After Marrying the Evil God - Chapter 20

The Metaphysical Society was located in an 80-story building in the center of Hua Ting City. The first three floors served as the workspace for field personnel; Liu Ci led Xie Chouzhuan up to the fourth floor.

“This assessment begins with a spiritual energy test to determine your base level. Afterward, you’ll need to accept a mission corresponding to that level. Professionals will score your performance on a 10-point scale; you need at least a 7 to pass.”

“Xiaoxiao, this is my friend Xie Chouzhuan. He’s here for the rating assessment.” Liu Ci led Xie Chouzhuan into a room on the fourth floor where about a dozen people were scattered around. In the front stood a strange-looking apparatus that a girl was currently calibrating.

“Brother Ci’s friend?” Liu Xiaoxiao stood up and glanced over, her eyes lighting up. “As expected, a handsome guy’s friends are also handsome. This is your first time here, isn’t it, little handsome? I’m Liu Xiaoxiao. You can call me Sister Xiao or just Xiaoxiao.”

“Hello, Sister Xiao.”

“Hello, hello! You’ve come at just the right time. I’ve just finished calibrating the equipment. Little handsome, you’re up first.”

“Chouzhuan, I have business with my master, so I’ll head out first.”

“Go ahead, Brother Ci.” Xie Chouzhuan walked toward the testing machine.

“Just stick a finger in for a drop of blood. The machine monitors the concentration of spiritual energy in your blood to determine your current level. The margin of error is only about 0.001.”

“Sister Xiao, what are you doing? We’ve been watching you tinker with that machine all morning, and the moment a ‘pretty boy’ shows up, you start with him? Shouldn’t there be a first-come, first-served rule?” A youth with dyed yellow hair spoke up, sounding quite displeased.

Ignoring him, Xie Chouzhuan had already pressed his finger down. The device emitted a beep, and a number appeared on the screen: 3.

“A Level 3 practitioner? Not bad.” Liu Xiaoxiao pointed to a QR code on the table. “Scan this, fill in your personal information, and collect your assessment mission.”

“You there, the one with the opinion—come on, it’s your turn,” Liu Xiaoxiao said, gesturing to the yellow-haired youth.

After Xie Chouzhuan scanned the code, an app called “Evil Spirit, Where are You Running?” appeared on his screen. The app icon featured a hideous ghost with its tongue sticking out.

Xie Chouzhuan’s lips twitched. He clicked download, and in less than ten seconds, the app appeared on his home screen. He entered his information, and a “lottery” screen popped up. An animated imp, drenched in sweat, shook a massive bamboo tube until a single stick fell out.

Xie Chouzhuan clicked on the mission card:

Initial Mission (85 points): Retrieve six evil spirits.

Bonus Mission (15 points): Investigate the truth behind the Yuan family massacre.

Location: No. 188 Qinghe Road, Yuan’s Restaurant.

Mission Rank: D

Recommended Personnel: 2

Current Personnel: 1/2

Time Limit: 3 hours for initial mission, 5 hours for bonus mission.

Scoring Personnel: Investigation Division, Team 2.

Start Time & Check-in: September 24, 21:50, entrance of Yuan’s Restaurant, No. 188 Qinghe Road.

Mission Group Chat: 9242150188.

Xie Chouzhuan hadn’t expected such a coincidence. He had received the mission for Qinghe Road. Shi Zhi had said there were five members of the Yuan family and all had died, yet the mission listed six evil spirits. Did the murderer kill someone else at the time, or did the murderer themselves die inside?

“What mission did you pull?” Liu Xiaoxiao, having finished the other tests, walked over to look. “Rank D? This one has some difficulty. You should prepare plenty of self-defense items.”

Xie Chouzhuan reported the situation to Ji Sixian. He took the “Spirit-Devouring Talisman” that Ji Sixian had drawn—the one so packed with power it nearly split the paper—to use for protection, then drew several other talismans himself.

At 9:50 PM, Xie Chouzhuan arrived at Qinghe Road on time. Two middle-aged men were standing at the entrance of Yuan’s Restaurant.

“Here for the assessment?” one of them asked in a low voice.

“Yes.”

“Show your mission card.”

Xie Chouzhuan opened the app for them.

“I am Qian Wei from Team 2 of the Investigation Division, and this is Feng Hui. We are responsible for your assessment. One person hasn’t arrived yet; once they’re here, we will distribute the mission files.”

Xie Chouzhuan waited for a while until the yellow-haired youth from that morning ran over in a hurry. After confirming he was the second participant, Feng Hui handed them both a dossier.

“This data is for reference only. Once the mission starts, conditions may change; do not rely solely on the files. If ordinary people appear on-site, be careful to distinguish them—they could very well be a fierce ghost in disguise!” Feng Hui warned them earnestly.

This had happened before: an examinee found a person not listed in the files and, thinking they were a civilian who had wandered in, tried to protect them. It turned out to be a Ghost King with transformation abilities. Once the mission was “complete,” the Ghost King went on a rampage, killing everyone including the examiners. Not a single soul survived, and even the nearby village was slaughtered.

Later investigation revealed it was a thousand-year-old spirit that had been sealed by a Level 9 practitioner. Over time, the seal had weakened, allowing the spirit to wander near the edge. The original sealer had ensured that as long as no one took it out, the Ghost King would remain trapped until it dissipated; however, the examinee had unwittingly led it out.

After the headquarters received the news, the Chairman personally led the three strongest captains to hunt the spirit, resulting in one death and three severe injuries. The Chairman was forced into a hasty retirement, and that spirit is still at large today.

Xie Chouzhuan read the dossier carefully. He discovered that the Yuan family massacre happened because the price of their noodles had increased by two yuan. A man named Wang Yi was dissatisfied and argued with the mother; the father heard the commotion, came out, and beat Wang Yi. Feeling humiliated, Wang Yi sneaked in at night and hacked all five family members to death.

The specific details were not in the file; they were likely part of the bonus mission for the examinees to discover. The final note stated that Wang Yi had been arrested and traces of burned talismans were found at the scene. However, tests showed Wang Yi was an ordinary human, and he refused to admit any connection to metaphysical practitioners.

Time was up. Feng Hui took back the papers. “Five minutes until the assessment begins. You may discuss freely until then.”

The yellow-haired youth looked over awkwardly. “Hey. I’m Shen Hanwu. I had a bit of a temper this morning; sorry about that.”

He had made a few comments to Xie Chouzhuan earlier and was worried about being sabotaged during the mission. As the saying goes: Better a god-like opponent than a pig-like teammate. This mission was slightly higher than their current rank; if Xie Chouzhuan tripped him up, he would suffer greatly.

“It’s fine. I really did cut the line. I’m Xie Chouzhuan.”