Why?

"Watch out!"

Wei Long swept Lu Ran behind him with one long arm.

Wei Hu landed farther back. The brothers stood one in front and one behind, sandwiching Lu Ran between them.

In the stairwells on the floors above and below, Deng Yuxiang and Sun Zhengfang were each fighting a boy and girl doll.

"Waaah!"

The Ghost Talisman Boy Doll let out a chilling cry. Its hollow eye sockets "looked" at Sun Zhengfang as its tiny hands flailed wildly.

In an instant, black talisman papers appeared out of thin air and flew toward Sun Zhengfang.

Sun Zhengfang showed no fear. The branches extending from his hand swiftly pieced together into a Branch Shield.

With two soft taps, the black talisman papers stuck to the shield.

Then deep red runes lit up on the Black Talisman Paper, their glow growing ever more blinding.

Bang! Bang!

A massive explosion!

Bursts of Blood Mist erupted, and a bloody smell rushed up their nostrils.

Yet Sun Zhengfang's Branch Shield remained completely unharmed.

"Stream Realm, stages three to four!" Sun Zhengfang shouted as Divine Power surged in his palm.

Two branches suddenly shot from the Branch Shield, lashing at the enemy like whips.

Hearing the intelligence Sun Zhengfang relayed, Lu Ran felt slightly relieved.

The Ghost Talisman Doll certainly looked horrifying, but if it was only at the Stream Realm, it naturally could not do much to several powerful Moon Watchers.

"River Realm! River Realm: Third Stage or above!"

Deng Yuxiang's voice came from overhead.

Lu Ran: "..."

The heart that had just settled down leapt back into his throat.

Sun Zhengfang said, "Big Dragon, Dahu, advance in order. Help Xiao Deng find the yellow paper first!"

The so-called yellow paper was the Yellow Paper Talisman that had previously been attached to the Tiger Head Hat.

From the moment the Yellow Paper Talisman fell off, the Ghost Talisman Doll's body became phantomized, able to ignore most Physical Output.

If the Yellow Paper Talisman was stuck back on, the Ghost Talisman Doll would regain a physical body.

Unfortunately, Lu Ran could not learn this trick.

Because it was not an evil technique.

It was the Ghost Talisman Doll's racial trait, something it was born with.

"Yes!"

"Yes!" The Wei Brothers received the order and rapidly rushed upward.

Lu Ran, mixed in among them, wanted to charge upstairs too. Yet though he had clearly moved his legs, he could not step onto the stairs.

Because a supple branch suddenly wrapped around his waist.

Sun Zhengfang said, "Little Lu, your chance to perform is here. Are you afraid?"

Lu Ran immediately perked up. "Not afraid!"

"Good! I'll lure this boy doll up here." Sun Zhengfang spoke quickly. "You climb through the building again and find the yellow paper."

Lu Ran was somewhat puzzled. Climb through the building again?

Before he could ask, the branch around his waist suddenly exerted force and sent him flying.

"Whoa!" Lu Ran cried out softly as the branch rolled him up and sent him out through the window between the third and fourth floors.

In an instant,

The night wind struck, and heavy rain poured over his head.

The branch bound Lu Ran all the way down before releasing him at the height of the second floor.

Lu Ran landed heavily. Before him stood the Night Severing Blade Deng Yuxiang had planted at the entrance.

"Buzz~"

The Night Severing Blade trembled gently, seeming eager to join the battle.

Lu Ran strode forward, with no time to soothe it.

As he moved, Divine Power surged through his body as he pushed Evil Technique: Evil Awareness to its limit!

He swiftly scanned the stairwell and raced up to the second floor.

Before his headlamp's beam even reached the yellow paper, his peripheral vision had already caught the target.

"Did you find it?!"

"Found it!" Lu Ran clenched the yellow paper, its rough texture scraping against his palm.

"Watch for an opening and stick it on the doll!" Sun Zhengfang held up the Branch Shield while using other branches to lash the Ghost Talisman Doll.

Though the whip cracks rang out one after another, every strike passed through the Ghost Talisman Doll's body and struck the concrete steps.

"Waaah..."

The Ghost Talisman Doll was actually crying in panic?

It kept summoning Black Talisman Paper and flinging them desperately at Sun Zhengfang's shield.

It was clear that this evil creature was not very intelligent. It truly seemed like a child of three or four.

Sun Zhengfang and Lu Ran were "plotting loudly," yet the Ghost Child had no reaction. It was single-mindedly bombarding the Branch Shield.

"Off you go~"

Lu Ran roared inwardly. Just as the Ghost Talisman Doll flung out another Black Talisman Paper, mist burst from beneath his feet.

"Whoosh—"

Lu Ran darted forward at high speed, yellow paper in hand, and slapped the Ghost Talisman Doll hard on the back of the head.

"Urgh~" The Ghost Talisman Doll let out a strange sound from its throat.

Its little head was buzzing!

It even forgot to cry.

The Ghost Talisman Doll's phantomized body instantly regained its substance.

Not only that, a festive Tiger Head Hat appeared atop the Ghost Talisman Doll's head once again.

No one knew where the hat had come from.

Anyway, once the yellow paper was in place, the hat followed suit.

Now that the Ghost Talisman Doll had regained a physical body, its fate was easy to imagine.

Lu Ran's slap had been anything but light!

He sent the Ghost Talisman Doll flying straight toward the Branch Shield.

The branches on the Branch Shield rose one after another, transforming into sharp wood spikes.

"Puff~"

The Ghost Talisman Doll's body of pure energy shattered into mist and dispersed.

"First time seeing one, right?" Sun Zhengfang put away the Branch Shield and looked downward.

It was not hard to see from Sun Zhengfang's expression that he was extremely satisfied with Lu Ran's performance.

Sun Zhengfang could have handled the Ghost Talisman Doll himself.

But whenever conditions allowed, the Gods Bureau's guiding principle was to let Lu Ran participate in battle as much as possible.

Lu Ran had not let Sun Zhengfang down. Once again, he had completed the task flawlessly!

Just as he had performed over the past few hours, there was only one word for it: steady!

"It really opened my eyes." Lu Ran nodded.

He had only seen this sort of evil creature in textbooks.

In terms of rarity, the Ghost Talisman Doll should have been on par with Yanzhiren.

Sun Zhengfang gestured for Lu Ran to go upstairs. "Ghost Talisman Dolls have a thirty percent chance of appearing in pairs. This kind of evil creature is strong, but also weak.

Its weakness lies in its mind.

Its strength lies in its racial trait and its formidable evil techniques."

"Mm." Lu Ran responded as he ran upstairs. "I'm familiar with the divine techniques of the Jade Talisman Faction."

Lu Ran said this because the Ghost Talisman Doll's evil techniques had effects similar to the Jade Talisman Faction's divine techniques.

The only difference was that the Ghost Talisman Doll threw black talisman papers rather than White Jade Stone Slabs.

"Stop!" Wei Long's sharp rebuke came from above.

Sun Zhengfang still held the rear, looking up toward the stairwell above. "Did you find the yellow paper?"

Wei Long replied, "It's already been given to Xiao Deng. Dahu is activating Blood Sea Chaos on the fifth floor, sealing off the evil creature's path."

That said, the Ghost Talisman Doll was in a phantomized state, so it could not be sealed in from the left and right.

But there was no need to worry about it escaping.

After all, this kind of evil creature was dim-witted and loved slaughter. It would never let this group go.

"Big Dragon, protect Lu Ran." Sun Zhengfang continued upward.

Facing a River Realm Ghost Talisman Doll, Sun Zhengfang did not intend to let Lu Ran act.

Rumble!

A violent explosion rang out, and Deng Yuxiang upstairs actually retreated.

Deng Yuxiang kept her eyes tightly shut, her expression grim.

Strands of wind wrapped around her body, intermingled with wisps of mist.

North Wind Divine Technique: Shattered Wind Armor!

"Come out!" Deng Yuxiang's voice was ice-cold. "I'll give you a quick death."

Suddenly, Deng Yuxiang's ear twitched slightly. Wind Blade in hand, she fiercely slashed upward.

A pallid little hand suddenly emerged from the wall to her front left and flung out a black talisman paper.

The wind blade sliced apart the black talisman paper, and in an instant, electric light blazed brilliantly!

Fine currents crawled up the Wind Blade toward Deng Yuxiang like tiny snakes.

But the moment the current climbed onto her body, it was erased by the streams of wind.

At the same time, a small tornado tore along the wall.

The wall coating peeled away, and dust scattered everywhere.

The Ghost Talisman Doll had clearly sensed danger. The little hand protruding from the wall quickly withdrew.

Deng Yuxiang said in a low voice, "Captain Sun, get out of here first. I'll tear this whole building down."

Sun Zhengfang said, "Nonsense!"

Deng Yuxiang had indeed been beaten into a furious rage and wanted to go Full Firepower, directly unleashing Tornado Storm.

The Ghost Talisman Doll was immune to physical attacks, was it?

Then neither it nor this damned building would survive!

Sun Zhengfang made a snap decision. "Big Dragon, take Little Lu and jump out the window. Use Compassionate Sound to lure the Ghost Talisman Doll."

"Shh!" Deng Yuxiang suddenly ordered silence.

Sun Zhengfang immediately stopped speaking, afraid of disrupting his teammate.

The stairwell fell utterly silent.

Deng Yuxiang frowned slightly. Had she heard wrong?

At the moment, the Ghost Talisman Doll's body was phantomized. It made almost no sound when moving.

Thus, Deng Yuxiang could only listen for the faint Wind Waves caused by energy fluctuations whenever the Ghost Child cast a technique!

The difficulty of that could easily be imagined!

Below in the stairwell, after waiting for a moment, Lu Ran secretly started making trouble again.

Using Wei Long as a meat shield, he pushed the Prison Devil Believers and carefully climbed two steps, reaching the fourth floor.

Wei Long naturally knew that Lu Ran wanted to contribute to the team, but...

He planted his feet and stopped moving, firmly blocking Lu Ran.

But Lu Ran still had another trick!

He hugged Wei Long, tilted his body, and craned his head out with all his strength.

At last, Lu Ran saw the tall figure standing by the window on the landing between the fourth and fifth floors.

Wei Long was just about to straighten Lu Ran up when he discovered that Lu Ran had closed his eyes.

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not disturb him.

In truth, no one knew that Lu Ran was completely different from Deng Yuxiang!

North Wind Believers,

Listened to the sound of the wind.

Lu Ran,

Was smelling the scent of ghosts!

What Evil Technique: Evil Awareness enhanced was not merely his hearing, but all five senses, including hearing!

Hm?

Why was the smell getting fainter and fainter?

The Ghost Talisman Doll was no longer in the building. Had it already fled?

Impossible. Why would an evil creature like this run... Holy shit!

Lu Ran's heart jolted. "Sister, watch behind you!"

"Behind me?" Though Deng Yuxiang was surprised, she still turned to look.

That trust came from Lu Ran's astonishing performances, time and again.

But this time, Lu Ran seemed to have made a mistake.

The broken window had no glass, only a window frame. Outside was pitch-black, and heavy rain poured down.

Where was the Ghost Talisman Doll's figure?

"Hmm?" Just before Deng Yuxiang closed her eyes, she suddenly spotted a tiny, deathly pale hand quietly reaching out from the window frame.

Deng Yuxiang flung her hand sharply, sending a Yellow Paper Talisman flying toward the little hand.

Her movements flowed without a hitch. She leaned her upper body out through the window frame and viciously swept the Wind Blade in her hand sideways!

That troublesome creature was instantly severed from head to body!

Puff!

The Ghost Child's energy body shattered, turning into wisps of mist that spread outside the window.

Wei Long's mouth hung slightly open, his face full of disbelief.

"What?" Sun Zhengfang scratched his head as well.

Deng Yuxiang straightened up and said softly, "Little Lu Ran."

"Sister?"

"On what basis?"

Lu Ran: ...

Because I have a dog's nose?

That wouldn't sound right as an explanation!

Deng Yuxiang turned slightly and looked down. "I didn't hear it either. How could you hear it?"

Lu Ran opened his mouth, not knowing how to explain.

Because I wasn't relying on my ears!

I smelled it!

After a long while, Lu Ran finally forced out a sentence. "After work tomorrow, I'll help Sister clean out her ears."

Deng Yuxiang: ???

Was he insulting me?