I Am Your Natural Enemy

"Minister, I'm heading out to pick up my Seventh Great-Uncle Master. Is there a car arranged here?"

"Yes, it's waiting just downstairs, we'll set off soon. Are you going to pick something out now?"

"No, no, I'm mainly just here to pick someone up."

Cai Qidong lifted his eyelid, let out a sneer.

"It's not easy to get you to grace Yu State with your presence, you know."

"Minister, are you taking medicine or something?"

The smile vanished instantly from Cai Qidong's face.

"Dehumidifying Herbal Tea!"

"It's getting late, might run into traffic, you'd better get going."

Wen Yan walked out of the office. Cai Qidong lowered his head and sniffed at the thermos cup. Even Feng Yao, the local, vouched for this—smelled just like some herbal tea. So how did Wen Yan even tell it wasn't?

No way Feng Yao's fooling him, right?

Wen Yan took the Scorching Sun Department's car and headed straight to the airport.

He'd only been waiting at the arrivals for half an hour before he saw an old, chubby Taoist with a straight back, every step as steady as a mountain.

Behind the old Taoist walked a guy with sallow skin, huge sunglasses, almost two meters tall, whose arms were thicker than Wen Yan's legs.

The moment he laid eyes on the man, Wen Yan was hit with a wave of oppression.

"Deformed Corpse (Copper Armored Corpse)."

"Skin, flesh, and muscle hard as refined copper, tough as nails and flexible as hell. Literally impervious to blades and bullets, strength of nine bulls and two tigers, plus a truckload of battle experience—talk about a real, literal human monster."

"Be good now, go greet your Great-Uncle Master."

Wen Yan strode forward, ignoring the looks from Zhou Wei, and bowed with perfect form.

"Wen Yan greets Seventh Great-Uncle Master."

He adjusted his direction a bit and bowed to the big man.

"Greetings, Great-Uncle Master."

Then he gave another bow to the few folks standing behind these two big shots.

"Greetings to the senior brothers, uncles, and elders."

The nearly two-meter-tall brute stepped forward, slapped his palm—big as a palm-leaf fan—down on Wen Yan's shoulder.

A crushing pressure, laced with intense spiritual force, came crashing down on him. It was like this Deformed Corpse had turned into a giant, ready to slap him to death with a single blow.

In his mind, a blazing sun arose. Wen Yan quietly drew on the Yang Energy from the Warm Jade amulet he carried, blessing himself. He stood his ground and took the smack head-on.

With a muffled thud, Wen Yan's shoulder shuddered slightly, but his expression didn't change as he bowed again.

"Please forgive me, Great-Uncle Master. My eyes are blunt—I didn't recognize you right away."

The Deformed Corpse sensed the Yang Energy on Wen Yan, practically bursting into flames, and cracked a smile.

"Your fists are coming along nicely, even more talented than Kun'er. I'm the Eighth in line."

"Greetings, Eighth Great-Uncle Master."

Seventh Great-Uncle Master shot Eighth Great-Uncle Master a glare and smacked his hand away.

"So rough, can't you see where we are?"

Eighth Great-Uncle Master grinned and, for once, didn't talk back.

Looked at like this, aside from being insanely tall, he didn't look all that eye-catching. With those sunglasses, most people would never guess he was anything special.

Unlike those with faces all gray or covered in hair like Haired Zombies—you couldn't pay those types to take a flight somewhere.

This time he was able to fly only because Seventh Great-Uncle Master brought him along, plus he had a proper ranking and a registered Taoist name.

Seventh Great-Uncle Master had thought, since he was coming to Nanwu County anyway, he might as well see Wen Yan when there was time.

Who knew Wen Yan was so well-mannered and showed up at the airport without a word?

Once in the car, Wen Yan sat with Seventh Great-Uncle Master. He was a bit worried that the folks from Nanwu County Scorching Sun Department would try to play some tricks. But after chatting a few minutes, Wen Yan realized he was overthinking it.

Seventh Great-Uncle Master coming personally was just about showing respect. The real work would be done by those young senior brothers and a couple of elder uncles.

Not that these guys had any great martial or spiritual talent, but that didn't mean they were useless elsewhere. Anything they handled would run perfectly smooth.

No need to worry about it. After chatting for a bit, Wen Yan got straight to the point about going to the Scorching Sun Department's warehouse for treasure selection.

"Seventh Great-Uncle Master, you know I don't have much experience. If they put something good in front of me, I might not even recognize it."

"That bastard Cai Qidong probably won't let me go with you anyway."

Wen Yan pretended not to hear the first part. The driver up front also kept his gaze fixed, acting as if he heard nothing.

"So how do I pick something decent? Even if I can't use it, bring it home for the elders—still not bad. I heard there's all kinds of good stuff here."

"Tch, what good stuff could the Scorching Sun Department in Nanwu County have? If you get a chance, head to Guanzhong County, that's where the real treasures are.

Guanzhong County's gifted—a single branch can suppress a whole region; their treasures outweigh all the other commanderies combined.

If you really don't have a clue, just go with your gut.

Don't just look at the age, some ancient stuff doesn't mean it's any good.

If you sense high spirituality, you can't go wrong. Close your eyes—whatever clicks with you, pick that one.

Keep it for yourself. We aren't short on a couple of artifacts."

While speaking, Seventh Great-Uncle Master raised his hand and tapped Wen Yan's forehead. Instantly Wen Yan's vision went dark—yet, in the darkness, he could clearly sense a bright spot where Seventh Great-Uncle Master sat, and more glowing spots in the car behind.

"You feel that? That's it—don't use your eyes, use something else."

"Got it," Wen Yan replied thoughtfully.

This warehouse selection, in truth, was like opening a mystery box. The upside could beat the usual rewards by a mile, but the downside was you might just pull out something completely useless.

Halfway through the drive, Seventh Great-Uncle Master suddenly formed a Daoist seal with his fingers, gaze sharpening as he looked in a certain direction.

Then, from his cloth bag, he pulled out a cellphone.

"Hey, old-timer, you feel that?"

In the car behind, the Great Zombie removed his sunglasses, revealing pupils like pinpricks. He glanced in the same direction, letting out a sigh.

"They always say Nanwu County has a lot of foreigners—didn't think we'd run into something right after getting here. Someone's summoning... uh, was it devil or demon again? I forget. Want me to kill one as a welcoming present for our little grand-nephew?"