The house ahead stood alone atop a small mound, apparently far from the main village of Tongxin and tucked away in a remote spot.
It looked imposing, but the walls surrounding it were bare cement, unpainted.
On its roof, stripped bare of anything else, the outlines of a solar water heater and a water tank were visible.
At the front of the house stood a high courtyard wall with a large red metal gate.
Chen Xia couldn't see what was inside. He watched cautiously from the grass, a hundred meters away.
In the dead of night, countless insects chirred from deep among the field ridges. In the moonlight, he could make out abandoned rice paddies on both sides of the path, and tombstones scattered across a hill in the distance.
"Chirp, chirp..."
Suddenly, bats streaked across the sky above him, darting out from who knew where. He pressed himself even lower.
"Edel's men should be in there. But I still need to be careful. I don't know whether Edel has any bats keeping watch nearby!"
Chen Xia remembered the red shadow he'd fought in the alley. It had been able to use a Spirit Technique, turning bats into eyes through which it could see.
And after cultivating the Eternal Night Blood Scripture, his vision in the dark seemed much sharper. Though a hazy moonlight hung outside, a faint red glow in his eyes was enough to make everything clearer.
He saw none of the red shadows or blood bats from before. When a bank of clouds blotted out the moon and the surroundings dimmed, he exploded into motion, darting past like a phantom.
At that speed, he could race through the darkness without being spotted. Before long, he reached the little hill of tombs.
From the summit, Chen Xia could see a farmhouse in the distance, with two figures keeping watch in its courtyard.
Chen Xia didn't act rashly. He didn't know how many people were inside.
He waited a while, until he was sure no one else was coming.
Then Chen Xia raced down from the hill toward the mound ahead and hid at its base.
The spot was fairly secluded. He had to move some distance from the earthen wall to see the house above.
Creak...
Before long, he heard a sound from above. The metal gate opened.
"Heh-heh, I've got something to do tonight. Tomorrow, babe. You're such a little slut, can't wait, huh? I promise I'll have you flat on your back tomorrow... I gotta go."
A man dressed in black hung up, whistled on the mound by the gate, and hummed a tune smugly. Then he unzipped his pants and began pissing into the night.
When he'd finished, he suddenly sensed something beside him. He turned his head, his pupils contracting. He tried to speak, only to find that something seemed to be choking his throat, leaving him unable to make a sound.
Chen Xia gripped the man by the throat and dragged him down the mound. "If you want to live, answer my questions. Understand?"
Terror filled the eyes of the man whose throat was in Chen Xia's grip. He'd cultivated an Evil Technique and reached Grade 1, yet this man had subdued him in an instant. His opponent was clearly far stronger. He didn't want to die.
Chen Xia questioned him at length and learned that the man was one of Edel's underlings, assigned to guard the entrance.
This was indeed one of Edel's hideouts. At that very moment, the others were preparing a ritual in the basement to summon an Evil God.
Besides the thirteen members of the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group, there were Edel, six Night God Sect members under his command, and two men guarding the entrance.
The six Night God Sect members knew Evil Techniques and could fight at the level of Grade 1, Eighth Stage warriors.
Edel's strength was unknown, but according to the man, he was the most terrifying of them all.
Once, a Grade 3 martial master who led a mercenary group had shown Edel great respect.
Edel looked like a foreigner and usually wore a black robe that hid his face and features, making him easy enough to recognize.
He usually went out at night, though, and was rarely seen during the day.
In the basement of this house were more than twenty girls who'd been captured. They were still alive, bound together and being held for the ritual to summon the Blood God.
According to the man, once summoned, the Blood God could turn people's blood into Blood Pills for the Evil God's followers. That would make all the Night God Sect members in the surrounding area surge in strength.
The Blood God itself was also immensely powerful and could make the Night God Sect stronger than ever before.
The man had only been with the Night God Sect for two years and had heard about this by chance. He couldn't believe Chen Xia had dared to come here alone. He planned to keep Chen Xia occupied; if he didn't return, the people inside would surely notice.
Chen Xia weighed the situation. He wasn't worried about the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group.
But six Evil God followers together with Edel posed a risk.
If there were only Edel and the Gathering Justice Mercenary Group, Chen Xia could rely on the Spiritual Power amplified by the Eternal Night Blood Scripture and finish the fight quickly.
But he was wary of the Illusion Technique used by the blood shadow he'd encountered in the alley last time.
If all seven of them used Illusion Techniques at once, could he withstand it?
Even if he could, it still felt too dangerous. One misstep, and the whole thing could go sideways.
But he'd learned one good thing: with six Evil God followers there, they were bound to know plenty of Spirit Techniques. Even if he called in the Patrol Inspection Office, he might still be able to get his hands on them.
With that in mind, he loosened his grip slightly and asked, "How long does the Blood God summoning ritual usually take? Can you actually summon it?"
"I don't know. We tried it last year, but failed every time. Lord Edel learned from those failures, so there's a good chance it'll work this time. Who are you, anyway? I... I'm telling you, you'd better get out of here. If you don't leave now and the Blood God gets summoned, you're finished!"
The man didn't recognize Chen Xia as a member of the Patrol Inspection Office. Chen Xia had gone out in civilian clothes, and a face-appliqué makeup patch obscured his features. He'd bought a box of twenty at the mall last time, enough to last him.
"Do the Night God Sect members know the Bat Technique? Are there any bats around here?"
"Yes, so you'd better hurry. You still have time..."
"You're lying. Tell me the truth!"
"The summoning ritual takes everyone's full concentration. There were bats nearby before, but now there aren't any... Ah..."
Chen Xia chopped down with the edge of his hand. He'd hit a little too hard. The man was foaming at the mouth—clearly concussed. He'd probably end up a fool, if he didn't die.
Chen Xia felt no qualms about dealing with this kind of criminal. He was doing the people a service.
Chen Xia opened his Technology Watch and quickly contacted Jiang Xinglan. After finishing a full day's work, Jiang Xinglan had attended a Lineage meeting as well. Exhausted, she'd taken a flyer back to the Luxury Villa District in the Central District of Yijiang City. On the Third Floor, she stood in the bathroom as hot water poured over her raised, fair face, her hands gathering her dark hair at the nape of her neck. The shower washed away her fatigue, streaming over her shapely figure, smooth back, and lower body. After drying herself off, she wrapped a white bath towel around herself and stepped out of the bathroom. That was when she saw the Technology Watch on the table vibrating.
Her expression changed at once. It was a message from Chen Xia: he'd found Edel's hideout and sent its location. Jiang Xinglan's face grew grave as she replied, "Wait for me!"
Jiang Xinglan hurried to her Walk-in Closet and opened the wardrobe. Among all the clothes—girlish styles, youthful and lively outfits, Patrol Inspection Office uniforms, long skirts, bright and sporty outfits—she chose a close-fitting black Combat Suit.
Once she had it on, she equipped herself with gear at her waist, chest, and legs: a dagger, high-tech grenades, smoke bombs, a long blade, an Electric Gun, and more.
With her slender right hand, she pressed a switch on the side of the Technology Watch on her left wrist.
Soon, a faint rumble sounded outside the Third Floor window. A white, round flyer hovered into place.
She stepped out through the window and climbed the stairs into it.
Whoosh! A flash of light streaked by as Jiang Xinglan locked onto Chen Xia's location and sped toward him.
At the same time, she quickly alerted the people at the Chief Office and mobilized everyone at the South City Branch Office, while heading there ahead of them.
Meanwhile.
At another luxury apartment on the Sixth Floor in the Central District of Yijiang City, a flyer pulled up beside the window, then shot off toward Jiang Xinglan like a streak of starlight.
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