"This is my ranking of the top figures in the Senluo Division, based on their actions and my judgment."
As he spoke,
The Fatty seemed to sense Zhang Wei's thoughts and added,
"The Senluo Division is a force composed of humans and ghosts, and its high-ranking members are no different. I cannot determine whether the top three of these twelve are human or ghost, but the remaining four – Glasses, Bug, Stutter, and Mute – are ghost exorcists."
Zhang Wei nodded,
"Besides their codenames, tell me about their information, such as their appearance and methods."
As he spoke,
Zhang Wei took out a notebook, preparing to record the information of these high-ranking members for future reference.
The Fatty and Tailor nodded, answering Zhang Wei's questions truthfully and without reservation.
...
At the same time,
In an unknown location in Great Xia.
The place was dimly lit, with a long-used incandescent bulb hanging overhead and a wooden table on the ground.
Tap, tap, tap, tap.
"Meow~"
A sound of footsteps echoed, followed by a meow.
Then,
Glasses, with Huahua, entered through the entrance of the place. He adjusted his old-fashioned glasses, his gaze falling upon several figures seated at the wooden table:
"Oh, it seems I'm not late. Good evening, everyone."
In his sight,
Five figures were seated around the wooden table. They were five of the twelve high-ranking members of the Senluo Division: Senluo, Yin Yang, Mute, Stutter, and Bug.
At this moment,
As Glasses arrived, they all looked towards him. As their gazes swept over Glasses, they all fell upon the plump cat beside him, their eyes flashing with light, but they soon retracted their gazes.
Simultaneously,
A voice rang out:
"Abba abba abba."
The speaker was an ordinary-looking man. Despite his plain appearance, his eyes were beautiful, curving into crescent moons when he smiled, exuding a friendly aura, like a neighborly mute brother.
Although the man was mute, Glasses could understand his meaning from his smile and demeanor; he was responding to his greeting and saying "Good evening."
Besides him,
A man beside him, who looked at least ninety percent similar to him, also spoke to Glasses:
"G-good, good evening."
He stammered, but his smile, like the mute man's, was a crescent moon, exuding friendliness, making it impossible to harbor any ill will. Instead, one might feel pity for their disabilities.
"Are the others not here yet, or are we starting the meeting first?"
Glasses casually found a seat and asked.
As he spoke,
The person wearing a bronze mask in the room spoke leisurely:
"Gardener is temporarily unavailable, I have something for him to do. Bug and the others are on their way and should arrive soon."
His voice was calm, steady, and eerie, like an echo in a vast, empty room, yet it carried no hint of emotion.
However,
No one said anything more, nor did they dare to, for his codename was 'Senluo,' the boss of the Senluo Division!
Time passed quickly.
Shortly after Senluo spoke, several more figures took their seats, filling nine of the twelve seats, leaving three empty.
"Everyone is here, so..."
Scanning everyone present, Senluo paused mid-sentence and looked at Glasses, or rather, at Huahua beside Glasses.
In response,
Glasses smiled and said,
"It's fine, I trust him."
Senluo seemed to be a man of few words and went straight to the point:
"I've called you here to inform you that the Soul Summoning Banner has been successfully refined, but Tailor has most likely sacrificed himself."
As soon as he spoke,
The one codenamed 'Bug's' eyes lit up, and he said leisurely,
"Then should we proceed to the next step? And where is the Soul Summoning Banner? Let me see it quickly. This is a national-level ghost artifact, rarely seen."
Instantly,
Everyone looked at Glasses in unison.
They all knew that Glasses was responsible for bringing back the Soul Summoning Banner.
"Ahem."
Feeling everyone's gaze, Glasses coughed awkwardly,
"Fatty is having a hard time accepting Tailor's death. He's still holding onto the Soul Summoning Banner, saying it's useful. I suspect he wants to revive Tailor, so I didn't refuse. Tailor's revival would also benefit us."
"Fatty has also promised me that he will bring back the Soul Summoning Banner within these few days."
While surprised by Glasses' words, the others were unconcerned. Tailor was a high-ranking member, and he had single-handedly planned the refinement of the Soul Summoning Banner. If he could be revived, it would be for the best.
Instantly,
The mute beside Glasses spoke while gesturing with his hands:
"Abba abba abba."
Glasses, who understood sign language, understood the mute's meaning. He was saying to him, "Why is that shut-in always doing as he pleases, even more impolite than me? By the way, Glasses, you should use figurines to lure that shut-in to get the Soul Summoning Banner."
Just as Glasses was about to respond,
Senluo's voice came, fixing his gaze on Glasses, and said tersimply,
"Go tell Fatty to bring back the Soul Summoning Banner within five days, or you and Bug will go get it yourselves."
As he spoke, his eyes beneath the bronze mask remained calm, showing no emotional fluctuation.
Glasses nodded noncommittally,
"Don't worry, if Fatty doesn't bring back the Soul Summoning Banner, I'll go get it myself."
Following that,
Senluo did not waste any more time and continued,
"The Soul Summoning Banner has not been brought back, but the next step of the plan cannot be delayed. According to the original plan, if Tailor is no longer with us, Mute and Stutter, you two will be responsible."
"Abba abba."
Mute nodded and said.
"Okay, okay, okay."
Stutter replied stammeringly.
After making the arrangements, Senluo glanced at the one empty seat, which belonged to the one codenamed 'Zombie,' the Sealed Corpse imprisoned in the Guard Department's jail.
His action,
Was seen by everyone present. Among them, Bug spoke out,
"The Guard Department's prison is too tightly guarded. I've been observing there. Since the last surprise rescue, they've strengthened their defenses, and there's no opportunity to rescue Zombie."
"Mm."
Senluo nodded slightly upon hearing this,
"Now that the Soul Summoning Banner has been successfully refined, Zombie's position cannot remain vacant. We need to replace him."
It could be seen that,
As he said this, every member, including Glasses, had eager eyes, especially Glasses, who immediately looked excitedly at Huahua beside him.
However, before Glasses and the others could speak,
Senluo spoke first:
"For the next step of the plan, we need manpower, so I need someone who can operate in the open. Since the Soul Summoning Banner has been successfully refined, we can use it to test its effectiveness. Do you have any candidates?"
Upon hearing this,
Glasses and the others understood Senluo's meaning. He was not planning to select from within the Senluo Division, because none of the internal members were without blood on their hands and had spotless records. They could not operate in the open; their appearance would lead to immediate capture.
Therefore,
They had to find someone from outside, and this person had to be powerful.
Of course,
They were not afraid of betrayal from externally recruited individuals because of the Soul Summoning Banner. After all, the Soul Summoning Banner possessed abilities such as soul summoning and guiding, which meant it could control souls. Otherwise, why would the Guard Department be wary of it? This was a national-level ghost artifact.
"Abba abba abba abba."
Mute spoke and gestured, his sign language saying, "Who should we find? How about Huang Qingshan from the Northeast? That guy is a bit weaker, but he's a high-ranking official and can be our inside informant."
"Huang, Huang, Huang... Qingshan, no, too, too weak. It's better to find the old Daoist from Longhu Mountain, it's better."
Stutter said.
"I think the sect leader of the Maoshan sect is better."
"Then let's directly find someone from the Guard Department headquarters."
For a moment,
Everyone offered their opinions.
As they debated this, the one who did not speak, Embroidered Shoes, proposed,
"I have a candidate. That candidate is powerful enough and can operate in the open. Even the Guard Department has to show some respect."
As she spoke,
Everyone's gaze turned to her in unison.
Embroidered Shoes did not keep them in suspense, her beautiful eyes sparkling as she smiled,
"Do you know about the old willow tree ghost who has recently killed many ghost kings?"
...