To Shang Yu, being scolded didn't matter in the slightest. Back when he worked for a living, had he really been scolded any less?
With that thought in mind, he pushed open the stall doors one by one. Each one was empty; not a ghost in sight.
He would have to use that trick again...
Shang Yu took off his sunglasses, revealing pupils the size of pinpricks. They slowly dilated, returning to a normal size, but the whites of his eyes turned a pale, ash-grey. The world before him instantly lost its color, becoming dominated by shades of black. It was somewhat like a thermal camera: blue represented inanimate objects with no temperature, orange-red represented the living, and only gray represented ghosts.
A thin, grey trail stretched out before him, leading from his feet all the way to the window. It was the trail left behind by a ghost. Shang Yu followed it, but outside... it was the sixth floor! He leaned against the window to look out and, sure enough, saw the lesser ghost.
Without a second thought, he put his sunglasses back on and slid right out the window.
Six stories—he hadn't jumped from this height before. It was quite a drop. Behind the bar was a small park, and with all the trees, he didn't have to worry about a fatal fall. However, as his luck would have it, he twisted his ankle.
The lesser ghost noticed he could see it and was about to drift away. This was money! Shang Yu howled immediately, "Don't go! Big Sister! Don't leave!"
Fortunately, they were next to a bar, and it was noisy enough that his shouting went largely unnoticed. Ignoring the pain in his ankle, Shang Yu charged forward. "Big Sister! Come with me!"
He chased after it, pulling out a plastic water bottle with the label removed. Perhaps it was because of his twisted ankle or his exhaustion, but he felt this particular ghost was unusually difficult to catch. He pursued it through half the park and even ended up in the water twice, yet he still couldn't catch up. How could this ghost be so fast?
"Stop running! Big Sister! Just come with me!" Shang Yu’s voice was hoarse, but the ghost kept running, showing no intention of stopping.
In the center of the small park lay a large artificial lake, and in the middle of that lake, a small island. The ghost drifted over the water toward the island. Shang Yu didn't hesitate to jump into the water to pursue it. It was late at night, and if a water ghost came to grab him, all the better—extra income! He deliberately dangled the bottles and jars from his hands, allowing his Yin Energy to radiate, marking himself as a target for any vengeful spirit. His series of actions practically screamed, "Come and get me!"
Halfway through his swim, Shang Yu felt a twinge of regret that the water surface remained so calm; he wouldn't be earning any extra cash tonight. Just then, he felt the familiar sensation of fingers brushing his ankle. He grew excited, dived underwater, and came face-to-face with a water ghost whose eyes were glowing with a green light.
An Upper-Yi grade! This wasn't just a ghost; this was a goldmine! Before the water ghost realized something was wrong, it was too late. Shang Yu grabbed the ghost's hand. The water ghost felt its body uncontrollably warping and shrinking. Then, Shang Yu produced the plastic bottle, and the water ghost vanished inside as a wisp of grey smoke.
A complex set of runes flashed across the surface of the bottle, and when it returned to normal, the bottle held a quarter-cup of grey liquid. Shang Yu tucked the bottle away contentedly and continued swimming toward the trail of ghost energy.
***
The main feature of the island was a plaza. A masked figure stood there, eyes fixed on the ground.
"Has he arrived?" the masked figure asked the ghost shadow that had just run up.
"He's here!"
"Is it him?"
The ghost shadow nodded vigorously. "He doesn't fit in at the bar, has no social skills or EQ, acts by the book, is powerful, wears sunglasses, and is a man in his twenties."
"How are you sure he’s powerful?"
"He chased me the whole way! None of the interference you set up on the path had any effect on him!"
This lesser ghost had been carefully selected; it was the fastest and best at concealing its Yin Energy. There were only a few ghost catchers who could pursue it relentlessly and ignore all the interference along the way. Anyone frequently active in this area had to be *that* man!
"Go!" The masked figure nodded with satisfaction, looking down at the plaza floor with a hint of excitement. *This time, let's see how you escape!*
Half a minute later, someone climbed up from the water. The masked figure remained hidden in the shadows, thinking, *Strange, why did he swim over?*
Shang Yu spat out a mouthful of water. Swimming several hundred meters in one go was truly exhausting. But for the sake of money, it was worth it! The island had only one small plaza, and the ghost shadow was standing right in the middle. Shang Yu walked straight over, holding up the plastic bottle: "Quick... get in here!"
The ghost shadow didn't move. *Looks like I have to catch it myself.*
Shang Yu walked over, and as the masked figure watched in recognition, he stepped into the pre-laid Formation. Instantly, a wall of light rose, shooting toward the sky.
By now, Shang Yu had successfully stuffed the ghost shadow into the bottle. The bottle was completely full, and the liquid was red! An Upper-Xia grade! He had made a killing this time!
He happily hugged the bottle and prepared to leave, only to crash into the wall of light, causing his sunglasses to fall to the ground. The masked figure looked at the pinprick pupils in his eyes, and his expression shifted. *That man doesn't have eyes like that!* Still, being able to follow them all the way here proved the person was a powerhouse. *I might as well take this opportunity to eliminate him while I can!*
Behind the masked figure, a shadow gradually took shape. The figure was tall and slender, dressed in loose trousers and a shirt, wearing cloth shoes. Every inch of his exposed skin was unnaturally pale; under the light of the Formation, he didn't even look human.
*A Soul Extermination Array? Not bad.* The man thought with disdain. He raised his hand, preparing to destroy everything there, when he saw the person trapped inside.
"What is this!"
Shang Yu stared at the wall with a resentful look. He hadn't noticed it before, but now that he’d walked into it, his forehead was throbbing with pain. *I'm so tired! I want to go home and sleep! I just came out to earn some meal money, is this really necessary?*
The masked figure watched as the expert inside the Formation suddenly knelt, pressing his palms together above his head. *Is this some strange move? As expected of an expert, this technique must be powerful.*
The man behind him sneered—the person was clearly begging for mercy! But he didn't believe an ordinary ghost catcher would dare to come here alone.
If Shang Yu had known what those two were thinking, he would have retorted, "Are you two sick in the head?" If that man would just deal with the masked figure, he could go home and sleep. Unfortunately, both men outside were only interested in observing him.
There were complex patterns on the ground. Shang Yu squatted to study them for a long time until his legs went numb. The moment he stood up, his vision went black again. *What the hell!* He tapped the plastic bottle. "Don't interfere with me! These patterns are affecting the soul."
The plastic bottle, which had been radiating a cold chill, immediately returned to normal, and even the condensation on the outside dried up. Shang Yu lowered his head, looked at the runes on the ground for a while, and, finding them unsightly, poked at them with his finger. To his surprise, his finger sank into the ground. He realized he could drag the lines around, so he immediately began redrawing them to his own liking.
The masked figure’s expression shifted—*He really is an expert, he's actually modifying the Formation with his bare hands!* He was about to step in to intervene when a hand pressed down on his shoulder.
"I assume you're looking for me."
The masked figure turned his head stiffly to see a deathly pale face. "Who exactly are you?" The masked figure realized he couldn't move a muscle.
The sound of shattering glass broke the night's silence. The wall of light crumbled, and the Formation was shattered just like that. Shang Yu was baffled, but he didn't care to dwell on it. He just prepared to swim back the way he came. Thinking that he could go home to sleep and wouldn't have to go to the bar for several days, his steps grew lighter.
A breeze blew past. Where the masked figure had been standing, only a black cloak remained. On top of the cloak lay a piece of paper with a name written on it: Qi Jingtao.