Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 111: Ancestral Hall

The mountains in Haigu were different from those in Gengsheng Town. They lay on the outskirts of the city and were dangerous and steep. The cliffs were sharp like knives, and the teeth of the mountains were jagged. Many areas prohibited tourists from entering, saving the time to even find their bones.

The Fu family lived on such a mountain.

The Fu family mansion had been passed down for hundreds of years and was considered a cultural relic. The Fu family had lived here for generations, and the original residence had expanded, similar to the ant’s nest. They were embedded in the strange peaks and stones, forming a scene of their own.

In the wide courtyard, from time to time, old giant trees twisted their branches, casting large shadows. The chirping of the cicadas from the tree trunks sounded so loud that it gave people headaches. Fortunately, the mountains were much cooler than the city center, so at least the environment wasn’t as irritable.

After his older sister notified him, Fu Xingchuan finally got permission to enter the ancestral hall.

The ancestral hall was at the very center of the entire complex.

The topography of that place was particularly weird, like a depression in the gap squeezed out by several mountains. It was shaped like an inverted bell, and the bottom was always filled with endless mist. To enter the ancestral hall, he had to walk down a spiral of wooden steps.

Of course, after the Fu family entered the new era, the wooden steps were all reinforced with alloy materials, and solid handrails were installed so people wouldn’t die when trying to meet their ancestors.

The body of the “ancestor” was very fragile. Before seeing the “ancestor” the less impurities on his body, the better, so it was best not to meet anyone before.

Fu Xingchuan went to an empty room alone to bathe, shave, and burn incense. He cleaned himself up from head to toe and put on a red tunic smoked with fragrant wood. Even the tassel earring he was wearing was also specially treated.

After taking care of himself, he dipped a willow branch into the cold mountain spring water and walked towards the deepest part of the courtyard.

There were corridors leading to the ancestral halls in different regions. The above-mentioned stone and wood materials were repaired, and they were all painted in bright red colors. Fu Xingchuan walked on the promenade, waving the willow branch lightly and sprinkling water beads in front of him from time to time.

Oddly enough, the water on the willow branch was endless. Even though Fu Xingchuan had swung it multiple times, the jade-like willow leaves were still stained with dew.

Birds chirped and cicadas buzzed along the corridor, while the shrubs rustled in the wind, casting their shadows in the corridor. On occasion, a few cats would run across the promenade. One black cat stared at Fu Xingchuan curiously for a while. In its clear eyes, the red figure moved forward intently without raising his head.

The black cat shook its tail, jumped lightly on the beam of the room, and followed after its companion.

The deeper he ventured into the complex, the lower the surrounding temperature. When he walked in front of the “ancestral hall pit”, a thin mist overflowed from around the mountain pit and spread against the turf.

Fu Xingchuan chanted a few times silently, and the water droplets on the willow branch dispersed. The willow branch stood straight up, and a cluster of spherical blue flames ignited at the end. The mist dissipated as soon as it was touched, forking a path.

On the rock wall of the pit, countless statues of gods were carved, and bright murals were painted in places where it was inconvenient to carve. Compared with the cold air of the ant’s nest, the murals here were quite charming. Those statues also had different expressions and were upright and awe-inspiring.

It was just that they had a new and old look, and some seemed as if they were moved from elsewhere.

They were all things that Fu Xingchuan had seen since he was a child, and they carried the spiritual substance of the Fu family for thousands of years. Although other families would enshrine this person, after thousands of years, only the Fu family maintained an almost old-fashioned fear.

Portraits, stone statues, and the theme were all about the “Great Celestial Master Zhong Yi”.

Among them, the “big and round waist” style was the most popular. There were also some thin and long “xianweng*” models. Some of these images held nine-ring knives, while others were holding elegant long knives. His facial features and clothes were all different, so it was hard to say that they were the same person.

*(仙翁) Depiction of an immortal (god) in the form of an old man.

What had always remained the same was the unrighteous aura.

…Hehe, the unrighteous aura.

As Fu Xingchuan held the wicker, his facial features wrinkled into a chrysanthemum.

He hoped that the ancestor worshipped Zhong Yi only for some kind of “righteous spirit”. Otherwise, if the old man knew the truth, he would not know how disillusioned he would be.

Fu Xingchuan couldn’t help but think about what happened not long ago—

The matter of Gengsheng Town came to an end, and the first thing he did when he rushed back to Shian was to retrieve all relevant information about Zhong Yi. No one had investigated this Great Celestial Master thousands of years ago in detail before, so it took considerable effort to gather the statistical data.

The conclusion was shocking.

In the metaphysical world, everyone knew Zhong Yi’s name, but he couldn’t find any information that could be regarded as official records. Most of Zhong Yi’s records were specious unofficial histories and legends, or vague descriptions.

The only “true record” left by the Great Celestial Master was <The Book of Exorcism>, which recorded a large amount of information about evil things and countless exquisite spells.

This had been the case for thousands of years, and this had almost become the customary status quo. No one thought carefully about the hidden logic behind it.

To obtain such detailed information to compile <The Book of Exorcism>, Huajisi must’ve had contact with Zhong Yi himself.

Huajisi regarded this information as their life, so even if the emperor asked to destroy the records, they would always keep the truth. Unless Huajisi themselves wanted to deliberately conceal it…

If Zhong Yi was really a talented and cynical hero, what was there to hide?

Fu Xingchuan knew Shian and Sunken Society better than anyone else. It was impossible for such a special evil to exist that could make Sunken Society study it for more than a thousand years, yet Shian didn’t get a whiff of it?

A terrible conjecture gradually took shape.

Could it be that the man in red who commanded ten thousand ghosts was Zhong Yi?

And Yin Ren, who hinted and guided them all the way, exposed his terrifying strength in front of Qi Xin…

“Reasonable.” Facing Fu Xingchuan’s stumbling narration, Li Nian concluded with this word.

Perhaps this was the benefit of a science post, Fu Xingchuan thought sadly.

To them, “Zhong Yi” was the same as the “God of Nature, Balakabra”, who was worshiped by the indigenous people of the next hemisphere. It was just a cultural entry without the slightest impact of the collapse of faith.

When Fu Xingchuan thought of the pious pilgrimage in front of the statue of Zhong Yi before, his mood turned sour.

He almost had a heart attack.

“Based on what you said, Zhong Yi is the evil in red, and Yin Ren is most likely Zhong Yi himself.”

Li Nian ignored his partner’s distorted face. “When he first came to Shian, Yin Ren’s tone had characteristics of the ancient language of the Gong Dynasty. And if the evil qi vibration that night was caused by Zhong Yi himself, who sealed six Evil Spirits, such an exaggerated value would make sense… The abnormality that you and I observed in the cafeteria was also that kid teasing us.”

Professor Li tightened his grip on the thermos cup, but his face was calm.

“I have studied literature and materials related to Zhong Yi. Assuming that this inference is true, many contradictions can be explained.”

“You said that when Yin Ren fought Qi Xin, he was wearing a red outfit that was decorated with many seals and spirit weapons. In Zhong Yi’s record, there is a record that shows ‘walking alone, elusive’.”

“There are many unofficial legends and folk histories, but there’s no similar story of ‘encountering an evil thing and being rescued by Zhong Yi in person’. This is a classic routine of encountering strange people in ancient times, but there is no such record for the Great Celestial Master.”

Fu Xingchuan’s face was pale. He wiped the sweat from his forehead. “Are you trying to say…”

“Whether Zhong Yi is a human or a ghost, he should be surrounded by heavy evil qi, or even Evil Force. He self-sealed himself with spirit weapons and stayed away from the masses, which is why he rarely made contact with people.”

“However, there should be people who can see him from a distance. Sunken Society, who would risk people’s lives, would definitely find a way to meet him.”

As Li Nian spoke, he used a tablet to bring up a few pictures.

It was a very old ancestral hall mural, painted with a tall young man in red clothing with blurred facial features. His red clothes were adorned with armor-like things. There was another simple painting of him in a scarlet cloak. Zhong Yi wore a mask and was wrapped in the cloak, so only a part of the golden armor on his chest was exposed.

The Zhong Yi of the two paintings wasn’t burly, and his body shape was closer to that of ordinary people.

“This was the earliest portrait of Zhong Yi, something like a ‘painting of God’. Latecomers often use their impressions to make up for the omissions of the former and finally change their appearance.”

Li Nian moved his fingers, and countless portraits of Zhong Yi were arranged in chronological order.

Fu Xingchuan looked at the red figure with a blurred face. The youthful figure eventually turned into a strong man wearing a helmet and red cloth light armor. As time progressed, the painter’s painting skills gradually improved.

The rough red cloth armor turned into fine gold armor decorated with red lines. The helmet disappeared, revealing the appearance of a fierce general with a leopard head and ring eyes.

In a daze, Fu Xingchuan seemed to see “something” evolving.

…But conjecture wasn’t enough.

Maybe if he checked again, he would find that Yin Ren was just playing tricks!

Otherwise, how could he accept that a legendary figure… was a legendary evil?……

Thinking of the appearance of Yin Ren slumping in the beverage bar, sucking on a soda, he really couldn’t imagine how such a thing could seal six Evil Spirits.

After the painful thought, Fu Xingchuan decided to return home to find a “witness”. Li Nian happened to follow Hao Wenzhe back to the mountain town to investigate the “unidentified” imitation.

At that moment, Fu Xingchuan walked down step by step. The lower the terrain, the older the mural statues around him became. Unlike Shian of the past, this time he experienced a “back to basics”.

The golden armor turned into civilian clothes, and the nine-ring sword melted into a half-length weapon. The domineering face gradually blurred, blending into the pattern of the weird mask.

Click.

Fu Xingchuan’s feet touched the wet bluestone slab.

The ancestral hall was built after the fall of the Gong Dynasty but still retained the typical architectural style of that era. Its shape was close to the tower, and the decoration was full of stone materials with carvings that were simple and atmospheric. The entire tower presented the gray stone itself, and only two gates were painted in dark red.

…If there weren’t any antennas and air conditioners outside the tower, it was almost a sacred and solemn place.

Fu Xingchuan clenched the green willow branch in his right hand, bit a finger in his left hand, and drew a complicated array on the stone gate with his blood.

In the rumble, the huge stone gate slowly moved away.

“Fu Xingchuan?”

An old, hoarse voice sounded from behind the door.

Fu Xingchuan lowered his head politely. “Great Ancestor.”

One of the ancestors of the Fu family, the director of the Huajisi 900 years ago, Fu Wuya.

According to today’s classification, this person should have been considered a powerful “Charon” 900 years ago. However, his ending was probably similar to that of Minister Jiao.

Fu Xingchuan raised his head.

There was no one in front of him; just a willow tree that led directly to the top of the tower.

The branches of the willow tree were green and were softly tangled together, like octopus tentacles. The green branches didn’t have soft willow leaves, but the hairs were the thickness of blood vessels.

The skin on the trunk was unexpectedly smooth, and the soft blue veins protruding from the thick fingers rushed straight to Fu Xingchuan’s side, revealing a human face that could vaguely be seen…

The man’s facial features were of different sizes, distorted and deformed, and scattered all over the trunk of the tree. One eye on the tree was as big as a human head, with an unnaturally large pupil, while the other was half as big as a human eye, barely counting as a “face”.

“It’s really Xingchuan. You’ve grown so big.” The man with long arms opened his mouth and spoke clearly. “What are you doing here?’

“To ask you about ‘Zhong Yi’.”

Fu Xingchuan didn’t look at the giant eye—the giant eye was pitch black and made people feel palpitations and uneasiness.

“Huh?”

Fu Wuya blinked, not hiding the surprise in his tone.

“A few days ago, I found an evil suspect who was ‘Zhong Yi’,” Fu Xingchuan continued respectfully. “That evil can perfectly disguise itself as an adult human. During battle, it was covered with red cloth, decorated with countless sealed spirit weapons, and wore bells on its ankles. It rides on Yellow Millet and can make such a powerful evil thing bow its head, so its strength is unfathomable.”

He decided to omit parts that were too shattering.

Fu Wuya: “……”

Fu Wuya: “My dear grandson. I was in charge of Huajisi 900 years ago. Grand Master Zhong was a figure from more than a thousand years ago. If it were you, do you know what happened in Shian hundreds of years ago?”

Fu Xingchuan: “I thought you would at least have knowledge of…”

“We were very busy back then and didn’t have time to investigate the legend in detail.” Fu Wuya lamented, twisting his deformed face. “I can only tell you one thing—at my time, there were no records of anything relevant to Zhong Yi in Huajisi except for <The Book of Exorcism>. If someone deliberately changed the record, it would definitely be before my generation.”

Speaking of this, Fu Wuya’s tone became serious.

“The Fu family has ancestral precepts and must not be disrespectful to Grand Master Zhong. No matter whether he’s an evil or a person, if you can verify it, you need to give him 120,000 respects. If that evil thing is messing around with Grand Master Zhong’s name, you must eliminate it.”

“Yes.”

“But since you want to investigate the matter in depth… Xingchuan, some things should be left unsaid. When you don’t need to delve into it, don’t.”

“There are some unnatural things. Since it has become ‘accustomed to’, naturally there’s a reason for it. If you explore too much, be careful not to end up like me.”

Fu Wuya continued in a slow voice as his deformed eyes turned.

“For example?” Fu Xingchuan couldn’t hold back from asking.

“You have memorized <The Book of Exorcism> since you were five years old and can easily recite it. Have you ever thought about the unnaturalness of it?”

Fu Wuya’s eyes, one big and one small, turned at the same time, and his scattered facial features twisted into a ball, looking extraordinarily terrifying.

“No matter how weak or rare an evil thing is, once discovered, it will occupy a separate record. Even if the evil species are countless, Huajisi still counts and classifies them carefully.”

“The six Evil Spirits, regardless of strength, ability, and form, are all different, with only a few commonalities that are general… But they are all classified as ‘Evil Spirits’ and have not been classified separately.”

“The records left by ‘people’ cannot be trusted.”

The “human tree” chuckled, but his voice was chilling.

“People can lie, Fu Xingchuan.”

The air conditioner in the tower was turned to the max, but Fu Xingchuan’s back was drenched in cold sweat.

The person in red controlled thousands of evil beings, and so did that imitation in Gengsheng Town. No matter how he looked at it, it should be this kind of “special evil” that commands all ghosts.

So who moved the title of “Ghost King”, the commander of those ghosts, to Evil Spirit?

There must be hidden secrets behind “Zhong Yi”.

“If you really don’t have a clue, I have a solution. Why don’t I do a divination to see how long you will live?”

Seeing that Fu Xingchuan seemed to have some understanding, Fu Wuya shook his branches.

Fu Xingchuan knew the subtext of his ancestor.

“Zhong Yi” reappeared in the world with thousands of mysteries. If there was a huge conspiracy behind him, his remaining lifespan could be used as a side reference.

Fu Wuya: “But you have to think about it. Knowing your lifespan isn’t a good thing…”

“Thank you.”

Fu Wuya was silent for a moment.

A wicker brushed against the back of Fu Xingchuan’s hand violently, leaving a light bloodstain. A few drops of blood stained the willow branches and were absorbed in an instant.

In the giant eyes, the dark pupils suddenly shrank.

“Fi…” Fu Wuya’s voice trembled a little.

Fu Xingchuan held his breath.

Five years? …Or five days?

“Fifty-three years,” Fu Wuya murmured. “This isn’t reasonable. As far as your physical condition is concerned, how can this be possible?”

Fu Xingchuan: “……”

Fu Xingchuan: “Goodbye, Great Ancestor.”

Fu Wuya clicked his tongue and waved the willow branches.

“Leave as soon as you can. I can’t stand the breath of the living.” Fu Wuya half-closed his eyes. “…Oh, before you go, remember to help me tighten the cable on the TV screen. The screen has been cutting in and out for the past two days.”

Fu Xingchuan was speechless.

With such a comparison, Yin Ren was probably, not so strange… Perhaps longevity could really change a person’s character.

……

Haigu, afternoon.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo got in a taxi. Yin Ren’s face was no longer gloomy as he looked around curiously, finally stopping his gaze on Zhong Chengshuo’s face.

Zhong Chengshuo was looking at him.

“No angry anymore?” Comrade Xiao Zhong asked solemnly.

“Nn, I’m not angry anymore,” Yin Ren replied confidently.

Zhong Chengshuo took a deep breath. “Okay, then I decided to start being difficult.”

“?” The smile on Yin Ren’s face froze at the corner of his mouth.

“I care a little about what you just said, and I decided to show it.” Zhong Chengshuo was sitting upright. “Are you ready?”

Kinky Thoughts:

LMAO, all these evil spirits just want to be salted fish. 

Just to clarify again, the term “evil” when used to describe these ghosts and monsters is not necessarily because they are inherently evil but it’s simply describing a supernatural being.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 110: The Abyss

As soon as Yin Ren got into the green leather carriage, he closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep because he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to resist talking if he was awake.

The carriage was empty, so Yin Ren moved to an empty seat nearby. He curled up his legs and used his backpack as a pillow. Turning his face away from the back of the chair, he fell asleep.

He used a bunch of hair that had turned into red rope and skillfully created several bone talismans with seals inscribed on them. Yellow Millet maintained its size of a marble and was tied to one of the white bones on the red rope, transforming it into a standard keychain.

It hung on Dog Thing and looked quite harmonious with the hamster key pendant. The colorful ball swayed back and forth with the movement of the train, and Ge Tingting couldn’t help but glance at them several times.

In terms of the situation in Gengsheng Town, Yin Ren probably had no chance to go shopping, so where in hell did he get this from?

It was kind of cute.

As she was thinking about it, she saw the little thing that looked like a rainbow candy ball turn around, and a black dot that looked like a pupil was staring straight at her.

Ge Tingting: “……”

This train was so bumpy that it was causing her to see things, right?

She obediently took the bowl of braised beef noodles and slurped it while freeing up one hand to casually browse her social media feed. Due to the language barrier, she didn’t have many friends, and all her acquaintances were small managers who paid her wages.

Amidst the pile of flowery and fancy words and pictures that evoked feelings of spring and autumn, Shian’s artistic style stood out prominently.

[Huang Jin (junior): Why is it always so difficult for people to live?]

Ge Tingting continued to slurp her noodles and nodded as she swiped down.

[Luo Xiaohe (sister): Welcome home! When everyone comes back, I’ll treat them to a buffet and give them a warm welcome—!!! 🤗]

The accompanying picture was the header image of a famous buffet. Xiaohe Jie seemed to be in a very good mood.

As soon as she wanted to like it, she found Yin Ren’s like below.

Ge Tingting: “?”

My friend, aren’t you sleeping?

However, regarding the affairs of her seniors, it wasn’t something for someone like her to worry about. Ge Tingting stabbed her plastic fork into the braised egg and took a small bite. The savory egg white casually slid down.

[Minister Fu (leader): Hehe.]

The accompanying picture was of a Buddha statue with cracks on top of its head. Ge Tingting was unsure of what he wanted to express. There was obviously no Buddha statue in Gengsheng Town, and the picture was quite blurry, like it was a random picture found online.

Ge Tingting hesitated for a while, but in the end, she didn’t dare to like it.

After the mission was over, Fu Xingchuan specially added her and Huang Jin’s WeChat. Ge Tingting panicked at that time—when she was a dishwasher outside, the manager didn’t add her, but she wasn’t sure if it was appropriate to ask directly why.

If every newcomer was added, how many people would be on Minister Fu’s list?

She fell into a whole new world of confusion.

On the other side of Ge Tingting, Zhong Chengshuo had opened his unfinished book and was reading quietly. His left hand seemed to be stuck to the sampling box, and he was unwilling to move even an inch away from it, as if he were trying to hatch something.

Ge Tingting looked around and found nothing worth mentioning. She cleaned up her braised beef noodle soup bowl and laid it down on the plastic table that still had some residual heat and started dozing off.

For a while, except for Zhong Chengshuo, only three people in the Emergency Management Department were awake in the carriage.

The three looked in three directions, respectively. Among them, Li Nian’s gaze was glued to Zhong Chengshuo’s forehead; the latter looked indifferent.

Rumbling, the green leather carriage passed through the mountains, and the scenery on both sides was as lackluster as usual. It headed towards Haigu, which was full of high-rises, leaving the fog and decay far behind.

Everything was proceeding well. Zhong Chengshuo continued to read in silence.

As he guessed, Shian didn’t disclose the inside story of their execution mission. From Ge Tingting’s point of view, this was just an investigation mission that went awry. Whether it was “Qi Xin’s” abnormal condition or everything related to the “figure in red”, they were all hidden in the dark.

Afterwards, the real report of this mission would be sealed and marked with a higher level of confidentiality.

Fu Xingchuan didn’t ask him to hand in the samples he obtained, and he found more clues about the Divine Descent and Yin Ren’s past that were beginning to emerge. Zhong Chengshuo was extremely satisfied with this mission.

He had to get home as soon as possible and write down this incident—especially regarding that Old Mayor—in detail.

Thinking of the imitation that was the “Old Mayor”, Zhong Chengshuo couldn’t help turning his attention to the genuine product.

The top of Yin Ren’s head was facing him. Probably noticing Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze, an eye grew at the top of his head, rolled its eyes at him, and then quickly disappeared.

Zhong Chengshuo: “……”

Well, Yin Ren’s situation is a little weird, so he should keep that in mind.

……

Yin Ren’s strange state continued until the two returned to Ping’an Manor.

There would always be a rest period after a mission. This time, Fu Xingchuan exempted them from the medical examination process on the grounds that he had already “checked in person”. When the two arrived at their residence, it was just around noon.

Yin Ren walked behind Zhong Chengshuo. Pulling his face in a rare manner, he slammed the door shut and moved with a murderous aura.

Zhong Chengshuo quickly reacted. He jumped to the other end of the room, protecting the sampling box with both hands. Comrade Xiao Zhong hadn’t spoken yet when the entrance was full of evil qi. The curtains behind him closed automatically, without wind.

Originally, the room was bright and sunny, but it instantly became ten times darker.

“Oh, you’re back from that hellhole…” Hu Tao smelled a breath, and a head emerged from the room next door. She glanced at Yin Ren, whose face was so heavy that it was about to melt into dripping water, and instantly brake. She turned her head forcibly 180 degrees and whizzed back into her room.

“Zhong Chengshuo, let’s talk.” Yin Ren squeezed out each word with great emphasis between his teeth.

Zhong Chengshuo looked at him for a while and made a pause gesture, then ran back into the bedroom. When he emerged again, he had already changed into loose pajamas and was frantically wiping the ashes from his hand with a cleansing towel. The sampling box was missing. Yin Ren suspected that guy had locked his baby egg in a hidden safe.

Yin Ren watched as the man went through a series of operations. After two minutes, a pajama-clad Zhong Chengshuo was sitting in front of him with his hands on his knees.

“Go ahead.” Zhong Chengshuo pushed up his glasses.

Yin Ren’s side was full of energy that was slowly declining but wasn’t exhausted. Seeing this man’s usual innocent face, his nameless fire successfully flared up again.

He took a deep breath and put on a serious tone that could frighten mortals thousands of years ago.

“I’m very angry. Do you know why?”

Zhong Chengshuo’s face had a look full of confusion.

Yin Ren stepped forward mercilessly with a force in his hand, causing the first two buttons of Zhong Chengshuo’s pajamas to snap off and fly away. The front lapel of his pajamas was torn wide open, revealing bruises and abrasions underneath.

Yin Ren stretched out his finger and pressed on one of the wounds. The spell was spinning frantically at his fingertips, but the brilliance couldn’t touch Zhong Chengshuo.

“Don’t you understand yet?” Lord Ghost King gritted his teeth.

Zhong Chengshuo: “I have already disinfected them.”

“You know I can’t follow immediately, so you left the team to deal with the initiation.” In the dim living room, Yin Ren’s eyes glowed bright red like coal. “There are living people and zombies waiting over there… Okay, you, King Yama, are very capable and aren’t afraid of those small characters, but what about Qi Xin?”

Yin Ren said sharply.

“If I got there a little late, she might’ve killed you.”

Zhong Chengshuo looked at Yin Ren quietly but didn’t answer.

“She has an entity, Zhong Chengshuo, and I can’t even see through her strength. With that power, she can tear you into pieces with her bare hands! If she hurts you seriously, I can’t even heal you!”

Yin Ren pressed hard with his palm onto Zhong Chengshuo’s chest.

“Even if we don’t have this relationship, even if we are just friends, I will be scared to death if you do this. Don’t you understand?”

“……”

Zhong Chengshuo slowly touched Yin Ren’s wrist and held it tightly.

“I have the confidence to escape.” His tone was firm and steady.

“Then, if you’re really confident, do I have to say, ‘Wow, you’re so amazing’?”

Yin Ren grabbed the back of a chair with one hand and held Zhong Chengshuo with the other. His black hair was swaying windlessly, its ends shaking irritably. Zhong Chengshuo was firmly imprisoned in a cage of limbs and hair and could only look up.

“Now that you can escape, but when I lost control in the Archive, you said that even death might have been calculated. Why do you think so highly of me?”

Zhong Chengshuo maintained the posture of raising his head. “When facing you, I never considered running away.”

Yin Ren’s movement froze for a few seconds.

“Oh, really?” Yin Ren’s fierce red eyes were firmly locked on Zhong Chengshuo. “Should I thank you?”

“You’re welcome.” Zhong Chengshuo nodded politely.

Yin Ren: “……” Ah, such a person really made him want to explode. He had been sober for hundreds of years and had never seen a person like this.

The tips of Lord Ghost King’s hair swam like a snake on the ground, slapping the floor.

“So it seems to you,” he said almost angrily, “that there’s no problem with you going off on your own to deal with the initiation and not even waiting for an opportunity to discuss it with me first?”

“It’s not 100% no problem,” Zhong Chengshuo explained quickly, “but even if you were by my side, it’s still not 100% no problem.”

Yin Ren suddenly fell silent.

All his worries and anger were emptied, and his heart really stopped at this moment.

Indeed, even if he was by Zhong Chengshuo’s side… If at that time Qi Xin hadn’t stopped for an unknown reason, they might not have survived.

Zhong Chengshuo really knew how to grasp the key points.

All the hair no longer swam around. Yin Ren just looked into Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes and pursed his lips.

Strange eyes. Even when they were happy, there was no brilliance in them, like two withered deep wells leading straight into the bottomless abyss.

This person was also like an abyss.

The love and worry he invested would not stir any ripples. They would fall endlessly, and maybe they would collide with a little echo. But he didn’t know when a response would come back or how long he would have to wait.

Zhong Chengshuo wasn’t making excuses. This person couldn’t understand his worries from the bottom of his heart.

The probability was low, and the behavior was reasonable. For Zhong Chengshuo, it seemed that as long as he presented a “solution process” any matter could be completely turned over.

However, what made Yin Ren angry was that he was attracted by the ethereal voice in the abyss. The unknown, the distant… and even the pain and annoyance they brought.

That was right. Zhong Chengshuo didn’t understand his concerns, let alone worry about himself because there was “no danger”.

His anger eventually fell into the abyss of darkness, and he couldn’t make any waves.

Yin Ren released the back of the chair expressionlessly. He didn’t say another word, but walked to the sofa and sat on his knees in the corner of the sofa that was against the wall. Zhong Chengshuo blinked and watched as the man’s body quickly deformed and countless wings popped out, filling a quarter of the space in the living room, burying Yin Ren deeply inside.

“I want to be alone.” Yin Ren’s voice was muffled.

Zhong Chengshuo: “……”

Is this autism?

“What’s wrong?” Zhong Chengshuo took the opportunity to touch a wing.

Yin Ren didn’t answer. The wing mass shrank, and the feathers on the surface instantly became hard.

Yellow Millet noticed its master’s resentment and dragged Dog Thing around, trying to give this person a little deterrent as a powerful evil.

It was a pity that for a top science post, this soft dumpling was really no deterrent. Zhong Chengshuo squeezed it with two fingers and threw it directly into the bedroom.

“Puff, puff, puff!” Yellow Millet let out a weak cry as it banged on the door.

Zhong Chengshuo ignored it and didn’t go about his business as Yin Ren thought he would. He just sat in a chair with his hands crossed and his eyes on the floor in a standard contemplative pose.

Inside the dark living room, a man was staring at the floor, while in a corner, an evil behemoth had stuffed itself from floor to ceiling, creating a particularly gloomy atmosphere.

For a long time, Zhong Chengshuo pushed away his chair and sat on the uncovered part of the sofa. He leaned back on the hard feathers and slowly took off his glasses.

“Cats will hiss when they are angry, and dogs will wag their tails when they are happy. Spiders are born to know how to make webs. Most animals know to avoid the ‘eye’ organ, and many species have even evolved imitation patterns for intimidation. It’s interesting, isn’t it? They have such a powerful ‘instinct’ and don’t need education. They know what to do from the beginning.”

“People… People cry when they are sad and laugh when they are happy. People also have things engraved in their ‘instinct’, and I really want to understand it.”

Yin Ren: “……”

Zhong Chengshuo’s voice came through the wings, causing a slight tremor that made him a little itchy.

“But the instinct with ‘no education’ is very difficult to learn…”

As Zhong Chengshuo spoke, the feathers became softer.

He didn’t look back but instead looked at the sunlight that was blocked by the heavy curtains.

“There is only one of you in this world. I am worried that a mistake in expression will cause you and me to end here.”

“I don’t know what I feel, and I don’t know how to express it to you, so I have maintained the original approach—the approach of when you like me.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s fingertips gently slid over Yin Ren’s wings. His tone was as quiet as before, but a little strangely helpless.

“Sorry. Don’t ignore me.”

A group of wings struggled out from the large group of wings and squatted solemnly at Zhong Chengshuo’s feet.

“It’s not your fault. There’s no need to apologize.” A vague murmur came from the wings. “Forget it. Who told me to be an elder?”

It gently rubbed Zhong Chengshuo’s ankle.

“What are we eating tonight?” Yin Ren’s voice came from the mass of wings.

Zhong Chengshuo pinched the wing mass, as if he had made some determination.

“Go out to eat,” he said.

“It’s time. I want to take you to a place where we can solve this ‘contradiction’, one step at a time.”

……

On the edge of Haigu, a mansion in the mountains.

Fu Xingchuan stood nervously at the gate. He temporarily borrowed a powder puff from a female colleague to cover up the dark circles under his eyes.

Unfortunately, all the members in Unit 9 were on vacation and missed the earth-shattering news—the #1 Ghost General Minister Fu actually took annual leave!

“You’re still alive?”

The one who opened the door was a woman whose brows and eyes were similar to Fu Xingchuan’s. She looked older than him, but her complexion was much healthier. She looked at Fu Xingchuan up and down for a while, raised one brow, and clicked her tongue.

“Oh, sister,” Fu Xingchuan said weakly. “Help me go and tell our parents. I just want to see my ancestors.”

The woman withdrew her joking expression. “Ancestors?”

“Yes.”

Fu Xingchuan also sunk his face in the same way.

“As the director of Hwajisi 900 years ago, he should know something.”

Kinky Thoughts:

It’s already difficult enough to deal with a gong with low EQ, but one that has 0 EQ?

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 109: Mission Report

When Fu Xingchuan returned to the team with the two scourges, it was almost dawn.

Except for Zhong Chengshuo, the faces of the remaining two weren’t very good. How great. The three of them had six eyes, but they couldn’t find a single bright pupil.

Yin Ren’s entire body was numb.

Modern people were too scheming, Lord Ghost King thought sadly.

This started a few hours ago—

The crisis was lifted and the spiritual contract was formed, so Yin Ren let out a sigh of relief. The job was saved, the identity of the “Evil Spirit” hadn’t been revealed for the time being, and the future was full of hope.

There were still many mysteries about Gengsheng Town, but no matter how he looked at it, it would come to an end. The situation surrounding that imitation and the clues given by Qi Xin could slowly be studied in the future.

Even if Fu Xingchuan deduced his identity as “Zhong Yi”, he could only swallow his frustration and anger without being able to do anything about it.

If they had to talk about it, Haujisi was involved with “Zhong Yi” for a long time. The most widely circulated “symbol” in the metaphysical world was an evil creature that was so lazy that an orthodox cultivator like Minister Fu would never speak of it. And with the record of sealing six Evil Spirits, Fu Xingchuan wouldn’t be so stupid as to make things difficult for him.

The more Yin Ren thought about it, the happier he became. He felt a bit grateful to Qi Xin. Fortunately, she showed her terrifying strength, which allowed him to also use his true abilities to deal with the situation. If he had revealed his true abilities in a small case, Fu Xingchuan wouldn’t have been so hesitant to take action.

Now that Fu Xingchuan knew the two of them were unusual, Shian would no longer follow them intensively. An easy life without any hidden trouble was about to begin.

So why didn’t he start by having a quarrel with Zhong Chengshuo!

However, before Lord Ghost King could brew his emotions, he was targeted by Minister Fu, who suddenly woke up.

“Yin Ren, go and clean up all the evil things in town.” Fu Xingchuan rubbed the stubble on his chin with inexplicable gloating in his voice. “The townspeople are back to normal and they are likely to be frightened by the wandering evil spirits. You can add Yellow Millet to help you, right?”

Yin Ren was stunned.

As expected of the #1 Ghost General. Just after signing a spiritual contract with an unknown evil creature, he put it to use.

“We just had a busy day!” Yin Ren said bitterly. “It’s early in the morning.”

Wasn’t he working hard enough? He didn’t want to work overtime.

Fu Xingchuan: “I only promised to help you hide your secret, but I didn’t promise to cover up this Yellow Millet. If it wants to enjoy the same treatment, it must show some merit. Of course, if you want to hand it over, I also have no problem with that.”

Yellow Millet’s pupils shook tremendously. It began to rub crazily against Yin Ren’s palm, as if it were rubbing two sticks together to start a fire. “Puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff, puff!”

Yin Ren: “……”

“This mission was well done. According to Shian’s rules, you will get high compensation. The amount will be determined by me.” Fu Xingchuan played the tactics of carrot and stick to perfection. He sat down crossed-legged, folded his arms, and gave off a posture of “Laozi needs time to think”.

Yin Ren: “…Okay, I’ll go.”

Anyway, there weren’t many opportunities for them and Fu Xingchuan to act together, so they won’t be squeezed all the time.

Simply put, wasn’t this just letting Yellow Millet eat its fill in Gengsheng Town? If it ate all the messy things left by Sunken Society, this would also help him save on feed.

Even if Zhong Chengshuo was left alone, this low-profile “King Yama” who had been operating for many years, should still be able to handle the situation with Shian.

Thinking of this, Yin Ren tried to exchange a look with Zhong Chengshuo.

This time, his spiritual harmony died before it even got the chance to start.

Just when he and Boss Fu were busy discussing work-related matters, Comrade Xiao Zhong, seeing that he had nothing to do, took a piece of dust cloth and laid down and slept on the spot.

He didn’t even change into his pajamas but kept his nightcap as a sense of ceremony. Zhong Chengshuo was holding the sampling box tightly in his arms, with a faint smile at the corner of his mouth.

Wow. He really circumvented the possibility of being scolded by Fu Xingchuan.

Yin Ren’s facial features distorted, half relieved that this person could rest for a while, and half with an unknown anger that was rising even higher. He ran to Zhong Chengshuo angrily, threw a windproof spell that circled around him, and then flew away even more angrily.

Fu Xingchuan, who witnessed the whole process: “……”

Good. He decided to be in a coma for a while longer.

……

Time returned to the present.

“What about your injuries?” Seeing Fu Xingchuan intact, Li Nian got straight to the point.

“Met some strange people and encountered some strange things. I’ll write the report later.” Fu Xingchuan grunted twice. “There are some issues with that ‘Qi Xin’, so we have to check it out.”

Li Nian looked at him for a few seconds. A cold light flashed in his hand, and a fountain pen-like thing was directly inserted into Fu Xingchuan’s shoulder. The latter screamed. “Gentler! Gentler!”

“The rapid DNA identification results are consistent. The blood components are basically the same. The tested person is ‘Fu Xingchuan’, with an accuracy rate of 99.99999%… In the analysis of evil qi waveforms, there is no curse, no controlling spells, and there is a presence of a spiritual contract.”

A series of mechanical sounds came from the “fountain pen”.

Yin Ren couldn’t help but glance at the thing a few more times. He smelled the faint scent of medicine in it. If it didn’t hit Fu Xingchuan, then there might have been a backup plan.

Unfortunately, this Minister Fu was as good as a fake.

Li Nian neatly put away the testing equipment. “I contacted support. We can take a collective rest for a while.”

Fu Xingchuan: “Wow, that’s great.”

“You’re hiding something from me?” Li Nian added lightly.

“…You’re saying it as if I did something wrong. I’m just too tired. Weird things happen every year, but this year there are more than usual. Let’s talk about it in detail when we get back.” Fu Xingchuan’s face remained unchanged.

In the thick night, the fog in the mountain town had completely dissipated.

The dark building ruins stood in the center of the mountain town, leaving a dark shadow. The lights of every house were extinguished, leaving not much light left in the town. Those strange and bizarre evil creatures disappeared without a trace, leaving the town in a state of ruin and desolation, just like a sad and lonely scene after the passage of tourists.

The circular loop stopped operating, and the town fell into deep silence like a ghost who was finally laid to rest.

Helping Ren Jiying amplify her voice exhausted all of Ge Tingting’s and Huang Jin’s strength. At this moment, the two of them were leaning on two sheltered corners, each sleeping with faces full of dirt and exhaustion. Ren Jiying was covered by Professor Li’s suit jacket. She closed her eyes and frowned slightly, but there was a hint of relaxation in her expression.

Only Xiang Jiang sat silently in the same place. His eyes were blocked by his bangs, so it was impossible to tell whether he was asleep or not.

When the dust settled, Xiang Hai was nowhere to be seen.

“Report, a large number of evil things in the mountain town have disappeared.” A female voice came from everyone’s headset. Luo Xiaohe and Hao Wenzhe were still sticking to their posts.

“Normal. I signed a spiritual contract with that Yellow Millet. It won’t harm me if I don’t harm it.” Fu Xingchuan replied carelessly, casting a glance at Li Nian out of the corner of his eye. “That thing was under the control of Sunken Society. After the control was lifted, it ate all the evil creatures lurking in the town. It promised not to harm humans, and I, as the representative of Shian, agreed not to pursue it any further.”

“But that’s…”

“Class A-A evil things are not something I can control even if I want to. It’s not good for everyone if it becomes a big mess. This is my judgment.” Fu Xingchuan spoke earnestly, and this time his gaze swept towards Yin Ren, whether intentionally or not.

“I understand.” Hao Wenzhe took over. “Fu Xingchuan, prepare the main points of your report as soon as possible. I want to issue a mission report based on data observation.”

The next day, when the green leather train started, a black cursor was jumping endlessly on the snow-white document.

[Comprehensive Report on Special Investigation Unit 9’s Execution Mission (No. SA8729948766)]

[Mission Location: Gengsheng Town]

[Task Subject: Snake Swallowing (Class A-B Abnormal Phenomenon)]

……

[During contact with Snake Swallowing, our personnel found a Sunken Society’s ant’s nest underground. After preliminary confirmation, this ant’s nest started in the Gong Dynasty and is still active. The task-themed Snake Swallowing has been completely transformed to transport and guard the entrance…]

[The research subject in this ant’s nest is changes in the human body after a small amount of long-term exposure to Evil Force. The samples have been collected, and the analysis results will be supplemented in the attachment…]

[The basic subject is suspected to be “Zhong Yi”, and the new mayor of Gengsheng Town was made into an “imitation” of the subject. It’s understood that this imitation has the power to use the emotion of “sorrow” to control people and evil beings. The specific impact on the townspeople will be supplemented…]

The cursor jumped rapidly, quickly writing down the situation in the ant’s nest. When writing the next paragraph, it moved much slower than before, as if hesitant.

[In the ant’s nest, our personnel were chased by evil things bred by Sunken Society, while the townspeople were controlled to attack our ground personnel. It is suspected they were being mind controlled or were mentally corrupted.]

[During the pursuit, Zhong Chengshuo accidentally fell behind due to his clothes being torn. Later, during the battle, our personnel were stunned by the collision between Snake Swallowing and Yellow Millet. Yin Ren was the first to wake up and went to find Zhong Chengshuo, taking the initiative to leave the team. The two met near the circular loop and witnessed the following scene.]

[The “imitation” full of Evil Force was swallowed up by “Qi Xin” who had assisted the team.]

[The relevant time points and regional evil qi changes in this testimony are consistent with our records. Fu Xingchuan, who arrived later, can testify to this. According to Fu Xingchuan, the person who calls herself “Qi Xin” isn’t a human but some kind of special evil that hasn’t been discovered yet…]

[Qi Xin disappeared after swallowing the initiation, releasing the evil things from its control. The townspeople returned to normal and fell into chaos. Fu Xingchuan signed a temporary contract with the escaped Yellow Millet (An A-level abnormal phenomenon) to eliminate the remaining evil beings belonging to Sunken Society in the mountain town.]

[At each key point, there were no suspicious actions taken by Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo. They actively assisted in restoring Gengsheng Town to normal. Ge Tingting and Huang Jin performed very well. So far, Unit 9’s execution mission can be regarded as ending normally…]

……

[The following is the preliminary judgment of this comprehensive execution mission.]

[Yin Ren: Part of his strength is hidden, possibly due to the influence of previous events with unclear self-awareness. There is no sign of external contact, and his action is completely non-malicious. Currently, he is still able to work normally, but further observation is required. Comprehensive assessment: Threat level F.]

[Zhong Chengshuo: His physical fitness is far superior to the results of the physical examination. Considering the nature of the previous mission, it cannot be determined whether he deliberately hid his condition. There are no external signs of contact, and he’s currently able to work normally, but further observation is required. Comprehensive assessment: Threat level F.]

At this point, the cursor paused for a moment again.

[Xiang Jiang: As the person in charge of Gengsheng Town, he failed to investigate the actual situation of Gengsheng Town clearly, and there was a serious dereliction of duty. During the mission, Xiang Jiang responded negatively, did not guide weaker teammates, did not call for foreign aid in time, and didn’t actively rescue civilians. There were signs of external contact before entering the mission, but there was no clear evidence of betrayal. Currently, he is still able to work normally, but his access to missions needs to be restricted. Comprehensive assessment: Threat level C.]

[The above assessments refer to the opinions of Fu Xingchuan and Li Nian.]

The cursor stopped for a long time after the letter “C”.

After a long pause, there was a crisp sound of the keyboard being tapped, and a small plus sign was added to the C.

On the bright screen, Hao Wenzhe stared at the name of this old colleague without any special expression on his face.

[As of the date of this report, townsperson Qi Xin has not been found, and the identity of the woman posing as Qi Xin is unknown. The police will continue to follow up. Gengsheng Town has received assistance from the local Shian branch. A team of psychiatrists has settled in, and the current mood of the townspeople is stable.]

[The current mayor took the initiative to contact the relevant government departments and will conduct the follow-up development of Gengsheng Town in the near future. She proposed that while carrying out reclamation and governance, the town’s architectural advantages should be utilized to create relevant theme parks, and some of the town’s residents should be retained as staff…”

[Regarding the appointment of the mayor, personal data will be in the form of scanned copies]

Hao Wenzhe didn’t finish typing his sentence. His fingers froze in the air.

When he got here, he subconsciously glanced at the kraft paper bag that was set aside. The kraft paper bag was opened, and he took them out, preparing to scan them later.

He was busy sorting out the data just now and didn’t look at the most “irrelevant” information.

Taking a closer look, a thin layer of sweat oozed from his forehead.

…The old information on those documents didn’t seem to have a problem at first glance. There were photos that should be there, and the form was densely written in black pen, very typical of old information.

But the words were not words.

At least not the handwriting that existed in this world. No matter what file it was or what department it came from, the printed words on the form were clearly legible, but the words on the form were all crooked and distorted, like some kind of mutated bone, which made him feel uncomfortable all over.

Black pen, ballpoint pen, fountain pen. The handwriting was different, but the content was the same and unrecognizable.

They were even slowly shattering and fading, as if they were rotting.

The same was true of the photo of the old mayor.

Whether he was young or old, his features in the photo were blank, and his figure was blurred.

The traces of the only victim in this incident were gradually being erased.

Hao Wenzhe called Ren Jiying without hesitation.

“Hello?”

The mayor’s panting voice came through.

“Mr. Hao, is there anything I can do for you?”

“What’s the name of your last mayor?”

“Why are you asking this suddenly?” Mayor Ren was a little surprised. “He’s a household name. He’s the only college student that this mountain village has produced. When he came back, he discovered the mines… discovered… discovered…”

“Mayor Ren?”

“It’s fine. I’m just a little dizzy. What were you asking?”

“The name of your last mayor.”

“……”

“I don’t remember,” she said.

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

Chapter 108: Spiritual Contract

Five minutes before Qi Xin disappeared.

If it weren’t for regulations, Fu Xingchuan would really like to smoke a cigarette.

The bloody spear of his life-giving blow hit Qi Xin right in the bullseye but failed to cause the slightest damage. It was true that the two members of Unit 9 cooperated flawlessly and twisted Qi Xin into pieces in an instant.

Hehe.

Of the two, one of them manifested power directly from nothingness into red ropes—truly spiritual.

The other wielded a dagger and moved extremely fast to the point where people couldn’t make out the details, but Fu Xingchuan had a feeling that the crimson knife light looked a bit familiar.

Unfortunately, he was too far away and couldn’t feel the power attributes around the two. It was great that they were doing such a good job of suppressing their abilities.

Fu Xingchuan moved his fingers, holding a non-existent cigarette while his eyes were blank.

Perhaps he shouldn’t have shot that bloody spear and exposed his existence, but he couldn’t afford the consequences of “Zhong Chengshuo is innocent” and “Zhong Chengshuo might die”.

Although facts proved that the little beast was also a fraud. His left hand was probing Shian, while his right hand was disturbing Qi Xin. The judgment of the deception was instantaneous. Zhong Chengshuo was undoubtedly a veteran in combat.

‘It’s too difficult to be a person with a moral bottom line,’ Fu Xingchuan thought gloomily.

Now he could only bet on one thing—

When he woke up from his coma, the “man in red” who was riding Yellow Millet that he witnessed was probably Yen Ren. That kid was strong enough to control a Class A-A evil being, but his powers to simply stun them showed that he wasn’t hostile to Shian.

At least there was no hostility at the moment.

Dressed in red with Yellow Millet on his feet, this was an extremely powerful evil creature. Was Yin Ren the “same kind” as the figure in the mural, or was that figure in the mural actually “him”?

Minister Fu bowed his waist and continued to look into the distance.

The troublesome spirits were talking to Qi Xin shards. Unfortunately, his technique was limited. The images given were quite rough, and Fu Xingchuan couldn’t distinguish the lips of those people.

Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo weren’t hostile to Shian, but that didn’t mean they had good intentions towards him either. Now Qi Xin came with an unknown purpose, but it didn’t seem like she was in the same camp as those two.

What are their motives…

Minister Fu hadn’t smoked half the cigarette that he imagined yet when his back suddenly felt cold.

He didn’t stay for less than ten seconds when there were two more breaths behind him. Looking at the vicinity of the circular loop, he couldn’t find the figures of Yin Ren and Zhong Chengshuo.

Fu Xingchuan closed his eyes.

They’re coming.

The wound on his shoulder was painful and numb, which was the result of the drug suppression. As soon as he threw the blood spear, his state became unsuitable for fighting. Minister Fu turned around slowly. He dove one hand into the pocket of his tunic as the marquee of life flashed in front of his eyes.

In front of him stood the target of this “execution mission”.

Yin Ren’s long hair was loose, and his body was tightly wrapped in red cloth that resembled an ancient costume. The wounds from his shoulders to his chest were healing at a speed no human should have… Most of Zhong Chengshuo’s jacket was in tatters, revealing unexpectedly fair skin with only a few scratches on it. This kid was firmly holding his sampling box, and his face was full of brilliance as if he had a great harvest.

Were they here to silence him or…?

Fu Xingchuan straightened his back and cleared his throat, just intending to make a sufficiently deterrent opening statement. As a result, before his mouth opened, Yin Ren trotted up to him.

“I’m sorry!” Yin Ren’s tone was so sincere that it was scary. “I didn’t mean to conceal my personal situation.. I’m indeed, uh, not human.”

Fu Xingchuan: “?”

Is this… explaining?

Yin Ren pinched an extremely complicated spell causing Fu Xingchuan’s shoulder to emit a burning-like creaking sound.

Along with green and black smoke floating out, the wound caused by the poison arrow healed quickly. His exhausted limbs slowly stretched, and fatigue melted away like the snow. Except for the emptiness due to exhaustion of power, Minister Fu’s body didn’t feel any pain.

In the pocket of his tunic, Fu Xingchuan’s hand twitched, almost pressing on the most advanced security alarm.

He squinted at Yin Ren and said nothing. To be honest, Fu Xingchuan didn’t know if he wanted to create a sense of oppression or simply had nothing to say.

He would let these two act and see what tricks they were up to.

“Minister Fu.”

Yin Ren took out a colored marble-like thing from his pocket and spoke solemnly.

“Does this count as confessing to receive a lighter sentence? It’s indirectly surrendering itself and gaining merit by confessing to its crimes, right?”

Fu Xingchuan glanced at Yin Ren’s palm and almost vomited a mouthful of blood.

After living for so long, he didn’t know that Yellow Millet had the ability to become smaller. That evil thing that was chasing them was now crushed like an asteroid and was now lying obediently in Yin Ren’s palm, suddenly looking like a rainbow lollipop without a stick.

Zhong Chengshuo’s gaze was more focused than Fu Xingchuan—Comrade Xiao Zhong stared at Yellow Millet, rubbing his fingers on the edge of the sampling bag. Yellow Millet seemed to feel something and nestled hard into the palm of Yin Ren’s hand again.

Yin Ren gathered up his old cushion. “This is Yellow Millet. It has no malicious intentions, but it was controlled by Sunken Society using magic.”

Yellow Millet tried its best to show weakness, letting out a trembling, “Puff…”

Fu Xingchuan’s head swelled to the size of a bucket.

What is going on?

With two identities exposed, shouldn’t there be a dialogue between the strong and the strong? What was this atmosphere like that felt like a work review error meeting?

Yin Ren’s strength was unpredictable, Zhong Chengshuo was immune to spells, and there was no need to talk about Yellow Millet. If he picked any one of them casually, they weren’t an enemy he could easily deal with. Fu Xingchuan had thought about many possibilities, but he really didn’t expect this kind of development.

“Do you recognize this Yellow Millet?” Minister Fu really couldn’t hold back and tried to pivot.

Yin Ren considered his wording. “We used to be colleagues, so I know it very well. You know, Yellow Millet only eats evil things. This one is very lazy and has no interest in actively hurting people.”

“Puff, puff, puff!” Yellow Millet sincerely agreed.

“…I’m not doing a background check on it.” Fu Xingchuan laughed dryly. “This Yellow Millet has at least a thousand years of cultivation. How old are you?”

Yin Ren: “……”

What’s with modern people? Why does everyone keep asking this sad question?

“Or rather, I should ask…”

Seeing that Yin Ren didn’t answer, Fu Xingchuan straightened his tunic, which was covered with blood and dust.

“Is the person on the ant’s nest mural you?”

Yin Ren’s smile froze for an instant.

Since he could confirm that the person on the mural was himself, it would only be a matter of time before Fu Xingchuan deduced that he was “Zhong Yi”.

Sure enough, the #1 Ghost General wouldn’t be so easy to fool. In the next second, Lord Ghost King realized a problem.

Sometimes, “not answering immediately” was also a kind of “answering”.

Sure enough, Fu Xingchuan didn’t wait for his answer. Minister Fu pressed his temples frantically, and his tone became erratic. “Zhong Chengshuo, you… Forget it, we’ll check it ourselves.”

Zhong Chengshuo pushed up his glasses. “Good luck.”

Fu Xingchuan wasn’t in the mood to pursue this person’s attitude. He sat on the ground, flat on his ass, and took out a cigarette from his pocket.

After taking a long puff, Fu Xingchuan looked at Gansheng Town in the night. “…If you two wanted to be detrimental to Shian, at that time in the underground ant’s nest, you had countless ways to kill Lao Li and me. The two of you staying in a C-level investigation team—you have something you want from Shian, right?”

When he said this, he didn’t look at the two of them and showed his back frankly.

“If I report the situation, Yin Ren will definitely be fully inspected and guarded. Zhong Chengshuo will definitely be fired. You can guess this, but you still choose to communicate with me.”

“Well, we discussed it. This is a deal.”

Zhong Chengshuo’s eyes would dart toward Yellow Millet from time to time.

“Fu Xingchuan, you’re a powerhouse who sincerely wants to protect Haigu and knows what actions are most appropriate.”

“It’s useless to flatter me.” Fu Xingchuan took a hard puff from his cigarette and exhaled. “But I can’t drive you to Sunken Society… Haa, how troublesome.”

He raised his hand and spat out the cigarette into his palm.

The originally soft smoke condensed into a sharp blue and white blade, cutting open the wound just healed by Yin Ren. Bright red blood gushed out in an instant and floated upwards against gravity. They stretched into scarlet filaments and spun out runes one after another.

The bloodshot lines intertwined in the night, turning into gorgeous and terrifying giant patterns. It was three meters high and floated quietly in front of Fu Xingchuan.

“Forget Zhong Chengshuo. There’s a complete set of criminal laws governing him.”

Fu Xingchuan moved the bleeding wound, and the huge blood array above the wound moved slightly.

“Yin Ren, since you passed the physical examination, there must be entities that are similar to humans… You can figure it out yourself.”

Yin Ren looked up at the cobweb-like blood as he casually rubbed Yellow Millet with his fingers.

“Puff?”

Zhong Chengshuo also walked to his side. “What is that?”

“A kind of spiritual contract,” Yin Ren said. “The type that is binding on both parties. It’s quite fair… Well, in general, I can’t indiscriminately harm innocent people, and Fu Xingchuan needs to guarantee my freedom. At most, he can only tell Li Nian. It can be regarded as a temporary peace agreement.”

“What will happen to you if you violate it?” Zhong Chengshuo said curiously.

“My own strength will backfire, and even the slightest injury will be serious. This is an agreement based on cognition that can’t be falsified.”

Yin Ren’s palm cracked, and a ball of blood squirmed and flew out.

It also turned into filaments, penetrated the bloodshot gap made by Fu Xingchuan’s blood, and drew out another spell. When the two met, the blood circle immediately collapsed into blood beads and then disappeared into the air with a bang.

Well, Fu Xingchuan personally dared to make this kind of spiritual contract—Yin Ren knew in his heart that even if he was seriously injured, there were still many ways he could destroy Haigu. This agreement couldn’t be 100% binding.

If this was any other official from Shian, they would never take the risk of cooperating with an evil being at such a level.

“I still have some questions.”

After the spiritual contract was concluded, Yin Ren spoke solemnly.

Fu Xingchuan blew out smoke violently: “Ask.”

“You know the situation between me and Zhong Chengshuo. Can we continue to get promotions and raises? What about year-end bonus? Leaving aside the spiritual contract, I’m not human, so is the labor contract still valid? Can I still be Zhong Chengshuo’s partner?”

Fu Xingchuan: “…”

Fu Xingchuan: “?”

He suddenly realized something, stood up trembling, and stubbed out his cigarette butt.

“Damn, wait!” Minister Fu pointed at Zhong Chengshuo with his index finger, which was trembling slightly. “You know that Yin Ren is a thousand-year-old evil?”

Zhong Chengshuo innocently said, “Nn.”

“Are you serious with him? Isn’t it just an excuse for joint activities?”

Zhong Chengshuo replied with a harmless expression, “Yes.”

Fu Xingchuan was silent for a full five minutes.

“Yes, you can. Both of you can do whatever you want. As long as you don’t cause trouble, you can do whatever you want.” Fu Xingchuan finally spoke in a sleepwalking tone. “I’ll tell you what to write in the report later, but this Yellow Millet, I need to collect first—”

He went to grab Yellow Millet, but the naked evil thing instantly turned into a stretched rice cake, half of which was pulled far away by Fu Xingchuan and half of which held tightly to Yin Ren’s palm.

“Puff—puff—”

Fu Xingchuan continued to pull expressionlessly until Yellow Millet lost its form of a ball and was stretched out even longer.

“Puff—puff—” It puffing almost resembled howling.

“You see, it doesn’t want to,” Yin Ren said cautiously.

Fu Xingchuan’s eyes were beyond exhaustion. At this moment, they were dull, almost looking like Zhong Chengshuo’s.

“Oh,” he said. “Then you take care of it, and you’ll be responsible for the consequences if something happens.”

“Okay!”

“When others ask later, you will say that Xiao Zhong was left behind, so Yin Ren went back first to find him after waking up. For the rest, we’ll discuss it when we get back to Shian,” Fu Xingchuan said as he lay calmly on the ground.

Zhong Chengshuo squatted down next to his head, and his face was full of doubts.

“I’ll be in a coma for ten minutes. I need a break.” Minister Fu closed his eyes bitterly.

……

Haigu, Municipal Hospital, a certain ward.

The old man looked out the window.

It was late, and the appearance of the house was more clearly reflected than the scene outside the window. The glass window became a half-mirror, reflecting a wrinkled, aging face.

“That guy acted without authorization again.”

He hissed at his own image.

“That guy has been disagreeing with your approach for a long time. Is it okay to let him come over now?”

The old man’s mouth opened and closed, but the image on the window remained motionless.

“The inferior product got out of control, and the mountain town was destroyed. The tragedy spreads among the people… It was obviously an excellent opportunity to test our ‘theory’, but it swallowed the inferior product directly. I know that Gensheng Town is its territory, but—”

The image watched him silently.

“…Okay, I admit, its power is indispensable.” The old man snorted coldly. “Will Sunken Society give this up? Let ‘Ms. Qi’ handle this mess herself..”

“I will judge for myself who should be excluded.”

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