Wandering Gods of Day and Night
Chapter 245 - 182 Heavenly Official’s Instructions

Chapter 245: Chapter 182 Heavenly Official’s Instructions

"Take one."

Miss Gu took the cigarette, pulled out a kerosene lighter and a cigarette holder ring from her bag.

She inserted the cigarette tip into the holder ring, lit it with the lighter, and asked Zhou Xuan, "Did you come specifically to wait for me?"

"Yes."

Zhou Xuan replied.

"Young Master, you said your tattoo couldn’t help me. Now you’re waiting for me specifically—are you perhaps inviting me to dinner?"

"My tattoo can help you." Zhou Xuan decided not to beat around the bush.

Miss Gu’s hand holding the cigarette visibly trembled.

"You’re not joking, are you?"

"Miss Gu, I want to ask you: if I tattoo other Gods’ totems onto your body, will you mind?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

Some radical Tangkou disciples find having other Gods’ tattoos on their bodies worse than losing a hand.

"I joined Tangkou purely for the pursuit of power and status—faith is hardly a factor for me.

The Bone Elder Association appointed me as ’Divine Communicator’ simply because my incense offerings rose fast and aggressively. Faith had nothing to do with it."

Miss Gu’s delicate face, shrouded in thin smoke, showed no trace of obscurity.

"Very candid, Miss Gu. Find a place, and I’ll make the tattoo for you."

"Come to my resting room."

Miss Gu swayed her hips, leading the way.

Whether as the Divine Communicator of the Bone Elder Association or a Metropolitan pop star, Miss Gu deserved a super-luxurious resting room.

But when Zhou Xuan entered the room, he realized how much his imagination had been limited by poverty.

This was no mere resting room—it was indistinguishable from a villa and even had a backyard. Standing at the garden’s edge was a glass wall, beyond which the turbid waves of the Mingjiang River stretched out.

In front of the glass wall lay a chaise longue—a spot to recline while sipping fragrant tea and enjoying the river view, a luxury most could only dream of.

Miss Gu set her bag on the ground and walked to the chaise longue. She was dressed in a black and blue striped blouse with diagonal collars.

She unbuttoned it, taking off her top, revealing only a "breast binding cloth." Her skin shimmered faintly in the interplay of moonlight and lamplight, radiant with a soft orange matte glow.

"Young Master, where should the tattoo be placed?"

You didn’t even ask—it’s already off?

Zhou Xuan cleared his throat to mask the awkwardness of "bare truths confronting each other," and replied, "The back, and both hands."

"Then go ahead."

Miss Gu lay face-down on the chaise, her head turned to gaze at the river view.

"Is Miss Gu always this uninhibited?"

Zhou Xuan looped around the room, found a clean cup, and said to Miss Gu, "The tattoo material requires blood—fill half a cup. It shouldn’t be hard for you."

"Not hard at all."

Miss Gu casually picked up a fruit knife from the table and sliced her right index finger, cutting the whole finger off. However, her flesh recovered too quickly. Before it could bleed, new tissue had already started forming.

She had to stab the knife into her palm and twist it to slow the healing.

Once the cup was half-filled with blood, Miss Gu pulled out the fruit knife and placed it on the table.

Zhou Xuan gently ran his hand over Miss Gu’s back.

"Young Master, I wouldn’t oppose anything intimate with you. Your rugged look is exactly my type. But... could we save it for after the tattoo?"

"Miss Gu misunderstood. I’ve always done tattoos on human skin post-mortem. Dead skin tends to develop creases, so I stroke it to smooth them out—this occupational habit carried over to you."

Miss Gu: "..."

Zhou Xuan added, "Three tattoo designs—White Tiger Head, Red Snake, Faceless Woman. Pick one that suits your liking."

Since what she desired was the side effects of the totem tattoos, it made no difference which design was chosen.

He proceeded to describe each tattoo to Miss Gu in detail.

Especially the Red Snake.

Zhou Xuan lightly lifted Miss Gu’s hand, letting his fingers glide over her skin as he traced the tattoo’s contours.

A faint perfume intertwining with Miss Gu’s body scent and her deep curves caused Zhou Xuan’s focus to momentarily waver.

He almost lost his composure.

"Red Snake then?"

"Alright."

Zhou Xuan gestured for Miss Gu to sit upright, visualizing the "Red Snake" design in his mind. The Bone Teeth stirred in the blood, shifting its color into distinct patches.

Holding the Bone Teeth, he marked two snake eyes on Miss Gu’s hand.

"It hurts!"

Miss Gu feigned pain, her countenance turning delicate and sorrowful as her chest softly trembled.

"You don’t feel pain; stop pretending."

Zhou Xuan chuckled and began working on the Red Snake tattoo.

Miss Gu noticed her attempts at seduction weren’t effective on Zhou Xuan, so she started gossiping instead: "Young Master, you must have slept with quite a few women."

"Don’t distract me—the snake might get tattooed crooked."

Zhou Xuan realized that tattooing on dead skin was far simpler than on living flesh.

At least dead skin didn’t flirt to unbalance one’s mindset.

Although...

Miss Gu didn’t need to flirt for her presence to be equally distracting.

"Young Master, are you sure you don’t want to savor the pleasures of intimacy?"

"Women only slow down my tattooing." Zhou Xuan regarded Miss Gu with minimal instinctual attraction and an appreciation for her physique.

When instincts started stirring, they were quickly subdued.

After all, the image of Miss Gu cutting her fingers or stabbing her thigh with chopsticks left vivid imagery that was hard to shake, acting as a psychological block.

To redirect Miss Gu’s attention and prevent further flirtation, Zhou Xuan struck up a conversation.

"Your breast binding cloth—it’s quite unique."

"That’s not a breast binding cloth. It’s a prosthetic breast."

"Oh? Is there a difference?"

"There’s a huge difference."

Miss Gu elaborated.

More than a decade ago, Jing Country women wore breast binding cloths—a stretch of fabric tightly wrapping the chest.

This practice often led to pneumonia and complications in breastfeeding post-childbirth.

"Later, the ’Free Breast Movement’ gained traction; women wore qipaos without chest wraps, which some traditionalists labeled indecent," Miss Gu said.

Zhou Xuan agreed, dismissing the traditionalists as "meddlesome busybodies."

"A few years ago, prosthetic breasts became popular—cotton layers sewn into fabric. They’ve since been upgraded to models like the one I’m using now."

Indeed,

The prototype of modern bras.

"By the way, Young Master, how do you even know words like ’breast binding cloth?’ Don’t tell me you’ve been sleeping with women since..."

"Don’t accuse me unjustly."

Zhou Xuan laughed, saying, "I simply enjoy reading newspapers—that’s where I picked it up."

"I find that hard to believe."

Miss Gu’s supple fingers lightly traced Zhou Xuan’s chest.

Unmoved, Zhou Xuan had expunged even his last ounce of instinct.

His focus was entirely on the tattoo, rendering him largely impervious to outside stimuli.

Finally, the Red Snake tattoo on both arms was completed, with only the shoulder-neck portion remaining.

"Lie down. Take this... off as well." Zhou Xuan pointed to Miss Gu’s chest.

She smiled and removed the prosthetic breast, becoming even more "exposed."

Zhou Xuan perched on a stool and tattooed the snake’s torso.

"You’re young and full of zest, like this..."

Miss Gu extended her right hand and rhythmically tapped the coffee table leg in a heavily suggestive manner.

Not that such things mattered.

Professionalism comes first: tattooing is his craft; all else is irrelevant.

As the last stroke of the Red Snake tattoo was completed, Miss Gu’s gaze shifted.

Earlier, her eyes exuded seductive charm, smoky and alluring, but now, they carried an undeniable divinity.

She stood upright in her stark vulnerability, with the Red Snake now slithering across her skin.

"The people of the Ten Thousand Mountains, heed my guidance."

Miss Gu tilted her head back, her voice resonating like the toll of a Cow Bell—melodious yet tinged with enigma.

In this instant, she was breathtaking,

A body imbued with raw primal energy clashing dynamically against the divine gravity in her gaze.

"You are not my people, you are not!"

Miss Gu’s expression turned maniacal. Totem tattoos, akin to divination, often summon Gods to temporarily inhabit the bearer’s body to borrow divine powers.

Yet upon possessing Miss Gu, the God realized she didn’t belong to the "Zhu You" Tangkou, prompting rage.

Soon, Miss Gu’s face contorted painfully, muttering incomprehensible phrases under her breath...

Once the murmuring ended, her eyes returned to their original state.

"What were you muttering just now?"

Zhou Xuan asked.

"It wasn’t me mumbling; it was ’him.’ He said he’d come for me at 12."

12—the hour the Red Snake would retaliate!

"I’ll wait with you till 12! Put some clothes on first."

Zhou Xuan grabbed her garments and tossed them over.

...

Miss Gu, now clothed again, sat with Zhou Xuan on the chaise.

She smoked while Zhou Xuan absentmindedly read the newspaper.

"Hey, Young Master, am I really so unappealing? Shouldn’t we do something adults normally do? Have some fun?"

"Who’s seducing who remains uncertain." Zhou Xuan grinned and said, "In terms of looks, we’re evenly matched, but when it comes to allure, I’m superior."

"Pah!"

Miss Gu kicked Zhou Xuan with her bare foot lightly.

"You’re so vain."

"I mean, as Bone Elder’s Divine Communicator, can’t you focus on serious matters instead of constant thoughts of romance?"

Zhou Xuan handed her the newspaper and said, "Read the news—there’ve been many cannibalism cases recently. Husbands cooking their wives, pregnant women eating their newborns—plenty of horrors."

Miss Gu grabbed the paper, her expression changing as she read, sighing. "Indeed, there’ve been several similar incidents lately. The Bone Elder and City God have started investigations, but... no tangible leads yet."

"They wouldn’t find leads regardless." Zhou Xuan then asked, "Between you and Old Li—Li Chengfeng—who holds a higher position in Bone Elder Association?"

"In terms of hierarchy, I’m slightly above."

Just as Zhou Xuan had suspected,

Miss Gu explained Bone Elder Association’s structure to Zhou Xuan. Its upper echelons include two types of personnel:

The first are scholars—subdivided into scholars, great scholars, and ancient scholars. Li Chengfeng belongs to the ancient scholar category.

The second are clergy.

While the Association is a Mysterious Society, it fundamentally operates as a Divine Society.

Clergy are the true administrators of the Association.

Miss Gu’s role, Divine Communicator, entails communicating with Gods.

"You can communicate with Gods?"

"Heavenly Gods are unreachable." Miss Gu clarified, "But I’ve managed limited interactions with the ’Heavenly Official.’"

"And what did you communicate?" Zhou Xuan inquired.

"He told me to kill Li Chengfeng."

Miss Gu said.

"Because Li Chengfeng belongs to the Praying Sect?"

"Exactly." Miss Gu replied.

"And you didn’t act?"

"The directive came just seven days ago."

Miss Gu said, "From the way you call him Old Li, I can tell you have a decent relationship with him. Consider this an inside scoop."

"When does Bone Elder Association plan to make its move?"

"No definite timeline yet." Miss Gu continued, "Li Chengfeng, while an unpopular member of the Praying Sect, commands respect.

If they act rashly, the clergy’s prestige and even the Gods’ faith could destabilize.

Killing Li Chengfeng isn’t a trivial matter."

"Truthfully, you don’t want Li Chengfeng dead either." Zhou Xuan pressed.

"I can’t determine who lives or dies!" Miss Gu remarked. "But since the Heavenly Official has issued a kill order, Li Chengfeng has only two options."

"Either leave Bone Elder Association and save his life; or die."

Miss Gu further explained, "To kill Li Chengfeng, all four senior clergy need to participate. He stands no chance."

Zhou Xuan glanced at his pocket watch, pointing at the hands. "It’s almost 12—the Red Snake’s backlash is about to start."