Perfected One Nagiko

In the southern district of the Seventh Satellite City, a bustling night market lay beneath an overpass.

Several storefronts crowded together at the entrance to the street. On the left was a funeral supplies shop called Come Again, while on the right stood Veteran Barbecue, a restaurant with a hundred-year legacy.

The narrowest storefront, squeezed between them, was the Yue Family Cultivation Office.

So Yue Wen hadn't been lying when he said he offered a complete package. His neighbors were in the funeral business, after all.

He had connections.

Manager Chen's injuries weren't serious, though. He had only suffered a fright and taken a tumble when he landed. The doctor told him to rest at home for a few days. After taking Manager Chen home, Yue Wen returned to his office.

As soon as he pulled open the door, he caught a smell that was both savory and rank.

Inside was a space that wasn't particularly roomy. A creased leather sofa, a cluttered coffee table, and a computer desk piled with odds and ends made up the Yue Family Cultivation Office's reception room.

A staircase led upstairs, and there were two other doors on the ground floor: one to the bathroom, the other to a storage room.

Yue Wen had only recently opened the office. From proprietor to clerk, he was its sole employee. With little business and low fees, he naturally couldn't afford a large storefront.

A woman in a black skirt suit was sitting on the sofa. She looked to be in her thirties, with loose black hair, fair, delicate skin, and striking, elegant features. Tall and slender, she reclined at a slight angle, accentuating the curves of her waist and hips and her long, shapely legs.

She had the sort of presence that would get plenty of people online calling her Mommy.

At the moment, this elegant woman was holding a tray and stuffing her face. On the tray were several lamb skewers, two skewers of hefty kidneys, and a few cloves of garlic.

They were also the source of the smell filling the room.

"Perfected One Nagiko?" Yue Wen was slightly surprised to see his uninvited visitor. "What brings you here?"

She was no ordinary person.

Perfected One Nagiko was the deputy director of the Seventh Satellite City's Supernatural Affairs Bureau, and her standing in City Seven was extremely high. She was said to hail from a top-tier immortal sect, with unfathomable cultivation.

She spent most of her time in seclusion, sending clones out into the world. The woman before him was probably one of them.

"Mm." Perfected One Nagiko waved without looking up. Only after finishing every skewer on the tray did she wipe her mouth and resume her cool, aloof expression. Looking at Yue Wen, she said, "I came to discuss something with you today."

"Have something to drink." Yue Wen found a bottle of yogurt in a drawer and handed it over, asking with a smile, "Has the business license I applied for been approved?"

Perfected One Nagiko picked up the yogurt and glanced at it. Seeing "heather flower flavor" written on the bottle, she silently set it aside, then shook her head. "No. Your business license application was rejected."

"Why?" Yue Wen asked at once.

Without a business license, his office was operating illegally. Technically, the job he had just taken counted as accepting work illegally and performing an unlicensed exorcism.

"You clearly didn't read the bureau's regulations carefully. Private organizations handling incidents involving evil spirits must have at least two cultivators present," Perfected One Nagiko replied. "We can't police every job you take privately. But if you want to open an official office, you have to meet the regulations."

"Oh, damn." Yue Wen slapped his forehead, feeling a headache coming on.

In that case, he would have to hire at least one assistant.

This wasn't a job he could hand to some random college student willing to slave away. Any cultivator would cost a fair amount to employ for a month.

His already cash-strapped office was about to be in even worse shape.

"But that isn't why I came today. There's something else I wanted to discuss," Perfected One Nagiko continued.

"Oh?" Yue Wen asked. "What is it?"

"It concerns your parents," Perfected One Nagiko said.

At that, Yue Wen immediately sat a little straighter, his expression growing more serious.

"Three years ago, you had just finished your college entrance exams. You placed in the top five in the province, if I remember correctly?" Perfected One Nagiko asked.

"There was a lot going on at home then," Yue Wen said. "I really did underperform."

Perfected One Nagiko fell silent for a moment, then decided not to indulge his humblebrag. "While your family was on a trip, you encountered a spatial rift, and evil spirits descended. You were badly injured in that incident and spent six months unconscious. Both your parents went missing. Correct?"

"Yes." Yue Wen nodded as she recounted his experience.

Perfected One Nagiko suddenly asked, "Do you want to find them?"

"Of course I do," Yue Wen replied without hesitation. "It's just..."

He hesitated, leaving the rest unsaid.

"Actually, the bureau has some internal intelligence concerning your parents," Perfected One Nagiko said. "That incident most likely wasn't a simple spatial rift. It may have been connected to the subject your father had been researching."

"What was it?" Yue Wen's gaze finally lost its calm.

"I can't tell you any more. It involves classified intelligence. Unless..." Perfected One Nagiko paused, finally revealing her purpose. "You join the Supernatural Affairs Bureau."

"Me?" Yue Wen froze. "Join the Supernatural Affairs Bureau?"

He genuinely hadn't expected that she had come to recruit him.

"That's right." Perfected One Nagiko surveyed the room. "Only by joining the bureau and raising your clearance level can you access classified files. Of course, I can't guarantee you'll find them after reading those files. But knowing more might give you a better chance. Besides, you're already handling incidents involving evil spirits. Why work alone here when you could join us?"

Yue Wen smiled noncommittally. "Are the benefits good?"

"A permanent government position, six types of insurance, and two provident funds," Perfected One Nagiko said.

"That really is tempting." Yue Wen sounded a little apologetic. "But I'm used to doing things my own way. I might not be suited to the bureau. I'm truly sorry, Perfected One Nagiko. You came all this way in person, and here I am failing to appreciate the offer."

"Normally, I wouldn't have approached you myself." Perfected One Nagiko looked at him and continued, "But the Youth Cultivators' Assembly is less than a year away, and Jiangcheng City hasn't produced any strong contenders for this round. Our superiors have given us a mandatory assignment to actively recruit talented young cultivators."

"Talented?" Yue Wen scratched his head with a smile. "I wouldn't dare claim that."

The Youth Cultivators' Assembly was also known as the Ascendant Dragon Assembly.

Held once every four years, this grand event was open to cultivators no older than twenty-five. Its purpose was to select humanity's cultivation prodigies for intensive training. Anyone who distinguished themselves at the assembly could become famous throughout the world overnight and gain countless supporters.

But that had always been a stage for true prodigies.

He was merely an independent cultivator who wanted to run a small office. He had

never dreamed of making an appearance at the Youth Cultivators' Assembly.

"As an independent cultivator with no sect behind you, reaching your current level in two and a half years absolutely qualifies you as a genius," Perfected One Nagiko said, her gaze intent. "But resources and backing are crucial to cultivation. The ceiling for independent cultivators is simply too low. With focused training from the bureau, I believe you could realize much more of your potential."

"But if the bureau trains me, I'll have to put my life on the line for it, won't I?" Yue Wen declined with the same smile. "I know something about your casualty rate, too. I'd rather stay my own boss."

"Cultivation itself defies heaven. How could it ever be free of danger?" Perfected One Nagiko looked somewhat disappointed, but still said, "Very well. If you ever change your mind, come see me."

Since Yue Wen insisted on refusing, she didn't press him further. With that, her entire body briefly stilled, then vanished with a pop into a wisp of pale smoke.

Only a long black hair with a faint fragrance remained where she had been.

"Phew..."

Only a little while after Perfected One Nagiko left did Yue Wen let out a long breath and relax.

Her cultivation was far above his. Even though she was only a clone, the pressure she casually exuded was difficult for him to withstand.

Especially since he had lied during their conversation.

His refusal to join the bureau wasn't because he feared danger.

The Supernatural Affairs Bureau's full name was the Supernatural Power Management Bureau. It was an official organization established after the Spiritual Qi Catastrophe, specifically responsible for overseeing cultivators and handling incidents involving evil spirits.

In principle, joining them would give him reliable backing. He would have to serve them, of course, but he would also receive plenty of support. As Perfected One Nagiko had said, his ceiling would certainly be far higher than that of an independent cultivator.

Moreover, she had been sincere today. Young cultivators recruited for the Youth Cultivators' Assembly would undoubtedly receive the best training once they joined, and could expect generous resources to be poured into them.

Countless people yearned for an opportunity like this without ever getting one.

But Yue Wen couldn't join.

Because there were many things about him that no one could be allowed to know.

For instance, his earlier agitation had been an act. He already knew his parents' disappearance involved certain secrets.

For instance, during those six months in a coma, Yue Wen hadn't been entirely unconscious.

He had seen a dragon.