Chapter 101: The Black Talisman

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“Young Master Hou, is the person you’re waiting for still coming? The inn is about to close.”

The pockmarked proprietor did not lose his temper. It was not that he did not want to—he simply did not dare.

He knew this scholar. The man had powerful connections behind him, and the proprietor would never dare treat him like one of the common laborers.

The scholar’s expression changed. He shot the proprietor a sidelong glare without saying a word, then slammed his teacup onto the table.

“Please wait, please wait. I would never dare delay your important business.” The pockmarked proprietor immediately plastered on an ingratiating smile.

“No need to wait any longer. Go downstairs and stay there. Hearing too much can easily cost you your head.”

A soft, effeminate voice drifted in from outside, accompanied by a pungent fragrance of rouge and powder.

A chill shot up the pockmarked proprietor’s back, racing from the base of his spine to the crown of his head. He went cold all over.

“Fourth Master, what brings you here? I’ll leave at once and wait outside. If you need anything, just give the word.”

The pockmarked proprietor shuddered violently, cold sweat soaking through his undershirt as he fawned over the newcomer.

More than three hundred yards away, a carriage appeared within Ling Chi’s spiritual perception. It was rapidly approaching the Five Blessings Inn.

Ling Chi’s spirits lifted. The true culprit had arrived.

His spiritual sense swept over the carriage and revealed a graceful figure seated inside. The horses were running at full speed, and the inn was reached in the blink of an eye.

“What a splendid figure… a man?”

Ling Chi noticed the figure’s Adam’s apple and froze for a moment. Meanwhile, the pockmarked proprietor had already led two attendants out of the inn and was standing a long distance away.

“Boss, who is Fourth Master? Even you’re so afraid of him,” one of the attendants asked curiously.

“Don’t ask about what you shouldn’t know. If you ever meet him, show him the utmost respect. I’m trying to save your lives. Even our owner wouldn’t dare raise his voice in front of Fourth Master.”

The pockmarked proprietor wiped the sweat from his brow and sternly warned the two attendants.

The pair hurriedly nodded. To them, the owner was a towering figure who seemed to hold up the heavens. He was well acquainted with the county magistrate. If even he dared not raise his voice before this man, then Fourth Master had to be someone of terrifying power.

Inside the Five Blessings Inn, the scholar surnamed Hou hurriedly rose when he saw the newcomer. He had just opened his mouth when he was interrupted.

“Hou Haoran, the precious son of Magistrate Hou Che. You actually dared contact our Holy Cult in secret. Do you even know how the word ‘death’ is written?”

Fourth Master Wei’s soft voice was like a little knife scraping across bone. Scholar Hou Haoran’s legs trembled in terror.

He could put on airs before the proprietor, but he did not dare display the slightest arrogance before Fourth Master Wei.

“Achoo… Fourth Master Wei, why are you here? You’re actually an envoy of the Ghost Cult?”

The fragrance made Hou Haoran cover his nose, his face filled with astonishment and fear.

As far as he knew, Wei Si was not only the Commandant of the Peacekeeping Bureau in Jade County.

He was also the fourth son of Wei Tian, a deputy general of the Shengzhou Guard in the provincial capital—and a formidable expert at the fourth level of the Qi Sea realm.

“Enough nonsense. This envoy will not ask where you obtained the contact code. Tell me what you wish to commission.”

Wei Si cast a disdainful glance at the greasy stool in the inn and remained standing.

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Hou Haoran hesitated. If the visitor had been a stranger, he would not have had so many misgivings.

But the man not only knew who he was—he even knew that his father was the county magistrate. For a moment, Hou Haoran had no idea what to do.

Yet beneath Wei Si’s knife-sharp gaze, he finally confessed, “Fourth Master, I would like to ask your esteemed cult to bring a woman to me.”

“Hahahaha! So Young Master Hou has fallen into the throes of spring fever. Who is the target? As long as you can afford the price, even if you wanted Wei Xuan of the Wei family, my Holy Cult could bind her securely and deliver her straight to your bed.”

Wei Si’s expression grew arrogant. He lifted his chin slightly and looked at Hou Haoran with open mockery.

“It’s Xu Caiwei, the second daughter of Vice Magistrate Xu of the provincial capital. May I ask how much your esteemed cult would charge for the job?” Hou Haoran asked with a bashful smile, his face faintly flushed.

So, after all that, he wanted to steal a woman and satisfy his lust.

Watching from the loft, Ling Chi found the spectacle thoroughly engrossing.

“Five thousand gold coins. That is the fixed price. No haggling,” Wei Si said.

Hou Haoran’s heart jolted. He did not have enough money. But when he pictured Xu Caiwei’s exquisite beauty, he hardened his resolve. At worst, he would dig up the illicit funds his father had hidden in the rear courtyard.

“Agreed. Five thousand it is. According to your cult’s rules, I’ll pay one thousand gold coins in advance. Here is the gold note.”

Hou Haoran drew out the prepared note and handed it over.

“In three days, she will be delivered to your bed on time. The rules of our Holy Cult—the person who taught you the contact code should already have told you—are simple. If the matter is exposed, you must not mention the name of our Holy Cult. Otherwise, your entire family will be annihilated. Do you understand?”

Wei Si spoke with chilling menace.

Hou Haoran nodded hurriedly.

Wei Si gave him a contemptuous glance, chuckled, and returned to the carriage before departing.

Hou Haoran collapsed into a chair. Trembling, he poured himself a cup of wine and drained it in one gulp. His heart burned with anticipation.

“Xu Caiwei, you dared look down on me. I’ll make you writhe beneath me and beg for my favor.”

Madness flickered in his eyes.

Ling Chi paid no attention to Hou Haoran in the inn. Although the Thunder Orb’s reaction had already sentenced the man to death, Ling Chi was currently following the carriage from a distance, ready to strike at any moment.

By the light of the oil lamp inside the carriage, Wei Si admired his own long, slender fingers.

Suddenly, the carriage jolted to a halt. He frowned and was just about to speak when an intensely scorching force flashed past and vanished.

He was instantly struck by overwhelming terror. The aura that had appeared for that brief moment was far beyond anything he could withstand.

He had just thrown open the carriage door and prepared to flee when a gloomy, vicious face appeared before him from beneath a curtain of long hair—and a fist rapidly grew larger in his vision.

Ling Chi had followed from afar, waiting for the perfect opportunity. Now, he erupted into action.

His figure shot forward and appeared beside the coachman.

The unfortunate driver had no time to react before Ling Chi struck him with one palm. The man died instantly, his body incinerated into ash by the force of extreme yang.

Ling Chi had only just circled around to the carriage door when it suddenly opened, bringing him face-to-face with Wei Si.

Wei Si saw darkness before his eyes and lost consciousness completely.

Ling Chi unleashed a burst of extreme-yang force, burning the horses and carriage into nothingness.

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“Whoosh.”

Even the ashes were scattered by a single breath.

Carrying the graceful Wei Si, Ling Chi sped out of the city like a streak of lightning.

The man had no idea what he had smeared onto himself, but the fragrance surrounding him was overpowering.

Ling Chi immediately sealed his nose and mouth with spiritual energy, fearing the scent might be poisonous.

The extreme-yang force coursed wildly through his body, yet he detected no toxins.

Even so, he dared not let down his guard. What if the Ghost Cult possessed some strange beast capable of tracking a person by scent? Would that not expose him?

He immediately employed Thunderstep, putting as much distance between himself and the city as possible so he would have ample time for interrogation.

Without another thought, he transformed into a bolt of lightning and shot into the distance at astonishing speed.

After finding an uninhabited mountain cave, he slapped Wei Si awake.

When Wei Si regained consciousness, he discovered Ling Chi undoing his belt. His heart relaxed.

If the man merely intended to rob him of his virtue, that was not entirely unacceptable.

Ling Chi bound his hands and feet. Wei Si did not struggle. Being tied up was hardly unfamiliar to him.

“I hope that after taking advantage of me, you’ll spare my life. I am a member of the Ghost—”

“Smack!”

Ling Chi stared at him in disbelief before delivering a heavy slap across his face.

“I’m trying to take advantage of you? You really are dreaming.”

“Smack!”

Another slap landed across Wei Si’s face, swelling it instantly until it resembled a steamed bun.

A small Thunder-Mist Dragon emerged with a hum, its shockwave striking Wei Si directly in the forehead.

Lightning gathered in Ling Chi’s eyes, while thunder erupted across his entire body.

He seized Wei Si by the collar and asked in a voice that rumbled like rolling thunder, “Look into my eyes.”

“Where is the Ghost Cult’s headquarters in Jade County? How many people are there? Who among them has the highest cultivation?”

After being struck by the Thunder-Mist Dragon, Wei Si had become dazed and muddled. The thunderous voice further disrupted his mind, and he immediately prepared to confess.

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