Qin Yan stared, dumbfounded, her eyes wide.
Jinbao pinned down the blood-red wedding dress and pummeled it relentlessly. She thought she could even hear the garment's shrill, piercing screams.
"Yanyan!"
Fu Nanshan had arrived.
With such a fierce fight going on downstairs, he had rushed down as fast as he could the moment he sensed the Weird Qi.
"Younger Uncle!"
The moment Qin Yan saw him, she ran straight over.
He picked her up, and she curled into a tiny bundle in her uncle's arms.
She really had been frightened earlier. Now that she was in her uncle's arms, her distress welled up, and she began to cry.
People were always like this, showing their most vulnerable side before those they trusted and were close to.
The tiny child leaned against his chest without crying loudly, only letting out little sobs, which made her all the more heartbreaking to see.
Fu Nanshan gently patted her back to comfort her.
His cool, clear eyes turned toward the blood-red wedding dress.
"A B-Rank Anomaly."
A B-Rank Anomaly was already considered extremely formidable. The people in the Special Administration Bureau who could handle one alone could be counted on one hand.
Unfortunately, this Anomaly had picked the wrong targets to provoke today.
In the end, Jinbao came over carrying the blood-red wedding dress, now beaten to tatters, in his mouth.
"Woof!"
Jinbao dropped the blood-red wedding dress onto the floor, pinned it beneath a paw, and barked proudly at Qin Yan twice.
With her arms around her Younger Uncle's neck, Qin Yan lifted her little head from its hiding place to look.
Having just cried, her eyes were red and watery, their drooping corners making her look pitiful. Tears still clung to her thick, curled lashes, on the verge of falling.
She looked at the motionless garment, then at Jinbao.
"Jinbao, you're amazing."
The little one praised him in her babyish voice.
Jinbao immediately wagged his tail even more happily.
But he's all dirty now. He'll need a bath when we get home.
The little dumpling sniffled through her slightly reddened nose as the thought drifted through her head.
"What happened?"
Fu Yunting also ran downstairs.
He immediately spotted the glaringly red wedding dress lying on the floor.
Then he looked again and saw someone lying by the flower bed, their fate unknown.
"Mr. Fu, someone's... someone's dead."
Assistant Shen followed behind him. Seeing the blood-covered woman lying facedown, he felt as though the sky had fallen.
Whoever this woman was, if she died at their company, the company would certainly be dragged into the controversy once the news spread across the internet.
Fu Yunting, however, remained calm and walked over to check.
"She's still alive. Call an ambulance."
One glance was enough for him to realize that what had happened here was clearly beyond anything ordinary people could handle.
The people from the Special Administration Bureau arrived before the ambulance.
The blood-red wedding dress, Jinbao, Qin Yan, and her Younger Uncle were all taken to the Special Administration Bureau.
"Designation ZB-016, Blood Wedding Dress, B-Rank Anomaly. Subdued by Fu Nanshan, Buddha's Son of Hanshan Temple."
Yes, Fu Nanshan had taken credit for beating the Blood Wedding Dress.
No one present had noticed that the guileless-looking puppy was a Anomaly, let alone a powerful S-Rank Anomaly.
Qin Yan obediently stayed in her Younger Uncle's arms the whole time.
Whenever there were lots of people, she did her best to hide. Only when there were fewer people did she sneakily raise her little face a fraction.
Curious kitten observing.jpg
"So it's the Buddha's Son. Long time no see."
"No wonder he could subdue a B-Rank Anomaly alone."
"The Buddha's Son is so good-looking, so beautiful, but looking at him really doesn't stir even the slightest desire."
Beautiful people always made others want to have them, to possess them.
But Fu Nanshan's beauty had a sacred quality, something to admire from afar rather than profane. It made people wish they could seat him on a lotus pedestal and worship him and make wishes below.
"Who's he holding? Such a tiny little thing. I haven't heard anything about the Buddha's Son having a child."
"Aren't monks forbidden to marry?"
"Idiot, couldn't it be a relative's child?"
Worried that her Younger Uncle would get tired from holding her, Qin Yan timidly asked to be put down.
She sat beside her Younger Uncle but leaned tightly against him, her little fingers nervously clutching his clothes.
"Don't be afraid."
Fu Nanshan lowered his eyes, his clear, cool voice carrying reassurance.
Qin Yan nodded obediently and puffed out her little cheeks as though encouraging herself.
"Mm-hmm, I'm not afraid."
The next second, someone entered the room-three people, in fact.
The pretty little kitten who had just declared she wasn't afraid tucked her fluffy little self out of sight again.
Fu Nanshan: ...
Pretty cute.
The corners of the young man's lips could not help lifting just a tiny bit.
"Buddha's Son."
All three newcomers clearly knew him, and Qin Yan knew one of them too.
Xiao Zhen glanced at the timid little kitten hiding herself away and could not help smiling.
"Still so timid, huh?"
Qin Yan's eyelashes trembled slightly, and her tiny, white-jade-like ears turned a little red.
He must be talking about me.
The timid little kitten had some self-awareness, at least.
That voice sounds a little familiar.
As they talked, Qin Yan grew less nervous. Besides, Jinbao was rubbing against her calves as though comforting her.
Only then did the fluffy little one cautiously, sneakily poke a tiny bit of her head out from behind her Younger Uncle.
Her big eyes looked over, and she spotted Xiao Zhen.
It's someone I know.
I don't know the other two.
Qin Yan thought a little slowly, then realized all three people opposite her had turned to look at her.
Qin Yan: =?w?=
Huh?
Why are they all looking at me?
Qin Yan's lashes trembled even more anxiously, and she inched herself back into hiding, her little face flushed.
Qin Yan's anxious eyelashes trembled even more. She slowly scooted herself back, her little face flushed.
Xiao Zhen could not hold back a burst of laughter.
The other two could not help smiling a little, either, despite their serious expressions.
The Special Administration Bureau did not have any children this young, let alone one as pretty as a little angel.
Although Qin Yan remained hidden, she gradually became engrossed in what they were saying.
Xiao Zhen said, "That Blood Wedding Dress has killed 126 people so far."
"And its targets have always been people about to get married."
"Each time, the Blood Wedding Dress disguises itself as an ordinary wedding dress and appears in a bridal clothing shop. Its exquisite, sumptuous craftsmanship makes it a favorite among many women about to marry, especially those who like traditional weddings.
"Once a woman puts it on for her wedding, the bride is controlled into killing her partner. Then she goes around asking people whether they've seen its husband. Anyone it picks almost invariably ends up dead, no matter how they answer."
A wedding was supposed to be a happy occasion, yet that Blood Wedding Dress turned it into a disaster.
One of the three was a brisk, capable woman with short hair.
She said, "The woman you encountered today, the one controlled by the Blood Wedding Dress, was also a bride. Her husband, her in-laws, and her own family have all been killed. Although she survived, being controlled by the Blood Wedding Dress contaminated her with Weird Qi Contamination. She remembered what she'd done after coming to, and she's already had a breakdown in the hospital."
Even with her mind clear again, the woman would not survive.
For people affected by Weird Qi Contamination, a Pollution Value below 10 points counted as mild. As long as they avoided further exposure, medication and plenty of time in the sun could gradually lower their Pollution Value.
But once contamination exceeded 10 points, the Pollution Value was essentially fixed. After that, it would only accumulate little by little, never decreasing.
Above 60 Pollution Value points, a person was in grave danger. At 80 points, they were already hovering between human and monster. A Pollution Value above 90 points would turn them into a monster completely.
That bride, for instance, had come into direct contact with a B-Rank Anomaly, and her Pollution Value was already at 89 points.
She was an ordinary person, and she had suffered a mental breakdown. It was only a matter of time before she became a monster completely.
The atmosphere in the room suddenly grew rather somber.
Xiao Zhen said, "Fu Nanshan, I have an assignment for you. Go to the hospital and perform the final rites for that girl."
Fu Nanshan said nothing, only nodding.
With their conversation more or less finished, he picked up Qin Yan and stood to leave.
"Huh? Why are you taking the child? Just leave her at the bureau, and we'll watch her for you. Taking a child along on an assignment would be such a hassle."
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