6 Blockbuster Divine Image

“Boss Ning, thank you so much for this!”
“A trivial matter.”
Su Qiushui gazed at Ning Zhixia, the more she looked, the more she felt he was a precious treasure.
Only the exorcists from the imperial city could use the Demon-Sealing Tower; the matter was already clear, so she stopped lingering, tucked the stone away, and parted from her treasured companion with joy.
A couple of days later, Ning Zhixia was again invited to the Dimension Administration Bureau by Audero.
This time, the room was a warmly decorated lounge, with porcelain plates of delicate desserts floating in the air.
Ning Zhixia held a warm cup of milk tea, learning the truth from Lu Huai.
Dimension No. 103 was crawling with demon spirits; the exorcists, seeking to fortify their followers, feigned demon rampages, digging out hearts and sowing chaos. The greater the panic in the imperial city, the higher their status soared.
The only thing Ning Zhixia found odd was why the dagger used as the murder weapon had sought him out.
“The heart is the most vital and spirited organ. They impersonate me, dig out hearts, but can’t bear to discard them, so they have the mountain spirit forge swords from human hearts to strengthen their magical tools.”
Su Qiushui toyed with the stone in her hand, leaning in to take a drag from her cigarette, “The girl must have harbored resentment, attaching herself to the sword. After escaping the mountain spirit, she wandered aimlessly in the demon market.”
Ning Zhixia chewed on a stack of small cakes Audero had given him, sighing, “A stroke of fate, really… She managed to avenge herself.”
“Human hearts, when corrupted, are more terrifying than demons.” Su Qiushui raised her gaze to Audero, “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Audero seemed to expect being called upon, set aside his plate, and asked, “Looking for compensation?”
“Of course.”
Su Qiushui had already planned, pointing her cigarette holder downward, “I’m not interested in other rewards. I want a permanent pass to this world.”
“What?!”
Lu Huai and the administrators’ faces changed instantly.
Ning Zhixia whispered to Lu Huai, “Is that not allowed?”
Lu Huai sighed, “Each dimension has its own rules. If a troublemaker like a nine-tailed fox wanders freely, there’s no telling what chaos might ensue. I think—”
Audero: “Granted.”
With a single word, everyone was stunned—he agreed so easily!
“Wonderful!”
Su Qiushui was overjoyed. Catching sight of Lu Huai’s ashen face, she wrapped her tail around him and hugged him, planting a kiss with a grin.
Audero suddenly grew stern, “Inappropriate conduct towards a public official—privileges revoked.”
Lu Huai clasped his hands, “Thank you!”
Su Qiushui: “…?”
Joy is always fleeting, like bland tea and plain rice.
“Well, you played me!”
Su Qiushui realized and immediately let go of Lu Huai, preparing to revert to her form and leap about; Ning Zhixia instinctively hugged the sofa, ready for a wild disco ride.
Audero resumed with his plate, “Changed to a 144-hour travel limit.”
Su Qiushui paused, tilted her head in thought for a few seconds, grudgingly accepted, “Fine.”
Ning Zhixia’s expression was complex, “You’re really devious.”
Audero forked a piece of cake and stuffed it directly into the youth’s mouth, “Nonsense.”
Ning Zhixia’s cheeks bulged, “…”
The small cakes served as guest treats were dense and creamy, but the desserts here were so plentiful that Ning Zhixia sipped his milk tea, patting his stomach as he took a break.
He turned to Audero, “Lu Huai said you’ve just taken office?”
Audero nodded, “Yes.”
Ning Zhixia was curious, “So for cases where a dimension goes out of control, how did the Bureau handle it before?”
Audero thought for a moment, then said honestly, “The main god would extract souls who died unexpectedly from other dimensions, implant them with a system, and have them accompany the entry.”
Ning Zhixia paused. That sounded oddly familiar.
Audero licked the remaining cream from the fork, and added, “But it easily leads to complicated feelings and entanglements. I personally don’t recommend it.”
Complicated feelings and entanglements?
Ning Zhixia’s pupils trembled—the origin of system novels was here!
Seeing his distracted look, Audero leaned in, curious, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.”
Ning Zhixia shook his head, “Just a bit too much information at once.”
As they chatted, a new Heavenly Group arrived to report that connection with Dimension No. 103 had been restored. Su Qiushui lazily wagged her tail upon hearing the news.
Ning Zhixia was taken aback, “How are you planning to handle it?”
Audero stood from the sofa, preparing to leave the sweet-smelling lounge with his subordinates. He paused at the door, turned back, and asked, “Coming?”
Ning Zhixia hurried over, “Let’s go!”
They went down one floor and entered the room marked “No. 103,” which was furnished like any typical office, except the wall opposite the entrance was a giant screen glowing with white light.
At that moment, the newly built imperial observatory gleamed with golden bricks and glass tiles. The exorcists, clad in splendid robes, commanded their disciples to throw captured demon spirits into a three-legged cauldron.

From the observatory, one could see the outskirts littered with corpses and rivers of blood. The ragged common folk knelt, heads bleeding, fervently facing the high tower, praying and chanting for protection, hoping their families would be spared from demon disasters.
Ning Zhixia’s relaxed expression froze; witnessing it firsthand was too intense. Even though this world was strange and had nothing to do with him, anger still slowly ignited in his heart.
Audero instructed the Heavenly Group, “Proceed when calculations are done.”
“Yes.”
Soon, the screen’s sky turned pitch black with clouds. The exorcists were ecstatic, convinced that even the heavens favored them. The masses craned their necks, eager to witness the demon-slaying rituals.
Thunder roared. Before the exorcists could finish their incantations, bolts of purple lightning struck, accompanied by continuous explosions. The observatory erupted in sparks; everyone recoiled in fright, shielding their eyes.
When a beam of dazzling light pierced through the clouds, they found the so-called heavenly envoys reduced to charred remains, while the cauldron was untouched, the demon spirits inside vanished without a trace…
Like a boulder falling, though the dust had settled, Ning Zhixia’s heart still trembled with aftershocks.
He glanced sideways at the figure beside him; the screen’s white glow bathed Audero’s silver-gray hair, giving him a divine aura, indistinguishable from a god overlooking ants.
“Blessings and calamities do not come by chance; man brings them upon himself. The retribution for good and evil follows like a shadow.”
Sensing the youth’s gaze, Audero replied calmly, “Dimension No. 103’s rules are fascinating. I am merely its caretaker.”
The unease and confusion within Ning Zhixia gradually faded, and he nodded, following Audero back to the lounge.
Su Qiushui didn’t press for details when they returned, instead wagging her tail and coming forward.
She shook Ning Zhixia’s hand up and down, “Boss Ning, thank you so much! I’ll be coming by often to support your business!”
“Heh, don’t mention it.”
Ning Zhixia scratched his head, took out his phone, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to invite you to be a hand model. I’ll take some photos for the shop’s account as promo images.”
“I don’t mind!”
Su Qiushui placed her hands under the lens, but the screen showed nothing.
Su Qiushui: “…”
Ning Zhixia: “…”
Damn, the dimension’s restrictions are strict.
He glanced at Audero, his eyes pleading: Little Audero, help out.
Audero understood, took the phone to the tech team, and soon returned it for them to shoot the photos.
He didn’t leave, tilting his head slightly, his pale blue eyes watching intently. He picked up a plate of cakes, staying quietly while watching Ning Zhixia arrange the setup.
A dark velvet cloth was used as a light-absorbing background. Su Qiushui took out a slender lacquered cigarette holder, spinning it between her fingers, mimicking her usual gestures.
“Perfect! Just like that!”
Ning Zhixia quickly selected angles and snapped several shots, then began adjusting the detail parameters.
He lowered the saturation, intensified the brightness, zoomed in, and shifted the focus slightly to the upper left.
Su Qiushui cooperatively set down the cigarette holder, her fingers naturally curled, intuitively pressing her middle finger slightly.
It was close to an orchid finger gesture, but more relaxed and natural, showing all the details of the nails in the composition.
When working, Ning Zhixia lost his usual playful demeanor, pursed his lips, and said little, but his eyes were dark and bright, full of spirit.
Audero looked down at the small chocolate ball atop the cake, nudging it gently with a fork.
Though the angles seemed similar, Ning Zhixia snapped dozens of consecutive shots, compared them in the album, his fingers agile as he tweaked parameters, a series of smooth operations that left the administrators dumbfounded.
“These… are my hands? This little magic tool is quite interesting…”
Su Qiushui was excited after seeing the photos, her nine tails waved like cotton, nearly wrapping Ning Zhixia into a giant dumpling.
Ning Zhixia struggled to pull away from the fluffy collar around his neck, blushing and gasping.
The fox’s enthusiasm was a bit suffocating.
Su Qiushui was a top-tier hand model; her hands were beautiful, and over-editing would only distort them. Without much adjustment needed, Ning Zhixia was satisfied with his long-awaited photos.
Seeing him finish, Audero put down his plate, “Ready to go?”
“Let’s go, let’s go.”
Ning Zhixia knew he was eager to clock out, so he packed his phone and waved goodbye to the others.
It was already late. As usual, Audero escorted him back to the shop and asked before leaving, “Will you keep running this place?”
Ning Zhixia hesitated, “I’m not accepting investments for now.”
Audero: “?”
Ning Zhixia patted his shoulder, “When I hit it big, you’ll be my first consideration.”
The warmth startled Audero; he turned his head, gently took the youth’s wrist, and lowered his gaze, “You’ll encounter more and more non-human things in the future. If you want, I can close the portal for you.”
“No need.”
Ning Zhixia thought for a moment, shook his head earnestly, “Who else can say they’ve lived so brilliantly as I have?”
“…”
Audero’s lips moved slightly, his cool-toned eyes reflecting the lively face before him. After a moment, he suddenly called his name.
“Ning Zhixia.”
For someone not native to this world, the pronunciation was a bit tricky—the short syllables rolled on his tongue before being gently spoken. His voice was always pleasant, but when softened, it was like feathers tickling the eardrum, making both ears and mind itch.
Ning Zhixia blinked, “Hm? What’s up?”

Audero spoke quietly, “You’re very strange.”
Ning Zhixia tilted his head, “So?”
Audero pondered, “I’m a bit curious about you.”
Hmm, what kind of appraisal was that?
Ning Zhixia didn’t understand, watching silently as the figure disappeared into the night, then turning to open the door.
Once inside, Ning Zhixia immediately selected a group of photos and pinned them to the shop’s account.
The shop’s account was new, with few followers. Works tagged with keywords like “Spring Nail Art” were quickly published.
This collection included both atmospheric and detail shots, displaying slender, jade-like fingers from various angles. No filters were used, nor did he deliberately conceal the thumbs to attract comments, yet the post unexpectedly gained a small surge of traffic.
“Heavens, blessings for night owls! Look what I just found!”
“Those hands! That composition! It strikes right at my heart!”
“Polite inquiry—how much for this complex design?”
“You all care about price, I only wonder how many levels of iron-bottom skill it takes QAQ!”
“Teacher, can you do this style? [image]”
“Too bad the shop’s in Yucheng. Will you offer press-on nails in the future?”
“Hello, boss, I’m DMing for an appointment!”
When Ning Zhixia woke up, he found the account’s inbox, comments, and likes all flooded with “99+,” and many private messages inquiring about booking times.
“0.0!”
Wrapped in his quilt, Ning Zhixia rolled joyfully for two and a half turns, then sprang up, stretching in the morning light filtering through the curtains.
Fantastic!
He quickly scheduled appointments for clients; with limited capacity, two per day. Those who accepted the time slots promptly came in, specifically requesting the same icy lotus watercolor nail design.
Clients came prepared, knowing everyone’s hands are different and the effect couldn’t fully match the hand model from the promo.
“I don’t expect a perfect match…” The new client was a friendly office lady; seeing him running the shop alone, and being a rare male nail artist, she sighed, “As long as it doesn’t turn out too badly.”
Turn out badly? Impossible.
Ning Zhixia knew many people had been misled by flawless online photos, but he prided himself on never letting clients waste their time. He went all out.
Clean prep, perfect arch, and even when outlining watercolors his hand was steady as could be. The office lady’s doubts faded, and she chose a few crystal gems.
If not careful, clustered gems could look messy, but Ning Zhixia used glue to fix the main gem in place, circling it with filler glue using a liner brush. This amount of glue was just right—no overflow, and as solid as welded steel!
After curing and sealing, the office lady was overjoyed with the result; except for a different nail shape, it matched the promo, and suited her fingers even better. Her lowered expectations instantly soared.
“Payment received, 450 yuan!”
The cheerful voice rang out, and Ning Zhixia waved goodbye with a smile.
For the next few days, appointments were fully booked; Ning Zhixia was either diligently painting icy lotuses or replying to DMs to arrange bookings.
On this evening at 7:28, the long-quiet door was knocked again.
Ning Zhixia thought Su Qiushui had come, so he happily opened the door, only to find a girl in white, surrounded by shadows with green eyes—demon spirits.
“You are…” Ning Zhixia found her familiar, recalled carefully, and gasped in surprise.
Wasn’t this the innocent woman killed by the exorcists?
“After my death, my resentment lingered and attached itself to the dagger, turning me into a sword spirit.” The sword spirit girl nodded at him.
Ning Zhixia: “I see, so you’re here to…”
“Qiushui recommended me. My enemy’s seventh-day memorial is today—I came for a manicure.”
“…What a unique way to celebrate.”
Ning Zhixia stepped aside, “Please, come in.”
The green-eyed shadows followed her, curiously peering around, then gathered around Ning Zhixia, sniffing.
They happily exclaimed, “Boss, you smell so nice!”
Ning Zhixia nervously, “…Thank you?”
The shadows grew even happier, “You’re welcome!”
Ning Zhixia: “…” Surprisingly polite.
The sword spirit girl sat in the soft chair, and the shadows crowded around her.
Ning Zhixia’s voice was dry, “Only one at a time, please.”
“No worries, you do your work—we’ll just watch!”
The shadows replied, their green eyes shining like headlights, floating around his head.
Ning Zhixia nodded.
Perfect, just like a seventh-day memorial party for exorcists.