Chapter 169: Phantom Jaw
Chapter 169: Phantom Jaw
The strange mark on his neck naturally made Fang Jing feel a bit anxious and uneasy.
But he soon calmed down.
He first needed to meet with Higashi Yuantai to discuss the situation.
“You’re back.”
Higashi Yuantai glanced at him and gestured for him to sit wherever he liked.
“This trip must have been tough for you. The Information Broker said they would compensate us.”
“You can handle that…”
Fang Jing didn’t overthink it and left the matter to Higashi Yuantai.
“And, as for the item you wanted earlier, I’ve asked someone to buy it from Madam Sukiko…”
“Thank you for taking care of it.”
“It’s nothing, no need to say more…”
Higashi Yuantai frowned and spoke in a low voice, “Old Man Wakabayashi’s condition has worsened. He’s now in the intensive care unit…”
Fang Jing sighed. “I never expected Old Man Wakabayashi to end up like this.”
“His health hasn’t been good for a while, but Madam Matsuko has always been taking care of him.”
Higashi Yuantai shook his head and turned his gaze to Fang Jing.
“There’s one more thing. Not long ago, Old Man Wakabayashi said he hoped you could agree to something.”
“Hmm—?”
Fang Jing raised an eyebrow in confusion, unable to guess what the old man could want from him.
“Old Man has only one daughter, Shiori, who is just nine years old.”
Higashi Yuantai spoke with a deep tone, “He said that if he passes away, he hopes you can become Shiori’s—godfather.”
“Me… become Shiori’s godfather.”
Fang Jing’s expression naturally showed some bewilderment. He had met Old Man Wakabayashi’s daughter Shiori, and she was indeed a cute and well-behaved little girl.
However, the idea of Old Man Wakabayashi’s “entrusting his orphan” to him didn’t quite match up in terms of age!
“This is Old Man’s request. But it doesn’t mean you’ll have to take care of Shiori afterward. He just hopes you will look out for the child in the future. Even if it’s only a formal relationship, Shiori wouldn’t have to worry too much about her ‘safety’.”
Higashi Yuantai also let out a troubled sigh as he explained.
“In theory, once the current leader of the Iwamoto Group passes away, Shiori should become the next leader. But she’s only nine, still too young. So, I will urge the Iwamoto Group members to follow Old Man’s wish and select an acting leader.”
Higashi Yuantai apparently had private discussions with Old Man Wakabayashi. The future Iwamoto Group would choose an acting leader from among Old Man’s most loyal subordinates.
That person would manage the group’s affairs until Shiori came of age. Only then would it be decided whether she would take over the Iwamoto Group, depending on the situation.
“Shiori is still quite young… She might not be interested in the Iwamoto Group’s business when she grows up. If that happens, we can find someone trustworthy to take over the Iwamoto Group.”
Higashi Yuantai and Old Man Wakabayashi had considered all possible scenarios. The Iwamoto Group was essentially built by Old Man himself—starting from nothing and growing steadily. An organization like this held significant value, not to mention the various assets under the Iwamoto Group. He naturally didn’t want it to fall into outsiders’ hands.
Just from listening to Higashi Yuantai’s brief explanation, Fang Jing roughly understood the old man’s intentions.
“Master Kume Nansho also said that because of my own matters, both the Iwamoto Group and the Sunao-gumi got involved. Since I’ve become the head of the Huanzang Style, helping out with this small matter wouldn’t be a loss.”
Fang Jing thought it over and felt there was no reason to fuss over Old Man Wakabayashi’s request, so he nodded in agreement.
—
After chatting a bit more with Higashi Yuantai, he returned to the Chemical Plant in the city’s outskirts.
This place had completely become his private “lair.”
A group of Sunao-gumi members were always stationed outside for security.
Several of the larger warehouses were marked by Fang Jing as no-entry zones.
No one except himself or those he permitted could enter without authorization.
“Good! Is this the ‘painting’ that Higashi Yuantai sent over?”
Last time, when he attended the collection exhibition of the so-called “Former Famous Actress,” Madam Sukiko, he had seen this ukiyo-e print.
Later, he mentioned the situation to Higashi Yuantai, and specialized subordinates found an opportunity to acquire this ukiyo-e.
Fang Jing pressed his hand on the ukiyo-e. Thick Yin Energy was instantly absorbed and stored by his Yin Devourer Fate Grade.
“Equivalent to 20 points of Growth Value…”
He had used up a lot of his current Growth Value, leaving him with 40 points. With this additional 20, he now had 60 points of Growth Value.
“Wait, over here—are these the antiques sent by Hatakena Gensai from Kyogado?”
After absorbing the Growth Value from the ukiyo-e, he discovered several antiques packed in cardboard boxes.
A note attached indicated they were deliveries from “Kyogado.”
Some time ago, Fang Jing had negotiated with Hatakena Gensai, hoping he could help recover some “special” antiques and artworks of unusual origins.
Hatakena Gensai initially refused, as Fang Jing sought items with bad reputations—cursed objects that brought misfortune to their owners or antiques with supernatural rumors.
At first, he didn’t want to agree, but he eventually gave in to Fang Jing’s persistence and promised to inquire within the industry.
Fortunately, he found a few antiques that met Fang Jing’s special requirements.
“Quite rare—this is an old-fashioned enamel clock.”
The enamel-faced, gilded bronze clock was exquisitely crafted, small and delicate.
Fang Jing touched it, but there was no trace of Yin Energy, which disappointed him a bit.
Next, he found another antique: a gilded candlestick said to have come from the Summer Palace, brought across the ocean by a Russian merchant to this country.
Unfortunately, the candlestick also had no Yin Energy attached.
He reached out again and picked up the third antique, a silver bracelet. Similarly, it had no Yin Energy.
“Just these three items together aren’t cheap. Including that ukiyo-e, the total cost probably exceeds ten million.”
This screening method was clearly like searching for a needle in a haystack. The problem was, Fang Jing didn’t have a better method. Buying them back was relatively faster. Otherwise, he’d have to visit collectors personally and make contact during negotiations.
The latter could save money, but it was too time-consuming.
Besides, Fang Jing could resell these antiques. Even if he didn’t profit, recovering some of the cost wasn’t impossible.
He picked up the fourth collectible—an international Go set carved from ivory.
The moment he touched the ivory board, Fang Jing felt a cold Yin Energy. He absorbed it immediately, but it only gave 5 points of Growth Value.
Five points was really very little, but having some was better than none.
“Then, there’s the fifth and final antique… It turned out to be a sword.”
The last collectible was a Katana.
The tag attached by Hatakena Gensai briefly explained that this sword came from a samurai family’s collection. Legend said a mad samurai used this sword for “tsujigiri”—he hid on mountain paths at night, testing the blade on passing travelers, killing over ten people in total. It was a cursed blade stained with the blood of innocent souls.
As soon as Fang Jing touched this cursed blade, he felt a chilling coldness. A Yin Energy lurked within the blade, which Fang Jing absorbed, converting it into 17 points of Growth Value.
This was an unexpected delight. Fang Jing hadn’t expected the sword to contain 17 points of Growth Value.
“It seems that actively searching for antiques is a pretty good option.”
Having absorbed enough Yin Energy, Fang Jing felt quite satisfied. This was much better than randomly stumbling upon things.
Just then, he received a phone call.
“Place the ‘goods’ in the other warehouse area. By the way, did you follow my arrangements?”
“Don’t worry, everything was done according to plan.”
The transporter spoke calmly, “There were no issues during transport…”
—The “goods” referred to in their conversation was, of course, the Corpse Hound Demar.
Fang Jing had entrusted him to a specialized transporter. To prevent his escape, he had reapplied Cadaveric Toxin to Demar’s lower half. He also instructed the transporter to prepare a large iron barrel, stuff Demar inside, and pour in quick-drying cement, sealing the Corpse Hound inside with no way to break free.
“The timing is perfect. Capturing a Corpse Hound is quite rare. I should take this good opportunity to study it and conduct some tests and experiments.”
His encounters with Demar and Yamawang had given him some understanding of Corpse Hounds.
Unfortunately, that alone wasn’t enough to fully comprehend these abnormal beings.
“This Chemical Plant’s warehouse area might not be suitable for confinement. At the very least, it needs some modifications…”
To handle a Corpse Hound properly, a suitable location was essential.
He couldn’t watch over it 24 hours a day, so he needed to design a complete confinement system.
For this, he contacted Higashi Yuantai’s subordinate Ōsumi, as well as the Chemical Plant manager.
“Does the Chemical Plant have a reservoir?”
“It does, but it’s not holding any water.”
The Chemical Plant did have a reservoir about five meters deep.
Fang Jing went to check the environment and thought the location could be utilized. The reservoir was over five meters deep, and he had no intention of filling it with water anyway.
He then contacted the manager to arrange modifications to the surrounding area.
Once the order was given, the renovation was completed very quickly.
Two excavators and construction vehicles entered the Chemical Plant.
But that wasn’t enough. Fang Jing searched online and purchased a bulletproof coffin made of special materials.
There are always some odd companies in this world that produce odd products.
Fang Jing couldn’t understand why anyone would make a coffin with bulletproof materials.
But considering it could actually be useful, he didn’t overthink it and bought the bulletproof coffin.
After all the preparations, he nodded to himself, finally feeling that things were almost in order.
When he broke open the barrel solidified with quick-drying cement, he reactivated Demar from his “frozen” state.
Fang Jing also discovered that when completely sealed off and unable to breathe or survive, Demar entered a “pseudo-death” mode.
After fifteen minutes of recovery, Demar’s lower half twitched. Countless fleshy tendrils grew from the damaged areas, and he regained vitality once more.
Cough! Cough!
He coughed forcefully a few times. His skin was corroded and damaged, yet the Corpse Hound’s vigorous life force allowed him to “revive” again.
Fang Jing marveled at the Corpse Hound’s monstrous regenerative ability.
Demar soon woke up. As soon as he opened his fully regenerated eyes, he stared fixedly at Fang Jing’s neck. Then, he burst into mad laughter: “Hahahaha—! You’re finished! Yamamaru planted the ‘Jawtooth Mark’ on you. From now on, wherever you go, any Corpse Hound within three kilometers will sense your presence. They’ll know you’re an enemy of the Phantom Jaw lineage—sworn foes! You’ll have no peace, hunted to death by the descendants of the ‘Phantom Jaw’!”
“‘Jawtooth Mark’?”
Fang Jing touched his neck, a ferocious smile forming on his lips.
“Good, you’ve shared an interesting piece of information. Come, let’s have a good chat!”
In the next instant, his eyes turned gloomy as he glared fixedly at Demar.