Later, Mr. Ye Hai went into many businesses and made more and more money.
He not only used that money as a stepping stone to the upper ranks of the Green Gang, but was also extremely generous with his underlings. He was willing to spend, so everyone was happy to acknowledge him as their big brother.
He had more and more underlings, and with his ruthless methods, he kept expanding his territory.
In just ten years, Mr. Ye Hai had transformed from a lowly hoodlum with a worthless life into a respectable gentleman of the Green Gang.
Countless people came to Puxi City, but very few could start from nothing and achieve what Mr. Ye Hai had.
Every last copper of his fortune had come from jobs like taking on small deliveries.
"Xu Yi, do you understand what I mean?"
How could someone like Mr. Ye Hai truly uphold benevolence and righteousness?
Xu Yi blinked.
"I understand."
Xu Yi took those words to heart and showed that he understood.
Xu Yi had his own rules.
On the surface, Mr. Ye Hai was a respectable man.
At least when dealing with Xu Yi, Mr. Ye Hai truly was a respectable man.
He wanted to preserve his dignity, and Xu Yi would naturally grant it to him.
If one day he no longer wanted his dignity, Xu Yi would certainly help him keep it.
That was Xu Yi's way of doing things.
Xu Yi didn't explain this principle to Jing Tao, because he himself hated lecturing people.
So he got straight to the point.
"Where's your family's ointment factory?"
Say less and do more. That was Xu Yi's principle too.
Jing Tao's eyes flickered behind her glasses. She spoke slowly.
"It's beside the big factory building behind No. 56 in the 38th Shop District. A lot of factories are clustered there.
"My family's ointment factory is called Lingtong Hall. Go into the second row of streets behind the big factory building, walk a hundred meters, and turn right."
Xu Yi nodded.
"Untie me first. I'll hand the ointment factory over to you by tomorrow."
Jing Tao nodded and turned to leave the cellar.
Xu Yi had no idea what she was up to, so he could only wait patiently.
A moment later, the big brother from the previous night emerged from the darkness of the cellar.
His face was awful, and he looked extremely weak. He had lost at least two-thirds of his weight, and his pale, semi-transparent, consumptive face was frighteningly white. He looked even more like a ghost now.
The big brother came out of the darkness and walked over to Xu Yi. Without a word, he untied him.
Xu Yi was a little surprised by his condition.
"Big brother, what's going on?"
The big brother looked even more bitter at being addressed that way and hurriedly waved his hands.
"Ah! Young sir! Please don't call me that! I don't deserve it!"
The big brother suddenly seemed to hear something. His body trembled, and fear deepened across his face. He sped up, and in no time, he had freed Xu Yi.
The big brother said, "Peach God said to leave that stick of Fox Incense for you.
"Also, just hold your breath for ten seconds to exit the activated spirit state."
With that, the big brother quickly fled into the darkness.
Xu Yi got to his feet, picked up the Fox Incense, put it in his pocket, and held his breath.
10, 9, 8...
3, 2, 1...
As he began breathing again, the black and white quickly receded from his vision like the ebbing tide. The whole world before his eyes seemed to have had its saturation turned up.
The two points of spiritual light above his head vanished, and the cellar returned completely to normal.
Dim daylight came in through the cellar door nearby, barely enough to see by.
Xu Yi walked to the entrance.
The endless corridor, the countless red lanterns, the walls on either side... All the otherworldly sights had completely disappeared. Looking out, Xu Yi could see the mansion's imposing black-lacquered gate at the far end of the corridor.
He headed toward the gate.
Behind him, in a place visible only while his spirit was activated, Ghost Brother watched him go with red-rimmed eyes.
—Jing Tao was observing Xu Yi through Ghost Brother's eyes.
At that moment, Jing Tao stood in a shadowy corner of the Jing Family's main hall. She watched Xu Yi's figure disappear beyond the gates of the Jing Family residence, her heart beating a little faster.
The ability Xu Yi had just demonstrated far exceeded her expectations.
She had rarely encountered an ordinary person with spirit as powerful as Xu Yi's.
Spirit was something people were born with in part, and it could be strengthened through training.
Improving it through training was difficult. She had trained for years before her spirit grew strong enough to let her ignite it, transform it into divinity, and become a Night Roaming God.
Yet Xu Yi could activate his spirit while still an ordinary person and see the Hundred Night Miasma.
What kind of talent was that?
Jing Tao was excited, but also a little uneasy.
Being able to activate one's spirit and see the Hundred Night Miasma could, for the moment, be attributed to having powerful spirit.
But why could he refine the Hundred Night Miasma directly into Spirit Remains?
Refining the Hundred Night Miasma into Spirit Remains was something only certain special Night Roaming God lineages could do, and it required time and materials.
Could that ability be innate too?
The more Jing Tao thought about it, the more something seemed wrong.
After turning the matter over in her mind, she decided to seek help.
She went to a side room off the main hall, produced the Little Red Clay Pot with a flourish, and ground a small pinch of incense ash. She drew a circle on the floor with the ash, murmuring an incantation.
As the incantation poured spirit into the circle of incense ash, the circle was activated.
The ash began moving on its own, gathering from around the circle into its center. As if stirred by a gentle breeze, it formed the face of a middle-aged man with a long beard.
"Master."
Jing Tao told her master about Xu Yi.
After hearing her out, her master's expression changed ever so slightly.
The incense ash was too sparse to fully reflect his expression, so Jing Tao couldn't tell what he was feeling.
"Tao Tao, where is this person now?"
Her master had saved her in a moment of danger and given her a new lease on life. She trusted him without reservation, so she told him that Xu Yi was about to go to the ointment factory, Lingtong Hall.
"I'll go take a look at that kid."
When her master finished speaking, he cut off the connection. The incense ash could no longer hold his form, and the spirit scattered into a gust of chilly wind, blowing his likeness apart.
Jing Tao had taken the day off school. Since it was nearly noon, she cooked a meal for her father, told Ghost Brother to guard the house, and then went to school.
Xu Yi was walking down a street in the 38th Shop District. Everything before his eyes looked white. When he came to his senses, he realized it was nearly noon and the sun was out.
The bright sun hung high overhead, warming him all over. The gloomy aura he'd picked up at the Jing Family residence early that morning dissipated in the sunlight.
Xu Yi first went to a familiar noodle shop. He spent eight copper coins on a bowl of Sichuan-style minced-meat beef noodles with scallions, stir-fried in a wok, along with a bottle of orange-flavored Zhengguanghe soda. After polishing off the meal, he casually slipped the glass bottle into his pocket and set off toward the middle of the 38th Shop District.
The waiter saw him pocket the soda bottle but didn't dare complain.
Everyone was somewhat afraid of the Green Gang's gangsters. They were truly shameless: eating without paying was routine, and running up a tab without paying it back was practically the height of their conscience. If they took a dislike to you, smashing up your shop was nothing unusual.
Compared to all that filthy, aggravating business, taking a glass soda bottle was hardly worth mentioning.
Before you continue