Chapter Twenty-Five: The Alchemist

“Wait a moment, Jiu,” Lingji said, rising to her feet and placing a hand on Fan Jiu’s shoulder. His whole body went rigid at her touch.

Fan Jiu’s gaze drifted down the length of her black coat, only to realize that the inside was like a black hole—seemingly loose and shapeless, yet impossible to see into.

“What would make it interesting, then?”

Most of Fan Jiu’s attention was now on Lingji instead of the intruders.

“You still have three gifted ones under your command, don’t you?” Lingji cooed, swaying his arm coquettishly. “Why not have them face off against the three intruders? A battle between gifted ones would be far more entertaining.”

“No!” Fan Jiu refused instantly, unmoved by her charm.

He wasn’t a fool. When enemies invaded, one should deploy overwhelming force to annihilate them, not send in people one by one like some farcical rescue mission. Only an idiot would send his men in waves to let the enemy grow stronger.

Lingji leaned in and whispered by his ear, “Are you sure? You’re the one in charge of Peach Blossom Sanctuary’s East District, right? But do those three truly respect you? Don’t you want to see them humiliated?”

Her hand slipped to the back of his head, black vapor writhing through his hair.

“Yes... I should remind them who their real leader is.”

In Fan Jiu’s mind, images surfaced, all filtered through bizarre distortions: Qingfeng, arrogant and disrespectful, breaking the rules and pilfering his treasured artifacts for experiments; Monk Jin Yue, full of tedious rituals, refusing to obey orders at the critical moment; and Kraven, reeking of some wild stench, more beast than man in his savage demeanor.

“Yes, I should send them to meet the foe and enjoy watching their disgrace. Aren’t they always boasting about being stronger than me? Let’s see it, then.”

Fan Jiu issued orders to the Blood Centipede, then made a sudden grab for Lingji when she wasn’t looking—only to clutch at empty air.

Lingji was already seated on the other side of the bed, her wide eyes fixed with curiosity on the images flickering across the screen.

“So this is the technology you Peach Blossom Sanctuary folk brought in from the West? It’s remarkable... Our old fossils back home can’t stand anything new.”

Fan Jiu leaned back, about to boast about the Sanctuary’s achievements, but Lingji’s sudden excitement cut him off. Her cheeks were flushed as she gazed at Xie Zhitou on the screen.

“He’s so handsome—how can a man be so perfect? If only I could drag him into corruption...”

...

“Master Fan is on the top floor, but the strictest security is in the basement. Only his closest confidants are allowed in, so we don’t know what’s inside.”

After progressing for a while, Liang Zhi and the others had captured someone who seemed to hold some authority. Under the threat of Xie Zhitou’s life-shortening power, the man quickly spilled all he knew.

“What now? Do we head upstairs or down?” Qiu Shilu asked, hefting her iron hammer.

Liang Zhi stroked his chin. “The basement is obviously more important. But if we go down first, Fan Jiu, the mastermind, might escape.”

“That’s easy to solve. We split up. I’ll go up and clear a path, you two head down and wreck whatever you find. We’ll meet on the top floor,” Xie Zhitou proposed.

“You sure you can handle going up alone?” Qiu Shilu sounded worried.

Liang Zhi pulled her toward the descending stairs. “Don’t worry about that pretty boy. He’s way more capable than either of us.”

Xie Zhitou smiled, neither confirming nor denying it.

As the trio split up, so too did a team of three on the central floor. Two of them made straight for the basement—the stronghold of Peach Blossom Sanctuary in the East District, which could not be compromised. The third rushed toward Xie Zhitou, his face alight with excitement, already anticipating Xie Zhitou’s grisly demise.

After parting from Liang Zhi and Qiu Shilu, Xie Zhitou strolled through the enemy stronghold as though it were a quiet garden—unopposed, for all who tried to bar his way had already fallen.

“Found it—the surveillance room.”

A few roots slipped from his sleeve, first tearing the door off the surveillance room, then crushing the guard inside. Blood and sparks sprayed from the nearly crushed body.

Xie Zhitou sat down calmly on the sofa, crossing one leg over the other.

“I’ve heard of you—you’re Xie Zhitou, aren’t you? The head of the Charity House,” said a disheveled young Taoist at the doorway, leaning against the frame.

Xie Zhitou raised a finger to his lips. “Shh. Don’t disturb me. I’m watching something.”

“Blessed Mechanical Celestial Venerable, I am Daoist Qingfeng. You must be here for us, but why are you just staring at your partners on the monitors?” Qingfeng asked, curiosity piqued.

Xie Zhitou didn’t answer, causing Qingfeng’s brows to knit in irritation.

He was a proud man, and had only tried to chat out of respect for Xie Zhitou’s impressive bearing before killing him. He hadn’t expected such blatant disregard.

...

“I know you’re a phytomancer who controls plants, but that’s nothing to be proud of—phytomancers have their weaknesses!”

Qingfeng sneered, retreating a few steps, then pulled out a lighter and tossed it into the surveillance room.

His arrogance sprang from his knowledge and skill. As an “alchemist,” Qingfeng could employ countless tactics and target the weaknesses of all kinds of gifted ones. While chatting with Xie Zhitou, he had already filled the room with highly flammable and explosive substances. A single spark should have triggered a massive explosion.

But the lighter landed and merely burned quietly. The explosion never came.

“Impossible! Why didn’t it explode?” His voice grew hoarser with every word, until finally he couldn’t speak at all.

A faint crack sounded.

Qingfeng had already turned to a pile of white bones, collapsing to the floor. A wisp of “clear wind” swept by, scattering his bones to dust.

Arms folded, Xie Zhitou stared at the screen showing Liang Zhi. “Do you really remember nothing, or are you just pretending?”

...

“Oh no, the handsome guy’s gone!”

Every monitor around Xie Zhitou went dark at once, leaving only the feed from Liang Zhi’s group in the basement. Lingji covered her mouth in disappointment, then fixed her gaze on Liang Zhi and her companion. “Hey, you can’t quite make out Night Crow’s face, but the way he moves is fascinating. I hope he’s a handsome boy under that mask.”

Fan Jiu was grinding his teeth. He had courted Lingji endlessly, lavishing resources upon her, yet hadn’t even touched her hand. Meanwhile, Xie Zhitou’s pretty face and Liang Zhi’s wild antics were enough to capture her attention. Jealousy burned through him.

Yet since Lingji enjoyed the show, he wouldn’t spoil her mood. He simply ordered Blood Centipede and the others to guard the entrance to the top floor and let no one through.

In his mind, the invasion was already over.