Volume Twelve: Invitation to Hell, Chapter Thirty-Three: The Hell of Knives and Saws

"Phoenix, the eighteenth invitation has appeared," Song Xuekai said, walking in hurriedly. "Hurry, the victim has only one breath left."

Yaoguang followed Song Xuekai out immediately. Arriving in front of a large building, Yaoguang paused.

"Lanxing Real Estate?" Yaoguang was stunned. "This is bad." Without another word, she charged inside.

The security guard at the door tried to stop her, but was repelled by the sheer force of her aura. The others followed her in. The stairs were too slow, and the elevator hadn't arrived, so Yaoguang flew straight up along the exterior drainpipe of the building.

Crash! The glass of a window on the 29th floor shattered from the outside, and Yaoguang vaulted inside. A man lay on the floor with a saw blade protruding from his chest. Several police officers, staff members, and doctors were present; the doctors were already shaking their heads in resignation. They were left speechless as Yaoguang appeared through the broken glass.

With a flick of her fingers, golden needles appeared, and with lightning speed, she drove them into the man's acupoints. She gripped the saw blade and pulled it out with a single motion. A gush of blood poured from the man's mouth and his chest wound. Yaoguang tapped his body rapidly, then fed him a small silver pill. Placing her hand against his heart, she poured her "Mu Qingfeng" internal energy continuously into his veins.

Xuan Chen and Song Xuekai stumbled in, finding Yaoguang with a grim expression.

"Phoenix, I'm at the Underworld Ghost Market. Save me." The man opened his eyes, his voice sounding like a rusted bellows.

"Huangquan?!" Yaoguang realized then that the man in front of her was not the true victim, but a vessel for a wisp of Huangquan’s consciousness. It was a message meant specifically for her: Huangquan was in danger at the Underworld Ghost Market.

As soon as the message was delivered, the man fainted again. Seeing Xuan Chen and the others, Yaoguang shouted, "A-Yun, quick, the styptic powder, the purple bottle!"

Jiang Yun didn't hesitate; she rushed over, pulled out the purple porcelain bottle, tore open the man's shirt, and sprinkled the powder onto the wound. The bleeding stopped instantly. Yaoguang flicked her other hand, and Xue’er appeared in her palm. The tiny creature’s black, bead-like eyes met Yaoguang’s anxious gaze before it crawled onto the man's chest and vanished into his skin.

Yaoguang felt the meridians within the man begin to change. Xue’er was using the Golden Silkworm Gu to clear his blockages. The "Mu Qingfeng" energy began to take effect, and the man started absorbing her spiritual aura.

"Cough, cough." The man suddenly coughed up a pool of black blood. Everyone gasped, but the man slowly opened his eyes, looking at Yaoguang. "Phoenix."

"Don't speak yet," Yaoguang said, relieved. "A-Yun, bring out that fifty-year spiritual elixir and feed it to him."

She continued to pour her energy into him. Jiang Yun was stunned—who was this person that made her master so nervous? She didn't ask, simply feeding him the purple-gold pill. Yaoguang shifted her techniques, her energy now flowing through the "Gui Qulai" style, causing the elixir to spin rapidly within the man’s Dantian, circulating her energy throughout his body.

"Xuan Chen, clear the room," Yaoguang commanded sharply.

Within a minute, only Xuan Chen, Tianyou, Huo Mingkun, Chen Haixu, and Song Xuekai remained. As the office door slammed shut, Yaoguang’s energy exploded outward like a raging flood. Under the influence of her aura, the man rose into the air. Yaoguang ascended as well, surrounded by a golden light.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Three bolts of lightning struck from a clear sky, piercing through the broken window and hitting the man directly. Song Xuekai trembled in fear. The man’s body shifted from horizontal to vertical.

"Phoenix, what have you done?" the man asked as he opened his eyes.

"I am saving you. You have the nerve to ask me? What did you do to draw the attention of the Hell Envoy? If I had been one minute later, you would be dead even if the gods of the ancient realm had come to save you," Yaoguang retorted.

Silver light began to flow from the man’s body. Yaoguang withdrew her energy. Xue’er crawled back out, glared at the man, and vanished back into Yaoguang.

They landed on the floor. Yaoguang slumped down, exhausted. "Damn it, you little brat, you’ve worn me out." She slapped the back of the man's neck.

He winced in pain. Yaoguang started, quickly checking his chest. She pressed her hand against the wound, a blue light glowing from her palm. The man’s face went pale from the pain, but within moments, the searing agony began to fade. After a while, she withdrew her hand; the horrific wound was now nothing more than a faint scar.

"Does it still hurt?" she asked anxiously.

"No. Thank you, Phoenix," he smiled.

Yaoguang erupted. "Nalan Yu, you little idiot, are you trying to kill me? I’ve told you a hundred times to come to me when there’s trouble, but you treat it like wind in your ears! How much weight do you think you can carry? You couldn't handle the Luo Group, yet you let them scheme against you! They took your money and lived in luxury, while you took over a failed project, the building collapsed, and you ended up with a thousand angry owners! And then you went head-to-head with them and got targeted by that lunatic Hell Envoy! If I hadn't come quickly, you’d be a corpse. If I hadn't placed a Soul-Locking Talisman on you, your soul would be gone! Can you not give me a moment’s peace? If you died, what would I do? I should have let you cycle through reincarnation from the start!"

Yaoguang’s tirade left everyone stunned.

"Are you... are you trying to break my heart?" Yaoguang couldn't continue; tears began to fall. "You’re a jerk, Nalan Yu. I don't want you anymore..." She sobbed bitterly.

"Big sister, I was wrong. Please don't cry," Nalan Yu said, pulling her into an embrace.

"Big sister?!!!" Everyone in the room froze. Was this a TV drama?

"Still calling me 'Big Sister'? Call me 'Sister', you little brat!" Yaoguang pushed him away and gave him a crisp, loud slap on the head. Suddenly, she felt a sweetness in her throat and coughed up blood.

"Sister, are you okay?" Nalan Yu turned pale.

"I'm fine, just energy depletion," she said, wiping the blood away.

"Sister, I'm sorry," Nalan Yu looked at her, aggrieved.

"Get up and let me look at you," Yaoguang said, touching his face and smoothing his hair. "Still so handsome. I haven't taken good care of you all these years." She managed a sad smile.

"Sister, it’s not your fault. I’m just tired," Nalan Yu pouted.

"From now on, I’ll protect you. Move into my villa tomorrow," Yaoguang ordered.

"Okay, Sister." Nalan Yu buried his head in her chest, weeping. Yaoguang comforted him like a mother.

After a long while, they stood up. Yaoguang made a call: "Yitian, I’m at the Lanxing building. Bring Director Qin over."

Fifteen minutes later, Yitian and Director Qin arrived. Yaoguang issued her commands: "First, hold a board meeting. Initiate my original plan to acquire the entire Luo International, including all their real estate, stocks, and assets. Thoroughly investigate their board of directors and send those involved to prison for life. Second, gather those thousand owners, finish the second phase of the Lanxing project for them, and clear the first phase for rebuilding. Third, merge Luo Group into Lanxing International, and have Yilanxuan take full control. Rename it Yilanxuan International, Lanxing Branch, with Nalan Yu as president. Fourth, announce that Nalan Yu is my brother. The Luo Group engaged in illegal investment, money laundering, and fraud, and they tried to frame A-Yu. If I tolerate this, I am not Yaoguang."

Director Qin nodded and handed her an authorization form. With a flourish of her pen, the Luo Group became history.

"Where is the invitation you received?" Yaoguang asked.

Jiang Yun handed it to her. Yaoguang opened it.

*Inviter: Nalan Yu*
*The innocent are not guilty, but their wealth is their crime.*
*Signature: The Hell Envoy.*

"Simple and accurate. A-Yu, tell me what happened."

Nalan Yu recounted the incident: a woman in white, pale as snow, had dragged him from his bed, her body reeking of ghostly energy. She had a man's soul inhabiting her, and she had stabbed him with the saw blade. A second man, tall and hunched, had arrived to harvest his soul. Because of Yaoguang’s talisman, his soul remained. Nalan Yu handed her a note he had received: "Underworld Ghost Market, next month's first day."

"It seems my guess was right," Yaoguang murmured. "I must go to the Underworld Ghost Market. Huangquan is there, and the clues point there as well."

Just then, a girl stood at the door, looking anxious. "The Luo Group’s people are causing trouble downstairs. Should you look into it?"

Yaoguang smiled. "Let's go. If they want to come to us, we’ll give Song a little work."

Downstairs, a man in a silver suit was shouting with twenty thugs. A security guard was bleeding from a head wound.

"What are you barking about?" Nalan Yu said, disgusted.

"Nalan Yu, you’ve gone too far!" the man in the silver suit shouted, reaching for him, but Yaoguang blocked him.

"You’ve been arrogant for so long, and now that you’re finished, you’re throwing a tantrum? That’s called a dead end, you idiot," Yaoguang laughed.

"Who are you?" the man demanded.

"Luo Hai, when I was walking the path, you were still in your mother’s womb. Remember this: I am Yaoguang of Yilanxuan. You have a death wish for daring to touch my brother." She looked at the injured guard. "Did you do this?"

"Yilanxuan?" Luo Hai realized who she was, his confidence vanishing. "Yes, I did, so what?"

"Good, thanks for admitting it. Officer Song, public disturbance and assault. They’re all yours."

Within a minute, dozens of police officers swarmed the building, and Luo Hai and his thugs were apprehended. Nalan Yu watched his sister, feeling a surge of pride.

"Luo Hai, tell your father that I’ve known about your crimes for a long time. I intended to give you a way out, but framing my brother is my red line. Reflect on this in prison."

As they drove away, the sirens wailed. The incident with Nalan Yu was the eighteenth level of hell: the Saw-Tooth Hell, reserved for those who cut corners and acted with dishonesty. The Luo Group had cut corners, causing a building to collapse, and tried to shift the blame to Nalan Yu.

However, Yaoguang puzzled over why the Hell Envoy had been so reckless this time. The previous seventeen victims were well-documented, but this one felt rushed. And Huangquan—it seemed Huangquan had been coerced but had managed to leak information. It suggested the Hell Envoy’s power was fading, or that the fusion of Yin and Yang was failing.

A difficult battle lay ahead. Eighteen levels of hell had appeared, yet Yaoguang felt a nineteenth level might exist. What was it, and why had the Hell Envoy become a self-appointed executor of the law? These questions remained unanswered.