The surface of the bone was as if it had been carved by a knife, each joint as if an iron blade had been thrust into it. His steps were powerful and forceful. He ran to the house where Yin Shuier stood, exerted force with his body, legs straight, and with a push of his soles, he leaped in a most unscientific posture.
Yin Shuier's pupils contracted. This fellow, just standing there, his head was almost touching the roof. And when he leaped, more than half of his body had already surpassed the eaves, as if he were about to pounce on her the next second.
She took a deep breath, and the light from the lantern converged, piercing the eyes of the skeleton, temporarily blinding it. At the same time, Yin Shuier's right leg remained straight, her body's center of gravity shifting backward. Her left leg circled through the air, and her heel, aimed at the ghoul's skull, descended with force.
In the human body, the heel and knee are the hardest parts. Therefore, even though Yin Shuier's kick wasn't excessively powerful, the timing and angle were extremely precise.
Crack!
With a loud noise, the white bone skeleton's head was hit hard. Its skull shattered on the spot. Its body lost balance in mid-air and then fell to the ground, smashing a small stone in the courtyard.
It looked like a terrible fall, its skull smashed. If it were a human or an ordinary ghoul, it would have lost consciousness long ago. But for this creature, it seemed to be no big deal.
Dark, lustrous mist flowed out from within the white bone skeleton, healing its injuries.
Then, it quickly got up from the ground, preparing to leap again.
Yin Shuier's eyes narrowed. This was actually a ghoul born from the source of darkness. Unlike those infected afterward, it had evolved from pure darkness.
She sighed inwardly. In that case, this level of attack had no killing power against it. The opponent had already gotten up, and most critically, more than a dozen white bone skeletons had already surrounded them.
But fortunately, her big red lantern and bronze bells were also ready.
Jinglinglingling!
Yin Shuier activated the big red lantern in a special way. The fiery red light gathered, burning every approaching ghoul.
Simultaneously, the sound waves from the demon-expelling bronze bells continuously spread, like bats in the night. The sound waves spread, a pincer movement, and the ghouls retreated in panic.
Instantly, a large open space was cleared beneath Yin Shuier's rooftop. No ghoul could approach her.
Was she safe?
Yin Shuier thought so, but in reality, behind her was a green-haired headless ghoul.
Because it had no head, it had no hearing and was immune to the demon-expelling bells.
And Yin Shuier, in pursuit of lethality, had compressed the light from the big red lantern. This way, her front, left, and right sides were under control, but her rear was left in darkness.
Without the illumination of light or the sound, it had passed by unnoticed. However, her rear remained undefended. That headless ghoul had quietly climbed onto the roof of the house.
Without making a sound.
...
"Hurry up and make a move! That headless ghoul is about to pounce, Yin Shuier is going to die!"
Outside Heyano Village, Bai Tong Xu Mu stood on a hillside, hands clasped behind his back, gazing at everything unfolding.
Within his body, Xu Mu's words were transmitted through his shadow ability, roaring in his mind. He saw it clearly: a green-haired headless ghoul had quietly climbed onto the roof.
Yin Shuier was in extreme danger!
"So annoying."
Xu Mu's body shook its head, his grayish-white pupils devoid of any emotion.
This place was very close to Xishan. He had come here simply because he had seen the water sphere in the sky. He had thought there was a battle between esper abilities, so he had slightly altered his route to watch the show.
As for saving people, why would he save Yin Shuier?
Although he hadn't counted, he knew without a doubt that in this world, countless people died at the hands of ghouls every second.
When one lives and when one dies, there is a destiny predetermined.
It wasn't him who was dying, so should he save everyone?
Moreover, even if he could save them, he wouldn't. Survival of the fittest, the strong prey on the weak, this was simply nature's fundamental principle.
"This person has nothing to do with me, therefore I will not save her."
Not wanting to waste more words, Bai Tong Xu Mu gave himself the most common and easily accepted explanation.
He didn't know Yin Shuier, so not saving her was that simple.
"Nonsense!" Xu Mu cursed angrily, "If you're talking about relations, she's still your superior right now!"
Bai Tong Xu Mu heard this, seemed to recall something, and after fumbling for a moment, found the nanmu token.
"An exorcist token from the Demon Extermination Division?" Bai Tong's brows flickered. When did this happen? Wasn't he only an esper tonight? Already recruited so quickly?
"She is your superior, not mine."
Bai Tong said. Xu Mu's face showed mockery:
"Did Charles never teach you politics? All people are born equal. After enjoying certain rights, you should bear corresponding obligations!"
"You occupy my body, so you should protect the people I want to protect. Wu Kui became a ghoul, and I wouldn't say much even if you killed me, but now, I want you to save Yin Shuier!"
Xu Mu's voice was quite loud, making Bai Tong's head feel dizzy. Even Charles floated out of the body, not daring to get too close.
"I will not save her."
"And what you said is incorrect. When did this body become yours? We both inhabit it, sharing time. Why should it be yours?"
Bai Tong Xu Mu said seriously.
"What's mine is mine. You can only appear at night, that's the proof!" Xu Mu shouted.
"The meaning of life is not in living longer, but in living more exceptionally. Although you have a lot of time, you are still a cripple who just became an esper?"
Xu Mu's body remained expressionless.
He had already touched the threshold of the fourth stage. The words of the strong are truth, so in terms of realm, he was naturally right in whatever he said.
Charles, listening to the words they had repeated countless times, sighed helplessly.
They had been arguing all the way, why were they still fixated on this? Was it really that difficult to back down?
And if they continued to argue like this, the girl would die.
"Twisting logic!"
"Uncle Kui became a ghoul, and I wouldn't say much even if you killed me. But Yin Shuier is still alive now. What's wrong with helping me once!"
Xu Mu was still arguing his case, but Charles suddenly spoke:
"It's too late. She's about to be pounced on."
Bai Tong's grayish-white eyes turned slightly, and Xu Mu also jolted, quickly using his shadow ability to look.
He saw Yin Shuier, who was now entangled with the green-haired ghoul, wrestling on the rooftop.
She was at a severe disadvantage.
"Damn it!"
Xu Mu watched it all, a sense of powerlessness rising from the depths of his heart.
While he and Yin Shuier weren't deeply close friends, she was still an esper of the Demon Extermination Division. Furthermore, back in Fengqing Village, she had tried to save him from the ghost infant. He remembered all of this.
Although she had abandoned the case in Xiaokang Village and chosen Xishan, he didn't resent Yin Shuier in his heart, especially after seeing her fight to the death for Heyano Village, he understood her persistence even more.
"In this chaotic world, there aren't many good people. When one dies, there will be one less." Xu Mu slumped down. He remembered the hunter who had treated him so well and taught him all his skills.
In a certain sense, Yin Shuier and Wu Kui were the same kind of people; they both put righteousness first.
And people like them shouldn't die so soon.
"Not talking anymore?"
The AWM was taken from behind by the youth. Xu Mu's fingers were slender, and he casually pulled back the bolt. Bai Tong's eyes casually swept forward.
"Whether to save her or not is my own business."
"You want me to save her, but I refuse."
Click.
The sniper rifle was reloaded and aimed in the blink of an eye.
The grayish-white pupils locked onto the scope, and a tenth of a second later, his finger pulled the trigger.
Bang!
"So, if I want to save her now, it has nothing to do with you."
Unthreatened, unyielding, acting solely on his own will, this was his way of doing things.
With a gunshot, the grayish-white pupils had pulled the trigger the moment they locked onto the scope. The speed was astonishingly fast, so fast that an observer might even think he hadn't aimed.
Xu Mu was stunned for a moment, then nervously stood up. He hadn't even noticed when the AWM had been loaded before the gun went off.
"Are you trying to save the person or kill her!" he shouted. "They're entangled right now, so close together. What if there's a friendly fire incident!"
Bai Tong ignored him, slowly placing the AWM to his side, his expression calm.
Calmness, in turn, represented absolute confidence.
"It's fine, he hit it."
Charles's figure flickered, and he announced the result of the shot in a low voice.
"What right do ants have to question eagles? In terms of precision, only Charles can rival me."
"If you cannot achieve it, then reflect more on your own reasons."
Bai Tong's tone was flat and mocking. He possessed extraordinary talent, and all movements in space were within his control. Everything that could affect his precision was calculated.
And most importantly, in the Celestial Palace, he had only shot at moving targets beyond the effective range of sniper rifles. With mechanical calculation, he could even predict the irregular trajectory of the bullet's deviation before firing, thus achieving one hundred percent accuracy.
So, what difficulty was there in killing a ghoul at this distance?
Xu Mu fell silent upon hearing Charles and Bai Tong. It seemed this guy was indeed far ahead of him, in every aspect.
But since Yin Shuier was saved, that was a good thing.
Then, he quickly looked into the distance and saw that Yin Shuier had indeed been saved.
Just moments before Bai Tong fired, Yin Shuier had punched the headless ghoul in the chest. The headless ghoul took a half-step back, and then the AWM's bullet precisely entered its heart.
The bloody hole was glaring, not a single millimeter off!
...