Chapter 22: Amulet of Velmura

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 shook his head, “You don’t need a mana core to have mana, Lin Fang. All you need are mana crystals.”

“But, mana crystals are incredibly expensive. Someone like me can’t afford those things…” As Lin Fang replied with a frown on his face, Zhi Yan became concerned at those words and couldn’t help but ask, “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 thought 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?]

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