Chapter 25: Return to Binhai City

As Wu Zui let out a muffled growl, Xiao Ke'ai quickly darted in front of him.

"Ah! You caught me, but Master, we've arrived at our destination. Aren't you happy? Your precious disciple has come back with you!"

Xiao Ke'ai, oblivious to Wu Zui's grim expression, remained as lively as always.

"Happy, my foot!"

Thud—

Wu Zui cursed again, landing a resounding knock on Xiao Ke'ai's head.

On the taxi ride to the Detective Bureau, Wu Zui’s face remained dark. If Xiao An-guo found out that Xiao Ke'ai had sneaked off to Binhai City, wouldn’t he chase him down and skin him alive?

Xiao Ke'ai was also listless, clearly lacking energy.

Beep—

Wu Zui’s phone suddenly chimed with a text message. The sender—Xiao An-guo.

"What? When did I save this number?"

Wu Zui picked up his phone, surprised. He didn’t recall ever storing Xiao An-guo’s contact.

Take care of Ke'ai, don’t let her wander off again! There’s an authorization form in her suitcase, allowing ten people to skip the queue for magnetic energy awakening—a fee for looking after her. Once she’s had her fun, I’ll come and get her. —Xiao An-guo.

Along with the message came a flood of photos. Xiao An-guo’s tone sounded polite, but the sudden addition of work was clearly a warning—boy, you’d better watch out!

"Does your dad know you’re out?"

Wu Zui eyed Xiao Ke'ai and asked.

"Uh… no! My patrol detective position is still active, so I just quietly slipped onto the plane." Xiao Ke'ai’s face stiffened as she replied. She probably knew her old man had already realized she was gone, and was about to send someone after her.

But fortunately, my hand has healed. If anyone comes after me, I'll hammer them to death!

Thanks to her successful magnetic energy awakening, Xiao Ke'ai’s previously injured hand had fully recovered. She touched her back, where two golden hammers gleamed, and thought to herself.

"Now he does! Look at your dad's message!"

Wu Zui handed Xiao Ke'ai the phone as he spoke.

Xiao Ke'ai quickly scanned the message and then pouted, "I’m not some animal! What’s with the care fee? As if I’m a cat or a dog in storage!"

Wu Zui took back his phone, thinking—animal? You’re more rambunctious than a husky, at least I can leash that one!

"Before your dad picks you up, you’re not to leave my sight! No hunting ghosts alone! No… whatever, break any rule and I’ll send you straight back! Understood?"

Wu Zui’s tone was stern as he addressed Xiao Ke'ai.

"Okay, Master! But… don’t you feel like we’re going the wrong way? This place looks so deserted!"

Xiao Ke'ai nodded vigorously, then looked out the window and asked Wu Zui.

"Hmm?"

Wu Zui glanced outside; this was indeed not the road to the Detective Bureau.

"Driver, where are you taking us?"

Xiao Ke'ai curiously leaned toward the driver’s seat.

Wu Zui promptly yanked her back.

Then he drew his magnetic energy blade, the energy jetting out and forming a sword-shaped aura about a foot long at the hilt. As soon as the energy coalesced, Wu Zui stabbed it toward the driver’s seat.

They seemed to hear a faint pop, and the scenery around them vanished. Suddenly, they were standing on an endless highway under a pitch-black sky.

"Did you get rid of that thing?" Xiao Ke'ai asked, hiding behind Wu Zui, her voice somewhat steady.

"No, this is still an illusion it created."

Wu Zui gripped his magnetic blade tightly, eyes wary as he surveyed their surroundings.

Beep beep—

A horn sounded. Out of nowhere, a huge truck appeared, barreling straight toward Wu Zui—so close that escape was impossible. Its sudden appearance defied logic.

Seeing this, Wu Zui could only swing his magnetic blade at the truck. With a single strike, the truck dissolved into two clouds of smoke.

"Let’s try walking forward," Wu Zui said, glancing at Xiao Ke'ai, who was still hiding behind him.

"Alright!"

Xiao Ke'ai took out her two gleaming golden hammers and followed Wu Zui ahead.

"Disciple, give me one of your lollipops—I’m hungry, didn’t eat on the plane," Wu Zui suddenly stopped and turned to Xiao Ke'ai.

"Oh!" Xiao Ke'ai paused, then handed over a chocolate-flavored lollipop.

Wu Zui reached for the lollipop with his left hand, while his right hand hid the magnetic blade behind his back, the energy poised to strike. As his left hand neared the lollipop, he slashed the blade at the Xiao Ke'ai before him.

The figure let out a blood-curdling scream and dissolved into a human-shaped shadow, with a lingering blue glow of magnetic energy at its core. The sky reverted to afternoon, and they were no longer on the endless highway.

On the other side, the real Xiao Ke'ai was panting, hammers in hand, clearly exhausted from expending magnetic energy.

"Eh? Master, when did you run over there? I thought you were behind me!"

Xiao Ke'ai hadn’t noticed the change in surroundings, only that Wu Zui suddenly seemed farther away.

"Idiot! Was that really me behind you?"

Wu Zui’s face darkened. His silly disciple hadn’t realized it yet. But what grade was that ghost spirit? It took a direct hit from his magnetic blade and still managed to escape?

According to the Guide to Ghosts and Monsters, even a two-star ghost would be seriously injured by such a blow. A few more hits and it would be finished.

"Not Master? Was it a ghost then? Oh no, I should have hammered it! My first ghost kill post-awakening, and I missed it! So sad!"

"There will be other chances! Give me a lollipop! But when did we get caught in the illusion? Didn’t the driver pick us up at the airport? We never got out of the car!"

Wu Zui spoke as he walked to the taxi.

The driver was now corpse-pale, body stiff, clearly dead for some time.

"Attacking us at the airport… Looks like the ghost problem in Binhai City is worse than expected," Wu Zui muttered, eyeing the driver’s body.

"Master, here’s your lollipop! How did you realize the person beside you wasn’t me? Is it intuition?"

Xiao Ke'ai handed Wu Zui an orange-flavored lollipop, sounding slightly self-absorbed.

"It was quieter than you, knew to hide when there was danger. Gave me a chocolate lollipop, but you always give me orange. Most importantly, not once did it call me 'Master' in three sentences."

Wu Zui shot Xiao Ke'ai a glance.

"Right! If Master was beside me, he’d never let me use my magnetic hammers on the truck. Did you finish it off?"

"No, it ran. It took a direct hit from my blade and still escaped, who knows what level that ghost spirit is. Fresh off the plane and we run into this, brilliant!" Wu Zui bit into the lollipop, clearly frustrated at the ghost’s escape.

"Master, look at this!"

Xiao Ke'ai handed Wu Zui her phone.

Guide to Ghosts and Monsters:
Type: Ghost Spirit
Level: Two-Star
Name: Vengeful Traffic Accident Specter
Habit: Draws people into a realm of resentment, trapping them, then uses endless traffic accidents within the illusion to kill them. Externally, victims appear to die of fright!
Weakness/Kill Method: Find the true body and attack it with magnetic energy to destroy it completely.

Wu Zui finished reading and muttered, "Looks like this traffic accident specter has leveled up! It was trying to drain all our magnetic energy—without it, it could possess us directly. Are magnetic energy awakeners more attractive to ghost spirits than regular people?"

"Master, what should we do here?"

Xiao Ke'ai looked at the driver, who had probably been dead for quite a while.

"Once we confirm there’s no ghost possession, hand it over to the regular detectives and notify the family," Wu Zui replied, not entirely sure. According to what they’d learned at the Yanjing City Detective Bureau, after confirming safety, notifying the ordinary detectives was enough.

"Oh! I’ll tell Lin Feng to come over. He can give us a ride back too."

Xiao Ke'ai nodded, pulling out her phone to call Lin Feng.

Wu Zui drew his magnetic blade and struck the driver’s corpse. The energy passed through without reaction. If there had been a possessing spirit, even a three-star, it couldn’t have stayed hidden under such an attack.

"Safe! We’ll wait for Lin Feng."

Wu Zui put away his blade and waited by the roadside.

He reflected: When he first saw the driver, there was clearly a haze over his head. When the specter disguised itself as Xiao Ke'ai, the haze was there as well. Only when it fled and turned transparent did the haze completely disappear.

If he hadn’t been cautious, testing several times—plus the fact that magnetic energy doesn’t harm humans—he might not have dared to strike.

I wonder if my eyes could become more powerful? If only I could see the state of ghost possession.

Wu Zui quietly hoped.

Xiao Ke'ai, seeing Wu Zui lost in thought, for once wasn’t making a fuss. She sat quietly beside him, savoring her orange lollipop, eyes narrowed in contentment.

The sound of brakes cut through the silence—Lin Feng had arrived with the detectives.

"Old Wu, you’re finally back! Director Wang said you went to Yanjing, I thought you’d gotten promoted and stayed there. Come to my place for dinner tonight!"

Lin Feng was all smiles, talking nonstop as he greeted Wu Zui.

The other detectives efficiently removed the driver’s body. From their practiced manner, it seemed they’d been dealing with such cases frequently. Wu Zui felt he hadn’t been gone long, yet everything seemed so unfamiliar.