Saving Lives

"Damn it! Wu Xin, you bastard, how dare you set me up!"

Gu Xuanwu immediately started cursing, then followed behind Gu Sheng and shouted toward the outside, "Security Force, assemble! Come with me."

"You stay here. Stop making trouble!"

When Gu Xuanwu saw that Liu Daimei seemed ready to follow them too, he hurriedly stopped her. It had to be said that when this fellow was handling serious business, he possessed a certain imposing air. Even Liu Daimei was startled by his sudden shout.

"Mei-jie, you stay here. It’s fine."

Gu Sheng also turned to instruct Liu Daimei before grabbing the reins of a jujube-red horse brought over by one of his guards and leaping onto it. "Giddy-up!"

"Run faster! If you delay us, watch your heads!"

Gu Xuanwu shouted at the assembled Security Force, then vaulted onto a yellow-maned horse. "Giddy-up!"

"Don’t come over! Don’t come over!"

The gloomy and sinister Gu Residence stood with its main gate wide open, as did the gates to the courtyards within. Beside a well, an old man with graying hair was covered in blood, with a frightening wound on his head. He was currently sobbing and shouting at the air, using both hands and feet as though trying to drive something away.

"Hehehehe~~~~~"

A chilling, eerie laugh rang out from around the small courtyard, seeming all the more terrifying in this sinister, frightening environment.

"Don’t come any closer!"

The old man shouted in terror. Floating in the air before him, a Female Fiend with disheveled hair was looking at him coldly. Her gaze was just like that of someone looking at prey.

This Female Fiend had been born from resentment. Fear, hatred, and other negative emotions were her finest nourishment, so every time she harmed someone, she used cruel methods of torture, all to enjoy the other person’s fear to the fullest.

"I’m going to strip your skin!"

The Female Fiend flew in front of the old man. He suddenly discovered that he could not only no longer move, he could not even speak. He could only watch helplessly as sharp nails reached before his eyes. His scalp seemed to feel the sinister chill, while despair mixed with hatred began to grow in his heart.

He hated Lord Gu. Why had he left him here alone? He hated that Sorcerer. Why hadn’t he killed this ghost? He even hated his own son. Why had that cowardly, trouble-avoiding brat made his father take his shift? He hated…

"Heheh~~"

The Female Fiend laughed smugly. She had already sensed those dark, negative emotions. Based on her experience, after killing this person, he would definitely turn into a powerful ghost. Once she devoured that powerful ghost, her body would probably be able to recover as well.

"I’m going to strip your skin!"

The Female Fiend giggled. One ghostly claw had already left several bloody marks on the old man’s forehead. She had no tools for skinning people—she simply tore the skin off with her bare hands. It was exceptionally cruel and painful.

"Get away!"

Just as the old man was about to give up all hope of living, a thunderous shout came from behind him. Gu Sheng, descending like a divine warrior, rode the jujube-red horse toward them and kicked the Female Fiend away from the old man she was torturing.

"Bang!"

The Female Fiend was sent flying by Gu Sheng’s kick and crashed into a pillar, making it shake violently.

"It’s you!"

The Female Fiend recognized Gu Sheng. Her twisted face became even more ferocious and frightening. From the eye sockets of her pale, filthy face emerged two blood-tinged, ghastly white eyeballs. Her wet black hair grew extremely long, whipping through the air as it wrapped toward Gu Sheng and the old man on the ground.

"Die!"

With a loud shout, Gu Xuanwu raised his Heirloom Saber and stepped in front of Gu Sheng, cutting the tangled ghostly hair in two with a single slash.

"You’re courting death!"

The Female Fiend was enraged. She could not deal with that monk, but this mortal whom she had toyed with actually dared to meddle in her affairs.

"Open fire!"

Gu Xuanwu shouted toward the Security Force, which had just arrived. The Security Force hurriedly formed ranks and raised their guns. "Bang bang bang~~~ Bang bang bang bang~~~~"

Countless bullets poured toward the Female Fiend. Although they could not inflict any damage on her, they temporarily suppressed her movements and prevented her from continuing her attack.

"Bang!"

Gu Sheng pulled an object from his sleeve and hurled it fiercely at the Female Fiend. After a roar, a burst of fiery red light directly blasted the Female Fiend away. She crashed into the railing, sending shattered fragments flying everywhere.

"Damn, Old Zhang, you’re incredible!"

Gu Xuanwu stared in stunned amazement, forgetting the danger for a moment.

"Just wait!"

The Female Fiend let out a furious shriek before fleeing into the well and disappearing.

"Quickly, seal every gate to the residence. Don’t let her come out and harm anyone else."

Gu Sheng reached out and pulled up the old man, leading the still-shaken man toward the courtyard gate. As he called to Gu Xuanwu, he also directed the Security Force members under his command.

The Security Force was Wen County’s elite, and they acted quickly. Before long, they had dealt with everything according to Gu Sheng’s instructions, and the main gate of Gu Residence was locked shut once again.

"Old Zhang, what was that just now? That thing, the one that looked like a grenade, blew her away!"

Gu Xuanwu looked like a curious child, his expression animated as he spoke. "Hey! Do you have any more of that good stuff? Get me eight or ten of them. Then what Ghost Fiend would we have to fear?"

"You make it sound so easy. That was my Protective Talisman. It had already developed cracks the last time I injured that thing, and this time it broke apart completely. I took a huge loss, so you’d better compensate me!"

Gu Sheng spoke irritably to Gu Xuanwu. The thing he had thrown was actually just a small ornament. Its immense power had come entirely from the True Essence Gu Sheng had secretly infused into it.

Of course, he could not let this matter be exposed. Otherwise, Gu Xuanwu would definitely suspect his identity. Whether Gu Xuanwu suspected him or not did not matter much, but attracting Wu Xin’s attention and that of the other Reincarnators would be troublesome. Gu Sheng had planned to play the pig and eat the tiger throughout the entire affair. If he were discovered, how could he keep playing?

"A Protective Talisman? Hehe!"

Gu Xuanwu laughed awkwardly, then changed the subject and began cursing. "That damned Wu Xin swore to me that there wouldn’t be any trouble tonight. How dare that bastard lie to me? I’ll bring people to gun him down and put a few bloody holes in him!"

"Enough, enough!"

Gu Sheng said irritably, "Instead of wasting your energy cursing, you should think about what we ought to do! We might still have to rely on him to eliminate the Ghost Fiend in the end!"

Gu Sheng had no intention of taking action at all. If he had not been there to save someone, he would have planned to watch the entire show from the sidelines. There were quite a few competitors in this mission, and he did not want to become the target of everyone’s hostility by exposing his identity too early.

"Ahem, ahem~"

Gu Xuanwu coughed twice and spread his hands helplessly. "Then what do you suggest we do? If we drag that Wu Xin out of bed in the middle of the night, I’m afraid he won’t come at all."

"No need. Looking for him now would just let him make an outrageous demand."

Gu Sheng shook his head. "Keep the residence sealed. Tomorrow morning, have that Wu Xin come over and deal with this thing. Send more men tonight and set up a few tents. I’ll sleep here, so nothing else goes wrong. Oh, right—remember to send word back that I won’t be returning tonight. Tell Mei-jie to go to sleep first."

"Fine. I’ll stay with you, brother."

Gu Xuanwu patted his chest and sat down.