Chapter 47
Chapter 47
Inside a crowded shopping mall in Mingjiang City, Qin Shiyu climbed out of a car and quickly entered the building. She wore a low-brimmed hat that concealed her face.
Before long, she entered a private room in a coffee shop.
When the door closed, she found only a young man inside. His tailored suit and polished appearance made him look like a successful urban professional.
“Junior Sister, you’ve finally arrived.”
Sun Xingsheng smiled faintly and took a sip of coffee.
“You haven’t sent word for so long that many people in the Hall think you’ve defected.”
Qin Shiyu removed her hat and set it aside. Ignoring the warning hidden within his words, she asked,
“What are the Hall Master’s instructions?”
Sun Xingsheng set down his cup. “Junior Sister, before you ask questions, shouldn’t you tell me what happened during your mission?”
“The Hall Master placed great expectations upon you. Yet the Water God’s Authority already has an owner, and that owner has even received divine investiture. Surely you aren’t going to tell me the new Water God is Frost?”
His expression turned faintly cold. He had clearly investigated the matter already.
Another anomaly had obtained the Water God’s Authority and even caused a momentous event like divine investiture, yet Qin Shiyu had never reported anything to the Hall.
The Hall had therefore begun to suspect her as well.
“Frost is dead. Her younger sister Rain obtained the Water God’s Authority,” Qin Shiyu said.
She chose her next words carefully. “Rain has been studying under a mysterious man for some time. That man gave her humanity-”
Sun Xingsheng frowned.
“He gave an S-class anomaly humanity?”
“Junior Sister, what nonsense are you talking about? Even Master failed to accomplish that years ago…”
Qin Shiyu gritted her teeth.
“Senior Brother, do you think I would lie?”
Sun Xingsheng fell silent for a moment.
They had studied under the same master, so he naturally understood the importance of her words.
Their master had reduced himself to something neither human nor anomaly in his attempt to give anomalies humanity.
That failure had marked the collapse of the path he represented and reshaped the entire structure and strategy of the Hall of Anomalies.
“Senior Brother, that mysterious man can do more than grant anomalies humanity. He can also grant divine investiture to wild deities…” Qin Shiyu continued. “I don’t believe he and the Hall of Anomalies need to be enemies.”
“Perhaps he can prove that Master was never wrong-”
She had been considering this ever since Sun Xingsheng called.
The Hall had only one reason to send someone here: investigate the Water God’s Authority, then seize it.
But after witnessing Li Que grant anomalies humanity and oppose the black mist, Qin Shiyu had formed a different idea.
If the Hall of Anomalies became Li Que’s enemy, both sides would inevitably suffer.
The Hall was powerful, but Li Que could unquestionably inflict crippling losses upon it.
Cooperation, on the other hand, might allow Li Que to change many things within the Hall.
That was why she had come. She revealed some information to Sun Xingsheng, but held back the full truth.
“You mean we should cooperate with this mysterious man, release Master again, and overturn everything the Hall of Anomalies is currently doing?” Sun Xingsheng asked coldly.
Qin Shiyu nodded. “If we’ve proven Master was right, why shouldn’t we-”
Sun Xingsheng shook his head.
“Junior Sister, you’re very intelligent, but far too naive.”
“If Master was right, what does that make the Hall Master? Wouldn’t it mean he was wrong?!”
“Many things aren’t questions of right or wrong, black or white. They’re questions of position. Do you understand?”
Qin Shiyu’s heart sank.
The Hall Master would never be wrong. He could not be allowed to be wrong.
Therefore, her master would never receive another chance to emerge.
Li Que… would only be crushed before he could become a threat.
“This mysterious man you described probably possesses a Divine Seal Fragment. That’s why he can grant divine investiture to wild deities,” Sun Xingsheng continued. “Master said the Divine Seal was split into three pieces years ago. Reassembling it would greatly help us resist the calamity, so we must recover this fragment…”
“If you truly want to help Master, obtain the Divine Seal Fragment and reclaim the Water God’s Authority. Then the Hall Master may be willing to reconsider…”
The Divine Seal was the Hall of Anomalies’ greatest treasure. Its origins were mysterious, and it could grant divine investiture to wild deities.
Qin Shiyu’s expression darkened. After a moment of thought, she drew a deep breath.
“I’ll… try.”
“Senior Brother, I’ll return now.”
She did not refuse him outright, but disappointment and grief toward the Hall of Anomalies had already filled her heart.
At her attitude, a trace of killing intent flashed through Sun Xingsheng’s eyes. He concealed it immediately and nodded without betraying any emotion.
“Think it over carefully. If you need anything, contact me at any time.”
Qin Shiyu rose and left.
After she was gone, Sun Xingsheng took out a gray feather and whispered several words to it.
The brightly lit private room abruptly darkened. Shadows seemed to gather, and a man stepped out from within them.
He was middle-aged, and the edges of his body appeared almost transparent, as though a single touch might shatter him.
A gray cloak covered his shoulders. It had been woven from gray feathers, one or two of which were nearly black.
“She has most likely defected,” Sun Xingsheng said calmly. “I need you to follow her and recover the Water God’s Authority and Divine Seal Fragment.”
The middle-aged man gave him a cold look.
“I promised your Hall Master I would do three things for him. This is the last.”
Sun Xingsheng nodded.
“The Hall of Anomalies always keeps its promises. Once you recover the Water God’s Authority and Divine Seal Fragment, the Hall Master will personally grant you… divine investiture.”
The man nodded, then abruptly asked,
“Did you find the person I asked you to locate?”
Sun Xingsheng replied, “My junior sister was responsible for that matter as well. One of her subordinates, Qin Zhenye, discovered several clues in the past, but unfortunately, he later disappeared too.”
“Once you’ve recovered the items and captured my junior sister, you can question her yourself.”
The shadows inside the room suddenly receded.
Throughout the coffee shop, young men and women were drinking their coffee when a faint breeze seemed to pass through. Every one of them inexplicably fell asleep and slumped over their tables.
Sun Xingsheng emerged from the private room. A subordinate immediately approached and said quietly,
“Rain has already become a god, and now there’s another mysterious man who controls a Divine Seal Fragment. Can Nightmare handle them?”
“Nightmare is SS-plus-class,” Sun Xingsheng replied calmly. “He has long possessed the foundation needed to become a god. He simply never took the final step because he was waiting for divine investiture.”
“Although Rain has become a god, she should still only possess S-class strength. She has the status but not the power to match. Nightmare should have no problem.”
“Besides, even if Nightmare truly fails and both sides suffer crippling losses, that may not be a bad thing…”
He smiled.
“If he dies, perhaps the divine authority and anomalous entity of the Dreamscape will fall to us. Wouldn’t you agree?”
The subordinate suddenly understood.
“By the way, someone from the Li family contacted us…” he continued. “According to them, Provincial Director Guo Shoubo arrived in Mingjiang City with an important figure from the capital.”
“The Eclipse Organization’s local powers probably can’t withstand this powerful outsider’s influence, so they want to cooperate with us.”
Sun Xingsheng frowned.
“An important figure?”
“Someone from a family with an old grave?”
The subordinate shook his head. “We don’t know… But if Guo Shoubo has to accompany them personally, it’s probably something like that.”
Sun Xingsheng murmured, “If someone whose family possesses an old grave has truly come to Mingjiang City… we’re in trouble.”
…
Undercurrents already churned throughout Mingjiang City’s upper circles.
Inside Mingjiang No. 7 Special School, however, everything remained as peaceful as ever.
In the classroom, Nian Youyu and the others curiously questioned Lin Xiaoyu about her trip. She gave them only a brief account.
Li Que, meanwhile, noticed that Meng Mo had developed dark circles beneath his eyes.
“What happened? Were you up all night playing games?” he asked.
Meng Mo normally loved sleeping more than anything.
“Sir… I’ve been having nightmares lately,” Meng Mo said in frustration.
“I keep dreaming that I’ve turned into a butterfly. I always appear outside the enormous gates of a ruined temple. Inside, it feels as though blood-red eyes are watching me. It’s terrifying…”
Ever since Li Que taught him “The Ornamented Zither,” Meng Mo had often transformed into a butterfly in his dreams.
But his dreams had begun spiraling out of control!
Li Que looked puzzled. “Have you been reading too many supernatural web novels lately?”
Meng Mo was speechless.
Li Que thought for a moment.
“Still, memorizing ‘The Ornamented Zither’ deserves a reward.”
“Here. You can have this Dreamcatcher. You love sleeping anyway, so perhaps it’ll help you have better dreams.”
He immediately handed Meng Mo the black Dreamcatcher awarded by the system.
Nian Youyu and Lin Xiaoyu both fixed their eyes upon it. Even Bai Lu, who was looking into a mirror in the back row, glanced over before turning away again.
Meng Mo accepted the Dreamcatcher, his eyes blazing with delight.
“Wow… You’re really giving this to me?”
He could hardly believe it and could not bear to put it down.
Li Que smiled. The Dreamcatcher might look strange, but boys clearly liked that kind of thing.
“Of course. But you need to study hard from now on and memorize more classical poems.”
“Don’t worry, Sir. I definitely will!”
Meng Mo was ecstatic.
…