Chapter 18: Graveyard Danger
The stagnant air rippled slightly, distorted light and shadows flickering momentarily, followed by the sound of flesh being sliced.
The unfortunate doctor was cut in half at the waist, his twisted body crashing to the floor, dark purple blood gushing out and splattering across the narrow corridor.
But a clear line remained a foot in front of Luo Ling—the splashing blood stopped abruptly at this point, not a single drop crossing it.
“Are you alright?”
Ji Ying’s voice echoed again, this time beside Luo Ling.
“I’m fine,” Luo Ling glanced sideways, her expression changing slightly. “Are… are you alright?”
Ji Ying looked terrible. One arm hung limply at her side, half her face was a bloody mess, and even more horrifying, several holes gaped in her chest, blood dripping from her fingertips.
“Sorry, I was delayed by some trouble and couldn’t meet you in time,” Ji Ying said calmly, raising her remaining dagger, her one good eye staring calmly at the terrified Forgotten River Child.
Sister, is this what you call “some trouble”… Should we call an ambulance?
Oh wait, this is a hospital…
Seeing Ji Ying’s state, Luo Ling felt guilty for her earlier suspicions.
The Forgotten River Child, which she couldn’t handle, hadn’t even lasted a single round against Ji Ying. The opponent who had inflicted such injuries on her… must be even more terrifying.
Despite her condition, Ji Ying had kept her promise to Luo Ling, arriving before she was seriously harmed.
“Waaah… waaah…”
The Forgotten River Child’s large head was filled with terror, emitting infantile cries. Its shadowy form darted around frantically, finally breaking through the ceiling and fleeing the hospital.
It didn’t even dare stay in its home turf, the morgue.
Even a heavily injured Ji Ying could instantly kill its host. The timid Forgotten River Child wouldn’t dare gamble its life.
“Chase it.”
Ji Ying said softly, her gaze locked on the direction the Forgotten River Child had fled.
“Sister Ying, are you… really okay?” Luo Ling couldn’t help but ask. She could practically see through the wounds in Ji Ying’s abdomen.
“As long as I’m not dead,” Ji Ying said slowly. “Give me its coordinates, Miss Luo Ling.”
“…Okay.”
Luo Ling nodded and didn’t delay.
She had taken precautions regarding the Forgotten River Child’s movements, attaching a Spore to its shadowy form during the fight.
Through the connection between the Spores, Luo Ling shared the Forgotten River Child’s real-time location with Ji Ying.
Ji Ying nodded slightly at Luo Ling, her form dissolving into the air, disappearing into the shadows, undetectable even by Luo Ling’s Spores.
…Ji Ying hadn’t told Luo Ling about all her skills. This must be an ability she gained after leveling up.
“I wonder what Order Sister Ying is…”
Unconsciously, Luo Ling felt the distance between her and Ji Ying had shortened, her earlier wariness easing.
But as she came back to her senses, Luo Ling looked at the dismembered limbs and bloody mess around her and shuddered.
“This… this time, it’s really not my fault…”
At the same time, Director Li, who had fainted earlier, groaned and sat up, clutching his head.
“Ouch, who was that? No respect for their elders…”
“Oh no!”
Luo Ling’s eyes widened. This scene would be difficult to explain.
One doctor cut in half, another with a hole in his heart, while she was unharmed, holding the murder weapon (a utility knife)…
“Come here.”
Just as Luo Ling was about to explain to Director Li, Ji Ying’s voice echoed in her mind again, weaker than before.
Director Li was still dazed, leaning against the wall, groping for his glasses.
After a moment of hesitation, Luo Ling suppressed her anxiety and rushed towards the morgue elevator.
As she was about to leave, Director Li finally put on his glasses and was about to stop Luo Ling when he smelled a strong scent of blood.
He turned around, and his legs went weak.
“Oh my god… ugh…”
Nauseated by the bloody scene, Director Li quickly called the police, then hurried back upstairs.
“Murder! Murder!”
“…”
Silence returned to the area in front of the morgue, leaving only the bloodstains and two mangled corpses.
…
Weekday mornings were always bustling, with commuters rushing through their lives.
Of course, this had nothing to do with Luo Ling. She followed the Forgotten River Child’s location, chasing it from crowded areas to desolate places.
Jiangcheng County was, after all, just a small town. Apart from the bustling town center near the hospital, the surrounding areas were mostly quiet and secluded.
Especially…
The graveyard.
The Forgotten River Child didn’t dare show itself among crowds, even if they were mostly ordinary people. So, it chose to flee to the place with the heaviest concentration of Yin energy in Jiangcheng County, besides the hospital morgue.
Fortunately, after the Forgotten River Child reached the graveyard on the outskirts of town, its coordinates stopped moving, allowing Luo Ling to catch up.
“Huff…”
Luo Ling panted slightly. Only after entering the graveyard did she finally sense Ji Ying’s coordinates, near the Forgotten River Child.
She looked up and saw Ji Ying’s bloody figure standing not far away, the dagger in her hand stained with foul pus.
The Forgotten River Child was no match for Ji Ying. It was cut in half in an instant.
“Just in time,” Ji Ying glanced at Luo Ling, then pointed at the grotesque corpse of the Forgotten River Child. “Take the Sacred Relic and let’s go.”
“Huh?”
Sacred Relic?
Luo Ling followed Ji Ying’s finger, which pointed at the Forgotten River Child’s corpse.
“Hurry up.”
As always, Ji Ying didn’t explain her words.
Luo Ling didn’t dare delay. She quickly walked over and, fighting back nausea, picked up the so-called Sacred Relic. Suddenly, she heard an angry shout from afar.
“She’s here!”
Ji Ying turned her head and sighed. “We didn’t make it in time after all.”
“More pursuers…?”
Luo Ling thought of Ji Ying’s severe injuries and felt a chill run down her spine.
If Ji Ying was injured so badly, how could she possibly handle them?
But when Luo Ling looked in the direction of the shout, she was stunned.
There were indeed pursuers, and quite a few of them.
But… they weren’t Grotesqueries, and probably not Awakened Ones either, because Luo Ling recognized their uniforms.
—They were all police officers, even SWAT officers with guns.
But… wasn’t Ji Ying a police officer herself?
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