Facing an Ancient God for a Year

“Don’t worry, it’s a trifle for someone like you.”

Seeing Fu Qian willing to listen to her terms, Yuan Shan immediately perked up and swiftly continued.

“You just need to find someone and check his mental state, that’s all.”

Check his mental state?

Fu Qian’s brow furrowed slightly.

“Who?”

“Gan Zuoxun.”

Yuan Shan slowly exhaled a name, but quickly realized from Fu Qian’s expression that he had no idea who that was.

“A municipal official from Shangjing.”

“But checking mental states, is the Night Watchman now moonlighting as a psychologist?”

“Transcendents who are psychologists do exist and are quite effective, but that’s beyond our responsibilities,” Yuan Shan replied with a sigh to Fu Qian’s question.

“What we need to ensure is that key personnel are not influenced by supernatural forces.”

“Not long ago, we received a report claiming that this newly appointed municipal official has issues and has now become a puppet of certain consortia.”

“Are you suggesting he wasn’t one originally?” Fu Qian asked with some surprise.

According to his understanding, although the world ostensibly operated under a federal system with a rather complete organizational structure, key positions in functional departments were essentially spokespeople for consortia and family organizations.

Behind these bodies essentially lay a massive consortium of Transcendents.

This was actually a mutual attraction. On one hand, considering the vast resources and information support needed for advancements, it was completely understandable that ambitious Transcendents would choose to attach themselves to an organization rather than act alone.

Even in a broad sense, the Night Watchman was such an organization.

Unfortunately, compared to the vast number of Transcendents, the Night Watchman had stringent entry requirements, allowing only a small part to join, while the rest had to find another way.

On the other hand, consortiums of Transcendents were also more likely to control more resources and develop into powerful organizations.

Although the Night Watchman had set an ironclad rule forbidding violence against ordinary people, with cruel punishments for violators, over the years, the most profitable businesses and critical areas were still dominated by Transcendents.

This was a natural convergence effect, unavoidable.

To give the simplest example, even if you knew the Night Watchman protected you, would you dare argue for profit with someone who could crush your skull at any moment?

And given the same business, would you prefer to partner with a superhero or someone who could be blown away at any moment?

After all, this amounts to a de facto ‘to the virtuous belongs the spoils,’ as even the Night Watchman couldn’t restrict the basic rights of Transcendents.

This was also why Wen Li’s father spared no expense to help his daughter advance; some things were fundamentally different.

Of course, to maintain appearances, the representatives chosen by these organizations tended to tacitly be ordinary people, a kind of unspoken understanding.

But now, hearing Yuan Shan’s words, was this Mr. Gan, the municipal official, merely a potential puppet before?

“Gan Zuoxun’s case is quite special,” Yuan Shan explained in a soft voice, clearly understanding Fu Qian’s question.

“Given Shangjing’s massive volume and historical inertia, in addition to the large number of Transcendents living here, no single organization currently holds an absolute advantage.”

“This, however, has made the underground competition even fiercer.”

“Gan Zuoxun was chosen as a municipal official under such circumstances: he had a strong call from the civilians and did not appear to be conspicuously close to any side.”

“The current claim, though, seems to be that someone has run out of patience with his ability to deal with all sides and maintain balance,” Yuan Shan said.

“I roughly understand, but for such a small matter, can’t you just get someone to handle it?” Fu Qian asked.

“Is it not a waste to have a Demigod intervene?”

“First of all, we definitely can’t conduct the investigation ostentatiously; we must also consider the impact,”

“Ordinary people are more sensitive than you think. Any leaked information could greatly affect Gan Zuoxun, even just the possibility of mental contamination is something they can’t handle,”

“But if we simply let someone take a glance, I’m a bit uneasy about that.”

Yuan Shan explained the reasons seriously, her tone seeming to imply something.

“Because of Ariel?”

Fu Qian reacted.

“Mhm.”

Yuan Shan nodded, subconsciously glancing at Xiao Mingyue beside her, whose face was almost buried in her chest.

“It would have been fine before, but after witnessing that guy’s methods, I’ve always been somewhat uneasy, which is why I originally intended to go myself.”

“Now, given your excellent performance before, you are undoubtedly quite adept at recognizing mental contamination, making you a more suitable candidate than me.”

“You’re being one-sided; I’m actually better at causing mental contamination.”

“…Of course, I hope you can act as secretly as possible, without revealing your intentions.”

Yuan Shan pretended not to hear Fu Qian’s words and continued.

“Is it another dark task, then?”

Fu Qian, having listened, looked disappointed.

“I thought I could take advantage of the Night Watchman’s reputation to have my way with the locals.”

…

“Besides, Chief Yuan seems to have misunderstood my character. She always asks me to do these dark tasks, but essentially, I’m still a law-abiding good citizen, even honestly paying my bookstore’s taxes.”

“Your bookstore doesn’t even meet the tax threshold…”

Yuan Shan’s forehead vein popped, looking like she wanted to hit someone.

But, after all, as the Chief of Shangjing, she eventually held her temper, calling Xiao Mingyue over to whisper a few words.

The latter then carefully withdrew, returning shortly with a card in hand.

“Shangjing and surrounding area special access permit; your information has been entered.”

Yuan Shan took the card, without thinking, handed it to Fu Qian.

“With this, you can freely enter most areas, and if necessary, you can even request assistance from the police.”

“You may use it for this operation, and after completion, you can keep this card.”

See, resolving misunderstandings can be quite simple.

Fu Qian accepted the card with satisfaction.

“Spot on! Tell me, where is the person?”

“This afternoon at three o’clock, Gan Zuoxun will attend an event at Eastern Suburbs Hospital. There will be quite a crowd then; you can take this opportunity for close observation.”

“Understood, leave it to me.”

Fu Qian made a victorious gesture.

“Keep it proper, okay?”

Even so, before he left, Yuan Shan specially reminded him, still looking a little worried.

“What’s there to worry about? We’re at a hospital.”

Fu Qian looked at her strangely.

…

This should be it.

After leaving the speechless Yuan Shan, it wasn’t long before Fu Qian stood in front of a hospital.

And judging from its appearance, it had been around for quite some time.

“The appointed time of three o’clock has arrived.”

The next moment, Fu Qian checked the time and snorted coldly.