Thriller Night Talk

Translator-Rhapsodite

Editor- Koneko, Proofreader- Spring Flower

Bei Quan took the brocade box designated by his master and placed it in front of the puppet.

The box was not small in size, but was very light in the hand, making it difficult for Bei Quan to guess what was being kept inside.

The puppet waved its hand:

[Open it.]

Bei Quan obeyed.

In the box contained an embellished yellow silk invitation card. Bei Quan picked it up and opened it to take a look at the contents.

“This is…”

He looked at his master with a shocked expression etched upon his face:

“Is this Ah Song’s character card?”

The puppet nodded.

[It is indeed.]

Bei Quan: “…”

He stared at his master with an indescribable look, “So, you still have this kind of thing locked away…”

[Cough!]

The puppet cleared its throat unnecessarily.

[It’s always better to be prepared.]

The sophisticated and formal embellished invitation card that was clasped in Bei Quan’s hand was not an ordinary card, but a personal one.

Each person can sign a card like this only once in their lifetime, and they must use their own blood to sign it. Once signed, the effect is the same as the Book of Life and Death in the underworld. It will accurately mark the person’s lifespan in the world, and it cannot be erased by any means.

As a place that holds too many secrets, the Zhu Ling Secret Realm strictly restricts anyone who enters or leaves.

The master of Bei Quan will □□, but must also ensure that the adopted children will not harm the world with the skills learned from the secret realm in the future.

Therefore, every child including Bei Quan had a soul lamp.

The soul lamp is directly bound to their three souls and seven spirits. If anyone dared to make a wrong move, their soul lamp would be extinguished.

The consequences of extinguishing the Soul Lamp are extremely serious: in mild cases, it could lead to idiocy and madness, while in severe cases, it could result in immediate death, bidding farewell to the beautiful world they currently know forever.

If someone was sent to the human world to perform a task by their master, the executor would be accompanied by a “watcher”: just like Zhu Ling who accompanied? Bei Quan.

The watcher would regularly report the executor’s situation to the Zhu Ling Secret Realm.

If the watcher found that the executor had done something inappropriate, they could decide whether or not to extinguish the other party’s soul lamp based on the severity of the situation.

If the watcher failed to report to the secret realm within the agreed-upon time and had no other reasonable explanation, they too would be considered to have forsaken their duty and their soul lamp would be extinguished as well.

As the new lord, the master had never concealed anything about the soul lamp, and everyone in the Zhu Ling Secret Realm knew about these conditions.

So, Ah Song planned for years and stole the Lost God Banner while using tricks to take away his soul lamp.

But, he did not expect that the master had prepared a back-up plan: this was a life card that even Ah Song himself did not know about.

“Master, please tell me honestly…”

Bei Quan closed Ah Song’s life card and looked at the puppet with an increased complexity in his eyes: “I also have such a card, right?”

The master was exposed on the spot by a rebellious disciple, feeling ashamed and angry. If it weren’t for the puppet’s face not showing any emotion and his voice not fluctuating, he would probably be angry to the point of exploding.

[Stop nagging! I just made double insurance, just in case! If not, you would have been frustrated for at least ten years just to find Ah Song!]

He patted the floor with his wooden hand, making a sound like knocking on a wooden fish. 𝑏𝑒𝘥𝑛𝘰𝑣𝑒𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

T/N-The wooden fish is a kind of magical tool, mostly used for Buddhist and Taoist practices and rituals. According to legend, the fish never closes its eyes, so a wooden fish is carved in the shape of a fish and struck to alert the monks to concentrate on their spiritual practice day and night.

[If not for this, you can’t catch the person! If you can’t catch the person, your mission won’t be completed! If the mission is not completed, you can’t live in peace! You won’t be able to live with your man!]

——Wow, that’s already a threat!

“Yes, yes. You are the wisest.”

Bei Quan had been raised by his master for more than 20 years, and his experience in pleasing his master was already very rich.

“You’re right, I shouldn’t doubt your good intentions.”

He smiled and smoothly changed the subject.

“May I ask how I should use Ah Song’s personal life card?”

The master was satisfied and personally taught his disciple the purpose of the personal life card.

The puppet told Bei Quan that as long as he lit the personal life card near Ah Song, the smoke would drift towards the owner of the card until it floated above their head.

If combined with Guan Hu Su Ying’s sensory ability, the master estimated that the tracking radius should reach about three kilometers.

Although this distance cannot be considered ‘small’ in a city with tens of millions of people, it was at least a hundred times better than searching blindly.

Bei Quan was chasing after evil spirits while Ah Song was attempting to create new ones.

As long as they both continued their actions, they would intersect sooner or later.

When that situation arises? Bei Quan had been instructed to light Ah Song’s personal life card and use the smoke to track the other’s movements.

“But…”

After hearing how to use the personal life card, Bei Quan hesitated.

“If I remember correctly, if the personal life card is burned, won’t it…?”

[Yes.]

The puppet nodded again.

[You remember correctly.]

Bei Quan fell silent.

The personal life card is equivalent to an identity card in the human world. If it is torn or burned before death, the person cannot match their name on the King of Hell’s life and death register after death. Naturally, they cannot be reincarnated and can only become lonely and wild ghosts until their soul power is exhausted and they dissipate completely.

This ending undoubtedly seems extremely cruel for Ah Song, who is determined to seek longevity.

[Don’t worry, I will bear this karma for you.]

The puppet said, seeing through Bei Quan’s thoughts easily.

[You don’t have to worry about Ah Song’s life. Don’t show mercy when it’s time to act, got it?]

Since the master had spoken to this extent, Bei Quan could only nod.

[Oh, by the way.]

The puppet thought for a moment and added.

[Don’t be fooled by the size of the card, it can easily be burnt. It wasn’t made to last, at most maybe being used three times. After you’ve burnt through it, that is it, that will be the end of the matter.]

Bei Quan nodded quickly, “I understand! I will use it carefully and only when I’m confident in my actions.”

[Okay, I called you back just to give you this.]

Seeing that the main topic was over, the master had no thoughts of continuing the reunion with Bei Quan. He immediately wanted to leave.

[There’s nothing else. You can take your man and leave. Don’t disturb me while I’m organizing my collection.]

Bei Quan stood up but didn’t intend to leave just yet.

“Oh, by the way, master, there’s something I want to report to you.”

He smiled and said, “I met someone in Paper City who was possessed by Ah Song. I promised to help him settle down in the City.”

Bei Quan was referring to his promise to Zhu Hongtao when he descended to the Yin world.

“So, if I may, I want two things from you to give to ‘Grandma’. Please take care of her for me…”

The puppet fell silent.

[You wasteful thing! You’re using your master’s collection as a favor!]

About two seconds later, it jumped up and punched Bei Quan, cursing as it hit him.

[Get out of here! I’ve got a headache from just looking at you! Get out of here! Don’t wander around in front of me!]

His master hit his own thigh with his wooden fist, before Bei Quan continued,

“Then what do you think…”

[You’re really a pain!]

The puppet felt extremely heartbroken.

[And as for yourself, go outside and pick the two things for yourself. Don’t let me see what they are!]

“Okay~”

Bei Quan smiled and turned to leave.

[Wait a minute!]

The puppet suddenly spoke up and stopped its disciple.

Bei Quan turned around and waited for his master’s new instructions.

The puppet’s jaw joint made two “clicking” sounds, then suddenly it bent down and “spat” out a red crystal about the size of a finger joint.

Beiquan: “!!”

His eyes widened and he looked in complete shock at the small red crystal that had fallen to the ground.

[Take this one too.]

[If you want to use it, go ahead. Just remember to return it to me when you’re done.] the puppet stated.

After speaking, the puppet no longer paid attention to its disciple and walked away on its own.

—————————–

Wei Fuyuan was left alone by Bei Quan in the main hall. He couldn’t follow inside, nor could he leave, so he could only wait patiently.

He wasn’t the type to be calm and steady, and with the pressure from his parents, he deeply understood what it meant to feel like time was crawling.

At first, Wei Fuyuan could stand in one place, but he subconsciously kept shaking his legs. After ten minutes, he couldn’t stand still anymore and started circling the bronze tripod.

After a while, Wei Fuyuan became even more anxious and started pacing back and forth between the main door and the side door of the hall.

Every time he walked up to the closed wooden door of the side hall, Xiao Wei couldn’t help but put his ear against the door to try to hear what was happening inside.

Unfortunately, the side hall had the tightest protective formation in Zhu Ling’s secret realm. Not only was it impossible to hear any sounds from inside, but even a gentle breeze couldn’t enter without permission.

Wei Fuyuan’s attempts to pry open the door were in vain, so he had to leave, only to return and try again a few moments later.

Finally, after about forty minutes, the vermilion wooden door opened from the inside, and Bei Quan, whom Wei had been waiting for, emerged.

“Bei Quan!”

Wei Fuyuan immediately rushed over and hugged him in his arms, rubbing his head against his temples a few times.

Bei Quan reciprocated and gave his lover a reassuring kiss.

“Huh?”

Wei Fuyuan only then noticed that Bei Quan had come out by himself,

“Where’s the master?”

“Master is still busy with something, so he asked us to go back by ourselves,” Bei Quan replied with a smile.

Wei Fuyuan breathed a sigh of relief and felt fortunate, but also a little sad after mentally preparing for this exact moment.

“Let’s go.”

Bei Quan took Wei Fuyuan’s hand and rubbed his palm with his finger.

Wei Fuyuan immediately threw that little disappointment of not leaving a good impression on his in-law out of his mind and said, “Okay, where are we going now?”

“I’m presuming you have a lot of questions that you want to ask me?”

Bei Quan replied with a smile, “So, let’s go to where I live first.”

He then suddenly leaned in closer to Wei Fuyuan’s ear, lowered his voice, and blew his breath into his lover’s ear,

“There’s a table and a bed there, you can ask me anything you want.”

Wei Fuyuan: “!!”

His face turned red again, and at the same time, he became excited.

——This is such a huge benefit that fell from the sky like a pie. If I push any further, can I still be considered a man?!

Wei Fuyuan nodded eagerly, saying “Yes, yes!” while grabbing Bei Quan’s hand, eager to go to his lover’s place.

Bei Quan had to reach back to hold onto Wei Fuyuan.

“Wait.”

Bei Quan said:

“I still have to pick some items up from here.”

He didn’t forget his promise to Zhu Hongtao.

“After I pick them, we can then leave.”