I Build a Shelter in the Eternal Night

’It should be worth at least a million Ghost Stones, right?’

’In the future, if I go to any Ancient Ruins, I’ll bring Hey Hey. Those so-called Ancient Ruins will become my Back Garden. With a single slap from him, all the Arrays would shatter.’

...

"Domain Lord."

Zhao Shengping stared eagerly in the direction Hey Hey had left. "Very few factions possess a combat-type Exotic Beast like that. They tend to be incredibly ill-tempered. Domain Lord, how did you manage to tame him?"

"If you knew he was ill-tempered, why did you try to pry off his Scale Armor?" Chen Fan asked, exasperated.

"But he nodded!" Thinking about it, Zhao Shengping felt wronged. "I’m pushing eighty! The moment I was sent flying, I even had my eulogy all planned out."

"..."

Chen Fan glanced at Zhao Shengping and decided to drop the subject. ’I get it now. This guy has a strong sense of contract. He thinks that as long as both parties agree to something, it must be carried out. That kind of personality is obviously unsuited for managing a faction, but for a technician, it’s perfectly fine.’

"Exotic Beasts also know to choose a good tree to roost in."

"You’re a Level 9 Artifact Refiner. There isn’t a single Level 9 Artifact Refiner in all of Jiangbei, yet didn’t you join the Mortal Realm?"

"That’s true."

Zhao Shengping nodded thoughtfully.

...

After comforting both Zhao Shengping and Hey Hey, he headed for Mortal City again.

This was also the first time Hey Hey had ever injured someone.

Before the Mortal Realm was established, Hey Hey had never even harmed the villagers.

Obviously, Hey Hey had held back.

Otherwise, forget a Death Roll. If he had used the same force he’d used against the Ghost King, a single tail swipe would have turned that guy Zhao Shengping into a bloody mist.

Atop the Mortal City Wall.

Chen Fan stood on the wall, gazing at the numerous merchant caravans coming and going below, and couldn’t help but sigh. "Why isn’t anyone trying to assassinate me?"

Qi Yue served as his personal bodyguard, with no other duties than to ensure his safety alone.

He really wanted to see the true power of a Tenfold Body Tempering Martial King at full strength, but with no assassins, there was no performance to witness. He had tested her against the City Wall, though; she could do some damage to an Ordinary Level 3 City Wall.

As for the City Wall in the camp that had absorbed a great deal of Ghost Blood, she was powerless against it.

That was already impressive.

To be able to damage a Level 3 City Wall with sheer physical strength was exceptionally rare. It could be said that starting from a Level 10 Martial King, one completely transcended the level of ordinary people.

...

「The Dead Sea.」

Humanity’s progress in exploring the great sea was very, very low. At the very least, people today still couldn’t guarantee a ship’s survival overnight on the open water. This inability meant long-range voyages were impossible.

And without long-range voyages, exploration couldn’t get very far.

In an area far from the mainland, a solitary island sat.

This was a Rock Island.

The island rose more than a dozen meters above sea level, surrounded on all sides by near-vertical, steep cliffs. Ascending and descending was done by rope. It was a natural barrier; even without a City Wall, it was difficult for Ghost Objects to climb up.

Its area wasn’t large.

This was the headquarters of the Wind and Rain Tower.

If one used a Bone Ship as a Vehicle, it would take at least a full day to sail from the mainland to this Deserted Island. This was a place extremely difficult for other factions to reach; most wouldn’t even be able to discover its existence.

An absolutely hidden and extremely safe place.

And in a room on the island.

Three old men sat around a stove, feeling the scorching heat radiating from within.

After a long silence.

The lead elder finally spoke, his voice hoarse. "In the past few days, eight of the Wind and Rain Tower’s secret strongholds in the cities have been uprooted. The loss to the organization is catastrophic. They found the marks and Tokens of the Mortal Realm Dark Pavilion on the ground."

"This is the Mortal Realm’s retaliation for our failed assassination attempt."

"What are your thoughts?"

"My opinion is that we should hold the Wind and Rain Tower’s Young Master accountable. If he had activated the Heart-Devouring Sub-gu a little faster, so much information wouldn’t have been leaked. Then Chen Fan wouldn’t know which faction tried to assassinate him, and he wouldn’t know who to retaliate against."

The white-haired elder sitting on the left said emotionlessly.

The elder on the right, however, hadn’t said a word. He kept his head down and didn’t look like he intended to speak.

"..."

The lead elder’s brow furrowed as he said gravely, "Now is not the time for assigning blame. It was his first mission, after all. It’s normal to be a bit hesitant. We need to give the younger generation a chance to gain experience."

"The three of us are old."

"The future ultimately belongs to the young."

"How interesting. Using the lives of the Wind and Rain Tower’s core members for your son’s ’experience.’ Why not just say you’re leaving it all to your child?" the white-haired elder on the left sneered.

"What are you trying to say?!"

The lead elder’s face darkened as he enunciated each word, "When the three of us founded the Wind and Rain Tower, we made it crystal clear. The Tower would continue with a three-leader Management style, with our children jointly taking over."

"Neither of you has a son. I’m the only one with a son. Is there a problem with my son taking over the Wind and Rain Tower?"

"Is it that we don’t have sons?"

The white-haired elder on the left slammed the table and shot to his feet, his face livid with anger. "Over the years, both of our sons have died in ’accidents’ while on missions! I’ve lost two sons, damn it! I’ve been wanting to say this for a long time—did you have my sons killed?!"

"You’re full of shit!"

"That’s a goddamn slanderous accusation!"

The lead elder also jumped up, equally furious, and cursed back, "If I ever did something like that, may I be cursed to have a child born without an asshole! Missions have always carried the risk of death. To one day rule the Wind and Rain Tower, they have to go out and gain experience. It’s a necessity!"

"Fate is out of our hands. Who can you blame for death?"

"Besides, the last time your son went out on a mission, weren’t you the one fully in charge? How can you blame that on me?"

The white-haired elder on the left grumbled a few times, his momentum faltering slightly, and sat back down. "You’re the First Leader. You tell us. What do we do about Chen Fan? If we don’t handle this cleanly, the Wind and Rain Tower can forget about taking any more business. Our external strongholds have all been stripped bare."

"Plan another assassination."

"The probability of success is even lower. The target will definitely be on guard. Plus, a batch of the Wind and Rain Tower’s core members died last time. Each core member takes a huge amount of time to train. Losing even one is a great pity."

"Normally, an Earth Level Task only requires one core member to lead the team."

"Last time, we designated the assassination of Chen Fan as a Celestial Level Task. A captain led the team, personally taking dozens of core members. The Wind and Rain Tower’s Young Master planned it, and they even had freelance personnel assisting them in Mortal City."

"And it still failed."

"How many people are you planning to send this time?"

"..."

The lead elder took a deep breath before looking at the others and saying hoarsely, "This time, I’m planning a full mobilization. All core members of the Wind and Rain Tower will be deployed. That includes us three old-timers stretching our legs."

"We’ll stake our entire foundation."

"And bet it all on Chen Fan’s death."

"We can’t afford a war of attrition."

"If this drags on, we won’t even have the right to make a final, desperate stand. While we’re not yet critically wounded, we’ll wager everything we have to nail Chen Fan in one go."

"I’ll plan it myself this time. I already have a rough idea."

"Didn’t we recently detect some Ancient Ruins? Ones related to Architects, no less. We’ll leak the news. As an Architect, Chen Fan will certainly bring people to investigate. Inside the ruins, his constructions will be ineffective, and his Dragon Carriage won’t be able to enter."

"That will be the best time for us to strike."

"Once Chen Fan is dead..."

"...we’ll immediately storm the Mortal Realm and take everything of value."

As his voice fell.

The elder on the right finally, slowly raised his head. A flicker of interest showed in his eyes. ’This plan seems quite good. The success rate isn’t low.’

...

Meanwhile, at the base of the Rock Island.

Shao Qiu was floating in the sea, clinging tightly to a protrusion on the cliff face to keep from being swept away by the waves. He held a dagger, glinting with a cold light, between his teeth, his face calm as he waited patiently.

It was dusk.

He had to wait until the dead of night.

Wait until most people on the island were fast asleep.

This was a blind spot. People on the island never used this spot to ascend or descend. The area was concave, so even if someone lay at the island’s edge and looked down, they wouldn’t be able to see him.

The frigid winter seawater made his already pale face even paler, but his eyes remained exceptionally calm.

Devoid of any emotion.

He was simply waiting patiently.

’When executing a mission, there can be no emotional ripples in your heart.’

Following the clues he’d gathered from the intelligence seized at the shops over the past few days, he had finally found the headquarters of the Wind and Rain Tower. And what he had to do was...

...make the name Shao Qiu ring throughout Jiangbei after tonight.