Chapter 97 - 96: The Aftermath

Chapter 97: Chapter 96: The Aftermath

Shanghai, Villa A01.

Liu Rui sat in the living room, having lost count of how many cigarettes he’d smoked.

He hadn’t stopped since He Xiaotian and the others left for Zhou family Village.

On one hand, he was worried for his daughter’s life. On the other, he feared that if they failed, it wouldn’t just be Liu Nan who would die. ℯ

He, the wealthy man who hired them, would probably suffer the consequences as well.

"Looks like I’ll have to recruit more people. Anderson, remind me when the black market opens next. I want you to buy some Spiritual Energy Crystals to strengthen the bodyguards. I’d rather not be the next one to lose my soul."

Liu Rui stubbed out his cigarette, took a deep breath, and gave the order.

"Understood, Sir."

The British Butler, Anderson, nodded, indicating he would take care of it.

A spectral Bentley, oozing ghostly energy, pulled up to the main gate of the Royal Gardens Villa Complex.

Naturally, such a conspicuous ghost driver attracted the attention of the ’security team’.

Two men and a woman quickly broke off from their patrol and approached the security booth.

As they stared at the Bentley, which was suffused with yin energy, the power within their bodies began to surge like a great river.

If they sensed the slightest thing amiss, they would unleash an earth-shattering blow to nip any danger in the bud.

CLICK!

The passenger-side door opened, and a powerfully built man stepped out.

The man waved at the driver inside. "Driver, take them back to headquarters and collect my bounty. Tomorrow... no, wait, I mean tonight. I’ll summon you then."

"Yes, Boss! See you!"

The pale-faced driver gave a sycophantic smile, then reversed the car and vanished into the night.

’Once I get my Good Ghost Certificate, I can be a legitimate taxi driver! I’m so happy!’

The security guards watched the driver’s antics, their eyes twitching.

They had never seen such a shameless ghost.

"Stop. Who are you?"

He Xiaotian looked at the three guards in their uniforms, their expressions wary. He smiled. "I’m the specialist Mr. Liu hired. Didn’t we meet in the villa earlier? Have you forgotten me so quickly?"

His reminder jogged their memories.

The large, gold-stamped ’X’ on his chest, the pig-snout mask... yes, they remembered now.

’Only, you were at least two meters tall before.’

’Why are you suddenly only 1.8 meters tall?’

’Did you go out and get a limb-shortening surgery or something?!’

"Ask Mr. Liu. We can’t have any more incidents in the complex," the lead man said to the woman behind him.

All the while, his eyes were locked on He Xiaotian. He was sure they would strike at the slightest sign of trouble.

"My name is X," He Xiaotian reminded them.

BEEP... BEEP... BEEP...

In the living room of Villa A01, a specially installed phone began to ring. The British Butler, Anderson, immediately went to answer it.

"Hello, this is Mr. Liu’s residence. How may I help you?"

"Butler Anderson? There’s someone named X here who wants to come in. Do you know him?"

"X?! Let him in at once! Mr. Liu has been waiting all night."

"Understood."

After hanging up, the woman nodded at the lead guard.

"Very well, Mr. X. The three of us will escort you inside. We hope you don’t mind."

He Xiaotian nodded. The guards were just doing their jobs, ensuring the safety of the residents. He wasn’t petty enough to hold it against them.

A few moments later, the four of them entered Liu Rui’s villa.

"X, did you get my daughter’s soul back?"

The moment Liu Rui saw He Xiaotian, he shot to his feet, walking toward him and asking anxiously.

"I’m sorry, Mr. Liu. Too much happened tonight. It was overwhelming. Regarding your daughter Liu Nan’s soul, the culprits said their methods are cruel. They usually just devour souls outright, leaving no survivors.

According to Captain Lei Yang’s Pen Immortal ritual, the clue to your daughter’s soul was a single, slanting stroke. So I’m afraid I couldn’t find her. There are far too many words and symbols that contain a stroke like that. It’s impossible to analyze.

Besides, even if we knew the exact location, could you guarantee she’s still in Shanghai? By the way, I have more bad news for you. This time, Captain Lei Yang, his people, and I were involved in a plan to take down an evil organization.

This organization is extremely powerful. To some extent, they can even go toe-to-toe with the authorities. You’re the one who hired me, so I can’t guarantee they won’t be able to trace things back to you.

If they get angry and decide to take it out on you... I don’t think your bodyguards and the complex’s security team will be able to stop them. Also, they’re a cruel, cannibalistic organization.

They love to hunt people with special abilities and cook them into gourmet meals. For the sake of some evil ritual, they wiped out the entire Zhou family Village, about fifteen miles away. That should give you an idea of how vicious these enemies are.

Two special task forces were almost completely wiped out. One dead, three critically injured and in a coma. Even the strongest members, Lei Yang and Captain Su, didn’t get away unscathed."

He didn’t mention Liang Kun’s betrayal. As the saying goes, you don’t air your dirty laundry in public.

Even though he wasn’t a member of the City Cleaners himself, snitching on people behind their backs was just bad form.

GULP!

As He Xiaotian finished speaking, the three security guards behind him audibly swallowed.

’An organization strong enough to challenge the authorities, and they like to eat people with special abilities?’

’Other ruthless bastards might wipe out a whole family, but these guys wiped out a whole village?’

’Holy shit!’

’Can we resign now?’

PHEW.

Liu Rui lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled slowly.

"It’s not your fault. After all, I’m the one who hired you. Butler, bring me the card I prepared."

Anderson reached into his coat, pulled out a bank card, and handed it to Liu Rui.

"This is the payment you’ve earned. It’s getting late. Why don’t you let the butler arrange a guest room for you?"

Liu Rui wasn’t angry, but a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes.

He still had a lot of confidence in He Xiaotian; he’d personally witnessed him slay an evil spirit.

But everyone has their own specialty. Being good at killing ghosts didn’t necessarily mean he was good at finding souls.

Although he spoke lightly of taking down an evil organization,

anyone with half a brain would know it couldn’t have been as easy as he made it sound.

He Xiaotian took the bank card but flatly refused the offer to stay.

He wasn’t in the habit of spending the night at a stranger’s house.

His relationship with Liu Rui was purely transactional.

Besides, at this point, he was dying to check how much money was on that card!

With a wave of his sleeve, not taking a single cloud with him, He Xiaotian left.

As for the one million from Huang Tao and Li Zheng, he certainly hadn’t forgotten about it.

But they were the ones who had referred this business to him. It would be poor form to wake them up just to ask for money.

They would be dealing with each other again in the future anyway. He could get the money anytime.

He walked out of the Royal Gardens Villa Complex, pulled some Netherworld Currency from his pocket, lit it, and tossed it on the ground.

A moment later, a spectral Bentley emerged from the darkness.