Chapter 491: Let Me Out

　　The small living room was dimly lit.

　　Master Yuan, on the single bed, was holding a small porcelain basin and emitting soft snores, his body completely still.

　　Time ticked by, second by second.

　　Even Hu Zi, who was so sleepy he was yawning, noticed that there was nothing unusual about the porcelain basin.

　　"Boss, isn't he just fooling us?" Hu Zi rubbed his face to stay alert.

　　"Unless he doesn't want to live."

　　Lu Fei, cradling the small black dog, sat on a stool with his back against the wall, patient and composed, without a hint of impatience.

　　The small black dog curled up in his arms, already asleep.

　　Everything seemed calm and peaceful.

　　"Hu Zi, I think this evil thing is too cunning; it might not make a move for a while. If you can't stay awake, go ahead and sleep. I'll wake you up if there's any movement," Lu Fei suddenly said to Hu Zi in a very kind manner after a while.

　　"That would be so embarrassing. How could the boss stay up while the employee sleeps?" Hu Zi was taken aback by the kindness.

　　"Don't be so formal! There's no distinction between boss and employee among us, we're all brothers!" Lu Fei said with a serious expression.

　　"Thank you, boss!"

　　Hu Zi felt a warm sensation in his heart and didn't notice the mischievous look in the boss's eyes at all. He held his ghost-headed saber and started dozing off against the wall.

　　But not long after, he suddenly felt his eyes stinging and his throat tightening.

　　"Something moving?"

　　Startled, he abruptly opened his eyes and couldn't help but freeze.

　　A misty haze filled his view.

　　This small space had somehow been engulfed by a choking smoke. The smoke carried a scorching heat, making Hu Zi's eyes sting even more.

　　"Is this on fire?"

　　He squinted, glancing around with suspicion and alarm.

　　"Boss, boss..."

　　After calling out a few times, he was disheartened to find that the boss was gone.

　　Not just the boss, but the entire house had vanished!

　　Having followed Lu Fei for so long, he knew that an evil entity was at work. He quickly steadied his mind, gripped his ghost-head saber, and carefully moved along the wall through the smoke.

　　He walked in a circle, but there seemed to be no end.

　　However, he felt that this space was circular.

　　Upon closer observation, the smoke seemed to be swirling, like a tornado, rotating around a center.

　　"Has the boss already gone to the center?"

　　Huzi hesitated for a moment, then took a ghost-repelling talisman out of his pocket and stuck it on his back. He held the ghost-head saber horizontally in front of him, in a defensive stance, and carefully made his way towards the center of the smoke.

　　The deeper he went, the thicker the smoke became, and the hotter the air felt.

　　Huzi felt his skin burning and stinging; if he took another step forward, he might get scorched.

　　"But I haven't found the boss yet, and what if the boss needs my help?"

　　He gritted his teeth and pushed himself to move closer.

　　The scorching smoke swirled and tumbled.

　　Up ahead, there was a faint human silhouette, and strange cries could be heard as well.

　　"Boss?"

　　Huzi's heart leaped with joy. He endured the pain of his skin being seared and took a few more steps forward.

　　The figure gradually became clearer, and it indeed looked very much like the boss, though the face was obscured by the smoke and could not be seen clearly.

　　He seemed to be waving at Hu Zi, signaling him to come over quickly.

　　"Boss, are you okay....."

　　Hu Zi happily took two steps forward, only to find that the boss seemed even farther away, his figure appearing and disappearing in the smoke, looking particularly eerie.

　　"No! That's not the boss!"

　　Hu Zi decisively stopped and stepped back.

　　But as soon as he took a step, his body stiffened.

　　At his side, several human-shaped shadows had appeared without him noticing.

　　These shadows all reached out with their black hands, opening their mouths as if they were shouting something.

　　What was it?

　　Hu Zi tensed up, and perhaps because of the ghost-repelling word, the shadows didn't dare to get close to him, only circling around him.

　　But those cries became clearer and clearer.

　　"Let me out!"

　　"Let me out!"

　　"Let me out!!!"

　　The voice was hoarse, each cry more piercing and shrill than the last, as if it were a final, desperate wail before death.

　　Full of unwillingness, anger, and despair!

　　"Get away!"

　　Huzi swung his saber in terror, driving away those shadows.

　　When struck by the saber, the shadows instantly dissipated like sand, swept away by swirling smoke, only to coalesce into a new shadow after a while, continuing to howl at Huzi.

　　"What the hell is this! You're the ones who trapped Lord Hu Zi here, so why are you yelling to be let out?"

　　Huzi was completely bewildered and decided the best strategy was to retreat, so he turned and ran back.

　　But the smoke seemed to stretch infinitely. No matter how long he ran, even until he was utterly exhausted, he still didn't see an end.

　　"Damn it, is this some kind of ghost wall?"

　　Huzi was panting heavily, feeling that if he couldn't run out, he would be roasted alive.

　　Those dark shadows continued to surround him, wailing and howling like ghosts and wolves.

　　"If I don't show you a bit of color, you really think Hu Zi Master is just a sick cat? If you keep haunting me like this, don't blame Hu Zi Master for using my secret weapon!"

　　Huzi steeled his heart, clenched his teeth, and unbuckled his belt.

　　A sound of trickling water could be heard.

　　The scene in front of him blurred.

　　The piercing screams disappeared, the black ghostly figures vanished, and even the scorching smoke quickly dissipated.

　　The world finally returned to tranquility.

　　Only then did Hu Zi realize that he was not standing, but lying on Master Yuan's bed.

　　Master Yuan was right beside him, the two of them lying shoulder to shoulder, very close. One of his hands was resting on a cold porcelain basin, but before he could feel scared, he noticed something was wrong with his pants.

　　Why were they wet?

　　He abruptly sat up.

　　"Oh sh*t! Did I pee the bed?"

　　In a panic, he jumped off the bed and saw Lu Fei sitting properly on a stool, the small black dog in his arms also awake.

　　Both of them were looking at him with an expression that tried to suppress laughter.

　　"Why, why am I sleeping on his bed?" Hu Zi stood with his legs spread, his face full of bewilderment, "Boss, you said you would wake me up if there was any commotion!"

　　"I was just being considerate of you! You fell asleep the moment you laid down just now, and I thought you were really tired. How could I bear to wake you up?" Lu Fei blinked and glanced at his wet pants, "Did you dream of something?"

　　"I... I don't remember!"

　　Huzi walked to the side, huffing and puffing in anger.

　　"Oh, I just remembered that we should be getting our paychecks in a couple of days..." Lu Fei chuckled lightly.

　　"Boss, I just had a dream where there was a huge amount of smoke, and inside the smoke, there were lots of dark shadows! All those shadows were shouting 'Let me out...'" Huzi immediately turned around and seriously recounted his dream in detail.

　　"Smoke, many dark shadows, let me out..."

　　Lu Fei seemed lost in thought, looking at the white porcelain basin in Master Yuan's arms.

　　Suddenly, he noticed that the yin energy in the basin started to swirl again, faster and faster.

　　Master Yuan suddenly sat up from the bed, his eyes still closed, but his body began to move.

　　He bent down, his movements extremely strange.

　　His bones crackled, and his head slowly moved into the porcelain basin.

　　The yin energy in the basin suddenly boiled at this moment.

　　"Dammit!"

　　"Is that basin really going to eat his head?"