He was not the kind of person who would evade problems. On the contrary, he would face issues head-on when they arose.
For instance, he now realized that his attention toward Jian Xi had gone beyond the concerns an elder brother would have for a younger sister, becoming the interest a man would have in a woman. He would not ignore this change but would take it seriously, re-examining this shift in himself.
Because it pertained to Jian Xi, even if it was just himself, he would never allow any harm to come to her!
While absorbed in thought, he accompanied Jian Xi in finishing the movie. When the female ghost appeared later on, he covered Jian Xi's eyes before she could react, so no more screams were heard from her in the theater room afterwards.
He Qingchen was also curious why Jian Xi was fearless when catching ghosts, yet couldn't handle horror movies.
Jian Xi explained that modern ghosts cared a lot about their image and seldom revealed their ghastly appearance. Even frightening ghosts could be subdued easily with one talisman from her. The horror movies' creepy atmosphere, however, left her helpless. She couldn't possibly burn down the TV with a fire talisman, could she!
Moreover, Jian Xi would only be scared at the time. She'd forget about it afterwards and still want to watch such movies again. This was why He Qingchen called her "the more inexperienced, the more daring in play"!
After the movie, the two returned to their respective bedrooms to sleep. But He Qingchen was completely sleepless that night.
Meanwhile, Jian Xi enjoyed a dreamless, deep slumber!
*
The moon hung high on the branches.
In B City near B University, the lights on the second floor of an inconspicuous bookstore were still on at this late hour.
Today, all staff of the Special Security Bureau were working overtime for a meeting.
That's right. This bookstore was actually the Special Security Bureau's base. Due to the unit's sensitive nature, it could not make its existence public and so operated covertly among the masses.
Lin Xi Wen had already reported the incident at the restaurant this afternoon to Supervisor Nie Xiujin and Director Wang Jian'an.
Upon hearing about it, Wang Jian’an promptly called a meeting. As metaphysics masters were becoming increasingly rare, Director Wang rose to the occasion and came up with the idea of recruiting Jian Xi after listening to Lin Xi Wen’s and the others’ account.
The Metaphysics Association had collaborated with the Special Security Bureau in the past, but that was still not an official organization. Their few instances of support for the nation were already quite considerable, given the Association’s centuries-old foundation. Ultimately, the Bureau would have to expand its own team to increase its strength.
In fact, the Special Security Bureau had not been around for that long either, just over a decade. Wang Jian’an was its first-ever director, and the few people present were elites he had painstakingly headhunted over time. He had even shamelessly poached Nie Xiujin from the Metaphysics Association!
Now, upon hearing that an girls who had just come of age could subdue a centuries-old fierce ghost with a single move, how could he remain unmoved!
"Xi Wen, do you have that Miss Jian's contact information?" Wang Jian'an asked, eyes shining bright.
Lin Xi Wen shook his head. "No, I wanted to ask for her number, but she didn't give it to me. She said her destiny was unique and her financial fortune extremely poor, so she could not accept our gesture of thanks or reward."
Wang Jian’an’s hopes were instantly dashed.
Tang Xingyou, the only female of the group, sighed and said, "What a pity! That young lady was truly incredible. My intuition tells me her demonstration today was just the tip of the iceberg."
Everyone fell silent. Tang Xingyou’s instincts were remarkably accurate. Despite having the lowest proficiency among them, she had helped them successfully steer clear of danger in several risky operations through her intuitions.
Nie Xiujin tapped his fingers on the table a couple of times. While Lin Xi Wen and the others were talking just now, he had not uttered a word because he was checking the restaurant’s surveillance footage. There was something familiar about this girl that he couldn’t quite place, as if he had seen her somewhere before.
Suddenly, his fingers halted, and his eyes flashed with realization. “It’s her!”
Five pairs of eyes zoomed in on him instantly. “What do you mean ‘it’s her’?” Wang Jian’an asked.
"That young lady who saved someone with acupuncture on a flight in that viral video recently, it's her! I've seen that video before," Nie Xiujin asserted confidently.
The video was sent to him by his old buddy Li Ren (the second divination Jian Xi did on her first day, the unfortunate lad who got tainted by yin energy). Li Ren also mentioned having met Jian Xi, who accurately predicted time and all that the Jade Market's Zhang Tong would be jailed.
After recounting all he knew, Nie Xiujin hesitated before continuing solemnly, "However...she's He Qingchen's sister."
Wang Jian’an frowned. Lin Xi Wen was taken aback. "You mean that He Qingchen?"
Nie Xiujin nodded. "Yes, it's him."
Just seconds ago they were elated to uncover information about Jian Xi, but now their hopes had been doused with cold water.
"Compared to big shots like them, our annual income probably can't even afford one of their bags, can it?" Shi Fan murmured dejectedly.
A hush befell the conference room at Shi Fan’s remarks.
Tang Xingyou looked around cautiously before raising her hand. "Um, my intuition tells me Jian Xi has a noble spirit!"
All eyes turned to look at her. Flustered, Tang Xingyou quickly put her hand down.
The corner of Wang Jian’an's mouth twitched as he seemed to make up his mind. "I'll pay the He Corporation a visit tomorrow to see if I can meet with He Qingchen."
No one said anything further. They all knew that since they didn't have Jian Xi's number now, they'd have to go through He Qingchen to see her.
However, they had no idea if He Qingchen would simply turn them down the moment he learned their intentions regarding Jian Xi!
Still, Wang Jian'an was reluctant to give up so easily. After all, a talent like hers was truly rare!
He sighed and said, "Let's end today's meeting here. Regarding the list of ghosts with outstanding karmic debts that cannot reincarnate this month from the Underworld - there are quite a lot, over forty. Nie Xiujin, I'll have to trouble you and your team with this."
Nie Xiujin nodded, acknowledging the task.
After Wang Jian'an left the conference room, Shi Fan let out a wail. "Over forty! There goes our break this month again!"
Qi Yunzheng patted his shoulder and sighed too. "If only we knew how to control ghosts. Then we wouldn't have to summon them one by one."
Shi Fan rolled his eyes at him. "Dude, that's controlling ghosts! Even the legendary Ye Shen takes half a year just to control ten ghosts at one go, and that's already his maximum!"
"Oh right, that is the legendary Ye Shen, one of the top metaphysics masters! We'd train for decades and still not reach his level of mastery!" Qi Yunzhen said longingly.
