Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi.
No one paid him any attention. Wei Xi hurriedly led his disciples and Black Impermanence to Liandu Temple. On the way, Black Impermanence was still furious: “Outrageous! What’s wrong with the underworld messengers of the Xin’an City Temple? I caught them with my own eyes and they still dare to help the wicked. Do they really think I, their leader, am dead?!”
At first, Wei Xi also thought that it was the underworld messengers who came to take the other person’s soul, but when he arrived at the place and asked, he found out that things were not like that. Xu Xiaofeng was not taken away at Liandu Temple. She had an accident when she went out shopping for clothes. When she was found, she was lying in the fitting room, and she had not yet taken off the clothes she had chosen.
Tuan Tuanyi exclaimed in surprise, “So Master Xu also buys clothes? I’ve seen her wearing the same Taoist robe every day without changing it.”
Kuang Zhiming seemed to have been crying, his eyes red as he said, “Is it strange? We usually bump into each other during work hours, so we’re definitely wearing work clothes.”
A Taoist priest standing nearby said, “She’s a girl after all. My wife likes to take our daughter shopping for clothes and bags when she’s not performing rituals.”
Seeing Kuang Zhiming’s barely concealed sadness, Tuan Tuanyi felt a little embarrassed: “That’s not what I meant, Master Kuang, don’t be sad, Master Xu will be alright.”
After saying that, he subconsciously glanced at Xu Xiaofeng, who was lying motionless on the bed. His gaze swept over the price tag on the new dress that was still on her body, and he exclaimed, “Damn it! Master Kuang, is your daily spending level really this high?!”
Upon hearing this, the other Taoist priests couldn’t help but look over, and they all exclaimed in shock, “It really is a big brand, so expensive!”
Kuang Zhiming stared at the price tag and muttered, “She bought a coat from this brand last time and told me it only cost a thousand yuan. Now I think she forgot to tell me a zero.”
After saying that, he raised his hand to cover his mouth and let out a sob.
Tuan Tuanyi: “…”
After crying, Kuang Zhiming realized he had gone off-topic. Wiping away his tears, he turned to those behind him and said, “Fellow Daoists, I need to retrieve Xiaofeng’s soul. Could you lend me a hand?!”
Naturally, no one would refuse. Even Wei Xi knew that to gain a foothold in the industry, one had to build good relationships with peers. Moreover, the Xiusheng Sect had recently offended the Taicang Sect, and now that the other party had gotten away, he was also unhappy. He wished he had broken the legs of those three fellow disciples back then.
After the fellow Daoists present all agreed, Kuang Zhiming’s gaze finally fell on Black Impermanence: “And who is this?”
After Wei Xi introduced Hei Wuchang’s identity, everyone present except for Daoist Quan had very complicated expressions. Seeing the reactions of so many fellow Daoists from the association, Daoist Quan felt greatly gratified— see! I’m not the only one who thinks the Taicang Sect is monstrous!
Kuang Zhiming couldn’t care less about anything else; his wife was still lying in bed, her life hanging in the balance. Upon learning the identity of the Black Impermanence, he immediately bowed down and pleaded, “Please, Lord Impermanence, help me!”
Black Impermanence quickly helped him up: “Mr. Kuang, there’s no need for this. Our City God Bureau and Taicang Sect are brother units. How could we sit idly by and ignore your predicament? Besides, it was our City God Bureau’s lax governance that caused the chaos in your mortal world which almost led you to losing your soul. Logically speaking, I should apologize to you.”
Kuang Zhiming dared not accept his apology. Upon hearing that he was willing to help, he was deeply moved and immediately ordered the Taoist priests in the temple: “Go to the storeroom and fetch ingots and incense! Fetch plenty!”
Black Impermanence waved his hand sternly and refused, saying, “How can that be!”
Desperate to save his wife, Kuang Zhiming burned large amounts of paper money for him, saying, “Yes, yes, thank you for making this trip, Lord Wuchang.”
“Sigh! You’re so stubborn!” Black Impermanence said with an annoyed tone, half-heartedly taking the gold ingot and quickly stuffing it into his pocket. “This is a one-time thing, don’t do it again.”
Everyone: “……………………”
You’re the one who started this trend in the City God Temple, aren’t you?
Tuan Tuanyi said to Wei Xi speechlessly, “Master, no wonder he can wear Armani. I guess he didn’t win that suit at the annual party.”
Black Impermanence was clearly an old hand. After taking the money, he coughed and said nonchalantly, “Let’s hurry up and get on with it.”
Looking at him, the many Taoist priests present felt a sense of despair about their profession for some reason. Fortunately, Black Impermanence didn’t take the extra money for nothing; he worked very hard and quickly began performing rituals with the Taoist priests present, even inviting local underworld officials to inquire.
Not only did the local underworld messenger appear on his own, but he also efficiently brought along the Xin’an underworld messenger who had been invited by the tall, thin man. That’s why they say it’s a net of heaven and earth; if the leader saw the embezzlement, there’s no way you could escape.
The underworld messenger was probably stunned by what he had encountered. After appearing, he was in a daze. Upon hearing what had happened, he immediately knelt on the ground, crying and swearing to the heavens, “Your Honor, please understand! I really didn’t take Master Xu’s soul! Ever since I left Director Wei’s unit, no matter how that skinny guy summoned me, I ignored him! I only came to Liandu Temple once! And that time I failed to take the soul! Your Honor, I really know I was wrong!”
With the benefits given to him by Kuang Zhiming in his pocket, Black Impermanence reprimanded his subordinates without batting an eye: “You’ve turned the world upside down, colluded with cults, embezzled public funds, and corrupted public morals! No need to explain anymore, go back to Xin’an and await your punishment!”
Upon hearing this, the underworld official was struck dumb, collapsing to the ground in despair. He truly couldn’t understand why he was so unlucky; trying to earn some extra money had landed him in a department head’s unit, and he’d been caught red-handed by the department’s top leader. The punishment upon his return was obvious. Although Xin’an wasn’t a major city, the position of City God was no easier to obtain than in other regions. He had spent a full twelve years passing the exams to finally secure this post, and now, one wrong move had cost him his job— a fate perhaps even more painful than his soul being scattered.
After dealing with his subordinates, Hei Wuchang came to the conclusion: “This time, it probably really wasn’t the work of the underworld messengers.”
Kuang Zhiming was also mentally prepared: “Xiaofeng was not in the Taoist temple at the time, and ghosts and monsters could get close to her. Without the help of the patriarch, she may have fallen victim to other soul-snatching methods of the Xiusheng Sect. Their sect is very evil, and there have been various rumors about them before.”
Upon hearing this conclusion, the Taoist priests present immediately set up an altar and began to collectively perform rituals to trace Xu Xiaofeng’s soul. However, for some unknown reason, the Xiusheng Sect did not use any magical artifacts, as they could not sense anything at all.
Fortunately, the underworld messengers, being of the same profession, had slightly stronger senses. After taking Xu Xiaofeng’s hair, Hei Wuchang vaguely sensed something: “They are moving in the southwest direction.”
“Southwest!”
Kuang Zhiming immediately realized something: “They’re going back to Xiusheng Sect! Xin’an City is located southwest of the capital!”
Black Impermanence immediately picked up the severely injured and disoriented Xin’an Underworld messenger and asked him where the Xiusheng Sect’s headquarters was.
Xin’an Underworld messenger had just encountered the greatest hardship of his ghostly life and was already sobbing uncontrollably: “I don’t know either. I only know that they preach near Xin’an Shouwang Mountain and built a small temple on the mountainside of the main peak, but they never live there. They only occasionally gather their followers there to give lectures and practice qigong. They never invite me to their residence.”
The Taoist priests present looked grim: “They are truly a cautious sect.”
“That’s right!” Xin’an Underworld messenger cried. “I heard that their current leader used to be involved in pyramid schemes. He’s probably used to hiding from the police, so he’s very cunning.”
Wei Xi: “??”
Everyone: “…”
After a moment of silence, everyone realized they were in a difficult situation. They were better at dealing with demons and monsters than with pyramid scheme operators. And frankly, the sudden discovery that their long-feared cult adversary had a history of pyramid schemes made them feel uneasy…
Wei Xi was still pondering what pyramid schemes were when the phone rang again. The young policeman on the other end said excitedly, “Master Wei! We’ve requested support from the Municipal Bureau to set up a massive dragnet. We just tracked down the suspect’s vehicle on the Third Ring Road in Beijing and immediately launched an arrest operation. Although we didn’t catch everyone, one suspect has been apprehended!”
Wei Xi: “Who is it?”
The young policeman said, “His name is Meng Xiaoming, and he’s a little chubby!”
A faint sobbing could be heard on the other end of his phone: “…Why is the elevated highway in Beijing so congested… It’s been stuck for half an hour without moving…”
Upon hearing this, the masters could no longer remain seated. They immediately got up and headed to the overpass the young policeman had mentioned. Due to the severe traffic congestion on the overpass, they had to get out of the car halfway and then walk to the arrest site under the guidance of the police.
They were delayed for more than half an hour on the road, and the car at the scene didn’t seem to have gone very far. The old Taoist priests were still discussing countermeasures with solemn expressions as they hurried on their way.
“The Xiusheng Sect has deep roots and has been operating for many years; it may not be easy to deal with them.”
“They’re so cautious that even the underworld officials don’t know where they live. I’m afraid it will be a tough battle to track down Fellow Daoist Xu’s soul!”
“Have you ever fought against the Xiusheng Cult? I’ve heard that this cult is cunning and has a strict hierarchy. The local police in Xin’an have cracked down on them several times but failed to bring them down. Instead, they suffered heavy losses. You can imagine how terrifying their abilities are.”
As Wei Xi listened to these fellow Daoists’ speculations, he thought of the three fellow disciples he had captured not long ago and felt something was amiss: “So they were that powerful?”
I couldn’t tell.
Master Quan, a veteran member of the local Taoist Association, overheard his words and assumed he was underestimating his opponent. He immediately said seriously, “Fellow Taoist Wei, I know you are very talented in Taoism, but you must not be careless when facing the Xiusheng Sect. The old leader of the Xiusheng Sect is renowned in Xin’an, with countless followers and far-reaching influence; he is no ordinary person. His disciples are probably either extremely tough or cunning; in short, they will not be easy to deal with!”
As soon as he finished speaking, a pitiful cry came from the traffic in the distance: “Waaah— I’ll tell you! I’ll tell you everything! My senior brothers saw the traffic jam and just abandoned me and went back to Xin’an!”
“Where is Xin’an? It must be in our sect, or he went to Shouwang Mountain, or he went to my master’s house.”
“Where does my master live? He owns many houses, in the city, suburbs, and mountains. Which one are you asking about?”
Master Quan: “……………………”
Wei Xi looked at the chubby boy in front of him, whose hands were cuffed by the police and who was crying with a red nose and trembling body, with a half-understanding look on his face: “So many houses, so rich, he’s not easy to deal with.”
Master Quan: “…………Farewell.”
I don’t really want an opponent like that.
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron or access advance chapters on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents• Next