Chapter 1

　　Fu brush, yellow paper, cinnabar.

　　The best materials from the Tianshi (Celestial Master) Mansion were laid out on the table.

　　Wei Yuan burned incense to calm his mind, dipped the fu brush in cinnabar, silently recited the incantation, and the brush moved like a dragon and snake.

　　A dazzling array of talismans instantly appeared on the yellow paper.

　　Wei Yuan exhaled and carefully put away the Thousand Mile Tracking Talisman.

　　He only managed to draw five talismans in a morning, and he already felt exhausted. The magical power he cultivated from the Sili Xiaowei (Colonel of the Capital Garrison) was already depleted. With his level of magical power, he would only be a fire-lighting boy in the era of the first Celestial Master, Zhang Daoling.

　　The fact that he could draw five effective talismans was thanks to the superior quality of the materials Zhou Yi sent, which minimized the loss of magical power. Otherwise, Wei Yuan would have to burn incense in gratitude if even half of them were useful.

　　After closing his eyes to rest for a while, Wei Yuan took out a talisman, shook his hand, and under the activation of his magical power, the talisman ignited spontaneously. Wei Yuan felt a jolt in his senses, and the surrounding world instantly became clear. Colors, smells, and the flow of air were all within his grasp.

　　In this state, any discordant parts incompatible with the mortal world would be extremely glaring.

　　This was the effect of the Thousand Mile Tracking Talisman.

　　With his level of cultivation, the effective range of this talisman was ten li (Chinese mile, approximately 500 meters), and the duration was about one incense stick's time.

　　Wei Yuan curiously looked around, his expression pausing. In the southern direction of the city, he could vaguely see a soaring black baleful aura. It was the place where the mountain spirit escaped. It was definitely more than ten li away from here, but he could still see it, which showed how ferocious it was.

　　Wei Yuan's expression turned solemn.

　　He wondered if the mountain spirit was still on Mount Wohu (Crouching Tiger Mountain).

　　And, after escaping, how much of its magical power was left.

　　……………………

　　An incense stick's time passed.

　　The effect of one of the Thousand Mile Tracking Talismans was exhausted, turning into ashes.

　　Wei Yuan put away the remaining talismans and stuffed them into a special waist pouch.

　　The waist pouch was divided into many small compartments. Besides the Thousand Mile Tracking Talismans inherited from the Wohu lineage, there were also basic talismans from the Special Operations Group, such as the Evil-Slaying Talisman that allowed mortal weapons to harm spirits, the Tranquility Talisman that could calm ordinary people, and some pills extracted with modern techniques.

　　Wei Yuan couldn't help but sigh.

　　It was good to have the backing of the imperial court; the resources were incredibly abundant.

　　If he had to draw all these talismans himself, his meager magical power would be drained out of him.

　　He took out the eight-sided Han sword again, carried it on his back, and hung the broken sword with the residing soldier's soul behind his waist.

　　Quietly waiting for Zhou Yi's notification.

　　Yesterday at dawn, Wei Yuan told Zhou Yi the news and sent her a photo of the portrait. Although ghosts and monsters were mostly mysterious and unpredictable, it was still easy to find people with modern methods.

　　Comparison, screening, and analysis—these tedious and massive tasks could be completed by computers in a short time. But how to accurately find the person targeted by the Tian family girl among people with similar appearances was also a problem.

　　After thinking for a while, Wei Yuan walked to the front of the museum and tapped on a wooden box.

　　Squeak.

　　The wooden box was pushed open.

　　A pair of gold-trimmed red embroidered shoes were quietly placed inside. One was lying flat in the box, while the other was tiptoeing, as if looking up to ask.

　　Wei Yuan thought for a while and said, "Do you want to listen to music?"

　　The red embroidered shoes danced a few steps in the box, like a Hua Dan (a type of female role in Chinese opera) walking onto the stage.

　　They were very serious and meticulous. Wei Yuan couldn't help but smile and said:

　　"If you want to, you have to help me with a favor."

　　………………

　　Big data quickly found people with similar appearances to the Tian family girl from over a thousand years ago within the entire Quanshi city. Some had similar eyebrows and eyes, while others had similar face shapes. Among the seven million people, there were a dozen or so who had three to five points of resemblance to the Tian family girl.

　　Wei Yuan sent the photo of the red embroidered shoes to Zhou Yi again.

　　He requested that all these dozen people must see this photo.

　　Before, aside from the great attraction of the Wohu waist badge to demons and ghosts, Wei Yuan was only glanced at the red embroidered shoes in the Baidu Tieba (a Chinese online forum) photo, and he was dreamed of by the fierce ghost transformed by Wan Qi Niang (Fifth Mistress Wan) at night. Wan Qi Niang's soul had already returned to heaven and earth, and the remaining spiritual anomaly remained in this pair of embroidered shoes.

　　People who had contact with this pair of embroidered shoes, or saw the photo of the embroidered shoes.

　　Within a certain range, there was a possibility of being invaded by dreams.

　　This was also the reason why Wei Yuan wanted to keep this thing by his side.

　　And as the range expanded, the red embroidered shoes could also sense whether the person they were targeting was being watched by other malice. Of course, if they really had to face the Huapi (Skin Stealer), this pair of red embroidered shoes would not have any power to resist.

　　However, Wei Yuan just wanted to use this characteristic of it to set a trap for the Huapi.

　　In the melodious sound of the opera, the red embroidered shoes suddenly kicked Wei Yuan.

　　Wei Yuan opened his eyes.

　　…………………

　　Shen Wenlei closed her laptop and rubbed her forehead.

　　She picked up her cup, intending to take a sip of coffee, but found that it was already finished.

　　She was the only one left in the office.

　　In the dark and cold city, the lights in this office were so dim that they seemed to be swallowed up at any time.

　　She was a journalist.

　　She was investigating a missing person case from five years ago, but many of the clues were fragmented. Her colleagues all advised her not to investigate this hopeless matter anymore, but she couldn't forget the suddenly aged faces of the parents.

　　Her conscience was disturbed.

　　Some say that journalists don't need a conscience, while others say that journalists must firmly guard their conscience.

　　She glanced at the bright smiling face of the girl in the file on her computer and sighed before turning off the computer.

　　Her face was reflected in the darkened screen.

　　Fair skin, slightly upturned eyes, and a beauty mark at the corner of her eye.

　　Shen Wenlei packed her things and left the office.

　　She lived on the outskirts of Quanshi, but it wasn't too far. It was just that it was a bit late today, and there were few pedestrians and vehicles on the road. When she turned into a small alley, it was even more so. There was no one in front or behind, and it was especially quiet. The only sound in her ears was the sound of her footsteps.

　　Shen Wenlei was immersed in the missing person case and didn't pay attention to these things.

　　But she soon felt something was wrong.

　　Tap, tap, tap…

　　The sound of a second person's footsteps came from behind.

　　Perhaps they were going the same way.

　　Shen Wenlei calmly told herself.

　　But no matter how calm she was, she was still a twenty-something girl walking alone on a night road, so she was still a little nervous. She gripped her backpack tightly and subconsciously quickened her pace.

　　Tap, tap, tap…

　　The footsteps behind her were unhurried.

　　But they kept following her.

　　Time seemed to be getting slower and slower, and the not-so-long road never seemed to end.

　　In the narrow environment, fear gradually increased.

　　Shen Wenlei suddenly recalled the missing girl in her mind. Thinking of the beginning and end of the case, her palms were covered in cold sweat, and she began to feel afraid. She walked forward quickly, but the footsteps also suddenly accelerated. Shen Wenlei's face turned pale, and she grabbed her backpack tightly and started running towards the bright place ahead.

　　The footsteps suddenly sped up.

　　Shen Wenlei was extremely grateful that she was wearing sneakers, and this alley was not long.

　　She finally ran to the entrance of the alley and walked to the light. She heard people talking, and the noise was overwhelming, but it gave her an unprecedented sense of security. She breathed a sigh of relief and then, without thinking much, subconsciously looked back.

　　The alley was quiet and empty.

　　No one?

　　Shen Wenlei exhaled and turned her head back with doubt and relief.

　　Then her blood instantly froze.

　　A face was almost pressed against her, grinning.

　　"Little girl, I want to borrow something from you..."

　　Shen Wenlei's blood turned cold, and the fear in her heart almost devoured her in an instant. She wanted to scream for help, but at this time, she couldn't even open her mouth, and her fingers couldn't move at all.

　　Tap tap tap, tap tap tap.

　　Just at this moment, light footsteps came from behind.

　　Suddenly, the environment around Shen Wenlei underwent a huge change, as if it had been stretched, or as if she was squinting at the lights flashing past outside the car. Each light was stretched into a colorful ribbon, and then she suddenly realized that she was still in that empty alley.

　　There were still more than a hundred meters to go to the front.

　　And just as she turned her head, five steps away in front of her, a woman was looking at her with scissors in her hand.

　　The scissors were dripping with blood.

　　But the woman was no longer looking at Shen Wenlei, her prey, but was looking to the side.

　　So Shen Wenlei also subconsciously looked over.

　　Tap tap tap, tap tap tap.

　　Light footsteps.

　　A pair of red embroidered shoes, dancing in the moonlight like a graceful girl, and a young man in black leaning against the wall, with a long sword on his back, and a Tranquility Talisman slowly burning to ashes in his hand, his voice calm:

　　"Ghost hitting the wall, ghost obscuring the eyes."

　　"People have three lamps on their body, don't look back when walking at night."

　　"Remember that in the future."

　　The skinny woman holding the scissors stared intently at the sword behind Wei Yuan, a look of vigilance appearing on her face.

　　Then she pounced towards Shen Wenlei, who was weak with fear on the side.

　　The sword was no longer than three chi (Chinese foot, approximately 33 cm), it was too late.

　　A crisp, low roar, and a sudden burst of fire appeared in this alley at the same time.

　　The bone woman's body suddenly stopped in mid-air, losing its original direction.

　　There was a stunned look on that face, and then bullet holes appeared one by one.

　　In another direction, Zhou Yi, dressed in a suit and with sharp short hair, threw away the empty magazine and deftly replaced it with a new one.

　　Chinese-made Qsz11 portable firearms.

　　"What are you waiting for?"

　　Wei Yuan was stunned, then shook his head and smiled.

　　My lord, times have changed.

　　His expression became firm, and he pulled out the eight-sided Han sword behind him and pounced forward.

　　Xuan Yuan Sword Art, Ghost Slaying Style.

　　ps: Thank you to A Passerby for the ten thousand reward, thank you~