Chapter 185 - Xiu Ying

When the talisman hits right at the center of the ugly face of the evil spirit, it started to shriek like a banshee as it wildly thrashes around. Sheila put up a distance between them after throwing the talisman, which is why she was safe from harm. 

"How was it, you bastard? You love it so much that you can't answer me, huh? Good to know."

While the evil spirit was thrashing around midair, Sheila could finally take this time to appreciate the interior of the mansion. Aside from some dust here and there, everything else looks almost as good as new. Though she won't be living here as this would become a headquarter of her organization, it is still much appreciated if the mansion is in good condition. 

Nonetheless, the mansion still required some work to be done. Adding to the fact that the evil spirit is trashing around as scratch and crack started to appear on the ceiling and wall alike. If possible, Sheila also wanted to make the bas.e.m.e.nt a lot more spacious so that it could be used for a lot of things as, at the moment, the previous owner of the mansion didn't have much use of the bas.e.m.e.nt at all, it was left to rot. 

She had a few ideas regarding what kind of use she had in mind for the bas.e.m.e.nt. But for now, the evil spirit needs to be purified for good. Looking up, Sheila could see the evil spirit still thrashing around, albeit with a weaker strength than before. The evil spirit must have acc.u.mulated a lot of mana to be able to withstand it up until now since the talisman should have evaporated it the moment it lands on its face. But it could resist no more as, after a few minutes, the evil spirit has departed to the underworld for good. The talisman also dissolved into ashes the moment it has completed its mission.

"May you rest in peace, no matter who you are once as a living person."

Sheila softly whispered as she prays that the 'evil spirit' may have a good life if there's one waiting for it. With that done, she went upstairs to check the second time to make sure there won't be a second evil spirit, and once that has been taken care of, she immediately heads out.

"Is it done? We heard quite a loud shriek from here, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. The shriek came from the evil spirit, and now it is gone for good."

Ria's tense shoulders visibly relaxed upon hearing her words as she breathes out a relieved sigh. Honestly, she was glad that Sheila has a system's shop where a myriad of items could be bought so long as she had enough funds in hand. If not for that, she would be the one facing the evil spirit. It was at times like this that Ria would prefer having a combat class instead of a support one, especially for a healer. The class in of itself isn't so bad. She hates it because only she, or to be more specific, her class, can take care of undead. Undead were known to be weak to divine blessing, so obviously her class overpowers them.

Of course, the combat class could also defeat undead like skeletons and zombies with their own set of skills. However, it's a different story if the undead had physical immunity, such as wrath, which can only be harm by either magic or divine blessing. The evil spirit is in the latter case.

"How was it? Are you satisfied with this piece of land?"

Sara asked. Since she couldn't see things that are invisible to the n.a.k.e.d eyes, she could only ask those who can see it, which in this case, Sheila is the right person. Nonetheless, she was still able to sense the mana in the surrounding, albeit faintly. Honestly, she couldn't understand why her daughter wants to find a piece of land with a requirement like this. True, having land with an abundant amount of mana is indeed good, however, everywhere else would turn out like that too in the near future. Sara thought it doesn't really matter which land her daughter would like to choose, either way as, it would have the same result at the end of it.

"More than satisfied. But is the price, alright? Judging from how wide the land is, it must have cost a lot, no?"

"It is, even cheaper than my estimation. Well, that was as expected, I guess? With abundant mana in the surrounding, no normal person can last that long before they subject to illness."

Sheila nodded her head in agreement. Just as Sara said, no ordinary people can survive in a surrounding where mana is abundant. No, if they stay for a short while, it won't be a problem. It was like a slow-react poison in this case as, the longer they stayed, the more likely they would fall ill. But that wouldn't be a problem for people with special strength like her small group, which composed of, Sara, Ria, Sylvia, and Anthony. Heck, it gives them benefits instead.

'If I wanted to make more underground floors, I need to have permission from the government, or so the internet said. And if I didn't get their permission and they somehow found out about it, trouble would come knocking on my door. I wouldn't want that, but at the same time, I couldn't tell the government about the reason behind it. Why not just keep it a secret then? No, that won't work. If Sara brought a construction worker, the one that spilled the bean would be them. Hmm, wait. Don't I have that with me? Yes, that should work. They were born to do this, after all.' With that thought in mind, Sheila chuckled.

"What are you laughing for?"

Ria asked. Sheila shook her head in response before saying.

"It's nothing, or that's what I was going to say, but you'll see."

Ria titled her head to the side in confusion. Sheila ignored her and turned her head toward Sara and spoke.

"This land is already owned by us, right? I mean, it's under your name, right, Mom?"

Sara replied with a curt nod in response to her question. 'Alright, this means I can let them deal with it now instead of later.' thought Sheila as she nodded. By spreading her awareness to the surrounding area, she was making sure that no one was around to witness what she was about to do other than the two standing next to her. Once that is done, Sheila brought the summoning note out of her inventory before injecting a small strand of mana into it.

"Come out, Xiu(Little) Ying(Brave)!" 

Before the two confused gazes, the Queen of Giant Ant heed to her call and appear in front of them. The moment it appeared, Ria immediately turned herself into a stone statue. She didn't just hate incorporeal being like ghosts, she also hates insects in general. And so, if a bug at the same height as a human kid suddenly appeared in front of her, certainly she would get so frightened that she froze on the spot. Sheila should have known about this, but knowing the latter, she has most likely forgotten about it despite having a photographic memory. If the memory were not brought to the surface by someone or by herself, it would forever be buried in the endless myriad of memories, that was the case here.

"Umm, Sheila, do you mind telling us the detail about this...giant ant?"

Sara hesitantly asked. Although she isn't as afraid as Ria, the giant ant still bothers her. Sheila nodded her head before slowly summarize everything that had transmitted in the Trial Tower, about how she won the fight without battling the boss to death and instead choose to tame it, make it hers. Sara widens her eyes in shocked, she can't believe her daughter could fight against such a huge ant on her own, even more killing them. But seeing the queen itself right in front of her, she has to believe the truth of Sheila's words.

Although she has become quite strong after defeating twenty or so slimes, her strength was still within common sense and not as absurd as the current Sheila. What she thought impossible, is possible for the latter. 

"And so, I named it Xiu Ying. The name just abruptly appeared in my mind during the fight when I saw how determined she is in protecting her soldiers. It's a nice name, isn't it?"

Sara could only respond to her daughter's words by nodding her head. When Sheila had finished speaking, Ria is already on the verge of fainting. And so, before the latter could faint on the spot, she stated.

"Xiu Ying, I need your help with something. How many soldiers do you have now? thirty already? Well, that should be more than enough for my plan, I guess. Anyway, I want you to build a small nest under that building, is it fine? Hmm, why, you ask? Well, you see..."

And there, it began, the talk between the human and giant ant that is. Even the calm and collected Sara couldn't believe the ridiculous scene she was watching at this very moment that she started questioning her sanity. After all, both of them aren't discussing with each other, but more of Sheila speaking to the queen by herself, the latter only nodded her head or tilted her head, it's either one of the two. 

Five minutes later, the discussion seemed to come to an end as Sheila left the queen to her device and walks toward her mother to ask a question.

"Uh, Mom? You do know construction work and stuff, right?"

"My knowledge is limited, but I do have someone for that, why do you ask?"

"Is that person trustworthy?"

"He is. I have done a background check on him personally and didn't find anything suspicious before taking him in. Again, why do you ask?"

"I still think you need to look after him even more if we were going to ask for his help—no, there's another way for that."

Sheila said before her words come to a pause as an idea suddenly struck her mind, she then continues the latter part in a whisper to herself. 'There's no need for the guy to personally visit the place when I have the right person for that right in front of me. All I need is his knowledge and experience in construction work, the talk can be done by someone else.' thought Sheila. She can't help but marvel at her genius idea. There are also times that her brain actually works! 

With that thought in mind, Sheila immediately told Sara of the idea she had in mind. There are a few problems in her plan, but with her mother's help by fixing some loophole here and there, the fixed plan seems a lot more plausible now then her previous rough plan. 

"Alright, then I'll leave it to you, Mom!"

"Leave it to me. But...will Xiu Ying truly understood my word?"

"Of course, right, Xiu Ying?"

Xiu Ying, The Queen of the Giant Ant, nodded her head in response to Sheila's remark. Knowing the matured woman is the mother of her master, Xiu Ying acts a bit respectful toward Sara despite her status. Unfortunately, her master and her master's mother couldn't see the difference. Nevertheless, since she was given a chance to prove herself useful to her master, Xiu Ying decided to put a lot of effort into this, even though she didn't understand the motive behind it. Even if she understood it, it doesn't really matter as, at the end of it, what matters to her the most is her master. Somehow, the survival of her own race had become her second priority on the list, which goes to show how much loyalty she has to her master.