Downstairs in the tavern's dimly lit lounge, Li Xue lazily stirred her drink behind the counter. Her eyes glazed over the data on the glowing tablet, half-focused on restocking schedules.
Thud.
A dull, muffled crash echoed from above.
She paused, glancing upward with a slight frown. "What the hell are they doing up there…?" she muttered.
Her fingers hovered over the tablet for a second, but then, she gave a lazy shrug and went back to tapping through the inventory sheets. "Not my problem."
Upstairs, however, the atmosphere was anything but calm as the spell was broken.
And the silence that followed was heavy, dense enough to make breathing feel like a task.
Lin Fang, still seated in the center of the broken array, had a deep frown plastered on his face. The glow in his chest had disappeared. As for whether the presence above him still lingered, only this old man would know.
Li Chengfeng finally sat upright with a wince, brushing the ash off his robes. "That… was unexpected," he muttered in a hoarse voice. "It's been decades since a spirit king struck me directly."
He looked up at Lin Fang, narrowing his eyes but glinting with something between curiosity and concern.
"I don't know whether you are fortunate or unfortunate, kid. Most of the time, powerful spirit remnants want to be reborn… to escape this in-between state. But this one?" He pointed vaguely at the air above Lin Fang. "It refuses. It wants to stay latched onto your soul."
Lin Fang stiffened at those words. "What does that mean?"
Li Chengfeng exhaled through his nose and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "It means," he began slowly, "that this Spirit King Nemesis has chosen you as its host. Not as a master. But as a vessel."
Zhi Yan blinked in confusion. "So… he won't get a monster companion?"
"Yeah, that is true." Li Chengfeng nodded. His voice deepened as he further said. "In rare cases like this, the spirit becomes an extension of the host's own being. You could theoretically use its powers, fight with it, like the hunters do."
Lin Fang blinked in surprise. "But… I don't have mana," he said, pointing at himself. "I'm a plainfolk, remember?"
Li Chengfeng stopped mid-sentence. His mouth opened slightly, then closed again. In the end, he let out a heavy breath and nodded. "Right, you're a plainfolk."
His brows furrowed deeply, and he rubbed his temples in a bit of seriousness and frustration. "This has now become… complicated. Without mana, there's no channel. No bridge. You can't call on its power, even if it wants you to."
Zhi Yan became concerned at those words. She immediately interrupted. "Then what do we do?"
Li Chengfeng was silent for a beat.
Then his gaze shifted toward Lin Fang, and it stayed there for a few seconds before he said. "How about this? Join our guild. Just for now."
"Eh?" Lin Fang looked up, startled by the suggestion. "Guild?"
Li Chengfeng nodded. "Yes. For your safety."
Lin Fang narrowed his eyes. "Safety? What do you mean?"
Li Chengfeng's voice dropped low as he answered. "If another spirit master saw what I saw… if they realized a Spirit King had bonded to a plainfolk with no resistance… they'd try to steal it. Kidnap you. Rip it from you by force if necessary."
Lin Fang's pupils shrank. "Kidnap? What sort of a mess have I gotten myself into? I want to redo my life for a better future, not the one filled with such risks…" He wondered in his head.
Meanwhile, Zhi Yan's fists clenched tightly beside her. Her eyes darkened for a second. But she forced herself to calm down and kept silent.
Li Chengfeng then pressed on, seeing the silence on Lin Fang.
"Just try it out for a month and check out the results for yourself. Stay here during the day. Sector 14 is off the grid; most of the bigger players ignore it anyway. I'll make sure you're safe. Go home in the evenings, sleep in your own bed. During this time, I will do my best to find a solution to the problem."
Lin Fang sat still, but various thoughts raced through his mind. He was weighing the pros and cons.
First of all, he didn't have to report for any work. His business is entirely online, and his purchases are made in the system's summoner shop.
Secondly, usually, other than registering the eggs online and frequently checking the progress, he either plays with Po or watches dramas on the laptop for the entire day. So, it doesn't really matter where he spent his time.
But the disadvantage is that he doesn't know these people properly. They are basically strangers. He wasn't naive enough to trust them outrightly, just because they offered to help. There's no such thing as a free lunch in the world. And most importantly, he would be seeing Li Liu less than usual. That means the time to connect with her, to woo her, will increase naturally.
He tapped his finger slowly on his thigh, thinking.
But in the end, survival is more important than love. And of course, they are living in the same house anyway. He can find a few moments to connect with her.
After thinking thoroughly, Lin Fang came to a decision. With a firm nod, he said. "Alright. I'll do it."
Zhi Yan, standing quietly nearby, blinked in a bit of surprise. But she nodded to herself in understanding.
She didn't say anything, intending to be a spectator.
*
After things had settled in the hidden chamber, Li Chengfeng gestured for them to follow. "Come. Let's make it official."
They returned to the tavern and climbed down the wooden stairs that led to the reception hall on the first floor.
At the desk, Li Xue was seen lazily flipping through a magazine.
*Tap* Tap* Tap*
"Hmm?" She looked up at the sound of approaching footsteps.
"Welcome ba…"
She was about to greet them again, but she froze mid-way instead as her gaze snapped to Lin Fang, or rather, above Lin Fang.
"The hell is that evil spirit?" she said aloud, pointing at the cat spirit. Her eyes widened as she stood up straight in alarm.
Zhi Yan and Lin Fang halted midway up the staircase. Lin Fang's heart dropped for a moment. Zhi Yan instinctively took half a step closer to him. The two of them then looked toward Li Chengfeng in unison.
The old man scratched his nose. "Ah. Right. I forgot to mention, she's also a spirit master by birth," he said with a sheepish smile.
He then looked at his niece and said. "Xue'er, sit down. We will explain."
Li Xue blinked rapidly for a few moments, studying the air above Lin Fang.
But she eventually lowered her hand and relaxed with a nod.
After a while;
Listening to the whole story, Li Xue nodded in understanding. "I see. I never expected there would be such a spirit king in the spirit valley. I mean, I wasn't allowed to step inside that place. Anyway…"
Then, without warning, her face brightened into a friendly grin as she extended her hand toward Lin Fang across the desk. She said warmly. "Welcome to Zero Guild, Lin Fang. It's nice to have a new member."
Lin Fang hesitated a second, but slowly reached out and shook her hand with a smile.
Li Chengfeng then said. "Stay here for a while. I'll be back in a minute."
A while later, as Zhi Yan stepped outside for a phone call, Lin Fang sat at the reception, conversing with Li Xue.
Lin Fang blinked as he looked at the business card, "Seriously? Velcra Nestworks? Your parents own this? I didn't expect you to be so rich." He couldn't help but stare at the polished, gold-edged business card in his hand.
Li Xue gave an apologetic smile and gently waved a hand. "Yes… But please don't judge me by that. I…" she paused, eyes flickering to Lin Fang with a peculiar sincerity, "I don't have anything to do with their board or operations. That's my parents' company. Our family keeps personal and professional lives separate. They want me to join the company, but I left my home to choose my own path. That brought me to Huaxi City. I bought this rundown guild residence with my savings and… well, trying to make something of it."
Lin Fang couldn't help but stare blankly at the girl. Those who are rich but not arrogant somehow often say the same typical lines every time someone says to them, You are rich.
"I'm not rich." "My parents own the properties. Not me." "Blah, blah, blah…"
But then again, such people are easy to get along with. Lin Fang appreciated her in his head and tucked the card carefully into his wallet. "Alright, when I need one, I will come visit the store and check the stock."
Li Xue's smile grew a little brighter. "That's good to hear. And as I have said before, my number is written on the back. You can call at any time…"
"Eh?"
"I mean, when you want to visit the warehouse." A pause. "Or, when you want to know about new products." She said a bit shyly.
"Ah, yes, of course…" Lin Fang, scratching his cheek. There was a subtle tension that grew between them, although it was just for a moment as Li Chengfeng returned, climbing down slowly, but with a certain weight to his steps.
In his hand, he carried a small blue amulet, shaped like a smooth oval stone with a single deep-black dot in the center. It glinted faintly under the room's lighting, as though it held something more than just decoration.
Lin Fang stood up instinctively as the old man approached.
"Here," Li Chengfeng said and handed the amulet to him. "Wear this whenever you're out in public."
Lin Fang accepted it, surprised by how cool and dense it felt in his palm. The moment he touched it, a faint pulse of warmth spread across his fingers.
*Ding!
[You found the Amulet of Velmura.]
[A seal was detected on the amulet. Would you like to break the seal?]
"Seal of Velmura? Breaking the seal?" As Lin Fang furrowed his brows, observing it, Li Xue's eyes widened as soon as she saw it.
"Wait… That's the Amulet of Velmura, from the family vault," she blurted out, her voice raised in disbelief. "You're giving it away?"
"Eh?" Lin Fang came out of his thoughts and looked at her in surprise, and then at Li Chengfeng.
Li Chengfeng shook his head. "I'm not giving it away, niece. Don't worry."
He looked at Lin Fang with a calm but steady gaze.
"I'm lending it to you. Originally, it was used to suppress mana, but in your case… it should help conceal your connection. Other spirit masters won't be able to detect Nemesis following you around as long as you wear it. I recommend you wear it at all times before we find a solution on how to suppress the spirit king naturally."
Lin Fang stared at the old man, speechless.
He could tell… this artifact wasn't something that should be handed out so casually.
A rare warmth surged in his chest.
"Thank you," he said sincerely, bowing slightly. "I mean it."
Li Chengfeng nodded once.
"Just don't lose it," he said gruffly, though there was a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Zhi Yan quietly returned to the room just in time to see the amulet being hung around Lin Fang's neck.
She didn't say anything, but her eyes lingered on it for a few seconds longer than usual.
But then she said. "We should get going."
Lin Fang blinked his eyes. For a second, he wanted to ask her where, but eventually, he replied with a nod.
He turned back to Li Xue. "I'll come by tomorrow again."
Li Xue bowed slightly. "Goodbye." Li Chengfeng simply waved his hand. Then stretched his body, returning to the tavern.
As Lin Fang exited the building, Li Xue returned to her business normally, sitting on her chair and opening a journal.
Lin Fang had one foot inside the car when the thought struck him like a lightning bolt.
"Ah… wait," he said, patting his pocket as if remembering something urgent.
Zhi Yan turned, her brows lifting in suspicion. "What now?"