Beginning with the Ubume Bird
Chapter 675 - Chapter 675 Chapter 61 Determination

Chapter 675: Chapter 61: Determination Chapter 675: Chapter 61: Determination When Se Kong and Muni, carrying two large bags of snacks, returned to the ruinous building, Wenle was sitting on the ground, counting ants out of boredom.

Muni casually tossed a taro-flavored Snowflake Cup to Wenle, “Tonight I’ll take Muni to meet Zhao Jianzhong, you go help me steal the pit back. Those people from the Yan Zhao Club, unless they hide in the auction and don’t come out, just kill them all. Any problems with that?”

Wenle shook the Snowflake Cup in his hand at Se Kong, “This is all the benefit you give me, it’s so hard to work for you.”

Se Kong’s smile was radiant, “You told me just yesterday not to doubt your loyalty to Sifan. Are you lying to me?”

Wenle hurriedly raised his hands, “No problem. But with my little cobbled-together Feng Shui Skill, I can fool a few charlatans, but for the pit, the Dragon Vein, I’m helpless.”

“Release that old man, I have something to say to him.”

Wenle lazily snapped his fingers and intense white bubbles suddenly surged up from the bottom of the man-made lake beneath the ruinous building. Shortly after, a white and shiny water sphere rose from the lake to mid-air. On closer inspection, there was a blurry figure inside the sphere, surrounded by a glaze-colored Dragon Breed.

The water sphere spiraled down to the middle of the trio, and the glaze Dragon Breed soared up to Wenle’s side, circling around his waist. The water sphere burst upon cue, revealing Qian Wu inside.

Muni’s eyes were uncontrollably drawn to the glaze Dragon Breed. The Dragon Breed had a crocodile’s head and a shrimp’s body, crystal clear all over, just like top-grade ice jade, with two ruby-red eyes, its whiskers moving, full of spirit.

Primordial Ice Chi

Category: Yellow River Species

Comprehensive Evaluation: Three thousand five hundred years of Dao (Peak of the Seven Palaces)

“Gulp~”

Muni swallowed a large gulp of saliva. For a moment, he couldn’t move his eyes away.

“Hey, old man, you helped Yan Zhao Club kill Xue Wenhai, now I need you to fix up the remnants of Xue Wenhai’s Feng Shui setup.”

Qian Wu kept his eyes shut, saying nothing.

“This old man is stubborn. He’s several decades old, no relatives, the only godson he had is also dead, you can’t move him. Might as well let Muni eat him, if he eats him, Muni can also help me find the Dragon Vein.”

Wenle said it deliberately.

Se Kong puffed out her cheeks, “Old man, as long as you help me, I promise I won’t kill you first.”

Wenle gave a thumbs up, “You’re so sincere. If it were me, I would definitely be moved by you, willing to die a thousand deaths in your service.”

“Old man, you know Yu Shu, right?”

Suddenly, Se Kong asked.

Qian Wu’s eyelids jumped, but he still did not open his eyes.

“I don’t know how she persuaded you to teach her the ‘Alter Fate on Behalf of Heaven’ technique, but I assure you, whatever she threatened you with, I can do it more ruthlessly, more completely. Think about it.”

Qian Wu remained unmoved.

“I’m not very patient, let me think, what can I do to get you to help me…”

Se Kong scratched his scalp restlessly.

“Give me a banknote.”

Qian Wu suddenly spoke.

“Huh?” Se Kong looked towards Wenle and Muni. In the end, it was Wenle who took out a one hundred Hong Kong dollars and handed it to Qian Wu.

Qian Wu folded the banknote into a paper crane, bowed three times to the southeast, then turned around, his feet summoning a golden Compass.

“The Taiji brings forth life, all things have spirits, upper victories from the void, paper crane transform, arise!”

Having said that, he pinched the talisman, placed the paper crane in the center, bit the tip of his tongue, and spurted out a mouthful of blood mist, drenching the paper crane. The paper crane suddenly lifted its head as if it had gained sentience and soared out of the window. Qian Wu’s eyes, however, lost their luster.

The paper crane shot into the sky and whizzed out of the window.

“Hmm?” Wenle furrowed his brow.

The paper crane flew swiftly, but suddenly a whirlwind from the west hit it squarely, causing the paper crane to become dizzy and disoriented. Then another whirlwind from the east supported the paper crane. The bloody paper crane struggled fiercely to flap its wings, but it only spun around in place, trapped between the two winds, losing its freedom.

“No, he’s trying to escape.”

Wenle suddenly exclaimed, violently slapping Qian Wu’s back. This slap brought Qian Wu’s soul back to his body, and he coughed non-stop. The paper crane also lost its spirit and vanished out of sight, carried away by the winds.

“Flying so high, where were you trying to go?”

Wenle asked with a smile, then suddenly his expression changed, and he coldly huffed, “Have you decided yet?”

“Fortune comes, luck departs…”

Qian Wu let out a bitter laugh, looking at Se Kong, “I can help you, but you have to promise me, no matter the outcome, to not harm the innocent.”

Se Kong dug at her ear, “What do you mean by innocent.”

“If you can’t do it, just kill me.”

“Well, alright, I promise you.”

“I need to prepare some necessary items.”

Se Kong looked at Wenle, “Go with him.”

Muni watched the two leave before turning his gaze back to Se Kong.

“What are you looking at me for?”

Se Kong retorted at Muni.

“He’s unreliable.”

“Which one are you talking about?”

“Both of them.”

“Do you remember what you promised me?”

“Besides Zhao Jianzhong, I can kill everyone on this fruit.”

Se Kong chewed on her ice cream, her expression was indistinguishable from that of an innocent, cheerful little girl: “Then that’s settled.”

“Right.” Se Kong suddenly remembered something, she looked up at Muni and asked, “How do you play mahjong?”

Muni was silent for a while.

“Ah?”

…

At nine o’clock in the morning, Zhao Jian returned to the office and immediately informed the other members of the Yan Zhao Club to meet. The location was still the rooftop office from last time.

The name of the Human Master resonated throughout Yan Fu. Even though Sifan watched eagerly, everyone felt reassured as long as this spry old man held his ground.

The room was small, the sofas were crowded together. It was clear that Zhao Jianzhong had no intention of putting on airs with everyone.

Yu Shiqie’s phone on the table suddenly vibrated, she signaled Zhao Jianzhong with her eyes. Seeing him nod, Yu Shiqie then answered the call.

“Hello.”

“Se Kong will bring Muni to look for Zhongxing Baode’s auction site tonight, she says she’s communicated with Qian Wu to cooperate, and tonight, when you activate the Dragon Vein, Qian Wu will help me break through the Feng Shui formation, allowing me to kill all those from Yan Fu who dare to leave the auction site.”

“…Understood.”

Yu Shiqie hung up after speaking.

Wenle looked down at his phone screen and tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Zhao Jianzhong smiled and said, “This new River God is really an interesting person. I heard he hid in the bitter winter for half a year without being discovered by Su Ling?”

Yu Shiqie shook her head: “Family affairs are known to the family. Ghost Master Su Ling is famously elusive; after all, the winter is Su Ling’s private property, and the information the Yan Zhao Club finds may not be reliable.”

“You make a good point.”

Zhao Jianzhong looked around the room, then said to Yu Shiqie on the side, “Let everyone out.”

Yu Shiqie complied, removing her earrings, and the gemstone earrings in her palm instantly transformed into two little snakes that scurried onto the floor, growing to over a meter tall in the blink of an eye.

The two giant snakes opened their jaws wide, successively vomiting out Ren Ni, Zhao Xin, and others before gradually shrinking again, leisurely crawling up Yu Shiqie’s fingers into her sleeves.

Sitting on the ground, Ren Ni wiped the foul-smelling mucus on his eyelids and instinctively sniffed it.

Zhao Xin and Wan Die were even more distraught, but given the circumstances, neither complained on the spot.

“Find your own places to sit.”

Yu Shiqie handed them three towels and then addressed Zhao Jianzhong, “Cha Xiaodao’s injuries are severe, I think he is no longer suitable for involvement in the Yan Fu incident this time. Also, I can’t find Jin Ye.”

Zhao Jianzhong nodded in acknowledgment, then lifted his hand and gently waved it downward,

Suddenly, a person appeared on the couch next to Li Yan, his head still covered with seaweed and mud, soaking wet–it was Jin Ye.

“Pff–”

Jin Ye shook his head and spit out a mouthful of water, looking around. His face brightened a little when he saw Zhao Jianzhong.

Mo whistled in amazement while leaning against the corner, “Wow. No wonder even Yu Shiqie couldn’t find you. Did you hide in the South Sea?”

Li Yan stood up and grabbed a towel for Jin Ye.

Jin Ye glared at Mo before finally accepting the towel to wipe his face.

“You go wash up first. We’ll discuss the retrieval work later.”

Zhao Xin and Wan Die, as if pardoned, didn’t bother to greet the others and rushed straight to the bathroom.

After all the operatives at the meeting had left, Zhao Jianzhong turned his attention to Li Yan.

“I regret Xiaodao’s accident. I will have the Yan Zhao Club provide Xiaodao with proper compensation. Let him recover his strength as soon as possible.”

Li Yan nodded and said, “Mr. Zhao is being too polite, it was our own carelessness.”

Zhao Jianzhong smiled faintly, crow’s feet more pronounced at the corners of his eyes, “You say that, but in your heart, you must be cursing that the retrieval work is a losing deal and that you’d rather die than do it again next time, right?”

“Mr. Zhao is joking, I volunteered for the retrieval work because I wanted to support Xiaodao; after all, he’s my best brother in Yan Fu. I didn’t want him to suffer any mishaps, who knew that we both almost… I was too arrogant and dragged everyone back.”

Li Yan’s face was dejected as he spoke, rubbing his reddened eyes.

Zhao Jianzhong beckoned Li Yan closer, and only when he came over did he lower his voice, “Don’t think I don’t know what you were calculating before you came. I allowed you to come because I trust you can handle your personal issues. I won’t let Xiaodao suffer. As for you, don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

Li Yan turned his face away and coughed dryly, hands raised in a clasp over his head, “Then I’ll trouble Mr. Zhao to take more care.”

Zhao Jianzhong glared at Li Yan but said no more.

Yu Shiqie maintained her composure, but inside, she wondered if Li Yan and Mr. Zhao were closer than she had thought.

After a short while, Ren Ni and the others changed clothes and took their seats.

“I had previously requested Yu Shiqie to prioritize protecting everyone’s lives because you are all valuable talents of the Yan Zhao Club, and not everyone is adept at charging into battle. If we were to sacrifice ourselves without preparation in Sifan’s ambush, it would be a loss to the Yan Zhao Club and a serious dereliction of duty on my part.”

Zhao Jianzhong paused, “But after all, we’re not here for sightseeing. The retrieval work naturally comes with risk and may even involve sacrifices. Even without Sifan, we can’t guarantee that there won’t be other situations more troublesome than Sifan…”

Zhao Jianzhong spoke for about seven and a half minutes, but from Li Yan’s perspective, it was rather uninformative and easy to doze off to.

“…Taking down Muni is our highest priority. I swear on my lifelong reputation and life, if we succeed in killing Muni, the Yan Zhao Club will spare no resources to promote everyone to the Peak of the Six Ministries within a year, and from then on, you will no longer have to execute any Yan Fu incidents.”

Li Yan suddenly perked up.

Mo’s eyes widened and it took a while before he murmured to himself, “So, after this job, I can retire?”

Unexpectedly, Zhao Jianzhong replied seriously, “Yes, Wang Chenyang, after this job, you can retire.”