Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 83

In any case, Dong Zhi never expected in his lifetime he would be able to watch Long Shen’s growth, let alone travel through time and space, which was only limited to a number of pictures.

He didn’t know who sounded the horn, but the outcome of the battlefield gradually became clear. On his master’s side, the burly general holding the sword won a great victory. The victorious side cheered with all their might, squandering their blood, sweat, and life that was previously sprinkled on the battlefield into a wild joy for the rest of their life in glory.

The long sword that was held aloft gleamed in the sun, piercing his eyes. Dong Zhi had to close them but the corner of his mouth couldn’t help but curl up slightly.

When he opened his eyes again, his smile hadn’t faded, but the world had suddenly calmed.

Away from the battlefield, he was in a study.

He didn’t know who was hiding in the void making little jokes, but time took another big leap. Dong Zhi intuitively felt that he was no longer in the era of the battlefield just now.

There was a man sitting at a desk with white whiskers and upright eyebrows. From the furnishing of the study and the expression of the other party, it could be seen that he had been an official for a long time, and perhaps he was still prominent.

Another person was sitting in the chair used to treat guests.

But perhaps it should not be called a human, because the figure was just translucent.

Dong Zhi was startled. “Master?”

Naturally, no one would hear his voice.

He was now watching the past, and things that had already happened would not change in any way because of his watching.

The phantom wasn’t an entity, but he could vaguely see a figure. The person had long hair that was in a bun and was dressed in a black robe. Such a simple outfit emphasized the cold and awe on him. Dong Zhi knew how lethal that face was. Long Shen’s beautiful and unique appearance was blessed by the heavens, but the intuitive feeling he left to others was by no means from his looks, but aura.

The middle-aged official seemed familiar with him, and he wasn’t surprised by such a phantom. The two were talking.

Dong Zhi heard his master ask the other party, “I have never wanted to be long-winded, but this time, I persuaded Lord Jie to think twice. Of course, if you do this, you can quickly cut through the chaos and ensure temporary stability, but those people may not accept your affection.”

Long Shen’s words weren’t very polite, but “Lord Jie” wasn’t angry and was obviously used to his tone.

Lord Jie smiled and said, “Who are those people?”

Long Shen’s expression became faint. “Everyone, including those who support you now. They have benefited now, and they are naturally grateful to you, but in the future, they may not be able to cater to speculative villains, and they’ll pull you down when they seize the opportunity. In the end, I’m afraid Lord Jie’s fate may be dozens of times bleaker than it is now.”

Lord Jie shook his head. “Who said I was for them? I’m for the people, for the world.”

Long Shen spoke impolitely, “But the world will not be grateful to you, and the people will only follow blindly. Who will stand up on your behalf if something happens in the future?”

Lord Jie didn’t get angry, but nodded in agreement, then said, “You’re right. Even if I’m dismembered by five horses* in the future, they will at most stand next to me and watch. Afterwards, a few will sigh and shed tears of sympathy for me.”

*(五马分尸) This is a form of torture and execution in ancient times where a person’s head and limbs are tied to five horses, which then tears the person apart. It’s now used as a metaphor referring to dividing a complete thing into fragmented parts.

Long Shen frowned and said nothing.

He looked at the middle-aged man, but he didn’t know that someone else was also looking at him.

Dong Zhi found that for so many years, Long Shen’s appearance had basically not changed. It really was just as Mu Duo said. For them, hundreds of thousands of years were just the difference between night and day, and this difference, for humans, was the cycle of plants and trees decaying and being reborn, and one’s hair had already turned gray.

However, although his appearance had not changed, his temperament was somewhat different.

The Long Shen in front of him showed his determination, even if he sat there without speaking. He was like a sword unsheathed, with a chilling air. In the future, Long Shen would be more like a sharp blade that returns to its sheath with a restrained edge and an unfathomable depth.

No matter which master, they were both attractive, but if he had to choose, Dong Zhi may have chosen the current Long Shen, because he was livelier and more emotional.

When he looked at Long Shen, Lord Jie said, “The people are ignorant, but justice comforts their hearts. What’s more, I don’t need them to preside over justice. Long Shen, what I guard is not the kings of a generation but the peace and well-being of the world, the integrity and backbone of thousands of years, and the iron core of ancient sages.”

Modern people had seen a lot of flamboyancy and rhetoric. Take Director Jiang, who liked to speak big and used high-sounding words. It was estimated that no one in the Special Administration Bureau could speak better than him.

This person blurted out his righteousness, but Dong Zhi not only didn’t feel that it was hypocritical but, contrary to that, felt that it was natural as his heart seemed to be steaming with heat.

A truly righteous person could infect those around him.

However, Director Jiang couldn’t hear this. After all, people like him just like to talk big during meetings, but they weren’t treacherous either.

Dong Zhi was lost in thought for a moment and didn’t pay attention to what they said. He saw the middle-aged man get up and leave. Long Shen sent him to the door, and the phantom suddenly turned into green smoke and merged into the sword hanging on the wall.

The study was restored to a deserted room.

Dong Zhi blinked. He wanted to walk over and touch the sword, but as soon as he willed his mind, the surrounding scene changed again.

He faintly guessed that these scenes were related to Long Shen, and they were probably the most impressive fragments of his master’s life.

But the Changshou Sword was not the Longyuan Sword, so how could he see these scenes when he dripped his blood on it? Was there any connection between the Changshou Sword and the Longyuan Sword?

Or did Long Shen deliberately let him see this?

The last doubt had just come out, causing Dong Zhi to immediately shake his head in his heart. His master wasn’t the kind of person who would publicize his life all over the world. What’s more, these fragments of memory weren’t something his master would want others to easily peep at.

This time it was in front of the city gate.

Dong Zhi looked up and saw the sky was dark and heavy, pressing against the city gate as if it was about to collapse at any moment.

The middle-aged man was escorted to his knees on his left and right, and an executioner stood holding a sword next to him.

He then saw Long Shen again. The other party was standing next to him, still in a black robe. In addition to Dong Zhi, they seemed to be invisible to everyone else.

“Lord Jie” was calm and even smiled slightly at them, though Dong Zhi knew that the other party was greeting Long Shen.

Immediately afterwards, an inner attendant rushed out the door to loudly proclaim, “The emperor has an order to execute!”

There was no will, nor was it at the entrance of a vegetable market. This was the strangest execution scene he had ever seen. It seemed that everyone was in a hurry for fear of being interrupted, so they were eager to solve this matter quickly. Lord Jie had become the key to solving the problem. The executioner raised his blade in front of one of the doors of the palace, and it fell. A head rolled to the side. The top of his head suddenly burst into light and thunder rolled in. The chamberlain almost jumped up without being scared, and his face showed indescribable horror and guilt.

Dong Zhi turned his head to look at Long Shen. He remained motionless and did not step forward to help, nor did he leave.

At this time, Long Shen’s expression had changed a little from the time when he was in the study. The sharpness of his spirit precipitated a bit, becoming calmer and more distant.

“Master,” Dong Zhi said softly.

No. Why did he suddenly want to call him?

Long Shen at this moment should be sad.

In just two short clips, he could see that Long Shen and Lord Jie were teachers and friends. They had a good friendship, and his friend had died peacefully for his ideals and morality. Long Shen couldn’t stop it, and he didn’t want to stop it, and he felt no remorse for doing so.

Dong Zhi had seen many such things, and no matter how soft-hearted people were, he was afraid that they would gradually develop a heart of stone and become indifferent to everything.

However, Long Shen wasn’t like this.

Under his cold and serious shell, there was still blood that gurgled and bled, so he would always stay with the Special Administration Bureau to fight for his ideals. He also took on an ordinary human as a disciple; to teach Dong Zhi what slaying evil and defending the way, and the heavy burden of responsibility.

To Dong Zhi’s surprise, Long Shen, who was supposed to be completely inaudible, suddenly turned his head in his direction as if he was aware of him.

He was taken aback and was about to say something when he saw a flower in front of him. Whether it was Long Shen or the middle-aged man whose head had fallen to the ground, everything disappeared.

The dark caves were familiar to the eye, and the faintly glowing and swaying plants in the corner made people instantly travel through time and space to find familiar memories.

“In this life and in this world, this disciple, Dong Zhi, deeply regarded Long Shen as his Master. He must respect him with love and unwavering commitment. If there’s any violation, may the heavens strike him with lightning!”

Dong Zhi, outside of time and space, stood in the middle of the group of ghouls. Just like them, he raised his head and quietly looked at the two figures on the cliff that were standing and kneeling.

The ghouls had pale faces and holes in their eyes, and their thoughts were unknown. Dong Zhi, on the other hand, was thinking about what Long Shen felt at that time. Was he also happy at the moment when he accepted a disciple?

From a peerless sword, through the sun and moon, wind and frost, and mysterious opportunities, it finally turned into a human. After thousands of years of cultivation, Long Shen had developed a mind that was unrivaled by most humans.

How fortunate was he to be able to worship such a person as a teacher?

Looking at the man half-hidden in the dark, his eyes gradually moistened. Emotion and guilt intertwined, filling his heart little by little, but somehow, all of a sudden, turned into sadness, and the pain made him bend down slightly.

He didn’t expect that in Long Shen’s memory fragments, such a trivial matter of accepting a disciple could be compared to the moment when he was born.

Dong Zhi thought, ‘What virtue and ability do you have?’

He was just an ordinary person who had no ambition, drew a few pictures a day, ate and drank without care, and occasionally went and traveled and sketched. There were no bright spots in all his life. His life trajectory had changed since then because of the experience on Changbai Mountain.

It was like a swallow catching a glimpse of a phoenix in the clouds thousands of miles away perched on a branch and was attracted by the magnificent light of the king of birds. There was also a phoenix in his heart. He not only wanted to soar into the heavens and gaze down upon the mountains and rivers, but also wanted to be side by side with the phoenix, watching the spring and autumn together for thousands of years.

A few months ago, on the cliff, Long Shen was taking the sleepy Dong Zhi into his arms. The windbreaker separated the two worlds and cut off the dangers of the outside, allowing the apprentice to rest more safely. That is the love that Long Shen never resorted with words but only expressed through his actions.

Even if it may not be love…

Ripples slowly appeared around, and the light became brighter, causing all the darkness and treachery in the cave to fade, replaced by the bright lights of a living room.

The myriad phenomena of endless change seemed to be an illusion, and only the cold and quiet square-sized world was reality.

Dong Zhi slowly slid down against the wall and buried his head in his bent knees.

He wanted to say to Long Shen, “Why don’t we start over when everything hasn’t happened? I would like to treat you as a respected Master for the rest of my life, abide by boundaries, and never cross the line again. I would keep this secret deep in my heart for the rest of my life, until I step into the Yellow River.”

It was he who had personally ruined their appropriate relationship. Looking back, it was hard to recover.

—

The capital.

The phone rang.

A white cat meowed, tilted its head, and looked at the man, who was silent, as if a little puzzled. After three rings, the man’s fingers slid across the paper and finally picked it up.

“Boss Long.”

“Tang Jing, what’s the matter?”

Tang Jing’s environment was a bit noisy, but his voice still came through clearly.

“There’s something I’d like to report to you first. It happened in Lucheng. When we were investigating a murder involving dismemberment, we found…” Tang Jing didn’t stop for a breath as he relayed the entire story.

Long Shen didn’t interrupt the other party’s words. After listening from beginning to end, he let out a sigh and said the information they had found, “Li Qing’s identity has been confirmed. His original name is Yamamoto Kiyoshi, Japanese nationality, onmyoji origin, Fujikawa Aoi’s junior brother. He later had a falling out with his teacher and ran away. Later he committed many homicides in Southeast Asia under the pseudonym of Songen. It’s suspected that he fled to Lucheng when he was in exile and forged Li Qing’s identity. Interpol has issued a red notice for him, but there may be people behind him, so we must be vigilant and arrest him as soon as possible.”

Tang Jing was taken aback when he heard this. “I just reported Yamamoto Kiyoshi’s name to you, and you already confirmed his true identity? This efficiency is too good!”

He immediately realized. “Your apprentice reported to you, right?”

Long Shen said, “He fought against Yamamoto. He used a puppet substitution technique to escape from him. He just came to ask me about the source of this technique. He didn’t mean to jump over your head to report.”

Tan Jing smiled strangely. “I didn’t say that he overstepped, yet you’re in such a hurry to defend your apprentice. They all said that Wu Bingtian is the best at protecting the weak ones, but Boss Long, I think you’re about an equal match!”

Seeing that Long Shen didn’t answer, he didn’t care and continued to laugh. “Actually, this time I have to report news to you. You’ll love hearing this. One died and one was injured in Lucheng. Only Dong Zhi and Mu Duo are able to work. I have sent two people to help them. Your apprentice performed very well this time. I plan to let him temporarily take over as the person in charge of the office. What do you think?”

Long Shen was silent for a moment. “You have the right to decide this kind of thing by yourself. You don’t have to ask me.”

Tang Jing felt that Director Long was being sullen and awkward, but who lets people be pressed to death at the official level. The corner of his mouth twitched.

“Boss Long, I’m about to get on a plane. I’ll go back to Shencheng tonight, so I’ll talk to you later.”

Long Shen said, “I want to trouble you with one thing.”

Long Shen, who had never asked for help, had a day where he needed to trouble others? Tang Jing felt that strange things were happening today, one after another.

He only heard Long Shen say, “I remember that you have a Shangqing pill from Mount Longhu?”

This kind of pill was a special elixir for internal injuries. It worked quickly, but because this kind of medicine was troublesome to refine, it was rarely produced and was rare and valuable. Not only does Mount Longhu treat it as a treasure, but it also wasn’t easily given to others and often fetched high prices on the black market.

Tang Jing thought for a moment. “It seems we do have two left.”

Long Shen said, “Please help me out and give both to Dong Zhi. His colleagues may also need to use them. I’ll resupply you later.”

Tan Jing first agreed but felt something was wrong. “Although there are few Shangqing pills, the General Administration always has inventory. Why don’t you give it directly to him?”

Although this wasn’t a big deal, as a master, shouldn’t he give it directly to his apprentice? Why go through this roundabout way and make it such a big hassle?

But Long Shen didn’t want to explain further.

Tang Jing wanted to ask what the hell was going on between this master and apprentice, but before he could say anything, the other party said, “Sorry to bother you” and hung up.

He stared at the phone in disbelief.

After hanging up, Tang Jing was still confused. He made another call to the subordinate branch and asked them to notify Dong Zhi to find a time to come to the branch office for debriefing.

Long Shen’s attitude made him quite interested in Dong Zhi. Tang Jing still remembered that when he was on the top floor of Tianyuan Building in Yangcheng, Dong Zhi didn’t know much technique, yet he dared to help He Yu set up an array to attract lightning. The performance caught his eye, but at that time, Dong Zhi was at best a little bold sheep. Was it possible that this little sheep now had horns and had become a unicorn?

In any case, he’ll test the ability of this unicorn. If it was worthy of the name, there would naturally be a corresponding position capable of his abilities. Otherwise, he’ll let him go back to Beijing to be his master’s obedient little sheep.

Tang Jing made a happy decision within a few seconds, turned off his phone, and found his seat on the plane.

Just as he was about to sit down, he was lightly patted on the shoulder.

He turned his head, and a beautiful-looking young man smiled at him. “I’m sorry. I have the window seat. Can you let me in first?”

Certainly.

Tang Jing got up and moved out of the way, and the other party thanked him as he took his seat.

Tang Jing opened a book he bought casually at a bookstore at the airport and became drowsy after reading a few pages. His neighbor suddenly asked, “Isn’t this book quite good-looking?”

Tang Jing casually said, “It’s quite ugly. It rambles on endlessly that I don’t know what it’s talking about.”

The other party continued to ask, “Is the plot too boring?”

Tang Jing couldn’t doze off anymore. He glanced at the other party. The face was so beautiful that he couldn’t afford to get angry. Tan Jing asked himself if he was a superficial person, as it was inevitable that he would be more tolerant to good-looking people.

“It’s not boring. I thought it was a mystery novel, but I just read a few pages and found that I was deceived. Basically, the male and female protagonists are already affectionate.” He shrugged. “Do you want to read it? Or have you read it and want to complain about it?”

The other party said politely, “I’m the author.”

Tang Jing: ……

Well this is awkward.

He had thick skin, so he couldn’t help but laugh.

“In fact, the writing inside is still good. Very touching.”

He looked at the author’s name again. “Your name is Ming Xian?”

The other party nodded and took out his boarding pass to show him. “My pen name is my real name.”

“Tang Jing. Tang in the Tang Dynasty, and Jing from clean*.”

*Reminder: [Jing] (净) in his name is from [gan jing] (干净) which is clean/neat and tidy.

The two shook hands.

For the first time, Ming Xian was ridiculed by a reader in person, and he couldn’t help feeling a little aggrieved. “In fact, this is a romance mystery novel, so there’s more focus on romance. I also wrote two other books, which are mainly plot-focused.”

Tang Jing hurriedly said, “I’ll definitely read it if I have the opportunity another day!”

Ming Xian became happy and took the initiative. “Since this meeting is fate, why don’t I give you an autograph?”

Tang Jing was happy. It was the first time he had seen a writer take the initiative to sign a reader’s book.

He felt a bit bad that he had bought the book so casually as he handed it over. “Then please.”

Ming Xian happily signed his name and said to him, “Why don’t you give me an address later, and I’ll send you the other two mystery novels?”

The beauty took the initiative to show his kindness, so Tang Jing had no reason not to accept it. He thought for a while and said, “My lease is about to be up, so I have to find a new place. I’ll give it to you when I settle down.”

The two exchanged contact information. Tang Jing asked him what he was doing in Shencheng. Ming Xian said that he was a middle school teacher and had just applied to a private middle school. The conditions were pretty good.

Ming Xian was unguarded. In just a few words, he had already completely relaxed all vigilance.

Tang Jing was surprised. “Are you not a full-time writer?”

Ming Xian blushed. “Do you think I can make ends meet by writing full-time?”

Tang Jing: …True. If he hadn’t been in such a rush just now, he would never have wasted money on this kind of book.

Still, he comforted, “I think you look very good. I do side-gigs on the weekends and help with different platforms. Are you interested in joining?”

Ming Xian stopped talking and said in embarrassment, “I’m a serious person…”

The corner of Tang Jing’s mouth twitched. “…What are you thinking? There will be an anime exhibition in Shencheng next week. A Games invited me to play as Yu Ji.”

Ming Xian was surprised. “Cosplay?”

Tang Jing nodded. “Yes. I’m purely an amateur. I’m going to help my friends. In fact, if you’re interested, you can also develop some part-time jobs in this field. After all, your appearance is quite good.”

Ming Xian’s eyes lit up. “Where will it be held this weekend? I want to see what you look like as Yu Ji!”

His smile instantly lit up the world.

Tang Jing had no resistance to this bright smile and eyes. He immediately said, “Give me your address and I’ll send you a ticket later.”

“Okay!” Ming Xian happily agreed.

The two talked all the way on the flight, and when their journey reached an end, they got off the plane and parted ways. Tang Jing found a subordinate outside the terminal to pick him up.

Shu He was already waiting outside and waved at Tang Jing.

“Boss Tang, shall we head directly to the bureau?”

Tang Jing nodded and the two got into the car separately.

Shu He started the car and saw that Tang Jing was humming a song and couldn’t help laughing. “You’re in a good mood. Don’t you have to worry about finding the stone tablets?”

Tang Jing rolled his eyes. “Keep dreaming. Japan has been very restless recently. There have been many international incidents in Beijing and Shencheng. They’re afraid that the capital is heavily guarded, so maybe they’ll try to do things in Shencheng. Keep a close eye.”

Shu He said, “Don’t worry. I have been keeping watch during your business trip. Is everything going well in the capital?”

Tang Jing: “It’s fine. It’s just that there aren’t enough people for the meeting. I just came to help. By the way, you can call the Lucheng office later and ask the temporary in charge person to come over.”

Shu He became curious. “The disciple of Boss Long?”

Tang Jing glanced at him. “You seem quite familiar with him too.”

Shu He said casually, “Not familiar, but with so many things going on in Lucheng recently, it’s hard not to know.”

Tang Jing smiled. “I almost forgot, you also wanted to worship Boss Long as a teacher back then, but it seemed you were rejected in the end, right?”

Shu He laughed at himself. “That’s why I’m curious. What kind of talent is needed to catch the eye of Boss Long?”

Tang Jing had seen Dong Zhi, but it wasn’t talent that had impressed him, but…

“To be honest, he’s better looking than you.”

Shu He angrily said, “Boss Long is not the same as you… a face con!”

He originally wanted to say shallow, but when he spoke, he quickly turned the corner to save some face for his leader.

Tang Jing shrugged. “Who knows! It’s been so long, why can’t you let it go?”

Shu He had been smiling all this time, but when his smile faded, his face showed a bit of gloom.

“Because I always felt that I was no worse than others, and I did get first in the overall score that year. Moreover, what bothered me the most was not a matter of the apprenticeship but of my father. The top kept pressing me down and refused to promote me no matter how good my performance was.”

Tang Jing: “Lao Shu, didn’t National Security come to ask you several times? You didn’t want to go. You wanted to stay at the General Administration. If you went to National Security, why worry about not having a chance for a promotion?”

Shu He was silent.

Tang Jing patted him on the arm. “In fact, you’re just unwilling. Lao Shu, don’t be obsessed. Otherwise, it will only hinder your own practice.”

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 82

But the brilliance lasted only for a moment. In Mu Duo’s view, Dong Zhi seemed to quickly return to calm.

He said, “Can you tell me more about it?”

Mu Duo and Dong Zhi weren’t too familiar yet to the point where she could ask the other about their personal lives at will, so she chose to withhold her questions and thought about where she should start.

The story had long been covered by the dust of time.

“My great martial uncle. You also know that the corpse guide technique has been passed down from generation to generation, and we have the most dealings with zombies and corpses.”

Dong Zhi nodded.

When a person dies, the soul dissipates, and the body becomes a corpse. However, if there were grievances that persisted, the soul would remain and absorb the essence from the sun and moon and gather in its body, or it would absorb evil energies. After a long time, the corpse would be resurrected as a zombie, which was regarded as an evil thing in this world.

Ordinary zombies were afraid of the sun, so they would ambush at night to drain human blood, harming human life. They were regarded as evil, but zombies also had levels. The most powerful are the ones that have been transformed into monsters, invulnerable to swords, water, and fire. Even Taoist priests with deep cultivation would become helpless in the face of them. This kind of thing could no longer be called a zombie, but rather a thorny demon.

At that time, warlords raged battles and the world was in chaos. People were starving, and mass graves could be seen everywhere. Therefore, evil spirits and demons ran rampant, and all kinds of supernatural events emerged in an endless stream. Like Mu Duo, they not only guided corpses but sometimes took on the business of exorcizing evil spirits.

Once, Mu Duo’s martial uncle received a commission. The client was a group of tomb robbers who discovered a great tomb of the Song Dynasty. The other party was afraid there would be some thousand-year-old liches in it and was afraid that they would not be able to deal with them, so they invited Mu Duo’s martial uncle to go to the tomb with them. Her martial uncle didn’t want to do this kind of evil deed, but at that time, his junior brother, that was, Mu Duo’s master, happened to be seriously ill and urgently needed a lot of money to buy medicine. As such, he had to agree to the deal.

Going into the tombs itself was naturally an extremely dangerous task with little chance of survival. At that time, everyone was separated. Mu Duo’s great martial uncle was distressed in the tomb and was saved by a stranger. The other party claimed to also be a tomb robber who came down first but was separated from his companions. Mu Duo’s martial uncle felt weird at that time, but he didn’t detect anything strange. The two of them wandered through the tomb together. The man was powerful and protected him at every turn. He was rescued from the edge of danger several times. The two formed a deep friendship in the tomb and became sworn brothers who would share blessings and difficulties in the future together.

Dong Zhi listened intently. “Then what? Did they come out?”

Mu Duo nodded. “Although my great martial uncle is strong, there are many traps in the tomb. The tomb robbers who went with him died in the end, and only my martial uncle survived with the help of his sworn brother. Only the two of them managed to escape.”

After getting out of their predicament, Mu Duo’s martial uncle felt that this trip was taboo against the heavens, so he would suffer retribution. He also stopped thinking about returning to the tomb again, but he didn’t know how he would raise the money for the medical expenses of his junior brother. At this time, his sworn brother took out a jade cup and said that it was brought out of the tomb. Mu Duo’s martial uncle couldn’t resist, so he took the jade cup as a gift.

The jade cup was worth a few hundred yuan, which at that time was considered valuable. Mu Duo’s martial uncle was able to get enough to buy his junior brother his medicine. Hearing that his sworn brother had no father or mother, he used the remaining money leftover to buy dozens of acres of fertile land and a grocery store in town and dedicated them to the name of his sworn brother.

Coming up with the excuse that he couldn’t manage the store alone, he roped his sworn brother in. They ate and lived together, and their feelings deepened. Mu Duo’s master knew their relationship well and saw that his senior brother was better and happier, and he too became happy to see their success.

The days passed day by day, and that was plain yet blissful. Just when Mu Duo’s martial uncle thought his life would pass like this, a bloody case occurred in the small town. A resident of the small town died tragically for no apparent reason. There were blood holes on the side of their necks, as if they were injured by a beast with tusks. As more people died, rumors spread throughout town that they had been bitten by zombies.

The rumors spread so widely that it made Mu Duo’s martial uncle more suspicious. The object of his suspicion was not others, but his sworn brother. Over the years, his sworn brother’s appearance remained the same, just as he had come out of the tomb. Not only that, but his sworn brother also often dug ganoderma from the mountains to make soup for Mu Duo’s martial uncle to drink. As a result, Mu Duo’s martial uncle had always maintained his youth. Over the past ten years, their appearance did not change, but they would cover themselves when going out so the residents in the small town would not become suspicious.

It wasn’t that Mu Duo’s martial uncle never doubted these things, but he persuaded himself not to give in to his suspicions. However, this time, the case was bloody and human lives were at stake. He couldn’t help but start secretly observing his sworn brother.

One night, seeing that Mu Duo’s martial uncle was asleep, his sworn brother got up and went out. Unexpectedly, Mu Duo’s martial uncle had noticed and followed him quietly.

Mu Duo’s martial uncle kept following until he saw his sworn brother sneak up on a young man who was on duty and dragged him away into a dark place. Knowing what was about to happen next, Mu Duo’s martial uncle rushed in to stop him. The sworn brother seemed to have known that he would come, as he looked calm as usual and there wasn’t any panic.

Dong Zhi frowned. “Is there any misunderstanding?”

Mu Duo shook her head. “No. He really killed all those people. A thousand-year-old lich would turn into a demon. Even if they possessed the spiritual wisdom of humans, by nature, they are demons. My martial uncle, a corpse guide, had turned a blind eye.”

At first, he didn’t notice, but after such a long time and with such deep affection, how could he not have any inkling? He only deluded himself, hoping that the other party was different from other demons.

But a demon was a demon after all. Whether it wanted to be or not, instinct would reign supreme and make it unable to control its desire to kill.

His sworn brother often used the excuse to go up the mountains to pick ganoderma, but in fact, he went further. He intercepted business travelers on the official road and went to the mountains to kill bandits. For so many years, he killed many people, but they were well hidden, as many of them were foreign merchants. Others only thought they were taken away by beasts or robbed by bandits, until the other party couldn’t resist and attacked the people in town.

And the ganoderma that he brought back for Mu Duo’s martial uncle to eat was actually the remnant souls of the people his sworn brother had killed and refined into ganoderma. Because there was yang essence and blood qi of living people, Mu Duo’s martial uncle had unknowingly eaten so many lives.

When he learned the truth, he was stunned and dumbfounded, but the man still smiled and told him, ‘From now on, we’re truly connected by blood. You have me, and I have you. Isn’t it great for us to live together forever?”

Mu Duo’s martial uncle shook his head and said, “It’s not good at all. I was wrong.”

The man sneered, “Don’t forget. I saved your life.”

Mu Duo’s martial uncle continued to shake his head and said, “I was wrong. I shouldn’t have forgotten that people and demons are different. They’ll always be at odds, but I thought you were different.”

Dong Zhi was stunned for a while before he finally asked, “What about later?”

Mu Duo: “Later, my martial uncle wanted to subdue him. Originally, with his strength, he was far inferior to the demon, but over the years, with the demon feeding him the blood qi ganoderma and unintentionally planting willows, my martial uncle was able to overpower his opponent. In the end, the two of them fought a fierce battle. When my master rushed over, he happened to see my martial uncle turning into a demon under the moon and had his hand inserted through his sworn brother’s chest.”

Dong Zhi was silent for a moment, and then said, “Maybe that demon deliberately let him succeed.”

Mu Duo smiled bitterly. “Maybe. After my martial uncle killed the other party, he hugged his body and said to him, ‘You saved my life, and I’ll return this life to you. From then on, we’ll not owe each other.’ He then committed suicide in front of my master. Before he died, he told my master to burn the bodies of both of them and not leave any traces behind to avoid further disasters. My master did so, and from then on, only the line of my master was left.”

Did that demon do something wrong? No. Murder, naturally, was unforgivable, but it was a demon, and it only followed its nature.

Did Mu Duo’s martial uncle do something wrong? No. He stuck to his last conscience in order to stop the demon from hurting more lives, and to prevent himself from becoming another demon, he chose to die together.

It wasn’t an issue of race. It was completely different. In the end, they weren’t compatible.

Mu Duo said with emotion, “Humans have a limited lifespan, but demons can live for hundreds to thousands of years, or even longer. Their world is close to eternity, while ours only has four seasons. How could a person fall in love with a flower? Before he had time to develop feelings for the flower, the flower would wither and decay. Even if the flower blooms again on the same branch, it’s not the original flower.”

Hearing Dong Zhi’s question inspired the story of her martial uncle and his sworn brother, but seeing Dong Zhi lost, she hurriedly added, “But the world is vast and not everything will end up like my martial uncle’s outcome. Isn’t there a lot of non-humans in our Special Administration Bureau?”

Dong Zhi sighed and said, “You’re right. Thank you, Mu Duo Jie.”

After sending Mu Duo away, he wasn’t in the mood to watch the stars and moon. He returned to the bedroom, but he couldn’t fall asleep. He simply sat down cross-legged and practiced. He replayed the Bu Tian Gang steps that Long Shen taught him in his mind, but as he practiced, it was inevitable that he would get distracted. He almost lost his breath and got little results with twice the effort. He had to rein in his emotions. He got up and walked to the living room.

The Changshou Sword was hanging on the wall. It wasn’t affected by its owner’s emotions. This sharp blade, which had been baptized by wind and frost for countless years, had no surprises, joy, or sadness. The body of the sword was as cold as water, just like a piece of ice that wouldn’t melt for thousands of years. Crawling and rolling, the cold would not fade.

Seeing it, Dong Zhi felt it was like looking at Long Shen.

The confession was originally outside of his plans, but since the other party had already discovered his feelings, he had no choice.  

Long Shen’s words and Mu Duo’s story revealed a simple fact.

There was an insurmountable natural barrier between them.

It wasn’t like he didn’t have a hunch in the past, but human nature was always subconsciously risk-averse. Many things must be said by the other person before he would listen to the other party’s words.

Long Shen had accepted him as an apprentice in order to let him practice well, slay demons, and become the mainstay of the Special Administration Bureau; to protect others in the world, rather than letting him indulge in his own personal desires.

In the urban life of men and women who tumble in the world of mortals, connections are inextricably entangled with countless strands, fishing for the moon in water* only to remain empty handed.

*(水中捞月) Metaphor for doing things that cannot be done, so it’ll all be in vain. In the literal sense, it’s like casting your fishing rod into the lake that reflects the moon, hoping you’ll catch it (it’s impossible).

That wasn’t the person Long Shen wanted him to be.

As soon as his fingers hurt, he retracted it reflexively, only to find that the sword’s body was stained with blood and his fingers had been inadvertently cut.

Dong Zhi didn’t care. He put his fingers in his mouth and sucked away the blood beads, then got a towel to wipe the blood from the sword.

“Huh?”

His gaze fell on the sword unintentionally, and he suddenly stopped moving.

The traces of blood flowed back slowly, returning to the lines on the sword’s body, gradually filling it. It was densely packed, and the red lines twined and lit up the sword’s body.

The temperature was transferred from the sword’s body to the hilt, causing Dong Zhi to instantly feel that the sword he was holding had become scorching!

He looked at the Changshou Sword in surprise and started to doubt.

This sword had never been in such a situation before. The only time it had been of great use recently was when he fought with Yamamoto Kiyoshi, where he used it to summon thunder. Did Yamamoto do something to it? It wasn’t possible. The opponent had never touched his sword.

After he came back, he often took the sword out to wipe it, but there wasn’t any abnormality.

Should he ask Master?

As soon as this thought flashed, he saw the surrounding scene had changed.

Like the unnatural picture switching of an old-style black-and-white movie. With a flash of flowers that appeared in front of him, he was no longer in his living room.

There were no floor-to-ceiling windows, no recliner sofa, no Changshou Sword. What was presented within his sight was a lonely mountain that wasn’t high but uniquely shaped, resembling a thatched house. Under the mountain were densely packed trees, with a small brook gurgling out and winding about.

Dong Zhi found this situation worrisome. He couldn’t move his body and was unconscious, as if he had been frozen in place.

He tried to close his eyes or silently recall Bu Tian Gang in his heart to return to reality, but when he opened his eyes again, he still only saw the lonely mountain and brook in front of him. After repeating it several times, he gave up and continued to look at this “screensaver”-like picture. Fortunately, the picture still had sound and his ears caught movements, so it wasn’t entirely boring.

He didn’t know how long it took, but suddenly a man came into view.

The drowsy Dong Zhi instantly felt refreshed as he looked expectantly at the uninvited guest who finally appeared.

The other party “passed by” Dong Zhi, turned his back to his gaze, and walked farther and farther away. Dong Zhi couldn’t see what he looked like at all. He could only see from his back that the man had his hair in a bun and his hair color was a mix of gray and black. He was wearing coarse clothes, which seemed as if he didn’t pay much attention to his looks, unlike the modern man.

The man walked up to the brook until his body was covered by the trees and could no longer be seen.

Dong Zhi was eager to look. He waited until his upper and lower eyelids started to get heavy, but the man didn’t appear again. No matter how beautiful the scenery was, he would eventually feel tired. The only thing he could control was the opening and closing of his eyes. He felt a little depressed, so he simply closed his eyes and reviewed the entire set of steps of Bu Tian Gang; practicing it in his head to calm his nerves.

Clang!

He didn’t know how long he had practiced, but the sound of iron suddenly came into his ears. He slowly opened his eyes, and they widened instantly!

If it weren’t for his inability to make sounds, he would have already cried out.

The mountain was still a lone mountain, but the situation under the mountain had changed.

The brook under the mountain was diverted some unknown time ago, and seven small, scattered pools appeared left and right. The water from the brook was diverted into each small pool. Next to the last small pool stood a bellows kiln with black iron weapons piled up on the side, just like a military refining workshop.

Dong Zhi felt that scene felt like a déjà vu but couldn’t remember where he had seen it.

While thinking hard, the gray-haired man he had seen before threw away the iron hammer and looked regretful. He shook his head and sighed, turned around and entered the woods again.

This time, Dong Zhi didn’t wait too long. When the man came out again, he was still holding a large piece of mysterious iron in his hand.

The other party threw the black iron into the furnace, and after a while, he added gold, silver, and other metals. His expression was a little more focused than when he was practicing Bu Tian Gang, and he couldn’t help feeling ashamed with such a comparison. However, he couldn’t help but want to get closer and see what that man was making.

His heart moved at will, and his line of sight really moved forward slowly. Looking at the golden water that has turned into liquid in the furnace, Dong Zhi seemed to be able to feel the heatwave blowing against his face and couldn’t help taking a step back.

At this time, the man cut his wrist, causing blood to drip into the furnace, turning the golden water instantly red. It tumbled endlessly, releasing clouds of steam.

Refining swords with blood and sacrificing for the sword with one’s body was not uncommon in ancient legends. Familiar names such as Gan Jiang and Mo Ye flashed in his mind, and for a while, he couldn’t tell what peerless weapon this man was refining.

But dripping blood to feed the sword was just the beginning.

At night, the sky was full of stars reflected in the pool. The water was glistening while the stars shone brightly. The man took a little water from each of the seven pools and poured it into the furnace separately.

He didn’t know whether it was an illusion, but he saw a star map slowly emerging from the furnace, shining brightly over the furnace for a few seconds, then slowly disappearing.

The red in the furnace gradually turned white.

It was daytime again in the blink of an eye and the spring mountain was smiling*. His vision was filled with lush vegetation.

*(春山如笑) Comes from Song Guxi’s “Linquan Gaozhi Landscape Training” describing a beautiful spring mountain. Full verse: “The mountains in spring are calm like a smile, the mountains in summer are green and dripping, autumn mountains are bright and pure like makeup, winter mountains are bleak and sleepy.”

The man came down from the mountain with a pine branch in his hand and threw it into the furnace.

The furnace changed from white to yellow.

Dong Zhi watched the seasons around him change three times a day and had long forgotten the passage of time outside. He didn’t know whether it was the disorder of time in the dreamland or the acceleration of its passage. In a trance, he had the illusion of a thousand years in a day. After thousands of years of wind and rain, he watched the molten iron in the furnace surge endlessly, and he looked forward to what the other party would produce.

The man brought ice and snow from the top of the mountain, rain from the sky, white haze from the forest, extracted chalcedony from the ground, and put everything into the furnace. After repeating this several times, he finally smiled with satisfaction. After pouring the golden water in the furnace into the sword mold, he waited for it to cool down and began to temper it again.

As the saying went, true gold came from thorough tempering.

When the sun on the top of his head gradually went west, the stars and the moon banished the sunset and replaced it with a glittering night. The man repeatedly watered and tempered the sword in his hand until it gradually shaped and revealed its original appearance.

There was some faint speculation in Dong Zhi’s heart. He was dragged into this fantasy with the Changshou Sword in his hand. The scene he saw must also be related to the sword. Originally, he thought that the Changshou Sword was what was tempered in the man’s hand, but when the sword first took shape, he found that it wasn’t.

A long sword, more than three feet long. The body of the sword was faintly glowing with gray light. It was curved and had countless lines, reflecting the stars in the sky and eternal solemnity.

Dong Zhi’s heart moved and he raised his head.

The bright moon was in the sky, and to the north, a string of stars was shining brightly, reflecting the seven pools on the ground.

Then he heard the man say, “There’s a big dipper in the sky, and there are seven pools on the earth. Lift it like a high mountain and hold it like a pine. May you ascend to a high place in the future. Your nature is upright and clean. You are nine-four in the book of changes¹. The hidden dragon of the abyss, deep and unpredictable. Therefore, your name shall be Qixing Longyuan².

¹Ancient Chinese divination text. It uses a divination method called cleromancy that uses random numbers. And the nine and four are turned into hexagrams, which can be looked up in the text and are made up of yin or yang elements. You can read Wikipedia for more information on it.
²Literally means Seven Star Dragon Abyss.

The tone was a bit weird, but the strange thing was that Dong Zhi could understand it. The sound was like a heavy hammer that directly smashed into his heart.

His heart shook slightly. He went into the clouds to see the moon and the fog dispersed.

The red light and purple qi from the burning smoke of Kunwu’s* iron smelting were quite impressive!

*Refers to the legendary inventor of pottery manufacturing,

The Qixing Longyuan Sword!

Longyuan… Long Shen…

Could it be—

He actually witnessed the birth of his master with his own eyes!

This sword, to be precise, was just taking shape. It couldn’t be regarded as a sword that was used to kill people, but was refined by Ou Yezi*, the first craftsman in the ages.

*Legendary master of sword-making during the Spring and Autumn period. According to Yuejueshu, he forged five treasured words for Gan Jiang and King Zhao of Chu named, respectively, Zhanlu (湛卢), Juque (巨阙), Shengxie (胜邪), Yuchang (鱼肠) and Chunjun (纯钧). He also made three swords for King Goujian of Yue, named Longyuan (龙渊), Tai’e (泰阿) and Gongbu (工布). See Kinky notes for details of each sword or the Wikipedia.
Note: It seems that Long Shen is based off a real-life sword, Lóngyuān (Dragon Gulf) – Its shape resembled that of a high mountain and a deep gulf. Goujian used it to cut a gash in his thigh as an act of self-punishment when he mistakenly executed an innocent person.

The black iron of Cishan, the essence of the sun and moon, the brilliance of the stars, the air of the mountains, the spirit of Aoki, the ice that connects the sky, the dew without roots, and the jade chalcedony of the earth.

Before that, no one had ever refined swords in this way. After that, there was no such sword that could gather the spirits of all things under heaven and earth, mountains and rivers.

Living in this world, he never wanted to be extraordinary.

Dong Zhi’s heart jumped wildly. He opened his eyes to look at the scene in front of him.

Before entering this dreamland, all sadness and heartache were replaced by the shock of witnessing the birth of a famous sword through the ages. His heart was agitated and he couldn’t help himself.

What’s more, this sword was his master.

Dong Zhi’s nose instantly soured and he suddenly felt the urge to cry.

In the dark, his heart felt involved. He couldn’t help but want to get closer and touch the Master, who hadn’t yet taken human shape with his own hands.

What a precious moment that would be forever engraved in his mind.

Unfortunately, not long after he finished his thoughts, he could not only get closer to his newborn master, but his eyes went dark and his feet felt like they were on air, like falling into an abyss.

The speed of the sharp fall made Dong Zhi dizzy, and he had to close his eyes, but the fall lasted a long time. His whole head became heavy, and his feet were light. The moment he stepped on the ground, his legs couldn’t help but go limp and he sat directly down.

His nose was filled with a strong smell of blood. His ears were filled with fierce shouts of killing, war drums that played in unison, chaotic horse hoofs, the sound of swords, bows, knives, and halberds colliding; and the noise of flesh being pierced and blood splashing everywhere.

This was a battlefield.

Dong Zhi opened his eyes.

He stood at the center of the battlefield. Soldiers on both sides rushed to kill each other, using the greatest strength they had in their lives.

The close combat in the era of cold weapons was crueler and more direct than he had seen in film and television dramas.

But everyone seemed to ignore his existence. Countless flesh and blood passed by him. Horse’s hooves were raised high, trampling over the nearest soldiers. Immediately, the general raised his sword and unsheathed it. The white light of the long sword reflected the sun and dazzled his eyes.

Master!

To be precise, the Longyuan Sword held in the hands of a burly general was his master.

Even though the appearance of the sword was very different from before, he still felt the connection at a glance.

The general’s sword rose and fell, and the body of the sword was quickly soaked in countless blood.

When the general lowered his hand, the blood slipped down the body of the sword and dropped in the soil, staining the flowers with blood.

The Longyuan Sword flashed with a terrifying cold light. It didn’t hurt people itself. Only when held in the hands of people did it become a weapon that hurt others.

The enemy seemed shocked by the general’s fierceness. When they rushed over, they deliberately or unintentionally bypassed him.

One of the soldiers on the general’s side was holding a military flag that was blowing in the wind with the word “Li”.

Dong Zhi suddenly remembered that a long time ago, He Yu took him to visit a museum and told him how difficult it was for an artifact to become refined.

The wonderful hand of the master craftsman, the favor of the sun, moon, and stars, and the immersion of blood and yang qi; it couldn’t be kept away from the mortal world, but it couldn’t be held by petty criminals and thieves.

There must be the aura of an emperor who was ambitious and sought hegemony, as well as possessed the spirit of selflessness, loyalty, and righteousness.

Time, place, and people were indispensable.

What role did his master play in the long river of history that had been rolled over one volume after another, in the years of intrigue and enmity, hatred and resentment?

Had he ever witnessed the rising sun and the transformation of Chang Geng into Qiming at the top of a high mountain in a desolate place*? Had he ever walked alone in the depths of the desert and seen how the ancient civilization became a site of vicissitudes and heard the sound of camel bells that were buried by the yellow sand?

*This line refers to the poem <Xiaoya Dadong>: “There is Qiming in the east, and Chang Geng in the west. As soon as the sun rises, the star is called Qiming; when the sun enters, the star is called Chang Geng.” Chang Geng is the ancient Chinese name for Venus. Qiming is the name of a star.

How much blood must be stained, how many struggles must be experienced in the mortal world, how many exchanges of people’s hands, and how many prosperous annihilations had he had to see in order to cultivate the thousands of years of loneliness and persistent belief that was rooted in the bottom of his heart?

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Kinky Thoughts:

Ou Yezi

Legendary master of sword-making during the Spring and Autumn period. According to Yuejueshu, he forged five treasured words for Gan Jiang and King Zhao of Chu named, respectively, Zhanlu (湛卢), Juque (巨阙), Shengxie (胜邪), Yuchang (鱼肠) and Chunjun (纯钧). He also made three swords for King Goujian of Yue, named Longyuan (龙渊), Tai’e (泰阿) and Gongbu (工布). See Kinky notes for details of each sword or the Wikipedia.

Swords made by Ou Yezi

(纯钧, 纯钩, or 淳钧) Chúnjūn, Chúngōu, or Chúnjūn (Purity) – Its patterns resembled a row of stars in a constellation.

(湛卢) Zhànlú/Pilü (Black) – A sword made from the finest of the Five Metals and imbued with the essence of Fire. Said to be sensitive to its owner’s behavior, it left of its own accord for the state of Chu when Helü’s conduct offended it. When Helü became aware of King Zhao of Chu’s possession of Zhanlu, he attacked Chu.

Haocao/Panying (Bravery/Hard) – Said to have been imbued with the aspect of lawlessness and was therefore of no use to anyone. It was used as a burial object.

(鱼肠) Yúcháng (Fish Intestines) – A short dagger said to be capable of cleaving through iron as if it were mud. Used by Helü of Wu to assassinate his uncle, Liao of Wu. It was hidden in a cooked fish presented to King Liao at a banquet. As a result of the assassination, the blade gained a reputation for causing its user to be disloyal.

(巨阙) Jùquē (Great Destroyer) – Said to be incredibly durable, being able to withstand even hitting or stabbing rock.

(胜邪) Shèngxié (Victor over Evil)

Swords made with Gan Jiang

(龙渊) Lóngyuān (Dragon Gulf) – Its shape resembled that of a high mountain and a deep gulf. Goujian used it to cut a gash in his thigh as an act of self-punishment when he mistakenly executed an innocent person.

(泰阿) Tàiā (Great Riverbank) – It had patterns like the waves of a flowing river. Tai’a was used by the king of Chu to direct his army against a Jin invasion.

(工布) Gōngbù (Artisanal Display) – Gongbu patterns like flowing water that stop like pearls at the spine.

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 81

Dong Zhi’s heart jumped wildly.

He understood very well that it was too early to confess his affection, so even if he occasionally crossed the line in his speech, he would always pull it back in time, carefully maintaining that indistinct line between master and apprentice.

After thinking about it, he shouldn’t have said too many explicit words or actions for Long Shen to see, but now his feeling of such uncharted territory had made things unpredictable.

“Hello? Hello? Did you go dumb?” He Yu didn’t hear him reply for a while and couldn’t help tease.

When Dong Zhi recovered, he suddenly thought of something.

“Lao He, does Master know how to connect to me? Do you know this?”

He Yu: “You know, last time we were in danger in Yangcheng, didn’t he use telepathy to guide you to find a way out?”

Dong Zhi: “Then can he hear the inner voices of others through this? Like their thoughts that they don’t say aloud.”

He Yu: “Generally speaking, he can only get a response from others, which is equivalent to not speaking but communicating with your mind, but the kind of situation you mentioned isn’t impossible. Since he’s cultivated his mind to a certain level, he can indeed detect the inner thoughts of others. As the saying goes, one thought becomes a Buddha and one becomes a devil*. There will be energy between thoughts, and fluctuations in that energy could be detected.”

*(一念成佛，一念成魔) Philosophical text from Buddhist scripture. It basically boils down to one’s thoughts determining one’s future. “Good” thoughts point in the direction of happiness, while thoughts that have not yet caused evil foreshadow disasters.

Dong Zhi felt his heart sink into the abyss. His hands and feet went cold, and he could hardly hold his phone.

He Yu, on the other end of the line, didn’t notice his strangeness and continued speaking, “Why are you asking this? Do you want to use telepathy to find out what the boss is thinking? Hahaha, don’t dream. I haven’t seen anyone who can peep into their hearts. Even if there is, can you please say something?”

By the time he noticed that his palms were slippery and sticky, he didn’t know how long it had been. He even forgot to say goodbye to He Yu. The phone slipped from his hand and fell to the sofa, and the hot temperature on it showed that he had been talking for a long time.

Outside the windows, magpies were hopping up and down on the branches, chirping at him as if they had reunited with old friends for many years.

His eyes were emptied, as if he was listening but not really listening at all. In his mind, he combined Long Shen’s subtle attitude during this period of time, and he felt that his guess was correct.

If Long Shen did discover this secret, then the estrangement of the other party would make sense.

The enthusiastic cry of the magpie became like an impassioned funeral march, singing for him.

Dong Zhi couldn’t help but hold his forehead, looking up at the sky and lamenting.

Even he himself wasn’t ready, so how could Long Shen be mentally prepared?

It wasn’t a big issue if an apprentice fell in love with their master. The real question was, did he like him before he became an apprentice? Did Long Shen feel that his apprenticeship was just a ruse to get close to him and that he had ulterior motives from the start?

He now hated that he couldn’t buy a plane ticket and fly back immediately, stand in front of the other party, and explain all this sincerely. Even if Long Shen didn’t accept his feelings, even if it was just a simple master-apprentice relationship going forward, it was better to be like that than to let this misunderstanding continue to deepen.

But he couldn’t do this. He was now a member of the Special Administrative Bureau. In addition to his personal affairs, he had other responsibilities to shoulder. If he did this, then his relationship with Long Shen would truly end.

It was a dilemma to die early or later.

Although strong poisons and drugs are painful, there may be a chance of survival if treated promptly. Chronic poisons and drugs may manifest later and aren’t as painful, but one will undoubtedly die over time.

The newly rented house sat facing north to south. It was well ventilated, making it breathable. The viewing balcony had been transformed into glass floor-to-ceiling windows. There was a wide recliner in front of it. When one sat in front of the window, one could look up at the night sky. The air was excellent along the coast of Lucheng. In late autumn, the stars were glistening, and the sea could be seen not far away.

Dong Zhi loved this place so much that he rented it without hesitation, even though the rent wasn’t cheap.

Now, he sat cross-legged in a chair, and he had no leisure to watch the scenery.

From day to night. After an entire day of contemplation, he finally picked up the phone with difficulty and took the explosives and medicine bag to confront death.

The phone rang three times, but to him it felt like three centuries.

“Hello?” The other party’s tone was a little lower than usual.

Hearing his voice, Dong Zhi gradually calmed down.

All kinds of speculation and thoughts will be known tonight.

“Master, are you free now? I have something to tell you.”

“…About Yamamoto?”

“No.”

The other party was silent for a moment. Not only did he not take the imitative to ask, but he also actually said, “If it’s an idle matter, there’s no need to talk about it.”

In the days when he knew Long Shen, it was unlikely for the other party to take the initiative to avoid a topic because it didn’t fit his temperament at all…

Unless the other party knew what he wanted to say.

“Master!”

Dong Zhi crossed his heart and blurted out, “Do you already know my… feelings for you?”

“It’s getting late. You should rest early and don’t think about it.” Long Shen’s voice was calm.

He already knows!

Dong Zhi was afraid of him hanging up and hurriedly said, “If you don’t listen to me, I’ll buy a ticket overnight and talk to you in person!”

Long Shen said coldly, “Are you threatening me?”

Dong Zhi softened. “Master, will you listen to what I have to say?”

There was no response, but he didn’t hang up the phone either.

Dong Zhi took a deep breath.

“Master, I like you very much.”

“Maybe this sentence has been said many times before, but today, I’m not saying it as an apprentice, but as a man who’s confessing to the person I like.”

“I don’t know when this feeling started. It may have been the moment I met you again in the underground cave, when Uncle Qian said you were feeding the stray cat, or even earlier. I was on Changbai Mountain and saw you fighting with the bone dragon and thought you were majestic and admirable.”

“Before you became my Master, I was just an ordinary person who was aimless. It was you who taught me my abilities and made me strong. From you, I learned more about duty and responsibility.”

He finished in a single breath. His breathing was a little heavy, so he had to stop and calm down a bit before he continued.

“I know, when I say this, you may misunderstand. That I wanted to get close to you, to be the waterfront pavilion to catch the moon first*, but please believe me that I have absolutely no intention… If you don’t believe me, you can use your telepathy to explore my thoughts. I—I want to respect you and cherish you for the rest of my life, follow in your footsteps, live and die with you, and stand by your side. Can you—”

*(近水楼台先得月) Idiom that comes from the poem “Qing Yelu” by Yu Wenbao. It’s a metaphor referring to getting benefits or convenience because you’re closer to someone/something.

Unknowingly, heat surged into his eyes, and his hands shook badly.

“Can you give me a chance?”

There has been no movement on the other end… As if no one existed.

Across the phone, he couldn’t see the other party’s expression, let alone speculate on the other party’s mind. It was as if going in blindfolded, looking for the right way out at a fork in the road.

One person was in the cloud, and one was on the ground; they were far apart, powerless, and could only wait for the moment when the result was announced.

If the other party refused to come down from the clouds, he wouldn’t be able to insert wings to fly to them.

“…Sorry.”

After a long time, he finally heard a reply.

Dong Zhi smiled silently and wryly, but more importantly, it was a relief-like ease.

Before this, he had even made plans to conceal it for half of his life. Even if he wanted to confess, he never thought that in this situation, he couldn’t even see the face of the person he was confessing to.

Putting himself in Long Shen’s shoes, if he was Long Shen in this kind of scenario, he would also suspect that his apprentice had ulterior motives. He would even be angry at his previous unreserved dedication and teaching. What’s more, his master was now not angry from beginning to end, which showed how well disciplined he was.

Long Shen originally thought he would be angry.

But he wasn’t.

It seemed that all the anger gradually dissipated as he knew the truth that night. When he heard the other party ask him to give him a chance, he wasn’t angry with Dong Zhi as he had imagined.

A strange emotion flashed in my heart, but it wasn’t anger nor hatred.

When he spoke again, his voice was still calm.

“I can’t give you this chance.”

This answer should have been enough, but Long Shen paused before adding another sentence.

“You should have known a long time ago that I’m not a human.”

The next moment, he heard his apprentice’s unexpectedly calm voice saying, “Yes, I knew it a long time ago, and I also know that your true identity is a sword.”

Long Shen was slightly startled.

“Because you practice with swords, love swords, and testify for swords.”

“Do you remember the regretful expression you had when you saw the Feijing Sword in Liu Qingbo’s hand?”

“At first, I thought you were regretting that such a good sword was used by Liu Qingbo, but then I realized that it was regret for the Feijing Sword that couldn’t be like you. You have to encounter the opportunity to cultivate yourself as a human, right?”

“So you have collected a lot of swords. Even Uncle Qian thought you were just interested in swords and had a hobby of collecting them, but you didn’t. You just want to see if there are any of these famous swords that could be transformed. If there are, you won’t let them fall into the hands of immoral people.”

Deep inside, there seemed to be a string that was gently being tugged.

Long Shen suddenly remembered the time a long time ago, when he was still a sword.

For a while, he used to be the sword of a certain person. That person devoted himself to his government and the public and made contributions to his country, but he had no doubts about his love for his wife, and that was his soft spot. His wife had died early. The other party wasn’t even over 50, but he never remarried again. He didn’t even have a concubine.

At that time, Long Shen had already activated his spiritual wisdom and was practicing with his sword body. He listened to that person preach righteousness, talking about the morality and worries of the world. Although they were only a person and a sword, for Long Shen, this relationship was like that of a master and apprentice, or father and son.

Later, because of this fate, Long Shen wanted to tell the other party his way of cultivation. He believed that with the other party’s qualifications, even if he failed to obtain enlightenment, it wouldn’t be a problem to still live a long life. However, the man rejected him and said that his wife had been waiting for him by the edge of the afterlife for a long time, and he had to abide by their agreement. They had already agreed to be husband and wife for three lifetimes.

Long Shen still remembered what he asked him. ‘Husbands and wives gather due to fate and scatter when it ends. With such unparalleled talents, why not break it?’

The man smiled and said, “It’s people who can’t be broken, not love. Love runs through the ages, including the three realms and six ways. Whether it’s demons or immortals, they are born and destroyed by love. Affection towards your children is love, even flying is love. Even if you ascend to heaven, following the way and maintain the world, isn’t it just a kind of seven emotions and six desires?’

The other party was used to being eloquent. Long Shen naturally couldn’t respond. Everyone had their own choices, and Long Shen didn’t want to force others. However, later, the man did not live up to his promise to his wife. Instead, he was wronged and beheaded in front of the city gate that he once guarded.

Long Shen wanted to save him, but the man was unwilling. With his own life, he finally fulfilled his promise of living and ending with love. It was just that, in addition to his affection for his wife, there was also a great love for his family and country.

Under the nine springs*, that person could finally be reunited with his beloved wife, be worshipped for life, and never be separated.

*(九泉之下) Idiom referring to the underworld/netherworld.

Long Shen hadn’t thought of that person for a long time.

Those years were already so long ago, but as long as he thought about it, he could still easily recall it, but this situation was different from that person.

Dong Zhi was also different from that person’s wife.

Between them, there was no deep affection, only shallow fate.

Dong Zhi held the phone tightly, held his breath and waited for a long time to hear the other’s party reply…

“I have endless life and youth, but you don’t.”

“I don’t want to face your old face in a few decades.”

“Therefore, I have never been tempted by ordinary humans. It has nothing to do with whether we are master and apprentice.”

Long Shen’s tone was very calm, as if he was talking about how good the weather was in the capital that night and how he could look up and see stars.

Dong Zhi’s heart went cold. It was like experiencing a downpour in late autumn, then jumping into the lake to take a swim. He drowned because of his poor swimming skills. Seeing that no one could help him, he could only let his heart gradually sink to the bottom of the lake, entangled with the aquatic plants and slowly being eaten by fish.

“Then why? There are so many others with superior qualifications and longer lifespans, but you accepted me as your sole apprentice.”

Long Shen heard Dong Zhi and questioned himself.

Why?

He didn’t actually know.

The consequences of today only came when he started thinking about his selfishness that day. If he couldn’t reciprocate, it was better to simply cut off the source.

He actually regretted it a bit now.

Maybe this would not have happened had he not taken Dong Zhi as an apprentice and instead introduced him to Tang Jing or Yu Buhui.

In the past many years, what little emotions he had have been paid to this world. He was cast by the people and received their grace and instruction, so he would keep his promise and protect the peace of the world.

Dong Zhi’s affection was not originally in his plans.

Long Shen could feel the gradually increasing breathing sound on the other end of the phone.

He stood on the rooftop of the Special Administration building, and as soon as he looked up, he could see the stars in the sky that were brilliant and magnificent.

He had also been to Lucheng. In this season, if you stood by the sea, you could easily see the stars in the night sky.

They were under the same sky, but Long Shen didn’t speak anymore.

“I’m sorry, Master.”

Unexpectedly, he said such unfeeling things, and the other party apologized in turn.

Long Shen was silent for a while.

The other party’s voice trembled a bit, but he still tried to calm himself.

“It’s my fault. I should be concentrating on cultivating. I shouldn’t have said these things to you to disturb your mind.”

Long Shen said, “I can let Yu Buhui teach you on my behalf. His ability is not inferior to mine.”

Dong Zhi felt cold. “Will we not be able to be master and apprentice in the future?”

Long Shen sighed. “I just don’t want to make it difficult for you to face me in the future.”

Dong Zhi was silent for a moment. “What if I don’t want to learn from others?”

Long Shen: “Then I’ll continue to teach you. As long as you want, we will always be master and apprentice.”

Dong Zhi wiped away his tears.

“Then we’ll always be master and apprentice.”

If Long Shen was a girl, or the other party showed even the slightest hesitation, Dong Zhi would persevere until his wish came true.

But Long Shen wasn’t. He was strong and had a deep mind. No one could force him to do what he didn’t want, not even his apprentice.

It was this awareness that made Dong Zhi completely disheartened.

The distance between himself and Long Shen was like the distance between the stars above his head and the sea. While visible to look up to, it was far away and always out of reach.

He had fallen in love with someone for the first time in his life, and in the blink of an eye, tasted lovelornness.

From now on, in the vast sea of people, there may never be a person like Long Shen who could make him act reckless yet also cautious.

Mu Duo knocked on the door for nearly a minute before the owner opened it.

She was apologetic and felt that she should buy something instead of coming to his home empty-handed. After all, she was able to escape with her life due to the other party’s graces, but she couldn’t find a suitable gift at this time of night, so she had to tell herself that she would owe it for now and make it up later.

As a result, she was stunned as soon as the door was opened.

“You… Are you okay?”

Dong Zhi’s expression was calm. “I’m fine. I just have a cold. Please come in.”

What cold? It’s clear that he was crying. Mu Duo felt a little embarrassed, feeling that she had come at a bad time.

“Why don’t you rest first and I’ll come see you tomorrow?”

Dong Zhi shook his head. “If you come here at night, there must be something important. Come in and we’ll talk about it. I’m fine.”

Mu Duo did have business, so she stepped in.

“You found a really nice place!” She looked around and saw the furnishings and couldn’t help but praise them.

The old house, which they used as an office, wasn’t even mentioned. It was too dilapidated. None of them wanted to live there. They all found other places to live by themselves, but the home Mu Duo was renting wasn’t as good as this.

Dong Zhi made her a cup of tea and said with a smile, “Why don’t I keep a look out for you to see if there’s a place here for rent in the community? It’ll be more convenient to contact each other if we live in the same area.”

Mu Duo felt moved but soon shook her head. “The rent here is too expensive, and my pay isn’t enough to afford a place like this.”

She didn’t have any deep-pocketed master, but Dong Zhi’s master had directly given him a bank card. When he needed to transfer money for the rent for this place, he stopped by the bank and asked someone to help check the amount on the card. Only after checking did he find out that the card was the legendary black gold card that had no upper limits. Regarding this kind of card, there was an urban legend that said, From heaven to earth, as long as you want it, the bank will do it for you.

Dong Zhi didn’t plan to use that card. His own salary and savings were enough, but that was the best way Long Shen could think of for his apprentice, so he treasured it.

Thinking of this, his smile couldn’t help but fade.

Mu Duo didn’t pay attention to the change in his expression and sat down and got straight to business.

“There has been a reply from the branch. The two additional people who are being sent to help should be able to report tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. Do you have any plans?”

Dong Zhi came back to his senses. “Plans?”

Mu Duo said, “The head wants you to temporarily serve as the person in charge of the Lucheng office.”

Dong Zhi was taken aback. “Me?”

“Are you surprised?” Mu Duo laughed.

Dong Zhi thought for a bit. “It’s quite unexpected. You should take it. I’ve just been here for less than a month.”

Mu Duo smiled and said, “This is what the head wants, non-negotiable. Although you just came to Lucheng, you have made great contributions. If it weren’t for you this time, perhaps I wouldn’t be here now talking to you. Not only me, but Yan Nuo is also convinced.”

Dong Zhi frowned. “But I have no experience…”

Mu Duo didn’t care. “Who’s born with experience? I have read the report you wrote for me last time. You wrote it better than me. I also submitted it and added your name.”

Speaking of this, she felt ashamed. “Yan Nuo and I are mediocre in ability, and we’re keenly aware of it. In the past few years, Lucheng’s performance hasn’t been outstanding, so we have never been able to rise. I know that we have wronged you.”

Previously, Dong Zhi was unhappy with their neglect, but now that the other party took the initiative to admit their mistake and lower themselves, he couldn’t bear to pour hot tea into Mu Duo’s hand.

“Mu Duo Jie, the two of us have been through life and death. Why act like this?”

Mu Duo chuckled and hurriedly said that she was wrong.

The slightest suspicion of the past had also dissipated.

“The two people dispatched by the branch aren’t small in origin. One of them is a direct descendant of Mount Longhu. I’m afraid he won’t be willing to listen to your command easily. I told Yan Nuo that if there’s any work that needs to be done, we’ll do it. You don’t have to bother.”

Dong Zhi nodded, not paying much attention.

He thought about Liu Qingbo, Zhang Song, and the others that had eyes above the top that were free of dust*. The people that were coming shouldn’t be any more arrogant and crazier than them.

*Metaphor referring to someone who is sharp-eyed and has a very strong sense of ability, but also used to describe someone haughty and arrogant. || In this context, it’s referring to the latter.

After talking business, Mu Duo stopped talking again. Remembering the state of the other party when he came to the door just now and the sad expression he had and that he didn’t have time to hide it.

“Is there something wrong? If it’s convenient to talk about, maybe I can help.”

Dong Zhi smiled bitterly. Except for Long Shen, no one could help with this matter.

“I’m fine. Thank you.”

Mu Duo nodded and said no more.

“Then you have a good rest. I’ll take my leave now.”

He watched the other party get up to leave, and he couldn’t help but make a sound.

“Mu Duo Jie.”

Mu Duo turned her head.

Dong Zhi hesitated for a moment. “Have you ever heard of love between humans and monsters… I mean, not monsters, but non-human races. Do they fall in love?”

Mu Duo was stunned. She didn’t have time to think about it and just nodded.

“Yes.”

At that moment, Mu Duo felt that the brilliance in the other party’s eyes almost illuminated her.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Huh, I never would’ve guessed Long Shen is a sword. Given his name, I thought he was a dragon.

Poor Dong Zhi, rejected. Common, when is this relationship gonna happen? We’re already 81 chapters in and way past the halfway point of this novel!

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 80

“Dong Ge?”

After He Jia finished her call, she opened the door and saw Dong Zhi standing in the corridor. The other party came back to his senses after hearing his name being called a couple of times.

Thinking of the strange things that Dong Zhi said just now, she couldn’t help but feel a little scared. She timidly said, “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Dong Zhi gave her a soothing smile. “How was the call?”

He Jia said, “It’s strange. My great aunt said that she was dreaming. She dreamt that Uncle Liu said goodbye to her and told her he was leaving. She woke up and felt something was wrong before calling me.”

Dong Zhi nodded. “Uncle Liu is the guardian of your family, and his fate was tied to your great aunt.”

He Jia smiled and said, “But don’t worry. I didn’t say anything about what you told me I couldn’t divulge. I didn’t even mention your existence. I just told her that I know a master in this field who could help with things. My great aunt gave me the right to deal with it, but I have to bury Uncle Liu and set up a monument. She told me she would return home to sweep the tomb of Uncle Liu in the future.”

Dong Zhi secretly praised the girl’s reaction and tone. He didn’t forget to tell her again. “You can handle Uncle Liu’s body yourself, but the hotel must be cleared as soon as possible. This can’t be delayed.”

On Mu Duo’s side, the police rushed over as soon as they received the news. Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi were handed over to them, while Mu Duo took Yan Nuo back to the office and hurriedly reported the matter to the branch office.

She didn’t conceal Dong Zhi’s role in the incident, and emphasized that if it wasn’t for Dong Zhi, they might not have been able to escape alive. The phone call lasted for two hours. The branch leader attached great importance to the matter and said he would send additional personnel to assist them and asked Mu Duo to formally write the situation into a report as soon as possible.

At the end of the call, Mu Duo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Exhausted, she fell back to the sofa.

This kind of exhaustion came not only from the body but also the mind.

In just one night, she was seriously injured and almost died. She had lost two companions, and in the end, she narrowly escaped death by the skin of her teeth. At that time, every second was critical, so her reaction was instinctive, but now that she was settled, she felt lingering fear.

“Sorry, I hurt you,” Yan Nuo said weakly.

“Don’t say that.” Mu Duo pulled out a smile. Her face wasn’t much better than Yan Nuo’s.

Just now, Captain Zhou’s subordinates wanted to take them to the hospital, but Mu Duo thought about reporting the incident to the higher ups first, so she chose to rush back to the office.

“Dong Zhi’s injuries aren’t light, but he’s still busy trying to resolve this matter. On the other hand, we’re dragging our feet here.”

“Before, I was too emotional and vented my dissatisfaction of the previous newcomer on him, which had affected your judgement.” Yan Nuo’s voice was very soft, as if the wind could blow it away at any moment.

“I don’t blame you. Not only did you make a mistake in judgement, but we also all had preconceived notions.” Mu Duo’s eyelids felt heavy. Her internal organs were in pain, like a knife cutting at them, but she no longer had the strength to get up. Besides, she won’t be able to breathe properly for a while, so she might as well just sleep first.

The sky outside was getting brighter as light pierced through the gaps between the leaves and branches. All the darkness had subsided, sending hope into the heart.

When she woke up, she had to find Dong Zhi and apologize. This was Mu Duo’s last thought before she finally fell asleep.

After waking up, it would be a new day.

No matter how long the night was, the arrival of dawn would always ignite new hope.

He Jia’s actions were fast. The hotel was cleared by the next evening, and all the employees were put on paid leave. For the guest who had already paid the deposit, she gave double compensation and cancelled all bookings. The police directly blocked off the hotel and prohibited anyone from entering.

The lack of personnel in the Lucheng office was now manifest at this moment. Xiao Qi died, and Yan Nuo was still suffering from the aftermath of losing his soul, so he was unable to work. Before the manpower dispatched by the branch to help arrived, Mu Duo and Dong Zhi had to drag their injured bodies up and down the hotel to do another check. Unfortunately, Dong Zhi still didn’t find any other traps that the weasel had told him about.

Perhaps the other party had already withdrawn and, in order to not leave any clues behind, they killed Lao Liu.

But this wasn’t good news, because such an enemy was also more cunning and difficult to deal with. Those lurking in the shadows had many hidden dangers.

Probably due to their high alert, the other party didn’t commit crimes in Lucheng again, but that didn’t mean that they wouldn’t go somewhere else.

When Yamamoto hadn’t appeared before, both Mu Duo and Yan Nuo felt that Dong Zhi was eager to make contributions and thought he was making a fuss about the hotel. Now, Mu Duo had naturally stopped thinking such things, and she also added this matter to the report.

Meanwhile, Dong Zhi didn’t remain idle. He had to recover from his injuries and find a place to rent. The agency finally found a suitable home for him. It was in the community next door to the office. It was completed just a few years ago, so the facilities were brand new, and the environment was pristine. It was more than a hundred times better than the office. It had two bedrooms and a living room. The only catch was that the rent was higher, but fortunately, Dong Zhi had savings and he also earned remuneration during this period, which was more than enough to support the rent.

The card Long Shen gave him had been in his wallet all this time and hadn’t been used once. When he paid for the rent deposit, Dong Zhi accidentally opened his wallet and suddenly remembered he hadn’t contacted his master for a whole week.

Although the Special Administration Bureau was a special department, it must also follow the same protocol for doing things. It was reasonable to report it to the South China Branch first, and from there the branch would decide whether to report it to headquarters. Naturally, Dong Zhi didn’t rely on the fact that he came from the General Administration and directly ran to Long Shen, as this was taboo in the workplace. Just like when he was the lead graphics designer, he didn’t like contradictions between newcomers under his management who would go directly over him and complain to the project manager.

Although he won’t leapfrog to report, he did have many doubts in his heart. For example, the gray piece of paper in the hotel that was similar to a shikigami. If it could be identified, it could help them solve the case and find Lao Liu’s murderer. In terms of extensive knowledge, his master naturally was the one who possessed such thing.

Taking advantage of the fact that he finally had a place to settle down and his injuries were almost healed, he directly called Long Shen.

The phone rang twice before the other line picked up.

“Dong Zhi.”

The tone of the voice was familiar and pleasant-sounding, which made his heart throb slightly.

“Master, it’s me. I didn’t bother you, did I?”

There was a short snort on the other end. Dong Zhi was still adjusting his mood, and he didn’t speak for a while.

Both ends were silent for a few seconds, as they were connected by a phone call but were separated by thousands of mountains and rivers.

The only thing that could maintain their connection was this small phone that could transmit sound waves.

He calmed down and showed the same composure when he confronted Kiyoshi Yamamoto. “Well, an incident happened a few days ago. It’s a work matter. We have already reported it to the branch office, but there’s a discovery that I’m unsure about, so I want to ask you for help.”

Dong Zhi roughly gave the general description of the piece of paper that he found at the hotel.

“That piece of paper is still with me now. I’m afraid there’s something weird in it, so I sealed it with a talisman.”

Long Shen pondered for a moment. “Take a picture and send it over. Make sure the shape of the piece of paper is clear and enlarge the details.”

Dong Zhi hurriedly complied. The other party answered his question normally, and there wasn’t anything off with his tone, but he always seemed to have an indescribable sense of disobedience.

“Master, have you been busy lately? Why don’t you even reply to my text messages? Is Longlong okay?”

Long Shen: “Good.”

Dong Zhi: …He skipped all the questions and directly answered the last one!

He deliberately pressed onwards, “Then is He Yu alright? Is Chaosheng okay? Is Zhong Yuyi doing well? Do you miss your lovely apprentice?”

Long Shen was silent for a while. “Let’s end this here. I still have something to do.”

Dong Zhi: ???

Before he could react, the line hung up.

Dong Zhi stared at the phone for a while.

Was this normal or abnormal for his master to be like this?

He still remembered that before he left, even if Long Shen didn’t like to talk nonsense, he would occasionally talk to him about his daily life. Now it seemed he didn’t want to say much about anything.

Something must be wrong.

Dong Zhi searched his mind for any shortcomings that might have annoyed him, and after thinking about it for a long time, he couldn’t come up with a reason. He could only take a picture of the piece of paper and send it over.

This time, Long Shen quickly replied: [There may be some kind of spirit attached to it.]

Heroes think alike. Dong Zhi laughed and replied: [Master, can you tell me what kind of spirit it is?]

Long Shen: [As you know, generally shikigamis transform into various shapes and follow their master’s orders to kill people, but it will not suck away yang qi and cause people to get sick. According to what you said, combined with the photos, the shikigami may be attached to a demonic qi, resentment, or a remnant soul. At present, I can’t judge which one it is. Go back and wait for the people from the branch to come and give it to them so they can test it.]

He agreed.

Dong Zhi: [Master, would you like to let people searching for the stone tablets come to Lucheng to look? This matter involves Fujikawa’s junior brother. Maybe it has something to do with the stone tablets.]

Long Shen’s reply was simple: [The branch will handle it.]

Dong Zhi didn’t mention anything about his injury. He usually suffered a little injury, and he was happy to act coquettish to win attention, but now that his injury wasn’t serious, he didn’t want to cause worry for the other party.

However, Long Shen’s attitude was indeed quite strange.

After thinking about it for a while, he sent a message to He Yu: [Have you left Beijing yet?]

He Yu quickly replied: [No. Zhong Yuyi went first. I’ll be leaving in two days, but the boss didn’t rush me. How’s it going with you?]

Dong Zhi: [It’s okay. I encountered a small incident, but it can be resolved. Can you help me check to see if Master is in a meeting right now?]

He Yu: [No. I just met the boss. He’s in his office.]

Dong Zhi: [Has he been busy lately?]

He Yu: [So, so. There are more meetings, but it shouldn’t be very busy. Otherwise, he won’t have time to call me over and scold me, saying that if I don’t start working, he’ll deduct my bonus and confiscate my game account. Why do you think he does this all day? I was injured on duty and my leg is broken. Why doesn’t he have any pity at all!]

The image of a sturdy man like He Yu typing furiously as if he was pinching his throat made him want to laugh subconsciously.

As soon as he was about to reply, his newly raised smile suddenly froze. Since Long Shen wasn’t busy, why was he so stingy about talking to him?

When he was still in the capital, the other party’s attitude towards his only apprentice wasn’t like this.

He held the phone in his hand and hesitated for almost half a minute before he asked He Yu: [Has Master been in a bad mood recently?]

He Yu: [No.]

Dong Zhi: [Did he mention anything about how I’m not doing well?]

He Yu: [Of course not. Do you think the boss is this kind of person? I suspect that one day he’ll suffocate to death because he knows too many secrets, or he’ll be broken by the secrets and explode on the spot. Why are you asking? Did you quarrel with him?]

Dong Zhi: [Do you think he looks like someone who can quarrel with others?]

He Yu: [That’s true. He usually doesn’t talk nonsense. He’d rather just stab you to death with a sword.]

Dong Zhi: ……

He felt that rather than typing word by word, which would take forever to address the problem, he decided to simply call.

Soon, He Yu’s lazy voice came through, “Hey, Xiao Dongdong. It’s been a long time since we talked. It feels like many autumns ago!”

Dong Zhi couldn’t help laughing. “It has been a long time. How’s your leg?”

He Yu sighed. “It’s okay. I can remove the plaster after two more days. When I think about going on a mission with Kan Chaosheng, my heart grows cold. I’ll partner with you next time. You‘re much more reliable than him!”

Dong Zhi: “I can’t transform, so I won’t help you much.”

He Yu: “Your voice seems a bit off. Are you hurt?”

Dong Zhi sighed. “I encountered Fujikawa’s junior brother here in Lucheng and fought with him. It’s not a big deal.”

He was afraid that the other party would turn around and tell Long Shen, so he understated it.

However, He Yu wasn’t easily fooled. “It doesn’t seem like a minor injury.”

Dong Zhi smiled and said, “It’s fine. Don’t worry about it, okay?”

He Yu solemnly said, “You also know about the boss’ physique? It’s different from ours. He can still hold on even if he’s injured. Don’t think that if you become his apprentice, you can be as invulnerable as him! If you don’t pay attention to it now, in a few years, old and new injuries will come together and attack you. Then you’ll know how serious it is!”

Dong Zhi’s heart warmed. “I know. These days are near the end. I’ll go back to the hospital later, but I just called Master and he didn’t seem very happy to talk to me. Has something happened recently?”

He Yu let out a sigh. “Did you find out too?”

This sentence made Dong Zhi emotional.

“What do you mean?”

He Yu: “I also think he’s been weird lately; a little absent-minded, but other people think I’m seeing things. Even Kan Chaosheng said that I entered menopause early!”

He sounded aggravated.

Dong Zhi was puzzled. “What can make Master lose his temperament? Is it something from the higher ups?”

He Yu: “That’s impossible. The boss has never cared about that. There are generally two reasons why men lose their mind. Either for fame and fortune or for personal affairs.”

Long Shen was only distracted for a few seconds, and the result was directly exaggerated to the point of his losing his mind.

However, He Yu also analyzed it seriously. “There are also several kinds of personal affairs. The boss has no parents or siblings. It’s impossible for it to be related to family. According to me, it’s either lovelorn or in love, but then again, I don’t think it’s possible! He’s been single for longer than my Master’s age. If this is true, I’ll swallow an entire durian raw!”

Dong Zhi: “…Instead of listening to your nonsense, I might as well go to the hospital to recuperate. Bye!”

He Yu yelled, “Don’t hang up. Lao Zhong and Kan Chaosheng have too low an EQ to discuss this kind of thing with them, and they can’t match my wisdom. We’re in the period of Bo Ya and Ziqi¹. There are high mountains and flowing water, and our hearts are connected²!”

¹Referring to the story Zhiyin of Bo Ya and Ziqi who are considered an important part of the philosophy of inter-person relationships in Chinese culture, reflecting the Chinese ideal of friendship.
²This is part of the story of Zhiyin that shows Ziqi’s deep understanding of Bo Ya’s personality. Ziqi knew that Boya was committed to high mountains and flowing water through his music, because he himself was committed to the mountains and water in the natural world as well. Ziqi found himself in Bo Ya’s music, thus making himself empathize and sympathize with Bo Ya. Sympathy and empathy in the resonance could be heading to the realm of the integration of heart and object, subject and object, which is an important concept in Confucianism.

What he said gave Dong Zhi goosebumps.

“No, no. I don’t want to be your Ziqi. I’m far away now. Just help me find out and see if Master has encountered any problems.”

He Yu said, “Don’t joke. He has problems? It would be nice if he didn’t create problems for others! Why don’t you care about your lonely, injured friend?”

Dong Zhi rolled his eyes. “Wasn’t the first sentence I said was to inquire about your health? Besides, even if you don’t ask, I know you probably want to be lazy for a few more days and milk your injury. In fact, your legs are almost fully healed, right? Be careful not to pretend too much or you’ll get burned!”

He Yu snickered. “For the sake of your usual loyalty, this brother will help you inquire about it to avoid your wrath!”

Dong Zhi was overjoyed. “Thank you, brother. I’ll see you later and invite you to a big meal!”

He Yu: “I don’t want a big meal. Do you think I’m Kan Chaosheng? That’s his low-level taste!”

Dong Zhi: “I know, I know. Game package! You prefer high-end interest. ‘The Great Wasteland’ recently added a lot of new costumes. Do you want me to buy you a set?”

He Yu immediately said, “Dad! I’m going now. Just tell me if you need anything!”

Dong Zhi: ……

He Yu thought he was a man of integrity. He did what he said. As soon as he put the phone down, he got up and went to Long Shen’s office.

“Boss, the most handsome jade tree in the world, lovely and amiable… Your subordinate has come to see you!” He Yu said sweetly.

Long Shen took his gaze away from the computer. His tone didn’t seem affected at all.

“What’s wrong?”

“Can’t I just come and catch up with you?” He Yu sat down on the sofa and looked aggrieved. “Boss, people get injured while on the job, yet you still drive them to work without reward. You know, people’s hearts are made of flesh. Do you think I won’t get sad when I go through hard times?”

Long Shen: “Isn’t your leg healed?”

He Yu said angrily, “Who told you that?! Do you I look fine?”

Long Shen said lightly, “Last time I saw you go downstairs to get takeout. You were skipping like your legs could fly and you ran faster than Zhong Yuyi.”

He Yu choked.

Long Shen: “You were injured in Yunnan last time, and your overall performance was good. The mission was fruitless, so it’s impossible to commend you, but Boss Song and I have applied for an injury pension for you. This should be allocated this month. You should pay attention to the transfer record.”

He Yu’s expression immediately bloomed with joy. “Boss, I love you so much. I knew you would pity me!”

The word pity was used by him without any shame. He was as calm as a dragon, but he couldn’t help showing a weird expression on his face.

“So why did you come here? What’s the matter?”

He Yu smiled and said, “Helping Xiao Dong Zhi take care of you! Didn’t I tell you how good your apprentice is? He studies hard, never talks back, is obedient, and takes great care of you. He told me he was afraid that you’re stuck in meetings all day long and urged me to persuade you to rest more!”

He sighed again. “I’m so envious. If I knew he was so filial, I would’ve accepted him as an apprentice on the train and I wouldn’t worry about game packages any longer!”

Long Shen looked at him blankly.

He Yu laughed dryly, knowing that he had gone too far, and hurriedly pulled the topic back.

“Actually, I also think that you’ve been a little absent-minded recently. Is there anything troubling you? Even if you can’t tell your apprentice, you can always talk to me, right?”

“Nothing,” Long Shen said.

He Yu got up, limped over, and sat down at his desk.

“We’ve been fighting side by side for many years. Although you’re my boss in business, in private, I treat you as a brother. I also know that you’re not like Kan Chaosheng, who’s ignorant of the world. If there’s something wrong, it’ll be known in the world. In life, how can you not have any trouble? Your heart’s been hardened, but even if it’s harder than diamond, you’ll one day won’t be able to bear it, right?”

The corners of Long Shen’s mouth curled up slightly, looking as if he was both moved and amused.

He Yu pretended to be shy. “Boss, if you look at me like that again, I’ll think you’re in love with me! Xiao Dong Zhi didn’t dare ask you, so I had to come forward to do it for him. He said that you seemed to be avoiding him recently and didn’t want to talk to him. I’m worried if something happens to you. Look, such a filial apprentice can’t easily be found.”

Long Shen was silent for a few seconds, then said, “I’m fine.”

If he hadn’t been silent for those few seconds, He Yu would’ve felt like Dong Zhi was being too worrisome, but he had been with Long Shen long enough, and he wasn’t a heartless person by nature. On the contrary, he seemed to be careless in doing things, but in fact he was meticulous and keen. Suddenly, he felt like there was an inside story.

“Okay, okay. If you say you’re fine, then you’re fine! But what should I tell Dong Zhi?”

Long Shen’s expression was faint. “Just tell him I’m fine.”

He Yu tentatively asked, “Boss, did… Dong Zhi make you angry?”

Long Shen shook his head. “Don’t try to guess. Go back and get ready. You’re leaving early.”

If He Yu could ask about this, then Long Shen, as the boss, shouldn’t deserve such a position.

He Yu felt a little disappointed, and unexpectedly, he thought to himself that, fortunately, he hadn’t made a bet with Dong Zhi. Otherwise, he would definitely make a fortune.

After returning, he immediately called Dong Zhi and went straight to the point. “I think my guess is quite reliable. The boss must have something on his mind!”

Dong Zhi: “Did you find out?”

He Yu vividly described Long Shen’s subtle changes in expression just now, and finally concluded. “I guess it’s a private matter, and maybe it’s related to you.”

Dong Zhi was taken aback. “It’s related to me?”

He Yu: “He usually doesn’t get too close to anyone. Maybe a little closer to us, but you’re his apprentice. You must be closer to him than we are. He won’t tell you, so what’s the explanation? The reason can only be you.”

His analysis was well-founded, and Dong Zhi was almost persuaded by him.

But what could make Long Shen feel unhappy about him?

If it was the incident where he read late into the night and went to practice without energy, that was so long ago, and he admitted to his mistake and changed it. Long Shen wasn’t a person who would be preoccupied by such things, so it was unlikely he would alienate him because of this kind of trivial matter.

But if it wasn’t this, then what?

What else could make Long Shen alienate him like this?

Could it be…

Long Shen knew that he liked him?

---

The author has something to say:

He Yu: What integrity? I just need a gift package, and whoever buys it will be my father!

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

---

Chapter 79

Blood gurgled out of his chest and caused Yamamoto’s face to become uglier. Every time he breathed, he would aggravate the wound and was becoming more bent out of shape.

“Yes, in my pocket.” He said weakly.

However, Dong Zhi didn’t move. He didn’t even intend to bend over.

Seeing as he didn’t move, Yamamoto raised his hand tremblingly and touched his pocket. Dong Zhi thought he was going to make trouble again and forgot to control his strength that he inadvertently pushed the sword in another inch, causing Yamamoto to spit out another mouthful of blood.

He only had himself to blame for becoming a fish while giving the knife to the hands of others.

Yamamoto pulled out a small glass bottle that had a cloud of gray mist inside. When they looked at it closely, it was intertwined with silk thread.

“This is his remnant soul,” Yamamoto said intermittently.

The gray mist in the bottle became more familiar, causing Dong Zhi to recall something. “Did you restrain a weasel in a hotel in this city?”

Yamamoto shook his head with difficulty. “I’m not to blame.”

Dong Zhi pushed the sword a little bit further.

Yamamoto spit out another mouthful of blood and begged for mercy, “It’s really not me! I have killed two of your companions. If I did it, would I not say it?”

Dong Zhi snorted coldly, thinking he could always question him afterwards. The most important thing now was to save Yan Nuo first.

He asked Mu Duo, “Can you tell if he’s telling the truth?”

She nodded, then took the bottle and put it in front of Yan Nuo. She opened the mouth of the bottle, and it began rattling.

The bell rang slowly while gradually increasing its speed until the gray mist finally swam out of the mouth of the bottle and slowly floated to Yan Nuo.

Dong Zhi saw the gray mist float into Yan Nuo’s nose and deep into his nasal cavity. Just a few seconds after he turned his head to look at Yan Nuo, he heard a dull hum in his ears. He looked back immediately and saw Yamamoto smiling mysteriously at him.

He wants to escape!

As soon as the thought occurred, Yamamoto’s body suddenly exploded, causing a shockwave that ejected Dong Zhi a few meters away. He fell heavily to the ground, and the Changshou Sword landed with a clang.

Looking at the place again, a thin piece of paper was laid on the ground and a big hole was opened in its heart, which was the place where the Changshou Sword had just pierced.

There were bloodstains on the side, as it was proof that Yamamoto had existed.

“Puppet technique!” Mu Duo exclaimed.

Seeing that Dong Zhi picked up the sword and wanted to give chase, she hurriedly said, “Don’t chase. He was already prepared. He must’ve laid puppets somewhere, just in case. I have heard of this technique. Once his life is in danger, he can replace his body thousands of miles away and use the puppet to resist a fatal blow!”

It didn’t matter as Dong Zhi couldn’t possibly run anymore. He didn’t even have the strength to get up, so he could only sit in place and gasp.

“Is there a way to track him down?”

Mu Duo shook her head. “The problem is that we don’t know where he’s located, but I heard that every time this puppet technique is used, it’ll inevitably hurt his vitality. In addition, you stabbed him again. Even if he’s not dead now, he’ll only have a few breaths left at most, so it’ll take him at least a few years to recover.”

After falling short, Dong Zhi was frustrated, but Mu Duo felt fortunate. They were almost annihilated.

“I didn’t expect you to be able to summon thunder. I’m really grateful to you today!”

She said this sincerely. If Xiao Qi were to wake up, perhaps he would show some humility. After all, although the Special Administration Bureau looked at qualifications and background, the most important thing was strength. Unfortunately, neither he nor Zhou Dui were as lucky as Yan Nuo.

What a truly tragic and ironic situation. Mu Duo couldn’t contain her tears as they fell down.

Dong Zhi sighed. “To summon thunder, it’s necessary to match the array with the time and place. This is indispensable. I’ve tried my best. If it was unsuccessful at that time, we would all have become ghosts by now!”

Mu Duo suddenly said, “So that’s why you led the snake around just now so you could create an array!”

Dong Zhi nodded.

“That way, I could temporarily avoid Yamamoto’s attention. In fact, he’s quite powerful. You can also feel it. I have seen his shixiong, Fujikawa Aoi, fight with my Master before. If he’s his shidi, he can’t be much worse than him. This time, he was careless, so I was able to take advantage of that.”

In addition to the shock, Mu Duo couldn’t help but admire the eagerness of Dong Zhi and his ability to remain calm during a crisis. In the beginning, she felt that his behavior was too squeamish since he refused to sleep in the office and went out to rent a place of his own. She suspected that the General Administration Bureau would send a person like that here, just to help use this place as a steppingstone for his future. Now she realized that it was because the General Administration thought the Lucheng Office wasn’t in good condition that they sent him over.

Rather than icing on the cake, it was providing charcoal in the snow*.

*(雪中送炭) Idiom referring to giving people help in times difficulty.

At this time, there was a sound from the side. They turned their heads to look. Yan Nuo slowly moved for a bit as he was waking up.

“What happened… What?” Yan Nuo held his forehead, recalling the scene before he lost his soul, he suddenly shook his body. “There’s something wrong with the adulterer! Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui…”

His voice stopped abruptly, and his gaze fell on the body of Zhou Dui not far away. It rendered him speechless.

Mu Duo hurriedly said, “Yan Nuo, calm down. That adulterer had been seriously injured by Dong Zhi and ran away. Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi… have died!”

Yan Nuo’s face paled. He didn’t know whether it was due to excessive sadness or the side effect of losing his soul, as he was completely shell-shocked.

Dong Zhi said, “Mu Duo Jie, you should contact the police and the branch first. Let them send someone quickly!”

He had seen what happened to He Yu’s shidi, who had lost his soul, and knew that since his soul had just returned to him, he would need a period of recuperation. It was impossible to recover immediately.

Mu Duo took out her phone and started to contact the relevant departments while Dong Zhi frowned and recalled the situation.

He had always felt that he seemed to have missed something, but he couldn’t remember. He had just touched his phone when he saw that there was a missed call.

The number was unknown, but it was local to Lucheng, and it wasn’t He Jia’s, as he had saved her number.

It didn’t look like it was a harassing call, as there were only two consecutive calls. At the time, he was busy dealing with Yamamoto, so he didn’t have the time to check his phone.

Dong Zhi called back.

It rang twice before a female voice picked it up, sounding cautious.

“Hello?”

Dong Zhi: “Hello, did you call me just now?”

The other party replied quickly, “No!”

There was a hint of vigilance and doubt in her voice that he assumed she probably regarded him as some kind of scammer. Dong Zhi felt it was odd as this voice sounded very familiar.

“Wait, don’t hang up… Are you Xiao’an?”

Xiao’an was the little girl who worked at the front desk of He Jia’s hotel. They had exchanged a few words when Dong Zhi was staying there.

The other party answered, “Yes, who are you?”

Dong Zhi’s heart sank as he had a bad premonition. He immediately said, “I’m a friend of your boss. You have seen me. I’m coming back now. Please wait!”

He didn’t care that his legs were still weak. He borrowed Mu Duo’s car and rushed back.

The distance from the suburbs to the city was pretty far. Fortunately, there wasn’t much traffic in the middle of the night, so the road was unimpeded. When he arrived at the hotel, Xiao’an was already there.

“Dong Ge, it’s so strange. I was just taking a nap, so I don’t know who took my phone to call you. I even called you twice in a row. There’s a fingerprint lock on the phone!” As soon as Xiao’an saw him, she handed her phone to him to show him that she was telling the truth.

Xiao’an remained calm as this wasn’t the first strange thing that had happened in the hotel.

Dong Zhi took it and found that his number was in the dial list. The time was more than an hour ago.

He had never given Xiao’an his number, so it was impossible for her to do it on her own volition, but Dong Zhi had given the weasel named “Lao Liu” his contact, so if he found the whereabouts of that person, he would immediately notify him.

The only possibility is that Lao Liu found something, so he quickly possessed Xiao’an’s body to call him.

Thinking of this, Dong Zhi immediately asked Xiao’an for the key to the tail room on the second floor. The door was still locked, and there was no sign of the lock being damaged. Dong Zhi felt a bit of relief and quickly unlocked the door and walked into the room.

His face suddenly turned pale, leaving him motionless.

A pool of blood was visible on the big bed that was covered with white bedding, and a small animal lay on its back with its limbs stiff. There was a hole in its abdomen, and even its intestines were exposed.

He came one step late. The window was half open, and the wind stirred the white curtains. Other than this, there were no other traces of the murderer in the room.

When he thought about it, it couldn’t be an ordinary person who could kill a Bao Jiaxian.

Dong Zhi carefully picked up the cold weasel and wrapped it in a sheet. Although Lao Liu did help him at first, he was also afraid of death and refused to tell the truth, which indirectly led to his current fate. However, Dong Zhi felt that it died because Lao Liu revealed some information, so he was partially responsible for it.

Having said that, whoever the other party was, they were extremely vicious. Even if the weasel didn’t give out any information, he may not necessarily be able to escape this catastrophe, because he had long been targeted by the other party and had nowhere to hide.

“Sorry, I was negligent, but I didn’t expect the other party to not even let you go. Don’t worry, I will find the murderer and avenge you.” He solemnly promised Lao Liu’s body.

Judging from all the clues, it was very likely that the person who killed Lao Liu was Yamamoto, but there were things that weren’t adding up.

For example, more than an hour ago, Yamamoto was still dealing with them in the warehouse. Even if his puppet was set in the hotel, could he still kill Lao Liu after suffering from such a serious injury? Even if Lao Liu couldn’t beat him, he could still run away.

No, something’s not right!

A thought flashed in Dong Zhi’s mind.

He remembered that when he questioned Yamamoto at that time, he said, “I’m not to blame.”

“I’m not to blame” instead of “I didn’t do it”.

In other words, although it may not be him, he most likely knows who did. Was there another invisible enemy hiding in the dark?

For a while, Dong Zhi’s thoughts became muddled.

Could it be that he was too suspicious?

When Long Shen was present, he didn’t need to think about so many things, because Long Shen had his own way.

People always rely on the strong, so naturally, Dong Zhi knew this path of thinking was wrong. The idea only appeared for half a second before it was tossed out from the depth of his mind.

If he called for help now, his master would say he could take care of it himself. In any case, there generally wouldn’t be a Dong Zhi, but since he had entered the Special Administration Bureau and become Long Shen’s disciple, he must learn to look at the bigger picture than just what was currently in front of him and solve the root of the problem in a coordinated manner, just like his master.

Xiao Qi had died, and Yan Nuo had lost his soul, which meant they had lost half their combat effectiveness. This was a house that leaked with seemingly endless rain*.

*(屋漏偏逢连夜雨) Refers to when things are bad, it just so happens that there a bigger blow to adding fuel to the fire (AKA when it rains it pours).

Dong Zhi sighed and called Mu Duo first to ask her about the situation.

Mu Duo said, “The police have already rushed over, and they will help clean up the situation. Warehouse No. 8 will be fenced off as a murder scene. Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui will also be sent back for resettlement. When the people from the branch come, they’ll take Xiao Qi away. Now I’m on my way back to the office with Yan Nuo. He needs to rest for a while.”

Dong Zhi told her about what happened at the hotel.

Before the warehouse incident tonight, Mu Duo and the others thought that Dong Zhi was aimlessly wandering around. Now that the connection seemed to have formed, they realized that the water might run very deep.

Mu Duo said in horror, “Do you need help over there? I can rush over right away!”

Dong Zhi said, “No need for the time being. My guess is that the purpose of the other party killing Lao Liu is to hide himself and bring this matter to an end. Remember to explain the situation to the branch and ask them to send a few more people over. Now that it’s just the two of us and we’re both injured, I’m afraid if something happens again, we can’t handle it alone.”

Mu Duo quickly replied, “Yes, I’m contacting them now!”

A day ago, Dong Zhi was still in the role of writing reports. Now it seemed their roles had inadvertently switched. Mu Duo acted naturally and felt there was nothing wrong with this.

After cutting off contact, Dong Zhi called He Jia and asked her to come over.

He Jia actually wanted to take Dong Zhi around the city, but the male god seemed very busy every day and didn’t seem to have any leisurely time. She was also reserved and didn’t want to embarrass herself by harassing the other party repeatedly. She wasn’t expecting to receive a call from Dong Zhi in the middle of the night that woke her up from a sweet dream. She almost thought that the male god had an ulterior motive.

However, she quickly discovered how wrong she was. Even if Dong Zhi wanted to do something, it wouldn’t be in the room on the second floor of the hotel where her great aunt had made a dedication shrine for a Bao Jiaxian. When Dong Zhi invited her to that room and explained the entire story about the stiff weasel lying on the bed, it left her completely stunned.

She thought she was listening to the Chinese version of Harry Potter.

In fact, He Jia had never believed in things like gods and ghosts. She read Dong Zhi’s comics because she was attracted by the plot and characters. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have ignored her great aunt’s warning and let him come into the room as soon as Dong Zhi asked about it. The Bao Jiaxian that she heard about from her great aunt, but had never seen with her own eyes, was now the weasel that was lying in front of her around a pool of blood on the bed. This made her start to doubt the world she had been living in since she was a child.

She didn’t think Dong Zhi would be crazy enough to kill a weasel and lie to her about it.

Naturally, Dong Zhi skipped the parts about Yamamoto. He only told her that he had been able to see strange things since he was a child. In the past few days, when he stayed at the hotel, he accidentally met Lao Liu and got along well with him. Tonight, Lao Liu had possessed Xiao’an to call him, but when he came over, he found that Lao Liu was already dead.

“You mean his name is Lao Liu?” He Jia was terrified. This weasel confirmed what her great aunt had said was true. But now that the Bao Jiaxian was dead, He Jia didn’t know how to explain it to her great aunt.

Dong Zhi sighed. “He said his name is Uncle Liu, but I call him Lao Liu.”

Indeed, her great aunt often respected the Bao Jian as Uncle Liu, and He Jia had no doubt about this.

She wanted to reach out to untie the sheets but was stopped by Dong Zhi.

“Uncle Liu was killed by someone and that person cut up his belly and there are intestines everywhere. You better not look.”

He Jia’s hand trembled.

Dong Zhi said, “In fact, Uncle Liu told me yesterday that there are other things in this hotel besides it.”

He Jia seemed to have aged a few decades. She had lived a smooth, peaceful, and ordinary life. Upon hearing this, she finally showed uncontrollable fear.

“…What else is here?”

Dong Zhi shook his head. “I don’t know, but I have friends who are more familiar with this. I would like to suggest that you close this hotel for half a month and let my friends come over and check it thoroughly. It’s not only for your own good but also for the sake of the staff and guests here.”

The first time He Jia came into contact with this kind of abnormal event, she thought she might be losing her mind. When she heard what Dong Zhi had said, she agreed without thinking much about it.

“But I have to let the staff persuade the guests to leave and pay them compensation. I also have to find them new accommodations as well.”

Dong Zhi said, “This is natural, but I hope the sooner the better. Uncle Liu was originally the Bao Jiaxian of this hotel. He was worshipped by you and your great aunt. As a token of gratitude, he would attract customers to this hotel. Therefore, you often find it strange that there is an endless stream of guests. In fact, this was mainly due to Uncle Liu. Your great aunt should already know this.”

He Jia suddenly said, “Then after…”

Dong Zhi nodded. “Since there’s no Uncle Liu in the future, everything will depend on you. The most important thing now is that Uncle Liu died inexplicably, and I’m afraid the murderer who killed him is still hiding here.”

He Jia became more and more frightened as she listened while nodding her head repeatedly. “I understand, I will immediately order them to do it, and the venue will be cleared by tomorrow afternoon at the latest!”

Dong Zhi said, “Also, Uncle Liu and your great aunt seemed to share a fate together. There may be some kind of connection between them. Now that Uncle Liu is dead, the connection is most likely broken, so your great aunt will definitely ask.”

He Jia could only nod. This was the first time she encountered this kind of thing, and she was inevitably at a loss. After a while, she remembered. “Since you’re asking your friends to deal with this matter, is there a cost? How much is it?”

Before Dong Zhi could reply, she hurriedly said again, “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not afraid of it being expensive. I’m just asking first, as I have a number in my heart!”

Dong Zhi smiled. “No charge.”

He Jia was taken aback. “Huh?”

Although she wasn’t knowledgeable, she had heard that many masters often charged hundreds of millions. For someone or something to kill a Bao Jiaxian, that thing must be extremely fierce and could even be life-threatening. With this kind of work, no matter how much money was offered, there may not be anyone who would accept it.

But the result was that Dong Zhi actually said that there was no charge?

“That’s not good. How can you let people help for free? Dong Ge, no need to be so polite to me!” He Jia thought she misheard.

“I’m not being polite to you. Have you heard of the Special Administration Bureau?”

Since the two knew each other well, Dong Zhi was also worried that He Jia may have thought he had some ulterior motive. Even if He Jia believed him, her parents and elders, as well as her great aunt, would most likely have doubts. Although he couldn’t reveal much, he still needed to explain what should be explained, as to not cause misunderstandings in the future.

He Jia shook her head, indicating that she had never heard of it.

Dong Zhi said, “They are just like the police, but they don’t pursue ordinary criminals, but rather criminals with special abilities. My friends work there. They have the responsibility and obligation to deal with this kind of thing. If your great aunt doesn’t believe it, I will ask the police to also issue a certificate so you can show her that the police have temporarily requisitioned the hotel to handle a case.”

He Jia’s mood gradually stabilized, and she smiled. “No, I will take care of my great aunt’s side. Don’t worry. What’s more, the hotel is in my name, so I have the right. But Dong Ge…”

Dong Zhi was puzzled.

He Jia: “You’re actually also from the Special Administration Bureau, right?”

This question was not easy for Dong Zhi to answer, so he simply ignored it.

There was a sly look in He Jia’s eyes. “What you just said is that you will ask the police to issue a certificate instead of your friends. This indicates that you also have the right to decide, so your power is not small.”

Dong Zhi denied it naturally, “I’m not. I just know more from my friends.”

He Jia smiled. “I understand. Don’t worry. I won’t say anything else.”

As soon as she finished speaking, her phone rang. He Jia looked at it and said, “It’s my great aunt!”

Dong Zhi walked out with interest and stopped in front of the hotel to look up and down again, but found nothing unusual.

Everything disappeared with the death of Lao Liu. It seemed that it had been restored to be an ordinary hotel. From now on, there wouldn’t be guests who would come there inexplicably, let alone strange things. If He Jia muddled through like before, there may not be a hotel that once sheltered Lao Liu, and it wouldn’t be long before she couldn’t make ends meet.

A faint sadness suddenly surged in his heart. He had met Lao Liu by chance. Let alone starting a friendship, they barely exchanged a few words, but he still felt melancholy, nonetheless. At times like this, he missed Long Shen.

In the long years of the past, Long Shen must’ve had friends and admirers. Even if a cultivator lived longer than ordinary people, it was impossible to live for hundreds or thousands of years like Long Shen or Kan Chaosheng. As the ones he was familiar with became old and passed away, it was certainly impossible for him to be completely indifferent and unemotional to such a thing.

Even as his apprentice, he could live to be a hundred years old or more, but it was destined to be impossible to support his Master’s heavenly years. He suddenly realized how rare it was for Long Shen to accept an apprentice. With Long Shen’s wisdom, he must’ve thought about this, but Long Shen still accepted him regardless.

The longer they got along, the more afraid Dong Zhi was of disappointing him.

Master’s heart, even if it wasn’t love, was enough for him to handle it carefully and cherish it properly.

---

The author has something to say:

Love is afraid of disappointment and always wants to make you better.

At this stage of Yamamoto’s life, it is actually remarkable that Dong Zhi can seriously injure him. Of course, it is also the reason why the other party can’t figure out his way and adapt to it.

---

<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

---

Chapter 78

“Bai Xiangmei was a stupid woman. She was Huang Wendong’s mistress, but she wanted to marry him and be his wife. According to you, this should be called a homewrecker, right? She had been in a relationship with Huang Wendong for seven years, but not only did Huang Wendong not marry her, his relationship with his wife also remained good. Jealousy and hatred made her more psychopathic, so she decided to retaliate.”

Mu Duo said coldly, “So you help her kill people!”

Yamamoto spread his hands. “I just asked Huang Wendong to kill his wife and children so that Bai Xiangmei wouldn’t be held accountable, and she could take revenge as well. I bought the snacks that Huang Wendong brought for his wife and children and put sleeping pills in them. When Huang Wendong visited Bai Xiangmei, I suggested to Huang Wendong and asked him to treat his wife, children, and even himself, as pieces of art that can be dissected. Don’t you think that’s interesting?”

Dong Zhi found that this Yamamoto was crazier than Fujikawa Aoi. If everything Fujikawa did had a utilitarian purpose, then this Yamamoto had no purpose at all but to simply enjoy killing people for fun.

Still, Mu Duo asked, “What good does this do for you?”

“Of course I benefit!” Yamamoto laughed heartily. “Didn’t you find that your two dead companions only have their bodies left? Their souls were refined into shikigami by me. I originally wanted to go to Shencheng to have a look, but I didn’t expect that woman, Bai Xiangmei, would automatically deliver them to my doorsteps. I now have three practitioners before leaving, and now I’ll have two more. It seems I’m destined to reap a lot from this trip.”

Yamamoto’s words contained a lot of information.

First, at present, it seemed that he may have done these things alone without accomplices, but this point hadn’t been confirmed yet and still needed to be verified.

Second, the hotel had shikigamis set up and there was a ban placed on the weasel from speaking about the perpetrator, which seemed to be related to him.

Finally, in the past ten years in Lucheng, there have only been three people in this office. It could be seen that the scene was relatively quiet before. Suddenly, a character like Yamamoto had appeared, which had caused Yan Nuo tons of headaches. On one hand, it showed that Yan Nuo and his group were used to peace and had little training; on the other hand, it could also mean that, most likely, more of these types of things would happen in the future.

It suddenly occurred to him that Long Shen had thrown him to Lucheng wasn’t perhaps just to show that he was fair and to avoid suspicion.

It was precisely because of the special status of Lucheng that tens of millions of tourists gathered here every year. There were vipers and snakes mixed with dragons¹, and it was also the forefront of the southeast region. The sea, land, and air transportation were well developed. While not as conspicuous as Bei-Shang-Guang², it was still a place where many people like Yamamoto would lurk and pass through. Long Shen hoped that he could continue to play a role here and turn himself from a fledgling newcomer to a sharp sword guarding the southeast.

¹(龙蛇混杂) Metaphor referring to the mix of good and bad people.
²Refers to the tier 1 cities (Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou) though there’s also Shenzhen as it’s colloquially known as Bei-Shang-Guang-Shen.

While Lucheng wasn’t big, there were still many opportunities. Long Shen not only wanted to sharpen him but also wanted to give him full freedom to develop himself. If he died here today, it would waste a piece of his master’s mind.

Yamamoto didn’t even look at Mu Duo, but stared at Dong Zhi, scanning him up and down, as if he knew that he had got this in the bag. The satisfied and sticky gaze made Dong Zhi feel uncomfortable, as if he was being stared down by a poisonous snake.

“I want to use my most beloved shikigami to hold your soul, and then use your body as a container for soul refining. I have a hunch that you’ll definitely be my greatest masterpiece!”

Yamamoto smiled and clapped with his hands. “Babies, come out and greet your new partners!”

Scattered claps sounded in the empty warehouse, and when the third round of applause fell, two beautiful tigers slowly stepped out of the darkness.

Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi, who had fallen to the ground, slowly got up and stared at them with their white eyeballs.

The poisonous snake in front of Yamamoto flickered its tongue a few times, revealing a signal that something bad was about to happen.

Dong Zhi said solemnly, “I remember that the most gifted onmyojis could summon two or three shikigamis at the same time. Even your senior brother’s apprentice, Kitaichi Eiko, could control two shikigamis at once. It seems that Mr. Yamamoto must be famous and have an extraordinary position in the onmyoji world!”

While he was talking to delay time, his other hand was in his pocket and was secretly pinching his palm.

Yamamoto sneered and said disdainfully, “What of Kitaichi Eiko? They only chose her because the talents of the Shinkawa School are withering now. If I was still there, huh!”

He stopped talking and raised his hand. The two large tigers that had been ready to go all this time suddenly rushed towards them. The tiger’s mouth was wide open, and its fangs were thick as if it couldn’t wait to tear off their throats.

The big poisonous snake in front of Yamamoto also jumped up and, together with the two big tigers, besieged Dong Zhi on all three sides.

Mu Duo and Dong Zhi had their backs against each other, completely trapped.

Sweat slipped from her forehead. Mu Duo had never expected she would one day face an embattled situation like this. Among the enemies were colleagues and partners with whom she had fought side by side in the past.

If Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi really betrayed the country, it would be fine. She could still convince herself to act without hesitation, but now they were murdered, and their souls were manipulated to turn against them. Mu Duo remembered that she was still eating and joking with Xiao Qi yesterday, and her eyes couldn’t help but turn red.

“I’ll try my best to hold them off. You run first. Run as far as you can and hurry out to report the news!” She gritted her teeth, turned her head, and whispered.

“You can’t do it alone! Yamamoto is still waiting in the back!” Dong Zhi vetoed her proposal without a second thought. He then flew away with the sword and stabbed the large tiger in front of him. The large tiger jumped up, and the sword just passed through its abdomen and caused a stream of blood to splash out. The large tiger landed injured, but it was even more ferocious than before. It turned its head and rushed towards Dong Zhi again.

Dong Zhi didn’t look back to deal with the large tiger but continued to run forward. His goal was Yamamoto Kiyoshi!

Destroy the ringleader and their followers would collapse. As long as Yamamoto Kiyoshi fell, these shikigamis would naturally disappear.

A bell kept ringing in his ears. It was the bell in Mu Duo’s hand. Her bell seemed to be similar to Gu Meiren’s bamboo flute. It could confuse the enemy’s mind. It rang everywhere, and the sound became more rapid. The movements of the shikigami and Xiao Qi involuntarily slowed down.

Standing a few meters away, Yamamoto smiled mysteriously at Dong Zhi, and the thing in his hand shook slightly.

The bell was crisp and long, like a jade intersection stone. It was much more pleasant than the low-pitched sounding bell of Mu Duo, and the volume was much smaller. However, Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui shook their bodies slightly and then got rid of the control of Mu Duo’s bell and continued to launch fierce attacks on her.

Two bells sounded, one big and one small, one slow and one urgent, intertwined. The bell in Yamamoto’s hand caught up and completely overshadowed Mu Duo’s limelight.

Mu Duo couldn’t help but become more anxious. She continued dodging while still trying to ring the bell, but her bell seemed to have lost its effectiveness on the enemy. Her weapon cloth had been torn apart just now, so she could only rely on her flexible footwork to avoid the enemy’s attack.

Yan Nuo still remained unconscious on the ground. He wasn’t controlled by Yamamoto like Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi. Mu Duo guessed that he might still be alive, and his soul hadn’t dissipated yet. If they could solve the problem here, Yan Nuo might still be rescued, but they couldn’t even save themselves right now.

With a glance from the corner of her eye, she saw the sword next to Yan Nuo and couldn’t help secretly feeling happy. A large tiger jumped towards her, and Mu Duo bent over and rolled forward, picking up Yan Nuo’s sword and turned around and slash towards Zhou Dui that was attacking her.

Up until now, she couldn’t help but still hesitate at the weight of her choice.

On the other end, Dong Zhi waved his sword away. The fishy smell behind him was faint, and the back of his head was cold. When the tip of his sword swept across Yamamoto’s forehead, he had to turn around and sweep it back to deal with the poisonous snake that was in hot pursuit.

The poisonous snake’s figure was very flexible, and its body was incredibly soft. For a moment, it looked like a woman stretching her body. It was no wonder why the world would say that snakes were beautiful like women. It could be seen that they have something in common in essence, but this snake was particularly strange. When he took a closer look, there was a vaguely human expression on the snake’s face. A pair of red and shiny eyes stared at Dong Zhi, and there wasn’t room for anything else in those eyes. It was determined to turn him into its food.

Was this snake also tempered by someone’s soul? Otherwise, why would its demeanor be so human-like?

In the blink of an eye, he had no time to think about it. The snake hissed and vomited out venom that splashed out of its fangs from time to time. When it fell to the ground, the cement on it formed a small hole. It had faster movement than the average poisonous snake and was waiting for the opportune time to strike. Its attack speed was extremely fast. It had almost managed to bite Dong Zhi several times. After narrowly avoiding it, he would counter-attack. Despite the sharpness of the Changshou Sword, he could only cut off one or two of its scales.

Dong Zhi knew that this was because he had not learned Bu Tian Gang sufficiently enough. Otherwise, if his master was here, one swing would have cut this poisonous snake into two.

The poisonous snake that was slashed by him became more furious and its attack speed became faster. While dealing with it, Dong Zhi had to reach out and find the talisman in his pocket.

Mu Duo was struggling harder. She had been scratched by the tigers and had several wounds that were bleeding from her body as she was gasping for breath.

Although Yan Nuo’s sword was in her hand, and she could manage for a while, she didn’t normally use swords. Her movements were awkward, and she would stumble from time to time, making this feat quite unsustainable. The bell on Yamamoto’s side had already suppressed her bell. No matter how Mu Duo rang her bell, it would no longer affect the enemy. She cursed secretly and simply threw the bell away as she kicked Zhou Dui away with one foot and pierced Xiao Qi in the chest with the sword.

The sword was drawn out of Xiao Qi’s body, bringing out a stream of blood. If they were normal people, they would’ve fallen to the ground by now, but since they were already dead, their bodies were merely puppets being manipulated. Zhou Dui staggered up from the ground and desperately grabbed Mu Duo’s calf, tripping her. The tiger rushed up and stepped on her with its thick claws, almost crushing her bones.

Mu Duo let out a groan and chanted involuntarily. The severe pain on her wrist from being bitten by the other tiger made her hand loosen and she dropped the sword.

The smell of blood in the air made Yamamoto take a deep breath, showing an expression of enjoyment and excitement.

He snapped his fingers and the tiger that bit Mu Duo’s wrists suddenly let go of it, turned its head and ran towards Dong Zhi.

“Be careful!” Mu Duo held back the severe pain and shouted out in a hoarse voice, unable to tell whether blood or sweat blurred her vision.

She saw Yan Nuo, who was lying unconscious on the ground, saw Xiao Qi, who was bleeding from his chest and still had on a hideous face, crazy like a zombie, and she saw how small Dong Zhi looked while fighting with the poisonous snake, and a burst of despair poured into her heart.

Mu Duo regretted it. She regretted calling Dong Zhi when she came tonight; otherwise, at least one person could’ve escaped. Although they didn’t like the newcomer who was forcibly stuffed into their team from the top in the beginning, it didn’t mean that Mu Duo wanted him to die, and she believed neither did Yan Nuo.

This newcomer, who had just joined the Special Administration Bureau, would die here with them before he even got the chance to crawl and roll around the world of mortals.

She even thought that if everyone here died, Yamamoto would be able to destroy their corpses and leave calmly. Even if the branch of the General Administration sent someone to investigate, there might not be any clues and the murderous madman would go unpunished. Judging from the way he killed so many people in Lucheng, if he was allowed to escape, there would inevitably be more trouble in the future.

As a practitioner, Mu Duo knew better than ordinary people that heaven did not save people and that people needed to save themselves, but at this moment, in the state of despair, she even hoped that miracles did exist. She hoped someone from the branch or General Administration would be nearby and would come in the nick of time.

But she also knew that despite so much noise coming from the warehouse, no one had come from outside. Yamamoto must’ve used some sound insulation method to isolate this place from the outside world so he could leisurely toy with them, treating them as a plaything in the palm of his hand, and slowly slaughter them.

After all, the night was still long.

When Mu Duo shouted, “Be careful!”, Dong Zhi was still fighting the poisonous snake. He almost used the sword skills that Long Shen had taught him, a set of tian gang steps and swordsmanship that were barely in sync with each other. From Yamamoto’s point of view, the opponent was somewhat powerless, like the end of a crossbow* that couldn’t bear the load.

*(强弩之末) Metaphor referring to a strong force that has been exhausted.

However, this lotus that had been bent by the storm refused to break completely. It had gritted its teeth and continued to bear against the torrential rain.

The tiger jumped quickly from behind Dong Zhi and pounced towards him, about to knock down its prey, but Dong Zhi suddenly turned around and swept it away with his sword. The blade was like a fine white light that slashed the tiger’s abdomen. Dong Zhi immediately dodged the sudden attack of the poisonous snake behind him and ran to the other end of the warehouse.

The warehouse was very large, but Yamamoto was not worried about him escaping. They were just like trapped animals in a cage.

Dong Zhi could only run around the warehouse. The poisonous snake shikigami wasn’t like a real poisonous snake. It crawled extremely fast and chased after Dong Zhi. It almost bit him several times in the back, mangling Dong Zhi’s windbreaker into several pieces.

As he ran, he yelled in panic, “Help! Help! Don’t come over!”

Mu Duo leaned against the wall and gasped, feeling weak in her heart.

Can you escape by yelling? It’s better to save some effort for fighting!

The impression she had just changed her outlook. She was impressed by Dong Zhi’s good performance that was now subverted again. She felt that the other party couldn’t be counted on and that there was no need to think about miracles. Either they kill Yamamoto, or they become completely annihilated today and all die together.

Yamamoto was so absorbed in rattling the bell that he didn’t seem to notice her, a remnant soldier. Mu Duo held her breath and moved quietly, squeezing the sword with her hand.

One inch, two inches.

The shadow concealed her figure well, and Mu Duo hoped that she would be able to take him out with one blow. Even if she couldn’t kill Yamamoto, she could hit him hard enough, so they have some hope of escape.

Sweat oozed from her brow where the palm of her hand came into contact with the hilt of the sword, soaking it wet. She stared at Yamamoto’s back and swung fiercely!

The cloth weapon that Mu Duo had just used was actually a belt. In ancient times, the corpse guide would ring the bell to drive the corpses. They would put glutinous rice in their waist belt to remove corpse poison, as a way to avoid the corpse from turning stiff and hurting themselves. Later, the belt became one of the weapons used by the corpse guide. Mu Duo’s belt was handed down by her master. It was soaked in special medicines that could exorcise evil and calm the mind. Of course, it was tougher than ordinary fabric, but its essence was still a cloth that was soft and flexible.

In contrast, the texture of the sword was something she was not used to. Mu Duo had learned how to use the softest weapon to produce the greatest effect since she was a child, but she had never learned how to turn the sword from soft to hard like the way she could control her belt.

So when she swung the sword, she secretly thought that it was pretty bad. Her heart said that her strength was not mastered well and affected her speed.

Sure enough, Yamamoto had noticed before the tip of the sword touched him.

As soon as Yamamoto moved his wrist, the fluctuation of the bell changed again. Mu Duo, who used bells herself, immediately noticed the change.

Lying on the side was a tiger with an abdominal injury who was about to disappear. It instantly regained its figure again, roared and pounced on Mu Duo, biting her shoulder. Mu Duo screamed in pain and had to swing her sword to sweep the tiger off, using what little reaming strength she had to fight it.

Dong Zhi and the poisonous snake were still playing a game of cat and mouse around the huge warehouse. Humans had limited physical strength, but shikigamis weren’t the same. Seeing that Dong Zhi was getting slower, Yamamoto guessed that his physical strength was deteriorating. He had lost interest in watching his prey struggle and was ready to end the play tonight.

No matter how interesting the scene of the weak prey fighting against a beast to death was, it would get tiring if one watched it too much. The hunter felt that he should now close his net. When the prey completely became his puppet, he could manipulate them into whatever he wanted.

A smile rose from the corner of his mouth. His hand sank suddenly, and the bell changed into a rhythm that spread out far and wide, resounding throughout the warehouse.

The sound of the bell became more rapid, and the poisonous snake suddenly expanded several times and transformed into a behemoth. Although it wasn’t as big as the three-headed python in the underground caves of Helan Mountain, Dong Zhi undoubtedly became an ant that could be trampled to death at any time with just its eyes.

It stretched its neck, bent down, and opened its mouth. The snake’s tongue, which had now become several times bigger, flickered towards the back of Dong Zhi. He didn’t need to wait for the snake’s tongue to drag him into its fangs. As long as he was slightly stained with a little venom, his skin and clothes would be corroded and fester.

Everything happened in a flash.

The snake’s tongue shot out. The distance between it and Dong Zhi was only half a meter, and for it, this half meter would not even take half a second!

Boom!

Yamamoto raised his head abruptly with an unbelievable expression on his face.

A gap was blasted open at the top of the warehouse, and lightning fell from above, striking the warehouse.

The gap was like a heavy hammer that smashed the boundary he had just laid, and the movement from the outside world followed. The sky resounded with bursts of thunder, and the gap lit up from time to time. Another lightning struck down!

Heavenly lightning!

Yamamoto’s mind lit up.

Japanese practitioners weren’t familiar with heavenly lightning. Generally, onmyojis who saw this scene might think it was a natural phenomenon, but Yamamoto Kiyoshi often traveled in southeast Asia over the years and had a certain degree of understanding of various techniques. He quickly discovered that lightning was now striking the warehouse one by one. This wasn’t a coincidence.

The only conclusion left was that it was heavenly lightning.

He knew very well that for Chinese practitioners, the method of attracting thunder wasn’t something that anyone could do. This method had an inheritance system, and many practitioners of small sects couldn’t learn it even if they wanted to. His impression was that it must be a very powerful practitioner who could attract lightning, but he never expected it to be the young man who wasn’t even proficient in his swordsmanship just now.

Lightning illuminated the entire sky above their heads. A second lightning struck at the location where Yamamoto was standing. He truly took after Fujikawa Aoi as his junior brother. He saw the opportunity very quickly, and when the warehouse above his head was split open, he had already dodged to the side. However, the heavenly lightning seems to have grown eyes as it didn’t let him go. The lightning snaked down the gap and split apart halfway, slashing towards the place where Yamamoto was hiding. Unable to dodge it, he had to grab Xiao Qi next to him and use him as a shield.

With a boom, the heavenly lightning struck Xiao Qi right in the middle!

Heavenly lightning was the yang that conquered the yin and punished evil. After Xiao Qi died, he was controlled by Yamamoto’s soul refinement, which the heavenly lightning considers evil, so it could be considered that Yamamoto’s shield was effective.

But under the nest, how could there not be eggs*. Yamamoto was unavoidably affected as well. When Xiao Qi’s body was bathed in lightning, Yamamoto’s body shook, and he involuntarily let go of Xiao Qi and staggered back, vomiting out a lot of blood.

*(覆巢之下，焉有完卵) Metaphor describing when one person suffers, the whole family will too. Even the young and old will not be spared.

“Xiao Qi!” Mu Duo yelled in grief and anger. The shikigami who had originally bitten her disappeared because of their master’s weakness. She raised her sword and slashed at Yamamoto, who still had enough strength to avoid it, but soon he was pierced in the chest by another sword.

It was Dong Zhi’s.

Dong Zhi was pale and was sweating profusely. He was in a completely haggard state. However, in Mu Duo’s eyes, who saw him desperately rushing over, it seemed like he was descending from the sky and had turned the situation around with the power of just one person.

Yamamoto was shocked. His lips trembled slightly, and his eyes looked at Dong Zhi as if he was looking at a monster.

He didn’t expect the other party could not only attract lightning but do it twice in a row. Under heavenly lightning, all evil was vanquished, and no demons or ghosts could escape.

His shikigamis were destroyed, and the souls he had worked so hard to collect in Lucheng this time were completely gone. Even his own life was not guaranteed.

“Don’t kill me!” Yamamoto, who was standing on his high horse just now, didn’t hesitate to gasp for mercy at this moment. He wagged his tail and begged for mercy without any shame or embarrassment. “One of your companions is not dead yet. I only took a part of his soul, and he still has hope to live!”

He was talking about Yan Nuo. Mu Duo’s spirit felt relieved. “Hand it over!”

Yamamoto showed an ugly smile. His hair was wet with sweat, and his locks were pressed to his cheeks, showing an indescribably embarrassed state.

Half an hour ago, he had used these people as prey and toyed with them, but now he was kneeling and licking the feet of said prey, begging them to spare his life.

“Let me go and I will let him go. A life for a life!” He stared at Dong Zhi.

Yamamoto knew very well that his opponent still had the strength to kill him.

“Fine, but you must first hand over his remnant soul.” Dong Zhi looked at him and said slowly and concisely. “You have no room to bargain with me.”

He knew his own strength. He wasn’t actually as strong as Yamamoto thought he was. He had been entangled with the shikigami several times and attracted lightning twice. He had exhausted all his strength and was barely hanging on. He had to make sure that his expression was flawless so as not to be seen by Yamamoto.

Although Yamamoto was pierced by the Changshou sword and had no power to resist, Dong Zhi had seen the repeated actions of Fujikawa and his disciples with his own eyes and knew he couldn’t relax his vigilance.

In other words, at this moment, the two of them were like opponents at a card table. They seemed to have a high opinion of each other, and while the outcome may have already been decided, they each held the last card that was their ace. Neither party knew whether they could win or not.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Honestly, Mu Duo’s the MVP here. She’s fighting 2 tigers and 2 zombies, while Dong Zhi only dealt with a poisonous snake for half the chapter.

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 77

There wasn’t a convenience store downstairs, so Yan Nuo had to run a little further past two intersections, about a few hundred meters before he got his wish to buy cigarettes.

As soon as he put the cigarette in his mouth and lit it, he took a deep breath and suddenly felt a lot of irritability in his heart.

Yan Nuo didn’t rush back. He simply stood outside the convenience store and finished smoking his cigarette. He pinched off the cigarette butt, clapped his hands, and prepared to go back.

At that moment, he received a call from Xiao Qi.

“Come, I have discovered something new!”

The signal over there didn’t seem to be very good as it intermittently cut in and out.

“What new discovery?” Yan Nuo’s spirit felt refreshed. “You wait there. I’m heading back!”

“It’s not in the autopsy room… It’s in… the warehouse…” The rustling signal interference on the phone cut Xiao Qi’s words into several pieces, but Yan Nuo was able to still hear the address.

He said, inexplicably, “What are you doing in the warehouse in the suburbs? I just left for a bit, and you’re already there?!”

Xiao Qi: “Zhou Dui… Notified… I’m on the way. Hurry up!”

After that, he hung up the phone. When Yan Nuo dialed again, he couldn’t get through. He called Zhou Dui, but no one answered.

Yan Nuo ran back to the autopsy room and saw that Bai Xiangmei’s body was still there, but Xiao Qi was gone.

He had to quickly run to the garage and drive out. He called Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui several times on the way, but he couldn’t get through.

He knew where the warehouse Xiao Qi mentioned was, but he hadn’t been there. There was almost no one around that place at night. What clues could Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui find there? Wouldn’t all the clues be on the body of Bai Xiangmei’s?

A lot of thoughts flashed through his mind, making it a mess. He didn’t delay his driving speed. Lucheng in the middle of the night was still beautiful. The streetlights kept passing overhead as the speed increased. Yan Nuo always felt as if he had forgotten something when it suddenly struck him, and he called Mu Duo.

“Yan Nuo?” From the tone of her voice, Mu Duo was probably asleep.

“Mu Duo, you and Dong Zhi hurry to warehouse no. 8 in Nanshan Science Park on Nanshan Road. There’s progress in our case. I’m rushing over. Xiao Qi and Zhou Dui are already there!”

“Okay. I see. We’ll be there right away.” Mu Duo was taken aback for a moment before replying quickly.

Yan Nuo originally didn’t want Dong Zhi to be involved in this case, but during the day, the kid was obviously idle and ran into a problem with some hotel. This caused Mu Duo to accompany him over there for nothing, and it turned out to be a false alarm. Yan Nuo mainly felt that there was something wrong this time and would need many people to take care of it. If it turns out to be nothing, at least he would make the kid run over and suffer a little. They were so exhausted from this case, yet this guy was sleeping comfortably in a hotel room.

He absolutely did not expect that such an idea he had on a whim would save his life soon after.

Warehouse no. 8 was far away from the autopsy room. The road conditions were good at night, so he would reach there in about forty minutes.

Nanshan Science Park was quiet. Except for the streetlights, one could only occasionally see a faint light. It was the warehouse guard who was on night duty.

Yan Nuo found a warehouse guard who hadn’t fallen asleep yet and was playing games on his phone. He first took out his ID to establish his identity, then asked him where warehouse no. 8 was. He then asked if he had seen two men coming by. The other party pointed out the direction to him and shook his head and said he hadn’t seen anyone.

The identity of the Special Administration Bureau was special, so it was not necessarily known in the system, not to mention ordinary people. In order to facilitate their activities, Yan Nuo and the others usually rely on the police to get a permit. Dong Zhi was still stuck dealing with affairs on his flight, so he didn’t have this permit with him, and his name wasn’t entered into the system at that time. In the end, it caused a huge misunderstanding.

Unable to find Xiao Qi and the others, Yan Nuo walked towards warehouse no. 8 first.

The door of the warehouse was tightly locked, and Yan Nuo walked around and found that there was a small door behind him that was concealed.

He gently pushed it away and was greeted with pitch blackness.

“Xiao Qi?” he yelled tentatively.

Someone inside replied, “I’m here!”

It was Xiao Qi’s voice.

Yan Nuo breathed a sigh of relief first, then pushed open the door further and walked in, saying, “Why don’t you turn on the lights? Is Zhou Dui here too?”

“Yes.”

Concise, just one word. Zhou Dui didn’t make a sound either.

Yan Nuo frowned slightly and slowed down. Just as he was about to say something, the concealed door behind him closed automatically.

The bang when the door slammed shut hit Yan Nuo’s heart like a hammer.

“Xiao Qi! Zhou Dui!” He couldn’t help shouting, slowly pulling out the sword in his hand as he walked in.

The light above snapped twice and lit up one after another, like Moses parting the sea, extending from the top of his head to the other end of the warehouse. Besides this part, the rest of the area was dark.

Far away, Yan Nuo saw three people standing on the other side of the warehouse.

Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi were in front, and there was a man behind them.

The man patted Xiao Qi on the shoulder, and Xiao Qi said, “I’m here!”

He patted him again.

Xiao Qi: “I’m here!”

The tone of his voice was quiet, the same as when he was lured into the warehouse just now.

Yan Nuo’s heart sank a little bit.

He realized that he, as well as Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi, had all fallen into the man’s trap.

“Who are you?” Yan Nuo asked in a deep voice.

The other party smiled. “Aren’t you looking for me everywhere? I didn’t want to be found by you, but who knew you were in such hot pursuit? Anyways, I have to go. You three should be regarded as a parting gift to the beautiful city of Lucheng!”

Yan Nuo’s pupils shrank. He raised his sword and pointed at him from a distance.

“You’re Bai Xiangmei’s other lover!”

The man smiled and said, “That woman’s kung fu in bed is very good, but unfortunately, her physical quality is not as good as yours. Even if you extract the soul, it’s useless. Unlike you. You’re strong and a practitioner. Your soul can be used to do a lot of things.”

After that, he beckoned to Yan Nuo.

“Come here, my third gift.”

Yan Nuo suddenly had the illusion that he was on a cliff, with abysses in all directions. There was only a narrow road ahead. He had no choice but to move forward.

He gritted his teeth, clenched his sword in his hand, jumped up, and rushed towards the enemy!

—

When Dong Zhi was dreaming in full swing, he was awakened by a phone call from Mu Duo. He quickly got up and got dressed. With a sleepy face, he went out with Mu Duo.

“Yan Ge said something happened. Why did you suddenly run off so far?”

Until he got into the car, Dong Zhi was still rubbing his eyes, trying to get rid of his drowsiness.

While starting the car, Mu Duo briefly told him about the case and finally said, “It should be that there are new clues at the warehouse. Yan Nuo is kind. Didn’t you want to participate? Now he has given you this opportunity, so don’t show dissatisfaction later.”

Dong Zhi nodded and asked again, “Is Xiao Qi dissatisfied with me?”

Mu Duo smiled helplessly. “He’s not specifically targeting you…”

“Almost forgot! Mu Duo Jie, stop the car!” Dong Zhi spoke up unexpectedly.

As soon as Mu Duo drove a few meters, she was taken aback when he heard the words and quickly braked. “What’s the matter?”

Dong Zhi said, embarrassedly, “I forgot to bring my sword, so I will go upstairs to get it now. Wait a minute! I’ll be right back.”

He was so busy getting dressed and heading downstairs that he didn’t remember until he found that his hands were empty, and he had forgotten to bring his weapon with him.

Mu Duo didn’t want him to take the sword. Yan Nuo and the others were there, so nothing could happen, but before she could say anything, the other party had already opened the door and hurried back to the hotel. She shook her head and thought that he was truly a newcomer.

Dong Zhi wasn’t slow. It only took about ten minutes total for the roundtrip. Mu Duo guessed what Yan Nuo’s thoughts were and estimated that he would want to grind this newcomer, so she didn’t say anything. She didn’t feel anxious.

“Mu Duo Jie, what are you good at?” Dong Zhi asked.

Mu Duo smiled. “Guess?”

Dong Zhi glanced at her. Her appearance was bright, and she was dressed normally. If he hadn’t known her identity, he would not have associated her with being a practitioner.  

“I can’t guess.” Dong Zhi shook his head.

Mu Duo smiled and said, “I am from Hunan.”

The other party couldn’t answer the question. Dong Zhi was a little confused, and he hadn’t registered the hint yet. “Do you like spicy food?”

As soon as he finished speaking, he finally came to a realization. “You’re a Miao woman? A poison user?”

Mu Duo didn’t answer and asked rhetorically, “Have you heard of Xianxi Chasing Corpse*?”

*(湘西赶尸) Part of witch culture is also known as moving spirits. It’s a technique corpse guides (see footnote below) use to lead corpses.

Dong Zhi let out a sigh and suddenly remembered a very old profession. “Are you a corpse guide*?”

*(赶尸人) A robe-clad mage that leads corpses to walk with special sorcery.

Mu Duo nodded.

This was a very special occupation. In ancient times, when merchants who did business outside get sick and died in a place far from home, they would ask for help to bringing the corpse back to their hometown for burial in accordance with the custom of returning to one’s roots. At that time, cremation was regarded as taboo, and some had died thousands of miles away from home. The industry of corpse guide came into being. Among them, the corpse guide in Western Hunan were the most famous. They would go out day and night. As long as there was business to be done, they would definitely be able to bring those people back to their hometown. As for how the dead was guided, there are various theories about these secrets, but only a corpse guide would truly know.

Today, there were no longer a demand for corpse guides, so the profession had gradually declined. Now there were very few who knew about this technique, and Mu Duo was the only one that remained.

Except for immortals who could really feed on the wind and drink the drew*? Although corpse guides were practitioners, they also had families to support. Therefore, contrary to the tradition of previous generations of living in seclusion in the countryside, Mu Duo resolutely joined the Special Administration Bureau and became a member of the national practitioners.

*(餐风饮露) Metaphor referring to enduring hardships of an arduous journey.

However, in a place full of hidden talents, although her abilities were rare, she wasn’t particularly outstanding, so she was assigned to Lucheng and didn’t advance much on the ladder.

The two came to the entrance of Nanshan Science Park, which Yan Nuo told them about. Mu Duo called Yan Nuo and the others again, but couldn’t get through, so they decided to head towards warehouse no. 8.

Mu Duo pushed on the gate that was the entrance to loading and unloading goods and found it motionless.

“It’s locked.”

The two walked around the warehouse, and like Yan Nuo before, they also found a small door in the back.

Dong Zhi pushed it for a bit and found that it could be open. He signaled Mu Duo over, and the two quietly went in.

The warehouse was large, and the lights were on in a straight line, so it wasn’t completely dark, but a large portion of the warehouse on either side of the light was shrouded in darkness.

“Yan Nuo? Xiao Qi?” Mu Duo shouted.

No one responded.

“I’ll look over here. You look over there,” she said to Dong Zhi.

“Mu Duo Jie, I’d better go with you.” Dong Zhi followed her.

Mu Duo felt a little helpless and thought that Yan Nuo was right. This newcomer’s courage was too small. Could he really be counted on for anything?

The two of them walked to the left side when Dong Zhi suddenly grabbed her.

Mu Duo had begun to get impatient. “What’s the matter?”

Dong Zhi said, “Look at the back of the container on the right. Isn’t that a figure?”

Mu Duo looked in the direction he was pointing.

In the shadow behind the container, where a faint light could not be seen, two figures were falling to the ground.

Mu Duo walked over with Dong Zhi.

“Zhou Dui! Xiao Qi!” Mu Duo was taken aback and hurriedly bent over to push them. With just a push, Zhou Dui tilted directly to the ground.

Mu Duo noticed something was wrong and reached out to capture the other party’s pulse.

“How is he?” Dong Zhi probed.

“Dead.” Mu Duo felt cold all over. She hurriedly checked on Xiao Qi. “He still has a heartbeat! It’s very weak. Come on. Help me help him up from the ground and lie him flat!”

As soon as the voice fell, she felt a cool breeze blowing from the back of her head. A shadow covered the top of her head. The sense of danger rose subconsciously, causing Mu Duo to suddenly turn her head abruptly. A familiar face came into view, but it was followed by a glimmer of light from the blade of a sword in the opponent’s hand.

Mu Duo’s eyes widened.

In a blink of an eye, she only had enough time to blink, and knew it was too late to dodge the attack.

What made it even more unacceptable was that the person who wanted to kill her was her former companion.

Clang!

Another glimmer of light from a sword’s blade flashed across her line of sight.

Dong Zhi parried Yan Nuo’s sword and shouted, “Yan Ge, what’s wrong with you? Wake up!”

Yan Nuo, of course, ignored his pleas. His eyes were flushed, and he stared at Dong Zhi as if this was the person that killed his father. His offensive from his hands rained down like a storm. Dong Zhi was busy parrying and couldn’t be distracted from observing his surroundings, so he shouted, “Mu Duo, pay attention to the surroundings. Don’t fall into their trap!”

Without his reminder, Mu Duo had already come to the realization that Yan Nuo and Zhou Dui had been lured into a trap. Those who could bring these two people together in succession were certainly not ordinary. They may be more powerful than everyone present. Even Yan Nuo was being controlled, leaving only her and Dong Zhi left. Could they turn the tide?

Without a second thought, Mu Duo reached into her pocket and pulled out a bell. The bell was slightly larger than her palm and it was covered with lines, which was different from the bell Xiao Qi had seen in the autopsy room.

She shook it and the bell made a heavy sound, like an ancient bell that wasn’t as crisp as an ordinary bell.

Mu Duo rattled the bell slowly and gradually increased the speed. She slowly turned around in place, staring at her surroundings. Suddenly, a container fell from above her head!

Mu Duo reacted quickly. She dodged and looked up.

“Behind!” There was a sudden shout from Dong Zhi.

Mu Duo’s body tensed up and almost formed a conditioned response. She hurriedly turned around and threw a long strip of something with her other hand, throttling it towards the unexpected guest. A closer look turned out to be a long strip of royal blue cloth.

The cloth strip was much softer than a whip, but in Mu Duo’s hand, it was like a spirit snake that could be long or short, soft or hard, at will.

With a shake, Mu Duo’s wrist vibrated, and one end of the cloth immediately rolled towards the opponent’s neck. The other party stretched out his hand and grabbed it firmly. For a moment, the hand at the other end of the cloth strip turned into a poisonous snake. The bloody mouth opened and swallowed the cloth stirp inch by inch. Mu Duo was taken back and hurriedly pulled the cloth back, but the poisonous snake was so powerful that she couldn’t pull it back at all. The man behind the poisonous snake sneered. He held a short dagger in his hand and stabbed her right in the center between her eyebrows.

Meanwhile, Dong Zhi and Yan Nuo confronted each other with their swords, like two evenly matched opponents.

However, Dong Zhi had only practiced swordsmanship for half a month. In terms of proficiency and skill, he wasn’t Yan Nuo’s opponent. More importantly, he had no murderous intent towards his companion. With Yan Nuo’s mind being controlled at this time, his eyes were flushed, and his expression was hideous. When he attacked, every move was meant to kill. He had lost his usual sanity and each contact with Dong Zhi only made him fiercer.

Long Shen’s teachings were still ringing in his ears. Dong Zhi quickly settled down and pinched a talisman in his other hand. He let go of the sword and, using the momentum, threw the talisman towards Yan Nuo.

Once the fluttering talisman touched Yan Nuo’s forehead, it did not fall, and it caused Yan Nuo’s body to pause slightly. Dong Zhi took this opportunity to remove his sword and directly raised his foot to his heart and kicked the person back, causing him to crash heavily into various boxes.

Yan Nuo didn’t treat him very well before. Dong Zhi could regard this kick as “avenging personal grievances”. After the kick, he felt more refreshed, but this thought quickly flashed away. He hurriedly ran forward, took out another sunlight talisman and pinched it on Yan Nuo’s chin, then stuffed another talisman into his mouth. He then picked up some rope that fell off the shelf just now and bound Yan Nuo’s hands and feet together, just in case he would wake up again and cause trouble.

Before this was finished, there was some noise at the other end where Mu Duo was. Dong Zhi didn’t care about anything else. He quickly picked up his sword to break the siege.

In front of the man, a poisonous snake that was about one person tall was hissing.

In order to resist the man’s attack, Mu Duo had to withdraw the cloth strip and watch as her weapon turned into food in the snake’s mouth.

The scales of the poisonous snake were colorful, giving them a tarry look. However, Dong Zhi had also seen a three-headed giant python and stabbed its chrysanthemum, so this poisonous snake was like child’s play to him.

He thought about the identity of the man who was controlling this poisonous snake.

“An onmyoji?”

The man showed a playful smile, and he was quite generous and admitted it.

“Kiyoshi Yamamoto. Pleasure to meet you.”

Dong Zhi: “What’s your relationship with Fujikawa Aoi?”

The man raised his eyebrows. “Do you know my martial older brother?”

It was truly a narrow road between enemies. Dong Zhi couldn’t help but secretly roll his eyes. “You immigrated here? Does Japan not have enough land to accommodate you? Do you have to come all the way here to cause trouble?”

The man smiled and said, “It seems that you have already dealt with my martial older brother. I heard that in the end, the Japanese government agreed on many conditions in exchange for him and promised not to let him or his disciples come to China for at least 50 years. But don’t worry. I’m not the same as him. If I were him, I would have committed seppuku*. How could I still have the face to live with such shame?”

*Japanese ritual suicide by disembowelment.

Dong Zhi frowned. “Then when you’re defeated by me, don’t forget what you said just now and commit seppuku immediately. Don’t lose face in front of the world.”

The man laughed. “I just watched you play against him. It wasn’t too long ago that you just learned swordsmanship, right? Child, it’s not good to talk big. Doesn’t the Chinese have a saying, be careful that the wind flashes your tongue*.”

*(风大闪了舌头) Refers to paying attention when you speak and not saying unrealistic or big words.

Mu Duo gasped and said sharply, “You killed Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi?! The blood of Bai Xiangmei and Huang Wendong’s family is also on your hands! Why are you doing this?!”

The man had a Kimura Takuya hairstyle. He had a beard on his chin and a bit of a blurred temperament. At first glance, you would think he was a street artist. The bad smile on his face could attract many women. However, after knowing he was the mastermind behind the deaths of the Huang family and their companions, in the eyes of Mu Duo and Dong Zhi, all external modifications were just a cover up for the ferocious beast in his heart.

Yamamoto Kiyoshi’s demeanor was very relaxed, which made them even more vigilant. It stood to reason that the enemy had made many pitfalls for them. They didn’t know what traps the other party had laid here. It should be them, not Yamamoto, who wanted to delay time, but the other party didn’t seem to be in a hurry to make a move as he patiently explained sequences of events to them.

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 76

The talisman paper was dangling in front of it, so the other party had to temporarily halt its thoughts about running away and explain the situation.

The weasel calls itself Uncle Liu. Its hometown was in the northeast, and it was originally the owner of an inn, or rather, the Bao Jiaxian of He Jia’s and her great aunt’s family. During the most turbulent time in China a hundred and ten years ago, her great aunt’s family moved south and brought Uncle Liu with them. Later, after several turbulent times, the family went abroad, died of illness, and the remaining family members dwindled. The younger generation grew up under the influence of science, so they didn’t believe in feudal superstition and scoffed at the so-called Bao Jiaxian. Uncle Liu was enshrined in the room of this hotel by the great aunt. It was regularly worshipped and was asked to help guard this hotel.

A few months ago, He Jia’s aunt immigrated overseas, and this hotel was left to He Jia. Before leaving, the great aunt also consulted with Uncle Liu for advice. It told her it didn’t want to go abroad, so the great aunt told He Jia to keep this room and not allow any guests to stay in it. He Jia had vaguely heard some rumors, but she didn’t believe them, but since this was the request of her great aunt, she complied. The fruits and vegetables offered were in good condition, and no one came to disturb its peace, which made Uncle Liu quite happy.

Uncle Liu wasn’t a lazy monster who only ate and didn’t work. In addition to guarding the hotel, he also bewitched people to help attract business.

Hearing this, Dong Zhi suddenly came to a realization. “No wonder the hotel didn’t need to advertise because they kept getting an endless stream of guests. It turns out that you did all this!”

Uncle Liu was strongly dissatisfied. “What do you mean! I’m a spirit! They were originally looking for a hotel to stay in, and the environment and facilities here are good, so I just increased their favorability!”

Dong Zhi sneered, “If it’s like this, then I’m afraid you’ve used too much magic. Otherwise, why do some people who originally planned to stay for one night don’t want to leave and instead end up staying two or three nights? This also doesn’t take into account the strange things happening in the rooms. Are you the one who’s responsible for all the weird things happening in this hotel?”

The weasel muttered, “It’s just a little trick that’s not tantamount to murder and arson…”

Dong Zhi heard its guilty conscience and said, “What about that man that almost jumped off the building two days ago and that woman who had a heart attack. Was that your doing?”

The weasel said angrily, “How could I do such a thing? Do I look like that kind of wolf to you?!”

Dong Zhi: “Don’t tell me it was just an accident. I saw it with my very own eyes. At that time, something prevented the rescuer from saving that woman. Who could it be if it wasn’t you?!”

Weasel: “That’s—!”

Its voice stooped abruptly.

Dong Zhi became suspicious. “Who is it?”

The weasel whispered, “The point is, it’s not me!”

Dong Zhi: “Even if it’s not you, you must know who it is, right?”

The weasel was very cunning. Perhaps seeing that Dong Zhi had no intention of killing it, it simply titled its body and fell to the ground with all four of its feet raised to the sky, as if it would die at any moment.

The magic array was still there, so it couldn’t run even if it wanted to. Dong Zhi sat crossed-legged on the bed and grabbed the Changshou Sword in his hand.

“It doesn’t matter if you don’t say it. I might as well tell you that I’m from the Special Administration Bureau. To deal with monsters like you, I have the authority to act first. I can kill you first, then charge you with attempted murder. Besides us, no one would know, and I could still make contributions and be rewarded. What do you think about this idea?”

“Not good!” The weasel jumped up in a daze and no longer pretended to play dead. “You’re just a little baby in the Special Administration Bureau! Let me tell you, I’m related to someone in the Special Administration Bureau! If you dare make a move, I—I’ll call your leader and let him chop you to pieces!”

Dong Zhi looked skeptical. “Something like you, residing in a small hotel in Lucheng, can still know people from the Special Administration Bureau.”

The weasel said proudly, “Scared to death now, huh? You’re new here, so why don’t you go and find out! He’s a capable general under Director Long of Group Two of your General Administration Bureau, Kan Chaosheng. He’s the cousin of my grandmother’s eldest brother’s wife’s cousin’s husband!”

Dong Zhi: ……

Seeing the speechless face on Dong Zhi, the weasel became bolder. “How about it? Scared? Let me just say that a wolf with a background like mine is not something a little baby like you can provoke. Be sensible and quickly let me go. I can still speak good things on your behalf in front of your leaders!”

Before it could finish speaking, it squeaked and screamed, jumping three feet high. It turned out that Dong Zhi took the scabbard and smashed it towards its body, almost flattening its tail.

“You—You—don’t mess around!”

Dong Zhi picked up the phone. “What a coincidence. I also know Kan Chaosheng, so I’ll call him now. If he doesn’t know you, you’re dead meat.”

The weasel sneered, “You can’t fool me. How could you know such a big figure!”

Dong Zhi picked up the phone and pressed a number. The other party started to panic. “Why are you calling? This is just a small matter. No need to bother him!”

“I might as well tell you that I was sent by the General Administration Bureau. We all have to intern in the local area for our first year. I am a member of Group Two that you spoke of. It is exactly the same group that Kan Chaosheng is in. Our General Administration Bureau has a performance indicator this year. At least one task must be completed to pass the test, or we’ll be dismissed. You’re unlucky to have met me.” Dong Zhi spouted half-truths and lies. “If you’re willing to tell me the real culprit, I’ll let you go. Otherwise, I only need to kill you and return back to work!”

The weasel screamed, “How can you be such a scumbag!”

Dong Zhi spread his hands. “There’s no other way. Who told you not to tell me who’s the real culprit? Come here, let me stab you with my sword. Soon there will be no more pain.”

Weasel: “I didn’t do it! I can’t say it!”

Dong Zhi: “Why can’t you say it?”

The weasel refused to speak.

“Say it!” In order to scare it, Dong Zhi deliberately slapped hard, causing the other party’s fur to fluff up its little body, which made it look quite pleasant.

“I really can’t say it! I’ve been forbidden and will die if I say it. You might as well just kill me with the sword now!”

Dong Zhi asked suspiciously, “Who forbade you? Isn’t this your place?”

The weasel covered its mouth. “I can’t say it! I can’t say it!”

Dong Zhi said, “Then I’ll ask you questions. You just need to nod or shake your head.”

He took out a gray piece of paper.

“Is it related to this?”

The weasel hesitated for a moment and nodded its little head.

Dong Zhi asked again, “Is it related to the Japanese?”

The weasel turned his eyes around, first nodded, then shook his head.

“Is it or not?” Dong Zhi said angrily.

Weasel: “I really can’t say it! If I say it, I will die!”

Dong Zhi thought for a moment, and then asked, “Apart from the man who tried to jump off the building, there are also people who almost died from illness. Has anything else happened?”

The weasel subconsciously said, “No, they just came…”

Before it could finish speaking, it suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood that pooled onto the white bed sheets.

Dong Zhi was taken aback.

The weasel cried, “I told you everything! I only use magic to attract others to come in and stay for a few more days, but recently it’s made them listless and sick. I didn’t do it, but I can’t say the rest!”

Seeing that its performance was not as good as it was before, Dong Zhi couldn’t bear it and hurriedly said, “Okay, I’ll just ask two more questions! Is the other party still here now?”

The weasel shook its head.

Dong Zhi: “Then where did that person go?”

Weasel: “I don’t know.”

Dong Zhi: “What is their purpose?”

Weasel: “I don’t know… This is three questions!”

Dong Zhi rolled his eyes and began to try to deceive him. “Do you want to enter the Special Administration Bureau? Since you know Kan Chaosheng, you should know that monsters are also in the Bureau. As long as you can help me do my best this time, I’ll put in a recommendation to the Bureau later. This, plus your relationship with Kan Chaosheng, should be no problem for you to join!”

The weasel looked a little excited, but he said dejectedly, “But I haven’t been able to transform. How could the Special Administration Bureau want a monster that can’t be transformed?!”

Dong Zhi said, “Regardless of whether you can get in or not, as long as you make a contribution, I can help you apply for benefits. At that time, you can give up your quota to your children or grandchildren. As long as you provide clues, you don’t have to run errands. This couldn’t be any easier for you!”

The weasel hesitated for a while before it finally said, “I don’t know if it’s the Japanese, but I’ve seen this kind of paper in your hand. That person has arranged a lot of it in the hotel…”

As soon as it said this, it spat out another mouthful of blood.

“Okay, okay. I won’t ask you anymore!” Dong Zhi said hurriedly. He now regretted that he forgot to ask Li Ying or Zhang Song for a few injury medication before he left. After all, the Maoshan Sect and Longhu Sect were great schools of medicine and were unrivaled in terms of their effects.

Dong Zhi strung together all the clues and combed them out.

On the surface, the weasel was guarding the hotel and using its magic to attract guests. The reason why He Jia and the staff weren’t affected was because the weasel treated them as one of its own and didn’t apply his magic to them.

People with ulterior motives discovered this and set up an ambush here to create two cases of attempted murder. Judging from the weasel’s words, these traps should have just been arranged not long ago, so they hadn’t had time yet to lead to any great tragedies, and he was present to stop these two incidents.

Thinking of this, his heart moved.

“Let me ask you, did you do anything to He Jia so that she would hate coming here?”

The weasel nodded. “I didn’t use magic at first, but later I was afraid she would be in danger, so I used a little of it to drive her out.”

Dong Zhi stared at it. “You knew to protect He Jia, but aren’t the residents here also innocent?”

The weasel shrank its neck, knowing that it was wrong and did not dare make a noise.

The guests were ill.

Two cases of attempted murder.

Something similar to a shikigami.

Dong Zhi frowned and tried to connect these small clues.

The weasel peeked at him and said flatteringly, “Well, big brother, can you undo the formation first? I’m suffering here!”

Dong Zhi ignored it as he bit his fingers and thought absentmindedly.

The weasel didn’t give up. “Seeing as you know Chaosheng and we’re distant relatives, can you have the heart to see Uncle Liu suffering like this?”

Dong Zhi suddenly said, “Lao Liu, let me ask you. Does the other party want to absorb the anger or yang of these residents?”

The weasel was taken aback for a moment and said angrily, “Don’t ask me. I can’t say it. I can’t say anything about it!”

Seeing its reaction, Dong Zhi could feel that his guess wasn’t that far off from the mark. He couldn’t help but feel refreshed, thinking that this was another breakthrough.

“But there are still some questions I’m unsure of. Wouldn’t it be safer for the other party to absorb the yang quietly? Why do they want to kill someone and attract attention?” Dong Zhi immediately reached another conclusion. “Did that person know that I was here and did it on purpose?”

The weasel whispered, “I don’t know… That person hasn’t shown up for several days.”

After speaking, the weasel vomited another mouthful of blood onto the bed sheets. Although it was small in size and the blood it spat out was miniscule, it was still enough for it to suffer.

It cried, “My mouth is cheap. I won’t speak again!”

Dong Zhi twitched the corner of his mouth and continued to speculate on his own.

“That person didn’t show up for a few days and set a few shikigamis here. The intention was to take advantage of your magic and take the opportunity to absorb the yang of the guests, but for two days in a row, two people almost died… Could it be that those shikigamis absorbed too much yang, which gave them consciousness that allowed them to make their own decisions? They couldn’t wait for such a long stream of water to slowly extract yang, so they decided to collect it quickly by killing? Master said that there are similarities between shikigamis and puppets, and it’s not impossible for powerful onmyojis or puppet masters to breathe life into them and turn them into living creatures.”

Not only that, Long Shen also gave a very famous example at that time. After Nezha¹ cut off his bones to return to his father and the flesh to his mother, his limbs were not saved. His master, Taiyi² used lotus roots to reshape his body. This naturally sounded like a myth to ordinary people, but for practitioners it wasn’t fantasy. Bluntly put, if one injected a soul or yang qi into these props, they could make them into a living thing.

¹Protection deity in Chinese folk religion given the name “Third Lotus Prince” when he became a deity. You can read the story on the Wikipedia link. TLDR: Nezha offended the dragon king, Ao Guang, who threatened to flood his hometown in response. He then sacrificed himself to appease Ao Guang’s anger and cut off his bones to return to his parents as repayment for giving birth to him. He later became enshrined, and his Master Taiyi eventually brought him back to life using lotus roots, and he was given his two most famous weapons, the Wind Fire Wheels and the Fire-tipped spear.
²A deity in Chinese religion and Taoism. Taiyi (lit. ’great 2nd Celestial stem’) means “primordial unity of yin and yang” and Zhenren (lit. ’true person’) is a Daoist term for “Perfected Person”. According to the opening of the classical novel Fengshen Bang, he is the reincarnation of the first emperor of the Shang dynasty, Tang of Shang.

Dong Zhi said, “Very well. I’ll let you go first. You are, after all, the Bao Jiaxian here, and you can’t run even if you want to. I don’t need any clues, but if that person comes again, you have to notify me as soon as possible.”

The weasel bemoaned, “But I can’t beat him…”

Dong Zhi said, “If you promise to inform me, I’ll help you and ask about the method Chaosheng used to transform.”

The weasel’s eyes lit up, but then wilted again. “He’s born as a jiao, and there’s only a thin line of difference between him and a dragon. I can’t compare with him…”

Dong Zhi: “Even if you can’t compare to a jiao, you could be at least comparable to a willow tree. I have a colleague who’s a willow and can transform, so why can’t you?”

Weasel: “Really?”

Dong Zhi: “Why would I lie to you? I don’t want you to deal with that person. As long as they show up, just tell me immediately!”

The weasel struggled for a long time and finally reluctantly agreed.

Dong Zhi left his phone with him and told it to remember to call before withdrawing the magic array. The weasel jumped away suddenly, and he didn’t know where it disappeared to.

There were a few pools of blood left on the sheets in the room, and there were holes in the wall left by his Changshou Sword. He didn’t know what he was doing in this room just now, but when he looked around, Dong Zhi realized there was a problem.

“Deal with the traces in this room yourself. Don’t let people become suspicious!”

The weasel didn’t make a sound, so he didn’t know if it had heard him.

Dong Zhi felt a headache coming as he thought about how there may be dead traps hidden everywhere in the hotel.

It was impossible for him alone to find all the shikigamis in the hotel, and if he did, he might spook the snake. After thinking about it, he decided to call Mu Duo.

“Dong Zhi, what’s up?” The phone quickly connected, and Mu Duo’s puzzled voice came from the other end.

It was hard to regurgitate everything clearly in just a few words, so Dong Zhi asked, “Mu Duo, where are you now? I have something very important to report to you. Is it convenient?”

Hearing this, Mu Duo couldn’t help but glance at Yan Nuo.

On their side, the murder and mutilation case had encountered a bottleneck.

The police had tracked down the whereabouts of Huang Wendong’s mistress. For the sake of safety, they called for Yan Nuo and the others, but the result fell short. They went to the house where the mistress was hiding from a tip, only to find the place was already empty.

Of course, the case had to continue to be investigated, and the search resumed, which left Yan Nuo and the others busy for several days, but no clues could be found, leaving them quite frustrated.

Mu Duo knew that Yan Nuo didn’t want Dong Zhi to participate because of the newcomer they had last year. As a result, not only did he fail to help, but he also made a mess of things. He was finally transferred away, but this left Yan Nuo and the others with a bad taste, so they had no affection for newcomers since then. What’s more, this time it was a newcomer with a deep background, a disciple of the Deputy Director from the General Administration. With such a rumor that Deputy Director Long had accepted such a disciple, they could only imagine how much he valued this person.

According to Yan Nuo and the others’ experience, this kind of newcomer with a background cannot be said to be incompetent but must be a newborn calf that’s not afraid of tigers. He would be impulsive and could easily stir up trouble. His arrogance would lead him to underestimating his enemies, and all he could do was scold them but couldn’t fight. The best they could do was put him aside and not let him cause trouble. If he had any self-knowledge, it would be better if he just transferred himself away.

However, Mu Duo had a good impression of Dong Zhi. She also felt that it wasn’t good to keep attacking his enthusiasm, so she gave him the address and said he should come over.

Dong Zhi soon arrived, and Yan Nuo knew that Mu Duo had taken the initiative on her own to let him know, so he couldn’t help glaring at her.

“Yan Ge, I know you’re working on something important, and I don’t want to disturb you, but something has indeed happened to me.”

He told them about the hotel and the weasel.

Xiao Qi, who had a more impatient personality, couldn’t help but say, “I’m afraid these things were done by the weasel. It’s just made an enemy out of thin air because it’s afraid you may take revenge on it!”

“I don’t think so, because I found this. It’s similar to a shikigami used by onmyojis. Moreover, according to the Bao Jiaxian, there are still many more in the hotel. It’s difficult for me to find them all by myself, and I’m afraid it might alarm the other party.” Dong Zhi handed them the pieces of paper.

Yan Nuo frowned and said, “In this case, we can only set up an array to surround the hotel first and then catch the turtle in a jar*, but we’re not at a critical stage in our case. The police could find Huang Wendong’s mistress at any time, so we can’t really leave.”

*(瓮中捉鳖) Metaphor referring to what you want to capture is already within grasp.

Dong Zhi hurriedly said, “It’s fine. I understand your difficulties, and I can set up an array, but I can’t guarantee everything by myself, so I want to report to the South China branch and ask them to send someone to assist. Is this okay?”

The three from Yan Nuo’s office looked at each other. They didn’t expect the newcomer to be so anxious that he couldn’t wait to solve a big case within a few days.

Xiao Qi rejected his proposal. His tone was bad. “No way! When you encounter something, what is the reason for going to the top for help if you can’t solve it first? Just keep an eye on the hotel and come to us whenever you have questions!”

Dong Zhi disagreed. “The enemy is hidden in the dark and will appear at any time. I asked the Bao Jiaxian to notify me, and I’m also responsible for its life. If the opponent is really an onmyoji, he must be prepared. There could be other accomplices, so I can’t do it alone. It’ll be too late to inform you by then!”

His tone was not as aggressive as Xiao Qi’s, but he was equally firm.

Mu Duo decided to appease the situation. “How about letting me go with you and taking a look.”

Dong Zhi nodded. “Then I’ll trouble you, Mu Duo Jie. Yan Ge, this matter is strange. I still hope you take it into consideration and report it up so that we can be well prepared.”

Xiao Qi said angrily, “Are you a little baby that hasn’t been weaned? This is not your kindergarten. If you want to report, go back to your General Administration!”

Yan Nuo shouted, “Xiao Qi!”

Xiao Qi wasn’t furious at Dong Zhi for no reason.

Before Dong Zhi, Mu Duo had proposed reporting the case to the higher-ups because all the evidence pointed to Huang Wendong’s death was suspicious. It was as if there was witchcraft at play before his death. However, Xiao Qi and Yan Nuo had disagreed, because once they reported it, it would be them admitting that they were incompetent and unable to solve the matter independently. In the last case, they were criticized by the above for their incompetence. Everyone didn’t want to compromise their achievements, so they refused to ask for help from above.

There was no need for a newcomer to know about this kind of “inside scandal”. Yan Nuo eased his tone. “I know. I will consider this matter at my discretion.”

Dong Zhi: “Yan Ge…”

Yan Nuo raised his hand and motioned for him not to say any more.

“The situation is unknown now, so it’s useless to report rashly. Let’s do this. Mu Duo and you can go back to the hotel and see if there’s a situation. Then we can talk about it later.”

Dong Zhi found that the other party didn’t seem to believe his words, or that Xiao Qi felt he was too eager to make achievements and was exaggerating, so the reality wasn’t as serious as he said. Thinking about this, Dong Zhi couldn’t help feeling a bit helpless.

He finally understood why the General Administration wanted them to come to these branch offices one by one as practice. This was obviously to train their ability to deal with the outside world, because everyone has their own different opinions. With all kinds of considerations being mixed together, it was easy to screw things up.

Like now. There were four people in the Lucheng office, including him, but they couldn’t even agree on the matter. Even if they exclude the newcomers, they obviously have their own considerations about the seriousness of this matter.

Dong Zhi didn’t want to have a rigid relationship with them as soon as he came and didn’t want to wait until things got too out of hand that he’d have to take the blame for it, so he said euphemistically, “Yan Ge, I know you have more experience than me, but I have encountered the Japanese twice. Once in Changbai Mountain and again in Yinchuan. This time, something suspected of a shikigami has appeared again, so it might be related to these cases.”

Yan Nuo said solemnly, “Can you be sure that it’s a shikigami?”

Dong Zhi was taken aback, and hesitated. “It should be.”

Yan Nuo: “So, you’re actually not sure. If someone from the branch comes over and finally confirms that it was just a false alarm, can you take this responsibility?”

Dong Zhi thought for a while and said affirmatively, “I discovered the hotel. If there’s any blame, I will take responsibility for it.”

Xiao Qi said angrily, “You’re going to bear the responsibility? What kind of burden can a newcomer bear! We don’t want to take your share of the blame!”

After all, the other party was a disciple of Long Shen, so Yan Nuo didn’t want to embarrass him too much, so he said, “Well, I’ll explain the situation to the branch as soon as possible. As for whether they’ll send someone, that’ll be up to them to decide. Mu Duo will go to the hotel with you first.”

Dong Zhi couldn’t reason with them anymore, so he could only nod his head. “Then I’ll trouble you, Mu Duo Jie.”

As soon as he left with Mu Duo, Xiao Qi couldn’t help but curl his lips. “The kid wants credits, so he’s acting reckless. He just wants to get things done as quickly as possible!”

Yan Nuo said, “Don’t say this. He is a disciple of Long Shen. If what you say gets back to Long Shen, you’ll get more than what you bargained for*.”

*(吃不了兜着走) Metaphor referring to causing trouble and having to bear the consequences oneself.

Xiao Qi coldly snorted, “I don’t understand why the leader assigned him to us. Shouldn’t a disciple of a Director go to a branch office? Do they want to bully us three with no background?”

Yan Nuo knew that he had been brooding about sharing the blame the year before due to the newcomer, so he changed topics. “All right, all right. He’s still obedient now and doesn’t make his own decisions, and we have Mu Duo looking after him! Do you have any clues about Huang Wendong’s case?”

Xiao Qi scratched his hair irritably. “If his mistress is really a proficient witch, it’s possible that she could have done this unconsciously, but in this way, it’s difficult for us to catch her. Why don’t we have someone check the current Southeast Asian immigrants?”

Yan Nuo: “I already told Zhou Dui, but it’s not easy to check. In some cases, there could be fake documents, or they may have gone to a neighboring province or city…”

The phone suddenly rang.

He didn’t know what was said on the other end of the phone, but Xiao Qi saw Yan Nuo’s face suddenly change, and his heart was filled with anxiety.

Yan Nuo hung up the phone and said to him, “The whereabouts of that mistress has been found.”

Xiao Qi felt overjoyed and thought that every cloud had a silver lining.

“Are we going there now?”

Yan Nuo sighed. “That woman is dead.”

Xiao Qi was dumfounded. “No! How did she die?!”

Huang Wendong’s mistress was found dead in a house in a high-end residential area. According to the investigation, the head of that household was Bai Xiangmei, who was Huang Wendong’s mistress.

When Yan Nuo and Xiao Qi arrived at the scene of the crime, the forensic doctor had already performed a quick autopsy. The body hadn’t been removed yet in order to wait for Yan Nuo’s and Xiao Qi’s arrival.

“It’s preliminarily judged that she most likely died of some sudden illness. She was sleeping when she died. She had lost her breath before she could take her medication. Other than that, there were no signs of trauma.” Zhou Dui of the police introduced them to the scene.

Yan Nuo and Xiao Qi looked at the corpse for a while, then looked at each other and shook their heads, indicating that they couldn’t find anything amiss.

But Zhou Dui found many problems.

“We couldn’t find her medical records or medicine for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in this house, but we found traces of another man in this house.”

Yan Nuo: “Huang Wendong?”

Zhou Dui shook his head. “According to the feedback from the residents of the community, they have all seen a young man who’s been in and out with the deceased several times. Judging from the description of his appearance, it shouldn’t be Huang Wendong. We have collected all the male items here and are ready to go back to examine them for fingerprints.”

Yan Nuo thought quickly. “Where are Bai Xiangmei’s belongings? Check to see if there are any missing!”

Zhou Dui said. “I have checked it. There are several cards and more than 100,000 in cash. At present, I don’t know what the relationship is between that person and Bai Xiangmei, and whether that money is there for her to escape.”

All this was too coincidental.

Something happened to Huang Wendong’s family, which led them to find out about a mistress, and now something had happened to said mistress.

Yan Nuo, Xiao Qi, and Zhou Dui didn’t believe these things could be so coincidental, but all the chaotic and trivial clues made them irritable.

This kind of murder and mutilation of corpses had a bad impact. Now that the internet was well-developed, many people had started talking about the case online. The case had a deadline that it needed to be solved by, which only gave Zhou Dui a major headache.

“The body will be taken back for a more thorough autopsy and fingerprints will be taken. The identities of those who have been in contact with Bai Xiangmei will be investigated. These results may not come out until at least two or three days at the earliest.”

Yan Nuo asked Zhou Dui, “Do you have any inferences about this case now?”

Zhou Dui didn’t hide it from him. “Bai Xiangmei was unemployed and relied on Huang Wendong’s for financial assistance, but recently we found out that she opened a new bank account and transferred a lot of money into it. Coupled with the strange young man the neighbors spoke of, we can almost preliminarily infer that she likely had a boyfriend outside and wanted to get rid of Huang Wendong. More importantly, before you came just now, we also found a new clue in the room.”

He beckoned to his subordinate, who took out a transparent plastic bag.

Yan Nuo: “Sleeping pills?”

Zhou Dui nodded. “It’s the same kind of sleeping pill that Huang Wendong’s wife and children have inside their bodies.”

Yan Nuo was taken aback and looked at Xiao Qi.

Bai Xiangmei really had something to do with the death of Huang Wendong’s family! But she was already dead, and it was a sudden death as well. The clues they had were now being disrupted again.

Although a thorough autopsy hadn’t been done yet, Yan Nuo had a hunch that Bai Xiangmei’s cause of death was likely to be inconclusive, and that the mysterious man was also likely to disappear without a trace.

In this way, the case would go cold. Yan Nuo’s anxiety became more intense as he thought of this.

He glanced at Zhou Dui and the other party also had an expression similar to his. Obviously, if Yan Nuo had thought of it, then Zhou Dui would likely be on the same page as well.

Xiao Qi was a person who refused to give up easily. He said, “The body should be sent for a thorough autopsy soon. Why don’t we follow along and see if we can find anything on her?”

This was the only way. Yan Nuo nodded and agreed.

Zhou Dui said, “Regarding the mysterious man, we’re already stepping up the search, but at present, the surveillance has found nothing. We can only ask the residents of the community and get their oral statements, so the results won’t come out today.”

The body and some items were transported to the forensic lab. Zhou Dui invited Yan Huo and Xiao Qi to dinner, but no one had an appetite. They hurriedly took a few bites before wanting to go back to continue the follow up. Yan Nuo and Xiao Qi received a call from Mu Duo.

For the time being, Mu Duo said that they had not found any other shikigami in the hotel. Dong Zhi helped her book a room at the hotel, and she would stay there to rest for the night. Yan Nuo exchanged information with her regarding the situation here.

Although Xiao Qi wasn’t privy to what Mu Duo was saying, he could likely guess based on hearing Yan Nuo’s words. When Yan Nuo hung up the phone, he couldn’t help but say, “Let me just say that newcomers are truly unreliable! Listening to what he said, it seems like there was nothing at all!”

Yan Nuo was irritable and didn’t want to say anything, so Xiao Qi shut his mouth when he saw this.

At 8 PM, they went to forensics.

The forensic examiner and his assistant were ready. Just after shaving the victim’s hair, Yan Nuo suddenly said, “Wait!”

He walked to the autopsy table, bent down and looked carefully for a few seconds. “Xiao Qi, come and have a look.”

Xiao Qi didn’t know why, so he also leaned in and copied Yan Nuo’s posture to look at the corpse’s head.

Yan Nuo said, “Baihui point*.”

*(百会穴) Located at the intersection of the midline of the top of the head and the line connecting the tips of the two ears.

There was a bleeding point there, which was a little smaller than a grain of rice. If one didn’t take a closer look, they wouldn’t be able to find it at all. It was just that the location was at the baihui point.

Yan Nuo asked the forensic examiner to slow down the autopsy and said they would observe the body again tonight. The Special Administration Bureau had the same right to participate in decision-making in these cases, so naturally the examiner had no objection and went out first with his assistant.

With this bleeding point as a primer, the two of them checked the body again. Without clothes and hair, the traces of the wounds on the naked victim’s body became clear.

Yan Nuo and Xiao Qi quickly discovered that exactly the same bleeding spots appeared on the soles of the victim’s left and right feet, as well as the left and right palms.

If they didn’t look closely, it was easy to think it was just a blood mole, but the blood moles on the victim’s body were in exactly the same position, which meant it was impossible for this to be a coincidence.

“Are there any killing techniques like this?” Xiao Qi frowned.

Yan Nuo racked his brains, and in the end, he could only shake his head.

“Could it be… bloodletting to attract souls? I heard my master say that there seemed to be such a devious way in the past, but now I haven’t heard of it for a long time.”

Yan Nuo was born into the Danfeng Sect. This was an obscure small sect with very few members. He could be regarded as the most outstanding disciple in the sect. Likewise, Xiao Qi and Mu Duo didn’t have any big-school origins. Because of their similar backgrounds, the three of them often saw things eye to eye, so their cooperation was quite tacit.

Therefore, for newcomers who didn’t have a similar growth background like Dong Zhi, they would have a sense of rejection, but it wasn’t enough to say that they would be excluded and suppressed.

The two discussed for a long time and put forward many possibilities, but in the end, there were no results.

Xiao Qi sneered, “Maybe in the end, it’s really as the kid said, and we have to ask the top to send someone to assist.”

Yan Nuo didn’t want to get such a result because that would only prove that they were truly incompetent.

What’s the point of having an office that is completely useless?

Many practitioners couldn’t stand the rules of the Special Administration Bureau, but some enjoyed them. Yan Nuo loves the excitement of rolling around in the secular world. He didn’t deny that he has the utilitarian heart to climb the ladder, but recently several things have not been going well, and he has started to doubt his own abilities.

“I’m going down to buy a pack of cigarettes. Do you want anything?”

Xiao Qi waved his hand. “No, I’ll see what else I can find on the body. Go ahead!”

After Yan Nuo left, Xiao Qi paced back and forth in the anatomy room. The people outside had already gotten off work. Except for him, there were only corpses in the anatomy room. The bright lights didn’t give people a warm feeling. On the contrary, it was even more bleak and empty, as if it was like those strange urban stories that could draw out nightmares that were enough to scare children.

However, Xiao Qi didn’t feel anything. After all, he was a practitioner. If he didn’t even dare to stay in such a place, people would laugh to death if they found out.

He was just as irritable as Yan Nuo. His gaze wandered around unconsciously when he suddenly saw some items that were taken for evidence on the table next to him.

The clothes were taken for testing, and the plastic bags contained some daily necessities as well as some small objects that were indistinguishable.

Xiao Qi picked them up one by one, carelessly, still thinking about the bloodletting technique in his mind when his gaze suddenly stayed on the plastic bag in his hand.

There was a small bell in it. It was a very ordinary bronze bell, half the size of a palm. The workmanship was not rough but couldn’t be called ingenious either. It should be something that you could buy from a craft shop.

Xiao Qi remembered. Zhou Dui said that this bell was something Bai Xiangmei was holding in her hand before she died.

What was she doing holding a bell before she died? Could it be that the bell was hung somewhere, and she tore it off?

Xiao Qi was puzzled just looking at it through the bag.

Suddenly, he heard a rush.

Ding ding—

Xiao Qi bowed his head involuntarily. The bell was lying quietly in the palm of his hand. When did it make this sound?

Ding ding—

The crisp bells reverberated far away, just like camel bells on an ancient road that sounded as they moved. However, Xiao Qi didn’t have such literati reveries. Instead, he just felt cold, and all his hair stood up.

In the middle of the night, with no one outside, where did this bell sound came from?

Outside the glass door, the lights in the aisle flickered and went out, as if someone had quietly arrived.

“Who!”

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Kinky Thoughts:

Nezha

Protection deity in Chinese folk religion given the name “Third Lotus Prince” when he became a deity.

You can read the story on the Wikipedia link. TLDR: Nezha offended the dragon king, Ao Guang, who threatened to flood his hometown in response. He then sacrificed himself to appease Ao Guang’s anger and cut off his bones to return to his parents as repayment for giving birth to him. He later became enshrined, and his Master Taiyi eventually brought him back to life using lotus roots, and he was given his two most famous weapons, the Wind Fire Wheels and the Fire-tipped spear.

—

Taiyi Zhenren

A deity in Chinese religion and Taoism. Taiyi (lit. ’great 2nd Celestial stem’) means “primordial unity of yin and yang” and Zhenren (lit. ’true person’) is a Daoist term for “Perfected Person”. According to the opening of the classical novel Fengshen Bang, he is the reincarnation of the first emperor of the Shang dynasty, Tang of Shang.

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 75

The hand he had put in his pocket didn’t move. First, he made a small talisman array with his other hand, and then slowly took out his hand that was clenching and threw it into the talisman array!

With a cry, a group of dark shadows jumped up and down in the array, trying to break free from its confinement; but seeing that they couldn’t escape, they could only turn villainous and bared their teeth and claws at Dong Zhi.

Dong Zhi tilted his head, puzzled, and observed for a while. He originally thought it was an evil spirit, but now it didn’t seem to be.

“What are you?” He said.

The black shadow seemed to understand. The three-inch villain suddenly swelled and became bigger, transforming into a black dragon in the talisman array, reaching the height of the ceiling and opening its mouth to roar at Dong Zhi.

Dong Zhi laughed. “Dragon? You’re not. Don’t even mention Jiaos. Come on, who’s ordering you? Who’s the one behind you?”

Seeing that he was unmoved, the black dragon shrunk its figure and turned into a young girl with long hair that was tied up in a ponytail, wearing a white shirt and jeans. That looked a bit familiar.

Dong Zhi quickly remembered that this was the family member who had just cried next to the sick person earlier.

The girl sobbed and wept as she pointed to the talisman array, signaling to let her out. Her face was small and fair, and she was crying pitifully, so it touched his heart. Dong Zhi seemed to soften as he withdrew the talisman array.

The other party seemed to sense that Dong Zhi was kind and soft-hearted and wouldn’t be unnecessarily cruel. Taking this advantage, when the talisman array was removed, it directly turned into a dark shadow and flew out!

Unexpectedly, a gust of wind came from behind. Before it got the chance to turn its head, its body was directly nailed to the wall!

Dong Zhi walked over slowly and pulled out his Changshou Sword.

A gray piece of paper fluttered to the ground.

“…Shikigami?”

Dong Zhi picked up the piece of paper and frowned. It didn’t seem that things were that simple.

When they were in their training class, they learned from Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun all the popular techniques all over the world.

There were many wonders in the world, from psychics in Russia to vampires in Europe, from witchcraft in Southeast Asia to black magic in Africa. However, the two directors talked most about the art of Onmyoji.

It was mainly due to China and Japan being old enemies. Japan had been copying China since the Sui and Tang dynasties. This situation lasted until the end of the Qing Dynasty. After the First Sino-Japanese War, Japan learned from the Europeans and Americans and defeated the Beiyang Navy, which was ranked ninth in the world at that time. Since then, there’s been animosity between the two countries. Although the two countries maintained friendly exchanges, there was always discordance in private, even at the level of practitioners.

Japan would frequently make small moves by sending spies to fish in troubled waters*. It was considered impolite to not reciprocate, thus China also sent no fewer numbers of spies to their side as well. Both sides were firmly aware of this and had a somewhat tacit understanding.

*Reminder: Taking advantage of times of trouble.

In regard to Japan, the general consensus of the Special Administration Bureau is that there was no shortage of good people, but these were ordinary people who couldn’t play much of a role because the entire Japanese political scene was controlled by the right wing. Politicians colluded with consortiums and Onmyojis, and there was no lack of shadow consortiums behind them either. The three were closely related and couldn’t be separated.

Therefore, Dong Zhi had an unusual sensitivity to Onmyoji techniques. But this one was very strange. This style of shikigami was not the same as what he had seen before.

After the shikigami summoned by Fujikawa was destroyed, it would disappear because they had been refined to the point of fusing to their master’s body.

When the shikigami lost its effectiveness, it usually turned into a blank piece of paper. Though it was said to be a blank piece of paper, it was in fact not a real blank piece of paper. It was a special secret material used by the Onmyoji.

With the shikigami in his hand, he took a closer look and saw countless gray “silk threads” wrapped around the white paper, which were stacked on top of one another, without substance and touch. It seemed there was some kind of aura or evil thing attached to it.

This didn’t seem to be in the category of the shikigami that he knew of. Dong Zhi felt that either his knowledge of the shikigamis was not enough, or that this thing might not be related to an Onmyoji skill.

Was it related to demons?

But the Archfiend was completely destroyed, and there was no possibility of resurrection. It was even more impossible for it to be related to Fujikawa Aoi.

Could it be a subordinate of the Archfiend who was unwilling to accept its master’s defeat and wanted to take revenge?

Dong Zhi found that the more he thought about it, the more boundless his thoughts became, so he quickly gathered his thoughts like reigning in a wild horse.

The most puzzling thing was that the shikigami appeared in a small hotel in Lucheng. Was there an Onmyoji hidden here?

If he hadn’t been there just now and caught this thing in time, it was estimated that someone would’ve died by now. From his point of view, it couldn’t be interpreted as “unintentional” or “careless”.

Dong Zhi recalled the man that he and He Jia saw last night who wanted to jump off the building. One incident could be interpreted as a coincidence, but now there were two conspiracies.

He picked up the phone and wanted to call Yan Nuo’s number, but after thinking about it, he dialed Mu Duo’s instead. Yan Nuo was too impatient and would always hang up after saying a few words. It was useless to tell him anything, so it was better to talk to Mu Duo.

Sure enough, Mu Duo wasn’t as difficult to talk to as Yan Nuo. She had picked up the phone after only two rings. She was surprised when she heard that he had found a shikigami in a hotel and asked about the situation.

Dong Zhi explained briefly, and asked her again, “Have there been any cases related to shikigamis in Lucheng recently?”

Mu Duo said, “No, the office has been established for less than ten years. I’ve been here for about five years and have not encountered anything of the like. I had heard that Shen Cheng had fought with an Onmyoji before. Would you like me to ask for you if they had encountered a similar case?”

Dong Zhi said, “No need for now, but there may be others behind this matter. I’m worried that the other party is planning something. If you’re not busy over there, can you come and have a look? Maybe you can find more details I neglected.”

Mu Duo hesitated for a moment. There were sounds of movement, as if she had changed to a quiet place to talk to him.

“In fact, we’re having a difficult case right now.”

Yan Nuo’s style was the same as his surname*. He didn’t disclose any content. Dong Zhi just knew that the three of them had been busy recently, but he didn’t know what they were busy with. Sometimes, he thought they were deliberately avoiding him. Only when he heard from Mu Duo did he find that they were busy with a homicide.

*Yan (严) means strict/stern/stringent ect.

The homicide case was extremely gruesome. In addition to that, the state of the corpses showed that the murderer was crazy and cruel. No matter which country this case happened in, it would be considered a high-profile case. With the Special Administration Bureau’s involvement, it indicated that it was no longer just a simple homicide.

There were a total of five dead. A family of four, plus a nanny.

The man’s name was Huang Wendong. He was a construction businessman, and his wife was a housewife. They had a son and a daughter. The family was well-off and had no worries about food and clothing.

When Huang Wendong’s friends found that he was missing, they tried contacting him to no avail. Eventually, the relatives of the Huang family called the police. After checking surveillance, they found that after entering the home, no one had left the house since that time. The police broke in and found all five of them dead, covered in pools of blood. Except for Huang Wendong, all the others were brutally dismembered. Their limbs and heads were cut off, and the son’s expression before he died looked horrified. It was very likely that his head was cut off while he was conscious. Huang Wendong’s chest and stomach were cut open by a knife, and his organs and intestines flowed out.

Seeing such a scene, even the experienced police officers couldn’t handle it.

With such a case, the police immediately took action. The criminal suspect did not leave any fingerprints on the scene, but this wasn’t the strangest thing.

The Huang family lived in a high-end residential community. An elevator connected two households together. From the entrance of the residential area to the door of each household, there was strict surveillance. When the police adjusted the monitoring at that time, they found that no one went in or out of their home. There were no signs of outside invaders from the windows or any other places either.

In other words, it was very likely that the Huang family did all this by themselves, but no one could imagine that Huang Wendong would kill his wife and children, and their nanny, and then stab and disembowel himself with a knife. This wasn’t something a normal person would do, but according to the investigation, Huang Wendong was completely normal and the relationship between the couple had always been good.

The progress of this case had progressed to this point, and it was filled with oddities everywhere, so the police had invited the people from the Special Administration Bureau to participate in the investigation.

The latest development now was that the police had discovered that Huang Wendong probably kept a mistress outside. There were also remnants of sleeping pills in the food that he brought back for his wife and kids. The mistress may have fled as she hadn’t been caught yet. Yan Nuo and the others found traces of a magic on Huang Wendong’s body.

Hearing this, Dong Zhi couldn’t help asking, “What magic technique was used?”

Mu Duo said, “We think it might be witchcraft, because Huang Wendong’s passport and flight records showed that he went to Southeast Asia a month ago, but we’re not sure yet. We’re still investigating other possibilities.”

Since they had business to do, Dong Zhi was embarrassed to ask others for their help, so he said, “Then you take care of your business. If you need anything, just call me. I’ll try to solve this myself first.”

Mu Duo said, “Okay. Be careful yourself and let me know if you have any trouble.”

After a few more words, the two ended the call.

Dong Zhi looked at the gray paper in his hand and slowly frowned. The middle-aged man who almost jumped off the building last night and the woman who had a heart attack just now would make sense if they were related to the shikigami, but what about the inexplicable things like the TV turning on and off and the faucet? Was it a shikigami style to scare people?

He suddenly found that the mysteries surrounding the hotel had become foggier.

If he hadn’t been here, these strange things might still happen. Whether it was someone falling off a building or someone dying of a heart attack due to a failed rescue attempt, they were seemingly ordinary, so it was hard to connect them with the mystery.

Dong Zhi considered whether he should ask He Jia to gather all the guests and staff of the hotel and ask them one by one, but that could scare the snake.

After thinking about it for a while, he got up and walked out to chat with the young lady at the front desk.

The business of the hotel was good as usual. The beautiful young girl at the front desk was busy answering calls and making reservations months in advance. Dong Zhi waited for a long time before he had an opportunity to chat with her.

He first asked about what happened to the guest who had a heart attack just now and pretended to inadvertently ask about the strange things that happened in the hotel.

He didn’t know whether He Jia had told the girl in advance and revealed everything to her, or whether she was impressed by his looks, but the young girl was extremely enthusiastic and talkative. She told him a lot in a single breath, but it was just about the same information as what He Jia had told him, except that the cleaners often found that things would disappear and reappear again in other places. The kitchen sometimes found that the food was reduced, and flowers that were placed on the balcony would appear in the lobby inexplicably. Generally speaking, this would be considered on the level of a prank. She also mentioned that there may be a recent epidemic of influenza as more and more guests became sick, as they had to prepare commonly used drugs for room service and would remind guests to take them.

Dong Zhi asked, “Are there many guests who would have a heart attack like that right now?”

The other party said no. Although strange things were happening, they were all trivial matters, so they wouldn’t make people too scared to stay at the hotel.

Dong Zhi said that he wanted to walk around the hotel at night and asked her to talk to the staff in the monitoring room, so they wouldn’t think of him as a suspicious person up to no good.

The young girl smiled and said, “Feel free. The boss had already explained that there’s nowhere you can’t go except in the rooms where guests are staying.”

Dong Zhi returned her smile and said, “Then I want to go to the tail room on the second floor to have a look. You should have the key, right?”

The other party was taken aback and hesitated. “Yes I do…”

Dong Zhi: “Your boss took me in yesterday. She shouldn’t have said that that room was an exception. I’ll come right back out after going in and walking around for a bit. I won’t damage anything.”

The young girl was still hesitant and didn’t dare make a decision, so Dong Zhi called He Jia and asked her for permission. Although He Jia liked to read the comics Dong Zhi drew and had a nagging great aunt, she herself wasn’t very enthusiastic about this kind of weird and chaotic thing, so she agreed without any pushback.

With the boss’ approval, the young girl naturally stopped hesitating and took the key and accompanied him upstairs.

“In this room, we let a cleaning lady come in once a week to clean it and change the offerings. No one comes in at any other time,” The young girl said.

Dong Zhi: “Then have you ever heard any movement coming from inside? Or had any tenants who stayed next door reported anything?”

The young girl shook her head. “Not that I know of.”

When the room opened, the dusty smell smack him in the face. It hadn’t been cleaned for almost a week and cleaning was arrange for tomorrow.

Dong Zhi brought the key with him, so the young girl didn’t have to wait on him. When he watched her leave, he entered the room and closed the door, then instantly slapped a talisman on the door! He quickly walked to the window and slapped another one there.

The doors and windows were now blocked. Dong Zhi glanced around the room, habitually adjusting the compass on his phone, pointed at one of the directions, and pasted another talisman.

If someone else was here, just a little observation would reveal that the room was simplified into a geometric three-dimensional space in the mind. The three talismans Dong Zhi pasted were exactly on the same horizontal plane. If one were to use a ruler to measure, they would find that the margin of error would never exceed five centimeters.

This turned out to be something that could be done with eyesight alone. After all, Dong Zhi had practiced this many times.

When he had free time, he would set up formations in his bedroom. From the most ordinary eight trigram array to the thunder-summoning array, Liu Qingbo had seen that he was making rapid progress, while Ba Sang and Gu Meiren saw that he had extraordinary talent. He was only a halfway monk, shaking and clanging a half bucket of water, but had managed to survive the experience of the training exam and was able to worship the eye-catching Boss Long. However, they didn’t know how much effort and sweat he had put in behind the scenes.

Being a genius was never accidental.

At that moment, he was using a very common eight-trigram array that exorcised demons and purified filth.

Dong Zhi didn’t open his eyes, so he could only judge by intuition. It was said that people who have the eyes of heaven are said to be able to understand yin and yang and could see things that ordinary people cannot.

Some people were born with the eyes of heaven. Some people would only open these eyes on a certain day, and some people would only open them in a special way for certain needs, and then artificially close the door that was different from ordinary people.

According to Dong Zhi’s yin-biased physique, it was originally very suitable for him to open the eyes of heaven, but Long Shen refused to let him. He said that this would hurt his body. Dong Zhi had always listened to his master’s words. If his master forbade him, there would always be a good reason for it, and it must be for his own good, so he accepted it without thinking much about it.

Occasionally, when he needed to determine the enemy’s position, it would be more convenient to have the eyes of heaven, but it didn’t matter if he didn’t have it. Dong Zhi was holding the fourth talisman in his hand and was pacing slowly in the room, but he didn’t rush to paste it.

The bathroom light suddenly lit up with no one there. After a few seconds, it went dark again.

Lit up.

Dark.

After several incidents in succession, the lamp made an unbearable sound. The TV also began making trouble. After it turned on automatically, it would change channels by itself. That was faster than pressing the remote-control button.

The antique floor fan in the room started to turn on by itself when it wasn’t plugged in, causing a gust of cool breeze to blow through the room. Dong Zhi, who wasn’t originally hot, instantly got goosebumps. The current season was late autumn, so it was indeed very cold.

If this had been Dong Zhi who was on the train to Changbai Mountain, he would definitely be so scared that his legs would go soft, but now that he had experienced all kinds of hellish training from the Special Administration Bureau and had escaped near death, not only did he not feel the slightest hesitation, but he wanted to actually laugh.

“Besieged on all sides, but one side of the net is left open*. I have left a way out for your excellency. If you don’t drink my proposed toast, then I can only give you a penalty.”

*(网开一面) Idiom referring giving the wrongdoer a way to escape.

Dong Zhi didn’t care about the TV that kept changing frequently behind him. He leaned against the cabinet in front of the TV, holding the talisman in his hand, with his long legs overlapping, so he could relax.

Suddenly, the lights in the room went out!

There was an angry curse in the air. “Laozi is staying here. Why don’t you mind your own business!”

Dong Zhi didn’t talk nonsense with it and directly pasted the talisman into its last position.

The electric fan suddenly stopped turning, and an unknown curse came into Dong Zhi’s ears. Immediately afterwards, a gust of wind swept from behind him, as fast as lightning, threatening to penetrate his body!

Dong Zhi didn’t turn his head back. He stretched out his arm and pulled out the Changshou Sword beside him, and using his backhand, slashed with the sword. With a sharp scream, it seemed as if something had fallen heavily on the bed and bounced up again. The speed was so fast that the mattress squeaked.

But at a time like this, Dong Zhi didn’t care about the bed. Using his other hand, he immediately threw out a Sunlight Talisman and locked the thing firmly in place.

He still didn’t feel that it was enough, so he pointed the Changshou Sword directly out the window and recited the thunder-summoning spell, “The four great enlightenment, heaven and the earth are eternal, by the Jade Emperor‘s¹ orders, clear the three yuan². The mighty sword of the Divine King, slay evil and destroy its traces…”

¹(玉帝) Ruler of the Taoist Gods. You can read more about him in the Wikipedia.
²Has many meanings, but I think in this case it’s either referring to the upper, middle, and lower Dantian, or the jing, qi, and soul.

The thing must have had some insight, as when it heard the spell being recited, it yelled. “You brat, I don’t believe you can summon lightning! Don’t you dare recite it! Recite it again and I’ll ask my disciples and grandchildren to bite you to death!”

Dong Zhi remained unmoved as he pronounced each word clearly. The thing became erratic, breaking free from the talisman paper that was stuck on it, but it couldn’t break out of the talisman array that Dong Zhi had set up. It could only jump around the room, overturning furniture and smashing windows, causing the melons and fruits on the offering table to be swept away, but still, it couldn’t escape.

The people outside probably heard the movement and had called a staff member to assess the situation. The young girl at the front desk knocked on the door outside. “Mr. Dong, what are you doing inside?!”

The knocking on the door became more urgent, and seeing that there was a possibility of them coming in, Dong Zhi had to stop his spell and said loudly, “It’s fine. I’m catching mice. I told your boss, so don’t come in!”

The person was a friend of the boss, and the boss herself had told them that he could do whatever he wanted, so naturally the young girl didn’t delve much into the issue. After a while, it became quiet outside again.

With the outside interference gone, Dong Zhi breathed a sigh of relief and looked into the room as the thing kept jumping up and down, so fast that he couldn’t see the real thing clearly.

“If you don’t stop, I’m going to summon lightning again.”

“Bah, are you so good at Leifa*? A small brat like you, telling Grandpa that you can summon lightning? Don’t make me laugh to death! If you don’t let Grandpa out now, I’ll make you restless in the future!”

*(雷法) Taoist technique that can call for wind and thunder, which can exorcise demons, pray for sunshine and rain, and stop floods and droughts.

Dong Zhi calmly asked, “Are the strange things in the hotel related to you?”

“It’s none of your business! You’re too meddlesome*! Get lost!”

*Dog catches the mouse (狗拿耗子) Idiom referring to being nosy/meddlesome. It comes from the duty of the dog to guard the house and the cat to chase the mice, but the dog is now catching the mice, which is being meddlesome.

Dong Zhi was expressionless. “The four great enlightenments, heaven and the earth are eternal, by the Jade Emperor’s orders, clear the three yuan. The mighty sword of the Divine King slays evil and destroys its traces. The purple qi ascends to heaven, the landscape collides, swallowing demons and ghosts, and drinks the wind. With the sound of wind and thunder, startling ghosts and spirits from thousands of miles…”

The other party didn’t believe that Dong Zhi could use the five-thunder dharma. Nowadays, there were tens of millions of charlatans. How could it be possible to attract a person with real skills?

Besides, even if he was capable, it didn’t mean he could attract lightning. Who knew that it really kicked the iron plate* this time? Dong Zhi recited in a fast but undulating tone. Suddenly, a dull noise came from outside the window. It was a cloudless, sunny day, but at that moment, heavy clouds suddenly gathered, showing signs of a heavy rainstorm.

*Refers to thinking something is soft and easy to bully, but in reality, is better than themselves, so they suffer a loss from it.

The people in the streets hurried their pace for fear that they would be caught in the rain.

The demon in the hotel room finally panicked. It didn’t expect Dong Zhi to do what he really said.

“You—Are you a disciple of those priests* from Mount Longhu?!”

*[niu bi zi] (牛鼻子) It’s an old way of referring to a Taoist priest.

Dong Zhi remained unmoved and continued reciting the mantra. The sound of thunder rolled in from afar, and the sky suddenly became bright.

“Stop! Don’t recite! I’m convinced! I’ll tell you everything! Just stop!” The other party finally couldn’t help shouting, and there was a trace of sadness in its voice.

Isn’t this enough?

Dong Zhi finally put his sword back in its sheath, stopping at the last word of the spell. The thunder stopped and the dark clouds dissipated, causing passersby to raise their eyes to the sky as they muttered how moody God was today. One minute there was a thunderstorm and the next it was gone to who knows where.

Dong Zhi looked at the gray mass and said succinctly, “Talk!”

The thing whimpered and Dong Zhi didn’t know what it was scolding him. Its body slowly stretched out, and only then did Dong Zhi realize that it was actually a small animal. The little animal didn’t seem that young, but it was small and delicate. On its gray fur was a pair of eyes that were spinning in circles, full of aura and restlessness.

The other party curled up its front paws and stood straight, “staring” at Dong Zhi as it spat out its words.

“Who are you priest? Why don’t you know the rules?! Didn’t your teacher teach you not to be nosy when you go out?!”

Seeing it appearance at first glance, Dong Zhi had a hard time trying not to laugh out loud. After hearing that it was still being stubborn, he raised his Changshou Sword with his hand slightly.

“My teacher only taught me to do my best to get rid of evil when I go out.”

“Put down the sword. I am not evil!” The thing jumped.

Dong Zhi: “Cut the crap. Why are you creating those strange things here to disturb others!”

“How can I harass others? This was originally my territory. I am the Bao Jiaxian* enshrined by the master of their family!” The other party screamed to defend itself. Listening carefully, Dong Zhi found traces of grievances.

*(保家仙) Title of feudal folk god, usually written on paper and pasted on the wall or tablet made of wood. Some people would build small temples as well. Usually tributes it paid to them on the first and fifteenth day of each month. || I believe that they are like your local god.

Dong Zhi didn’t know much about the Bao Jiaxian, but he had heard people talk about them.

Northeast China often said that memorial tablets often refer to the four animals: fox, weasel, snake, and python. Legend has it that they needed to accumulate merits in the process of cultivation, but it wasn’t convenient to show people their true bodies, so they often used human bodies to guide people and do good and accumulate virtue. This kind of thing gave rise to the worship of Ma Xian*. After coming down from Changbai Mountain, Dong Zhi met Sister Wang from the Northeast Branch during his hospitalization, who he found out later from He Yu was a Ma Xian.

*(仙的) Local god but is female.

As for the Bao Jianxian, as the name suggests, it was natural for these four spiritual objects to be enshrined by some people to protect the well-being of their family. There were a few people in the Northeast who didn’t know what Bao Jiaxian and Ma Xian were, but outside of the northeast, fewer people knew of them.

Dong Zhi was taken aback and asked, “Isn’t Bao Jianxian only from the northeast?”

The other party said angrily, “Which law stipulates that only the northeast can have them? Are we not allowed to travel around in our country?! Does Lucheng not belong to China or are we splitting it up?”

Dong Zhi didn’t care for its sarcasm. Thinking about all the trouble the other party had caused, his face grimaced. “Speak well. What the hell is going on?”

Seeing his opponent’s eye drooping, he directly pulled out a Sunlight Talisman and shook it in front of him.

“I’ll be lenient if you confess, and stricter if you resist.”

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Just to provide more history on the tension between Japan and China, China does have legitimate grievances with Japan. The biggest in recent history is the Second Sino-Japanese War. Many atrocities were committed by the Japanese to Chinese citizens, including the infamous Rape of Nanjing (of which death toll estimates vary from 40,000 to over 300,000, with rape cases ranging from 20,000 to over 80,000 cases), of which Japan today still have been quite reluctant to fully acknowledge.

So, while some may think that the author is quite nationalistic and very anti-Japanese, do keep in mind that there’s history between the two countries, and it’s not surprising a citizen of one country would choose the villains of another (though as the author pointed out, there’s no shortage of good people in Japan), which in history has done wrong to their country and its citizens.

At the end of the day, this is a work of fiction set in a fictional world. There’s no blanketed statement made by the author that all Japanese people are bad. It just so happens the author has chosen some of the villains to be Japanese.

Just some food for thought. I’m not defending Japan or China; each country has its own issues, but it’s good to know your history. As the philosopher George Santayana said, “Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

—

Bao Jiaxian (保家仙)

Title of feudal folk god, usually written on paper and pasted on the wall or tablet made of wood. Some people would build small temples as well. Usually tributes it paid to them on the first and fifteenth day of each month

—

Ma Xian( 仙的)

Local god but is female.

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<<< || Table of Contents || Lore Glossary || >>>

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 74

The room was at the end of the corridor on the right side of the second floor, which was commonly known as the “tail room”, as it was right by the emergency exit. He Jia took out the keys and opened the door, waiting at the entrance while Dong Zhi went in and walked around.

The layout of the room was not much different from other hotel rooms. The only difference was that there was an extra table by the window with an incense burner on it. There were three incense sticks that had already burnt out. The incense burner was full of incense ash and there were three plates arranged side by side with different kinds of fruits on them.

Dong Zhi walked around the room for a bit. Just as he was about to leave, his footsteps suddenly stopped. He squatted down by the bed and wiped his fingers on the floor near it. He didn’t stay for long and quickly got up, patted his hands, and brushed away the incense ash before walking out of the room.

He Jia was a little surprised. “Are you okay?”

He smiled and said, “Everything looks good. The incense in the incense burner has burned out. Do you want to add some more?”

He Jia shook her head. “My great aunt asked me to do it once a week, so I don’t care about other times.”

The two went up to the third floor.

He Jia pointed to a room and said, “Dong Ge, this is your room, 3013. Next to your room is 3012, which is mine. If you need anything at night, just call customer service. They’re on duty 24 hours a day.”

Dong Zhi smiled and said, “You don’t need to accompany me. I just came here for a change of scenery and to collect some materials.”

He Jia’s face flushed slightly. She didn’t want to reveal that she was extremely happy eating and having fun with him, so she said, “It’s okay. My only job is to take care of the hotel every day and do some manual work, so my schedule is quite free…”

Before she finished speaking, she let out a gasp. Dong Zhi followed her gaze and saw that at the end of the corridor on the other side, a person was lying on the windowsill. His entire upper body was almost hanging out, and he was slowly looking out.

“What is he doing?!” He Jia exclaimed.

Dong Zhi quickly ran over, grabbed the clothes on the man’s back, and pulled him back!

The other part was a middle-aged man who was bewildered when he was dragged back to the floor. “What are you pulling me for? What’s wrong with you?!”

To allow guests to look at the scenery, the height of the windows was set above the waist for adults, and there were no guardrails outside the windowsill. He Jia never thought that someone would use the height of three floors to commit suicide. Looking back at the scene just now, she couldn’t help but feel a little bit frightened.

“You almost fell just now!”

The man scratched his head with a blank expression. “I’m just smoking by the window!”

He Jia frowned. “Do you need to stick out most of your body to smoke?”

“I don’t… Eh, where’s my light?” He rummaged through his pockets.

This scene attracted several guests who opened their doors to look. Seeing that it wasn’t a big deal, they went back to their own business while the man quickly went back to his room. He Jia closed the window and locked it to avoid any accidents.

“There used to be flowerpots outside, but a few of them withered yesterday, so I asked someone to move them away while we replaced them.” She was afraid that if the guest really had an accident at the hotel, she’d have to close it down.

After chatting for a bit, they returned to their rooms. He Jia specially prepared a spacious luxury suite with a king-size bed for him. Not only was there a balcony, but the bathroom also had a bathtub that was right in front of a floor-to-ceiling window. He could take a bath while looking at the ocean view.

The style of the room matched what was outside; gorgeous but not ostentatious. There were gauze curtains around the big bed, and lace sheets covered the bed. Everything had an almost dream-like atmosphere to it as light faintly glowed overhead. Lying on this bed for three days and nights would be the most pleasant thing in the world.

Just standing near the bed and looking at it made Dong Zhi tired. He couldn’t help but bend over and reach out to touch it. Suddenly, his movements stopped.

Although his body felt tired, his mind was wide awake. A little coolness spread around his neck. Dong Zhi couldn’t help reaching out and touching a triangular talisman. This was the soothing charm that Long Shen gave him before he left.

Although it couldn’t dispel evil spirits and suppress demons, it could at least calm the nerves and keep his mind clear.

There was something wrong with this hotel.

He noticed it from the time he was at the entrance and until he came into the room. The feeling that something was wrong became only stronger.

If this hotel had such an aura that could persuade people passing by or coming in to feel nostalgic that they didn’t want to leave after staying, why didn’t it affect He Jia and the hotel staff?

He Jia herself felt uncomfortable here and didn’t really want to come in. There didn’t seem to be anything strange about her. If she was acting, then her skills could win her an Oscar.

Dong Zhi walked around the room and found nothing for the time being. Instead, after a long day, he was full of sweat. He put down his guqin case and went into the bathroom to take a bath.

The tourism industry in Lucheng was very developed, but most tourists who came here were fond of staying in private hotels with Chinese and Western architecture, as they felt it was the true experience of visiting Lucheng, so fewer people chose to go to star-rated hotels. Because of this, hotels were built and decorated similar to this hotel, especially along the coastal areas and the islands that were away from the city.

Although it was not a regular hotel, it was properly maintained, and the bathroom was tidy. The toiletries were all brand-named goods, which was similar to a star-rated hotel.

He turned on the faucet and was about to wash his face when he suddenly heard a bit of noise outside. He remembered that he had forgotten to bring his phone in. He thought it was his phone ringing, so he opened the door and went out to get it, only to see that the TV in the room had turned on by itself and the news was being broadcast.

Dong Zhi was momentarily stunned. The remote control was still in the cabinet, and the TV wasn’t voice-activated. Under normal circumstances, it was impossible for it to turn on by itself. Apart from him, there was no one else in the room either, and the door was closed and locked.

He turned off the TV, picked up the phone, and re-entered the bathroom. This time, nothing happened while he took his bath.

The moisture of the water greatly reduced a lot of his fatigue. Dong Zhi put on a bathrobe and walked out of the bathroom. There was a sudden clatter behind him, and the faucet inexplicably turned on.

He turned his head. What was flowing out of the faucet wasn’t water, but dark, thick red blood. The blood flowed into the vanity and beads of blood splattered everywhere, quickly covering the entire area with blood, creating an extremely terrifying scene.

Dong Zhi stared at the faucet for a while, then turned around and left without turning it off.

As he lay on the bed, he picked up his phone and heard the running water stop. The faucet seemed to have turned off by itself.

He curled his lips and suddenly recalled that when he was staying in a hotel in Changchun, he felt that someone was watching him in the middle of the night. Besides that, there was also the Archfiend that was staying next to him. Although he was ignorant at the time, few people could say that they stayed next to an Archfiend these days. Compared to that time, this can only be regarded as child’s play now.

As if in response to his contempt, after he turned off the lights and went to sleep, the faucet quickly turned on automatically again, and kept turning on and off for a while, creating a clattering noise from the bathroom.

Dong Zhi took out a pair of earplugs from his pocket and stuffed them in his ears and continued to sleep. When he fell asleep, he felt that his nose was a bit itchy, as if someone was teasing him with a hare’s-tail grass. He couldn’t help but sneeze and open his eyes.

He then saw a “person” embedded in the ceiling, flying flat like him, with a dark face and long hair hanging down to the tip of its nose. It had a pair of weird red eyes that were staring at him.

If this was an ordinary person, they would probably be frightened to death with a heart attack, but the moment Dong Zhi opened his eyes, his hand had already moved and slid out of the blanket and threw a Sunlight Talisman up.

“The heavens give birth to water, the earth gives birth to fire, the heavens give birth to wood, the earth gives birth to gold. The five central palaces, subdue malignity, overcome disasters, and eliminate all traces of evil!”

The moment the sunlight talisman came into contact with the thing, it burned and wailed bitterly before disappearing entirely along with the Sunlight Talisman.

Dong Zhi rubbed his eyes, sat up, and calmly said, “No matter what you are, I advise you not to make any more trouble. Otherwise, instead of driving me away, I’ll be the one taking you away.”

There was no one in the room except for him. If He Jia witnessed him talking to himself right now, she would probably treat him like a lunatic.

The response he got was the TV suddenly turning on. On screen was a foreign leader who was speaking with righteous indignation to the anti-government organization. “…We will never bow to any terrorists!”

Dong Zhi felt inexplicably happy and couldn’t help laughing out loud. The faucet in the bathroom once again turned on by itself, and the sound of water flowing endlessly could be heard.

He ignored it and continued to lie down, eventually going back to sleep, and soon fell asleep.

The night was long. Whenever something approached him, there would be a flash of red light about three feet away from him. That was the Changshou Sword that he put on his pillow.

Suddenly, the faucet stopped running and the LCD TV automatically turned off.

The owner of the sword was dreaming soundly, seemingly unaffected in any way.

The next day, the sky was bright, and Dong Zhi naturally woke up. He looked at the calm room and smiled, then walked into the bathroom to wash his face and brush his teeth. The water was clear and not blood, like it was last night.

It was nearly 9 AM when He Jia knocked on the door and invited him downstairs for breakfast. The hotel provided both a Chinese and a Western style breakfast, and the dishes were pretty good. Many guests were already there eating.

He Jia took the initiative and asked, “Did you encounter anything strange last night?”

Dong Zhi: “Why? Did you encounter something?”

He Jia lowered her voice. “It’s not an encounter, but I always feel like there’s someone next to me as I’m sleeping. Last night, I dreamt that someone told me not to stay here and to get out quickly. When I woke up, I couldn’t remember who that person was. Did you meet something too?”

After that, she wrinkled her nose. “I really don’t like it here.”

Dong Zhi didn’t talk about what he had encountered last night, but instead showed an interested look. “I went to bed early last night and didn’t encounter anything, but hearing what you said, I’m quite interested. Why don’t you go back first, and I’ll change to your room to sleep there to see if I’ll encounter anything tonight.”

He Jia’s eyes widened. Seeing him in high spirits, she couldn’t help but ask, “Aren’t you scared?”

Dong Zhi: “Of course not. Didn’t you say that no one had encountered any accidents here before? Even if there is something, it’s estimated that it just wants to scare us.”

He Jia: “Then I will accompany you…”

Dong Zhi stopped her. “You’ve been here all night. Maybe because you’re here, those things are going to scare you and not me. I’ll experience it first for myself so I can gather more material for my comics. Moreover, I find it a bit strange.”

He Jia looked at him suspiciously.

Dong Zhi: “Do you remember the man we met last night? If we hadn’t been there in time, he would’ve fallen down. Even from the third floor, his life could be endangered. According to what you said, although it’s strange here, no one has ever died before, so it shouldn’t be like this.”

He Jia also remembered.

Dong Zhi switched topics. “However, it’s also possible that he was careless and drank too much. In short, I have to look at the hotel during the day. It just so happens that I just moved here a few days ago, so I’m currently staying in a hotel, so I’ll simply switch hotels. You’re busy with work, so you don’t need to be mindful of me.”

Since it was in his plans to do so, He Jia couldn’t say anything. She was regarded as a pure, rich beauty* in the eyes of the world. Everyone else in her family had something to do except for her. It was only after graduation that she took over her great aunt’s hotel. Apart from a few tasks every now and then, she was mainly free most of the time, but she couldn’t show too much initiative and enthusiasm to avoid scaring away the male god.

*[Bai fumei] (白富美) Term refers to women who are fair in complexion, rich, and has a beautiful appearance, and a good figure and temperament.

“Well, if you have any needs, just tell me directly. I can also drive you wherever you want to go.”

While talking, they had finished their breakfast. In order to please the boss and her friend, the restaurant chef made two desserts and delivered them to them. Dong Zhi looked at the tender and seductive blueberry panna cotta and was distracted for a moment. He remembered that although Long Shen didn’t care for eating, he would take the initiative to pick dishes when they went out to eat that were on the sweeter side.

Dong Zhi didn’t know if Long Shen would like this kind of panna cotta. He thought intently about the scenery in his heart, not realizing that he had also become a scenery himself in He Jia’s eyes.

After breakfast, Dong Zhi called Yan Nuo, per his routine.

Whether someone took the initiative to look for him was one thing, but as a newcomer, he couldn’t help but be more proactive. Yan Nuo didn’t seem to mind as he took no initiative at all and even wished that Dong Zhi wouldn’t be so proactive and look for him. Dong Zhi was a little surprised to hear a lot of background noise during their call. It seemed that there were a lot of people arguing.

“Yan Ge, where are you now?”

“I’m at the police station. Can I help you?”

“No, I want to ask if there is anything I can do for you?”

Yan Nuo became a little impatient. “Didn’t I tell you? I’ll ask if I need help! I heard that you’re going out to find a place to rent. You don’t want to live in that old house? Then go and look for a place to stay first, so I don’t have to worry about it.”

After saying that he was about to hang up, Dong Zhi hurriedly said, “Yan Ge, I ran into a strange incident at a hotel. I wonder if you’re free or perhaps you can send someone to have a look?”

Yan Nuo: “We have more important things to deal with right now. Can you handle it for now?”

Dong Zhi: “I can for now, but I don’t know if a bigger situation will arise in the future…”

Yan Nuo interrupted him. “If you can’t handle it, then call me. If you can, then just deal with it first. Be careful. I’m hanging up now!”

This temper was really too anxious!

Dong Zhi felt a bit helpless. None of his conversations with Yan Nuo seemed to be able to get through to the end. Depressed, he typed up a message to Long Shen, clearly reporting the strange thing he encountered at the hotel. In fact, he hoped that the other party would reply and comfort him, but his finger stayed on the send button for a long time, before he finally deleted it.

Since he had the ability to solve problems, what would his master think if he bothered him about everything? He would probably feel he wasn’t capable enough and he could accomplish nothing without leaving under his wings.

It wasn’t clear what kind of person Long Shen liked, but he knew what kind of apprentice Long Shen liked. It was by no means an apprentice who would ask for advice and report on the slightest trivial matter, and could only be cute and coquettish, but had no abilities at all.

If he wanted to follow in the footsteps of an eagle, he had to become one himself.

He put his phone back into his pocket, went to the hotel where he was staying to check out, and moved his things to He Jia’s hotel. He then took a taxi back to the old house that was used as an office, where he spent half a day doing simple cleaning. After lunch, he went to a nearby real estate agent and followed the agent to look at several places to rent. He wasn’t satisfied with any of them. The agent said that he still had a few more properties, but he didn’t have the keys with him for the time being, and he would not be able to get them until tomorrow. The two parties made an appointment to continue looking at places tomorrow morning.

At the end of the day, Dong Zhi still had not rested. When he returned to the hotel, night had already fallen. Thanks to Long Shen’s “devil training” in the past few weeks, his physical strength had recovered tremendously after he had invited a Righteous God in Yinchuan, so he was no longer lethargic.

“Sir, our boss asked me to hand this to you, saying that she made it herself.”

As soon as he returned to his room, a little girl with a sweet smile who worked at the front desk knocked on his door and brought him a delicate gift box with a ribbon tied to it. After thanking her, Dong Zhi asked where her boss was.

The little girl said that the boss had something to do at home recently and had gone back to deal with it. She said that they would entertain him well and if he needed anything, he could call room service. There were drinks and snacks in the room and there were many places nearby that conveniently offered takeout.

He Jia had said yesterday that she had something to do today, so she didn’t attend to Dong Zhi. He put down the gift box and went to take a bath.

This time, there were no more tricks, such as the TV turning on automatically and the faucet flowing out blood. Perhaps the other party saw that he wasn’t easily fooled, so it temporarily stopped.

Dong Zhi was so happy and relaxed that after taking his bath, he took out talisman paper and cinnabar from the guqin case and started to practice drawing talismans. During the previous weeks, he was so busy practicing Bu Tian Gang that he had neglected his talisman practice. There were many in the world that valued not only talent, but also the studious and those who diligently practiced. Once any skill was slackened, it would be like sailing against the tide. If he didn’t advance, he could only retreat.

There were two kinds of talismans that he knew now. One was the Sunlight Talisman, and the other was the Thunder Talisman.

However, Long Shen had told him that the essence of drawing talismans wasn’t the focus. The main roles of the Sunlight Talisman were to calm the mind, exorcise demons, and ward off evil spirits, while the Thunder Talisman was used to attract thunder. Because he hadn’t learned these from childhood, it was enough as long as he kept using them freely and turned them into his own style.

When he was in the capital, his vitality hadn’t been restored. Long Shen prevented him from drawing talismans, saying that it was easy to hurt his nerves. Therefore, at that time, he mainly practiced his kung fu tona and strengthened his Tian Gang footwork and swordsmanship. It wasn’t until before leaving Beijing that his master lifted his ban on drawing talismans.

Seeing the yellow paper and cinnabar that hadn’t been touched for over a month, he felt a familiar and cordial feeling arose spontaneously. He picked up his brush, closed his eyes, and adjusted his breathing, as outlines of the shape of the talisman came into his mind. He then opened his eyes and dipped the brush into ink, then his brush started to fly, finishing in one go.

Inheritance was the most important thing on a piece of talisman paper, in addition to runes.

The so-called inheritance referred to the inheritance of Taoism in the talisman. Each talisman had an inheritance mark of the school. For example, on the talisman painted by Dong Zhi and He Yu, there was the inheritance of the Hezao Sect. Li Ying’s talisman had the inheritance of the Maoshan Sect. Wu Bingtian was the Yuanming Palace and so forth. A talisman without inheritance was considered invalid, so a truly knowledgeable person could see the inheritance and skill of the person who drew the talisman just by looking at it.

Long Shen didn’t have a teacher before, so naturally he couldn’t use talismans, but there was still Dong Zhi. His name was still linked with the Hezao Sect, so he could continue to use them. Although Long Shen was powerful, he did not ask Dong Zhi to give up drawing talismans and even encouraged him to practice more, because the Thunder Talisman was very easy to use. In addition, demons and ghosts in all three realms were afraid of the power of heavenly lightning. With Bu Tian Gang, the effect was estimated to be more powerful than just using the Thunder Talisman.

Dong Zhi hadn’t tried combing the two of them yet, but he couldn’t help but look forward to it. When he was in Beijing, his body hadn’t recovered, so Long Shen refused to let him try it. There was no special practice space like the rooftop area in the General Administration Bureau, and he couldn’t go into the suburbs to practice in the dead of night. It would be troublesome if he was seen by others.

He was in good condition tonight. Dong Zhi drew for three hours nonstop. After counting them up, he drew 99 talismans, of which 16 could be used.

This was already a record-breaking success rate. When he first learned how to draw talismans, it would be amazing if he managed to get one or two out of dozens. Not to mention He Yu, even Master Fang Yang didn’t possess the ability to succeed on the first draw. It was rumored that the most powerful talisman drawer in the world today was the head of Mount Longhu, which was also Zhang Song’s master. This old master was a true painter as his talismans were extremely frightening, but Zhang Song’s master was very old now, and he rarely drew talismans in recent years. A peace talisman that he drew could sell for sky-high prices when sold outside.

Just as he picked up the talisman and admired it carefully, he heard a noise outside. There was a lot of movement, as if it came from the side of the stairs, followed by voices speaking.

Dong Zhi put down the talisman and pushed the door open to have a look. He saw that many tenants also heard the movement and opened their doors to look. There were several people standing on the side of the stairs, looking downstairs.

“What’s the matter?” He found a staff member by the stairs, and he walked over and asked.

“There’s a guest on the second floor who seems to have had a heart attack. She didn’t bring medication. We called an ambulance, but it hasn’t arrived yet. The front desk asked us to come over and ask if there was anyone who was a doctor.”

Dong Zhi’s heart pounded, and he ran to the second floor. In the corridor on the second floor, there was a middle-aged woman lying at the door of one of the rooms with people surrounding her as someone was trying to give her first aid.

“Mom! Mom! Wake up!” A young girl cried as she wiped tears from her eyes.

The first responder were very professional and calm. He looked like he was a doctor or was studying medicine. Next to him were guests who were calling for help.

Dong Zhi didn’t know how to heal, so he didn’t step forward to join the group. When he looked around, his sight suddenly stopped, and his gentle and harmless peach blossom eyes narrowed slightly.

The first responder was giving the woman artificial resuscitation as he pushed on her chest. There was nothing abnormal in the eyes of others, as this was the common first aid technique used for heart disease, but Dong Zhi saw that every time his hands went down, he failed to touch the woman’s chest, because it was blocked by a dark shadow.

He looked closely at it again and saw that there seemed to be something hidden behind the rescuer, like a shadow that couldn’t be seen by the light. There seemed to be nothing there but a vague human-shaped outline that was attached to the back of the rescuer. It would extend its “hand” to block the rescuer’s hand and the patient’s body to prevent the patient from being rescued.

The people around them didn’t notice it. In their eyes, the rescuer was doing everything correctly, but the patient had no response. The situation was obviously very bad. If this continued, the patient would surely die within a few seconds!

Dong Zhi squeezed the Sunlight Talisman in his hand, quietly walked around the back of the rescuer, then suddenly stretched out his hand and patted the back of the rescuer’s neck!

The man who was preoccupied with saving the person screamed in pain, and Dong Zhi quickly retracted his hand and put his clenched fist into his pockets.

“I seemed to see a fly on your neck just now…” He hesitantly said and gave an embarrassed look.

Thinking that he was obstructing the rescuer’s first aid attempt, everyone glared at him angrily.

“What trouble are you up to? He’s trying to save someone’s life. Can’t you see?!”

“What an unruly kid. Go away! Go!”

Others stepped forward to push him away. Dong Zhi repeatedly apologized as he retreated.

“There’s a response! There’s a response!”

“She woke up!”

Everyone shouted in surprise, and all of a sudden, they no longer cared about Dong Zhi.

The ambulance had just arrived, and everyone gathered to help carry the woman onto the stretcher. Her family members thanked all the people who helped and quickly followed after the ambulance. The onlookers were still talking about what a frightening scene it was just now and surrounded the middle-aged man who helped save the patient. They praised him for his abilities and kindness. The man was embarrassed and said that he was a doctor. He often encountered this kind of thing when he went out and about and often taught others how to give first aid.

No one had noticed that Dong Zhi had left the scene and quietly returned back to his room.

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The author has something to say:

Dong Zhi: After the matter was over, I hid my merit and fame. I’ll pretend to be forceful next time.

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