Chapter 27 — TVF Chapter 27

The Unlucky One in a Crematorium-Style Story (8) Ling Jing consecutively completed three missions and officially bound herself to her “Exorcism System.”

The purpose of her Exorcism System wasn’t to drive away ghosts, but to clear away inauspicious protagonists. The methods of “clearing” weren’t limited to physical elimination.

After listening to her system—now having developed a bit of tacit understanding with her—explain the main plot of this world, Ling Jing, who empathized deeply, decisively accepted the mission. What bullshit chasing-the-wife crematorium story! She was absolutely going to smash male lead Jiang Ruitong’s damn head!

She made up her mind: she’d be deployed beside Jiang Ruitong, and even if she had to use up the “savings” she’d accumulated from previous missions, she’d deal with this heinous drug lord ahead of time!

However, after transmigrating into this world, the male lead Jiang Ruitong—who had filled her with righteous fury—had already been… packed neatly into a small box.

Ling Jing really wanted to say “well done,” but when she thought about how she hadn’t personally taken Jiang Ruitong down—and how the mission rewards were now slipping away—her heart still ached a little.

Her system was chattering beside her in its genderless mechanical voice, “I searched the web. Jiang Ruitong ate peanuts more than half a month ago. We were just one step short!” Ling Jing was more concerned about who had sent Jiang Ruitong in. According to the plot, at this point Jiang Ruitong was only “dabbling” in the drug lord profession—not that deep yet.

The system quickly replied, “It’s classified information. If you want to check, you’ll need to buy tools so I can bypass firewalls and encryption… but I can basically confirm that all these anomalies are related to Go-With-the-Flow Martial Arts Hall. And the new male lead is currently at that hall.” Ling Jing thought for a moment. “We’ll talk about it later.”

She had a strong intuition: after meeting this world’s new male lead, she might not need to spend that “unjust expense.”

Leaving the quiet—but not at all eerie—cemetery, Ling Jing hailed a taxi and headed straight for Go-With-the-Flow Martial Arts Hall, guided by her system.

Her luck wasn’t great. She hit evening rush hour, and by the time she arrived, it was already 8:30 p.m. The doors were locked. She looked up at the brand-new signboard, then peeked through the glass doors—this place looked more like a dance studio than a martial arts hall.

The system had already checked: Go-With-the-Flow Martial Arts Hall was not only a properly registered hall with the Martial Artist Association, but its recent recruitment had caused quite a stir.

Seeing the business hours posted on the door, Ling Jing decided she’d have to find a hotel first.

This time, she’d been deployed body and soul, and upon arriving in the new world, the system arranged a relatively suitable identity for her: she was Chairman Jiang’s… former assistant.

Because of Jiang Ruitong, almost the entire Jiang family had to cooperate with investigations.

In fact, Chairman Jiang did have several illegitimate children, and his current brother-in-law by marriage, Weng Zhenghe, had also been dragged in.

As a result, the Jiang Group suffered three consecutive limit-downs.

Already overwhelmed, Chairman Jiang was then jointly pressured by other directors into resigning as chairman. He stepped down—but also collapsed from rage and stress and was hospitalized.

Nearly sixty years old, that hospital stay triggered other health problems. He wasn’t getting out anytime soon.

Even though her husband Weng Zhenghe was sentenced to ten years, Miss Jiang still managed—after coordinating all sides and promising many benefits—to successfully take over, fulfilling her long-held wish of forcing her elder brother down. But she knew this wasn’t the time for further infighting. It was time to do everything she could to… steady the situation.

However, seeing the writing on the wall, Chairman Jiang’s subordinates feared being implicated or retaliated against and resigned one after another.

Against this backdrop, the system assigned Ling Jing the identity of one of Chairman Jiang’s assistants who had just resigned.

While she was checking in at the hotel front desk, someone walked past her. Without needing her system to remind her, she recognized the person immediately—it was the story’s female lead, Xiao Min.

She called out directly, “Xiao… Miss Xiao!”

There weren’t many people in the hotel lobby. Hearing someone call her, Xiao Min looked over and smiled. “Have we met?”

Ling Jing introduced herself. “I was Chairman Jiang’s assistant. I just resigned.”

Xiao Min’s smile instantly became more sincere. “A wise choice.”

Recently, after learning what her childhood friend Jiang Ruitong had been doing over the years, Xiao Min had been utterly shaken—so disgusted and furious that even her heartbreak had been compressed under those emotions.

Then she learned what roles the Jiang family had played all these years… In short, anyone who hated the Jiangs, anyone who wished for their downfall, was her friend.

Clearly, Ling Jing fit some of her “friend” criteria. Xiao Min asked again, “Chairman Jiang used to stay mostly in Haishi… Are you here to clear your head? Or to try your luck?”

Ling Jing instantly thought of Go-With-the-Flow Martial Arts Hall. “Yeah. I’m here to give it a try. You never know.”

Xiao Min nodded. “That’s true. Luckily, the first wave of opportunists has already been chased off by Uncle Shangguan. If you book now, you can take the beginner’s test the same day.” She glanced at her phone. “I’m heading upstairs. I need to get up early tomorrow to work at the hall. Good luck!” Uncle Shangguan should be referring to Jiang Bowu’s soft-rice-eating biological father—the one who, at this point in the original plot, should’ve already been in an urn.

Ling Jing watched Xiao Min leave, narrowed her eyes, and said, “System, I feel like her merit is higher than I expected.”

According to her system, after the plot ended, Xiao Min discovered Jiang Bowu hadn’t died by “accident.” After struggling internally, she secretly collected evidence and sent Jiang Ruitong to prison in one decisive move. After undergoing therapy, she pulled herself together, entered the pharmaceutical industry, built a multinational pharma group, and in her later years devoted most of her wealth to public welfare.

But before Xiao Min activated her “Phoenix Ascendant” arc, her luck and merit should’ve only been slightly above average—not so strong that Ling Jing felt there had to be more to the story.

The system replied, “You’re right.” All clues now converged on Go-With-the-Flow Martial Arts Hall. Ling Jing opened its official site on her phone, filled in her information, and pressed the reservation button.

The next day, she arrived at the hall on time—and sure enough, she saw Xiao Min again at the entrance.

Xiao Min was clearly working the front desk, explaining the hall’s rules and how to fill out forms to three young men.

Ling Jing filled out her form while observing the twenty young men and women inside the hall practicing sword techniques with some semblance of form. She didn’t notice anything unusual—until two people emerged chatting and laughing from the corridor around the corner of the lobby.

Ling Jing’s eyes lit up.

Quan Ruilan was a handsome guy, but Jiang Bowu was unquestionably a peerless beauty!

These were the two new male leads.

Setting aside the fact that they were both a feast for the eyes, the unique aura surrounding them… was hard to describe. Ling Jing was deeply moved. How long had it been since she’d seen male leads without any inauspiciousness—who made her feel like she was bathing in a spring breeze? This was what a world’s male lead was supposed to be like!

But after the emotion came the problem: there was no “inauspiciousness” on the new male leads at all. So how was she supposed to complete her mission? Her system spoke up as well: “The mission hasn’t changed. It’s still to clear the male lead… of inauspiciousness…” Ling Jing asked, “How much would it cost to change the mission?” “Equivalent to your previous mission being wasted.” “I’m not willing to accept that!” Even so, Ling Jing felt hesitant. Facing such radiant new male leads, she couldn’t bring herself to act.

While her emotions were in turmoil, her intuition suddenly screamed a warning.

She snapped her head up and saw a tall, slender man descending from the second floor. With the system’s prompt, she recognized him immediately—it was Jiang Bowu’s father, Shangguan Jingzhou! And she had to admit, the resemblance between father and son was striking.

Then she was surprised to see Shangguan Jingzhou walking straight toward her.

Countless thoughts flashed through Ling Jing’s mind, but she kept up her act of barely concealed excitement at seeing a handsome man.

When he stopped in front of her, she heard him ask softly, “A fellow professional?”

The smile reached his eyes. Ling Jing’s defenses instantly crumbled, and she blurted out, “It was you! You stole my performance bonus!”

He burst out laughing.

Meanwhile, Jiang Bowu and Xiao Min watched Qin Jingzhou come downstairs, walk straight to the entrance, and exchange glances with the young woman who had just finished filling out her form for the entrance test—then laugh out loud together.

They exchanged frantic looks: No way. No way. Is this… love at first sight?! Jiang Bowu had lived with his dad for several months and thought he understood him pretty well: his dad had no intention of remarrying. He was basically one step away from saying, women only slow my sword draw.

Seeing him act so unusually toward a stranger made even Jiang Bowu start overthinking.

Of course, he dared to probe his dad about it—but not now. So he said to the young woman by the door and the three guys beside her, “Here for the entrance test? Come in and wait.”

Before he finished speaking, his phone rang. One glance at the screen and his expression darkened—it was his mother… impeccable timing.

Reluctantly, Jiang Bowu answered. After hearing a few words, he helplessly called to his dad, “Dad, my mom wants to come talk to you.”

“Then let her come.”

Jiang Bowu relayed the reply word for word.

Qin Jingzhou smiled and said to the “fellow professional”—who had a golden sphere floating above her head, invisible to ordinary people—“Come in and sit.” Then he tried transmitting a message, “What’s your mission?” With the original male lead Jiang Ruitong already dead, and unable to act against the two new male leads, and with her system having confirmed traces of another system on Shangguan Jingzhou, Ling Jing had fewer reservations. She replied via system transmission as well, “Remove the inauspiciousness from the male lead. If it can’t be fully removed, then remove the male lead.” If the problem can’t be solved, then solve the person causing the problem. Considering what kind of person Jiang Ruitong had been, Qin Jingzhou felt this line of thinking was perfectly reasonable. “But Jiang Ruitong is already dead.” Ling Jing replied frankly, “A new male lead has already formed, but by my standards, there’s currently no inauspiciousness on them to remove.” “None now doesn’t mean none later. In my understanding, they still have the possibility of blackening.”

Ling Jing fell silent for a moment. “That makes sense.”

Qin Jingzhou invited his colleague to sit and have some tea.

Ling Jing had just drunk half a cup when Miss Jiang came rushing in.

She burst into tears the moment she entered. “Jingzhou! You have to help me!”

The Jiang Group was a giant in pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Having a drug lord emerge from the family was a devastating blow.

Still, with a market cap nearing a trillion and tens of thousands of employees, it was unrealistic for such a behemoth to collapse overnight.

After becoming chairwoman, Miss Jiang—having thoroughly severed ties and conducted moderate bloodletting—formulated a new plan to stabilize the stock price and restore shareholder confidence.

Yes. She had her eyes firmly set on several new drug formulas and patents registered by her ex-husband—including the pain-relief soup.

But directly demanding the patents would be stupid. If she could coax Shangguan Jingzhou back… then the man would be hers, and so would the assets.

Of course, she wasn’t delusional enough to believe Shangguan Jingzhou still loved her. What she was betting on was his love for Bowu—and Bowu’s lifelong wish for parental affection and a reunited family.

As Miss Jiang reorganized her thoughts, she wiped her tears. “Bowu, you’re Mom’s eldest son.”

Jiang Bowu looked at his mother without speaking.

Quan Ruilan glanced around, steeled himself, and said, “Aunt Jiang, you’ve been my mom for over ten years. Your crying scenes are as good as ever—you could teach acting at the film academy.”

Miss Jiang hadn’t expected her adopted son to call her out like this. While wiping her tears with a handkerchief, a trace of viciousness leaked out.

Ling Jing suddenly felt enlightened. So this was the remaining, latent source of inauspiciousness. Qin Jingzhou’s transmitted voice sounded in her ear, “The Jiang family is the root of all evil. If you drive them out of the Jiang Group and make sure they can never recover—and then either have someone else or yourself take control—wouldn’t that complete your mission?” Ling Jing fell silent.

After confirming with her system, she said, “It does seem possible.” Then she reconsidered. “Wait—wouldn’t that mean I’m stealing the world’s female lead’s role?”

Qin Jingzhou laughed. “Why not?”

Ling Jing took a deep breath. “Since I’m already here… I’ll give it a try.”

Qin Jingzhou glanced again at the golden sphere above her head. “I’ll help you.” Without waiting for her to ask, he explained his motive. “I’m Bowu’s father. Personally overturning the Jiang family—especially personally dealing with Bowu’s mother, Miss Jiang—wouldn’t be appropriate. Even if Bowu understands my reasons, there’d still be a knot in his heart. Emotions don’t always follow logic.”

Ling Jing smiled. “So by helping me, you’re helping yourself.”

Miss Jiang watched her ex-husband exchange meaningful looks with the woman beside him, completely ignoring her. “Jingzhou… you’ve changed your heart so quickly? I don’t believe it. You’re just taking revenge on me for neglecting you back then.”

Qin Jingzhou: …So annoying.

He transmitted again to his colleague, “I’ll do everything I can to help you. You can use the patents for those special-effect medicines however you like.” Ling Jing looked at Miss Jiang.

…Thanks for the assist.