The previously quiet excavator suddenly roared to life. Before the steel, human bodies were like thin paper, easily crushed and manipulated at will.
Just as the excavator's bucket was about to crush Huang Shihui, Long Feicheng suddenly lunged forward, pulling the unconscious Huang Shihui aside, narrowly dodging the fatal blow.
Yan Shouyi and Lin Zhitong also saw the figure in the excavator's cockpit. It turned out that person had been hiding inside the excavator the entire time!
The thought that everything that had just happened had been meticulously observed by this mysterious person sent a shiver of disgust down Yan Shouyi's spine.
If they hadn't happened to arrive at the construction site, Huang Shihui might have vanished without a trace like her father, leaving no clue behind.
And just a few minutes ago, this place had been a murder scene!
Fortunately, the killer's driving skills seemed poor; after a long while, they couldn't control the excavator to continue the attack, giving Long Feicheng a moment to catch his breath and hastily pull Huang Shihui out of the pit.
Yan Shouyi seized the opportunity, rushing forward, timing his jump onto the excavator, and forcefully yanking the door open.
"Come out!" he shouted, grabbing the person's collar and dragging them out of the excavator, slamming them to the ground.
The person fell heavily, apparently breaking several bones. Staggering to their feet, they wiped the blood from their lips and said coldly,
"I didn't expect a mere security guard to have some tricks up his sleeve. I intended to use the 'Hundred Ghosts Night Parade' to kill with a borrowed knife, but you managed to escape. Then I lured the little ghosts to cause trouble for you, but I miscalculated... It seems I have to handle this personally!"
Hearing this, Yan Shouyi's heart leaped. He hadn't realized that the "Hundred Ghosts Night Parade" from earlier was orchestrated by this guy.
Then how powerful would he be?
Under the moonlight, Yan Shouyi could vaguely make out that the other person was a tall, thin middle-aged man, also wearing a security uniform. However, Yan Shouyi was certain he had never seen this person before.
The man took out a black token from his embrace and, with a command, released two malevolent spirits.
The spirits, with bared teeth and claws, lunged at Yan Shouyi, while the man used the opportunity to escape!
Yan Shouyi was entangled by the spirits, unable to pursue the man. Lin Zhitong emerged midway, cutting off the man's escape route: "Where do you think you're going!"
"Someone from the Lu Shan Sect?!"
The man exclaimed, then threw a handful of powder forward. The powder hit the ground and summoned countless snakes, insects, rats, and ants to burrow out from beneath the earth, causing Lin Zhitong to scream and retreat in fright.
Easily driving Lin Zhitong away, the man immediately fled the construction site, not forgetting to leave a parting threat: "Kid, you're dead. The one you killed just now was a child of the Bai family from Flying Phoenix Mountain. This city of Rongcheng is the Bai family's territory. They will definitely come after you. You might as well wait for your death!"
The man escaped, and Yan Shouyi had dealt with the two spirits. Lin Zhitong stood on the excavator, still shaken.
"I thought you had some real skill, but it turns out to be all talk and no action, running away after releasing two spirits," Yan Shouyi sneered, dissatisfied with the outcome.
Lin Zhitong said indignantly, "Moreover, you only resort to despicable tricks. It seems the other party is not a righteous person, but a rogue traveling the martial world."
"Much like me," Yan Shouyi grinned. "What he sprinkled just now was powder made from the urine of female stink bugs. Snakes, insects, rats, and ants are most attracted to this scent, which is why they all rushed out like mad. I know that move too."
"Hmph." Lin Zhitong gave Yan Shouyi an annoyed glare.
Yan Shouyi reached out to help Lin Zhitong down from the excavator, but to his surprise, the woman hugged his head, refusing to come down.
"There are too many bugs underground, I'm scared. Carry me out," Lin Zhitong said.
Yan Shouyi was helpless against Lin Zhitong, so he hoisted her onto his shoulder and jumped out of the deep pit.
Long Feicheng was with the unconscious Huang Shihui. The four of them finally met properly.
Fortunately, despite the night's many surprises, no one was seriously injured. The only one in a more serious condition was Lin Zhitong, whose injuries were sustained while protecting Yan Shouyi.
"The identity of that guy... is very complicated. He's definitely involved in the Huang Song disappearance case, and he has a close connection with the Lu Shan Sect. Most importantly, he knows the surname of the Ghost King from tonight's patrol," Yan Shouyi analyzed, his head bowed. "He's likely a local of Rongcheng."
Long Feicheng quipped, "I could tell he was from Rongcheng just by his accent."
"How do you know he has a close relationship with our Lu Shan Sect?" Lin Zhitong asked, confused.
"When dealing with the little ghosts earlier, you clearly used the Lu Shan Sect's 'Five Ghosts Fighting Fiends,' yet that guy blurted out 'Lu Shan Sect' only after seeing your face. What does that tell you?" Yan Shouyi said. "It means he's seen you in some public event of the Lu Shan Sect before. He doesn't recognize the Lu Shan Sect's techniques, but he recognizes you, a disciple of the Lu Shan Sect!"
Lin Zhitong was astonished. After thinking about it, she felt a chill run down her spine. Such a murderer had met her at some unknown time.
"We decided to help Huang Shihui, and that night he kidnapped Huang Shihui, planning to bury her alive. It's likely that someone among us leaked the information, prompting the killer from back then to cruelly decide to eliminate all witnesses..."
Yan Shouyi gritted his teeth: "I never expected this murder case from eight years ago to involve so much, even connecting to the Ghost King family!"
Lin Zhitong also deeply felt the complexity and the vastness of these connections.
Especially with the involvement of the Ghost King family.
Whether alive or dead, people are divided by status. Ordinary people, upon death, either become ghosts in the mortal realm or reincarnate into the underworld. However, some individuals from prominent families, upon death, remain in the mortal realm, not only becoming ghosts but also continuing their family ties and bribing underworld connections, allowing them to continue their tyrannical ways.
The patriarchs of such families are called Ghost Kings.
Ghosts, drawing strength from the incense offerings of myriad families, also live on as long as their families endure. Ghost Kings do not need to kill personally; their descendants will actively gather Yang energy to offer to the Ghost King for consumption.
The minor spirits killed by Yan Shouyi and his companions were likely those who used that slingshot to strike souls, collecting them and then offering them to the Ghost King of their clan.
The Bai family is likely a powerful Ghost King family near Shanghang Art School, or rather, within Rongcheng.
"Brother Yan, hearing you talk about it so seriously, have we gotten into big trouble?" Long Feicheng asked with a grim expression.
But Yan Shouyi's reaction was not so heavy: "We'll deal with whatever comes our way. If we can't beat them, we can just leave Rongcheng. No matter how powerful a Ghost King is, they're just a local tyrant. Outside of Rongcheng, they're nothing."
Long Feicheng gave a wry smile: "Even if you say that, it's hard for me not to be scared..."
Yan Shouyi patted Long Feicheng's shoulder and stood up, saying, "We'll worry about those bothersome matters later. For now, let's unearth Huang Song's remains and bring justice for the events of eight years ago. That guy burying Huang Shihui here just proves we're in the right place! Enough talk, let's dig!"