Before Vacation, Throw Them In

Southwest of the Balak Kingdom lay the Blackstone Wasteland.

The rain fell in a fine mist.

It was not the kind of downpour that could slap a person awake. It clung to collars and seeped into the cracks between bones.

At the far end of the wasteland, a black city Gate stood in the night. No lights burned beyond it. Only the mingled stench of blood and rot drifted out, souring stomachs from far away.

Slaughter City.

Several Evil Soul Masters knelt in the muddy water, all the viciousness gone from their faces.

They had never feared death before.

People who had drunk human blood, practiced forbidden arts, and taken dozens of lives usually thought themselves tougher than ordinary Soul Masters.

But when they saw seven Soul Rings light up beneath the Silver Hair young man's feet, the curses died in their throats.

Yellow, purple, black, black, black, black, black.

A thousand-year Second Soul Ring.

The Third Soul Ring was Ten-Thousand-Year.

That Soul Ring Configuration belonged nowhere in a Soul Master theory book. It should have been torn out and slipped into a madman's biography.

Bai Jin stood in the rain, a black blindfold covering his eyes and a strawberry lollipop between his lips.

The raindrops stopped three inches from him.

They were not repelled by Soul Power or blocked by a shield.

They simply slowed.

As though only a hair's breadth separated them from him, yet they could never touch him.

First Soul Skill: Limitless.

"Bai Jin!" one Evil Soul Master rasped. "If Spirit Hall wants to kill us, then kill us! Why throw us in there?"

Bai Jin tilted his head.

"Don't you enjoy making people beg for life and beg for death, only to get neither?"

He took the candy from his mouth and smiled.

"I'm a kind man. I respect people's hobbies."

"You!"

The man was about to lunge when a speck of Azure Blue light appeared at Bai Jin's fingertip.

Second Soul Skill: Blue.

An invisible pull swept across the ground. Muddy water, gravel, and broken chains slid forward together. The Evil Soul Masters were seized as if by an unseen hand. Before they could finish screaming, they were dragged toward the entrance to Slaughter City.

A low laugh came from deep within the city Gate.

It was no welcome.

It sounded like something had caught the scent of fresh flesh.

Two carriages waited below a distant slope. Several children who had just been rescued huddled inside while the accompanying Spirit Hall Soul Masters wrapped blankets around them.

Bai Jin had moved quickly.

So quickly that the children remembered only a flash of blue in the rain. Then the iron cage holding them had opened, and the Evil Soul Masters outside had dropped to their knees in the mud, one after another.

One child asked through tears if the bad men would come back.

Bai Jin thought for a moment and pointed at Slaughter City.

"They will."

The child went pale with fright.

Then Bai Jin added, "But next time they come back, it'll probably be through reincarnation."

The accompanying Soul Master shut his mouth on the spot and tried hard to look solemn.

Bai Jin raised a hand and waved.

"Keep a low profile in there. Don't tell anyone you know me."

The city Gate closed.

The wasteland fell silent again.

Bai Jin patted his cuffs. Not a drop of rain clung to them.

"Job done."

He had never liked dragging things out when dealing with Evil Soul Masters.

If they could be captured, he captured them. If they needed killing, he killed them. If their sins were too filthy, he sent them into Slaughter City. Spirit Hall's reports made it all sound complicated, but Bai Jin's own summary was one sentence.

Don't let these people see ordinary people again.

He was just reaching for a second lollipop when his soul-tool communicator rang.

Bai Jin paused.

He stared at the little device for two breaths as though it were an enemy whose sole purpose was ruining his vacation.

In the end, he answered.

"Speak."

On the other end was Luo Wenshan, a Deacon with Spirit Hall's Heaven Dou City team. His voice was low. "Lord Bai, the Great Enshrined wants you back in Heaven Dou City."

"I just got off work."

"The Great Enshrined says you've been on leave for three months."

"That was fieldwork."

"Your fieldwork report from last month was only two lines long."

"Brevity is a virtue."

Luo Wenshan fell silent for a moment, then tried another approach. "There's also a letter from Sect Master Ning of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, addressed specifically to you."

That finally caught Bai Jin's interest.

"Ning Fengzhi?"

"Yes."

"Is there money in it?"

"Your subordinate didn't dare open it."

"No ambition."

The communicator went completely silent.

Half an hour later, Heaven Dou City.

A pharmacy in the south of the city had closed for the night, but a light still burned in its back courtyard.

It sold medicine openly, but served as one of Spirit Hall's contact points in Heaven Dou City. With Qian Renxue posing as Xue Qinghe inside the imperial palace, the local Spirit Hall team had to mind even the volume of their coughs.

When Bai Jin pushed open the door, the stewards inside rose together.

"Lord Bai."

"Sit."

Bai Jin sat down first, picked up a pastry from the table, and took a bite. He frowned.

"Who bought these?"

"The shop on the corner," Luo Wenshan said carefully.

"Try somewhere else next time. Too sweet."

Everyone looked at him.

It was hard to answer a man who kept candy in his mouth all day yet complained that a pastry was too sweet.

Luo Wenshan handed him the letter.

Bai Jin opened it, skimmed it, and smiled.

Ning Rongrong had left home for Shrek Academy outside Suotuo City. Ning Fengzhi hoped Bai Jin could look after her while he was in the area: keep the girl from suffering too much, and keep her from causing too much trouble.

The final four characters were written with particular care.

Compensation negotiable.

"See?" Bai Jin folded the letter. "People from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect do know how to say the right thing."

"And the Great Enshrined...?" Luo Wenshan asked quietly.

"I know."

Bai Jin looked toward the imperial palace.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Palace blazed with layers of light beneath the night sky. The crown prince's residence was lit too. Xue Qinghe was probably still reviewing those endless memorials.

Or rather, Qian Renxue was still playing the gentle, steady crown prince who never showed a flaw.

Bai Jin crunched the candy between his teeth.

"How has the young mistress been lately?"

"Everything is as usual."

"That's the problem."

Luo Wenshan did not understand, and did not dare ask.

Bai Jin stood and stretched.

"Tell the Great Enshrined I'll check on her. For now, I'm going to Suotuo City."

"To see Ning Rongrong?"

"And take a look at that academy while I'm there."

"Should we send someone with you?"

Bai Jin looked back.

Luo Wenshan immediately corrected himself. "Your subordinate spoke out of turn."

Bai Jin smiled. "Don't be nervous. Call me if anything happens."

"Will you hurry back, my lord?"

"Depends how serious it is."

"And if it's very serious?"

"Then definitely don't call."

Everyone: "..."

Bai Jin reached the door, then turned as if something had occurred to him.

"Travel, lodging, meals—charge it all to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."

Luo Wenshan froze. "Is that appropriate?"

Bai Jin looked perfectly at ease.

"Sect Master Ning said compensation was negotiable."

He pushed open the door and stepped into the rain.

The next instant, only the empty street remained outside the Gate.

Luo Wenshan stared at the wet ground, where no footprints marked Bai Jin's passage. After a long while, he sighed.

"With Lord Bai's temperament, no wonder the Great Enshrined gets headaches."

A young Deacon beside him said softly, "But the Great Enshrined still uses him."

Luo Wenshan glanced at him.

"Because he gets things done."

Outside the window, the rain grew heavier.

Heaven Dou City was quiet.

As quiet as a chessboard before anyone reached out to disturb the pieces.