Author: 颜凉雨 / Yan Liang Yu
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 167: Bloody-Faced Man
This time, the coordinates were set in a bar street, where at midnight, the street was at its liveliest.
Xu Wang and his group arrived at 11:30 p.m. and found a music bar to sit for a while. They listened to the midnight guitar tunes and watched the stars and the moon, feeling somewhat like returning to a good life.
Previously, when Xu Wang was working, he wasn’t keen on nightlife. But since entering the Owl, the night had been “kidnapped”, and he realized that being able to drink until dawn was also a blessing.
He was very close to that blessing—only two levels left.
Taking a deep breath, Xu Wang heard the hooting of the Owl from somewhere unknown.
“Hoot—hoot—”
The singing in the bar continued. No one heard the strange hooting, nor did anyone realize that five guests had vanished without a trace.
As the dizziness faded, the five friends reopened their eyes, finding themselves on the streets of a small town.
It was the eve of Halloween, and the entire town was immersed in the festive atmosphere. Every household had pumpkin lanterns at their doors, and the streets were bustling.
Residents of the town passed by them in succession, some in family groups, some in groups of friends, all dressed as “ghouls and monsters”, like witches, mummies, masked killers, biochemical monsters, along with magicians, vampires, tin men, and the like, forming a bizarre and colorful array of costumes filled with laughter and chatting.
The children were even happier, carrying little baskets, going door to door for candy, and threatening tricks if they received no treats.
The five stood still.
After two or three minutes, a priest approached them.
Just like the intel bought from Mr. Fan. The priest handed them a map of the town and five sharply pointed crosses, instructing them to subdue the ghosts marked on the map with the crosses and then bring them to the church on the south side of the town for an exorcism ceremony.
“I’ll be waiting for you in the church,” the priest said before hurrying off.
The friends were no longer surprised—many NPCs in the Owl made their exits as if rushed to clock out.
Xu Wang distributed the crosses, one per person, then opened the town map to review it with the others.
The map was detailed, showing the layout of the entire town. The east-west street where they were located was the town’s main thoroughfare, with most of the houses built along this street. A few were scattered farther away, each house clearly visible on the map.
However, the map had yet to show the markings—according to the priest, they would appear after five minutes.
Waiting with the map for five minutes felt long. Bored, Qian Ai glanced at his badge handbook, then frowned and complained to his teammates. “Are we really going to check the ceilings of each house?”
The ceiling was a hint for the badge of 12/23.
“If we can’t think of anything better, we have to.” Xu Wang was already prepared for a thorough search.
While they were talking, a hoarse “caw—” came from above.
Looking up, they saw a pitch-black crow perched on a treetop, staring at them.
“Caw—”
It cawed again, letting out a rough and long monosyllable sound that was swirling with an ominous aura of death.
Suddenly, it spread its wings and swooped down, using its sharp beak to snatch the map!
The incident happened so fast that by the time the friends reacted, the crow had already taken the map from Xu Wang’s hands, ready to flee.
Kuang Jinxin wasn’t the first to react but was the first to select a piece of stationery because he happened to have a suitable one—[(Offense) No Escape*].
*Literal translated would be escape is impossible even with wings (插翅难逃). Idiom referring to being in trouble and unable to escape.
But by the time he activated it and looked up, the crow was nowhere to be seen. He could still hear the flapping of wings but couldn’t catch the shadow; the malevolent bird had blended into the night with its pitch-black feathers.
“West! It flew west—” Qian Ai suddenly shouted as if he had discovered something.
Kuang Jinxin was surprised. “You can see clearly?”
As Qian Ai ran after it, he shouted back, “If you had as many ups and downs in life as I have, you’d also develop the ability to observe in all directions—”
What makes a person grow quickly? The will to survive!
Kuang Jinxin laughed. He had always thought Qian Ai was quite impressive. Many of the stationery Qian Ai used might not be easy for others to wield, and not every slightly less fortunate person could improve their combat effectiveness so rapidly through continuous trials like Qian Ai.
But he didn’t share this thought with Qian Ai because it was obvious that the “deep-seated bitterness” atmosphere was more conducive to his performance.
Soon, all five friends started running, with Chi Yingxue trailing behind. Noticing the trust and recognition in Kuang Jinxin’s eyes for Qian Ai, his beautiful, thin lips pursed into a depressed straight line.
It’s just a bird sighting.
The group chased westward all the way to the outskirts of town, finally locking down the guilty shadow in a grove. Kuang Jinxin immediately activated “[No Escape], and the friends managed to retrieve the map.
Having recovered the map, they realized they were standing in a cemetery with scattered tombstones throughout the grove, beneath which the deceased lay in eternal rest.
The night breeze whispered through the trees as if carrying voices.
By then, the map had shown the markings, five in total, with the closest one being the last house they passed before running out of town.
No one liked lingering in a cemetery, so the five exchanged glances and immediately headed back to town along the grove path.
Fortunately, they hadn’t run too far. After about fifteen minutes, they returned to the west entrance of the town and saw the two-story house.
Compared to the hustle and bustle of the town center, this area was somewhat quiet.
The entire house was painted a bright red, the kind that was too vivid, appearing like a gaping maw ready to devour under the moonlight.
“Prepare defense 1 and 2. Get ready,” Wu Sheng said solemnly.
Kuang Jinxin and Chi Yingxue immediately went to activate their stationery.
[Owl: Someone used [(Defense) Spirits Be Gone] on you~~]
[Owl: Someone used [(Defense) Touch Me If You Dare] on you~~]
With double defense in place, Wu Sheng nodded to Xu Wang, who then knocked on the door.
Unexpectedly, the door was ajar, and it swung open upon knocking.
The smell of something being cooked wafted out, but they couldn’t tell what it was. It smelled like meat, but it also had a strange odor.
The five quietly entered the house, passed the foyer, and came into the brightly lit living room. It was a cozy setup, with a soft carpet under the sofa and family photos on the coffee table.
But there was no one in the living room.
The smell came from the kitchen further inside.
The friends slowly moved towards the kitchen, their steps becoming more cautious the closer they got.
The kitchen door was wide open, and a man wearing a chef’s hat stood at the stove. He was nearly two meters tall and very large, with the chef’s hat almost touching the ceiling and his broad body completely blocking the view of what he was cooking. From the friends’ perspective, they could only see him lifting a hand, constantly stirring, as if simmering something.
The smell grew stronger.
Suddenly, the man’s stirring hand stopped as if he sensed the uninvited guests.
The five friends stood still, involuntarily holding their breath.
The man released the spoon and slowly turned around.
The five widened their eyes and gasped in shock.
It was a bloodied face with no features. The face was torn off, piece by piece, with patches of skin hanging tightly, revealing only the blood muscle tissues underneath. The only thing left was teeth, but without lips to cover them, the rows of teeth looked demonic.
No, this was indeed a demon.
As he turned, the friends could clearly see what was on the fire—a pot full of human hands.
Qian Ai felt his stomach churn and vomited against the wall.
Amidst the numbing horror, Wu Sheng activated a stationery—[(Defense) Righteous Silk of Heaven]!
Specifically designed to counter evil spirits, silk threads descended from above, swiftly binding the demon.
The Bloody-Faced Man struggled a few times but couldn’t break free. He seemed to want to speak, but with his mouth open, only the clattering of teeth could be heard.
In the eerie sound of clattering teeth, the five friends entered the kitchen, spreading out in a semi-circular formation, slowly encircling the Bloody-Faced Man.
As they gradually closed the circle, the Bloody-Faced Man suddenly broke free from the silk, lifting the pot of human hands and smashing it down!
The pot was aimed at Kuang Jinxin, who was by the kitchen doorway.
The boiling pot of hands, along with the rolling hot water, was hurled at Kuang Jinxin.
Of the two stationeries activated, one was resistant to attacks by evil spirits and the other for counter attacking, but neither was designed to defend against a pot of boiling water being thrown.
Kuang Jinxin instinctively wanted to dodge, but doing so would mean opening the door for the enemy to escape. By hesitating, it was already too late.
He almost felt the scalding moisture.
But the next second, someone leaped from the side, tackling him down, and the pot landed on that person’s back instead!
Kuang Jinxin was shielded from head to toe, and his head was firmly pressed against a chest. He was unable to see or speak, only aware that none of the contents of the pot touched him.
As the pot hit the ground with a clang, the person protecting him leaped up, seemingly confident in their protection, without even looking at him, and immediately turned back to attack the Bloody-Faced Man.
Kuang Jinxin quickly got up, catching only a glimpse of Chi Yingxue’s back as he lunged at the Bloody-Faced Man, then heard a loud bang.
The power went out.
Everything was suddenly enveloped in darkness. Even the pumpkin lights in the garden outside went out.
“Xiao Xue!” Kuang Jinxin called out worriedly while groping towards Chi Yingxue’s direction, only to bump into something unknown with a loud thud, which sounded painful.
Kuang Jinxin endured the pain without crying out.
Chi Yingxue cried out, “Don’t move.”
Then, a small flame lit up from Chi Yingxue’s hand, barely illuminating half the kitchen.
[(Defense) Evil-Repelling Lighter].
The Bloody-Faced Man was gone.
Following the light, the four friends finally reached Chi Yingxue’s side, seeing his back soaked through, clinging to his body, still emitting faint heat. His exposed neck was red, which would have appeared even redder under white light, indicating how severe the burn was.
Kuang Jinxin immediately ran to the faucet, filling two large bowls with cold water.
Wu Sheng was about to suggest using cold water to cool the burns and reduce the damage, but Kuang Jinxin was already ahead of him.
Pouring the cold water over the burns significantly reduced the burning sensation, and Chi Yingxue sighed lightly, standing up with the help of the table.
Although the pain returned quickly, seeing Kuang Jinxin unharmed made Chi Yingxue feel it was worth it.
“It hurts, right…?” Kuang Jinxin looked at Chi Yingxue’s soaked back, dreading the blisters that would form soon, knowing how much Chi Yingxue hated pain.
“……” Chi Yingxue wanted to say he wasn’t as afraid of pain anymore, understanding a bit of the ruthlessness it takes to risk everything, but seeing the concern in Kuang Jinxin’s eyes, and realizing all his attention was finally on him, he simplified his words to a soft, “Yeah, it hurts.”
The guilt in Kuang Jinxin’s eyes deepened, but he was at a loss for words, feeling that both “thank you” and “sorry” were too superficial and inadequate.
Xu Wang asked solemnly, “Xiao Xue, can you continue?”
Chi Yingxue tested his shoulder movement; it hurt but didn’t impede his actions. “No problem.”
“Alright,” Xu Wang said, “let’s hold on. There are sure to be tough battles ahead, and injuries are likely. We’ll save our healing stationery for later use.”
They had only obtained two healing stationeries during their week in the Endless Sea, so they had to use them sparingly.
Chi Yingxue glanced at Kuang Jinxin, who looked worried, and firmly refused. “No need. I want to heal naturally.”
Xu Wang and Wu Sheng were speechless.
Qian Ai was dumbfounded, wondering what kind of masochistic health regimen this was!
……
Using the [Evil-Repelling Lighter], the five searched the entire house but found no trace of the Bloody-Faced Man, leaving only the attic unexplored.
Having learned from the lesson with the pot of hands, this time Wu Sheng insisted Xu Wang not take the lead, going up the stairs himself first.
Xu Wang and Kuang Jinxin followed in second and third, with Chi Yingxue and Qian Ai at the rear.
Entering the attic, they were greeted with a strong smell of blood.
Wu Sheng frowned silently. He held Chi Yingxue’s [Evil-Repelling Lighter] and gently stretched his arm forward. The firelight revealed dozens of hanging bodies, some missing hands or feet, others missing heads of limbs. None of them were intact and just like that they filled the entire attic.
Blood still dripped from the severed parts of the bodies, as if they had been freshly cut by someone alive.
The others, arriving after Wu Sheng, nearly choked on the blood stench, and seeing the densely hung bodies, their breathing stiffened.
In the suffocating silence, a rustling noise came from behind the “forest of corpses”. It was a shadow crouched by the wall, hidden behind the hanging bodies with its back facing away from them, engaged in some unknown activity.
The friends knew they should move forward, push aside the hanging bodies, and investigate.
But as much as they wanted to, no one could move forward in such a scene.
Qian Ai was glad he had already emptied his stomach earlier, or he would have had to vomit again.
Moonlight suddenly shone into the attic, illuminating the shadow’s back and outlining the chef’s hat.
The shadow slowly turned around, sluggish and bulky as he had been in the kitchen.
As he fully faced them, they saw he was gnawing on a human leg.
The Bloody-Faced Man, with only rows of teeth left, chewed contentedly. His blood mixed with the leg’s, making them indistinguishable from one another.
[Owl: Someone used [(Offense) Silver Bullets] on you~~]
As the Bloody-Faced Man holding the leg slowly stood up, Xu Wang, following the pre-battle plan, used his stationery. The next second, cold, exorcism bullets were fired at the Bloody-Faced Man.
“Bang—”
The Bloody-Faced Man, who had just stood up, was shot and staggered.
As Xu Wang was about to shoot again, the Bloody-Faced Man suddenly disappeared.
At the same time, a wind from nowhere blew out the lighter in Wu Sheng’s hand.
Wu Sheng tensed, hearing Kuang Jinxin exclaim, “My defense stationery disappeared!”
As soon as he finished speaking, Chi Yingxue calmly added, “Mine too, and the lighter.”
The team was protected by only two pieces of stationeries, [Spirits Be Gone] and [Touch Me If You Dare]. The other stationery in use was the [Evil-Repelling Lighter], but a gust of wind rendered them all ineffective.
Wu Sheng felt something was wrong, but Qian Ai already felt a chilling breeze on the back of his neck.
He suddenly bent down, using his shoulder to push back hard!
Indeed, he hit someone, or rather, a ghost, reeking of blood.
The pitch-black darkness oddly comforted Qian Ai, sparing him from seeing the demon’s face, boosting his courage.
But the Bloody-Faced Man wasn’t easy to deal with. Qian Ai’s forceful push didn’t knock him down but made him stagger and quickly lunge again, knocking Qian Ai down.
Qian Ai had never felt outmatched in brute strength before, but now he realized there was always a higher mountain. The back of his head banged against the floor, causing his head to buzz, yet he could clearly hear the Bloody-Faced Man’s teeth clicking closer to his face.
Qian Ai’s scalp was about to explode, not from fear, but from anger—without a face himself, he seemed intent on denying others theirs too!
With a desperate effort, Qian Ai pushed at the approaching head.
Unsure of where he pushed, but his hand became sticky.
Struggling, he tried to reach for the cross but couldn’t with the demon pressing down on him.
In the standoff, a shadow suddenly pounced on the demon’s back.
Qian Ai couldn’t see which friend came to his aid. He only knew that the weight on his body doubled, and he was about to be crushed. “I can’t breathe. I can’t breathe—”
Just after shouting, Qian Ai felt a flash of cold light in the darkness, followed by a piercing scream from the demon as it suddenly rose from on top of him.
Qian Ai took a deep breath. The feeling of being suffocated by the pressure on his chest instantly eased.
The attic suddenly lit up. The light’s range and intensity were greater than the previous lighter—Wu Sheng, unable to relight Chi Yingxue’s lighter, decisively gave up and took out a flashlight from his backpack.
With the light, everyone could see their own positions and also saw Chi Yingxue on the demon’s back.
He was pulling out a cross—the demon had screamed because, when Chi Yingxue pounced on its back, he had plunged the cross into it.
However, stabbing the back wasn’t effective; it had to be stabbed in the front, directly into the heart.
His face was half covered in blood, but he showed no intense emotion, like a silent warrior.
The cross was swiftly pulled out, and the Bloody-Faced Man seized the opportunity to grab Chi Yingxue’s legs with such force that it seemed not just to pull him down but to tear him in half.
But Chi Yingxue cleverly bent his legs to dodge the attack and, leaning forward, firmly drove the cross into the Bloody-Faced Man’s chest.
The Bloody-Faced Man shuddered and then was still.
The cross acted like an instant anesthetic.
Chi Yingxue waited a few seconds to make sure the demon was indeed motionless before jumping down from it, wiping his face, and raising an eyebrow in a smile towards his teammates.
Not wiping his face would have been better; after wiping, his whole face was smeared in blood, looking like another demon who had knocked out the Bloody-Faced Man.
But that smile was familiar to his friends, a mix of pride and smugness.
A childlike Yan Wang—that was what Xu Wang thought at the moment.
“Did you take secret lessons behind our backs…” Qian Ai knew Chi Yingxue was capable, but the skills just displayed were eight steps above what they had seen before. Not only was it agile, but it also had a reckless vigor that was almost godlike. What need was there for [Touch Me If You Dare]? Chi Yingxue was the embodiment of that stationery!
“Well done.” Wu Sheng patted his shoulder, not sparing his praises.
Chi Yingxue nodded twice in acknowledgment to his teammates, then continued to watch Kuang Jinxin without blinking.
The flashlight illuminated Kuang Jinxin’s bright smile. “Impressive.”
Chi Yingxue’s tightly held smile finally relaxed.
“Sizzle—”
The Bloody-Faced Man’s body suddenly started smoking.
All five jerked back collectively.
The Bloody-Faced Man disintegrated into a puddle of blood amidst the corroding smoke.
“Clang.”
The cross that had been in his chest fell to the ground.
Chi Yingxue stepped forward to pick up his cross, looking at the blood on the ground, puzzledly asking Wu Sheng, “How do we take this to the church?”
Wu Sheng furrowed his brows, thinking for a moment, then suddenly looked up. “No, that’s not right.”
With that, he turned and headed downstairs.
The four teammates immediately followed, quickly returning to the living room.
Wu Sheng picked up a photo frame from the coffee table, his face and voice both darkening. “We’re supposed to catch another one.”
The photo frame showed a father holding his daughter in his arms. The father with a tender expression was wearing a chef’s hat, and the daughter looked cute and soft in a doll dress.
The author has something to say:
Protecting the person he likes is Beauty Chi’s form of love; showing off in front of the person he likes is Beauty Chi’s instinct. In any case, congratulations to Beauty Chi for once again winning Xiao Sijin’s radiant smile~~
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