Chapter 467: A Life in Exchange
Dozens of large boxes were piled in the courtyard, and the team members were working overtime to inventory them.
“This child should never have existed in this world,” were the Daoist Priest Tianning’s first words.
Lu Weiyi and Zhuang Mingxu instinctively tightened their hold on Taotao.
“I was somewhat acquainted with your grandfather,” Priest Tianning said as he sat on the sofa, his eyes falling on the child in Zhuang Mingxu’s arms. After a long moment, he continued.
“There is a record in Daoist scriptures. A thousand years ago, there was a method to create a long-lasting protective spirit substitute. It involved using a spiritually charged object to open a mustard seed space and sealing the soul of a child with a ‘three-yin fate’ inside. You’d then plant greenery in the space. When the plants matured, the ritual was complete.”
“The child would then protect the owner from calamity, dying again and again in their stead, only to regenerate with the growth of the plants—repeating this cycle of fate.”
Lu Weiyi recalled what little Taotao remembered and turned to look at Zhuang Mingxu. He must have thought of the same thing. The veins on Zhuang Mingxu’s arms bulged as he held Taotao tighter, clearly suppressing immense rage.
Priest Tianning looked at Taotao with a sorrowful gaze. “This child must have been created this way. However—”
He turned to Lu Weiyi and Zhuang Mingxu. “Have you been nourishing him with spiritual jade? And recently… stopped?”
That must be the jade Lu Weiyi had used to restore his space in the past.
Lu Weiyi nodded, and Zhuang Mingxu added, “We didn’t know. Some things happened back then, and after the space recovered…”
After their jade space recovered, they hadn’t gone out of their way to buy more jade. The remaining pieces were of average quality, and Lu Weiyi had occasionally used them without much thought—likely absorbed by Taotao unknowingly.
“That explains it. He’s no longer just a ghost. He was originally attached to a spirit jade and was being gently nourished by it. With the current apocalyptic chaos, he had a small chance of transitioning into a spiritual entity. Given enough time, he would naturally transform. But now that the feeding has stopped, I’m afraid he won’t be able to maintain his form for more than a few years.”
“Will… he die?” Lu Xiao asked bluntly.
Taotao, unaware they were talking about him, had been much more stable since absorbing Wen Jing’s bracelet the previous day. Now he was unwrapping a chocolate peanut candy and shoving it in his mouth. Melted chocolate smeared around his mouth and fingers. When he noticed Zhuang Mingxu watching him, he cutely offered his finger for a lick.
Zhuang Mingxu gave his little hand a gentle kiss and hugged him tightly.
“No, he won’t die,” said Priest Tianning. “He’ll just return to the mustard seed space and be unable to maintain his physical form.”
“He can’t… grow up normally? Like a regular child?”
Tianning shook his head. “He was born to shield someone from disaster and will repeatedly hover between life and death until his soul is completely exhausted and vanishes from the world—unless…”
“Unless he can shed his ghostly nature and become a true spiritual entity.”
“So basically… just keep feeding him jade?” Lu Weiyi said bluntly.
Priest Tianning thought for a moment and nodded. “Yes, you could say that.”
Lu Weiyi and Zhuang Mingxu said nothing, but they exchanged a look, clearly in agreement.
“When will we know he’s fully transformed?” Zhuang Mingxu asked.
“You’ll know in due time.”
Zhuang Mingxu continued asking what to pay attention to when supplementing jade, while Lu Xiao was already thinking about jade mines in the country.
“North of the Mengbei Base, near the border with former Russia, there were several jade mines before the apocalypse. The jade there was excellent. The Wen family held shares in those mines and still has some knowledge about the pre-apocalypse situation. If needed, I can have someone familiar lead you there—though I’m not sure if the geography has changed over these years.”
“The furthest base we’ve been able to contact in the north is Mengbei. Have you heard anything about foreign countries?” Zhuang Mingxu asked. He hadn’t worked in this field before the apocalypse and only knew a little.
“Yes, similar to us—they’re surviving through bases too. But the so-called ‘fighting nations’ are more aggressive, and their bases are less stable than ours,” Wen Jing explained briefly.
“There’s a large uninhabited area between us, and no one’s crossed it yet. Given the current situation, everyone’s focused on defending their own turf. There’s little interest in exploring the outside world, so communication isn’t likely anytime soon.”
Zhuang Mingxu calculated the potential area in his head and didn’t comment on whether they’d go or not. “Let’s first try to collect the remaining jade in the base. As for going to the mines…”
He looked at Taotao, who was cuddling up to Lu Xiao, acting cute. “We’ll see.”
“Alright, just let me know if you need anything.” Wen Jing waved to his assistant, who brought in two boxes. “I came on short notice and didn’t bring much jade. I gathered some last night—quality varies. It’s for emergencies.”
“There’s still a good amount of jade at the base. They don’t have spatial power, but the quality is decent. I’ll arrange for a batch to be delivered.”
“Then I won’t stand on ceremony. Ling Jiaoyang told me a few days ago that Mengbei Base wants to build an underground tunnel. A few bases are ahead of them in line, and I don’t make the pricing decisions for the lower levels. But I can help bump you up the queue.” Zhuang Mingxu took the box and handed it over to Lu Weiyi.
“Then let’s connect our base directly with yours. If our base ever needs help, I hope you all can lend us a hand,” Wen Jing looked toward Lu Weiyi and cupped his hands in a polite gesture.
“We will,” Lu Weiyi replied.
**
Even with Daoist Tian Ning present, Zhuang Mingxu didn’t stop the search for cultivators. He never placed all his hopes on a single person in unfamiliar fields.
Lu Xiao’s subordinates carried out his orders swiftly. Within a day, monks, Daoists, and even self-proclaimed sorcerers were gathered together.
But they faced a more pressing issue…
No one could tell how strong these people actually were.
With no better option, Zhuang Mingxu turned to Wen Jing for help once again.
“Our base doesn’t have talent in this area. Since something’s come up, we need to prepare in advance.”
Lu Xiao’s actions weren’t exactly subtle—news of the recent movements in the Capital base had already spread. But thanks to the confidentiality measures Zhuang Mingxu and Lu Weiyi implemented, even the people who came with them from Half Moon Bay might not know the full picture, let alone outsiders.
Personnel from various bases who hadn’t left yet, along with the major factions of Capital, were all speculating about the reason behind these moves. As one of the parties involved, Wen Jing naturally understood.
Upon hearing it, Wen Jing immediately understood his intention. “Let’s go take a look.”
The interviews were held in an administrative building used by the Flame Team. The place was mostly populated by soldiers, so it was easy to spot outsiders. At the moment, it looked more like a public assembly—with hundreds of people lining up outside.
Some wore tattered Daoist robes, their hair tied up in topknots with wooden hairpins, and held dusters made from unknown animal hair.
A few bald men had fresh scars from Buddhist precepts on their heads—clearly recent. Their clumsy attempt at putting their hands together in a Buddhist greeting looked out of place.
When someone nearby made a joke about them, they immediately responded with a string of profanity.
Even more ridiculous was an old lady sitting cross-legged in a corner, muttering incoherently and trembling all over, like she was having a seizure.
Zhuang Mingxu covered his face in embarrassment at the scene and asked Jin Diao, who was in charge of bringing them in, “Didn’t you do any preliminary screening?”
“Nope. The major didn’t tell us what it was for—just told us to find people. The principle was, ‘Better too many than miss someone,’” Jin Diao looked helplessly at the situation, then leaned closer and asked, “Did someone in your team get possessed?”
“Was it a child? In our village, they say children are most likely to encounter unclean things.”
“Does your commanding officer know a staunch materialist like you believes in this stuff?” Zhuang Mingxu asked.
“Haha, my commanding officer told me to do it,” Jin Diao responded smugly.
“……” Zhuang Mingxu.
He had underestimated the situation.
Zhuang Mingxu didn’t bother replying. He introduced Wen Jing to the relevant personnel and entered the interview room that had been prepared.
Wen Jing’s assessment was simple—just a few questions. Besides ghosts and spirits, he also touched on spiritual beings and such. Some answers were so obviously made up that even an outsider could tell. Naturally, those candidates were rejected.
A few strong-looking men tried to stir up trouble. But before their hands could slam the table, they found themselves staring down the barrels of guns from the guards stationed around the office and had to back off awkwardly.
After going through them quickly, Wen Jing identified only one suitable person—to everyone’s surprise, it was that odd old “spirit medium.”
“She’s skilled in something akin to ‘mounting the horse’—communicating with spirits. But in terms of Tao Tao’s situation… she doesn’t really specialize in that field,” Wen Jing explained briefly to Zhuang Mingxu. “We’re in an age where spiritual practice is nearly lost, so it’s hard to find true cultivators—especially now.”
“Even my master only survived because of tremendous hardship and timely help.”
As for the others, Wen Jing shook his head.
Zhuang Mingxu frowned deeply and let out a heavy sigh.
“Why not invite my master to your base?”
“Huh?” Zhuang Mingxu was surprised. “He’s not going back with you?”
Wen Jing shook his head, looking helpless. “My master practices cultivation to help others. He’s been aiding those struggling to survive in the Mengbei Base. But…”
Ever since Ling Jiaoyang learned of the relationship between Wen Jing and Daoist Tian Ning, the matter was no longer a secret within the base. Many who wanted to curry favor with Wen Jing—or who couldn’t reach him directly—began targeting Daoist Tian Ning instead.
“My master has been both flattered and schemed against. He refuses to live under my protection. But traveling outside makes him vulnerable to ill-intentioned people,” Wen Jing said guiltily. “He’s old now. He can’t endure many more attempts on his life.”
“He’s also worried that his ties to me might drag me into trouble. So this time, he offered to leave Mengbei Base and come to Capital to seek new opportunities. I was hoping the local powers here could help look after him a bit. But if he could go to your base, I wouldn’t have to worry anymore.”
Among all the bases, Half Moon Bay was the only one with concentrated power and strong ability users at the top. Wen Jing had considered sending Daoist Tian Ning there before, and now it seemed like the perfect solution.
