Sister Wu and Brother Hui were both great yaos who had cultivated for over a millennium and once terrorized their own territories. They were also among the first batch to be captured and reformed by YCG.
But that was during the war-torn years, when the human and yao realms occasionally intertwined, and chaos reigned between heaven and earth. The Huaxia Paranormal Management Bureau had just been established—back then, it was called the Yao Suppression Division and was mainly composed of human cultivators with a small number of spirit beings.
So the way they handled Sister Wu and Brother Hui was to suppress their cultivation and have them atone through merit. Because they were highly capable and never spared any effort, they were considered meritorious officials of YCG at the time.
But back then, human-yao relations were complicated. Humans killing yaos and yaos eating humans were common occurrences. Even though Sister Wu and Brother Hui had proven their repentance through action, it was still difficult for them to earn the trust of most people within YCG.
Apart from the faction that favored yaos, everyone else advocated for keeping them imprisoned. There was quite a bit of back-and-forth and conflict over the issue. As a result, the two of them remained in a very awkward position, barely noticed.
Over the years, as times changed and YCG’s policies shifted, those dark chapters of their past were dug up again after many twists and turns. Quite a few people within YCG still advocated for re-imprisoning and sealing them. Their position became increasingly awkward, and making arrangements for them grew more and more difficult.
Being able to stay stably at this company was already pretty good. Expecting them to really work properly?
Every mission required preliminary intelligence gathering and post-mission reports. Some missions were interconnected, and a problem at any stage could cause serious trouble.
Because of the personnel composition at this company, handling the aftermath of missions was even more troublesome than the missions themselves. Over time, the Action Department naturally stopped sending missions their way.
Ye Yang hadn’t expected his colleagues to have such tumultuous life experiences. Sister Wu’s account was simple, but he listened completely absorbed. “So you and Brother Hui have actually participated in many major historical events?”
“Not really. We mostly observed. I heard that after the Shang Tang Cataclysm, the human race was separated out, and we no longer interfered in human affairs. What the old goose and I mainly participated in were wars in the yao realm.” That said, from Sister Wu’s tone, she still sounded quite proud of those battles back then.
Ye Yang clicked his tongue, wanting to hear more, but he didn’t forget the main issue. He asked, “Since everyone knows what the situation is with President Long, Brother Xing, and the rest of you, how did the Action Department end up putting you all together when assigning personnel?” Wouldn’t that render this very casually named company pretty much useless?
“Pfft!” Sister Wu curled her lip. “That’s exactly how they intended to arrange it!”
“Take a look at the map of Dongzhou. Don’t you think our branch is completely unnecessary?”
Dongzhou City was like a dumpling with thick skin and little filling. The Action Headquarters was located slightly north of the center. The two branches, disguised as ordinary companies in the west and east, sat on the two thick dumpling wrappers. These three locations covered the entire city of Dongzhou, each roughly equidistant from the others and from the nearest Action Departments in neighboring cities.
In other words, the branch where Ye Yang worked was extremely redundant. Nothing would change if it were removed.
Removing it would actually make things more harmonious.
“So that’s how it is.” Ye Yang nodded, feeling like sighing. “Our company is basically a place to house all of you. Isn’t this just a different form of imprisonment?”
“Tell me about it…” Sister Wu gazed wistfully into the distance. She didn’t want to live this kind of idle life either, with only one trivial, boring mission every ten days or half a month. That was why she was so desperate to keep the newcomer around—even if there still wasn’t much work to do, at least he would inject some fresh energy into the company.
Sister Wu wasn’t the type to dwell on things. After a short moment of melancholy, her attention was drawn back to her little trinkets, leaving Ye Yang alone by the window, lost in thought.
Ye Yang pondered silently but wasn’t particularly worried.
Maybe because he had come into contact with Shen Ming—the only god on earth—early on and had met quite a few great beings, Ye Yang didn’t feel particularly dissatisfied with the hidden talents at the company. On the contrary, he felt a sudden surge of motivation.
Director Tu wouldn’t lie to him. She had always said he was very capable, that his talent could be put to great use at YCG. After spending so much effort training him, there was no way she would let him just coast along at this company doing nothing.
Plus, with the sudden rent increase, Director Tu had to know he couldn’t afford it. This must be her way of motivating him to work hard! Yes! That had to be it!
Ye Yang immediately decided to take the initiative. He discussed it with Sister Wu, took over her duties, and contacted the Action Department himself.
Once he started making moves, he realized things weren’t nearly as troublesome as he had initially imagined.
He got in touch with the Action Department, stated his identity, and expressed his willingness to contribute to the department. Soon enough, Ye Yang secured his first mission.
“See? That wasn’t so hard!” Brother Hui crossed his arms and shot a sidelong glance at Wu Shuwen.
Even Brother Xing, who rarely showed emotion, seemed excited. “Good kid. Looks like our branch is about to rise. An S-level mission right off the bat!”
“So what’s the plan? Do we all go, or does someone stay behind to mind the shop?” Sister Wu was the most excited of all, gripping Ye Yang’s small shoulders tightly. If he had been an ordinary person, he might have already been snapped in half.
Ye Yang struggled to push away the three heads crowding around him, took a deep breath of fresh air, licked his lips, and said with mild embarrassment, “Um, the Action Department has assigned me to partner with another agent from headquarters…”
“Huh?!” Sister Wu’s eyebrows shot up. “What do you mean?”
Ye Yang quickly added, “I can’t do anything about it this time. But next time, I’ll definitely fight for missions for everyone. I won’t let any of you stay idle!”
Sister Wu backed down awkwardly. “…That’s not really necessary.”
Brother Hui, on the other hand, nodded calmly. “Makes sense. Little Ye, work hard. Don’t embarrass your big bro Hui.”
Sister Wu turned to him, eyes wide. “You’re not even a little angry? You knew about this already?!”
Brother Hui hadn’t known in advance at all—he had simply read the email properly on the computer screen. He couldn’t be bothered to argue with Sister Wu and added another reminder to Ye Yang: “Don’t forget what I taught you. Stay safe.”
Xing Tian felt a bit disgruntled. “Can’t I even go along?” He was clearly the most reliable person at this branch.
But he didn’t dwell on it. “Do your best. You can reach me anytime if something comes up.”
·
The mission location was a wetland thousands of kilometers away from Dongzhou City.
Due to understaffing and a number of lingering historical issues, the distribution of Action Departments was highly uneven. In densely populated, developed areas, more branches were established for efficiency and to ensure human safety. But in some uninhabited or sparsely populated regions, an entire province might have only one or two action offices. As a result, it was common to transfer personnel from other locations.
Distance wasn’t an issue for YCG. What mattered most was matching expertise to the mission—field assignments were the norm.
This mission might involve aquatic creatures, so they needed to pull someone from Dongzhou, a coastal branch office. Coincidentally, Ye Yang had volunteered, so the task was assigned to him.
To save money, Ye Yang took his usual route of “transferring” through the yao realm, arriving a little later than his partner.
“Sorry, sorry—I’m not late, am I?”
“No, I was just early.”
“Teacher Shen?!” Ye Yang was overjoyed. He hadn’t expected his partner to be Teacher Shen.
The nervousness of going on his first mission as a full-time employee instantly vanished. With Shen Ming around, he had nothing to worry about!
Shen Ming read his thoughts at a glance and slightly curled his lips. “You’re the main force. I’m only here to assist. Do a good job.”
“Huh?” Ye Yang was dumbfounded. “Why?”
Shen Ming kept his eyes straight ahead. “I don’t work for the Action Department. I don’t get a salary.”
“…Oh, right.” Then, “Teacher Shen, why are you here anyway? Shouldn’t you be at the research institute?”
Shen Ming touched his nose. “I’m on leave. Here to earn some extra money.”
Ye Yang didn’t overthink it. His mood lightened, and he even made a joke. “So that’s it. For a second, I thought you came just for me. Don’t worry, Teacher Shen. I’ll work hard!”
Full of energy, Ye Yang sprinted ahead toward the wetland. Shen Ming lingered a step behind, and Ling She popped out. “Oho, look at you—learning to lie! Impressive, impressive. Shen Ming, have you noticed you’re becoming more and more like me?”
Without sparing him a glance, Shen Ming shoved him back in.
Why had he come all the way out here for such a small mission? What other reason could there be but Ye Yang?
After years of spending day and night together, Shen Ming had long stopped suspecting that Ye Yang might be some kind of spy or villain. Not only had he found no further clues linking Ye Yang to the Vermilion Bird, but even if Ye Yang was connected to the Vermilion Bird, it must be a one-sided exploitation by the creature—Ye Yang himself would surely be unaware.
But then he had discovered another problem.
There was something on Ye Yang—something that could genuinely stir Shen Ming’s divine power. And that something was related to him.
That night, another quiet, late evening. Ye Yang had already gone to sleep, while Shen Ming was still in Ye Yang’s kitchen, simmering a pot of broth.
Suddenly, that familiar energy—the one that hadn’t appeared in a long time—returned.
Shen Ming and Ling She sprang into action instantly. Divine power transformed into threads and enveloped Ye Yang in a flash. Finally, they caught the energy.
“What… what is this?!” Even Ling She was shocked. “How can this happen? Little bunny—is he your secret love child?!”
The divine power on Ye Yang was completely identical to Xuanwu’s power. But this Xuanwu power was entirely independent and didn’t respond to Shen Ming’s command, meaning it wasn’t his power.
Shen Ming immediately woke Ye Yang.
Ye Yang woke up groggy and confused. Before he could figure out what was happening, he was bombarded with several questions: “Why do you have Xuanwu power? Where did this power come from? Have you seen me before?”
Ye Yang: “…What Xuanwu power? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Feeling his energy channel being cut off, he shifted uncomfortably. “This is just my innate ability—absorbing sunlight and converting it into energy. You already knew that, Teacher Shen, didn’t you?”
Shen Ming’s expression when he didn’t speak was a little frightening. Ye Yang pressed his lips together, feeling inexplicably wronged. “And as for whether I’ve seen you before… definitely not. Before I came ashore, I had never even seen a humanoid creature!”
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