After a few seconds, a corner of the outpatient building of the Linshi Kanghe Hospital suddenly lit up with a dim candlelight, faintly glowing and inconspicuous. At first glance, it looked like the light from passing car headlights projected onto the window glass.

Judging by the location, it was the forensic clinic on the third floor.

This clinic was not usually busy. There was a scheduling chart on the door, printed on an A4 paper, conveniently covering the glass that allowed a view inside. Two rows of text were loosely printed on the schedule:

Monday, Wednesday: City Public Security Bureau Tuesday,

Thursday: District Public Security Bureau

Of course, this was what ordinary people saw. Beneath it, there was another row of tiny golden letters: "Every 15th of the month, the Yin Guest arrives, no waiting beyond the due date, seek alternative arrangements for whereabouts." It was solemnly stamped with a square crimson seal.

It was because of this piece of paper that Xie Bai never entered through the main door. He was afraid that he couldn't help but tear off those official-looking golden letters.

But that seal was not stamped by him, so tearing it off would be somewhat disrespectful to the previous authorities.

At this moment, Xie Bai had silently appeared inside the room. He stood by the window with his back to the door, calmly handling the umbrella in his hand. As the fine droplets of water on the umbrella touched his fingers, they disappeared without a trace the moment they made contact, as if sucked away by his fingertips.

Just as he finished adjusting the umbrella, the wooden door of the consultation room was knocked on three times, with a rhythm of one short and two long intervals.

Then, a light, floating voice sounded outside the door: "My Lord, the fifteenth has arrived again. It's been a month, how have you been?"

The voice was very familiar. A moment ago, Xie Bai had seen the owner of the voice squatting in the flower bed, rolling up his sleeves and speaking cheekily, "You're ugly, you do it." It was worlds apart from the current restrained and courteous demeanor.

Xie Bai showed no intention of responding, not even lifting his eyelids.

The umbrella he had just arranged suddenly turned into a black mist in his hand, then he picked it with his pale fingers, separating it into two long strands. He lowered his head and carefully wound the black mist from his fingertips to his wrist, leaving no gap, wrapping it tightly like a glove that fit his skin perfectly.

There was a moment of silence outside the door, then the person couldn't resist talking, saying through the door, "My Lord, Boss Yin asked me to greet you. Unfortunately, he's been very busy lately, so he couldn't come in person. Otherwise, he would definitely have come in person."

Xie Bai had just finished winding the last coil around his wrist when he paused at the words and finally spoke, "Are you tired?"

The person outside the door was puzzled, "Huh? What?"

Xie Bai raised his hand, and the same black mist enveloped his temples, turning into black bands about three fingers wide, covering his eyes with three coils front and back.

As soon as he was securely covered, the lock on the consultation room door made a light "click" sound, suddenly popping open, then slammed shut with a "bang," hitting the unlucky person outside the door.

"Ah— Who changed this damn door?! Last month it opened inwards, how come it's reversed this month?!" The person in white clothes rubbed his sore nose outside the open door, hopping up and down.

Xie Bai turned around from the window and walked steadily to the person in white, as if covering his eyes had no effect on his movements at all.

The person in white subconsciously stepped back, holding his sore nose, tearfully asking, "Master, what did you just say about being tired?"

"I said..." Xie Bai tilted his head slightly towards him, saying, "Did you get a raise for making up nonsense for Yin Wushu for over a hundred years?"

The person in white: "Sob~"

Xie Bai couldn't be bothered to listen to his crying. He lifted his foot to leave but was caught by the sleeve. "My Lord, you don't even ask for the location, where you're going?"

"To dissect a corpse."

After replying, Xie Bai's fingertip flashed with a glint of a knife, decisively cutting off the sleeve cuff grabbed by the person in white. Then, he strode to the edge of the corridor, completely disregarding the height of the three-story building. With one hand on the railing, he flipped over and jumped down.

The person in white shook his broken sheep's wool sleeves and rushed towards the railing. "Who are you dissecting?!"

"Why shake? It's certainly not Yin Wushu." Xie Bai coolly replied as he disappeared.

"Others may not dare, but with you, it's hard to say." The person in white muttered and hurriedly followed suit, jumping down as well.

*

Fa away at the West Gate of the Hailan Residential Area in Linshi, Feng Li suddenly heard the name of their boss. He startled, leaping up from the shadow in the corner, covering his nose with one hand, and looking towards the direction of the voice.

As a result, a mass of black fog enveloped him accompanied by myriad of ghosts crying and hanging their heads. Feng Li, caught off guard, was hit by the howling yin wind, his face covered with his short hair blown back.

Struggling to squint against the wind, he saw a tall, thin figure descending from the floating black mist, standing steadily in front of him. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he raised his hand and lightly clawed with his five fingers, making a "withdraw" motion.

The yin wind abruptly stopped, and the black mist shrank visibly at the speed of the eye, decreasing to the size of a manhole cover.

"Wait! Let me out before you withdraw it!" The cries of despair came from within the black mist, which had shrunk even further.

Xie Bai paused his fingers, and the black mist indeed stopped shrinking.

Then, the person in white struggled out of the flattened black mist, gasping for breath, "I know how it feels to give birth."

Xie Bai: "..."

Without hesitation, he retracted his fingers.

The person in white leaked directly with a "puff," looking like a fried feathered chicken being chocked by the neck.

Feng Li, forgetting to cover his nose, looked incredulous, pointing at the person in white after a while. "Li Dong? What act are you putting on now?"

"Hitching a ride, ever heard of it?" The white clothed person called Li Dong squeezed out from between his teeth and then turned to Xie Bai, "My Lord, if you're really going to suffocate me, do it quick!"

Xie Bai moved his fingers, and the black mist suddenly expanded, shivered twice, shaking Li Dong like a sack to the ground before being completely gathered up, disappearing then without a trace.

Hearing Li Dong call "My Lord," Feng Li, bewildered by the yin wind, finally remembered that Li Dong  had gone to invite someone. It was self-evident who was standing here.

Having been in Tai Xuan Dao for less than a month, it was the first time he had faced this person directly. Seeing Xie Bai's eyes covered tightly with black cloth, he instinctively lowered his voice and, facing the crouching Li Dong, raised his eyebrows and gestured silently, "Yin Guest?"

Li Dong sat up from the ground, looking pained. "Yes! Why are you gesturing? The Lord can see."

Feng Li : "..."

Xie Bai ignored the two of them. He turned his head, and with his eyes covered by black cloth, he swept his surroundings. Soon, he fixed his gaze about five meters away.

The three layers of black cloth weakened the contours of ordinary things, making unusual things stand out, like the faintly glowing dot on the ground, resembling a dusty night pearl from a distance.

Xie Bai strode over in meteoric steps and stopped in front of the dot, crouching down.

Feng Li muttered, "He can really see it!" Then, covering his nose with his hand, he followed quickly with Li Dong.

As they approached, Li Dong suddenly let out a ‘urgh’, pinching his nose. He remained as quiet as a chicken for two seconds, then turned to Xie Bai in despair, "This smell is making me feel like I'm having morning sickness. Do you need me to cover your nose for you, my Lord?"

As soon as he said this, he froze for a moment, then quietly turned his head to slap himself, muttering, "Damn it, of all the pots to stir!"

Xie Bai either genuinely didn't hear or pretended not to. He unexpectedly replied, "No need, I can't smell it."

As he said this, he didn't turn his head, his attention still on the ground. It seemed like he had merely spoken casually, without any other emotions. Beneath his tightly wrapped fingers, there was a lump of flesh and blood in front of him.

It was a demon corpse, in a gruesome state. It seemed that it was transitioning from its human to its original form when it was abruptly interrupted, resulting in this eerie shapeless appearance. Every joint of its body had been broken, and every bone shattered, twisted into the shape of a disk.

Xie Bai's fingers traced along the edge, then gently flicked it. A piece of flesh, unrecognizable, flipped to another direction. This was presumably the head of the demon corpse.

The reason for the ‘presumably’ was that the demon corpse had no intact skin left on its entire body. It was covered in numerous bloody gashes, resembling countless runes.

Li Dong glanced at him, saw that he didn't continue speaking, and tried to get closer behind him, pinching his nose to get a better look at the demon corpse. But before he could, Feng Li, in a daze, continued his previous question, "Can't smell anything, why?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Bai's index finger landed on the heart area of the demon corpse. Then, as if hearing something extremely interesting, he turned his head and whispered, "Why?"

The black cloth covering his eyes was layered three times, covering his eyebrows and most of his nose bridge. Others couldn't see the expression in his eyes, only his pale lower face and faint-coloured lips. At this moment, the corners of his mouth were slightly raised, with a hint of a smile that wasn't quite a smile.

With this slight smile, he leaned a little closer to Feng Li and asked again, "Do you really want to know?"

Feng Li inexplicably felt a chill. He stepped back, his eyes drifting to the side. He saw Li Dong, who had been pushed aside, wildly gesturing behind Xie Bai, with a face that seemed to say, "Are you an idiot?!"

"No, I can't casually ask about the Lord’s matters. My Lord, please continue, as if I'm not here." Feng Li vigorously shook his head, gesturing towards the demon corpse. "Go ahead."

Xie Bai didn't move. Feng Li and Li Dong  both held their breath, their entire bodies stiff as if frozen.

After a while, Xie Bai retracted the slight smile, returning to his previous cold and expressionless state, turning his attention back to the demon corpse.

Feng Li silently sighed, feeling sweat forming on his back under his airtight jacket.

Li Dong, with his hands behind his back, rubbed his thumb and forefinger together, rolled up a small piece of paper, and threw it at Feng Li. The paper touched Feng Li's skin, flashed faintly, and then melted away. Following that, Feng Li suddenly heard Li Dong's roar in his mind, "This is off-limits! Off-limits! If you ask again next time, I'll come collect your corpse, you little bastard!"

Feng Li: "..."

He immediately rolled up a piece of paper and threw it back, asking, "How would I know? This is my first time seeing an active Yin Guest. But... Legend has it that he's extremely cold, completely disregarding unfamiliar people. But today, he seems to be treating both you and me quite well, not as exaggerated as the rumours."

Before a second passed, Li Dong 's paper came again: "Oh, the legend is indeed true, but the people from Tai Xuan Dao receive special treatment."

Feng Li : "More familiar?"

Li Dong : "More eager to kill."

Feng Li : "..."

Xie Bai, with his back to them, seemed unaware of their secret exchange. He lightly traced a certain part of the demon corpse with his left index finger, and at the same time, with his right hand, he lifted and peeled off a piece of skin. In the glow of the street lamp, it was so thin it was translucent.

He folded the demon skin with dense runes into two, then conjured a piece of cloth out of thin air to wrap it up. After that, he simply reached into the chest cavity of the demon corpse, dug out the dimly glowing orb, and collected it along with the demon skin.

After retrieving these two items, he slowly unraveled the black cloth wrapped around his left hand, then placed the entire exposed hand on the demon corpse.

A "sizzling" sound suddenly rang out, as if something had been poured into a frying pan. The flesh and blood of the demon corpse swiftly dissolved into a thick pool of blood under his palm, then were absorbed into his palm, leaving no trace behind.

Feng Li: "..."

Xie Bai rewrapped his left hand, then stood up and brushed off the dust from his coat that couldn't be seen. He turned to Li Dong and said, "There's something suspicious about this. I'll go back and take a closer look. You guys should report back." Without waiting for their response, he turned around and walked away with brisk steps.

He walked straight out of the nearby small community's west gate and turned onto a dark alley. Soon, he disappeared into the darkness. However, he didn't rush to leave. Instead, his steps slowed down, and he eventually hesitated—When the demon corpse was completely drained, he caught a familiar trace. The reason for his hesitation was that the last time he saw that thing was almost a hundred years ago, so distant that he could barely remember. After standing and contemplating for a moment, he shook his head and turned back.

Just as he was about to return to the light, he looked through the rusty fence of the community and saw Li Dong and Feng Li  still standing by the flower bed. Li Dong was talking on his phone. For Xie Bai's hearing, hearing the conversation was effortless.

Li Dong said, "I've sent the picture. Boss, did you receive it? Is there any problem? Why suddenly interested in the pit we dug with Feng Li ?"

Soon, Li Dong 's phone made a "whoosh" sound, indicating a new message. Whether it was due to being too confident or for some other reason, Li Dong  tapped on the phone and directly played the message sent by the other party.

A deep male voice said “Xiao..." (NT: little) before it was suddenly cut off.

Despite being just that brief syllable, Xie Bai's fingers hanging by his side moved unconsciously, as if they wanted to clench but stopped.

The person Li Dong was talking to was undoubtedly Yin Wushu.

Xie Bai didn't stop his steps, quickly entering the community gate. However, he always walked silently, with no specific aura. From this angle, neither Feng Li nor Li Dong noticed that he had turned back.

Yin Wushu deleted the previous message and sent another one: "Has the Yin Guest left?"

Li Dong tapped the screen of his phone and replied, "Yes, he has."

Another message came from Yin Wushu, with a flat tone that didn't reveal any emotions: "Hmm...you two wait there for two seconds. I'll come over now."

Feng Li exclaimed, "Huh? Boss is coming over? Didn't he say he doesn't go out on the fifteenth?"

Li Dong clicked his tongue twice, saying, "You know nothing!" He turned around to look at the pit Feng Li dug out of the flower bed, but what he saw instead was Xie Bai standing right in front of him.

Li Dong : ".........................................."

 

Translator : DarNan