“Eh?”
Ling Xiaoyou was stunned for a moment when she saw the Veteran Performer’s reply, then quickly grew curious about why the Veteran Performer said that.
It was as if the Veteran Performer had sensed Ling Xiaoyou’s doubts, because soon a new message appeared.
But instead of explaining why she said it, she replied to Ling Xiaoyou:
‘Xiaoyou, look at that photo carefully first. Don’t you feel there’s something off about the girl in it?’
Seeing this message, Ling Xiaoyou did as the Veteran Performer suggested and opened the photo again.
She looked at the beautiful composition in the photo, then at the stunning girl.
Ling Xiaoyou forced herself not to focus on the girl’s appearance, but to search for anything strange.
Soon, Ling Xiaoyou noticed something she had subconsciously overlooked.
It was still the same girl, but this time Ling Xiaoyou realized the girl wasn’t holding nothing—she was gripping a Heavenly Cold Sword.
The long sword gleamed with a chilling blue light, and paired with the girl’s cold and deadly gaze, it felt as if the girl would leap from the photo and slay Ling Xiaoyou in the next instant.
Feeling the icy chill that seemed to seep from the photo, Ling Xiaoyou shivered inexplicably, convinced this girl was not someone to mess with.
At that moment, the Veteran Performer @ed Ling Xiaoyou again, sending a new message:
“Xiaoyou, you noticed it, right? Doesn’t the girl look hard to deal with?”
Ling Xiaoyou subconsciously nodded her little head.
Even though she knew the Veteran Performer couldn’t see her, her body acted on its own.
“Because this one is no pushover.”
The Veteran Performer sent another message:
“She is an Exorcist recently dispatched to New Sea City on a mission. Her name is Bai Shuanglian.”
“She’s the most outstanding new generation member of the Bai Family, one of the Five Great Families of Exorcists.”
Exorcist?
Ling Xiaoyou froze at the word in the Veteran Performer’s message.
She had heard of the Exorcist profession from her colleagues before.
Since ancient times, there had been countless ghosts—some, like Ling Xiaoyou, only scared people for grievance, while others, evil spirits, committed all sorts of evil and abused their spiritual form to unleash dark desires.
To deal with these ghosts, both good and evil, the profession of Exorcist naturally came into being.
Expelling the demons within, sweeping away ghosts from the world—that was an Exorcist.
Don’t ask Ling Xiaoyou why they weren’t called Demon Exorcists—she didn’t know either.
She’d only heard that in ancient times, Exorcists weren’t called Exorcists, but rather Night Watchman, Watcher of the Night, and other such titles, and that the name changed in modern times.
As for the Five Great Families, Ling Xiaoyou didn’t really know.
But she could more or less guess—they were probably ancient Exorcist families, the kind commonly seen in novels and comics.
Ling Xiaoyou didn’t care about the Five or Six Great Families or whatever.
After all, she was a law-abiding, good ghost.
At most, she scared people—surely those Exorcist family members wouldn’t go around exterminating her for no reason.
But… Bai Shuanglian, huh…
Ling Xiaoyou looked again at Bai Shuanglian’s photo, nodding her head in approval.
Mm, she was really white.
If only her hair was as white as hers, it would be perfect.
The Veteran Performer, of course, had no idea what odd thoughts Ling Xiaoyou was having over a name.
If she did, she’d probably slap a question mark on Ling Xiaoyou.
“The photographer of this photo is a Ghost currently working in the human world, but it’s said that after posting this picture, she disappeared mysteriously and hasn’t been found since.”
Reading this, Ling Xiaoyou’s little head instantly conjured up a heap of suspenseful and mysterious scenarios.
She shook her head to rid herself of those messy thoughts and sent a message:
“So, does that mean the Photo Ghost was killed by this Bai Shuanglian?”
Ling Xiaoyou thought the Veteran Performer would confirm her guess, but the reply was unexpected:
“Hard to say.”
“According to the rules, Exorcists once made agreements with those from the Underworld—unless the Ghost had committed murder, law-abiding Ghosts would at most be banished back to the Underworld, not slain.”
After sending this long message, the Veteran Performer paused, as if composing another.
Though it was a bit slow, Ling Xiaoyou understood.
After all, the Veteran Performer was thousands of years old—it’s normal to struggle with modern smartphones.
After quietly waiting for a while, Ling Xiaoyou saw the next message:
“But it’s also true that the Ghost who took the photo is missing, which is why I sent Bai Shuanglian’s photo to warn you all.”
“If this Bai Shuanglian really is a Ghost-killing Demon, then we should be extra careful. In the eyes of some Exorcists, all Ghosts deserve to be eliminated.”
“So, if you really run into Bai Shuanglian, just run as far as you can.”
Ling Xiaoyou nodded, understanding the Veteran Performer’s good intentions, and replied:
“I understand. Thank you, Senior.”
After discussing Bai Shuanglian with her colleagues, Ling Xiaoyou closed the group chat and opened her gallery, looking at the photo of Bai Shuanglian she’d saved.
In the photo, the black-haired girl was so beautiful, like a fairy under the moon, ethereal and pure.
She didn’t look like a cold-blooded Ghost-slaying Demon at all.
Maybe…
She really wasn’t the type to slaughter Ghosts mercilessly?
Staring at Bai Shuanglian’s photo, Ling Xiaoyou couldn’t help but think so.
Then she shook her head, pushing the thought away, realizing her values were swayed by appearances.
Gulp. Better have a glass of chilled Cola to clear my mind!
Happily, Ling Xiaoyou put down her phone and skipped off toward the kitchen fridge, not caring about Bai Shuanglian anymore.
***
Under the moonlight, in an abandoned building on the outskirts of New Sea City, a Demon with crimson skin, sharp horns, and a tail was desperately fleeing through the empty area, as if being chased by something terrifying.
The Demon panted heavily, running forward without caring where the road led—just running for his life.
Every now and then, he wanted to look back, to see if the terrifying figure behind him was still in pursuit.
But fear held him back—he didn’t have the courage to look.
All he could do was run, searching for a place that felt safe.
He had no idea how far or how long he’d run—he just kept fleeing.
Finally, he stumbled into a dark, narrow alley, stopping at last, gasping for breath.
He couldn’t run anymore.
He was only a second-rank Demon, and though his physical strength surpassed that of humans, it wasn’t enough to sprint across all of New Sea City without resting.
The Demon stood quietly, not missing a single sound, trying to sense if there were footsteps behind him.
After listening for a long while, he heard nothing.
Finally, he sighed in relief, gathering the courage to turn around and look toward the mouth of the alley.
There was a streetlight at the entrance.
Perhaps due to old age, the light flickered, making ‘zzz’ noises.
Seeing the empty road bathed in the flickering light, the Demon was so relieved he almost cried.
Suddenly, a clear female voice sounded behind him, freezing his expression.
“Are you looking for me?”
The voice was beautiful, like a mountain spring, cool and lingering.
But the Demon had no heart to appreciate it.
He stiffly turned his neck, like a jammed machine, praying to Satan that it wasn’t her.
Maybe because this was the East, Satan’s influence didn’t reach here—his prayers went unanswered.
He saw the terrifying figure.
It was a stunning girl.
Moonlight spilled over her, glazing her black hair with a pearly sheen that flowed like a frozen night spring.
Her skin was pale as cold jade, lips sealed like thin ice, her gaze sharp as a blade under the cold moon, distant and aloof, as if separated from the world by a thin layer of frozen glass.
She stood quietly atop the alley’s wall, like a statue of first snow, wrapped in an aura of icy chill that pushed all away.
At the sight of the black-haired girl, the Demon trembled, almost collapsing.
But he knew he couldn’t just sit and wait to die.
He turned, trying to flee again.
He willed his legs to move—but they wouldn’t.
Panic surged within him.
He looked down.
A thick layer of cold, icy frost had encased his legs, spreading upward.
Realizing this, the Demon lost all composure.
He wept, begging the black-haired girl:
“Exorcist-sama, please let me go—I have a family in Hell…”
He never finished.
The rapidly spreading ice swallowed his head, silencing him.
As the ice encased him completely, it was as if even his soul had frozen—his thoughts and vision faded to nothing.
The black-haired girl paid no attention to the Demon’s pleas.
She extended her pale hand and flicked the ice.
In an instant, the solid mass—over two meters high—shattered into a cloud of pink ice dust, dissolving into the air.
Strangely, though the dust filled the alley, none of it touched the girl, as if it was avoiding her on its own.
Ignoring the ice dust, the black-haired girl walked toward the alley entrance.
By the time she reached it, dawn had arrived.
A golden ray of sunlight fell on her face, adding a touch of warmth to her cold expression.
She extended her hand, letting the sunlight shine on her palm, and whispered softly:
“It’s morning…”