FI Ch6: The First Client
Xue Ni Ma instantly lost his composure: 【Weren’t you pure and innocent!!】
“But since the Inspector has come, what choice do I have?” Lin Su’s gaze flickered. “Although I don’t know what rule we broke to attract the Inspector’s attention, if it helps us get out safely… Xue Ni Ma, can you accept a slightly flawed version of me?”
Xue Ni Ma trembled, shedding fur.
Just then, there was movement in front of him. A man approached, and as he got closer, his sharp, strikingly handsome features became even more apparent. He was a head taller than Lin Su, and as Lin Su raised his eyes, his gaze landed just below the tightly buttoned collar near the man’s Adam’s apple.
In a cold, low voice, he introduced himself: “He Zhenling.”
Truly a well-proportioned figure, beautiful voice, and a nice name to match.
Lin Su extended his hand. “Lin Su.”
As their fingertips met, the man, though he looked cold, felt warm.
“I know.”
“President!” A few figures suddenly arrived from the alley entrance—two men and one woman, all dressed like heavenly masters, wearing identical badges on their lapels.
President? Lin Su raised his eyes.
They were from the Heavenly Masters Survelliance Association. He quickly recalled his report and, glancing again at He Zhenling, understood: So this inspector was the newly appointed head.
Xue Ni Ma who had narrowly escaped Danger: 【So it wasn’t because of us breaking any rules…】
Lin Su sighed in mild disappointment, “Yes…”
【…】
Nearby, He Zhenling turned to brief his subordinates. His collar was already neatly fastened, covering his neck and chest securely.
Lin Su thought back to the glimpse he caught of the ring… it must be He Zhenling’s sealing artifact, worn close to his heart. Given his cold and serious demeanor, he probably didn’t wear it as a simple “accessory.”
Those with excessive power often wore sealing artifacts, like the tassel earring Lin Su wore on his left ear.
To put it in a fitting but inappropriate analogy:
It was like a leash to prevent the power from getting out of control.
“President, what about this person?” The female heavenly master, Yin Lin, had already restrained the middle-aged man who had tried to escape, and he let out a scream.
“Take him back.”
As they led the man past him, He Zhenling’s gaze settled on him, and he suddenly stopped them, frowning. “Wait. Is he from the Qi family?”
The middle-aged man’s pupils contracted. “N-no.”
Lin Su caught the flash of fear in his eyes and, having an inkling of the situation, eagerly spoke in his mind, “Do you think there’s more we can squeeze out of him?”
【…your thoughts are dangerous again, aren’t they?】
The “again” hinted at countless memories.
Lin Su chuckled, first telling He Zhenling to “hold on,” and then walked over to the middle-aged man. Under the man’s resentful gaze, he slowly lowered his voice.
“Oh? Not a descendant of the Qi family?”
His tone had a familiar ring to it. The middle-aged man was puzzled, but then he caught a glimpse of Lin Su rubbing his ring finger. His heart skipped a beat.
The Qi family head, in his lifetime, had a small habit of rubbing the jade ring on his ring finger, something only the Qi family knew.
Lin Su recalled the face and bearing of his old friend in his mind…
The stern look settled on his brow, his aura shifting—he seemed to transform into another person.
In the world of Feng Shui, there were concepts of possession and revival. With everything “unusual” he’d seen so far, the middle-aged man, watched by Lin Su’s intimidating gaze, felt a chill as if someone were walking over his grave, and he muttered, “Ex-ex…ex…”
But the final word was stuck in his throat.
A faint golden light flashed in Lin Su’s eyes, and the man felt a sudden sharp pain in his mind, letting out a scream before fainting.
Yin Lin holding the unconscious man, looked at Lin Su in confusion. “What was he trying to say? ‘Ex’ what?”
Lin Su’s expression remained calm. “He was asking, ‘why.’”1Spoken In English
Yin Lin: “…”
Lin Su gestured at the man, “Facing death, he couldn’t understand how he ended up in this state, so he could only question himself again and again.”
Yin Lin looked at him strangely and walked off.
After everyone had left, a gaze lingered deeply on him.
Lin Su turned to meet He Zhenling’s stare.
What? Hadn’t he ever seen a heavenly master who spoke English? After a moment’s thought, Lin Su softly said:
“Don’t you understand English?”2Spoken In English
“……”
He Zhenling’s brow seemed to twitch slightly. After a moment, he responded with a cool, “No.”3Spoken In English
Then he turned to leave.
Lin Su: “…” After a while, he caught up, thinking to himself, “Don’t you think he actually has a sense of humor?”
Xue Ni Ma released a long breath: 【…No.】
—
The next day, Lin Su sat in his classroom.
The troublesome tenant from yesterday had already been taken away by the Inspection Association. Whether the Association handled it or handed him over to the Qi family—
Either way, the man was certainly “finished.”
As he thought about it, he pulled out a business card from his pocket: before parting, He Zhenling had given him this card.
He said he could contact him directly if needed.
The card had a black background with silver edges, with He Zhenling’s name in bold characters at the top. It noted his title as President of the Heavenly Masters Survillance Association, with a contact number below. It was perfectly aligned with He Zhenling’s minimalist, cold style.
Xue Ni Ma floated out quietly: 【Don’t mess around.】 It raised an alarm in his mind—a long, sustained beep: 【He Zhenling is not someone to mess with.】
Lin Su’s tone was calm and leisurely. “That’s not what you said about him at first.”
A weary look appeared in Xue Ni Ma’s eyes: 【I thought that after all your troublemaking, you’d finally meet someone who could restrain you.】
Lin Su smiled knowingly. “Looking forward to my ‘performance’?”
Xue Ni Ma settled peacefully: 【I overstepped. Tonight, invite the circus to watch my act.】
Lin Su chuckled, poking it gently. “Don’t worry, it’s not your turn to play the clown yet.”
…
Third period break, late morning.
It should have been the drowsiest time of day, yet the oppressive silence in the classroom was suddenly shattered by a thunderous bombshell—
“Student Wei has been charged with defamation for fabricating evidence to spread rumors online.”
The announcement was from the Xuncheng Police.
As soon as the news dropped, the entire school went into an uproar!
People stopped their practice problems; the drowsy woke up. Chen You shot over to Lin Su’s side like a bird returning to its nest, pulling him in to check the forum together:
“Lin Su! Look!”
Lin Su tried to ignore his overly affectionate stance and glanced down.
Several threads had already surged to the top of the forum: [The follow-up is here! It was fake! Defamation!]
[Police report out, come apologize to Pei Jin!]
Clicking in, all the comments had reversed:
—“Where are the people who badmouthed Pei Jin? Aren’t you going to apologize? [smile]”
—“I thought it was weird. Pei Shen’s grades were always good; so he slipped up a few times—couldn’t it just be a rough patch? First, they accused him of cheating, and then they made up even wilder stuff about ‘raising spirits’.”
—“Now that you mention it, I checked. One of the earliest accounts accusing Pei Shen of cheating was Wei Dong’s ID.”
—“Unbelievable! This is so scummy.”
In the flurry of discussions, someone soon uncovered the truth—
—“There’s currently a guaranteed spot at H University up for grabs. If Pei Jin didn’t get it, it’d most likely go to Wei Dong.”
—“Whoa! That makes sense. So Pei Jin’s slump was probably all his doing. [Utter disbelief]”
—“Disgusting. So manipulative.”
—“He always acted like Pei Jin was ‘oppressing’ him, but in reality, Pei Shen never even spoke to him. Pathetic, honestly.”
—“Expel him! Get him out of this school!”
…
Within five minutes, hundreds of condemning comments had poured in, with new threads and replies popping up constantly. In the middle of the public outcry, one comment suddenly stood out:
[L]: So where did Wei Dong’s ‘evidence’ for slandering Pei Shen come from in the first place?
The moment that comment appeared, everyone caught on—
“Yeah!!”
Chen You slapped the desk in front of him, his phone already back in his hands in his excitement. He held it up to Lin Su again. “If it wasn’t Pei Shen’s receipt, it had to be his own!”
Lin Su turned off his own phone, nodding with a look of admiration. “Class rep, you really are sharp and insightful.”
“Right?!” Chen You, pleased with the compliment, quickly began typing again.
[…]
Xue Ni Ma glanced at Lin Su’s amused expression: 【I didn’t think you’d comment yourself.】 The comment wasn’t registered under his real name, so it wouldn’t generate any emotional energy from Wei Dong. Xue Ni Ma pointed a claw: 【This isn’t like you, Butcher.】
Lin Su rested his chin on his hand and smiled at it. “I didn’t do it just for the emotional energy.”
Xue Ni Ma blinked: “Oh?”
“Before being an spirit hunter, I’m first and foremost a Fate Immortal.”
It wasn’t just about correcting the path of fate.
All the suffering, criticism, and injustice the original host had endured… every twisted turn of their life’s trajectory, he would return, precisely, to its rightful place.
Amid the surrounding clamor, a faint glow settled on the spot by the window.
Looking at Lin Su, Xue Ni Ma was struck by a memory: a Fate Immortal was the scale by which these worlds balanced themselves. Although each person’s destiny varied, Fate never played favorites when it came to justice.
…
After a moment, Lin Su lowered his lashes slightly. “Of course, it’s also a small, insignificant pleasure of mine.”
Xue Ni Ma: 【…】
It knew it.
This person could never leave behind his habit of stirring up trouble.
—
Lin Su had only meant to lightly stir the waters.
But he hadn’t expected it would trigger a whole chain reaction.
As more and more of the students dug into it, the connection between Wei Dong and “mysticism” became even more prominent. The sensational story attracted attention, and some local media in Xuncheng got wind of it, planning to investigate and reveal more.
It was two days later when the news surfaced again.
Chen You flew over to Lin Su like a robin, exclaiming, “Did you see it? Wei Dong made the national news!”
At that, Lin Su and his spirit companion both looked up: …
The past prophecy was still fresh in their minds. Xue Ni Ma was silent for a moment: 【Did you cast some kind of spell…】
“Absolutely not,” Lin Su firmly denied. “It’s not on me.”
Xue Ni Ma expressed admiration:【No wonder it’s like there’s an army ready to storm out of your mouth.】
“…”
Lin Su ignored it, turning to ask Chen You, “What happened?”
Chen You relayed, “It’s like karma— a journalist went to Wei Dong’s house to dig up some details and happened to run into his housekeeper taking out the trash.”
“The housekeeper said she didn’t know much, that her employer’s son never let her touch anything in his room—”
Lin Su: “…”
Great. Without saying anything, she had already said it all.
Chen You continued, “Also, while Wei Dong didn’t get jail time, he did get a record and was released. A reporter followed him and found he snuck back to that Qi Residence, and this time they caught him red-handed.”
Lin Su couldn’t help but marvel: this guy just never learned his lesson.
Too bad the thorn in their side had already been pried out; this was bound to be a wasted effort.
“And then?”
“The school issued a notice. Even though Wei Dong didn’t go to jail, with all the fuss, he has no choice but to withdraw.”
He’d tried to ruin someone’s future, only to sever his own path in the end.
Lin Su commented, “That’s pretty good; now he’ll never have to worry about a 996 work schedule.” Because he won’t even get a 000.
Chen You was speechless at his logic.
Lin Su stood up, “I have some things to take care of, so I’ll head out.”
The task was thoroughly complete; he needed to go find Pei Jin.
…
The senior building had been abuzz these past few days.
As a lone boat sailing through this storm, Lin Su was spotted at the classroom doorway by He Xi, who gleefully flapped her arms and floated over.
“Junior～!”
“Senior,” Lin Su scanned the area. “Where’s Senior Pei?”
“He’s at the office,” He Xi laughed easily. “The school tracked down those accounts in the forums that were smearing Pei Jin—it was Zheng Fei and a few others, and they all got reprimanded and had to bring their parents in.”
She added, “Wei Dong’s case made it to the news, and I heard members of the school board came in today.”
Lin Su was intrigued, “I’ll go have a look.”
The office was one floor up, near the stairway.
As he reached the top of the stairs and took a few steps forward, he saw two figures approaching. One was tall and familiar, dressed in a suit jacket with a black turtleneck underneath.
Next to him was Director Li from the office.
As their eyes met, Lin Su paused: He Zhenling?
Could he be the one they meant by “school board member”?
He asked mentally, “Why is He Zhenling also on the board at this high school?”
Xue Ni Ma: 【…Don’t question it.】
Their eyes met briefly before He Zhenling calmly looked away. Lin Su also kept quiet, pretending not to know him.
A few steps later, he reached the office door.
There was a large glass window in the office, and from there he could see Pei Jin inside. Zheng Fei and a few others were also there, with their parents standing beside them.
Lin Su quietly found a spot on the side to observe.
He Zhenling and Director Li were just about to enter when they saw Zheng Fei’s mother suddenly slap him. The sharp “slap!” resounded all the way to the door.
“Scoundrel!!”
Outside, it went silent: “…”
Director Li quickly regained his composure and, seeing that He Zhenling was still watching, hurriedly moved to open the door and intervene.
Lin Su sharply noticed this.
What? They were just getting started; he hadn’t…hadn’t let Auntie vent her anger yet!
As the director reached for the handle, Lin Su immediately clutched his forehead, his face turning pale in an instant. He swayed slightly, his lips quivering, letting out a low moan, “Ugh…”
“?” Director Li turned around.
After the recent trouble, he was on edge, “Classmate, what’s wrong?”
He Zhenling looked down and silently observed.
Lin Su leaned forward slightly, conveniently blocking the door completely. Another crisp “slap!” echoed from inside. Leaning against the door, he turned to He Zhenling with a weak smile.
“My health isn’t great; sorry for the trouble…”
Footnotes:
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