Xia Zhi’s men guarded all entrances and exits of the bar. Feedback from the walkie-talkies indicated that no one had left the premises yet.
The police had managed to apprehend quite a few Triad members in the backstage area.
However, Yan Shouyi and his team’s real target was not these thugs. If they couldn’t find the people selling the talismans, their trip tonight would be in vain.
Xia Zhi frowned and asked, "Do they perhaps possess powerful spells, like teleportation?"
Yan Shouyi shook his head. "Although teleportation-like spells exist within the Xuanmen, they are definitely not something these low-level thugs can learn."
Last time, in the heavenly prison of Longhu Mountain, his second uncle, Wei Changqing, had used a teleportation-like spell, but that was with the aid of Qimen Dunjia and over a considerable period.
Based on Yan Shouyi's estimation, if these talisman-selling individuals knew teleportation spells, they wouldn’t have resorted to selling talismans. They were clearly minor players, but the mastermind behind them might be someone of significant standing.
Xia Zhi furrowed her brow. "They haven’t left the bar, but they aren’t in the bar either..."
Yan Shouyi scanned the lounge, his gaze finally settling on the half-smoked cigar.
Compared to the cigarette butts scattered throughout the lounge, the cigar placed beside the solitary sofa indicated its owner was undoubtedly extraordinary.
Yan Shouyi walked over, picked up the cigar, and asked Xia Zhi, "Officer Xia Zhi, do you have a floor plan of the bar's backstage area?"
"Yes."
Xia Zhi immediately summoned a police officer, who delivered the pre-prepared floor plan.
The bar spanned over two thousand square meters, and the backstage area was equally intricate. Long Feicheng found himself dizzy from looking at it.
Yan Shouyi took out a stick of incense from his satchel, inserted its tip into the cigar, and muttered incantations.
Soon, the incense was lit, emitting wisps of blue smoke.
Yan Shouyi then formed hand seals, held the incense between his fingers, and the burning end of the trembling incense began to slowly trace a path on the map!
"Is this... Ouija?" Xia Zhi asked in surprise.
Long Feicheng chuckled. "This isn't Ouija, at best it's incense summoning!"
"If you don't understand, don't spout nonsense..." Yan Shouyi shot Long Feicheng a glare. "This is merely an extension of Soul Tracing Technique. I taught it to you before, but you didn't pay attention."
Long Feicheng's face flushed as he vaguely recalled learning such a move, but the memory was as hazy as his elementary school math teacher explaining numerators and denominators.
He had a memory!
But not much!
After extinguishing the incense, Yan Shouyi examined the map and immediately found something.
The incense had burned a path on the map. The route wound through several turns along the backstage corridor from the lounge, eventually leading into a dead end and seemingly through a wall.
Yan Shouyi put down the map and said gravely, "It seems the bar has a hidden door."
Xia Zhi was unsurprised. "Many such establishments have similar designs."
"It seems these fellows are trying to pull a fast one," Yan Shouyi said coldly. "Let's go find them directly!"
If they had tried to escape through the back door, there might have been a chance, as ordinary police officers might not have been able to stop individuals with Daoist abilities.
But by their own cleverness, they hid behind the bar's secret door, which, for Yan Shouyi, was as good as catching a turtle in a jar.
...
In a dim corridor, the long-haired man and his subordinates were either squatting or sitting, all silent.
One disciple couldn't help but say, "Elder, the only ones guarding the back door are a few police officers. What are we afraid of them for?"
"Have you forgotten what the Sect Master said?" The man in the baseball cap admonished in place of the elder. "Don't stir up trouble!"
The disciple remained unconvinced, muttering, "We even dealt with Lu Xiong. Are we afraid of a few small police officers?"
Seeing the disciple dare to talk back, the man in the baseball cap did not tolerate it and slapped him across the face!
*Slap!*
The loud slap echoed in the corridor, causing the other disciples to shrink their heads and dare not speak.
The man in the baseball cap said coldly, "We have just entered Rongcheng, and our foundation is unstable. It is not advisable to attract attention. The Sect Master acted against Lu Xiong to make him one of our subordinates. Don't you even understand this?"
The long-haired man coughed at the opportune moment, interrupting.
"Alright, stop arguing. For us to establish ourselves in Rongcheng, this is only the first step. Once the Sect Master's plan succeeds, what happened today will not occur again."
Hearing this, everyone felt slightly more at ease.
However, just as they relaxed, a series of clicking sounds suddenly came from the corridor.
The long-haired man's expression changed drastically!
Someone had opened the hidden door!
Was it someone from the bar?
Or did those thugs give us away?
The man in the baseball cap looked at the long-haired man. "Elder, we..."
The long-haired man's face was extremely grim, his eyes flashing with cold light.
"They are seeking their own demise, and we cannot be blamed."
His unwillingness to cause trouble earlier was to avoid escalating the situation.
But now that the other party had forced their hand, the long-haired man had no choice but to choose the last resort – eliminate witnesses!
No matter how many people came today, they would all be killed!
*Creak!*
The hidden door was pushed open.
Everyone held their breath, staring in the direction of the hidden door.
The light widened, illuminating the corridor. A young figure appeared behind the door. Due to the backlighting, his appearance was unclear, but one could vaguely see that he was carrying a satchel.
"Attack."
The long-haired man made a decisive command.
Several disciples immediately moved, throwing throwing knives.
The knives were lightning-fast and aimed directly at the person's head. If he didn't dodge, these knives would pierce his eye sockets and his brain.
However, the figure behind the door merely raised a hand to block.
*Clink, clink, clink—*
The throwing knives struck the person's arm, but failed to pierce it even slightly, all bouncing off and falling to the ground!
"What?!"
Everyone was shocked.
They had practiced their throwing knife skills diligently, not only able to easily hit a cockroach from thirty meters away, but also possessing exaggerated force, enough to pierce ordinary wooden boards.
Yet, with such force, they couldn't harm the newcomer at all?!
This was no ordinary policeman!
Who was this person?
Yan Shouyi stood outside the door, looking at the group hiding in the darkness, anger burning in his eyes.
Were these the people selling talismans?!
In just a few days, dozens of people must have indirectly died because of them!
At this moment, the long-haired man suddenly regained his senses.
He reached into his pocket, pulled out a handful of talismans, and threw them at Yan Shouyi, shouting, "Possessed by evil spirits!"
There were at least thirty-odd talismans scattered in the air.
Before the talismans hit the ground, they all ignited without fire, transforming into ferocious evil spirits!
They floated in the air, hung upside down from the ceiling, or had only half their bodies remaining, appearing incredibly terrifying.
The long-haired man sneered inwardly: Even if you have an invulnerable body, can you handle so many evil spirits?