Chapter 50: The Old, Weak, Sick, and Disabled
On the nearby sofa, an elderly man in a tank top and baggy shorts shook his head. He was about to warn Tong Hua not to scare the guests, but his brow furrowed instead.
His nose twitched as he sniffed carefully.
“Remember to be polite when the guest arrives, Tong Hua,” Mr. Zhang advised earnestly. “Don’t just go around using your powers the moment you meet someone.”
“Oh, don’t worry, don’t worry! I have utmost integrity!”
Tong Hua patted her chest confidently, full of sincerity, though anyone who actually knew her wouldn’t believe a word she said.
Mr. Zhang sighed, shaking his head slightly, and picked up his teapot. As the saying went, good advice rarely worked on hopeless little brats. Kids had to suffer some consequences to learn their lesson.
He clasped the two perfectly round iron walnuts in his hands and stayed silent. Soon, the elevator slowly began to rise.
Faintly, they could hear An Ran’s voice.
“They’re here, they’re here.” Tong Hua’s eyes lit up. She activated her special detective skill, the Aether Eye, rubbing her small hands together and focusing intently. “Let me take a look…”
She froze, rooted in her spot in absolute silence. It was as if she had plunged straight into hell.
Every glimmer of light vanished under the Aether Eye’s gaze. The world’s colors seemed to drain away, leaving only mottled shadows. Even the sunlight outside appeared to lose its warmth. She felt like she had plunged into an ice tomb.
A terrifying surge of blood roared in her ears, mixed with countless agonized screams and wails.
Everything blurred, and the world lost all clarity. The only thing she could make out was the narrow gap of the slowly opening elevator doors. From the gap, viscous blood crept silently before spreading and rising. The blood surged and gushed out like a geyser, engulfing her completely.
“W-Wait—”
Tong Hua’s expression froze, and her face paled. Something wasn’t right. It felt like she had accidentally seen something she wasn’t supposed to.
Amid the rushing blood, a vague silhouette seemed to emerge slowly from the darkness, surveying its surroundings. That indescribable, ever-shifting shadow wriggled bit by bit toward her, inching forth little by little.
Her smile faltered, disappearing under the creeping terror. Every trick, every practiced gesture she had memorized perfectly now vanished from her mind, replaced by a single desperate thought: P-Please… can we reconcile?
Countless twisted faces emerged from the blood and melted into one another, overlapping and fusing. They slowly extended writhing tendrils, brushing past her eyes and caressing her cheeks, as if sensing something.
Then, one hollow eye after another appeared from the blood, looming over her. Countless distorted, melting faces grinned and drew closer, opening and closing their mouths with mournful wails to direct curses at her. These curses were meant to be engraved forever into her memory and soul!
“▇▇——”
“Eeek! M-Ms. Wen… save me!!!” Unable to hold it in, Tong Hua stumbled back in terror and screamed at the top of her lungs, “Heeelp! Soooomebody saaaave meeee!!!”
“Holy crap…” Ji Jue staggered back two steps, stunned. He had just stepped out of the elevator, only to be confronted by a deathly pale face staring straight at him. He jumped, thinking a vengeful ghost had come to claim his soul.
Finally, summoning his courage, he tried to greet her, even reaching out for a handshake, only for the girl to turn and run away, seemingly more terrified than he was.
Wait, shouldn’t he be the one screaming?! Was he already getting harassed on his very first day on the job?
But seeing how casually An Ran seemed to take it, he wasn’t sure what was going on. Hesitant, he peeked toward the elderly man calmly rolling walnuts[1] on the sofa. “Excuse me, is this the North Mount District Security Bureau—”
“Yes, that’s right,” Mr. Zhang said with a smile, waving warmly. “You must be Ji Jue, right? Oh wow, it’s been ages since we had visitors! Welcome, welcome, have a seat! Want some sunflower seeds? Or fruit?”
A fruit plate, sunflower seeds, peanuts, gummies, and chocolate appeared from under the coffee table like magic. Before Ji Jue could react, a cup of tea was already in front of him.
Across from him, the elderly man had just finished skillfully brewing a cup of gongfu tea[2] with fluid, precise movements and was now offering it politely.
Wait, what the heck? It’s not even New Year yet! Plus, that woman who just screamed and bolted…
“Is she…”
“Don’t worry, and don’t take it to heart. She stayed up watching horror movies and scared herself,” Mr. Zhang said, sipping his tea without a care.
Tong Hua had brought this upon herself. The old man was used to it, as this wasn’t the first time witnessing this.
Most Chosen Ones of the Aether Path had this problem: they were insatiably nosy, addicted to gossip, compelled to look at everything, fascinated by everything, and daring enough to pry into anything.
Eventually, they’d seen so much that they inadvertently killed themselves.
And today, Tong Hua had only been looking at Ji Jue, which was no big deal at all. If she’d grown brazen enough to peek at the weaves of the Supreme Benevolence or the limbs of the Nine Abominations, that was when trouble would really begin. A small lesson like this was nothing.
Still, as Mr. Zhang held the teacup, the back of his hand involuntarily broke out in goosebumps, and the hairs on his arm stood on end.
The combination of the Vortex’s blessings—True Eye and Super-Sense—with the White Deer’s blessing, Keen Insight, formed an even higher-level blessing: Pure Sight. Under normal circumstances, it could detect any intruder’s essence within a hundred meters.
The signals from his superhuman perception surged endlessly and probed his consciousness, warning of threats and horrors. And it had nothing to do with Ji Jue; it was something else, something hidden and utterly terrifying.
Though the boy appeared ordinary and handsome, when Mr. Zhang focused his senses fully, he could detect a presence clinging to him. It was a massive aggregation of pure pain and despair. Under Tong Hua’s unfiltered Aether Eye observation, they awakened from slumber, fully triggered and furious beyond measure.
Within this illusory perception, thick crimson wisps rose from Ji Jue, and strange hollow faces appeared within, looking hungry and menacing. As they converged, they outlined a constantly shifting, grotesque silhouette. It was like a dragon’s head, coldly looking down and choosing its prey to devour.
This… was truly something else.
Being stared at by those void-like eyes, Mr. Zhang’s hand paused for a moment. Then, he lifted his cup and swallowed the tea. He continued as if nothing had happened, still smiling warmly as he entertained the young man before him until the crimson and blood-red shade faded away. Finally, after the endless despair and pain recoiled back into Ji Jue’s body, everything returned to normal, as if nothing had happened.
Mr. Zhang breathed a sigh of relief.
Such a massive sign of corruption… wasn’t it a little over the top? He had seen Cursed Ones before, but few could reach even a tenth, or a hundredth, of what Ji Jue displayed. Even counting all the residual spirit matter contamination from the Vortex Cultivation Methods, this was absurd.
Yet, despite being born from the grudges and curses of countless dying souls, why had it… protected him? He shook his head slightly and let the thought go.
“Come, come, grab some fruit!” he said, lifting the plate with enthusiasm. “Today, Tong Hua bought a watermelon. It’s fresh out of the fridge! Eat it while it’s still cold.”
Meanwhile, Ji Jue was completely numb. He scanned the surroundings and then looked again at the lineup in the North Mount District branch, and he couldn’t help but draw in a sharp breath. One elderly man, one lunatic, and one disabled kid?
He felt a genuine sense of belonging. If a weakling like him was added to the line-up, they’d make a four-person squad of the old, sick, weak, and disabled.
Perfect!
In a movie, this would be a legit team for major missions. At the very least, saving the world would be a piece of cake!
He heard that over in the Empire, a squad now had to include a fat person, a homosexual, and a transgender person to be considered complete. He wondered what kind of elite team would be able to assemble such a lineup.
Of course, that being said, he was definitely the weakest link, but whether the others were truly old, sick, or disabled was another matter. Not counting An Ran, who was an enigma to Ji Jue, even the gaunt old man in front of him could make sparks fly from the iron walnuts he rolled in his hands.
Looking at the material and estimating its weight with his limited alchemy knowledge, Ji Jue nodded. Judging from the strength of those hands, the old man could crush one or two heads as easily as he could crack an egg!
“Oh, you finally showed up, huh?”
Wen Wen finally stepped out of the office, her hands full. In her left hand she pinched two small boxes; in her right, she carried Tong Hua as if she were a tiny chick.
“Sorry, Tong Hua likes to wander and joke around. Don’t take it personally.” She tossed Tong Hua forward and slapped her head. “Apologize!”
“S-sorry,” Tong Hua said, trembling as she clutched Wen Wen’s hand. “Sir, please forgive me, I’m just a kid…”
What the heck?
Ji Jue was dumbfounded. Yet watching them happily cling together, he felt like some kind of weird accessory in their little play. This was so strange.
“Don’t worry about it. Just pretend she’s having a fit.” Wen Wen flung herself down into a chair without a care and handed over the two boxes. “Here are your spoils. Been waiting for you to collect them since last time.”
“Huh?”
From the moment he walked in, Ji Jue felt like his jaw hadn’t closed once.
They’re just giving me loot? I didn’t even do anything! But why do these finely decorated little boxes feel… like someone’s eternal home?
When he opened them, he realized that they actually were.
They were two urns. One had some scattered iron shards; the other held a few broken crystals. No matter what, that didn’t change the fact that these were urns.
“What… what is this?!”
“Hmm? The two Chosen Ones you killed last time,” Wen Wen replied. “I checked, they’re Ming Yan and Bai Yi. Both had a bunch of bounties on them. They weren’t exactly good people. Since they didn’t contribute much while alive, might as well put them to use now that they’re dead.”
In a sense, the ashes of Chosen Ones really were incredible resources. Ming Yan’s remains could substitute for certain items in the Ruins Path, greatly enhancing the physical properties and durability of materials. Bai Yi’s fragments, clearly condensed from pure shadow matter, were likely remnants of that shadow beast.
Ji Jue had been worrying about where to get reinforcement materials for Horsey. With the brutality of dragon blood, it wouldn’t have trouble digesting anything anyway.
Still… killing someone and feeding their ashes to your own livestock? That was a little over the top, even for him. Some people turned into materials after death, while others… were already being targeted while alive.
Thinking of his own identity as a Chosen One, Ji Jue couldn’t help but feel a pang of sorrow. What if one day Wen Wen suddenly called him into her office after work and said, “You wouldn’t want your identity as a Chosen One to get exposed, would you?”
Besides quietly going along with her rules, he had no other options.
Wen Wen frowned, glancing at Ji Jue, who was lost in thought. “What are you thinking about? You’re drooling.”
“Ah, no, no, it’s nothing.” Ji Jue shook his head, sighing. “I’m just thinking that the adult world is really terrifying. Yes, terrifying. A boy has to learn to protect himself in the outside world.”
“Indeed. That’s part of the reason I called you here today.”
“Huuuuh?!”
Ji Jue immediately went on high alert.
Well, well… You’re finally dropping the pretense of being all proper? So now… should I comply? Or should I resist stubbornly and fight to preserve my dignity, to make it more interesting?
As Ji Jue’s thoughts spiraled, he saw Wen Wen pat Mr. Zhang on the shoulder and wave her hand. “Alright, Mr. Zhang, the rest is up to you. Don’t scare him.”
“Don’t worry, leave it to me.” The gaunt old man grinned at him. “Relax, I’ve got plenty of experience.”
Ji Jue’s eyes widened in shock. He shook his head frantically, waving his hands. “No, no, absolutely not! This won’t do, this is way too much!”
“What on earth are you thinking?!” Wen Wen snapped, slapping him on the head so hard he nearly lost it. “Today, Mr. Zhang is here to train you. He’ll teach you some self-defense skills and basic spirit matter enhancement. Oh, get your head out of the gutter!”
“Huh? Oh, oh!” Ji Jue clutched his head, finally letting out a sigh of relief. “You should’ve said so earlier, I thought—”
“Thought what?” Wen Wen’s smile softened, so much so that she almost seemed kind. She raised her hand, and her long fingers curled into a fist. As she rubbed her knuckles, they produced a crisp, crystalline sound. A faint shimmer of crystal light formed along her fist, solidifying into a razor-sharp spike.
“Maybe I should just do it myself.” She grabbed Ji Jue by the collar with a bright smile, squeezing out words between her clenched teeth. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure this leaves a lasting impression. I promise.”
1. “Rolling walnuts” is a traditional practice with ornamental walnuts, where the nuts are gradually rubbed and brushed over time using a method called “70% brushing, 30% rolling.” This long-term handling brings out the walnut’s natural patterns and develops a warm, reddish patina on the surface. ☜
2. Gongfu tea or kung fu tea, literally "making tea with skill", is a traditional Chinese tea preparation method. It is sometimes called a "tea ceremony", though this is a misnomer, as gongfu cha is more accurately described as a specialised technique of brewing tea rather than a ritualised ceremony.
During Lunar New Year, it is a significant, convivial ritual representing warmth, family reunion, and the passing of good fortune to guests. ☜
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