Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 176: The Other Side of the Door

Bai Shuangying was gleefully toying with the immortals when he suddenly sensed that something was off.

Their fighting style had been cautious before, clearly probing for weaknesses. But just moments after Cen Ling escaped upward, the attacks from above became much more aggressive.

Protected by the golden ribbon, Cen Ling charged straight into the hospital and vanished behind an open window.

In the small garden, only the anxious “Uncle Hous” remained, along with Fang Xiu’s team aboard the boat.

The wooden ferryman stared up at the sky in shock. “Oh god, there’re more immortals than locusts down here!”

Song Zheng was curiously fiddling with the Murder-Intent Seismograph and found, to his surprise, that the strongest killing intent wasn’t coming from the celestial garden battle but from the direction where Cen Ling had fled. Maybe things weren’t as bad as he thought.

Xiao Tian and Xiao Li, living by the motto of “a funeral’s only fun if it’s a big one”, leaned over the side of the boat. “Holy crap, that’s so cool.”

The cultivators, however, were far less relaxed.

Yan Yan shrank down to the size of a teacup poodle and hid behind Jiao Jiao’s feet.

As wild fox spirits, his family had long heard tales of the God of Calamity. He knew Fang Xiu was unpredictable, but he never expected him to go so far as to punch a hole in the sky.

And he had been the one helping Fang Xiu sniff out those Immortal E’s.

If the immortals decided to hold someone accountable, he would be in serious trouble. His father’s entire bloodline cultivation could get dragged into this. Imagining the backlash waiting for him at home, Yan Yan couldn’t help letting out two pitiful whimpers.

Jiao Jiao glanced sideways at her shrinking partner, then turned her focus back to Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu showed no sign of anxiety. He looked like Cen Ling as if he wasn’t one of his enemies but rather a mouse that had scurried away. Lifting his head, he gave Jiao Jiao a casual smile.

Thump, thump, thump.

With a wave of Fang Xiu’s hand, the air trembled three times. Beside the boat, a pair of hospital-style wooden double doors suddenly appeared.

The doors stood wide open. Beyond them wasn’t darkness, but a corridor within the hospital.

“Yoo-hoo!” The boatman perked up. He swung his oar, and the boat surged toward the doorway.

“The ritual is technically over. Act however you like,” Fang Xiu said. “Help me or protect yourselves, it doesn’t matter. Just stay far away from here.”

“I only ask one thing. Don’t turn against me, or I can’t guarantee your safety.”

“Take care!”

Xiao Tian waved boldly at Fang Xiu and Bai Shuangying. “I believe in you two! You both look like you’ve had a hard life—”

Xiao Li let out a deep sigh and muttered under his breath, “Is it because most of the immortals are old coots…”

Jiao Jiao grabbed her partner by the scruff and turned toward the building, not looking back.

With a heavy clang, the boat and the door vanished together. The garden’s surrounding seals flashed gold and returned to their original intact state.

“Very clever,” Bai Shuangying praised his human companion without reservation.

“This is my territory.” Fang Xiu shrugged. “And the death taboos are always the strongest ones.”

“You haven’t actually used it to kill anyone yet.”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

Fang Xiu pinched Bai Shuangying’s sleeve. “Now you can go all out… remember what I told you earlier?”

“Of course,” Bai Shuangying casually twirled the red thread in his fingers. “Next, they’ll try using the Heaven-Breaking Technique to sever my connection to my true body in Xushan.”

“And then?”

“I must learn to control a new power.”

Bai Shuangying reached out and hooked Fang Xiu by the waist, lifting him to his side.

“…Next, I need to learn how to use ‘you’.”

“Correct.”

Bathed in radiance of spell magic, Fang Xiu kissed Bai Shuangying’s cheek right in front of the immortals above.

“I’m ready.”

……

In the hospital corridor—

Cen Ling was running at full speed, no longer trying to hide anything. He was openly searching for the Immortal E.

His right hand flipped through signs as he muttered incantations. Soon, a red spider-silk thread emerged from his fingertips, floating and pointing in a specific direction.

Cen Ling remembered clearly that before resolving the E’s, Fang Xiu had handed a red collar to a small black dog.

And during the Grave-Sealing ritual, that dog had always stayed near two of Fang Xiu’s teammates—a middle-aged woman and a teenage boy.

The Guishan Sect’s karmic influence over the “God of Xushan” hadn’t yet dissipated. He could still sense the location of that collar Immortal E.

Knowing Fang Xiu, he would have placed his teammates in the safest spot.

…For example, right next to his own body.

That way, they could stay out of the conflict while also guarding his true body, killing two birds with one stone.

Unfortunately, after destroying his family, Fang Xiu now seemed only interested in provoking the immortals and treated him like a powerless leftover.

Cen Ling was determined to prove that Fang Xiu had made a fatal mistake.

He drew a dagger from behind him and gripped it tightly.

It came in an ornate silver sheath, its blade etched with dense, blood-red runes, occasionally sparking. Unlike the cold yin aura of the E’s, this dagger radiated a warm, almost breathing presence.

Blood-Quenching Dagger.

Forged from special materials and imbued with the True Fire of Samadhi, it was one of the Guishan Sect’s most precious treasures.

With a live blood sacrifice, it could ignite its inner fire and pierce any Immortal E.

Cen Ling darted through intricate stairways and countless branching corridors, following the red thread with ghostlike speed.

Soon, he spotted Guan He pacing near the corridor wall. Before Guan He could react, the black dog at his feet began barking ferociously, growling threateningly at Cen Ling.

Cen Ling sneered, slapping on a concealment talisman and vanishing into the air.

That black dog wasn’t afraid of any Immortal E’s. It was very likely a ghost immortal.

If the Underworld allowed Fang Xiu to summon such beings during the ritual, there had to be other restrictions.

If his guess was correct, the ghost immortal probably couldn’t interfere in conflicts involving the sacrifices—it could only sound the alarm.

Just as he thought, the black dog circled Guan He, barking madly. It could clearly sense his presence but didn’t attack.

“Who’s there?” Guan He reacted immediately.

He stood with his back to the hospital room door, anchoring his stance and preparing for defense.

So naive. You’ll be the perfect blood sacrifice.

The Blood-Quenching Dagger slashed toward Guan He’s throat.

Guan He’s eyes widened in place, unaware of the approaching danger. The blade reached his neck—

And passed through it with a hollow swish.

What the… phase shift? Ghost step?

Cen Ling froze. Guan He lunged toward where the attack had come from.

Cen Ling quickly backed up half a step, barely avoiding being touched. With the ambush failed, Guan He retreated to the doorway and resumed a defensive posture.

That guy could use phase-shifting abilities in such unpredictable ways. Clearly, direct physical attacks wouldn’t work. Cen Ling widened the gap between them, holding his breath and preparing to cast a spell—

“Yaaahoo—hey—”

The long nasal call of the boatman echoed as the boat burst through thin air, ramming straight into Cen Ling’s back. He dodged just in time.

At the bow, Song Zheng held the Murder-Intent Seismograph high. The bronze ball shook wildly in Cen Ling’s direction.

“We’re here to help!” Xiao Tian called cheerfully.

“Fang Xiu and the gods are fighting up there. No way for us to get involved!”

Guan He: “?”

What a weird and surreal explanation. Weren’t they in the middle of a sacrificial ritual?

Xiao Tian didn’t care how confused Guan He was. She gracefully hopped off the boat.

With one hand, she made an “OK” sign and blew through the ring of her fingers. In an instant, the corridor filled with dreamy pink bubbles.

An anomaly skill.

Cen Ling held his breath, repositioning silently. But before he could move again, a bubble popped beside him.

It caused no damage, but burst into a cloud of glittering sparkles that stuck to his body. No matter how he tried to wipe or conceal them, they glowed brightly and wouldn’t come off.

Damn it. It’s an anti-stealth spell. Cen Ling’s heart clenched.

The moment the sparkling glitter revealed his location, Xiao Li launched himself from the boat and snatched the boatman’s oar, swinging it at Cen Ling.

Song Zheng held the Seismograph in one hand and tossed a vial of magical reagent with the other, something Jiao Jiao had given him earlier.

The vial shattered, instantly corroding a narrow, deep hole into the floor. Several nearly hit Cen Ling’s head, but he deflected them with his magic just in time.

No good. There were too many enemies.

Cen Ling’s eyes scanned the scene. He took a deep breath and unleashed a whirlwind of yin energy. As the others scrambled to defend themselves, he lunged for the closest target and grabbed Guan He, pressing the dagger’s tip to his throat.

Guan He reflexively tried to phase out, but no matter how he struggled, he couldn’t activate his ability.

“Your phase-shifting ability was borrowed from an evil spirit,” Cen Ling said quietly, the yin energy around him growing more turbulent. “If I suppress that spirit, your ability will naturally stop working.”

As he spoke, he began inching toward Fang Xiu’s hospital room.

He remembered that Cheng Songyun used the Resentful Ghost Shield. She was likely stationed inside, guarding the room. Once he entered and sealed the door, she would be the perfect blood sacrifice.

Open the door, seal the room, kill, and kill again.

As long as he moved fast and completed these four simple steps, the God of Calamity would lose his freshly forged Immortal E.

Seeing Fang Xiu’s teammate held hostage, the mushroom trio instinctively froze.

Cen Ling stared hard at the three agitated figures. Using Guan He as a human shield, he had already reached the hospital room’s door. The yin energy around him swirled into near-tornadoes, and the pressure sent Jiao Jiao’s hair flying in all directions.

Under the wild strands, Jiao Jiao’s eyes held a smile.

Just as Cen Ling reached for the door, her arm flicked.

Something bright red rolled through the yin energy like a bowling ball, landing at Cen Ling’s feet. From the red fur poked a narrow snout, which bit hard into the back of Cen Ling’s ankle.

With a cry of pain, Cen Ling reflexively looked down—and met a fox’s explosion of fire magic straight to the face.

Yan Yan didn’t linger. After harassing Cen Ling, he spun around, bit down on Guan He’s shoe, and bolted.

A Fox demon’s strength was no joke. Before Guan He could react, the palm-sized red fox yanked him to the ground and dragged him away at high speed.

The second Guan He hit the floor, Xiao Li pulled out Xiao Tian’s coral hairpin and hurled it straight at Cen Ling’s chest.

The coral pin pierced Cen Ling’s heart with perfect accuracy.

Elsewhere, Yan Yan only released Guan He’s shoe after hauling him into the boat. He smacked his lips, letting out a very human-sounding gag.

“Finally done with him,”

Yan Yan returned to human form with a sigh. “That guy’s strong, he…”

“Watch out!” Guan He grabbed him hard.

The others hadn’t fought Cen Ling before, but he had. He would never forget it.

Cen Ling had tempered his living soul with yin energy, his power nearly rivaling a ghost immortal’s. As long as his soul still lingered, he would not be judged as dead. This was intel Mei Lan had sacrificed herself to obtain.

Sure enough, Cen Ling didn’t fall.

Everything was going exactly as he predicted. These people were always like this. As long as he had a hostage, they would focus on that and ignore more important matters.

“This is bad. After him!” Song Zheng shouted.

Cen Ling didn’t waste time observing. He didn’t even pull out the hairpin in his chest.

While the others were caught off guard, he turned the hospital room’s doorknob and rushed in.

Immediately, he slammed the door shut behind him. His eyes shifted, and countless talismans sealed the doorway, creating a new golden seal array.

Inside, Cheng Songyun was using the Resentful Ghost Shield to protect Fang Xiu’s body, completely unguarded herself.

Before she could react, the Blood-Quenching Dagger tore open her throat.

The ghost shield shattered like a soap bubble.

Blood soaked the blade. The runes on the dagger lit up, and fire wrapped the weapon.

Cen Ling flicked the blood from the knife and let out a long breath.

He walked slowly toward the hospital bed.

On it lay Fang Xiu, eyes closed, eyelashes motionless. A respirator covered his face, and thick and thin tubes ran across his body.

Draped in a pale hospital gown, he looked bloodless, especially fragile and ghostly.

This was the God of Calamity’s Immortal E? How laughable.

Below the bed, Cheng Songyun’s body lay still, blood spreading rapidly across the polished floor, soaking through Cen Ling’s shoes.

“Your people gave me a little trouble,” Cen Ling said. “But only a little… You were too focused on the gods, Fang Xiu.”

He stood beside Fang Xiu and raised the flaming dagger high.

“Now, let me finish the job my family couldn’t.”

The dagger plunged downward.

Just like the coral pin, the blade pierced Fang Xiu’s heart with precision.

His soul wasn’t in the room, but within seconds, his heart had been reduced to ash by Samadhi Fire.

Soon, Fang Xiu’s whole body caught fire.

His hair curled and turned to ash. His skin blistered and blackened. That once-handsome face twisted into a skull-like grin. The air reeked of scorched flesh.

The flames flickered in Cen Ling’s pupils.

“Return. Return.”

“Your merit is complete, all is well.”

…It was over.

At last, Fang Xiu had died by his hand.

The Hierarch had protected him. In the end, the Hierarch was hundreds of times more reliable than that inhuman “God of Xushan”.

The God of Calamity might go berserk upon sensing the loss of his E. But those immortals should have already used the Heaven-Breaking Technique—he wouldn’t be able to cause much damage now.

Time to report back. Cen Ling pulled the coral pin from his chest, sending a spray of blood into the air.

He wondered if his family had regained their senses yet…

He removed the sealing talismans from the door and opened it.

And the moment he saw what lay beyond, his blood turned to ice.

Darkness.

The other side of the door wasn’t a hallway but only endless, bottomless black.

Why? He had burned Fang Xiu’s body.

Why did the taboo still remain?

Cen Ling whipped around to look at the burning hospital bed.

Cheng Songyun’s corpse had somehow risen and was now seated on the bed, smiling brightly.

Fang Xiu’s burnt body had also sat up, resting against the headboard, tilting his skull mockingly at Cen Ling.

Outside the window, the white mist had vanished. Something was moving. First flesh-colored, then white, then black.

…It was a massive, dim, black eye.

Its shape was beautiful, disturbingly familiar. The gigantic pupil stared at Cen Ling through the window.

And then, very slowly, it began to curve upward.

Outside the door.

“…”

Yan Yan silently picked up a severed arm and let it drop with a thud.

“He’s dead.” Yan Yan sucked in a cold breath through his teeth and turned to Guan He. “Didn’t you say as long as the guy’s soul was intact, he couldn’t die?”

Before them, Cen Ling had collapsed across the threshold—half his body inside the room, half outside.

Just moments ago, he had opened the door and taken a single step in and then fell without a sound.

The swirling yin energy had vanished in an instant. Everything halted so suddenly it sent chills down their spines.

It was so absurd, it felt like one of Cen Ling’s tricks.

Even Cheng Songyun was startled inside the room, nearly dropping her ghost shield.

“…I don’t know.” Guan He stared blankly at the corpse. “I don’t understand.”

“His soul is gone.”

Jiao Jiao idly toyed with a tarot card and spoke in a low voice.

“As I see it, there’s only one way someone can die that irrationally—he broke a death taboo.”

As if in answer to her words, the door that Cen Ling had opened slowly stopped swinging.

Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock. Knock, knock, knock.

It let out a soft, rhythmic sound.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 175: Mutual Understanding

At first, Cen Ling only felt that something was subtly off.

That male ghost called Bai Shuangying seemed absurdly strong. But since all of Fang Xiu’s teammates had summoned ghosts to assist them, Bai Shuangying was likely just another powerful ghost trained by the Underworld authorities.

While examining Fang Xiu’s memories, he noticed that the ghost spoke oddly and showed no fear even in front of Ghost Immortal A’Shou.

Now, after Fang Xiu deliberately damaged numerous Immortal E seals, Bai Shuangying’s aura suddenly surged. The seals were clearly broken, yet the gods still hadn’t gone to Xushan.

Even someone as slow as him could now guess the ghost’s true identity.

…The Bai Shuangying at Fang Xiu’s side was the very Great God of Calamity that the Hierarch had sealed long ago!

Under the pressure of immense yin energy, Cen Ling barely managed to counteract it with his own yin aura. Fortunately, the gods had arrived, and neither Fang Xiu nor Bai Shuangying showed much interest in him, turning instead to confront the gods directly.

The founder was protecting him. The true God of Xushan was protecting him.

And now that he thought about it—wasn’t this just like a scene from “Returning to the Mountains”? He had grown up reading that book, and he knew every line by heart.

Right now, he was treading the edge of a cliff.

The gods descended from the heavens to confront the Great God of Calamity who wished to enter the human world. This scene was exactly like the one where Zhuang Guiqu had sealed the God of Calamity long ago.

It was the perfect chance to recreate the Guishan Sect’s former glory!

Cen Ling forced himself to remain calm and focused amid the flying debris. After a moment of deliberation, he decisively swallowed all his remaining pills and leapt into the sky.

“I have a plan! Cover me!” he shouted to the gods.

Within seconds, a golden silk ribbon descended from the heavens, wrapping around him and lifting him into the air.

The one who made the move was an immortal wrapped in luxurious silks and bearing a blessed appearance.

If Fang Xiu had seen him, he would have instantly recognized the immortal—this was the very one who had led the effort to seal Bai Shuangying in the first place.

However, the Heaven Court’s momentum paled compared to the Underworld’s.

Most likely due to issues with the sacrificial ritual, the Underworld, aware of its faults, had mobilized its strongest forces.

Even though Cen Ling’s living soul had the strength of a ghost immortal, the yin aura drifting over from the other side still made his legs go weak.

“Pay it no mind,” the blessed immortal said with a smile, lightly tapping Cen Ling’s brow.

“Junior Cen Ling greets the honored immortals.”

A warm current flowed from his brow through his body, and only then did Cen Ling catch his breath. He quickly straightened his posture and bowed to the immortals before him.

“You said you have a plan. What do you mean?” the blessed immortal asked.

Cen Ling took a deep breath and steadied his voice. “I must first beg your forgiveness. Today’s disaster is, in truth, all because of me.”

“Back when the Hierarch and you all sealed the God of Calamity together, he pitied his disciples and descendants. Not only did he leave behind the Heaven-Breaking Technique, he also passed on a method of borrowing E’s. Rest assured—he knew such an act crossed the line, so he taught it only to the successor of the Guishan Sect.”

At this point, Cen Ling deliberately glanced around to gauge the gods’ expressions.

Most were still busy trying to suppress Bai Shuangying. A few were being toyed with like kites. Only a handful looked toward him, and their faces revealed no clear emotions.

He respectfully bowed his head again and continued.

“During this sacrificial ritual, I noticed something was off. The God of Calamity used the sacrifices to interfere with the ritual. I had no choice but to borrow power from the Immortal E’s to defend myself.”

“Who would have thought Fang Xiu—that man in red—was dead set on destroying the Immortal E’s to free the God of Calamity? He cast an evil spell on me, forcing me to transfer out all the E’s.”

Nearby, A’Shou nearly rolled her eyes skyward. What a so-called confession—he had turned black into white and was downplaying the whole thing to retreat while gaining ground.

But with King Yan looming over her, and Cen Ling speaking to the Heavenly Court, she, a ghost immortal of the Underworld, couldn’t interject. She could only curse silently.

“The damage is done, and the situation is urgent. We have no time to pursue mortal wrongdoing.” The blessed immortal sighed. “You may speak freely, young one.”

Safe! Cen Ling was overjoyed.

He took a deep breath. “While fighting Fang Xiu, I uncovered the truth about the God of Calamity’s Immortal E. Did you know—his Immortal E is right here, within this very building!”

“Fang Xiu used his damaged body to become an E. If we destroy his physical body, the God of Calamity will lose the support of his Immortal E and be significantly weakened.”

At the mention of using a physical body to form an Immortal E, the gods looked at each other in disbelief. A few were so shocked that they stopped casting spells, nearly getting caught by Bai Shuangying’s karmic chains.

The blessed immortal’s smile vanished, and he said nothing.

Cen Ling seized the momentum. “The God of Calamity has only just broken the seal. His powers are unstable, and his true body isn’t here. If we eliminate the Immortal E now, he will surely be thrown into disarray.”

“With the Underworld’s Spirit-Screening Array as a foundation, and your isolation of this space from the human world, we can then use the Heaven-Breaking Technique to sever the link between him and his true body.”

“That way, we can turn this small pocket of reality into a cage that destroys the God of Calamity.”

The blessed immortal frowned. “Are you suggesting we spare his true body and only destroy his mind?”

Cen Ling: “Exactly.”

“The God of Calamity was originally the spirit of the myriads of mountains—dim-witted by nature, never meant to enter the human world. This creature struggled immensely to escape the seal and gained self-awareness. Clearly, he harbors resentment both toward humanity and his thousand-year imprisonment.”

As he spoke, Cen Ling’s tone grew more impassioned.

“Now that he wields supreme power, even if he doesn’t strike now, can you really rest easy? How long can the human world remain at peace?”

After he finished, Cen Ling could nearly hear his own heartbeat.

In just a few minutes, he had come up with a highly feasible plan!

The timing, location, and people were all in his favor. This was the perfect opportunity for the gods.

Once Bai Shuangying stabilized and returned to Xushan with the Immortal E, no one would be able to stop them.

“Erasing just the mind of the Corner of Heaven’s Will… is doable.” A gaunt old immortal beside the blessed immortal stroked his beard. “The true spirit of the mountains will remain, preserving the balance of the heavens. In ten thousand years, a new consciousness will naturally form.”

“The true body remains in Xushan. If we destroy the Immortal E and sever the connection, we can indeed erase both the mind and this fragment of a body.”

“If we want peace in this world, we cannot allow the Corner of Heaven’s Will to linger with thoughts of mankind. It is like a beast that has tasted human flesh—once it has, it will forever crave more…”

The blessed immortal fell silent in thought.

A’Shou’s expression changed.

Sure enough, when faced with a real threat, the gods weren’t so easily swayed.

A thousand flowery words meant nothing compared to a single appeal to “the greater good.”

The Guishan Sect, which had stolen Immortal E’s and defiled the karma of the God of Xushan, was no more than a pack of rats in a granary. But Bai Shuangying and Fang Xiu—those two were genuine beasts.

Seeing the gods hesitate, Cen Ling decided to strike while the iron was hot.

“You have long called that God of Calamity the ‘God of Xushan’, and we too revere our Hierarch as the God of Xushan. Our sect’s believers are spread across the world, devout and faithful, forming stable karma bonds.”

“Therefore, the karma of the ‘God of Xushan’ has already been influenced by our sect. I could borrow the power of the E’s from the Disaster Relief Tower using that karma—this is the proof! Once that God of Calamity’s divine mind collapses, the next ‘God of Xushan’ will surely be a benevolent god formed from our worship. He will never bring harm to the human world.”

Cen Ling had no concern at all about the sect’s reputation.

The gods didn’t care about dynastic change or human strife. They only cared that the mortal world remained intact.

A’Shou was burning with rage. She could not hold back and tried to rush forward, but King Yan raised a hand to block her.

“Your Excellency, that man—”

“Well said,” King Yan rumbled. “We will hold off the other two here. You go destroy the core of the Immortal E. How about that?”

Huh?

Cen Ling and A’Shou were both stunned.

If the gods had truly accepted the proposal, they should have sent one of their own to carry out such an important task.

Sending only Cen Ling made the whole thing feel a little odd.

Even the blessed immortal hesitated. “King Yan, you…”

“The Guishan Sect wants to claim the karma of the God of Xushan, then they should step into the game themselves,” King Yan said solemnly. “Once he successfully destroys the Immortal E, we can consider the rest of what he said.”

Cen Ling’s brow twitched.

Alright, he got the message. It seemed the gods were just as cunning, trying to make him do the one thing guaranteed to offend both Bai Shuangying and Fang Xiu the most.

…Fine. He would go.

Cen Ling bowed again to the gathered immortals. The blessed immortal waved a long sleeve and teleported Cen Ling straight into the interior of the hospital.

Immediately afterward, he intensified the celestial sealing formation. The talismans contracted further, trapping Bai Shuangying and Fang Xiu within the hospital garden.

A’Shou instinctively looked toward Fang Xiu lying on the ground, only to find him calmly gazing in her direction, one hand lightly resting over his arm.

[It doesn’t matter. I don’t need you to recreate anything. As long as the Underworld officially recognizes that the one bound to me by ghost contract is the “God of Xushan”, that will be enough.]

At the end of the seventh ritual, Fang Xiu had requested a strange anomaly.

…Wait a second?

Not long ago, she had given Bai Shuangying the strongest karmic support possible.

Which meant that, if Bai Shuangying wanted to, he could destroy the so-called “Guishan Sect’s influence” in an instant—and thoroughly disgrace the Underworld while doing so.

King Yan, ruler of the Underworld, surely could perceive the karmic endorsements of his realm. This—

“That human deliberately left this loophole in place until now. His scheming runs deep.” King Yan didn’t speak aloud. His voice resonated directly in A’Shou’s mind.

“And you have defended him with all your strength. That says something about his character.”

No, no, no, no, no. Fang Xiu’s character was absolutely terrible. That kid’s mind and preferences were so twisted it was to the point of being indescribable, A’Shou silently groaned.

But in a moment like this, she wisely chose to stay quiet.

“That human revealed his power first, and then deliberately let this person pass through. He must have a backup plan.”

“Last time, the Heavenly Court and the Underworld acted in haste and caused today’s disaster. To repeat the same mistake now would be unwise.”

King Yan continued, “If we provoke the God of Xushan again, that would be courting annihilation.”

A’Shou lowered her voice. “Then why don’t you stop the Heavenly Court?”

“What Cen Ling said isn’t entirely wrong. The God of Xushan does pose a threat to the human world. If words alone are enough to resolve this, some gods may still stir up trouble in the future.”

“You were once a general. You understand this principle.”

Alright, she understood too.

There are some people who can’t be reasoned with. They have to be beaten into accepting the truth.

What Fang Xiu wanted wasn’t just a demonstration.

He had come all this way. He wanted a real, no-holds-barred trial of strength with the gods—to fully and permanently extinguish their ambitions.

And Cen Ling? He was the step Fang Xiu had laid out for them to descend gracefully.

If the gods lost, they could just throw Cen Ling out to take the blame.

Just like Zhuang Guiqu had once said—if, a thousand years from now, the Corner of Heave’s Will still holds a grudge, then offer up the Guishan Sect in its place.

…At what point had Fang Xiu begun planning all of this?

Looking at the figure in red on the ground, A’Shou felt an icy chill roll down her spine.

As if worried she didn’t feel cold enough, Fang Xiu even took time to wave at her.

Speechless, A’Shou looked away…only to see Bai Shuangying snuggle up close again, happily wrapping his arms around his human.

It seemed only the indifferent and carefree Bai Shuangying could remain unaffected by Fang Xiu’s endless schemes.

Well, at least things had become quite simple now—wasn’t it just a fight? Then let it be a fight.

She had wanted to beat Fang Xiu up for a long time!

---

The author has something to say:

The Immortals: What a joke. Don’t fall into the same trap twice.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 174: The Third Taboo

It’s here, A’Shou thought.

The moment Bai Shuangying withdrew the contamination, countless memories related to the God of Xushan returned in vivid clarity, as though thick dust had been wiped away.

The immortals could sense the immense impact of the God of Xushan’s ascension, and the ghost immortals could also feel the disappearance of their precious Immortal E’s aura. Coupled with Bai Shuangying’s open provocation, both the Heavenly Court and the Underworld could lock onto the ritual within moments.

A’Shou slowly drew her soft sword, her gaze cautiously fixed on the sky.

Just like during the Battle of Xushan, golden light and gray mist surged again.

Above the hospital, countless immortals stood in orderly formation, forming concentric circles. The golden glow of the Heavenly Court mixed with the gray mist of the Underworld, forming what looked from a distance like a Taiji symbol.

…The immortals were watching.

On the ground, Fang Xiu and Bai Shuangying stood side by side, also gazing into the sky.

A’Shou had just opened her mouth to call out to them when a sudden chill crept up her back and a tightness seized her chest. A gray mist swept over her vision. When the mist cleared, she found herself high in the air, surrounded by ghost immortals of the Underworld.

The Disaster Relief Tower was under the Underworld’s jurisdiction, and the Underworld’s contingent was predominantly ghost immortals.

Now that they had lost their Immortal E’s, each one was furious, their eyes burning with killing intent.

A tall and burly shadow loomed in front of A’Shou.

Its presence was so oppressive she couldn’t lift her head, and its deep voice thundered in her ears.

“Ghost Immortal A’Shou, why did you conceal what you knew?”

It was King Yan.

Ever since she had decided to cooperate with Fang Xiu, A’Shou had known this day would come.

Whether it was the matter of the Guishan Sect interfering with the Immortal E, the instability of the seal, or today’s formation of the Fang Xiu E and Bai Shuangying cultivating it into an Immortal E—none of it had happened overnight. She had to have known.

Earlier, Cen Ling had lifted the information seal specifically to force her to summon the immortals as quickly as possible.

Yes, she should have reported it immediately. That way, she could have absolved herself of any responsibility. No one could accuse her of negligence, not even the Jade Emperor himself.

However—

Under immense pressure, A’Shou dropped into a clean half-kneel, her back straight as a rod.

“The immortals gave everything to seal the God of Xushan only because he bore resentment toward the mortal realm. They feared he would destroy its peace.”

“Your Excellency appointed me to guard the Tower precisely because I care about the human world. I did not report what was happening inside the Tower immediately because I was prioritizing the world’s stability.”

“Bullshit!” the nearby immortals stayed silent, but the ghost immortals exploded.

“Then what about our Immortal E’s?”

“The Tower guaranteed its safety. You vouched for it, and now you want to say it was all to keep the God of Xushan at bay?!”

“Silence,” the deep voice warned. The surrounding ghost immortals instantly fell quiet.

A’Shou was tall, but King Yan’s shadow still completely enveloped her.

Holding her breath, she waited for judgment.

“Did the God of Xushan already discover a way to break the seal when you became aware of him?” the voice asked after a pause.

A’Shou: “Yes.”

“There were also mortal cultivators interfering. The situation was changing too rapidly—it could not wait for layers of reporting and careful discussion.”

She was doing her best to phrase it formally, though inside she felt a pang of bitterness.

What was she supposed to say? That the Corner of Heaven’s Will suddenly fell in love with a human sacrifice and temporarily didn’t feel like destroying the world?

That right now, this defiant little couple was contending with the Guishan Sect, and the sect was actually more eager to cause destruction?

But she was absolutely sure that the immortals feared Bai Shuangying more than the Guishan Sect. The sect was ultimately made up of mortals and still needed followers. Bai Shuangying, on the other hand, truly had the power to raze the world to the ground.

If the immortals confronted Bai Shuangying too soon and dragged the fragile Fang Xiu into it, who knew what chaos would unfold… Fang Xiu had likely brought her into the mess for exactly that reason; to leverage her cautious mindset.

“In my view, the unsealing of the God of Xushan is irreversible. Better to redirect than to block,” she said sincerely.

In other words, what’s done is done—now everyone needs to deal with it.

King Yan was silent for a long time.

Finally, that heavy voice said coldly, “Since you claim to act in the interest of the mortal world, your reward or punishment will depend on the outcome.”

“Yes!”

This meant the result would decide everything. A’Shou quietly exhaled in relief.

In other words, it all depended on the outcome of the battle.

The surrounding immortals had already begun to act, layering and strengthening the Underworld’s Spirit-Screen Array.

Now it wasn’t just filtering souls. It had been reshaped into an isolated realm, fully cut off from the mortal world.

Once the isolation was complete, the Heavenly Court’s immortals wasted no time chanting golden incantations.

Countless glowing spells wrapped around them like golden threads, encasing the entire hospital in what looked like a massive silkworm cocoon.

On the ground.

Bai Shuangying sneered. “Those gods aren’t slacking off. This time, they didn’t wait for mortals to suggest anything. They’ve improved the sealing method on their own.”

Thanks to the Corner of Heaven’s Will incident, they had probably drafted emergency protocols. Fang Xiu was familiar with them.

After all, if the immortals hadn’t considered similar sealing scenarios in all these centuries, that would have been the real surprise.

But that wasn’t the point right now.

“If it’s just negotiation, I’m confident I can settle this,” Fang Xiu said softly, looping an arm around Bai Shuangying’s neck.

“The question is, do you want to negotiate with them?”

Centuries of pain and grievance could be swallowed, but Bai Shuangying wasn’t the type to hold back. The Guishan Sect needed to be dealt with, and the gods weren’t blameless either.

Bai Shuangying was blunt. “They can’t seal me.”

“Great,” Fang Xiu said cheerfully. “Everyone always says people can’t be taught by words, only by action.”

“Do what you like. I’ll handle the cleanup.”

Bai Shuangying smiled.

He pressed two fingers together and drew a semicircle in front of him.

The seal didn’t last even half a second before it shattered mid-construction, leaving only a sky full of golden fragments.

The heavens erupted in shock. “Is the God of Xushan neither ghost nor god, yet truly ascended to divinity…?”

“Can a Corner of Heaven’s Will be acknowledged as a True Immortal by the Heaven’s Law?!”

“If he followed the path of ghost immortals, then what exactly has he cultivated into?”

On the ground, Bai Shuangying looked at his own fingers, smiling in satisfaction.

In the past, those gods could rely on the power of Heavenly Law’s to challenge him. But now…

He stretched out his hand like a child discovering a new toy.

In the sky, the immortals suddenly froze.

Most of the human and ghost immortals erupted with red karmic threads, which tangled together to form chains; chains that locked them in place.

…New, blood-red karmic chains.

Chains flew through the air.

The celestial weapons that had floated up now fell uselessly, and the spells that were being cast dissolved mid-chant. The immortals, of course, understood exactly what was happening—

Humans cultivated virtue, ghosts cultivated E’s. Whether incense offerings or Immortal E’s, they ultimately couldn’t escape the cycle of mortal karma.

The reason immortals cared so deeply for the wellbeing of the mortal world was, at its core, to ensure the continuation of karmic cause and effect.

Was the Corner of Heaven’s Will always this powerful in manipulating karma?

Last time, when confronting the God of Xushan, the karmic attacks had been like the flailing claws of a wild beast—chaotic, relying purely on instinct.

Now, the attacks from the God of Xushan were precise and calculated, targeting the weaknesses of the immortals. It was vicious in every sense.

On the other side, Bai Shuangying gleefully explained to Fang Xiu, “I can now grab hold of the immortals’ karma!”

As he spoke, he gave the red threads in his hand a playful tug like kite strings. The golden light and gray mist above shifted in response. Sometimes they formed a V-shape, sometimes a straight line. The previously rigid formation had completely unraveled.

Fang Xiu couldn’t help but laugh aloud.

While Bai Shuangying was joyfully testing his new power, the immortals in the sky finally ran out of patience and hurled down their first wave of spells.

Fang Xiu stopped laughing and looked up into the dazzling sky.

“The third taboo,”

Fang Xiu said slowly, “If you dare harm my closest kin at the door, then let the visitor fall into endless darkness.”

“Knock knock knock.” He reached out and tapped the air.

On the path of the falling spells, countless doors appeared out of thin air. Each door was unique in design, but all of them stood wide open, and inside was only a thick, lightless darkness.

The golden, flashing spells passed through the doorways and were immediately swallowed by the black void, as if they had fallen into a bottomless abyss. Even the celestial weapons, solid and tangible, stirred not a single ripple.

The immortals in the sky frantically tried to call them back, but could only watch helplessly as each door disappeared, leaving behind no trace.

A deep aura of doom radiated from those strange doors.

No one knew what hid behind that darkness… What if, instead of spells, the attackers had been the immortals themselves?

But everyone could sense it. The aura of those doors was eerily similar to the God of Xushan, almost indistinguishable.

The human beside the God of Xushan—or rather, the “thing” that only looked human—what exactly was it?

They couldn’t be sealed. They couldn’t be struck. For the moment, the immortals’ offensive stalled in midair.

Beneath her veil, A’Shou let out a bitter laugh.

“I should’ve known all along,” she murmured. “The most important thing at the negotiation table is always leverage.”

If Bai Shuangying was to truly regain his freedom, Fang Xiu had never planned to argue that he was pitiful, pure, harmless, or free of resentment toward the human world.

…He only needed to prove they could fight better than the immortals.

“This is all your fault for enabling them,” one of the ghost immortals beside her muttered. “So what if the God of Xushan was close to breaking free? As long as he hadn’t become a full ghost immortal yet—”

“There are only three ways to achieve peace in this world. Do you know them?” A’Shou replied, calm and cool.

“Stop going off-topic—”

“Obey completely and hope the powerful grant mercy. This is the lowest strategy.”

“Crush all threats with overwhelming power. This is the middle strategy.”

“Strike preemptively through superior strategy, intimidating without oppressing. This is the highest strategy.”

A’Shou looked down at the red and white figures below. “You’re trying to use a middle strategy to counter a top-tier one. It won’t work.”

“After all that, you’re just trying to say the God of Xushan is too strong and we’re no match?”

The ghost immortals, with their mixed levels of education, were largely unconvinced.

A’Shou gave another bitter smile. “Would you ever trust the God of Xushan? Do you think he’s the kind to politely put on a collar just to prove good intentions?”

“…”

“I have a plan. Cover me!”

Cen Ling finally snapped out of it. Without hesitation, he tore open a talisman and charged toward the immortals’ ranks.

His eyes were bloodshot, his face a blend of panic, dread, and a flicker of hope from discovering a potential loophole.

Strangely, the immortals did shield this reckless mortal. Fang Xiu simply watched Cen Ling soar skyward and made no move to stop him.

He let Bai Shuangying continue playing with karma and curled his lips at Cen Ling’s fleeing back.

---

The author has something to say:

The cats have bad intentions.jpg

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 173: Molten Fire and Metal

The Immortal E’s shattered like bubbles. The chains of karma lost their anchor points and vanished completely. The suffocating pressure of a thousand years dissipated without a trace, and power surged back into Bai Shuangying’s body. His robe swayed lightly as if drunk on the sensation of fullness and comfort.

Bai Shuangying looked at his hands and couldn’t help but smile.

Now, there was nothing left that could bind him. Only one problem remained—

As the final restraint broke, Fang Xiu absorbed the karmic power of tens of millions of Immortal E’s, while simultaneously losing the suppression they had provided. Both sides experienced a surge in strength. The balance of his “E cultivation” became unstable.

A wave of heat hit, and Bai Shuangying instinctively suppressed his aura and looked at Fang Xiu in front of him.

Fang Xiu’s body radiated an unexpected heat.

His red T-shirt was soaked in sweat at some unknown point. On his pale skin, faint trigram symbols flickered, along with increasingly visible veins of blood. Bai Shuangying could hear his heartbeat clearly. It was abnormally fast.

This wasn’t good.

As a Corner of Heaven’s Will, Bai Shuangying had simply regained his original power, and his body could naturally bear it.

Fang Xiu, on the other hand, was a mortal to the core. In the past fourteen years, he had only digested around a thousand E’s. To forcibly take in the karmic power of tens of millions now far exceeded what any human could handle.

Even after burning Cen Ling’s bronze sword and shield, Fang Xiu remained half-squatting, trying hard to suppress the sound of his own breathing.

Bai Shuangying’s smile faded without him noticing. He reached out to support Fang Xiu’s arm, quietly helping him stand.

Sure enough, Fang Xiu’s legs had already gone soft. At this rate, his body would soon be damaged by the high fever.

“Hah…” Fang Xiu exhaled. Though the weather was already warm, his breath still puffed out white vapor.

Bai Shuangying wrapped his sleeve around Fang Xiu, trying to cool him down. But Fang Xiu only grew hotter. Under the impact of countless karmic threads, his soul trembled ominously, like a dam about to break.

“The second phase…”

Fang Xiu tilted his face up and reached to touch the blood mole on Bai Shuangying’s cheek. “The second phase is up to you…”

The touch of a living fingertip felt like searing metal, just like when they first met.

There was no plan, no explanation. Fang Xiu simply smiled.

When he saw surprise flicker in those pale eyes, he smiled even more sweetly.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered, his cheek pressed to Bai Shuangying’s cool sleeve. “I’ve had to adjust a decade-long plan on the fly. Of course the risk is high…”

“But what can I say? I like you… The battlefield is like this. Anything can happen…”

After speaking, he coughed twice, bringing up a mess of red fragments—not blood, but shattered karmic threads.

As Fang Xiu’s condition deteriorated rapidly, Cen Ling finally caught his breath. He struggled to swallow another handful of pills and rose shakily to his feet.

Bai Shuangying ignored him entirely.

At that moment, his mind was working faster than ever.

His human had done extremely well on his own. Before this, Bai Shuangying had followed his lead cautiously, afraid to disrupt his human’s plans.

But just now, Fang Xiu had said, “Is up to you.”

Which meant Bai Shuangying could now do whatever he wanted—whether it concerned this ritual, the mortal world, or Fang Xiu himself.

…He was utterly, completely free.

In the corner of the garden, A’Shou clenched her fists, watching Bai Shuangying with intense anxiety. Her palms were drenched in sweat.

Fang Xiu had actually handed over the reins of the battle—perhaps even the control over his own life—to the Corner of Heaven’s Will.

Fang Xiu was cunning to a fault, but at least he had common sense and some shred of human decency. Bai Shuangying, by contrast, was a complete unknown. No one could predict what went on in his head.

Should she intervene? Try to talk to him?

Bai Shuangying harbored deep resentment toward the Underworld. Speaking out rashly might backfire. What if Fang Xiu had some backup plan? If this unrestrained Corner of Heaven’s Will decided to go wild in the middle of a city…

Then she saw Bai Shuangying pull Fang Xiu fully into his embrace, gently nuzzling his cheek against Fang Xiu’s hair.

Fang Xiu leaned against him with a relaxed look. Fine cracks spread across his skin like porcelain.

“I’m not used to being alone. That’s your fault.”

He muttered, “… And it’s strange, but I can guess what you want.”

We don’t need to show each other anything anymore. Let’s walk onto the stage together.

Amid the astonished gazes of those watching, countless red karmic threads exploded around Bai Shuangying, wrapping Fang Xiu tightly, forming a strangely shaped cocoon.

The red threads writhed gently, their ends drooping like willows—willows soaked in blood.

Bai Shuangying cradled the cocoon in a tilted hold. The corner of his mouth lifted high, his movements affectionate and careful.

Was he helping Fang Xiu ease the impact of the Immortal E’s? A’Shou wondered.

What was happening before her eyes had no precedent. It was entirely outside her realm of knowledge.

“I can do anything,” Bai Shuangying hummed softly. “I can do anything to you.”

No—that wasn’t it. A chill ran down A’Shou’s spine. This was…

Bai Shuangying was rapidly untangling all of Fang Xiu’s karmic threads. To a completely unbound Corner of Heaven’s Will, Fang Xiu’s entire life lay exposed and clear.

No, not just his life.

Karmic contamination against karmic contamination. Under Bai Shuangying’s onslaught, the Underworld’s spells began to loosen. The memories the Underworld had taken from Fang Xiu… The abilities he had used to destroy Immortal E’s… The chaotic, broken karmic lines began reconnecting and quickly restored themselves.

This was everything about the human named “Fang Xiu”.

…Bai Shuangying wasn’t merely healing. He was refining the E.

…He was forging a new Immortal E, refining Fang Xiu anew so he would no longer be constrained by mortal limits.

White fabric wrapped around the red cocoon as Bai Shuangying closed his eyes. Cen Ling tried to attack while he could, but all of his spells vanished like snow the moment they touched Bai Shuangying.

Countless pieces of information flooded into Bai Shuangying’s mind.

Fang Xiu liked red, liked firmer butter, preferably with a hint of salt.

Fang Xiu was a diligent learner. He had learned all his metaphysics from ghosts in the hospital ward, resulting in a rather eclectic skillset.

Fang Xiu was efficient in his work. His ghost business had spawned several human-world intelligence networks, though he personally didn’t care much about them.

Fang Xiu was also great at slacking off. His soul often slipped out of the hospital ward to look for a phone to watch content.

Most patients didn’t stay long in the hospital, so he rarely managed to finish novels or TV shows. Only movies could occasionally be watched from beginning to end.

…

Fang Xiu was especially afraid of pain. He feared trouble, hardship, loneliness, and above all, death.

[When I lose consciousness, you will definitely explore my karma. Bai Shuangying, by the time you see this, I’ll have already noticed you.]

Bai Shuangying even uncovered Fang Xiu’s thoughts before he lost consciousness.

To make sure they were recorded, Fang Xiu had secretly traced the words with his fingers.

[Thank you for not destroying the mortal world. Thank you for wanting to save me… Thank you for sending me home.]

[When everything is over, would you like to come home with me?]

Fang Xiu’s life lay completely open before him. It was, without question, a sincere question.

A question straight from the heart.

How rare, Bai Shuangying thought.

He had never liked humans, wasn’t sure what they would be like in the future, and Fang Xiu had zero experience when it came to feelings. This wasn’t something that could be planned. It made sense Fang Xiu would be curious.

But Bai Shuangying couldn’t be bothered to worry about something so trivial. They could try a few centuries first and figure it out from there.

“Of course,” Bai Shuangying said without hesitation. “I like your nature. I like your taste. If I endured a thousand years of hunger and sealed torment, then surely I can last even longer with you.”

“If you want to separate one day, well… I still think I’m more suitable for you than any other mortal you’ve ever met.”

After seeing the bloody, censored mess that was Fang Xiu’s life, he no longer worried about Fang Xiu wanting to leave.

He was the best choice now, and he would become the best choice in the future. That was all there was to it.

“So you’d better wake up soon,” Bai Shuangying declared solemnly. “Otherwise, I won’t be able to find my way home.”

That thought was comforting. Surely Fang Xiu also—

Suddenly, Bai Shuangying’s body burned with heat. His vision flooded with golden light.

The karmic red cocoon in his arms rapidly hardened and cracked, glowing with a thick layer of gold.

As the cocoon split open, Bai Shuangying caught Fang Xiu with sharp reflexes.

His human had grown even hotter. His soul boiled like molten gold in a furnace.

The intricate karmic threads had condensed into solid forms. Countless symbols on Fang Xiu’s body quickly contracted, forming a complete Eight Trigrams formation based on their individual configurations.

They continued to evolve, transforming into the Four Symbols, then into the Two Principles…

Finally, a Taiji pattern formed at the center of Fang Xiu’s chest and slowly sank into his skin.

As the symbol completed, Fang Xiu’s out-of-control body temperature began to fall. The cracks on his skin quickly closed.

A burning sensation flared on Bai Shuangying’s left cheek. His blood mole felt like it was on fire, growing brighter and more vivid.

If their ghost contract before had been like a single thread of spider silk, now a warm, unending gravitational pull stretched between them.

An evil spirit refined an E and became a ghost immortal. Once the intentions aligned, the Immortal E was complete.

Fang Xiu was visibly recovering and growing stronger. Bai Shuangying, on the other hand, didn’t feel much of a difference. He hadn’t had any worthy opponents before anyway, so it was hard to measure any power gain.

Wait—no. He had the perfect way to test it—

Bathed in gold light dazzling enough to blind ghosts, Bai Shuangying landed on the ground. “A’Shou, inform the Underworld immediately.”

A’Shou: “…”

She tightened her veil a little, trying to block out the blinding golden light.

What could she even say? The Fang Xiu E hadn’t been destroyed—he had instead become an Immortal E. Technically, this ritual was a success. She didn’t need Bai Shuangying to remind her; she could end the ritual on her own.

But who had they originally intended to seal with the Immortal E?

Looking at Bai Shuangying, smug and glowing with triumph, and Fang Xiu, who looked like he was struggling to wake up, A’Shou suddenly felt no desire to announce anything.

Bai Shuangying was brimming with enthusiasm. “The seal has broken. They’ll be looking for me everywhere. Hurry and tell those gods I’m right here.”

Just as he finished, Bai Shuangying realized something himself—

Fang Xiu had previously asked him to increase karmic contamination. Now that his power had grown so drastically, those gods probably didn’t even remember who he was anymore.

With a casual wave of his fingers, Bai Shuangying impatiently withdrew the contamination.

Almost instantly, the world began to shake.

In Bai Shuangying’s arms, Fang Xiu slowly opened his eyes.

He touched the Taiji on his chest, that was still faintly warm, and glanced past the shell-shocked Cen Ling and others, then looked up at the sky.

Here they come.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 172: Phase Two

In Bai Shuangying’s snow-white eyes, nearly a thousand trigrams drifted slowly. Fang Xiu’s skin was already pale, making the Underworld’s trigrams stand out vividly.

Each of these trigrams represented a successful ritual.

His human had participated in nearly a thousand rituals, killing who knew how many guilty souls along the way. Add to that the karma tangled through each ritual, and it all merged around Fang Xiu as the center. This wasn’t a simple accumulation, but a natural, interwoven whole. Its effect was beyond brute force.

No wonder Fang Xiu’s soul had such a magnificent scent.

Back then, when Zhuang Guiqu designed the Shrine of All E’s, he was aiming for quantity over quality. Even with thousands upon thousands of E’s, their karmic origins didn’t align.

If the E’s in the Shrine were like ancient soldiers with cold weapons, the “Fang Xiu E” was more like a commander wielding modern firepower. Both were human, but their combat power was not even remotely comparable.

Starting at age fourteen and continuing for nearly fifteen years, Fang Xiu had turned himself into the Underworld’s most unique and priceless bargaining chip in history.

Fang Xiu’s past was truly…

“You’re the most formidable mortal I’ve ever seen. I’ve never seen a human dare challenge the Underworld before,”

Bai Shuangying hugged his human tightly in his arm. His tone had no pity, only full admiration. “You’ve done well. I’m proud of you.”

The sharp smile on Fang Xiu’s face softened. “Right? I think I’m pretty impressive too.”

“So that’s why you worked as the ‘Underworld Assassin’. You weren’t doing it for free, were you?”

Bai Shuangying spoke in the tone of someone checking whether their partner was being taken advantage of. He glanced at the line of ghosts nearby, not looking too friendly.

“Of course not.” Fang Xiu turned Bai Shuangying’s face back toward him.

“They tell me who they want dead. In return, I ask for knowledge of metaphysics, or intel on Guishan Sect believers.”

As for the ghosts’ targets, Fang Xiu never took them at their word.

Outside, some ghosts were tasked with tailing and investigating. Some were stationed at the police station to verify the information.

For ghosts, staying in a place like a police station full of yang energy was difficult, so they even created a rotation schedule to take turns tracking the unsuspecting Uncle Yuan.

Fang Xiu would be gone for a long time and only stayed for seven days when he returned. The ghosts had plenty of time to sort through data and verify intel. Their efficiency was excellent. Every time Fang Xiu returned to the living world, a thick stack of reports awaited him.

Still, he figured Bai Shuangying didn’t care about such mundane details.

“I can understand them, honestly.”

Fang Xiu muttered, “Even if their enemies weren’t selected for the rituals, even if I had to gamble each time, they still came to make deals over and over… As the dead, it’s the only thing they can do.”

Bai Shuangying hummed. “As long as you didn’t get taken advantage of.”

Clearly, from his tone, the Corner of Heaven’s Will didn’t think much of the ghosts at all.

A’Shou, on the other hand, had a completely different focus.

She finally understood the strange blank spots in the ritual records. It hadn’t been a mistake. According to Fang Xiu’s wish, his name had been erased, and memories of him had been removed.

She could accept that. But—

“How did you do it?”

A’Shou’s feelings were complicated. She didn’t know whether she should feel admiration or alarm. “You had no memory of the rituals. Even if the ghosts counted for you and told you your soul had gone missing, you still…”

“I didn’t need to remember the rituals.”

Fang Xiu casually said, his face half-buried in Bai Shuangying’s white robes. “I just needed to know that every time I vanished, I became a stronger E. That was enough.”

“When I entered the Disaster Relief Tower again, I could easily guess what my ‘life plan’ was during the ritual. So I just had to win again and make the same wish.”

A’Shou: “But your memory…”

“Even if an adult loses their memory, their mind doesn’t revert to infancy.”

Fang Xiu shrugged. “Some things, even forgotten, still leave their mark.”

But is that really considered “living”? A’Shou was at a loss for words.

Fourteen years. One hundred and seven rituals.

Only seven days in the world of the living. It was so brief. The total time Fang Xiu retained a normal memory added up to only about two years. And in those “twelve lost years” of rituals, all the fear, despair, and blood were buried in darkness by this human with a smile.

She remained silent for a long time, then tore off her veil and let it fall again to cover her face.

“Your obsession is unmatched. If you were to die unjustly, you’d become an even stronger ghost immortal than I am.”

From within her veil, she added quietly, “…Haa. I shouldn’t have obeyed that damn emperor. I should’ve fought him to the end and brought down his whole line.”

Then A’Shou noticed something strange. Cen Ling had gone unusually quiet since Fang Xiu’s memories finished playing.

She turned to look and saw that Cen Ling was murmuring incantations, his body wrapped in layers of spell patterns—

While they couldn’t attack each other, he had been preparing a spell all along!

“You’re really no fun. I was hoping we could talk more,” Fang Xiu said. “But actually, good timing. It’s almost time.”

Time?

A’Shou quickly calculated. It had only been an hour since they entered the world of the Immortal Encounter E.

One hour…

Wait, wait—an hour?

Add to that the fact Fang Xiu had Xiao Tian smear blood and Jiao Jiao release a blood mist…

Damn it, Fang Xiu had pulled them into the memory, but the point wasn’t the “memory”.

It was to “drag her and Cen Ling inside”!

A’Shou’s face darkened instantly. She opened her mouth to speak, but Fang Xiu snapped the Immortal Encounter E shut.

The pages collided with a soft pop, and the frozen scene around them vanished.

They returned once more to the hospital’s central garden.

As soon as the scenery reappeared, Cen Ling drew his bronze sword and shield, summoning a gust of yin wind across the ground.

He clanged sword against shield, veins bulging on his face. Yin energy burst from him like a flood.

All the trapped Immortal E’s trembled violently and began to rise, seemingly obeying his command.

Now Cen Ling finally understood. Fang Xiu was an E like no other. The hidden E in the hospital—was Fang Xiu himself. No wonder his people kept accidentally breaking taboos.

But now that he knew the E’s true form, the method of resolution was simple: Kill Fang Xiu’s physical body, even if it meant blowing up the entire hospital.

The problem was, before he could make a move, he had to get rid of Fang Xiu’s soul—

Fang Xiu completely ignored him.

At some point, he had begun holding a small cauldron. It was blood-red all over, only the size of a human eye, small enough to hide in his palm.

Bai Shuangying: “…Ah.”

It was the Earth Knocking Cauldron—no, it was his meal card!

Recently, he’d been eating too much of Chef Fang’s private dishes that he had forgotten it even existed. If he remembered correctly, its effect was—

“A magic weapon stained with blood. After soaking for over an hour, it can be fed into this cauldron.”

Fang Xiu let go of Bai Shuangying. “You taught me that.”

With that, he pressed the cauldron into the mass of Immortal E’s.

“Psycho,” A’Shou could only get that one word out.

The entire field of E’s had been soaked in Fang Xiu’s blood mist, and the especially powerful ones had even been smeared with his blood by Xiao Tian.

Fang Xiu merely touched the pile of E’s, and countless ones shattered into glowing fragments and were absorbed into his fist.

As the whirlwind of absorption swept through, new E’s rushed in to replace them. The field of E’s churned like a spring lake, constantly drawn into Fang Xiu’s cauldron. Before they could respond to Cen Ling’s summoning, they had already been reduced to light and vanished.

Inside Fang Xiu’s hospital room, his physical body twitched slightly. The ghosts nearby instantly pulled back, pressing themselves to the walls.

The karma surrounding Fang Xiu was increasing at an unprecedented rate—to a degree his body couldn’t withstand. On his skin, trigram symbols surfaced and trembled, then split repeatedly in an effort to contain the overwhelming karma.

In moments, his entire body was covered in shifting trigrams, creating a terrifying sight.

Then came a wave of raging yin energy, sharp as blades. The medical tubes on Fang Xiu’s body began to shake violently.

The little black dog barked madly. Guan He shouted, “Cheng Jie, the shield!”

He didn’t know what was happening to Fang Xiu, but he knew how to suppress that yin energy.

Cheng Songyun quickly deployed her Resentful Ghost Shield, shielding the entire room—especially the vital medical equipment—completely from the rampaging energy.

Guan He stepped out the door and guarded the tiny hospital room vigilantly.

Outside, everything was silent.

As if nothing had happened.

……

Fang Xiu withdrew his gaze from the direction of the hospital room and continued destroying the Immortal E’s without a care.

The “meal card” had never experienced such a lavish recharge before. The rate of absorption was astonishing. In just a dozen seconds, nearly half the Immortal E’s on the field were gone.

The particles of light in the air grew more dazzling. The surrounding “Uncle Hou’s believers” exchanged uneasy glances and ducked for cover. The death of the original Uncle Hou was of little concern. As long as his living soul was preserved, they could still pass the ritual.

As for Xiao Tian and Jiao Jiao, they were once again pulled onto the boat by Xiao Li. This time, no one had the energy to fight. They raised the boat to the highest point, avoiding the chaos below.

Only Yan Yan remained by the window, staring in disbelief. “What the fuck—how many E’s is he destroying… Wait, can these even be destroyed? Aren’t these Immortal E’s?!”

In the garden below, others clearly shared the same question.

The elite believers who were summoned had all violated taboos. The Immortal E’s they had stolen were now being rapidly destroyed, impossible to recover. Cen Ling attacked Fang Xiu with all his might, but every strike was easily blocked by the flamboyant white-clad ghost. Rage welled up in his throat as the taste of blood filled his mouth.

“Ghost Immortal A’Shou, Fang Xiu is shaking the very foundation of the Disaster Relief Tower!”

Cen Ling shouted harshly. “If all the Immortal E’s are destroyed, the Great God of Calamity will descend. Without the Immortal E’s to suppress it, not even immortals can save us!”

A’Shou didn’t move.

“The Guishan Sect only wants to awaken humanity to truth and cultivate great virtue. This man wants to see the mortal world utterly destroyed!”

Seeing the situation spiral out of control, Cen Ling grew desperate. “I’ll break the information seal on this place. Hurry—inform the Underworld!”

As he spoke, he bit through his fingertip and drew an incredibly complex sigil in the air.

Cracking sounds echoed through the world. They came from every direction of the hospital. Then, something invisible had shattered.

Cen Ling’s heart ached.

Since the location of the ritual had been decided, the Guishan Sect had brought out their best magic weapon, painstakingly creating this formation. It was supposed to unravel naturally when the ritual ended.

But now he had broken it himself, hoping the Underworld enforcers would relay the abnormal situation to the heavens.

If these Immortal E’s were all destroyed, the Guishan Sect’s plan to “hijack the E’s and bring them into the mortal world” would collapse entirely. And with each E gone, resealing the Great God of Calamity would become even harder.

In this moment, his interests aligned with those of Heaven and the Underworld. It was better to pit one tiger against another. Let the gods suppress Fang Xiu.

Even if he were punished or killed here, preserving the Immortal E’s was what mattered most. The sect leader was still abroad cultivating talent. The Guishan Sect would still have a future.

As for Fang Xiu’s “wish to destroy the Guishan Sect”? What a joke. The man was on the verge of releasing the Great God of Calamity—there was no way the immortals would ever negotiate with him!

A’Shou still didn’t move. The veil over her face puffed slightly, as if she were sighing.

“Thank you for your cooperation. Your task is complete.”

Fang Xiu shattered a whole new swath of E’s and smiled as he beckoned.

“One of my taboos: I will repay all Guishan Sect followers in kind.” 

Cen Ling wavered midair.

His legs instantly became mangled flesh. A massive slash appeared on his abdomen, blood pouring out nonstop. He fell to the ground and swallowed a large handful of pills.

Just as his injuries stabilized, Fang Xiu beckoned again.

Agonizing pain returned. His right leg broke again, and the wound on his abdomen reopened. Gritting his teeth, Cen Ling downed another handful of pills.

“Relax. I won’t let you die yet. The good part is still coming.”

Fang Xiu continued destroying Immortal E’s in a methodical rhythm. There weren’t many left in the courtyard. “Yan Yan, come down and help me gather the remaining ones—don’t miss a single one.”

The red-haired young man leapt from the window, landing as a massive red fox.

Grumbling, the fox sniffed the air and ran around the garden, picking out the small, overlooked Immortal E’s that had rolled into obscure corners.

Its vibrant red fur fluttered wildly. From the airborne boat came a suspicious hissing gasp, but Yan Yan pretended not to hear it.

Cen Ling knelt in place, constantly struggling against his mortal injuries. But his healing couldn’t keep pace with Fang Xiu’s rate of destruction.

Right before his eyes, Fang Xiu wiped out all the Immortal E’s. His fellow believers, who were supposed to use the E’s, were hiding in the shadows, watching the show as if it had nothing to do with them.

Most baffling of all, the ghost immortal A’Shou had silently watched the entire time as well.

He didn’t understand.

For a moment, Cen Ling was at a loss.

In a daze, he suddenly realized—the bronze sword and shield in his hands were the last two Immortal E’s of the Disaster Relief Tower.

Fang Xiu walked toward him, still holding that accursed book, the Immortal Encounter E.

“Do you even know what you’ve done?”

Cen Ling clutched his bleeding abdomen, his once-bright voice now filled with bitterness.

“You won. You really destroyed my sect’s plan.”

“But you’ve also unleashed the Great God of Calamity… Heaven and the Underworld will see you as a madman and crush you without mercy…”

Fang Xiu raised one hand to interrupt.

“No, no. I haven’t won yet.”

He crouched down and placed his hands on the sword and shield.

An anomaly ability triggered. Ghost flames burst into life from Fang Xiu’s palms. Under the intense heat, the bronze quickly melted and twisted, becoming two useless lumps of scrap.

“You misunderstand. I’m not targeting you.”

Reflected in the blue flames, Fang Xiu’s tone was quiet and gentle.

“It’s just that your brilliant plan happened to conflict with my life goals.”

“Don’t be so smug…” Cen Ling’s vision dimmed from the pain. “With the protection of the God of Xushan, my sect…”

“Yes. It’s still too early to be smug.”

Fang Xiu’s voice grew even softer. “The second phase has only just begun.”

Behind him, Bai Shuangying raised his gaze from his own hands.

That beautiful, usually expressionless face curved into a smile.

---

The author has something to say:

The white cat was free.

What bad thoughts can a tabby have.jpg

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 171: One Hundred and Eight

The color of the red T-shirt exploded outward. Crimson hues swept through space, and the hospital room transformed in an instant.

Sunlight shone brightly outside the window, and there was now a caregiver in Fang Xiu’s room. The caregiver looked to be in their forties, brisk and competent, clearly a seasoned professional.

Nurse Cai happened to be present too. She greeted the officer who had just entered. “Mr. Yuan.”

Compared to the previous scene, Officer Yuan’s features hadn’t changed much, but his hair had turned mostly white, and he looked at least ten years older. He carried a grocery bag and a bouquet in one hand, and a four-inch birthday cake in the other. His casual clothes were steeped in the smell of cigarette smoke.

Taped to the side of the cake box was a small packet containing candles shaped like the numbers “1” and “4”.

“The child’s condition is unstable. He can’t eat cake,” Nurse Cai reminded him gently.

Officer Yuan nodded.

Nurse Cai smiled kindly.

Anyone with eyes could tell this wasn’t really about whether he could eat cake. Fang Xiu could only survive through a feeding tube.

But Officer Yuan wasn’t the type to cause trouble, and that reassured her.

Yuan Ye came to visit Fang Xiu nearly every day. He had spent a long time at the hospital looking for a reliable caregiver. Given Fang Xiu’s condition, the monthly salary was over ten thousand, but Yuan Ye agreed immediately—so long as the caregiver carefully maintained the boy’s muscles and joints to keep his body as healthy as possible.

He knew there was no hope, but he still refused to give up. As for the large expense—

“That’s money his parents left him. It should be used where it counts,” Officer Yuan had once said.

Now, he carefully replaced the flowers by Fang Xiu’s bed and inserted the candles into the cake.

“For safety, I won’t light them.”

Yuan Ye looked at the sleeping face of the young Fang Xiu. “Make a wish quietly in your heart. It won’t come true if you say it out loud.”

“Okay.”

The young Fang Xiu’s soul stood quietly in the corner of the room.

But none of the living could see or hear him.

“The cake will be shared later with your caregiver and Nurse Cai.” Yuan Ye said, “I don’t like this stuff. It’s way too sweet. But if you wake up today, I’ll eat a slice with you.”

“Okay,” the young Fang Xiu whispered.

“I got you some new clothes.”

Yuan Ye expertly pulled a red T-shirt from the shopping bag.

“I bought one for you and one for your brother as New Year’s gifts. Festive, right? Your brother took his with him. Yours is worn out by now.”

“Kids grow fast. Uncle bought you a new one. It’ll fit perfectly when you wake up. I’ll get you a new one every birthday… If you think this gift is boring, then hurry up and wake up, and I’ll let you pick something else.”

Fang Xiu’s soul said nothing. He looked at the red T-shirt hanging on the wall for a moment but didn’t respond.

Officer Yuan had never talked this much before. It had always been Auntie Qin who liked to chatter.

These days, Officer Yuan had become the talkative one, even though no one ever replied to him.

After his monologue, Officer Yuan sat quietly at the bedside for a long time. He stared at the pale hospital room as if wrapped in air saturated with the smell of medicine, solidified like amber.

Eventually, he opened his mouth again. “Child, this wasn’t your fault, you know? Don’t refuse to wake up because of it.”

“It was my fault. If I’d been home then…”

Mid-sentence, he exhaled sharply and wiped his face hard with both hands.

“You’re the only child I have left, Fang Xiu.”

“Hey, you can’t become a ghost now,” said the ghost of an old man, grinning beside the young Fang Xiu. “That dad of yours really loves you. No way you’ll die unjustly now.”

“Not like my unfilial son, who only brought me to the hospital when I was about to croak. Tch.”

The young Fang Xiu lowered his eyes as if he didn’t hear.

After becoming a soul, he’d even forgotten how to cry.

The ghost leaned in closer. “Hey kid, look at you, not quite human, not quite ghost. Pathetic. Stop forcing it. Just accept your fate.”

“Your soul’s still tied to your body, but just barely. If you let go, your dad will finally be free. Over ten thousand a month for a caregiver, come on.”

“Get lost, you old bastard!”

A female ghost dropped from the ceiling, landing right on the old man’s head. “Don’t listen to him. He’s just hungry for your karma. Wants to feed off you!”

“You ruined my setup!”

“Yeah, like good-looking souls show up here often. Shameless trying to scam a kid!”

Fang Xiu stared blankly as the two ghosts fought.

His soul looked even less alive than either of them.

He was used to ghosts bickering by now. Most of their obsessions were weak and would soon fade anyway.

He had turned fourteen. He’d been in the hospital for nearly a year.

His soul couldn’t stray far from his body and couldn’t leave the hospital. The view outside the window was always the same. Even when he wandered, he could only see patients and hospital rooms.

He could no longer go to school or read properly. The only things he could still see were glowing phone screens and the occasional tablet used by inpatients.

…Everything had become fragments.

In the dead of night, the knocking sound echoed endlessly in his mind. He saw the fog of Xushan, his mother washing dishes, and New Year fireworks outside the window.

Instead of fading, his hatred had grown like a snowball, on the verge of driving him insane.

He knew that the Guishan cult leader Zhuang Chongyue had fled abroad, that the remaining cultists were being hunted down like rats, and that many of them weren’t even core members, but just deluded fanatics.

The ones who ruined his life weren’t the masterminds, just the ones who were used.

His hatred had metastasized like cancer, with nowhere to go.

The young Fang Xiu stood before the delicate cake and touched the frosting, his fingers slipping through the sugary cream without resistance.

The next second, everything went dark.

He opened his eyes and saw the ground standing upright.

It took a few seconds for him to realize he was lying on the ground, his right cheek pressed against the dirt.

He heard faint, intermittent suona music nearby. It was impossible to tell if it was for a joyful occasion or mourning. The air was cold and dark, and a circle of red lanterns swayed gently in the distance.

Fang Xiu was wearing his brand-new birthday present, the bright red T-shirt.

The scene shimmered and wavered like a dream, as if it might vanish at any moment.

But anyone who knew the truth would immediately recognize this place. This was the Disaster Relief Tower. Fourteen was the minimum age for a sacrifice to enter the ritual.

A’Shou grounded her teeth hard. Bai Shuangying looked at Fang Xiu with some surprise. Fang Xiu gave his ghost a small wink, looking a little smug.

“That’s impossible.” Cen Ling’s voice finally faltered. “There are rules between the living and the dead. A sacrifice can only be summoned once, because—”

“Because contact with an E infects the soul with yin energy. A soul tainted with too much yin will cause the body to age faster or run into spirits in broad daylight,” A’Shou said coldly. “Even after purification with soul-restoring springs, the damage remains. If someone participates more than once, their body will barely function.”

“Fang Xiu, your body was already weak, and your soul is constantly affected by spirits. I can understand if you don’t care about side effects.”

A’Shou turned to him, lifting her veil to reveal her furrowed brow.

“…But how did you participate multiple times?”

“That’s thanks to you, A’Shou Jie.”

Fang Xiu reached a hand toward her. “I forgot, but you really don’t remember?”

“Remember?”

“Help me out, Bai Shuangying.” Fang Xiu nudged his ghost with his elbow.

“My soul’s too weak. The Underworld tossed me around like a toy. But A’Shou Jie is one of the strongest ghost immortals. Her memory must be more stable… With your yin energy, maybe you can recover a little.”

Bai Shuangying looked at Fang Xiu, then at A’Shou, and made a resolute hum of agreement.

He reached out and held Fang Xiu’s hand, extending it toward her.

A’Shou hesitated for a moment, then gently placed her fingers over theirs. In that moment, a surge of yin energy rushed into her body. It felt like a block of ice had been crammed into her mind, bringing with it a pain like frostbite to the brain.

Like sand blowing across the surface, colors and fragments suddenly filled her memory.

The scattered pieces floated and merged like puzzle pieces, fitting together on their own.

Carried through Fang Xiu’s hand by Bai Shuangying’s yin aura, the memory was faithfully restored by the Immortal Encounter E—

“How interesting. A child this young passed the eighth ritual.”

A’Shou looked down at young Fang Xiu, dressed in a red T-shirt.

“Child, make your wish.”

Compared to the numb expression he had in the hospital, the young Fang Xiu now looked much more alive. His fists were clenched, and three trigram symbols were glowing faintly on his arms.

He lifted his head high and looked at A’Shou with eyes full of hope.

“I want the Guishan Sect to be completely destroyed. I want Zhuang Chongyue and all his loyal followers dead. The more miserable, the better!”

The young Fang Xiu shouted with a strong voice, his cheeks flushed with excitement.

A’Shou did a quick calculation. “No.”

Fang Xiu froze.

Then, his shock turned into blazing rage. “Why not? Why can’t I? Didn’t you say I could wish for anything?!”

“I have a blood feud with the Guishan Sect. It’s part of my karma!”

“The Guishan Sect’s leader Zhuang Chongyue and his top aides are mostly abroad.”

A’Shou spoke with cold authority. “The Underworld has no interest in intervening in matters beyond national borders. If you only wanted the sect’s domestic operatives dead, the Underworld could grant that.”

This time, Fang Xiu was silent for much longer.

His anger faded, replaced by deep pain. “What’s the point if those leaders overseas are still alive? Even if the ones here die, they’ll rebuild everything from abroad…”

A’Shou repeated, “The Underworld has no interest in intervening in matters beyond national borders.”

“What’s wrong with killing evil people? You’re supposed to be gods—you can do it, can’t you?”

Fang Xiu’s eyes were red. “I’ve held on this long, and this is the kind of cheap bait I get…”

He swallowed hard and twisted the hem of his red T-shirt tightly, trying not to let the tears fall.

A’Shou sighed softly. “Child, just because we can doesn’t mean we should. The same goes for the world of the living. The living don’t declare war on foreign nations just because a criminal escapes there.”

“I’ve read your file, Fang Xiu. You’re still so young. Rather than clinging to the past, why not wish for your own recovery?”

The boy covered his eyes. A’Shou thought he was about to cry, but instead, she heard two cold, bitter laughs.

“Recover, and then what?”

“What?”

“Recover, and then worry every day that some lunatic will knock on my door and kill me and my family.”

“Recover, and live with Uncle Yuan. Even if he can accept me, I can’t face him. I just can’t.”

“Recover, and even if I change my name and grow up overseas, I still won’t be able to touch those wealthy bastards. Before I can even figure out how to get revenge, they’ll be living out their days in comfort and die peacefully.”

“…So what’s the point of recovering?”

Fang Xiu’s face was deathly pale, and his words were chillingly calm.

They flowed too smoothly, not as if he was reacting on impulse, but as if he had been repeating them in his head endlessly.

“A’Shou Jie, I’m not clinging to the past… To me, my life is already over.” He spoke slowly and clearly, each word soaked in blood.

A’Shou had seen plenty of wish-makers break down or argue irrationally. She remained composed as Fang Xiu finished. “You still need to make a wish. Telling me all this won’t change anything.”

“Child, do you know what the most important thing in a negotiation is?”

Fang Xiu: “I…”

“Leverage.” A’Shou cut him off. “I know you’re in pain. I know you’ve fought hard. I know your life has been tragic. But in the eyes of the living and the dead, that means nothing.”

“In the end, you have no leverage. The Underworld won’t make an exception for you.”

Fang Xiu gritted his teeth and pressed his hand over the three trigrams on his arm, speechless.

“According to the rules, those anomalies will also be sealed.”

“To be fair, they are indeed tied to your karma. You could use your wish to keep them. But in your current physical state, they’re useless anyway.”

A’Shou saw through him easily and said with a kind of merciless clarity, “…Alright. If you can’t make a wish now, you can take a few more hours to think.”

Fang Xiu remained there, unmoving, for a full hour. He stood like a statue, his hand never leaving his arm.

Surprisingly, he wasn’t just stalling. He seemed to be genuinely thinking hard, his gaze alternating between his arm and the Disaster Relief Tower.

The despair on his face slowly faded, replaced by something more complex, more deeply rooted.

“I’ve decided.”

At last, the young Fang Xiu forced a stiff smile.

“These anomalies can’t be used in the outside world, but they’re still part of my karma, right?”

“Yes,” A’Shou replied, puzzled.

“As long as it’s tied to karma, my wish can bend some minor rules, right?”

“Yes.”

“The Underworld doesn’t intervene in foreign affairs, but with enough leverage, it can, right?”

“…Yes.”

“My wish is: let me enter the ritual again.”

Fang Xiu said, “Let me participate in the ritual one more time.”

Now it was A’Shou’s turn to fall silent.

When she finally spoke, her voice was colder than before. “I don’t know what you’re planning, kid. But let me make one thing clear—technically, you can wish for that. But rituals are secrets shared by both the yin and yang world. No matter what, the Underworld will erase your memory of the Disaster Relief Tower.”

“When you return, you’ll remember nothing. You’ll have no advantage.”

Fang Xiu didn’t hesitate. “No problem.”

Then he let out a little “ah” and pointed at A’Shou.

“Next time I come back, I don’t want you to remember me either. Just to be clear, my wish is—”

He narrowed his eyes, his smile growing eerie.

“Let me return in seven days. Forget me.”

A’Shou agreed.

What a strange child, she thought.

He was most likely going to die in the next ritual. Even if he survived by sheer luck, he would probably make a different wish next time.

High above, Cen Ling clicked his tongue. “So how many times have you entered the ritual now?”

He looked at A’Shou, only to find her staring at Fang Xiu in stunned silence. Her veil had been lifted, and she looked utterly shocked.

Fang Xiu stuck out his tongue at her and helpfully inserted his own memory—

What followed was a nightmare-like loop.

The boy in red stood before A’Shou, again repeating the same conversation about revenge and his wish, then falling into contemplation.

At the end of each wish:

“Let me return in seven days. Forget me.”

In the hospital, ghosts gathered around Fang Xiu.

“Ah, his soul’s back again.”

“This kid’s karma is so heavy. Smells amazing.”

……

Disaster Relief Tower.

“Let me return in seven days. Forget me.”

Hospital.

“Hmm, he was gone a bit longer this time. Let’s remember that for him.”

“I told him about my husband who poisoned me—he died for real. So weird!”

……

Disaster Relief Tower.

“Let me return in seven days. Forget me.”

Hospital.

“Maybe our Xiao Fang should start a business. Every time he vanishes, someone he talked to ends up dead.”

“Not all of them, though.”

“What do you know! It’s karma!”

……

Disaster Relief Tower.

“Let me return in seven days. Forget me.”

Hospital.

“Fang Xiu’s karma is building up too fast…”

“No idea what he’s doing out there. He never remembers anything when he comes back.”

“Start keeping a list of people to kill! Lots of ghosts are lining up for their turn!”

……

“Let me return in seven days. Forget me.”

“Let me return in seven days. Forget me.”

“Let me return in seven days. Forget me.”

…

……

…………

Eight rituals in the Underworld, spaced nearly a month apart.

Target collection, seven days in the living world.

And so, with seven days between each, the never-ending ritual loop continued.

The boy in the red T-shirt, still visibly youthful, gradually became the young man in red.

The pain faded.

The despair faded.

The rage faded.

No one knew exactly when, but eventually, only his smile remained.

He always wore the perfectly fitting red T-shirt.

“Let me return in seven days. Forget me.”

At the end of his last wish, Fang Xiu waved cheerfully to A’Shou, his black eyes peeking out from beneath his messy hair.

In the hospital room, Fang Xiu’s soul reappeared silently.

He didn’t waste time reminiscing. He skillfully checked the condition of his body on the bed.

Good. The yin energy was holding well.

He didn’t need to remember much.

He only knew that his body was becoming an E of unprecedented magnitude, so massive that no ghost dared draw near to repair it.

All the evil spirits told him the same thing: the stronger the E, the more the Underworld desired it.

It was rumored that the Underworld was suppressing a terrifying apocalyptic evil, one that required an endless supply of E’s.

Fang Xiu knew he could never become a ghost.

So, if he could become the strongest E in existence, he could use the Underworld to do what he never could—kill those he could never reach.

“How many times has this happened?” Fang Xiu turned to ask the ghosts surrounding him.

The waiting ghosts exchanged glances and replied in unison, “The one hundred and seventh time.”

“This is your one hundred and seventh ‘disappearance’,” they said enthusiastically.

The memory ended. The scene froze.

Hovering in the air, Fang Xiu turned and smiled at A’Shou.

He extended his left arm. The eight red trigrams from the current ritual obediently rose into view. But then more trigrams began to emerge from deeper within his skin.

These were sealed by the Underworld, dull black and lifeless, completely unlike the crimson ones.

They emerged in the hundreds, densely covering every inch of Fang Xiu’s body.

…From afar, the countless trigrams looked like strange, sinister markings. And the Fang Xiu, who bore them, resembled an entirely unknown kind of evil spirit.

“This is the one hundred and eighth time we’ve met, A’Shou Jie,” Fang Xiu said with a smile. “This is my one hundred and eighth ritual.”

---

The author has something to say:

The reason why the tabby cat is a tabby cat… (.

---

Kinky Thoughts:

One thing that Nian Zhong has gotten better at over each novel is the cohesion of everything coming together at the end (not that she was ever bad at it in the first place. Stray has one of the best connecting plot points and it was her first.).

But this… This one gives me chills (in all the best ways).

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 170: He Didn’t Understand

The modern hospital suddenly dissolved, and a new scene poured in like cream. The damp air turned into dry mountain wind, carrying the scent of dust, vegetation, and sweat.

Not far from the foot of the mountain lay a beautiful village.

A’Shou reacted first. “This is… a village near Xushan?”

Bai Shuangying had a clearer impression. That was Fang Xiu’s hometown, the village where his grandmother once lived.

And the time was—

“Dad, Grandma fell.”

Fang Xiu’s parents were fleeing toward the mountain, with over a dozen strong young men chasing behind. The young Fang Xiu was held tightly in his father’s arms, his little arms wrapped around his father’s neck, blankly watching as his grandmother’s body collapsed.

A dark red stain marked the tree trunk she had hit.

Luckily, their old home was deep in the countryside, and Fang Xiu’s parents were wearing casual clothes and sneakers. Both were in good shape and fled desperately along the rugged mountain paths.

The undergrowth was dense, and weeds grew waist high. They panted as they ran, finally managing to shake off most of the pursuers, leaving fewer than ten.

Cen Ling cast a speed-enhancing spell toward the pursuers, but the spell passed through as if through smoke, leaving no ripple.

“It’s useless.” Fang Xiu tightly held Bai Shuangying’s waist as they floated in midair. “I don’t intend to attack you using ‘story characters’. These are true phantoms in every sense.”

Cen Ling didn’t reply. He flung a green attack spell back, but again the energy passed through the smoke without touching Fang Xiu.

Covered by the story, he couldn’t even strike Fang Xiu, who was supposedly an “outsider”.

During the Grave-Sealing ritual, he had been played by this so-called “Hong Shuangxi” the whole time. In the garden conflict earlier, he had been toyed with like a monkey. Even with all his scheming and emotional restraint, a rage still flared in his chest.

“Shh, please keep quiet while watching a movie. Silence is required.”

Fang Xiu raised a hand and put a finger to his lips. “A story is just a story. You can’t attack us here, and we can’t attack you. Very fair. See? A’Shou Jie has good manners.”

A’Shou hovered two or three steps away silently. Her gaze was downcast as she watched the events unfold.

Ghost immortal A’Shou?

Cen Ling had expected that an Underworld envoy might be trapped in the hospital, but he hadn’t expected it to be A’Shou. At the sight of her red figure, he immediately quieted down.

A’Shou wasn’t a low-level envoy that could be brushed off. If this ritual failed, he’d die trying. He still didn’t know what Fang Xiu was planning, but he needed to conserve his strength.

The watchers in the sky fell silent again. The story on the ground continued.

Fang Xiu’s parents had crossed the foot of the mountain and now ran into the true wilderness. To throw off pursuit, they deliberately picked treacherous terrain.

The pursuers slowed, giving the couple a chance to catch their breath and avoid collapse.

The young Fang Xiu still didn’t understand what was happening. He clung to his father’s neck and murmured, “Grandma… Grandma said I’m a demon.”

“Dad, Grandma’s mad at me. What do I do?” His eyes were red.

“Don’t be afraid, Xiu Xiu.”

Fang Xiu’s father, Fang Qiongyu, comforted him. “Grandma isn’t angry. She just…”

He wiped his eyes, speaking with unusual solemnity. “…She was possessed.”

“Possessed?”

Fang Qiongyu forced a smile. “Remember the story Grandma told you? Half the village got possessed and thought they were the same person.”

“Grandma’s the same. The one you saw wasn’t really her, it was a bad person. Grandma loved you the most. How could she be mad at you?”

A glimmer of hope appeared in Fang Xiu’s eyes. “I remember, I remember!”

“She said a demon mixed blood into the well. Everyone who drank the water thought they were that bald guy by the village gate. Then a master came and cured them.”

“Yes, the evil people from the Guishan Sect made Grandma drink blood and turned her into someone else.”

Fang Qiongyu kept running, carrying the boy. “She’ll wake up after a while.”

“Okay!” The young Fang Xiu finally stopped crying.

Floating above, A’Shou cast Bai Shuangying a meaningful glance.

A textbook case of karmic contamination. A village near Xushan… She could guess the culprit without even thinking. This wasn’t about blood in the well.

But when she saw Fang Xiu’s expression, she chose to stay silent.

Even if Fang Xiu could make his physical body into an E, he couldn’t freely write the taboos for the “Fang Xiu E”.

Those taboos must come from his own obsessions, his deepest scars.

…The second taboo: With the blood of an outsider, your ties to your kins are severed.

…Back then, what did that child feel when he discovered the truth?

After fleeing for over half an hour, Fang Xiu’s parents were drenched in sweat.

The young cultists behind them hadn’t given up. As soon as the couple slowed, they caught up again.

The sun hadn’t even set. The pursuers were clearly human, yet their footsteps sounded like ghosts out for revenge.

“If we keep running into the mountain, we’ll get lost!” Fang Xiu’s mother, Wen Jiu, gasped.

“These people are all mountain folk. We can’t outrun them!” Fang Qiongyu gritted his teeth. “Let’s head into Xushan proper. They won’t dare follow this time of year!”

The couple dashed into a narrow trail beside a cliff. Fang Qiongyu let his wife go ahead while he followed with Fang Xiu.

“They’re heading for the mountain—after them!” The pursuers gave chase without hesitation.

After a long chase, Fang Qiongyu, used to office life, was no match for the young men of the hills. He was one step too slow. A villager hurled a pitchfork, striking through his lower back.

Fearing he’d fall with the boy, Fang Qiongyu lunged forward, shoving Fang Xiu onto the trail.

The young Fang Xiu’s left leg scraped over jagged rocks, instantly torn and bloody.

But he didn’t even register the pain. His father’s blood poured out, soaking his clothes.

“Dad!” Fang Xiu screamed, heartbroken.

“Qiongyu! Xiu Xiu!” His mother’s voice trembled with tears as she turned back to pull him away.

But she grabbed empty air.

“Don’t hurt my dad!”

Seeing someone raise a weapon at his father, Fang Xiu charged forward, uncaring of the cliff beside him.

The lead pursuer was caught off guard. He lost his balance and fell off the cliff.

There were no trees on the cliffside. His neck snapped against a jutting rock, killing him before he hit the ground.

The sight stunned the rest. Fang Qiongyu gritted through the pain, stood up, and grabbed his furious son with a blood-soaked hand.

“Daddy’s fine,” he said with a pale face. “My clothes are dirty now. Let Mommy carry you. Keep running!”

Seeing his father still able to speak, the young Fang Xiu let his mother carry him. The family barely made it past the cliff path.

Finally, Xushan loomed ahead.

At the border were crude fences and brush-written warning signs. Beyond that, the forest was wrapped in thick fog, nearly zero visibility.

Fang Qiongyu tied his wound with torn fabric and stepped into the fog with his family.

His blood vanished into the soft, black earth, leaving no trace.

As expected, the pursuers didn’t follow. They stopped outside the fence and stared into the mountains with fear.

Their fear wasn’t unfounded. Within just a few minutes, the family could no longer find their way. The woods were full of bizarre, moss-covered trees, and the mist was unnaturally thick.

Fang Qiongyu finally collapsed under a tree. Wen Jiu let go of Fang Xiu and knelt beside him.

The cloth around his wound was soaked. The pitchfork had pierced vital organs. Even in a city, this would be a critical injury, and here there was no chance of saving him. His gaze was beginning to fade.

Leaning against a massive tree, he looked up at the mist-shrouded sky.

“Dad…” the young Fang Xiu whispered, as if realizing something.

“It’s fine. Daddy’s just tired.”

Fang Qiongyu lifted his hand to stroke Fang Xiu’s face, but when he saw the blood, he slowly lowered it.

Wen Jiu held his hand, blinking away tears and trying to look calm.

Fang Qiongyu gazed at his son with warmth. “Daddy will rest here a bit. You and Mommy go first. I’ll catch up soon.”

“Then we all rest together.”

Fang Xiu plopped down beside him, unwilling to move. “I’m hurt too. We’ll rest together.”

His scraped leg still hurt, but it was only superficial. Wen Jiu tore some cloth and bandaged it. The bleeding had stopped.

Fang Qiongyu gave a weak smile and exchanged a glance with his wife, nodding subtly.

“I’m really fine.” He coughed and said mysteriously, “Actually, Daddy knows magic. Really powerful magic… Did you know, Xiu Xiu, there’s a god in Xushan?”

Fang Xiu tilted his head in confusion. Wen Jiu nodded.

“When I was your age, Grandpa and Grandma told me stories… They said if you get lost in the mountains, you can make a wish to the immortal, and the immortal will take you home.”

“I’m going to do a spell now, to ask the immortal to send you home. You can’t watch though. If you see it, it won’t work.”

“Liar,” Fang Xiu said hoarsely. “Grandma never told me that. You’re lying.”

“Grandma and Grandpa had different hometowns. That one’s from Grandpa.”

Fang Qiongyu managed a crooked smile. “I really didn’t lie to you.”

“Really?”

“Really. I told you, lying is wrong.”

Wen Jiu stroked Fang Xiu’s head. She held back her sobs while tears streamed down her face.

“Come on, Xiu Xiu,” she said. “…Don’t disturb Daddy.”

Fang Xiu held her hand and walked into the mist, looking back with every step.

After ten steps, he couldn’t resist anymore. He pulled away and ran back the way he came.

At the same time—

“God of Xushan, I don’t know if you really exist…”

Fang Qiongyu slumped against the tree, bloody hands limp. “They say you grant wishes, if you offer a life in return…”

The forest was utterly silent. There was no birdsong, no wind.

High above, Bai Shuangying silently mouthed the words—

“God of Xushan, if you truly exist, please let my wife and child return home safely.”

“I offer my life. Let them go… Don’t let them get lost… Let them return home safely.”

His lip movements matched Fang Qiongyu’s prayer exactly.

Of course he remembered. This was the third time a lost child had asked to go home. What an ironic cycle. Back then, Bai Shuangying hadn’t even bothered to answer.

So many years passed. With the Guishan Sect’s “God of Calamity” teachings, few remembered his true name. To him, that father was just another human clinging to him, another thread of karma to sever.

…Let it be a farewell to human ties.

In front of Wen Jiu, who was searching desperately, a pale hand appeared.

From within the swirling mist, it pointed the way, guiding her toward the direction Fang Xiu had run.

In the end, Fang Xiu never found his father. He could hear his voice, but no matter how hard he searched, he couldn’t find him.

He cried in the thick fog until his mother found him and took his hand.

Wen Jiu lifted her bloodied, exhausted son and bowed toward the misty forest.

As his consciousness faded, the young Fang Xiu saw the mist receding from view.

Something white glowed among the fallen leaves, but his tear-blurred eyes couldn’t tell if it was a mushroom, a flower bud, or something else.

“Dad…” He stared intently at the forest.

“Thank you.” High in the air, Fang Xiu held Bai Shuangying tightly, his face calm.

“You let me know that in our final moment, my father didn’t lie to me.”

“…We really did make it home.”

“Mm.” Bai Shuangying held his warm human close. “I remember where he is.”

“If you want, I can recover his remains.”

“Okay.” Fang Xiu smiled.

Beside them, A’Shou remained silent. Cen Ling looked dismissive, as if he had just watched a farce.

Fang Xiu didn’t care about either of them. He reached out and made a gesture at the sky. Like a curtain being drawn, the scene abruptly changed.

……

The spacious mountain scenery was replaced by a dim apartment.

The apartment was old and cramped, with lattice windows from the last century. At the moment, both windows were open wide, without screens or security bars.

From the view outside, the apartment wasn’t on a high floor, probably the third or fourth story. It overlooked a dense cluster of aged buildings, likely an old district of a small city.

Inside, the TV was on, broadcasting the news: “Public security authorities are cracking down hard on cult activities. Cult leader Zhuang Chongyue has fled overseas.”

Wen Jiu was slicing vegetables at the counter. Her once-beautiful face looked haggard, and she had lost a noticeable amount of weight.

“Mom, can we not move again?”

The young Fang Xiu asked, “We’ve moved four times this year. I haven’t been to school for a whole year. Dad hasn’t found us. It’s probably because we move too much…”

He hadn’t grown much, and his cheeks had thinned. There was still a sparkle in his eyes, but not as bright as before.

The chopping stopped.

“Mom’s just worried the bad guys might find us. The police suggested we be careful too.”

Wen Jiu wiped her hands and hugged her son. “Now that the bad guy has run off, things should calm down. I’ll find you a school soon, so you won’t miss any more classes.”

“Then Dad can find us sooner too,” the young Fang Xiu said seriously.

Wen Jiu pressed her lips together. “Yes, Dad can find us sooner too.”

“I want to change my birthday wish,” the young Fang Xiu muttered. “Before I wished we wouldn’t move. Now I want to wish for Dad to come home.”

Wen Jiu smiled naturally and went back to chopping. “Today we’re making lots of meat dishes. Let’s make Dad drool with envy. He didn’t even come back for his son’s birthday.”

Bai Shuangying suddenly realized that when Fang Xiu lied, he looked a bit like his mother.

It seemed that after fleeing the village, Wen Jiu didn’t return to normal life right away. Instead, she lived cautiously, hiding. Considering how rampant the Guishan Sect had been at the time, her caution was understandable.

…Come to think of it, Fang Xiu killed someone for the first time when he was nine. This must have been his tenth birthday.

Wen Jiu made a full table of dishes.

Fried fish, cucumber salad, stir-fried chili pork, braised ribs, sweet-and-sour cabbage, and vegetable meatball soup—six homemade dishes filled the table. Three bowls of rice were neatly placed. A gap between the plates was just enough for a small cake.

Fang Xiu opened the fridge to find drinks. He hummed a little tune, and a trace of happiness returned to his expression.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

The apartment door sounded in a steady rhythm.

“Mom! The cake’s here!” The young Fang Xiu, holding a big bottle of soda, called out happily.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

The knocking was calm and unhurried.

Fang Xiu set the soda on the table and ran to wash his hands at the sink. His mom untied her apron and scolded him with a smile, “Greedy little cat.”

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

The delivery person seemed unusually patient today.

Creak—

Fang Xiu caught a scent in the air.

It was a distinct smell, one not even soap could cover. He had smelled it last year, and it had etched itself into his bones.

The moment it drifted in, his brain hadn’t even processed it yet, but his body froze with instinctive fear.

Blood.

Mom.

Water splashed from the faucet as the young Fang Xiu stood frozen at the sink.

His neck felt like it had turned to stone; he couldn’t even turn his head.

“Jump!” his mother screamed behind him. “Fang Xiu, jump!”

“Jump out the window! Call the police!”

“Run!”

In her screams, Fang Xiu could hear the muffled thuds of a blade stabbing into flesh.

The smell of blood grew stronger, and his vision began to blacken.

Why?

Hadn’t the cult leader run away?

Hadn’t it been a whole year of peace? Why now?

Why couldn’t they just be left alone?

His thoughts were in chaos, but his survival instinct kicked in.

Jump. Call the police. Jump. Save Mom. Jump. Jump. Jump.

The young Fang Xiu leapt from the open window.

There was a small courtyard on the first floor with a grape trellis. His body hit the trellis on the way down.

His right leg hit the ground with a crack. The bone fractured severely and pierced through the skin.

Through the agony, Fang Xiu forced himself to stay awake.

He stared at the lit window of their home and screamed.

“Help—!”

Fang Xiu was lucky.

An elderly couple lived on the first floor. They took him in, called the police and an ambulance, and bolted the doors tight.

…The attacker that day was a Guishan Sect believer. Strictly speaking, he was even distantly related to Fang Xiu; they were both from that same mountain village.

He ranted that Fang Xiu had ruined his parents’ path to becoming cult members, caused the deaths of two “family” members, and stolen what should have been the cult’s “family property”.

Three unforgivable sins.

Now their living god had been driven away. The man said he would kill the mother and child with his own hands and complete his offering to show his devotion.

The young Fang Xiu didn’t understand this insane logic. He only knew that from that day on, his mom couldn’t find her way home either.

He cried nonstop in the hospital and refused treatment.

It was all his fault. He was the reason Grandma hit the tree, the reason their family fell apart.

If not for him, Dad wouldn’t have been stabbed with that pitchfork.

If not for him urging Mom to open the door for the “cake delivery”, none of it would have happened.

If he had opened the door instead of Mom… How great that would have been.

…Why was he still alive?

The man who killed his mother had been executed quickly. Other than himself, he didn’t even know who else to hate.

“So you cried a lot when you were little.” Bai Shuangying stood pensively.

“I was just a kid,” Fang Xiu muttered, tugging on his ghost’s hair.

“I know human children cry easily. I thought you’d be the exception,” Bai Shuangying replied.

Fang Xiu played with the sleek strands of Bai Shuangying’s hair.

Sure enough, the Corner of Heaven’s Will wouldn’t feel things like “sympathy”. That was perfect. Sympathy was the last thing Fang Xiu needed.

As for those memories, that despair, he kept it all buried in his heart. He never forgot. Showing it to others didn’t change his emotions one bit.

“Showing me this is pointless.” Cen Ling sneered coldly. “No matter your age or how ignorant you were, you disrespected the leader and killed our family. You deserve to die.”

He had seen death plenty of times. His family had to abandon their “fake families” before joining the Guishan Sect.

Painful as death might be, what really mattered was whether one died with virtue. A perfect death was something to celebrate.

Fang Xiu raised an eyebrow. “God, don’t tell me you think I’m trying to convert you.”

Cen Ling: “…”

Cen Ling: “Then why show this?”

“Take a guess.”

Fang Xiu clapped his hands. The crying child and the white hospital room shattered and vanished.

……

“Brother!”

In a warmly decorated living room, a slightly hoarse teenage voice rang out.

The image of Fang Xiu turned around.

He looked about thirteen or fourteen now, noticeably taller and sturdier. His face had lost its baby fat, gaining the gentle handsomeness of youth.

His hair was much longer, his bangs a mess covering his brow. A vague resemblance to his present self was emerging. But what had completely changed was his expression. Teenager Fang Xiu wore a sullen face with no trace of a smile.

His black eyes held no light at all, like two paper cutouts.

“Yuan Yongan, don’t call me ‘brother’,” Fang Xiu said. “Uncle and Auntie didn’t adopt me.”

The other teen clicked his tongue. “What’s the difference? It’s been over two years. I call you ‘brother’, so you are.”

This “Yuan Yongan” had thick eyebrows and a righteous look, though he seemed a bit simple. He grinned wide and laughed.

Fang Xiu didn’t respond.

“You ranked third in the whole grade. That’s amazing.”

Yuan Yongan didn’t care about the silence. He chattered away. “You missed so much school and still did this well. You’ll totally get into A University or B University someday.”

His eyes darted. “Tomorrow is New Year’s. Mom and Dad are giving us money. I bet Dad will give you a bonus too. Since I’ll witness it, you gotta treat me to barbecue.”

Fang Xiu sighed. “…So, how were your final grades?”

Yuan Yongan fell quiet.

After a while, he grumbled, “It’s New Year’s. Let’s not talk about bad stuff.”

Fang Xiu: “…”

Fang Xiu: “You want to go to police academy, don’t you? They don’t just take anyone.”

“I’m still in middle school, a year behind you. I just… uh… haven’t started working hard yet.” Yuan Yongan changed the subject. “Anyway, I got first place in PE this year!”

Fang Xiu gave him a resigned pat on the head, acting like a little adult.

“Show me your report card. I’ll tutor you.”

“Brother—”

“Not your brother.”

Yuan Yongan rubbed his head, pouting. “Fine, fine. But if I let you tutor me, will you accept me as your brother?”

“…We’ll see next year’s grades,” Fang Xiu muttered after a pause.

“Forget me for a second. Are you finally going to accept my parents?” Yuan Yongan leaned in and whispered, “They’ve been waiting these past two years. You can’t call them ‘Uncle’ and ‘Auntie’ forever.”

Fang Xiu fell silent again.

There was a noise at the door, and Yuan Yongan shot out of the room—his mom had returned, carrying a large load of fresh meat, vegetables, snacks, and drinks for the New Year’s Eve dinner.

Fang Xiu followed him out and took one of the bulging grocery bags.

“Your useless dad’s working overtime tonight. The three of us are celebrating the New Year ourselves!” the woman declared loudly.

She looked ordinary, with rough skin and a plump figure, far from as beautiful as Wen Jiu. But when she looked at Fang Xiu, her eyes held the same kind of gentleness.

“Overtime again?” Yuan Yongan grumbled. “Every day it’s overtime. I bet he’s just trying to avoid giving us New Year’s money.”

“No worries, I already nagged it out of him yesterday,” Yuan Yongan’s mom said smugly. “You see that, Yongan? This is what it’s like being a cop. Don’t say I didn’t warn—”

“I still want to be one. Cops are cool,” Yuan Yongan replied.

“Cool my ass.”

“If he’s not cool, why’d you marry him?”

“You little brat, what nonsense are you spouting now?”

The mother and son looked about ready to wrestle. Fang Xiu sighed and cleared his throat. “Auntie Qin.”

Auntie Qin pulled her hand back from Yuan Yongan’s ear. “Xiu Xiu, what do you want for dinner? We bought everything—anything goes!”

She laughed heartily. The mother-son war disappeared in an instant. Yuan Yongan quietly gave Fang Xiu a thumbs-up.

That night, the dinner table was filled with food, and fireworks lit up the sky outside.

Teenage Fang Xiu paused with his chopsticks, staring blankly at the scene outside with an expressionless face.

“I guess you could say Yuan Yongan picked me up. His dad’s a cop with an excessive sense of justice.”

Adult Fang Xiu spoke like he was chatting casually. “After what happened to my mom, I went back to school. We happened to go to the same middle school. After he heard my story, he talked his parents into taking me in… Though I guess it wasn’t really adoption.”

“My parents left me a huge inheritance. I never had to worry about food or money. His parents didn’t touch a cent. They just took care of me.”

“Yuan Yongan’s dad being a cop meant staying at their place could keep distant relatives with bad intentions away and intimidate those cultists… Or so everyone thought at the time.”

Bai Shuangying: “Sounds pretty good.”

To him, even though the teenage Fang Xiu seemed gloomy, his body and complexion looked healthy. The Yuans clearly took good care of him.

“Yeah, looking back, those two years were probably the happiest I’ve ever been.”

Fang Xiu looked at his teenage self. “It’s just a shame that thirteen-year-old me was too naive.”

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

Yuan Yongan chewed on beef while talking with his mouth full. “Mom, someone’s at the door.”

Teenage Fang Xiu’s hand trembled, and a meatball slipped from his chopsticks, rolling to the floor.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

“Who is it?” Auntie Qin got up and walked to the door.

“Delivery!” came the reply from outside.

Teenage Fang Xiu swallowed hard. His instinct was to scream, “Don’t open it,” but he reasoned that it was just trauma response and didn’t want to cause unnecessary trouble.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

“Must be your dad’s groceries,” Auntie Qin muttered as she walked in slippers toward the living room. “Even delivery folks work during the holidays. Tough job.”

Fang Xiu stared at the living room entrance, hands shaking so much he couldn’t hold his chopsticks.

Yuan Yongan glanced at him, a little worried. “Brother…?”

Creak—

“What delivery… huh?!”

Ah.

That smell again. Blood.

It had to be a hallucination. His mom had been gone for three years now. Why?

Why couldn’t they leave him alone?

“What are you doing? Call the police—call now!”

Auntie Qin screamed. “Help! Murderer!”

Sounds of struggle came from the doorway, followed by a loud thud.

Outside, fireworks burst in celebration, and the music drowned out the heavy sounds on the floor.

“Mom?” Yuan Yongan stood up in a panic, only to be grabbed by Fang Xiu.

“Hide and call the police.”

Fang Xiu spoke almost automatically, his voice shaking. “Hide—now!”

“My mom’s out there!”

Yuan Yongan’s eyes turned red. He broke free and grabbed a kitchen knife, charging into the living room.

Fang Xiu clenched his jaw and followed.

The moment he saw the scene in the living room, his blood froze.

Auntie Qin had been stabbed multiple times in the stomach, and her throat was slashed. She lay on the warm-toned wooden floor, unable to make a sound, blood spreading fast.

…It can’t be like this.

…I haven’t even called her Mom yet, Fang Xiu thought, strangely out of place.

Auntie Qin was still conscious. When she saw Yuan Yongan and Fang Xiu, her eyes filled with tears and despair.

“Run,” she mouthed. “Run.”

Standing over her was the killer—a tall, dull-looking man in an ill-fitting courier uniform.

He looked blank and sluggish.

The man slowly turned his head to look at Fang Xiu.

He gave a dull smile, revealing crooked, yellowed teeth.

The moment he took a step forward, Yuan Yongan pulled Fang Xiu and ran toward the master bedroom.

Once inside, he locked the door with trembling hands and pushed a nightstand against it. “Call 110, 120, hurry!”

His voice shook uncontrollably.

Fang Xiu ran to the landline like he was sleepwalking. He called the police, then the ambulance.

His mind was blank. His hands were icy cold.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

The man outside began kicking the door with massive force. The door groaned under the pressure.

Yuan Yongan had no time to cry for his mother. He dropped the knife in his trembling hands and ran to Fang Xiu’s side.

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

The man didn’t care if they called the police or not. He just kept banging on the bedroom door.

The lock was warped by the impact. The nightstand trembled violently.

“Let him kill me,” Fang Xiu said, stumbling toward the door. “Let him kill me. He’ll leave you alone.”

“He came for me.”

Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock. Knock knock knock.

The door burst open.

At that moment, Fang Xiu was yanked backward.

Yuan Yongan dragged him back and shielded him in the corner between the bed and the wall.

Fang Xiu tried to push him away, but Yuan Yongan was stronger, more solid… Of course he was. His brother always got top scores in PE.

His brother wanted to be a police officer someday.

He didn’t understand.

By the time the real police arrived, Yuan Yongan’s body had just been pulled off of Fang Xiu.

Fang Xiu’s abdomen had been slashed open, blood soaking the room. It was impossible to tell whose blood was whose.

That night, Auntie Qin and Yuan Yongan both died on the spot.

The killer, seeing the police arrive, screamed “My offering is complete,” then slit his own throat with a grin.

Thirteen-year-old Fang Xiu was rushed to the First People’s Hospital of Taiyi City, Gui Province.

Due to massive and prolonged blood loss, his brain suffered severe damage. He fell into a deep coma.

From that moment on, he never woke again.

By the hospital bed, Fang Xiu’s soul hovered faintly, tethered to his body.

He drifted blankly at the bedside, watching people come and go, mourning in front of him.

He watched Officer Yuan cry in secret, overwhelmed with guilt… He watched ghosts and specters wander the hospital day and night.

They were curious about his out-of-body soul and would gather to watch from time to time.

This teenage soul looked more like a ghost than any ghost. He stood frozen at the bedside, motionless.

“At first, I thought if Uncle Yuan hated me enough, he might kill me. Then I could die unjustly, turn into a ghost, and get revenge.”

Adult Fang Xiu shrugged. “Too bad. He didn’t even want to hate me.”

“Everyone in the ward treated me well. I couldn’t even manage an unjust death.”

“Then I thought, even if I did become a ghost, who would I take revenge on? Who could I even kill?”

Fang Xiu looked down at his comatose body.

“I had no idea where the cultists were hiding or who else was involved. Zhuang Chongyue fled overseas. Even gods can’t leave their gates easily, let alone a ghost.”

“I thought about it nonstop, until the day I turned fourteen.”

A’Shou’s expression changed. “Fourteen? You didn’t… No, that’s impossible…”

Fang Xiu’s eyes curved slightly.

He raised a hand and pointed to the red T-shirt hanging by the bed.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 169: Preparation Complete

Uncle Hou truly hadn’t grasped the current situation.

He remembered reaching an agreement with Cen Ling, remembered providing supplies to the cultists. Then, after a wave of dizziness, he suddenly realized his body was no longer his own.

It was a woman’s body, currently standing in a corner of the garden. In his hand was a comb-like Immortal E, but for the moment he had no idea how to use it.

…What kind of evil magic was this?!

Startled, he looked up and immediately spotted “his own body”. But that Uncle Hou appeared perfectly normal, showing no signs of being soulless.

“Are you confused about the current situation? Is the pain from your leg distracting you?”

“Hand over the Immortal E’s, or kill Cen Ling. Do that, and I’ll spare your lives.”

It was Fang Xiu’s voice.

Only then did Uncle Hou realize that this body’s right leg seemed broken. The piercing pain swept through his brain. He needed pills—badly. But this wasn’t his body. His medicine was on his real body.

He turned sharply and saw “his body” running frantically toward the garden exit, limbs intact. He only had the offensive tools and Immortal E he’d just obtained. As for healing medicine… He didn’t even know whether the owner of this body had any, or where it might be stored.

Frantically, he reached into the clothing pockets, rummaging desperately.

At the same time, everyone around him, about a hundred people, was doing the same thing. Their movements were almost identical.

Something was seriously wrong. This had to be a taboo.

Now crippled, killing Cen Ling was too difficult. The only option was to hand over the Immortal E. After all, this wasn’t his body. Buying time would be to his advantage.

“How do we hand it over?” he shouted with this body’s throat, and at the same moment, the same question echoed all around him.

“Xiao Tian!” Fang Xiu tossed the hairpin back into the garden, and Xiao Tian caught it steadily.

The sharp hairpin was still covered in blood, though less than before.

Upstairs, Fang Xiu quietly clenched his fist, hiding the bleeding wound in his palm.

Xiao Tian caught the hairpin and slid it into her grip. Jiao Jiao drank down a bottle of dark potion and suddenly unfurled a pair of raven wings from her waist.

She wrapped her arms around Xiao Tian and launched into flight, shooting toward the people shouting, “How do we hand it over?” Like a raptor diving for prey, Xiao Tian snatched the Immortal E’s from their hands in the blink of an eye.

In a flash, she tossed them accurately toward the boat.

But Cen Ling’s golden cage still held, blocking all except Cen Ling himself from leaving.

Uncle Hou used a series of magic weapons and charged frantically at the exit of the garden, while the boat crashed against the cage multiple times in midair but failed to leave the central park.

After a failed strike, Cen Ling landed atop a pile of ornamental rocks in the garden’s center. His gaze locked onto Fang Xiu as he slowly drew a bronze sword from his robe, sinister winds surging around him.

The boatman shouted in panic, furiously paddling to avoid being blown away by the dark wind. Without even looking, Cen Ling slashed his sword toward the boat, breaking through the wooden monk’s water shield.

Had the ferryman not turned quickly, and had Xiao Li not pulled the boat, that sword wind would have split it in two.

Even so, the sudden evasive movement sent the boat crashing into the golden cage. The boat nearly capsized.

Seeing things go awry, Jiao Jiao folded her wings and dragged Xiao Tian back into the panicked crowd on the ground.

Fang Xiu wasn’t surprised.

Cen Ling had distributed so many Immortal E’s, so of course he kept a few powerful ones for himself. With a soul nearly at the level of a ghost immortal, the destructive power of his Immortal E’s far exceeded those of ordinary cultists.

He wasn’t attacking fully yet only because he was concerned about the cultists on the ground. Whether or not they were family didn’t matter—if they were crippled here, there would be no one left to help him smuggle out the E’s.

“These cultists are injured and don’t even have Immortal E’s anymore. Lady A’Shou, please finish them off!”

Yan Yan, who was outside the cage, looked only at his partner, sweating anxiously.

This was a golden opportunity. If they took out these reckless Guishan cultists now, they could proceed with a clean, aboveboard resolution of the E.

A’Shou agreed that this was the right move. Fang Xiu had handled things beautifully.

She began chanting softly. Black and red talismans appeared around her, brimming with power. Then—

They were casually scattered by Bai Shuangying.

A’Shou composed herself and asked politely, “What is the meaning of this?”

Bai Shuangying said, “I don’t understand the scheming of humans, but I understand their methods.” He pointed at Cen Ling. “Now is not the time for you to act.”

A’Shou furrowed her brow. “This chance won’t come again. Please step aside.”

“No. Fang Xiu wants you to stay out of it.” Bai Shuangying stood calmly in front of her, blocking her path. “If brute force could solve this, he would have told me to act long ago.”

“He just wants revenge, personally.”

“No,” Bai Shuangying shook his head. “Cen Ling is just Cen Ling. Killing just one young heir and a hundred core figures, will that really end the Guishan Cult?”

“To give everything just for revenge? My human is not that shallow.”

His voice brimmed with certainty.

Beside Bai Shuangying, Fang Xiu was watching Cen Ling’s furious expression like a spectator at a play.

“We handed over the Immortal E’s! All of them!” the cultists who had been taken over by Uncle Hou’s mind shouted around Cen Ling. “You promised to spare us!”

“Yes, I didn’t kill you.”

Fang Xiu smiled. He leaned on the windowsill, tapping the window frame lightly with his fingers. “Your legs are broken, but you’re still alive. This place is a hospital. Medical supplies are everywhere.”

“Too bad that golden cage is Cen Ling’s spell. I can’t undo that.”

At once, all eyes turned toward Cen Ling. There wasn’t a trace of warmth in them.

Cen Ling gripped the bronze sword, veins bulging on the back of his hand.

No, stay calm. No need to panic.

As long as he lived, the golden cage would hold. Though the Immortal E’s were no longer on the cultists, Fang Xiu’s people couldn’t take them away either.

All he needed to do was wake the cultists up quickly and make sure the Immortal E’s got transported out.

Even if this round ended in total failure, he could just return the Immortal E’s and try again next time. After all, Guishan had many elite members. It wasn’t just him.

The Underworld had yet to fully understand the situation at the Shrine of All E’s. One failure meant nothing. He would keep trying until he succeeded.

With that in mind, he steadied his breathing. The sword tip turned in a half arc, pointing at the real Uncle Hou who had tried to stay hidden.

Seeing things go south, Uncle Hou’s expression finally changed. He activated his defensive tools in desperation, layering jade rings, protective barriers, and talismanic circles in a dazzling display.

Unfortunately, he could defend against magic but not taboos.

Uncle Hou’s lips went numb. He knew full well that for people like them, when things went sideways, a promise was nothing more than scrap paper.

The cultists had lost their sanity. His magic weapons were useless to them. Amid this chaos, he had no bargaining chips.

In the end, he could only whisper, “Spare me…”

The moment the words left his mouth, Cen Ling seemed to take it as permission. His bronze sword traced a flourish in the air, and with one slash of the sword wind, Uncle Hou was torn apart—limbs, head, and organs scattered in heaps. Blood sprayed in every direction, splashing the cultists nearby.

Uncle Hou was dead.

But his personality still ruled the remaining cultists.

This time, their gazes shifted. Limping and staggering, they rushed to his body, frantically rummaging for pills.

In the chaos, several cultists fell and were trampled to death.

Cen Ling tried to use a spell to stop the mob, but it didn’t work at all. Those who found pills first stuffed them into their mouths as fast as they could, afraid they might not eat enough. The ones behind shoved forward recklessly, terrified they’d get nothing.

Uncle Hou’s body was ground into mush. Blood mixed with pills. His mutilated head rolled along the stone tiles and got stuck in a tangled bush.

The “Uncle Hous” who had taken pills then unleashed all their magic weapons, fighting each other once more. Under Fang Xiu’s cold gaze, this “veteran Calamity Resolver” who had hoarded equipment like a weapons depot was torn to pieces in an instant.

Fang Xiu himself hadn’t moved a single step the entire time.

It was Cen Ling who had killed Uncle Hou and triggered the carnage.

On the boat, Song Zheng and Xiao Li shivered. Even Yan Yan, who wasn’t familiar with Uncle Hou, took two steps away from Fang Xiu.

Once Cen Ling confirmed his people had taken Uncle Hou’s gear, he pulled a bronze shield from his robes and struck it with his sword. A burst of powerful yin energy knocked the cultists on the ground sprawling and shook the boat in the sky.

This time, he didn’t waste time speaking. He charged directly at the boat.

Xiao Li grabbed the oar. Song Zheng touched his bracer. Then they heard Fang Xiu’s calm command—

“Collapse the boat. Target the spatial pouches!”

They acted without hesitation. Just as Cen Ling rushed in, Xiao Li shrank the boat to its original size. With nothing to anchor them, the spatial pouches filled with Immortal E’s fell, along with the ones they had just collected.

Song Zheng activated his anomaly. Leaves in the garden turned into flying blades, slashing the pouches apart instantly.

Thousands of Immortal E’s fell like rain.

On the ground, Jiao Jiao pulled out two more potion bottles. One contained a swirling black-red liquid that looked like human blood.

She looked up at Fang Xiu, then smashed both bottles.

Smoke rolled out again, flooding the fallen Immortal E’s, thick with a pungent scent of blood.

“Again?” Cen Ling cursed and stirred up another dark wind to blow the mist away.

This time, the tactic was familiar. Within half a minute, the people hidden in the smoke reemerged. Most cultists had healed their legs with pills, regained their protective gear, and had much less hostility toward Cen Ling. They practically had “keep my head down” written on their foreheads.

Cen Ling finally relaxed.

His people were steady now. The one upside of being polluted by “Uncle Hou’s” personality was that they knew how to stay alive.

Just as he was about to resume hunting the enemies in the cage, he saw Fang Xiu and Bai Shuangying leap out the window, voluntarily entering the golden cage.

Fang Xiu stepped onto the scattered Immortal E’s below.

They should have been treasures enshrined in the Shrine of All E’s. But now, scattered across the ground they looked more like gray garbage.

Fang Xiu snapped his fingers. A small black dog reappeared by his side.

Seeing the sea of Immortal E’s, the dog wagged its tail excitedly, sniffing around before digging up a red collar from a corner.

It seemed to treat this like a game. With the collar in its mouth, it returned to Fang Xiu. Fang Xiu simply placed the collar—the Fierce Wind E—back around the dog’s neck and sent it away again, back to the hospital room upstairs.

Watching this strange act, Cen Ling felt an ominous premonition.

Then, before his eyes, Fang Xiu pulled out an old book that looked all too familiar.

…Wait, that couldn’t be…

“Yes, I think the timing is just about right.”

“After all this bloodshed, you must be tired. Let’s try something new.”

Fang Xiu spoke lazily. “Let me reintroduce myself. I’m not ‘Hong Shuangxi’. My name is Fang Xiu.”

Before Cen Ling could respond, Fang Xiu opened the book.

He didn’t need to use the Immortal Encounter E to kill anyone. He just needed to use it to tell a story. That way, he didn’t even need full control of it.

Telling a story would be enough.

Targeted individuals: Cen Ling, A’Shou… and Bai Shuangying.

---

The author has something to say:

Xiao Fang’s plan was ready. Someone should be able to see it~

Next up, at least, it’s time for Xiao Fang’s past.

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 168: Second Taboo

Blood bloomed like fireworks, staining the pristine white walls.

The legs of the two cultists were a mess of mangled flesh, the injuries identical. Especially their right legs, which were twisted at horrific angles, bones snapped and protruding pale through torn skin. 

They clutched their abdomens in confusion as blood streamed through their fingers. It looked like someone had opened them up. Beneath them, a massive pool of blood quickly formed.

And yet, it was as if they didn’t notice.

As the blood drained, the two seemed to turn into statues. Their pupils dilated, and even their eyelids ceased to blink. Fang Xiu, wearing a pleasant smile, silently watched.

In less than a minute, the gray hue overtook their faces, and the last glimmer of life disappeared from their eyes.

Silence fell over the corridor.

“A d-death taboo?” Yan Yan swallowed hard and nearly choked on his own spit.

He had been watching Fang Xiu the entire time. Fang Xiu hadn’t cast any spells. Those two had truly triggered a taboo.

“Doesn’t seem like a death taboo.”

Jiao Jiao looked at Fang Xiu with cautious eyes. “From their state, it looks like they bled out rapidly… It’s probably just a standard taboo.”

A standard taboo with the strength to rival a death one. Unless someone wore advanced healing or life-preserving magic weapons, almost no one could survive that.

“I will repay all Guishan Sect followers in kind.”

Such a heaven-defying taboo could exist only because of its narrow scope—it worked exclusively on the Guishan Sect members.

While Jiao Jiao was still thinking, Fang Xiu and Bai Shuangying had already begun looting the blood-soaked corpses. Fang Xiu worked fast and clean, stripping their magic weapons in an instant. As expected, both of them had identical-looking spatial pouches.

Bai Shuangying, meanwhile, casually snatched up the lingering souls and devoured them without a trace of care. His expression resembled someone forcing down leftovers rather than enjoying a gourmet meal.

Song Zheng asked bluntly, “Fang Xiu, are you carrying an E?”

“You could say that.”

Fang Xiu lifted the pile of magic weapons and dodged the question. “I wouldn’t drag you all into this without reason. I know all three taboos of this ritual.”

Yan Yan finally recovered. “Damn, you could’ve said so sooner. Scared the hell outta me.”

Then he frowned again. “Even if you know the taboos, what about all those Immortal E’s out there—?”

Fang Xiu smiled. “Which is exactly why I need your help. Come on, let’s talk payment.”

At this point, the difference in experience became obvious. The mushroom trio glanced around without concern. Lu Yang was more focused on the two fresh corpses and didn’t seem to care what Fang Xiu offered.

Jiao Jiao sighed. “We’re willing to help proactively for free. But if you want full command over me and Yan Yan, that will cost you.”

“If the ritual succeeds, I’ll grant two wishes.”

Fang Xiu said it plainly.

Jiao Jiao: “…What?”

“I’ll do everything I can to ensure you finish the ritual. And regardless of how many you’ve already completed, this one can count as your final one.”

“The original offer was ‘eight rituals, one wish’. I’ll make it two… Is that a fair enough deal?”

Fang Xiu delivered it with polish. Were his hands not covered in blood, he’d have passed for a top-tier salesman.

Yan Yan: “Huh?! Two wishes? What are you, King Yama going undercover?”

“Well, I’d love to say, ‘Trust me,’ but odds are you wouldn’t.”

Fang Xiu turned and shouted down the empty corridor, “A’Shou Jie, what do you think—?”

A’Shou, hiding nearby: “…”

“Just look outside! The Guishan Sect is practically looting the entire Disaster Relief Tower!”

“And check out these lovely friends of mine. Most aren’t even trained in metaphysics! Giving them one more wish within personal karmic bounds won’t cost the Underworld that much.”

A’Shou felt a surge of suffocation.

She had just finished fighting off another karmic migraine from Bai Shuangying. Thankfully she had taken a Heart-Stabilizing Elixir beforehand or she might’ve been contaminated again. These two bastards were clearly up to something, and she knew it.

…But it was an offer she couldn’t refuse.

At this point, all she had to do was show up and promise a few nobodies one more wish. That would boost Fang Xiu’s credibility immensely and rally everyone against the Guishan Sect.

A’Shou wished she were stupid. Someone oblivious to the big picture. But her rational mind always ended up pushed to the brink. Fang Xiu would corner her with the best possible solution that was just barely within her limits, every single time.

With a long sigh like a funeral song, the bloodstained wedding robe fluttered as A’Shou descended gently in front of the group.

The others didn’t recognize her, but Yan Yan did instinctively. His knees buckled, and he nearly collapsed, caught at the last second by Jiao Jiao.

“Ghost Immortal? …The Tower’s warden is here?”

His voice wavered. “Outside—outside—”

“I’m aware of the Immortal Es,”

A’Shou said formally. “The Guishan Sect tampered with this space. It’s currently cut off from the Underworld.”

“Your flesh-bound magic weapons follow protocol. Unless the E here is resolved, or turns into an Immortal E—you can’t return to the Tower. Not even I can override that.”

Jiao Jiao: “Can’t you kill the intruders? They broke the rules first!”

Another headache.

The girl had nailed the issue. Just looking at the Guishan Sect made her sick.

These people wielded Immortal Es. If they could sneak in, they could sneak out. If she acted officially, Cen Ling might just go scorched-earth, sending his followers to scatter with the Immortal Es in tow. It was like opening a drawer full of cockroaches—if even one escapes, the infestation spreads.

In her opinion, if most Immortal E’s were lost, Bai Shuangying’s unstable seal would be the least of their problems. The mortal world would descend into chaos.

It was better to hand this job off to a pest extermination expert like Fang Xiu.

Before she could answer, Fang Xiu spoke up.

“It’s not that bad yet.”

He cut her off cleanly.

“There’s no need to overthink it. You all just have to answer one question: Is it worthwhile to fight alongside me in exchange for ‘going home immediately’ and ‘two wishes’.”

The mushroom trio and Lu Yang nodded like bobbleheads. Yan Yan was too busy staring at A’Shou, his fox tail bristling like a frightened cat.

Jiao Jiao locked eyes with Fang Xiu. “Understood. You’re in charge.”

A’Shou nodded solemnly at the side.

Fang Xiu extended a bloody spatial pouch and smiled brighter than ever.

“Simple. All you need to do is…”

……

Ten minutes later.

Xiao Tian and Jiao Jiao, disguised by witchcraft, took on the appearance of the dead cultists and hurried toward the central garden. 

They wore the original bloodied clothing; Jiao Jiao even mimicked a leg injury and hobbled convincingly.

“I heard Cen Ling watches his teammates closely,” Xiao Tian whispered. “You sure they won’t notice?”

Earlier, Bai Shuangying had simply attached two red threads to them and said they were good to go. Xiao Tian had been too distracted by his face to ask how the spell worked.

“Probably fine.”

Jiao Jiao didn’t elaborate. The moment Fang Xiu paid her, the nature of this battle changed.

A professional never asks too many questions.

……

At the central courtyard, the Immortal E distribution was nearly complete.

Over a hundred people crowded the small garden. Everyone’s pouch was stuffed to bursting, and the air was thick with yin energy.

“What happened?” Seeing two people covered in blood, Cen Ling frowned, concern appearing on his face.

“Some of the sacrifices caused trouble… cough…” Jiao Jiao said. “Didn’t expect them to be so difficult.”

Cen Ling thought for a moment and pulled a stone pestle from his robe. “This Immortal E has healing properties. Take it. You’ll need it for treating the wounded after the E is resolved.”

“I’ve got extra elixirs too. Don’t be shy,” Uncle Hou called cheerfully nearby.

Xiao Tian and Jiao Jiao gritted their teeth and “tainted” their Immortal E’s. Since they arrived last, most of the Immortal E’s were already gone so it wasn’t enough to fill their spatial pouch.

And speaking of spatial pouch, theirs wasn’t as good as Fang Xiu’s. His had no weight at all. These ones were so heavy they’d pull your pants down, so everyone wore them on their chest like satchels.

Cen Ling looked around in satisfaction and walked to the center of the garden, seemingly planning to give a speech. All eyes turned to him.

Xiao Tian and Jiao Jiao exchanged a quick glance and nodded subtly.

Xiao Tian gripped her hairpin. Jiao Jiao held a potion bottle in each hand. Then she smashed the bottles together, releasing a thick cloud of smoke that instantly filled the area.

In the chaos, unsure if they were under attack or had triggered a taboo, people scattered. Then—

“No water? This’ll do!” A call with a thick accent sounded and Xiao Li’s boat flew out of the window and hovered on the surface of the smoke.

Inside, Xiao Li swung a sickle, bouncing off the deck like a cannonball. Even with the Immortal E’s, the cultists couldn’t react fast enough to his boosted strength. 

The spatial pouches were snatched en masse and tossed into the cabin.

Song Zheng stood beside the wooden monk. He pointed wherever there was killing intent, and the monk summoned defensive water screens. 

When magic came their way, Song Zheng would sneer and press on his arm. The bottom of the boat would float up into the air and rush away diagonally. It was clearly an anomaly given to him by the Underworld.

Compared to the Guishan Sect members crowded in the small garden, the tiny wooden boat was far more agile.

From a window, Bai Shuangying watched, amused. It looked like a fisherman casting his net.

But the fun didn’t last. Cen Ling quickly responded. He calmly touched a wall and golden characters flowed upward and merged into a glowing cage in the sky.

Another anomaly skill.

Wind whipped through the cage, dispersing Jiao Jiao’s smoke. All eyes locked onto the wooden boat.

“You’ve got guts, stealing from my family,” Cen Ling said coldly. “Kill them.”

……

Upstairs.

Yan Yan paced by the window, fox eyes fixed on Jiao Jiao below.

“Fang Xiu, what do we do?”

“Even if they grabbed most of the pouches, the cultists still have Immortal E’s on them! We can’t take them all in one go!”

“Let me help! They can’t hold out forever!”

Fang Xiu shook his head.

“Come. Watch the show. Count to ten. They’ll give us the Immortal E’s willingly.”

“I’m seriously counting. One, two…”

……

In the courtyard, all eyes were on the wooden boat.

Song Zheng’s Murder-Intent Seismoscope shrieked nonstop. He frantically used his anomaly to lift the boat higher.

The wooden monk and boatman worked together to erect a spherical water barrier.

“Three, four…”

The cultists started to rally. Under Cen Ling’s lead, spells and taboos targeted the boat.

In the shadows, Xiao Tian snuck behind Uncle Hou. Her hairpin slashed across his back, drawing blood.

Whether due to the chaos or Xiao Tian’s luck, Uncle Hou didn’t notice the shallow cut.

“Five, six…”

She flung the hairpin upward. Fang Xiu caught it cleanly, licked the blood from its tip, and pointed at Cen Ling.

“Seven, eight…”

“Second taboo: With the blood of an outsider, your ties to your kins are severed.”

Suddenly, all the cultists except Cen Ling froze. Their attacks stopped. They looked at each other in panic, clearly confused.

“Nine, ten…”

“Uncle Hou, can you hear me?” Fang Xiu opened the window and waved out. “How are you feeling?”

Then he pointed and flicked his finger downward.

Once again, blood sprayed. This time, only their legs were broken. The garden echoed with cries of pain.

Uncle Hou stood tall amidst the chaos, shaking his head wildly. He saw his own expression on every face. There seemed to be hundreds of twisted versions of himself. He was horrified that he didn’t dare to breathe.

“What did you do—!?”

Before Fang Xiu could answer, the furious Cen Ling charged toward the window surrounded by the brilliance of magic.

Unfortunately, as soon as he touched the window, he was knocked away by Bai Shuangying’s sleeve and fell back with his magic.

Simple. You triggered the taboo.

Not that I’m going to tell you.

Fang Xiu smiled. “You really did treat them like family.”

“I used Uncle Hou’s blood to overwrite their ‘identities’. Now they’re all ‘him’. A hundred versions of him, and none of them trust you.”

“Are you confused about the current situation? Is the pain from your leg distracting you?”

Fang Xiu called pass Cen Ling to the hundreds of people downstairs. “Hand over the Immortal E’s, or kill Cen Ling.”

“Do that, and I’ll spare your lives.”

---

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

Author: 年终 / Nian Zhong

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

---

Chapter 167: The First Taboo

Not long ago, at the central hospital courtyard.

Uncle Hou finished his cigarette and methodically began distributing supplies. He didn’t hand out his most valuable stash right away, only providing reliable bulk goods.

Naturally, he wasn’t completely off guard either. One hand continued to fiddle with two odd red walnuts, which likely carried some sort of power.

Seeing this, Cen Ling didn’t get angry. If Uncle Hou had been careless enough to lower his defenses entirely, then Cen Ling would have questioned the man’s character.

“There’s just one thing I can’t figure out,” Uncle Hou asked kindly. “Since you all dare to go this far, you must have some assurance. What if the Underworld forcibly interrupts the ritual? What’s your plan then?”

Cen Ling smiled faintly. “They won’t notice.”

“Oh?”

“The Immortal E’s hidden inside the Disaster Relief Tower are sealed extremely tightly, with layers of protections.”

“The ritual site is linked by karmic cause to the Tower. Now that I’ve taken them out here during the ritual, it’s just a matter of ‘relocating’ them. They’re still functioning within the Tower’s system.”

Cen Ling conveniently left out how he had “borrowed” them but otherwise explained casually.

“It’s the same logic as surgery—when doctors temporarily move organs during an operation, they still keep working normally.”

This way, the Shrine of All E’s would show no anomalies, and the Underworld wouldn’t raise any alarms.

Besides, the “God of Calamity” himself had created cover via karmic pollution, which meant that even if an Immortal E got damaged or a seal was disturbed, the impact on the Underworld would be minimized.

As long as his people didn’t leave the ritual site and trigger spell failure, the Underworld would not react in time.

That said, there was no need for him to tell Uncle Hou all of this.

At present, Uncle Hou only thought they were trying to steal a few Immortal E to pull some tricks on the side, not realizing this was an all-out “rebellion”.

Cen Ling stepped back two paces and quickly tallied the Immortal E’s in his mind.

The most powerful relics needed to be bound to their first recipients. But there were over a million Immortal E’s in the Tower, and the Guishan Sect didn’t have nearly that many people.

Once the second wave arrived, the less critical relics could be packed in spatial pouches and smuggled out in batches—

The key to the whole plan was catching the underworld off guard and sweeping the Tower clean in one go. If even one person left early and alerted the Underworld, the whole thing would fall apart.

Cen Ling took a deep breath and softly chanted, “Return.”

…That was why he memorized the life histories of all the Guishan Sect believers and selected only the most devout and powerful.

His family would never betray the glory of their Divine Sect.

……

“We have to help them,” Fang Xiu said seriously, hands braced on the windowsill as he gazed down at the busy courtyard full of Guishan Sect followers.

“Help?” Bai Shuangying looked down at the cultists with disdain.

He had no affection left for humanity. If Fang Xiu hadn’t stopped him, he wouldn’t have minded squashing these mortals into meatballs and rolling them down the hallway for fun.

Besides, with the ritual site cut off from the Underworld, he didn’t understand why Fang Xiu hadn’t just let him start killing.

“Of course we’re going to help. It’s not every day someone pulls all the Immortal E’s out into the open.”

Fang Xiu kept staring down at them, smiling without warmth. “And you—don’t touch your seal just yet. In fact, you should amplify your karmic pollution.”

Looking at his expression, Bai Shuangying could tell his human was up to something again.

Bai Shuangying: “The Guishan Sect is still linked to the ‘God of Xushan’ by karmic pollution. If I amplify it, the Underworld will completely forget about me. That’s basically handing over my identity as the ‘God of Xushan’.”

“Relax. I have a plan,” Fang Xiu said confidently.

Bai Shuangying sighed. It looked like he wouldn’t get to feast on yin energy from the Tower again. Still, if Fang Xiu insisted…

He raised a hand. Pollution surged through the partially broken chains, dyeing the faint karmic threads pitch black.

The side effect hit immediately. The energy that had been steadily feeding into him stopped almost entirely. Hunger returned in full force, clawing through his body.

Bai Shuangying was just about to sigh again when Fang Xiu suddenly darted forward, practically diving into his arms.

“Hungry?” Fang Xiu grinned. “We’ve got work to do. You can’t fight on an empty stomach.”

With that, he wrapped his arms around Bai Shuangying’s waist and yanked him into the room. Fang Xiu kicked the door shut behind them.

Bai Shuangying was about to say something, but Fang Xiu kissed him instead.

His arms hugged Bai Shuangying tightly, fingers weaving into that cool, silky hair. Before Bai Shuangying could even ready his forked tongue, Fang Xiu’s slipped past his lips.

Bai Shuangying knew lovers often fed each other, but he had never been fed this fiercely before.

He placed a hand on Fang Xiu’s nape and deepened the kiss without hesitation. Fang Xiu’s essence tasted just as delicious as always; no surprise there. He was, after all, the “Fang Xiu E” in both body and soul, saturated in karmic weight.

In theory, the more aroused Fang Xiu became, the richer and sweeter the essence.

But this time, Bai Shuangying noticed a strange undertone beneath the sweetness.

Beneath the heat and affection was something faintly bitter. The taste had more depth, but it didn’t sit well with Bai Shuangying.

Because he realized Fang Xiu was trembling slightly. He still wore that calm, confident expression, but the way he clung to Bai Shuangying, the way his fingers trembled in his hair, told another story.

As if he feared Bai Shuangying would vanish.

Instinctively, Bai Shuangying softened the kiss. Ever since he began analyzing Fang Xiu’s every action, his thoughts had never stopped.

…What had Fang Xiu’s original plan been?

…If he’d never met Bai Shuangying, never encountered the Corner of Heaven’s Will—how would he have ended the eighth ritual?

…Even if he succeeded, even if he made his physical body into the strongest “E” ever created—what then? Would his soul be traded to the Underworld, trapped in the Shrine of All E’s forever?

If they had never met, and Fang Xiu had become part of the karmic chain, then his human would have been the one to bury him in the end.

They would have gone to ruin together.

Bai Shuangying suddenly broke the kiss, cupped Fang Xiu’s flushed face in both hands, and stared into his eyes.

“Don’t be afraid,” he said solemnly. “Every cause has its effect.”

“I won’t blame you for your original plan, and you don’t need to dwell on what didn’t happen. In the mortal world, only what comes to pass counts. That is the way of Heaven.”

Fang Xiu’s lips were swollen from the kiss.

He looked at the white eyes of his ghost and tried to smile habitually but failed.

“I’m just… a little nervous,” he admitted. “It only counts once the dust settles. And the dust hasn’t settled yet.”

No matter how many times he rehearsed the plan, execution always felt different.

Bai Shuangying’s brow twitched. He squeezed Fang Xiu’s cheeks gently. His human really was fascinating—so tough, yet so tender. There were so many layers to his flavor.

“Why?” Bai Shuangying asked, confused. “Aren’t I right here with you?”

“You just do your part. Even if the mortal world burns, I’ll help you slaughter the Guishan Sect. If the gods come after you, we’ll take them too. Unless…”

He faltered.

“…Unless you want to separate from me now. That I won’t allow.”

Fang Xiu stared at him in silence for a long time.

Then he let out a heavy sigh and buried his face into Bai Shuangying’s chest.

“Do you know something?” Fang Xiu mumbled. “I really like you. It’s kind of amazing. I didn’t know I could like anyone this much.”

“Mm.” Bai Shuangying found it perfectly reasonable.

“…” Fang Xiu’s face twitched, as if he was holding back a laugh, grumbled, “You’re supposed to say, ‘I like you too,’ at a time like this.”

Bai Shuangying was startled. “Of course I like you. Why else would I be here?”

“I liked that little porcelain idol for a whole century. With you, it’ll be at least a thousand years.”

Now Fang Xiu blushed slightly. “Just say ‘I like you too.’ That sounded a little intense.”

But he didn’t give Bai Shuangying another chance to speak. He raised his face and kissed him again, so fiercely and affectionately that the earlier bitterness was gone, replaced by sweetness thick as honey.

…….

“Song Ge! A monster! A crow’s carrying a red rat!”

“You’re the red rat.”

“Weren’t you two going to find a base—”

At the sound of the others arriving, Fang Xiu pulled away. He quickly tidied up his clothes and opened the door. “If they’d stayed a second longer, Cen Ling would’ve killed them.”

Bai Shuangying hadn’t eaten his fill, but he grudgingly followed. This was no time to indulge.

Outside stood six mortals, all familiar faces from earlier.

Song Zheng nodded politely. Xiao Li waved. Xiao Tian beamed. “I’m so glad to see you two again. This is exactly what I needed!”

Lu Yang nodded wildly beside her. Fang Xiu wasn’t sure they were excited for the same reason.

As expected, the non-cultists took it relatively calmly. The same couldn’t be said for the other two—

Before Jiao Jiao could speak, Yan Yan exploded.

“Dude, if you need help, we’re happy to lend a hand. A little danger for a friend, whatever.”

“But this—this is like repaying a peach with a nuclear warhead! Damn, there are Immortal E’s everywhere out there!”

His voice kept rising. He was practically squeaking in fox-voice already.

Fang Xiu didn’t reply right away. He looked at Bai Shuangying instead.

“Another group of mortals has entered,” Bai Shuangying said. “Over a hundred this time, just as you predicted. Probably here to carry the loot.”

“Any of them traveling in pairs? Draw them over. Quietly. Don’t alert the rest.”

Bai Shuangying brushed the karmic threads.

In less than five minutes, two cultists wandered toward them, appearing to have lost their way. Song Zheng’s Murder-Intent Seismoscope flared. Xiao Li leapt forward and broke their illusion spells in one swift move.

“Nice,” Song Zheng, not knowing the truth, praised Bai Shuangying.

Fang Xiu smiled at Yan Yan and approached the stunned cultists. They clutched their jade pendants, activating their defense charms.

“It’s no use. You have violated a taboo.”

Fang Xiu’s voice was calm and gentle, like a hospital nurse.

“The first taboo: I will repay all Guishan Sect followers in kind.”

He raised a finger and curled it downward.

In the next instant, blood bloomed.

---

The author has something to say:

The cats are going on a killing spree.jpg

---

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