Hu Jiu had expected the "trouble" he anticipated to take a while to arrive. Who would have thought it would come true that very day?
Halfway back to Linjiang City—
"Why are you so nervous?" Hu Jiu stared at the driver assigned to transport him and asked casually.
The driver's forehead was covered in cold sweat. "N-nothing. I'm not feeling very well."
"I see. I was wondering why you were driving so slowly. If you're feeling unwell, don't force yourself." Hu Jiu smiled brightly. "I thought you'd done something you shouldn't have and were feeling guilty about it."
The driver managed a smile. "You're quite the joker, Mr. Hu."
Hu Jiu said nothing, and an icy aura flickered and vanished. A while later, a car appeared directly ahead, parked across the middle of the road. Instead of going around it, the driver gradually slowed down and stopped.
A man and a woman stepped out of the car.
The man was tall, with a resolute face. The woman followed a step behind him, with a shapely figure and a beautiful face.
The two headed straight for Hu Jiu and came up to the car window. The man knocked on it. "Get out. You're coming with us," he told Hu Jiu in a commanding tone.
"Who are you?" Hu Jiu looked puzzled.
"We're from the Special Anomalous Phenomena Research Institute, directly under the military." The woman answered, lifting her chin slightly as she looked Hu Jiu up and down repeatedly without the slightest attempt to hide it.
"What institute?" Hu Jiu acted as though he hadn't heard her clearly.
"The Special Anomalous Phenomena Research Institute, directly under the military!" the woman repeated.
"Directly under what?" Hu Jiu asked again.
The woman was instantly annoyed. She took a deep breath. "Mr. Hu, please don't waste time. The supernatural incident in Longevity Village that you were involved in has had a tremendous impact on the current situation in the country. As the only surviving eyewitness, you have an obligation to cooperate with our investigation."
"I've already told headquarters everything that happened. If you want to know more, you can look through their records." Hu Jiu was reasonably polite.
The woman shook her head. "Your subjective account may contain errors and omitted details, so we need to go over everything carefully again."
"No matter how many times you check, won't it still be my subjective account?" Hu Jiu asked. His expression suddenly changed. "Unless you can look into people's memories?"
"That's none of your concern. All you need to do is follow orders," the woman said in a tone that brooked no argument. "With supernatural incidents occurring one after another, everyone has a responsibility to do their part. For the country and the greater good, please don't concern yourself with personal gains and losses."
"I refuse." Hu Jiu was blunt. "I'm a Ghost Tamer with headquarters. Not just any random nobody has the authority to order me around. Besides, you two have offered nothing but your word that you belong to an organization I've never heard of. Forgive me for being blunt, but what if you're criminals pretending to be officials and trying to kidnap me? Who would I turn to then?"
"That's not up to you!" The man grabbed the car door, intending to use force, but the woman reached out and stopped him.
"Mr. Hu, I understand your doubts and wariness, but I still hope we can avoid using violence if possible. The priority is for everyone to unite and contain the supernatural incidents."
With that, the woman took out her credentials and handed them to Hu Jiu. The man beside her followed suit.
Hu Jiu took them and glanced at only the two names—Zhu Ze and Zhao Xiujin.
Hu Jiu didn't want to spare another glance for the rest. He shoved the credentials into his pocket and asked coldly, "Do you have anything that can prove your identities? There are too many scam rings these days. You're two strangers with no proof, yet you expect me to come with you. What kind of daydream are you having?"
Zhao Xiujin froze. "We just showed you our credentials!"
"Credentials? What credentials? Don't talk nonsense!" Hu Jiu sneered. "You're so young. How did your brain get sick already? Driver, hurry up and drive. Get us away from these two lunatics. What fucking bad luck."
"How dare you play me!" Zhao Xiujin could no longer keep her composure. She roared in fury, "Zhu Ze, do it!"
A pearly white light flashed, and Hu Jiu vanished from his seat.
The next second, he appeared outside the car. Since he was still in a sitting position, he nearly landed on his backside.
"A Ghost Domain?" Hu Jiu brushed the dust off himself and picked up the heavy body bag again. The color of this Ghost Domain... why did it look so familiar?
"Cut the crap!" Zhao Xiujin glared at him in anger. "We gave you face, but you refused it!"
The driver acted as though he were deaf and blind, watching Hu Jiu being forcibly dragged into the other car. Only when the car disappeared from sight did he pick up his phone and contact his superior. "Mr. Hu left with two unidentified people..."
He made it sound as though Hu Jiu had gone willingly.
A White Sash slipped silently around the driver's neck before he had time to feel afraid.
Crack—
It was over.
Hu Jiu was very satisfied. Meanwhile, Zhao Xiujin continued to speak sarcastically. "Wouldn't it have been better if you'd behaved from the start? You just had to make yourself suffer. Give our credentials back, or I have the authority to arrest and detain you!"
With the military behind her, Zhao Xiujin was full of confidence despite being an ordinary person, and she showed no fear when facing a Ghost Tamer.
Hu Jiu ignored her. Zhu Ze snorted and reached out to snatch the credentials back.
At once, endless Bloodstained White Silk swept in every direction through the cramped car, densely filling every bit of space.
"Ah—!"
As a piercing scream rang out, the vehicle went out of control, and Hu Jiu jumped out.
The sudden turn of events sent Zhu Ze into a rage. "You fucking dared to attack? How dare you!"
The pearly white light flashed again, and Zhu Ze stood in front of Hu Jiu with a dark expression. Zhao Xiujin had collapsed unconscious on the ground. Her limbs had been torn off and thrown aside, strands of flesh still attached to the wounds. Blood gushed out in torrents, staining the ground scarlet.
White Sashes descended from the sky, surging toward Zhu Ze like a roaring avalanche.
"With just this little trick, you dare come looking for death?" Zhu Ze unleashed his Ghost Domain and vanished in an instant. When he reappeared, he had teleported behind Hu Jiu and swung his palm at the back of his head.
His hand passed through Hu Jiu's head without resistance. He felt nothing at all, as though he had passed through empty air.
Zhu Ze's expression changed drastically. How could this be?
Whoosh—
One of Zhao Xiujin's severed arms suddenly launched a sneak attack from behind. Though Zhu Ze reacted quickly and dodged, a chunk of flesh was still ripped from his shoulder.
Enduring the intense pain, Zhu Ze struck back. One severed arm was knocked down and turned into rotting flesh when it hit the ground. The other was nowhere to be seen.
A smile so sinister it could stop a child from crying at night appeared on Hu Jiu's face. The drifting White Sash moved without wind and pressed steadily closer.
"You've tamed more than one ghost?" Zhu Ze was shocked. Hu Jiu's file contained no record of any abilities besides the White Sash.
"You dared to conceal information and attack me. I advise you to surrender. There's still time to turn back!" Zhu Ze spoke sternly. "My status isn't something you can afford to offend!"
"Fucking idiot!" Hu Jiu really couldn't resist cursing at him. "Are you out of your mind? Do you think that just because you're an official, only you can hit people and no one dares to chop you up?"
Zhu Ze was at a loss for words. It was true. Whenever he had fought independent Ghost Tamers before, they had always held back, afraid that if they accidentally injured an official, the situation would escalate and they would suffer the consequences.
No matter how formidable an independent expert was, when faced with an official like Zhu Ze, they would think long and hard before even striking back, unless they had nowhere else to turn. Killing an official was rebellion, and it would implicate one's entire family, even one's whole clan. That notion was deeply rooted in this land!
But the other way around, an official could beat an independent Ghost Tamer half to death without a problem. What did it matter if a civilian who had acquired supernatural power by sheer luck was beaten to death? It was merely the removal of a destabilizing element from society!
Although Hu Jiu had joined headquarters, in Zhu Ze's eyes, he was just a temporary worker, no different from an independent Ghost Tamer.
At this moment, Hu Jiu's reaction had far exceeded Zhu Ze's expectations. He had skipped negotiations entirely and struck to kill at the first disagreement!
But Zhu Ze wasn't afraid at all. He had seen too many troublemakers like this.
When Hu Jiu spoke just now, Zhu Ze had keenly noticed that his voice came from another direction, and he had quietly raised his guard.
Hu Jiu's attacks came one wave after another, without pause.
Although Zhu Ze had a Ghost Domain, he couldn't gain the upper hand. Every one of his attacks missed. Hu Jiu seemed completely immune to every form of attack, and nothing could hit him.
"Stop!" Zhu Ze didn't want to remain at a stalemate. He couldn't withstand that level of expenditure, but he was unwilling to show weakness, so he only said, "There's no benefit to you in continuing this fight. Even if you defeat me, the higher-ups definitely won't let you off afterward. You might even drag your friends and family into it!"
"Heh." Hu Jiu's attacks didn't pause in the slightest. "Who the hell are you to threaten me? You impersonated public officials, tried to trick and kidnap me, and attempted to pry into state secrets. As a Ghost Tamer with headquarters, I have an obligation to eliminate a blight on society like you!"
Zhu Ze's breath caught. Fuck, I don't even know what to say!
As they spoke, a Ghost Hand reached through the gathered White Sash and once again clawed viciously at Zhu Ze's neck.
"Damn it!" Zhu Ze's face was dark enough to drip water. He had thought it was a simple little task, but he hadn't expected things to develop to this point!
Most importantly, he couldn't take Hu Jiu down quickly. Independent Ghost Tamers like him had always been unruly. He and Zhao Xiujin had merely followed their usual approach and given him a show of force, only to stir up a hornet's nest. Instead of putting him in his place, they had gotten themselves caught up in it!
The more Zhu Ze thought about it, the angrier he became. As a Ghost Tamer trained by the military, when had he ever suffered such humiliation? What ghost has Hu Jiu tamed? Why can't even my Ghost Domain hit him?
In truth, Hu Jiu was also puzzled. Zhu Ze's Ghost Domain was far too weak. Generally speaking, vicious ghosts with Ghost Domains were extremely terrifying, but Zhu Ze was the exact opposite. His Ghost Domain was like a bubble, all show and no substance.
Hu Jiu thought of Cui Xueyan.
The same unstable Ghost Domain, the same pearly white glow. Could their Ghost Domains... have been mass-produced in a laboratory?