He hadn't expected the aftermath to come so soon. If Bao Xi and Li Ting hadn't run into trouble, we still wouldn't have reached Qilin City.
Yang Xiao finally vented the frustration bottled up inside him. He spoke with some excitement; his cheeks flushed red, and his eyes became somewhat glazed, like a slightly drunk man.
"Fool, you're the one who caused your wife's death," someone near the water tower said coldly. Even with Wu Rendi like this, his mouth didn't stop moving.
"Say that again," Yang Xiao glared and shouted loudly.
Wu Rendi was just Wu Rendi—unaffected by Yang Xiao's outburst, he maintained his usual tone and said, "After your wife died, all you had to do was mark her soul and spirit. When she reincarnated, you could find her again. Then wait another ten or twenty years and marry her once more, right?"
Hearing Wu Rendi's words, Yang Xiao's face instantly turned blood red. He clenched his teeth as if he could spit out blood at any moment. Wu Rendi glanced at him and continued, "And now you think of that? It's too late. Her one Celestial Soul and two Earthly Spirits have already vanished. Even if she reincarnates, she can no longer be human—she's probably destined for the animal realm. Next life, she'll be an animal."
"Who exactly are you?" Yang Xiao eyed Wu Rendi warily. Only after confirming the seven nails still embedded in Wu Rendi's body did he gain some confidence. He sneered, "Whoever you are doesn't matter. Soon, I'll send you on your way. Stop struggling. Those seven copper nails were originally meant for someone else in your Bureau of Paranormal Investigation. Consider this a favor."
"Someone else? Who?" Wu Rendi stared coldly at Yang Xiao and sneered.
Wu Rendi's gaze made Yang Xiao uncomfortable. He snorted and said, "It's nobody you. If you were the White-haired One, I might respect you a bit."
"White-haired One?" Wu Rendi suddenly laughed. "Heh, you mean this?" As he spoke, his appearance changed. His hair, once jet black, began turning snowy white from root to tip. In just a few seconds, Wu Rendi's hair was completely white.
Seeing Wu Rendi turn white-haired, Yang Xiao didn't hesitate. He dashed toward the rooftop railing and leapt like lightning from the fifteenth floor. But, just like Sun Fatty earlier, he was blocked by a black mist and forced back.
"What did you say earlier? Lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot?" Wu Rendi pulled out a large nail stuck in his body, weighed it in his hand, and said to Yang Xiao, "The Seven-Star Formation, taught to you by Lin Huo?"
Cold sweat poured uncontrollably down Yang Xiao's face. His eyes dared not meet Wu Rendi's, instead staring fixedly at the ground.
Wu Rendi had pulled out all seven nails from his body. I could see clearly that he was completely unharmed; not even his clothes were pierced. The nails had only been embedded temporarily and were now intact again.
The situation had turned. Sun Fatty and I exchanged a glance and retreated to a corner. We didn't know if Yang Xiao still had tricks up his sleeve. It was safer to keep our distance and avoid getting caught in the crossfire.
"Lin Huo's impressive to have devised the Seven-Star Formation. What else did he teach you? Use it all together," Wu Rendi said coldly as he stretched his limbs and stared at Yang Xiao.
Yang Xiao lowered his head silently, seeming to have given up resisting—or perhaps calculating an escape plan.
Wu Rendi sneered again, "Stop wasting time. My forbidden formation has been enhanced. Even if your Ancestor Shaman is reborn, you won't leave this rooftop."
"Ancestor Shaman reborn? What do you mean? The Ancestor Shaman… is dead?" Yang Xiao's voice trembled involuntarily.
"Not just your Ancestor Shaman," Wu Rendi paused, then said, "Lin Huo is dead too. Before he died, he told me about your existence."
Hearing that even Lin Huo was dead, Yang Xiao strangely calmed down. He took several deep breaths and asked Wu Rendi, "Won't you let me go?"
Wu Rendi's expression darkened. He sighed and said, "Your and Lin Huo's existence is ultimately my mistake. I must personally erase this mistake."
Yang Xiao seemed to have expected Wu Rendi wouldn't release him easily. After hearing those words, he became calm and gave Wu Rendi a bitter smile. "It doesn't matter anymore. Before I die, can you at least grant me one wish?"
Wu Rendi thought for a moment and said, "Your wife?"
Yang Xiao nodded and said, "I originally wanted to save her, but in the end, I only harmed her. My skills can't help her reincarnate as a human again. You should be fine, right?"
Before Wu Rendi could answer, I couldn't hold back anymore. I shouted at Yang Xiao, "What about those whose souls you extracted? Aren't they even more innocent? They also have family and children. Your wife lost her 1 Celestial Soul and 2 Earthly Spirits and can't reincarnate, so what about them? Isn't it the same — they can't reincarnate either!"
Sun Fatty beside me had turned pale. Yang Xiao looked like he was about to die by Wu Rendi's hands.
"La Zi, don't be impulsive," Sun Fatty turned back and said to Wu Rendi and Yang Xiao, "You two continue. Don't mind us."
Unexpectedly, Yang Xiao didn't go mad but looked at me with interest and asked, "Little guy, do you have someone you love?"
Although I didn't know what he was up to, I shook my head. Yang Xiao looked at me and continued, "When you have someone worth giving up everything to love, you will understand — as long as you can save her, even if it means killing everyone in this world, it's worth it." His tone was resolute, leaving no room for doubt.
Yang Xiao then said to Wu Rendi, "If you want to act, do it quickly. Don't forget about my wife." Saying this, he took a few steps and sat down about ten meters in front of Wu Rendi on the rooftop. With his eyes closed, he began chanting a strange tune.
Seeing Yang Xiao like this, Wu Rendi smiled instead. He glanced at the rooftop door with a strange expression, like a student who cheated successfully in an exam, already handed in the paper, with that kind of smug look on his face.
After the chant finished, Wu Rendi still hadn't made a move. Yang Xiao grew a bit impatient and said, "Don't tell me you can't act. Give me a straight answer!"
Before Wu Rendi could reply, someone outside the door said coldly, "No need for him to act. After bullying our Second Department people, wanting to die by others' hands? Not that easy!"
The voice was Qiu Bulao arriving. After the harsh words, Qiu Bulao didn't come in right away. After a while, Director Hao's voice sounded, "Wu Rendi, withdraw the forbidden formation. I want to come in." The tone sounded somewhat frustrated. Even he couldn't enter the barrier Wu Rendi set.
"You want me to withdraw it? Do you think I'm your son?" Wu Rendi snorted, showing no respect to Director Hao. There was silence behind the door; even at my spot, I could hear Director Hao's heavy breathing.
After a while, Qiu Bulao said softly outside, "Consider this a favor I owe you. How you repay it is up to you."
"That's what you said. I didn't force you," Wu Rendi replied with a smile, which looked sinister, like he saw something amusing. Meanwhile, Wu Rendi's eyes never left Yang Xiao sitting on the ground.
Maybe feeling the end was near and nothing mattered anymore, Yang Xiao showed no fear. He met Wu Rendi's gaze without backing down.
The two men's eyes clashed in a way I couldn't explain. Yang Xiao suddenly froze, then his face was full of shock.
Wu Rendi's smile didn't fade. He walked to the center of the rooftop, scraping the ground with his shoe. Only then did I notice someone had drawn a monster in red ink on the rooftop floor — it looked like Wu Rendi's handiwork. His drawing style wasn't great; it looked like a child's doodle.
After scraping off the monster's four claws, Wu Rendi told Qiu Bulao outside, "Come in, the forbidden formation is lifted."
The black mist that shrouded the rooftop entrance vanished, and Qiu Bulao, full of killing intent, walked in. The two directors showed no intention to talk. Director Hao carried a large black blade, aimed right at Yang Xiao's spot, and charged quickly. It looked like with one swing, Yang Xiao's head would fall.
Just as Director Hao entered the rooftop, Yang Xiao suddenly laughed. From my angle, I could see the same smile appear on Wu Rendi's face behind him. Before Qiu Bulao could reach him, Yang Xiao opened his mouth and sprayed a large cloud of blood with a "pff" sound, then bent forward and fell headfirst into the blood mist.
In an instant, the blood mist dispersed, leaving the ground empty — Yang Xiao had disappeared.
Qiu Bulao froze, stunned. Then, as if he understood something, he turned to shout at Wu Rendi, "Who told you to withdraw the forbidden formation and let that cursed guy go!"
"You!"
Honestly, Wu Rendi never took Director Qiu seriously — even combined with the other four directors, they were just a chaotic mess compared to him.
In terms of presence, there was no contest. Both directors glared but it didn't last long before Director Qiu gave up, saying he would settle things with Gao Liang later. Eventually, he dragged Wang Ziheng out as an excuse to visit the hospital and left the Fifteenth Floor building grumbling.
After Qiu Bulao left, Sun Fatty and I approached Wu Rendi. Sun Fatty chuckled nervously and said, "Director Wu, that young cop didn't really run away, did he? It's just a blood spray. How far could he run?"
From Sun Fatty's tone, he seemed to be asking if there was a chance to catch him. Wu Rendi glanced at him, seemingly amused by Sun Fatty, and said, "How far can a blood spray run? Not far — about a hundred or so miles."
"What?" Sun Fatty's mouth dropped open. Wu Rendi continued, "I'm in a good mood today, so I'll teach you two a lesson. That blood spray just now is called 'Blood Escape.' A single spray of blood can teleport you over a hundred miles away. As long as the blood volume is sufficient and not depleted, theoretically, one can keep teleporting — ten sprays of blood and you can be a thousand miles away."
"Ten sprays?" I widened my eyes and said, "Each spray must be about 200cc. Ten sprays are 2000cc — where does he get that much blood to teleport?"
Sun Fatty said, "Where else? To the hospital for a blood transfusion, obviously."
Sun Fatty's words reminded me. I turned to Wu Rendi and asked, "Yang Xiao's wife is still in the hospital. He's probably going there. Should we go to the hospital?"
Unexpectedly, Wu Rendi shook his head and said, "No need. Yang Xiao is probably no longer in Qilin City. His wife lost her 1 Celestial Soul and 2 Earthly Spirits — he can't handle it. Besides, I promised him I'd help his wife reincarnate. He wouldn't be foolish enough to run around with her."
Wu Rendi made sense, and since he was the strongest here, we had to listen.
Later, the three of us returned to the hotel. Around dawn, Po Jun arrived, bringing news that was neither good nor bad. Last night, just as we entered the Fifteenth Floor building, Yang Xiao's wife, Xu Rongrong, fainted again. Her soul (the remaining 2 Celestial Souls and 7 Earthly Spirits) left her body and was taken by Po Jun, who was guarding the scene. Without her soul, Xu Rongrong had no vital signs and was declared brain-dead by the doctors.
That night, Wu Rendi took Xu Rongrong's soul somewhere unknown and only returned at dawn. The three of us dared not ask, assuming he was helping Xu Rongrong's spirit move on and reincarnate.
That afternoon, Po Jun handed over the aftermath work in Qilin City to the Second Department's remaining staff (Qiu Bulao and Wang Ziheng had already left the city). We were also preparing to leave.
Wu Rendi gave special instructions to be very careful when handling the Fifteenth Floor building. Deep underground in the building, there is a spot connecting to the Earth Vein, fused with an Earth Pearl. Soon, the Earth Vein will expel the Earth Pearl. This time, when clearing out the wandering spirits in the building, we must not disturb the Earth Vein.