Chapter 138
Chapter 138
Li Ziheng: “…”
“Master, why are you speaking up for that woman too?”
Master Quede said coldly, “We all saw what just happened. The Little Fellow Daoist saved your life, yet not only do you refuse to thank her, you’re standing here badmouthing her and making sarcastic remarks.
“For an ungrateful thing like you, do you really expect me to help you?”
Li Ziheng was left speechless again, but he still felt unconvinced and muttered under his breath, “It’s not like I begged her to save me.
“Besides, all she did just now was use a few Talismans. Who knows where she even got those Talismans from? If you really want to say someone saved me, then it was the person who gave her the Talismans.”
“What twisted logic!” Master Quede laughed in exasperation. “That Little Fellow Daoist drew those Talismans herself!”
Li Ziheng didn’t believe it. “Those Talismans were incredibly powerful. How could a little girl like her possibly draw them?
“If you said President Lan drew them and gave them to her, I’d believe that instead.”
“You idiot!” Master Quede finally couldn’t hold back anymore and smacked Li Ziheng on the back of the head.
Li Ziheng’s neck had nearly been crushed by the Female Ghost earlier, and he was still in pain. After taking that slap from Master Quede, he felt like his whole head was about to fly off.
He cried out in pain, and his neck dislocated on the spot.
When Master Quede heard the crisp crack, he immediately felt a little guilty, worried he might really have crippled the kid, so he instructed the disciple beside him, “Take this brat to the hospital first. I’ll go check on him later.”
The disciple nodded and dragged Li Ziheng away.
With his neck now out of joint, Li Ziheng howled in pain after every couple of steps.
After putting away the paper effigy, Xia Sheng walked over. Hearing Li Ziheng’s miserable screams, she asked Master Quede, “What happened to him? The Female Ghost shouldn’t have left him with any especially serious injuries just now.”
Master Quede coughed, then said guiltily, “Maybe the kid wasn’t being careful and made his injuries worse.”
Then he quickly changed the subject. “Little Fellow Daoist, can you tell me what happened just now?”
Before Xia Sheng could speak, Shen Zhuoyang asked from the side, “Little Friend Xia, was that Female Ghost killed by you just now? How did you do it?
“That Female Ghost had extremely high cultivation. Even if Lan Chenghai were here, he might have had trouble dealing with it.”
Everyone present had seen, from a distance, the scene of Xia Sheng killing that Female Ghost.
Since there was no hiding it anymore, Xia Sheng stopped keeping it under wraps and fully explained what had happened.
The reason she’d hidden her identity from Shen Zhuoyang before was simply that she didn’t want to get tangled up with people from the Special Management Bureau.
She might dislike trouble, but it wasn’t as if she lacked the ability to deal with it.
If her Master’s old lover really did come looking for her, she would probably be able to handle that trouble too.
After hearing Xia Sheng explain the techniques she had used to subdue the Female Ghost, Shen Zhuoyang was left with nothing but shock and confusion.
What Eight-Eyed Mangui?
What Samadhi True Fire?
How had he never heard of any of it before?
And wasn’t Samadhi True Fire the kind of thing no human should be able to use so casually?
And what had Master Quede just said?
All the Talismans in Lan Chenghai’s possession had been bought from this Little Celestial Master?
And the current Talisman supply for both the Mystic Studies Association and the Special Management Bureau was being handled by this young girl standing right in front of him?
Those extremely high-quality Talismans had all been drawn by this one little girl alone?!
Shen Zhuoyang felt as though his entire worldview had been shattered.
But he had always been a steady and composed person by nature.
Despite the shock and doubt churning in his heart, none of it showed on Shen Zhuoyang’s face. “Little Celestial Master is truly young and accomplished. It’s genuinely admirable.”
Xia Sheng didn’t particularly like dealing with this kind of empty politeness, so she replied casually, “So-so.”
“You’re too modest.” Recalling how cleanly and decisively Xia Sheng had dealt with that Female Ghost just now, Shen Zhuoyang admired her even more and wanted to recruit her. “Little Celestial Master, our Special Management Bureau offers the best pay and benefits of any state institution in the country. Would you have any interest in joining?
“With your ability, I could recommend you directly for captain of the First Squad.”
Xia Sheng refused without hesitation. “Not interested.”
Shen Zhuoyang still wouldn’t give up and continued trying to persuade her. “Little Celestial Master, why not think it over a little more? If you join the Special Management Bureau, you’ll be drawing a government salary. Your job security for the rest of your life would be guaranteed.
“As long as you agree to join the Special Management Bureau, we can also make certain arrangements and get your family members into government jobs as well.”
Master Quede shot Shen Zhuoyang a look of pure disdain.
He had always thought Shen Zhuoyang was a serious, old-fashioned man. He never expected that in order to recruit talent, he would openly talk about pulling strings for Xia Sheng.
What was the world coming to?
Xia Sheng said, “I’m not short on money, and I don’t need a government post.
“If I wanted to use connections, Uncle Nine would help me. I don’t need you for that.”
Shen Zhuoyang: “…”
Even though the Little Celestial Master was telling the truth, why did it sting so much?
“May I ask who this Uncle Nine is?”
At the mention of that man, a trace of softness appeared on Xia Sheng’s otherwise expressionless little face. “Shen Yanchen.”
Hearing Shen Yanchen’s name, Shen Zhuoyang was startled. “You mean the Ninth Master of the Shen Family, Shen Yanchen?”
Xia Sheng nodded.
Shen Zhuoyang was even more shocked. He hadn’t expected the Little Celestial Master to have ties to Shen Ninth Master.
If the Little Celestial Master and Shen Ninth Master knew each other, then it was true that she wouldn’t think much of the little bit of power and profit their Special Management Bureau had to offer.
But…
What exactly was the relationship between the Little Celestial Master and Shen Ninth Master?
Why did he feel like when the Little Celestial Master mentioned Shen Ninth Master just now, her tone and expression had both seemed a little intimate?
With that thought, Shen Zhuoyang asked it outright. “May I ask what your relationship with Shen Ninth Master is?”
Xia Sheng revealed her first smile of the day. “He’s my man.”
“I knew it!” Shen Zhuoyang hadn’t expected he’d actually guessed right.
Looking at the Little Celestial Master’s youthful, clear face, he couldn’t help asking, “Little Celestial Master, are you even an adult yet?”
Xia Sheng nodded. “Mm. I’m eighteen.”
Eighteen?
Twenty-nine-year-old Shen Zhuoyang thought: Isn’t that still basically a kid!?
If he remembered correctly, that person from the Shen Family was already twenty-five this year, right?
How could that old man even have the nerve to make a move on such a young girl!?
What a beast!
Shen Zhuoyang felt heartbroken for Xia Sheng, as if he were watching with his own eyes as one of the nation’s future flowers was snapped off in one bite by an old bull, yet he was powerless to stop it.
He let out a deep sigh. “Heaven is jealous of talent.”
The Little Celestial Master was so gifted in the mystical arts, yet fate had actually paired her with such an old pervert.
And the worst part was that no one could do anything to that man.
Xia Sheng: “?”
She had no idea what Shen Zhuoyang meant.
Master Quede, however, understood the implication behind Shen Zhuoyang’s words and spoke up. “Shen Ninth Master is an upright man, and the age gap between him and the Little Celestial Master is only seven years. Don’t let your imagination run wild. They’re in a perfectly normal relationship.”