Volume One, Chapter 23: The Temporary Mission from the Spirit Masters Association

Li Luoqi was pulled up and wrapped in a towel, sitting in his room. It was clearly the height of summer, and he had just been soaking in a hot spring, yet he was shivering uncontrollably from the cold.

Guan He was called over. After listening to the camera crew, his brow furrowed slightly, convinced in his heart that Li Luoqi was hallucinating.

"Luoqi, you've been traveling all day and filming nonstop. You're already exhausted, and the steam from the hot spring probably made you dizzy, which led to these hallucinations."

The other two guests had already recovered by now. Hearing Guan He’s explanation, they found it quite reasonable.

"That's right, Luoqi. Actually, when I was in the hot spring earlier, I felt a bit dizzy too. You must have had it worse and started seeing things. Don't scare yourself."

"Exactly—it's got to be that. Besides, today's shoot is over. Just rest well, and tomorrow you'll be right as rain."

Li Luoqi’s head was still spinning, and he also started to believe he'd imagined things.

With a face full of guilt, he apologized, "I'm sorry, everyone. I caused you all trouble."

"It's nothing. No one minds," the others replied.

The guests and crew gradually packed up and went to bed. The night passed uneventfully—except for Li Luoqi, who felt inexplicably chilled. He blamed it on the air conditioning being set too low and thought nothing more of it.

...

Early the next morning, Chi Xingwan received a message from the Spiritualists’ Association. She was needed in a small town outside Yanjing for a task.

Having already agreed to serve as a consultant for the Association, Chi Xingwan naturally did not refuse. So, as arranged, she headed to the entrance of Yangguan Alley.

A black stretch limousine waited for her. A woman in a fitted business suit stepped out. She had short hair, metal-rimmed glasses, and the air of a consummate professional.

Chi Xingwan’s first impression was that she looked like a younger version of Secretary He.

The woman gave a slight bow and introduced herself, "Consultant Chi, good morning. I am Dai Luming, Secretary General of the Spiritualists’ Association. I will be accompanying you on this mission."

Chi Xingwan was surprised. She hadn’t had much contact with the upper echelons of the Association, but she knew that Secretary General Dai held a very high position and was even considered a candidate for the next president.

She wondered what kind of assignment could warrant such an important figure.

Dai Luming explained, "It will take two hours to reach the town from Yanjing. We can discuss the details on the way. But before we leave—Consultant Chi, aren’t you bringing your apprentice or assistant?"

Chi Xingwan glanced behind Dai Luming. The secretary general had brought along a male and a female assistant. Behind herself, it was empty.

"You don’t have an apprentice or assistant?" Dai Luming asked.

Chi Xingwan shook her head honestly.

Dai Luming could only suggest, "Do you have any fellow practitioners among your friends? If the task involves setting up formations, having an assistant would save a great deal of time."

Chi Xingwan didn’t think it would take her long to set up any formations by herself, but since Secretary General Dai had mentioned it, she took out her phone and tried to contact Chu Fangfei and Jin Feng.

Before long, Jin Feng arrived on his little electric scooter, carrying Chu Fangfei behind him.

Chu Fangfei waved enthusiastically from the back seat. "Boss, we’re here!"

After parking, they greeted Dai Luming with proper respect. "Good morning, Secretary General Dai."

Dai Luming nodded and said, "Now that everyone is here, let’s get going."

Chu Fangfei and Jin Feng, still unclear about the situation, climbed into the luxurious stretch business car.

Once on the road, Dai Luming explained the mission: "We’re heading to Jili Town. Our task is to retrieve fallen jade."

Fallen jade! Chu Fangfei and Jin Feng gasped.

Fallen jade was a rare substance from beyond the earth. When a meteorite landed and was nourished by spiritual energy over centuries, it could transform into a jade-like material—prized for forging artifacts.

Not every meteorite became fallen jade, making it extremely rare and valuable. Its discovery would inevitably attract all kinds of attention.

Dai Luming continued, "A few days ago, Jili Town experienced a minor earthquake, which exposed the fallen jade’s aura. We must hurry and secure the two pieces before foreign spiritualists or malevolent beings get to them."

So that was it—two pieces had emerged at once. No wonder they needed both her and Secretary General Dai on the task.

Two hours later, they arrived at Jili Town. Dai Luming sent Chi Xingwan a location pin. "This is where one of the pieces is. I’ll leave it to you, Consultant Chi."

"Don’t worry. I’ll handle it," Chi Xingwan replied.

After Dai Luming left, a car soon arrived to pick them up, driven by a local spiritualist from Jili Town.

Jili Town was a famous tourist destination known for its hot springs. In winter it was crowded with visitors, but summer was quieter—convenient for their operation.

Following the navigation, Chi Xingwan and her companions reached a stretch of woods, now cordoned off with warning tape to keep outsiders away.

The local spiritualist led them inside. "Just before dawn, we detected the fallen jade’s aura. It quickly attracted malevolent entities. Jili Town has a small population—I’m the only spiritualist here. Luckily, a few visiting spiritualists happened to be in town, so we barely managed to fend off the spirits."

Soon, they arrived at the spot. Chi Xingwan could sense the presence of the fallen jade emanating from the roots of a large tree.

Around the tree, two spiritualists were maintaining a defensive barrier, struggling to hold back the spirits.

The local spiritualist immediately joined them and said to Chi Xingwan, "Consultant Chi, the three of us can still hold on. Please retrieve the fallen jade with your assistants as quickly as possible."

The three of them were drenched in sweat and looked about to collapse.

Chi Xingwan couldn’t stand to see them suffer. She turned to Chu Fangfei and Jin Feng, "You two go help them. I’ll handle the jade."

Jin Feng shook his head. "Boss, retrieving fallen jade takes tremendous spiritual energy and requires setting up a formation. Let me and my junior sister help."

He had participated in such an operation before, serving as an assistant to an A-rank spiritualist and witnessing the entire process. Even though that A-rank was almost at the top tier, it had taken more than five hours and the help of three disciples to succeed.

So Jin Feng was convinced—even if Chi Xingwan was far stronger, she would still need support.

But Chi Xingwan refused. She had done this sort of thing alone before and never needed help.

Jin Feng was about to persuade her again, but Chu Fangfei had already rushed over to help fend off the spirits.

She called back, "Senior brother, trust the boss. If she says she can do it alone, she definitely can."

Jin Feng hesitated a moment, then decided to obey. "Boss, be careful. If you need anything, call us."

With that, he headed over to join Chu Fangfei.