“Let’s go!” Ruan Zhan fished Xiao Xia up from the ground, feeling her soft body pressing against him and sensing that her lively vitality was still whole. He hurriedly drew glyphs in the air and stepped through space.
He had to bring her away first!
After splitting with Wan Li and Bao Da Tong, he had been searching all over the world for her using his sense. He had heard her calling once, but it was to tell him to stay away. Afterwards, she had refused to respond again, but he had still slowly found his way here.
She didn’t want to implicate him but she was in danger. That was what he sensed. But how was he supposed to tell her that he could lose anything in the world apart from her? Therefore, no matter how much danger she was in, he would go save her!
He had worried over whether he would make it in time the whole way. Due to anxiety and since she intentionally blocked him off, he was extremely unsuccessful. However, he slowly noticed that the path he traced was approaching the apartment complex Lu Yan used to live in! Therefore, he suddenly understood the fiend children’s hideout might be there. If their interest in Xiao Xia was spontaneous and they wanted to imprison her, no other place had more brimming Yin energy and less people!
He arrived with a step, and noticed the building was really dark. Not only that, there wasn’t a single person in the vicinity. Large white circles were drawn on the walls, with the word “demolition” written inside. It was obvious this place was about to be demolished. Upon careful inspection, there was also some faint black miasma. This further confirmed his assumption. Xiao Xia must be imprisoned somewhere in this desolate, tomb-like apartment complex.
He was about to enter when he suddenly felt Xiao Xia’s longing for him. The telepathic link that had weakened due to her loss of memory was once again clear at this most dangerous junction! As he followed his sense, he immediately saw Xiao Xia standing in a field of rubble behind the building. Nearby, strong and weak, evil and kind clumps of black miasma were entangled together.
Words weren’t necessary at that moment. He swiftly judged the situation and swiftly made his move. Then, he swiftly took Xiao Xia back to the safety of his house.
“I have good news and bad news. Which one do you want to hear first?” Xiao Xia sat on the bed, her hands gripping Ruan Zhan’s tightly as she spoke while shivering.
“The fact that you’re safe is the best news. The rest isn’t important.” Ruan Zhan looked into Xiao Xia’s eyes and couldn’t look away. “You are most important!”
He spoke so gently that the atmosphere in the room grew ambiguous. Xiao Xia’s heart trembled. She hesitantly put her hand on Ruan Zhan’s arm and was about to tell him how much she missed him earlier when she suddenly recalled the urgent situation. The matter at hand was still more important.
“No, you have to listen.” Xiao Xia said seriously. “The good news is that those missing children are in that basement. The bad news is that I don’t know whether they are alive or dead!”
“You saw them?”
“Yes.” Xiao Xia nodded, a little anxious. “It seemed like an underground basement, but…but it was too dark. After running out, I wasn’t able to recognize the place!”
“Don’t worry, I know it.” Ruan Zhan patted her hand and then called Wan Li.
“Where are you?”
“On the way back.” Wan Li’s voice came from the phone. “What is it?”
“Can you talk?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Find a phone booth right away and make an anonymous call. Tell the police that the missing children are in the basement of Lu Yan’s previous apartment complex.”
“My god!” Wan Li was very surprised by the news.
“Be careful not to get spotted. Best change your voice too.” Ruan Zhan instructed. “We don’t know if it’s all the children, but we have to act quickly in case anything chances!”
With so many children having gone missing, it was a huge case. The entire city’s police force mobilized. Furthermore, since they were on high alert, the first wave arrived on the scene minutes after Wan Li’s phone call. Then the second, and the third. The large amount of baleful aura prevented the fiends, who had been repeatedly assaulted tonight, from having the time and ability to move the children. Therefore, those long-missing children were rescued. After checking, all the children that were kidnapped by the “trafficking ring” were present.
However, these children were all in a vegetative state. They merely breathed shallowly, but had no consciousness.
“The bodies were retrieved but what about the souls?” Wan Li sat on the stairs with a troubled look.
It was the next morning. Xiao Xia had told them everything that happened the night before. She was then forced to rest up and thus took another sick day. Xiao Xia initially hadn’t agreed to do so. She had been “slacking” at work recently, and at this rate she would get fired. However, Wan Li said that if she went out, she would get targeted, which would affect their exorcism plans.
Xiao Xia reconsidered and decided her companions’ lives were more important than her career. She could find a new job if she lost her current one. If she lost her friends…she didn’t dare imagine! Besides, Wan Li comforted her by saying that if she really got fired, she might as well change her line of work and become a spirit medium. It seemed rather lucrative, and from Bao Da Tong’s actions, he seemed to be planning on settling down here.
“If they are still breathing faintly, their souls shouldn’t have been devoured.” Ruan Zhan frowned. “When those fiend children are dealt with, we might be able to return those souls.”
“But the pair of fiends might act against the children at any time.” Wan Li was a little worried. “Without souls, their bodies won’t last either.”
“That’s simple.” Ruan Zhan spoke without looking up. “We just have to keep hassling them. If they have their hands full with us, they won’t have the energy to do anything else.”
“Won’t they shatter the children’s souls, or use them as replenishment?”
“Shattering them takes energy, and it’s not so easy to devour souls. They need to be immediately refined, or it would be harmful.”
“What if they still do it anyway?”
“Then there’s nothing I can do.” Ruan Zhan responded emotionlessly. “Let’s leave it up to fate!”
“You are a cold-blooded animal!”
“Well, I don’t think they will do that.” Ruan Zhan ignored Wan Li and continued. “I already went to harass them this morning. They should know that dealing with me requires their full attention. If they get distracted, they will lose miserably!”
“But I didn’t see you go out.” Wan Li was surprised. “How did you do it?”
“I didn’t go anywhere. I just cast a few spells.” Ruan Zhan said calmly. “The scummy fiend posing as a crippled child for sympathy was preparing to cultivate in his room when I ambushed him using a spirit mirror spell. Hmph, does he think he’s the only one who can use a mirror to scare others?”
“Hoh, using his own spell against him. Was your ancestor surnamed Murong by any chance?”
“You know I have no ancestors.”
Wan Li was merely joking, but hadn’t expected to his a sore spot. He hurriedly apologized. “I’m sorry, Ah Zhan. It wasn’t intentional.”
“As you also know, I don’t mind it.” Ruan Zhan smiled and changed the topic. “In the fiend child’s anger, he struck at me using pure Yin ghost energy. He didn’t expect me to use Witch Doctor Ah Bai’s transference spell. His blow ended up cutting a thick locust tree outside in half.”
Wan Li glanced at him. “Judging by that crafty smile, did you screw him over somehow?”
“It’s not my fault. That tree was placed perfectly. “Ruan Zhan’s mouth curved in an attractive arc. “It’s position and angle were both perfect for absorbing Yang energy, which is also strongest in the morning. Science calls it photosynthesis, but quacks call it guiding Yang energy. Therefore, Lil’ Tong’s attack naturally caused him to suffer backlash by the Yang energy! In any case…” He paused, seeming slightly smug. “He didn’t expect me to transfer his attack onto the tree outside. I appeared in the mirror, which is of the water element whereas sunlight is of fire. He used a spell meant for water to strike at fire. Isn’t that just asking for trouble?”
“You schemer!” Wan Li was also a little pleased to hear Lil’ Tong was injured. According to Ruan Zhan, the pair of fiends were extremely powerful. If they suffered a loss, it would be advantageous to their plans.
“Don’t celebrate too early. He wasn’t seriously injured. Although I was prepared, the tree outside was unfortunately a locust tree. Locust trees are ghost wood, which aren’t good at dealing with spirits.” Ruan Zhan said. “I’m not pleased because he was injured. Instead, it’s because I’ve shown him that despite cultivating for centuries and despite all his power, he still cannot act as he pleases. No one in this world is strong enough to do so.”
“Was that a good idea?” Wan Li considered it. “Now he has an idea of your power. Won’t it make things harder when we face them? Hopefully you didn’t lose your rationale after hearing Lil’ Tong wants to make Xiao Xia his bride.”
“He shouldn’t think about touching even a finger of hers.” Ruan Zhan’s expression was determined. “The two are very strong, so we are at a disadvantage regardless. There’s no avoiding it, so might as well first suppress them in terms of posturing. That way they know we won’t retreat a single step! He tested my strength, but I tested his too. Didn’t the fiend girl have a red lotus inside her? Let me tell you, Lil’ Tong does too, two of them. One in each eye. This is why we weren’t able to see anything abnormal about him. Bao Da Tong doesn’t have an innate Yinyang Eye. He can only judge based on abnormal energy coming from the body. If the opponent is too strong, they can avoid detection. The reason I failed to see anything before was because whenever I went, he acted shy and hid in his mother’s arms. How could I have seen his eyes?”
“So that’s how it was.” Wan Li understood. “Basically, Lil’ Tong is stronger than the unnamed fiend girl?”
Ruan Zhan nodded. “To be honest, while I am maybe evenly matched with the fiend girl, I cannot handle Lil’ Tong. If the two of them work together, their powers will be one thing but their cooperation probably won’t be too far off either. Therefore, we have zero advantages. Since that’s the case, what’s the point in tiptoeing around?”
“I understand. But last night you and Xiao Xia both unexpectedly managed to injure the fiend girl. Why didn’t you push harder and wipe her out to give us a better chance? Was it to avoid provoking a cornered beast?”
Ruan Zhan didn’t speak for several seconds before finally responding. “I went to save Xiao Xia. Her safety was the most important thing. I didn’t have the assurance to wipe out the fiend girl. What if she retaliated in desperation, or had helpers or other things under her control, and Xiao Xia ended up getting hurt? I wasn’t by myself, so I couldn’t take the risk.”
“You’re right. I didn’t think things over enough. However, now that we’re directly confronting them, what are we going to do?” Wan Li smiled helplessly. “Your luck is as bad as usual. We’re always encountering boss-leveled opponents, and always having to win as the underdog.”
Ruan Zhan patted Wan Li’s shoulders. “That’s what makes it exciting. We’re only motivated when the task is difficult! Besides, after experiencing so many things, haven’t you noticed there are many things we can use? We aren’t completely hopeless. At least, thing’s aren’t as desperate compared with fighting Si Ma Nan.”
“Oh?” Wan Li’s interest was piqued. “Quick, spit it out. Don’t tell me ‘the secrets of heaven aren’t meant to be revealed’. I hate those words the most!”
“It’s not that I won’t tell you. It’s just that saying too much now wouldn’t be beneficial. We just have to proceed with the first step of our plan: harassment. Leave that to me. Don’t go to work for the next few days either. You just need to stay with Xiao Xia, in case anything happens. Don’t give them a chance to pick us off one by one.” Ruan Zhan glanced around the empty bar.
Although he had set up a formation and filled the gaps in with the inherited tome from Master Long, he still didn’t dare get careless. He had hated magic in the past. Then, he felt he could handle everything even if he didn’t fully release his seal. Then, after several battles, he fully understood the saying that there’s always a taller mountain.
There was no absolute strength in this world, and there was also no absolute weakness. It all depended on one’s strategy.
“Is Lu Yan…also a fiend?” Wan Li suddenly asked.
He never believed Lu Yan was part of Lil’ Tong’s group. The first time he saw her, none of her expressions or actions seemed fake. Based on his years of experience as a psychiatrist, those things couldn’t be faked. If they were fake, he could only say their acting and scheming were on par with their power. Their chances of victory would be even smaller. Besides, in the end, didn’t all this happen because she wanted to see her departed husband one last time? This wouldn’t make sense as motivation. The fiends had already entered the world five years ago. Why would they come look for trouble? From this perspective, Lu Yan might have known something and used their group. Or she knew nothing, and had merely jumped on the bandwagon of Bao Da Tong’s popularity and ended up causing so many events.
Ruan Zhan pondered it and finally shook his head.
“Although he might be related in some way, I still can’t sense anything off about her. Unless she is powerful beyond compare. In that case, we are definitely done for.”
Wan Li sighed. “For some reason, she reminds me of Duan Jin.”
Ruan Zhan didn’t speak, so Wan Li changed the subject. “Then who was the shade that saved Xiao Xia last night?”
“Zhang Zi Xin.” Ruan Zhan stood up. “When I hurried over last night, he was almost done for. I put him into the tattered banner for protection. He’s been tossing around in there and I haven’t had time to check on him. I only remembered now that you brought him up.”
