Volume One, Chapter 111: Professor Williams

Charlie let out a sigh of relief. Although Xu Hengyang had mentioned earlier that their newly appointed super A-grade spirit master was very kind-hearted, Charlie still felt somewhat uneasy before meeting him.

He hadn’t expected things to go so smoothly.

Xu Hengyang asked, “Can you locate Riley’s exact position now?”

Charlie replied, “We can’t pinpoint the exact location, only a general direction. He should be somewhere north of your country.”

Xu Hengyang stroked his chin thoughtfully. “Our country is vast; that won’t be easy to find.”

Charlie apologized, “We only received news about Riley recently, and without your consent, we couldn’t conduct a large-scale search within Huaguo.”

“I understand; you’re respecting our sovereignty,” Xu Hengyang quickly agreed.

At that moment, Dai Luming said, “Let me take charge of this matter. I’ll coordinate with Lan Guo to find him.”

Xu Hengyang nodded. “Luming, thank you for taking this on.”

He then turned to Chi Xingwan. “Xingwan, you don’t need to be involved in the search for now. Once we find him, we’ll notify you to carry out the capture.”

“No problem,” Chi Xingwan replied.

With the formalities concluded, Xu Hengyang brought up the matter of Charlie staying in Huaguo.

“Xingwan, from now on, Charlie will be a professor at your university. If you see him on campus, you should call him Professor Williams,” Xu Hengyang teased.

Chi Xingwan was a little surprised. “Mr. Charlie, you’re going to teach at Yanjing University?”

Charlie smiled. “Yes, but I’m not hired by the Department of Taoist Studies. I’m with the Mathematics Department.”

“Charlie is a university math professor in Lan Guo. This time, he’s accepted an invitation from Yanjing University’s Math Department as a foreign instructor. During his free time, he’ll visit the Taoist Studies Department,” she understood.

On the surface, he was teaching mathematics, but his real focus was visiting the Taoist Studies Department—and he was doing so openly with the approval of the Huaguo Spirit Master Association.

“Our Lan Guo Spirit Master Association is preparing to establish its own education system, so they sent me here to learn. I’m grateful for this opportunity,” Charlie said.

Chi Xingwan then realized that not every country’s Spirit Master Association had a well-developed educational system. Many countries lagged behind, some even behind Huaguo’s state from three thousand years ago.

After all, three millennia ago, Huaguo already had major sects openly accepting disciples. Now, Huaguo had established the Taoist Studies Department at Yanjing University, not only teaching knowledge to aspiring spirit masters but also issuing official diplomas to secure their futures.

Furthermore, the Huaguo Spirit Master Association had branches in every province, enabling them to recruit talented individuals and strengthen their spirit master ranks.

By contrast, Lan Guo, like many other countries, still relied heavily on clan systems or master-apprentice traditions. The transmission of knowledge and skills was inefficient, and talent recruitment was limited.

Lan Guo now intended to change this, which was why they sent Charlie to study the Huaguo Spirit Master Association’s experience.

This was a form of cultural exchange that didn’t conflict with Huaguo’s interests, so the association had no reason to refuse.

Xu Hengyang chuckled, “Xingwan, though you’re officially a student, you’re actually taking on the role of a teacher. Charlie, if you have any questions, you can also ask Xingwan.”

Charlie nodded at Chi Xingwan with a smile. “In that case, Advisor Chi, I look forward to your guidance.”

“Likewise,” she said.

While Xu Hengyang was about to reminisce with Charlie, Dai Luming had already left to arrange personnel to search for Riley. Chi Xingwan then left the tower alone.

Walking down Eternal Night Street, Chi Xingwan suddenly heard someone call her name.

She looked toward the voice and saw Tongtong, a young novice from the Thousand Springs Temple, waving at her.

Chi Xingwan approached and asked, “Tongtong? It’s rare to see you on Eternal Night Street.”

Tongtong, sitting at the stall selling spirit plants for the Thousand Springs Temple, replied, “Many senior disciples have gone down the mountain recently to participate in missions in Qinghu Province. We don’t have enough people manning the stalls, so I came to help.”

“I see.” Chi Xingwan had no urgent matters, so she thought for a moment and sat at the stall to chat with Tongtong.

At this hour, there were few customers. Tongtong poured her a cup of tea brewed from spirit plants, turned on a Bluetooth speaker to play soft music, and then eagerly asked Chi Xingwan to tell him about the missions in Qinghu Province.

Chi Xingwan chose to describe some less terrifying events. Tongtong was still a child and came from the farming-focused Thousand Springs Temple; he knew little about the outside world of the Xuanmen or the various tasks of the Spirit Master Association.

So he listened intently, his eyes bright with fascination.

After finishing her story, Chi Xingwan quietly sipped her tea and listened to the music playing from the speaker.

“Tongtong, I didn’t expect you to like old songs.”

Tongtong grinned. “My master likes them. He always plays these songs, so I’ve gotten used to them.”

Just as one song finished, the next began, and Chi Xingwan found it somewhat familiar.

“This is a new song, right?” she asked. “It sounds very familiar—I think I’ve heard it before.”

Tongtong glanced at his phone. “It’s a new song, but the singer is a veteran artist, my master’s favorite. Her name is Li Hongying.”

Chi Xingwan immediately remembered. Wei Shian had mentioned Li Hongying’s name before, and this song was written by Wei Shian for Li Hongying, released recently.

“She sings beautifully,” Chi Xingwan said sincerely.

“Yes,” Tongtong agreed. “My master loves her. He used to sigh a lot, saying she had bad luck, that fate was against her. Recently, she made a comeback, and my master was very happy.”

Chi Xingwan was curious. “Did something happen to her?”

Tongtong explained, “I heard that decades ago she was accidentally involved in a metaphysical incident, which led her to withdraw from the public eye.”

Chi Xingwan pondered carefully and suddenly understood.

No wonder the name Li Hongying sounded familiar—she had seen it in the Spirit Master Association’s archives. Li Hongying was a victim of a metaphysical incident.

However, Chi Xingwan didn’t dwell on it. That matter had been resolved long ago, and Li Hongying had returned to a normal life. Now that she had made a comeback and become a close friend of Wei Shian, everything seemed fine.

After chatting with Tongtong for a while, Daidai finished playing on Eternal Night Street and flew back. Chi Xingwan then left the street.

As soon as she stepped out of Yangguan Alley, her phone rang.

It was Chen Qifan calling.

“Sis-in-law, didn’t I tell you my mom is back in the country? Are you free tomorrow? I want to introduce you to them.”

Chi Xingwan thought for a moment. She had no urgent plans for tomorrow and answered, “I’m free.”

Chen Qifan was delighted. “My mom’s treating us. I already told Xiao Yue last night; he said he’d make time. I’ll send you the location. You all come together tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Chi Xingwan replied.