Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 93

The mood of Dong Zhi was actually similar to his. The two of them were relatively speechless, and it took a long time for them to recover.

“Is this painting an auction item?” Liu Qingbo asked calmly.

Dong Zhi flipped through the auction catalog. “It’s not in the auction catalog.”

Liu Qingbo said without hesitation, “Find the owner of the painting and buy it!”

As long as the bid was high enough, he didn’t believe that there wasn’t anything in the world that couldn’t be bought.

Dong Zhi: “We don’t know the seller’s situation yet. Let’s inquire about it first. There will be an auction in the afternoon. Don’t worry.”

Liu Qingbo read the introduction next to the painting again and confirmed that the owner of the collection was not written on it.

He found the security personnel patrolling on the floor to ask, but the other party didn’t know either.

Dong Zhi grabbed him. “Don’t be impatient. It’s not good to let others see that we care too much about this painting. Someone might know.”

For example, the young lady who entertained them just now.

Although the other party was only responsible for the hospitality of guests, she must have had a certain understanding of this exhibition, so it was suitable to ask her questions first.

Dong Zhi smiled and said, “Lao Liu, here’s your chance to perform.”

Liu Qingbo: “…Why me?”

Dong Zhi looked innocent. “You look more rich and handsome than me!”

Liu Qingbo would never admit that he was flattered by this sentence, so he said reluctantly, “I’m here for work under the Special Administration Bureau.”

Dong Zhi buttered him up without hesitation. “That’s right. There’s no doubt about your ideological enlightenment as you’re the top in our class!”

Liu Qingbo went valiantly but came back with a bad face in less than ten minutes.

“No way, you can’t even handle such a trivial matter?” Dong Zhi felt incredulous.

Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. “That woman is too difficult to talk to.”

Dong Zhi asked, “What did she say?”

Liu Qingbo said in an annoyed tone, “I asked her who the owner of this painting is. She said that anything that’s not signed is something that the owner doesn’t want to disclose, and she couldn’t disclose it. I just said that if she told me, I would invite her to dinner and give her two thousand dollars. Who knew this woman would pull down her face and give me a scowl?”

Dong Zhi smacked his forehead. “If you say that how would anyone tell you anything!”

Liu Qingbo sneered: “I say this woman is too hypocritical. When she heard I was going to invite her to dinner, she obviously smiled. I was just trying to show her that I’m wealthy, not that I’m promiscuous!”

Dong Zhi sighed. “If you hadn’t invited her to dinner, it might’ve been better. She thought you were trying to pursue her. Who knew you just wanted to make a deal with her. Although love is a deal, it also has a romantic element. Some people can equate romance with money, but others are unwilling to compromise. Let me try!”

Liu Qingbo was taken aback. “Who told you this stuff?”

Dong Zhi waved his hand, with a gesture that looked ethereal, and then brushed his clothes, “Dong-Tchaikovsky*-Zhi.”

*Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was a Russian composer of the Romantic Period. He wrote some of the most popular concert and theatrical music in the current classical repertoire, including the ballets Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, the 1812 Overture, his First Piano Concerto, Violin Concerto, the Romeo and Juliet Overture-Fantasy, several symphonies, and the opera Eugene Onegin. || The context here is that Dong Zhi is making the joke, basically saying let me, the master of romanticism (by referencing Tchaikovsky) work my magic.

Liu Qingbo: ……

He originally thought that Dong Zhi would fail, but he didn’t expect the other party to come back soon, with a spring breeze on his face.

“It’s done?”

Dong Zhi smiled and said, “It’s a veteran of this place, one of the top two people. The owner of this painting is one of the organizers of this event, Xiang Mu.”

Liu Qingbo was in disbelief. “What did you say to move her?”

Dong Zhi patted him. “Thanks to your support, I said that you have never chased a girl and you regretted what you did until your stomach was blue, so you asked me to go over and apologize. I also booked a place at a nearby Michelin three-star restaurant for you two. Please be sure to go.”

Liu Qingbo: …

He simply had the urge to unscrew the head of the person in front of him and kick it like a ball.

Dong Zhi smiled at him. “Calm down, calm down. Think of it as a sacrifice of your appearance for our country. Don’t you suddenly feel proud when you think about it like this?”

Liu Qingbo bit his cheek and smiled. “Not at all!”

Dong Zhi broke it down for him. “If I’d gone first, there wouldn’t be a need to do it a second time. Since you went first, I could only make up for it on your behalf. Alright, let’s not worry about this kind of trivial matter. All in all, Xiang Mu, as the organizer, should also be present at the reception later. Let’s find him first and set up a meeting with him to see if we can buy this painting directly from him. If we can, great. If not, we’ll have to reassess then.”

Liu Qingbo gave him a sideways glance. “I don’t want to eat with that woman. You can do it yourself!”

Dong Zhi said, “Alright how about this? You go to order and pay, and then I’ll call you halfway to get you out of there early…”

With such a discovery, neither of them had the mind to watch the exhibition again, so they walked around at will. They stayed there until noon. The tourists who came to see the exhibition for free gradually left, while Dong Zhi and those who had paid the deposit were invited upstairs to the cocktail party.

The food at the cocktail party was excellent, and there were a lot of good wines. This was a glamorous social occasion. Many people’s minds weren’t on eating. They gathered in groups of three to five as they chatted and laughed. Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo separated to look for signs of Xiang Mu. Dong Zhi soon saw a middle-aged man surrounded by several men and women, who looked a lot like the Xiang Mu he searched for on the internet.

He walked over with a wine glass nonchalantly, pretending to be attracted by the content of their conversation and stopping to listen.

A few people were talking about the recent antique market situation and future prospects, which went way over his head. Dong Zhi got bored just listening to their chatter, but they wouldn’t leave, so he could only continue to listen with a thick face.

Suddenly, Xiang Mu suddenly said, “Sir, you just entered this circle, right?”

Dong Zhi blinked and realized that the other party was talking to him, so he smiled and said, “Yes, but in fact, I am just a fan of art and calligraphy. I have heard of Mr. Xiang’s name for a long time and found that you were holding an exhibition here today, so I had to rush over and see it for myself so I could learn your teachings!”

Xiang Mu also smiled. He had read countless people, and he could see at a glance that the other party wasn’t part of the antique circle, but he didn’t call him out on it.

“What’s your name?”

“Dong, Dong Zhi.”

“Mr. Dong, the visitor is a guest. I wonder what it is that you wish to inquire?”

Dong Zhi smiled and said, “To be honest, it’s not me who likes art and calligraphy, but actually my grandfather. However, he’s too old to move around, so he could only let me run errands in his place. After I came here today, I saw a painting that was very much in line with that old man’s taste. I heard that the owner of that painting is you, so I took the liberty to come over and ask if you would be willing to give up your love?”

Xiang Mu raised his eyebrows. He thought that the other party was a business rival who came to inquire about news, but he didn’t expect that he actually wanted to buy a painting.

“Which one are you talking about?”

Dong Zhi: “‘The Travel Map of Shaohua’.”

The painting must not have made much impression on Xiang Mu, or it may be that he had too much in his collection, as it took him quite a while to remember it. Then he shook his head.

“Sorry, I won’t sell that painting.”

Dong Zhi’s heart sank. The last thing he wanted to hear was such an answer.

“May I know the reason? If it is a matter of money, I believe that, in the end, I can give a satisfactory figure to Mr. Xiang.”

Using the identity of the Special Administration Bureau would only be a last resort. Now that so many things had happened recently, Dong Zhi had become more cautious. He wasn’t sure if there were traces of enemies hidden among ordinary people and he didn’t want to scare the snake as a possible consequence and lose the game.

Xiang Mu smiled apologetically. “It’s not about money. That painting is a relic passed down from my wife’s family, so I don’t want to sell it.”

He was obviously not interested in continuing the conversation with Dong Zhi, as after he replied, he turned around and walked away, but his expression suddenly changed from calmness to surprise.

No longer interacting with Dong Zhi, Xiang Mu enthusiastically walked over and greeted a person who had come in from the other end.

“Master Chen, it’s been a long time since I saw you. I was waiting for you!”

When Dong Zhi saw who it was, he almost couldn’t control his facial expression and almost laughed out loud on the spot.

Who else but it was none other than Chen Guoliang who Liu Qingbo had been “longing for”.

This Master Chen was still dressed in a black jacket with an extraordinary style. With an assistant bodyguard by his side, he magnanimously made his entrance. From a glance, his posture looked as if he was the protagonist of a novel, which attracted a lot of attention.

After Chen Guoliang was let go, he didn’t have the face to stay in Lucheng for long. He wanted to go back to Hong Kong, and he wouldn’t come back to the mainland for a few years.

Coincidentally, at that moment, he received an invitation to attend a cocktail party and auction to lecture distinguished guests about feng shui metaphysics. It also came with a private commission and a high appearance fee. Chen Guoliang’s conscience was moved, and he felt that it was a blessing from God to give him this chance to make money. He had no reason to doubt this, and it wasn’t too late to eat one last meal before he left, so he decided to come.

He didn’t think that the enemy’s path was so narrow and that the world would be so coincidental.

His smile completely froze when he saw the person next to Xiang Mu.

Seeing Liu Qingbo coming from the other end again, his smile could no longer be maintained, and he collapsed instantly.

Liu Qingbo also chuckled. “Master Chen, what a coincidence. Truly a coincidence that we meet again. This must be fate at work for us to meet thousands of miles away!”

Chen Guoliang reluctantly pulled out a smile that he thought was very calm and took the initiative to stretch out his hand. “It turns out to be Mr. Liu and Mr. Dong. Indeed, how fateful this is!”

‘A truly evil fate,’ he added in his heart.

Liu Qingbo looked at him with a smile for a long time, and when Chen Guoliang looked uneasy, he finally stretched out his hand.

Chen Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly held his hand and shook it twice, and greeted Dong Zhi enthusiastically.

Xiang Mu was surprised. “It turns out that Master Chen knows these two gentlemen?”

“I know, I know!” Chen Guoliang’s face twitched, revealing the half-truths and half-lies. “With these two masters here, why bother to invite me. Honestly!”

Xiang Muguo was really surprised. He knew Chen Guoliang’s reputation in Hong Kong. Last time he went to Hong Kong on business, he got to know this Master Chen thanks to the introduction of a rich man named Li. This time, he was invited to come over for a feng shui lecture. Secondly, more importantly, he encountered a difficult problem that Chen Guoliang urgently needed to solve.

“This meeting must be destiny. Three masters, I have prepared a VIP room for you. Why don’t you come inside, and we can have a detailed discussion? The lecture hasn’t started yet, and I happen to have a little personal question I want to ask the three of you.”

He may have felt he had embarrassed Dong Zhi before, so he added, “If Mr. Dong wants that painting, in fact, it’s not that I can’t give it away.”

Dong Zhi said, “You don’t have to give it away. As long as you give us a price, we’ll try our best to raise the funds.”

Xiang Mu smiled. “I am not short of money.”

The implication was that he didn’t need to make money by selling paintings. Thinking about most of the collections in the exhibition hall, Dong Zhi became speechless.

Xiang Mu led them into the VIP reception room. It was much more gorgeous than outside, and there were many more personal decorations. Dong Zhi guessed that this place, including the exhibition hall downstairs, should be his property.

It was no wonder why he didn’t put a price on that painting. For a wealthy man like Xiang Mu, even if the paintings were sold for hundreds of millions, it would just be another number added to his property.

However, his problems were often unsolvable by money. Therefore, ordinary people look at many rich people and laugh at them. After they became prosperous, many would pray to Buddha or God, but as a result, they would worship the wrong door and encounter too many gods. In fact, it was because they asked for too much and it was often too complicated. The method was no longer suitable for them, and the gods were too elusive, and it was impossible to give them a quick solution. In the end, they could only turn to so-called experts and masters. If they encountered someone like Chen Guoliang, they would be fooled at most, but for those that stumbled upon Songen or Yamamoto, it was most likely they wouldn’t be able to save their own lives.

Xiang Mu didn’t have the habit of disclosing his private affairs to strangers. He waited for Chen Guoliang to introduce Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo’s origin, but it seemed that Chen Guoliang behaved quite cramped. He would look at Dong Zhi from time to time, as if he was waiting for him to issue orders.

The other party’s abnormality made Xiang Mu feel even more confused. He originally thought that even if Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were a bit capable, it was only Chen Guoliang’s modesty, but now this didn’t seem to be the case.

“Master Chen, would you like to introduce me?” He finally broke the awkward atmosphere.

“The title master is truly unworthy. These two are the real masters and experts. Uh, Mr. Dong and Mr. Liu, I have already introduced them just now. Let’s focus on them today. I’ll just listen on the side!”

Chen Guoliang’s complexion twitched slightly. He didn’t dare reveal the identity of Dong Zhi. He wanted to prevent any trouble and didn’t want to make the other party unhappy. He could only hope that they would spare him the humiliation of exposing himself in front of Xiang Mu.

As soon as the voice fell, Liu Qingbo showed him a smirk, which made Chen Guoliang shudder in fear. His heart was divided between being exposed or not, and he was entangled and uneasy that it felt like he was wandering on the edge of death.

Compared to Liu Qingbo, Dong Zhi still gave Chen Guoliang a little face, or rather, he had no intention of teasing Chen Guoliang now.

“My name is Dong Zhi. This is Liu Qingbo. We have our own practices, but it’s not the same as Master Chen’s way. If you have any problems, Mr. Xiang, you can tell us. Let’s discuss it in detail together.”

Hearing him call him Master Chen, Chen Guoliang breathed a sigh of relief. In addition to being grateful, he quickly followed up. “Yes, tell them. Mr. Dong and Mr. Liu must have a way!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Qingbo glanced at him again, which stunned Chen Guoliang. Could it be that these two people didn’t intend to show their true identity, but he had inadvertently exposed them? He couldn’t help but become more nervous.

In fact, with his reputation among the rich and powerful of Hong Kong, he wouldn’t have fallen so far. It was just that last time, he was shell-shocked by how Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had subdued the demonic energy, and he later received several days of ideological education. It was truly eye-opening and awe-inspiring that it led him to be more respectful and also fear the profession. It was the last thing on his list to see Dong Zhi again, yet who knew that the enemy’s path would be so narrow? When he ran to Shencheng, they also followed him here.

When Chen Guoliang returned to Hong Kong, he would change the name of his feng shui master and, going forward, would keep a low profile so as to not run into experts like them. He really couldn’t eat and walk away*.

*(吃不了兜着走) Metaphor referring to ignoring the situation and causing trouble or adverse consequences and you have to bear it yourself. || It’s basically saying, he can’t escape the consequences of his previous action (being a fraud) because he has once again run into Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo.

Xiang Mu greeted them with a few pleasantries, then talked about calligraphy, paintings, and writings, down to the feng shui furnishings in the room here. He refused to get to the point. Dong Zhi knew that such a successful businessman was usually suspicious. If he didn’t disperse his doubts, it was estimated the other party wouldn’t be able to communicate at all with them, so he said, “Mr. Xiang, my friend here is a descendant of Liu Yongjia, a well-known swordsmaster of the Republic of China. Maybe you have heard of him. On the other hand, I am a named disciple of the Hezao Sect. I studied under Taoist Master Fang Yangfang. I also have another master, but he’s not a member of the Hezao Sect, so I won’t mention him.”

Chen Guoliang said hurriedly, “In the past, the Hezao Sect was on par and ranked third among Mount Longhu and Mount Maoshan, but in modern times they’ve been much lower-key. I have seen these two slay demons with my very own eyes, and I have great respect for them in my heart!”

Compared with Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, whom he had just met for the first time, Xiang Mu was, of course, more inclined to believe in Chen Guoliang, who had already had a great reputation in Hong Kong.

Dong Zhi didn’t expect that they would have to rely on Chen Guoliang to prove their identity in turn and felt the situation was quite ridiculous.

Sure enough, Xiang Mu suddenly became a lot more solemn when he heard this introduction.

“Just now, I have eyes but failed to see Mount Taishan*. I didn’t expect to bump into such great people by mistake. I’m very sorry!” Xiang Mu apologized to them.

*(有眼不识泰山) Metaphor for having eyes too narrow thus failing to recognize someone of excellent skill/status.

Liu Qingbo became impatient. “Mr. Xiang, let’s get to your situation.”

Xiang Mu smiled bitterly. “In fact, this matter is really weird, and it has something to do with my wife.”

It had been almost five years since Xiang Mu’s wife passed away. They also had a daughter who was now studying abroad. It stood to reason that Xiang Mu had a good appearance and was wealthy. As a middle-aged and widowed man with no son, there were no problems with women clamoring for him, but Xiang Mu was an exception. He had a good relationship with his wife, and he hadn’t remarried in the past five years, despite the persuasion of his friends.

His wife had a bracelet that was passed down from her mother’s family. After her death, Xiang Mu kept this bracelet and was prepared to give it to his daughter when she got married, but the problem lay in this bracelet.

Starting about a year ago, Xiang Mu began to frequently have a recurring dream. In the dream, he was reunited with his late wife. His wife was still in the prime of her appearance. Xiang Mu was naturally extremely happy. After a long parting, the old relationship was rekindled. The whispering between the two quickly turned into a love affair. When he woke up, the pillow was still cold, and the whereabouts of his wife were gone. He was quite saddened by it. However, after that, Xiang Mu began to meet his wife in his dreams again, and every time it would end with a spring dream. Over time, Xiang Mu stumbled upon the jade bracelet he kept in the bedroom safe. It seemed that it had become smoother and more lustrous.

“This bracelet was originally worn by my wife for decades during her lifetime. She never took it off. I originally wanted to put it in the bank with other things, but every time I saw the bracelet, I couldn’t help but look at it and think about it. I can’t help leaving it so far away from me, so I put it in the bedroom.”

Having said that, there was a trace of an unspeakable expression on Xiang Mu’s face. “I’m not afraid of your jokes, telling you this. I’m not old in age and I usually exercise. I’m a man with normal needs, but I haven’t had this kind of dream before. I once doubted if there were any physical or psychological problems, but the test results were all normal. It was no wonder that my dreams were so beautiful. I seemed to have returned to the days I spent with my wife when I was young. As time goes by, it’s inevitable that I will be indulgent.”

All the people present were men, and they were not ordinary people. Not only did no one express the meaning of ridicule, but they all nodded in understanding. Xiang Mu was encouraged, relaxed a little, and continued.

Despite that, having a spring dream so often, no matter how healthy or strong Xiang Mu was, it was inevitable that it would take a mental toll. What was even more strange was that later, he occasionally had an extended version of the dream. After his wife said she was happy with him, she began to cry silently. No matter what he asked, she would refuse to speak and kept crying until Xiang Mu woke up.

Since then, Xiang Mu’s night had basically been trapped in such a dream, unable to extricate himself.

“You keep leaving the bracelet in the bedroom?” Liu Qingbo couldn’t help asking.

Xiang Mu: “Yes.”

Liu Qingbo frowned. “So many things have happened. Why don’t you throw away the bracelet or destroy it? Are you waiting to be sucked dry?”

This was so straightforward that it made Xiang Mu a little embarrassed.

“In fact, since my wife passed away, I have always missed her very much, and for this reason, I have never remarried…”

He didn’t go on, but the implication was already obvious.

Xiang Mu meant that he enjoyed his spring dreams and didn’t mention that the object in his spring dreams was his wife. On the one hand, he could see his dead lover in his dream, and on the other hand, he could relive his youth with his lover. He couldn’t help but indulge in it, knowing that something was wrong, but he couldn’t bear to leave.

Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. As soon as he heard this, he knew that Xiang Mu was not willing to destroy the bracelet or stay away from it. The other party had to go around in a big circle looking for things that could be solved simply.

Dong Zhi asked bluntly, “Mr. Xiang, there must be a problem with your bracelet, but we can’t give you an answer before we see the real thing. I want to ask you first, how do you want us to help you?”

Xiang Mu pondered for a moment, and said, “I want to know, is my wife’s soul trapped in that bracelet to support my dreams?”

Dong Zhi: “What if it is?”

Xiang Mu hesitated, and he hadn’t figured out what to do.

Dong Zhi said, “Even if it is really your wife’s soul, it’s not good for you or her to go on like this. She is sucking your essence night by night, nourishing her ghostly bodily and, overtime, she won’t be willing to be trapped in the bracelet and perhaps she may even possess your body!”

Xiang Mu laughed. “This is impossible. She was very kind during her lifetime!”

Liu Qingbo said, “There is nothing impossible. After a person dies, everything will disappear. If she misses the world and refuses to die, her temperament will definitely change. If she is really dedicated to your sake, how can she be willing to suck your energy every night?”

Chen Guoliang also said, “Mr. Xiang, people cannot come back from the dead. Humans have human ways and ghosts have their own. The three realms and six paths* has their own rules. If those rules are broken, you may also delay your wife’s end.”

*Reference to Samsara. The three realms refer to the realm of desire, the realm of form, and the realm of immateriality, while the six paths are typically divided into three higher realms (good) and three lower realms (evil). You can read my Kinky Thoughts for more details on this, but it’s basically a belief in what happens after one dies and goes through reincarnation/rebirth.

Xiang Mu sighed. “Can you do this? After the auction, I will take you to my house first to see the bracelet. If you can, please help persuade my wife so that she can go to reincarnation with peace of mind as soon as possible!”

Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other. The purpose of their trip was the painting, so naturally they had to help Xiang Mu solve his troubles first.

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll have to trouble you!” Xiang Mu was very grateful.

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Kinky Thoughts:

Three Realms and Six Paths.

The three realms referred to:

1. The Realm of Desire: From hell to heaven, there’s a mixture of good and evil and men and women live together, tainted by desire
2. The Realm of Form: From the first to the fourth meditation heaven, there is no female form and thus no desire are tainted, and everything is incarnated by pure colors
3. The Realm of Immateriality: From the heavens to the void, there is but colorless emptiness.

The six paths refer to Samsara. Each path (realms) is split into 3 higher realms (representing good, fortunate) and 3 lower realms (representing evil, unfortunate). Below is a description of each realm courtesy of Wikipedia:

1. Gods realm: the gods (devas) is the most pleasure-filled among the six realms, and typically subdivided into twenty six sub-realms. A rebirth in this heavenly realm is believed to be from very good karma accumulation. A Deva does not need to work, and is able to enjoy in the heavenly realm all pleasures found on earth. However, the pleasures of this realm lead to attachment (Upādāna), lack of spiritual pursuits and therefore no nirvana. The vast majority of Buddhist lay people, states Kevin Trainor, have historically pursued Buddhist rituals and practices motivated with rebirth into Deva realm. The Deva realm in Buddhist practice in southeast and east Asia, states Keown, include gods found in Hindu traditions such as Indra and Brahma, and concepts in Hindu cosmology such as Mount Meru.
2. Human realm: called the manuṣya realm. Buddhism asserts that one is reborn in this realm with vastly different physical endowments and moral natures because of a being’s past karma. A rebirth in this realm is considered as fortunate because it offers an opportunity to attain nirvana and end the Saṃsāra cycle.
3. Demi-god realm (Asura): the demi-gods (asuras) is the third realm of existence in Buddhism. Asura are notable for their anger and some supernatural powers. They fight with the Devas (gods), or trouble the Manusya (humans) through illnesses and natural disasters. They accumulate karma, and are reborn. Demi-god is sometimes ranked as one of the evil realms as there are stories of them fighting against the Gods.
4. Animal realm: is state of existence of a being as an animal (tiryag). This realm is traditionally thought to be similar to a hellish realm, because animals are believed in Buddhist texts to be driven by impulse and instinct, they prey on each other and suffer. Some Buddhist texts assert that plants belong to this realm, with primitive consciousness.
5. Hungry ghost realm: hungry ghosts and other restless spirits (preta) are rebirths caused by karma of excessive craving and attachments. They do not have a body, are invisible and constitute only “subtle matter” of a being. Buddhist texts describe them as beings who are extremely thirsty and hungry, very small mouths but very large stomachs. Buddhist traditions in Asia attempt to care for them on ritual days every year, by leaving food and drinks in open, to feed any hungry ghosts nearby. When their bad karma demerit runs out, these beings are reborn into another realm. According to McClelland, this realm is the mildest of the three evil realms. According to Yangsi Rinpoche, in contrast, the suffering of the beings born in the realm of the hungry ghosts is far more intense than those born in the animal realm.
6. Hell realm: beings in hell (naraka) enter this realm for evil karma such as theft, lying, adultery and others. The texts vary in their details, but typically describe numerous hellish regions each with different forms of intense suffering, such as eight extremely hot hellish realms, eight extremely cold, being partially eaten alive, beating and other forms of torture in proportion to the evil karma accumulated. These beings are reborn in another realm after their evil karma has run its course, they die, and they get another chance. This realm is not similar to afterlife hell in Christianity, states Damien Keown, because in Buddhism there is no realm of final damnation and existence in this realm is also a temporary state.

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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 92

Ming Xian subconsciously took a few steps back.

People around him rushed to check, and he was quickly pushed out. His expression was still a little stunned and he didn’t seem to understand how that person could be dead.

The sudden death of a cosplayer caused a small commotion, but more people didn’t know what was going on. The venue was too big. Ming Xian looked around blankly, holding a cellphone in his hand, hesitating whether to call the police or call an ambulance, when his arm was suddenly caught.

He turned his head, and it was Tang Jing.

Ming Xian didn’t have time to think about why Tang Jing ran over, but when he saw the other party, he couldn’t help but breathe a sigh of relief.

“Someone’s dead!” he said sharply.

“I know, there’s also an incident over there.” Tang Jing grabbed his arm. The casual smile on his face was no longer present and the pretty face that had makeup on looked faintly demonic. “Go find the nearest exit and leave. I have to notify security and the police. They will come over soon and evacuate the crowd.”

Seeing him turn around, Ming Xian couldn’t help but say, “What are you looking for? I’ll help you find it!”

“No, you need to leave first. Hurry up!” Tang Jing let go, and before Ming Xian had time to say more, he was gone.

While Tang Jing participated in this anime convention as a hobby, it was only a secondary reason, and he used helping out friends as an excuse. The real reason was to ensure the smooth progress of the event.

Recently, because of the search for the stone tablets, the Special Administration Bureau had loosened its grip on the outside but tightened it on the inside, especially regarding the Japanese. In particular, since Shencheng was an international metropolis and close to Japan, it was better to be vigilant. With all these unreasonable events, somehow there tends to be a loose connection to them. Large-scale events or meetings like this convention could attract unwanted attention, so the focus was on prevention.

Soon, there would be a high-profile international conference held here. In this case, not only would the police be on high alert, but even the Special Administration Bureau would have to cooperate and assist.

The branch office had a lot of manpower, and most of them had their own duties. During these three days of the anime convention, Tang Jing personally took Shu He and Huo Jie to guard here. He thought they would simply be going through the notion, but he didn’t expect anything to happen on the last day.

Together with the cosplayer just now, two people had already died suddenly. Shu He and Huo Jie were one step late when they found out. Tang Jing knew very well that even if they managed to get a forensic doctor for an autopsy, there would be no results. At most, it was a myocardial or cerebral infarction.

But just now, he clearly smelled a trace of magic…

In a flash, it was covered up by the yang from the sea of people. This method was truly clever.

As soon as that ray of magic aura entered the sea of people, it instantly became like a fish in the water, disappearing without a trace, occasionally leaving a cunning tail behind. When the hunter heard the news, it had already disappeared. Even for Tang Jing, it was difficult to trace the ray of magic in such a huge venue among tens of thousands of people.

Some people already knew that two people had suddenly died, and the unexplained panic made them want to run away. Those who didn’t know yet continued to wander around in a daze, but the news would eventually spread like wildfire. Even with security personnel, it was inevitable that there would be a stampede when everyone panicked, making the scene more chaotic and it would become more difficult to catch that ray of magic when the time came.

Tang Jing had an extra mirror in his hand. When he was illuminated by the lights of the venue, he suddenly emitted a dazzling light. Many people’s eyes swept to him. Before they could remove their gaze, they immediately felt their eyes tingling, and they couldn’t help but cover their eyes and scream.

But Tang Jing caught a flash of a black shadow in the light. It was extremely fast and fleeting, like the blink of an eye.

Northwest gate!

Tang Jing pushed away the crowd and ran towards the northwest gate.

He didn’t seem to use much force, but the people around him fell to the side as soon as he pushed them. Tang Jing left all the curses behind, and quickly rushed towards the door.

No matter how fast he was, at the end of the day, he was running on two legs, which was incomparable with an ethereal and invisible demonic energy. Seeing that he was about to lose the chase, Tang Jing squinted his eyes and casually touched the hairpin on his head and threw it.

The hairpin turned into white light and chased after the demonic energy at such a high velocity that no one had time to see clearly. The light quickly hit the demonic energy and suddenly stagnated its movement. In the blink of an eye, Tang Jing had already arrived.

The northwest gate was a small gate, which was not usually open. There was a long and narrow alley behind it, and at the end was a warehouse.

The demon energy condensed, landed and looked back. It roared lowly at the person blocking its path.

“A soul eater?” Tang Jing looked surprised and puzzled. “How could this thing be mixed with demonic energy?”

The name sounded terrifying, but in fact, this strange beast ate the souls of the dead, or those souls who refused to pass on and still lingered in the living world. They often haunt cemeteries or crematoriums. In a sense, humans didn’t need to be afraid of it.

But now it was clear that interested people had taken advantage of the characteristics of the soul eater and injected it with demonic energy, turning it from an ordinary and harmless soul eater to a monster that devoured the anger of the living.

In this kind of venue with tens of thousands of people and a lot of mobility, it was difficult to trace if it were to swallow up a little bit of anger. At most, those it devoured would only feel a bit weak, and their traces of anger would leave them. However, if its target happened to be weak, then it would become life-threatening.

The soul eater also seemed to be aware of the threat posed by Tang Jing, and after roaring, it slowly retreated, in order to pave the way for its next attack.

Tang Jing didn’t give it such an opportunity. He skillfully threw out the ribbon in his arms, and the soft, slender ribbon suddenly shot straight at the soul eater, directly entangling its neck tightly. Tang Jing shook his wrist, and the soul eater was involuntarily pulled over.

“What is this?!” There was an exclamation from behind.

Another soul eater was waiting for an opportunity to act, and its body lowered slightly, then jumped directly up and pounced on the person behind Tang Jing.

Tang Jing closed his five fingers one by one, and dazzling light poured out of his palms. Before Ming Xian could see clearly, the soul eater that was covered with black demonic energy was shrouded by light and instantly crushed. The magic energy exploded into fine powder and dissipated into the air, leaving no traces behind.

Ming Xian’s face was shocked, as if he had just watched a fantasy blockbuster.

“Didn’t I tell you to leave? Why did you follow me?”

Tang Jing pulled his hand, and the remaining soul eater also entered the light. The ribbon was burned by the demonic energy, and he put it aside.

His hair and clothes were still neat, and Tang Jing still looked like the charming Yu Ji. On the other hand, Ming Xian was covered in dust and his wig was tangled everywhere.

“There are too many people at the exit. I can’t squeeze through. Seeing you running over, I just followed, wanting to see if there is anything that can help…” Ming Xian swallowed and couldn’t help but take two steps back. “If I say I didn’t see anything, is it still too late?”

Tang Jing showed a grim smile. “What if I say it’s too late?”

Ming Xian said weakly, “Then you’re not going to kill me, are you?”

Before he finished speaking, his chin was pinched.

Ming Xian involuntarily raised his head slightly, letting the other party’s slender five fingers slowly slide down to his neck, which was tantamount to exposing his fatal weakness and was just waiting to be slaughtered.

He wanted to cry without tears. “You, are you really going to kill me?”

Tang Jing’s face slowly approached, and the pair of beautiful eyes under his slender eyebrows seemed to be smiling but not really smiling. Ming Xian looked at it steadily, unwilling to blink. If he was going to die, he might as well die looking at this peony flower. It would be quite romantic if he became a ghost.

Then he made a request that was even scarier than death.

“Then, can I kiss you before I die?”

Tang Jing raised his eyebrows, not as sullen as he had imagined.

“Where my dear?”

He could still choose? Ming Xian was overjoyed, and his gaze fell on Tang Jing’s lips.

“You—you close your eyes first.”

Of course, Tang Jing didn’t close his eyes and instead directly slapped him.

“What are you thinking?! Let’s go!”

Ming Xian was dragged away by him in a daze, while looking back. “Those things…”

Tang Jing casually said, “I took care of them.”

If it weren’t for the presence of people from the Special Administration Bureau, these two lives would at most be regarded as having suffered from suffocation and fainted. Their sudden deaths were attributed to too many participants in the event, and they would make the local daily headlines.

The people involved in this conspiracy had absorbed a lot of yang energy from the living during this time. Tang Jing couldn’t speculate out of thin air on what they were planning, but he felt a headache when he thought that security must be strengthened at all large-scale events and conferences in the future.

Ming Xian was unaware of his distress, and said with interest, “You’re really not an ordinary person, are you? In fact, I saw it on the plane. You have a mysterious aura, just like the male protagonist in my novel. Tangtang, I want to write to you as my male protagonist and promise not to reveal your real name and keep your privacy. Is that okay?”

What kind of mysterious aura? Tang Jing slowly turned his head. “Who are you calling Tangtang*?”

*Calling someone’s name like this indicates fondness and closeness (whether it be their last or first name).

Ming Xian: “Then Jingjing?”

Tang Jing: “I prefer it if you just shut up.”

Back at the venue, the crowd had been almost evacuated. The exhibition hall closed early on the grounds that the lighting failure affected safety. This reason naturally caused some people to be dissatisfied. They felt that they had spent money but suffered a loss. As soon as the crowd dispersed, it wasn’t easy for the other party to absorb a lot of yang energy. Shu He and Huo Jie were still searching constantly, trying to discover the real murderer behind the scenes.

Tang Jing couldn’t help frowning.

At today’s anime convention, exhibitors and players would dress up in different novel costumes. With the various cosplays to provide a convenient cover, it was easy for demonic activities to take advantage of this. That’s why Tang Jing personally came to monitor the area. In fact, the Special Administration Bureau had already made arrangements in advance. There were magic arrays all around the venue, which were difficult for normal people to detect. If it was a demon with an evil aura, it would trigger an alarm and be discovered by them.

But the magic arrays didn’t sound any alarms the entire day. That is to say, whether it was the murderer or the soul eaters, it was very unlikely that they snuck in from outside.

What the hell went wrong?

Tang Jing raised his eyes to look at the various lights on the steel frames at the top of the venue. His gaze swept across the venue that gradually became empty and finally fell on Ming Xian beside him.

Ming Xian: ???

Tang Jing frowned at him.

Ming Xian looked back blankly and innocently.

Tang Jing: “Did you notice anything unusual before you saw that person fall to the ground just now?”

Ming Xian said indifferently, “No, it was his companion who pushed him, and he fell down in a daze, but now that you mentioned it, I remember that when I was walking in the crowd before, the venue was extremely crowded, so it was pretty stuffy. I’m not sure why, but every now and then, there would be a few cold breezes blowing from my neck. I thought it was the air conditioning at the time.”

Tang Jing: “Neck?”

Ming Xian nodded. “I felt it on the back of my neck. The breeze jumped into my clothes from below and blew out from my collar.”

Below…

Tang Jing looked behind Ming Xian, his eyes slowly looking down.

Ming Xian moved embarrassedly. “Don’t…”

Tang Jing could see what was going on in the other party’s mind from a glance. The person on the plane looked pure, but he didn’t expect that yellow waste* had already flooded his mind. He was indeed worthy of being a novel writer.

*Refers to crude/explicit things. Basically, he’s saying Ming Xian has a dirty mind.

In normal times, he might tease him, then take him home, and fornicate amidst the golden autumn wind and the jade-glistening dew*, but there were more important business matters at the moment. When the words of ridicule came to his lips, Tang Jing took those thoughts back.

*This is referencing Meeting across the Milky Way from the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl tale. I’ve explained this in an earlier chapter, but it’s the story of the romance between a weaver girl and a cowherd, which was forbidden, and thus they were banished to opposite sides of the heavenly river (the Milky Way) and are only allowed to meet for a single day once a year. The golden autumn wind and jade-glistening dew represent the season in which the cowherd and the weaver girl get to meet. || In this context, it’s basically saying he would take him home and bang him (put in a cruder way) but more poetically written (alluding to the single day of the year where the cowherd and weaver girl meet… and you know what they would do as lovers since they could only meet once a year).

He saw a bulge that was temporarily covered. It was originally supposed to be a ground plug, which was generally used to connect the power supply. It was everywhere in the exhibition hall. The red carpet had been specially covered to prevent everyone from tripping over it.

The wires led to the underground and also to the outside.

This was a loophole in the magic array. Because the venue was too big, they only had time to arrange the surroundings, and they couldn’t cover the upper and lower parts. It would take too much energy, and the gain wouldn’t be worth the loss. Even the head of Mount Longhu couldn’t do it, thus the other party took advantage of this and came from underground and walked the grounds absorbing yang energy without them knowing.

How smart.

Tang Jing smiled coldly.

—

The other side of Shencheng.

The auction was located on the second floor of a gallery. The content was exhibitions and auctions. However, when he checked online, Dong Zhi found that the auction had been held several times. It was initiated by a well-known local collector. The target was aimed mainly at high-end customers. If they had stayed at the express hotel as originally planned, they wouldn’t have received this kind of promotional brochure.

Although there were brochures, generally speaking, this kind of activity would usually involve people in the circle bringing acquaintances with them. Very few outsiders would rush over to participate like Dong Zhi.

A well-dressed young lady entertained them. When she saw the two of them coming, she didn’t show any surprise or contempt for these country bumpkins. She still smiled and asked, “Are you two planning only to visit the cultural and entertainment exhibition, or do you plan to participate in the auction together?”

Dong Zhi: “Is there any difference?”

The other party patiently explained, “The exhibition is mainly based on classical Chinese culture. There are paintings, calligraphy, antiques, jewelry, and the like. It is a collection from various folk collectors. As long as you two register, you can enter and look at the exhibits. If you still want to participate in the subsequent auctions, you have to pay a deposit of 500,000 per person. When the event is over, if the two of you didn’t bid on anything, the deposit will be refunded by the full amount. If you bid on something, then the money will be directly deducted from your deposit, and what remains will be returned.”

Dong Zhi hadn’t participated in this kind of high-end auction, so he looked at Liu Qingbo. Anyway, it was mainly the young master who wanted to participate so he could cause some trouble.

Liu Qingbo frowned and said, “How do I know that the deposit will be refunded?”

The young lady’s smile stagnated slightly. “Sir, our event is held five times every year. Mr. Xiang Mu is a well-known collector in our city and has a good reputation both at home and abroad. Moreover, this event is in cooperation with Christie’s Auction House*. Your concerns can be said to be non-existent.”

*British auction house founded by James Christie.

Dong Zhi had heard of the name Xiang Mu but only knew that he was an entrepreneur. He didn’t realize that the name was also associated with a collector. Now that he thought about it, it was normal. In troubled times, buy gold, while in prosperous times, buy antiques and art. Only those with considerable financial strength could afford such a thing.

Liu Qingbo curled his lips and took out a card. “Okay, register for us. We’ll participate in the auction.”

The lady smiled slightly and said apologetically, “I’m sorry, but I didn’t make it clear just now. It’s half a million dollars U.S. dollars. This could potentially freeze your credit card. It won’t be an issue for the two of you, right?”

Liu Qingbo raised his brows. “No problem.”

Dong Zhi jabbed him with his elbow. “You also pay for my half million!”

Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. “Didn’t Boss Long give you a black card?”

Dong Zhi was taken aback. “How did you know?”

Liu Qingbo said arrogantly, “The last time I saw you going through your wallet, I accidentally saw it. If I didn’t even have this kind of eyesight, what kind of sword would I practicing?”

Dong Zhi spread his hand. “If I swipe that card, Master will immediately know that we are messing around here. I promised him last time not to run around casually. My own money is in the treasury. I won’t be able to get so much cash for a while. It’s up to you. Anyway, it doesn’t matter to me if I participate or not. Otherwise, you can just go by yourself, and I’ll take a stroll outside, and we’ll find a place to meet.”

Liu Qingbo originally went because of Chen Guoliang. If Dong Zhi was missing, he would have had no one to share the fun with, so he said angrily, “Go, go, I’ll pay for you!”

Between the two of them, one million U.S. dollars was spent, which was roughly between six to seven million yuan. Young Master Liu didn’t even bat an eye when he swiped the card directly and signed his name. They both got the invitation letter for the function, and he went in with Dong Zhi.

Dong Zhi gave a thumbs up. “So chic! So arrogant!”

Liu Qingbo snorted, “Isn’t your black card more arrogant than me when you take it out?”

Dong Zhi: “That’s my ultimate lethal weapon and cannot easily be displayed.”

The two of them went to the second floor as they chattered. The exhibition would be open from 9 in the morning until 2 in the afternoon. There would be a cocktail party and meals at noon, all of which were provided free of charge, but only guests who had paid a deposit were allowed to participate, while ordinary guests could only visit the cultural exhibition for free.

They originally thought that the cultural exhibition was just a gimmick, and the focus was still on the auction, but as soon as they entered, they knew that they had the wrong idea. There were really a lot of good things in the exhibition. Of course, whether it was genuine or not, the two of them weren’t experts, and they couldn’t tell with their naked eyes, but the richness and heritage of the collection was still beyond imagination.

It spanned thousands of years of Chinese history. From the royal families to the nobles to the common people, there had been wars and displacements, changing of dynasties, and many treasures had been scattered overseas, while an untold number of treasures were buried in dirt. Although the collection of the museum was precious, it was only a small part of all the treasures still yet discovered, and by chance, these could be acquired by folk collectors.

Like collections, wealth would always be collected and circulated slowly, and eventually it would be acquired by the very few. These collectors had a dazzling array of things in their hands. If they only collected and enjoyed it themselves, there would be some regret, but they were reluctant to donate their treasures. Thus, this kind of private exhibition existed, which was open to the public for viewing, but really was to satisfy their own ego and sense of accomplishment. After all, the idea was similar to children who possessed novelty toys and wanted to show off to their friends.

Dong Zhi looked down at the catalogue of exhibits he took at the door. Today’s exhibits were quite mixed. It included things from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. There were also a few from the Qin and Han Dynasties. It was mainly porcelain, calligraphy, and paintings, and there were also some ancient jewelries. The latter was gorgeous and dazzling, with various precious inlaid gems that were quite colorful. It was the highlight for most visitors. Many people lingered around the jewelry showcase and used their phones to take pictures.

Liu Qingbo was quiet for a while, and then he couldn’t help but complain, “I think it must be fake… Fuck! Look over there. It says that this is a Chenghua Doucai chicken cup*. How fucking laughable! Do you know the price tag on this thing outside? And the guy just puts something worth hundreds of millions on display that’s only separated by a piece of glass for everyone to see? If you ask me, it must be a replica from the Qianlong period!”

*Bowl shape Chinese porcelain painted in the doucai technique and decorated with chickens, hens, and roosters. There are currently 13 authentic Chenghua cups help by museums and 3 owned privately. According to auction records, the highest price one of these ever sold for was for $36.05 million USD.

Compared to Liu Qingbo, who was a skeptic, Dong Zhi was truly interested in looking at the collection seriously.

With a background in painting, he gave more importance to the lines and color of each collection. Facing the patterns of the porcelain, he could stand there motionless and look at it for a long time.

Of course, as Liu Qingbo said, there may be fakes mixed in, but even if they were fakes, at least the workmanship was delicate enough that it could be appreciated as a work of art.

Seeing that he hadn’t moved for a long time, Liu Qingbo was too impatient to wait, so he went around the exhibition hall first, but when he looked back, Dong Zhi still hadn’t moved a step, so he came back and urged him.

“What’s so good about a bunch of fakes?”

“Look at this painting,” Dong Zhi said.

He was talking about a landscape painting in front of him. The name was that of an unknown painter. According to the introduction next to him, the painter’s name was Wei Kun, a person from the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. This painting was from the 19^th year of Yongle. When he passed by the foot of Shaohua Mountain and saw the setting sun on the peaks mixed with the emerald greenery of autumn, he painted this painting with that emotion. There were two poems next to it.

An unremarkable feng shui painting.

For things like brushwork and artistic conception, Liu Qingbo had no artistic bone and couldn’t see it, but it could be seen from the painter that this painting must’ve not a name in history. At most, it was old and well-preserved, so it was worth some money.

However, Dong Zhi wasn’t bored enough to tease him about such trivial matters, which made Liu Qingbo suppress his impatience and take a serious look at the painting, seeing if he could really find something in it.

“You mean, this?” He pointed to a rocky road in the forest.

There was a forest at the foot of the mountain. The water flowing down from the top of the mountain gradually flattened and turned into a stream under it. Pieces of red leaves fell on the stream and the stones that occlude it. There was a large stone tablet standing crookedly, half buried in the soil, as if it had been washed down by heavy rain. It looked like a tombstone, but it didn’t seem like it was one because there was no grave next to it, and no one would put a grave next to the edge of a stream.

Dong Zhi nodded. “Take a closer look at the words above.”

Wei Kun’s painting was painted with great care, which was specifically reflected in his presentation of the details. When one looked closer, one could still see the lines of trees and stones, and the feathers of birds. Not only that, but even the text on the exposed half of the stone tablet was portrayed beautifully.

Liu Qingbo squinted for a long time and finally remembered that the stone tablet they found in the underground alter in Yinchuan had exactly this kind of rune!

Although half of the stone tablet was still buried underground, the painter painted the other half that was exposed. However, even with just half to go off of, Liu Qingbo confirmed that it wasn’t a mistake. After returning from Yinchuan at that time, before they resealed the alter, Long Shen had specifically copied the runes of the stone tablet and distributed it to everyone. It was used as an internal circulatory material for them to study. Although everyone was still puzzled by the meaning behind the runes, they were quite familiar with them and could recall them after seeing them.

Liu Qingbo didn’t expect that he would actually make a shocking discovery on a whim of wanting to tease Cheng Guoliang.

---

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

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 91

When Liu Qingbo sneezed, it caused Dong Zhi to slightly curl up subconsciously in the blanket. Liu Qingbo glanced at him and, seeing that the other party was still in a deep sleep, he didn’t wake him up and continued to read his book.

They wanted to book a high-speed train, but the time was too tight and there weren’t any seats available, so they had to fly instead.

As soon as the two sat down, Dong Zhi began to doze off without saying a word, but he didn’t sleep well.

His dreams had many shadows in them. Countless pictures passed like lanterns, chaotic and confusing. He reached out to them but was unable to catch any frames. While in a trance, it seemed that he was on a familiar street with dim lights. He walked side by side with Long Shen as they headed to a place in front of them.

And he hoped the road would never end.

Neither person spoke. If no one started a topic, they would both remain silent forever.

Dong Zhi couldn’t help but speak up. “Master, please walk slower. I have something to say to you.”

The person by him gave a hum in a low voice and slowed down his pace.

Dong Zhi smiled slightly and confessed the feelings in reality that couldn’t easily be revealed. “Master, I like you.”

“Like me?” the other party repeated in confusion.

“Yes, like the… romantic kind.”

“How much do you like me?” the other party asked.

“I don’t know, but it can be called love.” Dong Zhi mustered up the courage to say.

The other party asked again, “Then are you willing to sacrifice your life for me?”

Dong Zhi was taken aback, trying to say that he would, but he faintly felt something was wrong. His master, even when he heard the word “like” told him to give up. He wouldn’t ask such a thing.

Was this really his master?

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help turning his head and trying to see the face of the person in front of him. The other party also happened to look at him and smiled slightly. The appearance was almost enchanting, but…

It wasn’t Long Shen!

Dong Zhi was so startled that he subconsciously wanted to retreat, but his neck was grabbed tightly by his opponent.

“Didn’t you say that I’m your master?”

The strength of the person holding his neck was getting stronger. He placed his other hand on Dong Zhi’s side so forcefully that Dong Zhi couldn’t break away. He stretched out his hand to touch the Changshou Sword but found that it wasn’t there and the talisman in his pockets was missing. He could only watch the face of the beautiful but strange face as it approached him gradually, showing a gentle but extreme smile.

With nowhere to escape or retreat, his breathing gradually became difficult. His face changed from red to purple, and his hands involuntarily clung to his opponent’s wrist. He sank his fingers deeply into them, but his struggles felt as if he was trying to break a stone with an egg, so weak that it was negligible.

“Your master is gone, so it’s better for me to replace him.” The other party’s breath sprayed on his face, and it felt as real as if this wasn’t a dream. “I promise that I will treat you well and refine your soul into a part of my body.”

No…

The shackles on his neck slowly tightened, and the opponent enjoyed the pleasure of playing with his prey. He wasn’t in a hurry to kill him immediately as he continued to watch him sink in pain little by little.

What should I do without my sword or talismans?

Dong Zhi closed his eyes and recited a mantra, praying to God in his heart.

Dong Zhi, disciple of the Hezao Sect, sincerely implores if there are any spirits of the yin gods from the heavens to help this disciple.

Dong Zhi, disciple of the Hezao Sect, sincerely implores if there are any spirits of the yin gods from the heavens to help this disciple…

This time he didn’t try to find a righteous God anymore, as he didn’t know who would answer his call, just as long as they could dispel the enemy first.

Blood rushed up from his throat and he resisted until the mantra was completely recited. Then he stopped suppressing himself and spurted out the blood.

His chest was empty, and he vomited like a boulder. Bright red dots splashed on the opponent’s face. The man’s strange smile stagnated for a short time, and Dong Zhi took that opportunity to smack his handprint on the opponent!

The light in front of him suddenly became so dazzling that he couldn’t open his eyes. In a daze, he seemed to see the shadow of the Changshou Sword flying past his head.

In the strong light, the man’s face was shaken and distorted, and there seemed to be a little surprise, which was immediately obscured by the light.

The strength the man used to choke Dong Zhi’s neck loosened and involuntarily caused him to drop Dong Zhi’s body.

Within sight, between heaven and earth, there was no end to the pale snow that was boundless.

Whether the enemy was dead or alive, he could no longer threaten him. Realizing this, Dong Zhi felt slightly relieved, letting his body fall sharply.

Far away in Beijing, Long Shen, who originally had his eyes closed and was sitting cross-legged as he meditated, suddenly opened his eyes!

He looked at the wall in front of him steadily, and it seemed as if he could see through the wall, looking into the distant void.

On the plane, Liu Qingbo was taken aback when he saw the blood slowly overflowing from the corners of Dong Zhi’s mouth and the choke marks on his neck had suddenly appeared at some point.

He wanted to wake up the other party but remembered that he had heard of a kind of sorcery that could attack enemies in their sleep. Waking up the other party rashly might cause them to die suddenly. He didn’t dare to move when he thought about it. He was anxiously thinking about what to do when Dong Zhi suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.

“Fuck…” He couldn’t help but swear.

“Are you okay?!” Compared to Dong Zhi’s injury, Liu Qingbo was even more shocked that he couldn’t help but yell at him and was wondering if that was still the same person. “Tell me, what’s my name?”

Dong Zhi couldn’t help rolling his eyes. “Liu Bobo!”

Liu Qingbo frowned and became more suspicious.

Dong Zhi patted his hand away and coughed a few times. “Feijing Sword and the three-headed python, I haven’t lost my memory and I’m not possessed…”

Liu Qingbo’s face turned blue and white for a while as he pinched Dong Zhi’s wrist and restrained the desire to kick this person out of the plane.

His pulse felt a little faster, but it was still normal.

Dong Zhi felt a pain in his neck, so he couldn’t help but reach out and touch it.

“I was almost strangled to death in my dream.” His voice was hoarse and sounded like a completely different person than before he went to sleep.

“There is indeed a circle of bruises on your neck.” Liu Qingbo looked solemn. “Did you see the other person’s face clearly?”

Dong Zhi said, “I did, but it’s strange. I have never seen this person before.”

“The last time you dealt with that Yamamoto, didn’t you let the opponent run away in the end? Could it be that he came back to seek revenge? What kind of spell did the other party use in the dream that you weren’t able to fight back and let them flatten you like this!” Liu Qingbo became angrier as he spoke, as if he couldn’t wait to jump into his dream just now and strangle the other party.

Dong Zhi said weakly, “Brother, if I didn’t put up a fight, do you think I’d be waking up right now? The opponent seemed to have been injured by the light from my Changshou Sword, but I don’t know how bad the injury is.”

Liu Qingbo gritted his teeth. “Shit, he’s really ballsey* daring to attack a member of the Special Administration Bureau. If I ever meet him, I’ll lop off his head and chop it into eighteen pieces!”

*Eating a bear’s heart and leopard’s gallbladder. It comes from the drama “The Orphan of the Zhao Family” and is a metaphor referring to being very bold.

Dong Zhi tilted his head: “…I’ll close my eyes for a bit. Wake me up when we land!”

“Are you a pig? You can still sleep at this time?!”

Liu Qingbo couldn’t help but raise his voice, which attracted the attention of everyone around him. He lowered his volume and said, “What if they plot against you again!”

Dong Zhi comforted. “It’s okay. I’m not going to fall asleep. I’m just closing my eyes to refresh my mind and regulate my breath.”

Having said that, he already closed his eyes.

Liu Qingbo couldn’t help it, so he started recounting all their opponents who could be plotting against Dong Zhi. Although they had just entered the Special Administration Bureau, there were quite a few enemies already.

There was the matter of Dong Zhi killing Yamamoto Kiyoshi and stopping his conspiracy in time, but he was cunning and was able to escape with his soul, leaving no clues behind. Although he was alive now, his life was certainly worse than death. He probably hated Dong Zhi to the bone and would probably be ranked second—not first.

There was also the matter of Han Qi. Although they killed the demon and Han Qi died, the matter should have been resolved, but Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan were also related to this matter, and they disappeared without a trace. These two people weren’t small, so they were a hidden danger. Who knew what kind of things they would plot in the dark?

Besides this, last time, under Liang Weiqi’s tomb, they used a cruel method on the three-headed giant python. Could the giant python also… Forget it. Skipping that thought there was the group of Japanese. Could someone from there escape alive and come back to seek revenge? But at the same time, a large number of them were there, and they shouldn’t just specifically target Dong Zhi to seek revenge. That would be acting rashly and alerting the enemy…

When they finally landed, he didn’t know if it was due to the meditation or if he had recuperated, but Dong Zhi’s face looked a lot better, except for the choke marks on his neck. Dong Zhi took out a scarf from his backpack and covered it up so as not to scare passersby.

On the other hand, Liu Qingbo thought hard the entire trip and didn’t come up with a reason, which only caused his spirit to wilt a little.

This time they took a special passage so they could bring their weapons on the plane, but in order to not scare other passengers, Dong Zhi put his sword away and hid it in the qin box.

At that moment, Dong Zhi took out the Changshou Sword and stroked it gently.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

The sword Long Shen gave him was, naturally, not ordinary. In his vision, he had seen Long Shen climb to the top of a snow-capped mountain to take the heart of the mountain and refine it into the Changshou Sword. Even if this sword wasn’t as good as Long Shen’s, it was more of a spiritual thing.

As expected, he was rescued by it just now.

“If this person can plot against you once, then he’ll plot against you a second time,” Liu Qingbo warned.

Dong Zhi stretched his waist. “I know, but I have to figure out what the other party is before I can trace it back to who is plotting against me…”

As he was talking, someone called as soon as he turned on his phone. The words “Master” lit up on the phone screen and suddenly jumped into his eyes. His heart thumped and his fingers moved faster than his brain as he pressed the answer button.

“Master?”

“Did you invite God again?” the other end asked directly.

“Yes, I was in a dream…” Dong Zhi honestly confessed to the dream just now, and he was ready to be scolded.

However, Long Shen didn’t scold him and only asked if he was feeling unwell.

Dong Zhi said he recently felt lethargic and was easily sleepy, but there were no other problems.

Long Shen listened and then said, “After you go to Shencheng, take whatever Tang Jing gives you. After a while, I will go to Shencheng and take a look at you.”

Dong Zhi became a little excited, but he didn’t dare act too happy. He could only pretend and respond calmly. Seeing that the other party had nothing else to say, he hung up the phone.

Despite being thousands of miles away, Long Shen knew he had invited God. He wasn’t surprised, but since the other party didn’t mention it, there was probably a reason why, so he presumably didn’t ask anything.

However, what made Dong Zhi feel even more strange was that in the past, Long Shen had repeatedly ordered him to never invite God again, but this time he didn’t scold him. Was Long Shen also aware of the unusualness of the enemy?

Doubts circled his heart as he recalled the scene of the dream over and over again. Except for the man’s appearance, which left a deep impression of him, there were no other clues.

The Branch Office had already learned of their arrival and had prepared a hotel that was next to them. The environment and facilities were at the level of an ordinary express hotel, but they couldn’t be picky. It was just two members from their small office coming to report to the branch leader, so it was impossible for them to be set up in a five-star hotel. It was already pretty good that they were able to have their expenses reimbursed, but young master Liu Qingbo frowned when he saw the express hotel and insisted on going to a nearby five-star hotel and spending his own money. Dong Zhi was too lazy to quarrel with him on such trivial matters, so he agreed.

The people at the branch office never showed up. Only one person named Shu He called and welcomed their arrival, then said that they had worked hard on this trip. They should have a good rest tomorrow, and then go to the branch office to report the day after tomorrow.

He hung up the phone after a few pleasantries, like a wave of his sleeve in farewell, not taking a single wisp of cloud with him*.

*Line from the poem “Farewell to Cambridge” by Xu Zhimo. As for its meaning, most likely it’s saying Shu He’s call came and went quietly, leaving no lasting impression. You can follow the link to read the entire poem (translated).

Liu Qingbo was a little dissatisfied, feeling that even if they came to report, the branch wouldn’t take them seriously.

Dong Zhi knew a little more than he did, so he said, “This Shu He is Boss Tang’s assistant, an assistant to a director of a branch office. He has higher seniority and level than us. It’s not simple for him to just call and greet us. If he really comes over, we won’t be at ease. Since we have tomorrow off, why don’t we think about where to go play?”

Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. “I don’t even know how many times I’ve been to Shencheng. What’s so fun?”

Dong Zhi picked up the event brochure in the hotel and flipped it over.

“There are quite a lot of activities in Shencheng this month. There will be an anime convention tomorrow and a private art museum with an exhibition of the Tang and Song Dynasty cultural relics. Huh, there’s also an auction there. Which one do you want to go to?”

Liu Qingbo looked at the brochure, but he lacked interest. He wanted to mention the anime convention casually, but then he saw a familiar name and couldn’t help but smile. “Let’s go to the auction!”

The auction was connected to the classical Chinese culture exhibition, which mainly exhibited some jewelry and cultural relics. It seemed to be a relatively private event, and Dong Zhi wasn’t sure why Liu Qingbo suddenly became interested in it.

Taking another look at the special guest, he saw the name Chen Guoliang. The corner of his mouth twitched, and he suddenly understood.

Speaking of Chen Guoliang, in the eyes of Dong Zhi, he was just a charlatan with no real abilities and only made money by his mouth alone. Even Luo Nanfang and Zhang Han weren’t as good as him, since compared to them, his eloquence was much more refined, which made the rich people of Hong Kong eat him up. They regarded him as a master and were willing to deliver money right to his door, waiting for him to give them guidance.

After what happened with Han Qi last time, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo took Chen Guoliang back and planned to teach him a good lesson, but found that when they walked in the industry of quacks, it turned out that they didn’t use the name of a Daoist master. Instead, they set up a front under the guise of “home environment consultation” that offered services to transform people’s homes into feng shui, which was a business that wasn’t illegal. Bluntly stated, one was willing to fight, and the other was willing to suffer*. If people had too much money to burn and were willing to send it to Chen Guoliang, then that was something they couldn’t prevent.

*This is saying that Chen Guoliang set up a business front so he could conduct his scheme rather than himself (think shell company), so when they came after him, they could only go after the shell company he set up (the one willing to suffer).

However, after Han Qi’s incident, Chen Guoliang became a lot more honest after being frightened by Dong Zhi and them. He didn’t dare put on the title of a master any longer. This time, he appeared as a special guest under the title of a senior antique master instead of a feng shui master, which was both quite infuriating and laughable.

It seemed Chen Guoliang was quite unlucky. When he was in Lucheng, he encountered Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo, and now he was invited to Shencheng, and they had followed him. Liu Qingbo didn’t like him, so he wouldn’t give up this opportunity to torment him some more.

The next day.

Just as Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were heading to the auction, on the other side of the city, the anime convention was in full swing.

Today was the last day of the exhibition, which also drew the largest crowd. It seemed that everyone wanted to take advantage of the activities at the end of the holiday and go all out.

The number of exhibitors at the Shencheng Anime Convention this year hit an all-time high, and the number of people in attendance naturally broke the record as well. The organizers attached great importance to it and specially dispatched additional personnel to carry out security work.

Ming Xian watched anime and read comics, but he had never participated in an anime convention. For him, this kind of occasion was generally a sea of people. Instead of fighting for his life and sweating all over just trying to get in line to buy merch, he preferred to stay home and watch more anime. However, considering Tang Jing’s long hands and feet and his beautiful appearance as Yu Ji, he was still a bit fascinated, so he resolutely contributed for the “first time”.

Holding the ticket given to him by Tang Jing, Ming Xian was struggling to move forward in the sea of people. He tried looking around for traces of Tang Jing and had already started to feel regret faintly in his heart.

He turned over the ticket and saw his own handwritten notes on it. C606, the booth of the “Great Wasteland” game.

The number was auspicious*, but…

*Clarity: In China, 6 is considered a lucky number.

Ming Xian glanced at the booth closest to him. It showed 208. In other words, it was still at least half the distance from C606.

Looking from his position, he couldn’t help but dread it as it seemed like a black ocean with no end. Ming Xian’s eyes almost rolled over, and he couldn’t help but wish he was like a kung fu master in those martial arts novels. He could directly leap up and use the heads of people as steppingstones as he flew over to his destination in one swoop.

In despair, he took a deep breath and shouted, “Oh my god, who dropped this wallet. There’s still 10,000 yuan of cash in it!”

He originally wanted to say 100,000, but after thinking about it, that number would be too exaggerated, and 10,000 yuan was more in line with the actual situation.

The voice was enough for everyone around to hear it in the bustling and noisy venue. As a result, the people around remained unmoved. They didn’t even bother to turn their heads. Ming Xian thought to himself, ‘Is it possible that he encountered a group of people who regard money as dirt?’

At this time, someone sneered, “Your trick has been used countless times. Who would be fooled? The exhibition is so crowded. Move slowly! If you want quiet, go to a library. It’s pretty quiet there!”

Ming Xian: ……

The distance he could usually walk in a few minutes took dozens of minutes before he finally squeezed into the booth that Tang Jing mentioned.

The game “The Great Wasteland” was very popular. The company had a lot of money and rented an amazing booth that looked very conspicuous in the venue. Due to this, there were so many people around that it was impossible to take even a single step. Ming Xian stretched his neck and looked around. There were already several cosplayers dressed as ancient mythical or historical figures in the booth, all of them with heavy makeup, so that he couldn’t tell whether they were originally male or female, let alone recognize which one was Tang Jing.

He was suddenly patted lightly on the shoulder. Ming Xian turned his head, showing a look of surprise. “You’re here. Why didn’t you go up?”

Tang Jing was the same as when they met last time, white and clean. He was wearing a black shirt and trousers that made his figure look slender. It attracted the attention of many young girls. Of course, it wasn’t just Tang Jing who they were looking at, but also Ming Xian.

Ming Xian touched his sweaty hair and looked at the wrinkles on his clothes, which were a far cry from looking neat and chic.

“I just came here, and I haven’t had time to put on my makeup, but I’m not in a rush. Anyway, I just came to help. I just show up and stand there for a while.”

Tang Jing took out a pack of paper towels for him and then took him to the backstage lounge. Seeing him sweating profusely, he couldn’t help laughing, “It seems like this is the first time you’re participating in this kind of exhibition!”

Ming Xian was embarrassed. “Is it so obvious?”

Tang Jing pointed to his clothes. “This kind of exhibition is crowded with people. You’re wearing white clothes that won’t be easily washed when you go back. Also, you drank most of your water. When you really need to use the bathroom, do you think you can endure the wait?”

Ming Xian thought about the miserable process he had to go through to reach this area and couldn’t help but turn pale.

“Fortunately, you ran into me. There’s a bathroom in the lounge, so you don’t have to run a big circle,” Tang Jing said with a smile.

If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have come to this place, Ming Xian muttered in his heart.

“You can go ahead and work. I’ll just rest here for a bit.”

Tang Jing had to put on his makeup and change into a costume, so he didn’t have much time to entertain him. Ming Xian didn’t want to go out and face the waves of people. No matter how small the lounge was, it was still better than what was waiting for him outside.

Holding on to their cellphones and preparing to play a game, two staff members hurriedly came in from outside.

“He said he’s not coming? Didn’t he ask for leave yesterday?”

“Yesterday he said that Xiao Nong was here, so he wouldn’t come. I thought he was joking. Who knew he really wouldn’t come and now we can’t get through to him!”

The conversation was interrupted abruptly when the girl saw Ming Xian. She asked suspiciously, “Who are you? This is the backstage lounge of ‘The Great Wasteland’. It’s not for outsiders to enter.”

Ming Xian hurriedly got up and said, “Tang Jing asked me to wait for him here.”

The girl was relieved. “It turns out to be a friend of Tang Ge…”

Her eyes lit up immediately as she looked Ming Xian up and down, then said to her companion, “How about it?”

The companion nodded. “I think it’ll work.”

Ming Xian felt his hair stand up and was uncomfortable seeing this.

The girl smiled and said, “This little brother, we just happened to be short of an immortal today. Would you like to try? You can make some money. How about 200 yuan an hour?”

Ming Xian shook his head. “Sorry, I came to see a friend, not to be a professional cosplayer.”

Girl: “Then, three hundred?”

Ming Xian laughed. “It’s not about the money. I haven’t done it before. I don’t know how to pose when I go to the front of the showroom. Besides, I have to stand for so long.”

The other party hurriedly said, “No standing! There are chairs outside. You can just sit as you like. If someone wants to take a photo, just take a picture with them. It only takes two hours. Please help us. Your appearance is good, so you must look good. How about I invite you to milk tea afterwards?”

 He was still trying to find an excuse to shirk away when a voice floated over from outside the room.

“He’s a friend I brought. He doesn’t cosplay, so don’t bother him.”

Ming Xian turned his head subconsciously and was stunned in an instant.

The lapel was fluttering, and he was dressed in a wide sleeve updo.

The appearance of Tang Jing in women’s clothing was too much…

He was like a fairy.

In fact, while he didn’t look like a woman, at most he could only be regarded as gentle and handsome, but after putting on makeup, he immediately became dignified and elegant, which complemented well with his cold temperament.

Ming Xian suddenly remembered that the other party was dressed as Yu Ji in “The Great Wasteland”. Although it may not be similar to the real Yu Ji* in history, with such a look and temperament, even if the real overlord of Western Chu was here, he was afraid even he would bow down.

*Also known as “Yu the beauty” was the wife of warlord Xiang Yu, who competed with Liu Bang, the founder of the Han Dynasty, for supremacy over China in the Chu-Han Contention.

Not to mention Ming Xian, even the two girls who had seen Tang Jing in his costume several times couldn’t help but still stare.

“It’s right to invite Tang Ge here. With you here, our booth will definitely be the top one today. I’ll let the security guards know to pay careful attention, lest people rush over and knock you down!”

Tang Jing watched the two girls run out again and smiled at Ming Xian. “Don’t mind. They are probably short of people today, but I have to go out. Do you want to continue to rest here or go out with me?”

If he went back outside, Tang Jing would now be a cosplayer working the booth. Ming Xian couldn’t be close to him anymore. He would have to join the crowd and become an ordinary onlooker.

“Actually, it’s not too bad to try it out,” he murmured.

“What?” Tang Jing didn’t hear him clearly.

Ming Xian felt a little embarrassed. His eyes darted around. “I said, I can also help cosplay and fill in the role of the person missing.”

Tang Jing raised his eyebrows. “Do you think it’ll be fun?”

‘No. I was impressed by your beauty and wanted to enjoy it up close for a while.’ But Ming Xian wouldn’t admit to that, so he simply nodded.

Tang Jing smiled inexplicably, but he didn’t expose him.

“Then change your clothes first, then I’ll have the makeup artist put on your makeup.”

To play the real Taiyi* immortal, Ming Xian had to wear a white wig. The outfit was also very troublesome to wear. Ming Xiang had never cosplayed before, so he didn’t even know how to tie his laces properly. Tang Jing had to help him, all the while teasing him.

*Was originally a philosophical concept but later develop into a star name (the North Star) and later became the highest god of pre-qin era (Taiyishen) who’s regarded as the emperor of heaven (equivalent to God).

“I really couldn’t tell, but you’re in really good shape!”

Ming Xian felt a little proud. “Since you say so, I’ll keep working out when I’m free!”

Tang Jing deliberately patted his soft lower abdomen. “When are you free?”

Ming Xian suddenly deflated. “Just… once a month.”

After helping him put on his wig and outfit, Tang Jing said, “I have to go out. You can ask the makeup artist to put on your makeup and then just come out after it’s done.”

After that, he turned around and left, his sleeves fluttering. Unlike the concubine who loved and hated the worlds of mortals, he was like an immortal who wasn’t smeared by the smell of fire*.

*Clarity: He’s saying that, unlike the actual Yu Ji in history, Tang Jing is more like an untouchable godly being (fairy/immortal).

Ming Xian was also playing a virtuous immortal, but he felt that even if he did eat the elixir, he probably wouldn’t have Tang Jing’s temperament.

But that was just his own feelings.

Many eyes immediately flocked to him when he walked to the front desk with top-quality makeup. Ming Xian also heard others exclaim in a low voice, saying that the quality of the cosplayer in the booth of “The Great Wasteland” this time was really high. The Taiyi he dressed up as was so handsome that even Tang Jing had a look of surprise on his face.

When he saw it, Ming Xian became even more nervous. Just after taking a few steps, he accidently stepped on the hem of his costume, and his entire body flew forward. Fortunately, he was stopped by an arm halfway in his descent and was saved from his fate of eating the ground.

“This kind of throwing yourself into the arms of others* is very old fashion, Mr. Ming.”

*(投怀送抱) Refers to throwing yourself into the arms of others to gain favor. The joke here is that it should be Tang Jing (playing as Yu Ji, who’s a consort) who should be doing this, not him.

Hearing the sound of the other party’s laughter, Ming Xian’s face became hot, and he couldn’t help but reply, “Yu Ji held a male immortal, and suddenly a collection of such dog-blooded dramas such as time travel, love triangle, fantasy immortal cultivation, a beauty rescuing the hero, and the likes aren’t so cliché anymore.”

But having said that, Ming Xian didn’t expect Tang Jing, who looked lanky, to have such strength. When he tripped, most of his weight was heading towards the ground, but Tang Jing held him without trembling and still looked as if he was at ease.

With Tang Jing and Ming Xian here, the booth gained immense popularity. Fans of the game, as well as visitors passing by, had come to ask for photos. All Ming Xian had to do was sit cross-legged and pose in a meditative posture, but even so he felt tired after a while. When there were fewer people around, he couldn’t help but stand up and stretch out his waist, expressing admiration for Tang Jing, who looked quite relaxed.

“Doing this for an entire day, how do you persevere? It’s so tiring!”

Tang Jing smiled and said, “I just came to help my friends. I don’t charge money and am doing this purely out of interest. This isn’t a job for me, but if they want to give me money later, I won’t refuse it.”

Ming Xian was curious. “Then what is your job?”

Tang Jing smiled mysteriously. “Do you want to know so much about me? Do you like me?”

Ming Xian spread his hands. “I feel like I have nothing to hide in front of you, but I don’t know anything about you.”

“Sometimes not knowing is better.”

Tang Jing stretched out his hand and stroked the white hair on his shoulder. The scene of Yuji and Taiyi talking in low voices and their heads being so close was too ambiguous. Many people picked up their phones and started taking pictures.

Ming Xian curled his lips disapprovingly. “I think you’re more of a novelist than me!”

Seeing that he looked tired and boneless, Tang Jing said, “Go for a walk. Don’t go too far.”

Ming Xian came back to life at that and decided to wander around for a bit. As a result, because he was so well dressed, many people came to take pictures with him and asked him where he was cosplaying. After Ming Xian pointed them in the direction, he suddenly realized that this might be a “conspiracy” set up by Tang Jing, who was treating him as a younger brother to try and solicit more customers. Wouldn’t this add more popularity to the booth?

He couldn’t laugh or cry and let out a sigh, thinking that Tang Jing was too cunning. He thought about putting such a character in his own novel next time, but would definitely make him the villain.

Unknowingly, Ming Xian wandered a little too far, and when he raised his eyes, he saw an anime booth that happened to use the image of Yu Ji. On closer inspection, the appearance of that cosplayer was far inferior to that of Tang Jing, and the booth didn’t seem very popular. Several cosplayers sat there unnoticed, and the entire scene felt rather desolated.

The “Yu Ji” was bored and was looking around as she fanned herself. Next to her was the “Overlord of Western Chu*” who was wearing a golden armor and was just sitting there with his head motionless and in a daze, which made quite a funny scene.

*Xiang Yu. Was a Hegemon-King of Western Chu during the Chu-Han contention period in China. He was Yu Ji’s husband.

Ming Xian couldn’t help stepping forward, wanting to touch the two long trembling whiskers on the helmet of the Overlord of Western Chu.

The “Yu Ji” probably couldn’t bear to see the “Overlord” being looked down upon, so she stretched out her hand and nudged him without much force, but the “Overlord” fell straight to the side, causing his heavy helmet to come tumbling off his head. The heavy helmet rolled on the ground several times, creating a loud noise.

Even though the venue was chaotic, this scene still caused many people to turn their heads to look.

The cosplayer who was playing Yu Ji was also taken aback for a moment before she hurriedly stepped forward to help the person up and found that the “Overlord” was soft all over. She thought the other party had fainted from the heat and hurriedly called her companions to help, until Ming Xian came over and probed the other party’s breath and pulse and said to her, “He seems to be dead.”

Yu Ji was stunned for three seconds, then suddenly screamed!

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Kinky Thoughts:

Do I sense a side CP?

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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 90

Han Qi was discovered with massive abdominal bleeding. Though she was sent to the hospital, she shortly died after due to having been found too late.

The news of her death directly triggered a shock in the entertainment industry. All kinds of suspicion and gossip were flying all over the world. Rumors of the death of a well-known actress in a hotel due to a miscarriage spread like wildfire. Regarding her rumored lover, her cause of death triggered a lot of fanciful speculation from the outside world. Some people even guessed that she was the mistress of a certain powerful person, and she knew too many things and had to be silenced.

Her current agent announced that she died of an acute illness in the hotel, and Han Qi’s fans also stood up to defend her reputation. However, at the time, there were hotel staff present at the incident, and some piecemeal insights had spread, adding more fuel to the big news.

Some people even linked this incident to Hui Yiguang, saying that she was a broom star* and something would happen wherever she went. Of course, most of these kinds of remarks were made by diehard fans of Han Qi, who didn’t believe the death of their idol was due to an emergency attack.

*In reference to Mrs. Ma from the novel “Fengshen Romance” in the Ming Dynasty. She was married to Jiang Ziya, but he wasn’t good at making money, so she abandoned him. Later, Jiang Ziya became famous and a god, so she regretted her decision and hanged herself, giving Jiang Ziya the god of broom stars. || In this context it’s saying Hui Yiguang is like a bad omen.

With the death of Han Qi, the progress of the drama being filmed was interrupted. Before that, the crew had suffered many injuries, and the death of Han Qi made people even more frightened. Though the crew didn’t say it, many were glad that the filming had stopped. The only people who would be unhappy were the investors. A large sum of money was floating in the water, and they didn’t know how long it would take to recover it.

However, Boss Zhao didn’t care either way. He was rich and had deep pockets, so this investment wasn’t worth paying much attention to. He could get back to his life and go on a trip. On the contrary, he felt that business wasn’t a loss as he was able to develop contacts with experts like Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi through Hui Yiguang. Though he tried to visit them and give them a hefty reward, Dong Zhi rejected all of them. Receiving money from Hui Yiguang was agreed upon in advance, and the task and payment were already cleared. Moreover, Hui Yiguang had a relationship before, which could be regarded as a cause and effect.

However, Boss Zhao was different. He was a pure businessman. If they were to collect money now, next time he would push other requirements forward, and it was easy to get entangled with such a matter. Slaying and warding off demons was the duty of the Special Administration Bureau. Dong Zhi didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble because of a moment of greed, so he strictly refused all gifts and rewards from Boss Zhao. Unable to push his agenda, he could only give up and leave in a daze.

For Dong Zhi and the others, Han Qi’s death wasn’t part of after-dinner gossip, but an unsolved mystery.

They cooperated with the police and quickly found Han Qi’s lover, Hong Rui, and Han Qi’s former agent, Dong Qiaolan, but the strange thing was that the two of them had taken a flight to Bangkok, Thailand, a few days before the incident, and then disappeared without a trace. There was no record of them returning and no information about them having been found in Thailand. It was as if they had completely evaporated from the world, leaving nothing behind.

As for Han Qi’s first love, Zhong Huan, the two hadn’t contacted each other since they broke up, and they couldn’t get more useful information from him.

After interrogating Han Qi’s assistant and current agent, they found that the key was related to the master Han Qi talked about, but that master was introduced to her by Dong Qiaolan. When she took Han Qi, Han Qi didn’t even bring her assistant, so as soon as Dong Qiaolan disappeared, naturally, they wouldn’t be able to find the master that was mentioned.

Based on the limited information, Dong Zhi could only draw a general conclusion. That master was most likely a witch or witch doctor who wanted to use Han Qi’s child for his own desire. In pursuit of fame and fortune, Han Qi was tempted by the witch doctor and Dong Qiaolan and allowed it to happen. She was unaware that the witch doctor had placed a wisp of demonic qi using witchcraft on her. Eventually, the demonic embryo broke loose and attacked the mother’s body. It even triggered the rebound of Han Qi’s original fetus, which eventually led to this tragedy.

Seeing that his companion rolled his eyes, Dong Zhi smiled. “Making a report in the dilapidated house is still very different from making a report here, right?”

“I just can’t figure it out!”

As the report went on, Liu Qingbo became angrier the more he thought about it. He couldn’t help but stop his movements and say in disbelief, “Han Qi is a woman who wanted fame and fortune. I don’t get why she would deal with those missing moths. Is it human to want to lock your dead child into a jade charm?”

Dong Zhi was also indignant about this kind of thing at the beginning of his career, but now he had turned to appease Liu Qingbo. “The desires of human nature are endless. When you’re a prime minister, you want to face the south and be an emperor, one who’s in charge of the world and eventually the heavens. If one’s been poor, it’s fine. However, Han Qi is from the entertainment industry. The luxury she has seen far exceeds the imagination of ordinary people, so the temptation is greater than ordinary people. Some people can control it, while others cave in to their desires.”

Liu Qingbo sneered, “I only pity her child, who was abandoned by her and locked up to be used as feed for the demon. Despite this, it wanted to help her drive away the demon, and finally sacrifice itself and lose its soul. In the end, with Han Qi’s virtue, even if she knew it, she would only feel that she was the victim and would not have the slightest repentance.”

Dong Zhi shrugged. “So it’s natural that she suffered the consequences. As you can see, she has been chasing fame and fortune, and has died disgracefully. Where will her fame be after her death? There’s also us, the Special Administration Bureau here as well. We can help take care of things that God can’t manage, but we are also there for those that God doesn’t want to manage.”

Liu Qingbo squinted at him and sneered again, “Your mouth is getting sharper, but this isn’t the reason for you to be lazy!”

Dong Zhi yawned, and not long after sitting up, he retreated into the blanket again.

He wasn’t sure if it was because it was winter, but recently, he had become more prone to drowsiness. Although he practiced kung fu and his Bu Tian Gang a lot, he still felt that his energy couldn’t keep up. He suspected the reason why was because he had been feeding his sword with his blood to see the illusions recently. He became scared, so he didn’t dare do it again in the past few days.

The remuneration received from Hui Yiguang was reported in full, and his application for reconstruction of the new office was quickly approved. Combined with the allocation of the branch office, the total amount wasn’t large, but it was almost enough. Although Zhang Chong liked to boast, his skills were more suitable for business. He quickly found a small two-story house for the office. The location was also good. Not far away was a school. He would sell milk tea and snacks downstairs, while the upstairs would be used as an office. He also left a room for Zhang Chong, so he didn’t need to rent another place and could take care of the decoration process of the shop. Thus, everyone was happy in this way.

The upper floor was originally the office of a small company. The furniture was all ready-made, and the decorations were mostly new. It was directly transferred to them, so Dong Zhi didn’t have to bother with such things. Moreover, the former boss was probably a very neat person with a keen eye. The office had a lot of green plants and ceramics used for decorations, and the sofa, chaise lounge, and office desk’s style were consistent with each other. It gave off a very simple and comfortable feeling that made one feel at home.

After Yan Nuo lost his soul, his memory had significantly decreased, and his body was slow to recover. His application for suspension from work was approved, and he had already returned to his teacher’s school a while ago. As a result, there were only four people left. For a branch office, however, such an office wasn’t considered small. With Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo present, their combat power had also greatly improved.

Unintentionally, the Dong Zhi had jumped from a newcomer to the top of the four. Under his leadership, the Lucheng office had been reborn and was about to embark on a new journey.

Out of the need to hide from people’s eyes and ears and be self-financing, it was still necessary for the milk tea shop downstairs to exist. After all, the funds were too small. Once in a while, they could occasionally get some small benefits and would be able to communicate with the outside world as a way to ask for some information.

With Mu Duo and Zhang Chong involved with the decoration, there was no need for Dong Zhi to bother. He and Liu Qingbo mainly followed up on Han Qi’s incident. Dong Zhi tried to connect Han Qi’s incident to the case of the murder of the family and the death of the weasel, Lao Liu, but so far, there didn’t seem to be any clues indicating the connection between these events.

If Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan couldn’t be found, there would be no breakthrough in the case.

Dong Zhi wrapped himself tightly in a thin blanket, revealing only his head. When the phone rang, he lazily stretched out his hand to get it and said to Liu Qingbo, “Lao Liu, can you help.”

Liu Qingbo scolded, “Why are you so lazy?!”

As he scolded, he helped him pick up the phone.

“Shu He. Who?”

Dong Zhi sighed, “Colleague from the Branch Bureau is calling me.”

He took the cellphone, said a few words to the other side, hung up the phone, and said to Liu Qingbo, “The top asked us to go to Shencheng as soon as possible. After we came from the General Administration, we haven’t been to the Branch Bureau yet. Recently, a lot of things have happened in Lucheng, so it’s good to report to him in person.”

Liu Qingbo was stunned. “These days there are computers and the internet, so who would make a special trip to report in person? Did you offend some leader?”

Dong Zhi touched his chin and thought. “I don’t think so. I have met the director of the Branch Bureau and have cooperated with him once. I guess he may have something to tell us.”

Liu Qingbo: “What do you mean us?”

Dong Zhi said innocently, “It’s you and me.”

Liu Qingbo: “…I’m not going.”

Dong Zhi said solemnly, “Han Qi’s affairs have caused a lot of trouble. After all, she is a public figure. Although the cause of death announced to the public wasn’t a murder, there were still a lot of people present at that time. There will always be some gossip that will spread. It’s normal for the top to inquire about it. You should participate since you naturally report to me. Besides, showing your face in front of the leader is something many people can’t wait to do. Otherwise, aren’t you afraid that I will take all the credit?”

Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. “You are so lazy to even get up and get your cellphone. Would you do such a strenuous thing as stealing credit?”

“That’s right.” Dong Zhi smiled and closed his eyes. “I’ll squint for a while, and you can call me again when it’s dinner time. I’ll talk to Mu Duo in the afternoon and set off for Shencheng in the evening…”

In the end, his tone was almost mumbled and blurred, so Liu Qingbo couldn’t hear clearly any longer unless he got closer.

Liu Qingbo: “…Did you go sneaking around last night*?”

*Steal chickens and dogs (偷鸡摸狗) Refers to the act of stealing or other unethical activities.

Dong Zhi ignored him and turned over, revealing only his fluffy head.

Liu Qingbo frowned slightly, walked over, and put his hand on Dong Zhi’s forehead. Dong Zhi was already asleep.

The temperature of the palm was normal, there was no fever, the pulse felt normal, and there were no signs of illness.

Sure enough, he was sneaking around all night!

—

Beijing.

For Long Shen, this was an ordinary day.

When he didn’t have to go out in the field, his life at the General Administration was very ordinary. At three, he would be either in his dorm, office, or the conference room. He would occasionally go to the rooftop to practice.

This routine was broken during the apprenticeship period. When Dong Zhi was here, if he had nothing to do, Dong Zhi would take the opportunity to drag him to restaurants. Long Shen usually had no appetite. If the meal wasn’t mandatory, he generally wouldn’t think about eating.

However, under the tireless introduction of Dong Zhi, he knew which Hunan restaurants were the best nearby, and the Cantonese restaurant in the comprehensive shopping mall next to the General Administration’s most authentic dish wasn’t the scallion oil chicken, but the sweet and sour pork.

The memory wasn’t relevant, but even if one didn’t specifically recall it, they would still unexpectedly remember it when they saw it.

He then remembered that it had been almost two months since Dong Zhi had gone to Lucheng.

In late autumn, heading into winter, there had been several heavy snowfalls in the capital. Long Shen’s thin and chic black windbreaker attracted a lot of head turns from passersby on the road, but he didn’t care. He went around the back of the building, nodded to greet the uncle guarding the door, and walked in as usual.

On the way, he met Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun, and the two of them gave their congratulations. Long Shen had always been thoughtful and couldn’t help but be surprised.

“Congratulations on what?”

Song Zhicun smiled and said, “Why, don’t you know yet? Didn’t your apprentice tell you the good news?”

“Boss Long has very good eyes! You had never accepted apprentices before, and now as soon as you get one, he turns out to be truly capable. He’s only been in the office for less than two months and was recently promoted to the person in charge. Since the establishment of our Special Administration Bureau, this is the fastest promotion, right?” Wu Bingtian’s tone wasn’t as natural as Song Zhicun’s, most likely because he also wanted to accept Dong Zhi as his disciple.

Long Shen’s reaction was half a beat slower: “…Is it Han Qi’s business?”

Song Zhicun and Wu Bingtian looked at each other.

“Dong Zhi really didn’t tell you?”

Long Shen shook his head. “I know about Han Qi. The branch office has already reported it. He should be directly responsible for the branch office. There is no need to tell me everything.”

But before that, didn’t you two have a good relationship and were super sticky to each other? Song Zhicun swallowed those words and instead said, with a smile, “Your apprentice is very good at things. As soon as he arrived in Lucheng, he first seriously injured Yamamoto Kiyoshi, and then destroyed the Han Qi’s demonic qi in the nick of time. She didn’t give birth to that child who would have caused a great disaster. Yan Nuo, the original person in charge of Lucheng, had applied for sick leave due to his injury in the Yamamoto incident. The branch office wants to change Dong Zhi from temporarily in charge to an official position. He and Liu Qingbo will become director and deputy director of the Lucheng office.”

“I see.” Long Shen’s expression was calm, and he didn’t look happy or unhappy.

Song Zhicun couldn’t figure out his reaction, so he continued, “However, the following is not without gossip. It’s said that he privately received Hui Yiguang’s money as a reward this time. Although he had already reported to the bureau and used it for the construction of the office, at the end of the day, he still used a loophole. If this precedent is set, I’m afraid someone else will follow suit in the future.”

Long Shen said, “Lucheng has very little funding?”

Song Zhicun: “It’s true since before this, Lucheng’s performance was mediocre, and the Branch Office didn’t give much. Now they have changed offices and the initial funds aren’t enough. It just so happened that Hui Yiguang’s crew had an incident and had asked him for help. Dong Zhi took the remuneration to cover the cost of the office construction.”

Long Shen said, “Well, all the remuneration was turned over. Let him write a review. This time, the General Administration will allocate a sum of money to them in the name of meritorious service awards so that they won’t have to worry about expenses.”

Wu Bingtian and Song Zhicun were stunned.

There seems to be a big bend here. Why so different?

The difference here was the way of allocating money. Normally, it was unorthodox for the General Administration to allocate funds directly to an office, but if it was done in the name of meritorious awards, it would look like the General Administration was commending the office.

The corner of Song Zhicun’s mouth twitched. “They all say that Boss Wu protect his group’s shortcomings¹, but I think Boss Long protects the short and the home².”

¹The term here is (护短) which basically means they are shielding a shortcoming/fault/mistake of someone. He’s saying that Wu Bingtian tends to cover up for his team members mistake.
²Basically, he’s saying not only does Long Shen shield the shortcomings of Dong Zhi in the sense because he’s in his team, but he’s also shielding him as someone special to him (like family).

Wu Bingtian was annoyed. “Where do I protect shortcomings? I have always been known to be fair, okay!”

Yes, of course, there’s totally no difference between your fifty steps and one hundred steps. Song Zhicun perfunctorily said in his heart.

“After all, Dong Zhi has to work under the Branch Office, so it’s easy for them to get a bad impression of him. Anyway, a little gossip won’t affect anything. Besides, all the money was handed over to the public and he has also written a project report on it. The branch doesn’t plan to do anything to him,” Song Zhicun persuaded.

Long Shen listened, nodded, and said nothing, since the matter was already exposed.

Song Zhicun breathed a sigh of relief.

After the meeting, it was time to get off work. Long Shen went directly back to the dorm, fed the cat, watered the potted plants, and inadvertently saw the cellphone at hand. After hesitating for a moment, he opened the address book and found the familiar number.

He would naturally defend his apprentice in front of strangers, but he must also warn him not to act too quickly in order to avoid being caught. Although this time it was just a trivial matter, there was no guarantee that it would be trivial every time.

If one day he didn’t pay attention, Dong Zhi might have had a big fall.

The phone rang for a long time before a voice prompt told him the call couldn’t be connected at this time. He most likely had his phone turned off.

Long Shen glanced at the time. It was only six in the evening, which was far from bedtime. He tried several more times but only go the same response, so he simply changed the number.

The old office was going to be sold. In the past two days, they had found an intermediary buyer. Mu Duo and Zhang Chong were busy completing the handover procedures with the other party. Just after they finished the process with the intermediary and were about to head to dinner, they received a call from an unknown number.

Mu Duo didn’t think much about it, so she picked it up. “Hello?”

A strange male voice came from the other end. “Hello, I am Dong Zhi’s master. I can’t get through to his phone right now. Has he turned it off?”

Mu Duo was taken aback and quickly replied, “Yes, they had an evening flight to Shencheng and should still be on the plane now.”

The other party said, “Okay, I see. Thank you.”

The tone was very polite, but it was difficult to conceal the prestige. When one heard it, they would know it was a tone that was used for giving orders. Mu Duo hurriedly said you’re welcome, and seeing as the other party had nothing else to say, she hung up.

Zhang Chong was thinking about what to eat, but he couldn’t help but see Mu Duo stop abruptly.

“What’s the matter? “

Mu Duo said indifferently, “I just remembered that Dong Zhi’s master is Director Long from the General Administration, right?”

Zhang Cheng: “It seems so. Why?”

Mu Duo sighed. “I didn’t connect these two identities at first!”

Zhang Chong scratched his head. “You didn’t say anything you shouldn’t have, did you?”

Mu Duo wondered, “Why does Boss Long have my number? Did he ask Dong Zhi before, or did he find someone to ask for it?”

Zhang Cheng said, “Our phone number is stored in the General Administration’s data. Even if Dong Zhi didn’t tell him, with his authority, it’s not difficult to find.”

Mu Duo sighed again. “As soon as the apprentice turns off his phone, he becomes worried and calls me. Why didn’t my master care so much about me?”

Zhang Cheng laughed. “Don’t be envious. Haven’t you heard that the General Administration has three giants that protect shortcomings!”

Mu Duo: “What three giants?”

Zhang Chong smiled and told her about the gossip of the General Administration. “I heard from my elder martial brother that it was two seniors, Boss Wu and the consultant Daoist Master Li Rui, who tend to protect their group’s shortcomings. After Boss Long accepted his apprentice, Dong Zhi, he was added to that list, which now is the big three! I heard that there’s another named Li Ying, who’s the son of Daoist Master Li. You should be glad that he didn’t come to Lucheng for an internship. Otherwise, you might have another person who’ll be calling you!”

---

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

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

---

Chapter 89

He subconsciously wanted to turn his head, but found that he couldn’t move at all, then realized that he in fact had no body.

Yamamoto Kiyoshi’s blood-red eyes turned and fell on Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan.

“You found a body for me? The woman is too fat, but the man will do. Let me use him!”

Hong Rui’s body shook. He suppressed the fear and kept silent as he lowered his body and didn’t dare to move.

Then he heard Songen’s gentle voice say, “You almost lost your soul. The problem isn’t your body. With this, you can’t be like normal people, so don’t give them any ideas.”

Hong Rui breathed a sigh of relief involuntarily as his body had almost collapsed.

He didn’t care that the word “useful” was equivalent to an insult to him. The most important thing at that moment was to escape.

No one knew better than him how Songen’s methods were, and he didn’t want these methods to be used on him one day.

It was purely accidental that he would get to know this witch doctor. At that time, he and his business rival, Lin Ji, were competing for a piece of land in the south. In terms of contacts and financial resources, the Lin family from Lingnan oppressed him. Hong Rui had prepared for that piece of land for a long time but had to hand it over to the Lins in vain. Naturally, he was unwilling. At that time, Dong Qiaolan introduced him to Master Songen. The other party claimed he could make Lin Ji automatically withdraw. Hong Rui was half-convinced, but it didn’t take long for him to hear that Lin Ji had fallen ill, and the Lin family was exhausted trying to find a cure for him. As a result, the battle for the land naturally ended with him unscathed. Hong Rui had successfully won the land and taken his career to the next level.

From then on, he worshipped Songen and respected him like a god. After that, whenever he asked for something, Songen would take action to ensure he got what he wanted.

A local friend in Thailand once told Hong Rui that witchcraft was extremely popular in Southeast Asia, Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. There were countless sects of witchcraft, and Songen was among the top that specialized in black magic. He was ruthless and excellent with his means and had all kinds of spells readily at his fingertips. Not to mention ordinary people, even other witches and witch doctors were unwilling to easily offend him. This made Hong Rui more awe of Songen and he would never dare to offend.

Songen told Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan that he himself was a servant of Lord Mara. When Lord Mara woke up from his deep sleep, he would need a suitable body. He asked them if they were willing to assist him. If they were willing to help, when Lord Mara completely resurrected, they would be granted supreme power.

A status that is above all others or countless amounts of money would be readily available to them.

As a businessman who by nature chased interests, Hong Rui wasn’t willing to agree to this illusory request for an unknown date, but he didn’t dare disobey Songen. In contrast, Dong Qiaolan was much more pious than him. After she went back, she carefully selected the “vessel” for Lord Mara and eventually chose Han Qi.

As Han Qi’s former agent, Dong Qiaolan, was privy to all her private information. She sent this to Songen, who was satisfied, so without Han Qi’s knowledge, a conspiracy was tailored for her.

Dong Qiaolan first brought Han Qi, who was troubled by the entanglement of the infant spirit, to Songen. Songen personally looked at it and helped her expel the infant spirit, locked it in the jade charm, and painted her a bright future. After returning, Han Qi’s career drastically improve, with the secret support from Hong Rui. She then met Hong Rui, who was considerate and affectionate towards her, and she began to trust Songen, and gradually became convinced. After Han Qi got pregnant, Hong Rui also took her to Songen, who injected her with traces of qi and told her that her birth would bring her blessings and would make her immeasurably rich in the future, so she should take good care of it.

Han Qi believed it and was full of expectations for the fetus she was carrying, until she had a little accident at this time.

Her expectation of the child affected the infant spirit, whose soul was locked into the jade charm. That infant spirit was the one she had aborted in the past. Seeing that its mother had used it as a tool and loved the current child, it couldn’t help but become full of resentment, and it finally broke through the jade charm’s restraints, leading to the changes that occurred on the plane and also to a series of later events.

Naturally, Hong Rui didn’t know that Dong Zhi had inadvertently destroyed Songen’s arrangement for Han Qi. He only knew that Songen was ruthless and vicious, and now that he had broken Songen’s plans, he might also be punished. Since he was born, he had never been as worried and frightened as now.

But Songen ignored him and was still talking to the head.

“I told you a long time ago that China is full of capable people, and you can’t easily provoke them. You don’t listen to advice and just go there to kill people. This time, you were taught a lesson,” Songen said.

“I could have brought back the souls of a few cultivators that are adults, but I didn’t expect to be spoiled by one person. When I find a body, I’ll go to him and break all his bones!”

Yamamoto Kiyoshi’s cruel and distorted expression made Dong Qiaolan tremble when she saw it, and she hurriedly lowered her body and didn’t dare to look at it again.

Songen: “What’s that person’s name?”

Yamamoto paused and said, “They’re Chinese, named Dong and Zhi!”

Puppetry was actually a combination of yin and yang techniques and witchcraft.

Although Yamamoto was lucky enough to escape Dong Zhi’s sword, his body was already dead. At a critical moment, he could only steal the dragon and turn the phoenix* to save his current head.

*(偷龙转凤) Refers to using despicable means to exchange the original product with a fake one to deceive people.

All his cultivation base had been destroyed, and now he didn’t even know if he could find a suitable body to come back from the dead. Yamamoto could only stay in this dark little house every day and survive. It was no wonder he was about to collapse and go crazy.

Songen’s expression moved slightly. “I remember you had an accident in Lucheng, China?”

He turned to Hong Rui. “Do you know where Han Qi is these days?”

Dong Qiaolan looked confused.

Hong Rui thought about it carefully and said cautiously, “Before I went abroad, I seemed to have heard that she was filming in Lucheng.”

Songen looked at Yamamoto and smiled calmly. “It seems that this isn’t a coincidence. I didn’t expect it to be wrong. However, you don’t have to be angry. I think your hatred will be avenged soon.”

Yamamoto was extremely upset. “Now I want to know when you’ll find me a body!”

Songen comforted him. “Don’t worry. Even if you can’t find a suitable body, you can certainly be reshaped when Lord Mara is resurrected.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Songen’s expression suddenly changed. His eyes looked straight ahead, but there was no focus. It seemed as if he was looking at something in the distance through Yamamoto.

After a while, his body relaxed and he breathed a sigh of relief and said to Hong Rui, “My lord wants to see you.”

Hong Rui couldn’t believe his ears. He thought he had heard it wrong.

“Yes, that great one?”

He didn’t even dare to say his name, not out of respect, but fear. The sense of fear that spawned from the bones.

Songen, however, wasn’t afraid to say the name. He smiled gently at him. “Yes, Lord Mara. How lucky you are.”

Hong Rui didn’t feel fortunate. He only felt scared, but he didn’t dare disobey Songen. He began to regret it deeply. He regretted that he shouldn’t have obeyed Dong Qiaolan’s temptation and set foot on this pirate ship in the first place, but now this ship had sailed into the vast sea. If he wanted to disembark, he would only drown.

He had an intuition that it wasn’t a good thing for Lord Mara to summon him. This intuition came from human hunting instincts for millions of years. However, Hong Rui knew that he couldn’t back down. He could only slow down as much as possible, in return for the subtle hope that the great one would change his mind in the next moment. On the other hand, he couldn’t help but secretly look back at Dong Qiaolan, hoping that the other party would suddenly make some noise, so he didn’t have to go and become an audience.

Songen smiled when he saw his small movements. Instead of interrupting him, he watched with great interest.

Hong Rui was taken aback by a cold snort. He raised his head and saw that the human head was staring at him, showing a kind of malicious look. He couldn’t help but feel a sudden shock, but he didn’t dare linger any longer, so he quickly got up and followed Songen.

In another passageway.

In fact, the surrounding scenery wasn’t bad, with green mountains and water, banana leaves swaying gently in the wind, and white clouds floated overhead, revealing the blue sky from behind them.

But Hong Rui was sweating coldly, and he didn’t have the heart to see anything at all. He was just thinking about how he could deal with this situation.

He had wandered in political and business circles and seen many big leagues, but what he was about to face was already beyond the scope of humans. With mysterious and unpredictable power, it could help lift him to the heavens but also instantly beat him down to hell, making his life worse than death.

“Master Song—Songen, later…” Hong Rui couldn’t help asking.

“Shh.” Songen made a gesture, and Hong Rui immediately fell silent, not daring to go on.

They have reached their destination.

The entire room in front of him, which was tightly covered by a black veil, was the place where the soul of the heavenly demon was nurtured.

Hong Rui thought fancifully that this place was located on the border and belonged to a zone that no one cared about. It was surrounded by dense jungle that covered and blocked out the sun. Coming here, let alone a road sign, if there were no locals to lead the way, one would definitely get lost and die out here. Even though satellite positioning may not be able to find this forgotten corner, this place wasn’t completely isolated from the world. The needs of resources could always be moved from the prosperous world outside at any time through Songen and his servants. Perhaps it was precisely this that the great one chose to be reborn here.

There was only a moment of distraction. When Songen uncovered the corner of the black veil and bent over to enter, Hong Rui immediately withdrew his attention and followed Songen’s example. He cautiously leaned into the room from the small corner that was uncovered.

Fragrance overwhelmed him.

The light in the house was very dark, and a few candles swayed unsteadily, but the aroma was a hundred times stronger than when he first entered the stockade. It penetrated all the organs Hong Rui used to communicate with the outside world and almost choked him out of breath. After trying to control his cough, he felt dizzy, and his hands and feet went soft.

There were many things scattered inside, including glass jars containing various animals such as snakes, scorpions, insects, rats, and other animals that Hong Rui couldn’t name and didn’t know what their purpose were. He just thought everything was strange. Of course, since entering the stockade, all the furnishings were weird, as the world of this witch doctor was very different from ordinary people.

On one side, there was a jar that was smaller than a pot but larger than an average jar. A middle-aged man was sitting next to it. In the dark, he could make out the typical Southeast Asian appearance; that was, his cheekbones were relatively high, his eyes were somewhat concave, but his entire body was completely wooden, and he wasn’t sure if this man was dead or alive.

Then Songen knelt down towards the jar, with his forehead against the floor, and said something in a weird tone that Hong Rui couldn’t understand.

Hong Rui didn’t dare to look too much, so he followed Songen, kneeling on the ground like him.

A series of long and fast words burst out of Songen’s mouth. Hong Rui was confused, but he suddenly felt something moving ahead. His curiosity was overwhelmed, and he quietly looked up and glanced at it from the corner of his eyes. He saw a black mist vaguely rising from the jar, getting thicker before it finally jumped into the nostrils of the man next to it.

The man’s body shook slightly.

In the dim light, his expression seemed to be distorted. His eyes turned white, and the corner of his mouth pulled out a cold arc. Hong Rui dared not take a closer look and hurriedly lowered his head.

He heard a strange voice, as hoarse as sandpaper grinding on an object.

“Tell me what happened outside.”

Hong Rui was able to understand it. The sound hammered heavily in his heart, shaking his body. His heart ached, and his throat was bursting with heat. He was dizzy and his brain swelled. He couldn’t help covering his mouth for fear that there would be blood coming out.

He felt that the burning gaze fell on him, like a hunter looking at prey at his fingertips.

Songen lowered his body even more.

“Lord Mara is here. Your devout servant, Songen Shawang, sincerely reports to you that, according to the news brought back by Yamamoto, the demon is dead.”

“Dead?”

The strange tone was echoed, as if it came from the mouth of the man sitting but was directly penetrated into one’s eardrums and knocked into the mind. Hong Rui felt even more dizzy, and he didn’t know if it was because he was inhaling too much fragrance.

Songen said respectfully, “Yes, without the command of the Archfiend, all the Sneaky Yaksha seemed to disappear overnight. Although I can still perceive the existence of the remnants of the Archfiend, it will take at least more than a hundred years in the human world for it to reform and take shape.”

“So, what about the earth demon?”

Songen: “There has been frequent movement on Toyo side recently. It’s said that they have clues from the stone tablets, and Yamamoto said that several groups of Japanese people want to attack them, so I think that earth demons may also awaken.”

“The Archfiend is too useless. You can’t count on it. Since the earth demon is going for the stone tablets, you can provide it with clues about them at the right time. You know what to do.” The man’s mouth opened and closed, conveying a magic voice that sounded like it came from the end of the abyss.

Songen became even more respectful. “Yes, please rest assured. I will never reveal the location of Lord Mara’s place. I am your most loyal servant, my lord. I am dedicated to resurrecting you as soon as possible. No matter the earth demon or Archfiend, they are not the object of my allegiance.”

The man laughed. His laughter was cold and chilling, enough to make a strong man shudder from the bottom of his heart.

Songen trembled slightly involuntarily.

The man said slowly, “You can speak easily now. What if you knew that the earth demon is looking for the stone tablets for a greater goal?”

Songen was so powerful in front of Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan, but he could only shake like a sieve in front of the great one.

“This servant—this servant is stupid and doesn’t understand what your excellency means…”

The man said, “When magic is abundant, it will gush out from the cracks in the ground. The red magic moon will arrive in the world, and the door of the abyss will open again. The earth demon will not submit to me. What he wants to surrender to is—”

He suddenly read a string of very strange characters that Hong Rui didn’t understand. He quietly raised his head and glanced at Songen, guessing that the other party might not understand either.

Although he got a lot of information here, Hong Rui only became more confused.

He knew that this great one was a legendary heavenly demon. After hearing it from Songen last time, he also went back to check the information and found that the heavenly demon was the demon king in Indian Buddhism. He was called Bo Xun or Mara*. From ancient times to the present, he was an extremely powerful monster. It was rumored that there had been many natural and man-made disasters in history that were planned by this demon from behind the shadows.

*Note: In Chinese, Mara is referred to as Bo Xun (波旬) or Bo Beiye (波卑夜). I’m using the translated name Mara for all these instances.

In the past, Hong Rui would scoff at these supernatural legends, but after he met Songen and saw the treacherous scene that could not be described in words with his own eyes, he couldn’t help but believe it.

It was only after listening to the conversation between this great one and Songen that he knew that in addition to the heavenly demons, there were also earth demons and Archfiends in the world.

The Archfiend was now dead, and the earth demon seemed to be looking for stone tablets. This great one wanted to be resurrected as soon as possible. Although it was also a demon, it didn’t seem to be on the same path.

Songen lowered his body. The low words echoed in the space filled with strange aromas.

“No matter how the world changes, no one can match my devotion to you. I will always be loyal to you!”

Hong Rui didn’t dare pretend to be dead, and hurriedly followed up when he heard the words. “Me, me too. I am willing to give everything to your excellency!”

Only then did the man seem to notice him.

The white eyes of the man quivered, and his head turned slightly to stare at Hong Rui.

Songen seemed to feel something and hurriedly said, “This is the person you wanted to see. His name is Hong Rui, a Chinese businessman.”

The man said slowly, “You just said that you are willing to give everything for me?”

Hong Rui was sweating like rain and stammered, “Yes, yes. I am quite successful in business. If you need money…”

“I don’t want money.” The man slowly raised his right hand and pointed at him. “Your body is good. I’m tired of using this one. Lend me your body.”

Hong Rui’s teeth chattered. How could he not know that his loan would not be repaid!

“My lord! Please let me find a better body for you! Stronger and better-looking than me. I can find anything you want!”

The man said gloomily, “I don’t want them. I just want you.”

Without saying a word, Hong Rui got up and turned his head and ran out, but as soon as he ran to the door, he suddenly had an abdominal pain like a strangulation, and he couldn’t take another step. He couldn’t help but scream in pain, bent over, and covered his stomach before rolling directly to the ground.

“Master Songen! Help me! I don’t want to die. Please help me plead with the Great One! I can do anything for you!”

He grabbed Songen’s trousers. His nose was full of snot, and he no longer had the demeanor of a successful person. He was more like a stray dog begging for mercy, begging for others to let him go.

Songen squatted down and shook his head mercifully. “Do you remember the water you drank on the way here just now? You were already hit by a curse at that time. I wasn’t going to let you leave, because if you go back, you’ll definitely be caught. Those who have discovered Han Qi will find clues about the Great One from you. I can’t let you expose my lord.”

He touched Hong Rui’s face, almost gently, but Hong Rui shook even more severely.

“I have done a lot for the great one… Please…”

Hong Rui found that he couldn’t move, so he could only let Songen’s slender hand touch his abdomen as softly as if he was stroking his own child.

The next moment, he felt a sharp pain in his abdomen. Songen had torn his shirt open, split his flesh with his hands, and caught a three-meter-long white worm inside.

Hong Rui opened his eyes wide in horror, watching the long worm squirming slowly on the floor after it came out. He felt sick and wanted to vomit and turned his head to spit out a few big mouthfuls of blood on the ground.

“Go to sleep. If you fall asleep, you won’t know anything.” Hong Rui’s last memory was of Songen putting his hand over his eyes.

He wanted to struggle and wanted to escape, but all his actions were beyond his control in the eyes of others.

Hong Rui heard Songen ask, “Does your excellency want to use this body to go out and see the outside world?”

The man said, “No, I just want to change to a more comfortable body. My current strength is not strong enough…”

Hong Rui’s consciousness gradually became chaotic and blurred, his head tilted, he fell softly to the ground, and he never woke up again.

The man watched him completely lose consciousness and couldn’t help but smile happily.

“When the moment comes that the carnival comes to an end, these ant-like humans will crawl under our feet. We will have countless slaves and food. Songen, as my most faithful servant, I will allow you to enjoy all this with me.”

The black mist slowly flowed out of the man’s body, condensed and sank in the air, and gradually penetrated into Hong Rui’s hair, skin, and internal organs.

The man who had lost the black mist slumped on the chair as if all his bones were taken away, while Hong Rui slowly opened his blood-red eyes.

“Yes, thank you, my lord, for your gift.” Songen knelt down on the ground and kissed his feet.

Dong Qiaolan waited outside. From when the sun was still in the middle of the sky to the evening, Hong Rui and Songen hadn’t returned.

An ominous premonition gradually rose in her heart. Her palms were sweating, and her anxiety was unbearable.

She wanted to run away, but she dared not because Songen’s apprentice was staring at her coldly.

Seeing the sun set a little bit, the already dim room lost the last bit of natural light.

The head on the table suddenly sneered, “Do you want to run?”

Dong Qiaolan trembled slightly and hurriedly pulled out a reluctant smile. “No, I dare not…”

Yamamoto snickered and smiled strangely. “Your companion won’t come back anymore. I don’t know if you will survive tonight.”

Dong Qiaolan’s face turned pale as she flopped on the ground and began pleading with Yamamoto and Songen’s apprentice. “Masters, I have always been loyal to the master and have introduced many guests to him and taken no credit for the hard work. I—I will help the master do more things in the future!”

Yamamoto said coldly, “The person surnamed Dong is from the Special Administration Bureau. They found Han Qi, and they will find you sooner or later. If you go back, you will be caught!”

Dong Qiaolan murmured, “I will be very careful. I can change my name…”

Yamamoto laughed. “Why bother? Just stay here. I guess Songen won’t mind another vessel to practice his witchcraft on, right, Songen?”

He said to the person behind Dong Qiaolan. Dong Qiaolan subconsciously looked back, and as a result her head spun so fast that her body directly fell to the ground.

Songen stepped in from the outside.

“My lord said Hong Rui’s body is better than the original one.”

Yamamoto Kiyoshi turned his eyes. Now he only had his head left, and even the perspective of his body was limited, so he wasn’t used to it.

“Where’s my body? When will it be ready for me!”

Songen said lightly. “Your soul is severely damaged. Even if you have a body now, it’s useless. You should recuperate here. Maybe you can return to business as usual in three years.”

Yamamoto said irritably, “Three years! I have to wait three years?! If it weren’t for that person surnamed Dong, how could I become like this now! I want him to die! Died a hundred times worse than me! No, I want his body. Just let him be my new body!”

“What’s the use of yelling at me?” Even though he was furious, Songen remained calm and ordered his disciple, “Zabigan, send this woman to me. My spell is just short one last prop.”

The obedient disciple nodded slightly, got up, and dragged Dong Qiaolan away. The woman, weighing more than three hundred kilograms, was dragged away by him with one hand, without any effort.

—

Lucheng.

It was another fine day.

When most of the north had already begun to snow, there was still a slight warmth from the sea breeze. The fallen leaves weren’t necessarily withered and yellow, and the branches were still full of green, making people suspect that winter wasn’t coming, but spring.

Without the dry sand, dust, and haze, there was only the fragrance of flowers and the faint smell of the sea. Both Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo yawned at the same time, trying their best to curb the drowsiness caused by the afternoon sun on their bodies.

It was just that one person was lying down, and the other was still sitting in front of the computer, typing a report.

Liu Qingbo couldn’t help but show a blank look at Dong Zhi. “You’re so relaxed. As a leader, you don’t have to do anything!”

Dong Zhi yawned again, pulling up the thin blanket a little.

“Who said I don’t have anything to do? Without me, can we change to a new office so quickly?”

---

The author has something to say:

The most terrifying thing in the world is nothing more than greed that blinds your eyes, and it is difficult to turn back.

Do you remember Lin Xuan? The Lin family in Lingnan, where his father was cursed by witchcraft. Now the causes and consequences are connected…

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Lin Xuan appears in chapter 50. He helped the Japanese kidnap Dong Zhi. He tried to get dragon powder to save his father who’s been cursed by witchcraft. Now we know who’s behind it.

---

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

Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

---

Chapter 88

The police noticed the seriousness of the matter. Director Zheng came in person, and Mu Duo and Zhang Chong also arrived afterwards.

Dong Zhi was now the person in charge of the Special Administration Bureau in Lucheng. Although there was still the word “temporary” in front of the title, even so, he could make decisions on all matters under the jurisdiction of the Bureau in Lucheng. After consultation, both parties decided to cooperate in this case.

The scene was blocked, including the blood mass born from Han Qi’s abortion. Due to the unconventional aspects involved, it was brought back to the Special Administration Bureau for investigation.

On the other hand, they took statements from unrelated personnel, the focus being on Han Qi, since everything was related to her. Unfortunately, she was now in a serious coma and had to be transported to the hospital for rescue. If they wanted to ask her about the case, they needed to wait until the danger period had passed. Other people in the crew, including Han Qi’s assistant, were all key figures who may know more about the case. The ministry had to ask again for Mu Duo and the others to cooperate with the police to conduct a joint investigation.

Chen Guoliang was also taken away by the police for ideological education.

Zhang Han, Luo Nanfang, Boss Zhao, Hui Yiguang, and others were personally questioned by Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo.

The Lucheng office was so dilapidated that it was too embarrassing to bring them over, and for fear of damaging the country’s image, Director Zheng empathetically lent them a conference room with bright windows at the police office.

Boss Zhao was so rich and magnanimous that he immediately opened a room for them all and asked his subordinates to buy everyone new sets of clothing according to each person’s size, so that everyone could wash off the blood from their bodies and change into nice fresh outfits.

Two hours later, everyone finally washed up and gathered in the conference room.

Boss Zhao was impatient, and after holding back his curiosity for a long time, he couldn’t resist any longer. “Master, what the hell is going on?!”

Dong Zhi asked rhetorically, “Has Han Qi been pregnant once before?”

Boss Zhao shook his head blankly.

Hui Yiguang thought for a moment and said, “Three years ago, I seemed to have heard such rumors, and I also heard that this child seemed to belong to Zhong Huan.”

Zhong Huan was also a well-known male artist, but not as famous as Han Qi. He was on the rise, and his popularity was very high. Male stars generally had a longer shelf life, so it was conceivable that if there were no accidents, he would spend a long time in the circle in the future.

Hearing the name, Boss Zhao let out a long, gossipy tone. Seeing Liu Qingbo give him the stink eye, he quickly covered his mouth with his hand and indicated that he wasn’t making trouble.

Hui Yiguang said, “But you also know that there are many such rumors in the circles, some of which are false accusations mixed with truths and lies, so many people didn’t take it seriously, but her assistant and agent should know better.”

Dong Zhi nodded. “We will confirm this matter. I invited you here mainly to ask you one thing. Do you remember what you said before the black mist was wiped out by us?”

Zhang Han hesitated for a moment. “Yes! I thought I was just hearing things at first, but it seems to say… that it will make you—”

“Will taste the anger of destruction!” Although Luo Nanfang was old, he still had a very good memory.”

Zhang Yan: “Yes, that’s it, but there was also a string of notes in front of it. It was too long to remember!”

Dong Zhi said, “I hope you can recall the transliteration of that string of notes as much as possible. Even if you only remember a few characters.”

He and Liu Qingbo had a good memory, but they were busy at that time, and the notes were very long. They weren’t in English or Chinese, so even Dong Zhi wasn’t exactly sure he could remember them clearly, so he invited everyone present to come over to help recall them together.

Everyone began to rack their brains to recall at least one or two characters of what they heard.

But Mu Duo’s side had the echo first.

Han Qi was still under the operating table. The amount of bleeding was so great that it took a whole night for her to be discovered. It was unknown whether she would survive. Han Qi’s assistant fell to the ground last time and had glass shards embedded in her face. One of her eyes was almost blinded by it. After the operation, she was currently recuperating in the hospital, but she was still sane and could accept inquiries.

After asking, Mu Duo really found that Han Qi’s assistant had some inside information.

Three years ago, Han Qi really had an underground love affair with Zhong Huan. Later, the two broke up, and Han Qi miscarried the child. During that time, she was in a bad mood and was always suspicious. She felt that the child’s grievances were still lingering around her, so she became violent and lashed out a lot. Even her assistant wasn’t spared. Han Qi’s career had dropped into a downward spiral until she was introduced by a friend to a master named Songen in Thailand.

At that time, only Han Qi and her friend were there. The assistant didn’t follow. It wasn’t clear what they said when they met the master. She only knew that Han Qi was in a much better mood after she came back. She started talking and laughing, and her attitude towards her assistant was no longer harsh and irritable as before. After returning home, Han Qi’s career improved again, and she rose up the ladder, eventually meeting Mr. Hong.

“Wait, you said Mr. Hong?” When she heard this, Mu Duo couldn’t help but interrupt her.

The assistant nodded. “Hong Rui, the boss of Renhe International.”

This person was well-known, had invested a lot in real estate in the entertainment industry, and his industry net worth had attracted many people’s attention, which was why Mu Duo had naturally heard of him.

“How did Mr. Hong meet Han Qi?”

The assistant said, “Through the introduction of a friend. She met him at a dinner party. Oh, that’s right, that friend was also the same one who took Han Jie to Thailand. Her name is Dong Qiaolan, and she’s Han Jie’s former agent. I heard that the two had a good personal relationship, and they have been in contact since the termination of her contract.”

“What happened later?” Mu Duo subconsciously felt that everything was inseparable from Dong Qiaolan and even Hong Rui.

Assistant: “Later, Han Jie told me privately that Master Songen was really powerful. What he said would come true. She was able to walk with Mr. Hong and her pregnancy came earlier than expected. Thanks to the blessing of the master and the protection charm, her career became smooth sailing.”

Mu Duo: “So she was pregnant for a second time and the child belongs to Mr. Hong?”

The assistant nodded. “But recently, Han Jie has become suspicious again. She said that the dead child came back and that the master couldn’t calm the child. She was very scared. On the plane we were on that was flying to Lucheng, something almost happened.”

Mu Duo: “Does Mr. Hong plan to marry Han Qi?”

Assistant: “I don’t know about this, but Han Jie wasn’t in a good mood. Maybe she encountered something unpleasant on Mr. Hong’s side… I remember! She also said that the master said that the child she was now pregnant with was a blessing and would bring her good luck, fortune, and fame. The other child from before was unwilling to let go and wanted to come back to harm both mother and son.”

When she spoke of this, the assistant had a look of fear on her face. “I think Han Jie may have gone crazy.”

Seeing that Mu Duo couldn’t get any more information, she asked the police’s help to find Dong Qiolan and Hong Rui, while reporting what she found out from the assistant to Dong Zhi.

At that moment, Dong Zhi put down the phone and said to Boss Zhao, who was sitting to his right, “Do you remember?”

Boss Zhao nodded. “It seemed to be saying something like… Pasha Maha!”

Dong Zhi frowned. “Are you sure?”

Boss Zhao said aggrievedly, “That syllable is too long, and it fluctuates and is strange. I was so scared at that moment that I really couldn’t remember it.”

Liu Qingbo: “What I heard was, Saha Vima, but the ending was jumping too fast, so I couldn’t hear it clearly.”

Zhang Yan and Luo Nanfang also recalled the musical notes they had heard separately, and Dong Zhi recorded what they said one by one.

Finally, it was Hui Yiguang. She said, “I’m the opposite of you. I don’t remember the previous one, but the last part seems to be Bhatti.”

“Pasha, Saha, Vima, Maha, Bhatti.” Dong Zhi dotted his handwriting with a pen.

Liu Qingbo asked, “Then what did you hear?”

Dong Zhi hesitated. “What I heard seemed to be polo…ty, it was too fast in the middle, that I forgot.”

Boss Zhao said, “It’s not like English. Is it French or something?”

Liu Qingbo shook his head. “I’m sure it’s not French, German, or Spanish.”

Dong Zhi said, “Well, everyone, read what you heard accurately. I will record it for you and then ask a linguist later. It doesn’t matter if you can’t remember it well, but you have to speak clearly.”

Boss Zhao suddenly raised his hand and said, “Master, I know a linguist, but in Beijing. If it’s convenient for you, I will contact him right now. We can do a remote video?”

Since the battle at the hotel, Boss Zhao had also seen among these people in the flower stand who really had true ability. For example, Liu Qingbo and Dong Zhi who killed such a ferocious evil thing. Even the police were polite to them. They seemed to have deep backgrounds, so he wanted to chummy up with them. It was estimated that if Dong Zhi wanted the stars in the sky, he would be the first to rush up to buy a rocket for him.

Liu Qingbo said, “We want real linguistics experts, not fakers!”

Boss Zhao laughed, “Of course, of course!”

He met this expert, whom he mentioned, during a cultural lecture that he attended. Although a businessman like Boss Zhao was involved in the entertainment industry, there was still a large gap between them and the real cultural world. Coincidentally, the lecture happened to be sponsored by him. As such, he had a meal with the scholars and had to endure a painful conversation that made no sense to him. Finally, he got the scholars’ numbers, which he thought he would never dial.

However, life was indeed wonderful, and now that number came in handy today. Boss Zhao got through the phone and gave a brief overview—Of course he was smart and omitted all the sections about demons and monsters and only said that he heard something, but it was difficult to recognize what language the other party was speaking. He wanted to ask some experts and scholars for help. The scholars naturally agreed in light of his previous sponsorship, so he connected immediately to a remote video conference.

Dong Zhi and the people there took turns saying the notes that they heard. The four experts at the end of the video lowered their heads and thought for a while, and then each gave their own opinions.

Three of them thought the language was Sanskrit, and only one thought it might be ancient Hebrew.

Among the three people who thought it was Sanskrit, an old expert who specializes in Sanskrit lowered the volume of the video with the help of his assistant and said to Dong Zhi, “What you just said isn’t a sentence. It’s probably just a word.”

Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo actually had faint guesses in their hearts. However, guesses are one thing and still need to be verified by the authorities. The words of the old expert undoubtedly further verified their guesses.

The old expert said, “If I guessed correctly, the correct pronunciation should be Pa^pi^yas.”

He paused and read very slowly.

Boss Zhao yelled first, “Yes, that’s right. That’s how I heard it; I remember it!”

Old expert: “This is a god in ancient India. Transliterated, it is Brahavima Vasavati.”

Liu Qingbo curled his lips: “It’s definitely not a good god, is it?”

The old expert said slowly, “This god, translated into Chinese, is Bo Xun*, also known as Mara, is the demon king of the six desires. According to Buddhist scriptures, it likes to obstruct Buddha’s practice the most, and its heart is always full of violent desires and evil thoughts, like thinking it’s fun to destroy the world. So yes, it’s also known as a heavenly demon.”

*Known as Mara, is a celestial king who tempted Prince Siddhartha (Buddha) by trying to seduce him with visions of beautiful women who, in various legends, are often said to be Mara’s daughters. He tries to stop Prince Siddhartha’s path to enlightenment, proclaiming that the seat belongs to him, but in the end fails. In Buddhist cosmology, Mara is associated with death, rebirth, and desire.

Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other at the same time, and they both saw undisguised shock in each other’s expressions.

At that moment, the phone rang, and Dong Zhi answered it.

“Mu Duo.”

“Bad news.” Mu Duo seemed to be out of breath. It seems she had been running.

“Tell me,” Dong Zhi said.

His composure seemed to infect Mu Duo. The other party gasped for a moment before she calmed down.

“Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan have disappeared. The entry and exit records show that they took the same flight to Thailand three days ago. We don’t know where they went!”

—

The Thai-Myanmar border was densely forested.

There was a vast tropical rainforest area with diverse biology, changeable climate, and steep terrain. Even the most experienced outdoor backpackers wouldn’t dare set foot here easily, because entering this area meant it was easy to get lost and sick, or buried under the claws of beasts. However, the most dangerous thing was the complex and interlaced forces here. Human trafficking, the production and trade of drugs, illegal armed organizations, and unimaginable dangers and chaos within the peaceful world was staged here every day. The locals would turn pale and weren’t willing to take a step in.

Unknown flying insects skimmed the dense and thick forest leaves, flew low along the dirt road ahead, buzzing past the heads of the three people below.

In front were dark-skinned men and behind them were two well-dressed middle-aged man and woman, who looked out of place. The man was thin and tall, while the women was short and fat. It seemed they had walked for a long time as they were panting currently, and their legs felt as if it had been tied to lead as each step became heavier.

If Han Qi or her assistant were here, they would be quite surprised, as the two people had a very deep relationship with Han Qi.

“Dong, did you bring water? Give me a sip.” Hong Rui swallowed his saliva and felt the burning pain in his throat. Sweat continued to flow out from under their hats, and the poisonous sun seemed to dry out every drop before it even fell.

Dong Qiaolan took out a bottle of mineral water from her satchel, unscrewed the bottle, raised it to her head and drank what little remained, then shook the empty bottle to signal that there was no more water.

“You didn’t even leave me a sip!” Hong Rui said angrily.

If he was still in the city, let alone a bottle of water, he wouldn’t even put ten crates of it in his eyes.

“If I don’t drink water, I will die of thirst!” Dong Qioalan was obese, and she was most afraid of walking a long distance. Unexpectedly, they got off at some unknown small village and had walked for nearly two hours. Before they reached their destination, she was already close to her limits as she was panting more severely than Hong Rui.

“I have water here!”

When the guide heard what they said, he turned his head and handed over his water bottle.

Hong Rui looked at the stains on the bottle in disgust, but in the end, he couldn’t resist his thirst, so he took it and raised his head and took a big sip.

“What did you put in the water?” he asked the guide.

The guide explained in broken English that there was a kind of herbal medicine in it, which was used to quench thirst and cool off, and that it could also prevent mosquitoes.

Hong Rui felt that the water was sweet and delicious, so he asked him when they returned to give him some herbs, and the guide happily agreed.

“Is that the master’s stockade?” Dong Qiaolan suddenly yelled.

“Yes, we’re almost there!”

A word from the guide made them all happy. The two temporarily let go of their fatigue, accelerated their steps, followed the guide, and quickly walked into the stockade.

Hong Rui quenched his thirst and found that after they entered the range of the stockade, the disturbing flying insects above his head seemed to disappear.

Counting this time, he had only been to this stockade twice, and he still felt strange, and there was a faint sense of fear.

Dong Qiaolan should have come more often than he did. He wasn’t sure if he was hallucinating, but he felt that Dong Qiaolan’s footsteps seemed to have slowed down, and the expression on her face was more cautious.

Hong Rui ran an emporium, so he had met countless people. It stood to reason that he should have cultivated some kung fu on Mount Taishan, but he still had an extraordinary fear here. This feeling was purely derived from the weakness and helplessness of humans in the face of the powerful abilities of the mysterious and unknown realm.

Every time he met with the master, Hong Rui would taste this kind of helplessness and timidity. He couldn’t even have the slightest idea of resisting, so he would only be at his mercy. Of course, this was also something he was willing to do because Master Songen was indeed powerful and could give Hong Rui anything he wanted.

When they stepped into the stockade, they smelled a strange fragrance.

It seemed to permeate everywhere. It wasn’t the smell of sandalwood, but something more intense than that. It made people feel happy and light in their bodies and minds.

There were several stockades scattered around, with the middle being the largest. Around the complex, male and female servants in square skirts could be seen everywhere. They turned a blind eye to Hong Rui and continued doing their own thing. A maid was kneeling outside the stockade, motioning the three of them to take off their shoes and go upstairs.

Hong Rui followed Dong Qiaolan and the guide upstairs. He was a little nervous and wanted to find some clues to reassure him from Dong Qiaolan’s expression, but the other party kept her head down and didn’t give him this opportunity.

The guide opened the bead curtain and entered the hall. Hong Rui followed, and the light suddenly dimmed.

There were two people in the hall.

One person sat cross-legged in the middle, while the other knelt behind him.

The guide knelt down first, then threw himself to the ground as he pounded his head harshly on the floor. His body movements revealed extreme respect and piety.

Both Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan knew him, and they bowed respectfully. “Greetings, Master Songen.”

Songen’s English was much more fluent than Dong Qiaolan’s stumbles, and his voice was also very low, with an undiscernible charm.

He held the incense in his hand and looked at the two uninvited guests, as if he hadn’t expected them.

“It’s not the agreed time yet.”

The house was cool and even a little cold, but Dong Qiaolan sweated more here than outside the house.

She knocked her head first, and then said, “Yes, but it’s like this. Everything was going well on Han Qi’s side, so we came to report to Master and have something to ask Master for guidance.”

Songen: “What?”

Hong Rui hurriedly said, “I originally wanted to coax Han Qi to give birth to the child first, but she insisted on getting married. But if she gave birth… and I marry her, wouldn’t that be a big disrespect? But Han Qi has been unstable lately. I’m afraid it will affect the fetus in her womb. What should I do?”

Songen’s eyes narrowed and when he looked down at them, it was more like he was talking with his eyes closed, but what took Hong Rui and the others by surprise was what he said.

“The fetus has died, and Han Qi is useless.”

Hong Rui’s face changed drastically. “This, this is impossible! I contacted her when I came here three days ago!”

Songen said lightly, “The child she was pregnant with before was locked into a jade charm by me to nourish her current fetus, but the infant spirit kept trying to resist, and this time even joined together with outsiders and strangled the container that nurtured Lord Mara’s demonic energy.”

“Then, what should I do…”

Hong Rui’s face was pale, like a dead man, and he didn’t have the slightest aura of being an all-powerful boss.

Songen closed his eyes. “My loyal tool has landed on the person who destroyed the container, and it will surely cause him to suffer serious consequences, but if it weren’t for your fault, these things wouldn’t have happened.”

Hong Rui kowtowed desperately. “Asking Master for forgiveness! I know I was wrong, and I’ll definitely find a better container for the Lordship again this time!”

Songen: “No, I have found one.”

He opened his eyes and showed a kind smile to Hong Rui and Dong Qiaolan.

“Do you want to see it?”

Dong Qiaolan wanted to say no, but she was afraid of offending the master. She glanced at the disorientated Hong Rui and said cautiously, “If Master wants us to open our eyes, we are naturally very honored!”

“Then come with me.” Songen got up and walked in.

“Keep up.” The disciple behind him turned his head and said coldly to the two of them.

Seeing that Hong Rui couldn’t get up, Dong Qiaolan stretched out her hand and pulled him up.

Passing through a walkway, several people came to another room.

The interior of the house was airtight. All the windows were closed, and a layer of black gauze was used to cover them. A row of candles was lit in the surrounding corners, and the reddish candlelight trembled and swayed, like the fire of life would be cut off at any moment, which made people feel suffocated.

Dong Qiaolan was taken aback as soon as she entered the house.

Because the woman facing her was standing in a glass coffin with an unknown yellow liquid flowing inside, wrapping the naked woman inside. She had blond hair and snow-white skin and a perfect body that Dong Qiolan couldn’t help but look a few more times. The more she looked at it, the more she felt that this woman’s beauty didn’t look as if she was a real person. She had been in the entertainment industry for many years and had seen hundreds, if not thousands, of beauties, but no one could match the beauty of this woman. It was so stunning that she couldn’t help but let out a soft sigh.

After sighing, she suddenly realized her gaffe and quickly knelt down and said, “Master, I’m sorry, I just lost my manners. It’s really, really…”

“It’s because she’s beautiful, right?” Songen smiled slightly, as if accustomed to her reaction.

Hong Rui also stared, but hearing Songen’s words, he hurriedly forced himself to avert his eyes with difficulty.

Dong Qiaolan nodded hurriedly. “Yes, yes! She’s so beautiful that I’m dumbfounded. Truly worthy of your title, as Master can find such a great beauty!”

Songen’s expression was also very satisfied. Looking at the woman’s gaze was like looking at an unblemished work of art.

“I also think that she will be the best vessel to give birth to Lord Mara. A hundred times better than Han Qi.”

Hong Rui wished that the other party would forget about Han Qi and quickly agreed with him. However, Dong Qiaolan couldn’t hear his thoughts and said inappropriately, “That woman Han Qi, is it fine to just leave her alone?”

Songen didn’t answer her question. At this time, there was a low groan from the side. Dong Qiaolan and Hong Rui looked at the source, and their faces suddenly changed in fright. Dong Qiaolan even staggered back a few steps subconsciously and fell heavily to the ground as her fat body couldn’t support the sudden movement.

Hong Rui didn’t have the mind to help the other party because his own reaction was not much worse than Dong Qiaolan’s.

The two of them, one a successful businessman and the other a well-known broker, had seen countless people all over the world. Outside, many people even come to them every day and beg them for things. These two people lived at the top of the pyramid.

But now, they opened their mouths, like frogs on the surface, staring at a certain point in the room without any demeanor at all.

Hong Rui needed to mobilize his own self-control in order to control his urge to run away.

There was a human head on the table.

The other party had an Asian face with slightly long hair and somewhat drooping cheeks. Under normal circumstances, it should look like a charming and handsome face.

But if it was just a simple head, it wouldn’t make Hong Rui and the others, who had seen a lot of the world, so scared.

The eyes on the head were open slightly at this moment, and it was approaching Hong Rui with a strange smile and greeted them.

Under a closer look, the other party’s eyes still rotated, and his face would twitch slightly as if he was no different from a living person…

With the exception that he had no body.

If Dong Zhi and Mu Duo were here, they would recognize this old acquaintance right away.

“Is it better?”

Songen was accustomed to the existence of this human head, and his tone was kind, as if he was greeting an old friend.

Yamamoto Kiyoshi didn’t appreciate it but said viciously, “Do you think I can be well like this? Why don’t you give it a try!”

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Kinky Thoughts:

Mara

Is a celestial king who tempted Prince Siddhartha (Buddha) by trying to seduce him with visions of beautiful women who, in various legends, are often said to be Mara’s daughters. He tries to stop Prince Siddhartha’s path to enlightenment, proclaiming that the seat belongs to him, but in the end fails. In Buddhist cosmology, Mara is associated with death, rebirth, and desire.

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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 87

Han Qi was a big star with status. With such a large group of people, he couldn’t rush everyone in. Boss Zhao asked the drama crew to call and inquire first.

Who knew that the drama department couldn’t get through to Han Qi’s phone and no one answered when he went to knock on the door? Then he called her agent, and the agent said she hadn’t been in contact with her since last night.

Han Qi’s assistant had just been injured and hospitalized, and the new assistant hadn’t been sent over yet. The agent couldn’t get through to Han Qi’s phone, which meant no one knew what was going on with her situation.

They asked Han Qi’s driver again, and the other party said he hadn’t received any notice today, which indicated that she was probably still at the hotel.

Since Boss Zhao couldn’t figure it out, he simply said, “Then I’ll take you up there directly?”

Everyone had no opinion. Since the episode just now, Chen Guoliang had also kept a much lower profile and dared not be standoffish any longer.

The presidential suite was on the 32^nd floor, which was the top floor of the hotel. It overlooked the sea and had a panoramic view of most of Lucheng. The cost was naturally expensive, but most big stars in the circle were treated like this. Some may not mind if the configuration wasn’t grand, but others were quite haughty, so they had to try to do their best.

Boss Zhao communicated with the hotel, and a lobby manager took everyone to the 32^nd floor.

As soon as he got out of the elevator, Luo Nanfang let out a scream and stopped. Not only him, Dong Zhi, Liu Qingbo, and Zhang Han all frowned slightly at the same time.

“What?”

When Boss Zhao saw them stop, he hurriedly stopped.

Luo Nanfang looked at the compass in his hand and said nothing.

Zhang Yan said, “Very heavy in yin qi.”

He took out his money sword from his cloth bag and looked like he was about to enter a battle.

Boss Zhao and the lobby manager looked at each other. They didn’t feel any yin at all.

“Where is Miss Han’s room?” Dong Zhi asked.

“Please follow me,” the lobby manager said politely, leading the way in front. Occasionally, guests passed by, seeing such a large group of people that they couldn’t help but give curious glances.

Luo Nanfang’s footsteps were getting slower, and he had already fallen from the front to the back, and the compass pointer in his hand was also turning frantically, which gradually made his face a little more solemn.

He couldn’t help but grab the corner of Zhang Han’s shirt, handed him the compass, and whispered, “It’s very evil. I’m afraid it’s hard to deal with!”

The two of them were actually not very familiar with each other. This was the first time they had met and had a few chats on the road, but Luo Nanfang was more willing to be with Zhang Han than Chen Guoliang and Dong Zhi.

Zhang Han wasn’t as scared as Luo Nanfang. The main reason was that he relied on his abilities and didn’t put ordinary demons and ghosts in his eyes. On the contrary, he was very calm. When he heard Luo Nanfang say this, he smiled and said, “Don’t worry, I’m here.”

When the group came to the door of Han Qi’s room, Luo Nanfang looked at the compass in his hand, and his heart sank more.

He usually showed people feng shui divinations, so he was considered to have seen the world, but he had never encountered such an unpredictable situation. How could such a great evil spirit come from a female star’s room and rush at them when they exited the elevator? What does this mean?

It meant that there would only be a more dangerous situation in the room.

Luo Nanfang regretted that he had agreed to Boss Zhao’s request, and he was also annoyed by his own curiosity, but now it was too late to say anything. Since he was here, it was too late to turn around, lest he damage his own reputation.

There were several people present, and he knew very well how much weight he had. It was fine if it was just feng shui, but he was an amateur when it came to exorcising and hunting demons. Chen Guoliang was just a showoff and wasn’t even as good as him. The other two young people may have some kung fu, but if there were evil things here, even the best kung fu wouldn’t work. Counting on this, the strongest of them all may be Zhang Han.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but get a little closer to Zhang Han as the lobby manager knocked on the door. Before that, the hotel called Han Qi’s room landline, but no one answered.

“Miss Han? Are you inside? Would you please open the door?”

After knocking for a long time, there was still no response inside. Unless Han Qi took sleeping pills, it was impossible not to hear.

In other words, something must’ve happened inside.

Since no one opened the door, the lobby manager had to take out the room keycard and open it. He told everyone, “If there’s any situation, don’t go in and destroy the scene. We’ll directly call the police.”

With a clicking sound, he pressed the doorknob with his hand and twisted it down.

A strong smell of blood came, and the lobby manager was so scared that he let go and almost closed the door again.

Zhang Yan pushed him away, took a step forward, and pushed the door open.

Red.

All they saw was red.

Carpets, walls, ceilings… Bloodstains everywhere.

Everyone was stunned.

Boss Zhao took two steps back in fright and accidentally stepped on Chen Guoliang’s foot. The latter didn’t even get furious because he was completely speechless.

The blood was blooming on the gray walls, and there were five finger marks that were deeply scratched in them. It could be seen how fiercely Han Qi was struggling at that time.

How much blood does a person have?

Is Han Qi already dead?

Questions flashed in everyone’s minds, and then they heard a low roar inside. It was like the last warning before an animal attacked. Sound waves vibrate the eardrums, making people dizzy and nauseous.

The living room was already in a mess and the furniture was in tatters. The sheets in the bedroom were scattered everywhere, and most of them were stained with blood.

Compared to the entrance, the smell of blood here lingered even more, like thick blood that turned into a substance and was suspended in the air, covering the nose and eyes, suffocating everyone and inducing nausea.

The sound insulation of the presidential suite was good, and the bottom floor may not be full, so the hotel hadn’t received any noise complaints since last night.

“I’m going to puke!” Chen Guoliang’s assistant and bodyguards had already bent over against the wall and vomited.

The others weren’t much better.

After everyone came in, they discovered that the movement came from the master bedroom.

Boss Zhao’s hands and feet were already soft. His face was pale, but because there was blood on the wall, he didn’t dare touch it to support himself.

Resisting the urge to faint, he and the lobby manager turned around and were about to escape, but just as they thought about it, with a loud bang, the door suddenly closed on its own, locking everyone in the room.

The lobby manager reached out to turn the doorknob, but found that he couldn’t open it, and his face turned pale.

Then he took out the walkie-talkie and wanted to contact the outside, but there was no noise or signal.

In the bedroom, blood was everywhere.

A cloud of gray-black mist about one meter in diameter was slowly circling over the big bed.

The circling speed wasn’t fast, but there was an inexplicable force that sucked everything around it in, like a black hole. When Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo walked to the door of the master bedroom, they were attracted to this powerful force and involuntarily wanted to go in. Dong Zhi’s old injuries weren’t healed yet, and his chest was churning. He felt his nose was a little wet and subconsciously reached out to wipe the blood from it with one hand.

As Chen Guoliang walked in next to him, he yelled in horror, “Help! Help!”

Liu Qingbo drew out the long sword behind his back and inserted it into the floor. He grabbed his back collar with one hand and pulled him back vigorously away from the dangerous situation.

Chen Guoliang staggered back a few steps and sat down on the ground.

“Han Qi!” Hui Yiguang cried out in a daze.

Only then did everyone see a person sitting in the corner of the master bedroom near the bathroom.

Han Qi’s eyes widened slightly. They couldn’t tell what the original color of the bathrobe she was wearing was, as all they could see was a lot of blood flowing from her abdomen and lower body. She remained motionless, and they didn’t know if she was still breathing.

“What the hell is going on here?” Boss Zhao shivered.

No one answered him.

The gray-black mist was getting thicker, but a closer look shows that the gray and black mist were actually two forces. They were at a stalemate. The black mist had the upper hand, while the gray mist was being swallowed up little by little, but its struggle was getting more intense. The air current spread out with this mass of things like a vortex and swept the entire room with a bloody aura, whistling towards everyone.

The violent wind and suction swept everything in the room to the ground, and then rolled it up and blew it into the air. Everyone had to hold on to the wall to stabilize themselves. Boss Zhao was smashed with fragments of a table lamp and screamed.

Zhang Yan gritted his teeth, clenched the bronze money sword, rushed up, stepped on the bed, holding a talisman in one hand and a sword in the other, he pierced the gray mist.

“The four great enlightened ones, heaven and the earth are eternal, water extinguished fire, gold cuts off water, and those who see demons and monsters will be destroyed, as hastily as I decree, break!”

“Don’t!” As soon as Liu Qingbo’s voice fell, there was a loud noise, like an air mass being pierced, and the airflow suddenly spread out. Everyone fell back to the ground, and Zhang Han hit the wall heavily.

The black mist and the gray mist were suddenly separated. The gray mist suffered double the damage from the talisman and bronze money sword. Its color suddenly became lighter. On the contrary, the volume of the black air mass skyrocketed several times over, flying towards Zhang Han, who was still dizzy and hadn’t recovered from the fall!

Zhang Han reluctantly raised the bronze money sword to resist, but under the pressure of the black mist, the Five Emperors money sword he had worked so hard to collect broke, scattering cooper coins everywhere.

The Five Emperors’ money¹ was divided into different sizes. The small Five Emperors’ money² refers to coins of the five emperors of Shunzhi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty. Because the Five Emperors’ money at that time was made of brass, and society was relatively peaceful, the copper money passed through the hands of tens of millions of people. With sufficient qi, it had the ability to exorcise evil spirits. The money of the Great Five Emperors³ was very difficult to find. It referred to Qin five-baht, the Han five-baht, and the bronze coins of Emperor Taizong or Emperor Gaozong of the Tang Dynasty, the coins from the Song Dynasty, and the Yong Tongbao of the Ming Dyansty. It was really difficult to gather that many people together, so the ministry replaced it with the five-baht money of the Han Dynasty, which also knows as the five-baht money sword⁴.

¹Refers to copper coins with round square holes in them. Ancient copper coins were cast according to the “outer circle and inner square” and “the unity of heaven and man”, which is like heaven, law, and earth. With heavy cultural attributes, in traditional culture, the money of the Five Emperors has the function of warding off evil spirits and bringing blessings. The five emperors, in the original sense, refer to the five heavenly emperors of the east, south, west, north, and middle.
²Refers to the copper coins cast by the five emperors of the Qing Dynasty, including Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong and Jiaqing.
³Refers to Qin Banliang, Han Wuzhu, Kaiyuan Tongbao, Songyuan Tongbao, and Yongle Tongbao.
⁴So the takeaway of this whole paragraph is basically a money coin sword that looks like this comprises of coins from ancient China. This chart shows you what the coins look like. The top two rows show the 5 great emperors’ coins, while the bottom row is the five small emperors’ coins.

But Zhang Yan’s copper money sword was different from the small Five Emperors money or five-baht money swords on the market. This was a veritable Great Five Emperors money sword, and only a famous disciple of his background could get it. Who would have expected that this evil thing turned out to be so powerful that even his rare Great Five Emperors money sword couldn’t withstand it.

Zhang Han’s eyes widened. Unable to believe it, he could only hurriedly take out the talisman from his pocket and throw it at the black mist.

Although he was a direct descendant of the Zhang family, his qualifications were average, but for ordinary people, his ability to divine and ask questions was more than enough. In addition, he hadn’t experienced any thorny issues since being outside for decades, so it was inevitable that he was negligent in his technical skills. Unexpectedly, he had gone too far at night and finally found a nut that was hard to crack.

The talisman collided with the black mist, and suddenly a cloud of flames burst out.

Zhang Han’s talisman wasn’t some charm that could be bought for dozens of yuan online, but generally was an evil-warding talisman from Mount Longhu. Although for historical reasons, the Zhang family of Mount Longhu was split into two branches—one went to Taiwan, while the other stayed on the mainland—the things passed down by Master Zhang Tianshi, the one from Taiwan, he naturally inherited. This evil-suppressing talisman was painted by the Zhang family from Taiwan, so its effectiveness was naturally extraordinary.

The black mist exploded in an instant, but before Zhang Han had time to be happy, the exploded black mist immediately condensed again and swept towards him.

Zhang Han was dumbfounded.

All the changes happened within a few seconds, and it was too late for him to get up and dodge, so he could only pick up the lamp that fell next to him and throw it at the black mist.

The lamp passed through the black mist and fell on the bed, unable to cause any harm at all, while the black mist was close at hand!

My life is over! Zhang Yan thought. Like everyone’s reaction when facing irresistible danger, he closed his eyes subconsciously.

The fishy smell came to his face, but his body didn’t suffer from the pain of being torn and wrapped in the black mist as he imagined. Zhang Han thought it was strange, so he slowly opened his eyes and felt joy that he had escaped death. He saw the glint of a sword passing through the black mist and splitting it in half and inserting it into the bedroom wall!

Dong Zhi jumped up and ran to draw his sword.

The black mist that had been split in half trembled, and slowly showed signs of reforming again.

“Lao Liu! “

Dong Zhi shouted to Liu Qingbo, who had already reached out his hand to grab the sword. Without answering, Liu Qingbo took the sword out of his scabbard, and the sword’s light glowed endlessly, covering the black mist.

While the two hadn’t practiced in advance, after their partnership dealing with the three-headed python together, the two seemed to have a tacit understanding on the battlefield, and they could immediately understand each other’s meaning, especially at critical moments where things were rapidly changing, no opportunity could be missed.

Time reversed back ten minutes ago.

After coming in just now, although the black mist looked tricky and difficult to deal with, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo felt that Zhang Han, as a descendant of the Zhang family in Taiwan should be able to withstand it for a while, so they went to check on Han Qi’s situation first.

Han Qi was seriously injured and was dying, but fortunately, she was still breathing. Liu Qingbo had learned first aid and stopped her bleeding first.

There were also pools of blood in the bathroom, and pieces of flesh were hanging next to the bathtub. Only by carefully distingushing it did Dong Zhi recognize that it was actually an unformed baby.

How could Han Qi’s miscarriage cause such a big thing? Where did the evil black and gray things come from? So many mysteries lingered overhead, but Han Qi had fallen into a semi-coma and couldn’t give an answer.

The gray mist slowly approached Han Qi and seemed to want to drill into her stomach. Dong Zhi threw a sunlight talisman over, which seemed to anger the gray mist even more. The opponent suddenly swelled and shattered the sunlight talisman. The gray mist shook slightly and gradually turned into the form of a baby.

Mom…

Delicate and tender, it didn’t look like a cloud of fierce gray mist.

If Han Qi heard this voice, she would definitely think she was having hallucinations, but Dong Zhi knew that it wasn’t one. The voice was actually equivalent to sound waves. Bluntly put, it was transmitted by the soul to the human body. Because the two side were located in different dimension, they may not be able to hear it.

Mom…

It seemed to want to wake up Han Qi, and with a crying sound, the gray baby became a toddler; timid, adoring but not daring to approach.

Dong Zhi said solemnly, “Why did you attack your mother? What is that black mist?”

Mom… don’t want me anymore…

She found someone to lock me up… It hurts…

Mom is pregnant with my brother…

But my brother wants to kill me, and he wants to kill my mother…

When the gray mist died, he was still a baby spirit. At this time, his ability to express himself was limited. He could only stumble and convey some messages. What Dong Zhi heard was like a fog, and he could only roughly piece together a little truth.

“Why did she lock you up?”

Dark room… There is a person… It’s terrible…

I don’t want to stay inside…

I want my mom…

Dong Zhi asked, “Where are you locked up?!”

The gray infant spirit body trembled violently, as if it wanted to say something but it couldn’t express it.

Jade…

Jade…

Dong Zhi was confused, and after listening to it several times, he realized that it was saying jade. With a flash of inspiration, he turned his head and searched for Han Qi, and sure enough, he found a jade pendant on her neck.

The rectangular jade pendant was about a thumb’s length and wasn’t of high quality. There were black spots and impurities, but there was a child carved on the jade. Below was the text in Thai. The branding of the jade was indescribably weird. When he first touched it, he felt a chill seeping into the palm of his hand from the jade, and it almost made Dong Zhi subconsciously withdraw his hand, causing the jade to fall to the ground. The jade pendant didn’t smash to pieces, but another crack was formed.

Liu Qingbo stopped Han Qi’s blood, took the time to take a look at the branding on the jade, and said, “This should be a sorcery in Southeast Asia. A witch forcibly imprisoned the infant’s spirit in the yin charm through magic, implicating the owner’s luck with it. It influences and nurtures each other. As the infant spirit grows up, it can serve the host and bless the other’s wealth and career.”

In other words, Han Qi had been pregnant with a child before with this gray infant spirit, but later miscarried and the child wasn’t born. She found a witch and locked her child’s soul into a jade charm to improve her luck. Now that Han Qi was pregnant again, there was another change this time. The mass of flesh in the bathroom was the fetus in her abdomen and the black mist was the soul of the fetus?

Between the electric lights flickering, Dong Zhi could only think of so much, but he always felt that there was something wrong.

Before he could figure out a reason, Zhang Han couldn’t withstand it any longer.

The black mist was unexpectedly powerful. From Dong Zhi’s view, although Zhang Han’s ability wasn’t as good as that of Li Ying, who was also from the same family, it was only slightly inferior. It wasn’t a world of difference, but even he couldn’t suppress the black mist, let alone Luo Nanfang and Chen Guoliang. Just moments away from being killed, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo worked together to deal with the black mist.

Under the shadow of light from Liu Qingbo’s sword, the black mist not only didn’t flinch and show weakness, but became even stronger and even gradually turned into the form of an adult man. The lights fell on its head, and the black mist trembled violently, scattered but not broken, and it seemed like it was about to collapse.

Liu Qingbo increased his strength and pressed the sword forward another inch; the tip of the sword slightly pierced the black mist’s head.

At this time, Dong Zhi drew out the Changshou Sword and attacked from behind.

With a bang, the black mist suddenly exploded, and the powerful air current blasted the two of them away. The black mist opened its mouth and sucked the gray baby spirit directly into its mouth.

Only then did Dong Zhi understood that the black mist had only shown weakness to devour the infant spirit while they were distracted!

The two of them looked at each other in surprise from a distance, and a chill rose from the bottom of their hearts.

Before the black mist had completed its form, it was cunning and insidious. How difficult would it be to deal with it after it completes its form and grows?

Dong Zhi was even more reminiscent of the cunning and changeable Xu Wan, the Archfiend who was finally killed by the two deputy directors of the Special Administration Bureau. The black mist in front of him may still be lacking in strength and spiritual wisdom, but in time, would it eventually become something similar to an Archfiend?

They must absolutely kill it here! Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo thought at the same time.

The body of the man who swallowed the infant spirit was much clearer, and there was a cackling sound in his throat, as if he wanted to convey something to them.

Dong Zhi seemed to see the vague blackness of his face that evoked a strange smile for him.

He didn’t have time to think about it, and together with Liu Qingbo, the two of them moved at the same time.

One pounced on the black mist, and the other quickly took out a talisman and formed an array around it.

This series of changes stunned everyone else.

Zhang Han was a little ashamed. He didn’t expect that he had regarded himself too highly before, and in the end, he had to wait for others to save his life.

Luo Nanfang held his breath and secretly prayed that they could successfully eliminate the black mist; otherwise, his old bones would be buried here today.

Chen Guoliang sat limp and trembling by the wall, unable to say anything.

Hui Yiguang had experienced the incident on the rooftop of the hospital last time, so she was calmer, while Boss Zhao and the lobby manager fainted in shock and were unconscious.

Zhang Han quickly recognized the array Dong Zhi was forming. It was a confinement formation designed to trap the black mist and prevent the opponent from escaping. It wasn’t that Dong Zhi didn’t want to summon thunder, but he was injured and wasn’t sure if he would be successful. It was better to choose a simpler and more effective way—Zhang Han quickly took out all the evil-suppressing talismans from his pocket and helped Dong Zhi set up the formation. His evil-suppressing talisman could play an auxiliary role in the eight trigrams array. In other ways, it could strengthen the effect, so Dong Zhi didn’t stop him.

The black mist actively stretched out its hand towards the sword light, but it was instantly crushed. The man’s body was shattered, and it scattered. Before Dong Zhi had time to toss the sunlight talisman, the black powder in the air began to quickly condense and assemble again.

“Damn, it’s over!”

Liu Qingbo yelled and raised his sword to pounce on the black mist that had just condensed. White light was entangled with the black mist for a moment before Liu Qingbo angrily shouted, “Dong Zhi, fuck your uncle*! Hurry up and help!”

*(你大爷) Beijing dialect that’s used to express dissatisfaction among friends.

Before he finished shouting, Dong Zhi completed the formation!

“Go!” Dong Zhi shouted. Liu Qingbo understood, and directly applied his strength to the sword. The sword light suddenly brightened, almost covering the blackness.

The Changshou Sword rushed in at the same time, passing through Liu Qingbo’s sword light and the fine bits of black mist, directly piercing the core of the black mist. The sunlight talisman turned into a bright talisman fire and caused the core to suddenly explode.

Boom!

There was a loud explosion in Zhang Han’s ears that shook his eardrums, and for a while, his entire auditory world fell silent, leaving only a buzzing aftertaste.

The dazzling light made him unable to open his eyes. Under the impact of the huge airflow, he smashed into the wall a second time. His back was in so much pain that he almost spat out a mouthful of blood!

Will let you taste the wrath of destruction…

In a daze, Zhang Han seemed to hear such a sentence.

He coughed a few times, resisted the tingling of his eyes, and slowly opened them.

The room was even more messy and chaotic than before. The door finally opened, and the hotel staff who rushed in from outside looked at them dumbfounded, not knowing what happened.

Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo also fell to the ground. The black mist had completely disappeared without a trace. It should have been completely wiped out by them. Zhang Han thought they seemed fine and weren’t in such an embarrassed state as he and the rest were.

“It’s still alive! It’s still alive! Destroy it soon!” Chen Guoliang yelled suddenly, and everyone’s nerves that had just been relaxed tightened again in an instant.

Looking in the direction he pointed, Dong Zhi saw a cloud of black mist slowly separating from the fetus in the bathroom. It was much smaller than before. It must have been a fish that slipped through the net. He thought about it and pinched a talisman with his two fingers and threw it.

“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 sunlight talisman turned into flames and wrapped the black mist and burned it fiercely. Everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Seeing that the black mist was about to be completely wiped out, Dong Zhi suddenly felt a chill in the center of his eyebrows. It seemed that something jumped out of the flame, shot over quickly, and touched his brows again, but there was nothing unusual.

“Did you see anything just now?” he asked Liu Qingbo.

“See what?” Liu Qingbo asked blankly.

Dong Zhi felt relieved thinking that it seemed to be just an illusion.

Zhang Han was both shocked and ashamed. He didn’t expect that the two people he had secretly despised before and thought were charlatans had saved everyone’s lives at a critical time.

“Dare to ask my friends*, is your talisman kung fu also taught by your master?” Zhang Han’s address to Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had been directly upgraded from “little friends” to “Taoist friends.”

*(道友) Specific term referring to friends who practice Taoism together.

The use of talismans needed to be inherited from a school. Without a school, the talisman wouldn’t take effect, but the name Long Shen was strange to Zhang Han, which was why he asked.

Dong Zhi said, “I inherited my talisman skills from the Hezao Sect, which I’m part of and in whom there was another master that I worshipped.”

A burst of heat flushed through his ears and onto Zhang Han’s face. He really wanted to go back dozens of minutes ago and drag his eyes that were higher from the top so as not to embarrass himself now.

“The Hezao Sect is one of the three major sects that’s on par with Mount Longhu. Although I grew up on the other side of the river, I have also heard of them. I didn’t expect to see two fellow worshippers now. If I have the opportunity in the future, I’ll invite you to the Zhang family in Taiwan as guests!”

Luo Nanfang also smiled bitterly. “Thanks to the help of you two today. Otherwise, an explanation would have to be made for my old bones here!”

As they were busy buddying up, the people outside the hotel were fruitlessly trying to open the door. They had to call the police after they heard a loud noise coming from inside.

When the police rushed over, the events on the inside had just come to an end. The door opened smoothly, and everyone was stunned by all the blood in the room.

Since Dong Zhi had dealt with the Lucheng police because of Yamamoto’s affairs, he was no stranger to them. He said, “Don’t be nervous. Something happened here. The Special Administration Bureau has solved it. You can give it to Deputy Song of the criminal investigation unit, or directly tell Boss Zheng.”

He took out his work permit. The little policeman who came had been in the industry for less than a year. He had never seen such a bloody and chaotic crime scene. His mind was confused for a moment. Seeing that the work permit said he was also a policeman, he was even more confused, but he didn’t dare let his guard down. He hurriedly asked his colleagues to take care of Han Qi, who was seriously injured and unconscious, to the hospital, and reported to the higher ups. In the end, he got a personal call from Director Zheng confirming that what Dong Zhi said was true, but for the sake of safety, Director Zheng still had to come in person to take a look.

Dong Zhi also called for Mu Duo to come over. From the corner of his eyes, he caught a glimpse of Chen Guoliang, who was trying to sneak away, and he couldn’t help but shout, “Stop!”

The police quickly caught Chen Guoliang. “What are you doing? Where do you want to go?!”

Chen Guoliang showed a smile that was uglier than crying. As soon as he was about to speak, he couldn’t help retching. “I, I can’t stand the smell here!”

Liu Qingbo showed a smile that wasn’t a smile. “Aren’t you a master from Hong Kong? Aren’t you a guest of honor of Mr. Li and Ms. Gong? You’re much more knowledgeable than we are. How can you not withstand a little smell? Chen Guoliang, you’re suspected of cheating and spreading feudal superstitions. Now I want to take you back to assist in the investigation. First think about what you should tell us first!”

Chen Guoliang wept, and his hands and feet grew soft, but he didn’t dare resist anymore.

Upon seeing this, Boss Zhao couldn’t help but feel a pain in his heart when he remembered the large feng shui fee he had paid before.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Christ, I spent too long researching that one paragraph on ancient Chinese money.

—

Five Emperors Money

Refers to copper coins with round square holes in them. Ancient copper coins are cast according to the “outer circle and inner square” and “the unity of heaven and man”, which is like heaven, law, and earth. With heavy cultural attributes, in traditional culture, the money of the Five Emperors has the function of warding off evil spirits and bringing blessings. The five emperors, in the original sense, refer to the five heavenly emperors of the east, south, west, north, and middle.

The Small Five Emperor Coins refer to the copper coins cast by the five emperors of the Qing Dynasty, including Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing. They are the coins in the last row, represented in the picture above.

The Great Five Emperor coins refers to Qin Banliang, Han Wuzhu, Kaiyuan Tongbao, Songyuan Tongbao, and Yongle Tongbao. They are the coins in the first two rows represented in the picture above.

Overall, these coins can be used to make a “sword” that can ward off evil spirits and bring blessings.

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Author: 梦溪石 / Meng Xi Shi

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

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Chapter 86

Early the next morning, Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo met Hui Yiguang on the set.

This woman had depression some time ago, but now her entire face was radiant, and she seemed to be doing very well.

Hui Yiguang greeted them very warmly and politely and told them about the news with an apologetic face.

“I told the director in advance yesterday, but I didn’t expect management to find three people from each side.”

Liu Qingbo frowned. “They’re also from the Special Administration Bureau?”

“No, no. They’re feng shui masters!” Hui Yiguang said apologetically. “I know that my colleagues are jealous of each other, so this must be very disrespectful to you, but I really didn’t know beforehand However, I won’t let you two come in vain for today.”

Dong Zhi smiled. “We’re not colleagues. There’s no situation where this is taboo. Instead, I’m worried that they will be afraid when they see us.”

Hui Yiguang was stunned and puzzled.

Liu Qingbo understood what he meant and snorted.

They belong to the Special Administration Bureau, while these so-called feng shui masters and psychics were full of people fishing in troubled waters. Just like thieves, they have to be afraid when they see the police.

Of the three people found by the investor, two came earlier than Dong Zhi, and one hadn’t yet arrived.

Of the two who had arrived, one was an old man holding a compass in his hand, looking very friendly, while the other was a middle-aged man with a short beard on his chin. He was dressed in casual clothing and had an inscrutable smile on his face.

The two of them also brought their assistants over, and at first glance, they looked more stylish than Dong Zhi.

Upon seeing this, Dong Zhi whispered to Liu Qingbo, “Is it too late for you to pretend to be my assistant?”

Liu Qingbo snorted coldly, indicating that he would not talk.

They were looking at each other, and the other party was also looking at them.

Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo were too young, so young that they didn’t look like they were in this business at all, but more like young actors who were here to act.

The old man and the others were invited over by one of the investors who introduced them. “This is Master Luo Nanfang, a famous feng shui master in the south, and also a visiting professor at several universities. He often gives lectures. You’re very busy most of the time, so it’s hard to make an appointment with you at ordinary times.”

The old man who was holding the compass smiled and nodded to everyone. “I heard that I could compete with other experts, so I came. Pleasure to meet everyone.”

The investor also introduced the middle-aged man. “This is Master Zhang Han of the Zhang Family. Master Zhang is a direct descendant of Mount Longhu. He’s very capable and can’t be invited by ordinary people. This time, he also took time out of his busy schedule.”

Zhang Han seemed to have a good personal relationship with him as he gave the investor quite a bit of face. When he heard this, he said politely, “Oh stop. Where’s our friendship? If you need help, I couldn’t possibly refuse!”

Some of the people who were present had heard of the names Luo Nanfang and Zhang Han, so they stepped forward to greet them.

For actors who filmed all over the world, it was inevitable that they would encounter some strange and unexplainable things. Just choose any actor who had been in the industry for some years and they may be able to tell you about a supernatural experience. Therefore, people in the circle were more inclined to believe in these kinds of strange things than ordinary people, and their pursuit and desire for fame and fortune also made them always hope to achieve their goals faster through some shortcuts. Feng shui masters and psychics had become one of the most popular routes.

In contrast, the nameless Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo had already earned the reputation of being charlatans.

However, the investor still gave Hui Yiguang’s face. When he heard that she invited them over, he said, “This person’s name is surnamed Dong, and this person’s name is surname Liu.”

That’s it?

No introduction to origins or teacher?

Luo Nanfang frowned and glanced at Zhang Han.

Many industries required young people. The younger you were, the more energetic. However, in some industries, the opposite was true. For example, doctors and feng shui masters. Dong Zhi’s and Liu Qingbo’s ages gave people the impression that they were too green and didn’t know much.

According to the rules of the industry, they should’ve taken the initiative to come forward to Luo Nanfeng and salute him and the others, but since the two of them didn’t do anything but just smile at them, Luo Nanfang’s and Zhang Han’s immediate opinion became even worse.

Zhang Yan couldn’t help frowning. “I wonder which of your master did you learn from?”

Liu Qingbo said lightly, “Liu Yongjia.”

That was his grandfather’s name.

Dong Zhi was polite, but the name he said was also very strange. “My master’s name is Long Shen.”

If he had said he was from the Hezao Sect, maybe the other party would still know, but Long Shen and Liu Yongjia were names that Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan had never heard of.

They all had their own judgement, and they became more certain that most likely these two were charlatans, so they didn’t bother to talk to them anymore.

Dong Zhi didn’t really care about their attitudes. Anyway, they were split into two groups, and they weren’t here to fight. With Liu Qingbo’s temperament, since he had nothing to do, he decided to speak up. “Mr. Zhang, what is your Taoist name and which generation of Mount Longhu did you learn under?”

Zhang Han raised his eyebrows. “Do you know the previous generations of Mount Longhu? It doesn’t hurt to tell you. I’m from the Xing generation.”

Who knew that Liu Qingbo not only didn’t show the reaction of admiration that he was used to, but he also scanned him up and down. “I heard that the youngest member of the Xing generation is now at least seventy years old. It seems that Mr. Zhang has skills in aging!”

How outrageous that before he was questioned by the other party, they had questioned him first. Zhang Han grew angry. “When Master Zhang moved to Taiwan, I was the orthodox direct descendant from him. Don’t compare me with those fake masters of cats and dogs!”

The Zhang family of Mount Longhu has been prosperous since Zhang Daoling* of the Han Dynasty. In the fourth generation of Celestial Masters, the Zhang family moved from Shaanxi to Mount Longhu. Since then, it had been passed down from generation to generation and had even been sealed by successive dynasties. Their status was very transcendent. There was a saying among people that the Zhang family, like the Confucian family, was a family that had not changed for thousands of years, which showed how distinguished they were. In the Republic of China, which was the darkest and most chaotic era in China, the Zhang family moved to Taiwan with the defeated national army. What remained were the lineages and branches. Since then, there have been long debates about which side was authentically Taoist, though outsiders weren’t privy to these feuds.

*Was a Chinese religious leader who lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty credited with founding the Way of the Celestial Masters sect of Taoism, which is also known as the Way of the Five Pecks of Rice. He was the founder of Taoism.

Liu Qingbo chuckled and wanted to say something, but Dong Zhi jabbed him with his elbow, motioning him to stop.

They were here to solve a problem, not pick fights. These two people relied on their identity and put on airs, but they haven’t done anything excessive.

Liu Qingbo glared at him and finally gave him face.

Interlaced like mountains*, the investor was like a duck listening to thunder. They only heard what was said, but they felt the conversation went over their heads, so they didn’t rashly interrupt.

*(隔行如隔山) Saying which means people who aren’t in the industry won’t understand. || In this context, all the passersby are just listening but don’t say anything because they have no clue what Liu Qingbo and Zhang Han are talking about.

At that moment, the third expert he invited arrived.

The person was about forty years old and was wearing a mandarin jacket. He was very imposing, with a red face and a tall figure. He looked more like a successful man than a spiritual practitioner.

However, the investor was obviously more concerned about this one. Not only did he greet the other party as soon as he got out of the car, he also personally invited the person in.

“Welcome, Master Chen. I’m so happy that you could make it! Let me introduce you. This is Master Chen Guoliang, a master who is known to everyone in Hong Kong, and a guest of Mr. Li and Ms. Gong, the top tycoons in Hong Kong!”

Chen Guoliang nodded modestly, didn’t even bother to say anything, and only glanced at his assistant.

His assistant immediately understood what he meant and immediately understood the investor’s displeasure. “Boss Zhao, what do you mean by this? You invited us and others as well? Do you not trust Master Chen?”

The investor didn’t dare to offend, and hurriedly said, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. When I contacted Lao Sun yesterday, he said that Master Chen might not be free. At that time, he couldn’t give me a letter of approval. You see, I’m in a rush, so…”

As soon as these words came out, Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan became unhappy again.

They were the replacement for the spare tire?

The investor didn’t want to offend these experts, so he hurriedly smiled and said, “Look at what I said. In fact, this matter is really urgent. Even our male lead has gone to the hospital. The crew really can’t help it…”

Chen Guoliang waved his hand and finally opened his mouth. “Forget it, let’s take a look at the place first.”

The investor who was just granted amnesty quickly said, “I’ll take you over!”

Liu Qingbo gave a snort, but there was little movement. The others were looking in front of the place, so they didn’t pay any attention to him, but Dong Zhi, who was next to him, heard it.

“What’s the matter?”

Liu Qingbo said, “I have heard of this person before. If others want to ask him for feng shui advice, they have to make an appointment at least a month in advance. The cost of inviting him out is more than 500,000 yuan, and he’s very difficult to invite. This crew certainly has money. It’s estimated it took a lot of contacts and money to invite him over!”

Dong Zhi smiled and said, “It goes without saying that if Han Qi and Su Fan can be hired as the leads, how could they not have money? I heard that they’re paying a lot of rent per day on this house alone. If the matter could be resolved smoothly, half a million yuan will be worth it.”

The investor accompanied Chen Guoliang to the front, Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan followed with their assistants, while Hui Yiguang accompanied Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo at the end, drawing an obvious distance.

In response to the arrival of Chen Guoliang and them, Hui Yiguang expressed her apologies again to Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo.

Dong Zhi said, “Those who don’t know are not guilty. Miss Hui, you don’t need to keep apologizing.”

Hui Yiguang apologized and said, “I have already described the general situation on the phone. I don’t know if you two have any questions?”

Dong Zhi shook his head. “Not for the time being. Let’s take a look at the crew before going to the hotel, but I have always had a question in my heart. It has nothing to do with this matter. It has something to do with you, Miss Hui.”

Hui Yiguang reacted quickly. “Not all questions in this world can be answered.”

Dong Zhi: “Do you know what I want to ask?”

Hui Yiguang’s expression was calm. “No matter what I say, you can’t let go of your doubts, so why do you have to ask more questions?”

After she finished speaking, she sighed softly.

“Since the last incident, I have woken up in the dead of night, and I often have the illusion of identity confusion. I don’t know if I am Hui Yiguang or Wang Qi, but it seems that the two of us are one. I even went to see a psychiatrist, but the doctor said I didn’t have any problems. Later, it took a long time before I accepted my current situation. For me, everything is over. I am Hui Yiguang, and Hui Yiguang is me. Do you think there are any traces of being possessed by evil things on my body?”

No.

The current Hui Yiguang was too normal to be normal, as if she were the most ordinary person among all living beings.

Dong Zhi was speechless.

Hui Yiguang: “I now donate a portion of the money I earn from every project to disaster areas and poor mountainous areas. I don’t want to say how many people have benefited from this, but at least this Hui Yiguang now contributes to the surroundings and society. Do you cling to an answer from the past? Does it make sense? No matter what the answer is, there’s no way to go back in time. I remember you saying that the cycle of cause and effect is unpleasant. Isn’t the result now conforming to heaven? Otherwise, the one who survived the heavenly lightning last time wouldn’t be who the me now.”

Dong Zhi looked at her for a while before he said, “I hope you remember what you said. If there is any mistake in your behavior, I will definitely take action.”

Hui Yiguang smiled. “I will.”

Liu Qingbo knew what they were talking about because he was also involved in the last incident, but he didn’t participate in the conversation. Instead, he kept his head down and texted on his phone. Dong Zhi didn’t know who he was busy communicating with.

The villa had a total of three floors. It didn’t take them very long to tour the area.

After visiting the house, the investor, Boss Zhao, asked them what they found.

Luo Nanfang said that the house was a bit gloomy, but it was purely because there were too many trees outside and not enough sunlight. It wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t a residential place. Since it was a tourist attraction, with tourists coming and going every day, the lack of yang energy was fine.

Mr. Zhang didn’t make any long remarks, but it probably meant that there was nothing wrong with the house.

Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other, feeling that these two did have some real skills.

They didn’t specialize in feng shui, and they haven’t opened their eyes to the heavens. However, with the acumen as a practitioner, they could still feel the balance of yin and yang in this house, and there was an endless supply of vitality. Although the light was a little darker, as Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan said, this house was normal.

“We also agree with the opinions of Master Luo and Master Zhang,” Dong Zhi said.

Picking up people’s wisdom. They were probably afraid of revealing their ineptitude. Zhang Han glanced at them and had already classified Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo into the ranks of cheats under the banner of feng shui.

Luo Nanfang also shook his head secretly. It was precisely because there were liars mixed in that this business varied greatly.

Boss Zhao actually valued Chen Guoliang the most. Seeing the other party hadn’t spoken, he politely said, “Master Chen, I wonder if you have any ideas?”

Chen Guoliang glanced at them and said, “There is a problem with the house. Not only is there a problem with the house, but people also have problems. It is people who affect the house.”

Boss Zhao was taken aback. “There are no residents in this house anymore. It’s now a tourist attraction…”

Chen Guoliang said, “It’s not the original owner of the house. It’s a person on the crew. Are all of you here?”

Boss Zhao hurriedly said, “It’s all there, except…”

The staff member next to him added: “Several people have been injured and hospitalized, including the male lead. There is also the female lead, Miss Han, and the second male lead, who hasn’t come yet!”

Chen Guoliang waved his hand eloquently. “Then go to the hospital first!”

Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan also saw that although Boss Zhao invited them over, among the three of them, they believed in Chen Guoliang the most. When they heard what Chen Guoliang said, they immediately asked someone to prepare a car to go to the hospital, but Boss Zhao didn’t snub Luo Nanfang and others, and also politely asked if they wanted to go over and have a look together.

Neither Zhang Yan nor Luo Nanfang had an opinion.

To be honest, when they heard Boss Zhao say that they were in a rush and were very anxious and said that accidents kept happening one after another and never stopped, they couldn’t help but think in strange directions. However, after coming, they found that everything was normal here and there wasn’t a problem with the villa or the people. Of course, everyone in the crew was still nervous, which also showed that Boss Zhao hadn’t exaggerated things.

Although they didn’t get along well with Chen Guoliang and there were also two “liars” on the side, Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan also wanted to figure out what was going on.

Dong Zhi said, “Let’s go to the hotel where the actors are staying first. We won’t go to the hospital.”

This was because Hui Yiguang said before that she suspected that the problem might be Han Qi, so they were now going to find Han Qi.

Zhang Han teased, “What’s the hurry, you two children? We’ll go to the hospital first, then the hotel. Is it possible that the two of them have something urgent and want to go first?”

Liu Qingbo sniped back. “Why can’t we go to the hotel first and then we’ll go to the hospital after?”

Although Boss Zhao also felt that Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo weren’t capable of anything, he didn’t show it on his face. He smiled and said, “Well, how about going to the hospital first and then the hotel? It just so happens that a few people will not be able to go back today. I have booked a room at the hotel for you.”

Dong Zhi: “We live in this city. We don’t need to stay in a hotel. I heard Miss Hui say that yesterday, Miss Han watched the actor fall down the stairs with her own eyes and was almost hit. Then something happened to her own assistant. Maybe Miss Han found something, so I think it’s better to go to the hotel first and talk to Miss Han.”

Boss Zhao thought it was reasonable when he heard it, so he looked at Chen Guoliang.

Chen Guoliang put his hands behind his back and said displeasingly, “Who is in charge here? Lao Zhao, you invited me here just to let me listen to the nonsense of two people of unknown origin? Are you inviting me or them? If it’s them, I’m sorry, but I won’t be accompanying them.”

He raised his foot to leave, but Boss Zhao quickly stopped. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, Master Chen. I didn’t think about it well, so we can do whatever you say!”

Liu Qingbo sneered: “I’m afraid there’s someone else talking nonsense! Master Chen Guoliang, which sect did you study under that you dare say our origins are unknown?”

Zhang Yan and Luo Nanfang were having a good time. They didn’t like Chen Guoliang, Liu Qingbo, or Dong Zhi. As a result, they hadn’t done anything yet when the two sides quarreled, so they were happy to watch the show.

Chen Guoliang snorted, disdaining to talk to him at all. The assistant next to him lowered his face and scolded. “You dare to talk to the master like this? The master did not expose you and let you stay here. It’s already a face-saving thing for you. Do you dare to make trouble?!”

The master put on big airs, even bringing bodyguards with him when he came. The assistant called them in to escort them away.

The two bodyguards were tall and burly, wearing suits and sunglasses. At first glance, they looked like that, but before they could put their hands on Liu Qingbo’s shoulders, they were already in a daze. Before anyone could see what Liu Qingbo had done, the two bodyguards were already lying on the ground, clutching their arms and screaming in pain.

Of course, this wasn’t because the bodyguards were too weak. Chen Guoliang knew very well that these bodyguards were good at fighting opponents one against two. Now, against two scrawny, thin young men, they were actually put down with one move. It meant that his opponent was extremely strong.

His face changed slightly. He didn’t expect that after walking outside for so many years, he would lose sight of his kung fu. It was clear that these two guys were pretending to be pigs and eating tigers.

Chen Guoliang settled down. “Why are young people so quick to get angry? If you have something to say, you might as well say it.”

Liu Qingbo shook his phone. “Master Chen, I checked your information online. It says that you studied with Guo Yushan, a famous overseas master, in your early years. Unfortunately, Mr. Guo is a family friend. I asked Mr. Guo through my father. He said that he had never accepted a disciple named Chen Guoliang. Tell me, is the information published on the Internet wrong, or is Mr. Guo so old that he doesn’t even remember his apprentice?”

Chen Guoliang barely squeezed out a smile. “The information on the Internet is wrong.”

Liu Qingbo snorted coldly. “Then which famous master did Mr. Chen study under? Can you tell me so that I can follow him for long-term insight?”

From just now, he and Dong Zhi, after seeing Chen Guoliang appear, had felt that this person was too strange. Bluntly put, he was more like a successful boss than a hidden expert. In contrast, Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan were a bit more authentic.

Unexpectedly, they didn’t provoke each other, and the other party actually came to provoke them.

Boss Zhao felt like he was having a headache. He had now begun to regret that he shouldn’t have forgotten the rules of peers being jealous of each other. He invited three people at once and couldn’t help but secretly complain about Hui Yiguang. How did she find these two people? Chen Guoliang walked among giants because of his fortune-telling and feng shui, and had a large network of people in Hong Kong. Boss Zhao had asked Chen Gualiang not only to solve the current problem, but to facilitate business in the future.

As a result, now that this had happened, the other party would definitely be angry with him.

Thinking of this, Boss Zhao couldn’t help but glare at Hui Yiguang.

But Hui Yiguang’s expression was calm, and she didn’t seem panicked because the person she invited had offended Chen Guoliang.

Boss Zhao deserved to be a flexible-minded businessman. Seeing her like this, his heart moved. He felt that Hui Yiguang was relying on him. He thought he would find a chance to talk to her and clear things up later. Thinking like this, he wasn’t as angry as before.

So he hurriedly said that the situation couldn’t be resolved. “Well, several actors are still in the hotel. I remember that Master Chen also liked watching Miss Han’s work very much. Why don’t we go to the hotel first and just talk to Miss Han?”

Chen Guoliang’s face didn’t look good, but he became amicable. “Very well.”

Liu Qingbo wanted to say more but was held down by Dong Zhi.

“Let’s get down to business first. This person won’t run away,” Dong Zhi whispered.

Liu Qingbo was quite obedient this time, mainly because he felt that the two bodyguards were too weak. Chen Guoliang was probably a man who only paid lip service. He didn’t even need to make a single move or even use a sword to bring him down. That would be too unchallenging.

The group of people got into the car in several groups. Chen Guoliang had his own car. Boss Zhao specially called Hui Yiguang to sit with him while Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo joined Luo Nanfang and Zhang Yan. The three cars drove in the direction of the hotel not far away.

Taking advantage of the opportunity to be in the same car, Boss Zhao asked Hui Yiguang, “What are the origins of these two people you invited?”

Hui Yiguang smiled. “Don’t ask, I can’t talk nonsense without their consent, but there’s a big story behind them. I can only say that whether it’s Master Chen or Master Luo, when they come to Lucheng, they all must be under Mr. Dong.”

The difference between her and Boss Zhao was that she had dealt with the Special Administration Bureau and was also friends with Chi Banxia. She had some understanding of them and knew that these people had dual identities as cultivators and law enforcers. Although ordinary people may not know it, they have great powers. Let alone Boss Zhao, even those who had even more money may not have been able to hire them.

There was more room for imagination in this sentence. Boss Zhao had an active mind, and he immediately developed a wealth of imagination. Hui Yiguang didn’t say anymore and left him guessing.

When they arrived at their destination, Boss Zhao’s attitude towards Hui Yiguang was obviously much closer and he was much more amiable to the younger generation.

He also regretted that he wasn’t enthusiastic about Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo just now. While taking everyone to the hotel, he thought about how to make up for it.

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The author has something to say:

The dispute between Daoism in Mount Longhu is real. One is in Jiangxi and the other is in Taiwan. There are some historical factors, but the other contents are fictitious. It is inconvenient to write too much here. Interested friends can search the Internet for themselves~~

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Kinky Thoughts:

Is Hui Yiguang a red herring?

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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 85

She wasn’t sure whether it was her soles that were too slippery or the assistant was too impatient, but Han Qi watched as the assistant slipped forward and her face slammed against all the glass debris on the ground, and she didn’t have enough time to save her.

The screams alarmed everyone as they hurriedly rushed over to help the assistant up. The glass residue had cut her face, and the assistant was bleeding all over. Some of the glass debris had pierced into her flesh, and there was even a piece that was embedded in the corner of her eyebrow, which made her look extremely terrified.

Some girls couldn’t help but scream, while others turned away.

“My god!”

“Hurry, hurry! Call an ambulance!”

“It’s too late. Let’s drive her over. Hurry!”

Everyone didn’t wait for Han Qi to speak as they helped the assistant out. The director quickly called his driver over and asked them to rush to the hospital.

“Han Jie, are you okay?”

“Han Jie, why don’t you go back to the nanny’s car and take a break? Let us clean up here!”

“Oh, my god, it’s so scary. Why did she slip suddenly?”

“It’s the second case today. It’s something really evil!”

“I wonder if the crew will stop work…”

Chaotic voices sounded in Han Qi’s ears, but she didn’t hear a word.

Her assistant had an accident in front of her own eyes and fell so badly that everyone was distracted and didn’t notice her.

On the same day, there were two accidents in a row. The crew was terrified, and seeing that most of the starring actors were in no state to perform, the director had to order a half-day break and continue filming tomorrow.

Back at the hotel, Han Qi sat by the bed and called her agent. She asked her to go to the hospital to visit the injured assistant and then send her over a new one. Just from a look, she knew that the injury was serious, and she most likely had to undergo surgery, so she won’t be able to return to work in the short term.

The agent expressed surprise that so many things had happened to the crew in a single day and comforted her for a while.

Han Qi didn’t need these useless comforts. She asked the agent, “Do you know any reliable masters who help people with these things? I think I… The crew may need to exorcise some evil spirits!”

The agent said, “There’s an artist in our company named Liu Fei. You should know her. I heard that she usually deals with several masters, but I don’t recommend looking for her. If she opens her mouth and tells the paparazzi something, it’ll create trouble, and I’m not sure if the ones she knows are real or charlatans…”

Han Qi listened impatiently and interrupted her, “Forget it. It’s fine if you don’t!”

The agent seemed to sense that she was upset, and she whispered a few words of advice, and then said, “Do you want to ask Mr. Hong?”

Han Qi was startled.

Agent: “Mr. Hong is connected to political and economic circles and has a wide range of contacts. He must also know the masters in this field. Why don’t you ask him?”

Han Qi frowned and said, “I don’t want to ask him.”

The agent was silent for a moment: “Qiqi, tell me the truth, does he still not know about your pregnancy?”

Han Qi: “…He knows.”

Agent: “Then—”

Han Qi squeezed the phone slightly harder, and after a while, she said, in a very unwilling tone, “He asked me to come over and talk about it.”

The agent let out a sigh, slightly angry. “What does he mean? Does he just want the child or does he want you to terminate it?!”

Han Qi paused. “What do you think I should do?”

The agent hesitated. “Qiqi, don’t listen to what I just said. Since Mr. Hong said that you should also be mentally prepared. If you can’t reveal the relationship, and the child’s affair is exposed, it will cause a scandal that will not be good.”

Han Qi didn’t speak, but her agent knew that she understood everything in her heart. She just didn’t want to accept the facts.

The agent sighed. “Think about it!”

Han Qi suddenly said, “Children can’t fight!”

Han Qi bit her lip and finally revealed the truth. “When I went to Thailand three years ago, I met a master. At that time, I had just broken up with Zhong Huan, that scummy man. I was pregnant then, but I didn’t tell anyone, including you, but the master saw it at a glance. Not only that, he also told me that the child would bring me great trouble. I didn’t believe it, so I had an abortion after I went back. As a result, my career soon took a nosedive after it. Several contracts that I had signed for films have been broken off by the other party without any reason. At that time, we were both at a loss. You should remember.”

“I don’t want to be reduced from the first line to second line*, let alone be looked down on by that scumbag Zhong Huan, who thinks I can’t do it without him, so I went to Thailand again and found the master. The master told me that the fetus I aborted was actually a demon fetus. It’ll continue to follow me and block my luck. If I didn’t come to him, my luck would continue to be bad until I died.”

*First line is basically the top talent of an agency that gets the most resources. To be moved from first to second would be like a demotion (she’ll get fewer resources and thus less work).

After listening to these words, the agent felt like she had jumped from the entertainment industry to a horror suspense film, but she was powerless to stop what Han Qi had already done, so she could only ask, “Then what?”

Han Qi: “Then the master helped me make a magic array that suppressed the child and turned it into a charm, saying that it could bless my future career. In addition, he told me that this year, I would meet a man and conceive my rightful child that will be blessed by the Gods and Buddhas and will bring me great wealth and honor.”

The agent was stunned. “Do you believe him?”

Han Qi asked rhetorically. “Why not? My career has indeed taken a big turn since he helped me do it last time. Originally, you know, I had already started to go downhill. Male stars in their early forties can still usher in a second spring, but many actresses will be replaced in their early thirties. However, in the past three years, my career has been smooth. Instead of declining, it has been rising steadily. Even Mr. Hong said that since I became pregnant, his career has improved, saying that it’s because of me. Doesn’t this just prove that the master is right?”

The agent lowered her voice, “But what happened to you recently, and the last time you were on the plane…”

Han Qi said, “The master said that the blessed fetus I am now pregnant with is the reincarnation of Vishnu*, which can bring me infinite blessings, but because of this, there must be many unpredictable evil things around. Even the evil fetus that was suppressed by the master may be tempted by the blessed fetus and could turn into an evil thing again. Sure enough, the master was right again… I suspect that these things that have happened recently may be those evil things that want to attack the child in my stomach!”

*One of the principal deities of Hinduism. Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe.

The agent was silent for a long time, and then said carefully, “Qiqi, I don’t doubt your statement, but what are you going to do now? Are you really going to give birth to this child? If Mr. Hong refuses to recognize it after it’s born, what will you do? Let it carry the reputation of not knowing its father? As you said just now, the career of an actress is very short. Do you want to risk losing your career just because of something a master told you three years ago?”

“I don’t know. I just called the master’s assistant. He said the master was in retreat and I couldn’t see him. I’m a mess now…” Han Qi finally couldn’t help it anymore and she started sobbing. “I’m afraid of the things that happened on the plane and in the crew. Just like the master said, it’s because of the child in my stomach. I’m afraid that Mr. Hong is lying to me. I’m afraid that it was the assistant this time, but next time it will be me!”

The agent was also well-informed and experienced. She had encountered many strange things over the years, but this was also the first time she had encountered Han Qi in this situation. She wanted to scold Han Qi for not being sober and being led astray by some foreign master, but things were at this point already, so it was useless to scold, and she could only try to find a solution.

“Han Qi, listen to me. Don’t think about it. These things are probably just coincidences, not monsters. Now you have to finish filming first. I’ll try to find a more reliable master in this area. Try to communicate with Mr. Hong. It’d be great if Mr. Hong was willing to get married. We can also take advantage of the new drama to announce the happy event, which will generate great publicity for you.”

Han Qi said in a low voice, “Mr. Hong won’t agree. I have been trying to convince him multiple times already. He’s smart. It’s impossible for him not to know. He said that when I give birth to the child, he’ll give me a surprise. I dare not tell him what the master said, as he’s very suspicious and will definitely investigate, so I won’t be able to hide that abortion three years ago!”

The agent couldn’t help her. At this point, the two of them were in the same boat, and all she could do was comfort her. “Don’t think too much about it. In the next few days, I’ll ask a reliable friend. You can shoot with peace of mind. People in the crew must be razzled right now. Since your assistant had an accident, the paparazzi must probably know as well. Don’t give people any more control.”

Han Qi was still upset after hanging up the phone. The room booked by the crew for her and the lead actor was the presidential suite. She originally lived with her assistant, but since her assistant had to undergo surgery at the hospital, she was the only one left. Even if the light was turned on, it still felt empty and frightening.

She flipped over and couldn’t sleep. After an afterglow flickered, she seemed to see a small hand coming from behind and resting on her stomach. She screamed in fright and jumped directly from the bed.

On the other side of the two-meter bed was a white quilt that naturally had no small hands.

Han Qi’s heart was beating wildly, and she was in shock. She carefully observed her surrounding environment and was slowly calming down. Suddenly, she saw a hand emerge from the side of the bed and grabbed her feet. Han Qi quickly shrank back, rolling out of bed in horror, not caring about putting on shoes, and ran out the door in a single breath.

Mom…

Why don’t you want me…?

Han Qi thought she was hearing things, but the voice became clearer and louder and was coming from the bathroom.

Trembling, she stretched out her hand and opened the concealed bathroom door.

Red.

Bright red eyes.

Blood was overflowing from the vanity, making the entire countertop blood red and dripping down.

There was a mass of flesh lying in the sink. The faucet was turned on halfway, and the water slowly flowed out, diluting the blood and spreading the redness everywhere.

Han Qi was stunned and hurriedly stepped back. Unexpectedly, her feet slipped, and she fell to the ground.

Mom, why don’t you want me?

A resentful and tender voice sounded in her ears, and the accumulated pressure and suspicion for many days made Han Qi couldn’t help but collapse and cry.

“Don’t come here! Don’t come here!”

The mass of flesh had already taken shape, and the little hands and feet crawled out of the sink. It fell to the ground with a plop, and blood splattered on Han Qi’s clothes.

“It’s none of my business. Don’t bother me! If it weren’t for Zhong Huan, if it weren’t for that scumbag who refused to disclose our relationship, how could I kill you? It’s all his fault. Why don’t you go to him!”

Han Qi burst into tears. “Do you think I was willing to have an abortion? What woman would be willing to abort her own child, but if I give birth to you, my career would be over! Can’t you reincarnate again. Why do you have to rely on me!”

The mass of flesh had no skin, but it already had facial features. On the small head, the organs that look like a mouth opened and closed, but they were not likeable and cute like ordinary babies. On the contrary, it was horrifically terrifying.

It was you who locked my soul in the jade charm and kept me from leaving…

She heard the ball of flesh say.

“You came to haunt me first! I was so entangled by you that I couldn’t help it, so I asked the master to calm you down!”

Mom, you listened to the words of others and wanted me to help you earn money…

Han Qi trembled and said, “Baby, listen to me. I don’t want any luck anymore. I will find the master and send you away. I’ll burn whatever toys you want in the future, and I’ll pay you back. I’ll build you a monument and buy you a feng shui treasure. I will burn lots of paper money every year!”

I don’t want money…

“Then how can you be satisfied? I can’t give you anything. You’re dead. Why don’t you let me go!” Han Qi screamed.

The ball of flesh slowly crawled towards her.

You still have my little brother in your stomach…?

I’m not leaving…

Why can he stay, but I can’t…

Han Qi opened her eyes wide, and her whole body was almost attached to the wall.

“Don’t come over! He’s different from you. He’s a blessed child. He can make his mother rich and wealthy. Only when his mother is well can he give you more things in the future. You are very sensible, you are very good, and you can understand your mother, right?”

Mom, I’m going to kill him…

Can’t let him stay…

“Don’t come, don’t come!”

Han Qi burst into tears. Her body shook like a sieve. She opened and closed her mouth, trying to shout for help, but she couldn’t make a sound.

Hui Yiguang came out after taking a shower and heard someone knocking on the door. She looked through the peephole but saw no one outside. If it was someone else, they may have thought it was a prank, but Hui Yiguang frowned and opened the door to have a look.

Not even a fly.

At this moment, a chill came from the back of her neck. It was as if someone was lying on her shoulder and breathing on it.

Hui Yiguang’s heart tensed, and her entire body froze as she slowly turned her head back.

No one.

The jade bracelet on her hand that she was still wearing just a second ago suddenly broke and fell to the ground into several pieces.

There was the sound of dripping water above her head, and a drop of liquid fell on her shoulder.

She turned her head and saw blood slowly dripping on her bathrobe. She raised her head abruptly!

Nothing.

There was no blood on her shoulder, and everything she saw just now seemed to be an illusion, except her bracelet did break into several pieces.

Hui Yiguang suddenly remembered something.

Several of their starring roles were distributed on different floors. Han Qi and the male lead naturally had the presidential luxury suite, while she and the second male lead, as well as the third female and male lead, were in the luxury suite below. Her room number was also the same as Han Qi’s, but the only difference was that the floors were different. In other words, the room above her should be Han Qi’s room.

Her face turned pale. She bit her finger and thought for a long time, and then finally made up her mind and picked up the phone.

At the same time, Dong Zhi was giving a tour of the office to Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong.

In fact, there wasn’t much to see at all. It was mainly because Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong were so stunned by the dilapidation of the office that they needed time to adapt.

Zhang Chong boasted, “Compared with here, the Yangcheng office is like a villa! I used to think that place was too unlucky to be near a cemetery, but now compared to it, it is absolutely a feng shui treasure!”

Liu Qingbo also complained mercilessly, “Isn’t Lucheng economically developed? How come this office is so dilapidated? Did all the money get embezzled by your predecessor?”

Dong Zhi reluctantly spread his hands. “Even if he wanted to be greedy, there’s no money to be greedy for. The main reason is that our business capabilities are relatively general, so the annual allocation is limited. They could only find such a place. In fact, I plan to sell this place, rent a shop, and do business in the front and use the back as an office. It’ll be highly concealed and more convenient. I heard that most of the offices in various places used to be located in restaurants, but I don’t know why they closed down. I think it’s a pretty good idea.”

Zhang Chong was very interested. “Then what are you going to sell?”

Dong Zhi smiled and said, “Aren’t milk tea shops all over the place now? It’ll be easy to operate without causing a lot of headaches. In the future, it could even become self-sufficient.”

Zhang Chong was a very capable person. He immediately said, “You can’t have tea without dessert. You need bubble waffles. I like rousong flavor.”

Dong Zhi estimated that an electric cake pan wasn’t expensive, so he nodded and said, “Then add an original flavor and a matcha flavor. We can look at how other stores priced it and then have an idea of how much to price our store.”

Zhang Chong said readily, “I’ll take care of it. Have you chosen the shop?”

Dong Zhi said, “Almost. It’s in an urban area, but we have to wait for a reply from the top. Mu Duo said that we had made great contributions this time, which pleased the superiors. Hopefully, they’ll allocate us more funds and lend us some more money. It’s not difficult to buy the shop first. When this old place is sold, we can pay back the money.”

Liu Qingbo listened to them chatting and talking about opening a shop and doing business, and couldn’t help but say, “Do you remember what we do?”

Dong Zhi said innocently, “The office is different from the General Administration and the Branch Office. It’s supposed to be hidden in the city. Where is your office over there?”

Liu Qingbo: “…In a footbath shop.”

Dong Zhi and Zhang Chong laughed out loud, causing Liu Qingbo’s face to turn black and blue.

Their footbath shop wasn’t really a footbath shop. It just had the sign. The shop was closed 365 days out of the year to hide from prying eyes and ears. Every time people from other offices heard about the Runzhou office, they would show a mysterious smile.

Liu Qingbo went in and out of the footbath shop every day and felt on the verge of collapse.

Dong Zhi said, “You’re new here, and you don’t have a place to live yet. You can make do for one night here, or you can stay in the place I rented for a few nights, but I only have two rooms there. It’s too crowded for three people, so I can only take one. Which one of you wants to stay here, and who wants to come with me?”

Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong looked at each other, and they both said in unison, “I’ll go with you!”

Dong Zhi: “Rock, paper, scissors?”

Liu Qingbo said disdainfully, “As dignified practitioners, it’s better to have a fight!”

While they were still competing, Dong Zhi’s phone rang. When he looked at the caller, he felt it was a strange call. His first reaction was that it was probably a scam call, but after thinking about it, perhaps it could be He Jia, so he finally picked up.

“Hello.”

“Hello, Mr. Dong, this is Hui Yiguang. Do you remember me?”

The familiar soft female voice suddenly pulled him back to the night on the rooftop of the hospital.

Dong Zhi was slightly lost for a moment.

“I do.”

How could he forget?

For Hui Yiguang, he still had a huge question mark. He repeatedly asked himself from the bottom of his heart, reminding himself again and again that he needed to learn from it. He should be more cautious in everything in the future, because as practitioners whose powers were superior to ordinary people, their every decision may affect the lives of others.

“Miss Hui, it’s been a long time since I saw you. I’m curious. Why did you take the initiative to call me?”

“Mr. Dong, I’m sorry. If I can, I won’t bother you, but now I’m in a little trouble. Banxia seems to be in the northwest and can’t make it. She said you are in Lucheng, so I’m being very presumptuous and can only bother you.”

“What’s the matter?” Dong Zhi asked.

Hui Yiguang knew that he had never been able to dispel his doubts about her, and she would definitely not take the initiative to call him if there was nothing wrong, so he had a hunch that this time the matter might not be small.

Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong couldn’t hear what was being said on the other end of the phone, so they could only guess what was going on from Dong Zhi’s expressions.

Ten minutes later, Dong Zhi ended the call and breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hui Yiguang, do you remember?”

Liu Qingbo nodded. “What? Is she haunted again? “

Dong Zhi felt happy. If Hui Yiguang knew what Liu Qingo said, she would probably be extremely angry.

“It’s not her, it’s their crew. She’s filming in Lucheng. Something’s going on with the crew. It seemed that there was something unclean. She went to find Chi Banxia, but she’s assigned to the northwest. She’s too far away so she had to come to us saying she wanted to invite us to take a look, for a fee.”

The Special Administration Bureau didn’t allow them to take on private jobs to make money. Many practitioners didn’t want to be bound by this kind of restraint, so they refused to join them. Before, they hadn’t officially joined, so they could still collect remuneration from Hui Yiguang in a private capacity back then, but now they can’t. However, the rules were dead, and people were alive*. Although the money couldn’t be used on themselves, as long as the amount was disclosed, reported to the above, and then used in the construction of the new office, it could be regarded as a confiscation.

*Refers to rules that should be applied flexibly according to the particular matter and could be adjusted as long as it doesn’t break the law (AKA bending the rules).

Liu Qingbo frowned. “Why do I feel that every time we have something related to that woman, nothing good comes out of it.”

Dong Zhi shrugged. “Heroes think alike, but she’s generous enough. I estimate that even if the branch allocates funds this time, the amount won’t be very large. If we add the remuneration given by Hui Yiguang, our office environment will greatly improve. Thinking about it like this, isn’t it more motivating?”

Liu Qingbo was a child who didn’t lack money since he was young, so he never expected that after he joined the Special Administration Bureau, he would have to bow down for five buckets of rice*.

*(不要为五斗米折腰) Original is Don’t bow down for five buckets of rice. It originally means to not submit to the powerful for an official salary of five buckets of rice. Now it’s a metaphor referring to having a backbone and being unyielding to others. || In this case, it’s saying since he’s bowing down, he’s lost his backbone and is submitting for that meager salary of five buckets of rice (i.e. he prefers a better working environment than the shithole they have now).

“When is the appointment?”

“Early tomorrow morning. She said she’ll take us to the crew first and then back to the hotel room.”

Liu Qingbo made a strange expression. “Why go to the hotel room?”

Dong Zhi: “She said she suspects that the problem might be someone in the crew, and Han Qi is staying upstairs.”

Liu Qingbo: “Why is this name so familiar?”

Both of them didn’t chase stars, but Zhang Chong’s eyes lit up.

“Han Qi? Movie Queen Han Qi? I am a fan! Take me, I’m going too!”

It’s because of that that I can’t take you.

Dong Zhi twitched the corner of his mouth. “You’re responsible for staying in the office or going to the police to help follow up on the progress of the Yamamoto case.”

Zhang Chong acted pitiful. “We are old acquaintances, right? Do you have the heart to treat me like this?”

Dong Zhi said solemnly, “You also know that Yamamoto is not dead yet. I’m afraid that he will make a comeback. I have to have someone as experienced and capable as you in charge of the office. I can rest assured if any instructions come from above with you here. If there’s any situation on Mu Duo’s side, you can let us know at any time.”

Zhang Chong was coaxed into a smile by him, and immediately changed his original intention.

“Well, you guys go, I’ll watch this place for you.”

How easily coaxed. Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes again.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

Taking bets on whether or not there’s something suspicious with Hui Yiguang.

—

Vishnu

One of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism.

Vishnu is known as “The Preserver” within the Trimurti, the triple deity of supreme divinity that includes Brahma and Shiva.In Vaishnavism tradition, Vishnu is the supreme being who creates, protects, and transforms the universe. In the Shaktism tradition, the Goddess, or Devi, is described as one of the supreme, yet Vishnu is revered along with Shiva and Brahma. A goddess is stated to be the energy and creative power (Shakti) of each, with Lakshmi the equal complementary partner of Vishnu. He is one of the five equivalent deities in Panchayatana puja of the Smarta tradition of Hinduism.

You can read more about him in the Wikipedia.

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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 84

Dong Zhi sneezed.

He certainly wouldn’t expect Tang Jing, who was far away in Shencheng, to mention him to Shu He, whom he had never met before.

The late autumn in the south was much warmer than in the north. He came to Lucheng wearing a coat and felt that it was too hot. He had switched to short sleeves after a while. As a result, he was injured in his fight with Yamamoto a few days ago and his immunity declined. At this moment, the aftermath came out, and he was sneezing and coughing endlessly.

Before his internal injury healed, he already had symptoms of a cold.

He got out of bed, put on a coat, and looked at his phone.

This was a habit he had developed whenever he woke up.

There was a missed call from Mu Duo.

Seeing that he didn’t answer, Mu Duo sent him a text message saying there were two things. One was Yamamoto’s whereabouts. The police have been tracking him and it seems they have expanded from Lucheng to the county province. However, she was afraid that there was little hope. The second was that two people who the branch was sending would arrive this afternoon and asked if he wanted to pick them up.

Dong Zhi replied that there wasn’t a need and to just send them the office address.

After sending out the text, he remembered that he was wandering like a headless fly on his first day in the old community for a while and felt that people of the branch should also experience this kind of taste. Maybe then, next time, they would be more generous when it comes to funding allocation.

As for the whereabouts of Yamamoto Kiyoshi, neither Dong Zhi nor Mu Duo had much hope.

No one knew where Yamamoto’s hideout was, let alone where he would place his replacement puppet. If he was still a member of the Shinkawa sect, then the Special Administration Bureau could still settle accounts with the Japanese. The issue was that Yamamoto Kiyoshi had already rebelled from the sect as early as 20 years ago and killed his and Fujikawa Aoi’s master.

The Japanese didn’t pay attention to being a teacher for a day and a father for life*, but they were still strictly hierarchical, thus the relationship between students and teachers was the same. Yamamoto’s behavior made him a target of the Japanese onmyojis at that time. His international warrant was also the first issued by Japan. As a result, he completely severed contact with Japan. According to intelligence, he had been in Thailand, Myanmar, and Vietnam in recent years. In the past few years, he had been to Hong Kong before coming to Lucheng, and now there was also a warrant posted from Hong Kong, but there was little hope.

*(一日为师，终身为父) Metaphor referring to treating a teacher with the same respect as a father.

Although Dong Zhi failed to kill him on the spot, this person had been roaming for many years, with his hands full of blood, and possessed a perverted hobby and specialized in targeting ordinary people. This behavior was something even practitioners would disdain, but because of his cunningness, he often escaped without leaving any clues. He was afraid of the hard while targeting the soft, so generally he wouldn’t provoke a stronger practitioner than himself, thus he remained elusive to them.

When he arrived in Lucheng, he encountered Dong Zhi when he tried to make a move, making his previous accomplishment practically invalid. He probably wouldn’t be able to commit atrocities for at least a few years, therefore, the Special Administration Bureau commended Dong Zhi for his work and rewarded him with some merits.

Dong Zhi didn’t know if his master would be a little happy to hear the news of his merits and forget the old accounts.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but glance up at the Changshou Sword.

The illusion that night seemed to really be a dream.

However, what appeared in the illusion must’ve happened before.

He vowed to forget all feelings he shouldn’t have for Long Shen and respect the wishes of the other party, so even if he wanted to contact him again, he still suppressed his thoughts.

On the other hand, his curiosity about the Changshou Sword grew stronger with each passing day, like a grassland slowly being overtaken by wild grass. By some miracle, his finger scratched the blade of the sword as soon as it was drawn out of the scabbard.

The wound hadn’t healed yet, and he was traumatized again, and his pain doubled. Dong Zhi hissed and endured the pain as he wiped the string of blood. The sword’s body quickly changed, just like that night, and the small amount of blood turned into red light, which quickly flowed over the sword’s pattern.

Seeing the scene around him begin to change, Dong Zhi’s heart, which had tightened a lot previously, was much calmer now, and he even had a little expectation.

What kind of past would he see this time?

The wilderness, the snow, the endless white.

Moonlight, starlight, the sky and river above, and the mountains below.

Two people were walking on a snowy plain.

A monk dressed in red monk attire and a man dressed in black.

The one in black was Long Shen. His appearance hadn’t changed much. The sky was cold, and the earth was frozen. In this extremely bad weather, it was impossible for anyone to have a warm smile on their face. Long Shen looked even more cold and icy, as the snow only added to this effect.

Judging from their attire, they should still be in ancient times.

In some places, the snow was so thick that it reached the thighs as soon as one stepped on it, while in other places the snow was relatively light, it would reveal the black moss below, making the surface wet and slippery, but these difficulties didn’t affect their speed of travel at all. Dong Zhi hurriedly kept up, but he could only stay a bit behind in the distance, neither near nor far.

The wind and the snow were getting heavier, but the two of them didn’t stop for even half a step, nor did they use any climbing tools, so they approached the top of the mountain step by step.

Long Shen’s physical strength was excellent, seemingly unaware of what fatigue was, while the monk didn’t lag either. He was always around three meters behind Long Shen.

After knowing Long Shen’s original form, Dong Zhi naturally understood why he was so powerful, but the monk’s performance surprised him. The other party seemed to be very old, but unexpectedly, his physical strength wasn’t any less than that of his master.

It was unknown how long it took, perhaps half a day, or a day, as time had lost its meaning in the illusion, but the two finally reached the peak of the mountain. The monk now showed a trace of fatigue as Dong Zhi heard him speak, “That’s it!”

He had a strange tone, but being in the illusion, there were no obstacles.

Following the place he pointed to, Dong Zhi couldn’t see anything, but Long Shen’s expression moved. It was a joyous expression for something—Dong Zhi was now able to perceive the deeper inner fluctuations from the subtle changes in the other party’s expression.

Even though he was once a sword, in Dong Zhi’s heart, Long Shen had long been a person of flesh and blood; a living human.

The two walked to the direction that the monk pointed at, and Dong Zhi then saw a thick layer of snow covering it. He couldn’t see what was underneath.

The monk first lowered his body and plunged his hand into the snow, as if digging something up. Soon, the snow fell on his shoulders, and he looked happy.

“Sure enough!”

He stretched out his hands that were frozen white, but the monk didn’t care and only patted away the snow on his body.

“This must’ve been given to you by the heavens, and no one can take it away. It has been here since I left, and no one has ever found it.”

According to Dong Zhi, this place was off the beaten path, with snow that accumulated all year round and was on the peak of a high mountain where birds outnumbered people. Who would come here to find something? However, the joy on the monk’s face didn’t show any sign of hypocrisy, and even Dong Zhi was subconsciously happy for them.

Long Shen, like the monk, also ambled in and put his hand inside as the monk watched nervously to the side.

“I’m afraid it’s hard to take out. I couldn’t do it before…”

As soon as his voice fell, Long Shen’s hand had already drawn it out. A cloud of ice crystals was overflowing with white mist on his hand.

Dong Zhi thought that what they were looking for was the Changshou Sword. After all, this was an environment related to the Changshou Sword, but it turned out it wasn’t.

He looked curiously at the irregular “ice” in Long Shen’s hand.

The monk showed joy. “It’s destiny. It seems that the heart of this mountain is yours!”

Long Shen said, “Mountains and stones have hearts. They have cultivated a soul for thousands of years, forming this thousand-year old crystal. I want to refine it into a sword.”

The monk asked curiously, “What will you name it?”

Long Shen shook his head and replied, “It’ll be nameless for the time being, but I want to name it Changshou.”

Monk: “Always be true to your heart.”

Long Shen: “It will be the guard to a peaceful world.”

The monk laughed. “Then when you finish refining it, you must show it to me.”

Long Shen: “Naturally.”

The brief conversation between the two ended.

They didn’t stay on top of the mountain for long and soon descended. Seeing the two of them drifting away, Dong Zhi’s vision gradually blurred and distorted, and he knew that his dream was almost over.

Sure enough, he suddenly felt dizzy and couldn’t help but close his eyes and faint.

When he opened his eyes again, he was lying on the floor of his living room. Suddenly, returning from the ice and snow to a warm and calm setting was a major environmental gap.

Dong Zhi stayed still for a while before slowly regaining his senses.

He looked at the Changshou Sword in his hand. It lay quietly in them, speaking to him speechlessly about the spring and autumn that it had seen.

The more he knew, the more he felt that Long Shen had traveled through many ordeals; the wind, frost, rain, and snow; and the magnificent waves. To be able to see his footprints, even if they were only fragments, was a thrilling and strange encounter for Dong Zhi.

But for Long Shen, that had long been carved into his bones.

Others pursued legends, while he himself was one.

Long Shen was already standing on the top of a high mountain, looking at the snow at the peak, and his hands could touch the stars while he was still hesitating under the mountain. Like all inexperienced people who climb for the first time, he marveled at the steepness of the mountain. On the way, he stopped because of hesitation and timidity. Perhaps he would stay at the foot of the mountain a little longer because of the warmth.

Dong Zhi felt that if he were Long Shen, he might not be able to see an apprentice that was still groping up step by step. As far as Long Shen was concerned, the two of them were too far apart in terms of age and experience.

The more things he saw in the illusion, the less he felt that he knew Long Shen, but this was also interesting to approach step by step, explore, and venture deeper to see the fragments of the past of the Changshou Sword from its birth until now.

He couldn’t help but look forward to it. Next time he entered the fantasy realm, what kind of Long Shen would he see?

After standing up for a while, Dong Zhi began to feel dizzy. He braced himself against the wall for a bit before he felt better.

Feeding blood to the Changshou Sword also consumed his energy to a certain extent, and it shouldn’t be done often, so Dong Zhi didn’t continue. Instead, he got up and went to the kitchen to boil some water to drink.

His phone suddenly rang. It was Liu Qingbo, who he hadn’t been in contact recently.

Dong Zhi only knew that he had gone to Ruanzhou, and he didn’t know exactly what and how he was doing there. Liu Qingbo certainly had the ability, and as long as he could control his temper, he would certainly excel.

The premise was that their leaders could make him look good, though he didn’t know which leader would be so “lucky” to have a subordinate like Liu Qingbo.

“Lao Liu, how are you doing? Why did you suddenly call?” he asked casually.

“You don’t know?” Liu Qingbo’s voice was a bit weird.

“Know what?”

Listening to his tone, Dong Zhi guessed it shouldn’t be something big that happened, so he raised his cup and started to drink from it.

Liu Qingbo angrily said, “Zhang Chong and I are now circling around the address you gave. Where is the Lucheng office? Why is it so difficult to find!”

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Qingbo heard the spray of water from the phone, followed by a series of coughs.

“Are you the one sent by the branch to assist us?!” Dong Zhi asked in disbelief.

“Why? Are we not welcomed?”

Dong Zhi imagined Liu Qingbo saying this with a dark face and found it a bit funny. “Of course not. Welcome! Who is the other one? Is it also from our session?”

Liu Qingbo: “No. His name is Zhang Chong. You’ll be meeting him for the first time.”

After that, he said suspiciously, “By the way, you didn’t deliberately fuck with me, right? Is the office really here?”

Dong Zhi held his forehead. “No, it’s really true. Let me take you over. I’ll meet you at the entrance of the community!”

After hanging up the phone, the more he pondered, the more he felt that the name Zhang Chong sounded familiar, but it was reasonable to say that it couldn’t be so coincidental.

“Brother, it’s been a long time since I saw you. Did you miss me?”

When Zhang Chong saw him, he jumped three feet high and rushed over and gave him a warm hug.

Dong Zhi blinked, pulled him away a little, and scanned him up and down to confirm there wasn’t anything wrong with his eyes.

“Why are you here?!”

Zhang Chong raised his chin and said, “I heard that you were short of manpower here. Don’t worry, with me here, nothing will happen to Lucheng in the future!”

Dong Zhi and Liu Qingbo looked at each other.

Liu Qingbo clearly expressed doubt in his eyes, ‘Has he always been so blindly confident?’

Dong Zhi nodded helplessly.

The last time they eliminated the Archfiend in Yangchang, this guy was also full of confidence in himself, but he miscalculated and almost led to Dong Zhi being unable to save He Yu.

Though both from Mount Longhu, Zhang Heng and Zhang Chong were two completely different people. One was a poster boy for the group, while the other was kicked to the Yangcheng office. Their treatment was very different. Facts have proven that it wasn’t a matter of shady insider affairs but was purely due to aptitude.

Of course, Dong Zhi had no opinion on Zhang Chong himself. He seems righteous, and while a bit pompous and having mediocre abilities, in general, they had a good friendly and brotherly connection, as long as they weren’t on a mission together.

“If you’re here, what would the Yancheng office do with you missing?” Dong Zhi said tactfully.

Zhang Chong: “I heard that recently, because a lot of things are happening in the south, the superiors are afraid that Shengcheng will be out of reach. They plan to set up another branch, which will be on the same level as the South China Branch. In the future, Shencheng will be the first bureau of south China, and Yangcheng will be the second.”

It turned out that they were planning to upgrade and expand, so Dong Zhi joked, “Then you shouldn’t leave, so you’ll be a senior of the branch in the future.”

Zhang Chong said with traces of regret, “My cousin Zhang Heng may become director of the second bureau. After all, we’re in the same division and are related, so we have to avoid suspicion. I can rest assured that Yangcheng will be in good hands with him. Although my ability is also good, it’s still a bit worse than him.”

Dong Zhi: …Brother, I’m afraid your understanding of a little bit is way off.

Liu Qingbo listened impatiently as they caught up. “Hurry up and take us to the office. I’m going to die of thirst!”

As soon as he spoke, he was hugged by Dong Zhi without warning.

Liu Qingbo was stunned, and before he could react, Dong Zhi had already released him.

“Thank you, Lao Liu, for coming. My heart can rest easier all of a sudden. It seems that we are back to the old days when we stabbed the python in the chrysanthemum together. With you, there will be no problems in the future!” Dong Zhi said sincerely.

During this period of time, although the top affirmed their achievements in dealing with Yamamoto, the deaths of Zhou Dui and Xiao Qi, as well as the death of the weasel Lao Liu, were all weighing heavily on Dong Zhi, silently supervising him to hurry up and recover so he could avenge them.

This was also coupled with his change in relationship with Long Shen; Dong Zhi actually endured a lot of pressure in his heart. He just didn’t want to transfer this pressure to others, so he never mentioned it in front of Mu Duo.

Now, in front of his former companions, he would inevitably reveal some traces in his heart.

Liu Qingbo looked at the red eyes and smile on Dong Zhi, and his heart suddenly became mixed and sour. He was about to say something when he heard him speak about stabbing the chrysanthemum, and his face abruptly sank and became dark like the bottom of a pot.

“Stab you in the head, ah! Why are you coughing endlessly? Injured?”

Dong Zhi coughed a few times again. “It’s nothing. I’ve suffered a little internal injury before, so I just need to take it slowly.”

Liu Qingbo: “Don’t cough to death, otherwise the top will definitely let me replace you as the person in charge!”

Dong Zhi smiled. “I didn’t expect you to care about me so much.”

Liu Qingbo rolled his eyes. “I’m gloating. Where are you seeing that I care about you?”

Zhang Chong said with jealousy, “Hey, what are you doing ignoring me? I’m here to help too!”

“Okay, thank you! Come with me. I’ll take you to the office first.” Dong Zhi smiled, thinking that they would probably want to stay out for a while longer.

He took the two of them around the old building where the office was located and opened the door with the key.

Neither he nor Mu Duo had come back in the past few days, and as soon as the door opened, the smell of dust hit their faces.

Liu Qingbo and Zhang Chong were stunned.

Zhang Chong murmured, “This is worse than the office in Yangcheng!”

Dong Zhi patted them on the shoulders and said, solemnly, as a person who had already gone through it, “Just get used to it!”

—

Also in Lucheng.

In an old house in the Republic of China, the crew was in full swing on the final stage of filming.

The house was originally the residence of a foreign consul. After the liberation, the consul withdrew with the diplomatic team. It was taken over by the government and later developed into a tourist attraction. During this time, in order to make a spy war drama, the crew paid a lot of rent and contracted the house to avoid being disturbed by the endless stream of tourists.

Today was the twentieth day of filming, and the progress that should have ended a long time ago has been extended for a few days because of a situation.

With an order from the director, Han Qi settled down and walked to the side of the stairs, ready to greet the actor.

“Zhiru, why are you here?” The actor said his lines as he walked down from the second floor, in a suit and waistcoat that looked elegant.

Han Qi smiled sweetly. “Why? You’re not happy to see—”

Before she could finish, the actor missed his steps and stumbled down the stairs, tumbling and crashing towards Han Qi, who was standing at the bottom.

Han Qi was so shocked in the moment that she had no time to dodge and could only watch as the actor smashed down towards her.

Suddenly, someone next to her stretched out a hand and grabbed her arm, pulling her aside violently. In the next second, the actor fell to where she was originally standing.

“Oh my god!”

“Su Fan, are you okay?”

The filming was interrupted. The crew gathered around, helped the actor up, and then ran up to look at the stairs. They were surprised to find that the stairs that were clearly intact and had been inspected before the shooting now had cracks and had partially collapsed when the actor had just stepped on them. He lost his balance and fell down.

Han Qi was in shock. If she was hit just now, her back would’ve taken the brunt of the fall and a fracture would probably be inevitable. The most serious might be…

“Qi Jie, are you okay?” The assistant handed her a glass of hot milk, pulled her to the side, and sat her down. She then put a coat on herself meticulously and considerately.

Han Qi shook her head and looked up at Hui Yiguang, who also took a hot drink from the assistant.

“Thank you for just now.”

Hui Yiguang smiled and said, “Han Jie is too polite. It was nothing. Speaking of which, this isn’t the first time, right? Based on all the things that have happened since we joined the group, it’s like the director didn’t pray and worship God correctly when they started filming, right?”

Han Qi smiled bitterly.

Hui Yiguang wasn’t the first to say that.

She hadn’t heard any rumors of ghosts here before, but since the crew started filming here, strange things had indeed started happening frequently.

First, the chandelier above her head suddenly fell down. One of the unlucky assistant directors happened to be standing below. He couldn’t dodge it in time and was hit by it on the shoulders and was sent to the hospital with a broken bone. He hasn’t been discharged yet.

Then there was the lightning technician. After getting off work one day, he tripped over his own lighting board and smashed his head in.

Then there was the third female lead. They didn’t know whether it was due to negligence or malicious intent, but someone threw an old-fashioned pushpin on the ground. The third female lead happened to be filming an indoor scene with Han Qi that day. She was wearing long satin pajamas that reflected the style of the Republic of China that day when she stepped on something with her soft slippers and fell to the ground while hoarsely screaming. Everyone thought she was just acting on the spot. Only then did they find out that a nail had pierced the sole of her foot and stabbed her flesh. Fortunately, the sole was padded, and the injury wasn’t too serious, but she was hurriedly rushed to the hospital to remove the cold needle. Oddly enough, a lot of people were present at that time, and the lights were very bright, but somehow no one noticed it.

After these three strange events, rumors began circulating that there was something unclean about the crew.

As for why it was unclean, no one could say. Since no one had died yet, the producers didn’t want to delay the progress, so they wanted to shoot and try to finish the scene as quickly as possible to get rid of all this bad luck.

Who knew that today, something happened again?

The actor pushed away the support of others and tried to stand up, but he couldn’t help but groan in pain. His body tilted and leaned against the wall. The director guessed that he had probably twisted his foot when he saw the actor’s posture, so they hurriedly sent him to the hospital for an examination. The scenes that were to be filmed had to be put on hold again. Once again, scenes had to be rearranged, not to mention how depressed everyone was.

The actors had nothing to do. They sat idly beside each other and waited for the directors to make arrangements while chatting with each other. Han Qi was a big name, so few people usually approached her. She was currently in a daze and needed someone to relieve the pressure, so she didn’t refuse Hui Yiguang, who sat down beside her.

“How did they choose this place? It’s too unclean!” Han Qi’s assistant muttered in a low voice, expressing dissatisfaction with the successive accidents.

“I think it may not be a problem with the venue,” Hui Yiguang said suddenly.

Han Qi’s heart moved, and she turned to look at her. “What do you mean?”

“I have inquired about Du Li’s since her accident,” she said, referring to the third female lead who had stepped on the pushpin. “This house has been rented out to other crews for filming before, and there has never been a problem. It was after our crew settled here that all these frequent accidents started, so I guess it’s either that there are some new furnishings here that aren’t clean, or—”

Knowing that she was deliberately pausing, Han Qi and her assistant couldn’t help but become intrigued.

“Or what?”

“There’s something wrong with the people in it,” Hui Yiguang said softly.

Han Qi’s heart jumped again.

She couldn’t help but glance at Hui Yiguang, but the other party didn’t look at her, let alone notice her strangeness.

Hui Yiguang also knew that her words were a bit sensitive and easy to offend. After speaking, she stopped talking and lowered her head to drink her milk.

Han Qi endured and endured, but couldn’t help but say, “Actually, I think so too.”

Hui Yiguang was a little surprised. She thought Han Qi wouldn’t pay attention to her, but she didn’t expect the other party to follow her words.

“I came here the next day after the machine was turned on. Meng Ge was also here with me at that time. That afternoon, my assistant had diarrhea,” Han Qi said. Meng Ge was the second male lead in this drama.

The lineup of this drama could be regarded as one of the best domestic TV drama lineups in recent times. Although the fame of the male protagonist wasn’t as good as Han Qi’s, he was also a very up-and-coming new actor in China. After Hui Yiguang was exposed to the scandal of betraying her former friend, she whitewashed her reputation by doing charity and public welfare work ads and was able to star in this well-known drama. Even so, she could only provide a supporting role to Han Qi. The film party naturally attached great importance to this kind of cast, so not only did they book a high-end hotel for them to stay at, but the food was also catered to everyone’s taste.

Yet when everything was ready and shooting began, they encountered so many problems.

Hui Yiguang’s expression changed after hearing Han Qi’s words.

She found that Han Qi was deliberately trying to attract the waters of disaster to the second male lead. She smiled and said, “I plan to find a master to look into this in the next few days. Is Sister Han interested?”

Han Qi was noncommitted and just showed a light smile. “There are too many charlatans nowadays, so you should be careful.”

Hui Yiguang had long been accustomed to her appearance, and she nodded and smiled when she heard those words. “Han Jie is right; I will pay attention.”

Han Qi was notoriously difficult to get close to in the circle, but she somehow became famous early, and her career had been smooth. It was rumored that she was in a relationship with a boss of a well-known investment company. No matter whether she was frosty or approachable, there would always be people who flocked to her, and Hui Yiguang was no exception.

However, the same sex tends to repel each other. Han Qi didn’t have much affection for the actresses in the circle, though she had a good impression of Hui Yiguang. After all, she was just saved by him and avoided a serious injury. Moreover, Hui Yiguang didn’t try her best to overshadow her during filming, as she recited her lines honestly.

Han Qi had something on her mind and wasn’t interested in chatting, so Hui Yiguang got up and went to find a different place to rest. The assistant took Han Qi’s milk cup and walked to the nanny car outside, ready to take it back and wash it again.

A production staff member hurriedly ran past from behind and accidentally bumped into her, causing the glass cup she was holding to fall to the ground. The assistant turned her head and glared at the other party, who was repeatedly apologizing. The assistant was about to scold them when Han Qi said, “Forget it. Go and have someone clean up the mess.”

Seeing her in a daze, the assistant didn’t dare say anything more, so she hurriedly complied and quickly walked away.

Who knew that an accident happened at this moment.

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The author has something to say:

Zhang Chong is a disciple from Mount Longhu stationed in Yancheng,

Hui Yiguang… You must still remember.

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Kinky Thoughts:

After conversing with some translators, I have decided to switch to pinyin for many address terms like, ge (brother), jie (sister), lao (old), and xiao (little/young) as translating them doesn’t really get across the intended meaning. I’ll try to fix the older chapters when I have time.

She’s back~ Seems like there’s more to Hui Yiguang than meets the eye. For those who forgot who Hui Yiguang was, she was the actress who almost got her body replaced by a vengeful ex-friend. (See chapter 37-38)

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