Chapter 633: Protection

Shopkeeper Lu returned to the bookstore, intending to have a showdown with Xiao Xiao Qianshou.

To decide the victor, and also to determine life and death—Shopkeeper Lu had made up his mind, but Xiao Xiao Qianshou did not want to fight.

He knew the caliber of the Eight-Measure Ink-Guest; with Xiao Xiao Qianshou's current strength, he had not the slightest chance of winning a head-on confrontation with Shopkeeper Lu. His mission was to lure Shopkeeper Lu back to the bookstore, and now that the mission was complete, Xiao Xiao Qianshou flashed away toward the door.

Shopkeeper Lu waved a hand, and the bookstore's main door slammed shut. Over a hundred characters for "Lock" appeared on the door, each one transforming into a real lock, sealing the doors and windows tight. Books on the shelves took flight, and thousands of characters surged like a tide, rapidly surrounding Xiao Xiao Qianshou.

This was a tactic Shopkeeper Lu had specifically prepared for Xiao Xiao Qianshou; the best way to deal with him was to give him absolutely no room to maneuver.

Xiao Xiao Qianshou's situation was unfavorable, but he did not lose his composure. He dared to break into the Lu family bookstore, so he had naturally made preparations. He flicked his right hand, causing his cuff to expand to over two feet in diameter, and a whirlwind swept up, sucking a large quantity of characters into his sleeve.

This was a Thief Cultivation technique, "Rivers and Mountains in the Sleeve," originally a method for hiding stolen goods, but now it played a massive role in combat.

The most difficult aspect of figures at the level of Ancestor or Grandmaster is that they have studied the techniques of their Daoist sects so thoroughly that they can often make unexpected responses.

Relying on characters alone could not capture Xiao Xiao Qianshou, so Shopkeeper Lu changed his approach.

He fished a short sword out of his sleeve, gripped it in his right hand, and thrust straight at Xiao Xiao Qianshou's face. Xiao Xiao Qianshou was stunned: "Zhou Zhou Badou, you're resorting to martial arts now?"

Shopkeeper Lu had decent skills; this sword thrust was fast and accurate, and even a Martial Cultivator from above the clouds might not necessarily be able to parry it.

This sword was also good, its cold edge biting, the sound of it piercing the air shrill and harsh, like ghosts weeping and wolves howling, lingering and refusing to dissipate, making even the well-informed Xiao Xiao Qianshou shudder. But such a straightforward attack method seemed like child's play when used against an ancestor of Thief Cultivation.

Xiao Xiao Qianshou's two fingers trembled, making a pinching motion, and the long sword in Shopkeeper Lu's hand was in Xiao Xiao Qianshou's grasp in the blink of an eye.

"Zhou Zhou Badou, you're a man of letters, why are you playing with swords with me? This weapon looks decent, but it's a waste in your hands. I'll keep it for you..." Before the words were finished, the short sword turned into ink, first staining Xiao Xiao Qianshou's palm black, then crawling up his wrist and immediately spreading toward his elbow.

Xiao Xiao Qianshou was shocked: "Old Zhou, this isn't right of you. I came to steal your things in good faith, and you use fake goods to fool me!"

This sword was fake. It looked like it had been pulled from his sleeve, but in reality, Shopkeeper Lu had written the character "Sword" on his palm with his thumb, which then transformed into a long sword. The blade's cold air was biting because Shopkeeper Lu was carrying the *Collection of Embroidered Frost* on his person, and the three characters on the cover were constantly spitting frost and snow toward Xiao Xiao Qianshou.

The shrill sound of piercing the air was because there were two volumes of Shopkeeper Lu's work, *Shouting*, on the bookshelf; these two books had been shouting at Xiao Xiao Qianshou the whole time, making him mistakenly believe he had heard the sound of air being pierced.

The weeping ghosts and howling wolves were because there was a set of *Hundred Ghost Illustrations* on the adjacent shelf; the hundred-plus ghosts and monsters in the book, along with a few wolf demons, were crying and screaming, providing background noise for Shopkeeper Lu. After this whole sequence of operations, Xiao Xiao Qianshou had been tricked by an ink sword, stealing it into his hands thinking it was real.

Xiao Xiao Qianshou's wrist and palm were stained black by the ink. Encountering such a situation, there was no need to worry; just cutting off the hand would solve it. But Xiao Xiao Qianshou was not what he used to be; although he had found a few hands in recent days, the quantity was very limited. Could he bear to cut it off?

Not bearing to cut off the hand meant waiting for death. Xiao Xiao Qianshou did not hesitate in the slightest; he swung a blade and cut off his right hand. "Rivers and Mountains in the Sleeve" could no longer be used, and Xiao Xiao Qianshou fell back into the heavy encirclement of characters. Just as it seemed he was beyond saving, the door behind him suddenly opened.

Shopkeeper Lu was stunned. The two sides had been fighting so fiercely, yet Xiao Xiao Qianshou hadn't forgotten to pick the lock. There were hundreds or thousands of locks on the bookstore door, yet they had been easily opened by Xiao Xiao Qianshou just like that.

"Old Zhou, there will be plenty of time in the future; we shall meet again!" Xiao Xiao Qianshou quickly withdrew from the characters and left the bookstore. Shopkeeper Lu did not pursue. He was not very familiar with the Outer Provinces, and there were some matters here he needed to sort out properly.

Besides the magic box, he had also collected quite a few things from the Hundred Bai Bai Mo Fang; these items also needed to be tidied up. Siren wails were continuous. Shopkeeper Lu returned to the bookstore and tidied up the scattered books a little.

Some police officers came over to inquire about the situation, and Shopkeeper Lu gave a few perfunctory replies, incidentally putting away Xiao Xiao Qianshou's severed hand. "There was some trouble tonight; please try to stay at home and don't go out."

The police gave a few words of caution and left the bookstore. Shopkeeper Lu opened a city map and saw firelight flickering in many places on the map. There was indeed quite a bit of trouble tonight.

Shopkeeper Lu closed the bookstore's main door, deciding not to wade into these muddy waters for the time being.

Shops closed one after another, pedestrians on the street became fewer and fewer, and the husband-and-wife barbecue stall across the street had no more business. The stall owner stood by the street, looked, and turned back to say to his wife: "Pack up!"

The stall owner's wife was a bit unwilling: "Wait a little longer, we haven't even earned the rent today." "What's the point of waiting? Didn't you hear what people said? There's trouble tonight, there's no one on the street!" "What trouble?"

"How would I know? Pack up quickly, we'll open earlier tomorrow, and we'll have it all."

The stall owner extinguished the fire, and his wife packed up the things with an unwilling face, lowered the rolling shutter, and tidied up simply. The young couple was just about to sleep when they suddenly heard someone pounding on the door. The stall owner shouted: "Who is it! We're closed!"

A child's voice came from outside: "Uncle, I came out to eat with my dad, and my mom went to the bathroom. A stranger said he'd take me to buy toys. I wouldn't go with him, so he hit me and dragged me away.

I finally managed to run away, but I can't find my mom. He's coming again, I don't know what to do..." The more anxious the child was, the less clearly he could speak.

"Oh my god, this is a child trafficker! Child, don't be afraid, come to Uncle!" Without waiting for his wife to ask more, the stall owner had already opened the rolling shutter. The shutter had only risen a few dozen centimeters, and the glass door inside hadn't been opened yet, when the couple discovered that the person standing in front of the door wasn't a child. Just looking at the size of those leather shoes, it wasn't something a child would wear. The man squatted down and smiled at the couple; he was a man in his twenties.

The stall owner was shocked and wanted to lower the rolling shutter, but the man rolled forward, smashed open the glass door, and entered the stall. The man said with a smile: "Uncle, you're really a good person. I'm hungry, can you make me something to eat?" The stall owner turned around, grabbed a furnace hook, pointed at the man, and shouted: "Get out!"

The man maintained his smile: "What's wrong, Uncle? You don't want to be a good person anymore?" "I told you to get out!" The stall owner raised the furnace hook and struck a pose.

Insiders knew that this pose was just for show; he didn't dare to actually strike.

The man across from him couldn't be scared off. He reached out, snatched the furnace hook, and hooked the stall owner's shoulder. It hurt terribly, and the stall owner stumbled and fell to the ground.

The man stepped on the stall owner's face and turned to look at the stall owner's wife.

The wife was holding her phone and about to call the police when the man swung the furnace hook, hooking through the wife's palm, and the phone fell to the ground.

The man stepped on the stall owner's head, twisted his toe twice, looked down at the stall owner, and said: "Uncle, I'm still hungry, make me some skewers to eat!" The stall owner's cheekbone was crushed, and he still wanted to struggle to get up, but his head felt like it was nailed to the ground; he couldn't move at all.

"You say you run a barbecue stall, if you don't grill skewers, what are you keeping these skewers for!" The man grabbed a handful of iron skewers and nailed them into the owner's body one by one, each skewer piercing through his body and embedding deeply into the ground.

The man laughed: "Looks like you still don't feel pain. If you felt pain, you'd be screaming."

The stall owner's eyes were blood-red, his whole body trembling, but he couldn't let out a single sound; his throat felt like it was choked with a mouthful of sand, unable to swallow and unable to spit out. The wife screamed; in her terror, she let out a cry.

The man turned to look at the stall owner, smiling: "Uncle, I haven't taken a wife yet, can you lend me your auntie?"

The stall owner wanted to fight for his life, but he was nailed to the ground and couldn't move.

The wife wanted to run, but the man flicked a skewer, nailing the wife to the wall. The wife shrieked in agony.

"What are you running for! Why suffer this pain?" The man pinched the wife's face, "Put in more effort, scream louder, and attract a few more people to watch our performance! Your business here will definitely be booming in the future!"

The wife screamed with all her might. The owner's whole body trembled.

"The good show is about to start." The man smiled and turned on the barbecue stall's light box. The light box lit up, but the two characters for "Barbecue" were not to be seen. Shopkeeper Lu looked across the street and shook his head: "They all say Puluo Continent is heartless, but the Outer Provinces are no less lacking in beasts."

Inside the barbecue stall, the man prepared to make a move on the wife.

"How did you write your sign? There aren't even the two characters for barbecue, how do you do business?" The man touched the wife's face and suddenly felt a warmth in his trouser leg. Peeled?

Scared to pee?

It was normal for them to be scared to pee, but the man couldn't understand why he had peed here. The texture didn't feel right either; pee shouldn't be this sticky.

Pee shouldn't, either, be red.

The man took a few steps back and fell to the ground. A lump of something fell out of his trouser leg. Dropped!

That thing, it actually dropped!

In terror and pain, the man shouted loudly, his pants covered in bright red.

Shopkeeper Lu was worried he would lose too much blood, so he let the character "Burn" linger on his wound for a while. Scorched smoke rose, and the man shrieked continuously.

He didn't know who had cut him, nor did he know who had burned him. He picked up the thing that had fallen to the ground, wanting to escape, but his legs went weak, and he fell to the ground again. Blue smoke rose from his calves; his leg tendons had been roasted.

The man stretched out his hand to crawl out the door, but his arms suddenly lost strength, and his whole body fell to the ground. His hand tendons had also been roasted.

A "Burn" character circled around him, and the thing that had been cut off fell to the ground again.

Shopkeeper Lu saw he was truly pitiful, so he didn't let the "Burn" character go over, but sent the "Roast" character over instead, roasting that thing until it was cooked. Shopkeeper Lu was well-intentioned; this thing was thoroughly cooked, and it could be eaten with a little pepper and salt.

But this man had no mind to eat; he crawled toward the door with his body. The skewers on the stall owner's body had fallen off; he didn't know who had pulled them out. The stall owner slowly got up from the ground and raised the furnace hook behind the man.

"You, you don't..." The man looked back and kept crawling backward. The skewers on the wife's body had also fallen off, and she dialed the police.

"There are many people calling the police tonight; I feel there must be a connection behind it." Lightbulb made a bold assumption in front of Candied Fruit and Middle-Two. Candied Fruit rolled her eyes at Lightbulb: "Does this need you to say it? Anyone can see it!"

Middle-Two said: "I think these people must belong to the same organization; tonight's situation is a planned and premeditated action."

Candied Fruit nodded: "Middle-Two's analysis is still the most thorough!"

Lightbulb frowned: "Sister Candied Fruit, is there a difference between what I said and what Middle-Two said?"

"Can't you hear if there's a difference?" Candied Fruit stopped the car outside a residential complex. "Remember the location: Building 6, Room 1301. After going up, be quick and get the job done. Strive to catch the next one; Director Shen said that this time the harmonizer is paid by the head!"

The Dark Star Bureau had divided the security team members into dozens of groups and shared all case information in the work group. After completing the tasks assigned to their own group, everyone could assist other groups in completing tasks.

Lightbulb sighed: "We've wasted all our time on the road. We must choose a good location for the next job and strive to arrive at the scene within half an hour."

Middle-Two was not so optimistic: "So far, not a single group has reported success in the group. These people are not so easy to deal with; we must not underestimate the enemy." The three arrived at Building 6, and the police person-in-charge introduced the current situation to them.

"The suspect disguised himself as a lost old man and asked for directions door-to-door. Only the residents of Room 1301 opened the door for him. There are six people in this family: two old people, a couple, and two children. The whole family has been taken hostage by the suspect.

The suspect demands that we provide a ransom of 50 million and a helicopter to let him leave Yuezhou City safely." Lightbulb was very puzzled: "Has he watched too many police and gangster movies? A helicopter?"

Middle-Two asked: "What is this suspect's special ability?"

The police officer replied: "His combat ability is outstanding. Without special weapons, he injured several of our police officers." Lightbulb said to Candied Fruit: "Isn't this a typical Martial Cultivator?"

Candied Fruit shook her head: "Don't be arbitrary; many folk dark energy users don't have a clear profession."

The group arrived at the thirteenth floor. Standing in the hallway, Candied Fruit heard the conversation in the room: "Have you decided? Who is the first?" As the words fell, a burst of crying came.

"Not good! He's going to hurt the hostages!" The police officer looked at Candied Fruit. Middle-Two asked: "Have you deployed snipers?"

The police officer shook his head: "We've tried twice. As soon as the snipers get into position, they are immediately discovered by him. Every time he discovers them, the hostages are harmed." Middle-Two frowned: "This is not an ordinary combatant; he has the means of a Seeker."

Lightbulb nodded: "This might be a Seeker Cultivator, or he might have a Seeker Cultivator's magic treasure."

The kidnapper's voice came out again: "Move faster, I don't have time to waste with you!" First, the sound of a child crying came from the room.

Immediately after, the old man's shout came: "Don't touch the child, I, I'll come." The police officer was right; the kidnapper was indeed going to make a move on the hostages.

Candied Fruit ordered: "Act immediately!"

Before setting out, the three of them had already formulated a tactic: Lightbulb would enter the room first to attract the suspect's attention, Middle-Two would be responsible for support to ensure the safety of the hostages and Lightbulb, and Candied Fruit would directly use a binding technique to subdue the suspect.

Lightbulb slowly approached the room, and a ball of fire suddenly drilled out of the door. This person also knows Fire Cultivation techniques?

Lightbulb was shocked and shook his head at Candied Fruit.

Fire Cultivation restrains Oil Cultivation; Lightbulb was not suitable to be the first to enter the door.

The old man's screams and the child's crying came out together. The kidnapper had made his move; there was no time to adjust the tactic. Middle-Two made a gesture; he would go first.

Combatants are different from Martial Cultivators; Middle-Two had to have suitable weapons to make a move. In the current combat environment, the most suitable weapon was undoubtedly a gun.

Middle-Two rushed into the room carrying a gun. The kidnapper was a...?

Middle-Two had no time to think; he fired directly at the suspect.

There were twelve rounds in the magazine in total. Middle-Two emptied the magazine, and all twelve bullets hit, three of which hit the head. The kidnapper was bleeding on his face, which at least proved that the bullets had caused him damage.

Taking advantage of this opportunity, Candied Fruit threw out a fishing net, which accurately covered the kidnapper.

This was equipment specifically improved for Candied Fruit by the Dark Star Bureau, effectively overcoming the problem of the binder's combat distance being too close. The fishing net controlled the suspect, and the mission was more than half successful.

Lightbulb rushed into the room to cooperate with Middle-Two in saving the hostages, and Candied Fruit prepared to draw a fishing net on the suspect to ensure the binding strength.

It was difficult for ordinary people to understand Candied Fruit's train of thought. A fishing net was already tied on the suspect, why draw another one?

This had to do with the characteristics of the binder's technique. Drawing a few intersecting net-like lines on the suspect would form an invisible net. This was the technique with the strongest binding force, and the name of the technique was "Conceptual Constraint."

In Puluo Continent, Bind Cultivators also had a corresponding technique called "Drawing a Cocoon to Make a Prison."

As far as Candied Fruit was concerned, if the net she drew had ten parts strength, the net made by the Dark Star Bureau had at most three parts strength, so for the sake of safety, she had to add a layer of binding to the suspect.

But before the three could get close to the suspect, the suspect suddenly broke free from the fishing net and rubbed a ball of raging flames from his palm. The flames turned into a fire dragon, weaving and rotating around the three.

Lightbulb withdrew his technique and retreated rapidly. Candied Fruit was also forced out of the door by the flames. Middle-Two braved the flames and rushed to the suspect, stabbing at the suspect's throat with a dagger. The suspect's throat bled, and his cheek twitched slightly.

With this strike, Middle-Two had a clear sense of texture. He had injured the opponent's skin but hadn't injured the opponent's flesh; beneath the opponent's skin, there seemed to be a suit of armor hidden. The suspect swung his arm and slapped Middle-Two.

What kind of fighting style is this?

Middle-Two dodged the palm by leaning backward, but his cheek was scratched by the opponent's fingernails. This injury was not light; Middle-Two's cheek was leaking air.

It really was using fingernails!

Fortunately, the opponent's skills were not too good, otherwise Middle-Two would definitely have lost his life. If the skills were not good, it proved that this person was likely not a combatant.

Middle-Two changed the magazine and prepared to fire again. The suspect swung his palm and chopped at Middle-Two's arm. Middle-Two quickly withdrew his hand, dodging the opponent's arm, but his gun barrel was chopped off.

This time, Middle-Two finally saw the opponent's Daoist sect. Blade Cultivation!

A Slicer!

A Slicer could use surrounding objects, or even a part of themselves, to create sharp blades. No wonder he could break free from Candied Fruit's fishing net. The Dark Star Bureau had a Slicer named Geng Geng Congyi, who had once carried out a mission with Li Qi.

Middle-Two had seen his combat style and also understood the relevant skills of a Slicer.

Geng Geng Congyi could create sharp blades from thin air and could even sever the control of Tool Cultivators over their implements. Could this suspect do this? He could!

He sent out a sheet of invisible sharp blades from thin air. Middle-Two relied on a combatant's intuition to dodge with all his might, but he still took two cuts on his body.

Fortunately, these two cuts were not in vital areas, so the impact on Middle-Two was not too great. Taking advantage of the two fighting, Lightbulb and Candied Fruit rushed into the room again. Lightbulb snatched a hostage, and the sharp blade slid past his body, failing to injure him.

Candied Fruit wanted to get close again to use a binding technique but was injured on her right arm by a sharp blade and could only exit the room again. Lightbulb sneaked in again and snatched another hostage out.

The kidnapper threw a ball of fire at Lightbulb. Middle-Two rushed forward, unfolded his coat, stirred up a gust of wind, blew the fireball off course, and protected Lightbulb. Lightbulb escaped with the hostage, and Middle-Two's situation became unfavorable.

Using clothes to fan the wind, with large, open movements, Middle-Two became a living target in front of the Blade Cultivator.

Two sharp blades stabbed into his stomach, and one sharp blade stabbed into his chest. Middle-Two risked his life, scratched the suspect's eyes with a dagger, and Lightbulb took the opportunity to snatch another child out, incidentally saving Middle-Two from the room.

Middle-Two was covered in blood and fell against the wall.

Candied Fruit had just asked the Dark Star Bureau for reinforcements and immediately had the police contact an ambulance. The Dark Star Bureau had no more manpower.

Even if there was manpower, it would be too late to support.

Six hostages had been saved, three remained, and a couple and a child had not been saved.

The kidnapper roared loudly: "You're done for, you've angered me. I'm going to burn them to death, I'll burn this little one to death first!" He rubbed a fireball in his palm and picked up the child on the ground.

Lightbulb dared not rush in.

Candied Fruit couldn't think of a countermeasure for a moment.

Middle-Two stood up from the wall, pointed at the room, and whispered: "I'll go, disperse the fire, you save the hostages." His mouth was full of blood, and his speech was very slurred.

He was covered in blood and couldn't even stand steadily.

Lightbulb pulled Middle-Two: "Don't go, stay here and don't move..." "Protection." Middle-Two rushed into the room without the slightest hesitation.

Candied Fruit followed and rushed in.

Lightbulb gritted his teeth and also rushed in.

The kidnapper was clutching the fireball. Lightbulb dared not use his technique, dragged the child's father, and ran toward the door. Middle-Two gripped the kidnapper's wrist and fought desperately. Candied Fruit snatched the child and sent him out the door. Lightbulb rushed into the room again, picked up the child's mother, and fled outward.

The child's mother's legs were weak, and she couldn't use any strength. Middle-Two didn't know how many cuts he had taken, and it looked like he couldn't stand anymore.

Lightbulb activated his technique and slid outward while dragging the child's mother.

Candied Fruit rushed in to support. The kidnapper chopped Middle-Two down with his hand. The fireball was about to turn into a fire dragon, but it suddenly extinguished in his palm. Li Li Banfeng was behind him, grabbing the kidnapper's head.

The kidnapper was in great pain, his consciousness became blurred, and for a moment, he couldn't use his technique.

Walking out of Flower Lake Park, Li Li Banfeng received the information; he had received all the cases in the whole city. He came to this residential complex nearby and flew into the room from outside the window.

The kidnapper was still struggling. Li Li Banfeng twisted his wrist, and a cracking sound came from the kidnapper's skull.

"Candied Fruit, send Middle-Two to the hospital, escort the hostages away!" Li Li Banfeng issued the order.

Candied Fruit hurriedly picked up Middle-Two. Li Li Banfeng looked at the kidnapper and said: "Who told you to do this?" The kidnapper didn't speak. Li Li Banfeng applied more force, and the sound of the skull cracking came again. The kidnapper couldn't bear the pain and said with difficulty: "It was us..."

Just after saying three words, the kidnapper's body exploded on the spot.

There were some things he couldn't say; Li Li Banfeng had seen this method before.

All civilization is fabricated; the people of Snowflake Pier cannot pronounce Du Du Wenming's name.

This incident was also related to Du Du Wenming. It was very likely that many of these cases were led by Du Du Wenming, or by higher-ups in the Hundred Bai Bai Mo Fang. What was his purpose in doing this?

Li Li Banfeng took another look at his phone; all the core members of the Dark Star Bureau had been dispatched. Could his target be the Dark Star Bureau building?

8B

Dark Star Bureau, interrogation room. Geng Geng Shunxi, a core member of the Hundred Bai Bai Mo Fang, had been refusing to confess. He had long been unable to withstand the pressure of the Judge's carrier and was on the verge of collapse.

There were a few times he wanted to speak, but after scanning the members of the interrogation team, he chose silence again.

Shen Zhong Huaien saw some clues. He had everyone else leave the interrogation room and turned off all monitoring equipment. He came to Geng Geng Shunxi's side and lowered his voice: "Is there one of your people in our bureau?"

Geng Geng Shunxi remained silent.

Shen Zhong Huaien said again: "You don't dare to tell the truth, is it because you're afraid he'll kill you to silence you?"

Geng Geng Shunxi lowered his voice: "It's not just killing me. If the mole among you leaks the matter, they will kill my whole family." "Who are they?"

"I can't say; if I say it, I'll die."

"They used a curse on you, and there are some names you can't say, right?" Geng Geng Shunxi nodded.

"There are always some things you can say. You are a core member. If you can't mention anything, what use can you still be?" Geng Geng Shunxi was silent for a moment and said: "Our Hundred Bai Bai Mo Fang has members all over the world..."

Shen Zhong Huaien shook his head: "I already know these things. There is only you and me here. Tell me something I don't know. As long as what you say is valuable, I can guarantee your safety."

Geng Geng Shunxi lowered his voice and said: "We have a controllable magnetic storm weapon." "What is that?"

"A weapon that can destroy a large number of communication devices in a short period of time. We have already mastered this technology, and the first target is Yuezhou."

PS: In Chapter 261, Middle-Two once said that his purpose for joining the Dark Star Bureau was to protect this world and everything important in this world. He did it. Dear readers, vote for Salad! ===== CHAPTER 634 =====