215: Chapter 215 Emerging from Seclusion

"Good morning, viewers. This is Great Xia Central News Channel, bringing you a special bulletin."

"Since the Supreme Defense Committee of Great Xia issued the 'Red Notice on Spiritual Energy Revival,' supernatural phenomena across the country have been initially brought under effective control."

"The Special Service Corps of The Ninth Bureau has established comprehensive defense lines across various regions. Meanwhile, all sectors of society are ushering in unprecedented major transformations."

"Yesterday, the Celestial Master Mansion of Mount Longhu announced the opening of its [Inner Court], officially registering with The Ninth Bureau. They have dispatched 120 high-ranking Inner Court Taoist masters to settle in Jiangnan and Jiangbei provinces to assist the government in suppressing D-rank and above malevolent spirits."

"The inheritors of the corpse-driving lineage from Western Hunan have reached a strategic cooperation intention with the Great Xia General Administration of Logistics. Leveraging their unique nighttime corpse-control arts, they will launch 'zero-contact' special material transport services in certain remote mountainous areas."

"The Five Immortal Families of the Northeast Shamanic Lineage, the Tang Clan of Hidden Weapons in Chuanshu, and the Lingnan Zhuge Qimen Clan—silent for three hundred years—have all submitted applications to the authorities this morning to emerge from seclusion."

"The entry of these secluded families and sects into worldly affairs marks Great Xia's official entry into a new era of national transcendence and contend of a hundred schools of thought..."

Taiping Old Street, Lins Funeral Shop.

On the large LCD TV hanging in the corner of the first-floor hall, the morning news was broadcasting in clear, measured tones.

Lin Ye wore a loose gray hoodie, his legs casually resting on the edge of a golden-thread phoebe wood tea table.

Holding a cup of hand-ground coffee in his hand, he listened to the news anchor's passionate and cadence-filled voice, unable to resist clicking his tongue.

"These old foxes from the secluded sects have noses sharper than dogs."

Lin Ye blew on the steam rising from his coffee.

"A few years ago, when spiritual energy was just reviving and the situation was unclear, every single one of them hid in deep mountains, old forests, or barrier formations playing dead, terrified of getting entangled in karma."

"Now that the government has blown off the lid and they know the Great Xia pie is getting bigger, they're all rushing out to grab territory and contend for legitimacy."

Ayugu was perching on a chair nearby, slurping up a bowl of rice noodles noisily.

"Isn't that right!"

The Miao girl chimed in unclearly through her mouthful.

"My Ah-Ma said that outside our Ten Thousand Mountains, there have been a lot of unfamiliar faces lately. I heard that even the Zhuge Clan from Lingnan, renowned for their unfailing calculations, sent out their young master to gather influence all over the place."

"Boss, I'm afraid our Funeral Shop's business is going to be snatched away quite a bit by those prestigious righteous sects in the future."

"Steal my business?"

Lin Ye sneered and leaned back.

"These days, fighting monsters and exorcising demons is technical work."

"Those young masters and ladies from the prestigious sects only spar with light touches back in their mountains. When they actually run into old ghosts that have lived for thousands of years or foreign freaks coming from the West, do you think chanting a few lines of the Dao De Jing can deliver their souls?"

"If they want to come out and do that thankless, dirty, exhausting work, it just lightens the load for The Ninth Bureau."

"When they hit a tough nut they can't crack, won't they end up obediently bringing their checkbooks to knock on our Funeral Shop's door in the end?"

Lin Ye was well-versed in the economics of chaotic times.

In a world crawling with gods, buddhas, demons, and monsters, he never intended to play the world-saving hero.

He only wanted to sit comfortably on his fishing platform as a "technical consultant" possessing core expertise.

Whoever paid more and showed the right attitude, he would lend a hand.

His primary goal was peace of mind and an unburdened conscience.

"Screech—"

Just as Lin Ye and Ayugu were chatting aimlessly, a steady engine roar suddenly sounded from the street outside the Funeral Shop.

Three black bulletproof Hongqi sedans bearing special passage license plates from The Ninth Bureau parked silently outside the shop.

The car doors opened.

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan stepped out first.

This deputy captain of Division Two of The Ninth Bureau, usually known for her swift and decisive manner, unexpectedly did not lead the way today.

Standing beside the rear door of the middle Hongqi sedan, her expression was respectful and slightly nervous as she reached out to open the door.

As the door opened completely, a foot wearing a black pointed stiletto heel emerged first.

Right after.

Came a calf tightly encased in sheer black stockings.

The black stockings were of superb quality, gleaming with a matte luster in the early winter morning light.

Tracing up from the calf, the voluptuous, shapely curve of her leg was enough to make any man lacking self-control stare dead ahead on the spot.

Then, a woman emerged from the car.

She wore a form-fitting, deep burgundy trench coat.

The trench coat was unbuttoned, revealing a tight-fitting black bodycon dress underneath.

The cut of the dress seemed tailor-made for her, outlining a breathtakingly exaggerated waist-to-hip ratio.

In particular, her voluptuous hips swaying gently as she walked exuded the ultimate temptation of a ripe peach.

She was strikingly beautiful, her big wavy black curls draped casually over one shoulder.

Beneath the corner of her eye was an alluring beauty mark.

Her red lips were slightly pursed in a faint, knowing smile, every step filled with captivating grace.

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan followed half a step behind her. One after the other, they pushed open the glass door of the Funeral Shop.

"Yo, Captain Chu, how come you have time to drop by today? Aren't you busy receiving those secluded sects emerging from the mountains?"

Lin Ye remained seated, his gaze unhesitatingly sweeping up and down the woman who had walked in.

After all, when encountering a beauty, admiring her openly was showing respect to her good looks.

Sneaking peeks was what people called creepy.

The woman clearly noticed Lin Ye's gaze, but far from being angry, her eyes flickered with a seductive gleam as she walked toward him, meeting his eyes.

"Captain Chu, is this the Manager Lin from your report who 'suppressed Jiangzhou and possesses godlike abilities'?"

The woman's voice was lazy and magnetic, the end notes tilting slightly upward with a strange magic that tickled one's heart.

Deputy Captain Chu Hongyan coughed dryly and introduced with a somewhat unnatural expression: "Lin Ye, this is... Director Su Mei, the new commander-in-chief of Jiangzhou and the Southern Theater, who just arrived from The Ninth Bureau's Yanjing headquarters."

"Oh?"

Lin Ye raised an eyebrow.

Those old fools at The Ninth Bureau had finally wised up.

Changing their tactics this time, did they directly send a female director over to pull off a "honey trap"?

Director Su Mei walked over to the golden-thread phoebe wood tea table.

Instead of politely waiting to be offered a seat like other guests, she naturally pulled out the chair opposite Lin Ye and sat down.

As she sat down, the hem of her bodycon skirt inevitably rode up a few inches, and she crossed her voluptuous, black-stocking-clad legs.

Resting her chin on one hand with her elbow on the table, she leaned forward slightly.

Beneath the deep V-neckline, a breathtaking flash of fair, supple skin was tantalizingly visible.

"I've long heard that a true dragon emerged in Jiangzhou, capable of single-handedly suppressing a Western Archbishop. Seeing you today, Boss Lin is even younger and... more handsome than in the photos."

Director Su Mei's red lips parted slightly as she breathed out an orchid-like scent.

A mature fragrance with hints of rose and woody notes drifted through the air into Lin Ye's nostrils.

"This woman isn't simple..."

Lin Ye marveled in his heart.

From her posture and positioning to her gaze, every movement was precisely calculated to perfectly hit a man's sweet spot.

Had it been anyone else facing active advances and teasing from a powerful, top-tier female director like her, their bones would have turned to jelly and they'd lose their bearings completely.

But Lin Ye was different. Facing Director Su Mei's flirting, far from backing down, he clasped his hands behind his head, leaned back, and let his gaze linger unreservedly on her cleavage for two full seconds before lazily meeting her eyes.

"Director Su, you flatter me. I don't have many merits other than a sturdy body that can take a beating."

"Director Su, dropping by my humble shop first thing in the morning with such grand 'sincerity,' surely you didn't come just to compliment my good looks?"

Lin Ye placed special emphasis on the word "sincerity."

A flicker of light flashed in Director Su Mei's eyes.

She had seen countless people. At the Yanjing headquarters, those aristocratic young masters who considered themselves above the rest, or high-and-mighty Daoist figures...

...would either act hypocritically dignified or end up completely infatuated in front of her.

Yet the young man before her had exceptionally clear eyes.

Though he was admiring her body, there was not a trace of losing himself to lust in his eyes.