I am the Ruler of the Kingdom of Mysterious-Chapter 384 - 348: Direct Admission
That morning, news of a 7.5-magnitude earthquake in Lishi Mountain spread across the country, followed by the usual protocols, traffic control, search and rescue, and the entire area was completely sealed off.
Tourists were evacuated urgently, having left the village long before the Black Tai Sui appeared, all believing it to be a real earthquake, unaware of the actual situation inside.
The residents of Wu Family Village were temporarily put under centralized management. Wu Cheng himself was from Wu Family Village, conveniently helping from within the gathering point of the villagers.
In a few days, there’ll likely be news about a burial site from a certain dynasty discovered after the earthquake, claiming the area has significant research value, and thus will be handed over to an archaeological team for takeover.
Sang Que and Xia Chan temporarily stayed in the command center. She used the command center’s dedicated line to call Sang Wan and assure him of their safety.
The signal in this area had been completely blocked. Even satellites couldn’t see the situation around Lishi Mountain, with the highest level of control in place.
Sang Que felt assured yet a bit disappointed because the storytelling group couldn’t target her for the time being, making it somewhat challenging to find powerful ghosts in the modern world.
It’s likely that, in the short term, neither she nor Xia Chan could return to the Deceit Dynasty’s side.
However, it didn’t matter. Sang Que had thought it through. On the Qinzhou side, great forces were closing in, with the Ghost Opera Troupe and Yunzhou having internal strife. The war would surely end.
Over in Jinzhou’s Bright Moon Mountain, Liu Tianyou, Yu Da, and Yao Zhen were managing things. The first batch of crops in the mountains must have already been harvested. As long as they arranged things reasonably afterward, their survival wouldn’t be an issue if she didn’t return for a short while.
This period could be considered a vacation for Xia Chan, and afterward, she’d see if the research institute needed help with any unsolvable supernatural events.
Xia Chan didn’t want to go back at all now. After discovering the mess hall’s delicious food, she rooted herself there, not letting go even of the kitchen scraps.
Every time others finished eating, Xia Chan would move the leftover pot away, not picky at all, eating everything, causing the mess hall staff’s faces to turn green, filing several reports a day to transport more ingredients.
Each time it was mealtime, everyone became more eager to eat, knowing that if they were late, even the broth would be gone.
Sang Que was quite open-minded about it. Since Xia Chan’s uniqueness was already known and they were now considered official personnel, there was no need to hide it. Letting Xia Chan eat as much as she wanted so others could get used to it would make Xia Chan happy and her life easier.
On the fifth day in the command center, Zheng Xuan came to Sang Que, asking her to look at the mountain.
Sang Que called out to Xia Chan, who crouched unmovingly, watching the mess hall staff kill chickens, saying without looking up, "Little Chan not going, Little Chan very busy."
As soon as the mess hall staff slit the chicken’s neck, Xia Chan’s hair immediately curled over, absorbing all the chicken blood clean, leaving not a single drop—as long as it wasn’t rooster blood, Xia Chan could consume it.
The mess hall staff, once terrified, now remained unfazed, even managing to praise, ’Little Chan is amazing.’
At the foot of Lishi Mountain, houses collapsed by the earthquake were being gradually leveled. A research institute branch would likely be established here in the future. Traces of landslides and mudslides were everywhere in the mountains.
But the black sludge had completely vanished. The research institute’s mobile team explored the periphery, confirming there was no trace of Black Tai Sui. They lacked the ability to enter the Ghost Realm directly, so they needed Sang Que to confirm Black Tai Sui’s current location.
After Sang Que’s careful examination, she confirmed Black Tai Sui had retreated to its original position, a place only she could enter directly. The original Ancient House from the Republic was now just ruins, with Black Tai Sui very calm underneath.
When Sang Que used Ghost Eye to inspect, her sight pierced through the ruins, revealing an endless black abyss—deep, eerie, with nothing there, yet giving Sang Que a spine-chilling feeling of being watched by countless eyes in the darkness.
The point was, Sang Que suddenly felt this sensation similar to when she entered a visualization state, gazing at the Nine Netherworld.
The only difference was that the Nine Netherworld had nine layers, each with distinct surroundings—which might be because the Deceit Dynasty has long accepted the concept that each of the Nine Netherworld layers differs, leading to the dark abyss resembling the Nine Netherworld.
Now she was almost sure the Dark Power’s source was here, but Sang Que still had no clue on how to resolve the Dark Power.
Currently, only she and the direct bloodline of the Wushi remained alive in the world, and before her death, as long as Black Tai Sui wasn’t provoked, it would remain in a stable state.
Watching for too long, Sang Que heard a voice similar to a calling, making her want to step into the abyss. She quickly disconnected from the Ghost Eye and retreated outside the ruins.
She couldn’t come into contact with Black Tai Sui; once touched, her power would be entirely suppressed and eroded by Black Tai Sui.
Zheng Xuan and the others were also the same—they couldn’t use any means to attack Black Tai Sui; otherwise, they’d immediately suffer backlash, developing black spots from a curse, experiencing hallucinations, and attacking those around them.
On the contrary, Xia Chan had previously come into contact with Black Tai Sui, and the impact seemed minimal.
Could it be that people from the Deceit Dynasty had stronger resistance to the Dark Power?
Sang Que suddenly thought of pulling someone from the Deceit Dynasty to the research institute for analysis, to see if people over there were genetically different from modern humans.
After confirming Black Tai Sui’s range, the rest was left to Zheng Xuan and his men.
Returning to the mountain’s foot, the wild cats appeared again, meowing at Sang Que.
Wen Li was the tabby cat with patterned fur; since the Chu State times, Witches could naturally attract Wen Li close, and the stronger the Divine Power, the more they attracted.
In Xujiawan Village, Xuan Yu was clinging to her, probably having sensed this power in her early on.
Returning to the command center, a helicopter was landing. Sang Que raised her hand against the wind, watching Ye Changqing being helped down from the helicopter.
Approaching Sang Que, Ye Changqing held his old waist, "At my age, still acting as your contact; let’s arrange a younger one for you afterward, as I can’t keep up anymore."
Ye Changqing gestured for Sang Que to follow him into the tent. Now, for confidentiality, the fewer who knew, the better, so Ye Changqing had to handle everything personally.
In the tent, it was the same setup as during their previous conversation, surrounded by armed guards outside.
"I’ve proposed your requirement to the top. If you’re so concerned about your education, they can offer you a recommendation, but not to a university. It’s direct admission to the research institute to participate in our study of global abnormal events. You’re still in your second year of high school, yet you’ve accomplished what your aunt did after eight years of study and many screenings. If your aunt knew, she’d definitely be proud of you."
Sang Que chuckled wryly; whether her aunt would feel pride was questionable, but her worldview being shattered was certain. Her aunt might even drag her to the martial arts hall for a beating out of imbalance.
But her mom would certainly be happy since her daughter’s education would no longer just end with a high school diploma.
"If you’re willing, we can set off tomorrow."
