Chapter Twenty-Nine: New Instructions from the Spirit Realm

“Stop joking around,” the demon child protested, unwilling to accept Master Jinghai’s words about his defeat. “As long as I finish reciting the Restoration Spell, I can’t lose!”

“Oh? Do I look like the type who’d give you time to chant your spell and recover? Heh.” Qin Xiaochuan looked down at the demon child, now shrunk to the size of an insect, and let out a low laugh. “I might not have the strength to throw a punch anymore, but I can still fall on top of you.” Without waiting for a reaction, he brought his elbow down hard, smashing it onto the demon child’s face. The force sent the little fiend flying, blood spurting from his mouth as he fainted instantly.

Seeing the demon child knocked out, Xia Dan rushed forward joyfully and helped Qin Xiaochuan to his feet. “Xiaochuan, are you all right?!”

“I’m… I’m fine. What’s Master Jinghai doing? Quick, help me over there…”

Hearing that, and seeing how badly injured Qin Xiaochuan was yet still worried about Zhang Yang, Xia Dan didn’t waste any words. She supported him to Zhang Yang’s side, where they found Master Jinghai crouched down, her right hand pressed against Zhang Yang’s body. A ball of spiritual light shone from her palm—it looked like she was healing his wounds. Noticing their arrival, Master Jinghai stood up. “His injuries aren’t serious. I’ve already used spiritual radiance to set his bones. The rest is up to his own recovery.”

“Really, grandma? I admire you so much…”

“Call me Master!”

“Master Grandma—hehe, this is wonderful! The demon child’s defeated, our mission’s complete, and we can finally go watch the martial arts tournament—hahaha! How satisfying…”

“…Sigh. You’re the envoy sent by Little Yama, aren’t you?” Master Jinghai, a little exasperated with her new disciple, turned to Xia Dan. “This kid is the new Underworld Detective, isn’t he?”

“Yes, Master Jinghai. Xiaochuan is Lord Little Yama’s newly appointed Underworld Detective, and I’m now his assistant. We came here according to Lord Little Yama’s orders—he was worried the demon child might use your disciple selection as a chance to harm you, so he sent Xiaochuan to apprehend him. And if he could become your final disciple, that would be perfect! With your guidance, Xiaochuan will be a great asset to the Underworld. The monsters hiding among mortals are in for a bad time—hehe.”

“Very well, I hereby declare that Qin Xiaochuan is officially my final disciple.” Though there were no spectators left, Master Jinghai announced it loudly, evidently very satisfied with Qin Xiaochuan as her closing disciple.

“All right, all right, grandma—”

“Call me Master!!”

“Master Grandma…”

“Drop the grandma part!!”

“Master… well, I’ll head home first then. Look at my clothes and these wounds—I should change and take a shower. I’ll come formally acknowledge you as my master another day, haha…”

“What’s the rush, brat? Now that you’re my disciple, you’ll obey my arrangements. You and that curly-haired boy will come with me. I have clean clothes for you to change into, and besides, time is of the essence. You’ll stay at my meditation hall for now to recover and begin your basic training in Spiritual Radiant Fist.”

“But Grandma…”

“Call me Master!”

“Master, but the martial arts tournament is the day after tomorrow… Can’t I go after watching it…”

“No!!”

“But…”

“A master’s word is law. If you don’t obey, you’re not my disciple. Make your choice!”

“Um… Master, do you have a TV here?”

“…”

And so, after escorting the demon child back to the Underworld Prison, Master Jinghai’s disciple selection came to a successful close. After enduring a month of hellish training, Qin Xiaochuan finally returned home, luggage in tow, to the place he had missed so dearly.

“Mom, I’m home!”

“Son! I’ve missed you so much! Why are you so dirty again? Did you get into a fight? Please, don’t leave me again. I was so afraid you’d never come back, like last time… Sob…”

“Mom…”

The moment she saw her son, Susu threw her arms around Qin Xiaochuan, as if she feared losing him all over again. Ever since his near-death experience in the car accident, Susu had grown much more anxious and sentimental. Whenever she couldn’t see Qin Xiaochuan by her side, she felt hollow, as if she’d lost something precious. But this only made Qin Xiaochuan more aware of his mother’s deep love for him.

After enjoying the sumptuous lunch his mother had prepared, Qin Xiaochuan went for a stroll down the busy street. He hadn’t visited the arcade in ages, and his hands were itching to play. As he walked along, hands in his pockets, he ran into his old friend Zhang Yang. Spotting each other from across the road, Zhang Yang hurried over to greet him. Ever since they had both participated in Master Jinghai’s disciple selection, the rivalry between the two seemed to have mellowed. A quiet camaraderie had begun to blossom between them.

“Hey, Xiaochuan, you’re back!”

“Yeah, Zhang Yang. How’s your arm? Has it healed?”

“Don’t mention it! Thanks to Master Jinghai, not only are my bones mended, but I feel even stronger than before.” He flexed his arm, showing off his biceps. “See? And my spiritual perception seems sharper, too. Want to spar and test it out?”

“No way, you just recovered.”

“So, what have you been up to this past month? Was Master Jinghai’s training tough?”

“Tough? It was pure hell.”

Thinking of the training, cold sweat broke out on Qin Xiaochuan’s forehead. Over the past month, he’d lost count of how many times Master Jinghai had knocked him out during her extreme regimens: meditating on beds of nails, one-finger Zen, pull-ups for abs, death stretches, cliffside chin-ups… The mere thought made him shudder. To push his body to the absolute limit in the shortest time possible and lay a foundation for the Spiritual Radiant Fist, Master Jinghai trained him mercilessly. She knew her time was limited, and this was the only way for him to learn all her secret techniques.

“Really? That sounds terrifying…” Zhang Yang was astonished. Just hearing about these drills was incredible. Clearly, Qin Xiaochuan had suffered a great deal.

“But thanks to this death training, I learned a new secret technique!”

“A new secret technique? What is it? I’d love to see it!”

“Wait, Zhang Yang—someone’s following us…”

As he spoke, Qin Xiaochuan sensed a murderous intent behind them. He stopped. A group of delinquent youths was tailing them, clearly looking for trouble. Spotting an alley ahead, Qin Xiaochuan dragged Zhang Yang into it. It was secluded—no one else around. It was the perfect place to deal with these punks and test the fruits of his recent training.

“Have you seen these guys before, Zhang Yang?”

“Nope, look like new faces! Whatever, I’m bored anyway, let’s play with them!” As the group approached, Zhang Yang called out, “Hey, do you guys know who I am? I’m the boss of Yanjing High School!”

“Yeah, right…”

Hearing Zhang Yang claim to be the school boss, Qin Xiaochuan rolled his eyes. When did this guy crown himself boss? But as Zhang Yang and the delinquents faced off, the punks all pulled out weapons from their pockets.

“What! Knives? When did these punks get so ruthless?”

Seeing the delinquents brandishing knives and charging, Qin Xiaochuan and Zhang Yang dodged aside. Normally, high schoolers would rarely pull knives in a fight—at most, they’d use sticks. Knives were too dangerous; a single slip could lead to tragedy. Usually, even in a brawl, especially a group fight, no one would use them. But these delinquents all drew knives right away, which surprised both Qin Xiaochuan and Zhang Yang. The feral looks and drooling mouths of these punks made Qin Xiaochuan uneasy.

“Zhang Yang, step aside. Let me handle this!”

With that, Qin Xiaochuan stepped forward, dropping into a horse stance at the center of the group. He cradled his left hand atop his right, preparing the initiation for the Spiritual Radiant Fist. A flash of light burst from his right hand, and after charging up, he unleashed a dazzling attack. In a blink, the delinquents were sent flying into the air. Zhang Yang stared in disbelief: he hadn’t even seen how many punches Qin Xiaochuan threw—just a flash from his right hand, and all seven of the punks were knocked skyward. When they landed, they were all unconscious and foaming at the mouth. Incredible! Was this the result of a month’s grueling training?

“To knock out so many people in an instant… That’s amazing!”

“Heh, see that? That’s the Spiritual Radiant Fist. Impressive, right?”

“Very impressive! But—wait!” As Zhang Yang approached the fallen students, he noticed something and suddenly looked toward the bend in the alley. “Someone’s there! You—stop right there!”

There, crouched at the corner, was a figure wrapped in a trench coat, secretly watching him and Qin Xiaochuan. Realizing he’d been spotted, the masked man turned to run, but was suddenly struck on the head by a baseball bat, knocked out cold.

It was Xia Dan, who now appeared behind the trench-coated figure, holding a slightly dented baseball bat. It seemed she had ambushed this sneaky fellow.