Ten minutes later.
Police sirens cut through the night.
They resounded outside the Jinshan Residential Area gate.
Wielding loaded weapons, figures quickly approached, and soon they saw Liu Lian and Xu Wei lying on the ground.
The plump director, who was running at the forefront, almost lost his soul upon seeing this.
Fortunately, as he ran closer and confirmed they were still breathing, he finally let out a sigh of relief.
As for Xu Wei, who was next to them, he didn't even cast a glance.
"Little Liu, Little Liu, are you alright!"
Liu Lian slowly opened her eyes. Seeing the familiar inspector's hat, she finally relaxed completely and, mustering her strength, uttered the three words most deeply etched in her memory:
"King Chujiang! Go find him, King Chujiang…"
Hmm?
The director, along with Captain Wang, Tan Yu, and others who followed behind, exchanged puzzled glances. What King Chujiang?
A deity from the underworld? One of the Yama kings said to rule over countless vengeful spirits?
But how could such a thing exist? Is this girl hallucinating after a trip to the gates of hell?
Thinking this, the director quickly shouted:
"An ambulance, quick!"
...
Fang Ping was unaware of the situation at the Inspectorate.
At this very moment, he was like An Ruoxue who escorted the Underworld God of Wealth to the Second Hospital earlier. Although he forcibly stopped his eyes from looking behind him, he instinctively kept glancing at the rearview mirror.
He saw that next to Chu Qing, who was wearing a black trench coat, was a red lantern about the size of a millstone.
It was this thing that had dragged him outside last night and almost cost him his life.
And now, it was in his backseat.
To say his legs weren't weak would be a lie.
Chu Qing couldn't miss Fang Ping's small actions.
However, Chu Qing wasn't paying attention to these minor matters at this time. His entire focus was on thinking about the situation that had just occurred.
Today, he had asked An Ruoxue to investigate Huang Hong's basic situation. Coupled with the intelligence revealed by King Qin Guang's sister, he also knew.
Huang Hong's home was in the old city district, specifically near the Jinshan Residential Area.
Xu Wei's condition was very clearly Huang Hong's doing.
The scent of corpse qi on him was virtually identical to Huang Hong's.
So, had this woman turned her missing husband into a Zombie?
At first thought, this was the most likely scenario.
But as he thought of this, Chu Qing's brow furrowed slightly.
It didn't make sense!
At this stage, it was impossible for a creature like a Zombie to exist!
Such a thing, let alone ninth-grade anomalies and Ghost Controllers, would give seventh or eighth-grade Ghost Controllers a headache.
Therefore, if there really was a Zombie, Xu Wei wouldn't have been able to escape; he would have been long dead.
More importantly, if it was a genuine Zombie, why would it obey Huang Hong?
Just because it was very likely her husband in life? But the problem was, they didn't even know if she was the one who killed him, so how could he become a Zombie and obey her?
If Huang Hong hadn't been reborn and had managed to become a seventh-grade Yin Position 'Corpse Herder' before the Era of Terror descended, Chu Qing could have just banged his head against a wall and died.
This was clearly impossible.
Could it be...
Chu Qing's brow rose slightly, and his eyes lit up.
At this stage, a real Zombie couldn't possibly appear. Otherwise, Luocheng probably wouldn't have lasted half a year before being completely annihilated. Even in his previous life, Luocheng lasted a full three years before being completely destroyed.
However, after figuring it out, Chu Qing was no longer in a hurry.
If it was that thing, it would require a large number of corpses to feed it. Huang Hong wasn't stupid, and she had already dared to act against Xu Wei, who was beside her.
It was obvious she had sensed that he had called the police and was prepared for the worst, feeding the thing in a cramming manner.
She probably wouldn't have a comfortable time in the coming period.
But, after midnight tomorrow, the Book of Life and Death would descend, the Death Game would officially begin, and the Era of Terror would officially awaken.
The number of anomalies in the city would greatly increase, and perhaps those people wouldn't have the time or energy to apprehend her then.
Never mind.
Chu Qing's flashing eyes closed again.
Let her play by herself slowly.
"Brother Qing, back to the cemetery?"
"Mmm."
Under the night sky, the Audi that An Ruoxue had sent sped through the darkness.
However, on top of an old building shrouded in darkness in the old city district, a figure squatted on the rooftop, watching the ambulance and police cars speeding below:
"As expected, these damned inspectors have found me. It's all that brat's fault!"
In his sinister eyes, there was an unspeakable resentment.
The face was none other than Huang Hong's from earlier.
"However, that kid, how did he not die? Did the anomaly at North Mountain Cemetery disappear?"
"Caw caw!"
Huang Hong quickly turned her head and looked at her shoulder.
At this moment, a special creature stood on her shoulder.
It was a completely black crow.
However, its body was a whole circle larger than an ordinary crow, and its eyes were not black like a normal crow's but a murky green.
They were like a wolf hunting in the night.
The crow's sharp claws dug into Huang Hong's shoulder, causing a trickle of blood to seep out.
Huang Hong paid no attention. Instead, she said very gently and softly:
"Don't worry, baby, we'll go look for more food. Let's go!"
As if understanding, the crow spread its wings and suddenly took flight. Huang Hong directly grabbed its ankle.
Although she was extremely thin, she looked like she weighed eighty or ninety jin, yet this crow effortlessly dragged a person through the air.
"We'll rest today and go find that brat for revenge tomorrow night, alright? When the time comes, I'll dig out your favorite eyeballs for you to eat first, and then we'll eat the rest together."
"Caw caw!"
...
Little did Chu Qing know that his most relied-upon eyeballs were already being targeted.
Under the dark night, holding the Human Head Lantern, Chu Qing slowly walked into the gatehouse of North Mountain Cemetery.
As expected!
On the glass of the gatehouse, the words written in blood began to writhe again.
Chu Qing could clearly feel it.
The entity within had become stronger. His summoning method was more direct than Ding Xie's, using his own blood, an 'ink' already heavy with yin energy, along with the yin energy of the Faceless Ghost to nourish it.
Now, it seemed to be effective.
The blood text continuously writhed, trying to condense, and finally, it slowly turned into a bloody red, then as if absorbed by the glass door again, it disappeared without a trace.
Fang Ping, standing beside him, was completely dumbfounded by this scene:
"Brother Qing, what is this thing now?"
Chu Qing said calmly:
"A new anomaly. You'll get used to it later. How was the feeling today?"
Fang Ping wanted to say that he didn't feel anything, because he hadn't participated in anything when they went this time.
But the blood-red Human Head Lantern was now on the ground, still emitting a faint glow, this thing that had almost cost him his life was right beside him.
He pursed his lips:
"Brother Qing, what exactly is going on?"
"What else can be going on? As you can see, there are ghosts in this world."
"But before..."
"Before is before, now is now."
Chu Qing reached out his hand, and the black cat, which had been waiting at home, leaped into his arms.
Chu Qing then remembered something:
"Oh right, little guy, I said I'd give you something good yesterday, but I forgot because I was too busy during the day."
Saying this, he directly reached out and took the black copper coin from the Underworld God of Wealth's hand.And at some point, under this black copper coin, a thin white paper money was pressed:
A day's worth of Underworld Longevity Underworld Underworld Paper.
Seeing this, the black cat paused, then seemed to sense something. It opened its mouth and swallowed it.
Chu Qing smiled and stroked the little guy's fur, saying with a smile:
"I haven't even given you a name yet. Let me think. From now on, I'll call you Xuan Tong. Improve your rank soon. It's rare for you, little guy, to have this potential and talent. I'm not asking you to reach the level of that 'Nekomata' from the island country, but I don't keep idle people around me."
"Meow!"
Watching Chu Qing, who appeared to be mistreating a cat to outsiders, Fang Ping still couldn't hold back his questions:
"Brother Qing..."
"Alright, stop talking nonsense for now. Let's go hang the lantern."
Chu Qing carried the Human Head Lantern, while Fang Ping, with a heavy heart, picked up the ladder.
They arrived at the entrance.
Chu Qing hung the Human Head Lantern behind the main gate, slightly illuminating the darkness at the entrance of North Mountain Cemetery.
He glanced at the Big Red Lantern and nodded:
"Stay with me, well. If you run off and I have to catch you again, you won't be this lucky next time. But don't worry, I'm not unreasonable. Your Underworld Longevity won't be lacking."
Satisfied, he leaped down from the ladder. Chu Qing looked up at the scene before him.
Behind the dark gate, on the mast where it was hung, a Big Red Lantern looked so dazzling.
The desolate graves and broken tombstones in the distance rendered the scene exceptionally eerie and terrifying.
However, Chu Qing, holding Xuan Tong, didn't rush back to the gatehouse.
Instead, he strode towards the upper part of North Mountain Cemetery in the middle of the night.
Fang Ping followed behind. Ten minutes later, they arrived at the highest peak of North Mountain Cemetery.
They stood there, overlooking the entire Luocheng.
Chu Qing finally said:
"Pingzi, North Mountain Cemetery now has a total of three and a half anomalies, and there will be more in the future. Do you understand what that means?"
Fang Ping nodded. He thought for a moment and made up his mind:
"Brother Qing, I want to go to the countryside."
"The countryside? You think you can escape those anomalies by doing that? That's a bit naive."
However, to Chu Qing's surprise, Fang Ping shook his head:
"No, I know. I've seen clearly these past few days, Brother Qing. I want to be by my parents' side. I know I can live a little longer here with you, but my parents only have me as their son. Now, it's my turn to protect them."
Chu Qing was stunned.
Half a minute later, he nodded:
"Alright, don't forget the method I taught you. After midnight tomorrow, fold ten yourself, burn them to ash, and drink them mixed with water. I don't need to teach you the rest. If you encounter any danger, you can contact me by phone. I might not make it in time, but I can collect your corpse for you."
This was the promotion method for the Paper Effigy Maker's Yin Position.
Fang Ping nodded excitedly. He didn't even ask Chu Qing how he knew so much.
Because he had learned something tonight.
However, in the end, he still looked at Chu Qing, who was overlooking the darkness of Luocheng, and couldn't help but ask:
"Brother Qing, King Chujiang... does he really exist?"