248: Lantern Old Man

The sound of messy, dense footsteps came from outside the booth, and the two women's expressions changed: "Not good, 714 is here!"

714, the full name being the Great Tang Unnatural Events Rapid Support Special Action Bureau, is responsible for monitoring supernatural events within the borders. 714 originated from a Ghost Festival many years ago, when the Spirit Realm was in turmoil and many evil spirits invaded reality, bringing a huge disaster to the people at that time.

The two women panicked because they had caused a "spirit" incident in the human world; a lecture and criticism were unavoidable, and more importantly, they might let Xu Le know the truth.

Xu Huan raised her eyebrows and looked at Xu Le again: "Tingting, go give him another hand-chop."

Wang Xueting shook her head bitterly: "No, I can't bear to!"

Xu Huan glared: "You can do it, you were so cool just now!"

Wang Xueting pursed her lips: "I can't!"

Amidst their silent exchange, the booth door was knocked: "Guest, do you need more water?"

"No!" The two women spoke in unison, simultaneously striking Xu Le on the table with hand-chops.

Bang!

The booth door was kicked flying, and more than a dozen members of the special action team stood outside, just in time to see Xu Le getting hit by the hand-chops.

Xu Le: ...Even though I've Cultivated the Soaring Nine Steps Shattering Jade Force, my neck really hurts!

...The next day.

Xu Le was practicing boxing in the garden when he saw Xu Huan already dressed up and ready to head out.

"Don't you usually sleep until eleven or twelve on weekends? Why are you up so early today?"

Why?

Naturally, it was because of what happened last night. She and Wang Xueting were forced to join 714 as temporary investigators as punishment for last night's blunder.

A full 386 man-hours needed to be repaid with their labor; no monetary compensation was accepted at all.

Fortunately, it was a first offense, so they only had to pay back the single amount.

Working 10 hours a day, it would take 38 and a half days.

Bastard!

20 weekends gone!

Xu Huan glared at Xu Le and mocked him directly: "Little brother, stop practicing. Your punches look fierce, but I bet I could knock you out with a single hand-chop!"

You still dare to say that!

Xu Le said angrily: "Call me Big Brother! I'm warning you, don't drink in the future. Yesterday I just took a sniff and passed out drunk, not to mention my neck still hurts now, hiss..."

"Hehe..." Xu Huan laughed guiltily and ran off... The night was as black as ink.

It heavily shrouded this eerie deserted village.

The houses were low, with stacked black tiles; the old wood was riddled with small holes from insects, and wild grass grew along the paths.

"How can there still be such a backward village in this world?" one of the investigators suddenly said.

Xu Huan and Wang Xueting said nothing, but a flash of surprise crossed their eyes.

In their world, there had only ever been skyscrapers, luxury cars, and yachts; the scenery before them was somewhat novel.

"Shut up! Observe carefully!" Wu Xing scolded.

Xu Huan and Wang Xueting had been in 714 for three months, clocking in on time every weekend, and had finally offset 260 man-hours.

It had been peaceful for three months, drinking tea and reading newspapers every day, which was like enjoying a blessing in advance.

Tonight was their first time working temporary overtime, which counted as double hours.

Wu Xing looked at the instrument in his hand and walked forward cautiously. Suddenly, he felt like he had passed through a membrane, and the red light flashing in his hand suddenly burst into a dazzling radiance, emitting a piercing buzz.

"Retreat, retreat, retreat! It's a Spirit Domain!" Wu Xing was so frightened that his Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering; anything that could make the instrument buzz was at least a Blazing Sun Realm evil spirit.

He regretted it so much he wanted to vomit blood. He had noticed something was wrong as soon as they entered the village—not a single lamp was lit in the entire place; it was too eerie!

Because he blindly trusted the instrument in his hand, he had rashly walked into the village.

The team members behind him couldn't hear Wu Xing's words at all. They only saw him turn a corner and his silhouette disappear, so they hurriedly chased after him.

Then they entered the Spirit Domain and heard their captain's hysterical shouting.

Seeing all the team members follow him in, Wu Xing's body went limp, and he almost fell.

Only then did he remember that a Spirit Domain could isolate sound and sight; everything seen from the outside was just an illusion.

The whole village was terrifyingly quiet, as if it were dead.

No roosters crowing or dogs barking, no Candlelight or lamps; it was as fake as the random scribbles of a poor artist.

He quickly pulled himself together; if he collapsed, everyone would collapse.

He used the calmest tone possible and even forced a sliver of a smile:

"We've stepped into a Spirit Domain. But don't worry, we'll just stay here quietly. Don't move anything, and don't say anything. At the latest, support from the bureau will arrive in two hours."

Xu Huan and Wang Xueting's faces were pale, and they were already feeling somewhat desperate.

They were all Spirit Tamers, solving supernatural events with the help of ancestral spirit power.

The Ranks of Spirit Tamers can be divided into Candlelight, Morning Star, Bright Moon, and Blazing Sun; nothing above that has been heard of.

It's said that the city's bureau chief is at the Blazing Sun Realm, but one Blazing Sun Realm is not the same as another.

One relies on themselves, while the other relies on an ancestral spirit through a layer of separation; how could they be a match?

As for Xu Huan herself, she had just had a Breakthrough to the Morning Star Rank last week, and her Golden Dragon could condense its own Lifebound Weapon—the Dragon Pearl.

Wang Xueting had achieved a Breakthrough a few months earlier than her, but she was only at the Early Stage of the Morning Star Rank; they were dead for sure.

"I want to leave a suicide note for my mom and tell her I'm sorry." One member of the team pulled out a phone and started calling home.

However, there was no signal at all.

Wu Xing immediately stopped him; if a mood of despair brewed among the group, heaven knows what would happen.

Human nature cannot withstand testing, and he didn't want to test it!

"Ye Xin, put down the phone! That's an order!"

"No! I'm going to die anyway, I just want to leave a suicide note for my mom, what's the crime in that?" Ye Xin's eyes were red as he roared in collapse.

Wu Xing rushed forward and kicked him, snatched the phone, and scolded in a low voice: "Shut up! I said we won't die! In two hours at most, the bureau chief will come to support us!"

In the crowd, some people still pulled out their phones and were secretly typing and crying to the side.

Xu Huan and Wang Xueting suppressed the fear in their hearts and, along with two official members, comforted the rest of the group.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

In the darkness, a series of footsteps approached.

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats as they saw a hunched old man carrying a lantern slowly walking over.

A face the color of dead ash, dark green clothes—he looked more like a dead person than a living one.

Those who had been screaming before now clutched their throats, unable to utter a single word.

Wu Xing stood at the very front: "Old sir, is there something you need?"

The old man looked up, opened his mouth, and reached out his right hand toward the crowd, as if saying something, or perhaps asking for help.

Wu Xing quietly summoned his ancestral spirit; it was a lifelike Mammoth with thick skin and two ivory-white tusks curving upward, its power obvious at a glance.

He was a master of the Bright Moon Realm; even if he was no match for the Blazing Sun Realm, he could stall for a while.

Boom!

Without seeing the old man make a move, a raging fire suddenly erupted on the Mammoth's body.

"Kill!"

Wu Xing shouted sharply, waving his hand toward the crowd to tell them to scatter and flee.

The Mammoth, covered in flames, charged toward the old man. Its powerful trunk wrapped around the old man, but the old man suddenly appeared to the side, as if teleporting. With a lift of his hand, the flames on the Mammoth grew even more intense, and flames even began to burn on Wu Xing's body.

"Go, quickly!" Wu Xing roared urgently, pulling out his gun and firing continuously.