Chapter 57: Women!

The man in the long trench coat asked me to hold the little vine doll for him. I took it from Ze Yi’s hands, and the thought that it contained a ghost made my skin crawl. The doll was shrouded in a strange, eerie aura.

He stepped behind Ze Yi and began tracing patterns on his back with two fingers, his movements odd, sometimes quick, sometimes slow, as if drawing some design. Once finished, he abruptly struck Ze Yi’s back with his palm.

Ze Yi cried out in pain, a heart-piercing scream, suffering far more than any ordinary blow could inflict. The man then slapped his forehead hard, and as Ze Yi gasped, barely able to make a sound, a shadow darted out from his body.

The trench-coated man moved swiftly, sidestepping Ze Yi and leaping forward. He raised his hand and struck at the shadow, which instantly dissipated.

Ze Yi collapsed, powerless, and fainted.

Was it all over? Was that shadow the ghost itself? Something felt off to me. I remembered Xiao Qingwan mentioning that the forbidden ghost could take many forms—was it really just a shadow? And this man seemed far too relaxed about it. When the topic of capturing the forbidden ghost had come up before, Zhuang Xingrui’s face had changed immediately. This man certainly had skill, but anything that could make Zhuang Xingrui react like that couldn’t be so easily dealt with.

Seeing the man make no further moves, I asked, “Is it done?”

“Yes, it’s done,” he replied.

“The forbidden ghost is gone?”

“It’s gone,” he said.

So it was really that easy? I could hardly believe it.

A fit of coughing sounded behind me. I suddenly remembered Lord Wei, turned, and hurried over to check on him.

He was sitting on the ground, a patch of red staining his clothes, blood at the corner of his mouth. It looked bad. This guy always ran around, ending up in places like this—and if the trench-coated man hadn't appeared out of nowhere, both he and I would have been finished tonight.

“Lord Wei, are you alright?” I asked with concern.

He didn’t reply. It was clear he wasn’t alright, but at least he was alive.

I reached out to help him up, unable to hold back my reproach: “Lord Wei, seriously, what are you doing running around at night? Couldn’t you come during the day?”

The man came over, holding his flashlight, and asked curiously, “Why do women use the title ‘Lord’?”

I was stunned—was this guy blind? I said, “What makes you think I look like a woman?”

I’d thought he just wasn’t too sharp, but it turned out his eyesight was questionable too.

“Not you, him,” he replied, pointing at Lord Wei.

I was taken aback, following his finger to Lord Wei. A woman? Was he joking? Could a woman look like that? Not only did his appearance not fit, but his fighting skills were excessive—don’t tell me someone so formidable is a woman! It seemed impossible.

Yet Lord Wei’s expression was unchanged, offering no denial, as if silently acknowledging it.

A chilling sensation crept up my spine, and I asked cautiously, “Are you… really a woman?”

He still didn't respond, but this time it was a true admission.

I was shocked. Damn! He really was a woman. What kind of woman could look like that? Was she even human, not some supernatural creature? Recalling her ruthless skills—a kick damaging the lungs, a blow breaking bones—and her cool demeanor, cigarette dangling from her lips after a fight, I shuddered and quickly withdrew my hand from her, stepping back a few paces.

She was badly wounded and almost fell again, but the trench-coated man caught her in time.

“You didn’t know?” he asked, puzzled, as if I were the odd one for not realizing.

Come on! Not just me, I’d bet none of the others we brought here had guessed! I still couldn’t believe it, glancing at her chest, almost tempted to check myself, but judging by the flatness, it probably felt just like my own.

If she was a woman, why use the title “Lord”? Then again, with her appearance, calling her “Second Sister” would be even stranger.

Nowadays, it seems anyone with money can be called “Lord,” regardless of age or gender.

“Anyway, let’s get out of here first,” I said, still shaken.

The trench-coated man supported Lord Wei, while I went to carry Ze Yi, and we headed out the way I’d been dragged in.

From time to time, Lord Wei coughed softly. I couldn’t tell where she was injured, but as I stole glances at her, shock gradually gave way to a bit of calm. When a woman is ruthless, she’s even tougher than she looks. She’s definitely not someone to take lightly, and after this, we’d have no more dealings. Best to keep a respectful distance.

After a while, the trench-coated man stopped. “My task is done. I’m leaving.”

“You’re not coming back with us?” I asked.

“I have to return the same way I came, or I’ll get lost!” he said firmly.

He was nothing if not straightforward. He’d been supporting Lord Wei, but now that he was leaving, I had to take over. He handed me the flashlight.

I remembered something and asked, “By the way, who sent you?”

“A woman with very long, straight hair,” he replied.

A woman with long, straight hair—it had to be her, Huang Yunlei’s friend, the only one who’d know to send help for Ze Yi and Huang Yunlei.

As he was about to turn away, I called out, “Wait, this forest is weird, and we’re just ordinary people, one unconscious and one injured. If you leave, what if some other monster appears? Can you give us something for protection?”

He thought for a moment, then took out the talisman he’d used earlier to summon the flock of birds. “I only have this one. The incantation is written on it.”

It was the first time I’d heard of writing the incantation directly on a talisman—wouldn’t that affect its use? But judging by his earlier actions, it didn’t seem to matter.

I looked at the talisman, and sure enough, in the corner, seven small words were written in pencil. Was that the incantation? It looked odd—all seven words had the same radical!

I wanted to ask more, but when I looked up, he was already disappearing into the darkness, his figure vanishing among the trees.

Never mind the peculiar radicals; as long as it worked, that was enough. The way he’d controlled the flock of birds with the talisman was far more impressive than any monster-banishing charm.

I tucked the talisman away, shouldering Ze Yi and supporting Lord Wei as we moved forward. Since my hands were full, I let Lord Wei carry the flashlight.

Though the forbidden ghost and the shadow spirit were gone, the forest remained eerie and unsettling, steeped in a strange, twisted atmosphere.

The night wind blew through, rustling the leaves, and the sound of wings flapping echoed, restoring the forest to the state it was when we first entered.