FCRCG Chapter 25

The outskirts were quiet at night, and the extinguished streetlights sensed faint footsteps, illuminating sequentially along the way.

A celestial master and another person dressed in a delivery worker’s uniform walked together. The delivery worker cradled a box in his arms, cautiously surveying his surroundings.

Several talismans and tools for warding off ghosts hung around his neck as he glanced down to confirm the address on the box.

“I’m really sorry to trouble you to come along with me…” The delivery worker smiled at the celestial master beside him and said, “Normally, we don’t make deliveries at night. But this customer insisted on this time…”

He didn’t know what it was, but it had to be delivered immediately. Tonight, he was on duty guarding the warehouse. When he received the call and order, he initially refused.

Now, who would dare to go out late at night? No amount of money was worth it. Fortunately, a celestial master happened to pass by and said he could accompany him.

The delivery worker hesitated, glanced again at the delivery fee, and reluctantly agreed.

The celestial master politely smiled and said, “It’s okay, it’s my duty.”

The two proceeded along the deserted street and soon arrived in front of a house.

The celestial master stopped and stood at the roadside. “Go ahead. I’ll wait for you here.”

The delivery worker nodded and walked towards the front gate of the house.

He was an ordinary person without any practice in spiritual arts and unable to see the glowing array of talismans on the exterior of the house.

This array guarded against resentful spirits and celestial masters skilled in spiritual arts. Unable to see it, the delivery worker approached unhindered.

However, upon reaching the door, he was blocked by another array of talismans and couldn’t proceed further no matter what he tried.

Unaware of the situation, and unaffected by the array, the delivery worker reached out his hand in an effort to knock on the door, only to find that he couldn’t.

There aren’t many residents in this vicinity. He set down the box and tried shouting, “Mr. Lian? Are you home?”

The celestial master on the roadside watched quietly, remaining vigilant to any movements around him.

Inside the house, Nan Deng was asleep.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and he leaped up from his pillow.

After a while, Nan Deng stirred, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.

The sounds from outside were all blocked by the talisman array, so Nan Deng shouldn’t have been able to hear them. Yet, somehow, he seemed to sense someone calling out vaguely.

Just waking from a dream, he picked up the rabbit head and looked around bewildered.

Lian Yi wasn’t in the bedroom. The corridor and living room outside were quiet.

Nan Deng thought he might be dreaming. But upon listening carefully, a faint voice seemed to drift in from a distant place.

Feeling somewhat afraid, Nan Deng looked at the empty bedroom. “…Who’s talking?”

The last time he had unknowingly shattered the talisman array Lian Yi had set, and now he was equally clueless about what was happening.

The rabbit head, eager to help, wanted to go out and meet this person. But Nan Deng held it tightly.

“Don’t run around!” Nan Deng quietly got out of bed, planning to turn on the light but hesitated.

He whispered, “Lian Yi?”

Lian Yi wasn’t really at home. But the voice continued to sound, increasingly resembling a ghost from the underworld climbing upwards while speaking.

Nan Deng grew more and more nervous and quickly slipped into the closet, curling up in a corner without making a sound.

Outside the door, seeing no response after a long wait, the deliveryman took out his phone to contact the customer.

It was late, yet the customer was awake. The call was answered but abruptly hung up after two seconds, followed by a text message.

“If no one’s home, just leave it at the door.”

Internally grumbling, the deliveryman reluctantly complied.

He signed on the box, placed it under the steps at the door, then turned back to the intersection.

“Alright, we can go back now,” the deliveryman thanked the celestial master again, “Thank you so much…”

The celestial master nodded and left together with the deliveryman.

He escorted the deliveryman back to the company and immediately took out his communicator.

“No activity. But there are several talisman arrays inside and outside the house. Ordinary residents can’t get in.”

Gu Xu received the transmission, his expression serious. “He’s protecting that house so well. Could there be something unspeakable hidden inside?”

Zhuo Qing’s soul had already lost its trace. Even though Lian Yi was out tonight visiting the hospital area, he still protected the house, preventing ordinary people from getting too close.

Lian Yi’s strength was formidable, daring to directly kill Zhuo Qing and imprison the soul, showing no fear of the Inner Court’s judgment. Now he was being so cautious.

“Elder, should we go again during the day?” Gu Xu’s subordinate, who was behind him assisting with changing his bandages, made the suggestion.

“No need. I’m just curious,” Gu Xu sneered coldly, “Once his crimes are fully exposed, everything will become clear.”

His subordinate acknowledged and carefully wrapped the bandages.

Gu Xu’s injuries on his back still hadn’t healed despite the numerous medications used, showing slow progress.

In the past, no one had managed to escape from Hui Shou’s mouth; he was the first, and there were no similar cases to compare with. He didn’t know how much longer the pain would last.

Days of treatment had left Gu Xu noticeably thinner. Grimacing in pain, he tossed his communicator onto the table.

Meanwhile, the array outside the hospital continued to hold.

There were a total of eighteen anticipated resentful spirits, all recent deaths due to infectious diseases.

Similar incidents were occurring in other areas, but the Underworld primarily appeared in this region. A large number of newly born resentful spirits could only be captured by celestial masters and Earth Spirits.

As of now, the illness still lacks a definitive diagnosis, and treatment methods remain unclear.

Five Level-3 resentful spirits were trapped within the array, shrieking as they attacked the light barrier, dragging them closer to the Underworld.

Weng Ping Ran’s brow furrowed deeper. “At this rate…”

With residents dying from illness, the number of resentful spirits would increase significantly.

If they couldn’t control the situation at its source, even the many celestial masters wouldn’t be enough.

The array lasted for two hours. Finally, the Underworld swallowed all the resentful spirits, slowly disappearing from sight.

Things returned to normal and the hospital quieted down as well.

The Bagua ring plummeted at top speed, tracing a light column in the air, stopping at Lian Yi’s side.

With the situation resolved, he was about to turn and leave when Weng Ping Ran called out to him.

“Chief Lian,” Weng Ping Ran assessed him with a few glances, “It’s rare to see you. How have things been lately?”

He had come several days before finally meeting Lian Yi.

Lian Yi looked at Weng Ping Ran and coldly said, “Elder Weng.”

He had little contact with Weng Ping Ran before and showed no intention of catching up with him now.

Being naturally aloof towards everyone, Lian Yi didn’t mind Weng Ping Ran’s probing questions: “Has there been any other discovery since the Primordial Chaos God appeared near your residence?”

Lian Yi replied flatly, “None.”

“No signs at all? What about the earth spirit, the black cat? Has it visited your place?” Weng Ping Ran persisted.

“No.”

Weng Ping Ran was not ready to give up. With so much happening on the outskirts, he couldn’t believe Lian Yi knew nothing: “And the Mountain God? No signs of anything unusual?”

Lian Yi paused briefly before asking, “Why must we find the Mountain God?”

His tone remained unchanged, still indifferent and disinterested in the matter.

Weng Ping Ran’s expression turned serious. “Following and serving the Mountain God is our duty, something you learned in the Inner Court. Have you forgotten all of it?”

Lian Yi didn’t seem to pay attention, averting his gaze. “I have other matters to attend to.”

With those words, Lian Yi turned and left. No one dared to stop him along the way.

Weng Ping Ran sighed with frustration and helplessness, shaking his head.

Behind him, another disciple spoke in a hushed tone, “Chief Lian is like this… I suppose the Mountain God wouldn’t choose to appear around him either.”

The Mountain God shows mercy to all beings but isn’t easily seen by just anyone. According to rumors, one needs to possess absolute purity, kindness, a gentle and selfless nature, and genuine faith in the Mountain God to be chosen.

While these are just rumors without solid evidence, they are widely accepted by most people.

Lian Yi doesn’t fit any of these criteria. He is aloof to the point of being cold-hearted and distant in his interactions, occasionally revealing a more ruthless and cruel side.

So, even though the Primordial Chaos God appeared near his residence, few suspected any connection between him and the two gods.

“Enough,” Weng Ping Ran didn’t respond further, turning to say, “Go help your senior brother Lin Jiu with the aftermath.”

The disciple behind him promptly agreed and headed towards Lin Jiu’s direction.

At that moment, Weng Ping Ran’s communicator beeped, indicating a message from Xie Yun.

He opened it and browsed through the contents, his expression shifting from perplexity to astonishment.

The document contained a map marked with areas where unknown infectious diseases had been discovered, forming a straight line. There was another identical trajectory, marking places Lian Yi had recently visited. From Xiang Nan, where he killed Zhuo Qing, all the way to here.

The meaning of the map was self-evident. Xie Yun wanted to inform Weng Ping Ran that the sudden outbreaks causing resident deaths were caused by Lian Yi.

However, with just these two lines, it wasn’t conclusive evidence. Weng Ping Ran furrowed his brow and continued scrolling down.

As if anticipating Weng Ping Ran’s doubts, Xie Yun added a final sentence at the end of the document.

“Born with an ominous body, it’s no surprise whatever he does. This person is a disaster.”

—

Lian Yi hurried back to his residence and saw a box placed at the doorstep.

Glancing at it briefly and confirming it wasn’t his, he destroyed the address label on the box and used spiritual arts to toss it into a distant trash bin.

Entering his house, he went straight to the bedroom.

The bed in the darkness was empty, the sheets in disarray.

“Nan Deng?”

As soon as he spoke, Lian Yi sensed someone inside the closet.

He approached quickly, crouching down and pulling open the closet door.

Sure enough, Nan Deng was inside. Seeing Lian Yi, he rushed out of the closet and into his arms.

“Where did you go?” Nan Deng hugged him tightly. “I’ve been waiting for you for so long…”

“There was something at work,” Lian Yi explained briefly. “Why didn’t you use your phone?”

Nan Deng’s new phone had Lian Yi’s number. If there was something, he could have called him.

“I… I left it in the living room and forgot to bring it in,” Nan Deng said with lingering fear, “I didn’t dare to go out. It sounded like there was a ghost talking outside…”

Lian Yi frowned. “A ghost?”

Nan Deng nodded earnestly. “Xiao Tu heard it too, but the voice was faint. I don’t know what it was saying…”

The rabbit head jumped out of Nan Deng’s arms and quietly returned to the bed to continue sleeping.

Putting together the pieces with the box at the door, Lian Yi roughly guessed the real reason.

The talisman array was meant to protect Nan Deng, but it also inadvertently trapped him inside the house. The two layers of talisman arrays were starting to fail, allowing him to hear noises from outside the array.

Thinking he had encountered a ghost, Nan Deng gradually relaxed in Lian Yi’s embrace.

“I’ll buy some talismans tomorrow and stick them at the door,” Lian Yi reassured him, holding him close. “Don’t be afraid, everything’s okay now.”

Nan Deng nodded. Now that he had calmed down, he began to feel tired.

Lian Yi carried him back to bed, lying down together with him.

He had taken off his black jacket when he returned. Nan Deng rested peacefully in his familiar and warm embrace, closing his eyes in peace.

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