Time trickled down like rain.

Lu Ran followed the Moon Gazer patrol team, piercing through the jurisdiction over and over, fighting battles from the south to the north.

From the street-side shops to the abandoned wastelands.

From the residential buildings aglow with lights to the dilapidated and deserted communities by the Wu Lie River...

The team's presence was everywhere.

"Ha... Ha..."

Lu Ran's chest heaved violently as he panted heavily, once again following the crowd back to the banks of the Wu Lie River.

The rainwater slid down his hair, over his face.

In such high-intensity combat, wearing a raincoat didn't make much of a difference.

"Tired?"

Deng Yuxiang approached with her still-bleeding saber, stepping over the chilled bones of an Evil Demon, and stood before Lu Ran.

"No, not tired." Lu Ran gasped for air, plopping down onto the wet ground.

"Stubborn lips," said Deng Yuxiang, her beautiful eyes betraying her admiration despite her words.

"Little Lu, do you still have enough energy stored in your Divine Power Pearl?" Sun Zhengfang stood in front of the Evil Demon's skeletal remains, asking loudly.

Lu Ran nodded his head.

His exhaustion was physical, not because of a Divine Power deficit.

The team took good care of him; he had never seen the energy in the Divine Power Pearl around his neck run low.

Looking back, the physical fitness of these Moon Gazers was explosive, hardly human!

Especially Deng Yuxiang!

She wielded a big, heavy Big Horse-cutting Saber with ease, slaughtering amidst chaos.

For every 100 meters Lu Ran ran, she probably ran 500!

Looking at her calm and composed demeanor now, she was sweating blood like a prized stallion!

Surely, even horses don't have this kind of stamina?

"It's 11:01 PM, hang in there," Wei Long's voice came from behind.

"Only 11 PM?" Lu Ran's face showed shock.

It felt like a very, very long time had passed...

Deng Yuxiang kneeled down, looking at Lu Ran's face: "Endure it a bit longer, just another four hours will do."

By three in the morning, a threshold was reached, and the tide of Evil Demon invasions would sharply decrease until no more emerged.

Not far away, Sun Zhengfang's voice came through: "If Little Lu can't hold on, then that's it.

Let's find a house in a bit, send Little Lu inside, and call it the end of the test."

"Don't do that, Uncle Sun!" Lu Ran said anxiously, "Don't kick me out!"

Though he was indeed very tired, his heart was exceedingly content!

Throughout this journey, with the help of the Moon Gazer team, Lu Ran had captured many souls of Evil Demons.

He was enjoying his spoils!

Utter bliss~

Sun Zhengfang's face beamed with a smile: "You're tired, don't force it; let me find you a safe place to rest.

By the way, isn't that auto repair shop owned by your classmate? Will you go and stay at her place for half the night?"

Lu Ran became anxious: "I've been running with you guys from east to west, from south to north!

How can you slaughter the donkey before it's even done grinding?

No way! I'm not going, I want to see Captain Ge!

I've sweated for the Moon Gazers, I've bled for Rain Alley City!"

"Hahaha~" Deng Yuxiang chuckled, extending a finger to lightly flick Lu Ran's hood brim, "Uncle Sun is just scaring you..."

Before she could finish, Deng Yuxiang and Lu Ran simultaneously turned their heads and looked upwards at an angle.

Wei Hu looked on with a stunned expression, while Wei Long watched with envy.

The body language between the man and woman was clear—a sign of an enemy attack!

It made sense for Deng Yuxiang, a North Wind Believer, to sense the enemy's presence in advance.

But could Lu Ran, of such low power level, do the same?

The Wei brothers followed their gaze, only to see energy surging in mid-air and a slender Evil Dog rapidly taking shape.

"Woof... Uh~"

The growl turned into a whimper. As soon as the Evil Dog appeared, it was met with a barrage of Wind Blades!

Dare to show up?

Show up and get instantly killed!

Deng Yuxiang lowered her hand; the Evil Dog fell apart, dropping dead on the ground.

Poor slender dog...

While Lu Ran silently lamented, he suddenly sensed something odd.

In his mind, at the Evil Demon Sculpture Garden, the grand Evil Sculpture belonging to the Evil Dog Clan began to glow eerily at the eyes.

Lu Ran had a faint feeling.

Could he now perform the Evil Technique·Evil Tooth?

Had he collected enough souls?

Indeed, the Evil Dog Clan was a relatively common Evil Demon.

During the past few hours, the team had indeed killed many Evil Dogs, including a few from the River Realm.

Lu Ran felt a slight urge to try out the Evil Technique·Evil Tooth.

But with so many Moon Gazers around... well, it was better to hold off for now.

After all, this was something that couldn't be easily explained and should be tested in private.

"Rumble..."

"Roar!" Sounds of thunder and a roar rose in succession.

The group stood in this dark and desolate boundary, gazing toward the brightly lit northern urban area.

Sun Zhengfang put away his joking demeanor, his face serious: "It seems this Evil Dog is not an isolated case, but a signal."

Deng Yuxiang stood up: "Indeed, the closer it gets to midnight, the frequency of Evil Demon descendings gradually peaks... Hm?"

This was the second time her speech was interrupted.

"Meow!!"

The sudden sharp cry made everyone's heart tremble!

What rare breed of Evil Demon was descending now?

Lu Ran's expression changed!

A cat?

The sound of a cat meowing?!

He quickly got up, following the sound.

To the Wei brothers, Lu Ran appeared to be vibrating with intense energy, clearly panicking.

In fact, he wasn't.

The surging of his Divine Power was due to maximizing his Evil Technique·Evil Recognition.

His pitch-black eyes pierced through the night and the rain, searching for that long-lost figure.

Could it be?

Could it be the little marbled cat?

"Let's go have a look!" commanded Sun Zhengfang.

"Yes!" With a light step, Deng Yuxiang's figure darted forward.

"Wait for me." Lu Ran's feet erupted in mist, and he rocketed off.

"Lu Ran?"

"Slow down, Lu Ran!" The Wei brothers hurried to follow.

Lu Ran, following Deng Yuxiang's figure, rushed toward a residential building.

An old and worn entrance of the building stood wide open, resembling a gaping maw of a ghost gate.

"Wu ya ya~"

From the pitch-black stairwell, strange cries echoed subtly, mixed with a child's eerie laughter.

Lu Ran: !!!

All of his hairs stood on end!

During the day or in a park, he wouldn't react so strongly to a child's laughter.

But now, at eleven at night, in an abandoned residential complex, hearing a child's laughter in these dark corridors?

This was just too...

"It might be a Ghost Talisman Doll."

Deng Yuxiang slammed her Night-cutting Blade heavily into the ground and marched into the stairwell.

The cramped space of the stairwell made the Night-cutting Blade unusable.

Deng Yuxiang conjured a Wind Blade in her hand, and the headlamp on her forehead illuminated the dark corridor ahead.

Lu Ran gripped his Dawn Blade and followed closely behind.

Immediately, the sound of rain was cut off, replaced by the even more sinister silence of the stairwell.

Sniff~

Lu Ran sniffed subtly, sensing Ghost Energy.

A significant number of Evil Demon species carried a particular scent.

How to describe it?

It was like the musty smell in a damp, dark basement where the walls were moldy.

Lu Ran was familiar with this; because he had an Evil Demon Sculpture Garden in his mind. Every time he dreamt of the garden, he could catch the scent.

"Hee hee~"

As everyone reached the third floor, a childish laugh echoed from above, chilling to the bone.

In the glow of the headlamp, a little head peeked out from the darkness above the stairs.

Lu Ran's eyes narrowed.

It was a little girl, just three or four years old.

At this angle, Lu Ran couldn't see her clothes, only her tiger hat.

The hat was festive, resembling the lion heads used in folk lion dances.

Why call it a tiger hat and not a lion hat?

Because embroidered on the tiger was a "king" character.

But what was attached below the "king" was not at all cute—

A Yellow Paper Talisman!

On it were crooked, scrawled runes, slightly covering the little girl's face.

"Huff~"

The playful girl blew a puff of air.

The Yellow Paper Talisman in front of her face flipped up, revealing her true face.

The child, quite cute?

Evil Demon Clan·Ghost Talisman Doll!

"Hee hee~"

The Ghost Talisman Doll crouched down, gripping the handrail, grinning playfully at everyone.

"Darling," Deng Yuxiang suddenly spoke softly.

Her voice was so tender that it almost made Lu Ran respond unwittingly.

"Come, let sister give you a hug."

Deng Yuxiang coaxed with a soft and gentle voice, climbing the stairs with her blade.

"Hmm?" The Ghost Talisman Doll tilted her head curiously, blowing on the talisman that was sticking to the front of her hat again.

"Good girl," Deng Yuxiang consoled the Ghost Talisman Doll, "Don't be naughty, don't blow... No!"

Suddenly, Deng Yuxiang's voice rose in pitch, but it was too late to stop the mischievous little one.

The Yellow Paper Talisman stuck to her hat finally blew off.

In an instant, the hat inexplicably caught fire—the tiger hat burnt to ashes.

The Ghost Talisman Doll's cheeks turned deathly pale in a flash!

Even more terrifying, her pair of eyeballs also vanished!

Leaving behind only two dark, hollow eye sockets, the sight was ghastly, like a transformation.

"Hee hee~"

The Ghost Talisman Doll revealed an eerie smile, her empty eye sockets "looking" at everyone.

"Dare to disobey?" Deng Yuxiang's expression turned cold, as she, too, transformed.

From a gentle older sister, she morphed into the formidable Big Nightmare.

She took long strides, leaping two or three steps at a time, brandishing her blade as she charged up!

Sniff~

Lu Ran sniffed again and then turned to look downward behind him: "Seems like there's another one!"

Sun Zhengfang, who was covering the rear, furrowed his brows intently!

Branches of trees sprouted from his palm without questioning Lu Ran's judgment.

Since joining the team, Lu Ran had repeatedly proven his powerful perceptiveness.

Sure enough!

Around the bend of the stairs below, another "little tiger" showed its head.

It was a little boy, looking up curiously at everyone.

And the Yellow Paper Talisman stuck to his tiger hat was also silently drifting away...

...

Some monthly tickets please~

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