Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Ling Fang’s voice came through the earpiece hanging from Dai Xingyu’s ear. “We’re here.”
A fox’s ears were sharp. Xia Tian’s sensitive hearing caught every word Ling Fang spoke through the earpiece. His pupils immediately contracted into thin vertical slits, and his posture shifted, ready to attack at any moment.
“You… you have a death wish!” Xia Tian roared. His fingers became claws, and he attacked first.
He had no intention of fighting the department to the death. Before Ling Fang and the others appeared and completed their encirclement, he meant to seize a hostage to ensure his own safety, then find an opportunity to escape.
Dai Xingyu became Xia Tian’s target.
He looked far weaker than Xie Qingling.
Xia Tian remained where he stood, but his five fingers suddenly lengthened and reached across the distance toward Dai Xingyu. His claws swept through empty air, on the verge of snatching Dai Xingyu away.
Dai Xingyu raised his shield and shouted, “Guard!”
The shield immediately unleashed a magnificent radiance that completely enveloped him.
Xia Tian’s five claws caught nothing, forcing him to recoil.
At the same time, Xie Qingling had circled around and crept up behind Xia Tian. She leaped high and chopped diagonally downward with her right hand. Red light flashed through the seal-script character *zun* carved into Bloodsworn. After drinking blood, the cursed red thread stretched a little farther.
Bloodsworn carved a bloody gash across Xia Tian’s back. His brows drew together slightly as he reached up to touch his shoulder. In the next moment, the mangled flesh Xie Qingling had cut open began to heal.
Xia Tian whipped around, his gaze locking onto Xie Qingling. Violence surged in his long, narrow fox eyes.
Xie Qingling swept the blade in her left hand upward, but this time, a current-like force blocked it, preventing her from wounding Xia Tian again.
She had no way through that flowing barrier. Unable to continue her attack, she could only retreat and protect herself.
Landing one successful ambush was already more than she had expected. Xie Qingling did not push her luck and shifted from offense to defense.
After tasting Xie Qingling’s Bloodsworn, Xia Tian no longer dared attack carelessly.
Following their first exchange, the three faced one another in a silent standoff.
At that moment, the roar of motorcycle engines stopped. Ling Fang and the others had arrived.
Shen Huaizhou was the first to fly in. The long black hem of his dress billowed in the night wind. With one hand, he released a throwing knife. The other pointed loosely toward Xia Tian as he murmured, “Obscure.”
The throwing knife skimmed past without striking Xia Tian, for in the next instant, he dissolved into green smoke and appeared elsewhere.
Although he had escaped that blow, a layer of pitch-black color veiled Xia Tian’s fox eyes. Shen Huaizhou had taken his sight, leaving him unable to see anything.
“A petty trick.” Xia Tian showed no trace of panic. He sneered coldly and came to an elegant stop. Then the towering phantom of a white fox emerged above his head, indistinct yet lofty and inviolable. “Domination!”
An imposing pressure emanated from the white fox, forcing everyone to bow their heads and bend at the waist as though a massive mountain had settled on their shoulders.
This was the domination of a half-Immortal. Xia Tian was using the divine ability he had cultivated to suppress others.
He had assumed that the pressure would cow these humans into submission and leave them too frightened to offend him again. Instead, nine enormous, luxuriant tails suddenly unfurled behind Shen Huaizhou.
The phantom of a colossal white fox, holy and without equal, materialized from thin air.
“Nine tails…” Xia Tian murmured, his gaze drawn toward it.
The Tushan Clan’s domination descended from every direction, overwhelming the white fox’s pressure above Xia Tian and forcing it back. Xia Tian sensed disaster. Panic entered his vertical pupils, and he tried to dissolve into green smoke and escape. This time, however, when he attempted to use his divine ability, his feet would not move. At some unknown moment, two pairs of skeletal hands had emerged from the ground beneath him and seized his ankles in a death grip!
Xie Qingling lifted her palm from the ground and called, “Soul Recall!”
This was bad! They had restrained him! Xia Tian’s face turned livid.
But he had no time left to react or counter.
Yu Wei was already bringing his heavy cleaver down toward his head.
Faced with the blade that was about to split him in two, Xia Tian instead became completely still.
He stood where he was as though willingly welcoming death.
Neither grief nor joy touched him. His face was tranquil, and he showed no intention of resisting.
Yu Wei’s blade did not pause. It hacked straight down.
Green smoke curled through the air like mist, obscuring everyone’s sight.
The blade missed.
Or rather, it struck something, but the impact felt wrong.
When the green smoke dispersed, Yu Wei finally saw that Xia Tian had completely vanished from the place where he had stood.
In the spot his blade had struck lay a fluffy white fox tail.
Ling Fang approached with his crossbow raised. Bending down, he picked up the tail, held it aloft for several moments, and sniffed it. With some disgust, he said, “It reeks. Definitely a fox.”
[Nine tails, nine lives. Apart from the Tushan Clan and Qingqiu foxes, who are born with nine tails, all other foxes must begin their cultivation with one. This fox, who has cultivated in the mountains for many years, already grew a precious second tail. Yet after remaining away from the mortal realm for so long, he failed to anticipate that its Spirit Wielders would each possess their own divine abilities. With ease, they forced him to abandon a tail and flee. Whether the contest is of wits or strength, he is no match for them.]
He had actually fled outright…
Should they call him cowardly or clever?
A fox spirit truly was a fox spirit. So far, Xia Tian had been consistently cunning and difficult to handle.
Ye Anran ran over and stroked the fluffy white tail in Ling Fang’s hand. “It feels pretty nice. That’s a Fox Immortal’s tail. It would make an expensive scarf, wouldn’t it?”
“Let’s withdraw for now,” Ling Fang said. “This is complicated. We’ll discuss it when we get back.”
Everyone nodded, then returned to the office together.
* * *
The office.
The department’s six members sat around the conference table, listening to Dai Xingyu animatedly recount the story of the fox and Xia Ke’er, along with why the fox had sought them out.
Partway through, Ye Anran brewed a pot of calming tea, poured everyone a cup, then sat beside them.
By then, Dai Xingyu had finished explaining what had happened, and everyone was listening to Ling Fang assign their duties.
“Xie Qingling – ”
At the sound of her name, Xie Qingling immediately sat up with perfect posture, obediently straightening her back and staring directly ahead.
“You performed well this time,” Ling Fang told her.
There was even a rare trace of amusement in his eyes. “You reacted quickly, your instincts were sharp, and the decisions you made at the outset were all appropriate. Keep it up.”
Xie Qingling froze and blinked, unused to praise from Ling Fang.
What was this…?
She actually did not have to write a self-criticism this time?
It truly felt strange.
Oh, right. Ling Fang did not know she had threatened the driver with a knife. Dai Xingyu had not mentioned it.
Little Brother Xingyu had done well.
He understood the art of choosing one’s words.
Xie Qingling smiled and nodded. “I’ll keep working hard!”
“As for you, Dai Xingyu.” Ling Fang turned to someone else.
Dai Xingyu immediately straightened too, every inch of him waiting for praise.
“You will write a ten-thousand-word self-criticism,” Ling Fang said.
“I – what?! Why?!” Dai Xingyu was bewildered. “Why do I have to write a self-criticism?!”
“Why? A fox nearly deceived you, and you still have to ask me? You’re a veteran employee, yet you’re far too slow. Have you considered what would have happened if you’d been alone today? You should learn more from Xie Qingling.”
Ling Fang brought his hands together, ending the brief round of reward and punishment. Changing the subject, he said, “All right. Next, we’ll discuss how to resolve the matter of Xia Ke’er.”
With that, he blocked every grievance and protest crowding Dai Xingyu’s mind.
Ye Anran patted Dai Xingyu’s shoulder consolingly, her face full of sympathy.
“This incident is somewhat unusual,” Ling Fang said. “Our opponent has the body of a half-Immortal and very likely possesses methods we know nothing about. On top of that, he may have a hostage in his hands… Unless absolutely necessary, don’t confront him head-on.”
“If any of you have ideas, speak up. Let’s put our heads together and develop a workable plan,” Ling Fang said.
The conference table was silent for a moment. Then Shen Huaizhou spoke. “When Xie Qingling watched the live performance, she said she smelled what seemed to be real blood. My guess is that it was caused by the fox’s illusion.”
Shen Huaizhou continued, “Compared with the grievances between the fox and Xia Ke’er, the public’s safety is more important. Our immediate priority is to stop the Rainbow Raiment Dance Troupe’s performances. Until the truth comes to light, no one else should watch them live and risk further harm.”
Ling Fang’s brows knitted tightly. “I’ve already reported the cases of audience members falling ill after the performance. The department will assign specialists to investigate and determine whether they need special treatment. The Logistics Department will handle that, so we don’t have to worry about it.”
“In addition, I’ll speak to the Logistics Department and apply to stop the Rainbow Raiment Dance Troupe’s performances through normal, lawful means.”
“But this dance drama is extremely popular and highly profitable, and it has a vast audience. Attempts to stop the troupe from performing will very likely encounter resistance from every direction and bring the operation to a halt. When that happens, we – ”
Xie Qingling interrupted him. “Actually, Director, I think…”
She hesitated, almost seeing a self-criticism beckoning to her, but spoke anyway. “I think that if normal methods can’t stop the performances effectively, perhaps we could use methods that aren’t quite so normal.”
“For example… the lead performer could fall ill, arrive late, or have a family emergency, and so on.” Xie Qingling’s voice dwindled as she spoke.
She watched Ling Fang’s face. When he merely lowered his head and said nothing, she decided to continue. “I think extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures.”
By extraordinary measures, she meant that, whether they imprisoned Xia Ke’er or used some other method, they should first bring her under control and prevent her from appearing. That alone would solve half the problem. It was crude, but highly efficient.
After all, every abnormality in the troupe had come from Xia Ke’er. Put another way, once they “dealt with” Xia Ke’er as an individual, whether the Rainbow Raiment Dance Troupe used an understudy or canceled the performance altogether, they would no longer have to fear Xia Ke’er and Xia Tian affecting more audience members.
Go straight for the ringleader. It would not solve the problem once and for all, but it would resolve their immediate predicament as quickly as possible.
When Xie Qingling finished, Ling Fang raised his head and glanced in her direction, making her heart lurch with anxiety.
But then he nodded. “Fine. If my approach doesn’t work, we’ll do as you suggest.”
“All right!”
The meeting ended for the time being. Since it was already late, Ling Fang dismissed them and told them to rest well in preparation for the next day’s operation.
* * *
The next day was the third day of Xie Qingling’s vacation.
Since she had to wait for Ling Fang’s instructions and had nothing else to do, she remained at the office and began reading files and texts on “Household Guardian Immortals,” “fox spirits,” the “Title-Seeking Rite,” and similar topics. By the time she finished, she had gained a decent grasp of the parts she had not understood.
At ten thirty that morning.
Ling Fang called Xie Qingling.
“The negotiations on my end failed,” Ling Fang said.
“Then should I find a way to make Xia Ke’er unable to perform?”
“No. That won’t be necessary,” Ling Fang said. “Take a look at the entertainment stories dominating today’s trending charts.”
At those words, Xie Qingling opened an app on her phone and browsed for a while. Near the top of the trending list, she found an announcement that the Rainbow Raiment Dance Troupe had suspended its performances.
The announcement stated that the lead performer, Xia Ke’er, was suspending her appearances for health reasons. Her return date remained uncertain, and refunds were now available. It asked audience members to make other arrangements and expressed profound apologies for the inconvenience.
The people commenting below wailed and wept.
Soon, another trending topic appeared alongside the dance troupe’s announcement: “Xia Ke’er Falls Ill.” Its popularity continued to climb.
Xie Qingling stopped scrolling. She only needed a few glances for her heart to drop. “Something happened to Xia Ke’er!”
She had not expected trouble to come this quickly.
Xia Ke’er had performed again last night. Although Xie Qingling had not stayed to the end, nothing major should have happened. Otherwise, entertainment news would have exploded much earlier.
“The news doesn’t say what’s wrong with Xia Ke’er. It only vaguely claims she’s sick, and her representatives haven’t responded. My guess is that the contract between her and the fox has begun to backfire – and the backlash is already serious enough to prevent her from appearing in public.”
“So the plan we discussed last night is suspended for now,” Ling Fang said. “Instead, I’m assigning you a temporary task. Go to Xia Ke’er’s home and assess the situation. Even if Xia Ke’er isn’t there, whatever she worships is bound to have left traces. I’ll send you her address shortly. Go with Shen Huaizhou.”
Shen Huaizhou carried the Tushan Clan’s blessing, which exerted some suppressive effect on the fox. He was also an illusionist and more familiar with a fox’s methods. He was the most suitable person to work with Xie Qingling.
“The others have separate assignments. You two must be extremely careful. If possible – if at all possible – do not come into conflict with the fox. If you have no choice but to fight, remember to call for help.”
“Understood.”
Xie Qingling’s heart grew heavy too.
Not long after the call ended, Ling Fang sent her Xia Ke’er’s home address.
After waiting about five minutes, Shen Huaizhou returned from outside and beckoned to Xie Qingling. “Did you receive the assignment?”
Xie Qingling nodded.
“Then let’s go,” Shen Huaizhou said. “Our destination is Xia Ke’er’s home: Villa 23B, East Lake Villa District.”