Every tombstone bore only a few large characters—Crow City Night Watchmen!
That was right. There were no unnecessary details, not even names or code names.
Normally, after someone died—especially someone who had accomplished great things—their tombstone would be engraved with their life's achievements.
But there was nothing. Nothing had been carved onto them. Or rather... there was no need!
Their achievements needed no words. This entire stretch of demon remains and lingering ghostly aura was their achievement!
Every little mound outside, every set of remains buried within those mounds, was a medal on their bodies!
Why bother repeating it all? My glory is unparalleled!
Holding the Lion Umbrella, Lu Yibai had somehow arrived at the very center of the entire circular cemetery, as if he were standing at its exact center.
He gathered the points of energy within his body in his eyes, then looked around.
Just as he expected, every tombstone seemed to have pale golden chains fastened to it. The other ends of the chains stretched toward the demon remains around the perimeter, as if they were locking them down tightly.
Chain after chain converged, forming enormous webs!
The golden runes on the surrounding walls continuously supplied these tombstones with energy.
The remains of these Night Watchmen predecessors constantly suppressed the demon remains and the lingering ghostly aura around them!
Lin Xiaoqi had once given Lu Yibai a crash course in some basic knowledge. For example, demons and ghosts that died naturally were different from those that were killed.
For demons like Ye Yiyi, who had integrated into human society, the Night Watchmen would not do anything to them. But one day, they would grow old and die all the same.
When death came from their life force fading away, all that remained would be ordinary bones.
But being killed halfway through one's life was different. Just as Lu Yibai was seeing now, every set of demon remains still contained a faint demonic power. At the same time, those remains could breed large amounts of ghostly aura and Yin energy.
The dead refused to rest!
Boss Lu had been the sort of clever student teachers liked back when he was in school. Although he always looked listless and yawned all day long, he was very good at drawing inferences.
The moment Lin Xiaoqi finished explaining this basic knowledge, he immediately asked, "What about the Night Watchmen?"
That was right. What about the Night Watchmen, who also possessed supernatural powers?
Were they the same as ordinary humans, or were they the same as demons and ghosts?
Lin Xiaoqi froze for a moment, seemingly not expecting Lu Yibai to ask such a question.
After a moment, she answered, "The same as them."
So Night Watchmen who died unnatural deaths would also have some of their Night Watchman power remain in their bodies.
At the time, Lu Yibai had not taken it particularly seriously.
But seeing the graves and tombstones around him with his own eyes now, the impact was completely different.
Did this damn well mean that hardly any of them had died naturally?
He could sense the surging Night Watchman power here!
It really was a high-risk profession.
And honestly, Night Watchmen were still different from ordinary people. They were lonely guardians in the darkness.
Lu Yibai had once asked Lin Xiaoqi, "Do you ever feel lonely?"
Even Lin Xiaoqi, who was usually carefree and boisterous, was slightly stunned by the question.
After a moment, she said in a very casual tone, "Sometimes, I guess."
Lu Yibai held the Lion Umbrella and stood there quietly for a while, taking in everything around him.
Looking at the little mounds that buried the demon remains and sensing the demonic power within them, he said lightly, "The dead refuse to rest."
But so what?
They were still being obediently suppressed here, weren't they?
The dead refused to rest, and the heroic spirits... refused to fade either!
After bowing once more toward the remains of Crow City's predecessors, Lu Yibai turned and left this tomb within a tomb.
His feelings were rather complicated. Some emotions could neither be explained nor described.
He had never imagined that there had once been a group of people who had fought for this city and continued to "fight" even after death!
This tomb within a tomb had completely renewed Lu Yibai's understanding of the Night Watchmen.
He had always thought they were a bunch of unreliable people, and the entire organization had seemed rather ridiculous.
But thinking about it again now, it felt different.
He could not help recalling something he had once seen online:
The reason you cannot see the darkness is that someone is carrying it in a place you cannot see.
A group of people bearing the weight of the world for the sake of every household's lights.
Of course, there might also be some demons devoted to harmonious coexistence between humans and demons.
As for ghosts, they were all creatures whose minds were barely functioning. Even powerful ghosts were mostly just advanced idiots.
Ghosts like Fierce Ghosts and Vengeful Ghosts, which formed from individual consciousnesses, were like the one Lu Yibai had encountered in the hospital before. They might retain a little sanity at first, but before long, it would completely dissipate.
When many Fierce Ghosts and Vengeful Ghosts had just formed, the little consciousness they possessed might still think, "Hahaha! I'm alive again!"
After a while...
"Huh? What was I thinking about just now?"
After a little longer...
"What was I confused about just now?"
After a little longer...
"Damn! I've lost my mind!"
After a little longer...
"Damn..."
After a little longer...
"Fuck..."
Finally...
Ghost: "???"
As for something like a ghost fiend, a collection of ghostly aura and Yin energy, it was a chaotic life-form formed from multiple consciousnesses gathered together. It was even less reasonable to expect it to be clear-minded.
Things without consciousness, creatures that lived by instinct, were all rather frightening.
For example, when they got hungry, they would want to eat, regardless of who their opponent was—even if... it was one of their own kind!
So demons might include some good ones, but when it came to ghosts, it was generally best to kill them on sight.
Besides, if reincarnation truly existed in this world, then dying sooner and being reborn sooner would be convenient.
The Night Watchmen organization included humans and demons, but for the time being, he had never heard of any ghosts among them.
After all, anyone who had played games should know that it was difficult to coordinate with idiots.
When it was time to play it safe, they would charge recklessly. When it was time to charge, they would cower. It was completely impossible to deal with.
After visiting the "tomb within a tomb," Lu Yibai became even more certain of this point.
After demons died, even if they had been killed, their remains would still be there, with demonic power hidden inside.
When ghosts died, they truly turned into a stream of gas.
All right, perhaps they had been dead to begin with. But if they were "killed" once more, they would truly become something like "farts"—the kind of farts that would not disperse.
The reason the ghostly aura and Yin energy were so dense inside the tomb within a tomb was that, besides demon remains being particularly prone to producing those things, the Night Watchmen would also seal the ghostly aura and Yin energy that was difficult to disperse inside the tomb after killing ghosts.
At this thought, Lu Yibai frowned and looked at the Lion Umbrella in his hand.
Wasn't there one trapped inside the Lion Umbrella?
Although the ghost inside the Lion Umbrella seemed a little mischievous and somewhat ridiculous, it definitely possessed its own consciousness!
That went completely against common sense. It should not have been like this.
It completely contradicted the established rules of your ghostly kind. It had become a bug-like existence!
All its other kin had been struck by a "debuff of lowered intelligence." Why had this one escaped it?
That creature had even given him a hint just now, telling him that something strange was going on beneath the small bungalow...
Lu Yibai stared quietly at the Lion Umbrella in his hand and thought, What exactly is trapped inside the Lion Umbrella?
(P.S. The second update.)
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