Chapter 358: A Beauty’s Company + Protagonist Halo = Great Opportunity (Trouble)

"This is Nangong Yuan, the Grand Commander of Celestial Capital. She’s here to take you to the Celestial Capital, but there will be a bit of a delay, since you could be dragged away by the doomsday game to fight for your survival at any moment."

"We need to ensure your safe arrival." Yan Jingxing first introduced the tall, beautiful woman beside him to Qi Suian before explaining the situation.

Qi Suian sized up the woman called the Grand Commander, Nangong Yuan, and for some reason, his brain short-circuited.

"Grand Commander of Hell, we adore you!"

The moment he said that, both Yan Jingxing and Nangong Yuan were utterly dumbfounded. ’What in the world is going on?’

’Who says something so bizarre the moment they meet someone?’

Nangong Yuan could only manage an awkward yet polite smile. "Thank you."

"Sorry, I thought you could rotate magnetic fields and were the Hell War God," Qi Suian added, realizing he might have taken his little brain-fart a bit too far.

So he offered an explanation.

This left Nangong Yuan even more speechless. ’No matter how you looked at them, those two things didn’t sound very wholesome.’

Fortunately, as the Grand Commander of Celestial Capital, she possessed the necessary composure and quickly changed the subject.

"Do you have any way of knowing when the doomsday game will drag you away to fight for survival?"

"Or can you determine whether the area you’re dragged to will be limited to Shengshi Mansion or a nearby Sealing Vault?"

Nangong Yuan asked two questions directly.

After mulling it over for five seconds, Qi Suian delivered a stellar answer: "I don’t know."

’Why would I waste my time studying that? I’m not a survivor, I’m a violator. I have no reason to play by the doomsday game’s rules.’

’Besides, my life isn’t in danger. Getting dragged into the Truth Layer has practically become my personal resource-farming spot.’

’If I don’t enter the Truth Layer, my Tai Sui God won’t get the fuel it needs to evolve.’

Qi Suian’s stellar answer made Nangong Yuan’s eye twitch. She had never met anyone like him before.

Her first impression of Qi Suian wasn’t that he was stupid, but that he was utterly without scruples.

He didn’t even seem to care about his own life.

"Alright, then. Come with me to the neighboring Lanlou Mansion for a test," Nangong Yuan said.

"Huh? I don’t know about that," Qi Suian remarked casually. "Master Yan, she’s trying to poach your guy. How can you just stand there and not say a word?"

Yan Jingxing showed no signs of taking the bait. He only felt more certain that getting rid of Qi Suian as quickly as possible was the right call.

’He had no conflict with the Grand Commander of Celestial Capital, but if he actually did what Qi Suian suggested, he would in an instant.’

"I’m not, I wasn’t, don’t spout nonsense!" Yan Jingxing issued a rapid-fire denial.

Nangong Yuan shot Yan Jingxing a strange look. ’He must have had a rough time dealing with these survivors.’

’If this had been two people who actually had a grudge, Qi Suian’s words would have definitely stirred up trouble.’

"Oh, well. And here I thought you were thinking, ’Her position can be mine for the taking,’" Qi Suian said, his voice dripping with disappointment.

Veins bulged on Yan Jingxing’s forehead. He couldn’t believe Qi Suian dared to say something so seditious.

"So, O Grand Commander of Hell who can’t even rotate magnetic fields, let me ask you: did you come alone, or did you bring your men?"

Qi Suian’s gaze rested on Nangong Yuan. Her conventional beauty gave him a distinct feeling of déjà vu: the kind where a great opportunity is inevitably accompanied by a great disaster.

’A protagonist’s halo plus a beautiful woman... If this combination didn’t lead to trouble, he’d twist his own head off and knead it into a dough ball.’

’So he had to figure out what kind of trouble was brewing.’

’If she came alone, the solution would be simple: just start killing.’

’But if she brought her men, there’d be no telling what kind of cliché, jealousy-fueled drama might unfold.’

’Then, for the sake of appearances, he couldn’t just kill them openly. He’d have to do it secretly and then worry about cleaning up the mess afterward. It would be a lot more work.’

’Not killing them was out of the question. Qi Suian had no interest in subtle power plays; he just wanted to beat them to death, plain and simple.’

’And the ghosts inside their bodies reviving? Who cared? It wasn’t his territory.’

’He didn’t need to be responsible for the fate of the world, only for himself.’

"I came bearing a secret imperial edict, so I am alone." Nangong Yuan found it a bit strange, wondering why Qi Suian would ask such a question.

"So you’re alone. In that case, I have some good news and some bad news. Which do you want to hear first? Or would you rather cut to the chase and hear the solution?" Qi Suian offered her three options.

Nangong Yuan was exasperated by Qi Suian’s flightiness but patiently replied, "I’ll hear the news first, then the solution."

"The good news is that I can go to Lanlou Mansion. The bad news is that if you go with me, things will definitely go wrong."

"The solution is simple: have Master Yan go with me. I presume he knows the Mansion Master of Lanlou Mansion and the head of its Exorcism Bureau, right?" Qi Suian said.

’Without the beautiful Nangong Yuan, the opportunity likely wouldn’t be diminished, but the associated trouble would probably be reduced by at least ninety percent.’

However, as these words left Qi Suian’s mouth, Yan Jingxing’s scalp went numb.

’He just won’t let me off the hook! He carefully recalled everything he’d done. He hadn’t stepped out of line, and his attitude had been perfectly normal.’

’So why is he so determined to drag me into this?’

Seeing Yan Jingxing’s reluctance, Nangong Yuan stepped in to smooth things over. "Master Yan is in charge of the Shengshi Mansion Exorcism Bureau; he can’t just leave his post."

"If he were to leave, the Exorcism Bureau would be left without a leader."

She was rejecting Qi Suian’s demand on Yan Jingxing’s behalf.

She wasn’t wrong. His departure wouldn’t necessarily cause a catastrophe, but many matters would be left without anyone to make a decision.

"Then you can just stay here and take Master Yan’s place. Besides, as the saying goes, ’even a mighty dragon can’t crush a local snake.’ We need Master Yan, the local snake himself, for this job." Every fiber of Qi Suian’s being was rejecting Nangong Yuan’s involvement.

"What local snake? What mighty dragon? We are all loyal subjects of His Majesty!" Yan Jingxing cut in before Nangong Yuan could respond.

’First, he tried to sow discord. Then came the ’her position can be mine’ comment. And now he’s talking about local warlords.’

’If he let Qi Suian keep talking, by the time Nangong Yuan reported back, investigators would be sent down within two days.’

"But... you do have a point."

"Grand Commander Nangong isn’t familiar with this area. Why don’t I take him to Lanlou Mansion instead?"

"I will just need to borrow the secret imperial edict." Yan Jingxing changed his tune, cutting Qi Suian off before he could open his mouth again.

’He could see it clearly now. If he didn’t agree to take Qi Suian, the man wouldn’t let him off the hook. And who knew what other outrageous things would come out of his mouth next?’

Yan Jingxing truly couldn’t understand why Qi Suian was so dead set on screwing him over personally.

’It couldn’t just be because they were acquainted, could it?’

Believe it or not, that was exactly Qi Suian’s line of thinking.

As the saying goes: swindle a stranger for half, but take an acquaintance for everything they’ve got.

’In this Ghost World, Yan Jingxing was the person he knew best. If Qi Suian wasn’t going to fleece him, who else was there?’

"Absolutely not. This is a personal edict from His Majesty. I must be present," Nangong Yuan refused without a moment’s hesitation.

At first, she hadn’t thought much of it, but after Yan Jingxing agreed, she couldn’t shake the feeling that the two of them were putting on a coordinated performance.

’If she let those two go off on their own, who knew what kind of trouble they’d stir up.’

"Since Master Yan is needed to lead the way, we shall go together."

"The Mansion Master can temporarily oversee the Exorcism Bureau’s affairs. We’ll only be gone for a few days, so it won’t be a major disruption." The more Nangong Yuan spoke, the more she was convinced the two were in cahoots.

Her tone made Yan Jingxing groan internally.

’In the span of a few sentences, Qi Suian had managed to completely screw me over.’

’If he couldn’t find a way to smooth this over later, an official investigation would be inevitable.’

"I don’t think that’s a good idea," Qi Suian said, still resistant. "The two of us men are off to save the world. If you jump in, people might get the wrong idea."

Nangong Yuan’s fists clenched. The way Qi Suian spoke was truly infuriating.

"Ahem. Since Grand Commander Nangong is willing to go, let’s all go together," Yan Jingxing said, feeling suffocated being caught in the middle.

’If it weren’t completely inappropriate, he would have sewn Qi Suian’s mouth shut. Everything he said just made things worse.’

’Now, Nangong Yuan insisted on going, and for the sake of his own career, Yan Jingxing couldn’t go alone with Qi Suian. That would absolutely lead to a misunderstanding.’

"You leaving like this is really doing the Mansion Master dirty. He only gets paid for one job, and now you’re making him do two," Qi Suian harshly criticized.

However, Nangong Yuan was done listening to either of them.

"Then it’s settled. The Mansion Master can bear the extra burden; it’s fine. I will report to His Majesty and request a commendation for his service." With that, Nangong Yuan turned and walked away, completely ignoring whether the other two had anything else to say.

The two men stared at each other. Yan Jingxing was at a loss for words. He finally let out a sigh and hurried after the Grand Commander of Celestial Capital.

’He had to clear this up.’

Qi Suian watched them walk away, then let out a sigh of his own.

’Looks like this ’opportunity’ really does require the Grand Commander to trigger it. Otherwise, after all the fuss I made, there’s no way I wouldn’t have been able to get rid of her.’

’Oh, well. I’ll just let things play out.’

’Anyway, I’ve already roped Yan Jingxing in as my muscle. If anything comes up, he can deal with it.’

’Yan Jingxing had enough strength and status for the job.’

’So whether they ran into danger or someone tried to taunt and provoke them, Yan Jingxing could take care of it. He wouldn’t have to lift a finger.’

"AI," Qi Suian asked, "do you have any intel on Lanlou Mansion?"

After a moment of processing, the AI provided Qi Suian with the relevant intel and marked Lanlou Mansion on a map.

In the Reality Layer, satellite projections worked just fine.

Lanlou Mansion was right next to Shengshi Mansion, so it wasn’t far.

The journey between them held some danger; ghosts and monsters could be found wandering in the uninhabited areas. However, thanks to regular clean-up operations, the chances of an encounter were low.

[Potential zones of opportunity and disaster have been marked. You may select your route as you see fit.]

The AI was quite thoughtful. However, the data wasn’t foolproof. After all, the satellite projections weren’t yet detailed enough to capture every minute detail.

Identification errors were always a possibility.