Urban Tales of Demons and Spirits

Chapter 16 Haze

The world outside the window was as dark as night. The glaring sun hung lifelessly in the sky like a dark red balloon. But apart from that, there was nothing more.

You could see various ghastly and shadowy evil spirits flying in the sky.

Some had sharp fangs, while others had their tongues sticking out of their mouths. Those weird evil spirits were flying so quickly in the sky that it reminded me of the devil’s night I once encountered in the school’s woods, except that——they looked like they were running away from something.

Even the air of the city was filled with depression.

What happened?

No, I can’t hide here anymore. I need to get out!

I threw myself at the door again and tried to break it open, but the wooden and almost-broken door was still closed. I could not break the magic barrier Wen Jiubo set before he left.

Only a Taoist spell could break the magic barrier set by a monster.

At that moment, an idea suddenly appeared in my mind, which shocked me. What is going on here? How do I know how to break this magic barrier?

However, I did not have time to think about that. I took out the green fan. Fortunately, I always carried this fan with me since the last time I met Xu Yingchen, and now it was the right time to use it.

I unfolded the fan and pointed it at the door. And all of sudden, the fan turned into a magic tool. With a click, the door opened.

I remained in the same posture for a while, dumbfounded.

I felt an inexplicable familiarity with the fan, as if I had used it for a very long time.

However, the situation was too pressing to let me think about it. I hurriedly put away the fan and ran out of the house; I had to find Wen Jiubo right away and ask him about everything.

The minute I walked out of the old residence, I was astonished by what I saw.

I could not see the entire sky when I was locked in the house, but now I could see it clearly.

There was a huge tornado next to the sun, connecting the dim sky and the deserted ground. Then, I saw a huge shadow standing in the middle of the tornado.

The shadow looked a bit like a mix of a unicorn, a tiger and a cheetah, but I could clearly tell it was none of those three animals. Because the shadow was as big as a ten-floor building. It stood still like a quiet and scary giant.

Then at that moment, I noticed a shadow standing on top of this giant, and his wild laughter exposed his identity.

It’s Xu Yingchen! What is he doing up there!?

I ran in the direction of the tornado. There were still many pedestrians and cars on the street and because of that sudden anomaly, they all stopped. Some were whispering to each other while others were taking pictures or recording it.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Is it a tornado? But why is it not moving?”

Are these people fools?!

I was surprised to see those passersby turning a blind eye to the evil spirits and demons flying through the sky. Instead of running away, they took out their phones to take photos.

“Hey, stop taking photos!” I rushed over and shouted at the crowd, trying to warn them, “It’s very dangerous! Get out of here now! ”

However, the pedestrians just glanced at me and simply ignored me. They were still chatting and laughing with each other.

“It’s useless.”

Just then, I suddenly heard a voice behind me. I was startled and immediately turned around. And when I saw who it was, all the hair on my body stood up.

Xu Yingchen——the Taoist priest Lingxiao was standing right behind me.

His face was still the face of the kind middle-aged man I met in a small hostel on Mt. Diecui, it was also the face of the bloodthirsty madman I encountered in Liang Kaifeng’s house. And now, this face overlapped with the handsome but naive priest I saw in my dream.

I clearly remembered that in my dream, princess Qing Yu had a servant called Xu Yingchen. But that boy seemed so weak-willed that I could not link him to the murderous and evil madman in front of me.

Who is Xu Yingchen? Is he the priest next to Qing Yu?

No, they seemed to have completely different personalities..But if it was really him, how could he have lived for thousands of years?

No, there must be something wrong. He was standing on the top of the tornado just now! So why is he suddenly in front of me?

However, Xu Yingchen completely ignored my reaction. He looked at people on the street.

“Useless. As I said before, humans are extremely ignorant. They keep themselves aloof. They show no interest in things around them as long as they’re not the ones suffering,” said Xu Yingchen as he slowly walked on the street. “They are indifferent to the catastrophe happening in front of them, and they show no concern to things that happen to others. Yes, just like a millennium ago, the human species hasn’t changed at all; they’re so inferior and disgusting.”

“Xu Yingchen, what do you want!?” I cried out.

“Nothing.” Xu Yingchen kept smiling and I couldn’t see in his eyes any malicious intent. Had I not seen what he was capable of, I would have never believed that he was able to murder people like a cruel beast.

“I was just wondering.” Xu Yingchen held his hands behind and looked at me with a smile. “Your Royal Highness, it’s time for you to open your eyes.”

“What are you talking about?! I can’t understand you!” I shouted back. Deep down I wasn’t sure if I really didn’t understand him, or if I was just afraid of something.

“No, it doesn’t matter. It won’t take long. Don’t you already know ‘the past’?” Xu Yingchen asked with a smile. “You will soon understand that your real mission is to help me, not to stand by the side of that evil fox.”

“Are you kidding?!” I clenched my fists. “Even if you kill me, I will never stand by your side! I——”

At this moment, a shout came from behind and interrupted me.

“Gu Yu!”

“Gu Yu!”

Those voices were.. I immediately recognized those voices, it was Shi Yitong and Su Xiaoyun!

I immediately turned back and saw my friends——Shi Yitong, Su Xiaoyun, and Zhu Xuan running towards me!