Chapter 140: The Night Parade of One Hundred Demons

Half an hour later.

At a reception hotel, in the banquet hall.

Lights crisscrossed overhead, and glasses chimed softly.

The two sides met and exchanged some basic information before beginning their introductions.

“Everyone, I am Hao Yi, head of the Southwest Division of Everywhere Express.”

“These two are Bashan and Bashui. They will be responsible for receiving your delegation over the coming period.”

“This is Ye Yan. He came here from our company headquarters and will also be responsible for arranging your itinerary. The other gentleman is Liu Han, his assistant.”

Hao Yi stood onstage and introduced Bashan, Bashui, Ye Yan, and Liu Han in turn—the people who would play important roles during the visit.

Only then did he hand the microphone to the leader of the Fusang delegation, Saburo Kawasaki.

“Esteemed heroes and outstanding young talents of Everywhere Express, I am Saburo Kawasaki, leader of the Fusang delegation and also a diplomat.”

“Thank you very much for setting aside your busy schedules to receive us despite all your other duties. On behalf of the delegation, I would like to express our gratitude.”

Compared with Hao Yi’s simple and direct introduction, Saburo Kawasaki’s words were considerably more polished and courteous.

He was a short man with a small mustache, dressed in a white suit and a broad-brimmed hat, with a spotted tie around his neck. Compared with the Fusang-style clothing worn by the others around him, his attire had a distinctly British flair.

As a diplomat, Kawasaki spoke more than just his native tongue. His Dragon Kingdom language was quite good as well—at the very least, he could make himself understood.

After both sides had briefly introduced themselves, the welcoming banquet officially began. As the person in charge, Hao Yi politely engaged Kawasaki in conversation.

They discussed the customs and local traditions of their respective regions, and the atmosphere was fairly harmonious.

The brothers Bashan and Bashui, whose appearance and manner carried a strong flavor of the Sichuan region, were separated. Bashan stayed beside Hao Yi, while Bashui followed Ye Yan.

As the people assigned to receive the delegation, the two brothers had naturally learned the Fusang language as well. They served as a bridge between the two sides—or, to put it plainly, as interpreters.

Although Ye Yan had come to oversee the delegation, he displayed not the slightest awareness of being in charge. With Bashui in tow, he wandered all over the banquet hall, searching for snacks.

To be fair, although they were in Sichuan, the Su-style pastries served at the venue were remarkably authentic. Both the fresh-meat mooncakes and the water-chestnut cakes were excellent.

Even Ye Yan, who was not especially fond of sweet things, ate with great relish, the fragrance lingering in his mouth.

As he wandered around the hall, several people gathered in a corner, their gazes fixed on him as they sized him up.

“That young man eating snacks all over the hall is Ye Yan. He is known as the Night Watchman, one of the leading experts among the younger generation of the Dragon Kingdom’s supernatural world. He is a local Hero-level figure, equivalent to a Spirit Lord in the supernatural world. He is an extremely troublesome opponent…”

“A Spirit Lord? At that age?”

Holding a sword in his arms and leaning against a corridor pillar, Yuito Goma slowly opened his eyes. He studied the young man in the distance, who was laughing and chatting with Bashui while eating pastries. His rigid face remained expressionless.

“Pfft…”

Before Goma could say anything, Isshin Miyamoto, who was gently swirling the wine in his glass, could not help snorting. Disdain was hidden in his eyes.

“Him? A Spirit Lord? At the same level as Senior Brother Goma? Don’t make me laugh. How could that be possible?”

“You intelligence people—could you at least be a little more serious? Why not just blow him into the heavens while you’re at it? Say he’s on the same level as my uncle, a Grand Monarch who hasn’t even entered the supernatural rankings. Wouldn’t that sound more believable?”

Miyamoto absolutely refused to believe the intelligence reports.

After all, Ye Yan looked to be about the same age as him—perhaps even a few years younger.

Among ordinary people, someone of that age would still be nothing more than a brat who had not even finished university.

And such a person was supposed to be a Spirit Lord?

Miyamoto did not believe it.

Nor was Goma without doubts about the information brought by the intelligence officers.

He had devoted most of his life to martial arts and had only reached the level of a Spirit Lord in his forties. Yet Ye Yan was barely in his early twenties. Could he truly have already completed the journey that had taken Goma an entire lifetime?

That was absurd.

The title Spirit Lord came from the supernatural world of the West, and was equivalent to the title Hero in the Otherworlder community. Above Spirit Lords stood the Grand Monarchs.

Grand Monarch-level experts were equivalent to the supreme masters of the Otherworlder world.

Unlike the Otherworlder community, which favored its own unconventional ways and retained its old-fashioned titles, many nations that had begun to align themselves with the Western world had adopted the two-tier system of Spirit Lords and Grand Monarchs.

Even the highly respected global rankings—the Supernatural Ranking and the Spirit Lord Ranking—used the same system.

Yuito Goma was ranked thirty-ninth on the Spirit Lord Ranking, making him one of the world’s top experts.

That ranking might not sound particularly high.

However, both the Supernatural Ranking and the Spirit Lord Ranking were compiled on a global scale. They selected the top fifty Spirit Lords in the world.

The Supernatural Ranking listed only ten Grand Monarchs, while the Spirit Lord Ranking was broader and selected fifty names. Both rankings were revised once every five years.

Anyone whose name appeared on either list was, by definition, a symbol of great strength.

Aside from the Old Heavenly Master, who had occupied the top position on the Supernatural Ranking steadily for decades, the Dragon Kingdom had never had another person make the list.

In recent years, however, the supernatural world had indeed developed considerably. Including Ye Yan, there were now three Spirit Lord-level experts in the Dragon Kingdom: Ding Shian, Na Ruhuo, and Ye Yan.

Perhaps when the rankings were next revised, the Dragon Kingdom’s decades-long embarrassment would finally ease.

But that was a matter for the future.

For now, outsiders still viewed the Otherworlder community with a great deal of prejudice and ignorance.

After all, with such a vast population, the Dragon Kingdom held only one of the sixty total places on the two rankings combined.

Only the Old Heavenly Master.

One out of sixty.

Even Fusang, a tiny island nation with barely more than a hundred million people, had three.

Miyamoto Gosan, ranked ninth on the Supernatural Ranking.

Chiyoko Yagyu, ranked eleventh on the Spirit Lord Ranking.

And Yuito Goma, ranked thirty-ninth on the Spirit Lord Ranking.

Fusang’s great swordsmanship families even held a considerable position in the global supernatural world. It was no wonder these outsiders looked down on the Dragon Kingdom.

Among the group, some believed the reports, some did not, some took no part in the discussion, and others quietly weighed the matter in their minds.

Just as the atmosphere was becoming stifling, Shimaka Abe, who had been playing with a folding fan with narrowed eyes, suddenly spoke.

“Lord Goma, Mister Miyamoto, there is really no need for you to agonize over this.”

“We cannot obtain much useful information through speculation alone.”

“Why not find an opportunity to test him? Once we try, we will know exactly how deep the Night Watchman’s abilities run.”

“Shimaka, this is Dragon Kingdom territory, and we are here on a mission. Testing him like that could lead to unforeseen complications. It might even expose our true objective.”

Goma was somewhat tempted by Shimaka’s suggestion, but he had not forgotten why they had traveled thousands of miles to the Dragon Kingdom.

“Lord Goma, there is no need to look at the matter from only one angle. Any unknown enemy poses a tremendous threat to us.”

“A test may not be a bad thing. And what if it were a test that left no trace?”

“A test that left no trace?” Goma frowned. Then he said, “Explain.”

When it came to a swordsman like Goma, there was no point in thinking about complicated matters.

A man’s romance was drawing his sword and cutting down his opponent until one of them fell.

As an onmyoji, however, Shimaka Abe followed a path entirely different from that of the others present. He was no reckless brute. He possessed a great many strange and elusive techniques.

“There are actually many ways to test him. What kind would Lord Goma prefer?” Shimaka asked with a faint smile, his folding fan held in his hand.

Goma glanced at Ye Yan in the distance. He hesitated for only a moment before making up his mind.

“The deeper, the better.”

As Shimaka had said, an opponent whose true strength was unknown made a person feel deeply insecure.

At those words, a narrow slit opened in Shimaka’s eyes as he waved his fan. A strange light flickered within them.

“Then let us unleash the Night Parade of One Hundred Demons…”

Night fell.

At the Shuxin Hotel beside the Tang Clan Martial Arts Academy, Ye Yan lay lazily on the bed after finishing the day’s itinerary, chatting with Xia He over the phone. His voice was unusually relaxed.

“So, to secure the chance to become one of the Ten Elders, you took on the company’s assignment and came to Sichuan to mediate between the Tang Clan and the delegation?”

“That’s right.”

On the other end of the line, Xia He’s voice was soft, lazy, and slightly childish, forming a sharp contrast with Ye Yan’s.

“Sichuan, and all expenses paid? That sounds wonderful. I’ve always wanted to go there for hot pot, rabbit heads, and milk tea. But you, you heartless man—how could you not think of bringing me along for something this good?”

Her complaints reached Ye Yan’s ears, and he lazily shifted his position.

“Come on, it’s a mission, and it’s happening at a sensitive time. We have to be careful.”

“The matter of me becoming one of the Ten Elders has been settled, but plenty of eyes are still watching me.”

“I can’t afford to be careless.”

“I don’t want to leave those old men anything they can use against me…”

“All right!”

There was a hint of disappointment in Xia He’s voice, but she was not a woman who failed to see the bigger picture. She would not make things difficult for Ye Yan at such a critical moment.

The conflicts and intrigues of the Otherworlder world could not be seen, but that did not mean they did not exist.

Especially given Ye Yan’s current position, he was being watched at all times. She did not want to become a weakness he could be attacked through. So even though she had been bored lately, she had not gone running around outside.

After all, while she remained in the Northern Division, Xu Si’s protection meant that anyone who truly wished to harm her would have to think twice.

Such a heavy subject was, of course, unsuitable for a leisurely phone chat. Xia He quickly changed her tone and brought up a new topic.

“Did you miss me?”

“I did!” Ye Yan answered without hesitation.

“How much?”

Ye Yan paused briefly.

“Extremely, extremely deeply… Yes, the kind of deep longing that goes all the way in.”

“Shameless pervert…”

“…”

After nearly an hour of chatting, the two finally hung up reluctantly. They planned to take a shower and go to bed early.

Tomorrow would be the day the delegation and the Tang Clan officially met. It might also be the day when their opposing interests were most likely to erupt into open conflict. Ye Yan needed to conserve his energy and prepare himself.

Just as he finished showering and stepped out of the bathroom in a bathrobe, his body still steaming with moisture, Ye Yan suddenly stopped.

His gaze sharpened as it passed through the glass window and fell upon the long street, already completely submerged in darkness.

Beyond the window and the surrounding buildings, beneath the dim starlight, Ye Yan sensed a strange fluctuation of energy on the two streets next door.

That energy was gloomy and evil. It gave him the feeling that a dense fog was about to rise, with the haze arriving first. Even from a considerable distance, it made breathing feel difficult.

It was as if the gates of hell had been thrown open.

“As expected, they are a troublesome bunch. It’s only their first day here, and they are already causing trouble. They actually dared to summon spirits in the middle of the street…”

“A challenge?”

As these thoughts crossed his mind, Ye Yan casually loosened the belt of his bathrobe, revealing his well-defined, evenly muscled body.

He swiftly pulled on his outer clothes, shook his still-damp hair, picked up his room key, and opened the door.

The instant he stepped outside, he saw Liu Han standing in the corridor in front of his room. He was dressed in a suit, his hair groomed with immaculate precision, and seemed to have been waiting for him.

Ye Yan glanced at him and could not resist teasing him.

“Dressed up so carefully this late at night? Got a date with some girl? Planning to go out?”

“No.”

Liu Han shook his head.

After spending several days together, Ye Yan had gained a decent understanding of Liu Han’s habits. He was a rather peculiar man.

His personality was somewhat shy, and when they had first met, he had been so nervous that he stammered. Once he became familiar with someone, however, he was much less restrained.

Even so, he seemed to suffer from a mild form of obsessive cleanliness and paid particular attention to his appearance. Day or night, whenever he went outside, he made certain that his hair and clothes were clean and neat, and he even wore a suitable amount of perfume.

He always wore a white suit. His wardrobe seemed to contain only one outfit. At least, Ye Yan had never seen him wear anything else.

That said, Ye Yan had also never seen the suit dirty.

“Brother Yan, outside…”

Liu Han’s gaze passed through the corridor window and fixed upon the pitch-black night beyond. His expression was grave.

“You felt it?”

Ye Yan nodded and answered quietly.

The strange energy fluctuation was obvious, and there were no signs that anyone was deliberately suppressing it. Within a certain radius, anyone with even a little ability and a reasonably sharp sense of perception should have noticed it.

“The thing over there is probably a spirit. I can’t say exactly what kind yet. Let’s go take a look. Once we get there, we should know what we’re dealing with.”

Ye Yan had some guesses about the spirit’s origin, but he did not reveal everything in front of Liu Han. Instead, he silently kept that matter to himself.

“Shall we head over?”

Liu Han was only an assistant, after all. When it came to decisions, he still had to defer to Ye Yan.

So he waited for Ye Yan’s answer.

Ye Yan smiled and nodded.

“Let’s go. I want to see what damned brat thinks he can get away with this.”