# 23
**Chapter 23: The Ghost-Face King**
"Little Seven, your teacher left?"
Only after seeing off Zhao Kongcheng did Auntie hurry out from the kitchen. "Oh dear, why didn’t you ask him to stay for dinner? Silly child..."
Lin Qiye shook his head. "He had something to do; he wouldn’t have stayed."
"What did your teacher say?"
"Nothing much. Said there’s some kind of physical-fitness test and came specially to ask about my eyes."
"That Teacher Zhao is such a good man, coming personally to a student’s home. Before you got back he was even in the kitchen helping me wash vegetables. Looks big and burly, but he’s surprisingly meticulous."
Auntie wiped her hands on her apron, switched off the roaring range hood, and said to Lin Qiye:
"Food’s almost ready—call your brother for dinner."
"Okay."
A moment later the three of them were seated around the table. Seven dishes were laid out, colorful and fragrant, making mouths water.
"Tomato-and-egg, stewed chicken soup, dry-fried green beans… and sweet-and-sour ribs?!" Yang Jin swallowed hard. "Mom, when was the last time we ate this well?"
"Little Seven’s eyes are healed—bigger than New Year’s! Of course we go all-out." Auntie spoke as if it were only right.
Lin Qiye glanced down at the wildly tail-wagging Little Black Scamp and laughed:
"Looks like tonight Little Black Scamp gets a feast too."
"Spoiling him," Auntie said with a smile, raising her teacup. "To Little Seven’s recovery—cheers!"
"Cheers!"
"Cheers!!"
……
Beneath dim clouds the last glimmer of dusk had vanished; the world seemed draped in black gauze.
Rain drifted on the wind.
Lights blazed in the distant city center.
In this old, low-rise neighborhood a figure in a dark-red cloak sprinted through the rain, a large suitcase in hand.
Rain slid down Zhao Kongcheng’s cheeks. A summer rain, yet it carried an unaccountable chill.
"You’re sure the Ghost-Face King came this way?" Zhao Kongcheng’s brows were locked tight.
In his earpiece Wu Xiangnan’s voice sounded:
"Not certain. Ten minutes ago our search team found its blood in the nearby sewer network. From its trail, the only possible destinations are this old neighborhood or the city center."
"Two likely targets?"
"Exactly."
"So we split and guard both?"
"In theory, yes, but the city center’s packed. We can’t evacuate easily. If it appears there, casualties will be huge and panic worse, so most of our force is stationed downtown."
"What about the old neighborhood? If it shows up here, people are still in danger!"
"Fewer residents, spread out—easier to evacuate. And…"
"And even if it comes here, the losses won’t be big, right?" Zhao Kongcheng’s voice carried anger. "These are living people too!"
"Old Zhao, calm!" Wu Xiangnan’s tone was severe. "I never said we’d abandon the neighborhood. Hongying’s already leading a team there. Your task: evacuate residents—fast.
And if the Ghost-Face King does appear, don’t engage. It’s beyond you. If necessary, open the No-Rule Domain to trap it."
Zhao Kongcheng’s clenched fist slowly loosened; he sighed.
"Copy that."
He felt aggrieved, but he knew it was the right call.
If the creature reached downtown, the dense crowds would let it heal with a few kills in any dark corner, and public exposure would spark terror. You could never send enough people there.
The old neighborhood had fewer residents spaced far apart; even if it came here, healing would take time and exposure risk was low. For Wu Xiangnan to still send help here was already decent.
Now he had to evacuate—fast.
A race against time!
Zhao Kongcheng darted through the rain, astonishingly quick. Raindrops splashed like crystal flowers on the suitcase.
Ahead, through the mist, that familiar little house grew clearer.
He’d walked out of it only minutes ago.
His heart was heavy. They’d be starting dinner about now, he thought—sweet-and-sour ribs, tomato-and-egg, dry-fried beans…
Right, he’d washed those beans.
Damn—he’d just finished acting cool in front of that kid, saying “leave protecting the world to me,” and now he had to knock and tell them to run…
Made him look like an idiot.
But face no longer mattered.
He splashed onward—then a nauseating stench slammed into his nose!
His pupils shrank; he skidded to a halt!!
Splash splash splash…
Rain roared in his ears as he cautiously turned his head, eyes wide, missing nothing.
His gaze landed on a nearby manhole cover.
The stench grew stronger.
He gripped the suitcase handle, took a deep breath, bent, and set the case down.
He knew exactly what the smell meant.
"Report—Night Watchman Zhao Kongcheng, Ghost-Face King located in old neighborhood…" He opened the channel, voice calm.
While speaking he pressed a button on the case.
Clack—!
The lid popped, revealing three brand-new placards neatly fitted inside.
Zhao Kongcheng hoisted one, set it on the ground, then sprinted to the next point!
The instant he finished, Wu Xiangnan’s reply came:
"Copy! Orders issued—Night Watch converging on old neighborhood. Hongying’s team ten minutes out, max!
Ten minutes, Old Zhao—set the No-Rule Domain, hold it!"
He set the second placard and ran toward the triangle’s last vertex, saying wryly:
"Xiangnan, No-Rule Domain hides battles, it doesn’t imprison. It won’t hold the Ghost-Face King for ten minutes."
Glug, glug, glug…
Rain sluiced down the incline into the manhole—then the cover shook violently, the inflowing water erupting like a boiling spring!
"Whatever you do, don’t fight it head-on!" Wu Xiangnan’s voice was frantic. "Old Zhao, the neighborhood’s big; even if it emerges it won’t cause instant losses.
Let it kill a few in these ten minutes—it won’t regain much strength!
Civilian deaths happen every hour; we’re not gods. Losing a core member to a wounded Ghost-Face King is a bargain we can’t afford!
Old Zhao—Old Zhao! Do you copy?"
Bang—!
The manhole shot skyward like a shell. From the black maw of the sewer a gnarled arm thrust out, and a monster several times larger than an ordinary ghost-face man leapt forth!
Zhao Kongcheng watched calmly, set the final placard, bit his fingertip, and smeared a streak of blood across its surface.
"Xiangnan, remember the oath we swore…"
He eyed the Ghost-Face King, crouched slightly, his peripheral gaze falling on the little residential building nearby.
"If the dark night finally falls, I will stand before the millions…
This time, there aren’t millions behind me—
but
behind me…
is that child’s entire world."
His palms clapped together.
An invisible canvas unfurled over the tiny triangle.
"Forbidden Ruins—No-Rule Domain!"