21st Century Necromancer-Chapter 456: The Plan (Seeking monthly tickets, seeking subscriptions)

The Tashiro family mansion wasn’t located in the bustling downtown area of Tokyo. When the Tashiro ancestors built this mansion, it was still in the outskirts of Tokyo. However, over the span of more than a hundred years, Tokyo’s city limits kept expanding such that the Tashiro family mansion, once in the suburbs, was now situated in one of the core areas of modern Tokyo.

As a high-end residential zone in Tokyo, the Tashiro mansion’s location should have been quiet and serene at night. Yet the Tashiro family mansion was enveloped in gloom and darkness.

The mansion’s antiquity, far from being diluted by the surrounding modern buildings, was instead highlighted by them. The contemporary architecture full of vitality and modernity further underscored the decay and eeriness of the Tashiro mansion. With traditional illumination by candles and oil lamps, the mansion had a dim light; under the cover of darkness, one couldn’t even hear the breathing of the living, and the silence was akin to that of a haunted house.

However, for Qingdai, who had lived here since she was a child, all of this had long since become normal. After being scared to tears as a little girl, she no longer paid any mind to the mansion’s sinister and eerie atmosphere.

Yet today, walking through the dim corridors, Qingdai was still somewhat anxious.

"Stay calm, just get through tonight and we’ll be free," a voice from another soul inside her reassured, calming her mood.

"I know, but just thinking about that old man makes me..." Qingdai shared with the other soul inside her. As a being with dual souls, she had been communicating with the soul inside her since she was a child. "Is there really nothing wrong with our plan? I can’t help feeling anxious that something might go wrong."

"There won’t be any problems. I’m familiar with that old man’s character. The plan is flawless; he won’t be able to see through it." The assurance was absolute from the other soul within Qingdai, who wasn’t worried like Qingdai was. "As for Doctor Chen Yu..., ha, Nanao is naive to think she can outsmart us."

At the mention of Tashiro Nanao by the other soul, a slight smile naturally appeared on Qingdai’s lips. Tashiro Nanao probably never dreamed that she was already aware of Chen Yu and Hiromi Jounouchi’s capabilities. Everything happening now was according to her plan, which began the first time she met Chen Yu in Kanazawa.

She deliberately gave the impression that she too wanted to rebel against the family, but held Chen Yu, "the ordinary man," in low esteem due to the orders of that old man, yet could only attempt to seduce him. Then she guided Tashiro Nanao’s suspicions to spring forth, persuading her to plead with Chen Yu to take action, ultimately using Chen Yu to kill the old man, freeing herself while also attaining the inheritance left behind by the old man.

Because she had the soul of the old man’s grandson within her, Qingdai was very clear that the Tashiro family, as a medical dynasty with supernatural power, had amassed a significant fortune over the generations, yet only the family heads could access it.

The current family head, Tashiro Nanao’s grandfather, hadn’t learned this secret from the old man and was unaware of the existence of this fortune, as he was merely a placeholder. The only ones who knew this were either taken by the old man for use in his life-extension practices or had their souls shattered in reincarnation experiments.

However, there was one person who was acutely aware of it all, and this person was the other soul within Qingdai, the other half of her dual-souled existence—the cherished grandson whom the old man had raised as an inheritor before he lost his sanity.

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"It’s a pity we couldn’t get Doctor Chen Yu to enter the shell himself; otherwise, this plan would have been perfect. With their strength, they could definitely have killed the old man," another soul couldn’t help but express a bit of dark resentment, which was something Qingdai had not anticipated. She had not expected Chen Yu to be completely disinterested in the matter; she’d even been prepared to disclose the existence of the treasure, willing to sacrifice a portion of it to secure Chen Yu’s intervention.

After all, she had witnessed the battle at Oyama Shrine in Kanazawa with her own eyes and knew full well what kind of formidable power Chen Yu possessed. He, Hiromi Jounouchi, and the summoned giant dragon had all left a profound impact on her; it was witnessing all this that had inspired her to come up with such a plan.

"Regardless, we’re at the final juncture now. Whether we can realize our plan hinges on this moment," the other soul didn’t want Qingdai’s focus to be diverted by these matters. It was her soul that primarily controlled the body, and the one residing within Qingdai could only manipulate the body to a limited extent and with Qingdai’s consent. With the plan on the verge of realization, he couldn’t afford any unforeseen complications.

"I understand," Qingdai replied, taking a deep breath to steady her emotions before standing at the door to the room of the man she called Grandfather.

"Do you think, could Doctor Chen Yu, with his abilities concerning the Necromancer, pull you out of my body?" She knocked on the door while posing the question in her mind to the other soul. Although she had grown accustomed to having another soul inside her over the years, this didn’t mean she was content with sharing her body with the soul of a man.

"Perhaps he could, perhaps he couldn’t. These considerations can wait until after we’ve realized our entire plan," the other soul seemed unsurprised by Qingdai’s attitude and emphasized the present matters, "If possible, I too would prefer not to be crammed inside a woman’s body, especially that of my granddaughter."

"When the time comes, we’ll have to implore him, though considering his demeanor… perhaps we should ask Doctor Jounouchi?" Qingdai mused over the other soul’s words and joked in her mind, but she seemed to be seriously contemplating the matter.

"Before that, resolve what’s before you, concentrate," the other soul’s voice reminded her.

"I understand," said Qingdai, and after knocking on the door and announcing "It’s me, Qingdai," she entered upon receiving a response from the person inside.

The room had only a dim light on in the corner, which cast the room into darkness yet stretched the shadow of the elder sitting before a low table to great lengths. The elder’s face was shrouded in shadows, making it impossible to discern his expression, but his eyes gave Qingdai a prickling sensation on her skin.

For some reason, Qingdai felt the elder’s shadow was particularly dense today, seemingly capable of detaching itself from the surrounding darkness as if it could come to life at any moment.

Nonetheless, Qingdai steadied her mind and kneeling before the elder, began to speak, "Grandfather, I met with Professor Chen Yu today and broached the subject of the drug patent once more. It seems his attitude may have softened a bit."

"Is that so?" the elder replied, his words seemingly laden with deeper significance.