Chapter 270

Tap-tap, tap-tap……

Behind Zhou Xingsen, delicate footsteps crunched on glass, emitting a creaking sound.

Something is behind me!

Many things are behind me!

Zhou Xingsen broke into a cold sweat—he knew things had gone bad, but the gamble had already begun; he couldn't turn back. If he turned, he lost—and this gamble was staking his life!

"Make him turn around!"

Zhou Xingsen directly ordered Lao Chen and the other three gambling ghosts to force Wu Xian to turn his head—his only option now was to make Wu Xian lose, so he could respond forcibly.

But the next second.

Arrows, flame, Jin Guang…

Three different beams flashed—three gambling ghosts turned to ash at once! Wu Xian scratched his curly hair and smiled as he waved to the opposite side.

"Sorry to trouble you all—I was careless and didn't escape in time. Thanks for coming to save me."

The reply from the other side carried laughter.

"No problem—we were bored anyway. Earning a few hundred bucks isn't bad."

Zhou Xingsen asked in terror: "Is this the Fuyuan Chenghuang office?"

Wu Xian nodded.

"Impossible! Once you enter this building, you can't leave, and you can't call or text for help—how could the Fuyuan Chenghuang office even get here!"

Wu Xian glanced at Lao Chen's ashes: "Lao Chen helped me!"

"Lao Chen couldn't possibly have!" Zhou Xingsen was beginning to crack. "The moment he saw sunlight, he became my gambling ghost—he couldn't send you a text!"

The other side threw a phone over. Wu Xian turned it around to show Zhou Xingsen.

"I never counted on him sending me a text—I already hit send in the hallway."

"But there's no signal in the hallway—you sent…"

Wu Xian leaned back.

"Have you ever sent a network message? Once you hit send, even without signal, it keeps trying until it finds a connection and sends out…"

"Of course, for safety, I also set up a scheduled email."

So when Lao Chen said he'd seen sunlight, Wu Xian knew his rescue request had succeeded. From that moment on, every move he made was to buy time until the Fuyuan Chenghuang office arrived.

Hearing the footsteps drawing closer, in despair, Zhou Xingsen roared at the figures behind him.

"I'm a Lotus Juanren too! This is a fair gamble—you can't help him and not me!"

"No, you're not anymore."

A golden-hat-like object slipped over Zhou Xingsen's head. The figure behind him gave a gentle tug on the cord—and Zhou Xingsen's head was severed.

The man had albinism—Feng Chen, with white hair, white eyebrows, and red eyes! Feng Chen held the object in his hand, casually flicking it, making Zhou Xingsen's head spin dozens of times.

Wu Xian raised an eyebrow.

Zhou Xingsen turned his head—now Wu Xian had won the gamble.

Behind Feng Chen stood several other Lotus Juanren who had come to take the assignment; they grumbled at Feng Chen, because by standard procedure, he was only supposed to guide them—not claim the kill.

Feng Chen shrugged helplessly.

"I had no choice—my broken blood-dropper can't go to waste. You know how hard it is to throw this thing and have it land perfectly on a head? A demonic entity worthy of using my blood-dropper is a once-in-a-millennium occurrence."

Though difficult to use, the blood-dropper was extremely effective—it took the enemy's head and drained all life force at once, making it an outstanding execution tool.

Feng Chen exchanged a few brief words with Wu Xian, learning the full story from him. Then the Lotus Juanren began clearing the scene. Though Zhou Xingsen's apartment was filthy, it still held some valuable items he'd won.

Wu Xian's fingers twitched with desire, but he respected the rules—he, as the one waiting for rescue, had no right to compete with the Lotus Juanren for loot.

The entire room was purified; the corpse was removed. Corpses dying here were all transported by the Fuyuan Chenghuang office for specialized handling, and the room itself had to be fully purified.

The red-clothed shrine Wu Xian had been curious about was kicked over by a burly Lotus Juanren.

Incense ash, shards of jars, and playing cards scattered across the floor.

A sinister power radiated from within—but before it could spread, it was engulfed by a strange three-colored flame. The thing hidden inside let out a hollow, ethereal wail, then vanished into smoke.

What surprised Wu Xian was:

Some of the ash drifted toward him, slipping into his White Ghost Playing Cards box—its bloodstains grew even brighter red.

Everyone saw this, so Wu Xian made no attempt to hide it—he pulled out the cards and saw that every single one now bore faint skin textures, and felt colder to the touch.

"Congratulations—may your permanent accessory upgrade soon."

Seeing Wu Xian's confusion, Feng Chen explained.

"Permanent accessories can upgrade not only through blessings from the Fudi, but also by absorbing the power of similar objects. The human-skin playing cards Zhou Xingsen worshipped share certain affinities with your permanent accessory."

"But besides congratulations, be careful—not to end up like Zhou Xingsen."

"You may be seeing a transformed Lotus Juanren for the first time, but to me, such creatures aren't rare…"

"Lotus Juanren in the Fudi often deal with cursed objects. The Li Hen Tian can remove curses and injuries, but the knowledge you see and learn remains in your mind."

"The strange knowledge in the Fudi—best to see it and forget it!"

"That knowledge is spread by the 'enemy'—learning it only twists you into a demonic entity…"

"Some Lotus Juanren dislike relying solely on blessings and divine rewards—they want to master their own power. But divine power, though not yours, is the safest, most righteous path…"

"Most who try to use knowledge learned in the Fudi in the real world end up with terrible fates. I hope one day, your head won't be inside my blood-dropper."

As he spoke,

Several more Fuyuan Chenghuang staff arrived.

With them came Tong Yu'ai and her mother—both still visibly shaken.

Though they followed Wu Xian's advice and tried to leave, they became trapped in an endless loop on the stairs—without Zhou Xingsen's permission, they couldn't escape, so they waited on the landing.

Only after Zhou Xingsen's head was severed did staff entering from below bring them upstairs.

Feng Chen rubbed his chin, and his eyes lit up at the sight of Tong Yu'ai's red dress and black stockings.

"You must be Tong Yu'ai."

Tong Yu'ai nodded weakly: "Y-yes…"

"This is a bit of a hassle."

Wu Xian was taken aback: "What's the hassle? Just handle it the normal way."

The "normal way" he referred to was erasing her memory.

Feng Chen shook his head: "She just went through something similar, so the medicine from Fuyuan Chenghuang won't work on her for the time being. That means she's an ordinary person who knows things she shouldn't, and even if we lock her up, the Yin Escorts will come for her life."

"Is there any way to break that?"

Feng Chen smiled and looked at Tong Yu'ai: "Would you be willing to come work at our Fuyuan Chenghuang?"

(End of chapter)