NHWSG chapter 26

There is a saying in related laws: everything in this world is interconnected, and nothing happens in complete isolation.

At least at this moment, Sheng Zhao deeply believed in this.

After all, if someone had told him earlier that Zhang Kaisheng was backed by a whole mystic sanctuary, with a group of relatives who could draw symbols and ignite fire out of thin air, he would have thought the person was talking nonsense.

But the fact was so bizarre. A common office worker thousands of miles away was actually related to the young man in front of him, who had nothing to do with ordinary people from head to toe. It could be seen that the concept of biodiversity indeed had some truth to it.

After confirming with Zhang Jian that the missing Zhang Kaisheng was indeed the family member they were looking for, Sheng Zhao spent about twenty minutes recounting everything from meeting Zhang Kaisheng on the plane to his own encounter with the fishing law enforcement, even inadvertently taking a few sips from the half-empty Coke left by Xing Yingzhu when he got excited.

Xing Yingzhu: “…”

——Considering he’s a witness, Mr. Xing had to bear with this and didn’t interrupt him.

Zhang Jian listened very seriously, his expression becoming increasingly solemn. By the end, he couldn’t help but furrow his brows and ask, “What was he like when you saw him?”

“To be honest, not great,” Sheng Zhao shook his head truthfully, saying, “How do I describe it to you? It’s like… like those poorly made zombie movies, with props that look particularly stiff and can be broken with a touch.”

Zhang Jian’s expression blanked for a moment, obviously lacking in experience and unable to understand the core essence of “poorly made zombie movies”.

Seeing this, Sheng Zhao knew he didn’t understand and racked his brains to figure out how to vividly describe it.

But after half a day, he couldn’t come up with anything reasonable, so he had to rely on Xing Yingzhu to explain.

“His three souls and seven spirits were tainted, his body lacked vitality, his bloodline was blocked, and he was beginning to stiffen,” Xing Yingzhu said professionally and rigorously. “I know you have your ways. If you go now, you might still be able to save him.”

Upon hearing that Zhang Kaisheng could still be saved, Sheng Zhao seemed even more excited than Zhang Jian. He turned his head abruptly, staring at Xing Yingzhu eagerly and asking, “Really?”

“Their family has been passing down their methods for hundreds of years, so they naturally have their own ways,” Xing Yingzhu glanced at him and said, “—You seem quite happy?”

“Oh, it’s just a human life,” Sheng Zhao waved his hand in an old-fashioned manner, sighed, and said, “And his wife and children seem pitiful too. Let’s lend a hand if we can.”

At this time, Zhang Jian, who was more knowledgeable than Sheng Zhao, appeared much calmer. Although he subconsciously wanted to go and save his people, he still held back.

“Thank you for the information, but I still want to ask about the matter of the ‘human spirit,” Zhang Jian said, “I’m still a novice and don’t know much about it. If I rush over, I’m afraid I’ll mess up.”

“How much do you know?” Xing Yingzhu asked back.

“I only know about this thing, not its origins or how to deal with it,” Zhang Jian said. “I don’t even know what it looks like.”

Human spirits have always been the playthings of the demon clan, and this method was too detrimental to heaven and earth. It hadn’t appeared for many years. Zhang Jian was still young and it was normal that he didn’t know.

Xing Yingzhu thought for a moment, then started from the beginning, using Diao Leyu’s case as an example to explain what happened when she encountered a human spirit.

The more Sheng Zhao listened, the more shocked he became—thinking that Xing Yingzhu was not human was one thing, but it turns out that the little ferret he brought back that day wasn’t really “Diao Leyu’s pet”, but Diao Leyu herself.

Then were there any normal people in this building? Sheng Zhao wondered.

Turning his head to look at Diao Leyu, the young girl was hiding behind the table. When she saw him looking over, she quickly smiled awkwardly, shrunk her neck, and extended two fingers of her right hand to take two steps on the table, then slammed it down on the table and pretended to be dead.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

You shouldn’t be a ferret spirit, you should be an ostrich spirit.

Meanwhile, Xing Yingzhu’s “knowledge sharing” session continued. Zhang Jian interrupted him two or three times to ask questions, and Xing Yingzhu answered each time.

Sheng Zhao watched from the side, feeling a little sour in his heart. He thought this attitude was really polite and refreshing.

“Human spirits are no longer considered living souls. If we must interpret it, they have already become tools refined into demons, so—” Xing Yingzhu’s voice suddenly stopped, and he sneezed without warning.

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Xing Yingzhu: “…”

Sheng Zhao felt as if a thunderbolt had flashed through his heart, for a moment not knowing whether to be shocked that “big demons can also sneeze” or to feel guilty that “I just cursed at him.”

However, Xing Yingzhu hardly did what he expected and directly turned his head to ask, “Did you curse me in your heart?”

“How could it be?” Sheng Zhao quickly put on a standard smile like a real estate salesperson and flattered, “One thought, two insults, I was just thinking of you.”

Zhang Jian: “…”

What’s wrong with this person, Zhang Jian really didn’t understand. If a normal person knew that the man next to him was a demon, they would be scared to death or at least run away as fast as possible. But Sheng Zhao, on the other hand, acted independently. First, he protected this powerful demon, and now he was so intimate with him. It was really strange.

Zhang Jian couldn’t help but look at Sheng Zhao a few more times, making a mental note in his notebook to ask his master when he returned to the mountain.

Xing Yingzhu seemed to half believe this explanation. He frowned, scrutinized Sheng Zhao suspiciously for a moment, and finally, with a look of disdain, glanced at his standard smile and reached out to pinch Sheng Zhao’s chin, turning his face towards the Coke on the table.

“Drink that,” Xing Yingzhu said.

“I’m not thirsty,” Sheng Zhao said. “Boss, you don’t need to worry about me.”

“I know,” Xing Yingzhu said considerately. “Drink some more coke and shut your mouth.”

Sheng Zhao: “…”

Double standard!

Under the oppressive aura of Xing Yingzhu, Sheng Zhao was too angry to speak and could only grit his teeth, biting the bottle cap while making grinding noises with his teeth against the plastic.

Zhang Jian: “…”

This human and demon were simply unbearable. Zhang Jian considered himself to have strong willpower, but even he felt uncomfortable in front of these two. He just wanted to finish up quickly and go save his people.

So he reluctantly moved his gaze away from Sheng Zhao’s face and gestured, “And then?”

“And then, don’t let yourself be softhearted,” Xing Yingzhu said. “When it’s time to kill, kill.”

Zhang Jian was silent for a moment, then arched his hand and said, “Thank you for letting me know, but our family has its own principles of conduct, so I won’t bother you.”

Xing Yingzhu just casually mentioned it, not really caring about his life or death. How Zhang Jian acted and whether his work was successful had nothing to do with him.

So he just nodded and said, “Then go save your people, don’t come to me if there’s nothing wrong, it makes me dizzy watching you.”

With that, Xing Yingzhu stood up, grabbed Sheng Zhao’s collar, and gestured for him to go back.

Seeing him turning to leave, Zhang Jian stood up quickly, puzzled, and asked, “Why? Aren’t you coming with me to investigate this matter?”

“Why should I bother with this matter?” Xing Yingzhu asked back.

Zhang Jian was taken aback by his question and said with a puzzled expression, “Among the demons who are still in the mortal world, you are the leader. Shouldn’t you be the one to deal with this kind of thing?”

Only then did Sheng Zhao realize that this ‘advisor’/ leader of the demons of the mortal world was extremely rough, not only unclear about his scope of work but even unclear about his responsibility.

“I just live in the mortal world and don’t belong to your jurisdiction,” Xing Yingzhu’s tone cooled down a bit. He looked at Zhang Jian coldly and said, “Let’s give each other some face, and don’t push it.”

Zhang Jian was intimidated by his sudden aura and subconsciously took a step back, not daring to speak again for a while.

Sheng Zhao was also startled by Xing Yingzhu’s cold expression. He glanced at Xing Yingzhu with lingering fear and thought that his boss was still relatively polite to him. Even if he teased or mocked him when he was angry, Xing Yingzhu had never spoken to him in such a tone.

Moreover, this sounded like he was drawing an invisible line in front of him and separating him from others

After thinking about it, Sheng Zhao suddenly felt less envious of Zhang Jian. After all, even if Xing Yingzhu teased him when he was angry, it was just a few sarcastic remarks. He had never spoken to him in such a way that clearly defined boundaries and hurtful words.

Thinking of this, he inexplicably comforted himself and found that he felt much more relaxed seeing Xing Yingzhu’s expression. His whole body exuded a relaxed and composed atmosphere.

Xing Yingzhu glanced at him inexplicably, not knowing what strange ideas were in his strange head.

“So, you…” Zhang Jian wanted to try again, but his tone weakened a lot. “So, you can’t completely ignore it either. After all, this is a big demon’s matter. Even if you just help a little, it’s—”

“I’m too lazy to go,” Xing Yingzhu said impatiently. “But if you really feel uneasy, I can send someone to help you.”

That would be fine, Zhang Jian tried to convince himself: let’s consider it a compromise.

“Okay,” Zhang Jian said.

Xing Yingzhu turned his head and glanced at the crowded small square table in the corner of the room.

The onlookers were caught off guard by the sudden turn of events and chaos ensued. They all tried to crawl under the table, resembling high school students trying to avoid the teacher’s gaze to escape being called on.

Unfortunately, the table was only palm-sized, so there were inevitably some fish that slipped through the net. There were always one or two unlucky ones who were abandoned by their companions in the spirit of “every man for himself.”

“Hu Huanyang,” Xing Yingzhu said calmly, “you go with him.”

Unfortunately, Hu Huanyang fell behind because he was not as familiar with the terrain as the others, becoming the only unlucky one who did not successfully find shelter.

Hu Huanyang’s original expression instantly collapsed, as if struck by lightning.

Sheng Zhao looked at him sympathetically and felt that Hu Huanyang must regret it today—why didn’t he stay in the room and sleep instead of coming out to watch the excitement?

Curiosity not only kills people, but it may also kill demons, Sheng Zhao thought.

The other unlucky onlookers who were not named breathed a sigh of relief and quickly crawled out from under the table one by one, pushing Hu Huanyang from behind.

Hu Huanyang was pushed out with a look of grievance, looking like a well-bred maiden being forced to meet unwelcome guests.

Zhang Jian’s expression was very strange. He looked at Hu Huanyang for a moment, then turned away and secretly did something.

After a while, he turned back, and Sheng Zhao watched as he pocketed something—according to Sheng Zhao’s “barren” life experience, it seemed to be a small mirror.

Then, Zhang Jian walked over with a serious expression, cleared his throat, and said to  Hu Huanyang with a tone that was ten thousand times gentler than when facing Xing Yingzhu, “I’ll be in your care.”