Chapter 291: Seizing the High Ground

“So, it’s this one.”

Wei Xun raised an eyebrow. The Nezha Spirit had the parasite bee pinched between its fingers, completely immobilized.

Wei Xun had used the【Incomplete Vacation Booklet】he’d drawn from the blind box that evening and returned to the Beijing Suburbs Funeral Palace. It had been An Xuefeng’s suggestion; with National Day falling on October first, the capital’s security presence was heavy and the crowds were thick, making things considerably harder to manage there.

Rather than returning to the journey directly, he had reappeared at his last departure point inside the Thirteen Ming Tombs, and the moment he touched down, the Nezha Spirit had shot over to him. It had been waiting specifically for Wei Xun.

“Little friend, how are you holding up?”

The Nezha Spirit asked with concern. When Wei Xun wondered aloud what it was doing there, the Nezha Spirit said matter-of-factly, “Emperor Taizong mentioned you’d run into some trouble recently, so I came straight away!”

Wei Xun understood immediately and had to suppress a laugh. It was probably the time he’d gathered the Killing Blade’s resentful souls into the Perished Ming Token, together with the earlier invitation to Taizong to “come out and travel,” that had given the Emperor the wrong impression.

Taizong was likely too lazy to venture out himself, but flatly refusing Wei Xun would have been too unkind; so, he’d simply dispatched the Nezha Spirit instead.

“Older Brother, I really have run into a bit of trouble, but let me tell you the good news first!”

Wei Xun produced the golden nanmu wood urn as he spoke.

“You’ve always wanted to go out and see the world, haven’t you? Now you can be with me whenever you like!”

“Is there really such a wonderful thing?”

The Nezha Spirit was greatly intrigued. It took the urn and looked it over, then declared, “Little friend, are you planning to make offerings to me? That’s actually quite a good method!”

Offerings?

Wei Xun had been puzzling over how to establish a bond with a tomb for an entity like the Nezha Spirit, who had no grave, and had thought getting a response would be the simpler part of the problem. But hearing the Nezha Spirit say that, something clicked into place.

Was the essential nature of bonding with a tomb simply making offerings? The most basic way to establish that connection would naturally be burning paper money, laying out offerings and the like. When put that way, it made sense.

Wei Xun probed further about what kind of offering the Nezha Spirit preferred. The Nezha Spirit waved a small hand and said it wasn’t particular; a little stone figurine carved by Wei Xun would do perfectly. Much in the same spirit as the deity figures placed in temples for worship.

Carving was something Wei Xun had steadily gotten the hang of over time, so he set to work on a figurine while handing the Demonic Insect Sphere over to the Nezha Spirit.

” Older Brother, help me check it over. I think something bad got inside.”

“Something bad?”

The moment the Nezha Spirit heard that, it ignited the True Fire of Samadhi on the spot and wrapped the Demonic Insect Sphere in roaring flames.

“Leave it to your big brother.”

“Demonic Insects have no brain and no independent thought; they’re among the easiest things to control.”

Yu Hehui said. Wei Xun had brought him and Tong Hege along this time.

Per An Xuefeng’s warning, anyone who had come into contact with the Puppet Master risked contamination. Coming to the Nezha Spirit to have it burned away was the safer option.

“Is the Puppet Master really that notorious? I’d actually like to see what she’s about.”

Tong Hege said, curious. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] He and Yu Hehui had both died early; in their lifetimes the Puppet Master hadn’t been particularly prominent, so neither of them had much of an impression of her.

“The Butcher Alliance is more dangerous, if you ask me.”

Tong Hege said casually.

“We’ve never seen her true form ourselves. But when Xun’er rescued Zhang Xingcang, didn’t Dreamchaser form a temporary alliance with the Puppet Master and go inside the Butcher Alliance alongside her?”

“If merely being injured could potentially lead to contamination, the Butcher Guides who got hurt that night had to be the most numerous. Wasn’t it said that even the Weeping Medium was captured by the Puppet Master and held for a period of time?”

“Exactly.”

Yu Hehui turned it over thoughtfully.

“The Weeping Medium is a sharp man. If his own body has developed some kind of problem… then perhaps only the Sun charm could suppress it. No wonder he’d want to send the Sun charm over.”

The crux of it wasn’t the act of sending the Sun charm. It was the necessity of staying close to it at all times.

“This is trouble.”

Tong Hege clicked his tongue, looking conflicted.

“What do they do when it’s time to go back?”

Yu Hehui looked at Wei Xun. Their eyes met; both of them had already reached the same conclusion.

If the Weeping Medium had truly been contaminated, and the Sun charm could suppress that contamination, then before going back, either the contamination would need to be cleared some other way, or he would have to take the Sun charm back with him.

What could clear the contamination?

Wei Xun thought of the suit the Weeping Medium had been presented with by Yin-Yang Butterfly, the one that faintly radiated tremendous Abyss energy.

Would the Weeping Medium, with no regard for himself, use that as a probe to test Wei Xun?

“He sounds like the type my brother would appreciate.”

Wei Xun said with a measured tone.

“Far-sighted, thinks several steps ahead, and capable of ruthlessness when it counts.”

Both were suspicious by nature, but where Wei Xun preferred people who were straightforward and transparent, loyal and easy to read, Wei Xuechen had always favored those who were sharp and calculating.

“I don’t like people who are too calculating.”

The Nezha Spirit protested from the side. It had finished its meticulous examination of the Demonic Insect Sphere, focusing as Wei Xun had directed on the key Insects: Boss Maggot, Little Jade, and the Responsibility Demonic Insect. In the end, to everyone’s surprise, the one the Nezha Spirit pulled out was the parasite bee.

“Someone is controlling it.”

The Nezha Spirit said.

“It was hiding quite cleverly before; normally I’d have needed to sift through carefully, but the moment it moved, it gave itself away completely.”

“A parasite bee… is the Puppet Master trying to make a move against Captain An? She’s genuinely out of her mind!”

Yu Hehui’s expression darkened immediately.

Using a parasite bee from Wei Xun’s side, the target had to be An Xuefeng, who would be attending tomorrow’s meeting. But a parasite bee appearing inside Bing-1’s Demonic Insect Sphere… Yu Hehui’s brow furrowed tight with worry as he looked at Wei Xun.

“No.”

Wei Xun was calm.

“I think she’s going after the Beekeeper.”

The parasite bees had originally all belonged to the Beekeeper, especially the ones from Northern Tibet. Any parasite bee that had come into contact with Hair Ghost’s hair would, under normal circumstances, eventually find its way back to the Beekeeper.

Parasite bees had no brain; they only knew how to depend on their mother bee. Once controlled, they would be noticed immediately by any Guide with a Demonic Insect related title. So, it had kept still and hidden, waiting until today to be activated.

“The Beekeeper also has a Demonic Insect Sphere.”

Anyone holding a Demonic Insect controller title could obtain an incomplete Demonic Insect Sphere. The Beekeeper had one; Wei Xun had seen it when he surrendered all of his items.

Yu Hehui thought about it and conceded Wei Xun was right. He had let concern cloud his judgment.

“So, on the Beekeeper’s side…”

“Dreamchaser is with him.”

Wei Xun smiled slightly. The small figurine of the Nezha Spirit taking shape under his hands was already recognizable.

“Nothing will go wrong.”

“Here, Older Brother, try this figurine.”

******

Dreamchaser’s expression was strained.

At that moment he was concealed, positioned in a desolate stretch of wilderness far from the city.

He hadn’t actually expected the Beekeeper to be able to draw the Hair Ghost out at this critical moment. The Hair Ghost ought to have been under the Puppet Master’s close protection.

And yet, exactly as Wei Xun had predicted, the Hair Ghost had accepted the invitation, and on his own initiative had asked that it not take place in the Agency-monitored virtual hall arena, but in an unsupervised stretch of real-world wilderness where no one would see them.

Which made it ideal for what was about to happen.

The Hair Ghost’s loyalty to the Puppet Master was absolute; he would never act without her authorization. That could only mean the Puppet Master placed extraordinary importance on the Beekeeper.

Which meant…

Dreamchaser’s gaze moved back and forth between the Beekeeper and the Hair Ghost, then settled on the thought of Silverfish, and his expression grew heavier and heavier.

It couldn’t be. It really couldn’t be. How many pieces had the Evil Insect Master divided himself into?

In the biting cold, the Beekeeper felt a faint chill run down his back, as though someone was watching him.

Whether that someone was from the Mutual Aid Alliance, or from the Puppet Master’s side, he couldn’t tell.

The thought that he was actually, genuinely bold enough to be scheming against an A-class 2 Guide made the Beekeeper feel a little, a little bit excited.

My boss is the younger brother of a Jia-1 powerhouse. My bodyguard is a Jia-3 powerhouse.

The Beekeeper bolstered himself internally. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Confidence restored, he turned his gaze on the Hair Ghost and made no effort to conceal the revulsion and hostility in it, the way you’d look at a puddle of rot.

The Beekeeper had always despised the Hair Ghost with a passion he couldn’t entirely explain. It wasn’t only their longstanding rivalry; it felt more like a visceral, instinctive aversion, the way a cat recoils from orange peel.

And the Hair Ghost was deranged, on top of everything. He’d been latching onto the Beekeeper without let-up. There had been a period when the Beekeeper had thought about ignoring him entirely and just retreating into quiet beekeeping to make some real money, but the Hair Ghost would always come crawling out of some corner or crevice to cause him trouble. The look in that creature’s eyes was genuinely repulsive.

Much like right now.

“Beekeeper, Beekeeper…”

The Hair Ghost’s eyes were unhinged. He looked markedly different from before, though so did the Beekeeper. After subduing the Abyss Insect Bee Queen, the Beekeeper had grown taller, and there was a strange, compelling quality about him now. Even with his face set in cold revulsion, he produced an uncanny sense of warmth in people, something like a mother’s presence.

But the Hair Ghost had become even stranger. The front and back of his head were entirely swallowed by long black hair, like a two-faced Sadako; only a pair of blood-red, disproportionately large eyeballs studded the writhing curtain of hair, looking for all the world like tumors that had taken root there.

“Beekeeper, leave the Butcher Alliance…”

Childish.

The Beekeeper let out a cold snort. After all this time, he was still trying to lure him over to the Shepherd Alliance?

Times had changed.

“Me, leave the Butcher Alliance?”

The Beekeeper’s contempt was absolute. He fired back without hesitation.

“Do you dare leave the Shepherd Alliance?”

“Hmph. Ha. Hahaha.”

The Hair Ghost let out a cold laugh.

“If you dare, then…”

Before the words were even out, he saw the Beekeeper produce his Butcher Alliance badge, and without a moment’s pause, snap it in two.

The Hair Ghost: ?!?!

Snapping the badge was a declaration of absolute, irrevocable withdrawal from that alliance. There was no walking it back.

Was the Beekeeper committing fully to the Mutual Aid Alliance? Was he—

“Move!”

In the brief instant the Hair Ghost stood frozen, the Beekeeper dropped his voice to a low snarl and, without waiting to see whether his backup had kept up, hurled a mass of something red straight at the Hair Ghost.

What was that?!

The Hair Ghost tried to dodge, but his body would not move at all. Dreamchaser had locked down the entire area completely; he had slipped into the dream layer, and for this window of time, neither the Agency nor anyone connected to the Agency could reach them or find them.

Dreamchaser can’t move against him. You have nothing to fear from Dreamchaser.

Those were the Puppet Master’s words, and the Hair Ghost trusted her with a depth that bordered on reverence.

He should not have been afraid. But the Hair Ghost was trembling, and it wasn’t only the pressure of a powerful adversary bearing down on him. It was the red mass itself, it brought with it a deeply wrong feeling.

As though the two of them were always supposed to be one.

“Big brother.”

A bright, childlike voice rang out. The Hair Ghost looked absurd now, like a large ball of black yarn with a small red ball perched on top of it. But if you looked closely, the “yarn” was writhing, and the sight of it was enough to make something in the mind begin to crack.

What the Beekeeper had thrown was Little Red. Wei Xun’s guess had been right: Little Red had a profound connection to the Hair Ghost.

“Big brother has so many ugly tumors growing on him.”

Little Red writhed, producing a wet sound that made the scalp prickle.

“Back then, big brother threw me away in the Abyss so those tumors wouldn’t completely take over. Now I’ve come back.”

The red threads multiplied and multiplied, until at last they overtook the black. The bright childlike voice shifted, dropping into a low adult register.

“Big brother, die peacefully now.”

******

A great many things happened that night, but the next morning the sun rose as it always did. Inside the Shepherd Alliance, the Puppet Master was selecting what she would wear to the day’s gathering.

No one had invited her. She chose with care regardless, a faint smile curving the corner of her lips.

How many years of keeping still, of laying groundwork, of planting seeds; all of it had reached the moment of harvest.

Autumn had arrived. The season of plenty was here.

For so many years, the Butcher Alliance had been steadily eating into the Shepherd Alliance, poaching its Guides, and who could have known that she herself had been the one quietly fanning those flames all along?

Pinocchio’s defection into the Butcher Alliance was the final step she had chosen to take. During the rescue of Zhang Xingcang, the Puppet Master had already confirmed that the Abyss Bell was no longer inside the Butcher Alliance, and that the Sun Gate passage had been suppressed.

So what use was a Sun charm? The Puppeteer still couldn’t get out.

“Today is a good day for us. You should be happy too.”

The Puppet Master selected her formal dress and slipped off her current clothes with a slight smile. Her body was nearly flawless; the only thing that might have given someone pause was the image of a woman’s face tattooed across her abdomen. Though even that had faded considerably, like a watercolor left too long in the rain, and would likely vanish entirely before much longer.

“What a shame, only one of us can be the one in control.”

The Puppet Master stroked the woman’s face on her lower abdomen with something like tenderness.

“But don’t worry. I’ll find a way to separate you out. Once I have more puppets, just a few more…”

The formal dress concealed her figure. [Read on RanaTranslations🌸] Before leaving, she stopped by to check on the Hair Ghost. He had returned in the early morning hours and immediately requested the highest level of self-imposed confinement upon arrival.

He had encountered Dreamchaser the previous night, and although it had gone as the Puppet Master anticipated — Dreamchaser would not move against him — she always cleared the Hair Ghost’s thoughts afterward.

To prevent Dreamchaser from leaving anything behind in his dreams.

But she had too little time right now and would have to see to it when she returned. Fortunately, the self-confinement room was a structure she had built at a cost of several hundred thousand points, the most defensively fortified building she owned. Without her authorization code, no one could enter. Or leave.

“I’ll need to build a confinement room in the Butcher Alliance as well.”

The Puppet Master said to herself, smiled beautifully, and left the Shepherd Alliance.

After today, the Butcher Alliance would belong to her. No, no, no; she had no intention of attacking the Mutual Aid Alliance or bringing trouble to An Xuefeng and the rest. She was simply going to receive the Butcher Alliance. An Xuefeng and Dreamchaser’s hostility toward the Butcher Alliance meant they would certainly be delighted to watch them turn on each other.

As for the Weeping Medium and the others, if they wanted to huddle next to the Sun charm, let them huddle. An Xuefeng could not agree to hold the meeting inside the Butcher Alliance; they had to come out today.

Did they really think they could carry the Sun charm around with them wherever they went?

******

?!

The Weeping Medium’s group had actually brought the Sun charm with them??