"We've managed to establish contact with headquarters."
Yun Hui had the staff at the estate prepare so food and carried it back. Last night, on New Year's Eve, he and Lao Lang had only eaten a few dumplings—not bad, but definitely not filling.
Lao Lang, still keeping a close eye on the ditating Mr. Blind, took the food and asked directly, "What did they say?"
Yun Hui replied, "Last night, there was an anomaly deep within Mt. Tai, causing a huge commotion. Both the Daoist and Demon worlds sent people to investigate, and our captains led all available team mbers there as well. But after 3 AM, headquarters lost all contact with them. It has now been nearly 12 hours since anyone last checked in."
Lao Lang was startled. "It's that serious?"
Yun Hui nodded solemnly. "Yes. Headquarters has already dispatched reinforcents overnight. Until they arrive, we've been instructed to stay put and avoid any rash actions."
He then glanced at Mr. Blind again and lowered his voice. "Additionally, headquarters wants us to keep a close watch on Qingxiaozi."
Lao Lang frowned deeply. This assignnt felt like an impossible task. The man before them had once caused catastrophic casualties in both the Daoist and Demon worlds. No one really knew what kind of monster he was. Right now, he looked injured, but who could say what tricks he still had up his sleeve?
Watching over a criminal of his level felt like a rookie prison guard being asked to supervise a world-class terrorist—it was overwhelming.
Just then, Mr. Blind exhaled slowly and stood up.
Both Yun Hui and Lao Lang imdiately tensed, their bodies on full alert. Yun Hui even ford a hand seal, preparing to unleash his spiritual power at a mont’s notice.
"No need to be nervous." Mr. Blind faced them calmly. "Rest assured, I won’t do anything to you. In fact, right now, I actually hope to receive your help."
Yun Hui and Lao Lang exchanged glances, both frowning slightly. After a brief hesitation, Yun Hui finally asked, "Daoist Qingxiaozi, according to our records, you were exiled by the Daoist Association... Why have you returned?"
"Believe or not..."
Mr. Blind’s tone was serious. "A great catastrophe is about to befall Divine Land. So, if possible, could you help get in touch with a certain individual in your Managent Bureau? I need to speak with him."
"And who exactly would that be?" Yun Hui's brow twitched slightly.
Mr. Blind answered, "Naturally, the one who has been cultivating in seclusion beneath the Forbidden City."
Yun Hui and Lao Lang's expressions changed dramatically.
Mr. Blind continued, "There's no need to struggle over this decision. Just report my request to your superiors. They’ll decide whether or not to grant an audience."
Yun Hui and Lao Lang remained silent for a mont.
"Daoist Qingxiaozi, it’s not that we don’t want to give you an imdiate answer," Yun Hui finally spoke. "But given our rank, we simply don’t have access to soone of that level." He took a deep breath. "However, I’ll report your request to headquarters right away. If they approve, I ask for your patience while we wait."
Headquarters had ordered them to keep a close eye on Mr. Blind, but they had also instructed them to accommodate so of his reasonable requests.
To be honest, Yun Hui felt conflicted about the whole situation. On one hand, Mr. Blind was considered a major criminal in the Daoist world. But on the other, headquarters seed to be treating him as a VIP.
"Thank you both. I will continue ditating here," Mr. Blind said before sitting back down.
Yun Hui quickly ran off to contact headquarters. To his surprise, they approved Mr. Blind's request almost imdiately.
"They actually agreed?" Lao Lang was shocked.
Yun Hui nodded, still in disbelief. "The Special Affairs Division is already on their way and told to keep my phone available at all tis."
Lao Lang stole a glance at the ditating Mr. Blind, then frowned. "I can't believe they agreed to bring that person out… He’s been in seclusion for nearly sixty years, hasn’t he?"
"Yeah..."
Yun Hui nodded. "I've never seen him myself, only heard about him from my master, Daoist Baijie. A legendary figure… Soone who transcended martial arts and stepped into the Enlightened Dao Realm. Even the Qian Departnt of Xuanyuan Palace treats him with respect—the so-called strongest martial artist in history… Firecloud Evil God!"
Lao Lang lit his pipe and took a deep drag. "I heard that when he first erged, he challenged the leaders of the Four Celestial Spirits clans and several reclusive Daoist masters. People used to say that aside from the True Dragon, Firecloud Evil God was the strongest human in Divine Land. Back then, he wanted to challenge the previous Greedy Wolf Star, but that guy disappeared after a duel with the Western Demon Wolf Queen. Before Firecloud Evil God left, he said, ‘I wish to battle the Wolf King—only then will I die without regrets.’"
Yun Hui remained silent.
Lao Lang raised an eyebrow. "You’re thinking about what Qingxiaozi said… about the impending catastrophe, aren’t you?"
Yun Hui nodded grimly. "The Daoist and Demon worlds, along with the Managent Bureau, have all mysteriously lost contact. If so many powerful figures couldn’t handle whatever happened, then this so-called catastrophe..."
Lao Lang didn’t respond. He simply puffed on his pipe in deep thought.
Just then, Yun Hui’s phone rang—it was headquarters. They had successfully contacted… Firecloud Evil God!
—
After leaving the hotel, Zhang Qianrui quickly returned to the Song Family’s ancestral mansion with Mr. Ah Qi accompanying her.
The guests who had co in the morning had already left, and the Song Family had just finished lunch. Zhang Qianrui wasted no ti explaining the cooperation plans to Old Master Song.
Since Zhang Lilanfang had already reached an agreent with Song Tianyou earlier, the originally planned operation for the second day of the new year was moved up. Old Master Song frowned slightly but ultimately agreed.
The operatives had already been stationed in a nearby county twenty kiloters away, so it wouldn’t take long for them to mobilize.
"You’re going too?"
Song Ying was surprised when Luo Qiu unexpectedly asked to join the mission. She had always thought he was more suited to being in a study or a kitchen, not out on fieldwork.
Luo Qiu smiled. "Yes. You ntioned that this might be one of Emperor Qin’s undiscovered secret tombs. That piqued my curiosity. Besides, your grandfather doesn’t seem to have any objections."
Song Ying frowned slightly, then asked, "Are we really still at the stage where you call him 'my grandfather'?"
"Are you still feeling unwell?" Luo Qiu asked an unrelated question casually. "I just heard you had soone bring you so tomato juice. Was your stomach feeling uncomfortable when you woke up?"
"Don't change the subject." Song Ying shook her head. "Forget it... My grandfather does believe that n should train more. But I'm a little surprised that he’s willing to let you go with them. I thought he treated you like a treasure to be protected."
Luo Qiu just smiled without responding.
"Take this." Song Ying suddenly shoved sothing into Luo Qiu's hand.
Luo Qiu glanced down and saw a palm-sized compact pistol—a Ruger LC9s.
Luo Qiu: ??
Song Ying said casually, "I usually carry this for self-defense. If you're joining the operation tonight, Song Haoran will probably give you a weapon to use. Although it's just an exploration of an undiscovered tomb, anything can happen. No one knows if there will be danger. So, it's always good to have a backup. If you lose your main weapon and find yourself in trouble, you'll thank for this."
"I'll take good care of it." Luo Qiu accepted the Ruger LC9s gratefully and then asked curiously, "By the way, where do you normally keep this? It’s not obvious at all."
"That’s none of your business! Just take it!" Song Ying glared at him and then walked off. But after a few steps, she suddenly turned back and threatened fiercely, "Don’t lose it! Make sure to return it to when you get back! I’m only lending it to you!"
Luo Qiu weighed the pistol in his hand for a mont before casually tossing it into his backpack.
Take it out in case of danger? Yeah, not happening. He'd just leave it there and return it later.
"Song Ying seems to care about you a lot," ca a voice.
Miss Zhang Qianrui approached slowly, her face carrying a faint, unreadable smile. Since long ago, Zhang Qianrui had always given off a warm and comforting presence. She had also clearly seen the mont when Song Ying handed over the gun.
Luo Qiu thought for a mont before answering softly, "I suppose she values family a lot."
"Family, huh..." Zhang Qianrui murmured thoughtfully.
"Did you need sothing?"
Zhang Qianrui smiled. "Not really. I just wanted to see how your preparations were going. Honestly, I'm quite surprised that you volunteered to join. I heard the Song Family went through a lot to find you, so I didn’t expect Old Master Song to let you participate... After all, no one can say for sure whether this mission will be dangerous or not."
Of course, Zhang Qianrui didn't actually think Luo Qiu would be in any real danger... If the future email she had received from herself was real.
"What about you?" Luo Qiu asked curiously. "You don't have to participate in things like this. You could just focus on running your antique shop or working on related projects."
Zhang Qianrui sighed. "When my grandmother was my age, she had already explored dozens of tombs."
"You have sothing on your shoulder." Luo Qiu suddenly spoke.
Zhang Qianrui paused for a mont. Then, Luo Qiu casually brushed his fingers over her shoulder—just a light touch.
Zhang Qianrui didn’t think Luo Qiu was the type to use such excuses just to touch soone. After all, they had been classmates for an entire year, and he had never shown any interest in her… A classic "Buddha-like" player, as the modern saying goes.
Maybe there really was sothing on her shoulder?
"Thanks," Zhang Qianrui said.
"You're welco." Luo Qiu smiled. "If there's nothing else, I’ll go finish getting ready."
Zhang Qianrui glanced at Luo Qiu’s backpack and suddenly smirked playfully. "Packing another coat into your ‘Doraemon bag’?"
Emmm… This was already the biggest backpack Luo Qiu could find… Was it really that noticeable?
"Alright, I won’t tease you. Go get ready." Zhang Qianrui said softly.
Luo Qiu simply nodded and headed back to his room.
Watching his retreating figure, Zhang Qianrui let out a quiet sigh.
She pulled her hand out of her coat pocket—gripping a small, black compact pistol.
Zhang Qianrui exhaled again and tucked the gun back into her pocket, then looked up at the sky.
The weather wasn’t great. She needed to stay alert.
After taking a shower, ‘Suzuki Yuichi’ walked out with a towel draped over his shoulders.
Even at his age, his body was still in excellent shape. At sixty years old, his muscles were still well-defined.
He took a sip of water, walked into the suite’s living room, and saw that ‘Suzuki Chun Xin’ was still staring intently at a laptop.
"Still looking for news about last night’s anomaly?" ‘Suzuki Yuichi’ frowned. "Get ready, we’re leaving soon."
‘Suzuki Chun Xin’ turned his head, squinting with a smile. "No, I just made a purchase."
"A purchase?" ‘Suzuki Yuichi’ was taken aback.
As the most powerful force in the Kanto region, the Suzuki family controlled vast resources. Suzuki Group was one of the top ten conglorates in Japan—imnsely wealthy, though still below the level of the true ancient noble families.
Moreover, the Suzuki family was relatively young and still had a lot of room for future expansion... That is, if Suzuki Yuichi and Suzuki Chun Xin weren’t taken down first.
Ren Zhen was surprised because, with the Suzuki family's influence, anything they wanted was easily accessible with just a word.
What else could Ba Qi possibly need to buy? Had he picked up a human habit after taking over this body—becoming addicted to online shopping?!
"An uninhabited island overseas, won it at an auction," ‘Suzuki Chun Xin’ said with a grin. "Brother Ren Zhen, island purchases are completely legal… I don’t know if it’ll be useful now, but with modern laws, owning a legally protected island might co in handy soday—"
"PFFFT!!"
Suddenly, ‘Suzuki Chun Xin’ spat out a mouthful of blood, splattering it across the laptop screen!
"What happened?!" Suzuki Yuichi’s face imdiately darkened.
Their souls were bound by a symbiotic contract—if Ba Qi suffered a serious injury, part of the damage would transfer to Suzuki Yuichi as well!
Sharing joys and sorrows wasn’t just a taphor.
‘Suzuki Chun Xin’s’ face turned pale, his expression filled with panic. "A fragnt of my soul… the one I left inside Miss Zhang… was just completely destroyed…!"
(End of Chapter)
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