Chapter 135: The Encounter

Master Jin stepped outside, made a phone call, then returned to the room.

“How is it? Will Master Mo come?” Tian Erlong asked.

“I’ve already called him. Master Mo will definitely come,” Master Jin replied confidently.

Sure enough, not long after, a black sedan drove in.

“Master Mo is here!” Master Jin straightened his Taoist robe and hurried out.

Tian Erlong also went out to greet him. He saw a plump elderly man step out of the car, his face rosy and radiant, with a faint aura of mystical light swirling around him.

The old man glanced over, and Tian Erlong immediately felt his eyes sting as if a mountain were pressing down on him, ready to crush him to dust at any moment.

He was filled with awe and fear; this was a true master.

“Master Mo,” Master Jin bowed deeply.

“Little Jin, I came only out of respect for your teacher, to back you up. Such a minor case is too trivial for me,” the old man said indifferently.

At that moment, Tian Erlong approached with reverence. “Master Mo, I’m Xiao Tian—”

Master Mo raised a hand to stop him and said calmly, “Who you are doesn’t matter. I’m just here to sort things out.”

Tian Erlong was not offended; in fact, he thought a master should behave this way—it was fitting for his status.

Suddenly, Master Mo uttered a soft “hmm,” looked around the villa, and then cast a deep glance at Tian Erlong.

That look sent a chill through Tian Erlong’s heart. He glanced helplessly at Master Jin for help.

Master Jin gave him a reassuring gesture and cautiously asked, “Master Mo, is there a problem?”

“Yang house with yin aura. Let’s go inside,” Master Mo said flatly and changed the subject.

The three entered the house. Tian Erlong’s mistress, Xiao Li, was shivering in a bathrobe.

Master Mo told Xiao Li to turn around and remove the robe.

“There’s a combined yin-seal with ghost marks here. The caster’s skill in the seal technique is quite profound,” Master Mo said, raising his hand. A pitch-black mark appeared on Xiao Li’s back.

As soon as he finished speaking, Master Mo pressed his hand forward.

Instantly, the seal revealed the head of a fierce ghost.

“Devil spawn, prepare to die!” Master Mo formed hand seals, and a white lotus seemed to bloom in the void.

In a flash, the ghostly head howled and dispersed, and the mark on Xiao Li’s back gradually faded.

“All clear,” Master Mo said, then turned and left.

Tian Erlong, anxious, called after him, “Master Mo, Master Mo…”

But Master Mo ignored him, got into the car, and drove away.

Once inside, Master Mo let out a long breath. His plump body began to twist and shift.

In an instant, he transformed into a stunningly beautiful woman.

The woman narrowed her eyes, stretched out her hand, and a lotus-shaped bagua compass needle pointed in a certain direction.

“I want to see what kind of rising dragon dares stir trouble in my territory,” she said coldly.

Meanwhile, in a suite at a grand hotel in Bailing City, I opened my eyes.

“Well, that woman has a master with her. She actually broke my yin-seal and traced my location by following the clues,” I muttered to myself.

Outside, dawn had broken. I rose and stretched, my joints cracking loudly.

I took out a compass and glanced at it, then chuckled softly.

“They’ve come looking for me. I’d like to see what kind of master it is,” I said.

After a shower, I dressed simply in a denim T-shirt and a baseball cap, then went to the artificial lake behind the hotel.

The lake was quite pleasant, with rows of sun umbrellas shading tables and chairs.

I glanced casually, pulled out a cigarette, and was about to light it when I suddenly looked up to see a woman approaching.

She wore a denim T-shirt and a baseball cap too, her figure graceful and alluring.

I froze. The flame on my lighter burned the cigarette, blackening more than half of it in moments.

The woman noticed me, hesitated for a moment, and a frosty chill flickered in her autumn-like eyes.

Our gazes met and intertwined in midair.

After a few seconds, she looked away, standing still for a while before suddenly raising her head and walking over to sit beside me.

There we were: one in a black T-shirt, the other white; one with a black hat, the other white—like a perfectly matched couple.

I recalled the scene at Soul-Breaking Ravine. Thinking back, she had done nothing wrong. Of course, neither had I. Perhaps only fate was to blame.

“Xiao Yu’er, long time no see,” I said, tossing away the cigarette and lighting another. Honestly, I never expected to meet Hu Xiaoyu here, nor that she would be the one to break my yin-seal.

“Call me Miss Hu,” Hu Xiaoyu said coldly.

“Alright, Xiao Yu’er,” I replied.

Her delicate brows furrowed, and she glared at me coldly. She could never forget the sorrow she felt when that man once told her to “get lost.”

I, thick-skinned, pretended not to notice.

“Now that you’ve found me, are you going to arrest me?” Hu Xiaoyu asked coldly.

I exhaled a puff of smoke and said calmly, “The missing people in Pearl Town and White Salt Town—are they connected to the White Lotus Sect?”

“Heh, want to know? Then kill me,” Hu Xiaoyu sneered indifferently.

I grabbed her hand and pulled her into a secluded corner, pressing her against the wall. My eyes bloodshot as I stared into hers.

Hu Xiaoyu shivered inside. She looked at the shallow scars crisscrossing my face and felt an impulse to reach out and touch them.

But one is a soldier, the other a thief—we come from different worlds.

“It doesn’t matter. It has nothing to do with us,” Hu Xiaoyu gritted her teeth.

“That’s good,” I took a deep breath and said hoarsely, “A white lotus blooms in the chaos, washing away the dust and grime of the world. Xiao Yu’er, the White Lotus Sect’s original purpose was to purify the darkness of the mortal realm. Do you know anything about the Underworld?”

“I know a little,” Hu Xiaoyu said.

“Then I’ll tell you more,” I said.

I began to recount the affairs of the Underworld, my mission, and the blood-soaked hell.

That took up most of the day.

“I just want to tell you: so many people are protecting this world with their blood and lives. Even if you can’t help, please don’t cause trouble,” I said, locking eyes with Hu Xiaoyu, speaking each word carefully.

Hu Xiaoyu bit her lip. “I’ve gathered the White Lotus Sect’s followers, but we haven’t done anything evil.”

“How much do you know about what happened in Pearl Town and White Salt Town?” I asked.

“I investigated before and found people possessed by vengeful spirits, going mad and self-harming. But when I dug deeper, some of my men disappeared without a trace, so I stopped the investigation,” Hu Xiaoyu said.

“Just like that?” I asked.

“Yes,” she said, but a flicker of unease crossed her eyes.

“I found a clue. Let’s talk in the room,” I said, standing up and taking her hand as we walked into the hotel.

Once inside my room, the door closed behind us, and both our hearts skipped a beat. In this confined space, two people who once shared intimacy now faced each other—an inevitable stir of complicated emotions arose.

I sat on the sofa; Hu Xiaoyu sat far away.

“Why so far? Afraid I’ll eat you up?” I raised an eyebrow.

“We’re enemies. If we’re in the same room, aren’t you afraid the Ninth Bureau will misunderstand?” Hu Xiaoyu said.

I smiled faintly. “I’m no longer with the Ninth Bureau.”

“Really? Why?” she asked.

“Tired,” I said in a low voice.

Hu Xiaoyu’s heart twitched. She hated me, yet at the moment she saw me again, her defenses crumbled like fragile pottery.

Pathetic! she cursed herself silently.

I pulled out a crystal-clear bottle I had gotten from the sea woman and tossed it to Hu Xiaoyu. “Take a look. See if anything’s wrong.”

Her eyes glowed with a crystalline light. “Evil energy. This bottle once contained some evil artifact.”

“That’s right. Here’s what happened...” I recounted the sea woman’s story.

“Half a year ago... the disappearances in Pearl Town did start then, but the ghost rumors began only three months ago. This bottle contains evil energy, not ghost energy. Doesn’t that seem strange?” Hu Xiaoyu frowned deeply, showing genuine concern after I finished.