The Onmyoji who had been gripping Xie Xiaofeng's throat let go, and immediately thereafter, Xie Xiaofeng saw a grey figure leave the Onmyoji's body, following the conference table back to Liu Yongping.

Xie Xiaofeng thought to himself that since Liu Yongping was the leader of the Spirit Division and often used spells to invite ox-headed and horse-faced spirits to possess him, that was why the Shadow Demon liked to cling to him.

"It's a deal!" said Liu Yongping afterward, "If you win, I will agree not to kill these Onmyoji or their families, just those few who caused trouble in Dao County that night; if I win, what do you think should happen?"

Xie Xiaofeng lifted the corners of his mouth and smiled, "You want to see us kill each other, right? Then I'll personally take a knife and stab Chen Hao in the chest three times, without you needing to control me."

Anyway, Chen Hao was immortal, not to mention being stabbed three times, even if he were hacked a thousand times, it wouldn't matter, Xie Xiaofeng thought to himself. Betting with the Shadow Demon was a sure win.

"Hmph, good!" Ren Deshan snickered, "The game starts on time in twenty minutes!"

With that, a black shadow left Liu Yongping's body, quickly flying out of the conference room window, skimming the ground.

"Quick, let's move!" Xie Xiaofeng immediately began to deploy, "Anyone who needs to pee, hurry up and go; if you need to poop, get to it quickly too, and remember not to drink too much water, and don't eat anything!"

"Xie Xiaofeng!" Ren Deshan quickly walked up to Xie Xiaofeng, "What do you plan to do?"

A confident smile appeared on Xie Xiaofeng's face as he explained, "The Shadow Demon controls our actions by attaching itself to our shadows, so if we don't have any shadows, do you think it can still cling to us?"

"I get it!" Ren Deshan had an epiphany, his eyes shining. "You mean to gather everyone in a place dark and devoid of light so that we won't cast any shadows, and the Shadow Demon won't be able to cling to us?"

"Exactly, it's almost twelve o'clock now, just endure for more than four hours and we'll be okay," Xie Xiaofeng nodded.

Ren Deshan said "Hmm", and then ordered all the Onmyoji present to first go to the toilet as Xie Xiaofeng had requested.

After ten minutes, all the Onmyoji had taken turns using the bathroom and returned to the conference room. The windows of the conference room were now tightly shut, with several layers of newspaper stuck to the glass and curtains drawn so that no light from the street lamps outside could come in.

"Everyone, hurry up and turn off your cell phones," Xie Xiaofeng instructed.

All the Onmyoji present did as they were told, turning off their phones and putting them in a cardboard box.

Then, a few minutes later, Xie Xiaofeng closed and locked the conference room door and turned off the lights. He carefully looked around and saw that in the pitch-black conference room, there were about twenty or so twinkling stars—the eyes of nearly every Onmyoji were wide open, and there was a faint white gleam in their eyes.

"Close your eyes," Xie Xiaofeng ordered with an urgent tone. "How can all you old guys be so cowardly? The power-off moment is totally useless!"

The Onmyoji squeezed together, although resentful, could not argue and obediently closed their eyes as Xie Xiaofeng had commanded.

"It's only twelve o'clock now, we have to stay here for more than four hours before we can leave!" complained an Onmyoji.

Xie Xiaofeng chuckled disdainfully and then said, "Enduring for four hours in exchange for your family's lives, don't you think this deal is worth it?"

"Sigh," Ren Deshan sighed, "Let's sleep for a while, and it'll be all right when we wake up."

"How can we sleep?" a trembling voice sounded.

Liu Yongping chuckled lightly, looking not very scared. With his eyes closed, he said, "Xie Xiaofeng, since we have nothing to do, why don't you tell us about what happened a few days ago, so everyone knows what exactly has been going on."

"The twenty minutes are up, everyone stay calm!" Xie Xiaofeng's voice was filled with tension. He sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall, and after a pause, he said, "Since you all really want to know, then I will tell you about the great thing we did three days ago so that you old guys can learn from us young and outstanding Onmyoji, and see how we set a good example for you."

Afterward, Xie Xiaofeng recounted the events of three days earlier when they had caused trouble and destroyed the ghost market in Dao County. After listening, some Onmyoji applauded, praising them for doing a good job, while others became angry and accused them of acting without considering the consequences, resulting in the dire aftermath of the Shadow Demon's invasion of Y City these last two days.

Xie Xiaofeng did not accept the criticism and argued with a few of the older Onmyoji.

About half an hour later, someone suddenly asked, "Do you think the Shadow Demon is in this room now?"

Suddenly, the previously arguing parties fell silent, all plunging into the fear that the question evoked.

"Haha!" Xie Xiaofeng laughed loudly on purpose, although he was a bit afraid himself. "You bunch of old timers have been Onmyoji for decades and haven't done as much as we have in the past few days. What's worse, you're all so cowardly. It looks like tomorrow I'll have to suggest to Chen Hao that we kick out those of you who are 'occupying the outhouse without defecating' from the Association."

"You!" Several Onmyoji became enraged again by Xie Xiaofeng's taunts, and the originally quiet atmosphere suddenly became a fierce war of words once more.

By nearly one o'clock, after arguing for almost an hour, the two sides could not fight anymore, and the conference room was filled only with their loud, heavy breathing. Although everyone was thinking about whether the Shadow Demon might be lurking close by, eyeing them, they mutually kept silent about it.

Another quarter of an hour passed, and one Onmyoji asked in a hoarse voice, "Why have you stopped arguing? Listening to you argue is much better than my wild musings!"

"We can't argue anymore," Xie Xiaofeng sounded tired, "if we continue to argue, it'll turn into a relationship, and I don't want to form an emotional bond with you old-fashioned, cowardly fogeys."

"Heh heh!" Liu Yongping laughed again.

"Lao Liu," Xie Xiaofeng recognized the voice of Liu Yongping, "why are you so happy? Have you been haunted by a Shadow Demon?"

Liu Yongping snorted angrily and nearly opened his eyes in a fit of rage as he said, "If I were haunted by a Shadow Demon, would I be sitting here peacefully listening to you lot quarrel?"

"I just find you few youngsters amusing, that's all!" Liu Yongping's tone lost its anger. "Back in the day, despite our many obstructions, you still managed to eliminate those deceiving ghosts like the Seven Fairies, Taiyi Zhenren, and Erlang Shen, and even forced King Ning to relinquish control of our Y City Netherworld. I must say, it's truly impressive. If I were a few years younger, I'd happily join in your mischief. I've been reflecting lately, wondering if we really have gotten old, just like you said, 'Standing by the pit without taking a dump'."

Liu Yongping's words caused the dozen or so esteemed Onmyoji present to sigh continuously with shame.

"Haha!" Xie Xiaofeng laughed proudly, "Actually, you guys aren't useless at all. As long as you follow our arrangements and work hard, you definitely won't end up as ineffective as you are now."

"You really don't spare anyone's feelings, do you?" Liu Yongping said somewhat displeased.

Ren Deshan gently coughed and said with concern, "I wonder how President Chen's girlfriend is doing now?"

The meeting room then fell into a very long silence. In the pitch darkness and quiet, people's ears become extremely sensitive. Listening to the increasingly loud heartbeat of those around, the Onmyoji's hearts also quickened, and fear silently crept up, eroding their consciousness and nerves, and eventually plunging them into endless panic.

"Lao Liu, I heard you sing rather well. Why don't you give us a couple of tunes?" Ren Deshan broke the silence.

"Yes, yes!" the other Onmyoji chimed in.

Liu Yongping chuckled and said, "Since you all want to listen, then I'll humbly perform!"

After clearing his throat, Liu Yongping then began to sing a segment of the opera in a hooting manner.

As they listened to this enchanting voice, Xie Xiaofeng nearly went mad with frustration, unable to help but say, "Oh my god, Lao Liu, you're going to scare the Shadow Demon away with this! It's a clever move, but it's taking a toll on us as much as the enemy, I'm about to go crazy!"

Liu Yongping suddenly stopped singing and said in a very unhappy tone, "I won't sing anymore. If you want to listen, ask Xie Xiaofeng to sing!"

What followed was another very long silence.

Approaching 2 a.m., Wu Bin, leader of the Yin Yang Master Association's Spell team, asked, "What time is it now?"

"It's still very early!" said Xie Xiaofeng.

"Alas!" everyone sighed, by this time most people were so frustrated that they could hardly stand it.

"What would happen if someone suddenly opened the door at this time?" Xie Xiaofeng asked with a laugh.

"There shouldn't be anyone coming, right?"

As fate would have it!

No sooner had he spoken than a set of footsteps drifted from the outer door, slowly approaching.

The Onmyoji were astonished and began to shout loudly, "Don't come over, please don't come over!"

"So everyone's in here, huh?" a faint voice came at that moment.

"It's Chen Hao's voice!" Xie Xiaofeng exclaimed, and then yelled at the door, "Chen Hao, don't..."

The sound of the lock disengaging rang out, and everyone held their breath.

Xie Xiaofeng quickly got up, but before he could stop it, the door swung open.

Then, a shadow washed in by the twilight of the hallway light.

"Is that you, Xie Xiaofeng?" Chen Hao asked uncertainly.

Xie Xiaofeng's body lunged forward and slammed the door shut.

"The Shadow Demon couldn't have arrived so quickly, could it?" Xie Xiaofeng asked anxiously. "It should have been scared off by Lao Liu's singing just now!"

All the Onmyoji in the meeting room froze, and Chen Hao outside the door remained motionless as well.

Two minutes later, suddenly!

With a "bang," the door was kicked open, and Xie Xiaofeng, propped against it, fell to the ground along with it.

"It's as if the heavens are in my favor!" Chen Hao sneered. His face was ferocious, now controlled by the Shadow Demon, and in his hand was a long, sharp knife. "The bet is won by me!"

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