Chapter 80
Chapter 80
Inside an unremarkable high-rise in Mingjiang City.
Ji Fengming’s car stopped at the entrance. The moment he stepped out, an attendant came forward and escorted the group upstairs.
Before long, Ji Fengming entered an office.
Xu Jianye and Xu Guoguo sat on a sofa. Beside them was another man in traditional dress and a mask.
Ji Fengming swept them a glance, smiled faintly, and said, “Fengming greets Director Xu.”
He knew Xu Jianye’s status. The Ji family had merely been one of the families that worshipped the Divine Gate. They were far inferior to a family like the Xus, who possessed an ancestral tomb and even had an ancestral hearth behind them.
He therefore adopted an exceedingly humble posture.
“No need for ceremony, Old Ji,” Xu Jianye said with a wave. “Sit.”
Ji Fengming sat down and waited for him to continue.
“You’ve been to Mingjiang No. 7 Special School. You should understand its situation now, correct?” Xu Jianye asked without preamble.
Ji Fengming nodded. “Correct. Mingjiang No. 7 Special School intends to build a New Divine Gate.”
Xu Jianye took a puff of his cigar and sneered.
“The Divine Gate has been gone for so many years. Countless ancient clans tried to investigate it and failed, yet now some stray mutt crawls out of nowhere and thinks he can claim it for himself.”
“He’s courting death!”
Ji Fengming nodded and said leisurely, “That may be true, but from what I saw, Mingjiang No. 7 Special School has genuinely formed an occult configuration. And I cannot see through Li Que at all. He may not be easy to handle.”
Xu Jianye tapped the ash from his cigar.
“Exactly. That is why I invited you here today.”
“What guidance does Director Xu have for me?” Ji Fengming asked.
Instead of answering, Xu Jianye looked toward the masked man in traditional dress.
“This is Zhou Wenshen, Hall Master of the Hall of Anomalies.”
Ji Fengming’s expression sharpened.
“A pleasure to meet you!”
The Hall of Anomalies had become a major faction in Jiangdong Province over the past few years. Naturally, the Ji family had heard of it.
The masked man merely inclined his head without speaking.
“The Hall of Anomalies also had designs on the Divine Gate, but that man surnamed Li from Mingjiang No. 7 Special School appeared out of nowhere and snatched it away,” Xu Jianye continued.
“In other words, Mingjiang No. 7 Special School is now a common enemy of all three of our families.”
“Ordinarily, he would be no more than a slightly oversized insect. Crushing him would hardly trouble the Xu family. Unfortunately, the Xun family has interfered. Other senior members of the Anomaly Wielders’ Alliance are watching this place now, which rules out certain methods.”
“Hall Master Zhou, however, has devised another approach.”
Zhou Wenshen took over.
“Now that the Anomaly Wielders’ Alliance is watching, we cannot act openly. We must seize an opportunity for Li Que to die without anyone realizing what happened.”
“The man is cautious. He uses the role-playing method to conceal himself at all times, which also proves how deeply he fears the things in the darkness.”
“I possess a Divine Seal Fragment. It came from the Divine Gate and retains a trace of divinity. If a family that once worshipped the Old Divine Gate offers worship to it, that divinity can be awakened.”
“Once it emerges, the existences in the darkness will naturally turn their attention toward it…”
Ji Fengming understood in an instant.
Those things in the darkness were the very reason the Old Divine Gate had collapsed.
Zhou Wenshen’s plan would leave Li Que nowhere to hide. By using the Divine Seal Fragment and their worship, they would guide the gaze of the darkness directly to Li Que.
Mingjiang No. 7 Special School would then repeat the Old Divine Gate’s fate.
“A fine plan-killing with a borrowed blade!” Ji Fengming said with an approving nod.
“The strategy is sound. But after Li Que dies, what do Brother Xu and Brother Zhou each intend to take?”
Any alliance between the three parties depended upon dividing the spoils.
“The Xu family wants only the Water God’s Authority and the Dream God’s Authority,” Xu Jianye said. “You may divide everything else as you please.”
Zhou Wenshen said, “Li Que should possess a Divine Seal Fragment of his own. I will have it. In addition, Qin Shiyu is a traitor to the Hall of Anomalies and remains extremely useful to me. She must be delivered to me completely unharmed.”
Ji Fengming smiled.
“Good! Then the Ji family wants only two things.”
“The worship of the Yin family, the Shi family, and the Tu family, along with the configuration anchor used to build Mingjiang No. 7 Special School!”
A configuration anchor was a special kind of anomalous entity. The half-brick in his possession was one such example. It could gather a particular yin configuration and be used for sacrifices, inviting gods, and similar rites.
For Mingjiang No. 7 Special School to withstand a Grand Sacrifice, some immensely powerful configuration anchor had to be buried within it. If the Ji family obtained that object, they could build a sacred ground of their own, one no weaker than the school.
Then the Ji family would surely be able to invite the gods within the Divine Gate back into the world.
“Good. Since we have an agreement, let us drink to the success of our endeavor!”
Xu Jianye raised a glass of red wine from the coffee table.
Zhou Wenshen and Ji Fengming raised theirs as well, and all three drained their glasses.
“One more thing,” Ji Fengming suddenly said.
“Once the things in the darkness arrive, they will cause a tremendous disaster. Many people may die, not only in Mingjiang City but throughout Jiangdong Province. When that happens, I will have to trouble Brother Xu to handle the aftermath.”
After all, the things in the darkness were taboo. If an investigation proved that the Ji family and Hall of Anomalies had drawn them out merely to deal with Li Que, both factions would become public enemies.
“Don’t worry. The Xu family has its position within the Anomaly Wielders’ Alliance. Even if someone investigates, none of this will be traced back to you. The official report will state only that Li Que privately attempted to welcome a god, accidentally drew the darkness’s attention, and brought catastrophe upon the region.”
Xu Jianye lowered his wineglass with a faint smile.
Not only would they kill Li Que, they would make him shoulder the blame.
“Third Uncle, when the time comes, kill Shi Xuan and every last one of those people!”
Xu Guoguo stroked the gray rat in her hands and gritted her teeth.
“I want them dead!”
She was furious. As a member of the Xu family, who would dare disrespect her? Shi Xuan and the others had ignored her orders, so they would pay with their lives.
…
Not long afterward, Ji Fengming left the building.
“Well, that solves one difficult problem.”
He sighed in relief.
He had never been able to see through Li Que, and relying on the Ji family alone might have required them to pay a steep price.
But now the Xu family and the Hall of Anomalies would take the lead. The Ji family needed only contribute some worship and cooperate, yet they would receive everything they wanted. Nothing could be better.
“Hmm… Send word and invite my eldest brother here,” Ji Fengming suddenly told the driver.
“We tried to have my brother take over Ji Tian years ago, but that little beast was remarkably tenacious. So many anomalous entities failed to kill him… We cannot let him escape again.”
“When the time comes, my brother will infiltrate the school and possess Ji Tian first. The moment Li Que dies, the Ji family can be first to seize everything.”
Ji Fengming’s eldest brother had died many years ago and become an anomaly.
To let his brother “return from the dead,” the Ji family selected Ji Tian, who shared his bloodline. Their original plan was to have large numbers of anomalies possess Ji Tian until his sense of self collapsed completely. Then Ji Fengming’s brother could smoothly take control of the body.
But an accident occurred. Abyss secretly carried Ji Tian away, and the boy disappeared.
This was the perfect opportunity for Ji Fengming’s brother to seize control of Ji Tian again.
At the same time, Ji Tian would become a hidden nail the Ji family could drive into Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.
As for the things the Xu family and Hall of Anomalies wanted… when the time came, that would depend on whether the Ji family felt like giving them anything.
The thought that both factions would ultimately toil for the Ji family’s benefit drew a smile to Ji Fengming’s face.
…
“According to our intelligence, the man surnamed Li should have suffered a setback. Most of the old Divine Gate clans chose the Ji family,” Xun Silu said elsewhere in Mingjiang City.
“Brother, could something go wrong?”
“The Xu family is watching like a tiger, and now the Ji family has entered the game. In my opinion, we should strike first and take Mingjiang No. 7 Special School into our own hands. That’s the only way to be safe.”
He sounded anxious.
“Silu,” Xun Fayin said gravely, “several of the Xun family’s ancestors entered the Divine Gate and joined that expedition years ago.”
“They sacrificed themselves to find a way to resist the Black Mist Calamity. In the end, not even their bodies returned. All they left behind were a few empty cenotaphs.”
“As their descendants, we cannot consider only ourselves in everything we do. That would dishonor our ancestors.”
Impatience flashed in Xun Silu’s eyes, but he forced himself to answer meekly.
“Fine. I understand.”
“I’ll contact the family and hurry them along. The anomalous stone should be ready. I’ll have them fly it here overnight on a chartered plane.”
He left.
Watching his cousin’s departing back, Xun Fayin shook his head. Xun Silu might appear obedient, but he always had ideas of his own.
In the end, Xun Fayin could only sigh. Xun Silu was hardly alone.
How many of the ancestral-tomb families still remembered their former glory and ideals?
He lowered his head and leafed through the top-secret documents about the Divine Gate.
“The calamity descends. The black mist draws near. The old ancestral hearth’s hearthfire is nearly extinguished. To survive, we must find the tenth flame seed and kindle a bonfire in a new ancestral hearth…”
He murmured the words and turned the page.
“But the flame seed is likely hidden in one of the places where the black mist is densest. The pioneers ultimately chose Tianmen Mountain in Jiangdong for their expedition. They left people stationed before the mountain and forged the Divine Gate. The Ji, Yin, and other families sustained it with worship as they awaited the expedition’s return…”
“But then disaster struck, and the Divine Gate collapsed…”
He rubbed his temples.
In essence, the Divine Gate had been a bridgehead left behind by the anomaly wielders who ventured into the black mist.
If everything went smoothly, the Divine Gate would light a bonfire and become a new ancestral hearth.
But no one ever returned, and the Divine Gate collapsed completely.
What had truly happened back then?
Xun Fayin had searched through every pile of old papers and studied every detail in the surviving records, yet no answer could be found.
“Perhaps we will have to wait until Li Que truly begins welcoming the gods.”
He inhaled deeply, sat upright, and ordered, “Keep a close watch on the Xu and Ji families. If necessary, step in and help Li Que. Don’t let those people disrupt his plan.”
His subordinate outside acknowledged the order.
Meanwhile…
“All right, Dad. I understand. Configuration anchors are hidden inside the two most important pieces of anomalous stone. I’ll make sure the craftsmen are careful with them when the time comes.”
Xun Silu ended the call in a low voice. He smiled toward Xun Fayin’s study with open disdain.
“Hah. You think everyone has to obey you just because you’re the eldest son of the main line?”
His voice turned cold.
“Once I render great service to the family this time, who becomes heir will be far from certain!”
At the same time, he remembered Dean Qin at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.
“She smells incredible. She must be some kind of natural worship vessel… I will have her!”
His eyes burned with desire.
…
At that moment, inside Room 203 of the boys’ dormitory at Mingjiang No. 7 Special School.
Only a pool of shadow remained on Meng Mo’s bed. It had taken the form of a black butterfly, ethereal and uncanny.
Nian Youyu licked his lips in his sleep, as if still devouring some delicacy within his dreams.
The newly arrived Ji Tian was also fast asleep. But the jade sword pendant around his neck suddenly began to bleed.
The blood slowly seeped into Ji Tian’s chest.
His brow knotted in his sleep, and he murmured, “A sword… a sword made of flesh and blood…”
…