Zhao Daxian was the first to notice that something was wrong with Chen Ping.
The others were all looking down, flipping through the files in their hands, when He Xiaoyi casually complained, "Ahem, the air conditioning in this reception room is quite strong. There’s a chilly draft blowing."
Sitting to the side, Zhang Yue looked up in confusion. "Considering Comrade Chen Ping’s unique situation, we didn’t install air conditioning in the reception room."
"Then it must be that Little Chen’s yin energy is too strong. It really isn’t good for ordinary people to stay around ghosts for too long."
He Xiaoyi nodded and advised the group, "But there’s no helping it; it’s for the sake of the job!"
"When you all get back, you should soak some grapefruit leaves in water and take a bath. Dried ones won't do; they have to be fresh grapefruit leaves to work. Also, try to eat more foods that tonify your blood and qi, like pig liver, spinach, radishes..."
"Master He, is there a specific explanation for this 'yin energy'? For example, can it be observed with the naked eye, or can it be neutralized by other substances?"
Fang Zijiang joined the conversation with great interest. "Also, regarding the grapefruit leaves you mentioned, what exactly is their function? Could you elaborate on that?"
"Well, if you put it that way, I really can’t give you a scientific answer. Grapefruit leaves ward off evil and filth. Many families in coastal areas use them to bathe newborns. Even people who have just been released from prison use grapefruit leaves dipped in water to wash away their filth and bad luck."
He Xiaoyi hesitated for a moment. "I can’t explain the scientific principles, but that’s what my grandfather told my father, and my father taught me the same way, step by step."
Seeing that Fang Zijiang was about to ask more, He Xiaoyi found himself unable to keep up and quickly changed the subject. "Ahem, why has Section Chief Qin been gone for so long? I’ve finished looking through these files. Let’s wait for her to come back and explain things to us. Ah, I’m getting old; my mind isn't as sharp as it used to be."
Fang Zijiang replied with a smile, "Section Chief Qin hasn't had much rest these past few days. She’s been working non-stop for almost a week. When I left work yesterday, I saw the lights in her office were off and thought she had gone home to rest. Who knew she’d spent the whole night organizing case files and hadn't gone home at all?"
"Section Chief Qin is amazing. I heard that back when she was tracking a fugitive, she stayed in the old forest for over a month."
Zhang Yue glanced toward the restroom and lowered her voice. "In all this time, I’ve never seen Section Chief Qin take a break. Privately, everyone in our section calls her the 'Iron Woman.'"
Sharing gossip about their superior quickly bridged the gap between the group members, who were still somewhat strangers to one another.
Meanwhile, Chen Ping, the focus of their previous discussion, was huddled in the corner, silent and looking profoundly guilty.
Zhao Daxian, who had been observing the group, suddenly sat up straight and leaned forward. "Chen Ping?"
The group’s attention finally landed on Chen Ping.
He was cowering in the corner, his entire body as stiff as a piece of wood. On his pale, bluish face, only his eyes indicated that he was a living being.
Although ghosts had no heartbeats and did not sweat, the others could see an extreme terror on his face, as if he were staring down a predatory beast.
He had become like a wax statue.
Only his pitch-black eyes kept darting toward the restroom.
Chen Ping suppressed the fear in his heart, his teeth chattering as he managed to force out a few words. "Ch-ch-ch-chief... d-d-dan... ger..."
Before the word "danger" could even fully leave his lips, Zhao Daxian practically sprang from the sofa.
"Qin Yue!"
"Chief Qin!"
"Qin Yue!"
"Section Chief Qin!"
Everyone in the meeting room stood up at once and rushed toward the corner of the room.
The glass door to the restroom was tightly shut. Wisps of visible cold air were seeping out from under the door. Through the frosted glass, a dark shadow could be vaguely seen standing right behind it.
"Qin Yue? Qin Yue, Qin Yue! Section Chief Qin?"
Zhao Daxian’s right hand formed a seal, and at some point, a small, dark peach wood sword had appeared in his left. He moved to shield the others behind him.
Calling out her name three times was a method to confirm if she had been possessed by something unclean.
From inside the restroom, Qin Yue’s voice drifted out.
"I’m fine. Don’t come in. That is an order."
Everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief.
"Back up! Don’t you feel it getting colder? Yin energy is turning into mist, and resentment is manifesting physically. We can’t handle whatever is in there!"
A rare look of gravity appeared on He Xiaoyi’s face. He pulled the Guanyin amulet from around his neck and clutched it in his palm. "It’s likely that Greater Ghost that was targeting Chen Ping before. Listen to me—everyone who can run, run!"
No one stopped to wonder how the thing had gotten in.
The entity had bypassed the building's security in broad daylight and silently approached Qin Yue. Even Chen Ping had been suppressed so heavily that he couldn't even call out a warning immediately.
Rather than wondering how it got in, it was better to think about how to survive.
"No! The section just started; we can’t take a loss like this. If you want to leave, then leave! I can’t afford to lose face like that."
Zhao Daxian let out a cold snort. "Officials are protected by an official aura. I want to see exactly what’s inside, pretending to be a ghost on government property."
"Section Chief Qin, I’m kicking the door on the count of three. One, two..."
"You!"
Bang!!
Just as the word "two" left his mouth, Zhao Daxian lashed out with a powerful, precise kick to the lock. The door handle fell off under the heavy impact, and a dark shadow lunged out from behind the door, heading straight for him!
Zhao Daxian smiled confidently. "Coming right for me! Try this treasure my master gave me—"
In the next second, a groin kick, arm deflect, hip block, leg sweep, wrist lock, and a reverse throat hold—before he could even finish his sentence, he had been subjected to a flawless set of grappling techniques.
Every strike whistled through the air and landed with a solid thud, though they were clearly pulled to avoid serious injury.
Qin Yue held Zhao Daxian in a joint lock, her right knee pinned firmly against his back, leaving him unable to move.
"The reason you were added to the action group was that the government hopes to deepen communication and cooperation with folk metaphysical organizations, not so you could come here to play around and pad your resume."
The short-haired woman’s brow furrowed slightly.
"If you ever again use your bit of skill as an excuse to ignore the chain of command and disobey my orders during an operation, I suggest you go back to your Taisu Monastery."
Zhao Daxian was completely stunned.
Although Qin Yue had intentionally restrained her strength, he had still taken a physical beating, and a purple bruise was already beginning to form on his cheek.
Looking past Qin Yue, the others could finally see the state of the restroom.
The mirror had been shattered by some unknown force, its surface covered in a dense, spiderweb-like network of cracks.
Water was everywhere on the floor, and a lingering white mist still hung in the air. Streaks of frost clung to the floor, the walls, and even the ceiling tiles.
Qin Yue let go of Zhao Daxian, stood up, and looked at the group.
"Just now, Target B from the Hongxing Mansion case was here. I had an exchange with her."
"Zhang Yue, immediately pull all relevant data on the 'Qianli Ghost Building' and Target B, as well as the magnetic field radiation data from inside the building for the last ten minutes."
"Zijiang, take your team and collect samples from the scene. Don’t miss a single fingerprint, hair, or shoe residue in the restroom."
"As for Master He and Zhao Daxian..."
Qin Yue paused for a moment and pursed her lips.
"Have either of you ever heard of a 'demon suppressor'?"
A demon suppressor?
What was that?
He Xiaoyi was completely baffled, and Zhao Daxian, nursing his bruise, looked just as lost.
Rate on N.U.
