Chapter 215: An Que’s New Flame
Unlike Li Tianan, who simply doesn’t care, these folks are all about cashing in on the Ghost Gate. It’s either raising gu (a form of ancient Chinese folk sorcery) and feeding the strongest ghost as their main meal, or once an evil ghost gets mature enough, they turn it into something like a ghost pill to nourish the soul.
Now, that whole “soul” concept is like mist; nobody really knows what it is specifically. The only thing for certain is that souls exist, and the stronger the soul, the better the body’s condition can potentially be.
And here’s the kicker, gobbling up ghost pills makes your soul stronger!
Once your soul gets buffed up, it can resist mental attacks from evil ghosts to a degree. Take the Evil Ghost’s wall-hitting game—once your soul is strong enough, you can completely brush off any wall-hitting effects without even trying to break the wall down yourself.
Heck, with a powerful soul, you might even have some resistance against the curses of Evil Gods.
As a gatekeeper, having a strong soul is a must.
Of course, the methods of crafting ghost pills are a closely-guarded secret, with restrictions—only possible with the help of core members from the two big-headed leaders. So a lone wolf gatekeeper? No chance in hell!
That’s why they must check on the Ghost Gate every day, to prevent any issues, like one ghost getting too hungry and devouring the others, or a new evil ghost popping out of the gate. If a Red Clothes ghost showed up, it wouldn’t take long before all ghosts were wiped out in a few nights.
But witnessing all the ghosts disappear in one night? Now that was a first for them.
If there was some scary Red Clothes ghost slipping in and snacking on these souls, at least some would remain, right? It’s not like they could scarf down dozens of ghosts in one sitting!
We’re talking about more than just a few ghosts here!
To clear three Ghost Gates in one night is no small feat—each gate has at least forty ghosts. Total that up, and you’re looking at over a hundred ghosts!
What kind of appetite does a Red Clothes ghost have that could munch through over a hundred ghosts in just one night? Not even a starving ghost could manage that.
They couldn’t help but wonder: was some other force behind this? That was the only explanation for all the craziness happening.
Without hesitation, they reported it up the chain: if this continued, who knows what else might vanish next?
—
An Que was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, mumbling some chanting and quietly reciting Buddhist scriptures. In his hand, he flicked a string of prayer beads, and from a distance, one might mistake him for an actual monk.
The office was infused with a faint, non-choking mist that didn’t obscure vision. Coupled with the Buddhist-themed décor, anyone walking in might think they’d entered a temple!
Knock knock knock!
The sound of knocking pulled him back from his thoughts.
“Come in,” An Que said, opening his eyes.
“President, we have a situation in Pinhai City.” The Bald Gatekeeper bowed his head and quickly stated, “The gatekeeper over there reported that several Ghost Gates were swept clean overnight, and all the ghosts have vanished, attacked by an unknown organization. As of now, we have no useful leads.”
“The people down there believe this is a deliberate act against us by the Ghost Domain. They think no one but them could pull this off.”
“In just one night, one hundred and eighty-three ghosts disappeared, leaving the Ghost Gates desolate.”
An Que jumped to his feet from the cushion and hurried over to the Bald Gatekeeper. “One night?”
“Actually, it’s two days. The first night only one gate got cleaned out, so it didn’t get reported. Last night, three gates were almost simultaneously cleared out,” he clarified.
An Que rubbed his temples, deeply frowning, his eyes reflecting concern.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be the people from the Ghost Domain—look into this again. Focus on the Evil Gods. Check if that son of the Lu family and Zhao Mingyue have made an appearance locally. I want a report in half an hour.”
“Understood.”
The Bald Gatekeeper’s expression shifted, and he exited the office.
Leaning back in his chair, An Que pulled out an old photograph from the desk. It captured a scene of Eternal Life Village from decades ago. Due to age, the picture was black and white and quite blurry, but you could vaguely see shadows hovering ominously above the village.
“Is that really you?”
Less than thirty minutes later—just over twenty, in fact—the Bald Gatekeeper returned, this time carrying a laptop.
“President, we’ve done our investigation, and as you guessed, footage from the vicinity of the Ghost Gates shows that Lu Liangting’s vehicle passed through. However, inside the gates, the surveillance was impacted by the Evil God’s magnetic field; most of the footage is just black.”
Setting the laptop on the table, he magnified a few pictures that showcased Lu Liangting’s sleek black luxury car.
“Lu Liangting…”
An Que closed his eyes, making a subtle gesture. The Bald Gatekeeper swiftly caught on, stowing away the laptop and hurriedly exiting the office.
—
“Smile! Smile! If you don’t smile for the photo, you’ll regret it when it’s on display at home every day, wondering why you didn’t flash a sweet smile!”
Sunshine, sandy beaches, swimsuits, and lolis.
Zhao Mingyue aimed her phone at Bai Yu, who was sporting a blue inflatable duck lifebuoy around her waist, wearing an expression that was almost unnervingly cute—a sort of creepy uncle vibe.
Today, Bai Yu’s swimwear was quite conservative, thanks to Zhao Mingyue’s not-so-innocent suggestions from that night. It was a swimsuit that doubled as a sun-shielding outfit.
She wore denim shorts and a tank top, with only her two slender, fair legs exposed, while the top left almost nothing visible at all.
She felt the outfit was way too short, barely covering half her thighs and not even reaching her knees.
Zhao Mingyue’s outfit was a similar story; she had thrown on a white cover-up for sun protection. As she put it, she wasn’t going into the water, so wearing swimsuits was unnecessary.
Click!
The photo of Bai Yu was captured.
Still no smile, and her expression had grown even more disdainful, holding the same haughty air as if she were judging insects.
“Perfect!”
As soon as Zhao Mingyue closed her phone, she caught a glimpse through the screen’s reflection of three yellow-haired youths swaggering toward her and Bai Yu.
The trio looked young, just in their early twenties, tall and muscular, all around six feet.
Shirtless, clad in nothing but shorts, their swagger hinted at a certain rowdy bravado.
“Hey there, big sister, bringing your sister out to play?”
“Standing here just to snap photos is no fun! Come on, let’s hit the waves! Swim, dive, you know? Can you surf? If you can’t, I can teach you!” one of the yellow-haired guys shouted, maneuvering himself closer.
“Wait wait wait, big sister, don’t listen to him! This guy is a total landlubber! Choose me instead; I was the champ in the school swimming competition! I’ve been surfing for years! Don’t worry; I’ll make sure you and your sister won’t choke on water!”
“Don’t listen to either of them! They aren’t even athletes! They’re just bunch of weaklings! The day of the swimming contest, only five people showed up!” one said, puffing his chest out proudly—I mean, what a fatal flaw as he branded himself the “sports” kid!
The three blabbed at each other, all while staring greedily at Zhao Mingyue’s chest.
I mean, given the size of it, could you blame them? It was like a rich feast you didn’t want to skip!
Too bad she’s rollin’ in cash but denying any generosity.
At the beach, wearing that heavy cover-up while she should be flaunting a bikini? C’mon, child, this isn’t summer camp!
“Thanks, but no thanks. I’m allergic to seawater,” Zhao Mingyue said coolly, waving Bai Yu over. “Let’s go get some drinks.”
“Hey, don’t walk away! How about we exchange numbers?”
Just as Zhao Mingyue turned to leave, one of the yellow-haired guys blocked her path.
Before he could say anything more, someone patted him on the shoulder.
Lu Liangting stood behind him, “That’s crossing the line. You do your thing; we do ours. Why interfere? Didn’t your parents teach you the meaning of manners? You shouldn’t just bother people, should you?”
“Get lost!” the yellow-haired guy fumed.
It proved there will always be arrogant sc*m in the world. Humanity’s quality? As varied as they come. Particularly for girls like Zhao Mingyue—petite but pretty; they generally attract bullies!
Even after all the tugging back and forth, with Zhao Mingyue already far to the side, those three were like super-glue trying to hold on.
Finally, Lu Liangting couldn’t stand it anymore, swinging a hard punch at the yellow-haired guy’s face, knocking him flat to the ground.
While the other two stood there dumbfounded, Lu Liangting swiftly lifted his leg and sent the other guy flying!
—
“So, this is your justification for throwing punches?”
In the police interrogation room, Lu Liangting calmly sat in the chair, facing two serious-looking officers.
“Yep,” he sighed, attempting to justify himself, “I can’t just stand by while my friend gets bullied! If I didn’t step up, she could have been in danger! C’mon, officer! Three big, strong adults against a seventeen-year-old girl? Doesn’t that scream ‘weak party’?”
“But one of the guys said this Zhao Mingyue girl knocked him out in one punch and kicked him twice, causing her cervical spine to misalign,” the officer on the left pointed with his pen at Lu Liangting. “Now answer me: what was your motive?”
“Officer, you actually believe that? A seventeen-year-old girl can knock someone out with one punch? And he claims he was knocked out; how does he know it was Zhao Mingyue who kicked him?”
“I admit, I did hit them; I’ll cover all medical expenses.”
“Meanwhile, my family is in contact with the families of those three, until we sort things out, that’s all I can say,” Lu Liangting felt a headache coming on. He wasn’t familiar with Pinhai City or its police.
The biggest issue was that this wasn’t even a scuffle; it was one-sided, with him doing the pounding.
This made it notably hard to deal with; one little slip could lead to charges of disturbing the peace.
But he figured it wouldn’t be a problem. He was confident he could get out tonight, and that was crucial; otherwise, Bai Yu couldn’t clear out those Ghost Gates.
Still, something felt off—the moment he knocked down those three yellow-haired punks, no one called the police, and yet they showed up mere minutes later, as if they’d received the news ahead of time!
And this police station was at least eight kilometers away from the beach where he threw the punches; there’s no way they could have arrived in five minutes!
Meanwhile, at the police station entrance, Zhao Mingyue was sitting on a bench, reflecting.
Just went out for some fun and came back to this mess.
She didn’t blame Lu Liangting; those guys were like glue. What could she do?
“Are you Zhao Mingyue?”
Six people marched in through the front door, surrounding Zhao Mingyue.
Each of them was carrying a box, dressed in black coats—those coats great for hiding weapons. They towered over her, their vibe completely different from ordinary folks.
By now, it was eight-thirty in the evening; most officers had clocked out, leaving the police station eerie and quiet.
Normally, police stations shouldn’t feel this creepy, but just sitting at the entrance sent chills up her spine.
Zhao Mingyue looked up, unflustered. “You’re Gatekeepers, right?”
“Come with us; we need to chat. Answer our questions honestly, and we’ll let you go.”
“Didn’t expect you guys to be this prompt! Fine, I’ll go with you, but I have a request. I can’t be separated from my sister.”
Zhao Mingyue had half-expected they’d shove her into a van and whisk her away to some secret location, but instead, they led her and Bai Yu straight into the police station’s lobby and pressed some buttons in the elevator, which unexpectedly went down to the basement instead of the third floor.
In the basement, a crowd of Gatekeepers surrounded them—there were at least twelve waiting, and not only that, but there was a Ghost Gate right there! Zhao Mingyue spotted a bunch of Evil Ghosts, and there were even seven in red clothes!
“Gatekeepers really know how to make an entrance! To trap us so quickly—did you take over the police station?” Zhao Mingyue held Bai Yu’s hand, sending a telepathic message.
“Some of the Gatekeepers are working with Evil Gods,” Bai Yu’s eyes narrowed.
Not that the people present were Evil Gods—no, the higher-ups among the Gatekeepers were definitely in cahoots with them.
Not too big of a deal for Zhao Mingyue, especially since she’d let Lu Liangting cruise around in his own car, exposing himself; she had weighed the risks.
She never intended to fly under the radar.
What she didn’t expect was An Que had a few tricks up his sleeve.
Was this guy trying to con another Godmother or what?
—
We still have more to go tonight!
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