What happens when nine beautiful girls fall from the sky?
Answer: They might be magical girls. Or maybe you should check if you’re about to turn into a witch first.
Standing before the female ghost who was stunned by the sudden sight of four girls falling from the sky, Ling Xiaoyou suddenly had this thought.
But they were not magical girls, and this female ghost was not about to become a witch.
Ling Xiaoyou glanced at Jiang Rouqian, who seemed to be snapping out of her daze and was about to resume her escape in the opposite direction. After a moment’s thought, she waved her small hand, conjuring a layer of hard, spirit-power-infused water wall behind her.
Even if Jiang Rouqian tried to phase through walls, she wouldn’t be able to pass through the barrier of spiritual energy.
The pedestrians in the area had been dispersed by Ling Xiaoyou before they landed, so there was no need to worry about the sudden appearance of a water wall causing panic among ordinary people.
“Stop running! Those chasing you have already been taken care of!”
Ling Xiaoyou looked at the panicked female ghost and spoke with a hint of helplessness.
‘Seriously, no one has chased after you for so long. Haven’t you noticed the pursuers are gone?’
‘Or is she really this anxious, worried it might be an ambush even with no pursuers in sight?’
Hearing this, Jiang Rouqian paused, looking at the several girls before her with disbelief, and subconsciously asked,
“Really?”
“Of course it’s true!”
Ling Xiaoyou nodded her small head earnestly.
Although it could be said these pursuers committed suicide, in a way, they were also scared to death by her.
“…Why should I believe you?”
Jiang Rouqian fell silent for a moment, then looked at the beautiful girls with their varied postures and asked.
Even though the petite girl just said the pursuers had been dealt with, she didn’t trust their word alone. Who knew if these girls were in cahoots with those pursuers, their goal merely to stall her while waiting for more reinforcements to arrive?
Seeing Jiang Rouqian’s wary expression, Ling Xiaoyou more or less understood her concerns. She was just about to say something to reassure the woman when she heard Su Lihua speak up first.
“That’s because you have no choice but to believe us!”
‘Wait, doesn’t that sound a bit like something the villainous side would say…’
Ling Xiaoyou gave Su Lihua, whose expression remained unchanged, a speechless look, thinking this girl might have a talent for being a villain.
Seeing Jiang Rouqian’s expression grow even more guarded, Ling Xiaoyou felt a bit helpless inside and quickly tried to smooth things over.
“What she means is, if we wanted to harm you, we would have done it already. Why would we waste so much time talking to you?”
As she spoke, Ling Xiaoyou pointed at Jiang Rouqian and spread her small hands.
“And look, you’re still perfectly fine, aren’t you? That’s enough to prove we mean no harm.”
Jiang Rouqian pursed her lips, feeling that what this girl said did make sense.
Given her current state, even if she couldn’t fly, if they wanted to capture her, they could have easily grabbed and restrained her mid-air and taken her away without all this chatter.
Seeing Jiang Rouqian’s expression waver, Ling Xiaoyou thought for a moment and decided to press the advantage.
“Besides, we’re spirits just like you. Look—”
With that, Ling Xiaoyou extended her small hand, palm open. A wisp of ghostly blue flame appeared out of thin air, bringing with it a piercing chill.
Seeing the ghost fire, the signature mark of a spirit, Jiang Rouqian finally relaxed, letting out a sigh of relief. She looked at the group and said,
“I believe you. Thank you all for your help. If not for you, I’d probably have been captured and taken back for more experiments. I, Jiang Rouqian, am endlessly grateful.”
“Experiments?”
Hearing Jiang Rouqian’s words, Ling Xiaoyou was taken aback, catching the key point. Her small face immediately turned serious. She looked at the others.
Su Lihua also wore a grave expression, Bai Shuanglian seemed to be pondering as if she had anticipated something, and Su Taosheng… well, she was still wearing her mask, so let’s just assume she looked serious too.
‘Could it be the legendary Ghost Body Experiment?’
Ling Xiaoyou looked at Jiang Rouqian, her delicate brows furrowing as she asked.
Spirits, as such unique life forms, naturally attracted many mad scientists wanting to study the reason for their special nature. However, due to the existence of the Regulatory Division, these mad scientists couldn’t obtain many samples, making experiments impossible to conduct.
To think they’d encounter such a situation this time. It seemed this matter was indeed not simple.
Jiang Rouqian nodded, paused for a moment, then said,
“I don’t know all that much about it. After all, I was just an experimental subject, only able to pick up fragments of conversation from the researchers.”
“That’s fine. Having some clues is better than having none at all.”
Su Lihua waved her hand dismissively.
“Then, could you please tell us what happened during the time you were captured?”
“Okay.”
Jiang Rouqian nodded, her gaze growing distant as if recalling the day she was taken.
That day, she had merely come to the Human Realm to visit her relatives who were still alive.
Even though they couldn’t see her, seeing that they had emerged from the shadow of her passing and started living again made Jiang Rouqian very happy.
Afraid of sunlight, Jiang Rouqian had specifically chosen a cloudy, drizzly day to return to her former home, staying until nightfall before reluctantly leaving.
Without the assistance of an Underworld institution like the Ghostly Resentment Office, ordinary spirits who wish to return to the Underworld need to rely on “Transit Rituals,” and these rituals correspond with the transportation systems of the Human Realm.
In other words, one could return to the Underworld via subway stations, buses, or even airplanes. In a way, this was also a form of ritualistic effect.
But on her way to the subway station, Jiang Rouqian suddenly began to feel increasingly drowsy, her consciousness growing foggier. After an unknown amount of time, she passed out.
When she woke up again, she was in a pitch-black, enclosed space where she couldn’t see her own hand in front of her face.
She could vaguely hear the movements of other spirits around her but couldn’t see or touch them.
Naturally, Jiang Rouqian was terrified. She wanted to save herself, to escape from this place.
But no matter what method she tried, she couldn’t break through the dark barrier. It was as if she had been sealed inside an airtight container.
Then, after who knows how much time had passed, Jiang Rouqian gave up struggling and could only wait. Although she didn’t know what would happen next, it was clearly nothing good.
One day, a sliver of light penetrated the dark space.
However, the light did not bring release, but another bout of unconsciousness.
When Jiang Rouqian awoke again, what she saw were cold cultivation tanks and researchers standing outside them.