When Director Wu entered the hall, Yang Xiao seemed more surprised than anything else. So surprised, in fact, that he forgot to speak respectfully: "How did you get in? Why didn't the formations outside or inside react?" Wu Rendi shot him an impatient glance. "What, should I have yelled a report from outside before coming in? Waited for your permission to enter?" Hearing that sharp tongue, I let out a silent sigh of relief and took my finger off the trigger. This was the real Wu Rendi—no one could mimic that caustic tone of his.
"Director Wu, you know I didn't mean it like that..." Yang Xiao let out a dry laugh. Whether professionally or personally, he didn't dare offend Wu Rendi now. Wu Rendi, however, gave him another glance and suddenly frowned. "When did you get injured?" Yang Xiao sighed and repeated the same story he'd just told us. Wu Rendi stared at him silently throughout, only nodding after he finished.
"Doesn't matter. From what you said, that guy took a hit too. Probably won't have the guts to come back anytime soon." With that, Wu Rendi glanced at me and Sun Fatty. "I'm going to fully guard the soul until she reincarnates. During this time, I'll be sealing off all six of my senses—even if this building collapses, I won't know it. Yang Xiao will watch the entrance. The four floors inside are your responsibility. Remember: no matter what happens, hold the line until dawn."
Sun Fatty, who had been feeling guilty every time he saw Wu Rendi lately, seized this rare chance to curry favor. "Don't worry, Director Wu. The two of us will guard these four floors with our lives. If the building stands, we stand with it!" Seeing how theatrical he was being, I couldn't help but chuckle. Fatty had smartly avoided saying what would happen if the building didn't stand—would we still be standing then?
Time ticked by slowly, but neither Yang Xiao nor Director Wu made a move. Wu Rendi was leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed, apparently resting. Yang Xiao sat at the doorway, staring blankly into the pitch-black night outside. He was so still he looked like a statue. Sun Fatty and I were feeling uneasy, so we went over to check on him. Yang Xiao, without even turning his head, just muttered, "Hold your horses."
Around 11 o'clock, Wu Rendi suddenly sprang into action without any warning. He stood up straight from his chair, and Sun Fatty, who was nearby, got such a fright from Wu's appearance that he stumbled back several steps. I caught a glimpse of Wu Rendi's face and couldn't help a chill running down my spine.
His complexion was deathly pale, his eyes clouded over like he had cataracts, pupils covered with a waxy film. His mouth was tightly shut, and his nostrils and ear canals were now lined with some sort of white membrane. Combined with his white hair, it was a deeply unsettling sight.
Sun Fatty steadied himself and cautiously asked, "Director Wu, are you alright?" Wu Rendi didn't respond. Despite the appearance of cataracts, he seemed completely unaffected. He pulled out a bamboo tube as thick as a sugarcane stalk. When he opened it, a slow stream of white mist began to seep out. Rather than dispersing, the mist hovered in place and gradually formed into the figure of a woman beside him.
This must be Yang Xiao's wife's soul. But Yang Xiao acted as though he didn't notice, still staring intently at the doorway. Yet the subtle trembling in his breath and the stiffness in his posture gave him away. The white mist in the shape of a woman soon noticed him and floated over to his side. Her misty hands gently stroked Yang Xiao's face.
Yang Xiao didn't move, but tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his cheeks as his entire body began to shake.
Wu Rendi beckoned to the white mist. Reluctantly, it drifted away from Yang Xiao, but before leaving, her misty hands gently held his shoulders. Her face grew clearer in the fog—beautiful, well-defined features now plainly visible. Her lips brushed lightly against Yang Xiao's before she floated back to Wu Rendi's side.
By now, Yang Xiao was visibly trembling, his tears falling to the floor. Though he still faced the doorway, it was obvious to anyone that he was no longer seeing what was outside.
Once the woman-shaped mist returned to Wu Rendi, he made a hand gesture. The soul began to float slowly upstairs, with Wu Rendi following exactly one pace behind. Sun Fatty and I watched them ascend to the fourth floor and head toward the hospital room. Oddly, there was no reaction from the patients inside. It made sense that they couldn't see the soul—but how could they not see a living, breathing Wu Rendi?
Sun Fatty glanced at Yang Xiao and sighed. "Lazi, do you think Yang Xiao's wife will remember him after she's reincarnated?"
I said, "In less than an hour, the child will be born. You'll know soon enough. Dasheng, let's focus on the now. No telling what might happen next."
As Yang Xiao's wife's soul reached the fourth floor, he too gradually returned to normal. Sun Fatty and I were just about to offer him some comfort when Yang Xiao suddenly stood up. His eyes flashed with a sharp glint, and he let out a cold laugh toward the doorway. "You really chose the perfect time to come. Looks like you know a lot about me, don't you?"
Yang Xiao must have discovered something. Sun Fatty and I both pulled out our pistols and aimed them at the door. Any slightest movement outside, we'd immediately fire a burst. But we waited for a long time; nothing happened outside. Yang Xiao stared motionless into the pitch-black night. After a while, still no sign of movement. Yang Xiao snorted and said, "You don't dare show yourself?" Just as he finished the last word, suddenly a huge copper nail appeared in his hand. With a flick, the nail shot through the glass door like a bolt of lightning, flying straight into the darkness outside.
The tempered glass door left a ping-pong-ball-sized hole, but outside was still silent, without any response. Sun Fatty hesitated a bit, then said, "Old Yang, do you think the person who attacked you just now has already left?" Yang Xiao didn't answer. He slowly unbuttoned his clothes, revealing a row of copper nails strapped inside. He grabbed two nails with one hand each and coldly said, "How long do you think you can keep hiding? You barely managed to dodge just now. I still have sixteen corpse nails here — how many more can you dodge?"
After a few seconds of silence outside, finally a voice spoke. It had a metallic tone, like metal scraping glass: "Yang Xiao is Yang Xiao — got tricked once and got smarter, huh? Hmph... I underestimated you a bit." The voice sounded creepy, but I sensed something forced about it, as if trying to deliberately hide something.
Yang Xiao didn't respond, but Sun Fatty sneered first: "I'm just saying, you've got guts but not much brains. You probably don't know Director Wu Rendi is here too, huh? He went to the restroom and will be back soon. If there's anything, he'll tell you. If you have the guts, stay put and don't run."
More silence outside. But the silence soon turned into a strange laugh: "Gahaha... Wu Baimao, let him come out. I want to see what it's like when his sixth sense is sealed. Fatty, it's easier to take out Wu Baimao than you. Don't rush — one by one, once you're all dead, then it's his turn."
Yang Xiao snorted coldly and said, "You only know how to talk? Come in and kill me if you can. I'm done with this life." The man outside replied, "Do I need to kill you myself? When the Underworld Envoys and Officials arrive, you'll have enough to deal with. I just need to meddle a little and you'll be doomed forever." Then he laughed that creepy laugh again. Yang Xiao was silent, but suddenly a strange smile appeared on his face.
The man's eerie laugh hadn't stopped when a loud bang sounded outside, followed by a howl: "Ao…" and then something heavy falling. Yang Xiao sneered toward outside: "How was it? Did you like my nails?"
Outside was deathly silent again. My Heavenly Eye was severely disturbed by Yang Xiao's formation, and I had no clue what was happening outside or if the man was dead or alive. Yang Xiao stared coldly into the night, gripping two copper nails tightly, without any sign of relaxation. Sun Fatty raised his pistol and came close to Yang Xiao. "Old Yang, is the man outside dead or alive?"
Yang Xiao's pupils contracted sharply. "You'll know soon enough!" As he finished, he threw one of his copper nails straight into the darkness. Just as the nail flew out, gunshots rang out from the dark. With lightning reflexes, Yang Xiao tilted his head slightly — the bullet whizzed past his scalp. Instead of retreating, Yang Xiao rushed forward, smashing through the glass door and charging out.
Simultaneously, another scream came from the darkness outside. The scream came from near the door. When Yang Xiao burst out, the doorway was empty — only two copper nails and a pool of blood remained on the ground. A shadow flickered in the distance and vanished. The man took a heavy blow. Sun Fatty and I saw a chance to chase and finish him off, but Yang Xiao stopped us: "No need to chase. Even if he's not dead this time, he'll get skinned alive. It's almost time for reincarnation — let's all go back." Yang Xiao sounded exhausted himself. It should have taken only minutes to settle this once and for all, but it was almost midnight and we had no choice but to leave.
After Yang Xiao picked up the two copper nails from the ground, we returned to the hospital. Sun Fatty still felt uneasy: "Old Yang, who do you think that person outside was? He seemed to know everything about us here — even knew Director Wu Rendi's sixth sense was sealed and timed it so precisely." Sun Fatty's words reminded me. I followed the bullet's trajectory and found the bullet lodged in the wooden window frame of the registration hall. It was easy to find — red powder surrounded the bullet hole, sprayed in all directions.
I pinched a bit of the red powder — cinnabar. Seeing the cinnabar, I was almost certain. Then I used a dagger to pry the bullet out of the wood. The bullet was silver, engraved with the Bureau's unique spell markings. It was definitely someone from the Bureau.
Seeing this bullet, the three of us fell silent. The matter was clear now — it was an internal conflict within the Bureau. But we didn't know if the opponent was targeting Yang Xiao or Director Wu Rendi. Sun Fatty glanced at me anxiously. I understood his meaning: this had nothing to do with us. We were just unlucky extras.
At this point, we could only take things step by step. I looked at Yang Xiao and said, "Old Yang, who did you make such a big enemy of? Think about it — anyone in the Bureau, everything can be negotiated. If it really can't be solved, we can rope in Directors Hao and Ouyang, and Hugo might owe us some favors. Add Director Wu and Xiao Heshang, then we can talk to that person together. Even if they don't work, there's Director Gao."
Yang Xiao squinted and thought for a long time. After hesitation, he shook his head: "Forget it. Maybe this is my karma from before. If the consequences fall only on me, fine — don't drag others into it." When he mentioned others, his gaze involuntarily glanced toward the fourth-floor ward. Sun Fatty and I exchanged a look and understood that the "others" Yang Xiao meant was a woman who hadn't reincarnated yet. But from the way he hesitated, it seemed he already had someone in mind.
Sun Fatty took out a pack of cigarettes, lit one himself, then offered one to Yang Xiao. Yang Xiao waved it off, so Sun Fatty handed it to me instead. He rolled his eyes and suddenly said three words to Yang Xiao: "Old Qiu?" Yang Xiao seemed not to hear, turning his face toward the dark night outside, lost in thought. Sun Fatty didn't press further.
The atmosphere cooled for two or three minutes. Suddenly, Yang Xiao let out a long breath and slowly said, "What's coming has finally arrived. The inside is up to you two. No matter what, protect the ward upstairs." After that, he actually bowed to Sun Fatty and me, leaving us a little bewildered.
Though still no abnormal signs outside the door, Yang Xiao's words said it all. Sun Fatty asked, "Old Yang, what's coming? What did you see?"
Yang Xiao said, "The Underworld Envoys and Officials have arrived. Soon, the surrounding wandering spirits will gather. Be careful." He paused, then looked at us and said, "The hospital inside is up to you two." Without another word, he stepped on the shattered glass at the doorway and walked out.
Sun Fatty and I also went to the door, watching Yang Xiao walk about fifty meters away. About ten meters in front of him, several coils of black mist hovered in the air. These black gases were almost identical to the white humanoid spirit gas Yang Xiao released, except for the color. Yang Xiao walked up to the black mist and moved his lips as if speaking, but no sound came out. Sun Fatty's eyes widened. He said to me, "Lazi, what's Old Yang doing?"
I recalled some similar descriptions from the archives: "This is ghost language — the official language of the underworld. Humans can't hear it. Even in the Bureau, very few can speak it. Didn't expect Yang Xiao to have this skill."
But Yang Xiao's ghost talk seemed ineffective. The black mist stirred restlessly and started advancing toward him. Every time it moved forward, Yang Xiao took a step back. After seven or eight steps back, Yang Xiao suddenly pulled out a copper nail and did something unexpected — he threw the nail at the top of his left foot. The nail pierced through his foot and nailed it to the ground. Blood immediately poured out, staining the earth beneath him crimson. I understood — he was determined to hold his ground, not retreating an inch.
Despite the intense pain, Yang Xiao stayed silent. He stared coldly at the black mist and slowly pulled out two more copper nails, one in each hand, gripping them tightly. For a while, the black mist showed no sign of advancing and began to stalemate with Yang Xiao.
Sun Fatty couldn't stand it: "Lazi, what's Yang Xiao doing? What should we do?" While speaking, he had already drawn his pistol and pulled out a small crossbow with his other hand — the one he got from Wu Rendi. (I always thought after the Ghost Ship incident, that crossbow and everything else were returned to Wu Rendi, but it was still with Sun Fatty.) Before I could say anything, something changed with Yang Xiao.
The closest black mist suddenly expanded several times, sweeping over like a tide to envelop Yang Xiao. It looked like it wanted to wrap him up. But Yang Xiao seemed to have predicted this — instead of using copper nails, he opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of fresh blood at the black mist. Suddenly, a flash of fire appeared — the blood caught fire mid-air, becoming a red flame. The flames suppressed the black mist, which quickly changed from black to gray. After this, the nearby black mists dared not advance and retreated about ten meters.