Chapter 52: Base Leader

Ye Jingqiu picked up the jade pendant, gently brushing the dust from its surface with her right thumb.

It was an exquisite Pixiu jade pendant, about the size of her palm. The whole thing was a vibrant, translucent green, carved with a lively and adorable little pixiu.

Ye Jingqiu flipped it over in her hand, thinking it must be made of jadeite. She had visited the Jade Cutting Base during a social practice stint before and knew that top-quality jadeite was practically priceless. Something like this nearly glass-grade, high-purity green jadeite could easily fetch nine figures at Christie’s Auction House.

So why had such a valuable item fallen from a tree?

Wait… Pixiu? Pixiu!

Suddenly, Ye Jingqiu remembered something. Wasn’t the pendant hanging from the Captain’s neck just minutes ago also a pixiu?

The two looked identical.

The more she thought about it, the more alarmed she became. Had Olivia’s mention of “finding jade” been referring to this pendant? And why was it here in the Kazni Temple, the most heavily guarded part of the Base? Did the Center Group even know about it?

She looked up again at the enormous Towering Divine Tree. Its canopy was a massive, fluffy ball of dense foliage stretching into the clouds, layers of green leaves overlapping without a single trace of fruit. It didn’t look like it could hide anything at all.

Ye Jingqiu sighed and carefully slipped the pendant into her pocket with her right hand. If this was the reason she’d come alone to Shanghai, she couldn’t just let it go that easily.

Just then, footsteps echoed from behind her. Feeling like a thief caught red-handed, Ye Jingqiu hastily pulled out her hand and coughed a few times. When she looked up and saw it was the Captain, her nerves eased a bit.

“Let’s go. The intruder from earlier has been subdued at the Ritual Hall Gate. We’ll head out, and the Base will run another inspection of the Kazni Temple shortly to confirm nothing else is amiss before sealing it off completely.”

Shi Zui had tied up all her long hair by now. Perhaps sensing that the evening’s incident was finally winding down, the Captain’s expression wasn’t quite so stern anymore.

Ye Jingqiu nodded and hurried to catch up, probing cautiously as she walked behind. “Captain, what kind of tree is this? How did it grow so huge in a temple with no soil or water?”

“This is an Undying Tree transplanted here by the predecessor who founded the Base. Conservatively speaking, it’s been alive for about three thousand years,” Shi Zui said, pausing slightly at the question and glancing back.

“Undying Tree?” Ye Jingqiu froze. “You mean the Ganmu from the Classic of Mountains and Seas? The legend says eating it grants immortality.”

Shi Zui nodded. “That’s the one, though it’s not as miraculous as the ancient texts claim. From a botanical standpoint, it’s just a Dragon Blood Tree infused with exotic beast blood.”

Dragon Blood Trees were evergreen tall trees native to the Canary Islands off Africa. The pine in the idiom “as long-lived as the Southern Mountains’ pine” referred to this very species. They grew extremely slowly, making them rare, and their resin was the ancient world’s go-to preservative. The hardened resin clumps were the famous traditional medicine known as Qilin Resin.

“Infused with exotic beast blood?” Ye Jingqiu frowned, surprised by the answer.

“Legend has it that Dragon Blood Trees sprang from the blood spilled when a giant dragon clashed with a divine elephant. This particular tree was once the nest of a Candle Dragon, so it’s absorbed a great deal of its blood. That caused genetic mutations, leading to its current form.”

“So what does it live on? And why put it in the temple?”

“It absorbs elemental particles,” Shi Zui replied, withdrawing her gaze and continuing onward. “As for the second question, the temple was built around it. The stone slabs under our feet cover its root system. The tree is valuable, sure, but not on the level of the Exotic Beast Archives or the Pandora Key, so I didn’t go into detail earlier… Hold on, let me close the door.”

Ye Jingqiu stepped aside with an “oh,” watching as the Captain shut the bronze doors with both hands. She watched the Towering Divine Tree’s extending green leaves vanish from view.

Subconsciously, she touched the pendant in her pocket, then casually asked as if it were no big deal, “Captain, this tree’s branches are so lush. Didn’t that predecessor leave any treasures on it for future generations?”

“No, the Base Leader personally inspected it top to bottom many times and found nothing.”

Shi Zui shook her head. Ye Jingqiu inwardly breathed a sigh of relief, thinking she’d dodged that one, when the Captain suddenly hummed thoughtfully and spoke again.

“Though, the Base Leader did theorize that the tree functions like a safe deposit box. Supposedly, only someone meeting specific conditions can unlock it and find something inside.” Shi Zui glanced back at her curious little teammate. “Word Manifestation might have the power to open locks. If you’re really that curious, don’t complain about me going too hard during practice the day after tomorrow.”

Ye Jingqiu’s heart pounded wildly for an instant, her right hand clenching the pendant, though her face remained innocently blank. “On second thought, I’m not curious at all, Captain! Just pretend I never asked!”

“Shouldn’t Word Manifestation also mean your word is your bond?”

“Fine, fine, Captain! A gentleman’s word is harder to chase than a four-horse chariot, but I’m no gentleman!”

“If you’re so set on calling yourself a petty villain, I won’t stop you.”

“Captain, Captain~ If I admit to being a petty villain, will you go easy on me?”

“You can guess.”

“……”

The two figures receded deeper into the dim temple corridor, their occasional murmurs echoing faintly. Back in the Kazni Temple, the Undying Tree—which had lived for over three thousand years—continued breathing in elements to sustain itself. The bloodstain from Ye Jingqiu on its trunk appeared to have long since dried.

But no one noticed that once the bronze doors slammed shut, the bloodstain slowly seeped into the bark, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

The trunk gleamed anew, pristine as ever, as if that blood had never been there at all.

~~~

The next morning at exactly ten o’clock, Building 209.

Ye Jingqiu yawned as she pushed open her bedroom door. If not for the biological clock drilled into her under the Captain’s supervision, Classmate Xiao Ye would have slept straight through until two in the afternoon. Even in past winter and summer breaks, not even Teacher Xiao Xu could drag her out of bed.

Last night—no, this morning’s excitement had evidently been too intense. Ye Jingqiu felt her arms and legs go limp; she lacked even the strength to head downstairs. Breakfast was certainly over by now, so she simply draped herself over the second-floor railing, listlessly tilting her head to watch the three actual adults bustling about below.

A few vibrations came from the Will Ring on her wrist. Shi Zui was the first to notice Ye Jingqiu. She glanced up at her teammate on the second floor, whose complexion and spirits were both lackluster, and remarked offhandedly, “There’s a bottle of milk in the kitchen. Lunch will arrive in an hour.”

“Thanks for the reminder, Captain. Then I’ll just have some milk and wait for lunch.” Sure enough, Ye Jingqiu perked up at the words. She thanked the captain at the top of her lungs, stretched her back lazily, and shuffled downstairs in her slippers before veering into the kitchen.

Shi Zui responded with a calm “Mm.” Meanwhile, Zhou Xianhui, who was lounging against a little bear plushie nearby, glanced around curiously before suddenly bursting into laughter. She fixed Shi Zui with an intrigued stare. “Captain, when did we start stocking milk in the small building again? Last time Xiao Qiu drank it all and said she wanted to switch flavors, so didn’t we just stop ordering it?”

“Yeah, yeah. I even told Aether last month not to deliver milk to 209 anymore.” Xie Pingzhi, sprawled on the sofa as if idly commenting, chimed in. “Hiss—don’t tell me you want some, Captain? But aren’t you lactose intolerant?”

Right then, an outraged shout erupted from the kitchen. “A-Xie, did you get buzzed and drink it all without refreezing the ice tray again? Why’s the ice box empty? Give me back my iced milk! You’re my sworn enemy now—”

Xie Pingzhi threw up her hands and bellowed back, “I didn’t drink any! Don’t falsely accuse me, Xiao Qiu.”

“Tsk.”

“Tsk.”

In the next instant, Zhou Xianhui and Xie Pingzhi locked eyes in the living room. They shook their heads in unison, tsking with meaningful sighs.

Shi Zui: “…”

She realized her teammates were straying ever further down the path of “Xiao Qiu-ization.”

Shi Zui’s fingers paused briefly on the keyboard. Her cool gaze swept over her spectating teammates before she simply ducked her head and ignored them.

Her Wind Instinct activated silently. A few strands of hair slipped free from her ponytail, quietly veiling the captain’s ears, which showed faint signs of reddening.

Oblivious to the living room exchange, Ye Jingqiu sauntered out, slurping her milk at a leisurely pace. “The base didn’t lose anything yesterday, right?”

“We lost a key, but nothing else.” Xie Pingzhi drawled lazily in reply, though her fingers flew across the keyboard as she chatted with someone.

The casual tone suggested it wasn’t a major issue. Ye Jingqiu drained the milk carton, crumpled it flat, and asked offhandedly, “What key? The Finance Vault? Logistics warehouse? Or the Technology Reserve Room?”

“The one from Kazni Temple—the Key to Pandora’s Box.” Xie Pingzhi delivered the line as breezily as if she’d misplaced a subpar slab of beef, yet the revelation was bombshell-worthy.

“Huh????” Ye Jingqiu went blank. Rumor had it Pandora’s Box contained half a Will Origin. She had no idea what that was good for, but the name alone screamed importance! The base had spent years searching and found only that one key.

“Relax, no need to stress. It’s gone, so we’ll track it down again. Pandora’s Box’s whereabouts are unknown anyway. Even if the Savior bunch snagged the key, it’s useless to them.” Xie Pingzhi waved it off with the unflappable poise of a general unmoved by an avalanche.

Well, everyone else in the house seemed perfectly chill about it. Ye Jingqiu forced herself to calm down and turned to the captain. “But the intruder from the Divine Temple yesterday—wasn’t she caught? Didn’t she have the key on her?”

“All they found on her was a communicator. No key. None in the temple passages either.” Shi Zui nodded, finally prying her eyes from the computer screen. She glanced at the empty milk carton in her teammate’s hand, gave a slight nod of approval, and returned to her data.

Zhou Xianhui patted the nearly threadbare little bear, her tone helpless. “But the key’s missing all the same. Nothing we can do. It might’ve been lost earlier than we realized—it’s been a full month since the last thorough temple inspection.”

“So how do we recover it? Does it have a tracker?” Ye Jingqiu pondered, somehow certain this job would fall to Team One.

“The Base Leader can sense its rough location. The key carries origin aura, and the Chief’s Instinct is deeply linked to the Will Origin,” Xie Pingzhi explained leisurely. “No hurry. Once the Center Group wraps their afternoon meeting, we’ll head out. Classmate Xiao Qiu, I’d suggest savoring these final moments of peace—this mission won’t be any easier than the Candle Dragon one.”

Shi Zui hummed in agreement, snapping her laptop shut and turning to Ye Jingqiu. “That said, before we depart, the Base Leader wants a word with you.”

“Me?”

~~~

“That’s right, you,” Ying Tian said with a faint smile, his tone light. “Our base’s fifth S-rank member in history. It’d be a shame not to lay eyes on you myself.”

This was the Base Leader’s office: a modest wooden cabin whose walls were lined with curio shelves crammed with peculiar old tomes. The ceiling featured a vast, remotely controlled glass panel over which sunlight flowed serene and still, lending the space an air of tranquil timelessness.

Ye Jingqiu now sat in a Ming pearwood chair opposite Ying Tian. She noted that the Base Leader appeared to harbor a distinct fondness for the Ming Dynasty; every piece of furniture here was either a faithful replica or—more likely, given the elder’s refined air—genuine antiques handed down through centuries. He hardly seemed the sort to tolerate modern knockoffs.

Likely owing to the private nature of the meeting, Ying Tian had shed his daisy-pinned suit for a simple black Ming-style round-collar robe with wide sleeves. Modern folk would struggle to move comfortably in such garb, yet he glided through his motions with effortless grace, implying it was daily wear for him.

“What should I call you? Base Leader Ying?” Ye Jingqiu considered before asking.

Ying Tian set aside his pure copper pipe and deftly prepared tea. At her question, he glanced up slightly, his expression still kindly. “Of course you can. But like A-Shi, feel free to call me Uncle Ying.”

A sly grin tugged at his lips. “After all, aren’t we practically family friends?”

Ye Jingqiu’s pupils contracted sharply. She clutched the chair’s armrest on instinct, willing her hammering heart to steady. “Y-Your ‘family friends’—do you mean what I think you mean?”

“Don’t get too worked up. Have some tea first,” Ying Tian said, sliding a steaming cup toward her. “This is pre-Qingming West Lake Dragon Well tea. Back in the day, your sister and I met over a cup just like this.”

“Sister?”

“That’s right, Ye Zhiqiu. She was the fourth Word Manifestation Awakener in history. During the Tianqi Era, China’s Awakeners were active across this land as members of the Ming Cult, and Ye Zhiqiu was their undisputed leader. In your young folks’ terms, she’d probably be called the Cult Leader.”

That didn’t add up. Her sister was clearly named Ye Zhixia. How could an elder share a generational name character with a junior?

Ye Jingqiu was about to press for details when sudden realization dawned on her.

“The Tianqi Era… that’s 1620 AD, isn’t it…?” she murmured, her voice laced with shock and doubt. “You met my sister back then?”

“I was born in Ying Tian Prefecture in the Ming Wanli 29th Year. We crossed paths in the second year of the Tianqi Era,” Ying Tian replied with a steady smile. “My Instinct evolved slightly due to the Will Origin, granting me Aether: Nine Lives—a greatly extended lifespan.”

“So… you’re four hundred and one years old?!”

“Physiologically, yes, but I’ve only truly lived a little over a hundred and twenty years,” Ying Tian said, taking a sip of his tea. A faint, exquisite aroma filled the room, though Ye Jingqiu was far too preoccupied to notice. “Do you know about the Tianqi Great Explosion?”

She nodded eagerly.

“The Tianqi Great Explosion happened because the Beijing Channel in the Base collapsed. Digging deeper, though, the root cause was that Ye Zhiqiu tragically perished alongside the Candle Dragon. Her Word Manifestation Instinct unraveled, destabilizing the Base Space and triggering the disaster.”

“Word Manifestation is connected to the Base Space? Why did my sister go down fighting the Candle Dragon?” Ye Jingqiu fought to keep her words steady.

“Easy there, young one,” Ying Tian chuckled warmly. “The Base Space was created by the very first Word Manifestation Awakener and involves spatial laws. Only someone with the same Instinct can maintain its stability—that’s why I pushed so hard to bring you into the Base.”

“As for the Candle Dragon…” Ying Tian sighed heavily. “It killed your sister’s lover, so Ye Zhiqiu threw her life into the battle against it. Remember that Yongle Sword from the Eight Gates Soul Lock Dragon Trapping Array? That was her weapon back then.”

As he spoke, Ying Tian watched Ye Jingqiu intently from the corner of his eye, as if searching her face for some flicker of emotion.

But there was none. Ye Jingqiu’s expression remained one of pure astonishment.

“So you’ve lived over a hundred and twenty years? And what about me now?” Her mind was a whirlwind; everything she’d learned in the past two days felt utterly unbelievable.

“That explosion left nearly every Awakener in the Base dead or crippled. I was lucky to survive by slipping into a coma. I didn’t wake until 1900. I traveled far and wide searching for other Awakeners, returned here in May 1906, and with support from various backers, we built the Exotic Beast Handling Base as it stands today.”

Ying Tian drained his cup. His words came slow and measured, but Ye Jingqiu could hear the contentment in his tone.

“As for you… I only knew Ye Zhiqiu had an unborn sister. A year ago, there was unusual elemental activity in Shanghai. I spotted the Word Manifestation Instinct in footage from Shi Zui’s shoot and realized it was you.”

“An unborn sister?” Ye Jingqiu felt dazed. Could Word Manifestation double as an ultrasound? Wait… who was the mother of her and Ye Zhiqiu?

“Don’t look at me—I have no idea,” Ying Tian said with a shrug, playing the mischievous old codger. “Above the Tens of Thousands of Instincts lie the Eleven Laws, and above them, the Will Origin. Word Manifestation is the sole Instinct that comes infinitely close to the World Will. Who knows what command Ye Zhiqiu gave you to make you appear only now?”

Ye Jingqiu’s head spun. “I’ve never heard any of this before.”

“Of course not. All the detailed records were destroyed in that explosion. Whether you’d even show up was a mystery, so I never told a soul. After all, I’m your sister’s friend, and it’s my duty to protect you.”

“Then why did you call me here?”

“To tell you the truth and encourage you to study hard?” Ying Tian joked. “Alright, truth be told, the Base Space is starting to show signs of instability. I need you to grow strong quickly and take my place here.”

“Base Leader?”

“What, after fighting tooth and nail for humanity for over a century, don’t I deserve to retire?” Ying Tian laughed heartily. The man who’d lived more than a hundred years without betraying a hint of emotion now beamed with genuine joy.

Ye Jingqiu scratched her head. “You’ll probably have to wait a good long while for that.”

Ying Tian burst into laughter. “As long as that day comes. Alright, anything else you want to ask? I don’t beat around the bush.”

It was a clear dismissal. Ye Jingqiu hadn’t expected this nominal elder to be so straightforward. She shook her head and stood. “No, I need to head back and process all this. Uncle Ying?”

He nodded with a smile, approving the address.

She let out a long breath. “Alright then, Uncle Ying. I’ll be going.”

“Mm. Oh, and one last thing,” Ying Tian said, waving a hand. “Keep an eye out for any jade pendants or the like at home. Rumor has it that’s the key to the Undying Tree. Your sister probably left you something good.”

Ye Jingqiu paused with her hand on the doorknob. Her foggy mind cleared in an instant. She turned back with a perfectly composed expression, drawing on eighteen years of acting skill in that single moment.

She flashed a sweet, obedient smile. “I’ll keep a lookout, Uncle Ying. Goodbye.”

“Goodbye.”

The office door clicked shut softly. On the monitor, Ye Jingqiu’s figure faded down the corridor.

Ying Tian, still seated, let out a sudden, abrupt chuckle.

He leisurely picked up the Ming-style pure copper pipe from the edge of his desk, lit it, and took a deep drag.

The woody scent of tobacco spread through the air. Amid the faint haze, Ying Tian’s smile grew, enigmatic and slow:

“Perfect. Just perfect.”

“So you really have forgotten it all—”

Sparks flickered in the pipe bowl, like flames the Candle Dragon was inhaling and exhaling.