Chapter 141: The Ninth Infant

"That depends on what you need. If it's just money..." Xiao Yihong turned her head slightly, thought for a moment, and then raised a single finger. "How about this? I can write you a check right now on the spot. I'll only write the first digit, and then... you can decide for yourself how many zeros to add after that number."

Qi Yan took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he let out a long exhale from his nose. "Hoo~~~~ Gosh, happiness comes so suddenly, I'm completely unprepared. For a powerful, wealthy female CEO like you to offer such heavy enticement to a poor nobody like me, how am I supposed to handle this?!"

To be honest, Qi Yan's heart was pounding wildly. He had no doubt that if he agreed, this Madam Hong would immediately instruct her finance department to wire a massive sum of money straight to his bank account, which currently had just over a thousand bucks left.

Xiao Yihong was not in a hurry either, asking softly, "So, what is your answer?"

Qi Yan also took a step forward, leaving only a foot of distance between them, and gazed into her bright, phoenix-like eyes. "My answer is..."

"Go to hell..."

As soon as these words were uttered, Xiao Yihong's expression did not turn gloomy, though the smile on her face stiffened slightly.

"Hoo..." With another long breath exhaled, Qi Yan laughed. "Hahaha... Old Yan warned me about this before, and though I didn't quite believe it back then, I've truly learned my lesson now. You... you really are much more terrifying than actual malevolent ghosts and evil spirits. It was almost... truly just a split second away... and I would have actually believed you!"

"Tsk tsk tsk, I must admit, Watanabe Shinji was merely a cold-blooded killer; he's simply not on the same level as you... You are truly formidable."

In an instant—for just a single instant—a flash of crimson radiance flickered through Qi Yan's pupils.

Xiao Yihong could not help but take half a step back, because she sensed an extremely dangerous aura emanating from Qi Yan... An aura that caused even her to experience a brief yet distinct palpitations of the heart.

Qi Yan changed his tone. "I may be younger than you, but I'm no three-year-old child. If you truly had a way to sever the causal karma of the Yin amulet without causing my death, you would have already used it instead of coming here in person to waste your breath on me. The only purpose of your visit today is to try and shake my resolve. While I may be a man without faith, I do know one thing... once a person's will is manipulated, that's when death is truly not far off."

"Madam Hong... No, Chairwoman, you may be high above, sitting on vast fortunes and immense power. And me? Just an insignificant little person running around day in and day out just to get by. We have a saying in Huaguo: the barefooted are not afraid of those wearing shoes. Since I have nothing to lose and stand entirely alone, why should I care about this cheap life of mine?"

Xiao Yihong frowned slightly. "You... are you refusing my offer just like that? Even knowing how much danger you are in right now, you still insist on setting yourself against me?"

Qi Yan did not speak, his gaze alone conveying his absolute intent.

This woman was completely untrustworthy. No matter how persuasive she sounded, judging by the mortal perils he had already faced, she was genuinely a sinister individual.

Seeing that enticement had failed, she shifted to a coercive tone, continuing, "Fine... You are indeed a strong-willed young man, but... as long as one is human, everyone has weaknesses. None of us want to be dragged down by our own internal vulnerabilities, so... stop meddling in struggles that were never meant for you to bear. Wouldn't it be better to simply and peacefully return to being an ordinary person?"

With his hands in his pockets, Qi Yan walked around her and headed forward. "Judging by this, you've already thoroughly investigated my entire background, haven't you? You even promoted my friend... trying to use that as leverage to blackmail me, right? Do as you please. Since you view me as an insignificant nobody, I might as well adopt the mindset of a petty person: when disaster strikes others, keep aloof and let it pass. My own life is hanging by a thread; what mood would I have to care whether others live or die? Your tactic of 'relieving the besieged by attacking the base' probably won't work very well on me, because I've always considered myself a selfish scoundrel!"

Pausing for a moment, Qi Yan stopped, turned his head back, and added, "Also, what was it you said just now? Ah... everyone has weaknesses, right? Thanks for the reminder, I've learned another lesson. Then may I ask, Chairwoman? Do you have weaknesses?"

"If you do... you'd better hide them well, lest a nobody like me digs them up and gets a grip on your handle. That... would be far too awkward, oh~."

With their backs to each other, Qi Yan said nothing more and continued walking forward.

The chilly autumn wind whistled faintly in his ears. Xiao Yihong's expression was aloof, and the smile finally vanished entirely from her face, replaced instead by doubt and astonishment.

She stood frozen in place, still dazed by the lingering sensation of that very moment... Mutting inwardly to herself: Was it an illusion? How long has he even possessed the Yin amulet? How could he possibly turn things around and absorb the evil spiritual energy of the Yin amulet? That is not a power belonging to mortals—no, impossible! It has always been the Yin amulet that backfires on its master; how could a human ever reverse-assimilate a Yin amulet?!

Yet if that wasn't the case, how do we explain the malevolent spirit aura that suddenly erupted from him just now? It shouldn't have been the Yin amulet; rather, it was the youth's own inherent aura...

As for Qi Yan, he walked forward without once looking back, feeling an overwhelming sense of release instead. At the exact moment the conversation had reached its most critical juncture just now, he felt as though... his Yin amulet was emitting a low hum that only he could hear.

It was as if, right at the moment he was about to lose his footing and fall, someone had violently yanked his wandering consciousness back.

No ghostly shadow had appeared this time, but Qi Yan knew it was it... For just that single moment, perhaps lasting only a fraction of a second, an unprecedented resonance seemed to have formed between him and the Yin amulet.

It was not that the Yin amulet itself was leaking that terrifying evil spiritual energy, but rather that it was radiating outward from his own body...

Qi Yan could not fully comprehend the depth of it, but his constitution had shifted once again...

Ever since acquiring the Yin amulet, his ordinary human physique had taken on a "Yin" bias, enabling him to directly perceive the existence of most spiritual entities with the naked eye, much like Li Lan.

And now... things were different once more. To put it simply, if Xiao Yihong had not known him beforehand, the moment his eyes turned crimson just now, she would have undoubtedly mistaken Qi Yan for a malevolent ghost!

Of course, this bizarre sensation was fleeting, ephemeral as an overnight-blooming cereus, vanishing almost as quickly as it appeared.

Meanwhile, within the tiny Yin amulet—unseen and undetected even by Qi Yan... inside a dark, misty, and murky space.

The spirit of the "Mother" had always stood silently here, surrounded by eight infants of varied, bizarre, and terrifying appearances. At the moment, all of them were plunged into deep slumber due to the seal of the talisman tube.

However... the single infant that the "Mother" had always held tightly in her arms, which had never shown any movement until now, slightly opened its tightly sealed little eyes. Even if it was merely a tiny crack, the crimson, blood-like murderous light glaring from within was chillingly piercing...

Volume Three: End