Chapter 17

Chapter 17: A Demonic Spirit

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The alley was between a few residential buildings. The alley was originally lit by street lamps. However, a few of the lamps had recently blown, and the municipal department had yet to get around fixing them. Looking down the alley, some sections were lit and some were pitch-black, especially in the dead of night. The dark alley twisted and turned. It was not too friendly to maneuver through it for pedestrians returning late at night passing through the two neighborhoods.

An orange taxi stopped at the alley. The doors of the taxi opened, and two women got out. They were wearing black miniskirts and high heels. They had heavy makeup, and the scent of alcohol was lingering on them.

The two women were not very young. They were at the tail end of their youth. The two of them looked as though they had the special aura of people who mingled and partied in the night scene all year long. Such an aura was difficult to describe in detail. Women who were tainted with such an aura were like fresh flowers tainted by oil. Those who knew what they were looking at could tell them apart at a glance.

The uncle who was driving the taxi collected his payment and whistled at the two women. His eyes glanced over at their swaying hips before he stepped on the accelerator. He seemed reluctant to leave.

There was still light in the alley. On the ground, there were a few piles of burned paper money. The two women carefully avoided the burned paper money and walked towards the alley somewhat trembling in fear.

A cold gust of wind blew from the alley and sent the ashes of the burned paper money flying into the air. The dark alley suddenly felt sinister.

The sound of their heels hitting the ground reverberated in the alley. The clicking sounds of their heels hitting the ground sounded like the hooves of two terrified fawns. The street lamps drew long shadows behind them. Some puddles on the ground distorted their shadows.

“May, we should probably find another place to stay,” one of the women said as her teeth were chattering. She tightly grabbed the other woman’s arm as she said, “I am scared of having to walk past this alley every night when we come home.”

“Lily, what is there to be scared of?” May retorted as she pretended to be calm. “Last time, we just happened to come across a thug. That thug only dared to fondle and tease us. We won’t get hurt. Moreover, the rent here is cheap, and it is near our workplace. It is really difficult to find a place that is so cheap and so convenient.”

Lily looked towards the pitch black alley worriedly. She said, “Do you think the thug is in the alley tonight?”

“Regardless of whether he is there, a thug like him only dares to threaten people with a knife. He wouldn’t dare to do more.”

The two women walked down the alley, but they did not notice that their shadows behind them were shifting strangely. Their shadows were out of sync with their steps. It seemed as though something was about to crawl out from their shadows.

They quickened their steps past a dark area that was 20 meters long and came to another place lit by a lamp. Against the street lamp in the alley, there was a silhouette wearing a blue sweater. The silhouette’s back was towards them as it leaned against the street lamp.

The figure wore a hood over his head. However, the sweater was very familiar, so was the silhouette. It was the thug who had a dagger and fondled the girls in the alley. He seemed to be waiting for them.

The two women glanced at each other. Their footsteps did not stop as they walked straight towards him.

“I say, aren’t you boring? It’s the middle of the night, and you actually think that the two of us are such pushovers. Brother Xiong has our backs. If you step out of line again, even if I don’t ask Brother Xiong to deal with you, I will at least call the cops. If you wish to have your way with women, go to the nightclubs. As long as you have money, there are all sorts of women for your choosing. What is the meaning of this? Do you wish to f*ck for free?” May was somewhat daring as she went up to scold him. She even pushed the thug’s shoulder forcefully.

The thug fell over onto the ground. His face was pale, his eyes were full of terror, and his skin was as dry as tree bark as his head rolled out from his hood. It rolled about on the ground for a few meters.

From the clothes of the headless corpse that fell over, countless rats and cockroaches emerged from the bloody holes in the thug’s neck and chest, scurrying about in the alley.

Tu Polu took out his phone and informed the police to send the victims to the hospital.

Before the police arrived, Mo Yanshao and An Qing, who received the news, rushed over. Cao Xinghua and Li Yunzhou also met up with them.

Li Yunzhou was cursing. He was drenched, as though he just came out from the water.

Mo Yanshao’s brows were tightly knitted together after he heard Tu Polu and Fang Lingshan telling them what had happened.

Mo Yanshao told them, “It has been more than two years since any illusory demonic spirit last appeared in Xianghe City. Therefore, this illusory monster was definitely smuggled into the city by a host recently. Based on the timeline, this host is highly likely the member of the Devil’s Eye that committed the murder in the Lyra Shopping Complex incident. This member of the Devil’s Eye is still in Xianghe City and has not left. Moreover, he is in the area within 10 kilometers from here.”

Mo Yanshao scanned the surroundings. However, towering buildings packed the area within 10 kilometers from where they were at, encompassing the entire downtown area. There were countless hotels and neighborhoods. It was way too difficult to identify the criminal who was a stranger in this area. Mo Yanshao couldn’t do it with his current level of clairvoyance.

“This illusory demonic spirit had a body of its own,” An Qing said softly. “Thus, the member of the Devil’s Eye might be a host for more than one demonic spirit.”

“Based on what happened tonight, was that host testing whether we were igniting the light? It seems like he is in it for a long haul with us,” Li Yunzhou said as he rubbed his nose.

“As long as the person still stays in Xianghe City, we need to ferret him out. I want to see for myself how many demonic spirits he has with him.” Mo Yanshao’s gaze turned cold.

...

A moment later, two police cars arrived outside the alley. A few police officers came into the alley with torchlights and discovered the two women who were asleep. The police immediately contacted the ambulance.

The three heartlights, which had been ignited, were still burning. They were at three corners of the city, protecting Xianghe City quietly at night.

...

Five meters away from the alley where the incident took place, in a standard room on the 37th floor of a hotel, a fat man was sitting by the window. He was in his 40s and was slightly bald. He looked nothing out of the ordinary. With a glass of wine in his hand, he narrowed his eyes and looked in the direction where the incident occurred.

The fatty looked like an ordinary salesman who was in Xianghe City for a business trip. He seemed like he had been out all day. The first few buttons on his shirt were unbuttoned, and his tie was loosened, hanging casually on his neck.

Only a desk lamp was turned on in the room.

The shadow of the fatty twisted and warped on the floor carpet.

“Stop it,” the fatty muttered. The distorting shadow quieted down.

Then, a bizarre smile appeared on the fatty’s face. He whispered, “The Lighters from the National Order Council. It’s great that they’re on the move. They should be more active. The Divine Advent is coming soon.”

The next morning, the fatty checked out of the hotel. Then, he drove an unremarkably old truck and left Xianghe City unnoticed.

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