Chapter 65
Chapter 65
After the meeting ended.
Everyone rose, gathered their things, and began leaving the office.
Ye Anran glanced at Xie Qingling beside her, then furtively leaned over and whispered, “That rule is way too backward. What are people who’ve married walls, paintings, or fictional characters supposed to think? I guarantee that if the Special Incident Response Departments in other cities learn we have such a strange rule, they’ll laugh at us. Just hearing it makes it sound like something must have happened in our department. Every gossip lover out there would be dying to know the story.”
Xie Qingling whispered back, “I doubt it. They’d probably just give the person who made the rule a few strange looks. What does it have to do with us?”
Ling Fang finished organizing his papers and glanced toward the two of them.
They immediately straightened and sat properly, ending their whispered conversation.
Xie Qingling announced loudly, “They would surely consider the person who made that rule extraordinarily farsighted, perceptive, quick-witted, and brilliant beyond ordinary men.”
Ling Fang stared at her in silence.
He had no idea whether making Xie Qingling write self-criticisms had taught her to reflect, but her vocabulary for flattery was certainly expanding by the day.
Ling Fang ignored her performance as if he had heard nothing. He casually swept Bloodsworn off the table and told Xie Qingling, “I’ll return Bloodsworn to you in a couple of days. For now, choose a few suitable weapons from the armory.”
“Understood, Director.”
Two days later, Ling Fang finished modifying Bloodsworn precisely on schedule and returned it to Xie Qingling.
Bloodsworn was now slightly smaller and shorter than before.
Each blade had been shortened to only about thirty centimeters, making the pair more compact and easier to carry.
Ling Fang had made further changes to the blades’ shape and construction.
Not only had he carved additional blood grooves into them, but their hilts now followed the style of ring-pommeled sabers. By some unknown means, he had smoothly cut the fox’s inner core and set it into the hilts.
The profound, dreamlike, beautiful blue of the inner core made the pair of short blades even more striking.
Xie Qingling tested them in her hands. The blades were light and felt comfortable in her grip.
Xie Qingling asked, “Director, why did Bloodsworn get so much smaller?”
If Bloodsworn had been a pair of short blades before, they were now a pair of slightly elongated daggers.
Ling Fang said, “When I first gave you Bloodsworn, I didn’t understand you well enough.”
“Hm?”
“Before the modifications, Bloodsworn measured forty-five centimeters in total length. The original idea was to extend the wielder’s reach and create distance from the opponent, giving the wielder room to block and defend. But…” Ling Fang suppressed the urge to frown. “You have no interest in defense and care only about attacking. In that case, I decided to make it better suited to your habits, allowing your attacks to be more concealed and agile. You aren’t afraid of death anyway. You might as well keep charging straight ahead.”
Xie Qingling said nothing.
She wanted to argue.
But when she thought about it carefully, what he said seemed to make a great deal of sense.
So Xie Qingling chose silence.
Ling Fang continued, “I secured the fox’s inner core with sorcery. You can use one of the divine abilities within it. I’ve named it Concealed Presence. Try it. To activate it, you only need to recite the name silently.”
Holding Bloodsworn, Xie Qingling silently recited, “Concealed Presence.” To her astonishment, her body vanished!
“The fox’s inner core possesses an invisibility effect.” Laughter colored Ling Fang’s voice. “Though invisibility isn’t quite the right word. It conceals not only your body, but your presence as well. That means the ability hides you not only from human eyes, but from gods and ghosts too.”
This ability was incredible!
Xie Qingling deactivated the invisibility and revealed her body again.
She said, “Director, you’re amazing. You can even create a curse like this.”
“My sorcery didn’t create it. The fox’s inner core did.”
Ling Fang said, “He had already burned away his tail and could disguise himself perfectly as a human. His skill at disguise had reached the realm of perfection, so this is an ability he cultivated himself. All I did was use a curse to set his inner core into your weapon.”
“However, you need to be careful. This inner core is incomplete and has lost some of its cultivation. Concealed Presence cannot be maintained indefinitely. I don’t know exactly how long it will last, so you can test that yourself. One thing is certain: the moment you attack, the concealment will break.”
After hearing Ling Fang’s explanation, Xie Qingling nodded. “All right. I understand.”
“If there’s nothing else, get back to work,” Ling Fang said. “Work hard.”
“Yes, Director.” Xie Qingling left in an excellent mood.
Bloodsworn was much smaller now. With an extra strap around her waist, Xie Qingling could secure the blades at her side. They were unobtrusive, stayed out of her way, and were extremely convenient to use.
Xie Qingling could not have been more pleased.
–
In June, the blazing sun hung high.
Xie Qingling’s internal clock had become remarkably precise. She woke at eight sharp, lit incense at the deity shrine as usual, and only then went to eat breakfast.
The weather was rather hot, so she took some frozen yogurt and mixed cereal into it while checking the unread messages in her group chat.
[Dong Jia: Qingling! Lulu! Happy Children’s Day!!!]
[Dong Jia: @Jiang Lulu @Xie Qingling, do either of you have the day off? Want to come out and have fun?]
[Jiang Lulu: Bursts into tears. I’m an adult. I don’t know what Children’s Day is. No day off, don’t @ me.]
[Xie Qingling: No day off, don’t @ me.]
[Dong Jia: Aaaah, this is so sad. I was going to take a day off and celebrate Children’s Day, but it looks like I won’t get the chance.]
[Dong Jia: The last time I went out with Qingling was when we saw my goddess’s dance drama. Sigh, now my goddess has left the stage and neither of you has any time. Time passes so quickly, and my sorrow is immeasurable.]
[Jiang Lulu: The adult world has no room for sorrow! Happy Children’s Day, kiddo. Big Sis is off to the grind. Charge toward the money!]
[Dong Jia: Chaaaarge!!]
Children’s Day…
Xie Qingling had not celebrated it since graduating from elementary school. Her memories of the holiday had grown extremely distant, and she no longer felt much of anything about it.
She had matured early. In her little kindergarten group, she had always played the miniature adult. Every Children’s Day, she would voluntarily help Grandma, the orphanage director, organize activities and keep the other children in line.
As a result, she had far more memories of preserving order than of playing on Children’s Day.
Time for work.
Xie Qingling put away her phone, ended her reminiscence, and arrived at the office precisely on time.
Aside from her, only Yu Wei was in the first-floor lobby.
“Happy Children’s Day, fellow grown-up kid.” Xie Qingling greeted him with a smile.
Yu Wei smiled and nodded in acknowledgment but said nothing. After a moment, he walked over and patted Xie Qingling’s shoulder. “The Director wants you and me to patrol together today.”
“Hm?” Xie Qingling turned back in surprise. “Both of us?”
Ordinary patrols rarely required two people to deploy together.
Xie Qingling’s first days in the department had been an exception. Back then, she had needed a veteran member to familiarize her with the work process.
Now, however, she could already handle matters independently. One person should have been enough for a patrol.
“Yes, both of us,” Yu Wei explained. “We’re going to a school where a special incident occurred before. There are many teachers and children there, so the consequences were terrible, and the incident caused a major uproar at the time. Although we placed anchors around the school after resolving it, today is a special case. Two of us need to confirm the situation on-site.”
Today was a special case?
“…Because it’s Children’s Day?”
Yu Wei nodded. “Yes. The one that caused the trouble was a Child Ghost. It comes out on Children’s Day to search for playmates.”
When a Child Ghost searched for a playmate, it did not mean the sort of innocent friendship in which one child visited another’s house today and invited them over to do homework tomorrow.
People died.
“All right. Let’s go,” Xie Qingling said.
After collecting their equipment, the two headed to Guangming Elementary School in Future City.
Guangming Elementary was the largest elementary school in Future City, with more than three thousand students enrolled.
It had five classroom buildings, and with public facilities such as the athletic field and rubber track, the campus covered an enormous area.
There would be no classes today, but the school had organized recreational activities for the children and their parents.
Nine thirty in the morning.
The spacious school bustled with noise. Children’s laughter could be heard from far away, filling the air with cheer.
Yu Wei braced one hand on the railing at the school gate as he looked inside.
He raised his voice as much as possible so Xie Qingling could hear him. “The campus is large and crowded, so we placed anchors in all four cardinal directions. You take the west and south, and I’ll take the east and north. Once we’ve finished checking them, we’ll meet at the school gate.”
Xie Qingling nodded. “All right.”
After dividing the work, they separated.
Searching the southern and western areas, Xie Qingling found the discreetly placed Ksitigarbha Statues near the school auditorium and library.
Her inspection revealed nothing abnormal. A few bratty children, however, had scribbled all over the Ksitigarbha Statue near the auditorium with colored crayons.
They had drawn a little mustache on Ksitigarbha and earrings on the earlobes, then covered the body in color, as though dressing the statue’s exposed upper torso in a colorful skintight shirt.
How had those children even found such a well-hidden place?
Xie Qingling’s face darkened. She raised a hand to wipe away the riot of color, then took the opportunity to glance around.
She stood before the Ksitigarbha Statue behind the auditorium. No one else was nearby, and only the children’s laughter echoed through the air.
But…
[A Ghost Infant crawls while dragging its umbilical cord, searching everywhere for its mother. A Child Ghost, unable to distinguish right from wrong or good from evil, seeks a playmate. They are gradually approaching this place. Listening to the cheerful laughter from the school, envy fills their eyes.]
[Envy, jealousy, yearning. Tormented by every desire for the things they have never possessed, they decide to find themselves a satisfying playmate today.]
[The Ghost Infant seeks its mother, the Child Ghost a companion. Stop and listen closely. They cry and laugh, joining hands as they seek to take one lucky little playmate away.]
Xie Qingling’s expression abruptly turned grim. She contacted Yu Wei through her earpiece. “Brother Yu, there are ghosts. Two of them. Apart from the Child Ghost, there’s a Ghost Infant.”
Yu Wei’s voice sank. “Release the Killing Field immediately and wait where you are. I’ll be there soon.”
Xie Qingling acknowledged him, then spread the Killing Field at once.
Anchors had been placed around the school in advance, and they could directly locate any ghosts or monsters. Therefore, deploying the Killing Field here would not ensnare the ordinary people nearby.
Besides surveillance and deterrence, anchors could also rapidly lock onto targets in battle.
As soon as the Killing Field spread, Xie Qingling saw a Ghost Infant crawling over the ground with the umbilical cord still attached to its belly, as well as a Child Ghost that had already begun toddling.
Their hands bumped together from time to time, making them look as though they were holding hands. First one laughed while the other cried, then one cried while the other laughed. An instant later, both would cry and laugh together.
The two little ghosts crawled together from behind the auditorium toward its front.
A group of children there were playing a treasure-hunting game, and their laughter showed the ghosts the way.
The Child Ghost staggered onward while the Ghost Infant crawled with desperate haste.
Xie Qingling frowned fiercely, then took out the Ghost-Binding Banner and tried to draw them both inside.
To her surprise, the Ghost-Binding Banner captured only the Child Ghost. It could not pull in the Ghost Infant crawling over the ground with its umbilical cord trailing behind.
It seemed that although the Ghost Infant was very young, it had died in the womb before ever being born. Its resentment was therefore overwhelming, making it far more powerful than the Child Ghost.
Yu Wei arrived just in time.
The moment he saw the Ghost Infant, he fell silent.
The great saber in his hands abruptly stilled as well. He could not bring himself to continue the swing.
The Ghost Infant, having just lost its playmate, was wailing at the top of its lungs.
Xie Qingling suddenly remembered that Yu Wei had a young daughter. As a father, he must find it extremely difficult to strike a child.
“Let me handle it.”
Xie Qingling took Yu Wei’s place and advanced with her blade.
The Ghost Infant cried as it crawled toward Xie Qingling, its umbilical cord leaving a trail of blood behind it. Wherever it touched, thick black smoke rose as the surface beneath suffered severe corrosion.
Yet just as the Ghost Infant was about to touch Xie Qingling, it discovered that the person charging toward it had suddenly vanished without a trace.
Gone?
The Ghost Infant went blank. Its brain had not developed, and it acted on instinct alone, incapable of deeper thought. Before it could understand what had happened, Xie Qingling revealed herself behind it.
She avoided the Ghost Infant’s reaching hand and brought down her blade at the same time.
The modified Bloodsworn truly fit her hands better.
Her blade fell.
Then everything was as though nothing had ever happened.
Xie Qingling put away Bloodsworn and withdrew the Killing Field. Once more, the cheerful laughter of children filled her ears.
They were celebrating the annual Children’s Day, eating candy, holding colorful balloons, and chasing and playing with their friends. They had no idea that two burning gazes, filled with boundless envy, had once watched them obsessively from nearby, desperate to join them.
Lost in the joy of the holiday, the children remained oblivious to danger. A few reckless ones nearly ran into Yu Wei as they raced about.
Yu Wei did not get angry. Instead, he lowered his head and carefully moved out of their way as he walked over to Xie Qingling.
He said guiltily, “I’m sorry. I wasn’t in good form today. I made a fool of myself in front of you.”
“Perhaps I should ask the Director for a self-criticism form once we get back,” Yu Wei said.
Xie Qingling gave him a long look.
She said darkly, “Brother Yu, I don’t think you need to rush. Go on enough missions with me, and you’ll get a self-criticism eventually.”
Yu Wei fell silent.
“If the Director heard that, he might make you write one right now.”