Evacuation

Chapter 50: Evacuation

By then, the Wang Family's back residence had been completely cleared.

Xiao Cha raised her rifle, pressed it against Old Master Wang's forehead, and fired, blowing his head to smithereens and making sure the zombie was well and truly dead.

Lu Li, meanwhile, went over to Wang Siqi.

Blood gushed from him, staining his mourning clothes red, but he was still breathing. He glared over with hatred written all over his face.

Lu Li looked at a large Red Sandalwood Carved Chi Case. A glass bottle flew from its surface into his hand.

Inside was the "Ice Soul Powder" Wang Siqi had tried to trick Lu Li into taking when they had visited the Divine Heart Society.

Lu Li had scraped by for years in Mexico and seen plenty of addicts. He knew all too well what happened once someone got hooked.

The vile stuff irreversibly damaged the brain, robbing people of their sense of self and their souls until they became walking corpses. Calling it worse than death was putting it mildly.

That was why Lu Li hated Wang Siqi with every fiber of his being. Even Toby hadn't stirred up such hatred in him.

So Lu Li twisted off the cap with one hand, pried Wang Siqi's mouth open with the other, and poured the entire bottle of Ice Soul Powder down his throat.

Wang Siqi's eyes bulged. His whole body trembled, and he struggled to force out, "You'll die a miserable death!"

Seeing how agitated he was, Lu Li kept the Kunlun Mirror at the ready, guarding against some kind of "last-ditch strike."

Fortunately, the ambush had been so sudden that Wang Siqi hadn't been prepared at all. He didn't even have a weapon within reach.

He had just swallowed a pound of crystal meth, and blood was pouring from his body. Within seconds, he was dead.

Only his eyes remained, fixed on Lu Li in furious resentment.

But it wasn't over. The moment Wang Siqi breathed his last, the Kunlun Mirror, which had been standing by, suddenly stirred.

Two characters appeared on its surface: [Soul Snatch]

Lu Li sensed his magic treasure was poised to act, as if it had made some kind of preparation and was waiting for him to confirm.

Curious about what it intended to do, he sent the confirmation from his mind.

The next moment, the Kunlun Mirror gave off a faint suction, no stronger than a person's breath.

Yet that tiny force drew a streak of electric-blue substance from Wang Siqi's eyes.

The Kunlun Mirror absorbed the substance into its surface and stored it, but showed no sign of devouring it.

Lu Li was baffled. "Is this Wang Siqi's soul? What use is it?"

He knew little about cultivation, so it was no wonder he was confused and couldn't understand the point of this.

Luckily, the pile of books buried with the dead should have the answers!

~~~~~~~~~~

Xiao Cha couldn't see the soul extracted by [Soul Snatch].

To her, Lu Li was simply standing there, staring gravely at the corpse.

Still, she could understand. Anyone who had tricked him into smoking opium would earn his deepest hatred.

She merely reminded him, "Lu Li, let's go get the things."

"Sure."

Lu Li nodded, and went with her to where the burial goods were piled.

There were several chests of gold, silver, and jewels. Xiao Cha's eyes widened at the sight, and she said regretfully, "What a pity we can't take them with us."

Lu Li had no interest in the treasures at all. His eyes lit up as he looked at a stack of books.

The Sky Light Sitting and Forgetting Method On Sitting and Forgetting Brain and Nerves: Telekinesis...

"Wonderful! They're all about Spirit Refinement!"

Without another word, Lu Li started stuffing the books into his waistband.

"We still have to face people when we go out. Don't cram in too many!"

As she spoke, Xiao Cha stepped forward to help.

She lifted her shirt, revealing her taut, snow-white waist, and tucked a copy of Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio into her waistband, against her toned stomach.

Fortunately, cultivation manuals emphasized profound meaning in few words, so none of them were very thick.

Besides, the two of them only took books related to [Thoughtless Meditation], so they managed to hide them on their persons without much effort.

Of course, the Wang Family was only a wealthy clan in Jinmen. The highest-level material among these books was [Thoughtless Meditation].

Next, Xiao Cha helped Lu Li strap his gun back onto his leg.

At that moment, her expression was a little strange.

After experiencing the power of firearms firsthand, even Xiao Cha could tell that something was off about these weapons.

The "Children's Rifle" in particular was made of materials she'd never heard of, and its power was absurd. It was practically a "miniature machine gun."

With a few presses, its stock folded up, shrinking it to barely a foot long.

Then there was the miraculous silencer and the terrifying bullets that inflicted damage in two stages!

These were weapons of murder far beyond their time. Even the foreign powers might not possess them. Where had Lu Li gotten them?

But everyone had secrets, and asking about them was taboo in the supernatural world. Xiao Cha didn't pry.

All she knew was that she and the man before her were accomplices, co-conspirators, partners in crime. That was enough.

By then, the suona had reached its final notes, and its mournful melody had softened.

It was time to leave.

~~~~~~~~~~

The ambush had gone exceptionally smoothly, leaving them plenty of time. Before leaving, Xiao Cha tidied up the scene.

As a constable from a family with generations of experience, she naturally had excellent counter-investigation skills.

After cleaning up the few traces they had left, Xiao Cha and Lu Li retraced their steps and leaped over the courtyard wall.

Only then did the suona finally fall silent. The entire performance had lasted no more than four minutes.

The two of them strolled toward the mourning hall as if they were a couple out for a walk.

As soon as they arrived, they saw the suona player clutching his chest in pain.

Xiao Cha's subordinates were all grinning with schadenfreude. Old Zhong explained:

"He saw the Governor's daughter and played so hard he got a cramp!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a large crowd poured out of the mourning hall.

The Governor's daughter had finished paying her respects and was preparing to leave.

Up close, Jiang Haiyan looked even colder, almost cruelly so.

There was also a vertical line on her forehead, like a closed eye.

Xiao Cha whispered, "She has Golden Aristocrat blood. They're born with three eyes, but her bloodline isn't strong enough for the third to open."

Lu Li asked curiously, "Golden Aristocrats have three eyes?"

"You don't even know that?"

Xiao Cha looked puzzled. A curious fact like that should be common knowledge, like how the president of the Anglo-Saxon Federation was a werewolf...

But soon, the young woman had no time to dwell on it.

Among the many unmarried young men escorting the noblewoman out were the senior men of the Wang Family as well!

They were all experts, with plenty who had reached Marrow Washing and Blood Exchange. Any one of them could kill Xiao Cha with a single finger.

Yet they had no idea what the people before them had just done.

Whether from nerves or excitement, Xiao Cha's face was flushed. Her long legs kept pressing together, and her whole body trembled.

Lu Li discreetly nudged her waist to remind her to watch herself.

Fortunately, Xiao Cha had strong nerves and quickly composed herself. The flush remained on her face, lending her a touch of allure.

Time seemed to crawl for her. At long last, the detested Governor's daughter left.

Only after her figure had vanished from sight did the people escorting her disperse.

Xiao Cha let out a breath and said:

"I hate her most of all. Whenever something comes up, she calls me over to play bodyguard and decorate the place. All right, you should hurry back. I'll stick around here."

"Be careful, then."

Lu Li was about to leave when a young man in a white suit suddenly walked over with a dark expression.

He was clearly dressed up, and even had powder on his face. He was one of the men who had surrounded the Governor's daughter earlier.

But the noblewoman hadn't even glanced at him, leaving him in a foul mood.

The man said irritably:

"Xiao Cha, you reached Organ Refining and still didn't report it to the clan? Have you forgotten all the rules?"