Chapter 1961: Chapter 1958: Not Getting the Short End
"Not in the Human Realm?" Lin Tian’s eyes flashed with doubt. "Not in the Human Realm" was hard to parse—did "Human Realm" just mean Huaxia? Or did it include the whole world? Houqing wasn’t in Huaxia right now.
Xu Feibai didn’t wait for Lin Tian to press him. He raised a finger and pointed downward. "Ying Gou might be in the Netherworld."
"The Netherworld? What are you basing that on?" Lin Tian frowned hard. To him, this was bad news. If Ying Gou was in the Netherworld, trying to find him would be like looking for a needle in the ocean.
Last time he broke into the Netherworld, he’d only been to the Ghost Gate, the Naihe Bridge, and the Ksitigarbha Hall, but in terms of the entire Netherworld, that was just a tiny part. To Lin Tian, the Netherworld was still a completely unfamiliar place.
It was already hard enough to find someone in the Human Realm, let alone in the Netherworld. More importantly, getting into the Netherworld itself was a problem—he had no ability to open a passage there.
"According to the family records, before Ying Gou became the Zombie Ancestor, he had countless connections to the Netherworld. If you want to find him, your best bet is to look there." Xu Feibai explained.
"Look in the Netherworld? Easy for you to say. The Netherworld is that big, I don’t know a soul there—how exactly am I supposed to look? And how do I even get in? The intel you’re giving me is beyond unreliable." Lin Tian was very dissatisfied. So this guy’s so‑called info was literally just that vague? That was way too screwy.
Xu Feibai spread his hands, looking even more helpless than Lin Tian. "It was so long ago. Any more detailed information has already been washed away by the river of time. The Xu Family having managed to collect this much is already not easy. Right now, I don’t even have a starting point to look for Jiang Chen’s Head. You having at least some intel is already pretty good—at least you have a rough area."
"Come on, you call the Netherworld a ’rough area’? Why don’t you just say it’s somewhere in the Milky Way." Lin Tian said with blatant contempt.
"The Netherworld is indeed a bit big. Even a Ghost Messenger who’s been around there for thousands of years might not know where its borders are." Xu Feibai nodded with a completely serious face.
But when Lin Tian looked at him, he just felt this urge to beat him up. Lin Tian plopped down on the sofa, assuming a lordly pose. "I’m really not satisfied with this deal right now. If you don’t give me a satisfactory answer today, I’m just going to freeload here and not leave."
"It’s not like there’s no shortcut. In the Human Realm, the ones most familiar with the Netherworld are the Zhang Family. As long as you get a Zhang Family member to escort you once, your chances of finding the Ancestor Ying Gou are still pretty good." Knowing his answer had been a bit unkind, Xu Feibai tried to salvage it and kindly reminded Lin Tian.
"We’re zombies, and you want us dealing with the Zhang Family every day? Wouldn’t people laugh their heads off if that got out?" Lin Tian shot him a sideways glance, checking if he’d gone stupid.
"That’s all I know. If you’re not satisfied, there’s nothing I can do." Xu Feibai sat down as well, actually starting to play the shameless card.
This guy who always kept up the act of a refined ancient‑style pretty boy—who was a few hundred years old on top of that—was actually playing shameless? Lin Tian just stared at him in a daze until he finally got embarrassed.
Utterly helpless, Xu Feibai said, "Fine, you win. You refuse to take even the tiniest loss. To be blunt, I’ve told you everything I know. The intel is indeed a bit thin, so let’s say I owe you a favor for this. When I get the chance, I’ll send you a big present."
"Deal. Once a promise is made, it can’t be taken back. You’re a few hundred years older than me—don’t forget what you just said." Lin Tian suddenly slapped the sofa and stood up cleanly, looking like he was letting the matter drop.
Xu Feibai was momentarily dumbfounded, then realized he’d walked right into Lin Tian’s trap and been extorted.
Lin Tian patted his shoulder and laughed. "Heh, don’t feel like you got the short end. I’m the one losing here. The little bit of intel you gave me isn’t worth Jiang Chen’s Body."
"Don’t worry, what I said just now still counts." Xu Feibai didn’t go back on his word.
"In that case, I’ll take my leave." Lin Tian had no plans to stay for lunch; this guy didn’t look like someone who could cook anyway.
When he reached the door, Lin Tian suddenly remembered something and stopped, but didn’t turn around. He said lightly, "Zhang Ruyan asked me to pass on a message. She said that resurrecting Jiang Chen will inevitably come at a price—be careful you don’t end up as Jiang Chen’s slave."
Xu Feibai frowned, a complicated look flashing in his eyes. The room stayed quiet for quite some time before his voice sounded. "A slave? From the moment you and I became zombies, our fates were already set. What we’re chasing is nothing more than a sliver of survival."
"Fate, huh. Even if the mighty ones who sealed away the four Zombie Ancestors were to return, they can forget about making me, Lin Tian, into a slave." Lin Tian gave a short laugh, his tone calm, but within that calm was a biting edge—like a blade piercing the heavens. Without looking back, he walked out of the living room.
After he’d been gone a while, the man in the mask and Yasuo walked in and said respectfully, "Master, Lin Tian is way too arrogant. Should we..."
"If you want to die, go ahead." Xu Feibai glanced at the two of them, and the cold light in his eyes made them immediately drop to their knees, not daring to raise their heads.
"Please calm your anger, Master." The two of them prostrated themselves on the floor, speaking in utter humility.
When Xu Feibai withdrew his gaze, they both felt as if a great mountain had been lifted from their backs and secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
"If you provoke Lin Tian, even I won’t be able to save you." Xu Feibai’s tone was cool. The two didn’t dare talk back and could only listen quietly.
Xu Feibai stood up, walked to the window, and continued, "You don’t need to worry about Lin Tian. I’ve got a new mission for you—track down the whereabouts of the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword."
"The Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword?" Yasuo was taken aback, then said, "Isn’t that Kusanagi Sword, one of Japan’s three Divine Artifacts?"
"Kusanagi Sword is supposedly in the Divine Palace of the Japan Royal Family. I’ll get it for you, Master." The masked man spoke respectfully as well.
Xu Feibai’s lips curled in a contemptuous smile. "What’s enshrined in the Divine Palace is just a fake Divine Artifact. The real Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword has long since gone missing."
"And who said the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword is a Japan Divine Artifact?" Xu Feibai looked proud and utterly dismissive of that idea. "The Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword, the Qiong Gou Jade, and the Yata Mirror are all Huaxia sacred relics. When the Xu Family set sail carrying the three Divine Artifacts, Japan was still a land of barbarians!"
"A god‑forsaken place like Japan—how could it possibly produce Divine Artifacts." Xu Feibai’s voice was ice cold.
Yasuo and the masked man exchanged glances, not knowing how to respond.
"You can go." Xu Feibai waved them off, too lazy to say anything more. The two had their doubts, but didn’t dare ask and could only back away respectfully.
At the same time, both of them were feeling depressed. Out of nowhere they’d been ordered to look for the Heavenly Cluster Cloud Sword with zero leads. Where were they supposed to start? And if they couldn’t find it, how were they going to explain themselves to their master?
Lin Tian had long since left the faculty apartments, so he naturally knew nothing of their conversation. On his way back to the student dorms, he dialed a number.
After a few rings, the call connected, and a pleasant feminine voice came through the phone. "Lin Tian?" She sounded a bit like she couldn’t believe Lin Tian would call on his own, and at the same time, seemed a little happy.
"It’s me. I want to make a trip to the Netherworld." Lin Tian went straight to the point as soon as he opened his mouth. A few classmates happened to walk by and, hearing what he said, looked at him like he was a lunatic.
