Ma Jiaojiao's departure was abrupt, the dregs of orange juice still sloshing at the bottom of the glass. I hadn't quite processed it yet.
A few seconds later, Zheng Bingbing nudged me and whispered, "Did she really leave?"
I activated my phase qi technique and nodded, "She's really gone."
She left quite quickly, already beyond the range of my phase qi technique.
I lit a cigarette and calmly analyzed Ma Jiaojiao's words. She was quite talkative, explaining in detail the origin of the twelve hundred vengeful spirits of Heishan Baozi. However, she failed to address the core issue: did any of this have the slightest connection to resolving the current "Mohe crisis"?
After some thought, I decided to ask Xie Bian, as she was my direct spiritual guide.
I took a deep breath, formulated my approach, and pressed the token button.
"Hello, who are you looking for?"
"Seventh Master," I tried a different address, curious if it would work.
"One moment."
"What is it?" Xie Bian's voice was icy.
"Earlier, Zheng Bingbing and I met with Commander Ma. I was thinking, she's from the Eastern Depot, and we're from the Western Depot. I wasn't sure if meeting with her was appropriate, or if it was a case of late realization and damage control. So I wanted to report to you," I began by lowering my stance and acknowledging Xie Bian's leadership.
"Heh heh, go ahead and speak."
I briefly recounted my conversation with Ma Jiaojiao to Xie Bian, and then posed the question: "Regarding whether Zheng Zongqi and I should follow Commander Ma's suggestion and take in the twelve hundred vengeful spirits of Heishan Baozi, please instruct us, Commander."
Reporting more and consulting often was always the right approach.
"You decide for yourselves. It's not me who gave you the intelligence," Xie Bian, likely well-versed in the ways of bureaucracy, tossed the problem back.
"The main thing is, I don't quite understand, what is the relationship between taking them in and the Mohe organization?" I probed.
This was the "intelligence" Xie Bian had given me earlier, suggesting that if I wanted to resolve the current crisis, taking in Heishan Baozi was an opportunity.
However, Xie Bian hadn't explained the specifics.
Now, after Ma Jiaojiao had told me about the Heishan Baozi incident, my confusion about the "specifics" only grew.
There was no connection whatsoever! It was completely unrelated!
I even suspected that Xie Bian might be short on her monthly performance and, unable to handle the vengeful spirits herself, was pushing me and Zheng Bingbing to do it. If we succeeded, it would count towards her performance.
After all, Zheng Bingbing and I were temporary staff, without any performance metrics or assigned tasks—at least, no one had assigned us any yet.
"How is there no connection?" Xie Bian's tone was confident. "No matter how powerful the Mohe are, they are still people, or demons. Whether human or demon, they are no match for vengeful spirits. As long as you can persuade these twelve hundred vengeful spirits to serve you, and you become the leader of the 'Ghost Soldier Corps,' what do you have to fear from the Mohe?"
"...Easier said than done. How am I supposed to persuade those twelve hundred vengeful spirits?"
"With your mouth, of course. Besides being eloquent, what else can that little mouth of yours do?" Xie Bian chuckled. "Alright, I'm busy. I can only help you this much. The rest is up to you. Beep beep beep."
Xie Bian hung up. Zheng Bingbing and I exchanged glances.
"What do we do now?" Bingbing asked.
"What else can we do? We have to try our best, even with little hope. Let's go," I said.
I paid the bill, and Zheng Bingbing and I got back into the car. I set the navigation and drove directly towards Heishan Baozi.
Looking at the map, we would coincidentally pass by the "City God Temple" that Ma Jiaojiao had marked on my phone.
I decided to check it out first. What did a City God Temple look like? Was it large? If it was a small temple, and if we managed to persuade the vengeful spirits and they were willing to enter it, wouldn't we need to inform the "Chief Judge" presiding over the temple in advance?
After all, Heishan Baozi had twelve hundred ghosts; that was a significant workload.
If we needed to scan QR codes, register, or take temperatures, it would probably take a long time...