Chapter 26: Flight
It was 7 PM, and they were all at the dinner table.
Grandma looked around at the family members seated at the table and announced in a rather good mood, "Yuan'er, your uncle will be back tomorrow afternoon. Yuanjun, remember to drive over and pick him up. Yu'er, come home early after work."
Yu'er was Jiang Yu'er's childhood nickname.
Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yu'er were each gnawing on a chicken leg while Chen Yuanjun sipped his chicken soup. None of them seemed to acknowledge her.
Seeing their reaction, Grandma slammed her chopsticks down and glared at them.
"Did you hear what I said?" she demanded.
"Oh."
"Mm."
"Got it."
Grandma could only roll her eyes.
Uncle and his wife had been traveling overseas for nearly two months. Uncle was an idle good for nothing who treated life as a joke, while his wife was a pampered princess who never lifted a finger to do anything in her life. Whether they were home or not made absolutely no difference to the household. Their return wasn't exactly cause for celebration. Grandma was probably the only one happy about her son's return.
"Why doesn't that disgrace to the family stay overseas and play for a few more months?" Jiang Yu'er said while gnawing her chicken leg. "With those two gone, the house has been exceptionally peaceful."
Chen Yuanjun glanced at his aunt. "Don't say that. The disgrace of this family is still my dad."
Zhang Yuanqing looked at his cousin. "Don't say that. The disgrace of this family is still my uncle."
Grandma rose angrily from her seat to tear apart her ungrateful descendants, and Jiang Yu'er quickly tried to soothe her, tossing out a topic that would definitely interest her mother.
"Mom," she said, "our hospital is haunted."
Haunted? Zhang Yuanqing thought, and immediately perked up his ears.
Sure enough, Grandma forgot all about her son and asked urgently, "Oh my, why would it suddenly be haunted? Tell mom all about it."
"It happened to Sister Zhou from our department. While she was working the night shift, she heard children's laughter coming from the office. When she went to check, the laughter stopped. Then, when she went to the restroom, she saw a baby clinging to her shoulder in the mirror. It nearly scared her to death."
Jiang Yu'er continued earnestly, "It's not just Sister Zhou. Other colleagues working night shifts also say they occasionally hear children's laughter at midnight. Everyone says it must be the spirit of some aborted child lingering in the hospital, refusing to let go."
Grandma listened with great interest and commented, "How eerie. I think it's probably exactly that. Next time you work a night shift, have Yuan'er accompany you. Any more stories?"
"Yes, yes…"
Grandma's gossip gene hadn't passed on to Zhang Yuanqing's mom, but it had been entirely inherited by Jiang Yu'er. He listened to the mother daughter duo chattering away, but his initial interest gradually faded.
As a Nocturnal Specter, he could tell immediately that this was just rumor and superstition, not reality.
First of all, spirit bodies couldn't possibly make sounds since they had no physical form, much less vocal cords, unless the spirit had the power to act directly on a person's mind.
However, given an infant's willpower and mental strength, it was impossible for them to leave a spirit body behind after death.
Finally, ordinary people with mortal eyes would not be able to see spirit bodies. Those near death or heavy with yin energy might interact with spirits, so occasional incidents were reasonable. But many people, all hearing infants' laughter? That was complete nonsense.
"Auntie, you'd better be careful not to bring any dead children from the hospital back home," Zhang Yuanqing said mysteriously.
Jiang Yu'er, who had been speaking enthusiastically, froze and cried out, "Mom, he's scaring me again!"
For the sake of appearances, Grandma gave her grandson a light rap on the head.
***
After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing quietly left home and took a taxi to the nearest top-tier hospital.
He was going to the hospital to ferry departed souls into the afterlife and gain experience points.
The Nocturnal Specter's Soul Devouring skill was, at the moment, the best way he had to level up. Who knew when the next Spirit Realm would open? It was essential that he improved his strength before entering one.
The combat power difference between a Level 1 Spirit Walker who was 99% to leveling up and one who was only 1% of the way there was like heaven and earth.
Hospitals were excellent places for Nocturnal Specters to gain experience, since birth, aging, sickness, and death all occurred there. Of course, crematoriums were also decent, but Songhai City's crematoriums were all in the suburbs, with few in the main urban area.
Sitting in the car, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly remembered what Guan Ya had said that day.
Why do Taiyi Sect Nocturnal Specters seem relatively reluctant to devour spirit bodies? Is there some class rule about it damaging spiritual merit? Or is there another reason? he wondered.
Thinking of this, he took out his phone, logged into the Spirit Realm Walker official forum, and searched for relevant information.
【No relevant entries found.】
***
Night began to fall in the suburbs.
In a cheap rental apartment in some industrial park, Ou Xiangrong carried a large bowl of freshly-cooked instant noodles into the filthy, chaotic living room, stopping at a messy table covered in beer cans.
He casually swept his hand across the surface, sending the beer cans and other junk clattering to the floor to clear space for the large bowl, then grabbed a fresh beer from the fridge.
He ate the noodles in big bites and drank the beer in large gulps.
The freshly boiled noodles were scalding hot, but they couldn't burn his tough oral cells.
Ou Xiangrong's sparse eyebrows framed a pair of eyes that shifted between vicious, cold, and hateful, like a mental patient on the verge of an episode.
Suddenly, his ears twitched and his chopsticks stopped moving, and his expression immediately grew fierce.
He slowly stood up, drew the yanagiba from its sheath at his lower back, and approached the front door with silent, weightless steps.
CRASH!
He had just reached the entryway when the door was violently kicked open, and the world erupted in a blaze of light as a scorching fireball hurtled toward him.
Searing wind stung his face. Ou Xiangrong stopped in his tracks and swung his knife-wielding right arm in front of him. A brilliant stroke of light emerged and slashed through the fireball, releasing a loud boom and filling the room with a cascade of dazzling, gorgeous flames.
Framed in the sudden bright burst of firelight, a figure wreathed in flames burst into the rental apartment. Knees pumping, the figure shot toward Ou Xiangrong like a rocket.
Ou Xiangrong met the attack with even more viciousness, sidestepping his attacker and ramming forward hard with his shoulder.
BANG!
The flaming figure flew backward, crashing into the hallway wall with such force that the wall shuddered violently.
Ou Xiangrong, his right hand and shoulder covered in burn marks, endured the pain and turned to rush toward the window. He didn't dare use the hallway. The cramped corridor of the old residential building would mean certain death if he got surrounded.
Glass exploded as he leaped from the third floor.
Bang! Bang!
Just as he crashed through the window, he heard two gunshots. He deflected the bullet aimed at his head using the yanagiba, but he couldn't stop the one aimed at his chest.
The bullet's kinetic energy was powerful enough to pierce his skin, but the bullet was stopped by his tough muscles.
Tracking the source of the gunshots, he saw a tall mixed-heritage beauty standing in the shadows by the landscape feature. She was in an office outfit. She looked cold and magnificent in her white blouse and with her hair flying in the wind.
She gripped a silver pistol in each hand, and she sported a holster on each of her black-stockinged legs.
Bang, bang, bang…
The mixed heritage beauty fired calmly and precisely, perfectly predicting his trajectory as he fell.
After taking several more hits, Ou Xiangrong finally landed. He locked his gaze onto the mixed-heritage woman, and two twisted, blood-colored runes appeared in his pupils.
The next moment, the woman's expression became vacant as she turned her gun toward her own forehead.
BANG!
The muzzle spouted flame, but the bullet failed to shatter the woman's smooth forehead. Instead, it was blocked by a pair of rough hands.
A worker wearing a hardhat had appeared beside her at some point. His dark face was clouded with seriousness as he said, "An Enchanting Demon?"
"A Level 3 Enchanting Demon," someone else confirmed.
Out of the darkness, a man leaning on a walking stick slowly came into view, dressed in a black suit with black vest and white shirt, his hair immaculately slicked back.
"Have the subordinates set up a perimeter outside the complex. Don't let them approach," said a third voice.
This voice belonged to a man in black leather who was emerging from the stairwell, lean and powerful, with a dangerous aura.
Ou Xiangrong gripped his blade, face grim as he surveyed his surroundings.
At that moment, he heard the rumble of an engine coming from a distance away, and brilliant headlights pierced the darkness as a motorcycle roared forward. The rider, wearing white racing gear, crouched low over the handlebars, gripping a three foot long black blade as her ride surged forward.
Gunfire erupted again, blocking Ou Xiangrong's escape route, while the flaming figure leaped from the window to intercept him from the side.
Tang Guoqiang, the one wearing the hardhat, pressed both hands to the ground. With a loud snap, the concrete surface cracked, and hands formed from packed earth reached out from beneath to grab Ou Xiangrong's ankles.
He calmly swung his yanagiba, deflecting the cunningly-angled bullets. Bullet tips collided with the blade's edge in brilliant sparks.
His leg muscles swelled, shattering the earthen hands, and he rolled forward, perfectly avoiding the flaming figure diving down from the third floor.
After rolling to his feet, he sprinted at full speed toward the woman on the motorcycle.
In the darkness, the two passed each other. The sharp edge of the yanagiba sliced through the woman's chest, but there was no sensation of cutting through solid matter. The moment the blade struck her, the motorcyclist's body turned to water.
In reply, her long blade swept across Ou Xiangrong's chest and abdomen.
His chest split open, and blood gushed out in torrents.
Completely ignoring his wounds, he continued his relentless flight toward the complex exit.
At that moment, a beautiful woman in a qipao leaped from a second floor window, her bare, snow-white feet running across the wall's surface as if it were flat ground.
With a graceful leap, she landed in front of Ou Xiangrong. With a delicate grunt she spun around, her qipao fluttering as a powerful, athletic leg lashed out like a whip and struck him viciously.
He flew backward like a cannonball, smashing into the wall of the residential building and slowly collapsing to the ground.
Li Dongze, who had been watching the show from start to finish, approached slowly while leaning on his walking stick. His face was stern and composed, looking for all the world like a mastermind who acted behind the scenes.
He stopped in front of Ou Xiangrong and said coolly, "Daring to kill an official Spirit Realm Walker in my jurisdiction? Very impressive. I'll personally send you on your way."
A massive sigh echoed around them as Ou Xiangrong slowly stood up. His blood-red eyes were filled with madness and violence as a sinister, powerful force awakened within his body.
His voice was hoarse as he declared, "You're all going to die."
Li Dongze stepped back two paces, saying, "Comrades, that was just a joke. I'm absolutely not the type to hog all the credit."
***
In the taxi, having found no relevant information, Zhang Yuanqing returned to the forum homepage and instinctively refreshed the page.
Then he saw a post highlighted in red and pinned to the top.
【#WANTED NOTICE! Level 3 Enchanting Demon Ou Xiangrong#】
That post hadn't been there just minutes before.
Zhang Yuanqing clicked on the post.
【Ou Xiangrong, Level 3 Enchanting Demon. Responsible for the killing of Five Elements Alliance White Tiger Legion Scout Zhao Yingjun on April 18th. On the evening of April 19th at 19:05, he escaped during an ambush by the Kangyang District Spirit Realm team.
【This individual possesses some kind of terrifying evil power, and is not an ordinary Enchanting Demon. He was severely wounded by the Kangyang District Spirit Realm team, but his current whereabouts are unknown. All district Spirit Realm Walker teams take note: Ou Xiangrong is on the verge of losing control. Upon discovery of the target, execute immediately.
【Reward for providing leads: 50,000 yuan. Reward for elimination: 100,000 yuan.】
The post had been published less than three minutes ago, but there were already over a hundred comments.
All of them were criticisms of the Kangyang District Spirit Realm team's incompetence in letting a half-mad Enchanting Demon escape.
⤷ Are you kidding me? Such a dangerous person could lose control at any moment. Is the Kangyang District team just collecting paychecks for nothing?
⤷ Once he loses control and starts killing, things would probably have turned into a bloodbath by the time we arrive. We'll be the laughingstock of all Spirit Realm Walkers across the country for our poor efforts at prevention and control, and for taking high salaries without doing our jobs.
⤷ We're screwed.
Zhang Yuanqing was stunned.
Ou Xiangrong escaped? How did Squad Leader and the others locate their target and launch the capture operation so quickly?
For an instant, Zhang Yuanqing didn't know whether to praise Squad Leader and the team for their efficiency, or criticize their sloppy work in letting this ticking time bomb get away.
Zhang Yuanqing immediately thought of his Rule-type item.
Since they've already engaged him, Ou Xiangrong's blood or even tissue samples must have been left at the scene. I should be able to use the Red Dancing Shoes to track him down.
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