Chapter 55: The Yaqi Classmate Who Loves Experiments

Neon lights adorned the darkness of the city, their dazzling colors weaving through the night sky as if cloaking the metropolis in a dreamy mantle.

For some, nightfall was when life truly began.

Liu Shuangling moved with purpose, slipping through the boundary between prosperity and gloom like a specter thriving in darkness, silent and unseen, until she arrived outside an apartment building.

Each time she selected a subject for her experiments, she would first spend money acquiring their personal information, then secretly investigate their character—a troublesome process, but necessary. If she was to ensure her target was someone despicable who nonetheless still lived, she had to follow these tedious steps.

Her chosen subject tonight: Zhang Jiaxue.

Thirty years old, married, her life appeared glamorous but was in truth steeped in hypocrisy and vice. She frequently seduced men online under the guise of romance to swindle money, and was addicted to domestic violence, often beating her husband and child. Whenever she was in a foul mood, she would force both father and son to sleep crammed into the storage room.

Tonight, her mood was clearly sour.

The two had been locked away early, while she lounged in seductive sleepwear, busily ensnaring gullible young men through her messaging app.

“Brother, you have no idea—my ex-husband was terribly violent, constantly abusing me. He loved to gamble and forced me to take out loans in my name, ruining my credit by two hundred thousand. Sob, sob…”

Her pitiful voice message was sent.

She tailored her persona to suit each type of naïve man. For those who favored purity, she posed as an inexperienced innocent. For those insecure at heart, seeking women of lower social standing for validation, she played the battered, single mother.

Entrapping the unwary was, after all, an art.

Zhang Jiaxue waited eagerly for her next mark to reply, wholly oblivious to the shadow that had silently appeared behind her.

Liu Shuangling's gaze was icy as she brought a knife-hand blow down upon the back of Zhang Jiaxue's head.

With a dull thud, Zhang Jiaxue collapsed onto the bed, the smile frozen on her lips.

Efficiently, Liu Shuangling stripped away her sleepwear and bra, then drew a pen and ink from her belt, and began to inscribe her own scripture upon the woman's fair, delicate skin.

With the final stroke, she poured her spiritual pressure into the script.

At once, the woman's body jerked violently, her closed eyes snapping open, now blank—nothing but whites remained.

A low, unconscious moan escaped Zhang Jiaxue as her body convulsed, as if some force was being ripped forcibly from within.

Liu Shuangling watched, tense and focused.

Moments later, she saw a faint, ghostly-blue glow emerge from between Zhang Jiaxue's brows—feeble as a firefly, yet piercingly bright.

Quickly, Liu Shuangling produced a small glass vial from her pocket, captured the blue glow inside, and sealed it with a wooden stopper.

Within, the blue light flickered gently, almost alive.

She stared intently, ambition burning in her phoenix-like eyes.

Just as she had suspected.

The scripture faded from Zhang Jiaxue’s smooth skin.

Liu Shuangling pocketed the vial and turned to leave.

Under the light, another figure in a black robe stood quietly at the door.

His features were so exquisitely handsome as to seem almost demonic, his skin pale to the point of bloodlessness, as though sunlight had not touched him for centuries. His golden, slit-pupiled eyes brimmed with intense curiosity.

“I recall someone once said something like this,” he spoke, his voice low and hoarse, yet oddly magnetic, resonating straight to the soul. “So long as one lives, one cannot escape fate’s design. Just as you sought her out tonight to test your own scripture, I too came seeking her for my research. Thus, fate brings us both here.”

Goosebumps prickled along Liu Shuangling’s fingers; her instincts screamed danger. This was the kind of risk she had anticipated when moving ahead of schedule.

According to her plan, she was to wait until she advanced to the ninth rank of Spirit Master and comprehended Bankai before attempting such things. But the presence of Bai Yujing had forced her hand, and she could not avoid unexpected encounters.

She betrayed no fear. “I’ve always despised blaming things on so-called fate,” she replied coolly. “If you want a subject, find another.”

“Yes, if one is willing to look, there’s always someone who fits the requirements for a spirit seed,” he said, his eyes unexpectedly soft despite his eerie appearance. “If I’m not mistaken, what you’ve collected in the vial is the woman’s soul, isn’t it?”

“That’s correct.”

“Heh.” He chuckled softly, eyes narrowing with childlike delight at a newfound toy. “A scripture for extracting souls. I’ve researched such things before, but events led me to change my focus.”

She remained unmoved. “Let’s dispense with pleasantries. I have pressing work to do.”

“Oh, my apologies. Given your recent success, naturally you’ll want to study it thoroughly.

Just one last question—Miss Liu, would you be interested in joining me to conduct all manner of fascinating experiments?”

That he could see through her concealment and recognize her did not surprise Liu Shuangling. She laughed lightly. “If you have what it takes to eliminate the leader of Qingyun Sect, I’d be delighted to join you.”

“Is that so? Then remember tonight’s agreement.” He smiled, then vanished from the doorway.

Liu Shuangling’s expression grew cold.

She doubted he could possibly defeat Bai Yujing.

In this world, only she herself could hope to overcome that one. No one else could—not Tiye, not Zhuying.

…

Inside the Six Gates Bureau, the office building was ablaze with light, holding back the night.

Apart from a handful of staff on duty, the rest had long since gone home. Members of the newly established Special Spirit Seed Investigation Unit were among those required to remain, their busy figures moving through corridors and offices, the air thick with a sense of tension.

Bao Long sat in his chair, leafing through intelligence reports submitted by his subordinates.

Based on Zhu Jian’s account, combined with meticulous investigation and the latest from Intelligence, Six Gates had largely concluded that the culprit developing spirit seeds was not human, but the infamous Japanese great demon—the Eight-Headed Serpent.

This was the creature that had slain the Three-Tailed Demon, created horrifying contaminated zones in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Japanese civilians. It was obsessed with the study of scriptures and spells, even claiming it would one day master all the world’s texts.

Bao Long set the report aside, considering the serpent’s personality. Could it be, he wondered, that it sought access to the Central Spirit Library of Shanghai?

But the library was not only heavily guarded, it stood shoulder to shoulder with Six Gates, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the Unorthodox. The three most powerful official organizations of Xia Kingdom surrounded it.

Anyone who dared attack that place was courting death.

The Serpent might have been mad enough to create spirit seeds, but it was no fool.

If it moved against the library, it must either have another aim, or be very confident of success…

Cautious by nature, Bao Long knew he had to consider the worst-case scenario.

Until the Eight-Headed Serpent was caught, the library’s defenses had to be raised by one level.

Tomorrow, he resolved, he would assign a squad from Qingyun Sect and have Bai Yujing stationed at the Central Spirit Library.