Beginning with the Ubume Bird-Chapter 508 - 4 Taiyin Secret Tome

Zhen Lian was a rather considerate person. Without waiting for Li Yan to speak again, she continued, "I know some people who have acquaintances in both the Immigration Bureau and the police department. They may be able to provide you with a permit to enter San Francisco."

Li Yan crossed his arms and said nothing.

Zhen Lian lowered her voice, "The city’s Steam Guard may not be able to stop you, but forcing your way in will undoubtedly create some unnecessary trouble."

"I certainly have no such intention," Li Yan flatly denied Zhen Lian’s guess.

"But the Steam Guard you mentioned, is that the thing?" Li Yan swiftly changed the topic.

He was referring to the figures trailing behind the Workers’ Party, several structures over two meters tall, made of brass and fully encased in armor. They were armed with mortars, and on their flanks, they had bar springs painted red, with a steam engine on their back and an exhaust pipe shivering continuously, spewing out a dense mist.

"That’s the Bear Steam Soldier rolled out by Enfield Company, one of the more common types of Steam Guard," Zhen Lian explained.

Li Yan merely glanced briefly at them before shifting his gaze: "Take me to the person you mentioned, who is capable of providing me with a permit."

"It would be my pleasure to serve you. Please, follow me."

Below the bustling streets of San Francisco lay vast expanses of factories and wharves. The pathways were narrow and dark, stitched together by shanties. The two of them turned past several dilapidated blocks. Suddenly, the alley before Li Yan burst with a familiar cultural flair. Amidst foreign churches and theaters packed like scales on a dragon, the architecture and pedestrians here bore heavy Chinese characteristics. Bird cages and vegetables hung from the windows, and water pipes and pots stood at the entrances. The street stalls displayed sugar figurines, painted masks, and sachets. There were even some shirtless men swinging broad Guandao swords and performing.

Zhen Lian approached an old and dilapidated red tiled house, with two thin but fierce-looking guards stationed at the entrance.

She pulled off her cloak with a swift motion and casually addressed the two men, "Zhen Lian of the Red Lantern Association is here to see your Dragon Head."

The guards glanced at each other. One went inside without another word, while the other respectfully said, "Please wait a moment, we need to inform them."

Zhen Lian nodded in agreement but then she sniffed the air, and her expression suddenly changed.

Despite Zhen Lian’s good cover-up, Li Yan still took notice.

"Is there a problem?" he asked softly.

"Of course, not," Zhen Lian said, forcing a smile.

It wasn’t long before the messenger returned: "Mr. Liang invites the Fairy Maiden inside."

Zhen Lian didn’t move but replied coldly, "At another time, Liang Hui should have sent his son to welcome me inside, not just send any newcomer from Hesheng to placate me."

The man’s face changed colors multiple times but eventually, he responded evenly, "Young Master Liang left early this morning; he’s not here."

Zhen Lian fixed a long stare on the man before stepping aside and bowing to Li Yan.

Li Yan’s gaze, which had remained on the performer twirling his sword on the street, finally returned to the present. He led the way inside, with Zhen Lian following closely behind.

Guided by someone, Li Yan quickly arrived at a side room. On the Huali wood arhat bed lay an old man, his face marked not only with a long scar but also numerous dark spots. His cheeks were gaunt; the skin stretched over bone, and a strong, sweet scent of opium paste emanated from him.

Upon seeing Zhen Lian, he shakily rose from the bed, knelt on his knees, coughing while saying, "Great, cough cough cough... Great follower of Yog, Liang Hui, greets the Fairy Maiden."

"I need a permit to enter San Francisco tonight," Zhen Lian’s demeanor was commanding, a stark contrast to how she behaved in front of Li Yan.

"..."

The old man known as Liang Hui did not respond, his eyes drowsy as if he didn’t hear clearly.

"Is there a problem?" Zhen Lian asked.

Liang Hui shook his head, "This requires documents from both the Immigration Bureau and the police department; it’s not an easy task. It will be difficult to accomplish tonight."

"How long will it take?"

The scar-faced old man sighed, slowly stood up on his own, ignoring Zhen Lian’s icy expression, "Three to five days, perhaps longer. The Fairy Maiden might as well come back then."

"Three days or five days, when I come back, will you definitely be able to give me the permit?" Zhen Lian asked coolly.

Scarface shook his head incessantly, "It’s hard to say, really hard to say."

"Liang Hui!"

Zhen Lian’s delicate neck burst with bulging veins, "Are you mocking the servant of the Great Yog?"

"The Great Yog..."

Liang Hui muttered to himself, sitting on the edge of the bed and saying unhurriedly, "Of course that’s not what I mean."

Zhen Lian said sternly, "Then prove your loyalty to the Red Lantern Association."

Unmoved, Liang Hui’s aged face revealed a faint cold smile, "My loyalty? I think I have proven that quite enough over the years. My Hesheng controls more than half of the opium business in San Francisco, and Fairy Maiden knows very well how much of that goes into the pockets of the Red Lantern Association. The Great Yog needs living sacrifices, but how many connections do I have to use to distract the Steam Guard of the police department from the Red Lantern Association? All of this, Fairy Maiden, haven’t you seen with your own eyes?"

Zhen Lian scoffed dismissively, "If it weren’t for the might of the Great Yog shining upon you, do you think your old bones would still be alive now?"

"Indeed, and so comes the question."

Liang Hui spread his hands wide, "Can the great Yog still shine his might upon me now?"

Zhen Lian’s face changed color.

"Last night, the ritual of the Red Lantern Association failed. The miracle of the Great Yog is henceforth severed from this world, leaving it just like the other Old Gods and ancient tyrants—forever gone from this world."

Liang Hui continued, "Fairy Maiden, please don’t underestimate my intelligence networks. Hesheng is one and only, but the heretics aren’t limited to the Red Lantern Association alone. The Taiping Song Society, the Seagull Cross Flag, I have options. And you, Zhen Lian, you are no longer a servant of the Old Gods; you are just a whore turned Witch who happened upon the Taiyin Secret Tome that records deeds of the Old Gods!"

"So you have contacted people from the Taiping Song Society."

Zhen Lian’s eyes flickered, "I could smell their stench from a mile away."

"When the tree falls, the monkeys scatter. Nothing could be more natural."

Liang Hui’s expression was cold as ice.

Zhen Lian gnashed her teeth, her voice rising to a screech, "Liang Hui, your shortsightedness and stupidity are laughable! True, the Great Yog has indeed left us, but the Red Lantern Association has welcomed a master far more powerful and mysterious than Yog, whose wisdom and might span the river of time, beyond the comprehension of pigs and donkeys like you."

But Liang Hui remained unaffected, "Yog is one of the oldest Old Gods recorded in the Taiyin Secret Tome. It has lived through the switch of two sets of emperors, personally served the Red-Crowned Emperor, a magnificent being. It has confronted Pasquale’s Hound and faced the Black-Robed Emperor in the land of extinction. Only such ancient deities could survive the tides of the new world until now. Tell me, what kind of ruler could be more powerful than him?"

Zhen Lian was short of breath, having shared the Taiyin Secret Tome with Liang Hui, a fragmented book of past and future events, which she had obtained by chance. It devoted a great deal of space to the deeds and traces of the Great Yog.

Zhen Lian had also awakened the Great Yog through the incomplete rituals in the Taiyin Secret Tome.

But as for Li Yan, apart from learning the words "Outer God" from Yog, Zhen Lian had no other information.

Yet when the arrow is on the bowstring, one must shoot. If Hesheng’s support was lost, the Red Lantern Association would be on the verge of immediate collapse, and the other heretics and police department would tear Zhen Lian apart.

The woman who still retained some beauty almost screamed.

"This great deity will bring about a new emperor’s succession. The Black-Robed Emperor, wielding thunder and steel, drove away the aged Red-Crowned Emperor, and the Black-Robed Emperor himself will be ousted by this young deity. The Blue-Clothed Emperor will decide the new order of all things!"

Li Yan had been observing coldly the whole time, and upon hearing this, he looked at Zhen Lian in surprise, thinking, how do you know I’m wearing a blue wool shirt underneath?

However, Zhen Lian mistook his glance as encouragement and advocated even more passionately for Li Yan, while Liang Hui did not hesitate to interrupt her.

The dying boss of Hesheng, known for his fierce scheming, shouted, "I don’t care if this world is ruled by the Red-Crowned Emperor, the Black-Robed Emperor, or the Blue-Clothed Emperor! Whoever can extend my life, I’ll acknowledge as my lord! If you want the permit, if you want my continued support for the Red Lantern Association, let me see for myself what this deity of yours is capable of!"

Before he could finish his words, his wrist was already seized by Li Yan.

Liang Hui was taken aback, "What are you doing?"

Li Yan took off his cloak, looking Liang Hui in the eyes, "I don’t need you to acknowledge me as your lord; I want to make a practical exchange with a clever man."

Before Liang Hui could speak again, a strong and rich life force flowed down from the top of his head.

His ears roared!

Autumn Yak.

He could adjust any living being, including himself, to the peak state of natural growth without any side effects.

The cries of alarm from Liang Hui alerted the guards outside, who, well-prepared, rushed in with daggers and pistols, only to be completely stunned by the scene before them.

Liang Hui was crying.

The boss of Hesheng, the infamous ferocious trickster, was now with a tear-stained face.

Jet-black shoulder-length hair, a full face, scars faint to the point of being nearly invisible, and his stooped figure seemed to inflate, suddenly straightening up. Aside from a few wrinkles, his face barely showed any signs of age.