Chapter 160: Grand Undertakings.

Chapter 160: Grand Undertakings.

With the appearance of Chi Shen, the ghostly aura that initially seeped through the window gaps rapidly engulfed the entire office. An alarm detecting the room's sinister aura sounded, but after a brief ring, it shattered abruptly.

"Chi Shen?!" An elder who had previously collaborated with Chi Shen on a case exclaimed in shock.

"What are you doing...?"

"Are you really Chi Shen?"

Some were ready to draw their weapons, but at that moment, Master Zhang suddenly spoke, "Hold on, let me make a call to the clan leader."

All eyes turned to him, even Li Shu'an had an expression that read, "Are you serious? Are you out of your mind?"

"Stay still. As I've said, you're all my hostages, and I have the confidence to restrain all of you at once."

Chi Shen stepped down from the windowsill and glanced at the man closest to him. With a gentle push, he forced the knife the man was about to draw back into its sheath, smiling amicably, "Brother Wang, this knife isn't good for you if you've been using it for too long. As I've mentioned before, take a break today."

The knife slid back into its sheath. The man addressed as Brother Wang tried to draw it again but found it immovable. An icy aura emanated from the sheath. Without looking, he knew that it was the ghostly energy that had locked his heirloom knife in place.

Brother Wang fell silent.

With a warm smile, Chi Shen approached a middle-aged man with a pale face who seemed ready to reach into his pocket for something. Chi Shen advised, "Uncle Ge, your talismans are drawn with your blood. It's a waste to use them here."

Clang—

A compass dropped, breaking the silence that had settled after Chi Shen's words.

Chi Shen turned his attention to a younger individual, slightly older than himself. He recognized him as Xiao Yuan, the replacement for Brother Yuan.

In that moment, Chi Shen's gaze was filled with compassion, reminiscent of a mentor. Noticing Xiao Yuan's trembling hands, he gently picked up the compass, "Although this is mass-produced, replacing it still costs money. Be careful."

Xiao Yuan hastily accepted it, his face a canvas of disbelief.

Chi Shen was right. The compass, available even in tourist souvenir shops, wasn’t special. However, for Xiao Yuan's practices, any compass—or rather, any magnetic needle—would do. He used this compass only for the convenience of its engraved heavenly stems and earthly branches during calculations.

But the moment Chi Shen entered, the compass went haywire, spinning wildly a few times before pointing directly at him. Even while he spoke, its needle trembled.

Aside from the presence of malevolent spirits and one time he collaborated with Chi Shen, the compass had never malfunctioned. At that time, he had merely assumed there were malevolent spirits around them, never suspecting Chi Shen. Now, it became clear that the compass's disarray was because of Chi Shen.

"Who are you and why are you impersonating Chi Shen?" A middle-aged man sitting further away finally broke his silence.

Xiao Yuan glanced again at the compass. Ever since Chi Shen touched it, it had returned to its normal behavior, exactly as it had been when they worked together previously. He stated, "It's really him, it's Chi Shen."

"Impossible"

Li Shu An closed his eyes momentarily, then declared, "It's Chi Shen."

Although he spoke softly, without much emphasis, his statement brought silence to the eerie room.

"Li family's clan leader is indeed astute," Chi Shen remarked with a smile.

Li Shu An was slightly taken aback, but he didn't show excessive surprise. He had never disclosed that he was the head of the Li family and had intentionally avoided discussing this at the special security bureau. Everyone was a colleague there, but Chi Shen had still figured it out.

Taking two steps, Chi Shen approached Li Shu An, casually dragged over a chair and sat down, then looked towards Zhang Shu, "So, what did Zhang Yao say?"

Zhang Shu put down his phone and replied, "She said... the position of clan leader is yours."

While saying this, he didn't seem surprised. However, he appeared a bit lost for a moment, glancing at his jacket's pocket. "She also mentioned the clan's token is in my coat's right pocket, but when I left today"

He reached into the pocket and, after a moment of silence, pulled out a pair of ancient yin and yang fish carved from jade.

Once he revealed the token, he resumed his serious demeanor. "From now on, you are the clan leader of the Zhang family," he declared solemnly.

The others watched this unfold with varying expressions. Some looked at Zhang Shu with disdain, bluntly saying, "Is everyone in the Zhang family so spineless?"

The previously pale-faced middle-aged man pondered for a moment before asking, "Did Zhang Yao foresee this too?"

Zhang Shu didn't reply but simply passed the yin and yang fish to Chi Shen, who took them.

"Please convey my gratitude to Zhang Yao"

Chi Shen's voice abruptly stopped. A knife plunged into his throat, and blood spurted out, staining half of his face and the hand holding the knife.

Everyone stared at Chi Shen. There were gasps, and Li Shu An immediately stood up, his expression one of shock and disbelief.

Chi Shen's reaction was eerily calm, not at all like someone with a blade in his throat. His captivating eyes, with their deep black pupils, slowly shifted from the yin and yang fish to the person holding the knife.

The one wielding the knife was none other than Xiao Yuan, who couldn't even steady a compass. Yet, his grip on the knife was firm. His eyes, as they met Chi Shen's, were a complex mix of emotions. "I'm sorry, but you're a malevolent spirit—"

Blood continued to seep from Chi Shen's throat, but with one hand, he casually retrieved the Yin-Yang fish. With the other, he gently grasped Xiao Yuan's wrist, pushing the blade away inch by inch.

Clang—

The dagger that had pierced Chi Shen's throat fell to the ground.

With a blood-stained hand, Chi Shen gently wiped his neck, and the ghastly wound vanished. From the shadows, a pale and bluish hand extended a wet wipe to him.

"You've stained your clothes," Ji Xingchen emerged from the darkness, handing the wipe to Chi Shen, "You can't go back like this."

Chi Shen seemed about to respond but paused momentarily, then replied, "Right, thank you."

Xiao Yuan's hand finally began to tremble, "This is... this is..."

"I know, this is a demon-slaying knife. Brother Yuan told me about it. It's specialized in exterminating evil spirits. To put it simply, it's an anti-evil weapon," Chi Shen remarked nonchalantly, cleaning the blood from his neck. "But it's useless against me. I'm part human. You can destroy that part, and my spirit side will mend it. I'm not an evil spirit—at least not now."

With that, the corner of his mouth curled into a smirk. He slowly scanned the faces of everyone present. "I let you stab me to show you that you can't kill me. Just do as I say, and you'll be fine. Trust me, I'm a man of my word."