Lianyun Village.
"Nine Fire Gang, 6 dead."
"Heng Dao Sect, 15 dead."
"Green Bird Sect, 9 dead."
"Jiao Hua Sect..."
"..."
"Wine and Chess Manor, 351 dead. Entire manor wiped out."
"Murderer: Lianyun Villageās Lian Qingjin!"
Lian Fenghuo of Lianyun Village, after reading the letter, looked up at the people below.
"Thirteen Sects."
"Six gangs."
"And the Major Sect [Floral Fragrance Sect] that was on good terms with Wine and Chess Manor."
"All the gangs and Sects want an explanation from us, Lianyun Village."
"Good!"
"Then I will give them an explanation."
"You are the best disciples and family members in Lianyun Village, gifted and skilled."
"Now, I have only one demand for you."
"Find Lian Qingjin, kill her, and bring back her head along with the Nine Ancient Jade to me."
"According to the information, the last place Lian Qingjin was seen was in Rolling Bone City. Set off immediately, travel overnight, and do not delay."
The people below responded in unison.
"Yes!!"
Standing at the very front was Lian Qingjinās younger sister... Lian Xiaoya!
"Sister, you have committed a monstrous crime!"
"This is wrong!"
"I will not kill you, just as you spared me that time."
"I intend to correct your misguided path and bring you back to the right way!"
Lian Xiaoya seemed to envision her sister being imprisoned in a secluded cliffside dungeon unknown to anyone, aging daily until her waning years, dying in gloom.
Thinking of that scene, Lian Xiaoyaās face flushed red, her emotions flaring.
She intended to imprison her own sister until death!
"Apart from our Lianyun Villageās pursuit team, other gangs have also agreed to send manpower; once you get there, you can look for their contacts. Their local gangs will provide information and assist with manpower."
The village chief handed a piece of paper to the lead of the team.
That was Lian Xiuxiang, the strongest in Lianyun Village!
Rumored to be favored by the righteous spirit of Lianyun Village and also a believer.
Lian Xiaoya admired her immensely.
Confident about this mission.
But others in the team were restless and uneasy.
"Itās said that the traitor Lian Qingjin has now believed in evil spirits?"
"Corrupted! Why did she not believe in our Lianyun Villageās honored spirit, and instead followed the spirit of demons!"
"Thus, she must be eliminated."
"But if she truly believed in the spirit, she wouldnāt be something ordinary mortals could contend with. The tragedy of Wine and Chess Manor is proof."
"We have Lady Lian Xiuxiang, why fear those who idolize evil spirits!"
Amidst unease, suspicion, and perplexity, the hundred-man squad set out to hunt down Lian Qingjin.
In the squad, Lian Xiuxiang looked solemn.
"One person wiped out an entire manor."
"Tier-level beginner?"
"No... It must be higher."
"Itās said that the treasures of Wine and Chess Manor were completely plundered by her."
"She might already be at mid-tier level, or even... high-tier!"
Lian Xiaoya was completely unaware of the team leaderās anxieties.
She had never left Lianyun Village this far; like a curious baby, she looked around left and right, finding everything fresh and new.
...
At the time Qi Xiaojin was desperately striving in the game.
In the distant Gemini Hospital, a nurse had just gotten home from work.
She walked hurriedly.
Because she was frightened.
"Wife? You finished work so early today?"
The man in the house spoke, but she ignored him completely.
Frantically walking to the bathroom, she turned on the light and stood in front of the mirror.
The nurse stared unbelievably with wide eyes.
[23 hours 01 minute 55 seconds.]
Still here...
Still!
What exactly is this thing?
What will happen to me when the countdown ends?
The nurse was very panicked and scared.
An hour ago, she followed Doctor Zhang and confronted the medical disturber.
Then, she suddenly saw the countdown.
At that time, it was [24 hours 02 minutes 15 seconds.]
She was stunned, thinking her eyes were deceiving her.
But after rubbing her eyes several times, the countdown was still there, decreasing second by second.
Eventually, she panicked and spoke to Doctor Zhang, but he was busy arguing with the agitated patient and didnāt have time for her.
The nurse could only seek help from a psychiatrist.
After some tests, the conclusion was that the altercation had caused too much stress, resulting in hallucinations, and she was preliminarily diagnosed with mild mental disarray.
Then, she received a prescription, took early leave, and went home to rest.
"Hallucinations... are they really just hallucinations?"
The nurse was distraught.
Being diagnosed with mental disarray, she might lose her job.
With her husband earning merely two to three thousand a month, losing her income as a nurse at a major hospital, how would they survive?
"Wife?"
Suddenly, at this moment, the reflection of a man appeared in the mirror.
That was her husband, pot-bellied, with an ordinary face that was nauseating to look at.
Her husband seemed to be chewing something, but the distressed nurse didnāt pay close attention.
The next moment, the nurseās pupils suddenly shrank, and her whole body instantly stiffened, as if she had fallen into an ice pit.
She saw her husband chewing and swallowing, and surprisingly like an animal, he regurgitated a blood-stained finger!
A human finger!
The nurseās body trembled as she stared wide-eyed.
She couldnāt have seen wrong.
As a nurse, she had seen too many patients in the hospital, she knew what human fingers looked like even with her eyes closed.
Most importantly, that finger still had a ring on it, notably their wedding ring.
As if the reason why her husband hadnāt been able to chew it down was because of this.
With a "ptui" sound, he spit out the ring, and āhusbandā looked up and saw the nurseās reaction in the mirror.
At first, he was stunned, then slowly a smile crept across his face.
"You... saw it?"
At these words, the nurseās whole body shivered, stiff and unable to move.
Tears streamed down her face.
That was her husbandās face, and his body, but if there was anything different, it was the finger on his right hand that usually wore the ring, which looked profoundly out of place compared to the other fingers.
As if that finger had thinned down, and even more slender.
No!
Wait!
It changed!
The nurse gasped, covering her mouth in disbelief.
She saw the slender finger, as if muscles were filling inside, slowly bulging, assimilating with the surrounding fingers until it appeared normal again.
The nurse looked up in terror, and then back at her husband in the mirror.
At some unknown moment, her husband seemed to have teleported and appeared right behind her, his mouth wide open.
Turning around in fright, she saw her husbandās mouth ripping open vertically, wide as a gaping bloody maw, large enough to swallow the nurseās head!
Looking into the dark gapping mouth, the nurse screamed, rolled her eyes back, and collapsed on the floor, fainting.
[So easily frightened?]
[Humans here are so fragile.]
[Hehehehe!]
Black text emerged on her husbandās belly.
Humans all over the street, like a buffet, to be eaten as they pleased.
Humans here have no defenses against demons!
What a wonderful world this is!
Parchment controlled the obese middle-aged manās body, cradling the nurseās face, about to bite down.
Suddenly, it paused.
Using the humanās nose, it sniffed the woman closely.
In the next moment, it abruptly retreated!
[Is this... the scent of Spirit?]