Inside the house.
Aunt looked up at the wall clock, lost in thought.
The table in front of him was full of cold dishes, almost exactly the same as when Lin Qiye and Lin Xi Chen left.
After some time, Yang Jin reached out and used his chopsticks to pick up a piece of meat and put it into his aunt's bowl.
"Mom, let's eat."
"Sigh..." Aunt shook her head and sighed deeply. "Your brother ran out halfway through the meal and hasn't come back yet. Could something have happened to him?"
"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Maybe his classmates saw that his eyes were better and insisted on taking him out to eat," Yang Jin comforted him softly. "Or maybe he went to buy medicine for Xiaochen."
Hearing Yang Jin's words, Auntie's expression visibly relaxed a little, but then she became worried again.
"But he went out without an umbrella."
"Mom..." Yang Jin stood up, pointed out the window, and spoke calmly.
"The rain has stopped."
...
The rain has indeed stopped.
The hazy moonlight pierced through the clouds, spilling into the silent, deserted night, where all was still.
In the open space not far away, the tattered signboard had been removed, and the blood and flesh scattered on the ground had been cleaned up, leaving only the hideous sword marks on the ground and spear holes used to restraint something in place, silently telling the story of what happened last night.
Perhaps tomorrow morning, someone will discover this mysterious crack, and they will make many guesses, but they will never know the truth.
A few raindrops slid down the eaves and landed in the muddy little pond, creating ripples.
Plop—!
A paw stepped into the puddle, splashing water.
In the dark, on the scarred open ground, a small black mangy dog was walking over unhurriedly.
Around its neck hung a small cloth bag.
It passed through the cracks and stopped beside a clean patch of ground.
A dozen minutes ago, a man's corpse had been lying here.
It lowered its head, and a faint light appeared in its pitch-black eyes.
Suddenly,
It opened its mouth,
And spoke in human language,
Its voice low and grand!
"Let the soul return..."
...
Peace Bridge, Cangnan City.
Peace Bridge is a large bridge in the suburbs of Cangnan City. The Jiangnan Grand Canal runs through the entire city of Cangnan under the bridge. Countless pedestrians and vehicles cross this bridge every day, making it one of the landmarks of Cangnan City.
At the head of the Peace Bridge, there are many small shops on both sides. On one of the seemingly most inconspicuous shops, there is an old, big red sign.
—Peace Office.
Like other shops near the Peace Bridge, it's not big, only a little over 200 square meters, just a tiny bit bigger than a typical Lanzhou noodle shop next to a school.
It's not just because its name is too common, but more importantly, because the shops on both sides of it are too conspicuous.
On the left is a wedding planning company decorated in a very festive and colorful way, called "Peace Wedding Planning".
On the right is a funeral service shop called "Peace Funeral Service," decorated with white satin ribbons and wreaths.
On the left, wedding celebrations are in full swing, while on the right, funerals are taking place, with expressions of profound grief.
Between these two extremes, the Peace Agency is like a transparent shop, unable to attract any attention.
If one had to say what its special feature was, it might be its name. Most agencies specialize in different things: law firms specialize in lawsuits, detective agencies specialize in solving cases, accounting firms specialize in bookkeeping...
But this shop has no prefix, only the two characters "Peace", making it impossible to figure out what it does.
At this moment, in the underground of the Peace Agency.
In the spacious and bright hall, a boy sat on the sofa with his head down, staring at the floor tiles under his feet, silent.
There were six other people sitting in the hall.
"So, you're the Seraph agent that Old Zhao was responsible for finding?" Wu Xiangnan asked Lin Qiye, sitting on the other sofa. He glanced at Lin Xi Chen, who had been staring fixedly at the ground, looking utterly dazed. "And you are the Lucifer's Agent that Old Zhao is also looking for?"
"Mm.."
"That's right."
After a brief silence, Wu Xiangnan slowly spoke:
"My name is Wu Xiangnan, and I'm the deputy captain of the 136th Night Watch Team stationed in Cangnan City. The one leaning against the pillar in black is Captain Chen Muye."
Lin Qiye followed Wu Xiangnan's gaze and saw a man with his hands in his pockets silently watching him from beside a pillar not far away.
Noticing Lin Qiye's gaze, Chen Muye nodded slightly in acknowledgment.
Wu Xiangnan turned to the remaining four people, "Don't just stand there like idiots, introduce yourselves."
At this moment, the woman, sitting alone on a single sofa, hugging her legs and with her hair still wet, slightly raised her head, revealing a pair of reddened eyes.
"Night Watch Squad 136, main combat force, Hongying."
Lin Qiye recognized her; the reason they were here was because Hongying had brought her.
After Hongying finished speaking, the man standing next to her, holding a towel, smiled and said:
"Night Watch Squad 136, main combat force: Wen Qimo."
Immediately afterward, the girl who was huddled together nearby, also crying her eyes out, raised her head slightly and said softly, "Si Xiaonan, combat support and part-time medic for the Night Watch Squad 136."
"Night Watch Squad 136, long-range fire support, Leng Xuan," the man sitting to the side, holding a sniper rifle, said coldly.
After everyone had finished introducing themselves, Wu Xiangnan spoke again:
"Lin Qiye and Lin Xi Chen right? Regarding Zhao Kongcheng's death in battle... Is there anything else you'd like to add?"
"I've made myself perfectly clear," Lin Qiye said calmly. "Zhao Kongcheng opened the [Boundless Void Domain] and fought the Ghost-Faced King alone, ultimately perishing together."
"Were you there when they were fighting?"
"I was."
"How did you get into the [No-Rules Zone]?"
"I glared at it, and it opened."
Wu Xiangnan opened his mouth, his brows furrowing slightly, "Could you describe their battle in detail? For example, how did Zhao Kongcheng kill the Ghost-Faced King?"
"He swung his sword, slicing out a huge black crescent moon, and chopped off the Ghost-Faced King's head," Lin Qiye said.
"A black crescent moon..." Wu Xiangnan frowned and pondered.
Just then, Chen Muyi, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up: "It's [Ming Sheng Shan Yue]. Old Zhao used the Ghost God Guide... to activate his forbidden state."
Wen Qimo exclaimed in surprise, "Sequence 083 [Eternal Lightning]? That's a high-risk forbidden area!"
"I didn't expect... Uncle Zhao was right. I used to think he was just narcissistic..." Si Xiaonan said weakly, pursing her lips.
"No, he's just narcissistic." Chen Muye's lips curled slightly upward, a hint of reminiscence flashing in his eyes. "I think that guy probably couldn't quite believe it when he saw his own Forbidden Ruins, right?"
"If we had been there, he would have kept pestering us to say that his Forbidden Ruins was the most handsome of all..." Hongying seemed to be thinking of an interesting scene, and the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, but the light in her eyes quickly dimmed.
Looking into Lin Qiye's eyes, Wu Xiangnan spoke again: "There's another problem. Judging from the Ghost King's corpse, its fatal wounds were a series of sword wounds, as well as inexplicable burn marks... and there are marks resembling those caused by a spear, from when it restrained the Ghost King. But [Ming Sheng Shan Yue] doesn't seem to possess these characteristics."
"What's going on?"
Lin Qiye frowned, looked into Wu Xiangnan's eyes, and spoke slowly and deliberately:
"I've made myself very clear: Zhao Kongcheng faced the Ghost Face King alone, fought to the death... and in the end, killed the Ghost Face King single-handedly!"