Chapter 26: Escaping in Secret 54

 Chapter 26: Escaping in Secret 54

At 7 o'clock in the evening, at the dining table, Grandmother looked around at her family, in a rather good mood, and announced, "Yuanzi, your uncle will be back tomorrow afternoon. Yuanjun, remember to drive and pick him up. Yuer, when you finish work, come back home early."

Yuer is the nickname for the youngest aunt.

Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yuer each gnawed on a chicken leg, while Chen Yuanjun sipped on chicken soup, all with calm expressions.

Seeing this, Grandma slammed her chopsticks on the table and glared, "Did you hear what I said?"

"Uh," Zhang Yuanqing responded.

"Mhm," Jiang Yuer nodded.

"Got it," Chen Yuanjun replied.

Grandma: ...

Uncle and aunt had been traveling abroad for nearly two months, and their absence made no difference at home, as Uncle was carefree and irresponsible, and Aunt showed no interest in domestic matters.

Their return wasn't something worth celebrating, perhaps only Grandma would be happy about it.

Jiang Yuer munched on the chicken leg and said, "Why didn't those family black sheep stay away for a few more months? The house was much quieter without them."

Chen Yuanjun glanced at his youngest aunt and said, "Don't say that, after all, those family black sheep are still my father."

Zhang Yuanqing looked at his cousin and said, "Don't say that, after all, those family black sheep are still my uncle."

Seeing Grandma's anger, they hurriedly appeased her and changed the topic to something their mother would be interested in: "Mom, our hospital is haunted."

"Haunted?" Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up his ears.

Ignoring her son, Grandma asked eagerly, "Oh my, what kind of ghostly things are happening? Tell your mom quickly."

"It's Sister Zhou in our department. While she was on night duty, she heard children laughing in the office. When she went in to check, the laughter stopped. Then she went to the restroom and saw a baby's face reflected in the mirror, almost scaring her to death," Jiang Yuer explained.

Aunt confidently added, "And it's not just Sister Zhou; other colleagues on night duty also claim to occasionally hear children laughing in the middle of the night. They all say it must be the lingering souls of aborted babies wandering around the hospital."

Grandma listened with great interest and commented, "How mysterious! I think that's probably it. When it's your turn to work the night shift, Yuanzi should accompany you. Is there more? Tell me more."

"There is, there is..." Jiang Yuer continued to share the gossip with Grandma, while Zhang Yuanqing's initial interest slowly faded away. As a nocturnal wanderer, he could tell that this was just a rumor and not real.

Firstly, spiritual beings couldn't produce sound because they lacked physical bodies and vocal cords, unless their spiritual power directly affected someone's mind.

Secondly, babies, with their weak will and mental strength, couldn't leave lingering spirits after death.

Lastly, ordinary people couldn't see spiritual beings, and only those on the verge of death or with heavy yin energy might have interactions with them, making such occurrences rare but plausible.

But many people have heard the laughter of babies, which sounds like nonsense.

"Be careful, Auntie, don't bring the hospital's deceased children home," Zhang Yuanqing said jokingly.

Just as Jiang Yuer was getting into the story, her face froze when she heard Zhang Yuanqing's words, and she exclaimed, "Mom, he's scaring me again!"

Grandma playfully smacked her grandson on the head.

...

After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing quietly left home and took a taxi to the nearest top-tier hospital. He wanted to use the "Soul Devour" skill to gain experience points. The next time the Spirit Realm opened was uncertain, so it was essential to improve his strength before entering.

Even at the same level, the difference between 99% and 1% experience points made a vast difference in combat power.

The hospital was an excellent place for the Night Wanderer to gain experience points since life, death, sickness, and old age were all present there. The crematorium was also suitable, but most of the crematoriums in Songhai were located in the outskirts of the city.

Sitting in the car, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly remembered the question Guan Ya had asked today: "Why are the Night Wanderers of the Taiyi Clan particularly averse to devouring spiritual bodies? Is it an industry rule, or is there another reason?"

Thinking about it, he took out his phone, logged into the official Spirit Realm Travelers' forum, and searched for relevant information.

The search results showed: "No relevant entries found."

...

In the outskirts, the night fell.

In a cheap rental house in an industrial park, the dirty and messy living room, Ou Xiangrong held a large bowl of just-cooked instant noodles and came to a table full of beer cans.

With a sweep of his hand, he cleared the table of beer cans and other debris, making room for the large bowl of noodles, and then took out a can of beer from the fridge.

He ate the noodles and drank the beer heartily.

The freshly cooked noodles were scalding hot, but his tough oral cells were impervious to the heat.

Ou Xiangrong's sparse eyebrows expressed ferocity, indifference, and hatred... just like a mentally ill patient on the verge of an episode.

Suddenly, his ears twitched, and he stopped eating, his expression turning grim.

Ou Xiangrong slowly stood up, drew the willow blade hidden in the sheath at his back, and stealthily approached the room's door.

"Bang!"

As he approached the entrance, the door was violently kicked open, and immediately afterward, a brilliant light burst forth as a scorching fireball came hurtling towards him.

The fiery wind hit him head-on, and Ou Xiangrong halted his steps, swinging his right arm with the knife, and the gleaming blade struck the fireball. With a loud "boom," the room was filled with a dazzling array of flowing flames.

Amidst the sudden burst of flames, a figure engulfed in fire rushed into the rental house. With knees bent and spring-like force, he rocketed towards Ou Xiangrong.

Ou Xiangrong was even more ferocious. He dodged to the side, thrusting his shoulder forward aggressively.

"Bang!"

The figure was sent flying and crashed into the wall of the corridor, causing the whole wall to shake.

Ou Xiangrong, with his right hand and shoulder covered in burns, endured the pain and turned to the window. He didn't dare to use the narrow and crowded corridor as an escape route; if he got surrounded, he would undoubtedly meet his end.

With the sound of shattering glass, Ou Xiangrong jumped out of the third-floor window.

"Bang bang!"

As he just smashed through the window, he heard two gunshots. He managed to knock away the one aimed at his head with the willow blade, but he couldn't stop the bullet aimed at his chest.

The powerful force of the bullet pierced his skin but was held back by his tough muscles.

Following the sound of the gunshots, in the shadow by the greenbelt, stood a tall and exotic-looking beauty. She wore a white shirt with an OL-style dress, her hair flying in the wind, exuding an icy allure.

She held a silver pistol in each hand, with holsters strapped to her black-stockinged long legs.

Bang bang bang... The exotic beauty calmly fired her shots, her marksmanship precise as if she could predict his movements in mid-air.

After being hit by several bullets, Ou Xiangrong finally landed. He looked fiercely at the exotic woman, and in his pupils, two blood-red, twisted runes appeared.

At the next moment, the woman's expression became blank. She turned the gun towards her own forehead.

"Bang!"

The gun spewed flames, but the bullet was blocked by a pair of rough hands.

A man wearing a miner's cap had appeared beside her. His dark face showed seriousness as he said, "A bewitching demon?"

"A level 3 bewitching demon," another voice came from the hallway. A man in a black leather jacket walked out, looking sharp and imposing.

Ou Xiangrong held the knife, his face gloomy as he surveyed the surroundings.

"Boom boom boom..."

At that moment, the sound of a motorcycle engine roared in the distance. Bright lights pierced through the darkness, and a woman wearing a white racing suit, with her upper body lowered, held a three-foot-long black long knife, charging forward.

In the next moment, gunshots rang out again, blocking Ou Xiangrong's escape route. The fire figure leaped down from the window, attempting to intercept him from the side.

Tang Guoqiang wearing the miner's cap placed both hands on the ground, cracking the concrete ground. His soil-condensed hands grabbed Ou Xiangrong's feet.

Ignoring his injuries, Ou Xiangrong swung the willow blade, deflecting the bullets with skillful angles. The bullet tips clashed with the knife blade, creating dazzling sparks.

Then, he felt his leg muscles swell and break the soil-condensed hands, and he rolled forward to avoid the fire figure attacking from the third floor.

Thump thump thump... As he rolled to his feet, he dashed towards the exit of the residential area.

At this moment, a woman in a qipao leaped out of the window on the second floor. Her bare white feet ran on the wall as if on level ground.

With a leap, she landed in front of Ou Xiangrong, scolding him in a sweet voice. She spun around, her qipao fluttering, and her powerful long legs lashed out like whips, striking Ou Xiangrong hard.

The latter was shot like a cannonball, crashing through the wall of the residential building and slowly slumping to the ground.

"Brave enough to kill an official Spirit Realm Traveler in my territory, you're quite something," said Li Dongze, who had been watching the spectacle from the beginning. He walked slowly with his cane, his face serious, exuding the calmness of a behind-the-scenes boss. He said lightly, "Next, I will personally send you on your way."

"Sigh..." A loud sigh reverberated around them as Ou Xiangrong slowly stood up. His eyes were blood-red, filled with madness and ferocity, and a powerful evil force awakened within him. He hoarsely said, "All of you will die."

Li Dongze silently took two steps back. "Brothers, just now it was just a joke. I'm not the kind of person who takes all the credit."

...

Inside the taxi, Zhang Yuanqing couldn't find any relevant information. He returned to the forum homepage and instinctively refreshed the page.

Then, he saw a post marked in red and pinned to the top.

#Wanted! Level 3 Bewitching Demon Ou Xiangrong#

Just a few minutes ago, this post wasn't there.

Zhang Yuanqing clicked on the post:

"Ou Xiangrong, a level 3 bewitching demon, killed Zhao Yingjun, a scout of the Five Elements Alliance, on April 18th. On the evening of April 19th, at 19:05, he escaped during the encirclement and pursuit of the Spirit Realm team in Kangyang District.

"This person possesses a terrifying evil power, not an ordinary bewitching demon. He has already been seriously injured by the Kangyang District Spirit Realm team and his current whereabouts are unknown. Attention to all Spirit Realm teams in major districts: Ou Xiangrong is on the verge of losing control. Once the target is found, kill on sight.

"Five million yuan reward for providing clues. Ten million yuan reward for killing him."

Just three minutes after the post was published, there were already over a hundred comments below it.

Most of the comments were criticizing the Kangyang District Spirit Realm team for not doing their job properly and letting a half-crazed bewitching demon escape.

"Are you kidding me? This kind of dangerous individual can lose control at any moment. Is the Kangyang District team just eating for nothing?"

"Once he goes on a killing spree and becomes wanted by the Spirit Realm, by the time we arrive, I bet the place will be a bloodbath. We'll be laughed at by Spirit Realm teams from all over the country for our incompetence, drawing high salaries and doing nothing."

"What a disaster."

Ou Xiangrong managed to escape? How did the Spirit Realm team identify and start the pursuit so quickly? Zhang Yuanqing was momentarily unsure whether to praise the efficiency of the team or criticize their incompetence for letting this ticking time bomb slip away.

"Since they've already had a confrontation, Ou Xiangrong's blood, even his flesh and tissues, should have been left at the scene. Using the Red Dance Shoes, I should be able to track him down..."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately thought of his own rule-based item.