Spirit Reaper - Chapter 12

Chapter 12: The Emissary’s Artifacts — “An Emissary with strong innate power can handle even a feather duster…“

“I didn’t expect you to be so cooperative.” Qin An rested her chin on her palm, leaning back lazily against the chair, staring at Yu Wuyi with an intrigued gaze.

Perhaps the gaze was too direct; Yu Wuyi didn’t dare meet Qin An’s eyes. She lowered her head and whispered, “Since I signed that thing, you’re the boss and I’m the employee. It’s only natural for an employee to cooperate.”

Hearing this, Qin An curled her lips. “An interesting analogy. Since you understand, all the better.” She clapped her hands. “Come, bring the items for our little Emissary.”

Yu Wuyi followed Qin An’s gaze toward the side door of the hall. The black iron door slowly groaned open, and several small bronze lions, carrying two large copper trays, padded inside. The items on the trays were shrouded in a layer of black mist, making them impossible to see clearly.

“Curious?” Once the trays were on the table, Qin An glanced at Yu Wuyi with an amused expression.

“Yes, curious,” Yu Wuyi replied truthfully without hesitation.

“Then let me satisfy your curiosity.” Qin An let out a short laugh. Before Yu Wuyi could react, Qin An grabbed her wrist and slid her middle finger across Yu Wuyi’s palm.

“Hiss! What are you doing?” A sharp pain shot through her hand. Yu Wuyi frowned, looking confusedly at Qin An, who still maintained a smile.

“Didn’t I say? I’m satisfying your curiosity.” Qin An didn’t explain much. She simply held Yu Wuyi’s hand suspended over the two copper trays, letting the blood drip down from the palm, bead by bead, into the black mist.

Yu Wuyi was stunned by Qin An’s sudden move. She forgot to struggle and watched blankly as her blood submerged into the mist like broken strings of pearls.

Seeing the blood flowing faster and faster while the black mist showed no sign of dissipating, Yu Wuyi grew anxious. She struggled and asked, “How much blood does it want to eat? At this rate, I’ll be lining up with those ghosts outside before I even start catching spirits!”

“Quiet. It’s almost done. Just endure a bit longer.”

Just as Yu Wuyi began to feel the world spinning—her body growing weak and her consciousness fading—Qin An finally let go of her hand and popped a dark brown pill into her mouth.

As the pill dissolved, a sweet, creamy flavor like white chocolate filled every corner of her mouth. The dizziness and weakness slowly vanished. Yu Wuyi slumped back into her chair, closing her eyes in exhaustion.

“These two pieces of equipment were prepared specifically for you.” Qin An pushed the trays, now clear of the black mist, toward Yu Wuyi.

“Wait, you’ve never been this generous before!” At the sight of the items, the Ten Kings of Yanluo, who had been watching from the sidelines, couldn’t keep still. “So you were saving these treasures for your little Emissary?”

“People who know would say she’s just your employee; those who don’t would think she’s the one you’re marrying,” joked the King of the Turning Wheel, having forgotten the pain of his previous “lesson.” “Aren’t you afraid the one in the human realm will find out?”

“Mind your own business. If you’re that bored, go scrub the oil cauldrons; the rims are starting to get grimy,” Qin An snapped at him. She then turned back to Yu Wuyi. “Open your eyes. Stop playing dead.”

Hearing Qin An’s voice, Yu Wuyi sheepishly opened her eyes. Even though she had prepared herself, she was still amazed by the true appearance of the “equipment.”

Lying quietly in the copper trays were an ivory-white snake-bone bracelet and a pair of small, exquisite stud earrings shaped like spirit-summoning banners.

“This is the Soul-Hooking Whip, made from thousand-year-old snake bone. For your convenience, I had the craftsmen shape it into a bracelet,” Qin An said, picking up the bracelet and sliding it onto Yu Wuyi’s left wrist. “The blood just now was to bind you to them. Once bound, you only need a thought, and they will manifest their true forms.”

“Want to try?”

Yu Wuyi looked at the bracelet on her wrist and the earrings in the tray, then nodded. She put on the earrings, closed her eyes, and focused her mind to feel the connection.

Buzz, buzz, buzz— The moment the connection was established, a humming sound filled her ears. She instinctively turned her palm upward, and a weight suddenly settled into it.

She opened her eyes to see the bracelet had vanished from her wrist. In its place was a 1.5-meter-long ivory-white whip made of snake bone, its edges razor-sharp.

With another thought, a white, jellyfish-like spirit-summoning banner appeared in her other hand. She could clearly feel a subtle, inexplicable link between her and the two artifacts.

“The synchronization is much better than I expected,” Qin An said with satisfaction. She snapped her fingers, and the artifacts returned to their original forms in the blink of an eye. “Currently, you can only use a tenth of their power. Once you gain more combat experience and your synchronization improves, you will one day be able to unleash their full potential.”

“Even with good synchronization, it’s only a tenth?” Yu Wuyi murmured. She thought she could at least reach fifty percent. It seemed her current skills were indeed amateurish.

“Not satisfied with a tenth? Zonglan, your little Emissary has quite the appetite,” the Ten Kings joked, looking at Yu Wuyi with teasing eyes. “Little girl, not just anyone can bind with these two treasures, let alone synchronize with them. Even if a normal person was lucky enough to be recognized by them, they could only unleash one percent of their power.”

So that’s how it is… Yu Wuyi thought, turning to meet Qin An’s gaze. Qin An said nothing, only giving her a slight nod.

“But, such valuable things… just like that, for me? Once given, it’s like spilled water—I’m not giving them back…” From the words of the Ten Kings, Yu Wuyi gathered that these two artifacts were even rarer than the jade pendant on her chest. She was excited, but also felt a bit guilty about accepting them.

“They were made specifically for you, why would I want them back?” Qin An shook her head with a smile. Under the gaze of the onlookers, she leaned in and whispered in Yu Wuyi’s ear: “You can think of this as… a betrothal gift…”

WHAT!?

Yu Wuyi’s eyes widened in disbelief. She recoiled like a startled shrimp, creating distance between herself and Qin An. “That’s not a funny joke. Stop teasing me…”

“Fine, look at how terrified you are,” Qin An laughed. “Every Emissary under a King of Yanluo has a Soul-Hooking Whip and a Spirit-Summoning Banner. Only the materials and power differ.”

“An Emissary with strong innate power can handle even a feather duster to catch evil spirits. As for you…” She narrowed her eyes, drawing out her words, “I’m afraid saying more will hurt your self-esteem.”

“…”

Fine, I shouldn’t have asked!

“Alright, since the tasks are assigned, that’s all for today. You all may leave,” Qin An said to the Ten Kings, noticing Yu Wuyi had wilted like a frost-bitten eggplant.

As everyone left the hall, Yu Wuyi stood up to leave as well, but Qin An grabbed her wrist.

“I didn’t tell you to leave. What’s the rush? Still afraid of me?”

“No, I… I’m going to find my grandmother…” When the Ten Kings were around, Yu Wuyi didn’t feel much. But now that the hall was cold and empty, with only her and Qin An left in the vast space, she felt restless and desperate to escape.

“Yu Song is being entertained by Song Yanqing. It’s better if you don’t go and play the third wheel,” Qin An said, her grip on Yu Wuyi’s wrist tightening slightly.

“You don’t need to be so stiff here. Just relax.” Seeing her unnatural tension, Qin An sighed softly. “I have matters to attend to. You can go look around first. If you’re tired, find a bronze lion; they will take you to your room.” With a wave of her hand, a parchment scroll appeared before Yu Wuyi.

“This is a map of the Underworld. It isn’t stable right now. Absolutely do not go to the Lower District or the Ghost Gate, understood?”

Yu Wuyi nodded and took the map. She scanned it quickly and wanted to say something, but when she looked up, the person who had been standing there had vanished without a trace, as if she had never been there at all.

Yu Wuyi closed the map and instinctively touched the wrist Qin An had held. She rubbed it twice before realizing what she was doing. Like a cat with its fur standing on end, she “launched” herself away, the tips of her ears turning crimson.

This Qin An… we’re just bound by a contract, yet she keeps saying misleading things…

“Awoo—whimper—” As Yu Wuyi was lost in thought, a whimpering sound came from beneath her feet. At the same time, she felt her pant leg being tugged.

She looked down and saw the bronze lions that had carried the trays earlier.

“What? You’re already eager to show me to my room?” Looking into the amber-bead eyes of the little bronze lions, Yu Wuyi smiled and crouched down, stroking their heads.

The bronze lions squinted their eyes in pleasure, their throats rumbling like idling engines. They acted just like big cats. Seeing their cute behavior, Yu Wuyi couldn’t help but laugh. She stood up and said softly, “Lead the way, then. I shouldn’t waste your enthusiasm.”

“Awoo! Awoo!” Receiving a positive answer, the little ones were visibly excited. They gave a high-pitched yip and ran toward the back of the hall.

Yu Wuyi shook her head with a smile and followed quickly behind them.

Behind the main hall lay a maze of long corridors, dark and shadowy. Dim, flickering ghost-fires cast Yu Wuyi’s shadow onto the walls—a shadow that stretched and shifted into eerie shapes as she moved.

Suppressing a sudden sense of dread, Yu Wuyi gritted her teeth and continued deeper into the endless corridor. The previous twists and turns had already made her feel dizzy, but now she only wanted to reach her destination quickly.

While disoriented, she was secretly glad Qin An had left the bronze lions to lead the way; otherwise, even with the map, she would surely have gotten lost.

“Grrr—Hiss—” Suddenly, the bronze lions ahead stopped in their tracks. Their backs arched high in a defensive, threatening posture.

Swoosh—! A sharp blade sliced through the air, flying past Yu Wuyi’s ear. She reacted instantly, pressing herself against the wall and waiting for an opening.

Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh—! Before she could catch her breath, several more whistling sounds rang out. Yu Wuyi couldn’t dodge them all; her arms were sliced open, and sharp pain flared. Ignoring the wounds, she scooped up the little lions and ran backward, turning corner after corner recklessly.

Only when the silence behind her was absolute did Yu Wuyi stop to catch her breath. She collapsed against the wall, sliding down to the floor as the heavy scent of blood rushed into her nose.