Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Protector Pays a Visit

Li Changqing returned to the office. After a simple dinner, Guan Wenyan cleaned up the dishes and the kitchen until everything was spotless, then retreated to the guest room to rest. Once inside, Guan Wenyan carefully locked the door behind him. Crawling under the covers, he took out his phone and dialed a number, his voice as soft as a mosquito’s whisper: “The reason the people from the Shadow Cult are gathering in Nanlin City is to choose a new cult leader from among Hu Qideng and the two other protectors, surnamed Qi and Gou.”

On the other end, the reply came in a grave tone: “A new cult leader? Wenyan, your next task is to help Hu Qideng become the leader. When he succeeds, he’ll obtain the full roster of the Shadow Cult members.”

“If you manage to steal the roster, your mission will be complete.”

“Yes!” Guan Wenyan nodded vigorously and quietly hung up the phone. The plan was progressing more smoothly than he had imagined. Hu Qideng now trusted him completely, treating him as one of his own.

Hu Qideng’s mastery of the shadow arts was formidable; he would surely be able to overpower the two other protectors, Qi and Gou. The only real challenge was whether Guan Wenyan could steal the roster from Hu Qideng safely and without incident.

At that moment, Li Changqing was sitting in the living room with Tang Xiaoyu, watching a dull idol drama on TV. He held the iron bead given by Hu Xiong in his right hand, constantly trying to infuse it with spiritual energy. Yet the results were still negligible. While he could manipulate spiritual energy within his own body with ease, no matter how hard he tried, he could not channel it into the iron bead.

Repeated attempts all ended in failure.

Noticing Li Changqing sitting beside her, eyes fixed in a daze on the iron bead in his hand, Tang Xiaoyu reached out her slender finger and poked his cheek, asking curiously, “What’s that? Where did you get it? Is it valuable?”

Li Changqing snapped back to reality. The iron bead, originally cold, had grown slightly warm from his grasp. He tucked it into his clothes. “It’s just iron. Not worth much.”

With his answer, Tang Xiaoyu lost interest, turning her gaze back to the television, her voice a little softer, “What do you plan to do next? Guan Wenyan is a good person. Are you really going to let the Thirty-Sixth Bureau arrest him?”

Tang Xiaoyu was a kind-hearted ghost. To her, Guan Wenyan, though a member of a cult, had taken on all the dirty and exhausting chores in the office these past few days. He’d even helped them earn a hefty sum of money. The thought of him being taken away by the Thirty-Sixth Bureau left Tang Xiaoyu uneasy.

“That’s not our concern,” Li Changqing shook his head, his gaze becoming unusually serious. What truly demanded his attention was how to extricate himself from the Shadow Cult, unscathed and whole. As for Guan Wenyan’s fate, that was for the Thirty-Sixth Bureau to deal with in due course.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

A crisp knocking sounded at the door. Li Changqing looked toward it in curiosity, inwardly thinking it strange. He walked over and opened it.

Standing in the dimly-lit, narrow corridor were two elderly men, with several sturdy youths behind them. Their most distinctive feature was a slight stoop to their posture.

Moreover, the two elders gave Li Changqing a distinctly different feeling. Their eyes fixed on him with a piercing, shadowy gaze, as if they could see straight through to his soul.

Gou Zhen and Qi Hongshan did not speak but walked directly into the detective office. Their followers did not enter with them.

“Close the door, why don’t you? Let’s have a little chat.”

Gou Zhen, leaning on his cane, slowly seated himself on the leather sofa, glancing at Tang Xiaoyu not far away.

Tang Xiaoyu, frightened, stammered to Li Changqing, “I—I—I…”

Li Changqing quickly signaled her with his eyes. He had a strong suspicion about the identity of the two elders who had arrived.

But things weren’t unfolding as he had expected. He had assumed that, as protectors, the three of them would at least send word in advance. Perhaps they’d arrange a grand location, bring their own followers, and discuss the matter of the new cult leader with due ceremony.

He hadn’t expected these two to show up unannounced at his detective agency.

He signaled again to Tang Xiaoyu, who drew a deep breath, then hurried behind him and crouched down, pretending to be his shadow.

From the sofa, Gou Zhen looked on disdainfully, smiling as he said to Qi Hongshan, “So this is the so-called ‘Transcendent Shadow’?”

The nature of a shadow was to be a mindless monster: powerful, yes, but also requiring constant spells from its master to suppress its ferocity. In some respects, shadows were indeed similar to ghosts, but a shadow that had reached transcendence could not possibly wear such a panicked, restless expression as she did now.

Such emotions were not part of a shadow’s repertoire.

Perhaps drawn by the noise outside, Guan Wenyan, dressed in pajamas, emerged from the guest room and came to stand beside Li Changqing, asking quietly, “Protector Hu, who are these two?”

Li Changqing had calmed himself by now. “And may I ask who you two are?”

“Gou Zhen.”

“Qi Hongshan.”

“And who are you? Are you Hu Qideng?”

Seated on the sofa, Gou Zhen fixed him with a sinister smile, while Qi Hongshan, hands clasped behind his back, watched with equal amusement.

Upon hearing their names, Li Changqing was certain: these were the Protectors Qi and Gou of the Shadow Cult.

Something felt off ever since they entered, and Li Changqing sensed trouble. His impersonation of Hu Qideng might not fool these two.

Damn Hu Xiong. Why did he have to get me to impersonate Hu Qideng?

Without a change in expression, he took out Hu Qideng’s Protector token and placed it slowly on the coffee table. “Honored Protectors, I am Hu Qideng’s disciple, Li Changqing.”

“By order of my master, and with his Protector token in hand, I welcome you both!”

The most shocked was Guan Wenyan, who stared at Li Changqing in disbelief. “You’re not Hu Qideng???”

He’s not Hu Qideng? What’s going on? So all these days I’ve been scrubbing floors and cooking, wearing a fawning smile like a loyal dog…

If he’s not Hu Qideng, then all my efforts were for nothing?

Li Changqing managed a strained smile, ignoring Guan Wenyan’s question, and turned to Gou Zhen and Qi Hongshan. “Honored Protectors, my master is suffering from cancer. Only by using a life-borrowing technique has he managed to hold on, but his body has yet to recover. He’s afraid of being found by the Thirty-Sixth Bureau, so he dares not show himself.”

“Since he cannot appear, and many cultists who have come to join him have nowhere to go, he allowed me to hold the Protector token and temporarily receive the cultists and communicate with the two Protectors.”

Gou Zhen gently stroked his cane. “You’re temporarily receiving the cultists on your master’s behalf?”

“That’s right, those are my master’s instructions.” Li Changqing maintained a respectful demeanor.

Li Changqing’s mind worked quickly. Sensing the two men doubted he was Hu Qideng, he immediately switched his story—if he couldn’t pass for the master, at least he could pass for the disciple.

Damn it, Hu Xiong, you’ve really landed me in a mess.

He wondered silently if Hu Xiong was close enough to help, should these two turn on him. If they saw through his ruse, his only hope would be that Hu Xiong could intervene in time.

Gou Zhen and Qi Hongshan exchanged a glance, their suspicion fading somewhat. After all, the Protector token was in his hands. Either Hu Qideng had given it to him personally, or he had been captured and forced to surrender it.

But the man before them also had a female ghost with him. The Thirty-Sixth Bureau would never keep a ghost at hand; only those in the crooked, unorthodox circles would do such a thing.

Besides, it was normal for Hu Qideng, so weak that he dared not appear, to stay hidden. Were he to show himself in such frailty, Gou Zhen and Qi Hongshan would never allow him to remain a contender for the cult leader’s seat—they’d eliminate him as a threat without hesitation.

Gou Zhen’s smile grew faint. Having clarified the situation, he asked, “What is your master’s view on the election of a new leader?”

“My master has said that, being advanced in years and not yet recovered, he has decided to withdraw from the competition for the leadership.”

“But he also noted that any rules set by either of you would inevitably be biased. Therefore, he has come up with a method to ensure absolute fairness and harmony in selecting the new leader.”

To this, Gou Zhen and Qi Hongshan were not surprised. Hu Qideng was so weak he dared not even show himself; how could he still vie for the leadership? As for the rules, as long as they were reasonable, neither cared much for the formality.

Was Hu Qideng merely trying to curry favor with the new leader?

Both men inwardly sneered, thinking they saw through Hu Qideng’s intentions.

Gou Zhen spoke slowly, “Let’s hear it. What kind of method ensures fairness and keeps the peace?”

Li Changqing answered respectfully, “Not far from here is an abandoned factory. Tomorrow, I will place my master’s Protector token inside ahead of time. Whoever of you finds it first will become the new leader.”