FIMA Ch74: Fengdu

Gu Beilin dragged the gray-robed man by the collar to Gu Siyuan and Xie Xuanxing, unceremoniously throwing him to the ground. The gray-robed man immediately clutched his legs in agony, groaning.

Gu Beilin sneered and slashed again.

The gray-robed man was shocked and instinctively tried to dodge, knowing full well what a madman Gu Beilin was.

However, in the next moment, the blade wind passed, and nothing happened except that the mask on his face was cut in half.

“It’s you?” Gu Siyuan squinted at the person and said, “As expected, it’s the Han family.”

The face under the mask was indeed the young man who had been called Fourth Uncle by Han Mingye on Fengshui Street not long ago.

Gu Beilin also looked bored, “So it’s you. No wonder you’re such a coward, always running away.”

Three years ago, he had made a name for himself at a grand ritual, defeating people from the four major families.

Shortly after, a guy calling himself Han Si came to challenge him, boasting that he would teach him a lesson.

Gu Beilin, always eager for a fight, accepted the challenge, even though the guy looked several years older. The guy did have some skills, and they fought back and forth for a while.

Later, Gu Beilin broke through mid-battle, comprehending the way of the blade and greatly increasing his strength. Just as he was about to enjoy the fight, the guy couldn’t wait to run away.

Han Si glared at the Gu brothers, his eyes full of hatred.

Since losing to Gu Beilin three years ago, the family’s patriarch had taught him the means of spiritual attacks.

This time, the patriarch instructed him to kill Gu Siyuan. To ensure success, he even brought the family’s ancestral formation plate and came personally to oversee it. Who would have thought he would lose to these brothers again…

Gu Siyuan stared coldly at him, “With this guy in hand, let’s see what the Han family has to say.”

Han Si’s face changed, turning extremely grim.

In Kyoto, at the Han family estate.

“Fourth Uncle was captured?” Han Mingye listened to the report from his subordinate, his usual cold facade almost cracking.

“The demon sword was real and broke the formation…”

Xie Yuchen was also shocked.

He knew the Han family had made many preparations to deal with Gu Siyuan and the others, even using the so-called demon sword to lure Gu Beilin away.

Who knew? Their cleverness would backfire.

It seemed Gu Siyuan had extraordinary luck, and even Xie Xuanxing was benefiting from it.

Han Mingye waved his hand, dismissing the subordinate, “I must see the patriarch immediately.”

At that moment, a boy in white walked in calmly and said, “The patriarch is already aware and has a message for the family head and the eldest young master.”

Han Mingye looked at the boy and asked, “What is the message?”

After a while, Han Mingye’s expression changed, and he sighed, “We have no other choice.”

Thus, when Gu Siyuan and his companions brought Han Si back to Beijing, ready to settle accounts with the Han family, they heard that the Han family had just issued a statement to the Xuanmen Alliance and the Special Supervision Bureau. The statement said that they had a traitor and renegade son who had stolen the formation plate and magical tools; if any fellow Daoists could assist in capturing the renegade, the Han family would offer a generous reward.

Xie Xuanxing pouted, “Although we already guessed that the Han family would abandon their pawn to protect the carriage, it still feels annoyingly frustrating.”

He Pan sighed, “Now is a society governed by law. Individual actions can’t implicate the family. The Han Si you captured is also extremely stubborn, insisting it was all his idea.”

Gu Siyuan, however, didn’t mind. He raised his hand and fiddled with the conch they found in the Green Fishman’s cave, “Although we can’t convict them, with the current evidence, we can still investigate.”

He Pan nodded, his expression grim, “We definitely need to send people to investigate the Han family. The information revealed by the conch is no small matter. In recent years, various paranormal incidents have been frequent, which might be related to this. We need to report it to higher authorities immediately.”

“Then that’s your business. I’m heading back.”

With that, Gu Siyuan turned and left. After the battle with Han Si, he realized he had underestimated the methods of these metaphysical cultivators.

These families had existed for hundreds or even thousands of years and had many hidden techniques, such as the formation this time and the method of spiritual attacks.

If it had been someone with slightly weaker spiritual power or if Gu Beilin hadn’t arrived in time, they would have been in danger.

However, with loss comes gain, and he had gained some inspiration.

After leaving He Pan, he went through much mockery and difficulty to borrow the demonic blade from Gu Beilin for research.

Afterward, he didn’t leave the lab for several days.

Even Xie Xuanxing found it difficult to see him.

It wasn’t until a few days before the national grand ritual in November that the lab door finally opened.

Shen Ling excitedly patted Gu Siyuan’s shoulder and said, “Amazing, truly amazing. With such a powerful weapon, who would care about those lofty metaphysical families?”

The other researchers nearby also looked at the weapon in front of them, unable to close their mouths in awe.

Gu Siyuan nodded expressionlessly.

Then, feeling quite spirited, he went to find his long-unseen sidekick. “Come, give me a hug.”

Xie Xuanxing looked up blankly at the person in front of him and said, “Hello, who are you?”

“…” Gu Siyuan.

Is the sidekick pretending to be coy?

Gu Siyuan took a few steps forward, grabbing the sidekick’s slender waist with one hand and pinching his chin with the other, staring at him and asking, “Are you upset?”

Xie Xuanxing shook his head coldly, “We are strangers. Please respect yourself, sir.”

Gu Siyuan sneered and squeezed his waist a bit harder, lowering his head to lightly bite and lick his soft red lips, “So what if we’re strangers? Didn’t I tell you I love taking things by force?”

“…” Xie Xuanxing.

You’re so shameless.

True to his words, Gu Siyuan pulled the person to sit on a nearby chair, forcing Xie Xuanxing to straddle his lap.

His broad hand grasped the pale chin, forcing the delicate and fragile neck to tilt back.

Gu Siyuan coldly said, “Now, serve me well. If I’m satisfied, I’ll let you go. Otherwise…”

Xie Xuanxing blinked his watery eyes, curiously asking, “Otherwise what? Tie me to the bed for a hundred days without letting me down?”

“…” Gu Siyuan.

Why do you seem to look forward to that?

Ah, the young people nowadays.

But, he couldn’t ignore the performance.

Gu Siyuan’s lips curled into a faint smile, casually saying, “Heh, a hundred days? Who has that interest? With a one-night stand, I can’t be bothered once I’ve had my way.”

Xie Xuanxing pouted, glaring at him, “How can you be such a scumbag?”

Gu Siyuan lifted his chin with his finger, expressionless, “What, has this stranger decided to offer himself?”

“…” Xie Xuanxing.

Hmph, he had once again lost to this person in his own game.

He let out a howl and bit down on Gu Siyuan’s firm shoulder muscle, muttering in a grievance, “Always bullying me.”

“The real bullying is just starting. Hmm, the lab isn’t a bad place either.”

Gu Siyuan chuckled softly, lowering his head to kiss his soft black hair, pale cheek, and then his red lips and delicate collarbone…

“Mm…” Xie Xuanxing’s body trembled uncontrollably.

On the cold workbench, pale toes curled tightly.

The next morning.

Gu Siyuan had a brief meeting with He Pan. He had been immersed in the lab these days, knowing nothing about the outside world.

“These days, has the Special Supervision Bureau found anything from investigating the Han family?”

He Pan sighed, “Not much. After all, the Han family is a metaphysical family with hundreds of years of history. If they really want to hide something, it’s hard for the Special Supervision Bureau. Also, these families are interconnected. Now, with more and more paranormal phenomena, the Special Supervision Bureau is understaffed and can’t afford to fall out with them directly.”

Gu Siyuan sneered.

He Pan, knowing his displeasure, added, “However, the Han family indeed has a centenarian patriarch, whom the family respects deeply but rarely mentions. It’s likely the person mentioned in the conch from forty-nine years ago.”

Gu Siyuan squinted, “Recently, have these families made any special moves?”

He Pan nodded, “There is one strange thing. The grand ritual, usually held in the capital, has been moved to S City this year by the Metaphysical Alliance.”

On another day, the grand ritual would officially begin.

At that time, almost all metaphysical families and loose cultivators would attend, either to compete or to watch. Some television stations would even broadcast it live.

The organizer of the Grand Ritual is the Xuanmen Alliance, and its main members are those metaphysical families, primarily the four great families.

The Special Supervision Bureau was established relatively recently, following the frequent occurrence of paranormal events. The higher-ups realized something was wrong and created the Bureau to handle issues independently, help the public with their problems, and manage those who violated the law using metaphysics.

In recent years, to better interact with these metaphysical people, the Special Supervision Bureau has also sent a representative team to participate in the annual Grand Ritual, but they typically do not get involved in any management affairs.

Therefore, regarding the sudden change of location, they were completely passive.

Gu Siyuan remained silent for a moment and asked, “The location changed to S City, is it Fengdu County?”

He Pan nodded, “Yes, because of this location, I found it odd.”

In ancient Chinese legends, Fengdu is also called Fengdu, meaning Ghost City.

However, in the present day, Fengdu is just an ordinary county with over 800,000 ordinary residents living peacefully. It is also known as a cultural and tourist destination.

So, the Special Supervision Bureau had no reason to oppose it.

Xie Xuanxing, who had been quietly listening to their conversation, suddenly blinked and said, “The ancestral home of the Xie family in S City is in Fengdu County. Is Xie Yuchen going back home? By the way, did you notice anything unusual about Han Mingye and Xie Yuchen while monitoring the Han family?”

He Pan shook his head, “No, they haven’t appeared at all. It’s said that they are in seclusion for cultivation.”

Gu Siyuan reached out and patted his sidekick’s head. In the original story, after being crippled by the evil cultivators in S City, Xie Xuanxing followed Xie Cang back to his ancestral home in Fengdu County, where he made a living by setting up a fortune-telling stall.

Afterward, he was implicated in a major paranormal case in S City and died about half a year later due to the protagonist’s involvement.

Now, everything seemed to have been accelerated, whether it was the Hongtan Villa in South China or the appearance of Fengdu County.

Feeling the warm hand on his head, Xie Xuanxing looked up at the person beside him, dazed, and said, “I have a feeling the Xuanmen Alliance has ulterior motives. Speaking of Han family’s schemes, other families might also be aware. Moreover, the day after tomorrow, when the Grand Ritual starts, is precisely the first day of the tenth lunar month.”

He Pan looked up at him, “The Cold Clothes Festival?”

The Cold Clothes Festival, along with the Qingming Festival and the Ghost Festival, is one of the three major ghost festivals.