Chapter 55: Director Wu Arrives

Yang Jun's movement was slow, but his tongue was still quick. He said, "Do you think Zhang Rantian just now would give me time to 'slowly' get to know him?" As he spoke, he gradually stepped closer to Zhang Rantian. He was nearly at Zhang Rantian's side, and the next move would probably be one—or several—slashes that would finish Zhang Rantian off. I couldn't bear to imagine what would happen if he still couldn't take him down. Most likely, Director Wu Rendi would have to come and clean up the mess.

Yang Jun raised his short dagger but hesitated to bring it down. His expression turned strange. After a long hesitation, he slowly lowered the dagger, exhaled heavily, then turned his head to look toward the exit of the plaza. He said with some reluctance, "You really do know how to pick the timing…"

Following Yang Jun's gaze, I saw a figure appearing at the plaza's exit. Although there was no bright light, I could still make out his head of snow-white hair. My first thought was Director Wu Rendi, but when Hugo's flashlight illuminated the figure, I saw he was wearing a gray outfit, and his trademark baby face was clearly visible. The newcomer was none other than the second Mr. Yang from the Sixth Division of the Bureau of Paranormal Investigation—Yang Xiao.

Yang Xiao's way of walking was somewhat strange. His right hand was held in front of him as if pulling some unseen "thing" toward him. However, Hugo shone his light all around Yang Xiao but saw nothing suspicious.

Once we confirmed it was Yang Xiao, Sun Fatty asked knowingly, "Yang Xiao, is that you?" Perhaps still grateful for the help Sun Fatty and I had given during his wife's reincarnation, Yang Xiao nodded toward me and Sun Fatty as a greeting. To everyone else, however, Yang Xiao seemed to ignore them as if they were invisible air.

When Yang Xiao passed by me, an inexplicable chill ran down my spine, and I instinctively took a step back. Yang Xiao smiled slightly at my reaction and pulled out a small flat porcelain bottle, pressing it into my hand. "Consider this a token of thanks for last time," he said. Without waiting for a response, he walked over to stand beside Yang Jun.

Seeing Yang Xiao hand me the bottle, Sun Fatty immediately came over and looked at it. "Lazi, what's this good…" he started to say, but his eyes darted nervously, and he stepped back about half a step unintentionally. After a moment, he continued, "Lazi, whatever Yang Xiao gives can't be bad. Open it and see what good stuff it is."

I was so blinded by greed that I forgot the lessons learned back in girls' school. When I pulled the stopper from the bottle, a shocking stench immediately filled the plaza, almost making me drop the bottle. It was corpse oil. At that moment, I realized that as I removed the stopper, Sun Fatty had already covered his nose and backed away about seven or eight steps. Hao Zhengyi and Crow fared a bit better, but Director Hugo immediately squatted down and started vomiting violently.

I held my breath, fighting nausea, and quickly replaced the stopper on the bottle, intending to throw it back to Yang Xiao. Suddenly, I noticed a nearly transparent female soul near Yang Xiao. The woman's soul looked young, about eighteen or nineteen years old. Her once-beautiful face was marked by lingering sorrow.

The woman's soul followed Yang Xiao to Zhang Rantian's side. Zhang Rantian seemed to sense her presence. His body started shaking violently, and the round hole where his mouth should be opened and closed repeatedly.

The woman's soul leaned against Zhang Rantian in an embrace pose. Yet, being a mere soul, her ghostly arms passed through his body without real contact. Then Yang Xiao pulled out a piece of brown medicinal cake, tore off a small piece, and crushed it in his hand. Without lighting it, wisps of blue smoke rose from the crushed medicine.

Yang Xiao flicked the smoking powder into the woman's soul. The smoke filled her ethereal body, and within moments, a hazy human figure appeared before our eyes.

After the smoke completely filled the woman's body, Yang Xiao's mouth moved—but like the Crow before, Yang Xiao only moved his lips without making any sound. The woman's soul understood Yang Xiao's "words." She turned around and bowed to Yang Xiao, then turned back and opened her arms to embrace the charcoal-like Zhang Rantian.

This time, her ethereal form actually lifted Zhang Rantian's broken body from the ground. The woman paid no heed to Zhang Rantian's horrific appearance, which could only be described as terrifying. She held him in her arms, bowed her head, and kissed his forehead, gently patting his back as if caring for a full-term infant. Gradually, Zhang Rantian's trembling body began to calm down little by little.

Thanks to the corpse oil, my Celestial Eye returned. Using this ability, I saw the life force inside Zhang Rantian's body slowly dissipate. Only after his body stiffened did the woman's soul place his broken form back onto the ground. Then she turned and bowed again to Yang Xiao. Yang Xiao nodded, reached inside the woman's soul, and took out the still-smoking medicinal paste. The woman's soul gradually became transparent again; her body faded more and more until she vanished before our eyes.

Only after the woman's soul completely disappeared did Sun Fatty speak to Yang Xiao: "Yang Xiao, no offense, but is this lady Zhang Rantian's mother? Or do you have the skill to flirt with someone's mom while we're all fighting for our lives?" Yang Xiao didn't seem to care about the resentment in Sun Fatty's tone. He smiled and said, "Da Sheng, don't be polite. I'm just following orders. Whatever Director Wu says, I do."

Hearing Yang Xiao invoke Wu Rendi, not only Sun Fatty but also Yang Jun and the rest of us were stunned. Sun Fatty was the first to react; he blinked and said, "Director Wu knows the situation here? Wait, what about Consultant Xiao? Didn't he come down with you?"

Yang Xiao shrugged. "Consultant Xiao and I didn't come by the same route." Then, with a strange smile, he added, "I came with our director." This sentence shocked us even more: Director Wu Rendi had arrived…

After hearing Wu Rendi had arrived, Sun Fatty and I felt okay, but the expressions on the others' faces varied. Though they were all directors, Hugo's status was much lower. He was startled, then suddenly remembered something. Hugo hurriedly sheathed his short dagger. Originally, he wanted to clip it back to his waist, but after hesitating, he disregarded the sacrilege and tied the dagger to his calf with the necklace that held his cross.

Hao Zhengyi and Crow's faces darkened. I understood their thoughts. Hao and Crow had originally intended to profit from the debris. Although the warehouse had collapsed, even digging out a few stone tablets would be a considerable fortune for the Religious Affairs Commission. But with Director Wu's arrival, the chances of them hauling out tablets dropped to zero.

Surprisingly, even insiders from the Sixth Division didn't know Wu Rendi had come. Yang Jun asked Yang Xiao, "Wu Mian came? Where is he?" Yang Xiao gave a strange smile without directly answering Yang Jun. He seemed to deliberately change the topic. After glancing at Crow, he said to Hao Zhengyi, "You still can't keep an eye on him. I noticed last time in Hong Kong that your friend isn't of this world. You hide him well, but unfortunately, you can only help him temporarily, not forever."

After hearing this, Hao Zhengyi and Crow remained silent, but Hao's eyes showed a trace of sorrow.

Sun Fatty, sure that Yang Xiao owed him a favor and unwilling to offend him, walked up to Yang Xiao and said, "Yang Xiao, from what you're saying, Director Wu's been here for a while, right? I'm just saying, wouldn't it have been better if he showed up earlier?" Just as Sun Fatty finished, a voice echoed from the plaza: "Not that I'd die early, but watching you bunch of useless folks fail to take down a newly reborn Nyeh, if I came too early, I'd be embarrassing myself."

That voice sounded exactly like the person who earlier prompted me to stab Zhang Rantian from behind. I had assumed it was Yang Jun, but now it was undoubtedly Director Wu.

Sure enough, as soon as the voice faded, about ten meters ahead of me, a figure materialized out of thin air. With white hair from top to bottom and the suffocating tone from before, it could only be Director Wu Rendi.

After appearing, Wu Rendi showed no interest in Zhang Rantian's broken corpse. Ignoring everyone, he spoke only to Sun Fatty: "Little Fatty, what did you just say?" Sun Fatty instinctively stepped back but replied playfully, "I said it'd be better if you had arrived earlier." After saying this, Sun Fatty's expression shifted to a smirk. "Director Wu, I'm not saying this lightly, but the one who told me to stab Zhang Rantian in the back, and those who ordered Lazi, Director Yu, and Chairman Hao to act… that was you, right?"

Wu Rendi glanced over us, then fixed his gaze on Sun Fatty. "You still dare to mention that? Fighting some half-man, half-Nyeh creature and almost getting wiped out is bad enough. Might as well make you all Nyeh too. Then you can stay put and stop embarrassing yourselves."

This was classic Director Wu rhetoric. Although we had heard such remarks a few times, hearing it again still made us feel stifled. We all lowered our heads, even Director Hugo—who was supposed to be on equal footing with Wu—intentionally averted his gaze.

Only Sun Fatty remained carefree. He chuckled and said, "Director Wu, you're exaggerating. Nyeh is Nyeh after all—a legendary omen. We fought so long and are still standing whole. That's thanks to our ancestors and the Buddha's blessings."

Hearing Sun Fatty, Director Wu glanced at him, then looked at Zhang Rantian's now lifeless form and said, "He deserves to be called Nyeh? At best, he's a half-breed, a little stronger than a half-Nyeh. It's a pity Dong Qichao prepared for so many years, only to have it ruined by this amateur."

Hao Zhengyi, who had been silent, immediately asked, "You say he's not a Nyeh? Director Wu, what do you mean?" Wu Rendi didn't seem fond of Hao. He rolled his eyes at Hao but didn't answer him directly. Instead, he turned to me and Sun Fatty: "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll teach you. Nyeh are creatures who rebel against heaven and must die and be reborn to truly transform into Nyeh."

Wu Rendi paused, shook his head at Zhang Rantian's remains, and continued: "If you want to be precise, the only true Nyeh is that cat. That half-breed was too cowardly to finish the last step and completed the transformation with a living body. Had he fully followed Dong Qichao's steps, truly becoming Nyeh, dealing with you guys would be easier than eating a meal."

As Wu spoke, the black cat emerged from the corner. It circled around Wu's feet and, unexpectedly, darted to Sun Fatty, climbing up his pants to his shoulder. At that moment, the head of the wealthy rat poked out from Sun Fatty's shirt pocket. No one knew when it had snuck in.

The wealthy rat saw Wu Rendi and jumped out of the pocket, climbing onto Sun Fatty's other shoulder, chirping "squeak squeak" at Wu. Wu Rendi took out a soy-bean-sized pellet and tossed it to the rat, which caught and immediately began chewing it eagerly.

Seeing this, Sun Fatty suddenly understood something. He said to Wu Rendi, "Director Wu, I'm not saying, but while I was away from the Bureau, you must have been feeding our rat, right?" Wu Rendi looked at him and said, "You're just lucky…"

Before Wu finished, a knocking sound came from the plaza entrance. Soon, clear cracks appeared on the stone slab blocking the entrance, then with a loud bang, it shattered into seven or eight pieces.

An old bald man walked in while shouting, "Da Sheng, Lazi, are you okay?"

Behind Xiao Heshang followed Old Qiu and a group of investigators from the Second Division. Just like when we arrived, their Celestial Eyes were ineffective. Almost everyone held a Luo Pan compass. Because the distance was far, they hadn't realized Wu Rendi and Yang Xiao were here until the unlucky Xiong Wanyi shone his flashlight on Wu's face. The group immediately stopped.

"Master Xiao, Director Qiu, you arrived just in time. Zhang Rantian just died and you're here already. There's a saying: the child just died, the wet nurse came. I'm not joking, leaders, it looks like you came to collect our bodies." Sun Fatty shouted at the group. I pulled at him but couldn't stop him. I understood Sun Fatty's feelings—he was frustrated after Wu's remarks and eager to vent. Now Xiao Heshang and Old Qiu came willingly.

Old Qiu was a gloomy man. Since Wu Rendi was here, he didn't know the situation and ignored Sun Fatty. Xiao Heshang paused, then said, "Sun Fatty, have you lost your mind? Do you think I didn't want to come earlier? Gao Fatty isn't at the Bureau, and everyone who could help went to handle incidents elsewhere. Xiao Qiu and the others are in Xinjiang now. I made over a hundred calls to get them back. It was easy to find here, but do you know how many slabs we had to break through to get here?"

While Xiao Heshang spoke, Wang Ziheng from the Second Division noticed Hugo standing among us. He whispered to his director, and Director Qiu nodded. He stopped Consultant Xiao and said to us, "Everyone worked hard. If nothing else, let's all go rest. The aftermath will be handled by our Second Division."

None of us wanted to stay longer in the Yin Convergence Point. We'd had enough; not a minute more. Only Sun Fatty blinked, still wanting to ask Wu Rendi and Yang Xiao more, but there would be time later. Given the situation, it was better to leave quickly.