Chapter 26: Fleeing

At 7 p.m., around the dining table.

Grandma looked around at the family members sitting by the table and announced in a rather good mood:

"Yuanzi, your uncle will be back tomorrow afternoon. Yuanjun, remember to drive and pick him up. Yu'er, come home early after work."

Yu'er was the childhood name of the younger aunt.

Zhang Yuanqing and Jiang Yu'er each gnawed on a drumstick, while Chen Yuanjun sipped chicken soup. All of them wore a calm expression.

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

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Got it."

Grandma: "..."

Uncle and Aunt had been on a trip abroad for almost two months. Uncle was idle and carefree, not serious about his work, and Aunt never did any housework. Their presence or absence made no difference to the family.

If they were coming back, it wasn't really a great joy worth celebrating. Probably only Grandma would be happy about Uncle's return.

Jiang Yu'er, while gnawing on the drumstick, said, "Why didn't that black sheep of the family play for a few more months? When they're not around, the house is especially peaceful."

Chen Yuanjun glanced at his little aunt and said, "Don't say that. After all, the black sheep of the family is my father."

Zhang Yuanqing glanced at his cousin and said, "Don't say that. After all, the black sheep of the family is my uncle."

Seeing that Grandma was furious and about to stand up and deal with these unfilial descendants, Jiang Yu'er quickly soothed her and brought up a topic that her mother would surely be interested in:

"Mom, there's a haunting in our hospital."

A haunting? Zhang Yuanqing immediately perked up.

Sure enough, Grandma forgot about her son and asked in a hurry:

"Oh dear, why is there a haunting all of a sudden? Tell me about it quickly."

It's that Sister Zhou in our department. When she was on night duty, she heard the laughter of children in the office. When she went in to check, the laughter stopped. Then, when she went to the toilet, she saw a baby lying on her shoulder in the mirror. She was almost scared to death."

The younger aunt said plausibly, "It's not just Sister Zhou. Other colleagues on night duty also said that they occasionally hear the laughter of children in the middle of the night. Everyone says that it must be some aborted child who is unwilling to leave and lingers in the hospital."

Grandma listened with great interest and commented, "That's really strange. I think it's probably the case. When it's your turn to be on night duty later, let Yuanzi accompany you. Is there more? Is there more?"

"Yes, there is..."

Grandma's love for gossip didn't pass on to Zhang Yuanqing's mother; it was all inherited by the younger aunt... Zhang Yuanqing listened to the mother and daughter chatting and gossiping, but the interest that had been aroused in his heart slowly faded away.

As a Night Walker, he could tell at once that this was just a rumor and a strange tale, not the truth.

Firstly, spiritual entities can't make sounds because they have no physical form, let alone vocal cords, unless the power of the spiritual entity directly acts on a person's mind.

However, with the will and mental strength of a baby, it's impossible for a spiritual entity to remain after death.

Finally, ordinary people with their mortal eyes can't see spiritual entities. Those who are close to death or have a strong yin energy might interact with spiritual entities, so occasional such situations are reasonable.

But for many people to hear the laughter of a baby, that's just nonsense.

"Auntie, be careful. Don't bring the dead baby from the hospital home," Zhang Yuanqing said softly.

Jiang Yu'er, who had been talking with great enthusiasm, suddenly froze, with her oval face turning stiff, and she shouted, "Mom, he's scaring me again!"

Grandma symbolically tapped her grandson on the head.

...

After dinner, Zhang Yuanqing quietly left home and took a taxi to the nearest Class III Grade A hospital.

He was going to the hospital to release the souls of the deceased and increase his experience points.

The "Soul Devouring" skill of the Night Walker was currently the best way to level up. He didn't know when the next Spiritual Realm would open, and it was necessary to improve his strength before entering the Spiritual Realm.

Even at Level 1, the combat power difference between someone with 99% experience points and someone with 1% experience points was like the difference between the clouds and the mud.

The hospital was a good place for the Night Walker to gain experience points. Birth, aging, illness, and death all happened in the hospital. Of course, the crematorium was also a good place, but the crematoriums in Songhai were all in the suburbs, and there were few in the urban area.

Sitting in the car, Zhang Yuanqing suddenly remembered what Guan Ya had said today.

"Why are the Night Walkers of Taiyi Sect more cautious about devouring spiritual entities? Is it a trade rule, thinking it will damage one's yin virtue? Or is there another reason?"

Thinking of this, he took out his phone, logged into the official forum of Spiritual Realm Walkers, and searched for relevant information.

The search result showed: No relevant entries found.

...

In the suburbs, the night began to fall.

In a cheap rented room in an industrial park, in the dirty and messy living room, Ou Xiangrong held a large bowl of freshly cooked instant noodles and came to the table filled with beer cans.

He casually swept his hand, and the beer cans and other sundries "clattered" to the ground, clearing a space to place the large bowl. Then he took out a can of beer from the refrigerator.

He took big bites of the noodles and gulps of the beer.

The freshly cooked noodles were extremely hot, but they couldn't scald his tough oral cells.

Ou Xiangrong, with sparse eyebrows, had an expression that alternated between fierce, indifferent, and hateful... just like a mentally ill patient on the verge of an attack.

Suddenly, his earlobe twitched, and he stopped his chopsticks. His expression immediately turned ferocious.

Ou Xiangrong slowly stood up, drew out the willow blade from the scabbard at his waist, and quietly and lightly approached the door.

"Bang!"

Just as he approached the entrance, the door was roughly kicked open. Then, a blazing light flashed, and a ball of scorching fireball rushed towards him.

The hot wind blew in his face. Ou Xiangrong stopped in his tracks, swung his right arm holding the knife, and the bright blade of the knife slashed at the fireball. With a "boom," the room was filled with colorful and gorgeous flowing flames.

In the suddenly bright firelight, a figure covered in flames dashed into the rented room. His knees bounced, and he charged towards Ou Xiangrong like a rocket.

Ou Xiangrong was more ferocious than him. He shifted his body to the side and thrust his shoulder forward fiercely.

"Bang!"

That figure flew backwards and crashed into the wall of the corridor, causing the wall to shake violently.

Ou Xiangrong, whose right hand and shoulder were covered in burn marks, endured the pain and turned to rush towards the window. He didn't dare to take the corridor. The corridor of the old residential building was narrow. Once surrounded, he would surely die.

Amid the sound of breaking glass, Ou Xiangrong jumped out from the third floor.

"Bang bang!"

Just as Ou Xiangrong broke through the window, he heard two gunshots. He used the willow blade to deflect the bullet aimed at his head, but he couldn't stop the bullet aimed at his chest.

The powerful kinetic energy of the bullet pierced through his skin and was stuck in his tough muscles.

Looking in the direction of the gunshots, in the shadow by the green belt, there stood a tall half-breed beauty. She was wearing an OL suit and a white shirt, with her hair fluttering in the wind. She was stunningly beautiful and cold.

She held a silver pistol in each hand, and there were two holsters tied to her long legs covered in black silk.

Bang bang bang... The half-breed beauty calmly fired her guns. Her marksmanship was accurate, and it seemed that she could predict his falling trajectory.

After being shot several times, Ou Xiangrong finally landed. He suddenly looked at the half-breed woman, and two twisted blood-colored runes appeared in his pupils.

The next moment, the woman's expression became dull. She turned the gun and aimed it at her own forehead.

"Bang!"

The muzzle of the gun spat out flames, but the bullet failed to shatter the woman's smooth forehead. It was blocked by a pair of rough hands.

A worker wearing a miner's hat appeared beside her at some point. His dark face was filled with seriousness, and he said, "A Bewitching Demon?"

"A Level 3 Bewitching Demon."

In the darkness, a man walked over, leaning on a cane. He was dressed in a black suit, a black waistcoat, and a white shirt, with his oily hair combed neatly.

"Tell the subordinates to set up a defense outside the community. Don't get close here."

Another voice came. A man wearing a black leather jacket walked out from the corridor. He was thin but strong, with a sharp temperament.

Ou Xiangrong held the knife, looking around with a gloomy face.

"Boom boom boom..."

At this moment, the sound of a motorcycle engine came from a distance. The bright lights pierced through the darkness, and a motorcycle roared over. The woman on the motorcycle was wearing a white racing suit, leaning forward, and holding a three-foot-long black broadsword in her hand. She charged forward first.

The next moment, gunshots rang out again, blocking Ou Xiangrong's retreat. The figure covered in flames jumped out of the window and blocked him from the side.

Tang Guoqiang, wearing a miner's hat, pressed his hands on the ground. The cement ground "cracked" and a pair of hands formed by condensed soil grabbed Ou Xiangrong's feet.

Ou Xiangrong calmly waved the willow blade, deflecting the bullets with tricky angles. The bullet heads collided with the blade, creating dazzling sparks.

Then, his leg muscles swelled, shattering the hands formed by the condensed soil. He rolled forward, just avoiding the figure covered in flames that pounced down from the third floor.

Stomping... After getting up from the roll, he took off running, heading towards the woman on the motorcycle.

In the night, the two passed each other. The sharp willow blade sliced open the woman's chest, but there was no feeling of cutting through a solid object. At the moment when the blade struck, the woman on the motorcycle turned into water.

And her broadsword swept across Ou Xiangrong's chest and abdomen.

A large gush of blood spurted out from Ou Xiangrong's chest.

He completely ignored his injury and kept running towards the outside of the community without stopping.

At this time, a beautiful woman in a cheongsam jumped out of the window on the second floor. She was barefoot, running on the wall as if walking on flat ground.

With a leap, she landed in front of Ou Xiangrong. With a charming rebuke, she spun around. The cheongsam fluttered, and her strong and powerful long legs whipped towards Ou Xiangrong like a whip.

The latter flew out like a cannonball, crashing through the wall of the residential building and slowly collapsing to the ground.

"Daring to kill an official Spiritual Realm Walker in my jurisdiction, you're really something,"

At this time, Li Dongze, who had been watching the scene from the beginning to the end, slowly walked over leaning on his cane. His face was serious, and he was as calm as a behind-the-scenes big shot. He said lightly, "Next, I will personally send you on your way."

"Sigh..." A huge sigh echoed around. Ou Xiangrong slowly stood up. His eyes were as red as blood, filled with madness and violence. A powerful and evil force awakened from his body.

He said hoarsely, "You all have to die."

Li Dongze silently took two steps back. "Brothers, that was just a joke. I'm definitely not someone who wants to take all the credit."

...

In the taxi, Zhang Yuanqing, who didn't find the relevant information, returned to the forum's 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#

There was no such post a few minutes ago.

Zhang Yuanqing clicked on the post:

[Ou Xiangrong, a Level 3 Bewitching Demon, killed Zhao Yingjun, a scout of the White Tiger Troop of the Five Elements Alliance on April 18. On the evening of April 19, at 19:05, he escaped during the encirclement and killing by the Spiritual Realm Squad in Kangyang District.]

[This person possesses a certain terrifying and evil power. He is not an ordinary Bewitching Demon. He has been severely wounded by the Spiritual Realm Squad in Kangyang District and is currently missing. Spiritual Realm Walker squads in all regions, be aware that Ou Xiangrong is on the verge of losing control. Once the target is found, immediately kill him.]

[Those who provide clues will be rewarded 50,000 yuan. Those who kill him will be rewarded 100,000 yuan.]

Less than three minutes after the post was released, the number of comments below had already exceeded a hundred.

They were all complaining that the Spiritual Realm Squad in Kangyang District was incompetent for letting a half-crazy Bewitching Demon escape.

"Are you kidding me? This kind of dangerous person could lose control at any time. Is the team in Kangyang District just useless?"

"Once he loses control and kills someone and is wanted by the Spiritual Realm, by the time we arrive, there will probably be a river of blood. We'll be laughed at by Spiritual Realm Walkers all over the country, laughed at for our poor prevention and control and for not doing our jobs well while getting high salaries."

"This is a disaster."

Did Ou Xiangrong escape? Did Sergeant Zhang and the others lock onto the target and start the capture so quickly?

For a moment, Zhang Yuanqing didn't know whether to praise Sergeant Zhang and the others for their efficiency or to criticize them for their poor work in letting this ticking time bomb get away.

"Since they've already engaged with him, Ou Xiangrong's blood, and even his flesh and blood tissues, will surely be left at the scene. I should be able to find him using the Red Dancing Shoes..."

Zhang Yuanqing immediately thought of his Rule-type item.

...