Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 619 - 5 Buying a Pack of Cigarettes

Li Yan held Judy’s delicate arches in both hands, with his thumbs scraping along the metatarsal bones.

"Your body is in poor condition. Have you been taking the prescription I gave you on time?"

Judy caught her breath and, with her eyes half-closed, struggled to reply, "Yes, I have. Maybe it’s because I’ve been staying up late recently that I haven’t been feeling very well. The massage you gave me made me feel much better."

"You need to exercise more in the future."

Li Yan let go, patted Judy’s calf, and said, "The other foot."

"You want to do it again?"

"Hurry up."

Reluctantly, Judy extended her other foot and adjusted her neck to a more comfortable position before asking casually, "You mentioned in the car that you are now working at Zhongxing Baode."

"That’s right."

"I’ve heard of this auction company..."

Judy’s eyes gleamed, "I heard they’re organizing a charity auction in Kowloon Bay, Hong Kong, next month. The deposit alone is twenty million, scaring off quite a few people."

"That’s the reason I came back to Hong Kong."

Taking advantage of the moment, Judy withdrew her foot, sat up, and glared at Li Yan before suddenly pouncing on him.

Li Yan lay back with the flow. Judy, in her pajamas, straddled him and looked down fiercely, "When there’s trouble, you’re the heroine; when there’s none, you’re the welcoming spring. You left without a word for three years and now you come back asking me for money. Ah!"

Judy exclaimed in shock. Before she could finish her sentence, Li Yan had flipped her over.

"Where could I find as pretty a heroine as you? I indeed need your help, but not your money. All you need to do is spread the word that Huamao and the auction company have made contact. Keep away from the auction; there could be danger."

Judy fell silent, simply breathing softly into Li Yan’s ear.

"Who exactly are you?"

"..."

"That auction company has the backing of mainland national security. They specialize in repurchasing lost national treasures for the government. Not long after you left three years ago, a big fire broke out in the fort, and Taishuai disappeared. Now the whole of Kowloon City has been completely demolished. Just who are you guys?"

Li Yan did not answer.

Judy’s eyes seemed to hold a pool of spring water, her delicate hands wandering over Li Yan’s body, her breathing growing heavier, "Whoever you are, I don’t..."

Thump, thump, thump~

Li’s voice came from outside the door, "Judy, dinner’s almost ready. Come down and eat together." 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

"Shit~"

Judy rolled her eyes.

It wasn’t that Li was being insensitive. Judy and Li Yan had been in the room for more than an hour. Li figured that Li Yan, forged a hundred times over, must have melted by now, and even an angry Buddha would have bowed his head. How could Li have known that Li Yan was giving Judy a massage for over an hour?

The door opened, and Li Yan walked out under Li’s strange gaze, while Judy on the bed looked aggrieved.

Li Yan went downstairs first, where Cha Xiaodao and Xiu were waiting downstairs.

Cha Xiaodao had come back with the car, claiming to be Li Yan’s colleague at the auction company. Judy had given Cha Xiaodao the creeps with a single look, and it was even more uncomfortable in Judy’s villa.

"An-kou, are you thirsty?"

Xiu looked up at Cha Xiaodao; she was in her adolescence, blossoming like a lotus bud.

"Not thirsty. Uh, Xiu, you address Chairman Yang—Judy—as ’sister.’ Are you related to her?"

"I used to live in Kowloon with my mom. After she passed away from a serious illness, Judy took me in."

"Then what about you and Li Yan? You call him ’Yan bro’."

"Yan bro is just Yan bro."

Xiu tilted her head quizzically at Cha Xiaodao.

"Oh."

"What are you talking about?"

Li Yan sat between Cha Xiaodao and Xiu.

"Yan bro."

Xiu obediently called out to Li Yan.

"Good girl, don’t wait for Judy. You eat first."

"Oh."

Xiu acknowledged and quietly picked up her bowl of rice, not speaking further.

"Cough, cough."

Cha Xiaodao coughed twice, opening a private conversation, "Don’t worry, I don’t know anything, and I won’t say a thing even if you beat me to death."

Li Yan glanced at him, "If you know nothing, why would anyone beat you up?"

"Is this child yours?"

"No."

"Judy’s?"

"That’s not it, you talk too much."

"Just curious, do you want both Judy and Lady Dan?"

"Get lost, punk."

Suddenly, the two exchanged a glance as if they sensed something, a hint of coldness appearing in their eyes.

"I’m going to use the bathroom."

Li Yan stood up.

"Then I will too."

Xiaodao tried to stand up but was stopped by Li Yan, "You wait for me to go first."

Having said that, Li Yan glanced upstairs.

Xiaodao nodded in understanding.

Li Yan left the Yang residence, with a few strands of green smoke blanketing the high-hanging bright moon. A sudden chill wind stirred up the fallen leaves, rushing over from behind Li Yan.

"Hmm?"

Li Yan looked down to see a pale-skinned monstrous infant clinging to his heel, its eyes as large as goose eggs and protruding, staring straight at him.

[Six Calamities Ghost]

Category: Yin creature

A stillborn baby that has passed through the birth canal, filled with intense resentment. Refined using the six calamities and fierce evil, driven by sandalwood.

If it latches onto someone for one day, all three treasures will scatter.

If it latches onto someone for two days, the body wastes away to bone.

If it latches onto someone for three days, blood flows from all seven orifices, and the person dies violently on the spot.

The temperature around plummeted sharply. Blood and tears streamed from the eyes of the Six Calamities Ghost. Li Yan, expressionless, glared fiercely at the ghoul, which let out a shriek, released Li Yan’s leg, and disappeared without a trace.

————————————————

The narrow room, bathed in red from the candles, was thick with the scent of incense ash. Chen Zhengcong was sweating profusely, bowing respectfully before the dark wooden shrine, which housed a red cloth-covered dead infant, in the presence of three sandalwood incense sticks as thick as chopsticks.

Suddenly, two flames emerged from the sandalwood incense, which though mostly unburnt, now rapidly burned to the end, the ashes falling rapidly.

"Ah?"

Chen Zhengcong had anticipated the Gu Luan Fiend would be formidable and require extra efforts, but he did not expect the incense to burn so quickly. He immediately grabbed a handful of sandalwood incense, tremblingly lit it with a lighter, snuffed out the flame, and inserted it into the censer, filling the entire room with swirling smoke.

Inside the villa, a strong yin wind blew, and the Six Calamities Ghost passed the main gate where Li Yan had been and tried to smash through the window to enter the residence, but it collided with an unknown black mist. The Six Calamities Ghost looked around, seeing countless bronze-colored points of light...

Bang!

The red cloth-wrapped dead infant issued a series of slight bursting sounds, then withered away, leaving only a pile of black powder beneath the cloth, instantly filling the whole room with the smell of burning.

"Ugh~"

Chen Zhengcong ran out of the room, vomiting profusely. His legs gave way, and he collapsed to the ground.

The Yang residence.

Li Yan walked up to the windowsill, where some black powder remained. He took some of the powder and sniffed it close to his nose.

It was a very unique smell of decay.

[Third-Order Gene: Butterfly State]: Long-distance olfactory sense, complex gas identification. Tanya Mining’s uniquely specialized gene soldier type, an indispensable member of any expedition team.

Li Yan returned to the villa as if nothing had happened and sat back down at his seat. He picked up the rice bowl and grabbed several big mouthfuls of food, finishing a whole bowl of rice in two or three bites, drawing stares from everyone at the table.

"Why are you eating in such a hurry? Afraid there won’t be enough?"

Judy asked, puzzled. She reached for Li Yan’s bowl. With his cheeks bulging with food, Li Yan mumbled, "I eat fast. Is there anything else not served yet?"

"There’s still a soup coming, probably in about ten minutes."

Li replied.

"I’ll be back for it."

"Back? Where are you going this late at night?"

"I’m going to buy a pack of cigarettes. I like the kind that you can’t find around here."

"I’ll have someone go buy it for you,"

"No need, I like to go myself. Oh, right."

Li Yan swallowed his last bite of rice and pulled a bright red Copper Coin from his pocket.

"I got this in my hometown, it’s for good luck and protection against evil, very effective. You wear it and see."

Judy did as told and put it around her neck; Li Yan affectionately rubbed his cheek against hers, then stood up, put on his coat, and left.

"What the hell’s he up to."

Judy caressed the Copper Coin on her neck and muttered quietly to herself.

Before leaving, Li Yan and Xiaodao secretly exchanged looks for a moment. Getting the affirmative answer from her, he then walked out the door, disappeared into the darkness, and was soon out of sight.