A Good-for-Nothing

216. Li Zong’s Reinstatement as Vice-Superintendent (II)

Translator: Dragon Rider

Legend had it that back then when demons had started wreaking havoc in the world, Zhang Daoling, a former sect leader of the Tigers and Dragons Mountain, had made a resolution to rid the people of the scourge of demons. He had once joined hands with another eminent exorcist and created an anti-demon exorcism circle with a mysterious technique, which had been the quintessence of his lifetime’s accumulation of exorcism knowledge and meant to be the bane of demons.

But afterward, the manuscript of the anti-demon circle had disappeared and had never seen the light of day. Some said that demons, with all sorts of wiles and methods, had managed to destroy the manuscript; some others said that the manuscript had survived the troubled times, that Zhang Daoling had died of exhaustion of his internal energy shortly after finishing the manuscript, that he hadn’t had the time to deploy the circle; on top of that, a lot of exorcists had been wounded or killed during the fight against demons, and no survivors had been able to perform the anti-demon exorcism circle, so it had gradually been consigned to oblivion.

There was no way to find out what the truth was, but that anti-demon circle used to be the most powerful exorcism weapon, and Zhang Daoling had been one of the most talented exorcist to have lived. Even after so many years, this masterpiece of his was still something to be reckoned with.

“None of the other countries need the manuscript as urgently as we do. If we really get it, it’ll be a great help to us with our counter-demon undertaking.”

As expected, this was what Zhen Daoyuan and Zong Xian wanted ultimately.

“I see. I’ll handle it.”

Zong Xian said, “With you leading the team, I’ll have nothing to worry about. There is, in addition, another matter.”

Zong Xian paused for a brief moment and then continued, “The organizing committee has just informed us that the Neon Kingdom will send their best players to participate in this year’s championship, including Nakayi Hakute, the most powerful one of their younger generation of Yin Yang Masters, and Honyani Susuhana, his contracted psychic entity. Nakayi Hakute’s master has a bad history with you, and this time they are aiming to defeat you.”

At the mention of this name, a quizzical look flashed across Li Zong’s face. It seemed that they were seeking to settle an old score.

“I don’t know much about the capabilities of this batch of trainees. Of course, judging from what Director Zhen told me, they should be pretty good. The World Exorcism Championship is only half a month away. To ensure our victory, we’ve decided to bring forward the recruitment of new staff members to this month. Given that you’re pretty experienced in handling the related matters, I’ll put you in sole charge of it.”

Li Zong had an air of surprise about him, which was rather rare. In the ordinary course of events, SMB recruited new staff members at a fixed time and there had been very few occasions when it was moved up, but this also showed in a less direct way how much importance the couple of higher-ups were attaching to this championship, and Li Zong could also tell that they were concerned by the participation of Nakayi Hakute and Honyani Susuhana.

It made sense, though. Rumor had it that Nakayi Hakute was one the most gifted and most powerful Yin Yang Masters of the Neon Kingdom.

“I see.” Li Zong inclined his head.

“Okay, then. You may go and do what you got to do,” said Zong Xian.

On Li Zong’s way out of the office building, everybody he met greeted him with “Good afternoon, Supt. Li.” It seemed that his reinstatement as vice-superintendent had come to the knowledge of a lot of staff members, and they all sincerely believed that Li Zong was worthy of the position.

Li Zong had given every one of them a nod in return. As he pushed the office door open, he saw that Zhen Ni was already waiting inside. Zhen Ni sprang to her feet with intense excitement and called, “Congratulations, Supt. Li.”

“Thanks.”

Zhen Ni seemed to have something else to say, but Li Zong tapped the table, looked up at Zhen Ni and said, “A few moments ago Director General Zong called me over to his office and we had a talk about bringing forward this year’s recruitment of new staff members.”

“They’re moving it up?” Zhen Ni exclaimed in astonishment.

“Yeah. As the leaders of the first and the third action groups are both absent, and most group members are dealing with that task in the south-west, we’ll be in sole charge of this year’s recruitment of new staff members.”

Zhen Ni hadn’t thought that things would be so tricky. All crack agents of the first and the third action groups had been dispatched elsewhere. Moreover, both Han Zhuo and Tun Shanhai had been sent to the south-west, and Zu Zhichong was also out there on a mission, so they were definitely short-handed.

“I’m not sure if we’ll be able be handle it, Chief.”

Li Zong looked out of the window, a calm expression on his face. “We will, because soon someone will come to our help for free.”

In an airport.

Zhao Fei had originally still had a TV drama to shoot, but fortunately for him, there hadn’t been many scenes that his role was involved, which was why he had finished his part and then left the set before other main actors.

After shooting that drama, Zhao Fei had declared on his official Weibo account that he was going to take some time off. His fans had described this as “cruel”, but Zhao Fei had always been spontaneous and meant what he said. He had disappeared immediately after that declaration, and not a single paparazzo had got any photos of Zhao Fei ever since.

Nobody could have foreseen that Zhao Fei the big star had re-assumed his identity as leader of the first action group of the sub-bureau of SMB in Hang City. At this time, his flight had just arrived in Coastal City.

Except for members of his action group, Zhao Fei hadn’t told anybody where he was going, but to his surprise, the first person to meet him at the airport after he got off the plane was not Li Zong but another man who was familiar to him.

A surprised expression flitted across Zhao Fei’s eyes as they fell on the man standing bolt upright at the exit. He gazed at the man who wasn’t supposed to be in this place, his lips curling amusedly.

The man walked up to him in an extremely natural way and said, “My car is right outside.”

On leaving the airport, all passengers were greeted with the heat wave and many of them started complaining about the scorching weather, but Zhao Fei and Zhou Yize acted as though they didn’t feel the heat at all, and there wasn’t even any sweat on their foreheads.

Zhao Fei and Zhou Yize noticed this abnormality of each other at the same time, their appraising eyes met in mid-air.

“The air conditioning is on in my car. You won’t feel hot any more once you get in it,” said Zhou Yize.

Zhao Fei made no reply, and neither did he ask where Zhou Yize was taking him. The night before, it wasn’t until something after 3:00 a.m. that he’d finished his last scene on the set, and then he’d immediately gone to the airport to catch his flight. Although he wasn’t exhausted like any common person would have been, he did feel rather uncomfortable, so he closed his eyes to have some rest the moment he got in the car.