Someone inside angrily whispered: “Fuck, how did it catch fire, quick, run! …Wait, can’t alert anyone, first get rid of that guy outside!”
Another person loudly said: “Got it, we’ll stop burning! Damn troublesome!”
Whether their quiet conversation or loud scolding, under the talisman’s effect, Luo Yingbai heard everything clearly. Seeming scared by their rudeness, he smiled apologetically: “That’s good, sorry to trouble you.”
After saying this, Luo Yingbai walked away a few steps, then silently returned, positioning himself by the door.
A little girl’s weak voice sounded briefly, then seemed to be quickly muffled. Luo Yingbai had finally found who he was looking for and breathed a sigh of relief.
Immediately, the door opened, with a burnt smell spreading. In such a short time, the room was already filled with thick black smoke. A tall man holding a gagged little girl rushed out, with another person holding a gun following close behind.
The man holding the child also had a dagger, pressed against the girl’s artery.
The moment they exited, Luo Yingbai sprang out, delivering a beautifully executed mid-air kick that precisely hit the gunman’s wrist. He followed with a series of kicks that sent the man flying, quickly grabbing the gun that had been kicked into the air and pressing it against the child-holding man’s temple before he could move: “Don’t move.”
The man’s hand froze. With considerable psychological resilience, he growled: “Do you want to die together?”
The fire grew larger, and people needed to be warned to evacuate. Luo Yingbai wasn’t afraid to kill, but the knife’s position was too dangerous. Even a slight hit would give the man enough strength to slice the child’s artery.
During this standoff, a voice suddenly called from behind: “Move!”
This light shout was incredibly familiar to Luo Yingbai. Without thinking or hesitating, his body naturally shifted aside.
A gunshot rang out, precisely hitting the man’s knife-wielding wrist. Amid the man’s loud scream, the child fell, and Luo Yingbai rolled to catch and protect her.
By now, the thick smoke and flames were about to burst out.
Xia Xianning stepped forward, blocking in front of Luo Yingbai, forming a seal with his hands, chanting with changing gestures:
“Purple ascending heaven, crimson clouds unmoving, water essence requested, supreme ultimate circle, by my command, retreat!”
Standing alone, his magical seal formed, blue light splashing, actually forcing the fire to retreat, sealed within a circle, temporarily unable to spread.
The fire department had also arrived. Seeing the little girl successfully rescued, they immediately began firefighting and evacuation. Those following Xia Xianning pressed the two suspects down. Due to the swift actions of both sides, no personnel were injured.
Luo Yingbai was already standing, holding the child. Xia Xianning patted the dust off him: “You okay?”
Luo Yingbai always felt happy seeing him, with his smile returning to his face. He shook his head: “Not bad, you weren’t slow.”
Xia Xianning gave a light snort: “No need for your praise.”
Saying this, he still extended his fist to bump with Luo Yingbai’s, both their faces showing amusement.
He was originally going to look for traces of yin energy, but before he could start, he received a message from Luo Yingbai at the window: “No ghost shadows seen, authenticity suspicious.”
But yin energy and murderous energy are separate, traces hard to discern, seems to be sealed.
“No ghost shadows seen” – could it mean that the “ghost” the children spoke of was not a real ghost? If not a ghost, what could it be?
After he thought of this, the seal on the boy’s corpse was dropped by blood energy on Luo Yingbai’s side, and the yin energy suddenly burst out without obstruction, allowing him to determine the exact location. When he arrived, he had just successfully coordinated with Luo Yingbai.
Luo Yingbai touched the little girl’s forehead, knowing she was probably just drugged and her body was unharmed, which finally put his mind at ease. Looking at the firelight, he said, “Didn’t expect this matter to blow up so big.”
Xia Xianning took the child from his hands, took off his coat to wrap her up. After doing this, he noticed a trace of blood on Luo Yingbai’s face, and his heart suddenly softened, unable to help but reach out and wipe it.
Xia Xianning said, “There’s something I need to tell you. In the past hour, the police station received over twenty alarm calls, all because of this incident. Fortunately, these supernatural cases are transferred to the Special Investigation Unit, and I intercepted them all.
Luo Yingbai thought of Xu Zhe’s words and suddenly felt he understood something: “You mean…”
Xia Xianning said, “They all said they saw it on the live broadcast.”
Luo Yingbai: “…Xianning, what should I do? I think I might become famous.”
Xia Xianning, unchanged: “This is a good thing.”
Luo Yingbai, depressed: “What’s good about it? I’m so excellent, once it spreads, there will definitely be many people wanting to harm me.”
Xia Xianning: “…Don’t overthink it.”
The two bickered while going downstairs. The ambulance had already arrived, and Xia Xianning handed the child to the doctor. The scene was chaotic.
Everyone was busy calming the residents scared by the fire and fight, investigating the situation, handling the corpse and yin energy, putting out the fire, and cleaning up.
Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, he was surrounded by reporters who had rushed over.
Xia Xianning had always been a favorite of reporters, not only because the Special Investigation Unit always handled dangerous situations, but also because Xia Xianning himself was a walking headline.
As the eldest grandson of the Xia family, due to the special nature of his job, Xia Xianning didn’t need to rely on family power to become a full-rank official at such a young age.
With his beautiful looks and outstanding ability, many people were still paying attention to him. Unfortunately, Director Xia was too aloof. He simply introduced the situation, but was extremely sparing with words, which made the reporters very frustrated.
On the other side, Gou Songze re-sealed the little boy’s corpse, had two people wrap it in white cloth and carry it down, and Xu Zhe also handcuffed and took someone back to the Special Investigation Unit for questioning.
Gou Songze saw Luo Yingbai and immediately strode over, asking, “How are you?”
Luo Yingbai: “I’m fine.”
Gou Songze: “That’s good. You scared me. I thought you were roasted inside.”
He was genuinely concerned about Luo Yingbai but was already starving. As soon as he spoke, he made himself hungry.
Luo Yingbai extended his arm: “Want to eat? It’s just that there’s no water now.”
Gou Songze couldn’t help but laugh, slapping Luo Yingbai’s hand, accidentally touching the wound from the chain burn last time.
The reporters’ questions were all boring.
Xia Xianning casually responded, and while talking, he became distracted, his gaze unconsciously falling towards Luo Yingbai’s side, watching him play with Gou Songze, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
However, immediately after, he saw that when Gou Songze slapped him, Luo Yingbai slightly furrowed his brow. Although he quickly relaxed his expression, Xia Xianning almost immediately realized that he might have an injury on his hand. If it was a minor injury, Luo Yingbai would have called out, but if it was serious, he would remain silent.
Luo Yingbai said a few words to Gou Songze, then said, “Looks like there’s nothing for me to do now. You guys continue, I’ll leave first.”
Passing by Xia Xianning’s direction and seeing him surrounded by reporters, he didn’t plan to speak to Xia Xianning, just smiled at him and was about to leave.
