Chapter 604 - 378: Ghost Fire Dog (2)

Chapter 604: Chapter 378: Ghost Fire Dog (2)

’This Flame... it seems it doesn’t just burn, and its temperature isn’t high.’

He walked over to the doll fragments, which were still smoldering, and reached out to touch the embers.

In an instant, the wisp of Flame, about to die out, was like a shark that had scented blood, and it immediately leaped onto his fingertip.

"Hiss... It even has the effect of burning one’s spirit. Judging by this Soul Technique alone, Frost Jade’s Talent shouldn’t be low."

Sensing his Spiritual Power decrease by a minuscule 0.000001% in his mind, Han Ning willed it and casually snuffed out the Flame.

"Anything else?"

He turned his head to the little dog beside him, which once again had three flames floating around it, and smiled.

"Woof~"

Frost Jade lifted its head, brought a paw to its mouth, and blew gently.

Several wisps of ghastly white flame ignited on its sharp claws.

Then, it stood up on its hind legs and swiped at the air twice, leaving faint afterimages of flame. With a soft THUMP, it dropped back to all fours and plopped onto the ground, its movements adorably clumsy.

"Is that all?"

"Woof~"

Frost Jade thought for a moment, then sat down on the spot, looking a little defeated.

Seeing how amazing Frost Jade was, Egg Pancake actively stuck out its tongue, flicking it against Han Ning’s neck again and again. "Hiss hiss!!"

Egg Pancake was expressing that even when it was just born in the Purple Crystal World, it had never been this weak!

It wanted to get stronger quickly so it could go find Sister Yin Yi and Little Fatty Silkworm!

"Emm... Egg Pancake, don’t be anxious. For now, I don’t know how to help you get stronger either. Let’s wait until we’ve integrated into this place a bit, then we’ll look for a way, okay?" Han Ning said reassuringly, patting Egg Pancake’s little head.

This place and the Purple Crystal World followed completely incompatible schools of Beast Taming. To make Egg Pancake stronger, Han Ning estimated he’d probably have to wait for his panel to awaken or gather more information.

"Hiss~" Egg Pancake drooped listlessly. It was very sensible and didn’t bother Han Ning anymore, but the feeling of weakness was incredibly frustrating!

Han Ning could do nothing about it for the time being, so he refocused his attention on Frost Jade.

’Strictly speaking, it has only mastered one type of white Flame. I’ll temporarily name it Ghost Flame.’

The nature of the Flame was very similar to the one released by the Star Dream Unicorn. It was an Undead Flame. Although its destructive power wasn’t as high as a normal Elemental Flame, its advantage lay in its strangeness, making it something that most living creatures feared.

’Frost Jade’s Race name will also be temporarily designated as Ghost Fire Dog.’

Han Ning estimated that Frost Jade’s Talent was likely D or C.

Just buying a random mutt from the market and performing the conversion ceremony according to the instructions on the Piyao Jade Pendant could actually turn an ordinary little mongrel into such a powerful Soul Beast.

This inheritance from the jade pendant forced Han Ning to regard it with new respect.

The Culinary Scientist trait was extracted, and the color of the jade pendant in his pocket dimmed slightly. With a light touch, a stream of information about Tier Eight appeared in his mind.

[Tier Eight: Ghoul]

[Trait: Rapid Healing]: Both the Ghoul and the Contracted Soul Beast will gain the ability to heal rapidly, and their physical strength will be enhanced to a certain degree.

[Trait: Flesh Cutting]: Under the Ghoul’s spiritual enhancement, every time an allied Soul Beast attacks an enemy and inflicts damage, it will drain a certain amount of Life Essence Qi from the target’s body.

[Trait: Contract]: ...Maximum number of Contracted Soul Beasts becomes 2.

[Promotion Conditions]: 200ml of one’s own fresh blood, Ghoul Secret Medicine.

[Promotion Ceremony]: Completely dismember a Soul Beast of the same level and consume the Ghoul Secret Medicine.

[Ghoul Secret Medicine Formula]: Ghoul Trait x1, 50g of Bloodthirsty Demon Corpse Powder, 1 Yin Blood Corpse Tuber...

’The most crucial component is this so-called "Trait" thing. The jade pendant doesn’t seem to provide it. I wonder where I can find one.’

Without a doubt, the simplest and most direct way to find Yin Yi and the others, and to uncover the secrets of this world, was to rapidly increase his own strength.

’It all has to start with this murder case.’

A glint flashed in Han Ning’s eyes as he took out his phone.

...

「Nightfall.」

Outside a small, three-story villa near the suburbs on the south side of Ludao.

Before Han Ning even got close, he could faintly hear piercing cries and wails coming from behind the slightly ajar iron gate at the villa’s entrance.

"Sob... wooo..."

Han Ning’s expression remained calm as he heard the sorrow-filled crying.

He knocked gently on the iron gate and pushed it open.

The front yard was brightly lit, and a crowd of people had gathered.

A middle-aged man who seemed to be in charge saw a stranger suddenly enter the yard. He instinctively stood up, blocked Han Ning’s path, and asked warily, "Who are you?"

A trace of sadness appeared on Han Ning’s face. "I’m a colleague of Li Lu. I came to see if there’s anything I can do to help. Here are my credentials."

He handed his credentials to the middle-aged man and also recounted some of the daily interactions his predecessor had with Li Lu to gain the man’s trust.

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man’s expression softened. He returned the credentials to Han Ning, pulled out two cigarettes, and offered them over. With his other hand, he pointed to a table not far away.

"Thank you, young man. I’m Li Lu’s second uncle. Why don’t you have a seat at that table? The people over there are all friends who came to help."

"Thank you."

Following the man’s directions, Han Ning walked over to a square table and sat down.

Six men and women were sitting at the table. He gave a brief self-introduction and they all exchanged identities.

The others included Li Lu’s classmates, childhood friends, and some other friends she’d made. As for company colleagues, he was currently the only one there.

After all, with something so bizarre having happened, the people from the company couldn’t wait to hide at home. Why would they dare come to Li Lu’s memorial to help?

Hearing that he was Li Lu’s colleague, the others showed great interest.

Wasn’t it right after a gathering with her company colleagues that Li Lu met with a sudden mishap?

"Hey handsome, can you tell me the specific details of what happened? Li Lu’s death is really strange," a fair-skinned young man with refined features said in a low voice as he poured Han Ning a cup of tea.

This person was Li Lu’s high school classmate, named Xu Ping.

"I don’t know too much myself. When it happened, she wasn’t actually with us."

Han Ning gave a rough account of what happened that night.

Even so, it was enough to make the others exchange bewildered glances.

People are creatures who love to fill in the blanks. Han Ning’s few words seemed to place them right at the scene, and even the air around them seemed to take on a strange, bone-chilling aura.

Seeing that they had chatted enough, Han Ning glanced at the group of people talking in low voices up ahead and asked quietly, "Are those all Li Lu’s relatives? Is there anything we can do to help them?"

Xu Ping nodded. "Yeah, that’s Li Lu’s eldest uncle, that’s her aunt... aunt, second aunt, second uncle’s daughter..."

He was extremely familiar with Li Lu’s family, so Han Ning was able to learn the identities of most of the people present.

"Right now they’re discussing whether or not to go to your company tomorrow to cause a scene and demand more compensation."

"As for helping, Li Lu’s body is still at the morgue. There’s nothing else for us to do for now."

Xu Ping said cautiously.

Han Ning wasn’t a partner in the company, so he didn’t have strong feelings about that. He nodded in understanding and continued to ask, "Did Li Lu have a boyfriend? Who was she usually close to?"

He didn’t expect that as soon as he said this, the expressions of the others at the table would turn a little awkward.

Two of them subconsciously glanced at Xu Ping before quickly looking away.

Xu Ping, however, appeared quite calm. "As far as I know, Li Lu didn’t have a boyfriend at the moment. Of course, it’s possible she was in a relationship she hadn’t told us about yet. As for people she was close to..."

As he spoke, his gaze inadvertently flickered to a petite girl sitting opposite them.

Han Ning followed his gaze and suddenly felt that the person looked familiar.

’I must have seen her earlier at the station, being called in for questioning by the police.’

"My name is Zheng Yingping. I’m Lulu’s best friend..." With something like this happening, she was clearly distraught. She kept her head down, her voice laced with sobs.