Chapter 191: Don’t Test Li Tianan’s Patience
Li Tianan felt that the appropriate emotion for him right now should be sheer rage—at the very least, some healthy frustration—because these people had gone to his jurisdiction’s Ghost Gate without even notifying him.
This was totally something any self-respecting Gatekeeper couldn’t put up with. To put it bluntly, the Ghost Gate in his territory was a forbidden zone; letting other Gatekeepers waltz in was absolutely unacceptable.
But strangely, he couldn’t muster the anger. All he wanted was to clear his head and think about how to solve this monumental mess.
Sending this motley crew to complete tasks with Bai Yu would undoubtedly end with all of them meeting their doom at her hands. Knowing full well that this was the likely outcome, he found himself at a loss on how to persuade these five miscreants.
It was true that Bai Yu had cleared the Ghost Gate, but he didn’t expect her to be so ruthless—she’d eaten all the evil ghosts inside! What was left were merely harmless little ghosts. He suspected the reason Bai Yu had left these little rascals behind was that devouring them didn’t yield any tangible benefits for her.
“Listen, this ghost you’re all thinking of messing with? You’d best drop those thoughts right now. Anyone who can munch on that many evil ghosts—including a Red-clothed Evil Ghost—can’t be underestimated. I’ve crossed paths with her a few times, and I can assure you her strength is far beyond the ordinary Red-clothed.”
Li Tianan decided to try persuasion, however fruitless it might be.
Was he lying?
Didn’t Bai Yu possess strength far exceeding that of a typical Red-clothed?
Sure, he hadn’t gone head-to-head with her, but he’d had plenty of cerebral skirmishes in the shadows!
Sure enough, as soon as he finished, Old An burst into laughter, raising a cup from the table, “Hey, Old Li! Have you gotten a little complacent since your master kicked the bucket? I mean, do you not deal with ghosts and monsters anymore?”
“Red-clothed ghosts are powerful, but look at us five—working together, we aren’t afraid of evil spirits. What’s a Red-clothed to us? Right? Hahaha!”
“Perfect! With a nasty ghost popping up in your territory, it’s like having a ticking time bomb! If it starts killing people, the higher-ups will come knocking at your door!”
“Lucky us! With all five of us here today, we can easily defuse this bomb for you!”
Li Tianan raised his own cup to his lips and took a small sip, ignoring the banter. The other four pairs of eyes were glued to him, and it was all too obvious he was feeling a bit irked.
Old An’s grin faltered. Nodding, he noticed Li Tianan wasn’t engaging, so he coldly chuckled and began sipping his drink instead.
“Come on, Big Brother Li, spit it out! No need to keep things under wraps!” piped up the yellow-haired youth across from him, his face devoid of a smile.
Li Tianan was really not giving them the time of day.
“Here’s the deal: I know exactly what your team’s capabilities are, and I’ve worked with your master more than once or twice.”
Li Tianan set his cup down on the glass table and surveyed the group.
“You’re all students of Teacher Chen, whose ghost-controlling techniques have quite the reputation among Gatekeepers.”
“However,” he continued, “this ghost I’m talking about? She’s truly extraordinary.”
“Oh? What’s so extraordinary about her, Big Brother Li? Please, enlighten us!” The yellow-haired youth exchanged glances with the others, and a smile crept onto his face as he calmly removed his expensive watch and slipped it onto the table, subtly pushing it toward Li Tianan.
The other four pretended not to notice until they saw Li Tianan pick it up and clutch it in his palm. Only then did smug grins spread across their faces—grins even more audacious than before.
These smiles had an air of mockery, as if to say, “Look at you, Li Tianan, pretending to be the big shot. Who knew you were actually just one of us?”
Li Tianan laughed too, twirling the watch—worth a ridiculous thirteen thousand—around in his hand. “This ghost? Her strength rivals that of an evil spirit.”
As soon as the words left his mouth, the room fell silent for a moment before erupting in even louder guffaws.
“Hahahaha! Li Tianan, have you lost your marbles?” An Tianhe smacked Li Tianan on the shoulder, tears of laughter streaming down his face.
“A ghost that can compete with an evil spirit? Now that’s a tall tale!”
“Right, right! Big Brother Li, no need to exaggerate! We’re discussing serious matters here.”
“There’s no way a ghost can be on the same level as an evil spirit! C’mon, we’re all insiders here. Don’t try to pull our leg. If a ghost had that kind of power, it’d just be classified as an evil spirit!”
They believed they had seen it all, fought evil spirits, even dealt with evil gods. So, the idea of a ghost having the capability of an evil spirit was as ludicrous as it came; if a ghost had that kind of strength, it would simply be an evil spirit and not a ‘ghost’ at all.
Li Tianan clicked his tongue, pushed the watch back onto the table, but didn’t follow up with the conversation. Instead, he turned to Sun Hai, “Hey, I recall you’re only twenty-four this year, right? And you’ve been with your master for eleven years?”
The yellow-haired youth nodded, “Yup, what’s it to you?”
“That’s quite a nice watch you got there! I remember it being worth around thirteen or fourteen thousand, right? Seems you’ve snagged quite a few big jobs with your master lately. If your master were still around, he’d be proud of you for sure; he lived his life in poverty, never really enjoying anything.”
Li Tianan looked up and met Sun Hai’s gaze, watching his smile evaporate, leaving only a slightly frosty expression.
“Old Li, what’s the meaning of that?” An Tianhe frowned, fiddling with a wooden ba-gua, his thumb tracing over its surface, making the diagram seem to sway as it emitted a faint, dark mist.
“Just reflecting on how well you guys are doing. At least you have it better than I!”
“Li Tianan, if you have something to say, just say it!” A young man with a buzz cut who looked barely in his twenties slammed his cup down with a thud.
“Xiao Zhou!” An Tianhe shot him a warning glance.
“Sorry, Master.” Zhou Li raised his hands in a shrug, leaning back in his chair with a smirk that made Li Tianan’s annoyance rise.
“Alright, let’s cut to the chase. You guys can take on Chen Bingtang’s tasks, but stay the hell away from the ghost named Gluttony. Tomorrow night, my disciple and I are going to check things out. Oh, and my disciple’s just a little girl; don’t go bullying her. Got it?”
Li Tianan scanned the group again and added, “Otherwise, you’ll face the consequences.”
“Tch.”
Zhou Li sprang up from his seat, snatching up an old but actually valuable coat from the chair. Without another word, he strode toward the exit, grabbing a bottle of cocktail on his way. With a flick of his thumb, he popped the cap and took a swig before swinging the door open, strutting out like a total free spirit.
As he strolled through the wind chime, it clinked softly five times before coming to a halt.
“Hey, Xiao Zhou! Xiao Zhou!” An Tianhe sprang to his feet, calling out a few times to no avail. “Old Li, my disciple is a bit thick-headed; don’t take it to heart! We’ll be heading out first. Let’s talk about this tomorrow night!”
The other three quickly followed, the wind chimes swinging relentlessly as they passed beneath.
Li Tianan leaned back in his chair, propping his chin with one hand as he surveyed the chaos below, his brow furrowed tightly.
He hated this kind of disorder.
“Touching a nerve, yet they’ve got the higher-ups backing them. Does anyone even realize we Gatekeepers are a proper organization? It’s like saying ‘you’re in, you’re out’ on a whim.”
“Pfft, well, I’ve said what I needed to say.”
“If they are going to make a move on Zhao Mingyue, they may as well be asking for doom.”
“She’s just an innocent girl, my disciple at that! Can they truly bring themselves to hurt her?”
Outside the convenience store, all four pairs of eyes were fixated on An Tianhe, while Zhou Li smashed the empty cocktail bottle against the ground, pointing at the store door. “I say, Master, this Li Tianan is as stubborn as a mule! Why can’t we enjoy ourselves just once? What a pretentious saint, it pisses me off!”
“Seriously! With his age and experience, he’s not weak. His master was so impressive, yet here he is, just stuck with a shabby convenience store. He’s got zero ambition,” Sun Hai chimed in, nodding in agreement.
“Going out of our way to talk to him was giving him face. Now he doesn’t want it? Fine by me!” scoffed the man in his thirties with a buzz cut beside them, mocking tone evident.
“Alright, alright! Stop it. Li Tianan does carry some weight and influence; let’s not make this so tense. Tomorrow, we’ll stick to the plan—first, let’s capture the evil spirit, and if we get a chance, we can deal with Gluttony later.” An Tianhe’s eyes narrowed habitually as he glanced at the convenience store.
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“What in the world? They’re out already?”
The Dragon Lady was in mid-conversation with Bai Yu about the Gatekeepers, a rather loose collection of individuals, far from being an actual organization. Each had their own territory scattered across the nation, making it a challenge to track down An Que and the monk.
Just then, she noticed someone approaching in the amusement park—it was Zhao Mingyue.
Bai Yu instinctively wanted to step forward but halted as she remembered her current state.
If Zhao Mingyue saw her like this, wouldn’t she just go crazy?
“Little Mingyue, has your task been completed?”
“Um… I’m not sure if I can call it complete. I found Mengmeng and Lu Liangting, but just when I was about to take action, a person wearing a fox mask showed up. She was ready to k*ll me, but then she took one look at my face and kicked me out of the dream.”
Zhao Mingyue looked dejected, sighing heavily.
Her first four-and-a-half-star task had been derailed halfway, and the mission wasn’t declared a success or failure. At least they had sent out some rewards.
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There’s still afternoon and evening left! Please shower us with tickets, everyone! Tickle, tickle!
