Volume One, Chapter 53: The Task Entrusted by the Underworld

This time, the situation was exactly the same as last time. Once again, the one called “Number One Strongman” snatched it away. Qin Yu’s delicate brows furrowed, her face showing some irritation.

But then a request for a joint stream came from backstage. Qin Yu checked—it was, as expected, this “Number One Strongman.” Narrowing her eyes, she decided to see what tricks this person wanted to play.

She approved the request.

Suddenly, the screen went black.

“Is it my network that’s acting up? Why has the screen frozen?”

“I’m stuck too. Is it the streamer’s network?”

“So laggy. I’m going to exit and re-enter.”

Qin Yu frowned. Everything on her end showed as normal. There was no sign of lag.

“Qin Yu.”

A deep, resonant male voice suddenly sounded from the video connection. The black screen flickered, and then an extraordinarily beautiful face appeared—slanted fox-like eyes, sharp sword-like brows, irises that sparkled as if they held the Milky Way, half blue and half red, a high-bridged nose, and sensual, thin lips.

His long hair was tied up, held in place at the crown with a simple peachwood hairpin. He wore a black robe, the hem embroidered with golden patterns that trailed all the way down his back. He looked utterly otherworldly, yet radiated an aura of righteousness. Both righteous and wicked, impossible to tell which was real and which was false.

Qin Yu’s pupils contracted slightly, a chill creeping into her heart. It was the instinctive fear of the weak before the strong. She had seen those half-blue, half-red eyes in secret histories before.

“Qin Yu, do you know who I am?” the man asked, his tone commanding and severe.

Qin Yu’s body trembled. She bowed respectfully. “I have a guess, but I cannot be certain.”

The man’s lips curled slightly; his skin was so pale that his lips appeared all the more vivid, like poppy flowers blooming from the earth—beautiful, yet deadly.

“Do you know why I have come to see you this time?”

Still bowed and unmoving, Qin Yu thought to herself: Can’t we just speak plainly? Why all the mystery?

“Perhaps it’s about the faceless statue.”

A glimmer of approval flashed in the man’s strange eyes. “Not bad. But I know very little about the matter of the faceless statue.”

Qin Yu understood—he was here to discuss cooperation.

Instantly, her back straightened with confidence. “My lord, do you wish for me to continue investigating this matter?”

The man nodded. “That’s right.”

Qin Yu waited for him to elaborate, but he said nothing further. She had been hoping for him to continue so she could state her own terms.

She glanced up at him and saw a faint, almost imperceptible smile at the corners of his lips. “If you can get to the bottom of this, you’ll be doing humanity a great service—a deed of immeasurable merit.”

Outwardly, Qin Yu smiled cheerfully, but inwardly she scoffed. So he’s just painting me a pretty picture.

“But the one who made this statue is extremely cunning. My own skills are limited; I fear I won’t be able to handle it alone. My lord, could you provide me with some assistance?”

Incidents like this in the mortal world were, after all, the responsibility of the underworld to investigate and resolve. She wasn’t foolish—why should she take this on herself? If things went well, the merit would indeed be hers; but if not, she’d be left empty-handed and exhausted.

The man let out a low chuckle. “Clever little thing, aren’t you?”

Qin Yu raised her hand innocently, feigning hardship. “My lord, as you can see, this body of mine is depleted of spiritual energy. I truly have no ability to investigate.”

The man snorted coldly. “No ability, and yet you dared to block my emissary?”

Qin Yu blinked, her eyes glistening as if tears were about to fall, her voice tinged with a sob. “Wasn’t that just me overestimating myself? If I could choose again, I certainly wouldn’t dare!”

He gave a disdainful “hmph” from his nose. As if you’d really dare not.

He could tell—she’d dare again, given the chance.

“This matter is of great importance. To avoid alerting the enemy, I’ll only assist you secretly from the shadows.”

Qin Yu nodded. That assurance was enough for her.

But still—

She lowered her gaze, her eyes darting quickly.

“My lord, this body of mine is too low on spiritual energy. I fear there are some things I simply can’t—”

The man laughed. “You really are a master of bargaining.”

With a sweep of his long arm beneath his black robe, Qin Yu immediately felt spiritual energy surging forth endlessly from her core. She sat down cross-legged at once, circulating the energy throughout her body. The sensation of depletion vanished instantly, and she felt as light as air.

She was about to express her gratitude, but the man’s figure had already disappeared from the screen.

Only then did Mu Ling, clutching her head, tearfully emerge from the corner. “Xiao Yu, what just happened? Why does my head feel like it’s about to split open?”

“A high-ranking official from the underworld just paid a visit. For a little ghost like you, it’s only natural to feel uncomfortable.”

Mu Ling gasped in fright and immediately hopped to Qin Yu’s side, terrified. “A—a high-ranking official? What for? He’s not here to arrest me, is he?”

“No, he came to assign us a task.”

Hearing this, Mu Ling finally breathed a sigh of relief. He summoned his courage to come out. “What task?”

“To investigate the faceless statue.”

No sooner had Qin Yu spoken than the livestream room returned to normal.

Mu Ling didn’t dare ask more. He clutched his still-aching forehead and quietly slipped away to a corner.

“There was a bit of a network issue just now, but it’s been fixed. Sorry for any inconvenience,” Qin Yu fibbed to the camera.

The viewers didn’t seem to care.

Qin Yu sent out another lucky draw.

Jiajia Youjiajia sent a “True Love Arrives” gift.

Qin Yu invited him on the mic.

First to appear on screen was a chin whose gender was hard to distinguish. Luckily, the other person quickly adjusted, and soon a young man’s face came into view. He had a buzz cut and heavy dark circles under his eyes—clearly someone who stayed up late often.

At the sight of him, Qin Yu’s expression immediately changed. Before the young man could speak, she tensed. “Where have you been recently?”

The young man’s name was Song Weijia. Stunned by the question, he suddenly looked as if he’d seen a living deity. “I recently traveled to Yunnan with some friends—and yesterday, my friend died.”