Chapter 21: Personal Secretary (Revised)

The leader’s voice was not loud, but Yang Xuan heard it clearly.

"Alright, just wait there. I will bid on this Evil Spirit Pill for you. As for the cost, do you have a problem with paying me back an extra ten percent?"

"Boss, can you hear me?"

Before the Demon-Suppressing Talisman could finish, the leader started shouting on the other end.

"How much? Ten percent? I strongly suspect this kid is a bandit! Ten percent? Why don't you just rob someone? Back in my day, even my loan sharking interest rates weren't that high!"

Before the leader could finish his rant, Yang Xuan hung up the phone. Less than a minute later, the phone rang again.

"Oh, you know how it is, the boss just has a short temper. Borrow it! Definitely borrow it! And we will absolutely pay you back the extra ten percent! Alright, don't worry! I'll bid on this Evil Spirit Pill for you."

At the auction, as soon as the price hit 1.3 million, Yang Xuan placed his own bid.

[System, help me bid up to two million.]

[Someone has already bid two million!]

At this, both the One-Star Ghost Emperor in the valley and the organization’s leader fell silent. Two million! Who could afford that? The auction reached a stalemate and eventually closed at two million.

Looking at the Evil Spirit Pill now in his possession, Yang Xuan was very satisfied. He hadn't sold it to the ghost clan, and he had earned two million merit points for nothing—or rather, 2.2 million to be exact.

As soon as the auction ended, the Demon-Suppressing Talisman called. "Kid, what happened? Was that two million bid yours?"

"So what? Is there a problem?"

"Damn it! Why did you bid so aggressively? It was only at 1.3 million, and you jumped it by 700,000? If you had bid properly, it might have only gone up to 1.35 million!"

Facing the Demon-Suppressing Talisman's complaints, Yang Xuan didn't hold back. "Bid properly? You mean like the organization leader, who bids in increments of one hundred?"

"..."

Yang Xuan’s words silenced him. Of course, the Demon-Suppressing Talisman didn't suspect anything; he knew better than anyone how stingy his boss was. Throughout the entire auction—no, the entire world—no one, human or ghost, would bid in increments of one hundred at such a high-stakes event other than his boss.

"Come pick it up later. Remember to bring the 2.2 million merit points! If you're too late, I’ll be off to my next spiritual performance gig."

Half an hour after hanging up, the sound of helicopter blades echoed above the hotel. The Demon-Suppressing Talisman stepped out of the helicopter with great flair, ignoring his hurried gait and trembling legs. To retrieve the pill as quickly as possible, the leader had specifically dispatched a helicopter.

Once at the hotel, the Demon-Suppressing Talisman asked triumphantly, "Where is the Evil Spirit Pill?"

Yang Xuan looked at him coldly and retorted, "Did you bring the merit points? Cash on delivery. Once the merit points are here, the pill is yours. If they aren't, I'm selling it to someone else."

"..."

Before he left, the leader had only given him 200,000 merit points. As for the rest, the boss had only told him to figure it out himself. The Demon-Suppressing Talisman had hoped to talk Yang Xuan into a deal, but that clearly wasn't going to happen. However, he quickly thought of another strategy.

"I only have 200,000 merit points on me, but I can make up for the remaining two million with something else." He leaned in and whispered into Yang Xuan's ear.

Yang Xuan perked up. Everyone loves an unexpected bonus. "Tell me, what do you plan to use to offset the balance?"

The Demon-Suppressing Talisman gave a lecherous grin. "Remember that beauty who came to the organization the other day?"

Yang Xuan recalled the face and fiery figure of the Enchantress. "I remember. So what?"

"Want to have her?" The Demon-Suppressing Talisman grew increasingly excited.

"No. But I can tell that *you* really want her."

"..." The Demon-Suppressing Talisman was speechless. He was about to give up, but for the sake of the two million merit points, he forced himself to continue. "Seriously, do you want her or not?"

"No..." Yang Xuan knew exactly what the Demon-Suppressing Talisman was up to. After a moment of silence, the talisman tried another angle.

"Let me tell you a secret: the Enchantress is wealthy. If you win her over, forget two million—you could have ten million."

"Ten million?" Yang Xuan was surprised. When he last saw her, he felt she was nothing special beyond her looks. How could a "weak woman" have ten million?

"Don't believe me?" The Demon-Suppressing Talisman pulled out his phone and showed him after a moment of searching. "This is a photo I took of her account balance."

Yang Xuan glanced at it and saw that she really did have tens of millions. That was a massive sum; if he got his hands on that, he couldn't imagine how much he could upgrade his system.

"Deal!"

After handing over the Evil Spirit Pill, he received the 200,000 merit points. Without spending a cent, he had gained 200,000 merit points. Looking at his system balance, Yang Xuan was very satisfied.

Once the Demon-Suppressing Talisman left, Yang Xuan locked his door and entered the system. The interface had changed.

[Congratulations, Host! Detection of over 200,000 merit points. The system will automatically upgrade your Fortune Order!]

"What? The Fortune Order can be upgraded?"

[Yes, Host. The Fortune Order is divided into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Mysterious, and Yellow, ranked from high to low. Upgrades are based on your balance: 200,000, 1 million, 10 million, and 100 million.]

[The higher the level of the Fortune Order, the greater the fortune you will receive.]

[Would you like to upgrade your Fortune Order and unlock new opportunities?]

[Fortune Order: Level 1 -> 2: 0/5,000 Merit Points]

Yang Xuan thought for a moment. He was now a "well-off" man with 200,000 points; 5,000 was nothing. "Top up!"

[Congratulations, Host. 5,000 merit points charged successfully. Mysterious-tier Fortune Order has reached Level 2.]

[Opening Fortune Order rewards now!]

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: Soul Realm Banner *1. Location: Map.]

As Yang Xuan navigated to the map, a large map appeared with a cursor marking the location of the Soul Realm Banner. Upon closer inspection, he realized it was less than ten kilometers away—on the top floor of a nearby skyscraper.

"Opportunity strikes! Time to move!"

With the Fortune Order active, Yang Xuan wasn't about to let the treasure slip into someone else's hands, so he immediately set off.