Chapter 26: Ghost Cloak: Fraud
"You're interning at the Funeral Home, aren't you? What are you doing here?" Xiao Ran asked, staring at Zhong Yi in confusion.
"My internship's over, and I've still got a few days before I start work. My uncle works here as a park ranger, and something came up at home today, so I'm filling in for him."
Xiao Ran scratched his head. "Your relatives sure have some gloomy jobs."
As mentioned before, Cuiyun Park was a cemetery on North Mountain. It felt chilly even during the day, let alone at night.
Working as a park ranger here was basically the same as being a security guard at a cemetery.
"None of your business!"
After saying that, Zhong Yi planted one hand on her hip and held out the other toward Xiao Ran. "Hand it over."
"What?"
"The fine. Fifty thousand!"
"Fifty thousand? Why not just rob me?"
"Pay up, or I'll report you for setting the woods on fire."
Zhong Yi lifted her chin smugly. "If you can't afford that much, you could also..."
"Scan the code and transfer it now."
To Zhong Yi's surprise, Xiao Ran took out his phone to make the transfer before she could finish.
"You..."
"I have just one condition!" Xiao Ran looked up, his expression unusually stern. "Once I've transferred the money, leave immediately."
Zhong Yi stared at him for a moment, then frowned. "Then I want a hundred thousand!"
"Fine!"
Xiao Ran hesitated for a second before nodding. "Fine. A hundred thousand it is."
"You! You, you..." Zhong Yi's eyes widened. She was so angry she couldn't get the words out. Stomping her foot, she said, "Forget it. I'm not dealing with you."
Without another word to Xiao Ran, she turned her back to him. "If I asked for a million, would you sell everything you own just to give it to me?"
Xiao Ran immediately grinned. "You wouldn't. Fifty thousand was a joke, a hundred thousand was a test. A million would mean making an enemy of me, and we're not at that point yet, are we?"
Zhong Yi pursed her lips, turned around, and stared at Xiao Ran. After a moment, she said, "Don't flatter yourself. Just consider it a favor you owe me."
"I'd rather give you the hundred thousand."
Zhong Yi rolled her eyes and pretended she hadn't heard him. After walking a few steps, she glanced back at Xiao Ran. "I'll be in the guard booth. Come find me if you need anything."
"Okay."
Xiao Ran watched Zhong Yi leave, then finally breathed a long sigh of relief. He liked her well enough and didn't want her getting mixed up in this.
After Zhong Yi had left, Xiao Ran sat in the pavilion and waited.
A little while later, a shadow crept up beside him.
"Is it here?"
The shadow nodded.
Xiao Ran took out several ghost bills and set them alight. As soon as the ashes scattered, the shadow wavered a few times, grabbed at them, then darted into the grass.
Xiao Ran stood up and brushed the dust off his pants, his gaze fixed ahead.
A figure slowly emerged from the dark woods.
Though this wasn't their first meeting, Xiao Ran still felt immense pressure when he got a clear look at the woman's face.
He studied the black cloak draped over Xue Hongling. Its dark-red patterns were still clearly visible in the night, emitting an eerie glow. It was unmistakably a Cursed Object.
"You asked me to meet you here so late. Don't tell me you're trying to ask me out." Xue Hongling looked at Xiao Ran with a bright smile. "This isn't exactly a good place for a date."
Xiao Ran nodded. "It really isn't a good place for a date."
"But it is a good place to kill someone. The park was just built, there are no cameras or passersby, and it's full of grave pits. You wouldn't even have to dig a hole."
"You want to kill me?" Xue Hongling looked at Xiao Ran in surprise.
Though she hadn't expected any different, Xiao Ran's bluntness still caught her off guard.
"Do you think you can take me on by yourself?" Xue Hongling's voice held a hint of mockery. "And why? Surely you're not trying to avenge that family?"
Xiao Ran didn't answer. His eyes glinted with a cold killing intent.
Sensing the killing intent growing stronger, Xue Hongling snapped, "You really dare to fight me?"
Before her words had even faded, Xiao Ran answered with action. He suddenly sprang forward, his body shooting ahead like an arrow loosed from its string. His right hand was half-clenched as he struck straight for her throat.
"You're asking for death!"
Xue Hongling hadn't expected Xiao Ran to attack without warning, giving her no chance to respond. Her expression darkened. In the rush, she could only retreat rapidly as she swung her cloak. The broad garment wrapped around her, and her figure blurred.
Xiao Ran had been ready for that. He suddenly twisted to the side and used a Tiger Fist move called Tiger Embrace.
He clasped his hands before his chest, fingers hooked like claws, and pounced at the figure that was about to disappear, like a fierce tiger.
Thud!
The sound of a strike landing on wood came from beneath Xue Hongling's cloak. The sensation was wrong. Xiao Ran immediately lifted his leg and kicked upward at her groin.
The kick was incredibly fast and aimed low. An ordinary person would have no chance to defend against it, but to Xiao Ran's surprise, it struck nothing. Beneath Xue Hongling's wide cloak, there seemed to be nothing at all.
"What kind of ability is this?"
As Xiao Ran wondered, Xue Hongling suddenly swung a short knife out from under her cloak and slashed at his head.
The blade cut through the air, flashing coldly.
Xiao Ran reacted just as quickly. The moment the blade flashed, he ducked sharply, evading the deadly strike. Instead of immediately retreating to put distance between himself and Xue Hongling, he took two steps forward and pressed in close.
Speed Talisman +1 Speed Talisman +1 Speed Talisman +1
At the same time, streaks of pale-blue light appeared around Xiao Ran, abruptly speeding him up. He threw punch after punch at Xue Hongling, every strike aimed at a vital point and held back not at all.
Noticing the change in Xiao Ran, Xue Hongling backed away with a dark expression, relying on her cloak to block his attacks from side to side.
But it didn't take long for Xiao Ran to sense that something was wrong. Every move he made landed on Xue Hongling, but the moment his fists touched the black cloak, it felt as though they were sinking into the sea. In just a few breaths, sweat had already beaded on Xiao Ran's forehead.
If he weren't unusually fit, he would have collapsed long ago.
"Fool. I thought you had some kind of trick up your sleeve, but it turns out this is all you can do. I guess I was overestimating you. You've only just started out, haven't you? You don't understand a thing about the rules among newcomers."
By comparison, Xue Hongling seemed increasingly relaxed. She even had time to taunt Xiao Ran as she faced his attacks.
"If I'd known you were only a beginner, I should have killed you that day."
Xue Hongling regretted it. She hadn't been able to gauge Xiao Ran's strength before, so she hadn't dared to make a move. She could only use someone else's life to warn him. She hadn't realized the kid was such a rookie.
At Xue Hongling's taunts, Xiao Ran's expression grew even grimmer. He suddenly leaped sideways and launched a flying kick.
A glint flashed in Xue Hongling's eyes. She held her short knife crosswise, like a venomous snake emerging from beneath the broad cloak.
Splurt!
Blood splattered across the dirt. Xiao Ran rolled across the ground and scrambled back to his feet, his shirt soaked with blood across most of his chest. His face had gone deathly pale.
Staggering upright, he turned and ran toward the bushes.
"Trying to run?" Xue Hongling scoffed. "I'm not done playing with you."
As she spoke, her cloak suddenly spread wide, releasing tendrils of eerie black energy.
In that instant, Xiao Ran felt a sudden ache in his chest, as if someone had punched him out of nowhere. The tremendous force sent him stumbling and tumbling several meters down the slope beside the path.
Before Xiao Ran could get up, another force slammed into his abdomen, bending his body into a bow shape and sliding him several meters across the ground.
You have been attacked by the F-class Cursed Object Ghost Cloak: Fraud! You have been attacked by the F-class Cursed Object Ghost Cloak: Fraud!
"Fraud? Is that her curse mark? Or another one of her curse marks?"
Before Xiao Ran could think it over, attacks continued raining down on him. Each strike carried tremendous force. In moments, he realized the source of that force seemed to be the power he had just used against the cloak—and now it was striking him over and over.
Watching Xiao Ran get knocked down again and again, only to quickly get back up and run forward, Xue Hongling's expression turned colder. "You can take quite a beating. Do you have a Body Cultivator-type curse mark too?"
As she spoke, she raised her hand. Dark-red curse marks emerged from the back of her hand and wormed their way into the ring on her finger, like wriggling earthworms.
The gem set in the ring began to glow an alluring purple.
"Chief, let's move! That guy can't hold out much longer!"
In the guard room, two men watched footage from a drone on the computer screen. They could clearly see a red demon slowly taking shape behind Xue Hongling.
The two looked up at Zhong Yi, who sat in a chair with her legs crossed.
With a lollipop in her mouth, Zhong Yi heard their urging and instead rested both hands behind her head. "Wait a little longer. That guy definitely has another card up his sleeve. Otherwise, why would he be so confident?"
"Wait?"
The two exchanged glances and gave wry smiles, shaking their heads. They both knew how strong their group leader was. Stopping the fight would be as easy as blinking.
In response to their complaints and warnings, Zhong Yi simply kept her hands behind her head, chewing her lollipop as she stared blankly at the ceiling. She remembered the sharp glint in Xiao Ran's clear, black-and-white eyes when he refused her. It was as keen as a sword drawn from its scabbard.
That confidence came from being absolutely certain of his own abilities.
Since the kid was so confident, she'd wait and see. If he truly reached the point where he couldn't hold on, she could still step in.
Seeing that Zhong Yi wouldn't budge, the two men could only turn back to the footage on the computer.
They were already prepared to act if the guy truly couldn't hold out any longer. They would step in at once, no matter what. Even if they couldn't save him, they would at least kill Xue Hongling on the spot.
"Huh!"
Just then, one of them noticed something. He adjusted the drone's view and stared closely at the screen. "Wait, what's that?"
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