Hello, Welcome to Merit Supermarket (SUPERMARKET)
It took Huo Yunxi and Wu Tuan less than half an hour to travel from Longyuan Town to the mountain village.
It was just past one in the morning, and everyone was in the midst of sleep. The village was pitch black, without a single light on.
If Jiang Chenyi were here, he would notice that Huo Yunxi's eyes were no longer the ordinary dark brown they had been before, but had instead turned into a silvery color, like that of a bell.
Wu Tuan crouched at his feet and leisurely licking his paw.
"Meow?" Stupid human, what do you want from me?
Huo Yunxi's eyes were fixed intently on the village below.
He felt a pang of regret—regret that he couldn't observe the auras of people like Jiang Chenyi could. If he could, finding the person he was looking for would be much easier.
However, even without the ability to read auras, he had other methods to locate someone.
Standing at the highest point, he surveyed the village while estimating its size. After a moment, he and Wu Tuan split up, each heading in a different direction.
As Spirits, and Spirits with Merit, they were highly sensitive to the presence of Karmic Sin. Similarly, they could easily sense those who possessed deep reserves of Merit.
If the missing police officer was as skilled as he had been in the dream, then he must have a significant amount of Merit.
Even as a grassroots officer, if he had been doing good deeds and genuinely helping people, he would undoubtedly have accumulated Merit.
Therefore, even if it was just bit by bit, the person he was looking for should have a considerable amount of Merit.
Fortunately, although the village was large in area, the actual number of people wasn't too high. Checking each one wouldn't take too long.
At most, it would just be a bit time-consuming...
But after he and Wu Tuan combed through the entire village, not only did they fail to find the person they were looking for, but they also discovered several things that filled Huo Yunxi with rage.
"Patience... patience... a little impatience can ruin the grand plan!" Huo Yunxi muttered to himself and took deep breaths.
However, he still quietly noted the locations where people were being hidden. Once he dealt with the five outsiders... he would bring Jiang Chenyi and storm in!
Finally, after nearly turning the entire area upside down, Huo Yunxi found a cave.
On the other side, Jiang Chenyi woke up after five hours of sleep.
Looking at the sun outside the window, he suppressed his grogginess and slowly got up.
"If only Bell were here... he could help me wash my face, brush my teeth, and get dressed... then I could sleep for another fifteen minutes..." he muttered with half-closed eyes.
Dragging his tired body to the entrance of the police station, the first thing he saw was a black cat lazily basking in the sun on the roof.
Sensing a familiar presence, Wu Tuan suddenly opened his eyes before meowing coquettishly while stretching.
Then, he leaped down from the roof and landed in Jiang Chenyi's arms.
The young man stroked the warm fur in his hands and buried his face in Wu Tuan's thick back before taking a deep breath.
‘Ah, it was the scent of a cat that had been sunbathing!’
‘So fragrant! One more sniff! And another! And another!’
Jiang Chenyi felt like he was getting addicted. He stood at the entrance while holding the cat and sniffing for a while.
If it weren't for the unresolved matters inside, he would have buried his face in Wu Tuan's belly for a good snuggle.
As for Wu Tuan, he was already used to it—whether it was his previous owner or Jiang Chenyi, both loved burying their faces in his belly.
After getting his fill, Jiang Chenyi finally looked up and met Huo Yunxi's helpless gaze.
"Is it really that good to sniff?" Huo Yunxi couldn't quite understand, as he preferred dogs, especially big ones!
As soon as he finished speaking, a warm bundle of fur was pressed against his face, and the scent of the sun filled his nose.
Jiang Chenyi had suddenly pressed Wu Tuan's belly against Huo Yunxi's face, causing both the man and the cat to widen their eyes in shock.
It was fine for humans to sniff, but dog-like humans... no way!
Feeling the scent of a dog-like human on his belly, Wu Tuan immediately bristled and extended his claws, ready to deliver a loving Cat Punch.
Unfortunately, the Cat Punch missed.
Jiang Chenyi chuckled as he watched the man and the cat tussle. After Huo Yunxi forcibly subdued Wu Tuan, he finally asked, "Did you find him?"
At this, both the man and the cat stopped their actions. Wu Tuan flipped over and landed on the ground before letting out a dejected meow.
Jiang Chenyi's heart sank.
Seeing Huo Yunxi pursing his lips with a sorrowful look in his eyes, his smile vanished instantly. "Dead... dead?"
Huo Yunxi closed his eyes and shook his head while sighing softly. His eyes were slightly moist. "When we found him, he was in a state worse than death. Director Long took him back to the main city hospital overnight for treatment."
The young man frowned and continued, "So, what exactly happened?"
Huo Yunxi's Adam's apple bobbed as he suppressed the bitterness in his heart. "When we saw him, his legs had been broken by the villagers, and his collarbone was chained. They had locked him up in a cave like a pig."
He paused, took a deep breath, and clenched his jaw tightly. "The most crucial thing is that his eyes are gone."
Jiang Chenyi's heart completely sank. "Gone? What do you mean?"
If he's blind, he's blind, but what does 'gone' mean?
Huo Yunxi pointed to his own eyeballs. "His eyeballs were gouged out."
The young man gasped. "The villagers did that?"
Huo Yunxi nodded heavily with his face shrouded in intense killing intent.
In their previous dream, they had clearly seen that this person had gone to the mountain village to investigate the truth. Regardless of how much Merit the person currently possessed, they had indeed been doing practical work back then.
Unfortunately, the person had fallen into a den of vipers.
Jiang Chenyi suppressed the impulse in his heart. His mind, not fully rested, and his body, not yet healed, caused a faint throbbing pain in his forehead.
"First, let's save a life. As for the rest, I'll take a look when I get there."
‘It's fine, it's fine, it's fine! As long as there's breath, it's good!’
Jiang Chenyi kept comforting himself in his heart, but the pain in his forehead grew increasingly intense.
He pondered that person's eyes.
Although the eyeballs were gone, he wasn't entirely without a solution.
Even so, Jiang Chenyi's mood remained heavy.
Seeing the young man's pale face, Huo Yunxi felt both distressed and heartbroken. He half-embraced the young man before gently soothing him with his Spiritual Power.
When the three Celestial Masters arrived, they happened to see the two standing at the entrance with grim expressions.
"Supervisor, what are you doing here?" Wei looked at them in confusion.
Jiang Chenyi collected his emotions and shook his head, "Nothing."
He didn't give Wei a chance to continue questioning by turning to walk inside, "Come on, let's talk about serious matters."
The conference room currently had only eight people—aside from Jiang Chenyi and Huo Yunxi, the three Celestial Masters, Director Long had also called the Deputy Director and the Captain of the Armed Police.
Coincidentally, this Captain's subordinate was the one who had dealt with the knife-wielding assailant at the airport, so they immediately recognized Jiang Chenyi and Huo Yunxi.
After learning that they had saved people at the airport, the Captain's attitude towards the two became much more enthusiastic.
However, when facing the three Celestial Masters, his gaze remained as cold as ever.
It was clear that he had strong opinions about the existence of Celestial Masters.
Jiang Chenyi had no interest in the story behind this. Once he confirmed everyone was present, he immediately set up a Soul restriction, while Huo Yunxi prepared to take action.
Then he opened the box, releasing the five Souls inside and manifesting them before everyone.
Sure enough, as soon as the lid was opened, the five Souls surged and tried to escape.
In the next moment, a rope imbued with the aura of Merit appeared around their necks and gradually turned into a golden thread.
"Dare to run, and I won't mind shattering your Souls."
Jiang Chenyi's words immediately froze them in place. No matter how ferocious their expressions, they didn't dare move an inch.
This young man meant business.
Even the Celestial Masters were startled by Jiang Chenyi's move, let alone Director Long and the other two ordinary people.
However, Director Long and the others quickly regained their composure as their gazes on the five Souls filled with hostility.
"Who are you? Where are you from? What are you doing here!" Director Long's presence was formidable, and being stared at by her eyes felt like being on the verge of having one's neck snapped by a beast.
The five Souls being questioned refused to speak, but in the next moment, Huo Yunxi tore a piece off one of the Souls.
"Don't speak, and you'll be dismembered."
Five words that made them tremble in fear.
The Spirit before them was extremely ferocious, especially after they discovered that coming into contact with it felt like being pricked by needles, which completely deflated their courage.
Not to mention, there was a big boss watching them from the side!
"We, we came from next door, we're from Dai Country!"
Dai Country...
Wei Yuanshou's eyes immediately turned deep and cold upon hearing these words.
The five Souls shivered again and continued, "We... we came... came..."
Stammering and their eyes darting around, it was obvious they were trying to come up with excuses.
Everyone heard a sneer, and then a golden thread around one of the Souls' necks instantly burst into flames before engulfing them in the blink of an eye.
At the same time, a spine-chilling scream echoed through the police station.
"If you don't talk, we'll slice you up. If you lie, we'll burn you. It won't be quick, so we can take our time."
Jiang Chenyi held a cup of warm water and sipped it leisurely as if he were savoring tea.
The five Souls were utterly terrified and quickly spilled most of what they knew.
As they listened to the information being revealed, Director Long and the others' expressions grew increasingly grim and their eyes filled with a desire to tear them to pieces.
These individuals were all Spirit Masters from a large organization in Dai Country.
This organization had some unspeakable connections with the local government, so in a way, they could be considered unofficial representatives of Dai Country.
Just a more covert kind of official.
Their goals were twofold: one was to use the mountain village as a base to smuggle out necessary goods, along with helping people smuggle a few small items.
The other was to collect enough resentment.
"Collect resentment? What does that mean?" Director Long didn't quite understand the use of resentment, and when she looked at the others, she noticed the three Celestial Masters' faces were grave.
As for Jiang Chenyi, she felt he was barely restraining himself from taking action.
But on this point, they refused to say anything, even when Huo Yunxi sliced off one of their legs.
"We can't say... really can't... saying it would mean death..."
Seeing them like this, Gu Chen and the others immediately understood that someone had placed a restriction on their Souls. If they spoke, they would face soul annihilation.
Director Long stared at the Souls for a long time with a mix of emotions welling up inside her—unease, anger, hatred, and more.
"Everyone, is there really no way to make them talk further?"
The three Celestial Masters fell silent. It wasn't that they didn't have methods, but they weren't exactly orthodox, and the success rate couldn't be guaranteed.
"There is, but it will require you to pay a price."
The young man's voice broke the silence, and upon hearing his words, the five Souls all showed expressions of terror.
Jiang Chenyi looked at Director Long, "Before that, I need to clarify something. These five Souls are of no use anymore, right?"
The two senior police officers thought carefully and finally shook their heads.
Then, he looked at Gu Chen and the others, "Do you need them for anything else?"
Wei and Wei Yuanshou both shook their heads, but Gu Chen, after some thought, made a suggestion, "I want to give the person behind them a little lesson."
Since it was mentioned as an organization, it meant that there were more than just five Spirit Masters like them.
If the Dai Country was stirring up trouble, how could they not retaliate properly?
"Perfect, I have some expertise in certain curses..." Gu Chen revealed a sinister smile, making their scalps tingle.
Jiang Chenyi didn't hesitate and directly handed them over to Gu Chen.
"Notify me once you're done, and then we'll discuss the cost."
He placed the five souls back into a box and handed it over to Gu Chen.
However, Jiang Chenyi wasn't entirely at ease, so he placed an abacus bead in Gu Chen's palm.
In the next second, a golden thread appeared on Gu Chen's wrist, looking exactly like the one that restrained the souls.
Wei Yuanshou's expression changed slightly, but Gu Chen, who was bound by the golden thread, showed no reaction and even touched his wrist.
"It feels a bit warm, don't worry, it's nothing bad."
Hearing Gu Chen's words, Wei Yuanshou felt relieved, though he was still curious about what it was.
"It's Merit. If you do something bad, this golden thread will disappear and then transfer to your neck." Jiang Chenyi said with a smile, but the warning in his words was clear to everyone.
Wei also seemed a bit displeased, but Gu Chen truly didn't mind: "As long as my conscience is clear, I have nothing to fear."
After the three of them left with the box, Jiang Chenyi turned his attention back to Director Long and the others.
Their faces showed a hint of worry, and Jiang Chenyi, knowing what they were concerned about, spoke up: "Now, let's talk about the transaction."
He briefly explained the rules of the supermarket transaction to the three of them, then added: "The method I mentioned earlier is this one."
"You will handle the transaction with the supermarket, and the cost will be the Merit on your bodies."
The reason he asked if others needed to keep the five souls was that he wasn't sure if the transaction would trigger the restriction on these souls.
"If the restriction is triggered and they are gone, then..." The rest of the sentence was left unsaid, but everyone understood.
Director Long nodded in agreement: "You are indeed cautious."
"But..." At this point, the Deputy Director spoke up: "I have a question. How much Merit do we need to pay for this information?"
Then, they saw the young man spread his hands: "I can't be sure about that."
The only certainty was that the supermarket guaranteed not to drain all the Merit from an individual.
"If it's not enough, other related individuals can lend some Merit, essentially sharing the cost."
After asking a few more questions about Merit, the three of them finally felt at ease.
However, there was still a small sense of tension in their hearts, as no one had tried such a transaction before.
After finishing his conversation with Director Long, Jiang Chenyi and Huo Yunxi sat under the same tree as yesterday. He leaned against Huo Yunxi's sturdy shoulder and lazily yawned.
"Did you two not startle anyone yesterday?"
Huo Yunxi shook his head: "Of course not, Wu Tuan and I were very careful."
Jiang Chenyi closed his eyes to rest while pondering the person they had rescued. "Bell, why do you think that person was imprisoned in the cave?" he wondered.
He was the first one whose body was taken over, so why did the Spirit later switch to someone else?
"Damn, I forgot to ask."
Even as he said this, Jiang Chenyi made no move to do so.
Huo Yunxi had initially thought about going over to ask for clarification himself, but just as he opened his mouth, he heard the steady breathing of the young man beside him.
Jiang Chenyi had fallen asleep.
Huo Yunxi immediately closed his mouth and adjusted his posture to let Jiang Chenyi rest more comfortably.
The weather was nice today, and the Black Cat had emerged from the Bell. It glanced at Huo Yunxi before curling up into a black ball in Jiang Chenyi's arms, joining him in a deep sleep.
Huo Yunxi ignored the Black Cat as his gaze was fixed on Jiang Chenyi.
From his angle, he could see Jiang Chenyi's slightly pale lips, which made his heart ache even more.
They had come to Xiaocheng simply to confirm his identity, but unexpectedly, they had become entangled in a previous human trafficking case. The situation was becoming increasingly complicated as it even involved border issues.
Huo Yunxi felt that they might eventually have to collaborate with the military.
Ordinary public security officers had no authority to deal with border matters.
As he had expected, after learning that this case was related to Dai Country, Director Long contacted the border defense forces in Xiaocheng and explained the situation in detail.
The other party was initially skeptical.
But Director Long responded with complete transparency: "You can send someone over to investigate."
Hearing it firsthand was not as convincing as seeing it with one's own eyes. Director Long added, "One of the young men is the Great Grandfather your Huo family just found."
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man was left with three big question marks in his head, even doubting whether he understood human language.
"Go and ask Old Lady Yuan for clarification yourself. This is your family matter." she said before hanging up the phone.
After finishing the call, she walked to the window and looked at the two young men sitting under the tree before letting out a long sigh.
When her deputy returned, she began discussing the person Huo Yunxi had brought back.
"I have an idea... If this transaction succeeds and we get what we want, I’d like to ask Supervisor Jiang if there’s a way to save that person."
The deputy followed her gaze and, after a moment, added, "But we’ll need to confirm first that he hasn’t done anything wrong."
"Of course."
Two hours later, Jiang Chenyi woke up refreshed from his nap, just as Gu Chen and the others returned with the box.
Whatever they had done, Jiang Chenyi noticed that the light surrounding the five Spirits had dimmed significantly.
Gu Chen’s face was as pale as a sheet, clearly having expended a great deal of energy.
Jiang Chenyi turned to look at him, and Gu Chen gave a weak smile before explaining, "I just traced it back to the source and cursed everyone closely connected to them."
Then, he nearly collapsed from exhaustion.
Jiang Chenyi looked at him with his lips twitching. This guy had cursed so many people in one go, not even afraid of draining all his energy.
"What did you curse them with?"
Gu Chen revealed a sinister smile: "Of course, it's to wish them misfortune on their journey."
If he were to truly curse them to death, he would likely be killed by the backlash. But he only slightly increased the probability of those people encountering accidents, which is why he could still survive.
Jiang Chenyi knew this was the best he could do, so he didn't say anything more.
He took the box back into his hands and then approached the two directors and the captain.
"Now, let's make a deal."
Facing the young man's gaze, the three of them didn't back down. Director Long was the first to step forward: "Then I'll go first."
The deputy director didn't quite agree, but Director Long's attitude was extremely firm, and no one could persuade her otherwise.
Jiang Chenyi gave her a deep look, then closed his eyes and listened quietly.
Soon, a new set of abacus beads appeared in his hand—this was his fourth Merit Abacus!
As his fingers moved across the abacus, all of Director Long's Merit data entered his mind.
With a click, he slowly opened his eyes: "Long Hanzhi, a total of one hundred twenty-three thousand six hundred twenty-one Merit Points."
Huo Yunxi's eyes widened slightly. This number was only lower than Old Master Liang and Gu Qin.
It seemed that Director Long had achieved remarkable feats during her time in the military, as an ordinary police officer couldn't have earned such a high number of Merit Points.
Aside from him, no one else present knew just how terrifying this number was.
Those people stared intently at Jiang Chenyi, watching as the young man made a strange gesture with his hand.
In the next second, they all sensed something appearing in the courtyard.
Among them, Gu Chen and the other two Celestial Masters had the most acute perception. Although they couldn't see it, the presence of that thing exerted an overwhelming pressure on them.
So much so that they felt almost suffocated.
"Open!"
In Jiang Chenyi's eyes, the large gate slowly opened. He then waved to Director Long before leading the group as they stepped through the door.
As they crossed the threshold, Gu Chen and Wei Yuanshou suddenly felt a pang of unease, as if something had swept over their bodies.
Fortunately, nothing happened.
After seeing Director Long disappear, the Deputy Director and the Captain felt their hearts nearly leap out of their chests—she was gone!
Just as they were about to rush forward, Huo Yunxi blocked their path: "Don't move!"
At this moment, Director Long also saw the incredibly wondrous starry sky. Following Jiang Chenyi's reminder, she silently closed her eyes.
However, her inner thoughts were particularly loud.
[Whether it's a god, an ancestor, or Marx, whoever it is, please let me know what those five outsiders are really here for!]
Jiang Chenyi watched as a star fell into hee hand, signifying that the transaction between Director Long and the Supermarket had been successful.
[Transaction successful, 8,000 Merit Points deducted!]
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