"Oh no! How could you let the Dark Hand take the Tiger Talisman!?"
Upon hearing from Tohru that the Tiger Talisman had fallen into the hands of the Dark Hand, Da-Long, the old goat, exploded with fury.
"With the Tiger Talisman, the Sacred One can balance the Yin and Yang forces within his body, and with the Rat Talisman, he can break free from his seal!"
Da-Long grabbed the drowsy Tohru by the table and said, "Stop sleeping. The Sacred One could attack Section 13 at any moment to reclaim the remaining Talismans. Hurry and reinforce Section 13's defenses with me."
Tohru, his eyelids heavy, rubbed his eyes and looked at the wall clock, saying, "Da-Long, it's already one in the morning. Even demons need to sleep."
Da-Long unceremoniously slapped Tohru awake, saying, "I know you're tired and sleepy, but do you think that's more important than the demon's revival!"
Da-Long gathered the materials needed for magic in his study and, pulling Tohru and Jade along, left the antique shop.
Meanwhile, five ninjas stood in a line. The ninja in the middle held a brocade box and walked up to Bai Qi, opening it to reveal the recovered Tiger Talisman.
Bai Qi said nothing more, simply motioning for the ninja to place the Talisman on the statue.
The remaining four approached Valmont.
These four Shadow Ninjas each held a briefcase.
Bai Qi looked at Valmont and said, "This is your reward for finding the Tiger Talisman."
Having dealt with the Sacred One so many times, Valmont had become cunning. With antiques and gems, he had to find a buyer before getting paid. Why not have the Sacred One give him money directly?
To this, Bai Qi agreed to Valmont's request.
Across America, in major banks, seemingly equipped with strict anti-theft systems, these were no obstacle for the Shadow Ninjas. They could effortlessly and stealthily empty a bank of all its cash.
Looking at the heavy briefcases before him, Valmont's eyes turned into Benjamin Franklins, and he eagerly took all the briefcases.
Bai Qi looked at the slightly comical Valmont and said, "Don't you need to count it?"
Valmont waved his hand, "Sacred One, your reputation has always been the best. I trust you."
Taking the money, Valmont skipped away happily.
With the Tiger Talisman in place, an immense sense of satisfaction spread through Bai Qi's body.
Before, even though embedding a Talisman in the statue allowed Bai Qi to gain some power, the conflicting forces within him caused the Talismans' powers to fight each other. Even though Bai Qi could suppress them, he could only utilize less than a fifth of their power.
To illustrate, in the original story, when the Sacred One's statue was shattered and his soul sent back to hell, the Twelve Talismans representing his power were not recovered by the protagonists. Instead, they fell into the hands of the Dark Hand.
The Dark Hand, having obtained all twelve Talismans, was ecstatic and immediately began their bank-robbing spree. Valmont, along with Finn, Dai Gui, and Hak Foo, each received three Talismans.
Logically, each person possessing three Talismans simultaneously should have been incredibly powerful. However, the effect was less potent than when Valmont alone held the Dragon Talisman. They were defeated by the protagonists in a few blows, and all the Talismans were recovered.
This was due to the power repulsion caused by forcibly combining Talismans with different energies, resulting in the Dark Hand members being able to use only a fraction of each Talisman's power.
As the original owner of the Talismans, Bai Qi naturally had the ability to suppress this power conflict, but he could not achieve perfect integration.
This is where the Tiger Talisman's role came into play. The seemingly useless Tiger Talisman acted as a lubricant and adhesive, acting as an intermediary to perfectly regulate the power of each Talisman, allowing them to merge seamlessly and unleash their full potential.
Bai Qi looked at Finn and said, "This mission was completed well. You guys... wait, where's Jackie?"
In response to Bai Qi's question, Finn hesitated for a moment and said, "Jackie didn't come back. The mission was already completed, but Jackie stayed behind without orders."
Hearing that Jackie had disobeyed orders and left without permission, Bai Qi became somewhat angry. "What were you doing? Didn't I tell you when you left? If Jackie didn't listen, use Shendu to pressure her."
Finn said aggrievedly, "I told her, master, but Jackie wouldn't listen."
Bai Qi rubbed his temples and asked, "Did Tohru go?"
"He did."
Alright, no need to think further. Jackie must have been detained by Tohru.
You see, a novice young girl challenging the protagonist alone? That's practically courting death.
As expected, soon a spy planted by Valmont reported that Jackie was being held in Section 13 and was about to be interrogated.
The first to receive this news was Shendu. Upon hearing that his girlfriend was captured, he first found Finn and, without a second thought, beat him up. After venting his frustration, he then found Bai Qi.
Seeing Shendu enter, Bai Qi knew what he was about to say.
Before Shendu could speak, Bai Qi said, "Jackie disobeyed orders and left without permission, resulting in her capture and detainment in Section 13. Shendu, what do you think about this matter?"
Shendu realized things were not good. Judging by Bai Qi's tone, his master was angry. He carefully echoed Bai Qi, listing many of Jackie's faults, then changed the subject. "Master, although Jackie deserves to die, she shouldn't die at the hands of people from Section 13. Such news would harm your reputation, Master. Moreover, Master is in need of capable individuals right now, and Jackie's abilities are quite scarce. Perhaps we should first..."
"Rescue her first, right?"
Bai Qi finished Shendu's unspoken words.
"Master is wise. Your subordinate will attend to it immediately."
Bai Qi was amused by Shendu's attempt to play mind games.
"When did I say I would rescue her?"
Shendu quickly replied, "Didn't Master just say to rescue her first? Master's word is his bond. What is said cannot be taken back."
Facing Shendu's flattery, Bai Qi calmly said, "Everything you said is true, but that applies to humans. Do you think a demon would care about such things?"
Shendu was dumbfounded. Wasn't that how things were in the ancient Chinese dramas he watched? Shouldn't he offer a round of praise, and then his master, pleased, would order the rescue?
To his surprise, Bai Qi wasn't falling for it at all and was completely deviating from the script.
Seeing Shendu scratching his head in distress, Bai Qi let out a wicked laugh. "Jackie will be rescued, of course, but not now. Letting her suffer a bit for disobeying orders will help her remember her lesson."
As the New Year approached, the preparations for the revival were nearing completion. Now, the focus was on finding a way to reclaim the remaining Talismans in Section 13 to complete the final revival.