Chapter Fifty-Nine: The Winds Fill the Halls Before the Mountain Rain

As dusk deepened, the last trace of sunset was swallowed by the curtain of night. Inside a lavishly decorated conference room, hexagonal palace lanterns hung from the dome, casting warm light that bathed the entire chamber as if it were daylight. Gathered around a massive round table sat the heads of the three major official spiritmaster organizations in Shanghai—Chief Inspector of the Six-Gate Bureau, Commander of the Brocade Guards, and the Unrighteous Marshal—along with their trusted lieutenants.

The atmosphere was far from harmonious. Though all belonged to official spiritmaster agencies, countless disputes simmered between them. Even before the meeting formally began, glances flashed and collided in the air, invisible sparks flying.

In such a high-level gathering, Bao Long took on the role of briefing the situation, disregarding his colleagues’ silent hostility. He spoke in a grave tone: “At present, neither the Three Sovereigns nor the Five Emperors can come to Shanghai to oversee the situation.

Led by Prince Fred of the Blood Moon Council, the International Development Agency has joined forces with Arthur’s Knights of the Round Table, Joan of Arc’s Destiny Knights, and the Holy See’s Temple Knights; it seems they’re about to make significant moves against us.

This has stirred unrest in the domestic Free Democracy Alliance and the Monster Liberation Front as well.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors must remain at the central command.

We can only rely on ourselves.

According to intelligence from Japan’s Onmyou Bureau, aside from Yamata-no-Orochi, notorious yokai such as the Great Tengu, Aoandon, and Shuten-douji may all arrive in Shanghai.”

“The Onmyou Bureau are a bunch of useless fools,” grumbled an Unrighteous agent.

This provoked a sneer from the Brocade Guards. “You should read more. Abe no Seimei himself is a powerful half-yokai, his allegiance naturally leans toward the yokai. How could the Onmyou Bureau under his leadership ever truly oppose them? Even the information they pass to us is half-true, half-false.”

“So what if you can read?” the Unrighteous agent retorted angrily, rising as if to start a fight.

“Enough!” Bao Long barked, his eyes sweeping over them with icy authority. “This is meeting time. If you want to fight, wait until this crisis is over and pick a place.”

“That’s right,” the Chief Inspector agreed, his voice aged yet powerful, his gaze sharp as lightning. “Shanghai is facing a major crisis. At a time like this, all departments must unite. Any grievances can wait.”

The Unrighteous Marshal propped his head with his hand, silent. Given his nature, silence was tacit agreement.

The Brocade Guard Commander scratched his head, speaking with a touch of laziness. “Old man, I hate troublesome matters most. You’re the oldest here. If you have a plan, let’s hear it.”

The Chief Inspector spoke in a low, resolute voice. “Our urgent task is to locate Yamata-no-Orochi, who’s likely the mastermind behind this operation against Shanghai.

I propose launching a network-wide investigation, monitoring all online activity and phone communications to find any clues about Yamata-no-Orochi.

Then, we should mobilize various sects to assist in a thorough search, combing every inch of Shanghai, and assign people to stake out and patrol constantly.

What do you think?”

“I have no objections,” the Brocade Guard Commander replied.

The Unrighteous Marshal had even less to say; thinking was never his strong suit. Since both agreed, that settled it. He only wanted to find yokai quickly and fight to his heart’s content.

…

Night hung low.

Stars dotted the deep blue sky, while the lights of Shanghai glittered below like a river of stars, dazzling and enigmatic.

At precisely nine o'clock, the alarm on the phone rang. Even though Bai Yujing was no longer at Qingyun Sect, Liu Shuangling still adhered to his rules—her cultivation never exceeded nine o'clock.

She shed her feather robe and T-shirt in the dressing room. Under the lights, her skin glowed with the luster of fine porcelain. As she bent to remove her wide-legged trousers, the pattern of her underwear tightened slightly against her hips, outlining voluptuous curves. Straightening, her astonishingly ample bosom gleamed under the light, so dazzling one might faint upon seeing it.

She donned a black, patterned camisole dress, covering her pale chest, then carried her uniform out and tossed it into the washing machine, leaving the corridor with a measured stride.

Through the night, seas of flowers, streets, and towering buildings flashed past Liu Shuangling’s vision. She sensed something amiss in Shanghai’s atmosphere, as if countless unseen eyes watched her every move.

The feeling of being surveilled faded only when she landed in the living room of her rented apartment.

Has something major happened?

Liu Shuangling frowned slightly, feeling uneasy about tonight’s operations.

She used criminals as test subjects, yet this didn’t breach Bai Yujing’s bottom line. He upheld justice, but not strictly by the laws of Xia, rather by his own inner values.

But Xia’s laws don’t care if Liu Shuangling uses good or bad people; as long as she experiments on ordinary citizens, it’s illegal.

Otherwise, every captured spiritmaster could claim to have killed only bad people, even fabricate evidence to frame them.

If Liu Shuangling were caught experimenting, she’d likely end up in prison.

If she worked hard enough, she might gain a place among the Unrighteous agents, but that fate was no better than jail—possibly worse.

Online, the Unrighteous were known as the “fire brigade.” Wherever danger flared, they were thrown in, with a mortality rate of one hundred percent.

To date, not a single Unrighteous agent had survived to retirement.

Foreign media often criticized this, claiming Xia showed no respect for the rights of criminals.

“Tonight, it’s best to stay home,” Liu Shuangling sighed, resolving to endure for a time.

She went to the kitchen, fished out a can of black tea and a few delicate pastries, poured tea into a pot, and as hot water rushed in, the fragrance filled the air.

Then she headed for the bathroom, running water for a bath to relax herself.

…

Elsewhere, Zhu Ying found herself in trouble.

She was a half-yokai.

On her way back to the apartment, she was stopped and questioned three times—by the Six-Gate Bureau, the Brocade Guards, and the Unrighteous agents—each asking the same questions.

Where do you live? Are you part of a sect? When did you arrive in Shanghai? Where is your hometown? Identification?

Zhu Ying truly wanted to incinerate them all with the Southern Bright Fire.

But considering Bai Yujing wouldn’t allow it, she could only answer their questions obediently and return home.

She made the same decision as Liu Shuangling.

Tonight, it was better not to go out and investigate the information brokers. With the officials scouring mountains and seas, no criminal organization would dare act against the wind.

Anyone with sense knew to stay hidden in their lair.

Still, what caused Shanghai to suddenly enter a state of emergency?

Zhu Ying walked to the window, gazing at the distant night sky. With the powerful insight of her Rakshasa Eyes, she could see Brocade Guards, Unrighteous agents, and Six-Gate Bureau personnel moving through the city.

Unable to discern the cause, she only hoped this emergency would end soon.