Chapter 314: Rite of Summer and Winter Sacrifices

It wasn't just the one in her hand.

Zeng Qing stared at the shocking photographs scattered across the floor. Unable to maintain her icy composure any longer, she panicked and ordered the tiger-man to gather them all immediately.

Before long, a black Little Bird flew in from a distance, carrying a handwritten letter in its beak.

After reading the contents, she fell silent for a moment before finally dismissing the tiger-man.

She then walked into the Café and looked at Chen Xiaojing, who was laughing triumphantly.

"Why did you do this?"

Her expression was as calm as ever, but her trembling voice betrayed her fury.

"Why?"

Chen Xiaojing stepped forward, running a hand over Zeng Qing's ponytail. "Don't be stupid, Zeng Qing," she whispered. "Why wouldn't I do it?"

"I did hesitate at first. After all, I thought we were friends. But someone reminded me that for rotten people like us, there is no such thing as friendship."

"Isn't that what you think too?"

Zeng Qing slapped Chen Xiaojing's hand away, a raging fire suddenly igniting in her eyes.

"So you prepared this in advance? You had someone follow me all day?"

"How could I?" Chen Xiaojing smiled.

"That was his ability, and it's the foundation of our partnership."

"You're a smart person, Zeng Qing. Think about it. Why not accept it?"

"The two of us can join forces and push Song Haozhe out of the picture. You've been sick of him for a long time too, haven't you? If this person hadn't shown up, I don't think we would have ever found a way to work together."

"And now, aside from accepting it, do you have any other options?"

Zeng Qing fell silent for a long moment before slowly speaking.

"Where is he?"

"I don't know," Chen Xiaojing shook her head.

"Then what does he want? Just to open a company?"

"I don't know that either," Chen Xiaojing said, shaking her head again.

"Then have you ever thought about—getting rid of him?"

Murderous intent flared clearly in Zeng Qing's eyes.

"If the two of us join forces, how could he possibly survive?"

Unexpectedly, Chen Xiaojing placed a finger to her lips and whispered, "Shh." Before Zeng Qing could react, several media outlets simultaneously broke a news story.

It was a photograph.

It showed a director of the Muke District Traffic Control Bureau, completely naked in the darkness, with a faint, shadowy figure stepping on his head.

Zeng Qing's expression instantly changed. She snapped her head around in terror, staring into the dark corners of the Café, trying to find whatever was eavesdropping on them.

But Chen Xiaojing simply laughed. "Stop looking. Do you think I haven't tried?"

She leaned in close to Zeng Qing, their faces almost touching. Her breath was fragrant, her eyes clouded and unfocused.

"Sometimes I think—maybe this isn't a bad thing. You know, I've experienced a lot of unimaginable things these past few days... Maybe, just maybe, he really is a Deity..."

Smelling the familiar scent of chocolate on Chen Xiaojing's breath, Zeng Qing's eyes widened. She shoved the other woman away and covered her own nose and mouth.

"You took Mental Potion?!"

"Hehe... Don't worry about that."

Chen Xiaojing's eyes grew even more glazed. She threw herself back onto Zeng Qing, staring into her eyes with a smile. "We're all sick, and a Deity has come to cure us..."

With that, Chen Xiaojing began to dance gracefully, even humming a tune to accompany herself.

Chen Xiaojing's current state gave Zeng Qing goosebumps.

She knew Chen Xiaojing had quit Mental Potion a long time ago. She hadn't expected this relapse to be so severe.

"Maniac. An absolute lunatic..."

She muttered, a wave of fear inevitably rising in her heart.

Chen Xiaojing's descent into this state was clearly tied to the person backing her. If Zeng Qing continued to stubbornly resist, would she meet the exact same fate?

At that thought, she hid the murderous intent in her eyes and shouted to the Café, "I agree to the partnership! I agree to cooperate!"

But no voice answered. Only Chen Xiaojing's manic laughter echoed through the Café.

Early the next morning.

Tianque Comprehensive Service Co., Ltd. officially opened for business and welcomed its first order. With just one transaction, 100,000 eerie points poured into the account.

Of that, Yan Jing took half the pure profit.

"What are you laughing at? You look so happy."

Boss Rat wasn't working today. The two of them were sitting on the sofa watching TV together.

More accurately, Yan Jing was sitting on the sofa, and Boss Rat was sitting on his shoulder.

He noticed that Yan Jing had been in a very good mood since this morning.

"Made some money."

Yan Jing replied.

"Where did you go to collect protection fees this time?" Boss Rat took a sip of the coffee in his hands.

"A big shot, you know?"

Yan Jing smiled.

"Heh, what kind of big shot could a punk like you meet?"

Assuming Yan Jing was spouting nonsense again, Boss Rat didn't take him seriously. "Tomorrow, however," he continued, "there really is someone who counts as a big shot coming to meet with us in Plague. I can take you along to broaden your horizons."

"Who?"

Yan Jing asked.

"That Council Member Li you met last time," Boss Rat said.

"Within the Reform Faction, Muke District has a total of two internal council seats. Initially, they were firmly held by Council Member Li and Councilor Liu. But this year, someone emerged from nowhere. Now, Council Member Li and Councilor Liu have to fight over the single remaining seat, which is why Muke District has been on edge lately."

"Looking at the timeline, there's less than a month left until the internal council elections. They should be getting ready to pour money in."

"How much do they usually give an outfit like Plague?" Yan Jing asked.

"They'll toss us 50,000 points as a token gesture. The real bulk comes from the financial conglomerates. Our value isn't in funding," Boss Rat said. "It lies with the merchants under our protection. Their ballots are crucial."

Yan Jing nodded.

This highlighted just how important the general election was in the Peace Heavenly Kingdom.

Celebrities canvassing for votes, underground organizations making threats, candidates giving speeches, financial conglomerates allocating support funds, and government officials handing out welfare benefits—everything was aimed at securing as many ballots as possible.

Because of this, election season was often referred to as the only time the lower-class citizens were treated like actual humans.

"Didn't Council Member Li already collect over 300,000 eerie points from the boss of the Four Masters Society last time? Isn't that enough to be safe?"

Yan Jing asked.

Boss Rat shook his head and sneered.

"That's barely a drop in the bucket. When it comes to elections, there's no such thing as 'safe.' It's always 'the more, the better.'"

"So you decided to help him, Pops?"

Yan Jing asked.

Boss Rat shook his head.

"I've handed this matter over to your Second and Third Brothers."

"Let them help whichever side they want tomorrow."

Yan Jing nodded.

"I get it. You've decided to delegate your authority."

"Heh, you could say that."

Boss Rat took a sip of tea and nudged the Reading Glasses up his nose.

"Your Second and Third Brothers are more ambitious than you think. If I don't hand over power soon, people will start making jokes."

"After this, I can properly prepare for retirement."

Yan Jing perked up.

"Didn't you say last time that I should get ready to take over the organization after this election?"

Boss Rat looked up at Yan Jing.

"I changed my mind. A brat like you would squander the entire family fortune in an instant."

"What did I do?" Yan Jing asked in confusion. These past few days, he had just stayed home watching TV, reading the newspaper, chatting, and going for walks. Hadn't he been on his best behavior?

"Oh, what did you do?"

Boss Rat said meaningfully.

"What did you do with all the money I gave you?"

"Wow! Pops, you're monitoring my account!"

Yan Jing put on a rather heartbroken expression.

Before receiving those 200,000 eerie points, he had made several large transfers to Fei Yu and Luo Sheng's Information Components over the past few days.

"No one in the Peace Heavenly Kingdom has the authority to monitor accounts." Rat leisurely took a sip of tea.

"But back when you dyed your hair blond and ran with gangs, you insisted I set up an account for you. You were underage at the time, so it was linked to mine."

Yan Jing was speechless.

After all, Mao Si's memories had been poured into his brain all at once this time. Naturally, he hadn't had the time to comb through all of Mao Si's memories from his junior high delinquent days.

"No way, I'm changing it right now!"

Yan Jing placed Boss Rat on the sofa and stood up.

"Are you going tomorrow or not?"

Rat looked at Yan Jing's indignant back, finding it rather amusing.

"I'm going, of course I'm going. There's bound to be good food, and only a bastard would pass up a free meal!"

Yan Jing replied.

After walking out the door, he turned down a secluded path and immediately exited the Inner World.

Lately, he hadn't had time to check on the current situations in Old Sin City and Minhu. His entire focus was fixed on the Heavenly Kingdom. Once Xiao Xin had monitored Zeng Qing for a bit longer, he would finally be able to free up some time.

But today, he had other matters to handle.

Because the Rite of Summer and Winter Sacrifices had finally arrived.

After exiting the Inner World, he prepared tea and milk at home as usual. When the appointed time arrived, the doorbell rang right on cue.

"Ta-da! Xiao Yanzi!"

Shen Youran stood outside the door carrying three boxes and did a twirl for Yan Jing.

Today she was dressed in a white ensemble rarely seen on her—a white, hip-hugging dress that stopped just above the knees, cinched with a small leather belt at the waist. Yan Jing greeted her, "Good morning, Teacher Shen."

Yan Jing smiled and took the three boxes from Shen Youran's hands.

The two of them walked into the house.

Shen Youran picked up a teacup with familiar ease and shot Yan Jing a wink.

"Open them up and take a look. Domain Chief Wang really spared no expense this time."

"It seems he's preparing you to go all out in the seed dungeon a few months from now."

"A seed dungeon?"

Yan Jing asked in confusion.

"Mhm, do you remember what I told you last time, Xiao Yanzi, about Yueyin having special policies for you seeds this year?"

Shen Youran said.

"It was finally confirmed that it will be the seed dungeon taking place three months from now."

"This is an unprecedented grand event. The official announcement should be coming out soon. Seed candidates from all five ring domains will enter and be ranked together."

"The ranking rules will evaluate you based on six comprehensive dimensions: your strength, power level within the same Tier, potential, Dungeon capabilities, leadership, and coordination skills."

Yan Jing nodded.

"Counter soldiers with generals, water with earth, I suppose."

He wasn't particularly interested in this kind of Dungeon that held no substantial meaning.

Shen Youran had anticipated this reaction. After taking a sip of tea, her fox-like eyes narrowed.

"The reward for first place in this seed dungeon is a God's Candidate Ticket."

"Rumor has it that it's also the only God's Candidate Ticket currently left in all of Yueyin."

"It comes from that domain lord who has already reached the Summit."

"I will prepare thoroughly," Yan Jing said seriously.