168: Chapter 168 Jiangzhou: Undercurrents

Meanwhile.

East of Jiangzhou City, the underground black market.

As the largest distribution center for grey market trading in all of Jiangnan Province, this place had originally become quiet and deserted, with everyone on edge due to the massacre at the Yellow Springs Market a few days ago.

But today, the entire underground air-raid shelter was bustling with noise, packed with all kinds of shady characters.

This was because a bombshell piece of news was spreading through the black market at light speed.

"Have you heard? The Big Boss Lin of Lins Funeral Shop declared he's holding a top-tier auction for foreign relics!"

A tomb raider missing a front tooth squatted in a corner, secretively bragging to his fellow comrade nearby.

"It's absolutely true! That kid Bai Yu came in person this morning to drop the news! He said The Big Boss Lin went single-handedly into the Ten Thousand Mountains and chopped up that Big Boss Yellow Springs who massacred our Ghost Market! Not only did he avenge us, but he also looted a massive stash of top-tier Western magical artifacts and holy relics from that foreign devil!"

"Holy crap! For real? The Big Boss Lin is that fierce? That Yellow Springs Boss was a ruthless figure who even wiped the floor with The Ninth Bureau's special agents!"

"If I'm lying to you, I'm a dog! Bai Yu spread the word: tonight at the Zi Hour, a special auction at Lins Funeral Shop on Taiping Old Street. Highest bidder wins! I heard there's even a lost Holy Grail fragment from the Western Holy See in there!"

"My goodness... This is publicly rubbing the West's face in the dirt! Is The Big Boss Lin declaring war on the entire Western Continent?"

The news seemed to grow wings.

Not only in the underground black market, but all the local Xuan sects in Jiangzhou, prominent wealthy families, and even certain high-level officials within the official Ninth Bureau received this shocking intelligence in a very short time.

Some sneered coldly, believing Lin Ye was arrogant and crazy for money, actually daring to publicly sell relics of the Western Freemasonry.

Others gloated, preparing to go to Taiping Old Street at night to watch an earth-shattering drama unfold as supernatural forces from the East and West collided.

...

On the outskirts of Jiangzhou City, inside an abandoned St. John's Cathedral.

This place was sparsely populated and overgrown with weeds.

Once a holy site, even the cross was now covered in spiderwebs.

But in the dim basement of the cathedral, seven or eight Western knights clad in heavy silver armor and exuding a terrifying aura stood at this moment.

They were like ghosts in the dark night, standing silently on both sides without moving a muscle.

In the center of the basement stood a long mahogany dining table.

A Western man with blonde hair and blue eyes, dressed in a scarlet robe, was sitting elegantly at the head of the table, holding a glass of red wine as crimson as blood.

He was handsome, with a hint of sickly paleness.

His eyes were double pupils, completely devoid of whites and pitch-black as ink.

Wrapped around his wrist was a bloody vine of thorns.

Every time the vine wriggled, a holy yet eerie white light flickered.

Chief Commander of the Western Freemasonry's Joint Enforcement Squad and number three powerful figure of the Inquisition—Blood High Priest, Archimonde.

"The Daoist sects of Great Xia really disappoint me to the extreme."

Archimonde swirled his wine glass and spoke in fluent Great Xia language, his tone laced with unreserved arrogance and contempt.

"That idiot Yellow Springs took the resources and Extraction Array provided by our Freemasonry, yet couldn't even break open the underground palace gate of a fallen Eastern lord. Instead, his head got chopped off. He truly besmirched the glory of Truth."

A heavily armored knight kneeling on one knee bowed his head and reported respectfully:

"Lord High Priest, according to confirmation from our intelligence network inside Great Xia."

"The one who killed the Yellow Springs Agent is a young man running a Funeral Shop locally in Jiangzhou. His name is Lin Ye."

"Even worse, Sister Helena's Soul Life Tablet... although not shattered, its light has dimmed completely, and it is tainted with a thick Eastern heretical aura."

"It is highly likely she has suffered at the hands of the enemy, or... betrayed the Lord."

Hearing the words "Helena betrayed the Lord."

A tyrannical murderous intent flashed in Archimonde's eyes.

"That arrogant, foolish woman Helena. If she really wagged her tail to beg for mercy from Eastern mud-legs, then she doesn't deserve to be called a sister anymore. She only deserves to be nailed to the stake and burned to ashes."

Archimonde drained the red wine in his glass in one gulp and casually smashed the goblet to pieces.

"What is that bumpkin named Lin Ye doing right now?"

The knight swallowed hard and spoke with some difficulty:

"In reply to Your Excellency... that Lin Ye... spread the word that tonight at the Zi Hour, he will hold a public auction inside his Funeral Shop for the holy relics looted from the Yellow Springs Agent."

"And... and he also said..."

"Said what?" Archimonde's double pupils narrowed slightly.

"He said... whether it's the Western God or a cardinal, once they enter his turf, if they want their stuff back, they have to pay the toll according to his rules... Otherwise, even if Jesus comes, he'll have to leave his underpants behind."

After saying this, cold sweat drenched the knight's back.

The air in the basement instantly plummeted to freezing point.

"Good, very good. What an audacious madman from Great Xia."

Archimonde laughed from extreme anger.

He stood up, and the Sacred Blood Thorns Band on his wrist emitted a dazzling blood-red light.

"It has been nearly a hundred years since anyone dared to provoke the great Freemasonry and the Inquisition with such a tone."

"Does he think defeating an outer trash member of Yellow Springs gives him the qualification to challenge true Western deities?"

Archimonde walked to the end of the long table and picked up a rapier engraved with the pattern of a fallen angel.

"Tonight at the Zi Hour. Assemble all members of the enforcement squad."

"Since he likes doing business so much, I'll go to that broken shop of his and use his blood and the blood of all the women around him as the chips for this auction."

"I want these frogs at the bottom of a well in Great Xia to see what untouchable divine punishment truly is!"

...

Night fell.

Taiping Old Street, Jiangzhou.

Tonight, the old street was livelier than ever, yet strangely quiet.

The old men and women who usually set up stalls for fortune-telling or selling paper effigies seemed to smell the bloody stench of an impending storm in advance and packed up early.

On the entire street, only the sign of Lins Funeral Shop glowed with a piercing cold light in the night wind.

In the backyard courtyard of the Funeral Shop...

...there was a scene of mundane daily life completely out of tune with the tense situation.

A large barbecue grill was set up in the center of the courtyard. The charcoal glowed red-hot, making the rows of marbled lamb skewers sizzle with oil.

Lin Ye was wearing a casual grey hoodie, holding a brush in his hand, skillfully brushing secret sauce onto the skewers.

Occasionally, he grabbed a handful of cumin powder and sprinkled it over them with flair.

"Boss, add more chili! I've been eating boxed lunches at the modification plant every day recently, my mouth is as bland as water!"

Fatty Wang pulled up a small folding stool and sat beside him, holding an chilled watermelon in his hands and digging in with a spoon, his eyes glowing as he stared at the grilled meat.

"Cut the chatter. Go get a few dozen beers from the freezer. Helena, come carry the plate."

Lin Ye instructed without turning his head.

"Yes, Boss."

Helena, wearing a high-slit black cheongsam that accentuated her breathtaking curves, walked over obediently in high heels, carrying a stainless steel tray.

Lin Ye transferred half of the grilled skewers onto the tray and casually slapped Helena's perky buttocks.

"Move faster."

Helena trembled all over, a blush rising on her cheeks, and quickly walked toward the stone table in the corner of the courtyard with the tray.

Beside the stone table.

Leng Yue still maintained her dignified, aloof style.

Holding a delicate small silver knife, she cut the grilled meat on her plate into small pieces, chewing slowly.

Although the Millennium Drought Demon didn't need to eat mortal food, tasting her husband's cooking occasionally was a charming pleasure.

Meanwhile, Frost Star, sitting opposite her, ate much more wildly.

The Nether Empress didn't bother with knives or forks at all. She grabbed a handful of scalding skewers, opened her mouth revealing sharp little fangs, and chewed the meat and skewers into powder with crunching sounds before swallowing them down.

"Sister, the way you eat is too refined! Meat only tastes good when torn in big bites!"

As Frost Star chewed on the iron skewers, she didn't forget to wave her grease-covered hand provocatively at Leng Yue.

Leng Yue gracefully wiped the corners of her mouth with a tissue.

"Unmannerly wild girl. Having lived for hundreds of years, you still eat like a reincarnated ravenous ghost."

"Don't eat too much. When the foreigners arrive later, be careful not to burp out cumin smell and embarrass Husband."

"Hmph! When those foreign devils arrive later, I'll twist off their heads and kick them like balls!" Frost Star chugged a large gulp of iced beer huffily.

Ayugu squatted on the steps nearby, munching on grilled corn while watching the daily bickering between this duo of ice and fire, long accustomed to it.

Lin Ye walked over to the stone table carrying the remaining grilled meat and sat down.

He grabbed a can of beer, opened it with a "pfft", and tilted his head back to take a swig.

Afterwards, his gaze swept over everyone present. His relaxed expression gradually faded, replaced once again by his calculating capitalist smile.

"Everyone had their fill of food and drink?"

Lin Ye clinked the beer can on the stone table, making a light thud.

"Bai Yu sent word back. Quite a few factions from the black market are rushing over to Taiping Old Street to watch the show."

"Fatty, did you pull down the iron gate outside?"

"Pulled it down! As you instructed, only a side door is left open. Proof of funds first before entry—anyone without a ten-million-yuan deposit isn't worthy to even step on our yard's floor tiles!" Fatty Wang patted his chest and guaranteed.

"Very good."

Lin Ye nodded, a cruel sneer curving at the corner of his lips.

"Tonight's auction—we aren't selling anything."

"I have already activated the Absolute Domain of the first floor of the nine nether purgatory tower. As long as those scumbags from the Western enforcement squad dare step through this door..."

"...Leng Yue seals off their escape route, Frost Star leads the frontal assault. Helena, you're in charge of using your fluent Great Xia language to translate for them what 'closing the door to beat the dog' means."

Lin Ye stood up, his eyes flashing with a blinding golden light in the darkness of the night.