Meanwhile, the "Multiple Universities Rescind Ink River's Admission Invitations" incident, triggered by Ink River, had become a hot topic due to official involvement and pressure from the Ye and Tang families.
Public opinion was largely divided into two camps: those who believed the universities' actions were biased, and those who thought they were justified.
It had to be said that prejudice against ghost cultivators was already severe in many regions.
A passerby, stumbling upon this major gossip and understanding the full story, might express sympathy for Ink River. However, upon opening the comment section to voice their opinion, they would discover that Ink River was a ghost cultivator.
In that case, there was a nearly sixty percent chance that this passerby would immediately conclude that Ink River truly had issues, that the authorities were whitewashing him, and that they had even suppressed the "righteous" keyboard warriors who dared to speak the "truth."
There was no other reason; it was simply because Ink River was a ghost cultivator.
The paid commenters hired by the Ye and Tang families also largely seized upon Ink River's identity as a ghost cultivator, continuing their personal attacks, engaging in self-dialogue, and happily spewing insults.
The bewildered onlookers, after observing the situation, would mostly join the ranks of those who cursed ghost cultivators.
As this public opinion intensified, everyone completely forgot about the universities' actions.
Of course, Ink River, at the center of the storm, was still in the deep mountains and old forests of Jianzhou, nursing a headache and temporarily unable to manage all of this.
At 00:01, the stationed troops and rescue personnel from Qingzhou, Jizhou, and Jianzhou arrived at the scene.
Looking at the destroyed vehicles, the smoke-blackened mountainside, and the still-smoldering fires, Zhao Qingfeng felt his head spinning.
As a Brigadier General of the Army in the Eastern Theater Command (Qingzhou, Jiangzhou), Zhao Qingfeng felt he had already experienced the unluckiest summer.
Kikujiro's Summer was definitely not as unlucky as his own summer. Definitely not.
First, there was the Hundred Ghosts Night Parade, then the National Bank robbery incident, followed by wrangling with those "nicely living" Neon people at the embassy, and now, this unfortunate train had been hijacked by a demonic beast halfway through its journey.
What? This incident occurred within Jianzhou's borders, so I'm not primarily responsible?
Heh, in that case, never mind.
Thinking this, Zhao Qingfeng looked with some sympathy at the unlucky Major General from the Northern Theater Command (Jianzhou, Yanzhou, Jizhou) standing beside him, whose face was as dark as a pot bottom.
Originally, a Lieutenant General should have been here, but it was likely that this old unlucky fellow had been pushed out to take the blame, making him a backup as well.
Upon arriving at the scene, Major General Yang quickly led Zhao Qingfeng to the police team responsible for the train to inquire about casualties.
To be honest, after receiving three consecutive distress signals, Yang Xiaodong's blood ran cold. Then, he was called over by his "good father," Lieutenant General Yang Jianjun, to assess the situation.
Just thinking about the numbers that would follow, Major General Yang was already racking his brain on how to avoid facing a military court.
In the somewhat chaotic scene, Major General Yang spotted the train police who were directing operations and immediately quickened his pace.
"Hello, officer. I am Yang Xiaodong from the Northern Theater Command, and this is Comrade Zhao Qingfeng from the Eastern Theater Command. We're late; has the Mo Xiao already escaped?"
The captain glanced at their epaulets – Good heavens, a Major General and a Brigadier General. He had to report the situation properly.
"Reporting to you military personnel, there were no fatalities in this incident. One officer seriously injured, no civilians seriously injured; two officers lightly injured, three passengers lightly injured, and one crew member lightly injured. The Mo Xiao has been killed by us and a kind passenger."
"I am deeply saddened... What did you say?!" Yang Xiaodong directly grabbed the police captain's shoulder. "All injuries, no deaths? And not even double digits?! Officer! Are you sure you're not withholding information?!"
Although Zhao Qingfeng was equally shocked, he couldn't stand watching Yang Xiaodong shake the officer so vigorously and intervened, "General Yang, composure, please maintain your composure."
Yang Xiaodong noticed that the police officer's eyes were starting to glaze over due to his actions and quickly released his hands. When he came to his senses, he said, "I have not withheld any information, military comrade. Thanks to the help of this young man with special abilities and his girlfriend, we were able to quickly kill the Mo Xiao and prevent further casualties."
Yang Xiaodong and Zhao Qingfeng followed the police officer's gaze to the rear and saw Ink River and two others sitting in an ambulance, scratching their heads.
Yang Xiaodong also subtly scanned the scene and noticed that many of the arriving ambulances were indeed empty or had stalled engines. He nodded and walked towards Ink River.
Ink River was currently looking distressed.
Comrade Abe Haruko had no identification, so she couldn't get a ticket and was technically undocumented. How could they explain her origin?
He wanted to put her back into the lantern, but she had participated in the battle... How should he explain her whereabouts?
Gone home? This was the middle of nowhere in the mountains!
Unlike Ink River, whose head was covered in black lines, Abe Haruko and Ink Fei were intensely staring at each other, sparks almost flying between them.
(The following content is the internal monologue of both parties)
"You old enchantress, let go of my brother's hand!"
"What's wrong? Is the little house cat being possessive? What can you do if I don't let go?"
"You old hag! You're asking for death!"
"Little girl, you're still too green to compete with me!"
Suddenly, a familiar voice broke the silence.
"Brother Ink! It really is you!"
Zhao Qingfeng grabbed Ink River's hand and said excitedly, "I never expected this! When I heard your name from the police, I had a hunch, but I didn't expect it to be you! Oh my... You've helped immensely this time! No! We must toast each other now! I, Zhao Qingfeng, consider you my sworn brother!"
During the last Hundred Ghosts Night Parade, Zhao Qingfeng, as one of the few combatants present, knew that Ink River had participated in the rescue (though he didn't know he was a Ghost King). Since then, he had developed a very favorable impression of Ink River, this civilian genius who had protected so many people (according to the number reported by Zhang Hanshan). Unexpectedly, this incident, which could have significantly impacted his career, was again resolved by Ink River. Zhao Qingfeng felt ashamed if he didn't try to become sworn brothers with him.
Ink River subtly withdrew his hand and said to Zhao Qingfeng, "Alright, alright... Colonel Zhao, why are you here?"
"I came with Comrade Yang... to inspect the situation of this incident. I expected heavy casualties, but you actually showed such great power!"
"Yang Xiaodong, hello, classmate Ink River." Yang Xiaodong extended a hand and shook Ink River's, asking in a slightly appraising tone, "Could you please tell us the specific details of this incident?"
"Comrade Yang, I've already written..." the policeman started to speak, but Yang Xiaodong gave him a look, signaling him to remain silent for now.
Ink River pondered for a moment and then said, "While traveling, we suddenly received an alarm and the train stopped. Then, the police officers went out to try and lure away the Mo Xiao."
"However, based on my subsequent inference, the Mo Xiao likely had an owner, because instead of flying towards the train merely to patrol its territory or for sustenance like ordinary demonic beasts, it was purposefully seeking something."
"Therefore, it remained indifferent to the interference from the police team and continued to advance with extreme purpose."
"Later, it lifted the train's protective cover. Seeing the police officers in danger, I intervened."