Caught off guard, he was reminded that his life was on the line.
Xu Qinglai’s eyes flickered with slight bewilderment.
—There was indeed an unpleasant smell in the hall.
But how could it be fatal?
Or in Bo Ting’s eyes, was he already this fragile?
He raised an eyebrow slightly, but after Bo Ting’s reminder, Xu Qinglai finally identified the strange odor.
—Bone Incense.
The foul “fragrance” seeping from an S-grade weird bone. To ordinary people unaware of the truth, it probably just smelled like perfume.
But to those in the know with sensitive noses, it was pure rotting bone poison.
By now, people in the hall had started succumbing.
A middle-aged tycoon was chatting animatedly with his female companion when he suddenly let out a miserable scream and collapsed to the ground.
“It’s so painful all of a sudden.”
Seized by a sudden surge of intense pain assaulting his brain nerves, the tycoon turned his head and saw white smoke rising from his arm, as if it had been boiled.
In the next second, his twisted left hand melted away halfway, dissipating into thin air before his eyes.
His female companion had just stepped forward to help him up when she saw this and let out a shriek.
Her piercing scream echoed through the entire hall. By the time Lu Jingshan rushed over, the tycoon lay on the ground, pale as a ghost.
In mere seconds, his entire arm had vanished.
Lu Jingshan’s face darkened.
“What just happened?”
“I-I don’t know.”
“We were just talking normally, and then he suddenly…”
The female companion spoke in a daze, completely baffled.
How could a person’s arm just… disappear out of nowhere?
The onlookers didn’t understand at first.
But once they saw the arm injury, chaos erupted.
The once harmonious exhibition hall turned into a crowded, noisy mess.
Xu Qinglai watched the scene quietly, chuckling inwardly as he recalled the identity he was currently playing.
After replying to Bo Ting, he walked over.
“Need any help, Captain Lu?”
“Mr. Xu?”
Seeing who it was, Wang Dong breathed a sigh of relief.
Xu Qinglai nodded and turned to offer a reminder:
“I just noticed Mr. Sun getting a bit emotional while speaking.”
“Otherwise, everything else seemed normal.”
Emotions?
Lu Jingshan frowned. Suddenly, another scream rang out.
—It came from a lady who had accidentally fallen on the stairs amid the shoving.
Her knee was red and swollen. Just as she angrily turned around, her leg began undergoing the same change as the tycoon’s.
Her limb started dissolving visibly. Right before everyone’s eyes, a section of her calf melted away.
Lu Jingshan sucked in a cold breath. Connecting it to the emotions factor, he finally realized.
—Bone Incense.
An S-grade weird item.
Someone had brought this cursed thing into the hall.
And who it was? No need to guess anymore.
Lu Jingshan had already spotted the “River Ghost” mingling in the crowd, but now wasn’t the time to deal with him.
The priority was to calm the hall quickly and prevent further influence from the Bone Incense.
“Bring the aura cleansers, and call an ambulance.”
After notifying the team outside by phone, he stood up and shouted.
“Everyone, stay calm!”
“Quiet down!”
Wang Dong snapped out of it and rushed to open the windows for ventilation.
Damp air carrying raindrops poured in, sobering the overheated minds. The lady on the stairs screamed once more before fainting instantly.
As her emotions faded, the changes on her leg finally halted.
Lu Jingshan breathed a sigh of relief and signaled for someone to knock out the tycoon. Only then did he move to restore order.
Xu Qinglai stepped back.
But when he noticed Lu Jingshan’s gaze flicking toward a shadow in the right corner, he smiled faintly.
He glanced at the chat with Bo Ting on his phone.
“Everything’s under control now.”
Bo Ting: …
Huh?
It’s fine already?
Bo Ting let out a huge sigh of relief. He hadn’t expected it to be handled so quickly.
That Rebirth of Fire organization was a total pushover.
He’d worried for nothing.
But…
“Have you caught the guy?”
Thinking of the “River Ghost” who seemed to carry dangerous items, Bo Ting instinctively followed up, fearing some twist.
Xu Qinglai glanced into the distance. “Mm, should be caught any moment now.”
Of course, that depended on the Resurgence Management Office’s competence.
After all, they’d been tipped off about the incident at the Gem Exhibition well in advance and had set up an ambush. If they still couldn’t nab him…
Tch.
Xu Qinglai tapped the table.
Facts proved the Resurgence Management Office was capable. As Lu Jingshan stood to guide the crowd,
The “River Ghost” furrowed his brows tightly, never expecting an Ability User to step forward at this moment.
Ever since the Resurgence Management Office had them in their sights, Rebirth of Fire had investigated their intel, and a photo of Third Esper Squad Captain Lu Jingshan was prominently featured.
He recognized him the instant he appeared.
But why was this guy here?
Wasn’t the Gem Exhibition just a normal business event? How could Resurgence Management Office people show up?
The “River Ghost”‘s face turned grim. Unable to figure it out, and seeing order stabilizing with no more emotional spikes, he turned to blend into the crowd and slip away quietly.
His plan was solid.
Even if he hadn’t escalated the incident fully, the Bone Incense had spread. That alone would keep the Resurgence Management Office busy.
Worst case, he’d give them a “surprise” next time.
But before the resentful “River Ghost” could leave, a hand suddenly clamped onto his shoulder.
“Causing this much trouble and now thinking of going where?”
Yin Liao’s face was expressionless. With a glance, his teammates surrounded him.
His body stiffened. The “River Ghost” had no idea what went wrong or how they’d gotten the intel.
But escape was impossible now. He had to fight.
The middle-aged man, who looked like a vulgar upstart, twisted his body into a loach-like arc and yanked out a dagger.
Yet carrying the Bone Incense had clearly affected his own performance.
With emotions restrained, even though his rank matched Yin Liao’s, after a few clashes, the “River Ghost” was entangled and couldn’t break free.
Not to mention the backups sealing all escape routes.
Half an hour later:
The “River Ghost” had his leg bone kicked in and knelt on the ground.
Yin Liao searched his bag and pulled out something packaged like osmanthus oil.
“Is this the Bone Incense inside?”
The restrained middle-aged man stayed silent.
Yin Liao frowned:
“How do you neutralize its effects?”
The “River Ghost” sneered:
“Didn’t your people bring aura cleansers?”
Go ahead and use them.
See what happens.
Yin Liao’s expression shifted slightly. He immediately called the captain and halted the use of the aura cleansers before his face darkened.
From the guy’s reaction, the cleansers probably did more harm than good.
No wonder he was so smug.
“You trash, putting on airs now?”
With so many lives at stake, Wang Dong was about to press him.
But Yin Liao shook his head and turned.
“Go ask Mr. Xu.”
“He should know.”
What Mr. Xu?
The “River Ghost” jerked his head up, his face twisted in fury.
He suddenly recalled the young man who’d quickly pinpointed the “emotions” factor, and his expression soured.
If they kept pressing him, he’d mislead the Resurgence Management Office further.
But if they asked that Mr. Xu…
And if that guy really knew how to neutralize the weird item…
The “River Ghost” subtly elbowed his side and waist, quickly issuing an order for Huaiya to kill him.
Wang Dong turned, stared at the man for two seconds, then snatched the ornament from his waist.
“I saw you touching this just now.”
“Signaling someone, right?”
He stroked his chin thoughtfully. “You have accomplices?”
“Guess.”
The “River Ghost” was furious enough to devour him, his face contorting as he spat the words menacingly.
Meanwhile:
Bo Ting had just relaxed when Mr. Xu described the chaos. Then he received a “signal.”
The network glitched and flickered for a while.
Like sending a sneaky message in a bad signal area.
Bo Ting blinked in confusion before seeing the command pop up on his screen.
—”Go kill Xu Qinglai now!”
Bo Ting: ???
Are they insane?
Why would he kill Mr. Xu?
The signal page kept flashing. Though the sender struggled, Bo Ting ignored it completely.
Who listens to a lunatic?
He glanced once and set it aside, chatting relaxedly with Mr. Xu.
…
Even in his utmost resentment and unwillingness, the “River Ghost” was captured. As he was escorted out of the Gem Exhibition hall, he still hoped Huaiya would assassinate that mysterious scholar surnamed Xu.
Though Huaiya was rebellious and ignored orders, for something this big, he was sure the guy wouldn’t defy him.
The “River Ghost” wasn’t thrilled about his own capture.
But as long as Xu Qinglai was killed now, leaving them without the neutralization method for Bone Incense, the incident counted as a success.
He’d be a hero of Rebirth of Fire.
Limping as he thought this, the middle-aged man looked up after getting out of the vehicle—and saw Huaiya locked behind the isolation wall.
Huaiya’s familiar gaunt face was unmistakable, even from afar.
The “River Ghost” froze in shock.
Wait, Huaiya was locked up here?
Then who had he just messaged?!
The “River Ghost” was dumbfounded. He’d never encountered anything this absurd.
So he’d been on guard for nothing? Huaiya had been impersonated by the Resurgence Management Office from the start?
The real Huaiya was already caught?
What about Qiu Tao?
The “River Ghost” held his breath, wondering if he’d misjudged her.
Maybe she really escaped and that’s why she arranged the meetup.
But the next second, he spotted Qiu Tao in the second window.
The “River Ghost”: …
Wait, so both were caught?
It hit the “River Ghost” hard. What shook him more was how terrifyingly off their mental states looked.
Both stared blankly, dazed and out of it.
What the hell happened?
Wang Dong, in charge of escorting, sneered and shoved him.
“Get in.”
After locking him up, Wang Dong rushed back to the exhibition center to help.
The “River Ghost” hit the ground, mind in turmoil, still wondering if they’d find a solution.
Then he heard Huaiya next door muttering “Big bro” “Big bro.”
The “River Ghost” wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Qiu Tao on the right murmured in a trance.
“So terrifying.”
“I’m done for.”
The “River Ghost”: …
Weren’t we done for the moment the Resurgence Management Office caught us?
After all we’d done, did he think we’d get off easy?
His expression twitched. For the first time, he realized how poor his colleagues’ mental resilience was.
He closed his eyes to block it out.
The “River Ghost” could only pray the Bone Incense effects lasted longer.
…
Bo Ting had worried about Mr. Xu being poisoned.
But after Mr. Xu said burning the Bone Incense with fire would fix it, he stopped worrying.
Just burn it with fire—simple.
Looked like everything was truly fine.
Leaning back in his recliner, he replied with a “That’s good” emoji, then cleared his throat lightly:
“Then, Mr. Xu, I won’t disturb you while you handle things.”
“We’ll chat more after I get back.”
The people on the other end were clearly still at the accident scene, possibly even giving statements.
Bo Ting figured Mr. Xu must be quite busy at that moment.
Sure enough, they nodded and replied with a single “Okay.”
Xu Qinglai paused for a moment and looked at his phone. He started typing something but then stopped and deleted it.
…
The next morning, just as dawn broke, Bo Ting was woken by knocking at the door.
The “thud thud thud” echoed through the doorframe. Bo Ting shielded his eyes and went out in his pajamas.
He instinctively glanced at the balcony. Fortunately, Doudou and Tang Yuan were sleeping in their clearly defined territories—it shouldn’t have been trouble from them.
“Who is it?”
Bo Ting called out through the door.
Aunt Qian’s faint voice came from outside.
“Little Bo, you up?”
“Don’t sleep in so early. There’s a delivery downstairs for you—looks like something valuable. Go grab it quick.”
“Watch out that some brat doesn’t damage it.”
Huh?
What delivery? Something valuable?
“Got it, Auntie Qian.”
Bo Ting was a bit dazed. After thanking Aunt Qian, he quickly washed up and headed downstairs in a fog.
Then, on the shelf in the security room, he spotted a newly arrived, exquisite gift box.
“No wonder Aunt Qian called it valuable.”
The packaging was clearly nothing like ordinary stuff. That texture—Bo Ting had only seen its like on TV before.
After staring at the luxuriously packaged box for a while, an answer formed in Bo Ting’s mind.
—Mr. Xu’s gem had arrived?
This fast?
Wait, he actually bought it?
Amid yesterday’s total chaos at the scene, Mr. Xu hadn’t forgotten?
Bo Ting’s expression turned odd. He couldn’t resist snapping a photo and sending it over.
“Mr. Xu, is this from you?”
The familiar gift box appeared before him, and Xu Qinglai only needed one glance.
“Yeah, you get it?”
“Go ahead and open it—see if you like it.”
The other man’s tone was as even as ever. Bo Ting even suspected he’d received a box of dog food.
But this was an enormous emerald gem!
Bo Ting furtively glanced around, hugged the box, and planned to head home first—anything else could wait until he was back.
Carrying this “great treasure,” even in their harmonious neighborhood with good relations, Bo Ting’s expression grew more serious. All the way back, he gripped it tightly with both hands, eyes straight ahead.
Fitness Zhang Bro spotted him passing by and started to greet him, but then saw the youth looking like he was facing a formidable enemy. He paused.
“Little Bo, back from picking up a delivery?”
Bo Ting nodded. “Yeah, bought some stuff lately.”
He meant to brush it off vaguely, but he hadn’t expected his ambiguous words to instantly trigger Zhang Bro’s love for sleuthing.
“Hm?”
“Bought something?”
“You can’t shop online from outside lately, right?”
Zhang Bro spun into an inverted hang from the pull-up bar, looking puzzled.
“Little Bo, where’d you buy it from?”
Bo Ting: …
He could hardly say he’d made a local friend.
The masked youth’s face flushed red beneath it, but his naturally aloof features beyond the mask took on a stern chill. As he frowned over, Zhang Bro choked, then let out an awkward dry laugh.
“Just asking casually.”
“Hey, Little Bo, need a hand?”
“No need.”
Bo Ting shook his head. This was a fifty-million-yuan gem—better to carry it himself.
He glanced back at Zhang Bro, his mind flashing to the guy’s recent top-like spin on the bar.
Zhang Bro was still too reckless.
Pushing thirty, with a bad back, yet doing high-difficulty moves. Bo Ting remembered he’d even gone to the hospital before.
Bo Ting politely declined.
Zhang Bro didn’t push, but his gaze on Bo Ting grew even stranger.
Like he was forcibly holding something back—made Bo Ting feel weirded out.
When Bo Ting looked over, Zhang Bro flashed a friendly smile laced with excitement, his face twisting from grinning so hard.
Bo Ting: …
Whatever. Zhang Bro probably had some issue.
“See ya, Zhang Bro.”
“Go on, go on.”
Zhang Bro waved from the pull-up bar, his expression pensive.
But the moment Bo Ting left, Zhang Bro whipped out his phone from his pocket and rapidly opened the group chat.
“Fam, I uncovered a huge secret today.”
“Guess who it’s about?”
No one replied in the group, but Zhang Bro didn’t notice. His deduction high was in full swing right now.
[Little Bo from 1302!]
“Little Bo was acting off today!”
Zhang Bro was thrilled. With his years-honed sleuthing instincts, Bo Ting’s reaction just now was definitely not simple.
That instinctive wariness, refusal, frown, guarding the package so no one could touch it…
“Tsk.”
“Definitely not an ordinary delivery!”
Zhang Bro typed rapidly into his phone, analyzing away. Too caught up in the gossip, messages piled up one after another in the group.
He never deduced why the chat went dead silent after his posts.
Upstairs, Bo Ting carefully brought the emerald home and set it on the coffee table. That’s when he heard his phone “beep beep” from his pocket—he thought it was Mr. Xu messaging.
He instinctively pulled it out, ready to reply.
Instead, he saw the neighborhood group chat exploding with 99+ notifications.
Huh?
What were they all talking about? Why so lively all of a sudden?
The sudden flood of WeChat group messages left Bo Ting baffled.
The neighborhood chat hadn’t been this buzzing since the last literary event.
Bo Ting clicked in with a smile, curious what the neighbors were discussing.
The next second, he got hit with his own drama out of nowhere.
Bo Ting: …???
!!!
Wait, something was up—with him?
Bo Ting was full of question marks, wondering if he’d misread.
But no—Zhang Bro was still passionately gossiping.
“I stake my decade of browsing cred: Little Bo’s definitely acting sus!”
“That delivery might be from a love interest.”
After typing that, Zhang Bro felt parched and cleared his throat. Only then did he notice the group had gone quiet, leaving him unsatisfied. He @’d the others.
“Oh yeah, Wu Bro, Boss Zhu—why so quiet?”
The group fell even more silent.
What the hell?
Zhang Bro puzzledly backed out and checked—his pupils shrank.
That’s when he realized he’d damn well posted all that to the “Taiping Luxury Garden Chat Group 1”!
Shit!
No wonder no replies.
Wait, Little Bo probably hadn’t seen it, right?
Zhang Bro ducked his head fast.
The next second, after his barrage of curious gossip, a new message finally popped up at the bottom.
“—Zhang Bro, why’re you @’ing Boss Zhu and Wu Bro?”
Zhang Bro took a deep breath, covered his eyes, and cautiously checked the avatar.
—Bo Ting!!!
