Inside the abandoned building...
"This place looks dirty... It even stinks." Shayan kicks the small mound of dry leaves, blowing them away while pinching her nose.
Shayu gave her a subtle glance. Sighing, he said,
"Not that we have a better choice for scouting..."
"I'm not blaming you..." she said, moving her gaze away. "...I just don't like dirty places. I'm not used to it."
Shayu pursed his lips.
Come to think of it, dragging her here was insensitive on my part.
"I'm sorry, sis. I should've known better. Why don't you take a rest? Let me take care of things here."
Shayan frowned.
"I told you it's not your fault. It's just... never mind."
"It's settled then?" he asked, smiling wryly.
"OK. Be careful..." she replied.
Shayu snapped his fingers. Just like a bubble, Shayan vanished on the spot, leaving only a trail of her scent.
When his sister was gone, Shayu's expression relaxed. With fewer people, he could move freely. Not that Shayu underestimated her strength; it's just that they weren't dealing with only two people.
His gaze drifted toward the wide-open field cemetery. Though there was a vast distance from the building surrounded by trees, making it impossible for a normal person to see, Shayu had sharp eyes, and with his ability, it wasn't a problem to peek while staying hidden.
Staring at its state, every grave had been dug, with the corpse of Zhang's grandfather stolen.
He inwardly disdained it.
Zensei sure would do anything to get the secret arts. They have no respect for the dead...
Saying this, he suddenly felt weird.
Wait... Isn't our family's secret art involved with souls? That's actually way worse...
Glancing around, Shayu found two familiar people arguing in the graveyard.
"That's... Feng Bao-Bao from the delivery express and Zhang Chu-Lan!"
A/N: In the anime, this event happened during nighttime.
"Am I dreaming? This must be a bad dream!!!"
Zhang Chu-Lan said, clutching his head with both hands, shaking it in disbelief.
At first, he received news that a grave robber had dug up his grandfather's grave, and now someone claiming to be his relative, Zhang Bao-Bao (the granddaughter of Zhang), showed up.
Chu-Lan didn't recognize her. Still, after receiving the news, he rushed from school, arriving there at nighttime, planning to visit the graveyard.
On his way, he caught a long-haired girl digging a grave nearby. This startled Chu-Lan, but he turned on his phone and managed to capture a photo of her before running away in panic.
But the woman chased after him with a shovel and a butcher knife. Instead of getting hacked, she slashed the zombie tailing after him. Chu-Lan was grateful. He asked if she was the sister the police said had visited before.
Instead of answering, Bao-Bao suddenly carried Chu-Lan and threw him into his grandfather's grave, planning to bury him alive.
"HEY, WAIT! WAIT!!! STOP, STOP! I'M SERIOUSLY GOING TO DIE IN HERE!!"
His ear-piercing scream woke up the sleeping corpses around him, which resurfaced above ground. Seeing this, Chu-Lan screamed louder in panic.
"SOMEONE SAVE ME!! SAVE ME!"
But his noise only drew their attention to him. Bao-Bao, who kicked the zombie away, turned her head around, staring at him in disdain.
"This is stupid. I'm done."
She said, kicking the ground and vanishing on the spot, leaving him alone surrounded by zombies.
"H-hey, wait! Damn, she really left!"
Chu-Lan was momentarily in a daze. Before he knew it, the zombies were getting closer.
"Erm... I'm not tasty. I doubt you'll like eating my flesh..."
Observing from a distance, Shayu narrowed his eyes in suspicion.
"Those express delivery people... It wasn't confirmed whether he is truly an outsider. If not, they are violating a rule here. Normal people shouldn't be involved in outsider activity!"
Seeing him panic and crawl backward into the grave, Shayu decided to step up.
"It looks like I have to save him. Those guys are troublesome."
He was about to teleport but noticed some changes in Zhang Chu-Lan.
His eyes showed no trace of fear. He stood up and stretched out his hand toward the zombies as if grasping them. A small, round spark formed on his palm, then suddenly turned into a burst of lightning.
"That was... Zhang Xin Lei (Palm Thunder)!"
Shayu's eyes widened in horror. Unknowingly, a smirk curved at the corner of his mouth.
"It looks like he is an outsider as well—and a big shot at that."
Observing him roast the zombies easily, Shayu nodded in satisfaction. He hadn't foreseen this outcome. He avoided divination to produce a clean report.
"Zhang Huai-Yi... We never knew you had a connection with the Tenshi... Father must know this!"
Shayu mumbled. While Chu-Lan was killing zombies, he locked his gaze in a certain direction. Seeing his target, he punched the air, performing a simple left jab.
After retrieving his fist, a red line formed atop his index and middle fingers.
"Interesting..."
Shayu added. He observed Chu-Lan finish before leaving the scene. There was nothing more to do here; it was better to leave early.
On the other side...
The long black-haired lady, Feng Bao-Bao, stared in Shayu's direction. A drip of blood came from her butcher knife. Holding it tightly, she muttered,
"I wonder who that was..."
Just a few seconds ago, she felt a strong murderous intent aiming at the back of her head. Bao-Bao turned around and slashed horizontally.
Since it disappeared, she didn't think much of it and proceeded to walk to meet her friend.
After a while...
Feng Bao-Bao was having a conversation with someone from the delivery express—a black-haired boy with glasses, Xu San.
"You left him alone?" Xu San asked in panic. It wasn't confirmed yet whether Zhang Chu-Lan was truly an outsider. If he were an ordinary human, it would be troublesome for them.
"Relax. He will be fine..." Feng Bao-Bao calmly replied.
Just then, they heard a loud thunder strike (it was the second time for Bao-Bao). Looking at the sparking lightning, Feng Bao-Bao mumbled, "See... I told you he would be fine."
Xu San narrowed his gaze. "Let's check it out. Come on, Feng Bao-Bao..."