Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

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Chapter 180: The One Who Returns

At the top of the Disaster Relief Tower.

Dian’er paced nervously inside the room, gnawing on its fingertips and spitting out shredded paper bits. 

Ever since A’Shou and Fang Xiu entered the ritual, there had been no contact. No matter how hard it tried, it couldn’t reach them. The ritual seemed to have gone wrong, and the Tower had completely sealed itself. Even as a ghost envoy, it couldn’t open the entrance.

It’s over. Their collaboration must have been discovered by the immortals.

What should it do now? Pretend to know nothing? Tell the truth? Should it just turn itself in? 

But Lady A’Shou hates traitors more than anything. What if… If she returned successfully, Dian’er would be torn into pulp and repurposed into something like napkins.

Terrified by this thought, Dian’er crouched down, clutching its head in silent despair.

Just as the paper figure was putting on an imaginary tragedy performance, a smoky portal suddenly appeared at the top of the Tower. Before Dian’er could even get up, A’Shou shot through it like a cannonball.

“I knew it!” she yelled in despair.

Dian’er turned around, trembling. “My-My Lady …”

“Oh please, it’s really not that big of a wish.”

Fang Xiu and Bai Shuangying followed closely behind, strolling into the room. Fang Xiu wore a contented smile, looking like a cat that had just stolen a sausage.

Wait, they both came back completely intact? Dian’er couldn’t hide its shock.

“Be nice to her,” Fang Xiu whispered to it. “Just cleaning up the ritual site’s aftermath took ages. A’Shou Jie worked really hard today.”

“That’s because I fought you first, then helped you negotiate with the immortals, then tallied up all the wishes from the sacrifices, and then helped that guy Lu Yang restore all the patient corpses… And those corpses weren’t satisfied with just being restored. They demanded cosmetic touch-ups one by one.”

A’Shou spoke in a chilling tone. “Cleaning up the site was the easiest part, you know?”

Fang Xiu looked innocently at her. Bai Shuangying innocently tightened his hold around Fang Xiu.

Dian’er: “…?”

The immortals actually came? These two just came back unscathed???

It didn’t really want to know how they pulled it off.

“For us military types, physical exhaustion is one thing, but mental fatigue is the real torture.”

Looking at the two innocent faces across from her, A’Shou fumed. “What wore me out the most were your two damn wishes.”

Karma wishes? The ritual didn’t just end smoothly, but somehow, even the wishes were granted? 

Dian’er swallowed nonexistent spit and turned to Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu said, “I followed the rules properly. Even those immortals didn’t object.”

A’Shou glanced at Bai Shuangying beside Fang Xiu and snorted with laughter. “Of course they didn’t. They were all afraid you two would directly start a war.”

The first wish Fang Xiu made was for the immortals to enter diplomatic talks with the Underworld representatives of Country A and grant him full control over fugitive Zhuang Chongyue and others who had fled there.

Obviously, Underworld diplomacy is a bureaucratic nightmare. The immortals would have to painstakingly collect information on Country A’s citizens in their domain, arrange exchanges, and consider drafting new rules. From Fang Xiu’s tone, he didn’t just want to “round them up” but wanted a “sustainable judgment mechanism”.

Starting off with a nation-level wish, and the kicker—it still fell within his scope of karma.

At the time, A’Shou thought of the boy from years ago who had wished for the fall of the Guishan Sect, still with a youthful face. She could understand his obsession. That first wish, though bold, was acceptable.

Then came the second wish.

“No matter what happens to me in the future, as long as the Disaster Relief Tower exists, all the souls and yin energy gathered from the rituals must belong to Bai Shuangying. Put it in black and white. Seal it with a contract.”

Fang Xiu wrapped an arm around his ghost. “Even if you apologize publicly, it won’t make up for the harm you’ve done to him. I want the most tangible compensation.”

That set off a storm. The immortals broke into an uproar.

A’Shou: “…”

This time, it really was too much. A wish for a treaty on the scale of the Three Realms.

The rituals would continue, and the Disaster Relief Tower would keep harvesting souls and yin energy from sinners. If Bai Shuangying became tied to the Tower, he would never starve again, and his cultivation would skyrocket. He’d become an even greater threat.

A’Shou couldn’t hold back. “Are you sure? …Even if you break up? Even if the God of Xushan loses control?”

“That’s a separate issue.”

Fang Xiu replied calmly, “If Bai Shuangying truly wanted to harm the mortal world, you could all work together to destroy the Tower. I’ve left you that option.”

As he spoke, he looked up and respectfully bowed to King Yan.

“I’m just worried that some fools might try to eliminate me to sever the Underworld’s link with Bai Shuangying.”

King Yan remained silent and gestured for him to continue.

“As long as this contract exists, even if something happens to me, Bai Shuangying can still feed from the Tower… You understand.”

The Disaster Relief Tower requires diligent ghost envoys to keep the rituals running. In return, as long as the Tower continues operating and no one offends Bai Shuangying, the Underworld gets a formidable ally.

In doing this, Fang Xiu effectively linked Bai Shuangying to the Underworld, but from a position of absolute advantage.

Here it comes, A’Shou thought. Classic Fang Xiu negotiation—his proposal is ridiculous, but too difficult to reject.

Sure enough, King Yan replied in a deep voice, “The Disaster Relief Tower is an Underworld institution. I will sign the contract with you.”

“Once this becomes public, many ignorant fools will try to challenge you. To show our sincerity, we will assign you strong bodyguards.”

A’Shou suddenly had a bad feeling.

King Yan: “Ghost Immortal A’Shou has managed the Disaster Relief Tower for many years and is one of the strongest ghost immortals. She will act as your assistant and support all Tower-related matters.”

“Oh wow, you’re too kind.”

Fang Xiu exclaimed in mock surprise, though his face showed none. His gaze carried a hint of silent understanding. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure A’Shou Jie gets a raise.”

A’Shou: “……”

She knew it! She knew there was no escape! Fang Xiu’s devious schemes were about to burst like a dam!

After the memory faded, A’Shou was still dizzy and disoriented.

“Anyway, we just came back to show our faces,” Fang Xiu said cheerfully. “We’re heading out now. Explaining everything to the ghost envoys is up to you, A’Shou Jie.”

“Heading out? You’re coming with me to explain—”

“I have to go see Uncle Yuan,” Fang Xiu said. “I need to introduce Bai Shuangying to him.”

Hearing that, A’Shou thought of the figure in Fang Xiu’s memory and fell silent.

“…Fine, go ahead.”

After a long pause, she let out a heavy sigh.

……

Taiyi City, Gui Province — First People’s Hospital.

“…Vital signs are stable.”

Amid a series of sharp beeping alarms, Nurse Cai wiped sweat from her brow. “It’s okay, Lao Yuan. Fang Xiu is fine.”

Officer Yuan’s tense shoulders finally relaxed.

Moments earlier, the hospital had experienced a series of strange disturbances.

First, a large number of bodies went missing from the morgue, prompting family members to call the police immediately. The officers ran up and down the hospital all day, completely bewildered. Then, inexplicably, the bodies reappeared—calmly laid out in their refrigerated drawers.

What was weirder was how they looked.

To put it bluntly, it was as if the bodies had melted and been reshaped. All signs of illness and deformity had vanished. Some even looked like they were in better shape than when they were alive.

The most terrifying thing was every single one of them had a faint smile.

The garden wasn’t spared either. Many plants had collapsed for no apparent reason. The shrubs were clearly trampled by a large crowd, except everyone knew that no one had been in the central garden moments earlier. Even more eerie, the plants remained intact, with a burnt smell lingering in the air.

As for all the hospital’s doors—except for certain sensitive areas—they all suddenly swung open. That, by comparison, almost seemed normal.

It was a real-life horror story in broad daylight. The staff’s nerves were stretched to their limit. From this day forward, the First People’s Hospital would have three major entries in its growing list of urban legends.

Fortunately, no one had been seriously hurt during these anomalies. However, there were quite a few bumps and bruises from the patients crowding to record short videos.

Across the entire hospital, only Fang Xiu’s condition had worsened suddenly.

His body temperature spiked without warning. His entire body convulsed. His heart thudded at a completely abnormal rhythm, and faint traces of blood appeared around his nose and mouth.

Officer Yuan stayed by his bedside, watching as cold sweat drenched Fang Xiu’s pale face.

For over a decade, Fang Xiu had received top-tier care. Physical therapists regularly worked his joints and muscles, so his body hadn’t wasted away. It had just grown thin and lean. His nutrition was always maintained. Though he fell into a coma as a child, he had grown into a tall young man. Unfortunately, Officer Yuan had bought red T-shirts year after year, but Fang Xiu still showed no sign of waking.

“Xiao Fang.”

With Nurse Cai’s permission, Officer Yuan reached out his wrinkled hand and brushed back the damp hair on Fang Xiu’s forehead.

“Uncle’s retiring in a few years. I can finally take care of you. But if you don’t wake up… what’ll happen when I’m gone?”

He touched the deep wrinkles at the corner of his eye and went on talking, like always.

“Uncle tells you, this is a good age to wake up. You’re smart. You’ll catch up in no time. I’ll help with your rehab and even help plan your future…”

Nurse Cai sighed quietly from a few steps away.

Every day, Officer Yuan would talk to Fang Xiu for half an hour. He had done so for over a decade.

Many at the hospital found it tragic. When the accident happened, Officer Yuan had been in his prime. He had the chance to start a new life. But he chose to care personally for the long-comatose Fang Xiu. That decision alone had cut him off from ever building a new family.

“I have to protect him,” Yuan Ye said firmly. “The Guishan Sect is still stirring up trouble overseas. Who knows if some lunatic might come here looking for him?”

In the early years, the medical staff had tried to talk him out of it. But eventually they gave up. The nurses rotated in and out. Yuan Ye’s hair turned white bit by bit. The older staff could only look on, feeling a quiet sadness.

Medically speaking, Fang Xiu had no chance of waking up. Officer Yuan was doomed to spend his life trapped in a tragedy, never able to move on.

“Alright. We still need to run a few checks.”

Nurse Cai gently patted Yuan Ye. “Go take a break.”

“Okay.” Yuan Ye never hesitated.

Just as well. He needed to go check the security footage around the hospital. Some of those faces looked awfully familiar…

Just as he turned toward the door, the clatter of medical equipment crashing to the floor rang out behind him. Yuan Ye jolted and spun around in a defensive stance—

He saw a pair of pitch-black eyes.

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The author has something to say:

Damn, didn’t even get a chance for some sugar yet.

And now it’s straight to meeting the parents. Great!

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