At the same time, the price for using Gluttony arrived as scheduled.
Bai Ci felt the rough bark of the vines wrapping around her hand, eventually stopping at her elbow. It felt as if a chunk of her flesh had been bitten off by invisible, sharp teeth.
After all, it was just an ordinary marble table. Aside from being slightly hard, there was nothing special about it.
Breaking it didn't require paying much of a price.
Furthermore, because she was currently in her soul form, the pain on her elbow was fleeting, and there was no blood to clean up. The impact was virtually negligible.
Although she was actually in a bit of a sorry state, on the surface, Bai Ci's performance was incredibly calm and collected.
In Zhao Cunqiong's eyes, this naturally caused quite a stir.
Hard stone was as fragile as paper in her hands. This kind of logic-defying power was something science could not explain.
Seeing Zhao Cunqiong completely dazed and realizing she had achieved her desired effect, Bai Ci slowly spoke, “Now you should understand that we aren't the kind of incompetent frauds who rely on trickery to freeload.”
“They are running all over the city, conducting a thorough sweep, because they are dealing with an evil entity. It can twist people's minds, distort their perception, and bewilder pedestrians into misidentifying traffic lights, urging them to act according to their distorted perception.”
Zhao Cunqiong snapped out of her daze. Following Bai Ci's line of thought, she muttered, “Mistaking a red light for a green light... isn't that just driving people to their deaths?”
“Yes,” Bai Ci nodded gently, responding candidly.
She added, “And all of this is what they uncovered step-by-step while investigating the Zhao family curse.”
“Although ordinary money doesn't hold much meaning for people in our circle, we value karma. We will definitely do what we promised, so you can rest assured about that.”
“They have never been perfunctory or slack. It's just that the dangers and secrets involved are not convenient to explain in detail.”
Zhao Cunqiong's irritation vanished completely, replaced by a wave of intense shame and embarrassment.
After all, if someone possessed power beyond ordinary humans, they could acquire money in a matter of minutes if they wanted to. The compensation her family offered really didn't amount to much.
Her cheeks burned. She hurriedly took half a step forward and apologized sincerely in a low voice.
“I'm sorry. I was too impetuous and narrow-minded. I've been so busy with Grandpa Yun's funeral lately that I lost my head and couldn't control my emotions. I threw a tantrum, made wild assumptions, and misunderstood everyone.”
“It's fine. Those who do not know are innocent,” Bai Ci magnanimously replied on behalf of the others.
Even though she was overstepping her bounds a bit and being generous at others' expense.
But after all, this NPC hadn't done anything substantial and had only complained verbally.
Besides, her apology had come so quickly. There was no need to take an NPC so seriously; it would be quite pointless.
Hearing Bai Ci's reply, Zhao Cunqiong felt even more regretful.
In the intervals of preparing for Grandpa Yun's funeral over the past few days, she had complained more than once to Grandpa Yun's grandson, grumbling that the people they hired were all show and no substance, taking their money without doing any real work.
Looking back now, she felt utterly ashamed.
Fortunately, when she spoke her mind today, she wasn't facing the actual people who had accepted her family's invitation.
Furthermore, the other party had a generous and forgiving nature, choosing not to hold it against her, and likely wouldn't go out of her way to tell the others about it.
Otherwise, this matter would have truly spiraled out of control.
The morning's incident was temporarily put to rest. Around mid-morning, Wu Daoqing made a rare return to the Zhao family estate, signaling that their operation was officially advancing to a critical step.
As soon as Wu Daoqing returned, he did nothing else but head straight for the door of Zheng Gang's room on the second floor.
He was here to collect the evidence that Zheng Gang had compiled.
Last night, by tracing the various residual auras left by the Foetal Feeders, Mi Ke had successfully locked onto the hiding spot of that Republican Era malevolent spirit and immediately synchronized the clues with Zheng Gang.
This was also why Zheng Gang had to stay up late last night; he knew it was time to work overtime.
The door opened, and Zheng Gang, his eyes slightly bloodshot from staying up late, poked half his body out. “Everything is organized. Hold on a second.”
As he spoke, he couldn't help but let out a massive yawn before heading back inside.
In the brief moment it took to retrieve the items from his room, Zheng Gang handed two thick stacks of bound documents to Wu Daoqing.
“Here, physical copies. There are two sets.”
“I trust Wu Suowei and Mi Ke a lot, so they probably wouldn't need a backup. But with Ou Li around, things are hard to say. I prepared an extra copy just to be safe against her.”
“Also, there's an electronic version of this data. I saved it in the cloud. I've already sent the link and password to the group chat, so check it yourselves.”
He was simply too exhausted and desperately needed a good sleep.
This thick stack of documents recorded a thousand years of entanglement between two clans, the lives of countless innocent people, and all the truths that had been deliberately buried.
Wu Daoqing took them solemnly, feeling their immense weight.
Aside from the significance they carried, the physical weight of the documents themselves was not light either.
Having secured the documents, Wu Daoqing didn't linger. Clutching the papers, he found Bai Ci, who was sitting quietly in the courtyard.
“Lady Ming Ci, it's time to set off.”
Bai Ci nodded. “Alright.”
She understood why everyone wanted to bring her along at this moment.
The previous battles to clear out the Foetal Feeders were mere minor skirmishes. Even with his power suppressed, Ming Yi could handle them easily without any risk of losing control.
But today was different. They were about to face a malevolent spirit nourished by a thousand years of hatred, and they were going to interfere with the mastermind's core layout.
No one could predict the outcome of this battle. If the situation spiraled out of control and Ming Yi had to fight the malevolent spirit, he would have to unleash his full power and fully immerse himself in the battle.
Ming Yi was originally a malevolent spirit, ruthless and decisive in slaughter. It was only because he was worshipped as a Ghost Immortal that his deep-seated malevolence was normally suppressed by the power of the living's wishes.
Once he went all out, he could easily fall deep into a slaughterous state and lose his mind to bloodlust.
And Bai Ci, as his benevolent soul, served as a stabilizer.
The group drove toward the barren, suburban mountain where the malevolent spirit was hiding. The location was remote and sparsely populated, making it perfect for conducting various operations.
While it was not easily discovered, it also minimized the risk of affecting ordinary people.
When they arrived at their destination, it was noon. Although it was the hottest time of day, the temperature in the mountain forest was cool enough to require a jacket.
The trees grew exceptionally dense here, so much so that even sunlight struggled to penetrate the layers of leaves, making the forest feel unusually dark and oppressive.
Compared to the others, Wu Suowei had already slipped over before dawn to complete his preliminary setup.
Spending several hours beforehand, Wu Suowei had gathered various materials from the Heavenly Master Association to trace a massive, all-encompassing trapping and killing array across the entire forest.
Major arrays nested minor ones, which were in turn interlinked with one another. The array cores were stable, and the patterns were intricate. Every single node aligned precisely with the spiritual flow of heaven and earth, offering both offensive and defensive capabilities.
Additionally, dozens of heavenly masters from the Heavenly Master Association stood in pairs, guarding each array node in full battle readiness.
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