What do you mean by saying that the corpses I sew are all ominous creatures?

I nodded slightly and followed Li Qing's words.

"Li Qing is right."

I looked at the blood-stained puddle at my feet and said calmly.

"The way this formation is set up is extremely sophisticated, and it can precisely target the three evil spirits of Jiangcheng when they are upside down to launch an attack."

This is definitely not something Shadow Sect could do.

In this game in Jiangcheng, they were, at best, a sharp, swift knife held in someone else's hand, used to clear the field.

Lu Yan supported her knees and stood up with some difficulty.

Because she stood up so suddenly, her body swayed slightly.

She looked at the mess on the ground, took a deep breath, and said in a cold voice, "A single Shadow Sect member could never have caused such a commotion in Jiangcheng."

I looked around and said:

"No matter who is playing this game, it is not advisable to stay here for long."

None of us are in good shape right now. If the other side has any more tricks up their sleeve, we're all probably going to be wiped out here.

Lu Yan put away the communicator, glanced at Fang He and Qian Ji, who were supporting each other and whose faces were as pale as paper, and decisively issued the order.

"Let's retreat first. Back to the station."

Her tone was utterly direct: "The Folklore Bureau's underground base has defensive arrays, as well as medical equipment and a logistics team."

I will immediately call the logistics and cleaning team to take over the situation here.

We can discuss other matters after we've survived and our injuries have stabilized.

Our group did not linger any longer.

Li Qing walked at the very back. He took out a handful of special powder mixed with cinnabar from his pocket, along with a few burning bright yellow talismans, and casually sprinkled it on the deepest part of the blood pool in the center of the square.

"Dust to dust, ashes to ashes, evil spirits will dissipate."

As he chanted the incantation, the cinnabar and talisman ash hissed and emitted wisps of white smoke the moment they came into contact with the blood.

This can be considered a simple way to dispel the lingering yin energy in this place and prevent new filth from growing here in the future.

We helped each other up, trudging through the muddy ground, and slowly made our way toward the gate of Jinxiuyuan.

Although the rain had lessened slightly compared to before, it still showed no signs of stopping.

I walked between Li Qing and Lu Yan. My steps weren't exactly light, but they weren't as unsteady as they imagined.

After the protective aura was removed, the feeling of weakness that instantly drained all strength was indeed present.

But less than ten minutes later, the dark jade-colored malevolent energy within me began to exert its power.

The mysterious piece of dead wood brought back by the Lan family endowed me with an extremely large and vigorous foundation of vital energy.

At this moment, this vital energy, working in conjunction with the evil energy flowing within my body, is repairing my damaged body at an almost abnormal speed.

I lowered my head slightly and glanced at the wounds on my body in the darkness.

Apart from the gash on my left rib that almost damaged my internal organs and which I had to forcibly seal with my killing energy, the sword wounds on my right thigh, left shoulder, and below my collarbone had actually stopped bleeding.

The granulation tissue at the edge of the wound was wriggling extremely slowly under the impetus of blood and qi, and a layer of dark red scab had even formed on its surface.

Aside from the depletion of my internal energy during the battle, my current condition isn't actually that bad.

At least, if I encounter evil cultivators blocking my way again, I will still have the strength to draw my sword.

Five minutes later, we finally walked out of the gate of Jinxiuyuan.

The area outside the residential compound was exactly the same as when I arrived, with the entire street shrouded in darkness.

A night wind carrying a chill swept by, swirling a few fallen leaves in the puddles.

But I keenly noticed that the expressions of Lu Yan, Fang He, and Qian Ji beside me changed instantly when they saw this seemingly ordinary street.

Especially Fang He, who was being supported by Qianji.

His face, which was already pale from his injury, was now even more ashen.

"What's wrong, Brother Fang?"

I turned my head and looked at Fang He, asking with some curiosity.

After all, I didn't sense any evil presence or signs of being ambushed here.

Fang He leaned on Qianji's shoulder, swallowed hard, and forced a bitter smile that looked worse than crying.

"Consultant Chen, you don't know..."

"Before you arrived to provide support, I had already used the bureau's highest-level encrypted channel to send out a request for assistance."

Furthermore, I clearly marked the location as Jinxiuyuan, where Director Lu was in danger.

Fang He raised his head and looked at the desolate street, rain dripping down his chin.

"According to the Bureau of Folklore's emergency plan, once a branch chief-level leader is in dire straits, no matter what happens elsewhere, the nearest special operations team and mobile combat force must arrive at the scene to provide support within fifteen minutes."

But now…

Fang He didn't continue speaking, but the meaning behind his words was already crystal clear.

At least half an hour has passed since he sent out the distress message.

However, there wasn't a soul in sight outside the gates of Jinxiuyuan.

What does this mean?

This means that tonight's parade of a hundred ghosts, triggered by the "Three Evils Hanging Upside Down," has a far greater impact and more devastating consequences than we imagined.

Apart from leaving a very small number of logistics and communications personnel to hold the base, all combat personnel of the Jiangcheng branch must have been dispersed throughout the city to suppress the sudden outbreak of terror.

Moreover, those chaotic situations are absolutely intractable.

The situation was so dire that even the special operations teams were struggling to survive themselves, and they couldn't spare a single person or vehicle to support their branch chief, who was trapped in a deadly predicament.

At this moment, the entire folk defense system of Jiangcheng is probably on the verge of complete paralysis.

Lu Yan didn't speak; she just pursed her lips tightly, her clear, cold eyes flashing with extremely complex light.

There was anger, there was worry, but more than anything, there was a bottomless heaviness.

As the head of the Jiangcheng branch, she was more aware than anyone of the extent to which the current situation was spiraling out of control.

"Alright, stop scare yourself by standing in the cold wind."

Li Qing wiped the rain off his face, breaking the silence.

He looked around and pointed to a shadowy spot at the street corner, saying:

"I parked the car at the entrance of that alley just before I broke through the formation."

This awful weather! If I get soaked any longer, I'll either get killed by some evil cultivator or get pneumonia.

"Get in the car first, we'll talk about it back at the station."

Li Qing ran over quickly, and soon the familiar Mercedes-Benz turned on its headlights and slowly drove up in front of us.

No one said anything more, and they opened the car door one by one and got in.

The heater was on inside the carriage, but it couldn't dispel the gloom in everyone's hearts.

Li Qing stepped on the gas, and the Mercedes-Benz sped off like a black panther in the rainy night towards the Jiangcheng Folk Customs Bureau.

Through the water-drenched car window, I quietly looked at the city outside.