Chapter 298: Meeting
In Shengjing, at the Siye Association Headquarters, the first conference room was dimly lit.
At one side of the round conference table sat three guardians: the Wordless Book, the General, and Huaiyuan Jun, with two secretaries standing behind them.
On the other side, different projection screens displayed the faces of various leaders from spirit energy organizations.
Fujiwara Daigongshi, dressed in a shrine maiden’s outfit and adorned with a magnificent headdress, exuded an ethereal grace.
A frail elderly man, wrapped in an orange headscarf and bandaged all over, stood behind him, alongside Tongzi Tian, who bore unhealed wounds.
The leader of the Assassins organization was shrouded in darkness, with only a vague outline visible, making their face unreadable.
The second commander of the White God Group had a massive build like a giant bear, nearly filling the entire projection screen.
There were several other organization members who had never even appeared around Yumen Pass but claimed that their members had died in the chaos there, brazenly joining the meeting.
The entire process of the Yumen Pass incident and various documents related to the calamity and the Shaman Queen had been shared and reorganized, appearing on the desks of the leaders of major spirit energy organizations a full day prior.
After reviewing those documents, they all felt a similar weight upon their chests, as if heavy stones were pressing down, making even breathing difficult.
Thus, to alleviate this discomfort, they quickly invited the Siye Association to begin the meeting.
“…That’s basically the situation.”
After Wu Yuhui, the secretary of the Siye Association, briefly summarized the integrated documents regarding the Yumen Pass incident, a brief silence fell over the room.
Moments later, the leader of APTYA, Aqi Ni, took the lead in speaking, “Based on the data we’ve already collected, we can confirm one hundred percent that the Shaman Queen is the resurrected Old Destroyer, and the calamity that managed to defeat him, I don’t need to elaborate on; I believe everyone can guess what kind of existence that is?”
Pausing for a moment, he shifted his gaze towards the three guardians of the Siye Association and continued, “To avoid a tragedy, my suggestion is to let us handle the calamity…”
“Let me interrupt you!” the Wordless Book said expressionlessly, “As of now, the calamity and the various urban legend events it triggered are limited to within Z Country and still fall under the purview of the Siye Association. Handing it over to you would likely be against protocol.”
“Hehe!” the second commander of the White God Group scoffed, “As far as I know, the calamity also goes by the name Luxianbei, and she is an operative of your Siye Association. Do you really expect me to trust you with her? Allowing such a being to become an operative raises the possibility of covering up her crimes!”
“I suggest we hand Luxianbei over to the Spring Day Great Society.” Fujiwara Daigongshi stated, “We excel at sealing urban legends and forming shikigami contracts. I believe everyone is aware of that.”
There was no rebuttal to her statement; the Spring Day Great Society had sealed over fifty high-level urban legends with shikigami contracts, three of which were known to be Cataclysm Grade. This made them one of the top organizations in the world of spirit energy.
The shrine maidens of the Fujiwara family seemed to possess special skills in taming urban legends.
“Rest assured, given the sacrifices of Qin Nanzhu and the Yunshen Machine…”
“Mom—! That’s not how you just said it to me!”
Fujiwara Daigongshi’s sentence was interrupted by a sudden ruckus from a girl. A small hand reached out from the edge of the projection screen, grabbing at her clothes and pulling.
Fujiwara Daigongshi showed an embarrassed expression and said, “I apologize, everyone; I need to handle a family matter.” With that, she got up and disappeared from the projection screen.
After a brief silence, a deep and hoarse voice spoke up, “In any case, starting tomorrow, the Assassins will commence a pursuit of the calamity.”
The speaker was the leader of the Assassins organization, the Elder in the Mountains, who, like the founder of the Assassins, bore the same title. This seemed to be a unique tradition of their organization, and there were rumors that the original Elder in the Mountains still existed.
“Senior, the calamity just prevented a terrible disaster from occurring!” the General couldn’t help but interject, “Please think twice.”
The fate of those targeted by the Assassins was well-known to the General, for he had experienced it firsthand.
Before gaining Cataclysm Grade power, he had clashed with the Assassins over an opportunity to visualize ancient generals, and once he gained Cataclysm Grade strength and took on the title of [General], the endless assassinations finally ceased.
It wasn’t out of fear for his strength; the unnamed assassins’ group had records of assassinating Cataclysm Grade beings. The reason they ceased targeting him was likely because he returned the visualization scroll and the endorsement of the Siye Association.
Although the unnamed assassins’ group wasn’t particularly strong on average, their deadliness lay in their refusal to engage in direct confrontation. Once targeted, there would be no peace for the victim.
As the saying goes, it’s not the thief that you fear, but the one who bears a grudge. Those marked by the unnamed assassins could never foresee when or from where the kn*fe would strike at their hearts.
Passersby, sales clerks in shopping malls, delivery couriers… all were experiences the General had endured during assassination attempts. He had even encountered an incident in a bathroom stall where a guy suddenly pulled out a weapon from an inappropriate area while he was using the restroom.
That was absurd!
I’m sure many men know the unspoken rule of leaving a gap between two occupied bathroom stalls; who comes up and stands right next to someone, pulling out their things?
That was simply intolerable!
“Did the calamity actually prevent a disaster?” the Elder in the Mountains countered, “What I see are merely two terrifying urban legends causing conflict due to power, and the threat that the calamity may render.”
“And now, we must seize the opportunity to eliminate her while it’s still possible.”
“That’s right!” a leader of a spirit energy organization echoed, “The calamity is too dangerous; she must be eliminated swiftly! Besides, did our people d*e in vain?”
“Exactly! Someone must be held accountable; it’s either your Siye Association or the calamity!”
“…”
“Bang—!” The conference room door suddenly swung open, crashing against the wall with a dull thud, and the noise abruptly ceased.
An elderly man stepped inside, holding a tea jar, moving leisurely like an old man strolling through the neighborhood, pushed past Huaiyuan Jun, and sat down at the conference table.
All eyes turned to this latecomer, yet he appeared utterly unconcerned, fiddling with his tea jar while sipping from it.
After a long pause, noticing that no one was speaking, the old man straightened up and scanned the attendees, “Come on now, weren’t we discussing this passionately just a moment ago? Why the silence?”
Everyone was silent, “…You haven’t spoken; who would dare to interrupt?”
This was the overwhelming presence of the Black Emperor, one of the most powerful spirit ability users in the world today.
After waiting for a moment without anyone speaking, Zhang Hainan rose and said, “Since you’re silent, I’ll speak!”
With that, he pointed a finger at Aqi Ni, “Just now, wasn’t it you who said to hand the calamity over to everyone? Are you questioning our Siye Association’s capability?”
“I wouldn’t dare!” Aqi Ni quickly shook his head.
“And you!” Zhang Hainan cast a sidelong glance at the second commander of the White God Group, “You sent a traitor who was manipulated by the Black Emperor, turning on us during battle and acting as an insider for the Shaman Queen. What was that name again? [Winter], right? And you have the nerve to talk about covering up?”
“You just conveniently forgot to mention [Winter]’s ambush on Tongzi Tian, huh? Or would you like to ask Tongzi Tian if she minds?”
“What about the Spring Day Great Society? Didn’t they come? I clearly heard voices just now!”
Zhang Hainan was getting fired up, preparing to look for his next target, but upon realizing he had “lost” one, he looked around absentmindedly, and after a brief thought, he decided to ignore Fujiwara Daigongshi’s temporary absence and continued on.
“It’s fine, since the subject has come up, I shall speak a bit. Just earlier, Fujiwara Daigongshi said in light of the sacrifices of Qin Nanzhu and the Yunshen Machine? What’s the real situation? Don’t you all know!”
“What sort of™ sacrifices? Were they not coerced by you and those others? What kind of promise? Wasn’t it you bending over and begging them to agree after being crushed by the situation? And now you have the audacity to bring it up again?”
“And the lot of you!” Zhang Hainan cast a dark look at the Elder in the Mountains and the assorted spirit energy organization leaders and said, “Do you really believe the calamity’s actions were simply a power struggle between urban legends? Do you really believe that?”
“Moreover, have I not warned you before to keep your distance from Yumen Pass for forty-eight hours? If you didn’t listen and people died, do you expect the Siye Association to take responsibility? Shouldn’t I be the one to investigate your illegal entry into the country?”
“Oh, and Wordless Book…”
“Hmm? I’m here.” The Wordless Book looked at Zhang Hainan.
“What did that report you shared with me earlier say?” Zhang Hainan asked.
“Oh, you mean that one!” The Wordless Book nodded and calmly replied, “According to reliable intelligence, during the period in which various spirit energy organizations illegally entered Z Country, there were thirty-two spirit energy attack incidents, eleven spirit energy items were stolen, and seven detained spirit energy criminals or urban legends escaped control…”
“Upon investigation, eight of these incidents had no identified culprits, suspected to be the work of foreign personnel, and the most serious incident was the theft of the Longxiang Army’s heroic energy around Sanlongsha…”
“Reports indicate that someone secretly extracted the residual souls and spirit energy left by Longxiang and the Longxiang Army, who sacrificed themselves over a thousand years ago while sealing the Shaman Queen.”
What the Wordless Book said was the truth.
Longxiang and the Longxiang Army soldiers, in their sacrifices, swore an oath to a nonexistent “deity,” pledging “to sacrifice their lives under three generations of ten calamities, seven disasters, and four sufferings.” They received no response from any urban legends; instead, their power of self-sacrifice transformed into a sealing force, remaining with the Shaman Queen.
And when the Shaman Queen broke free, that force was also released.
However, when the Shaman Queen caused chaos, no one had time to manage or pay attention to that force, and by the time the matter concluded, when the Wordless Book and the other Siye Association operatives went to investigate, they found that the force had disappeared without a trace.
Clearly, that force had been stolen amidst the chaos!
Now, unable to catch the thief, suspicion naturally fell on these illegal entrants.
After hearing the Wordless Book’s explanation, Zhang Hainan nodded in satisfaction, looking towards the projection screen ahead, “Did you hear that! There were eight incidents, and the Longxiang Army’s energies were stolen… I now have reason to suspect it was your people.”
“I apologize; I’m not questioning the righteousness of the various organizations. However, it’s undeniable that there are always a few bad apples, right? Just like our operative Luxianbei.”
“However, that doesn’t absolve you of responsibility. If you wish to make a move against Operative Luxianbei, that’s fine, but before that, please provide the Siye Association with a reasonable explanation regarding these eight incidents.”
“Elder Black Emperor… don’t you think you’re being a bit unreasonable?” a leader of a spirit energy organization boldly said.
“What?” Zhang Hainan shot a glare at the individual, coldly replying, “Are the crimes you impose on the calamity not mere conjecture? Do you have evidence?”
Suddenly, everyone was left speechless, falling into silence.
When someone with a fist bigger and stronger than yours speaks a tangled, unarguable mess, you truly find yourself at a loss.
“Elder Black Emperor has a point.” The second commander of the White God Group was the first to concede, “From current observations, these matters still fall under the jurisdiction of the Siye Association, and should be handled by them first, but…”
“But what?” Zhang Hainan retorted, holding his neck up defiantly.
“But, we should have the right to know the handling plan of the Siye Association, right?” the second commander of the White God Group cautiously inquired.
“Hmph!” Zhang Hainan scoffed, glancing over the group, “Logically, we wouldn’t share our Siye Association matters with you, but since I’m a reasonable person, to prevent you from continuing to create trouble, I suppose I can reveal a bit.”
Everyone, “…Who is it that’s causing trouble here?!”
“Our handling method is very simple: in three days, I will personally take action to eliminate the calamity. I can assure you, within a maximum of five days, the calamity will no longer exist in this world.” Zhang Hainan squinted his eyes and revealed a smile full of righteous confidence.
“How about it? This handling method seems acceptable, right? If there are no objections, I’ll proceed with this plan! Who’s for it, who’s against it?”
Everyone, “…”
After a brief wait, seeing no one speak, Zhang Hainan nodded, “Very well, since there are no objections, then… the meeting is adjourned!”
With that, he waved his sleeve and turned, striding out of the conference room.
