“Well, now is not the time to talk about this,” Wen Jiubo suddenly interrupted us. He acted as if he wasn’t the one who just kissed and then slapped me. “How did you get here?”

Wen Jiubo’s expression had changed back to his business face. He totally ignored me even though I rolled my eyes at him.

Su Xiaoyun began talking, trying to ease up this tense atmosphere. “We came with Zhu Xuan. At first, we were in school, and then the sky suddenly turned dark. When we found out that something wrong had happened, Zhu Xuan appeared. Then we saw Gu Yu running away from the old residence. Zhu Xuan said that the tornado is a crack that was created by the beast Nian, and that if nothing was done, it would swallow the whole city.”

Wen Jiubo nodded. He gave Zhu Xuan a look full of contempt. “That is a good judgment, Mr. Bai Ze. Is this why you brought these three humans to their deaths? ”

“You——!” Wen Jiubo’s words infuriated Zhu Xuan. He stepped forward as if he wanted to tear Wen Jiubo into pieces. Luckily, we grabbed him before he did anything. But not only did Wen Jiubo not stop, but he also doubled down.

“If you really wanted them dead, you could’ve just used poison. You didn’t have to use such a cruel method to kill them, did you?”

“Wen Jiubo! Enough!” I shouted. Surprisingly, both of them stopped talking.

“Whatever you say, I won’t let you die alone!” I went up and looked at Wen Jiubo directly in the eyes. “And do you think it is safe outside? You should take a look at what has become of the city! People are dying as we speak! How could Su Xiaoyun, Shi Yitong, and I stand by without doing anything?”

Wen Jiubo did not give in. Instead, he retorted, “It’s much still safer than staying with me.”

“Mr. Wen.” Su Xiaoyun pushed me aside and walked in front of Wen Jiubo. She said seriously, “I know that we may not be as powerful as you are, and we may not be able to help you. But I think that as a friend of Gu Yu, we should at least have the right to know what’s happening in our city, right? If you can’t even fulfill this.. I don’t think you have the right to call yourself an exorcist.”

Su Xiaoyun’s words seemed to have reached Wen Jiubo’s innermost feelings. The light in his eyes changed after hearing them. It was only then that I realized I almost forgot his identity as an exorcist after learning that he was a nine-tailed fox.

He was and had always set his own high standards as an exorcist who expelled demons and spirits for humankind.

“Fine.” His face softened a little. But he still looked at us with a sharp light in his eyes. “Xu Yingchen is the Taoist priest Lingxiao. He set a magic barrier that covered the entire city, isolating it from the outside world. That magic barrier not only blocks the sunlight but also prevents everything from entering and leaving the city.”

“That is to say, we can’t escape anywhere even if we try to?” Shi Yitong asked desperately. “B-but, but why did he set that magic barrier? What would he gain from killing so many innocent people?”

“He did so to let the beast Nian enter our world,” Wen Jiubo said calmly. “According to the legend, the beast Nian is a monster with a gigantic mouth. The beast can swallow everything including time itself. I’m not sure if Xu Yingchen has lost his mind, but he intends to use the beast Nian to devour every single monster and ghost in the city, and the death of human beings is just collateral damage. I found Xu Yingchen before he set the magic barrier, but after I caught up to him, he suddenly opened the crack and released the beast. I didn’t expect this——theoretically, he should not have the power to do that.”

After seeing Wen Jiubo’s frowning face, Zhu Xuan and I exchanged eye contact. We both felt a little guilty.

I cleared my throat and said, “Zhu Xuan lost an arm.”

Wen Jiubo turned around and nodded. “I noticed. I was wondering when you were going to tell me about this.”

“My arm was twisted off by Lingxiao.” Zhu Xuan subconsciously touched his empty sleeve with his hand. “He stole the jade Ruyi.”

“What?” Wen Jiubo’s pupils constricted a little. “The jade Ruyi? He stole it? When did this happen?”

“It’s a long story. He fooled us.” Zhu Xuan sighed. “He must have used the power of the jade Ruyi to open the crack and release the beast. If we don’t do anything, the whole city will be razed to the ground.”

“——As long as he has this barrier,” Wen Jiubo interrupted Zhu Xuan, “the Beast Nian is different from other monsters. Just like a line and an area, the collision between 4D and 3D worlds requires a confined space, which is the barrier set by Lingxiao.”

“That is to say, if we break the barrier, we can send the beast back home!” Su Xiaoyun said excitedly.

“Theoretically, that is correct. But it’s not that simple,” Wen Jiubo continued. “In order to make sure his monster is free from any danger, Lingxiao set up a very strong barrier. Imagine that there is a glass dome made of thick and heavy tempered glass covering the whole city, and it is impossible to break. We have to find the weakest point on this dome, which should also be the origin of the barrier, the source of energy and where it was set up in the first place..”

Before Wen Jiubo finished, Shi Yitong began to yell, “What? How is that possible?! It’s no ordinary glass dome. This dome is big enough to cover the whole city. How long would it take us to find this so-called energy source?”

Wen Jiubo smiled with his arms crossed. “You see where are we standing right now?”

Shi Yitong stared at him, perplexedly, and then it seemed that he finally realized something. “Oh——!”

“Now, I need you guys to help me,” Wen Jiubo suddenly took out four written paper charms from his pockets and said. “I need four people. I need each of you to put a charm in the north, south, east, and west corners of this dark space. I will stay where I am now, and after you put the charms in the positions, I’ll start to cast the spell to break the barrier. Understand? ”

Shi Yitong was the first who reached out and grabbed the charm in Wen Jiubo’s hand. “Yes. It’s no big deal. I can do it!”