# 127
**Chapter 127: The Mad Scorpion**
"A Jin, this 'Fu' character looks a bit too low."
"Huh? How about now?"
"Hmm... seems a bit too far to the right now."
"Now?"
"Yeah, perfect! Just like that!"
In the narrow, aging stairwell, Yang Jin held a bright red "Fu" character in his hand, standing on a small stool as he carefully pasted it on the door, smoothing out every corner.
After finishing, he gently hopped down, turned around to inspect it, and nodded in satisfaction.
"Mom, anywhere else to put these up?"
"Every bedroom door needs one!" His aunt carefully selected a noticeably different "Fu" from the roll—larger, redder, with golden borders.
"This one goes on your brother’s door. That child is far from home, an ordinary blessing might not reach him. This one I specially got from the shop, cost over twenty yuan!"
She held the "Fu" in her hands, fingers gently brushing its edges, speaking earnestly.
Yang Jin chuckled softly. "Mom, how can a blessing have near or far?"
"Tsk, you child, what do you know? Better safe than sorry." His aunt shot him a glare. "Your brother’s life out there must be hard. With this blessing, maybe the gods will watch over him."
"Got it." Yang Jin shrugged.
He took the "Fu" and tape, opened the main door, and nudged the black, scruffy dog sleeping in the hallway with his foot. The dog staggered to its feet, yawned, and lazily followed them inside.
Yang Jin pasted "Fu" characters on each bedroom door while his aunt put on her apron and headed straight to the kitchen to prepare New Year’s Eve dinner.
"That child of yours, New Year’s almost here and not even a phone call," she muttered while chopping vegetables.
"Can’t make calls often in the military. Maybe he’s busy right now."
"Sigh... forget it, I’ll call him later. It’s the New Year, at least ask if he’s having dinner."
"Mom, let’s make fewer dishes tonight. We won’t finish too much with just the two of us."
Her chopping paused slightly. She said nothing.
Yang Jin glanced toward the kitchen, sighed softly, and once again smoothed the big "Fu" on Lin Qiye’s door, nodding approvingly.
This "Fu" was pasted pretty well.
...
Outside the low-rise building.
A black van was parked by the roadside, thick snow covering its body so only a few windows remained visible. The glass had been specially treated— from outside, only pitch black could be seen.
The man in the driver’s seat held a cigarette, slowly lowering his binoculars and picking up the walkie-talkie.
"Scorpion Three reporting. No anomalies near target. Over."
Another voice crackled through.
"Scorpion Nine reporting. Target woman chopping vegetables in kitchen, no anomalies. Over." On the rooftop opposite the building, a man in white combat gear lay prone in the snow, sniper rifle in hand, speaking calmly.
"Scorpion Eight reporting. Target boy active in living room, no anomalies. Over." From a different angle, another sniper hidden behind a screen window added.
"Copy. Hold positions."
Hearing this, Scorpion Three in the van frowned slightly and keyed the walkie-talkie again.
"Scorpion One, we’ve been here two days. How long do we wait?"
"Until the target shows."
"What if he never comes?"
The man on the other end went silent for a moment, then replied, "Miss Snake Woman says if he hasn’t appeared by tonight, we grab the woman and kid and deliver them to her."
"Snake Woman, Snake Woman... Hmph, when did the Mad Scorpions become some woman’s lapdogs?"
"Scorpion Three, watch your tongue." Scorpion One’s voice turned stern. "Since we chose to become Believers of the Church of the Ancient Gods, we follow the will of its gods!"
"Just a few so-called divine agents, and they dare call themselves gods?" Scorpion Three sneered.
"Scorpion Three." Scorpion One was clearly angry. "When we had nowhere to go, we swore faith to the Church of the Ancient Gods. Break that covenant and you doom not just yourself, but every Mad Scorpion mercenary!"
Scorpion Three snorted into the radio but said nothing more.
"Scorpion One, if our target really is that double-agent of two gods, can we even handle him with just us?" another voice asked.
"Scorpion Seven, when did you become so timid? Even if we can’t, we’ve got him— the sixteenth-seat Believer, half a step from the Sea Realm. Handling a rookie still in the Pond Realm is nothing."
Scorpion One’s words silenced everyone; no one dared question the mission again.
Scorpion Three in the van only gave a cold grunt and stayed quiet.
"Believers?" a voice drifted in from outside the van.
Scorpion Three’s body jolted; he spun to see a youth holding two black cases standing beside the van, eyes pitch-black.
Darkness erupted outward from the boy, swallowing the entire van in an instant!
Scorpion Three’s pupils shrank. He lunged for the walkie-talkie, but the boy’s gaze sharpened and the device tore itself apart in a spray of sparks.
The youth stood quietly outside, fingertip brushing the van door— which exploded inward!
"Believers... what are they?"
His low voice echoed across the snow.
A veteran fighter, Scorpion Three whipped a short blade from under the seat and roared, thrusting at Lin Qiye’s throat!
Lin Qiye seemed to anticipate it, stepping back just enough for the blade to graze skin without a scratch, then striking Scorpion Three’s wrist in the same instant.
The blade clattered away, yet Scorpion Three grinned slyly.
A compact black submachine gun had appeared in his left hand, aimed at Lin Qiye.
He yanked the trigger.
Muzzle flare erupted; bullets spiraled from the chamber, carrying deadly kinetic energy straight for Lin Qiye’s face!