307: Ativia (Part 1)

"Ling Qi!"

The Secretary-General returned with her jade tablet, her gaze calm behind her gold-rimmed glasses. "Your Majesty?"

Shang Wan Ning stared at her hesitant expression. "Do you have something else to say to me?"

Ling Qi swiped across the light screen, looking a bit bashful for the first time. "While clearing Demon, we found a few members of the Six-Tailed Demon Fox tribe who were left uneaten by Zhu Yan. Their bloodline is decent, and they know the basics of illusion. I was thinking of requesting a temporary position for them to do odd jobs in logistics."

Shang Wan Ning waved her hand. "These are minor matters."

"I approve. You decide their positions. But don't let them near the core area of the Netherworld."

"Understood."

Ling Qi nodded in agreement and, tugging on Sister Meng's sleeve, withdrew efficiently.

As the palace doors closed, Shang Wan Ning moved to the window. She opened her palm, and a streak of pure golden light danced at her fingertips, flickering with sharpness.

"Sabrina Child..."

As she uttered the name, the golden light at her fingertips suddenly contracted, condensing into a point of bone-chilling cold light.

"Heh, lusting after my body?"

Her fingers suddenly clenched, and the cold light shattered into nothingness.

"I'll shatter every tooth in your mouth!"

In the Department of Judges, the blue light from the electronic dossiers turned Tudor's face pale. Holding a tablet, he swiped through a serial disappearance case spanning ten years, the character for 'Judge' on his brow flashing red.

On the desk sat a pile of jade slips half a person high, all unresolved cold cases involving vengeful spirits.

When a knock sounded at the door, Tudor didn't even look up. "Put the archives on the left, the death warrants on the right, and those crying injustice can just leave."

The door was pushed open, and the hem of a black phoenix robe swept over the threshold. Shang Wan Ning walked straight to the judge's seat and sat down, her boot heels tapping on the floor.

"Lord Judge, quite absorbed in your overtime?"

Tudor's hand jerked, nearly dropping the tablet on his foot.

He looked up stiffly, forcing a professional fake smile. "Your Majesty, what brings you here?"

"I am currently organizing the dossiers, striving to finish as soon as..."

"Put the dossiers down." Shang Wan Ning interrupted, having no patience to hear him out.

"Pack your things. You're going on a business trip with me in three days."

Tudor froze, asking in confusion, "A business trip? Where to? I still have over seven hundred cases..."

"Ativi Continent, Sabrina's lair."

The jade slip in Tudor's hand fell to the floor, his amber pupils instantly constricting. "Yo-Your Majesty? You mean that Outer God? My cultivation level is nowhere near enough."

"If your cultivation is lacking, your divine office will make up for it. A judge is the perfect counter for filth; you're exactly what I need this time." Shang Wan Ning stood up, her phoenix eyes sweeping over the mountain of dossiers on the desk.

"Deal with the cold cases when you return. Go to the Research Institute now to collect your equipment. Ling Qi will send you the list and requirements."

She gave Tudor no chance to object, leaving behind one last sentence as her black figure vanished through the doorway.

"Dare to be late, and I'll give you more than enough of the Wangchuan River's silt."

Tudor stared at the swinging door, then wiped his face hard after a long moment.

"My life is half over!!!"

The demonic energy at the former site of the Grass Spirit Dog village had thinned considerably. Chen Yu squatted on the root of an old locust tree, bargaining with Feng Xi. "Sister Feng, add another thirty percent of incense offerings to the Relocation Fee. The Spiritual Fields by the Wangchuan River are incredibly fertile—anything you plant will grow. This price is definitely worth it."

Feng Xi looked miserable, playing the emotional card. "A-Yu! Thirty percent is too much. The tribe just settled down, and funds are tight."

Space was suddenly torn open, and Shang Wan Ning stepped out, her black phoenix robe standing out sharply in the thin demonic energy.

Chen Yu was so startled she slid off the tree root. "Yo-Your Majesty? What brings you to Demon?"

"Pack your things," Shang Wan Ning said succinctly.

Chen Yu blinked. "Huh? Where to? The relocation details for the Grass Spirit Dogs haven't..."

"Ativi Continent. To fight. Double bonus." Shang Wan Ning didn't want to waste words with a certain loli and went straight for the trump card.

Chen Yu's eyes instantly lit up, and even her white cowlick perked up. "Fighting? Double? I'm going! Going right now!"

She turned and grabbed Feng Xi's vine-like arm. "Sister Feng, the Relocation Fee stays at the original price. I'm in a hurry to make the big bucks. Let's talk more when I get back!"

Feng Xi stared at the empty tree root, her dog face blank with confusion. Shang Wan Ning grabbed Chen Yu by the back of her collar, tore open space, and left.

"???"

[Ah! Her Majesty the Empress is quite impatient, isn't she?]

At the Wangchuan Ferry, a cold wind howled. You Yu, clad in cold-iron black armor, was directing Ghost Soldiers to load the last few talisman-sealed black iron crates onto a Bone Boat. Inside were the "God-Eroding Thunders" and Space Stabilization Anchors specially made by the Research Institute.

Ling Qi stood on the shore, her gold-rimmed glasses reflecting the dark shimmer of the water as she handed a storage ring to You Yu.

"The inventory list is inside. Twenty Space Jammers, three hundred Karmic Fire Talismans, and fifty jars of Concentrated Wangchuan Water. Use them sparingly."

You Yu took it solemnly and said, "Please rest assured, Secretary-General."

Meng Jiang leaned against the Soul-Guiding Banner pole, her green robe clinging to her waist in the wind. She flicked a streak of purple light from her fingertip into You Yu's brow. "A life-saving talisman. Crushing it can block a full-strength strike from a seventh-rank being. Don't waste it."

You Yu felt a warmth in his sea of consciousness and quickly bowed in thanks. "Thank you, Lady Meng."

Space warped again, and Shang Wan Ning appeared, carrying Chen Yu. Tudor also arrived, walking through the air from the direction of the Department of Judges. His face was still pale, but at his waist hung a short staff wrapped in golden runes—the "scepter of purification," produced by the Research Institute using a blend of Eastern and Western methods.

As soon as Chen Yu landed, she scurried over to Ling Qi, rubbing her hands together. "Secretary-General, about that double bonus...?"

Ling Qi pushed up her glasses and tapped lightly on her jade tablet. "A thirty percent advance has already been deposited into your underworld app account. Once the mission is complete, the remaining balance plus the double reward will be settled."

Chen Yu's divine sense swept over the Communication Talisman Bracelet on her wrist, and her face instantly broke into a wide grin.

"Your Majesty is mighty! Secretary-General is generous!"

"Love you guys, mwah! ^3^"

Shang Wan Ning ignored her antics, her gaze sweeping over the three people ready to set out.

Tudor's lips were pressed tight, his hand gripping the scepter; You Yu was clad in heavy armor, his gaze sharp as a blade; Chen Yu was rubbing her palms together, her aura as a Prefecture City God unable to hide the money-grubbing glint in her eyes.

She walked to the front of the ferry, watching the blood-yellow Wangchuan water rushing past. The son of heaven sword hanging at her side was emitting a low hum.

"Tudor, clear the path."

"Yes, Your Majesty," Tudor replied in a deep voice, taking a deep breath as he stepped forward.

He swung the judges brush through the air, and the golden light from its tip exploded, tearing open a temporary passage on the Wangchuan water just wide enough for a single boat.

"Go."

Shang Wan Ning gave a low shout and was the first to step onto the Bone Boat, with Chen Yu and You Yu following close behind.

Tudor took the final step onto the boat, the golden light of the judges brush firmly propping open the entrance to the passage.

The Bone Boat shot into the gray mist passage like an arrow from a bow, swallowed by the roiling chaos in an instant, and the passage behind them closed rapidly.

The Wangchuan River water continued to surge, as if nothing had ever happened.

Ling Qi stared at where the passage had disappeared, her gaze solemn behind her lenses. She turned to Sister Meng and said, "Let's return to Jiaotai Palace. Monitor the spatial fluctuations of the Ativi Continent in real-time and initiate a Level 1 Alert."

Meng Jiang nodded in agreement, took the Secretary-General's right hand, and vanished in a flash of green.