Chapter 24: The Arbiter at the Toll of Midnight

Bai Yin was sleeping soundly when the light stung his eyes.

Strange scents—useless humans with absolutely no combat prowess. Since when did Yanye allow such irrelevant people into the general store?

"If you have nothing to say, close the door. It’s cold." As he spoke, he flicked his tail, which had been feeling a bit itchy, and a sudden gust of wind swept through the room, blasting Zhang Xiang out of the door.

Zhang Xiang stood frozen in place, cold sweat beading on his forehead.

Seeing the look on his friend's face, Lin Jiang immediately stepped forward to check on him.

"What's wrong? What did you see?"

"A snake. A huge snake."

A muffled, indignant snort came from inside the room.

"I am a dragon! I am a dragon!"

Zhang Xiang immediately corrected himself. "A python. A huge python."

"I said I am a dragon! Are you trying to die?" The roar shook the small house several times.

Zhang Xiang braced himself. "A giant, flower-patterned python that looks a lot like a dragon."

Bai Yin: ???

Get lost!

A whisper came through the night.

"We meet again!"

Yanye jumped down from the eaves and stood behind the two men. Zhang Xiang and Lin Jiang turned around, stunned by her sudden appearance.

Yanye blinked and took a few steps, closing the distance.

"We met that night. That business card..."

With that reminder, the two naturally remembered. Recalling the card, Zhang Xiang pulled it out of his pocket.

"Who are you? What do you have to do with this card?"

It had been a long time since things were this lively, and Yanye was in no rush. She sat on a stone stool and reached for her wine cup, but finding it empty, she noticed her wine flagon had been snatched away.

"You said you wanted to find me, and here I am. What can I do for you?"

A mysterious general store, a bizarre giant python, and a dim-witted robot. The woman was beautiful and dangerous.

Lin Jiang tugged at his friend's sleeve. "Let's go! Something feels wrong. I have goosebumps all over."

Zhang Xiang wanted to leave, but the situation was no longer under their control. Since they had already come, he couldn't leave empty-handed. Who knew when the next opportunity would arise? He was, by nature, a wicked man who had committed no fewer than eighty or a hundred evil deeds in his life. Besides, he had done his research before coming and had prepared other things—items he had spent a fortune to acquire.

Why waste them?

Some people are always so arrogant, thinking they are the lucky beneficiaries of fate, never realizing that it is a one-way ticket to their doom.

Faced with Yanye’s relentless advance, Zhang Xiang pulled a handful of items from his pocket and scattered them into the air. Talisman papers fluttered down from the sky, and a larger one flew straight toward Yanye, aiming to stick to her.

"Freeze!"

With a trembling roar, the large talisman paper stuck firmly to Yanye’s face.

She reached up, peeled it off, and took a look. She tossed it aside in disgust.

"How much did you pay for this fake?" The patterns were drawn all wrong.

"Impossible! It was drawn by a master at Jinming Temple. It cost me tens of thousands!" He blurted it out, then immediately clamped his mouth shut, looking nervous.

He thought he could subdue her with something that cost only a few tens of thousands? It was delusional.

Scattered on the ground were various talismans. Yanye glanced at them. Some were indeed somewhat effective and could certainly intimidate an ordinary person, but they were useless against her.

"Didn't your teacher tell you not to litter when you were a child?"

She could tolerate the talismans, but the next second, the man pulled out a small bottle and splashed black dog blood all over her. The bloody liquid dripped down her cheeks, looking terrifying in the dark night.

The surrounding air suddenly grew thin, and the pressure spiked.

Jin Yuanbao realized things had taken a turn for the worse; Yanye was angry, so he hurriedly fled the scene. Even Pearl trotted away on her short legs to hide in her nest.

It had been a long time since anyone had made Yanye this angry.

The last time was decades ago, when a reckless, arrogant rich kid had been racing on the streets in the middle of the night, leading to a fatal crash. He had come to the shop, causing a scene and demanding to be brought back to life, and had smashed a peach blossom wine cup that Yanye had been quite fond of at the time.

In the end, Yanye granted his wish. He spent decades lying in bed, living a life worse than death. He was still lying in a hospital to this day.

It is best not to provoke a woman, especially one with a bit of power.

"Why is it still not working?" Zhang Xiang threw away the empty bottle, muttering "don't come closer" under his breath.

The talismans on the ground seemed to come alive; they rose into the air, circled the man, and suddenly wrapped tightly around his neck, choking him.

In moments, Zhang Xiang couldn't breathe. His face turned red and bloated as he clawed wildly at the air. His companion was already frightened out of his wits.

A large screen appeared in the void, displaying the evil deeds Zhang Xiang had committed from childhood to adulthood.

At three, he threw feces into the neighbor's steamer.

At five, he drowned his sister's puppy in a reservoir.

At eight, he stole money from home and framed his stepmother.

At twelve, he threw firecrackers into his teacher's office, burning a pile of homework.

At fourteen, after a failed confession, he rode a dirt bike and broke a girl's leg.

At sixteen, he dropped out of school and joined other thugs to gang-rape a girl returning late from night