M1zushi: title is lit. 星星星 (star star star)
Fu Qing was known for his unconventional behavior and for doing things his own way, unlike ordinary people. Even the Federation President would follow his lead in his presence. Chief Zhou had long been aware of his temperament, so he didn’t stop him when he began to push Wu Rong away. He only mentioned that there was some cleanup work left to do in Jieyang and that they needed to stay there for a while.
“Fu Qing, about what I discussed with you earlier, I hope you’ll consider it carefully.”
As Fu Qing pushed Wu Rong past Tong Fuyuan, the young professor graciously made way and smiled at both of them. “Also, on behalf of Capital University, I will warmly welcome you at any time, Mr. Wu.”
Once they left the execution site and got into the car heading back to the villa, Wu Rong questioned Fu Qing curiously. “Is there something you want to talk about?”
“Soul retrieval.”
Fu Qing never hid anything from Wu Rong. “Tong Fuyuan is a medium, and he excels at soul retrieval.”
“We should find it soon.”
Ever since Wu Rong met Fu Qing, he had not been keen on finding his lost soul, seemingly accustomed to its absence. However, losing a part of one’s soul could be harmful. Hearing Fu Qing’s decision, Wu Rong felt happy for him but also curious. “Can’t you sense where that part of your soul is?”
Fu Qing shook his head, his gaze dropping to the bouquet of flowers casually placed aside by Wu Rong. It was unclear what he was thinking. Wu Rong hadn’t noticed, as he was still pondering the matter of Fu Qing’s lost soul. Typically, when a person loses their soul, they would fall into a high fever and a state of unconsciousness, nearly becoming a vegetable. However, Fu Qing was different. Apart from being even more indifferent, he appeared almost no different from an ordinary person. Without revealing it, no one would know that he had indeed lost part of his soul.
’Also I don’t like this bouquet.’
“Did you… speak just now?”
Wu Rong hesitated and looked at Fu Qing. “Did you say you don’t like this bouquet?”
Fu Qing stared at him for a moment, and suddenly Wu Rong heard Fu Qing’s voice in his mind: ‘I don’t like Zhou Jin, I don’t like the foreigner.’
It really was Fu Qing’s voice!
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Wu Rong looked at him in amazement and tried to communicate with him using his thoughts. ‘Can you hear me talking?’
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On the way back, Wu Rong continued to experiment, eventually confirming that he and Fu Qing could indeed communicate using their thoughts.
But this was different from a blood pact. People who formed a blood pact with Wu Rong could communicate with him through the pact, and he could also connect communication channels between two blood pact participants. For example, he could allow Su Xiaomi and Bai Gu to communicate telepathically. However, Wu Rong had tried, and he couldn’t connect Fu Qing with anyone else. This was a unique form of communication that belonged exclusively to him and Fu Qing.
It was like a higher level of connection beyond a blood pact.
’If you don’t like it, I’ll reduce my interactions with them.’
When alighting the car, Wu Rong was still thinking about this. The combined importance of Zhou Jin and Chief Angus couldn’t compare to Fu Qing’s. Wu Rong appeared aloof, but he understood the importance of each person better than anyone else. Now, without a blood pact, the only person he could trust was Fu Qing.
Fu Qing glanced at Wu Rong’s left arm but didn’t say anything. He was the type of person who didn’t care about others, and any annoying ghosts could just be killed. All his emotions could ultimately be resolved with either “killing” or “indifference.” However, now there was a ghost that couldn’t be killed, and so his emotion couldn’t be vented. With a piece of his soul missing, Fu Qing couldn’t understand what this emotion was, so he let it grow and spread in his heart, feeling inexplicable.
“About Nan, I’ll talk to you when we get back.”
Wu Rong sensed Fu Qing’s gaze. He had previously speculated whether the Big Ghost had something to do with the Fu family. Their unexpected encounter in the Ghost Territory this time was something Wu Rong hadn’t anticipated, however, it had laid everything out on the table, making it easier to deal with in the future. As long as the human and the ghost didn’t start fighting upon meeting, Wu Rong could handle anything.
However, Wu Rong was also puzzled. This time, the Big Ghost had likely broken another seal, yet Wu Rong still couldn’t communicate or interact with him. Even through a contract, the other party remained silent. On the other hand, he could now communicate telepathically with Fu Qing. The whole situation was both frustrating and strangely amusing.
“I’m back, Wu Rong!” Huang Mao’s excited voice echoed from the living room as soon as they entered the villa. He was waving a package and rushed over to Wu Rong, the sound of his slippers clacking against the floor.
“The Freelancers’ Association sent this. The rewards for the wanted posters have been released!”
Wu Rong accepted the package. It was an ordinary-sized package but felt surprisingly heavy, with a substantial weight in his hand. He opened it and emptied its contents onto the sofa. A pile of silver and bronze plaques tumbled out, forming a small mound. Even Wu Rong was astonished.
“So many?” he exclaimed.
“Brother Fu got credit for all of them!” Huang Mao said enthusiastically. “Bro, check the official website. There’s a long list of names there. Brother Fu went on a killing spree!”
Initially, they had taken on almost all the wanted posters related to the Secret Lotus Congregation. Since they had taken on so many, and Wu Rong’s rank was too low to accept them individually, they had applied as a group. Fu Qing had joined them, and on that night at the Seven Treasures Buddhist Temple, all the people he had killed were naturally attributed to the group.
“With these plaques, you can collect rewards at any Freelancers’ Association branch. Alternatively, you can redeem them online using the plaque codes and then send the plaques over,” Huang Mao explained.
Huang Mao scooped up a handful of metal plaques and let them fall, relishing in the crisp clattering sound. His face lit up with delight. “We’re rich!”
When Wu Rong had initially registered as a Freenlancer at the hospital after discovering the Big Ghost’s disability, he hadn’t yet reported to the Freelancers’ Association. The information provided was incomplete, so the association had sent the plaques instead of directly transferring the money to Wu Rong’s account.
Apart from the plaques, the head of the Jieyang branch of the Freelancers’ Association had sent an email to Wu Rong personally. Inviting him to formally join the association as a registered Ghost Hunter. The email explained that, based on their current achievements, registering a Ghost Hunter team would elevate the team’s rank directly to Level B or C. They would also receive a monthly subsidy of a hundred thousand credits from the Freelancers’ Association, have the privilege of selecting missions first, and enjoy various other benefits.
Coincidentally, shortly after seeing this email, Zhou Xun arrived at the villa to deliver some news.
“Federal SWAT?” Wu Rong asked.
“Yes,” Zhou Xun nodded seriously. He always wore a mask wherever he went, but his voice was firm. “You should know about the worldwide wanted posters my father issued a while ago. There’s a new Ghost King in the Jieyang Safety Zone now.”
“Yeah, I know. Isn’t it the Bloody Eyed Ghost King?” Huang Mao had gone to wash some fruits and happened to hear this. He looked concerned. “They haven’t caught it yet?”
“No,” Zhou Xun replied, his tone exasperated. “There’s absolutely no news about it. Preliminary assessments suggest it’s at least a Two Star Ghost King.”
“Wow, that’s really dangerous,” Huang Mao exclaimed with genuine concern. “This year in Jieyang has been full of disasters. People are really on edge with a Ghost King on the loose.”
Zhou Xun had come to discuss this matter. When Chief Zhou applied for the worldwide wanted posters to be issued, he temporarily called up a team of seven people, including Grandmaster Ling Yun, Fu Qing and Wu Rong, to guard Jieyang City. During the period when Wu Rong was unconscious and recuperating, the others had thoroughly searched both inside and outside the city. Reinforcements were also sent from above, but they hadn’t found a trace of the Ghost King.
“Grandmaster Ling Yun tried to use the Yin and Yang Eight Trigrams Disk for divination, but the information was interfered with by the Dharma King Fei Chen.”
Zhou Xun sighed in frustration. “Now, Grandmaster Ling Yun is personally pursuing Fei Chen, hoping for some good news. But, ah, I’ve gone off-topic.”
Remembering the purpose of his visit, Zhou Xun turned serious and asked, “A-Rong, do you want to become a member of the Federal Special Police?”
“The Federal Special Police doesn’t belong to any Public Security Bureau or organization. They only answer to the Federation. They enjoy top-tier treatment, can go to any Safety Zone, and can also be registered with any Public Security Bureau. The families of Federal Special Police officers are also given special protection.”
Wu Rong had initially wanted to refuse but hesitated upon hearing Zhou Xun’s last sentence.
“What are the obligations?”
The more privileges and rights one enjoys, the more they must contribute; it’s an equivalent exchange.
“My duty is to protect Yangjiaping in the upcoming disaster,” Zhou Xun said with a wry smile. He raised five fingers.
“The Lantern Ghost King’s power has been reevaluated,” he added.
He held up five fingers.
“Five stars, it is at least a five-star Ghost King,” he said.
“It will arrive at Yangjiaping in less than a month.”
Author’s note:
Shan Rong: What does capturing the Bloody Eyed Ghost King have to do with me?
Shan Rong: I’m two stars, and the Lantern Ghost King is five stars?
Shan Rong: smiles
M1zushi: LMAO the title is literally stars because author introduced the stars mechanic in this chapter XDDD
Editor: Cloud Chip Cake
Author realized that if everyone is the same “ghost king” level then that implies everyone is the same strength … and we can’t have people thinking that loser Lantern ghost is in the same class as the great Shan Rong. Also, I love that Grandmaster Ling Yun is doing his best to lead Chief Zhou completely off track of the Bloody-Eyed Ghost King. Poor Grandmaster Ling Yun working so hard and then we got Huang Mao who hasn’t even clued in that this “Bloody-Eyed Ghost King” is sitting right next to him.
XDDDD very true
Old Coffin Man is also fighting very hard the urge to go after his King XDD
Isn’t Wu Rong’s mother still in Yangjiaping? Well, I hope she’ll be safe. And I’m eager to have Wu Rong make the matter with Nan clear to Fu Qing, that’s been stewing for a while now. And how he can communicate with Fu Qing but not Nan is dramatic irony – very obvious to the reader, but unknown information to the characters.
Thank you for the chapter!
lmfao Shan Rong about to go out to wreck havoc and show them who’s the boss between him and lantern ghost king xD
Author done f*ck up with the power system and they know it lol.