Outside the factory, a young man heard cries of agony and pleas for mercy coming from inside the building. His face tightened with worry. "Brother Zhang, what do we do? Those ghosts have started killing people!"
When they arrived at the factory, the two men discovered that it was thick with ghostly energy. There was clearly more than one ghost inside. Since they weren't particularly strong, they could only call for backup, keep watch on the warehouse, and wait for help to arrive.
Neither of them had expected cries of agony and pleas for mercy to come from inside the factory shortly after they called for backup.
"Save the people, buy time, and wait for backup!" Brother Zhang's expression turned grave as he made his decision in an instant.
As members of the Demon Suppression Division, they couldn't stand by and let ghosts run amok. Even with their limited strength, they had to buy as much time as possible. Once reinforcements arrived, these ghosts would be nothing to fear.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
The two men sprang into motion and rushed inside. But as they neared the factory building where the screams had come from, the cries of agony and pleas for mercy abruptly ceased. The entire building fell unnaturally silent.
"Beasts!"
The two men exchanged a glance, their eyes blazing with fury. Had the ghosts really hunted down their human victims so quickly?
Without the slightest hesitation, they charged into the factory. Inside, only two figures remained: one man radiating a chilling ghostly aura, and another who was unmistakably alive.
"This..."
The two men froze at the sight. The cries of agony and pleas for mercy had clearly come from more than one person. So why were there only one man and one ghost left?
The young man looked at Brother Chun, his voice ice-cold and murderously furious. "Beast, you didn't even leave a whole corpse!"
Clearly, in the young man's eyes, the people who had screamed and begged for mercy had already been devoured by Brother Chun, their bodies gone without a trace.
Whoosh!
Before he had even finished speaking, the young man sprang forward and charged straight at Brother Chun.
Seeing this, Brother Chun hurriedly tried to explain. "It's a misunderstanding! I didn't kill anyone!"
"Still trying to talk your way out of it? Die!" the young man roared. With a flick of his hand, he sent a razor-sharp sword slashing toward Brother Chun.
Clang!
But in the next instant, a figure stepped in front of Brother Chun. He flicked a finger, knocking the sword aside. It was none other than Lin Chen.
"Hey! You're going after my ghost. Shouldn't you at least say hello first?" Lin Chen looked at the young man, his expression darkening. If the other man hadn't been with the Demon Suppression Division, Lin Chen wouldn't have minded teaching him a lesson.
"Evil Cultivator, don't get cocky! None of you are getting away today!" the young man shouted, thrusting his sword at Lin Chen as if he meant to kill him on the spot.
Evil Cultivator?
Lin Chen's face darkened. He raised a fist and punched the young man squarely in the chest. With a thump, the young man was sent flying, crashing heavily to the ground.
Lin Chen glanced at the young man on the ground, then turned to the middle-aged man in the distance. His voice was cold. "Can we talk like normal people, or not? Who the hell are you calling an Evil Cultivator?"
That guy had not only tried to steal his origin essence, but had also slandered him as an Evil Cultivator. Even Lin Chen couldn't help getting angry.
"I'm Zhang Jing of the Xuzhou Demon Suppression Division!" The middle-aged man glanced at the young man on the ground and, after confirming he wasn't seriously hurt, turned to Lin Chen and cupped his hands. "May I ask your name, senior?"
"Lin Chen." Lin Chen looked at Zhang Jing, then said coldly, "Your companion attacked me without even finding out what was going on, and then slandered me as an Evil Cultivator. This time, consider it a lesson for him."
The young man struggled to his feet and was about to argue, but Zhang Jing shot him a glare. "The senior is right. But may I ask what exactly happened here? We heard cries of agony and pleas for mercy just now."
Although Lin Chen was powerful, Zhang Jing knew that he couldn't afford to confront him head-on. But if Lin Chen really was an Evil Cultivator, controlling ghosts to harm people, then even if it cost them their lives, they wouldn't let him get away with it.
"Cries of agony and pleas for mercy?"
Lin Chen raised an eyebrow and replied calmly, "Those were the ghosts making those sounds."
Ghosts?
Zhang Jing and the young man froze. If he was going to make up an excuse, he could at least make it believable. Ghosts screaming? Ghosts screaming among a bunch of other ghosts?
"You don't believe me?" From their expressions, Lin Chen could tell they didn't believe a word he said. He immediately summoned his Blood Qi True Flame, and in an instant, an incomparably powerful aura burst from his body.
"This is..."
Feeling the aura burst from Lin Chen, Zhang Jing and the young man couldn't help but change color. They murmured, "A Fourth Order cultivator?"
The aura Lin Chen had unleashed was at least that of a Fourth Order cultivator, perhaps even stronger. If so, it was entirely possible he'd made the ghosts beg for mercy.
"The master's strength is beyond your comprehension. The ghosts of Old Dragon Mountain have all been dealt with by the master!" Seeing this, Brother Chun spoke with pride. Anyone who didn't know better might've thought he'd dealt with all the ghosts of Old Dragon Mountain himself!
"You really dealt with the ghosts of Old Dragon Mountain?" Zhang Jing asked, unable to believe it.
"Would I lie?" Lin Chen glanced at Zhang Jing.
"Impressive, senior!" Zhang Jing praised him. Given the strength Lin Chen had displayed, if he really were an Evil Cultivator, there would've been no reason to spare the young man—and he wouldn't have feared the two of them, either.
He hadn't killed the young man, and the aura of his Blood Qi True Flame still lingered throughout the factory. Taken together, it was entirely possible he really had dealt with the ghosts inside.
"Then what about this ghost..." The young man looked at Brother Chun.
With the young man staring at him, Brother Chun hurriedly explained, "I'm the master's man... ghost!"
"Not all ghosts are wicked. The ghosts of the Ghost Raising Lineage aren't hunted down to the last if they haven't done anything wrong, are they?" Lin Chen glanced at the young man, then continued, "This one has already turned over a new leaf. If he hadn't given me the information, I wouldn't have been able to find the ghosts' hideout so precisely and wipe them out completely!"
Brother Chun was still useful to Lin Chen. He didn't want him dying at the hands of the Demon Suppression Division. His ghost could die—but only by his hand!
Hearing this, Brother Chun's face filled with gratitude. He knew he'd followed a good big brother. Though Lin Chen killed ghosts without blinking, he treated his own ghost right!
Since Lin Chen had said as much, Zhang Jing and the young man had little more to say. After all, the Ghost Raising Lineage's ghosts were a known presence, and the Demon Suppression Division didn't have to kill every ghost they came across!
"If there's nothing else, we'll be going." Lin Chen glanced at the two men, then seemed to remember something. "Oh, if there's a reward, contact Xu Fei at the Qingzhou Demon Suppression Division and send the money to my account!"
With that, he led Brother Chun out of the factory.
The young man watched Lin Chen leave, frowning. "Brother Zhang, you're just going to let them go?"
"What do you want to do? At least for now, he doesn't seem to be an Evil Cultivator," Zhang Jing replied calmly.
If Lin Chen were an Evil Cultivator, Zhang Jing wouldn't have minded risking his life. But from what they'd seen, this was most likely just a misunderstanding. Going to his death now would be idiotic.
Before you continue