Chapter 527: Everyone Has Arrived

With two earth-shattering roars, the scene in her mind froze at the moment when the turtle and snake were locked in a life-and-death struggle. Huá Sāng finished suppressing the out-of-control Spirit Pattern and slowly woke up.

The roar of engines echoed in her ears, the scent of sandalwood car freshener drifted into her nose. As she slowly opened her eyes and her vision cleared, she caught a glimpse of the ever-changing cityscape outside the window.

In a car? It seemed she had already left the airport… Huá Sāng grumbled inwardly and looked toward the driver’s seat. As expected, she saw her senior brother Li Xuan.

Seeing Huá Sāng wake up in the rearview mirror, Li Xuan raised an eyebrow and asked softly, “Awake? Are you feeling better?”

“Mm.” Huá Sāng nodded.

As she lowered her head, she noticed the bath towel draped over her shoulders. She frowned slightly and raised her hand to pinch the damp edge of the towel.

“That’s good.” Li Xuan let out a sigh of relief. “If I’d known you were in such an unstable state, I should have sent you back.”

“Now the airport will be closed for two days. Just stay here and rest, adjust your condition, okay? Shifu asked me to personally take you back in two days and hand you over to him directly.”

“…” Huá Sāng opened her mouth, wanting to explain something to Li Xuan, but the words stuck in her throat. She only nodded lightly and replied, “Mm.”

The situation was too complicated, and explaining it was exhausting.

Besides, she didn’t even know why her Spirit Pattern had lost control so badly this time, nor did she know who had absorbed all that psychic energy with excessive Night Corrosion Level.

Glancing at the empty seat beside her, Huá Sāng pondered for a few seconds before slowly asking, “Senior brother, where’s that guy?”

“That guy… oh, you mean Lu Yibei?” Li Xuan rolled his eyes. “He’s not worthy of riding in my car. I made him walk back on his own!”

Li Xuan loved his car. To some extent, he even treated his beloved car as his partner.

Because of this, An Qing once teased him, “You clearly have better looks and temperament than Bai Kai, yet you’re still single. There’s a reason for that!”

Li Xuan glanced disdainfully at Bai Kai and sneered, “Heh, I can have many cars. Can he have many wives?”

“Why would I want wives? Isn’t it better to be a wild bee and a wandering butterfly?” Bai Kai retorted mercilessly.

……

Although he couldn’t out-argue Bai Kai, it didn’t affect Li Xuan’s love for his car.

For someone like Lu Yibei, who messed with his ‘wife’s’ tires every other day, how could Li Xuan let him touch his beloved car?

“Oh.” Huá Sāng replied perfunctorily to Li Xuan and turned to look out the window, lost in thought.

Outside, the weary sun was sinking below the horizon, the magnificent sunset weaving a splendid tapestry between heaven and earth.

Didn’t they say I should tell the special task force that the criminal was subdued by him… Huá Sāng wondered in confusion.

——–

Hua City, Yujiatang.

This was a suburban area about three kilometers from Hua City Airport. Due to its relatively remote location and a gruesome dismemberment murder two years ago that triggered a series of haunting incidents, the buildings here had long been abandoned.

As the sun set, the dilapidated buildings cast large shadows over the narrow streets. The breeze stirred scattered trash, making a soft rustling sound. A strange odor lingered in the air, as if something was rotting in the darkness.

Lu Yibei walked from the end of the street with his hands in his pockets, kicking an empty Coke bottle out of his way.

“Damn it, so what if I stabbed your tires a few times? So stingy! If it weren’t for me…”

He muttered under his breath, but the events at the airport suddenly flashed through his mind, giving him goosebumps and cutting his words short.

Pretending to be cool really doesn’t work, it’s just too embarrassing! Lu Yibei thought.

Just over ten minutes ago, carrying Huá Sāng on his back, he’d cobbled together a thrilling story inspired by famous scenes from movies and anime, planning to boast extravagantly in front of the special task force and have Huá Sāng back him up.

However…

He’d only gotten halfway through his story, the best part yet to come, when Li Xuan interrupted, “No need for that. Don’t you think others can check the surveillance? The airport cameras have no blind spots!”

The rest of his words were forced back down his throat, and his toes curled so hard he could have dug out a three-bedroom apartment.

Honestly, after something like that, even if Li Xuan hadn’t refused to give him a ride, he wouldn’t have wanted to share a car with Li Xuan.

How brave would you have to be to keep reliving your most embarrassing moments every time you saw the scene?

Lu Yibei curled his lip, found a small shop with a broken floor-to-ceiling window by the street, crouched inside, checked the time, and began waiting for nightfall–the moment of haunting transformation.

As night fell, the last rays of the setting sun dyed the street a blood-red hue, bizarre lines of light flickering constantly before her eyes.

In the instant the final sliver of light was swallowed by darkness, a faint stabbing pain came from Lu Yibei’s heart, then it began to pound wildly.

Shrouded in darkness, the moment her body was engulfed, a faint stabbing pain came from Lu Yibei’s heart, then it kept accelerating, pounding furiously.

A bloody, chilling aura spread from her chest; the next moment, her blood seemed to ignite, surging through her veins, and the evaporating sweat formed a thin mist on her skin.

When the burning heat and icy cold met in her chest, the familiar pain made Lu Yibei’s body tremble slightly, her small mouth parted with heavy breaths, and she couldn’t help but let out a soft moan.

“Mmm–ah!”

As her pink-white hair fell, brushing past her eyes, the pain began to fade, and a trace of joy rose in Lu Yibei’s heart.

Good! This rebuilt body is much tougher than before, and the pain from the haunting transformation has lessened a lot.

Just as this thought flashed through her mind, the air around her suddenly grew heavy, pressing in on her violently.

It was as if an invisible mountain collapsed above her, burying her petite body under tens of thousands of tons of earth and stone in an instant.

The suffocating feeling grew stronger, her joints groaned in pain, and the sudden agony made Lu Yibei’s eyes widen.

This feeling…

It’s very similar to the anomaly that happened last time she tried to contact the Ancestors!

Immediately after, her legs suddenly gave out, and she fell to her knees, her body pitching forward uncontrollably, her tender white hands touching the ground.

“Boom–!”

A deafening roar erupted, the earth trembled, sending dirt and stones flying, dust billowing everywhere.

Then, as if in a hallucination, a layer of dark blue mist appeared in her vision, flowing like mud, surging and spreading to the edge of her sight.

In her ears, the whispers grew stronger, and a stench like sludge filled her nose.

The once deserted urban-rural fringe was suddenly crowded.

Under the shroud of dark blue mist, the empty streets, ruined buildings, withered trees… everything in sight seemed to sink into a swamp reeking of filth.

One shadow after another emerged from the depths of the swampy mud.

Their limbs were twisted and deformed, their bodies covered in swollen, festering patches; in the worst places, even exposed organs and pale bones could be seen.

Yet they all seemed to still be alive, their murky eyes filled with venomous resentment, muttering chilling whispers or wailing in despair, stretching their bodies, staggering forward, surging toward Lu Yibei.

It felt as if a horde of vengeful ghosts were coming to claim her life!

Then, the leading figure stretched out a rotten, swollen hand, about to touch Lu Yibei’s body–she suddenly raised her head, golden light flashing in her eyes.

[Royal authority], activate!

“Get away from me!”

With a crisp shout, pale golden light burst from her petite body, rippling through the air like silk blown by the wind.

At the same time, the ground beneath her hands suddenly shook, and with a loud “boom!”, fiery light like molten lava erupted from the cracks, spreading in all directions as the ground split open–wherever it passed, the dense mist scattered, and the shadows vanished…

——–

Hua City New District, Sijia Express Hotel, Room 3024. Steam filled the bathroom, the lights flickering on and off.

“Shhh–shhh–shhh–!”

Warm water gushed from the shower, cascading over Huá Sāng’s body, beads of water rolling down her rounded shoulders, soaking her tangled long hair, clinging to her fair, slender back.

On the sink, the Black Iron Ruler seemed to sense something, trembling lightly.

Huá Sāng hugged her knees, curled up in a corner of the bathroom, her head buried deep in her arms, her body trembling uncontrollably as despairing whispers and wails echoed in her ears.

Her voice, tinged with sobs, faintly echoed in the bathroom.

“I’m sorry… everyone… I didn’t mean to get you all killed…”

“It’s all Dad’s fault… not mine… I’m sorry…”

Perhaps it was because at the airport today, her Spirit Pattern nearly lost control and almost killed everyone there, stirring up Huá Sāng’s buried memories.

Back at the hotel, after undressing and starting her shower, the moment she closed her eyes, she saw all those she had once caused to die.

Grandpa and Grandma, the village chief, Teacher Huang from the village school, and everyone from the village… they all came.

They wept in silence, wailed in despair, questioned her loudly, wanting to know why they had died.

It was as if she had fallen into water, her consciousness sinking, gradually scattering.

Just as Huá Sāng was about to break down, a crisp shout echoed in her mind.

“Get away from me!”

That voice was like a morning bell or evening drum, carrying a soul-shaking power.

Hearing that voice, she vaguely felt a wave of heat rush over her. Huá Sāng’s shoulders trembled, and she instantly sobered up, slowly raising her head, her reddened eyes blankly scanning her surroundings.

That voice just now… was beautiful, and seemed to belong to a young woman.

But who could she be?

Why did her voice appear in my mind?

After pondering for a while with no answer, Huá Sāng sighed silently, stood up, turned off the water, wrapped herself in a towel, and slowly left the bathroom.

Hua City Folk Culture Administration Bureau, small meeting room.

The gentle light illuminated the meeting room. Jiang Li, An Qing, and Bai Kai sat around the conference table. On the table lay a handgun and an unfired alchemical bullet, both sealed in evidence bags.

“…What I just said is the summary of recent investigation reports uploaded by colleagues from various regions. There have been twenty-two incidents of psychics attacking in public places. So far, including this case, there are three incidents where similar alchemical bullets were found at the scene.”

Jiang Li put down the documents in her hand, glanced at the listless and absent-minded Bai Kai, shook her head slightly, and looked at An Qing.

“Mm-hmm!” An Qing nodded, flashed a charming smile at Jiang Li, and pointed at the alchemical bullet on the table. “I’ve already analyzed this type of alchemical bullet.”

“According to the analysis, in the making of this alchemical bullet, the main ingredients used were acid from man-eating ants, nitrated volcanic moss, and some kind of Class C elemental type haunting core entity powder. In other words…”

“The cost is about five times that of The Midnight Watchers Society’s standard alchemical bullets?” Jiang Li interjected.

“That’s right! These guys really have money to burn!” An Qing nodded and continued, “From the incantation inscribed on the alchemical bullet, the solidified spell formation is a variant of Precision Spell Formation No. 67. According to the database, it was only used in the previous two incidents.”

“That’s all I’ve found. By the way, are there no interrogation records for the first two incidents?”

In response to An Qing’s question, Jiang Li shook her head gently. “No, the psychics involved in the first two incidents shot themselves just as they were about to be caught by local colleagues. Their Spirit Patterns are also very common, so it’s impossible to tell which illegal psychic group they belonged to.”

At this moment, Bai Kai lifted his drooping eyelids and interrupted, “I think there’s no need to be overly sensitive. Maybe it’s just a coincidence that they all used alchemical bullets sold by the same gang?”

“…” Jiang Li glanced at Bai Kai, pondered for two seconds, then nodded. “For now, that’s a reasonable assumption.”

Out of twenty-three psychic attack incidents, only three involved suspects using similar alchemical bullets. That alone wasn’t enough to prove a close connection between the three cases.

“But we can’t let our guard down!” An Qing stretched lazily. “If we go by Bai’s theory, these incidents might be linked to a large-scale illegal alchemical product trafficking case!”

“Mm.” Jiang Li nodded. “It’s definitely worth paying attention to.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the meeting room door was pushed open.

Li Xuan strode in, sat down at his seat with a disgruntled face. “Damn it, those two won’t spill a thing.”

“We gave them truth-telling alchemical potions and used psychic talismans, but nothing worked! Their memories must have been altered by a high-tier being. They can’t remember anything that happened before coming to Hua City.”

“Oh, and one of them kept shouting about filing a complaint against Lu Yibei, saying he abused the suspects, violated their human rights, and caused severe psychological trauma!”

Hearing this, Jiang Li tilted her head in confusion. “What did he do?”

Li Xuan crossed his arms and swept his gaze over everyone, sneering. “Heh, the suspect said Lu Yibei used the Binding Spell on him over a hundred times. How is that any different from writing a tally mark on someone every time they curse, until their whole body is covered?”

An Qing, “…” Operator Li is so understanding!

Bai Kai, “…” No wonder he’s Lu Ming’s own son–he’s getting more and more like his father.

Jiang Li, “…” Over a hundred humiliations? That’s a bit much! I’ll have him write a five-hundred-word self-critique later.