Ling Yun's Bad Luck

Ling Yun ultimately chose to let the "Slime" before him go, returning it to its owner.

After all, he had gained quite a bit of useful information from the creature tonight. They didn't have any major grudges, so he wasn't going to go berserk and kill it.

Meanwhile, Ma Xiu, who had just narrowly escaped death, carefully integrated his Spirit Artifact back into his shadow after taking it back. He finally let out a sigh of relief.

He then stood up and bowed deeply to Ling Yun, saying with a serious expression:

"Thank you for intervening tonight, Senior. Otherwise, we might not have seen the sun tomorrow."

"May I know your name, Senior? We will surely repay your kindness!"

Ling Yun waved his hand and casually gave a name, "Zhang Mu."

"Zhang Mu?" Ma Xiu murmured the name a few times, committing it to memory.

At that moment, in an inn far away, Zhang Mu, who was fast asleep guarding Ling Yun's door, suddenly sneezed violently, waking him up.

"Which bastard is badmouthing me behind my back?"

Zhang Mu stood up, looked around, and cursed angrily.

He then looked at the still-closed door behind him. It was silent, not a sound could be heard.

"It's too quiet. Could my boss have fallen asleep already?" Although Zhang Mu was puzzled, he didn't dare to make a sound to disturb him.

He rubbed his numb legs and continued to diligently guard the door.

"Farewell, Senior."

After a brief exchange, Ling Yun ambled away.

Watching the direction Ling Yun disappeared, Ma Xiu's eyes flickered, lost in thought.

"Cough! Cough!!"

A violent coughing fit erupted.

Ma Xiu's face lit up, and he turned his head to look at a corner of the room.

There lay a figure completely wrapped in bandages, now trembling as they tried to stand up.

Ma Xiu quickly stepped forward to stop her movements, "Don't move around. You have multiple fractures all over your body and severe internal injuries. If it gets any worse, no one will be able to save you."

The figure was Rou Yan.

She obediently lay flat, turning her head and asking weakly, "Uncle Ma, that Ghost Infant..."

Ma Xiu didn't elaborate, casually explaining that a passing powerful expert had intervened and killed the Ghost Infant.

Such a story would likely not even fool a child.

Rou Yan was skeptical but said nothing more.

Between her physical injuries and mental exhaustion, she soon fell into a deep sleep again.

After a brief examination, Ma Xiu's mood became heavy.

If it weren't for the Demon Suppression Envoy's decent physical condition and his timely use of a life-saving pill, she would have already perished from the Ghost Infant's attack.

But the situation was still precarious. His only hope was for reinforcements to arrive quickly, and then they could figure out a way to treat her back at the Demon Suppression Division.

As for Jiang Wu, he was lying on the other side, his severed arm wound haphazardly bandaged. He was unconscious from excessive blood loss.

Looking at their miserable states, Ma Xiu felt a pang of gloom.

They had been fine when they arrived, but now they were in such a sorry state.

He could already imagine the terrible fate awaiting him when they returned.

After all, he was responsible for them, and now that they were in this condition, who else would they blame if not him...

Just then, heavy footsteps sounded from outside the door. Before he could react, the closed door was violently pushed open.

Amidst a gust of chilling wind, a man with a fierce face, exuding a strong scent of blood, slowly walked in.

However, upon seeing who it was, Ma Xiu let out a sigh of relief and forced a smile that was more painful than crying. "L-Lao... Boss, why have you come here?"

The man shot him an exasperated glare. "Why have I come? If I hadn't, those old geezers would have torn down the Demon Suppression Division!"

"I always thought you were reliable, but I didn't expect you to cause me such big trouble!"

"Now, tell me the entire story in detail!"

He then glanced at the two lying there, his expression visibly softening.

Facing the man's terrifying aura, Ma Xiu didn't dare to hide anything. He recounted the entire incident from beginning to end, including Ling Yun's intervention at the end.

However, instead of receiving leniency, he was met with even harsher reprimands from the man.

"You're rambling, trying to shirk responsibility, aren't you? You can't even handle a mere Ghost Infant, you're useless!"

"And what about that strange martial artist you mentioned? Where is he now? Why didn't you recruit him into the Demon Suppression Division? Don't you know headquarters just finished a purge... and we're short-handed right now!"

Ma Xiu was sprayed with saliva. Though he felt incredibly wronged, he didn't dare to show it.

He stood obediently in place, like a well-behaved student.

After the man finished scolding, he immediately turned and walked out of the house. With Ma Xiu looking on in bewilderment, he said calmly, "I'll leave this to you to handle. I'm going to go chase that strange martial artist you mentioned."

As he left, he tossed back a parting remark, "Oh, right. Chief Envoy Wang will be here soon. You kid... good luck!"

Before his voice even faded, the man had vanished. However, his demeanor looked exactly like someone fleeing for their life.

Ma Xiu stood frozen, trembling, and wailed despairingly in his heart, "Boss! I didn't even tell him which way he went, what the hell are you chasing?!"

Dawn was breaking.

Ling Yun emerged from a dilapidated house, dusting himself off with a somewhat dejected expression.

After leaving Ma Xiu and the others, he had continued searching Cloud City for traces of Evil Spirits.

However, these Evil Spirits seemed to have coordinated, as he hadn't found a single one throughout the better part of the night.

He had previously asked Ma Xiu how they, the Demon Suppression Envoys, determined the Evil Spirits' locations. The answer he received was that within the Demon Suppression Division, there was a Spirit Artifact called the Spirit Net, which could sense the appearance of Evil Spirits within a certain range.

Then, based on these locations, they would dispatch the appropriate Demon Suppression Envoys to handle them.

The so-called Spirit Artifact was a special weapon refined from Evil Spirits.

Their grades ranged from low-grade to high-grade, and the Spirit Net was a rare mid-grade Spirit Artifact, with a range sufficient to cover the entire Cloud City!

According to that guy Ma Xiu, for some reason, the Spirit Net had always been in a closed state. This was why the current situation, where Evil Spirits could freely slaughter civilians in the city, had occurred.

But now that the Spirit Net had been reactivated, the rampant chaos of demons would surely be gradually brought under control.

And this meant that the chances of him finding the wild Evil Spirits he was looking for would be even lower!

"Damn it!"

Ling Yun wanted to curse but had no outlet.

After all, from the perspective of the entire Cloud City, this was undoubtedly a good thing.

He had considered joining the Demon Suppression Division, but unfortunately, people like him, lacking talent, probably wouldn't be valued.

Seeing that pedestrians were gradually starting to appear on the streets, Ling Yun could only sigh in frustration and vanish from his spot.