"Please do not scan two people at the same time."
As the machine's prompt echoed in his ears over and over, Xiahou Aotian felt his heart race and adrenaline surge.
First, he could rule out a machine malfunction. The Xiahou family's medical checkup items were serviced regularly, and a checkup had just been conducted two months ago.
There was nothing wrong with the equipment.
That meant the problem lay with him.
During the expedition into the underground palace, something had followed them out, and Yuanshi Tianzun and the others had failed to notice it from start to finish.
Xiahou Aotian's entire body tensed. He stiffened on the examination bed, remaining motionless as he waited for the machine's subsequent scans.
"Please do not scan two people at the same time. Please do not scan two people at the same time."
After repeated futile warnings, the apparatus seemed to give up. A clunk sounded from within the bulky chassis, and its components whirred into high gear, emitting a buzzing hum.
Like a high-speed spinning turbine.
The circular inner ring of the machine lit up with a soft purple light that shone down on Xiahou Aotian.
A scanner extended, shooting out infrared beams to scan his body from head to toe.
This process lasted several minutes before the rapid buzzing began to decelerate, no longer hurried, until it spun down with residual momentum and came to a complete halt.
At the same time, a female voice spoke from the display screen connected to the machine:
"You have been detected to be possessed by a high-grade wraith. Please exorcise it using the divine power of the sun."
With an ugly expression, Xiahou Aotian sat up and dashed over to the display screen, which showed a scan of a human body.
On the screen, two figures—one red and one blue—overlapped and merged into each other.
As a peak Level 5 Scholar, Xiahou Aotian naturally understood the readout. The red represented his own flesh and blood, while the blue represented a yin spirit.
He was possessed by a yin spirit.
Xiahou Aotian couldn't understand why he was the unlucky one.
Logically speaking, shouldn't the protagonist get the benefits while the side characters took the hits?
"Divine power of the sun... divine power of the sun..."
Now was not the time for remorse. Pale-faced, Xiahou Aotian's mind raced. *I remember Granduncle has a purification item traded from the Taiyi Sect.*
He dashed toward the shelves where items were stored, hurriedly searching along them for the item from his memory.
There were three full rows of shelves, each four tiers high, crammed messily with items and materials. Granduncle was truly a lazy old man; he hadn't even categorized them by class or grade, utterly unfitted to be clan head.
Xiahou Aotian searched for quite a while, yet utterly failed to find that purification item.
Cold sweat gradually beaded on his forehead, his expression grew increasingly anxious, and his mind fell into chaos, as if he were racing against the Grim Reaper—one step too slow, and Death's scythe would fall upon him.
Just then, he heard someone speak right by his ear:
"The Golden Crow item is on the top tier of the third row."
Overjoyed, Xiahou Aotian exclaimed, "Thanks a—"
The next second, he froze completely. All color drained from his face, his eyes betraying profound dread and panic.
The storeroom plunged into a brief, dead silence.
After roughly a dozen seconds, that aged voice spoke again in his ear:
"Do not fear. This old man means you no harm. On the contrary, I am grateful to you, for it was you who brought me out of the First Emperor's underground palace."
Xiahou Aotian could not understand the language spoken by the voice, yet the meaning naturally formed in his mind.
As a knowledgeable Scholar, he immediately understood that this was a mode of communication unique to Night Walkers; he could hear and understand it because the other party was directly connecting with his mind.
"Who are you?" Xiahou Aotian tested.
He was naturally thick-skinned; after the brief bout of terror, he had already steadied his nerves.
"I am a fangshi of the Qin State," the voice said.
"Liar. You're clearly a Night Walker," Xiahou Aotian called out his lie.
"This old man has practiced the Yin-Yang Arts, but I am indeed a fangshi of Qin. Where is the deception?" The aged voice asked, "Young man, what year is it today?"
*He doesn't know the character card's classifications?* Xiahou Aotian said, "If you truly are a Qin fangshi, then over two thousand two hundred years have passed."
There was no answer from the voice in his head. After a long while, a faint sigh drifted out:
"A grand dream of two thousand years... To think that by sheer fluke, I would attain longevity in this manner."
"Who on earth are you?" Xiahou Aotian's heart skipped a beat. "You couldn't be the First Emperor, could you?"
"I am merely a fangshi of the Qin State," the aged voice said slowly. "The First Emperor did not cultivate the Yin-Yang Arts; when a man dies, his soul extinguishes."
Pausing, he added:
"The longevity he sought was one where he ruled over the world, not lingering on as a mere soul. Without a physical body to inhabit, a soul facing a Night Walker is nothing but fish on a chopping board, to be slaughtered at will. His Majesty compared himself to the Three Sovereigns and looked down upon all history; his pride reached higher than the heavens, and he would rather die than live in disgrace.
"Alas, two thousand years have elapsed, and it seems Xu Fu never returned to the Central Plains to fulfill his promise."
Xiahou Aotian hurriedly asked, "What promise?"
The old ghost claiming to be a fangshi did not reply, asking instead:
"I have rested upon your person for several days and observed that today's cultivators seem quite different from those of my era. Though your strength is meager, you can freely enter and exit grotto-heavens and blessed lands. Spiritual energy in the mortal world has vanished entirely, and the magical artifact you just lay upon bears an exceedingly bizarre design. So many things have changed drastically. Would you care to explain them to this old man in detail?"
Xiahou Aotian pondered for a moment, then began slowly:
"Well, this must be told from the beginning—twenty-three years ago, when the Xiahou family of Jiangnan Leather City welcomed the birth of a child of destiny..."
Unexpectedly, the aged voice of the Qin fangshi cut him off:
"With talent so mediocre, how dare you shamelessly call yourself a child of destiny? Even the First Emperor back then only declared himself ordained by Heaven after unifying the six states."
Xiahou Aotian couldn't yet gauge the fangshi's level or motives, so he swallowed his indignation and explained in detail about the existence of the Spirit Realm and the modern spirit walker organizations.
By the time he finished, half an hour had passed.
"Very interesting," the Qin fangshi commented simply, before continuing: "Xiahou Aotian, do you wish to become the most powerful Scholar in this world? This old man can take you as a disciple and teach you more profound arts of alchemy and artifact refinement."
*I truly am the destined protagonist! No wonder none of the others were possessed!* Xiahou Aotian grew excited at once, but being a Scholar, he didn't lose his head over it. "What do you want?"
"Provide me with pure spiritual power on a regular basis—it must be from the Scholar class. And find materials to reshape a physical body for me. Heh, that will be something for after you advance to Dominator," the Qin fangshi's aged voice said. "However, before that, you must find a magical artifact capable of nurturing a soul..."
Before he could finish, Xiahou Aotian quickly produced a pitch-black ring wreathed in yin energy and said, "Hurry and get in here! Ring Grandpa, I've been waiting for you for years!"
The Qin fangshi was shocked. "Waiting for me for years? What is the meaning of this?!"
***
*Why don't you introduce your aunt to me as well so I can enjoy the same blessings as the Demon Lord?* Zhang Yuanqing rolled his eyes inwardly.
Of course, he didn't dare say this out loud, fearing Lingjun would beat him to death.
Fu Qingyang rested his cigar on the ashtray and said indifferently, "Teng'er still hasn't gotten over the Demon Lord?"
Lingjun's face darkened. "Don't mention that scumbag in front of me! Fu Qingyang, you're picking at my family's scars again. You're doing it on purpose, aren't you?"
Fu Qingyang stood up calmly. "Yuanshi, go back first. Don't see Guan Ya until your red string of fate is restored."
*The cousin-in-law cares quite a bit about his cousin's love life!* Zhang Yuanqing nodded and dissolved into starlight, dispersing.
Next door, in the smaller villa.
Starlight rose in the bedroom. Zhang Yuanqing took out a backpack from the wardrobe and packed his phone charging cable, laptop, and the Elvis speaker, stuffing everything inside.
He intended to go home and stay for a day to see his maternal grandparents, then come back after his red string of fate recovered.
Right then, he heard light footsteps approaching quickly. The next moment, with a click, the bedroom door opened, and a delicate, oval face peered in, wearing high-tech headphones over her head.
"I knew it! I heard sounds in the room." The girl's face blossomed into a radiant, sunny smile. "Brother Yuanshi, I missed you to death..."
Bounding inside like a deer in the forest, without a second word, she intended to take advantage of Sister Guan Ya's absence to tease her boyfriend.
Suddenly, halfway through her bound, the little fawn slammed on the brakes in a panic.
Xie Lingxi halted her steps, her clear, dark eyes widening as she scrutinized Zhang Yuanqing in confusion.
Up and down, she looked him over again and again.
Zhang Yuanqing probed, "What's wrong?"
Xie Lingxi furrowed her brows. After a long pause, she suddenly offered a polite smile:
"Nothing, Brother Yuanshi. I was just joking earlier. It's really wonderful that you're back. Ah, right, lunch is ready. Would you like to come downstairs to eat?"
A distant, polite smile, and courteous, flat words.
Zhang Yuanqing suddenly felt a pang of discomfort, as if he had lost something that rightfully belonged to him.
He followed Xie Lingxi downstairs. The little green tea kept a very polite distance from him.
In the living room, Queen was already wolfing down food with her bowl in hand. Hearing the footsteps, she smiled charmingly:
"Captain, Lingxi said you returned—"
She stared at Zhang Yuanqing for a moment, and the flirtatious allure in her eyes and brows suddenly vanished. Nodding slightly, she said:
"Captain, lunch is ready."
*Even Queen doesn't like me anymore. Sigh...* Zhang Yuanqing experienced the terror of the Red Phoenix Star Official once again—terrifying in a whole different sense.
Unable to quite accept such a jarring psychological drop, he was about to suggest heading home when a thought struck him:
*Maybe Lingjun was right. Sister Guan Ya longs for free romance; her standards for a lover are extremely high, and she will never settle.*
*Why not take advantage of this moment when nobody gives a damn about me to quickly break up with Guan Ya? I can put myself in the wronged, jilted position. Then, when the red string of fate recovers and Guan Ya is consumed by regret, she'll definitely want to save the relationship, and I can naturally propose sleeping together!*
*Done in one fell swoop!*
*Even the love guru couldn't come up with a move like this. I really am a little genius, heh heh...* Thinking this, he leisurely took a seat, accepted the bowl handed over by the bunny girl, and ate nonchalantly.
The atmosphere at the dining table was silent. Xie Lingxi and Queen quietly kept their heads down, eating their food.
The "farmhand" Li Chunfeng looked left and right, unable to resist speaking up:
"Usually, one of you is constantly calling him 'Brother' and the other is eagerly serving dishes and flattering him. What's going on today? Do women get post-nut clarity too?"
His quips were getting sharper and sharper.
Queen frowned. "Li Chunfeng, what nonsense are you spewing? I have always respected Captain, but only with respect. Don't make careless jokes."
Xie Lingxi smiled sweetly. "Brother Yuanshi will always be my big brother."
Even when out of love, she reeked of green tea.
At this moment, Guan Ya, having finished her debriefing, walked into the villa's great hall. Spotting Zhang Yuanqing's back from afar, her beautiful eyes lit up, and a radiant smile spread across her glamorous, oval face.
"Yuanshi, you're back."
She untied the hair tie holding her ponytail as she walked over.
At the same time, she saw her boyfriend turn his face toward her.
Guan Ya suddenly froze.
"Sister Guan Ya, I've been waiting for you for a while," Zhang Yuanqing said with an inscrutable smile.
"Ah, oh..." Guan Ya recovered from her daze. By now, she had stopped beside Zhang Yuanqing. She glanced at the seat next to Queen, hesitated for a moment, but still pulled out the chair and sat down beside her boyfriend.
Taking the bowl and chopsticks handed over by the bunny girl, she ate in small bites. Now and then, she glanced at her boyfriend and fell into deep thought; at other times, she knitted her brows in confusion.
Every so often, she stole another glance at her boyfriend, her expression turning somber.
She looked weighed down with heavy thoughts, hesitating to speak.
Time ticked slowly by until everyone finally finished the rice in their bowls. Guan Ya set down her chopsticks, turned her head to gaze at her boyfriend, and said:
"Yuanshi, come with me to the room for a moment."
"All right!" Zhang Yuanqing put down his chopsticks and followed her toward the stairs.
Watching their backs disappear around the corner of the stairs, Li Chunfeng turned to the little green tea and asked in surprise:
"Aren't you going to put on your headphones to eavesdrop?"
"Psychopath!" The little green tea rolled her eyes at him.
*Thud!*
Guan Ya shut the bedroom door with moderate force, pulled out the bench beside the desk, motioned for Zhang Yuanqing to sit down, and sat upright on the edge of the bed herself.
*Here it comes—she's going to break up!* Knowing her personality well, Zhang Yuanqing thought to himself.
"Yuanshi," Guan Ya bit her lower lip, steeled her resolve, and said, "What I'm about to say might be hard for you to accept, but..."
"You want to break up, don't you?" Zhang Yuanqing spoke first.
Guan Ya froze. Pure instinct made her want to deny it, but looking at Yuanshi's face, she ultimately nodded and gave a wry smile:
"I'm sorry. I... I might not like you anymore.
"I don't know why either, but my heart clearly tells me that I don't feel any flutter of affection for you. I don't even know why I agreed to date you in the first place.
"Truly, I'm sorry..."
Zhang Yuanqing cooperatively put on a heartbroken, dejected, and somber expression, lowering his head like an abandoned child.
"All right! I'll move out tonight. You can keep staying here—after all, this is our squad's base."
*And also where you'll be biting your lip and bracing against the wall tomorrow night!* he added inwardly.
Zhang Yuanqing stood up and said softly, "Sister Guan Ya, goodbye."
With that, without giving Guan Ya any chance to ask him to stay, he snapped his fingers and departed the villa.
Looking at the empty room, Guan Ya felt a strange emptiness hollow out her chest, as if she had lost something vital.
*Forget it. At least Yuanshi didn't make a fuss...* Guan Ya shook the inexplicably melancholy feeling from her head and let out a relieved breath.
***
8:30 PM, at his maternal grandmother's home.
In the bedroom, having just finished dinner, Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yu'er sat cross-legged side by side in front of the television, working their controllers to coordinate their game characters and slaughter enemies across the screen.
Rhythmic, dynamic sound effects resonated through the room.
Perched on his aunt's head was the chubby, adorable infant spirit, staring wide-eyed with dark, gleaming eyes at the television screen, its palm-sized face filled with intense concentration.
During fierce battles with bosses, Little Doubi would tense all over, utterly on edge.
When they slaughtered minor mobs, he would pat Auntie's head with his tiny hand, letting out an approving "Ah-ba!"
His aunt was completely oblivious to it.
"So satisfying~ Yuanzi, your gaming skills are getting better and better."
His aunt set down her controller, looked at the "Stage Cleared" screen, opened her arms, and lazily stretched her waist.
"Were my skills not good before?" Zhang Yuanqing stretched his back while holding the controller, thinking to himself that Auntie truly was the best; whether the red string was severed or not, she treated him the exact same as always.
*Family affection really is more reliable than romance.*
Just then, his phone rang.
Zhang Yuanqing put down his controller, leaned sideways, and pulled his phone from his trouser pocket. The caller—Fu Qingyang.
He stood up immediately, walked to the window, and answered the call:
"Hello!"
With his aunt right beside him, he didn't call him Boss.
Through the speaker came Fu Qingyang's perpetually calm, cool voice: "The president of the Merchant Guild has replied. He wants to meet you—tonight."
*The president wants to meet me? A demigod-level figure wants to meet me?*
Zhang Yuanqing's first reaction was, "Is there any dang—"
Glancing back at his pretty aunt looking over from in front of the TV, he adjusted his words: "Is he reliable?"
"You can meet him," Fu Qingyang gave an affirmative answer. "Ten o'clock tonight, come over to my place."
Chapter 447