Wujin ran forward along the path Shang Yu had given him. Although he had heard rumors about Shang Yu's extraordinary eyes, seeing them for himself today still left him somewhat astonished.
After all, once a lesser ghost reached the Upper-Yi rank, it would naturally develop the habit of concealing its traces. For a ghost exorcist, tracking a lesser ghost in such circumstances required relying on special magical tools.
Yet Shang Yu was different. A mere Level 3 Ghost Exorcist, he was actually able to use his naked eyes to directly track the traces of ghost qi.
One had to know that not even Qi Jingtao could necessarily manage such a feat with his bare eyes.
Moreover, just moments ago, when faced with an Upper-Heaven rank entity, Shang Yu had given chase without the slightest hesitation, completely disregarding his own life and death!
Back when they captured Ma Qing'er, it had probably been much the same.
Wujin ran forward all the way. Though his ability was only that of a Level 2 Ghost Exorcist, as long as he focused entirely on tracking, he could manage it without any trouble.
At last, he caught sight of the ghost's shadow.
The location happened to be a secluded narrow alley. Wujin made a prompt and decisive decision, setting up a formation to cut off this space from the outside world.
It was said that the structure of this formation was such that even Qi Jingtao would have to expend a great deal of effort to break out of it. This way, ordinary people would not be harmed by the ghost, nor could the ghost escape from the formation.
After crashing into the barrier several times and failing to get out, the ghost let out an angry howl.
Wujin had arrived leaning against the wall and gasping for breath, but by now he had caught his breath.
Seeing the ghost's furious and frustrated appearance, he laughed teasingly, "You can't get out. What are you going to do now?"
He had never been short on money. Therefore, whenever he encountered malicious ghosts, he usually just obliterated them outright. Recently, however, the ranks of lesser ghosts in the city had been rising sharply. Coupled with the previous incidents involving Ma Qing'er and Zheng Xiaodong, this Upper-Heaven rank ghost right in front of him would be useful in helping Qi Jingtao catch the mastermind behind the scenes.
Thus, the best course of action at present was to bring this ghost back alive.
Even as he thought this, a fierce gale-force blast of energy came straight at him. Fortunately, Wujin reacted quickly enough; the gale brushed past his outer coat and smashed a pile of miscellaneous items in the corner of the wall.
Quite a tough opponent!
No matter, though. He had always watched how formidable Qi Jingtao was, and Wujin felt that it was finally his turn to enjoy the spotlight.
He brought his right index and middle fingers together, and a flicker of white light appeared at his fingertips. While dodging other blasts of energy sent by the ghost, he rapidly moved his wrist, and a rune quickly materialized in mid-air.
Wujin stepped up against the wall to gain height, and the moment he leaped downward, he struck the ghost with the drawn rune.
"Boom—"
Amidst a flurry of flying dust, only a single speck of red light was visible.
While Wujin was still in mid-air, the brightness of the red light surged sharply. A thread of red burst out from the dust and pierced directly through his heart.
Yet this blow brought no sensation other than what met the eye; it didn't even alter Wujin's trajectory as he fell.
Only that red thread remained connected between Wujin and the ghost, impossible to sever no matter what he tried.
Wujin could clearly feel his vital essence flowing along the red thread toward the ghost, being continuously absorbed by the opponent. And for every fraction of strength he lost, the opponent grew stronger by a corresponding fraction.
Qi Jingtao should be arriving very soon, but twenty minutes had already passed since he started chasing the ghost, and Qi Jingtao still hadn't shown up. Most likely, he had been delayed by something.
Shang Yu had simply followed Wujin's instructions. As a Level 3 Ghost Exorcist—well, since a Level 2 Ghost Exorcist had told him not to meddle blindly—he would certainly stay put obediently and wait for Qi Jingtao to arrive.
Qi Jingtao had sent him a message saying he had some matters to attend to and telling him to wait and not run around.
Consequently, relying on his acquaintance with Liu Xia, Shang Yu found a chair by the entrance of the bar and sat down to wait.
His phone battery was already in the red zone, and he was still stuck in the same spot.
How strange. Why wasn't Qi Jingtao here yet?
Thinking this, Shang Yu dialed Qi Jingtao's number, but the other end directly hung up on him.
"I wonder how Brother Jin is doing over there!" Shang Yu tucked his phone into his pocket. Half an hour had already passed since Wujin chased after the target, and the chilly wind was blowing fiercely, making him feel rather cold.
The cold instantly brought to mind the image of Wujin holding the plastic bottle covered in frost.
Wujin was only a Level 2 Ghost Exorcist, and back then he had barely managed to keep his grip on a bottle containing a Lower-Heaven and an Upper-Yi rank. Going single-handedly to deal with an Upper-Heaven rank this time—would he really be okay?
As soon as this thought popped up, Shang Yu could no longer sit still. If Qi Jingtao arrived in time, it would be fine, but what if he didn't?
It had been half an hour. Wujin might not be able to hold out that long.
He gripped the plastic bottle in his hand tightly, took off his sunglasses, and ran off, following the ghost qi that had not yet fully dissipated.
Just as he reached the mouth of the alley where Wujin had set up the formation, Shang Yu's expression changed.
The purpose of the formation was to conceal the ghost qi and trap it inside, preventing any accidental harm to innocent bystanders.
However, the ghost qi was already spilling over the edges.
Then Wujin...
Shang Yu didn't dare to dwell on it further and plunged straight inside.
Sure enough, the air was thick with ghost qi, blotting out all the lights in this small area.
Shang Yu unscrewed the cap of the plastic bottle with one hand, letting the ghost qi be sucked in and transform into a black-and-red liquid. At the same time, he searched with difficulty for Wujin's figure in the pitch-dark space.
"Brother Jin?"
The ghost qi was less dense than before. Shang Yu put the open plastic bottle into his crossbody bag, leaving the zipper open.
By now, he could clearly make out the traces of battle on the walls and the ground. Shang Yu stumbled and took a fall, and when he raised his head again, he saw Wujin standing abruptly right in front of him.
"Brother Jin?"
Even an ordinary person could sense that something was wrong with Wujin at this moment. Shang Yu instinctively took two steps back, just in time to dodge two punches aimed squarely at his vital points by Wujin.
The first punch broke the air, and the second was blocked by Wujin's other hand, leaving the two of them locked in a stalemate.
Shang Yu clearly saw the red-and-black shadow on Wujin's body. It was far more powerful than what he had seen earlier at the bar, showing clear signs of breaking into the Earth Rank.
"Go!" Wujin uttered inarticulate syllables from his mouth. "Find—Qi—find—go!"
"Brother Jin!"
If it were merely a stray ghost shadow, Shang Yu had ten thousand ways to stuff it into his plastic bottle. But now it had possessed someone else—this was the first time Shang Yu had encountered such a situation.
He didn't know what to do, or how to subdue the lesser ghost without harming Wujin.
"Go!" Wujin spoke again. Along with the syllables, a mouthful of fresh blood gushed out.
In TV shows and novels, the protagonist always stays put during such life-or-death crises, either marching to their death or ending up severely injured.
Shang Yu used to think such plots were brainless. Now, truly experiencing it firsthand, he found that he couldn't move his feet away at all.
Wujin had known him for so long, flesh and blood, and was a very good person. Leaving aside how close they were, even if it were a complete stranger, how could Shang Yu manage to abandon him and leave alone?
Wasn't it just a lesser ghost on the verge of entering the Earth Rank? He was a professional ghost exorcist, whose sole job was catching ghosts!
What was there to be afraid of!