Institutional rules and the bride's target

Li Feng watched red light flicker repeatedly within the green glow of Yuan Chengfang's Compass, amid humanoid black mist that seemed to be wearing red.

He immediately realized that the wraith that had killed Luo Hua was the Wedding-Dress Bride he had encountered twice before: once when she had killed the original owner of his body, and once when he had devoured some of her power.

That explained why the cold aura in the room had felt familiar.

After all, wasn't the Wedding-Dress Bride the only Paranormal Entity whose aura he would recognize?

His mind fog had grown to cover a radius of over a meter precisely because he had devoured her power. How could he not recognize it?

But hadn't the Wedding-Dress Bride been slain?

Li Feng soon understood, however.

Ordinary methods of slaying a Paranormal Entity like the Wedding-Dress Bride could never kill her for good.

No matter how many times she was slain, she could keep coming back.

Still, he hadn't expected the Wedding-Dress Bride to reappear after just a few days, let alone break into an apartment in a residential complex and kill someone.

Meanwhile, Yuan Chengfang had taken out her phone and was photographing the humanoid black mist, snapping pictures especially quickly whenever red light flashed across its surface.

Then she opened the Investigation Department's records and uploaded the photographs and details about the deceased, listing them one by one.

A moment later, several records appeared.

Shadow Wraith: can travel through shadows. Any gap in a room or change in light and shadow can allow a Shadow Wraith to enter...

Thief Wraith: climbs through windows and enters homes, stealing people's lifespans...

Wedding-Dress Bride: wears a bright red wedding dress, devours souls, and consumes vital essence...

After comparing them, Yuan Chengfang finally settled on the Wedding-Dress Bride, who had appeared and been slain a few days earlier.

She activated the compass again. Its clear glow suddenly flared, swiftly devouring the black mist above it.

The next instant, the Compass needle began spinning rapidly before finally pointing toward the front door.

At the sight, Yuan Chengfang's expression shifted slightly.

"Captain, what happened?"

Wu Cheng stepped forward to ask.

"The one who killed this person was most likely the Wedding-Dress Bride."

"The Wedding-Dress Bride? How did she manifest again so soon?"

Wu Cheng looked surprised, then frowned in confusion.

"Who knows? Maybe she suffered badly when she was slain last time, so she manifested again as quickly as possible to find someone to take revenge on."

Yuan Chengfang shook her head, unable to resist adding a teasing remark.

Hearing this, Wu Cheng naturally thought nothing of it.

Wraiths had no intelligence. They only followed fixed rules and patterns, so how could they think of revenge?

As for why she had manifested early? She was a Paranormal Entity. Who knew why she had manifested early?

But Wu Cheng paid no heed to what Yuan Chengfang had said.

Meanwhile, Li Feng couldn't help but feel a stirring in his heart as he thought of the power he had devoured from the Wedding-Dress Bride.

Thinking again about what Yuan Chengfang had said, Li Feng couldn't help but wonder.

Could this Wedding-Dress Bride be coming for me?

"No, no..."

Li Feng shook his head sharply.

A Paranormal Entity like the Wedding-Dress Bride had no intelligence. How could she possibly think of seeking revenge?

Right. She definitely isn't coming for me.

After glancing at Li Feng and Wu Cheng, Yuan Chengfang looked toward the front door again and said solemnly:

"It doesn't matter why she manifested now.

"What matters is that she left through the door. Even if leaving a room is somewhat easier than breaking into one,

"compared with the account Tian Yue from the Disposal Department gave of slaying her last time, this still means the Wedding-Dress Bride is stronger than before.

"We just don't know whether she possessed this much power when she manifested, or only grew stronger after killing someone...

"The worst possibility is that she can break through Institutional Force, completely ignore the restrictions imposed by rooms, and kill at will..."

"That would make things difficult..."

Listening to Yuan Chengfang's solemn explanation, Li Feng blinked.

He could understand the Wedding-Dress Bride growing stronger, or even killing at will, and he had already put himself on full alert.

But although he had a vague guess about this Institutional Force, he still couldn't quite grasp it.

He searched his memories and found nothing on the subject.

He moved closer to Wu Cheng and asked quietly:

"What is Institutional Force?"

"Institutional Force?"

Wu Cheng first glanced at Li Feng, then at Yuan Chengfang, before explaining:

"It's a kind of power formed when an established institutional order gains enough people's recognition.

"For example, a nation's institutions contain a powerful, invisible force.

"Even wraiths, demons, monsters, and ghosts have to abide by the Federation's systems to a certain extent while within its borders..."

"Hmm..."

Li Feng frowned in thought, then suddenly asked:

"National fortune? Is this the legendary national fortune?"

"Uh... maybe!"

Wu Cheng scratched his head, sounding uncertain.

He only had a general understanding of institutions and their power, not their deeper secrets, so naturally he couldn't answer Li Feng's question.

"Order! Rather than national fortune, institutional power is better described as the power of order.

"An institution is a particular form of order, and order is rules.

"Until they can defy those rules, demons, monsters, ghosts, and wraiths all have to act according to them..."

Yuan Chengfang suddenly spoke as she walked toward the door with the compass in her hand.

"So that's how it works."

Li Feng nodded thoughtfully and hurried after her with Wu Cheng.

Then Li Feng spoke again.

"Captain, you said order is rules. Does that mean that as long as we establish an order, it can generate a corresponding power of rules?"

"Yes, in theory! But it takes strong mental conviction to drive that development..."

"Oh!"

Li Feng nodded, then asked another question.

"Is that why demons, monsters, ghosts, and wraiths can't easily enter human residential communities or homes?"

"Yes. Houses are fortresses where humans shelter from wind and rain and keep wild beasts and invaders from harming them. Over countless years, the mental convictions of all those people have long since turned that into a corresponding mystical rule..."

Holding the compass, Yuan Chengfang explained as she went downstairs.

"But it's only a rule based on human thought, an extremely weak generalized rule.

"It does impose restrictions, but they aren't insurmountable, and there are many ways to get around them.

"For example, if doors or windows aren't fully closed, or if the homeowner opens the door voluntarily, those restrictions can be bypassed.

"Even reinforced by a nation's institutional order, this rule still isn't particularly powerful. It can only stop ordinary illusory-class or real danger-class wraiths and ghosts.

"Hmm...

"And while this intangible generalized rule may strongly restrain intangible wraiths and ghosts,

"demons and monsters with physical bodies can use their brute strength to force their way through the door..."

"Oh!"

Li Feng nodded.

So institutional power was indeed useful and strong, but it couldn't be his ultimate safeguard.

Truly powerful martial strength was what allowed humanity to stand firm in the world.

As Yuan Chengfang, Li Feng, and Wu Cheng discussed institutions, order, and rules, they gradually reached the ground floor.

Stepping out of the building, Yuan Chengfang looked at Captain Liu and said gravely:

"Captain Liu, it's safe here now. You can send your people upstairs!"

By collecting the wraith's aura and locking onto its target, the Tracking Compass had effectively cleared away all the surrounding wraith aura.

Naturally, that made the area safe.

Otherwise, as long as the Paranormal Entity's power remained and living people were nearby, the Paranormal Entity might return for another attack.

Moreover, a corpse contaminated by the Paranormal Entity's power might also undergo corpse transformation and become a Ghost Servant.

"All right. Thank you for your hard work, Captain Yuan!"

Captain Liu nodded with a smile, then sent his people upstairs to deal with the body.

After giving a few more instructions, Yuan Chengfang led Li Feng and Wu Cheng out of the Golden Bell Residential Complex, carrying the Tracking Compass.

Along the way, wisps of black mist were occasionally swallowed by the Tracking Compass.

As they advanced in fits and starts, Li Feng's expression grew increasingly strange.

Why did it feel as though the Wedding-Dress Bride's route led toward the Pine Court Residential Community?

Li Feng couldn't help cursing inwardly.

Is that damned thing really coming to get revenge on me?

That doesn't make sense...

Li Feng was utterly baffled.

If that Paranormal Entity really held a grudge and wanted revenge, why had she left when they were face-to-face back then, instead of attacking him directly?

Why insist on waiting until she had been slain once before manifesting again to seek revenge?

After all, even though his stronger mind fog had concealed him back then, if the wraith truly held a grudge and had such a strong desire for revenge, she should have been able to lock onto him.

He hadn't forgotten that the Wedding-Dress Bride's eyes had indeed focused, seemingly pinpointing his location.

Yet for some unknown reason, the Wedding-Dress Bride had ultimately left.

After frowning in thought for a long while without finding an answer, Li Feng gave up trying to figure it out.

Whatever the reason, the only thing he needed to worry about now was that the Paranormal Entity seemed to have set her sights on him.

He would have to be more careful from now on.

Right. Leave late, come home early, and keep the Psychic Pistol and Compass on me.

Touching the Psychic Pistol at his waist, Li Feng felt a little more reassured.

Even if he couldn't kill the Wedding-Dress Bride, he should at least be able to buy some time, right?

After walking a little farther, the three arrived at the spot where Li Feng had last encountered the Wedding-Dress Bride.

By now, Li Feng was almost certain that the Wedding-Dress Bride was targeting him.

But it was also here that the traces of the Wedding-Dress Bride's power abruptly disappeared.

"Hmm, this was probably where the Wedding-Dress Bride last disappeared!"

"The next time she appears, it will most likely be here again, or within a hundred meters at most."

After looking around, Yuan Chengfang nodded.

According to the patterns governing wraiths' movements, they generally reappeared wherever they had disappeared.

Only after being slain would they appear at a random location nearby.

After confirming where the Wedding-Dress Bride had last disappeared, Yuan Chengfang immediately uploaded their findings using her phone.

The Wedding-Dress Bride generally appeared in the evening or at night.

Thus, the Night Patrol Bureau would still be the one to deal with her.

Now they could only wait for the Night Patrol Bureau's report that night.

Having confirmed that he was the Wedding-Dress Bride's target, Li Feng immediately felt the pressure mount.

After returning from the Investigation Department, Li Feng immediately began cultivating, then tempering that strand of hair.

Between cultivation sessions, Li Feng also checked the Compass from time to time to see if there was any reaction to Paranormal Entity power.

Yet the entire night passed without the Tracking Compass reacting at all. The strand of hair he had focused his power on tempering, meanwhile, doubled in strength again, and its maximum extended length reached five centimeters.

The next morning, Li Feng first checked the Compass. After confirming that it showed no reaction to Paranormal Entity power, he opened the Investigation Department's app on his phone to see whether there was a notice announcing that the Wedding-Dress Bride had been slain.

To his disappointment, he found no such notice.

Combined with the lack of any reaction from the Tracking Compass,

Li Feng immediately understood that the Wedding-Dress Bride must not have appeared the previous night.

Once a Paranormal Entity manifested, it didn't necessarily appear at the corresponding time every day.

Their appearances were highly random.

They might appear every day for several days in a row, or remain absent for several days straight. There was no pattern at all.

Several more days passed like this, and the Wedding-Dress Bride still didn't appear.

Even the Night Patrol Bureau had resumed its regular patrols instead of going there every day to lie in wait.

A single Ordinary Rank Paranormal Entity simply wasn't worth maintaining a constant stakeout.

Just as the Investigation Department's main task was investigation, the Night Patrol Bureau's main task was patrolling at night.

Li Feng, however, still left late and returned early, holding the Tracking Compass every day to check for any reaction to wraith power.

He didn't dare slack off in his cultivation for even a moment.

After all, Li Feng was already convinced that the Wedding-Dress Bride's target might well be him.

Naturally, he remained vigilant at all times. At least until he gained considerable strength, he wouldn't let his guard down in the slightest.

His efforts paid off. After these days of cultivation, Li Feng was finally approaching minor attainment in the Skin Tempering Realm.

The strand of hair he had focused his power on tempering had grown stronger by successive doublings.

It could now extend to over three meters at its maximum length and was extraordinarily tough.

Li Feng had tested it: lifting a weight of over fifty kilograms posed no problem at all.

Naturally, he could not do anything like cleaving stars, mountains, and rivers with a single strand of hair.

But with a sweep, it could easily slice an ordinary wooden stool in half.

The cut was as smooth as a mirror, as though made by a divine weapon.

In a way, that meant he had made some progress in his cultivation, hadn't he?

Moreover, he had absolute control over that strand of hair. He could make it long or short, hard or soft, all at will.

Straightening, bending, coiling, changing shape—it all followed his wishes. Ordinarily, it was just like any other hair.

To be honest, without that control, Li Feng would have worried about the hair hurting him.

It really was far too sharp.

Only now did Li Feng feel a little more confident, enough to sleep soundly.

Rubbing his somewhat sore body, Li Feng hurried toward the bathroom to wash up and get ready for bed.

By chance, Li Feng glanced at the Compass beside him.

At that glance, Li Feng froze mid-step, his expression gradually turning solemn.

The needle of the Tracking Compass was trembling slightly, pointing straight toward the front door.

At that very moment, Li Feng suddenly felt the air around him gradually growing cold and clammy.