In the ancient-style office, Qi Wen hung up the phone.
He wasn't as decrepit as he had sounded on the call, merely showing signs of age; his streaky white hair was meticulously combed, his suit crisp, his brows stern, his presence commanding even without anger.
At the moment, he didn't show any irritation, just rubbed his temples slightly, his expression somewhat complex.
Behind the desk, the young man who was carelessly eating an orange looked up and asked casually, "Dad, what did she say?"
Qi Wen's expression remained calm, "She's young and naïve, she'll understand how good she has it at home in time."
"So she's ungrateful, huh?"
The young man sneered, "Being a father is a wasted role, and the daughter a cripple; does she really think she became an Inspector on her own? Dad, you shouldn't waste your emotions on someone who's bound to marry into the family and lose money anyway... Tsk, if it weren't for Grandpa's wishes, I wouldn't take this defective product even if she were free."
Bang!
Qi Wen's teacup smashed in front of him, hot water splashing nearly making him jump.
"Shut up, failure! What are you thinking, trying to guess the Old Master's intentions!"
Qi Wen glared at him furiously: "Is it your place to get involved with the Savior Association? Mingling with that bunch of lunatics, leaving evidence that ties you to that troublemaker! Are you trying to work me to an early grave, Qi Yuan?"
"…"
Qi Yuan was stunned for a moment then stubbornly said, "I'm just trying to help the family, aren't I?"
"Shut up! He Luo? He Luo, come in."
Qi Wen sharply paused his cane, and a lean man entered from outside.
"Send this prodigal son home," Qi Wen said coldly: "If he dares to step out before the rumors have died down, break whichever leg he uses!"
"Dad, aren't you being too harsh?"
Qi Yuan protested, "Why does it seem like such a crime when I make some money? Weren't you the first one to get involved with them? What are you afraid of, Dad? That contemptible woman will have to serve you tea and water sooner or later, would she dare to offend us?"
Qi Wen was so angry that he didn't want to deal with him anymore and closed his eyes.
Soon, Qi Yuan was dragged away by his bodyguards with some persuasion, leaving only He Luo in the office, his expression still calm, not speaking a word.
After a while, Qi Wen rubbed his temples again and finally sighed, regaining his usual unfazed deep demeanor.
"Is it something from the Savior Association?" he asked.
"King Ocean has been lurking in the suburbs these past few days, sneaking around, seeming to be contacting someone."
He Luo said, "The young master has been deceived by him and seems to have set a bounty. Although I've cleaned up the tracks, the trouble stirred up by the Savior Association might implicate us."
"Where is he now?"
"I don't know. He came to me this afternoon wanting to see you—"
He Luo paused for a moment, repeating King Ocean's words: "He said, he bears the will of the Baptized.
As instructed, I told him that the boss was ill and seeing no one. Then he left."
Qi Wen lowered his shadowed eyes.
"Good," he said, "Good."
In the silence, Qi Wen's fingers tapped on the cane, as if talking to himself: "For decades, why does Xinhai, a backwater place, always have so many incidents?
After waiting for so many years, the Huai Family fell, then Yin's family came. Having barely gotten rid of Yin's family, the Savior Association starts lurking in the shadows…"
He narrowed his eyes, whispering softly, "One after another, all willing to make others their pawns."
He Luo did not speak.
And Qi Wen did not need anyone to answer.
As if wrestling with a difficult decision, his expression kept changing, now grim, now ferocious.
Until He Luo stepped forward, interrupting his thoughts, disregarding Qi Wen's angry gaze, he said softly, "Boss, when it's time to cut, you need to cut."
"…"
Qi Wen gave his long-time assistant a cold look, and after a long, long time, as if finally making up his mind, closed his eyes.
"Where's that nosy Cowherd?"
"Dealt with yesterday, his body sunk into the Sea," He Luo replied: "People below have made inquiries; it was his own personal action, unrelated to the Astronomical Society."
Qi Wen's expression eased a bit, "Does Yin Qing know about the incident back then?"
"That matter was handled cleanly, leaving no loose ends."
He Luo replied, "Afterwards, I had someone cast a Soul-disorienting Charm; all those involved will gradually suffer from Source Substance boil, even if they don't die early, they'll turn into fools, unable to remember anything. Even if she knows, she won't have any evidence."
In the silence, not even a breath could be heard.
After a while, Qi Wen lifted his gaze.
"Then let's end it."
His expression was cold, "Cooperating with them was a mistake from the start; otherwise, it wouldn't have left a disaster until now. Tomorrow, no, tonight, you go and clean up all traces related to the Savior Association; don't leave any evidence.
The Qi family may be small, but it isn't something any lunatics can easily manipulate…"
"Okay."
He Luo nodded, "What about Yin Qing?"
"...we don't have to lift a finger."
Qi Wen squinted his eyes, "Right now, the most urgent thing is to extricate ourselves from the inside and exit the scene... Xinhai is about to undergo drastic changes, I really want to see how long she can hop around in this pit of fire."
.
.
In the evening, Huai Shi received a delivery.
To be exact, an unmarked vehicle stopped outside the Stone Marrow Pavilion. After calling Huai Shi to come out, they tossed a box down and left.
"The delivery style yesterday was just like this, guaranteeing quality and quantity with speed, but don't expect too much from the service attitude."
Raven stood on the table, sliding his claws over a row of mobile phones, continuously updating lists on various apps Huai Shi didn't recognize, featuring a wide range of goods and a jumble of currencies for settlement.
There were constant 'ding' sounds like orders being taken for food delivery.
Having acquired the basic tools, she seemed to have been making various potions recently.
Officially, she claimed she was working hard to supplement the household income, but Huai Shi wasn't clear on how much money they actually made. He only heard her complain daily about the hard life due to insufficient income.
Nobody believes that...
When Huai Shi carried the box into the basement, all he saw were several crucibles bubbling away on the table, various colors of gases rising, and had it not been for the 100-watt bulb overhead, he would have suspected he'd walked into some mad alchemist's lab.
"Honestly, if it wasn't for the lack of resources, we'd be beyond using these primitive beakers and flasks."
Raven expressed disdain, "With our current budget, we can't even afford a decent centrifuge or a solution crystallizer, let alone the setup of a cleanroom or a host of items like a pyrolysis oven..."
After looking over her wishlist, Huai Shi felt like she was planning to set up a chemical plant underneath his house, giving him a headache: Since when has alchemy become so cutting-edge!
"Don't be naive, beakers and crucibles are just toys for middle school chemistry classes, can they compare with professional equipment worth millions or tens of millions?"
Raven turned to look at him, "The essence of alchemy is burning money. How can you get stronger without spending money?"
Huai Shi answered bitterly, "I've charged so much and I haven't seen myself getting any stronger!"
"That means you haven't charged enough. Charge some more! You dare to say you've spent gold when you haven't even charged up to a Ferrari?" Raven rolled his eyes, motioning for Huai Shi to place the stuff on the table.
At noon, it sold off the loot that Qi Wen risked everything to bring back, the horns of the Crying Snakes.
Reportedly, they were all in good condition; it decided to barter, exchanging them for a host of materials from someone.
After checking them over, Raven nodded in satisfaction, "Good, with this, you can now gather the rest of the potion ingredients and the major components needed for the Stigmata."
"Just these?"
Huai Shi looked down at the box filled with various sealed bottles containing all sorts of bizarre things.
A few bottles of different colored powders, a cluster of crystalline crystals, several dull pieces of iron ore, as well as various liquids that looked like they had been extracted from plants...
He had no clue what was going on.
"This is rainbow ash. In the past, the Nordic people called the natural phenomenon of spatial transference the Rainbow Bridge; this is the natural material that remains after the phenomenon ends, a superior material used as an admixture.
This is a Silent Ones' Token. It looks like ore but is actually a Source Substance aggregate.
It is a rare item that might appear after a person has guarded a secret with their vows and trusts for their entire life and can be considered a crystallization of will and loyalty. To be as large as a thumb, that secret must indeed be significant.
As for the ores, they are just common ones from the Border, the yin iron and frost silver, actually, the cheapest.
All these are indispensable materials when making the Stigmata."
As Raven explained, it finally looked at the Sacrificial Knife laid on the table by Huai Shi, "However, the main material is, in fact, this thing."
The Sacrificial Knife trembled as if in fear under its gaze, continuously trying to jump out of the sheath and flee, but with a light press of her claw, it stopped.
It was merely wailing, as if begging for her mercy.
Once a fearsome demon blade, it now looked like nothing more than a lab rat waiting to be dissected.
Out of the blue, Raven asked, "Huai Shi, do you still remember what a Stigma is?"
"Yeah, I remember you saying it was...'a solidified miracle'?"
"Right, correct. The Stigmata's essence is the name given to intangible miracles when they're granted a physical form," Raven shrugged slightly, "Even though these miracles often bring Disaster— but whoever expects a miracle found in Hell to bring happiness must be mad, right?
The Border Relics are special not just for their Hell-proven abilities, but also because they are products of Abyssal miracles, so calling them a different type of Stigmata wouldn't be too far off—"
At this point, Huai Shi finally understood and couldn't help but roll his eyes, "So what you're saying is, you want to tear down a car, take out the engine, and build me a scooter, right?"
"That's pretty much it, robbing Peter to pay Paul," Raven flapped its wings with confidence, "Don't worry, I won't use much.
I'll piece together the leftovers, and that knife of yours will probably still be usable... perhaps?"
Huai Shi couldn't be bothered to say anything more.
All he could do was pray that the Stigma she made for him wouldn't be too shoddy. He wasn't asking for much, just hoping she wouldn't strip out the basic functionality and sell it as DLC.
It was bad enough with occasional presales, let alone introducing a Gold Edition later on— who would be able to deal with that?
"By the way, what's that?"
Huai Shi pointed to a corner where a basin revealed a curious map, vaguely discernible as the terrain of Xinhai. There, in a remote area, a small light flickered silently on and off.
"Oh, that."
Raven glanced at it, its expression meaningful, "That's where King Ocean is currently hiding."