Chapter 283: Extinguishing Fire

Ning Zhe was not around, and Xia Yubing had no desire to wander the streets in a strapless stocking and freeze; she simply put on a pair of canvas trousers over her clothes and followed Forslos to the Vivian Port Mega Mall.

The Vivian Port Mega Mall was originally an ancient marketplace where nearby villagers brought their handmade crafts and agricultural products to trade with camel-riding merchants for fine salt and silver coins, while fishermen came with pearls and seafood; over time, it grew into a sizable hub.

Today, the Vivian Port Mega Mall has become a renowned international trade center, with many famous brands operating stores here—including Forslos’s own women’s clothing brand, named after him, specializing in swimwear, lingerie, and intimate bedding. Forslos holds two fashion shows annually in Vivian Port: one for lingerie and one for swimwear, held at the beginning and end of summer respectively.

Forslos’s fashion shows and Milicato’s jewelry exhibitions are both famous events in Vivian Port.

“Tomorrow is the final swimwear show in Vivian Port. It’s a great pity that the honorable Mr. Dai Ke could not attend,” Forslos Milicato said, one hand in his pocket, shaking his head with a sigh.

This was already the third time he had casually mentioned this in front of Xia Yubing, his tone clearly hinting at something—making her inexplicably irritated.

Xia Yubing lifted her lips in a smile. “Vivian Port is sinking, yet your brand still operates, the models haven’t retired, and the next swimwear show can be held elsewhere—even more grandly, can’t it?”

Forslos smiled and shook his head. “Flowers may bloom again, but youth never returns. Once something precious is missed, it can never be found again—even if, in some distant future, you recover it, what you pick up is no longer the same person or the same moment.”

His implication was clear: Fan Daike’s sudden departure had not merely caused him to miss a runway show, but something far more significant—or someone.

“You might as well speak more plainly,” Xia Yubing said coldly.

“It seems I overstepped,” Forslos smiled, and said no more.

Xia Yubing desperately wanted to know what this man was hiding, but he showed no intention of continuing.

After all, her official identity was merely that of a Shou Ge practitioner brought back from Jiuzhou by Marquis Fan Daike—a woman persecuted by local forces, forced to seek political asylum from the Dai family. Had it not been for the rumored intimate connection between this Xia woman and Marquis Fan Daike, Forslos would never have wasted his precious time on a foreign woman.

After touring the mall, Xia Yubing excused herself and returned to the hotel to rest, lying on the bed and meticulously recording every detail of her observations and Forslos’s strange behavior in her notebook, hoping Ning Zhe would see it soon.

Meanwhile, Ning Zhe had landed and was heading toward Vanessa Castle.

Vanessa Castle lay at the foot of Boreto Mountain, with only one sizable town nearby: Breshet. The town had no airport; after Forslos’s private jet landed at the nearest airport, Ning Zhe immediately drove along the highway to the town of “Breshet,” where he abandoned his vehicle.

Using Taiyi’s “Transformation” rule, he shifted his identity into a bird and flew directly into Boreto Mountain, long designated a nature reserve, where Vanessa Castle—steeped in heavy historical aura—sat at its foot.

Upon reaching the mountain’s base, Ning Zhe did not rush in, for on his way he had already noticed roadblocks erected along the access route, with police cars occasionally parked at checkpoints, stopping and inspecting passing vehicles.

Ning Zhe tried switching to Aurore’s identity, posing as an ordinary passing woman, and approached a police officer to inquire. The reply: “A thief recently broke into Vanessa Castle and stole precious artifacts stored within. This area is now sealed off—no unauthorized entry permitted.” “So the Fulemisirote family has acted,” Ning Zhe realized. “They’ve mobilized police to blockade all roads around Vanessa Castle.”

When he had parted from Lan Shiwen in the dream, the last thing Lan had said was: 【The Fulemi family knows I’ve entered. Their Sheng Ge practitioners are on their way to kill me.】

—To erase the Thought Steel Seal, Ning Zhe had tried in the dream to have Lan Shiwen die in his place, triggering Death Return—but it failed. Lan Shiwen’s “save point” lay after he had been branded with the Thought Steel Seal.

Though the reset failed, the startled Lan Shiwen had still reached Vanessa Castle and left a message carved into stone, providing Ning Zhe with a crucial clue that helped him unravel the mystery of the “Chang Ghost.”

And this unexpected visitor’s arrival had also alerted members of the Fulemisirote family.

“Someone among those guarding Vanessa Castle must be a Shou Ge or even a Sheng Ge practitioner. I must be careful.”

Ning Zhe transformed into a long-tailed tit, perched on a birch branch. A pale girl without features stood silently one step behind him, on a higher branch, clad in a crimson bridal gown embroidered with gold thread in a pattern of a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix. Between her slender fingers lay an open almanac:

【Lunar July 24】

【Auspicious: Traveling, Visiting Relatives, Marriage Proposals, Construction, Extinguishing Fire】

【Inauspicious: Buying and Selling, Burial】

Today was lucky—he had drawn five auspicious items and two inauspicious ones, and two of the “auspicious” items had already activated during his flight here with the almanac.

No mistake. One by one, every item was correct!

“Extinguishing Fire” is a term unique to the almanac, requiring separate interpretation of its two characters.

“Extinguish” means movement; “Fire” refers to incense burners, ancestral tablets, statues—objects used to worship deities—or the hearth, stove, or cooking fire.

“Extinguishing Fire” means relocating sacred objects like incense burners, tablets, or statues, or moving the household stove or hearth. In modern terms, it could mean moving an electric rice cooker, induction cooker, or gas stove.

Now, as Ning Zhe carried the almanac, which bore the rules of the Snake God’s invocation, wherever he went, he was continuously performing the auspicious act of “Extinguishing Fire”—no need to deliberately move any sacred object.

Of course, if one day he opened the almanac and found “Extinguishing Fire” listed among the inauspicious, he would be unable to move an inch.

After adding two buffs to himself, Ning Zhe spread his wings and left the branch, flying through the forest to the rear of the castle, avoiding multiple police checkpoints, and slipping quietly into Vanessa Castle in the real world.

(End of Chapter)