Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 166: Successful Rendezvous

Cen Ling made his way toward the hospital courtyard.

The central courtyard was a scenic rest area for patients and staff. It was beautifully maintained, but open on all sides, with no cover. Clearly it wasn’t ideal as a base of operations.

“This place is perfect,” Cen Ling said.

Yan Yan couldn’t help shooting him a look that screamed “are you nuts?”. Did he want to stand under a spotlight? Why pick the most conspicuous location possible?

Jiao Jiao quietly played with her tarot cards without saying a word.

Uncle Hou wasn’t in a rush either. With his hands behind his back, he asked, “So how are you planning to set up this base?”

“Truth be told, I’ve got a skill called ‘Beans into Soldiers’, It’s a special ability awarded by the Underworld, usable only once across all eight rituals,” Cen Ling explained patiently, as if it were totally normal. “Once I cast it, I’ll summon a decent fighting force. A place like this gives the best deployment range.”

Uncle Hou bit down on a cigarette and hummed meaningfully.

Yan Yan couldn’t make sense of it. If Cen Ling had a trump card like that, why wasn’t he using it to hunt down Fang Xiu? Or did the ability have a time limit? If so, placing a base in a wide-open and hard-to-defend spot was like cooking dumplings just for the dipping sauce.

He watched as Cen Ling pulled out a handful of jade beads and hurled them onto the ground.

As soon as they landed, a thick, greenish mist billowed up. It smelled both foul and strangely sweet, the color clinging to the eyes, blurring everything beyond half a meter.

Not good.

His beast instinct caused every hair on Yan Yan’s body to stand up.

The moment the smoke rose, his pupils contracted into slits, taking on a bestial shape. He grabbed Jiao Jiao by the arm and leapt toward a thicket, narrowly dodging a gleam of cold light.

This wretched smoke had blinded his sharp senses and dulled his movement. He couldn’t afford a drawn-out fight.

There was no time to question anything else. Still clutching Jiao Jiao, he raced toward where he remembered Uncle Hou had been. If anyone here knew how to stay alive, it was that walking arsenal.

Sure enough, as they reached him, Uncle Hou turned the jade bracelet hidden in his sleeve. A swirling jade ring expanded to cover all three of them and blocked a volley of needles from seemingly nowhere.

The needles clinked harmlessly to the ground, tips stained black-green with obvious poison.

“What the hell, Cen Ling?!” Yan Yan growled.

After being backstabbed by the Guishan Sect during a previous ritual, he’d already distrusted Cen Ling. Now he was downright furious.

“That brat chose this spot because the karma threads here are weak. It’s less likely to trigger taboos,” Uncle Hou said leisurely, blowing a smoke ring. “Funny thing, though—‘Beans into Soldiers’ doesn’t summon living people.”

He puffed again, then pulled an old-school pipe from his pocket and took a drag. Instantly, the thick green smoke was sucked into it like greasy vapor under an extractor hood.

As the smoke cleared, not only did the courtyard come into view, but more than twenty living, breathing people had silently appeared.

They looked between their twenties and forties, healthy and dressed in everyday clothes. If not for the identical expressions on their faces, it would’ve been hard to tell they were together.

Even a fool could see they were outnumbered. Yan Yan immediately shut up and edged back.

“Mr. Cen, the first group has arrived.” A middle-aged man stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Cen Ling scanned the group with a warm smile that gave Yan Yan goosebumps.

Then he reached into his pocket and took out a rust-covered iron weight, handing it to the speaker. It gave off a wave of stinging yin energy. It was clearly an Immortal E.

The man thanked him profusely and cradled it in both hands like it was a second heart. Then he began to chant, pulled out a jade pendant from his neck, and smashed it against the weight. A faint wail rose as threads of soul energy wrapped around the object. He sliced his palm and anointed the weight with fresh blood, continuing his incantation.

Meanwhile, Cen Ling had moved on to the next person.

“Sister Li Shanghua, here’s a willow-wood comb. This taboo suits your temperament.”

“Brother Cheng Xin, this is a blood-stained seal stone. Matches your casting style best.”

“……”

In front of the three of them, he handed out the Immortal E’s one by one, by full name, matching items to people with pinpoint precision. Each recipient bowed in deep gratitude and immediately began casting their spell.

The three observers stood by. Uncle Hou remained within the jade ring, watching calmly. Jiao Jiao muttered while handling her tarot deck and herbal pouches. Yan Yan, meanwhile, was already sweating.

Though only half-fox by blood, he was a trueborn spirit. He knew what this meant.

All those pendants worn by the cultists contained living souls they had personally killed. Normally, such souls could be used in rituals or as substitutes for death. But their most important function was to store a “personal” karmic imprint built from killing.

These souls alone, with very little karma, weren’t enough to create an E, but using Immortal E’s to destroy them, and merging with the karmic imprint, gave the Immortal E a unique “signature”. With special techniques, even non-owners could use about eighty percent of an Immortal E’s power.

“That ritual… It’s not something you whip up overnight. It must’ve taken years just to create,” Yan Yan muttered, drenched in cold sweat. “Damn, the Guishan Sect planned this whole thing just to steal the Immortal E’s. They’re not even trying to hide it. We’re gonna get killed as witnesses!”

“Uncle Hou, got anything else? Let’s get out of here.” Yan Yan’s legs went numb. “Come on!”

Uncle Hou finished his cigarette, tossed the butt to the ground, and casually stepped it out. Then he snapped his fingers. The jade ring began to slow and eventually stopped.

Yan Yan waited for him to unleash a new gadget, only for a handful of coarse herbal powder to be slapped onto his face.

“Big sis—ack!”

Before he could turn around, his body rapidly shrank. He’d returned to his red-furred fox form, except he was now the size of a mouse.

It was Jiao Jiao’s magic.

Just as he was adjusting, something yanked at his scruff. A black crow grabbed him and soared toward an open window.

In mere seconds, the jade ring had vanished, the smoke had settled, and only a few feathers remained drifting on the wind—feathers with the same lacy edges as Jiao Jiao’s dress.

“Gotta admit, I can’t compete with the reflexes of the young,” Uncle Hou said with admiration.

He calmly shed his defenses and strolled up to Cen Ling.

“Let’s work together, Mr. Cen. Just having Immortal E’s isn’t enough. I have all kinds of magic weapons and spells. You want someone to muddy the waters or cover your tracks, I’m your man.”

Cen Ling paused mid-distribution. “You’re straightforward.”

“I’m a businessman. I know a golden opportunity when I see one. You laid your cards on the table. I’d be a fool not to act.”

He lit another cigarette.

“Relax. I won’t covet your Immortal E’s. This is a trade, pure and simple.”

Talking to someone smart was always refreshing. Cen Ling was pleased.

Uncle Hou was sharp, and he didn’t trouble himself with pesky things like morals. He’d made a name for himself loan-sharking before entering the Tower and would never pass up a profitable deal.

And the current setup was obvious: by siding with the Guishan Sect, he could ride this ritual to the end. Even if the Underworld later hunted the sect down, all he had to do was say he was forced into it by an Immortal E’s taboo. He’d still get the reward.

And all the Guishan Sect wanted was for this walking armory to not side with Fang Xiu. That alone was enough.

Pity that gothic girl reacted too fast. Otherwise, Uncle Hou wouldn’t have minded tossing two corpses their way.

“I really did mean it when I said this would be a good base,” Cen Ling smiled. “Lend me some scouting items and offensive talismans. Just stay here—my people will keep you safe.”

Uncle Hou blew a perfect smoke ring. “Much obliged.”

……

In the stairwell.

“Fuck! I’ll curse this guy’s ancestors into the next life!”

The miniature fox clutched in crow talons trembled, speaking in a tiny, buzzing voice.

“Is the Underworld full of useless idiots?! Things are falling apart, and they’re doing nothing?!”

“I’ve never seen that many Immortal E’s in one place. Eight hundred taboos all slapped on my face! This is more than the divine law! What the fuck!”

Jiao Jiao flapped her wings and wordlessly turned in mid-air.

“There’s something fishy going on in this ritual. Is the ritual guardian dead or what? Did someone reincarnate and forget to file the paperwork?”

Having nothing to do, the fox curled his tail and continued ranting. “Fang Xiu dragged me into this mess. We’re even now. Next time I see him, I swear I’ll—ow!”

Jiao Jiao made a sharp dive. Her claws yanked on the fox’s neck fluff, nearly yanking tears from his eyes.

They almost crashed into an open skull.

Wait—a literal skull, pried open.

Sniffing instinctively, Yan Yan caught a familiar scent. The group of four, led by Lu Yang, was marching his corpse army through the hall. Spooked by the crow, they turned and locked eyes with Jiao Jiao.

“Song Ge! A monster!” Lu Yang shouted. “A crow’s carrying a red rat!”

Before Song Zheng could react, Jiao Jiao elegantly landed. Her skirts flared, and her heels tapped the floor softly.

She gently blew on the fox and tossed him forward. Reverting to human form midair, Yan Yan nearly collided with Lu Yang.

“You’re the red rat,” he snapped, grabbing Lu Yang by the collar and dragging him back.

Song Zheng blinked. “Weren’t you two going to find a base—”

“If they stayed a minute longer, Cen Ling would’ve killed them.”

Creaaak.

A nearby door opened.

Fang Xiu stepped out with a smile, casually closing the door behind him. At his side stood Bai Shuangying with a frosty expression.

---

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