Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Xie Qingling froze, unable to stop herself from looking toward Ling Fang. By then, he had already entered the teaching building, though she had no idea what he was doing inside.

“The Director is checking for any remaining ghosts. We can wait here for him. Finishing up afterward is essential too. You’ve read the workplace rules, haven’t you?” Yu Wei came over and stood beside Xie Qingling as he spoke.

He was extremely tall. Xie Qingling herself stood at one hundred seventy centimeters, yet she still looked petite beside him.

By her estimate, he had to be over one hundred eighty-five centimeters and was probably close to one hundred ninety. He must exercise regularly. A black skintight shirt wrapped around his muscles, radiating tremendous vitality.

Looking at this weathered, stubbled middle-aged man, Xie Qingling sensed a fatherly warmth and tolerance in his gaze.

Even with a heavy broadsword strapped to his back and a build as solid as a small mountain – one glance was enough to tell that he could fight – none of it detracted from his gentle air. He had a peculiar, all-embracing quality that put people at ease the instant they saw him.

Xie Qingling nodded. “I’ve read all the workplace rules. I’m just not familiar with the procedures yet.”

This was her first time, after all.

Yu Wei nodded. Seeing her obediently clutch the bag without moving, he smiled. “You don’t need to be so nervous and reserved. I’m Yu Wei, your Senior. Everyone calls me Old Yu. You can call me that too.”

That might be what he said, but Xie Qingling did not dare act overly familiar. She addressed him as, “Brother Yu.”

Who would have thought she was actually such an honest kid…

After the way she had fought, he had assumed she would be a troublemaker.

Yu Wei gave her an intrigued look, then said, “Aren’t you going to look at your weapon? The Director worked through the night to make it. He used the Rakshasa Blade, so you could say you obtained the material yourself.”

Yu Wei’s explanation stirred Xie Qingling’s curiosity.

She opened the bag and discovered that the object inside had been wrapped in several thick layers of white cloth. After unwrapping them one by one, she found a pair of short bone blades crafted from the Rakshasa Blade.

The short blades were polished entirely from bone. From hilt to tip, each was approximately forty-five centimeters long. Rather than straight, the blades curved like the cutting edge of a scalpel.

Strange symbols had also been carved into the blades. A long, thin line extended from the tail of each symbol, running from beneath the guard all the way to the tip and crossing the entire blade.

Xie Qingling picked them up and tested their weight in her hands. They fit perfectly and were exceptionally light. The bone blades were still cool to the touch, but they no longer carried that initial chill that had nearly frozen her solid.

She tried swinging and slashing with them. The more she used them, the more she liked them.

Sure enough, blades suited her better than a handgun.

Her battle with the Carrion Ghost had taught Xie Qingling just how important it was to have a suitable weapon in combat.

She had already known that the clay figurines they used were made by Ling Fang through sorcery, but she had not expected him to know how to craft weapons as well.

Now that she thought about it, quite a few weapons in the armory might have been Ling Fang’s work.

Xie Qingling said, “I really like this pair of weapons. Please thank the Director for me. I’ll make sure to put real effort into my self-criticism.”

“These short blades are called Bloodsworn,” Yu Wei said with a smile.

Xie Qingling froze again. “Is there some significance to the name?”

“Look at the symbol on the blade. It’s the seal-script character zun, which means a vessel. Every time you strike a ghost, the blades can absorb a small amount of its energy. Once the ‘vessel’ is full, you can release that energy and use it.” Yu Wei explained, “This is the sorcery the Director placed on the blades.”

Xie Qingling only half understood, but her mouth still fell slightly open in astonishment.

That sounded incredibly powerful!

Yu Wei said, “Most of the energy within ghosts and monsters is sinister and saturated with yin. Even an Innate Spirit cannot use that energy after absorbing it, but you’re an exception.”

“You are Houtu’s Chosen and possess a portion of the authority over reincarnation. Even demons and ghosts from the Underworld can be put to use by you,” Yu Wei said. “This sorcery suits you very well.”

After hearing his explanation, Xie Qingling realized that Ling Fang must have crafted these short blades especially for her, just like Ye Anran’s black and white needles.

Could she just say that the Department’s benefits were fantastic…?

She was about to ask whether these short blades were especially valuable, but then she remembered that the bottle of “offering” she had received upon joining the Department was already precious beyond her imagination. Xie Qingling decided not to ask anything and swallowed the question.

Xie Qingling said, “Brother Yu, you and the Director must be quite close. You know all the details about this.”

Hearing that, Yu Wei scratched his head and gave an honest chuckle. “Maybe it’s because I’m older. He probably feels we have more in common.”

“…” Ling Fang did not look that old. Xie Qingling could not understand. Did Ling Fang mean that everyone else in the Department was an unreliable brat, so he preferred the much older Yu Wei?

“Don’t take the Director’s punishment to heart. He wasn’t deliberately targeting you. In his position, he has far more to consider than we can imagine.” Yu Wei continued fussing over her like an old father.

“I understand.” Xie Qingling nodded.

Xie Qingling herself was the kind of person who rewarded merit and punished wrongdoing. She kept gratitude and grudges distinct, her boundaries clear.

This outcome was already better than she had expected. Xie Qingling bore Ling Fang no resentment for making her write a self-criticism.
While Ling Fang was still inside, Xie Qingling crouched down, pressed both hands against the ground, and used Soul Recall.

The five skeletons that the Carrion Ghost had blasted away had fallen apart on the ground, their bones overlapping in an indistinguishable heap. Under Soul Recall, however, they came together piece by piece like building blocks, each reforming into a complete skeleton and returning to its original state.

Afterward, they all hopped and bounded back into their specimen room.

Each lay down inside its own display case once more.

The elderly skeleton that used a leg bone as a cane remained off to one side, leaning on it as it watched the other skeletons settle into place one by one. Only then did it hobble back and lie down in its own spot.

Order and tranquility returned to the specimen room.

Only after finishing all this did Xie Qingling withdraw her hands, drenched in sweat.

It felt as though her strength had been completely drained, leaving Xie Qingling with an almost frightening palpitation in her chest. A thin sheen of sweat covered her body, and all four limbs turned sore, weak, and powerless.

Seeing her like this, Ye Anran walked over and plunged one of her silver needles directly into Xie Qingling’s head. At the same time, she stopped her furiously. “Do you have a death wish? I can heal injuries, but I can’t restore the energy and stamina you’ve consumed. You need proper rest before your body can recover!”

As a “doctor,” Ye Anran hated disobedient patients most of all.

The only patients she hated more were ones like Xie Qingling, who repeatedly courted death and showed no regard for their own lives.

Yu Wei also said, “Take a break. Even an Innate Spirit can’t use energy without limits. For your first time, it’s already impressive that you could use your energy in battle this well. Only after your body has been tempered into something tougher and can hold more ‘Spirit’ will you be able to use more energy.”

Hearing that, Xie Qingling understood.

She had run out of mana.

So there were limitations like this too. Xie Qingling silently committed the fact to memory.

With Ye Anran’s silver needles keeping her going, Xie Qingling recovered a fair amount of strength.

As they spoke, Ye Anran, who had nothing to do off to the side, pointed toward the stairwell. “The Director’s coming out!”

Ling Fang had completed his inspection and confirmed that every Carrion Ghost had been killed, with none slipping through the net.

He tapped his earpiece and contacted the other two.

“Shen Huaizhou, the cleanup operation is over. You can leave early.”

“Dai Xingyu, contact the Logistics Department and have them enter to handle the cleanup. There’s no need to come provide support.”

Ling Fang walked over and told the other three, “We’re pulling out.”

—

After leaving the Killing Field, the four returned to the campus in reality.

The area around the teaching building was utterly silent and deserted. The entire campus seemed empty.

Xie Qingling followed the members of the Department to the school entrance, where a stretch passenger van had long been waiting.

The driver remained on standby at all times. As soon as Ling Fang and the other three boarded, he immediately drove away.

Ling Fang said, “Back to 221 Central Street.”

Shen Huaizhou and Dai Xingyu, meanwhile, did not join them.

The air inside the enclosed vehicle was a little stuffy. Xie Qingling leaned against the back of her seat, growing drowsy.

As a rookie, she had many questions she wanted answered, but now was obviously not the right time. Xie Qingling therefore kept her mouth firmly shut and said nothing.

The vehicle traveled for a long time in silence.

Roughly ten minutes passed without anyone speaking.

Sitting in the front passenger seat, Ling Fang looked through the rearview mirror at Xie Qingling in the back row and finally said, “I hope nothing like this happens again.”

“We’re a team. Before making any decision, you must make sure that decision won’t put your teammates in a difficult position.”

Xie Qingling did not make a sound. She ignored him completely.

Ling Fang could not help frowning.

Ye Anran reached out and nudged Xie Qingling, only for her limp body to slump sideways against the vehicle door.

“Director, she’s asleep.”

Ling Fang: “…”

From the bloodstains covering her, he should have been able to infer that the situation had been exceptionally tense during the battle with the Carrion Ghost. Ye Anran could heal injuries, but she could not directly restore energy.

Xie Qingling had to be utterly exhausted.

“Forget it.” Ling Fang sighed heavily. “We’ll leave it at that for now.”

After a pause, Ling Fang said, “Shen Huaizhou and I are heading out on field duty tomorrow. The rest of you will stay behind.”

“Huh?” Ye Anran cried out in surprise.

Yu Wei said nothing.

“Stay here and get to know the rookie properly,” Ling Fang said. “Teach her what teamwork means.”

“Oh. Understood.”

Xie Qingling slept through the entire journey.

She slept exceptionally soundly.

When she woke again, Xie Qingling found herself lying in an unfamiliar room.

Seal incense burned in the censer on the bedside table. A wisp of green smoke curled upward, filling the air with a faint fragrance tinged with the scent of medicine.

Xie Qingling threw back the covers and climbed out of bed. She discovered that her clothes had also been changed and replaced with pajamas.

If she remembered correctly, yesterday she had… fallen asleep in the vehicle.

She had not expected to sleep so deeply.

But since she had been with people from the Department, surely nothing could have gone wrong, right?

Thinking this, Xie Qingling walked out of the room.

She knew where she was now.

Room 206.

The room that belonged to her in the small Western-style house.