A few hours prior…
Creak…
The office building appears more eerie in comparison to the view it had when they came in the morning.
Dark shadows seemed to sway in the darkness as the thick silence and scent of rot pressed against their senses. It felt as if numerous eyes were locked onto their body, taking in each subconscious movement of their fears.
Compared to how it was this morning, the carcasses of those lifeless creatures are already cleared away.
What's left intact are the words on the walls which could no longer be seen clearly in the dark. They appear more like images of frightening monsters reaching their arms out in order to catch prey.
The desk with the two dolls are still in the same position, left sitting on the table waiting until it could be taken away after this case ends.
Talisman in one hand and weapon on the other, the group of four plus one dog stride into the area with careful steps.
Eyes wandering the area in case of sneak attacks.
"Xu Qianqian, if it's possible, we would like to have a conversation with you…"
The blinds in the office are pulled down which merely left miniscule strands of light in. Barely able to illuminate the thickness of the night.
Seeing that there was still no response, the group spread out into the room while Man Tingshu spoke once more. "We already found out everything that happened. We know that your death was not suicide and it was caused by a curse."
The dark rows of tables tremble all of a sudden as if beasts about to awaken from their slumber.
Nervousness spread in the atmosphere where only Chu Nuan revealed a look of boredom at the corner of the room.
"I know that you want to be the one to avenge yourself but your mother and fiance are already judged under the court of law. If nothing wrong were to happen, they would be imprisoned for life."
[What did you say?]
A shrill echo akin to the scratching of chalk against a blackboard rang out in the air.
Causing the three members in the area to tighten their fingers around their weapons even more.
Although this is quite a scary and uncomfortable voice, at least Xu Qianiqian is willing to converse with them. That means there is a high chance they can solve everything without fighting.
Clearing his voice, the second eldest of the group repeated his last sentence again. "As I've said, they would be imprisoned for life. There is no chance for them to eve-"
[Not that.]
That shrill voice quivers once more with that discomforting rasp [the sentence before that].
"Are you talking about your mother and fiance?"
The moment those words landed in the air. It was as if time froze and the darkness around grew thicker with a suffocating ambience of gloom.
Even the floating particles of dust dancing within those faint beams of light from outside seemed to have paused in movement.
Silence invades the chamber akin to the slow seep of water onto paper as a foreboding sense of danger grew with each ticking second.
However, the team could not surmise the reason for this sudden change in ambience.
Was it because they were not able to give a satisfactory result?
"... …"
After waiting for a few more seconds without receiving another reply, Man Tingshu took a deep breath before calling out in a careful tone.
"Xu Qianqian?"
Rustle.
All of a sudden, the two lifeless dolls on the desk turned their heads at a simultaneous one-eighty towards the group. The glow of red strip fabric flowing from their bodies appears to stream like actual blood.
They float in the air in gradual motion as the rise of fluctuating energy whirls in the air.
Man Tingshu: "Careful!"
Crack!
The overhead fluorescent lights shattered all of a sudden in a blast of startling lights and fracture glass!
Taking advantage of this sudden situation, the two dolls rushed towards their nearest target.
The [Su Ya] doll rushed at Rong Cheng while the [Xiao Ming] doll aimed for Xie Luochen.
Wriggling red strips of cloth shot out from the opening below as [Xiao Ming] tried to wrap around Xie Luochen's neck.
"Tch!"
Dagger raised with a quick slash into the air, the malleable fabric easily dodged this attack. Encasing around the blade instead as those strips snake downwards with a forceful pull aside. Successfully disarming the young man as the enemy wastes no time to aim for the youth's heart instead!
Rong Cheng: "Wah!"
Within the blink of an eye just as Xie Luochen was about to dodge, Rong Cheng entered the fray with a horrified yelp.
Following close behind is [Su Ya] whose wriggling appendages came close enough to touch.
"Take this!"
Raising a large round mirror that was held in both of his hands. The spiritual equipment flashed a blinding light in the direction of the two dolls.
Paralyzing them at once as Xie Luochen then threw an exploding talisman.
Bang!
The battle is not yet over as Man Tingshu jumps into the air under the cover of the dust. Fists clench tight as the battle gloves glowed with a swirl of spiritual energy.
In the same juncture as that deadly strike was about to land-
Bam!
A yellow shadow suddenly appeared from the dolls. Colliding into the man as both parties separated at once while sustaining similar amounts of injuries.
Man Tingshu: "Ngh!"
The stoic man flew backwards into the arms of his two junior brothers as the yellow shadow merely retreated a few feet back.
Rong Cheng: "Xu Qianqian!"
The youth released a gasp of surprise not because the female spirit attacked them. But merely because with the passing of a few hours, the spirit is already on its way in turning into a vengeful spirit!
"... …"
Two long streams of scarlet drizzled down from the area where the woman's eyes should be. A large hole on the back of the head revealed a patch of tangled hair mixed with areas of white and pink.
Xu Qianqian floats in the air while staring in the direction of the meddling trio with a menacing aura.
How did she change so much?
The energy sensed this morning was definitely just from a normal spirit that bore a little bit of resentment.
What happened to change all this?
There are usually six general types and five ranking of ghosts with shadowy black, grey and white being the most harmless. Those are merely spirits of people that have just passed or ghosts that are waiting to be reincarnated.
The more sentient they become, the less of a shadow they stray from until turning into a ghost that can perceive the area surrounding them. They can't always recall their memories but are able to understand that they are merely spirits after death.
Then there are yellow, green, and red entities especially that have enough strength to suppress the rest. After that are the different rankings of ghosts that were able to cultivate.
Since this is not the time to explain too much on this topic. We should just talk about spirits with a yellow aura around them first.
Yellow spirits are usually humans that have died from unnatural occurrences like murder or suicide. The reason for their deaths might have something to do with money related problems such as being killed in a robbery or jumping off a building after bankruptcy.
Of course, those are not the only factors that would lead a ghost into building resentful energy.
How a person can usually differentiate between entities is the color of their clothes or by the faint color of the aura surrounding the spirits.
Man Tingshu: "Xu Qianqian, we are only here to talk."
Attempting to converse, Man Tingshu tried to speak to the female ghost in a calm tone of voice.
But it seems that Xu Qianqian does not have that type of intent as she rushed straight at the man. Sharp claws reached out with a deadly aura as the two streams of blood from her closed eyes flowed even more.
"Rong Cheng!" Man Tingshu yelled out as he evaded to the side before rolling to stand back up a distance away.
"Here!" The cheery youth rushed forward at his senior brother's signal to stand between the two while holding the large mirror up.
A bright light flashed from the reflector which blinded the female ghost as she retreated a few feet back from the radiance.
"Now!"
Man Tingshu rushed out from behind Rong Cheng with fists raised to strike at the unprepared ghost.
At the same juncture, Xie Luochen attacked from behind as he launched himself off from a nearby table. Body flew into the air as a gleam of steel coldness flashed within the darkness.
One attacking from the front while another striking from the back.
Anyone would have assumed this would be successful but alas…
Recovering in an instant, Xu Qianqian first met the fist heading her way with a slash of her claws.
With no time to deal with Xie Luochen, the trio assumed that the attack would land. But before the blade was able to touch, strips of red fabric wrapped around the deadly edge to prevent the dagger from descending further.
Xie Luochen: "?!"
Peach blossom eyes raised with a fierce glare to see the [Su Ya] and [Xiao Ming] dolls floating in front of him. The wriggle fabrics on their bodies encase tight around the young man's blade and arms.
Preventing the youth from breaking free.
Man Tingshu: "Argh!"
Rong Cheng: "Ouch!"
Xu Qianqian threw Man Tingshu aside as she then turned her blood stained face towards the trapped youth behind.
Sharp claws cut through the air as those murderous tips reach out for the young man.
[Hey.]
In the fraction of a moment those claws were about to reach, an indolent voice that tinges with threads of displeasure rang out in the room.
"What do you think you're doing?"
Within the blink of an eye, Chu Nuan appeared to stand in front of Xie Luochen.
Without another word, the young woman raised her hand to give the angry ghost a slap on the head.
Bang!
Xu Qianqian flew across the room and was embedded into the wall!