. Hardly the type to mastermind huge conspiracies.

Before, Fang Xiu hadn’t paid much attention to Bai Shuangying’s origins or strength. Whether he was stone or gold didn’t affect the plan much.

But now, it seemed this ghost of his might be a nuclear bomb wrapped in a gilded shell. That changed things.

Thinking this, Fang Xiu couldn’t help rubbing Bai Shuangying’s sleeve. It was soft.

The sleeve’s owner was still staring at him with full concentration, as serious as ever.

“You can ask me now.” Fang Xiu blinked.

Bai Shuangying asked without hesitation, “When you were alive, did you study metaphysics?”

“Yeah.” Fang Xiu answered easily. “I used to take jobs from vengeful spirits. So I had to learn basic soul knowledge and magical principles.”

“But I really wasn’t a Taoist, and I never practiced magic. I never hid that.”

“I see.” Bai Shuangying looked relieved.

He knew it. Even if Fang Xiu wasn’t some shady Taoist, he was at least halfway in the game.

“My turn now.” Fang Xiu crunched his candy. “Since you were being suppressed, I get why you destroyed the Immortal E. But what do you want from me?”

Bai Shuangying’s gaze shifted slightly, as if debating whether to answer.

Fang Xiu smiled. “If I truly cared about justice, I wouldn’t have left the ritual outcome up to you.”

“If I wanted to turn you in, I could’ve told Dian’er you were the one who broke the Immortal E… Or are you worried I’ll use that to blackmail or manipulate you?”

He leaned in, one hand crossing over the little black dog to rest on Bai Shuangying’s thigh.

“The five rituals are over,” Fang Xiu said softly, his breath carrying a sweet scent from the candy. “You’ve surely seen by now—I could’ve survived just fine without you.”

Bai Shuangying’s eyes flickered with displeasure.

“With you, I reach unexpected, more perfect outcomes.”

Fang Xiu’s voice flowed smoothly. “You’re my surprise, not my tool, Bai Shuangying.”

Bai Shuangying lowered his gaze and looked at Fang Xiu’s reaching hand.

After a moment, he swept his sleeve aside, revealing countless karmic chains.

They slowly slithered along the wall, flickering in and out of sight. Their ends were tightly locked onto Bai Shuangying’s body.

Startled by the sudden burst of chains, the little black dog tumbled off the bed and barked furiously at the shimmering links.

“When I’m with you, the karmic chains break from time to time. My seal loosens.” Bai Shuangying spoke carefully. “I don’t know why yet, but it’s definitely related to you.”

Since Fang Xiu didn’t know deep metaphysics, there was no way he’d understand what even Bai Shuangying couldn’t figure out.

Just as Bai Shuangying was about to change the subject, he noticed Fang Xiu looking at him with a half-smile. He could see some surprise in Fang Xiu’s eyes—but not shock, not confusion.

Fang Xiu extended a finger and lightly passed it through the intangible chains, then slid his fingertip along one like he was playing a harp string.

“I see.” Fang Xiu traced the chain calmly.

Bai Shuangying paused. His pale eyes locked onto Fang Xiu’s.

He quickly switched to a prepared question. “You know the reason?”

Fang Xiu’s fingers suddenly stopped. He thought, wow, my ghost is pretty sharp. Definitely got that fox immortal intuition.

“Sorry, I don’t want to answer. That’s my secret.” Fang Xiu lifted his face and answered without hesitation. “I choose ‘Dare.’ …So, what’s my punishment?”

With a smile in his eyes, he leaned back against the headboard, fingers tapping the soft pillow.

Bai Shuangying realized he’d learned something useful. At the very least, he could now tell when Fang Xiu’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

…How delightful.

…At last, he’d uncovered another layer of the “unfamiliar Fang Xiu”.

At the same time, the gates of the Shrine of All E’s gave a soft shudder.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

The knocking was measured this time, not too loud or too soft, echoing through the empty corridor. Chains on the doors clinked gently.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

On the other side, countless porcelain idols began to tremble as if resonating with the knocking. Jade altars rattled endlessly. Golden guardian beasts swayed over ghost contracts.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

Suddenly, the knocking ceased. Silence fell over the entire temple and everything returned to normal. Even the chains on the locks remained exactly where they were.

Silent as a ghost. Unseen by the gods.

……

At the top of the Disaster Relief Tower

A’Shou frowned deeply, flipping through a mission report. Two people stood before her—Meng Xiaomeng, whose soul was only half intact, and Mei Lan, looking exhausted.

Dian’er hovered silently by A’Shou’s side, barely daring to breathe.

The Immortal E was smashed entirely because Fang Xiu slipped. That had nothing to do with Dian’er. But A’Shou was clearly in a bad mood. The paper figure feared saying the wrong thing and invoking her wrath.

“The main events happened inside a dream, so there’s little useful data.”

“On the surface, everything seemed normal. Even the strange knocking you reported last time didn’t occur this time.”

A’Shou smacked the report down on the table. “Yet Meng Xiaomeng lost her soul, and Zhuang Pengdao went mad. Fascinating. Truly fascinating.”

Dian’er quickly agreed. “Might’ve just been the wind. I misheard, yes, definitely misheard.”

Then it bent even lower.

A’Shou stared at the crumpled report.

The Yellow Millet E was never officially registered in the Underworld. They didn’t understand its exact capabilities. But its taboo, “What is dreamed at night is achieved by day”, was dangerously broad. Interpreted literally, it could explain nearly any supernatural phenomenon.

If she simply wanted to close the case, she could chalk everything up to the E’s powers. The thing was already gone. It couldn’t exactly rise up and defend itself.

But A’Shou wasn’t satisfied with that.

Meng Xiaomeng was the dream controller. Even if she was inexperienced, she shouldn’t have ended up in such a mess. And Zhuang Pengdao, a known Disaster Resolver, went mad for no clear reason.

Worst of all, there were no reliable witnesses.

Zhuang Pengdaos’s two disciples were dead. Jiao Jiao and Yan Yan had been unconscious. Cheng Songyun and Guan He had their heads buried in their bodies and could barely hear anything.

So she had to call in the two remaining parties.

Fang Xiu had a silver tongue. He could talk the dead into walking again. A’Shou decided to save the toughest one for last.

“The Underworld never meant to interfere with mortal affairs, but lately, the chaos from the Guishan Sect has grown too severe.”

A’Shou stood up. With her towering height and the high heels of her bridal dress, she looked like a bloodstained giant.

“Speak. What do you know?”

---

The author has something to say:

The first to take the dare was Xiao Fang~!

---

<<< || Table of Contents || >>>