Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 161: Ritual Site

After Fang Xiu finished speaking, Ghost Immortal A’Shou fell silent. She pondered for a long while before finally nodding.

Until she could see through Fang Xiu’s hand, falling out with him would do more harm than good. The bait Fang Xiu dangled was perfectly calculated. This eighth ritual was clearly designed to expose his cards.

“Fine. You can decide the location, content, and participants of the eighth ritual,” A’Shou said coldly. “That’s the biggest compromise I’ll make. It doesn’t mean I trust you. At the same time, I will inform the Heavenly Court and Underworld and prepare for the worst against you.”

“If you try any tricks, you’d better watch your head.”

“A wise decision,” Fang Xiu agreed without a trace of fear.

Bai Shuangying, however, was slightly displeased. “His life belongs to me.”

A’Shou: “…”

A’Shou sighed and added, “Watch your heads.”

Bai Shuangying looked inexplicably satisfied.

What a joke. As if he could be sealed the same way a second time by those immortals. He was no longer that clueless God of Xushan of the past.

Besides, he had Fang Xiu now. His human clearly had a plan, and if he had a plan, the odds were in their favor.

As for what that plan was, Bai Shuangying didn’t share A’Shou’s anxiety. He and his human were already joined in matrimony. His criteria were much simpler.

As long as Fang Xiu was alive, he would stay by his side. And if, in the most unlikely of cases, Fang Xiu died, then he would simply go on a rampage without holding back.

Hmm. But from what he’d heard, marriage wasn’t the endpoint of mortal emotions. Human hearts were unpredictable. Bai Shuangying understood his own nature. His interest in Fang Xiu would last at least a thousand years, but what if Fang Xiu’s heart changed?

Now that was a harder problem than dealing with the immortals. Bai Shuangying began to contemplate it seriously.

A few steps away, Dian’er looked like it was about to cry.

Whether the paper figure wanted to hear it or not, these outrageous remarks kept pouring into its ears. Worse, it had nowhere to run—A’Shou held absolute authority over its life and death, and she was clearly cooperating with Fang Xiu.

After working in the Disaster Relief Tower for so many years, Dian’er, for the first time, felt like “a helpless victim”.

It drooped its head, trying not to look at Bai Shuangying, but still trembled uncontrollably.

In A’Shou’s eyes, the Corner of Heaven’s Will was already an overwhelming existence. For a low-level ghost like it, Bai Shuangying was scarier than a natural disaster.

Most terrifying of all, A’Shou was upright and predictable, so Dian’er could at least guess her moods. Bai Shuangying’s thoughts, however, were completely inscrutable. At the moment, the Corner of Heaven’s Will was happily using magic to slice fruit, tossing pieces into Fang Xiu’s mouth without care. He paid zero attention to Fang Xiu’s insane demands, as if it was only natural for that lunatic to do whatever he wanted.

God help it. Why did it end up serving this bunch of walking nightmares?

…Well, since things were already this bad, A’Shou could deal with the fallout. Dian’er quickly decided to surrender to fate.

It forced itself to pretend nothing had happened. “We’ve prepared the reward from the previous ritual. What skill would Mr. Fang like to select? We’ll arrange it right away!”

Fang Xiu stepped forward cooperatively. “The God of Xushan.”

Dian’er: “?”

It suspected its ears had crumpled under pressure and caused it to mishear the most outrageous request imaginable.

It instinctively looked at A’Shou, who was gripping the edge of her veil so tightly it looked like she was trying to strangle herself. Sensing its gaze, A’Shou didn’t say a word and just tugged harder.

Dian’er numbly turned its head back.

Heh. What was it, a wishing well? Granting request after request after request, constantly being forced to live again. Was the God of Xushan something the Underworld could recreate? Wasn’t having one standing right there already enough? Why not just go with some flashy “divine descent” visual effect? At least that would be easier to stage.

Unfortunately, this awful human didn’t let it off the hook.

Fang Xiu tugged on Bai Shuangying’s sleeve. “The ‘existence of the God of Xushan’ is already a supernatural phenomenon. I want the God of Xushan.”

“You’ll probably say the Underworld can’t recreate such a strong ‘phenomenon’. That’s fine—I don’t need you to recreate anything. I just want the Underworld to officially acknowledge that the entity I formed a ghost contract with is the God of Xushan.”

Dian’er, amid its despair, saw a sliver of hope. “…Wait, just an acknowledgment?”

Fang Xiu nodded, voice gentle. “I’ve made all my points. There’s no need to make this difficult for you. Thanks for your hard work over the past few rituals.”

Fang Xiu’s sudden change in tone gave Dian’er the surreal sense of being promoted straight from the Underworld to the heavens. Dazed, it nodded rapidly and zipped in front of Fang Xiu in fear he’d change his mind.

“The Immortal Encounter E pertains to the mountain. The Underworld grants you the ability to ‘meet the God of Xushan’. As you have already formed a ghost contract with the God of Xushan, Bai Shuangying, the Disaster Relief Tower hereby recognizes your contract as valid and binding.”

It hurriedly pressed the “Gen” trigram symbol and retreated a few steps like it was escaping disaster.

Bai Shuangying popped a strawberry into his mouth and looked at Fang Xiu in confusion. Whether acknowledged or not, he was still by Fang Xiu’s side. Wasn’t this like giving up a free skill?

Then he saw the upward curve of Fang Xiu’s lips.

That smile radiated sincerity—so much so that Bai Shuangying instinctively grew wary. The more sweetly his human smiled, the more elaborate the trap. This he knew well.

A’Shou was equally puzzled, but she was so mentally exhausted that she had no energy left to analyze it.

“We’re ready for the location and participants. Just give us the list and we’ll begin preparations,” the paper figure offered cheerfully.

“The mushroom trio—ah no, Song Zheng, Xiao Li, and Xiao Tian. Jiao Jiao and Yan Yan as a duo. Add Lu Yang if he’s still alive.”

Fang Xiu began listing the teams. “Assuming they all survived.”

“That’s six people. Add the three on your side and that’s nine. Is that everyone?” The paper figure scribbled notes frantically.

“Of course not. Uncle Hou and Cen Ling too.”

Fang Xiu grinned. “That’s everyone. The rest can be in whatever rituals. I only require Cen Ling to appear in the eighth. If he’s not there, I’ll wait.”

“No problem. Got it. And the location—?”

Fang Xiu raised a finger to his lips in a “shh” gesture.

“I have my secrets too. Since I’m choosing the site, I’ll let you know right before departure.”

……

That night.

Cheng Songyun was tidying her bed when she heard a knock. She opened the door to find Guan He hesitating outside.

“Child, what’s wrong?” Cheng Songyun asked gently.

The Underworld had already arranged everything. Because the participants needed to coordinate schedules, they had a short break before the eighth ritual. It was supposed to be a peaceful night. Guan He had no reason to be so tense.

Was it the lingering shock from the previous bloodshed, or—

“Auntie Cheng… I don’t know what to do. Fang Ge… I think he’s not with the officials,” Guan He whispered. “He said he’s not just dealing with the Guishan Sect—he’s going to fight Heaven and the Underworld too. There’s no way someone from the official camp would go that far.”

“I’m not saying Fang Ge is bad. He’s helped me a lot. I really trust and admire him. But… I just…”

Cheng Songyun: “…”

Honestly, the delay in realization wasn’t surprising. Young people sometimes had longer mental processing time. She hadn’t expected this to be Guan He’s concern.

After their talk with the Underworld, Fang Xiu had told them a few things. That Bai Shuangying was some kind of mountain god. That they had struck a deal with the Underworld. That the final ritual might be incredibly dangerous.

Cheng Songyun could see that A’Shou and the paper figure were terrified of Bai Shuangying. But since she and Guan He weren’t spiritual practitioners, they didn’t have a deep understanding.

To them, every ritual was dangerous, and every spirit terrifying. Rather than dwell on Bai Shuangying’s identity, Cheng Songyun was more concerned about how Guan He was handling the fact he had killed “a high-level cult member”.

Now it seemed Guan He had come to terms with it surprisingly well. The kid was stronger than she thought.

“Don’t worry, Xiao Guan. I understand what you’re feeling,” Cheng Songyun said softly.

“You still trust Fang Xiu. You still want to help him. But what he said this time was too bold. You’re afraid of making a mistake by following him.”

In short, when Fang Xiu used to act recklessly, Guan He still saw him as an official figure. Now that illusion was gone, and he felt lost.

“And… you feel guilty for doubting him. Like you’re betraying the one who’s led us this far?”

Guan He looked down, his face slightly red.

Cheng Songyun took out two bottles of pear juice and handed one to him. “Sit down, child.”

Guan He cradled the bottle in both hands and sat primly at the table.

“I’ve known for a long time that Fang Xiu wasn’t with the official side. He only said that to comfort you. See? I knew and kept it from you.”

Cheng Songyun’s tone was warm. “These rituals are too dangerous. From the start, you needed courage more than you needed the whole truth.”

“I know, but still…” Guan He pursed his lips.

“Fang Xiu came right out and told us everything. That shows he doesn’t care whether we doubt him. He has his own goal.”

“I have mine too. I want to survive and go home to see my daughter. You have a goal too, don’t you?”

“I want to go home. But I also want to help Fang Ge. I just… don’t want to abandon him at the last moment out of doubt.” Guan He gripped his short hair.

“You see? You already know your answer.”

Guan He looked at her, a little dazed.

“Whether to doubt or trust, to help or not—those are ‘your’ decisions.”

Cheng Songyun gazed at the juice in her bottle, the liquid shimmering as it swayed inside the glass.

“Decision-making isn’t easy. You can’t always expect others to tell you right from wrong. If it works out, you hold your head high. If it doesn’t, you take responsibility and do your best to fix it.”

“That’s what it means to carry a ‘blood debt’… don’t you think?”

Guan He rubbed the cold glass in silence for a long time. At one point he opened his mouth to ask something but then closed it again.

Finally, he cracked the bottle open and chugged the whole thing.

“Even if Fang Ge is fighting the gods, I’ll help him. Unless I find undeniable proof something’s wrong, I’ll do everything I can to support him.”

His voice was firm, and his former nervousness had vanished completely.

Cheng Songyun smiled with relief. “I know what you wanted to ask earlier.”

“I’ll help him too.”

Guan He rubbed his face embarrassingly. His earlier emotion was slowly calming down.

“Thank you, Auntie Cheng.”

He bit his lip. “If we make it through the eighth ritual, I’ll take responsibility and properly apologize to my mom.”

“I hope we do make it…”

……

Seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Dian’er finally finished coordinating all the participants. Luckily, all the teams Fang Xiu selected had survived. Aside from Lu Yang, the mushroom trio and the Jiao-Yan duo had all become official Disaster Resolvers, making scheduling easier.

“All your requests have been met,” A’Shou said. She personally came to the floor during breakfast, hands resting on the table. “Like before, I’ll supervise this one as well.”

“It’s time, Fang Xiu. Where is the location for the eighth ritual? We need time to clear the area—”

Fang Xiu twirled a strand of Bai Shuangying’s hair, not even looking up at her.

“First People’s Hospital, Taiyi City, Gui Province.”

He said.

---

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