Although the exorcists were unwilling to acknowledge Feng Jin, Shi Sheng still had their pictures. If she published those humiliating pictures, what would their clients think about them? How would they ever be trusted again?
And so, Feng Jin’s investiture ceremony for the grandmaster title was set for the 5th of December at the Feng Clan’s ancestral mansion.
Feng Jin was rather surprised when no one tried to cause trouble for him. Even if they’d been threatened back then, they wouldn’t have swallowed this big of an insult so easily after returning to their own territories.
But not only did they swallow this insult, they even organised an investiture ceremony for him without a single complaint. Feng Jin felt that there was definitely something fishy going on.
After returning home, Shi Sheng’s outings began to last longer and longer. Sometimes he wouldn’t even see her during the day. But no matter how much Feng Jin asked, she either avoided answering the question or kissed him in an attempt to distract him.
……
“Ah? Now?” An Su shiftily talked to the person on the other end of the phone.
Feng Jin’s footsteps paused and he retreated back into the room just in time to avoid An Su’s gaze.
“Okay, I’ll be there soon. En, I’ll be careful.” An Su hung up, quietly went into her room to pick up her bag, and snuck out.
Feng Jin swiftly grabbed his coat and followed An Su’s trail.
Due to last time’s incident, Shi Sheng had allowed An Su to drive Feng Jin’s car when he wasn’t using it. Hence, Feng Jin could only hail a taxi and get the driver to follow her.
An Su drove further and further from human civilisation. After a long while, the taxi driver didn’t dare to drive any further. Feng Jin could only continue giving him more money and urge him to continue following. When An Su’s car stopped in front of a graveyard, the taxi driver dropped Feng Jin off and drove away as fast as he could. ‘There’s something wrong with this person! Who visits a remote graveyard in the middle of the night?!’
Feng Jin knew this place was a graveyard, one that had been constructed in the Republic period[1] and had already been abandoned for several decades.
An Su had already stepped into the grass that was half-a-man tall and she was about to disappear from view. Feng Jin hurriedly followed her.
This graveyard was organised into tiers. As every path was covered by weeds, An Su stumbled about, not knowing whether she was stepping on the graves or the path.
She had experienced quite a lot recently, so now she was a bit bolder than before. An Su could now walk forward without glancing to the sides, as she inwardly chanted, ‘I see nothing. Nothing at all.’
Only when An Su reached the peak and caught sight of a familiar figure did she finally heave a sigh of relief. She quickly jogged over.
“Ghost-jiejie!” Shi Sheng’s complexion was somewhat pale and her slim figure was leaning heavily against a gravestone.
“Ghost-jiejie…you look really bad. Did you meet a really strong one this time?” As she asked, An Su immediately came forward to support Shi Sheng upon seeing her sickly complexion.
Shi Sheng shook her head slightly.
“Why do you have to keep this from Mr Feng? He’s very powerful; surely he can help you?”
“He’s just a human. Too fragile.”
“But you’re not omnipotent either!” An Su didn’t understand why Shi Sheng insisted on dealing with this on her own.
“Who said I’m not? I was just a bit careless today. If that puny soul wanted to claim my life, it should’ve first gone and cultivated for several millennia.”
An Su, “…” ‘You’re in this state and you still have the mood to be narcissistic…’
“Ghost-jiejie, please recover quickly. Otherwise, if I return in the morning on my own, Mr Feng’s glares—” ‘—are gonna kill me.
Eeeek! He’s stabbing me to death with his eyes right now!!!’
An Su’s abrupt silence and expression of terror while staring at something behind her caused Shi Sheng to turn around.
Feng Jin silently stood there. The mountain breeze caused the weeds around him to rustle, making it seem like a storm was brewing around him.
Shi Sheng glared at An Su. ‘Why’d you bring him here?!’
An Su looked very innocent. ‘I didn’t know Mr Feng was tailing me! I clearly made sure he wasn’t around when I left the house! And I was very careful on my way here, so just how did Mr Feng end up following me here?’
……
Feng Jin didn’t say a word as he brought Shi Sheng home. An Su, very wisely, chose to go back to her room and firmly lock the door. ‘Mr Feng is very scary…’
“Feng Jin…”
Feng Jin silently carried Shi Sheng to their bedroom. He set her down on the bed before beginning to strip her.
“Feng Jin, what’re you doing?”
Feng Jin didn’t give Shi Sheng a chance to explain her actions. Due to her injuries, she was almost completely at his mercy.
By the time she woke up, it was already the afternoon of the next day. There was no one beside her, and the room smelt very clean. It was as if last night had just been a dream of hers.
Shi Sheng shifted her body. Her wounds from her last fight were pretty much healed, but the feeling in her lower body told her… last night definitely wasn’t a dream. Feng Jin had really screwed her.
Shi Sheng’s expression was unsightly as she got off the bed. A new set of clothing was placed beside her. She put it on. There was no one outside, so no victims were around for Shi Sheng to vent on.
Only when night fell did An Su return in a dishevelled state. Upon seeing Shi Sheng, she blanked out for a bit before blushing slightly. “Ghost-jiejie, are you okay?”
“Fucking fantastic. Where’s Feng Jin?” Shi Sheng’s gaze swept over her. “You met Nalan Ying again?”
“En, it was okay though. Mr Feng’s talisman is very effective.” Had her talisman not broken before, she would’ve been fine the other day as well. “Oh right, Mr Feng might be back very late tonight and he asked me to prepare dinner for you. Ghost-jiejie, what do you want to eat?”
Shi Sheng was far too angry to even think about eating. “Where did Feng Jin go?”
‘Dared to run off after he had his fill!’
“Dunno…” An Su shook her head. Feng Jin had only instructed her to prepare food for Shi Sheng He didn’t say a word about where he went.
Shi Sheng frowned. “What’s the date today?”
“December 4th…” An Su replied with uncertainty. She quickly took out her phone to check. “It’s the 5th. Today’s the 5th.”
‘Oh fuck, it’s the 5th already? Feng Jin’s investiture ceremony! That idiot! Does he think those people are just going to let him off if I don’t show up? That’s twice now! This is the second time he’s done this! Fuck, he’s going to be the death of me(bbb)!’
……
Shi Sheng worriedly rushed over to the Feng Clan. There were dozens of enchanted wards in place along the way, but she just hacked straight through them. The ruckus she caused alerted the people inside.
When Feng Jin heard Shi Sheng had arrived, he had a helpless expression on. ‘Why can’t she just be a quiet lady?’
Feng Jin went to welcome Shi Sheng personally. The moment she saw him, she began beating him up. Shi Sheng didn’t say anything; she just directly began whacking him. Of course, the areas she hit were the meatier parts, so it wouldn’t cause any real harm.
“Feng Jin! Think you’re very good ah?!” Shi Sheng was so pissed her hands were trembling.
Feng Jin leaned in and whispered, “Well, you experienced it yourself last night, didn’t you?”
Shi Sheng, “…”
‘As expected, his manner of speaking changes after we fucked… All those novels weren’t lying!’
The rest of the ceremony proceeded smoothly. Those who had been planning to cause trouble once they saw Shi Sheng wasn’t around immediately gave up on their schemes now she had arrived.
‘Don’t ask why… We don’t want to get beaten up! More importantly, we don’t want our business stolen! Without any business, what’re we going to eat?’
Shi Sheng had thoroughly disciplined them these past few days, and she had absorbed the strengths of quite a few wraiths while she was at it. Adding on what happened with Feng Jin last night…
Right now, Shi Sheng felt like she could do pretty much anything. She felt that it was a bit of a pity how no one tried to stir up any trouble.
‘Such a pity… now I have no reason to beat them up.’
[1] This was a period lasting from 1912 to 1949. I believe I put a footnote somewhere earlier in this arc, but if you want to read more, here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_China_(1912–1949)