Chapter 278: Chapter 242: Return

Underground of the Evil Suppression Bureau, Evil Ghost Bureau Prison.

“Xiao Liu, hurry!”

Xiao Wu swung his blade, fending off the surrounding Ink and Water Evil Ghosts, and forcefully pulled open a crack in the thick heavy doors at the entrance.

“Eat your grandfather’s firecracker!”

Xiao Liu threw the last firecracker out, and with a loud boom, a breach was blown in the surging ink torrent of ghosts, while the surrounding Evil Ghosts burned into ashes within the red smoke.

Xiao Liu, being small and agile, darted through the gap in the middle of the doors, swiftly turning to pull Xiao Wu.

“Fifth Brother!”

Bang!

The door suddenly closed, Xiao Liu froze for a moment, then opened his eyes wide in terror and rushed over to push against the stone door.

“Fifth Brother! Fifth Brother!”

Xiao Liu wasn’t sure if he was seeing things, but it seemed like his Fifth Brother had closed the door himself.

“Xiao Liu, stop shouting and listen to me carefully now!”

On the other side of the door, Xiao Wu leaned against it, looking through the gradually dispersing red smoke, watching the entire Evil Ghost Bureau turn into a terrifying hell of blood and ink, and let out a bitter laugh.

Cui Cheng had cleared the path, they had managed to get down here with great difficulty, and after entering, they found General Cao’s corpse in the coffin of the Gambling Ghost, with the Zhuangyuan Ghost already out of control.

Originally, they only had to find General Cao’s mask and official seal, to suppress his brow with the seal, then put on the mask for General Cao to temporarily regain some sanity, but unfortunately, it was too late.

After that, everything happened too quickly, the Zhuangyuan Ghost attacked them.

Cui Cheng pushed the two of them aside, becoming possessed by the Zhuangyuan Ghost, due to the special nature of the Evil Ghost Bureau, the Zhuangyuan Ghost needed a living body to leave, but before dying, General Cao used the Ghost Slave Seal to kill all the prison guards below.

Previously, outside they sensed General Cao had a sliver of sanity, only targeting Wan Xiangtou and not touching the people of the Evil Suppression Bureau, all a ruse by the Zhuangyuan Ghost to lure them down, so as to possess when saving General Cao.

Before losing sanity, Cui Cheng used the knife that had accompanied him through years of battles to stab into his own body, temporarily suppressing the Zhuangyuan Ghost, allowing him and Xiao Liu to escape.

At this point, with only him and Xiao Liu’s abilities, they couldn’t handle the Zhuangyuan Ghost.

But it wasn’t entirely hopeless.

“Xiao Liu, from now on, be less curious, keep your mouth shut, don’t let our Colonel think you can’t keep secrets and don’t tell you anything.”

Xiao Wu shouted to those outside.

“Fifth Brother, enough talking, open the door and let’s escape together!”

Xiao Wu glanced at both sides of the big door, pressing a few times at the carvings, and the sound of mechanisms engaging sounded from the door, as scalding liquid flowed down from the top of the door, completely sealing it shut.

This was the last defense mechanism of the Evil Ghost Bureau, which could only be activated from inside. Once activated, the entire Evil Ghost Bureau would be sealed tightly, turning it into a massive sealing area, preventing any evil ghosts inside from escaping.

The same situation is now happening underground in Fengning City, and it can only be reopened when enough personnel is ready.

“Xiao Liu, our Colonel’s dream is to die on the battlefield, but he is one of the rare good people in this world. Dying on the battlefield would be too unfortunate for him. Pull him back when necessary, so one day, he might truly establish an era of peace for the people.”

The red smoke in front dissipated, and surging dark red ink tide converged like a flood, transforming into numerous ferocious Evil Ghosts, attacking Xiao Wu.

“Xiao Liu, help me tell my mother that I’m sorry.”

Boom!

A huge slapping sound resounded from behind the door, and Xiao Liu clenched his teeth, suppressing his grief, staring at the door for a few moments, then wiping away his tears and turning to leave.

Racing back up the path they came, after the door was sealed, the Ghost Realm fell into exhaustion, and the ink traces around slowly disappeared.

This way, the city’s people have a chance to escape, as long as they can hold out until now, there’s a way to survive.

Continuous sounds of collision came from behind, with pieces of the tunnel’s wall tumbling, showing signs of collapsing again.

Xiao Liu scrambled upward with all limbs, the light of the exit was above his head, and just when he thought he would die there, a hand reached down from above, grabbing him firmly.

It was He Buning.

For the first time, in a village ravaged by a plague, he saved Xiao Liu, and this was the second time.

“Boss! Fifth Brother and Captain Cui…”

Pulled up, Xiao Liu couldn’t hold back any longer, crying out loud, seeing He Buning felt like seeing an elder brother.

The way down was completely blocked, He Buning stiffened all over, took a deep breath, and said, “His name is Qi Shiping, the third son of the current Minister of War from a concubine.”

Because he was born of a concubine, he wasn’t valued, so he came with He Buning to this Qinzhou, hoping that one day his mother would gain honor for her son, no longer humiliated by the main wife.

Xiao Liu’s lips moved as he etched Fifth Brother’s name deeply into his heart.

He Buning stood up, clutching his painfully decayed shoulder, and gazed at the distant ink wash mountain that hadn’t completely dissipated.

The black goose feather-like snow was gradually diminishing, the wind had stopped, the Ghost Realm was no longer closing, and the opera singing had fallen silent at some point. It was eerily tranquil above, with no indication of what had transpired.

“Go on your own, I’ll go take a look.”

He Buning’s leg was held tightly by Xiao Liu, who pleaded, “Leader, you can’t go. You are the Night Travel Captain of Qinzhou, and with Wangshan City in this state, who knows the state of other places? You must take charge of the situation. If something happens to you, the whole Qinzhou might descend into chaos!”

His words left He Buning frozen in place, his gaze gradually dimming.

“You’re right, Wangshan City is gone, Qinzhou cannot fall into disarray.”

He recalled what Sang Que had told him, that the Ghost Opera Troupe was planning to lure the Corpse Nest over. Although he didn’t know why the Corpse Nest hadn’t appeared yet, he had to be cautious.

If the Corpse Nest truly came here, it would be a catastrophe, and by then, not just Wangshan City but the whole of Qinzhou and perhaps even Jinzhou would suffer.

Taking a long look at the high mountain, He Buning took a deep breath, pulled up Xiao Liu, and escaped outward.

…

The snow reduced, the ink traces sealing various places slowly receded. The fortunate townsfolk emerged from their hiding places, merging into a crowd, surging towards the outskirts of the city.

A girl in black lay in a pool of ink, ignored. Dozens of children crawled out through holes under the city walls, spotting nearby a group of terrified children huddled under a tree.

Yun Niang held her child tightly, clutching the last half of an Exorcism Talisman, following the crowd, chasing after the high-raised flag of the Evil Suppression Bureau. A body at the corner, like a half-black ink painting, stiffened long ago, with a smile still on its face, supporting the wall, standing unwavering.

The Black Donkey, carrying Sang Que, sprinted ceaselessly, avoiding crowded areas, locating the nearest collapsed section of the city wall to exit.

Xia Chan followed closely, hugging Xuan Yu tightly.

Below the city wall, Sang Que’s legs regained full sensation and he descended from the donkey’s back.

Meow…

Xuan Yu let out a weak whimper, and Xia Chan wept with joy, “Sister, Xuan Yu woke up, is it okay now?”

The snow had completely stopped, and it seemed the most difficult moment had passed, with hope of survival now in sight.

Crash!

A loud boom, the ground shook, Xia Chan, fearful, grabbed Sang Que. They turned to see the distant ink wash mountain collapse with a thunderous roar, the airwaves spreading in rings.

Several broad, fleshy tendrils shot up from underground, bursting through the opera face into the sky.

The flesh, resembling skin being stretched and laid flat, with blood-colored moonlight shining through, revealing blue-purple veins moving like a breath, spiraling and standing there, the floating dust around carrying light, giving the gruesome and bloody flesh spiral an eerie touch of sanctity.

Soon after, the ground’s tremors grew increasingly intense. Using that spot as the center, the ground all over the city rose and broke open, strips of flesh emerged from the ruins, the thicker parts like tongues, the thinner parts like skin, sprawling over the earth, sweeping across.

Wherever it went, be it Evil Spirits or Evil Ghosts, all were engulfed and devoured by that flesh.

“Mom—”

A child’s startled cry came from not far away. Sang Que watched helplessly as a teenage boy was wrapped in the flesh and dragged away. A golden-red eye appeared on the flesh.

No, it wasn’t an eye, Sang Que finally saw clearly; it was a mouth, biting down hard on the boy’s head.

“No!!”

The boy’s parents chased after him, their piercing scream causing the flesh to shimmer and actually release the boy, retreating back.

Sang Que’s heart trembled; it was Yu Da, the out-of-control Yu Da. He had a shred of reason left; he didn’t want to eat people, he said he never ate people.

The Yin Child stood not far away, looking up, staring intently at the spiraling flesh soaring into the clouds, as Sang Que made a decision in an instant.

“Little Chan, take Xuan Yu and go first.”

She had to go back; only she could help Yu Da. Before in Tianliang City, the out-of-control Chi San recovered after being severely injured by the dice, so there was still a chance!

“No!” Xia Chan held Sang Que tightly, shaking her head forcefully. That thing filled her with terror, leaving her without the courage to face it.

Sang Que held Xia Chan’s hand, glanced at Xuan Yu in her arms, “Little Chan, Xuan Yu needs you. Have you forgotten sister’s secret? Sister will be fine.”

Xia Chan started to cry loudly, “You’re lying, Little Chan is the sister, Little Chan is.”

Sang Que said no more, shoved the Black Donkey’s reins into Xia Chan’s hand, patted her shoulder, and disappeared with the Yin Child before Xia Chan’s eyes.

The Ghost Realm began to dissipate, the suppressed Evil Mist could be used again.

Before, she fled, to honor those who wished to save her.

Now, she returned, to honor her heart!

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep