The Lei Branch shot out from power sockets in all directions, converging on the Evil Soul’s body.
Lightning has always been ten times as effective against Ghost-types.
At this moment, even if this Evil Soul wanted to beg for mercy, it was already too late.
After a flash of blinding light, there wasn’t the slightest trace of filth or evil energy left around—on the spot, that Ghost was utterly annihilated.
“No matter what your reasons are, killing is wrong. And you still dared to hurt someone in front of me… Serves you right.”
With the ritual complete, I sheathed my sword and dispelled the soul attachment.
Little Qilin was absolutely full of itself now. Usually, it was always the little brother, but after getting to show off a few times lately, it held its little head so high, its horns were about to poke into its own back.
At the door, the Little Ghost saw the lightning flash, watched the previous Evil Ghost evaporate in an instant, and couldn’t help but tremble with fright.
“Don’t worry, you haven’t hurt anyone, I won’t do anything to you.”
I comforted it wearily, then asked,
“How do you all usually handle harmless little ones like this, fellow Daoists?”
“Uh…”
All the Daoists hung their heads in embarrassment, looking just like schoolkids who’d gotten in trouble.
Because they couldn’t communicate, any time they saw a ghost, they’d lock eyes and immediately start fighting.
If they ran into a weak ghost, they’d just beat it up until it cried and ran away—job done.
If it was a tough one… Well, they’d just pretend they were never there and sneak off.
“You’re really making immortals lose face.”
I pressed my hand to my forehead, scolding them mercilessly.
The Daoists all obediently lowered their heads.
Strength is king, and in their eyes, I was already a senior expert.
They say the longer you cultivate immortality, the more youthful you look—you can’t judge age by appearance.
—Who knows, maybe the little loli in front of them is tens of thousands of years old.
“Senior, we juniors know our skills aren’t enough… Could you teach us a few tricks?”
The Daoists’ eyes sparkled with hope.
I shuddered.
“Secret techniques of the sect mustn’t be passed on to outsiders.”
I only wanted to teach Cluru, and even that was already quite risky.
“You’d be better off reflecting on yourselves… Aren’t your exorcism methods a bit too formulaic and ritualized?” I continued to admonish.
The Daoists’ cheeks started to turn red.
They actually knew their exorcisms were more show than substance.
But Cosplay is just so much fun!
Shouting out slogans to defeat monsters really feels great!
“You know perfectly well physical attacks don’t work, yet you keep recruiting a whole bunch of physical Daoists—cranes, oxen…”
“I don’t care what kind of ‘Association’ atmosphere you want to maintain, but I’m saying, at the very least, you need to recruit some people who actually get things done, right?”
The Daoists grew even more ashamed.
“If it hadn’t been for Xiaoyue Hermit communicating with this Little Ghost today, and if this Little Ghost hadn’t stalled you all for a while… Think about what would’ve happened.”
The outcome.
They would have charged up to the third floor completely unprepared, and the whole team would have been wiped out.
Maybe, after driving away the Little Ghost, they would’ve thought the incident was over and recklessly reopened the Mall, leading to even more tragic casualties.
“Do you understand now? Communication is absolutely vital!”
The Daoists all nodded as if their heads were pounding garlic.
Yuzhen Daoist seemed to have the highest status among those present. He was also the oldest, and his emotional intelligence was high—he immediately caught on:
“Xiaoyue Hermit, the Association hereby formally invites you to become a member of the Daoist Association, and to register Qilin Temple as an orthodox sect. Are you willing to join?”
“Sure.”
Xiaoyue Hermit had come here for exactly this.
With an organization, she finally wouldn’t have to worry about her next meal anymore… Surely exorcism jobs on assignment would include food, right? They would, right?
“And this Little Ghost…”
“Look, this Little Ghost isn’t a vengeful spirit anymore!”
A faint white light washed over the ghost, turning what was once a menacing black mist into a translucent young girl.
She looked about seventeen or eighteen, and should’ve been in high school.
“So it’s you,” Xiaoyue Hermit recognized her from the news, “You’re the one who fell from the elevator, right?”
“Mm…” The Little Ghost nodded sadly, now able to speak human language.
“I thought you were that unlucky hostage.”
Everyone nodded. Logically, the hostage who was used as a sacrifice by the Law Enforcement Officer and shot dead by the kidnapper should’ve had more resentment.
After all, the kidnapper’s Qiang was pointed at him, and the Sian Office still launched an assault without hesitation.
He was the one the Law Enforcement Officers chose to sacrifice.
Maybe if they’d tried negotiating with the kidnapper a different way, he wouldn’t have died.
“That uncle said, at the time, the kidnapper had already set fire to the cinema screen, and poisonous smoke was everywhere. If the assault team didn’t act, more people would’ve died. If his life could save dozens of others, he had no regrets.
Besides, the Law Enforcement Officer Squad Leader at the time was his own older brother—how could he blame his own brother…”
“You saw him?”
“Mm, he was the one suppressing that vengeful spirit all along, but he wasn’t as strong as it, so he couldn’t hold on and left. Before he left, he gave me his strength and told me to block the door…”
I see.
“Looks like you were influenced by that vengeful spirit, which is why you took on its form. Now that that big vengeful spirit has been utterly destroyed, you… have become an immortal spirit.” Yuzhen Daoist analyzed.
She became an immortal spirit?
Now you could catch her in a ball!
“Once you become an immortal spirit, you can choose a Master, or you can just keep floating around as a little spirit. The path ahead is yours to choose.”
“I…” The Little Ghost thought for a moment, “I still have something I need to do.”
Everything wrapped up just as Xiaoyue Hermit had hoped—the incident was resolved quickly.
“So, tell me, how did you manage to find me?” I slumped, exhausted, onto the back seat of the electric scooter, hugging Xiaoyue Hermit’s waist and asking curiously.
“The client told me. He said you were in Shihe Town.”
“Client? What’s that?”
“The person who asked the Daoist Association for help, obviously. I’m guessing it was the Mall manager or maybe a business owner. After all, with the Mall closed all this time, they’re the ones losing the most.”
“Oh.”
But how did that client know I was in Kangcheng? Strange… Am I already that famous?
Bah! Who cares!
As long as my mind is empty, nothing can disturb my Daoist heart!
Ehehe ( ¯﹃¯ )
Xiaoyue Hermit took me back to the Hotel.
When we got downstairs, I overheard a staff member saying something about a “Nameless Thing” “hanging outside the fourth-floor wall” “between two room windows” “and now it’s disappeared.”
The fourth floor? Isn’t that where Cluru and I are staying?
“Could the Hotel be haunted too?”
The thought quickly faded, and I laughed at myself—if there really were ghosts, I’d have sensed them already. This Hotel is perfectly safe.
Phew—
Too lazy to think about it, I decided to enjoy this rare peace and quiet.
Finally, I could sleep separately from Cluru.
Even though Cluru’s room was right next door on the fourth floor, just one wall between us was enough to keep out those slippery tentacles and that intoxicating, wicked girl scent.
This is great!
So I opened my own bedroom door, closed my eyes, and dove forward, ready to enjoy the wide, soft Hotel bed.
If nothing went wrong, what should’ve greeted me was a big, comfy Hotel mattress.
Unfortunately, ever since I got back, nothing in my life has gone as expected.
“Guh…?”
But before I got very far, my cheeks suddenly hit something.
It felt like I’d plunged between two warm, watery balloons. The soft balloons deformed under my face, wrapping it even tighter.
Then the sensitive tips of my ears were gently enveloped by something soft.
With a teasing, sultry tone that made my legs go numb, an older-girl voice whispered right next to my ear.
My waist was wrapped up, and I was suspended in midair, caught between that softness.
“So… Master likes this kind of girl, huh~”
Crap!
I’ve walked right into the trap!