A Man-Made Vengeful Spirit

Qin Feng rubbed the Blood Jade Bracelet in his hand, the warm, smooth sensation beneath his fingertips forming a bizarre contrast with the blood-red glow seeping from deep within the jade.

Under the lights, he could clearly see that the red glow was not naturally formed. It looked more like countless nearly imperceptible threads of blood tangled together, creating an extraordinarily complex miniature formation.

"Mr. Qin! You... you're practically a living immortal!"

Lin Guodong trembled as he shuffled out from the corner. The frightened pallor had yet to fade from his face, but his eyes were already filled with fervent worship and gratitude as he looked at Qin Feng.

"That female ghost, was she really... really purified by you?"

"Mm." Without lifting his head, Qin Feng shifted his gaze away from the jade bracelet and casually slipped it into his pocket.

Lin Haoran hurried over as well, his expression incomparably complicated, mingling awe, curiosity, and a trace of relief. "Brother Qin, what was that technique just now? Cutting away obsession, cutting away resentment... It sounded like something out of a myth."

Qin Feng glanced at him and said flatly, "Oh, I made it up. It made me look a tiny bit cooler."

Lin Haoran froze at that answer, then became even more convinced that Qin Feng was unfathomably profound.

"My mom... how's my mom?" Coming back to his senses, Lin Haoran scrambled upstairs.

Less than three minutes later, he rushed back down with wild joy written all over his face, so excited that his words tumbled over one another. "She's awake! She's awake! She even asked whether I'd eaten dinner. She doesn't remember anything that happened just now at all! Mr. Qin, you're the great benefactor of our entire family!"

"Just a small effort."

Qin Feng stood up, preparing to leave.

"The matter is settled. Farewell."

"Don't, don't go!"

Lin Guodong hurriedly stopped him.

"Mr. Qin, your payment..."

"The Maserati keys. That's what your son negotiated with me." Qin Feng got straight to the point and held out his hand.

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Haoran immediately took the car keys from his pocket and presented them with both hands. "Brother Qin, these are your car keys. As for the ten percent stake in Lin Group, I'm afraid I can't give it to you directly just yet."

"No need for the shares. Too much trouble. Just transfer me the money instead. You can decide how much."

Qin Feng took the keys. "Now that the problem has been resolved, it's time for you to honor your promise."

Lin Haoran nodded heavily. "I, Lin Haoran, keep my word! From now on, I'll never bother Junior Schoolmate Su Qinghui again!"

Qin Feng nodded in satisfaction and turned to leave.

"Master! Master, please wait!"

Qing Xuzi, who had been slumped on the sofa the whole time, scrambled over and wrapped his arms around Qin Feng's pant leg, his voice thick with tears.

"I... I want to become your disciple! I'm willing to serve you faithfully, with absolutely no second thoughts!"

Qin Feng looked down at him, then glanced at the dark, foul-smelling patch of carpet beneath him. He frowned in disgust. "You won't do."

"Why?"

Qing Xuzi asked anxiously.

"My comprehension is very high! Even in Hong Kong Island's feng shui circles, I'm—"

"Your nerve is too weak. You hadn't even seen a ghost's shadow before you got so scared you pissed yourself.

You'll spend the rest of your life doing nothing but fooling ordinary people.

Go back and accumulate some virtue. Stop swindling people under false pretenses, or next time, you won't be so lucky."

With that, he kicked Qing Xuzi away and left without looking back.

Behind him, Qing Xuzi's despairing wails gradually faded into the distance.

Qin Feng got into the red Maserati. The luxurious scent of leather inside the sports car was utterly out of place with the lingering smell of battle.

He did not start the car immediately. Instead, he took out his phone and dialed Shen Bingyue's number.

"Hello?" Shen Bingyue's voice on the other end was as cool and professional as ever.

"Qin Feng. The D-Class vengeful spirit incident has been dealt with. I need cleanup support."

"The address." Shen Bingyue immediately switched into work mode.

Qin Feng gave her the address of the Lin family villa, then added, "The scene needs to be cleaned up. Also, there's something I need you to take a look at."

During the twenty minutes he waited in the car, Qin Feng took out the Blood Jade Bracelet again.

The more he examined it, the more something felt wrong. Although the vengeful spirit's hatred had been deep, it seemed to lack a fundamental purity.

The confusion and pain the female ghost had occasionally revealed during the fight did not seem like resistance. It felt more like... an inner struggle.

"Strange," Qin Feng murmured. There was clearly something wrong with this thing.

Soon, two black SUVs silently glided into the estate.

Shen Bingyue wore a sleek black combat uniform, her long hair tied into a high ponytail. She walked straight over to the Maserati and knocked on its window with interest.

"Oh? Upgraded your ride?" she teased.

"Spoils of war."

Qin Feng got out of the car and tossed the Blood Jade Bracelet to her. "Take a look at this."

Shen Bingyue caught the bracelet. After just one glance, her expression changed.

She closed her eyes, a thin layer of frost coating her fingertips as she carefully sensed it with her [Ice Breath] ability.

"Just as I thought..."

She opened her eyes, her brows drawn tight.

"There's something wrong with this psychic fluctuation."

"What kind of wrong?"

"Too... 'dirty.'"

Shen Bingyue's expression was grave.

"A normal vengeful spirit vessel contains pure resentment or hatred.

But inside this bracelet, aside from overwhelming resentment and hatred, I sensed fear, despair, and even... a trace of love that had been forcibly twisted."

"Man-made?" Qin Feng's voice was cold as ice.

"Yes."

Shen Bingyue gave him an approving look.

"And the technique was exceptionally sophisticated. Several conflicting emotions were forcibly blended into an unstable bomb.

Either they wanted to collect data from the eruption of extreme emotions, or they were testing some new supernatural technology."

"The Guixu Cult?" Qin Feng nearly blurted it out.

Shen Bingyue nodded. "A bunch of lunatics obsessed with creating and upgrading urban legends."

"Their methods go far beyond that."

Shen Bingyue's tone was more serious than ever.

"If this really was the Guixu Cult's doing, then the Lin family weren't victims. They were... a testing ground."

Qin Feng's expression darkened completely.

He felt as though he had stumbled into someone else's laboratory and become a janitor who cleaned up their experimental waste for free.

The feeling of being kept in the dark and used left him extremely displeased.

"Damn it," he cursed under his breath.

"Don't rush."

Shen Bingyue placed the bracelet into a specially made containment bag.

"I'll take it back to the lab for analysis. I'll notify you as soon as I get any results."

Qin Feng nodded, then said before she got into the car, "If there's a mission against the Guixu Cult in the future, count me in."

Shen Bingyue was somewhat surprised, but she still nodded. "I will. Stay in touch—but remember, you must follow orders during operations."

"We'll see."

Watching the Special Cases Department convoy disappear into the night, Qin Feng opened the car door and got back into the driver's seat.

The engine let out a satisfied growl, like a ferocious beast roused from sleep.

What he didn't know was that on the rooftop of a high-rise not far outside the estate, a figure in a black trench coat lowered a pair of high-powered binoculars.

Interesting.

The person dialed an encrypted number and spoke respectfully. "Madam Ying, the 'Vengeful Woman Returns for Love' test subject has been eliminated. The eliminator's codename is 'Raven.'"

A young woman's soft laugh came from the other end, lazy yet carrying the wisdom of someone who held everything in her grasp.

"As expected. It was only a test subject to begin with."

Madam Ying's voice carried a smile.

"This at least proves that we're heading in the right direction."