Chapter 108: Chapter 108: The Sycophant

Even the sight of a shattered Spirit Stone was somehow more beautiful than anything in the Cultivation World.

Meanwhile, Zhao Huan, having torn Chen Xu’s corpse to shreds, stood amidst the gore and bowed deeply to Shen Zhiyao. “Thank you!”

Shen Zhiyao asked her, “Do you still want to be reincarnated?”

Zhao Huan was taken aback. “My hands are stained with blood, and I’m weighed down by sin. Can I really be reincarnated?”

She had been refined into a Ghost Artifact for over a decade. Although she was being controlled, she was the one who had committed all those evil deeds.

If Zhao Huan wanted to be reincarnated, she would have to wait for the resentment clinging to her to dissipate, and only then could her sins be cleansed.

If her sins couldn’t be cleansed, she would suffer endless torture even in the Netherworld, denied reincarnation for all eternity.

For an ordinary Cultivator, cleansing sins required a massive amount of Spiritual Power.

While it wouldn’t impact Shen Zhiyao’s cultivation realm, it would leave her weak for half a month, making her look as if she had just recovered from a major illness.

Shen Zhiyao had already been prepared to pay such a price, but now, the situation had taken a new turn.

“Zhao Huan, go outside the courtyard. I’ll help you pass on while these motes of light are still here!”

The key hanging around Chen Yan’s neck had been forged by a Divinity Transformation Stage Cultivator who had infused it with their Cultivation. It contained a vast amount of Spiritual Power, which was perfect for purifying Zhao Huan and would save Shen Zhiyao from expending her own.

As she chanted the Rebirth Mantra, golden talismans slowly drifted toward Zhao Huan. The countless motes of light in the air were drawn in as well, gathering around her and gradually washing away the bloodstains from her form.

Her crimson dress fluttered in the wind, slowly turning pure and white.

Just as she was about to depart, she waved to Shen Zhiyao.

The countless motes of light gradually dissipated in the wind until they vanished completely.

In the dead of night, the city was brightly lit, but Chen Family Village was shrouded in silence.

Shen Zhiyao turned to face the tallest building in the village—the Chen Family Ancestral Hall, her heart filled with a swirl of emotions.

’Just how many others in this world are destined to walk the same path as the Great Black Buddha Mother…?’

…

「The Jin family.」

Jin Huai Zhong had been scared witless by the Red-clothed Ghost earlier. Now that he had recovered, he didn’t dare go back to sleep.

He and Jin Fan sat on the sofa, waiting for word from Shen Zhiyao.

Jin Fan had spoken fewer than ten sentences to Jin Huai Zhong his whole childhood, so it was no surprise they had nothing to say to each other.

The father and son looked at each other wordlessly for a good while before Jin Huai Zhong finally broke the silence. “Xiao Fan, what do you usually like to eat? Once this is all over, I’ll have the kitchen make it for you every day.”

Jin Fan thought for a moment and replied, “My tastes? I like spicy and strongly flavored food. I love spicy hot pot, spicy rabbit heads, and barbecue. But my absolute favorite is spicy crayfish tails.”

Residents in the heart of Beijing City generally have milder palates, preferring to emphasize the natural flavors of the food, so most dishes are savory and fresh.

So, Jin Huai Zhong was a bit surprised. “Is your palate usually that heavy?”

Jin Fan explained, “It’s because the nanny who took care of me when I was little was from the Chuanyu Region. She always liked to add a lot of spice when she cooked. At first, it was so spicy my eyes would water, but I got used to it and realized spicy food is actually delicious. Heh heh… I guess you could say my tolerance for spice was trained from a young age! By the way, Dad, do you like spicy hot pot? We should go get some later!”

Jin Huai Zhong grimaced. “N-No, that’s alright. I can’t handle it.”

Hearing this, Jin Huai Zhong felt a pang of sadness.

’A child with no parents to protect him… even the nanny could treat him however she pleased. And this silly kid didn’t even notice anything was amiss.’

“Xiao Fan, from now on, Dad’s here. I’ll definitely treat you well. I’ll make it all up to you.”

Jin Fan waved his hand dismissively. “It’s fine. I’ve been getting by just fine all these years, haven’t I? Don’t feel guilty!”

After just a couple of exchanges, they fell silent again.

Jin Fan leaned back on the sofa and started scrolling through videos on his phone.

In one video, a sky full of light rained down like white snow, a spectacular sight. People in the video were shouting in amazement.

Some netizens wondered if the “snow” in September meant another major injustice had occurred in the country. Why didn’t the weather forecast show anything?

He scrolled down and found a video of an expert, looking bleary-eyed as if he’d just been woken up. “Due to unforeseen meteorological phenomena interfering with our survey equipment,” the expert explained, “we were unable to predict the arrival of this September ’blizzard’…”

Jin Fan scrambled to the window, but he couldn’t spot a single “snowflake.”

He slapped his thigh in regret. “Argh! I’ve been awake all night, why didn’t I just sit by the window for a bit! The ’snow’ is all gone!”

“That was no ordinary ’blizzard’!”

Shen Zhiyao emerged from the night. She wore a light blue cheongsam that lent her an otherworldly, aloof aura.

“Great-Grandma!” Jin Fan practically lunged at her. “Great-Grandma! Did you see the falling snow just now?”

Shen Zhiyao nodded. “Of course I saw it. And it wasn’t cold at all, because it wasn’t snow to begin with.”

Jin Huai Zhong asked, “Is Chen Xu dead?”

Shen Zhiyao replied coolly, “He’s dead.”

Jin Huai Zhong finally let out a sigh of relief.

’From his perspective, Chen Xu was a formidable man. He had to be, to have caused such a commotion in Beijing City and to have run him completely in circles. He had originally been afraid that Shen Zhiyao wouldn’t be able to kill Chen Xu and would bring trouble upon herself instead. Now it seemed his worries were completely unnecessary. He hadn’t expected Shen Zhiyao to return completely unscathed, her steps even seeming light. It looked like killing Chen Xu had been an easy task for her.’

Jin Huai Zhong was just about to offer a few words of praise when he saw Jin Fan sidle up to Shen Zhiyao and say fawningly, “You’re amazing, Great-Grandma, just as expected! All those demons and monsters are just small fry in front of you. Great-Grandma, come on in, watch the threshold. Great-Grandma, are you thirsty? Hungry? Want some spicy crawfish?”

Jin Huai Zhong had seen his fair share of skilled sycophants, but this was the first time he’d seen flattery this… “thorough.”

’Was this still the high and mighty Beijing Circle Prince? He was acting more like an attendant waiting on the Emperor!’

’How could a transcendent master like Shen Zhiyao eat such things?’ Jin Huai Zhong was terrified that one of Jin Fan’s comments would offend her.

Jin Huai Zhong was about to stop him when Shen Zhiyao said enthusiastically, “I’ll have a serving of the garlic crawfish, make it numbing but not hot. And get me an iced Peach Oolong tea.”

“You got it! I’ll order it right now!”

Ten minutes later, the crawfish arrived. Shen Zhiyao put on a pair of disposable gloves and dug in, clearly enjoying it.

Jin Huai Zhong: “…”

’He never would have dreamed that a transcendent master like Shen Zhiyao could be so down-to-earth.’

“Dad, want a bite? Try it, it’s delicious!” Jin Fan picked up a crawfish and held it to Jin Huai Zhong’s mouth.

Jin Huai Zhong quickly waved his hands. “No, no, the flavor is too strong. I can’t handle it.”

After Shen Zhiyao had eaten and drunk her fill, Jin Huai Zhong took the opportunity to ask, “Now that Chen Xu is dead, can Xiao Fan’s fate be switched back?”

Shen Zhiyao wiped her hands with a wet nap. “Is Jin Muyang asleep?”

“Upstairs. He’s already asleep.”

Knowing what tonight would entail, Jin Huai Zhong had slipped a heavy dose of sleeping pills into Jin Muyang’s water.

With Chen Xu dead, the Curse Technique naturally lost its effect.

It took Shen Zhiyao only three minutes to switch Jin Muyang’s and Jin Fan’s fates back.

It was anyone’s guess how large a dose Jin Huai Zhong had used, but Jin Muyang didn’t wake up through the entire process.

At first, Jin Fan was extremely excited, asking one question after another.

Soon, however, the agony of the fate-swap reversal overwhelmed him, and he passed out.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep