Chapter 26

Chapter 26

The Killing Field spread open in an instant.

A ghost was directly in front of Shen Huaizhou and Xie Qingling, blocking their path.

It was nothing but skin and bones, its entire body burning. Tongues of flame occasionally leaped from it, making it howl in pain.

Perhaps it was too emaciated. The Foodless Ghost’s frail body could not even stand, leaving it to writhe and crawl along the ground.

It reached one trembling hand toward Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou as if begging them for something.

Shen Huaizhou’s face turned livid for an instant, but quickly returned to normal. He even displayed a barely restrained excitement.

The rookie truly was powerful.

Almost without thinking, Shen Huaizhou asked, “It neither attacks people nor wants to leave. What does it want?”

Xie Qingling said, “It’s begging.”

Shen Huaizhou: “…”

Setting the matter of the ghost aside for now.

Even Dai Xingyu did not possess Xie Qingling’s extraordinarily accurate judgment.

Her talent was probably different from a Groom’s, but in certain respects, it was even stronger.

Xie Qingling opened the Book of Observation she carried. Information about the Foodless Ghost slowly appeared upon its pages:

It burns with hunger and thirst. Any water it sees dries up, and there is no food it can eat. Tormented by hunger and thirst all year round, it is incapable of harming humans.

“It has never ‘fed.’ It’s extremely weak and doesn’t have the ability to hurt anyone,” Xie Qingling said.

Shen Huaizhou nodded, then produced a Ghost-Binding Banner from some unknown place.

He raised his hand high, and the Ghost-Binding Banner moved despite the absence of wind.

“Mystic Way of heaven and earth, I seal the spirits. Seize the soul and pursue the spirit; lock them within.”

Shen Huaizhou murmured the incantation. The Foodless Ghost released a piercing shriek, and streams of black smoke, almost solid in appearance, were drawn into the Ghost-Binding Banner.

A moment later, an image of the Foodless Ghost appeared on the banner’s white surface.

The Four-Way Crossroads Ghost had been captured the same way last time, if she remembered correctly.

“What happens to ghosts after they’re taken inside?” Ling Fang had said that they generally handled this kind of ghost differently instead of killing it outright.

“The Director will turn it into a bound ghost. We’ll borrow one of its abilities and use it as a tool against evil ghosts.”

Xie Qingling asked, “Did the Director make this Ghost-Binding Banner too?”

“No. The Technology R&D Department made it. The Director’s incantations aren’t this melodramatic,” Shen Huaizhou said. “But a Ghost-Binding Banner can only handle minor ghosts without much energy.”

For an instant, Xie Qingling nearly wondered whether she had misunderstood what the words “Technology R&D Department” meant.

“Let’s go patrol and see if there are any other ghosts.” Shen Huaizhou had assumed today’s field assignment would leave them with nothing to do, but since Xie Qingling could accurately identify ghosts, failing to walk around more would be a waste of that ability.

Xie Qingling nodded.

The two roamed throughout Ping’an Slaughterhouse but found no other ghosts.

They did, however, discover several mobile water trucks in the central unloading area.

After asking around, they learned that the slaughterhouse had suffered frequent water outages over the past few days. Yet when the employees called the water authority, they were told there was no problem on that end.

The exact cause was still under investigation. For the time being, they could only supply their water through mobile water trucks.

After hearing this, Shen Huaizhou told the manager, “Your water supply should have returned now.”

The employee turned on a faucet, and sure enough, water came rushing out.

Miraculous!

When the employee turned around to look at the two people in black again, however, they had already left.

What strange people.

Still, the employee asked no further questions. People dressed entirely in black often appeared inside the slaughterhouse and behaved suspiciously, but the factory director had said they belonged to some government department or other and were here on official business. They only needed to cooperate.

—

Xie Qingling and Shen Huaizhou left the slaughterhouse.

Suddenly, Shen Huaizhou stopped beside her and said, “The clothes you chose don’t suit you. Your legs are long. You should wear a skirt.”

“…?” Xie Qingling did not understand the interests of a master cross-dresser, nor did she have any intention of becoming sisters with one. She therefore declined Shen Huaizhou’s suggestion tactfully. “Pants are more convenient for moving around.”

Shen Huaizhou looked her up and down several times without saying anything. He simply told her to get on, then drove the heavy motorcycle away.

This time, however, they did not take the road back.

Shen Huaizhou steered the motorcycle onto a relatively secluded street. The surrounding buildings changed from towering skyscrapers to low, mottled walls steeped in age.

If Xie Qingling remembered correctly, this was the Old District of Future City that had never been demolished.

The area was filled with the same gloomy, dilapidated little buildings, along with dark, deserted alleys weaving between them.

Xie Qingling looked around several times, confused. “Is this our second patrol location?”

“No.”

With that, Shen Huaizhou led the way into a quiet, secluded alley nearby.

After a moment’s thought, Xie Qingling followed him.

This old district was home to all kinds of people. Most residents had already moved away. Those who remained were largely people waiting to live off their aging parents, incapable of supporting themselves except through the meager ancestral property their parents had left behind. Most were men who spent their days idling together, drinking, eating, visiting prostitutes, and gambling, easily giving rise to violent and vicious incidents.

Over time, the area became a place everyone feared, notorious for its terrible public security.

Xie Qingling surveyed her surroundings. Dilapidated houses lined both sides of the road, along with a chaotic jumble of tiny shops whose merchandise she could not identify, and small eateries furnished with tables and chairs caked in years of grime…
What truly made Xie Qingling uncomfortable was the group of burly, potbellied men gathered together, staring intently at her and Shen Huaizhou.

Naturally, the main target of their attention was Shen Huaizhou, the stunning “beauty.”

She could not hear what they were saying, but judging by their eyes, it was definitely nothing decent.

Xie Qingling was about to ask Shen Huaizhou what exactly he intended to do when he suddenly stopped, looked back at the men, smiled, and crooked a finger at them.

“…??” Xie Qingling’s thoughts descended into chaos.

Then Shen Huaizhou slipped into an even quieter, more deserted lane nearby.

After some thought, Xie Qingling followed him again.

She asked, “What exactly are you… trying to do?”

“Find a few random people to play with.”

Xie Qingling’s face darkened, and she was about to leave, but the men had already followed them in.

Left with no choice, she retreated and stood behind Shen Huaizhou.

He had lured them here. It was only natural for him to handle them, right?

Shen Huaizhou appeared completely unconcerned by the men’s lecherous expressions. Instead, he looked back at Xie Qingling and said, “Watch closely.”

Xie Qingling: “…”

One, two, three, four, five. There were five of them in total.

Shen Huaizhou approached with exceptionally light steps. He even spun gracefully, and the broad hem of his dress instantly opened like a blooming black lotus. Beneath the slightly flared skirt, his calves, covered by a black underlayer, came into view.

His lower leg moved.

Xie Qingling’s vision blurred. Before she could even see how Shen Huaizhou had moved, the tall man at the front suddenly doubled over, clutching his crotch and howling in pain.

Shen Huaizhou drove an elbow hard into the man’s back, then used the leverage to vault past him.

The broad skirt billowed and whirled. Amid the dizzying folds, only Shen Huaizhou’s rapidly moving legs could be seen. He quickly brought down the second man.

Xie Qingling froze.

Shen Huaizhou raised the skirt high with one hand and snapped it like a butterfly’s wing, covering the heads of two men.

His opponents lost their sight.

Xie Qingling’s eyes lit up with a flash.

Two muffled thuds sounded, and both men fell.

Only the last one remained.

The fifth man looked as if he had seen a ghost. His face drained white as he stared at Shen Huaizhou’s excessively beautiful features, but at that moment, every indecent thought had vanished from his mind.

He wanted only to run.

The man staggered backward in flight.

Shen Huaizhou did not pursue him.

He gave a cold laugh and suddenly braced one leg halfway up the wall. As the hem of his dress slid down slightly, Xie Qingling saw straps around his ankle, knee, and thigh, each holding numerous tiny throwing knives.

Shen Huaizhou drew one of the knives and hurled it at the man.

There was a cry of pain. The knife struck the man’s ankle, sending him crashing to the ground.

A strong stench of urine spread through the air. The man’s eyes rolled shut, and he fainted.

Shen Huaizhou lowered his leg. The broad hem fell back into place, dignified and elegant. At that moment, he once again looked like that impossibly aloof beauty.

Had Xie Qingling not witnessed it herself, no one would have known that Shen Huaizhou had taken down five burly men in a matter of minutes.

Not even a speck of dust stained his skirt!

Elegant. Truly too elegant.

Shen Huaizhou retrieved his throwing knife, then strolled over to Xie Qingling and said, “Let’s go.”

“…Okay.” Xie Qingling could not calm down for a long time. So when Shen Huaizhou said he wanted to play, he had truly meant putting on a demonstration for her.

Only after they left that chaotic place did Shen Huaizhou ask, “Interested?”

“In what?”

“That move just now is called Flower Hidden Beneath the Leaf,” Shen Huaizhou said. “It’s also called the Under-Skirt Kick. It emphasizes using the small to defeat the large, striking quickly, and withdrawing just as fast. The movements are compact, and obstacles such as the skirt obscure your opponent’s vision. Before they can see how you attacked, it’s already over.”

“Once you’re proficient, you can finish an enemy in three moves. First kick the knee, second kick the crotch, third kick the head…” Shen Huaizhou tilted his head slightly and studied her seriously again. “Besides, your legs are long, so you can strap many things to them. Do you want to learn? I can teach you.”

Xie Qingling’s surging excitement finally found an outlet. She nodded. “I do!”

Shen Huaizhou asked again, “Will you wear a skirt?”

“I will!” Xie Qingling’s eyes sparkled.

Shen Huaizhou froze for a moment, then said, “Come to think of it, you’ve never learned any combat techniques, have you?”

“I only learned a dagger routine during military training.”

“That’s nowhere near enough. Didn’t the Director give you a pair of short blades? Ask Old Yu for guidance when you have time and practice with him. You’re extremely familiar with the human body. Your foundation is excellent, and you understand its weak points very well. You should learn much faster than the average person.” Shen Huaizhou suddenly added, “Often, your opponents won’t only be ghosts and monsters.”

They might also be humans.

Xie Qingling froze, then nodded. “I understand what you mean.”

Shen Huaizhou said with immense satisfaction, “Good. The Director truly didn’t misjudge you. You have excellent potential, unlike Ye Anran…”

“Senior Anran is a very nice person,” Xie Qingling said instinctively.

“That’s not what I mean.” Shen Huaizhou sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. “I’ve told Ye Anran to wear a skirt more than once, but she always calls me a pervert.”

“…”