Ghost-faced King

"Xiao Qi, your teacher left?"

After seeing Zhao Kongcheng off, Auntie hurried out of the kitchen. "Oh dear, why didn't you ask him to stay for dinner before leaving? That child..."

Lin Qiye shook his head. "He has something to do later. He wouldn't have stayed for dinner."

"What did your teacher say?"

"Nothing much. He said there was some kind of physical fitness test and came specifically to ask about my eyes."

"Teacher Zhao really is such a good person, coming to a student's home himself to ask about his condition. Oh, before you came back, he even helped me wash vegetables in the kitchen. He looks so big and rough, but I never expected him to be so meticulous at chores."

Auntie wiped her hands on her apron, switched off the roaring range hood, and said to Lin Qiye:

"The food's almost ready. Call your brother over for dinner."

"Okay."

A moment later, the family of three sat neatly around the table. There were no fewer than seven dishes laid out before them, all fragrant, colorful, and tempting enough to make one's mouth water!

"Tomato scrambled eggs, chicken soup, dry-fried green beans... and sweet and sour ribs?!" Yang Jin stared at the spread and swallowed. "Mom, when was the last time our meals were this lavish?"

"Xiao Qi's eyes are healed. That's an even bigger occasion than New Year's, so of course we have to celebrate properly!" Auntie said matter-of-factly.

Lin Qiye lowered his head, looked at Xiao Hei Lai frantically wagging its tail, and smiled.

"Looks like Xiao Hei Lai gets to feast tonight too."

"Lucky thing." Auntie smiled as she raised the teacup before her. "A toast to celebrate Xiao Qi's recovered eyesight!"

"Cheers!"

"Cheers!!"

Beneath the dim clouds, the last glimmer of dusk had long since vanished, as though heaven and earth had been draped in a veil of black.

Rain swayed in the wind.

Lights glittered in the distant city.

Within this low, dilapidated old residential district, a figure clad in a dark red cloak raced through the rain, carrying a large suitcase in one hand.

Rainwater ran down Zhao Kongcheng's cheeks. Though it was summer rain, it carried an inexplicable chill.

"Are you sure the Ghost-faced King really came this way?" Zhao Kongcheng frowned deeply.

Wu Xiangnan's voice came through the earpiece.

"Not sure. Ten minutes ago, our search team found bloodstains from the Ghost-faced King in the nearby sewer network. Judging from its movements, its destination could only be that old residential district or the city center."

"Two possible destinations?"

"That's right."

"Then what do we do? Split into two teams and guard both?"

"In theory, yes. But the city center has an enormous flow of people, and we can't easily evacuate the crowd. If the Ghost-faced King appears in the city center, it won't just cause massive casualties—it could also easily trigger panic. So we've sent most of our forces to guard the city center."

"What about the old residential district? If the Ghost-faced King appears here, the people here will be in danger too!"

"The old residential district has fewer residents, and they're spread out more sparsely. Compared to the city center, it's easier to evacuate. Besides..."

"Besides, even if the Ghost-faced King comes here, it won't cause too much damage, right?" A trace of anger entered Zhao Kongcheng's voice. "The people living here are living, breathing human beings too!"

"Old Zhao, calm down!" Wu Xiangnan's voice was extremely stern. "I never said we were abandoning the old residential district. Hong Ying has already led people there. Your task is to evacuate the residents of the old residential district as quickly as possible.

"And even if the Ghost-faced King really does go to your side, don't engage it head-on. The Ghost-faced King isn't something you can handle. If necessary, deploy the Boundless Void Domain to trap it."

Zhao Kongcheng's clenched fist slowly relaxed, and he sighed.

"Understood."

Though Zhao Kongcheng felt somewhat indignant, he knew this was the most correct course of action.

After all, if the Ghost-faced King truly went to the city center, with such a dense crowd there, it only needed to hide in some dark corner and kill a few people to recover from its injuries. And once it was exposed to the public, panic would inevitably follow.

So no matter how many people they sent to the city center, it would never feel like enough.

The old residential district, on the other hand, had fewer residents, and they lived far apart from one another. Even if the Ghost-faced King came here, it would need time to recover from its injuries, and there was little chance of it being exposed.

Under those circumstances, the fact that Wu Xiangnan could still send people to the old residential district was already quite decent of him.

Now, he had to hurry and evacuate the residents of the old residential district.

This was a race against time!

Zhao Kongcheng's figure darted through the rain at an astonishing speed. Raindrops struck the suitcase in his hand, bursting into crystalline splashes.

Not far ahead, through the hazy mist of rain, that familiar low house grew increasingly clear.

He had just left it a few minutes ago.

Zhao Kongcheng's heart was full of complicated feelings. Judging by the time, that family should have started dinner by now, right? He remembered the sweet and sour ribs, the tomato scrambled eggs, the dry-fried green beans...

Right, he had washed those green beans himself.

Damn it. He had just acted cool in front of that kid, saying he'd take care of protecting the world, and now he had to go knock on their door and tell them to evacuate immediately...

That would make me look pretty bad, okay?

But this was no time to worry about saving face.

Zhao Kongcheng sprinted forward through the rain, but just then, an utterly nauseating stench suddenly flooded his nostrils!

His pupils contracted sharply, and he came to an abrupt halt!!

Splash, splash, splash...

The clamor of rain filled Zhao Kongcheng's mind. He slowly and cautiously turned his head, his eyes wide as he feared missing even the slightest detail.

Then his gaze landed on a manhole cover not far away.

The stench was growing stronger and stronger.

Zhao Kongcheng clenched the handle of his suitcase tightly. Taking a deep breath, he bent slightly and set the suitcase on the ground.

He knew perfectly well what that stench meant.

"Reporting in. Watcher Zhao Kongcheng has discovered the Ghost-faced King in the old residential district..." He opened his earpiece, his voice remarkably calm.

As he spoke, he pressed the button on the suitcase.

Click—!

The suitcase sprang open, revealing three neat, brand-new signboards inside.

Zhao Kongcheng hoisted the three signboards onto his shoulder, set one down where he stood, then immediately sprinted toward the other side!

Almost the instant Zhao Kongcheng finished speaking, Wu Xiangnan's voice came through the earpiece. "Received! I've already issued the order. The Night Watchmen are all moving toward the old residential district, and Hong Ying's group will be there soon as well. Ten minutes at most! Ten minutes! Old Zhao, set up the Boundless Void Domain and trap it for now!"

Zhao Kongcheng put down the second signboard. As he ran toward the third vertex of the triangle, he spoke helplessly, "Xiangnan, the Boundless Void Domain is used to conceal battles, not trap enemies. It can't hold the Ghost-faced King for ten minutes."

Gurgle, gurgle, gurgle...

Following the slope of the ground, rainwater flowed into the manhole. But suddenly, the entire cover began to shake violently. The rainwater that had been pouring into it surged back out like a boiling spring!

"No matter what, don't fight the Ghost-faced King head-on!" Wu Xiangnan's voice had clearly become anxious. "Old Zhao, the old residential district is huge. Even if the Ghost-faced King comes out, it may not cause any damage right away. Even if it kills a few people in these ten minutes, it won't regain much strength! Civilian casualties caused by 'Mysteries' happen every moment of every day. We Night Watchmen aren't gods; we can't prevent every death and injury. But losing a core team member over a severely wounded Ghost-faced King would be an absolute waste! Old Zhao, Old Zhao! Can you hear me?"

Bang—!

The manhole cover shot into the sky like a cannonball. From the pitch-black sewer opening, a grotesque arm suddenly reached out, followed by a monster several times larger than the previous Ghost-faced Man leaping out!

Zhao Kongcheng calmly watched the scene unfold. He slowly set down the last signboard in his hand, bit open his fingertip, and smeared a streak of blood across the surface of the signboard.

"Xiangnan, do you still remember the oath you once swore..."

Zhao Kongcheng stared at the Ghost-faced King before him and crouched slightly, the corner of his eye falling on the small apartment building nearby.

"If the dark night should descend, I shall stand before tens of thousands...

This time, there are no tens of thousands behind me.

But—

Behind me...

lies that child's entire world."

His hands suddenly came together.

An invisible canvas enveloped the small triangle.

"Forbidden Ruins... Boundless Void Domain!"