Chapter 378 |
Though Yuan Yuanyuan sincerely hoped that she and Fa Ning could be a bit more in sync, it was painfully clear that a connection like that… didn’t just happen because you wished it so.
In the manga, Yuan hadn’t appeared in a long time. Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t know whether Ji Qiu was doing it on purpose, but the complete erasure still caught her off guard.
It was as if Yuan’s entire existence had been deliberately wiped clean.
But Yuan Yuanyuan didn’t feel like she’d been doing nothing lately. She was still collecting intel in City C, and if she found anything useful, she’d phone it in to Fa Ning and the others.
There had been a few times when she was sure she had helped them avoid absolute disaster. Even so, she hadn’t made it into the manga. It was like all news of her had been sealed off—total radio silence.
Well… fine, then. Yuan Yuanyuan thought. The situation’s already this bad; it’s not like I can ask for much more.
Gao Ling had been feeling increasingly uneasy while reading the manga lately.
She couldn’t quite figure out Ji Qiu’s intent, but she’d definitely noticed that Yuan had completely vanished. Ji Qiu had scrubbed him from the panels so thoroughly, he didn’t even show up in flashbacks.
That shouldn’t be possible… Gao Ling hadn’t yet considered anything too serious, but she began to wonder if something had happened to Yuan—something even Ji Qiu hadn’t anticipated. Maybe a sudden, serious illness or something?
Gao Ling’s thoughts quickly spiraled. What if Yuan’s life was already in danger, and Ji Qiu had given up hope? Maybe he decided to quietly let this storyline die out rather than explain anything.
No way! She couldn’t let it end like that! If Ji Qiu dared to cut him off like that, she’d mail razor blades to the magazine! Gao Ling raged internally. She used to be able to sneak intel from the tavern, but after the last incident, even that last source of information was gone.
Gao Ling agonized over this for a long time, and finally resorted to her last method—a method she’d stumbled upon by sheer accident.
That day, she slung a small bag over her shoulder and slipped through a broken fence. After checking the surroundings and confirming no one was around, she stepped inside an abandoned building and opened her bag.
Inside were a stack of talisman papers, a book, a circular plate, and a few old coins tied with red thread.
Carefully, she opened the book, then took out a lighter and burned one of the talismans.
She was currently in the ruins of what used to be the clothing store—now overrun with weeds.
Heaven and Earth, lend me your guidance…
Gao Ling had once known quite a few spiritually gifted individuals, including some from actual Taoist bloodlines. She had joined a small group chat with them, and one of them had taught her some basic divination techniques.
What she was doing now was one such technique: reading fate through divination.
It was her first time doing something this mystical. She had no idea if it would work, but she followed the instructions to the letter. The book said that if you wanted to locate someone, the best place to perform the ritual was somewhere they had once lived. Gao Ling remembered this spot and brought all her gear here.
Few humans even knew that Yuan had once lived here… though among demons, it was widely known. She had seen many come here before, hoping to find something Yuan had left behind.
Lighting a yellow talisman and watching it slowly burn, her expression turned solemn. Yet… nothing strange happened around her.
It just felt like she’d released a bit more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Birds flew overhead, chirping as they passed.
Shouldn’t something at least mildly supernatural be happening? Gao Ling was starting to doubt herself, but when she cast the coins onto the ground, a wave of relief washed over her.
Maybe it hadn’t failed…
The coins slowly rolled before settling in two different directions—one pointed toward the northwest, and the other stopped at the center.
The coin in the northwest likely represented Fa Ning. The one in the center—must be Yuan.
Was Yuan still in City C? Gao Ling wondered.
She wasn’t sure if the coins had landed randomly or if the divination had truly worked. Picking them up and holding them in her hand, she took a deep breath.
Time to ask the next question.
…
Today, Yuan Yuanyuan had a nagging feeling that something was about to happen.
Just yesterday, she’d received intel that Yuan Yingli and the others had successfully reached the Hundred Demon King. For some reason, she had a gut feeling that this trip wasn’t just routine business.
She was zoning out inside her room when a small demon stumbled in, gasping for breath. “Yuan, Yuan-sama—we just got news that the Li family head has disappeared from City C!”
“What?”
When did that happen? And why were they only hearing about it now?
“He only left about an hour ago,” the little demon replied, as if he knew what she was thinking. “But his current whereabouts are unknown.”
Boom. It was like a bomb had gone off in her head. Yuan Yuanyuan thought she had a solid read on Li, and even so, she only got this news within two hours of his departure?
She frowned. So that’s what’s been bugging me—something really had happened.
Just then, the door burst into a chaotic barrage of pounding. The knocking was so disorganized that she immediately guessed who it was.
“Come in,” she called.
Several small heads poked through the door. Their wide eyes stared up at her, and the moment she waved them in, they swarmed inside.
“Yuan-sama! We heard that Li Wangzhu’s gone!”
“Is he heading to find the Hundred Demon King?”
Could you not make things worse right now…? Yuan Yuanyuan rubbed her temples in exasperation as she looked at the little demons bouncing around.
But what could she do? She couldn’t hit them. She couldn’t yell at them. These kids had grown up in a very closed-off part of the northwest. Even if she tried to explain things, they wouldn’t understand. Eventually, she just gave up trying.
Worse yet, they were absurdly affectionate toward her—something she found hard to handle.
“Yuan-sama! Since Li Wangzhu has gone to the Hundred Demon King, shouldn’t we follow him?” one asked.
“Why would we do that?” she replied, confused.
“To kill that little Hundred Demon King, of course,” the child said. “That way, you can become—”
Before he could finish, Yuan Yuanyuan slammed him to the ground.
She was covered in cold sweat.
What kind of joke was that?! If he’d said the rest out loud, she really would have had to go through with it.
Sure, she had kind of expected this to happen eventually—but her personality had always been: if it can be delayed a day, delay it a day.
But it seemed some people weren’t interested in letting her drag her feet anymore.
“He’s right. You should go,” said the landlady, stepping in through the door. “He left about an hour ago. If you leave now, you can still catch up. Take a team of demons who specialize in illusions with you.”
Yuan Yuanyuan turned to look at her. The landlady even had a travel bundle all packed, and didn’t ask if Yuan Yuanyuan wanted to go—she just handed it over and said to the others, “Out. I need to speak to Yuan.”
The other demons ran off, giggling, but still remembered to shut the door behind them. Yuan Yuanyuan was left sitting there, filled with complaints.
Seriously? Don’t shut the door! You’re making it sound like we’re about to do something shady in here!
The landlady didn’t care about any of that. She stepped forward, handed her the package, and said in the softest voice Yuan Yuanyuan had ever heard from her, “I’ve packed everything for you. Be safe and come back early. I’ll hold down the tavern.”
Hey, hey! Yuan Yuanyuan stared down at the bundle with a dead-fish look in her eyes.
What the hell is this… Why do I feel like a general heading off to war? “Come back early”? What, are we quoting ancient war poems now?
She looked at the landlady and tried to speak several times, but the words got stuck in her throat. Finally, she made a vow to herself.
Damn it. If she came back alive this time, she was going to rip off her disguise right in front of the landlady. Enough already—why does everyone keep treating her like this? She was 100% a girl, okay? What the hell was all this kingly nonsense?
Despite all her internal ranting, Yuan Yuanyuan took the bundle, turned, and left to gather her team.
Before leaving, she even waved back at the landlady as a farewell.
This departure had come quickly. The moment she got news about the Li family head, everything sprang into motion. She had talked to the landlady about it before—the landlady had made it clear that Yuan’s job was to seize the moment.
She wanted Yuan Yuanyuan to step in only when Fa Ning and the Hundred Demon King had worn each other down. That way, she could swoop in like a yellow sparrow following a mantis and take the prize. It all came down to timing.
Now that the Li family head had moved, it was time for Yuan Yuanyuan to move too.
Back at the divination site, Gao Ling suddenly frowned.
The arrangement of the coins had shifted—and even she couldn’t make sense of what it meant.
Just moments ago, the coin in the center had suddenly darted off to the side.
Seriously…? That fast? It hadn’t even been that long. Gao Ling groaned internally.
Looking up at the gray sky, she muttered, All those spirit types in the group chat said a strong spiritual connection means accurate divination… but now it felt like all of it was just nonsense.