Chapter 68: The Gathering Storm (6)

"Detective Wu Zui, please come with us. Our commander wishes to see you." A group of soldiers clad in military-grade magnetic energy protective suits surrounded Wu Zui as they spoke.

"Lead the way," Wu Zui replied, his gaze lingering on the group as he began to form his own conjectures. It was likely connected to the breach in the sealed space caused by the Crimson Flame—they wanted his assistance.

Leaving behind some blood should suffice, he thought to himself. Little did he know, however, that the situation was far more complicated than he imagined.

...

"What? One day?" Wu Zui's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the military officer across from him.

"That's right. The stock of tunneling shells at Binhai can only keep the breach open for forty hours. Even with expedited production, there will still be a gap of nearly a day," the officer said gravely.

"Commander, you do realize I opened the breach with my blood. Are you planning to have me bleed to death?" Wu Zui spoke with a bitter smile.

It wasn't fear of death that troubled him, but the manner of it. Like any soldier who would rather die on the battlefield, detectives too resented the thought of a humiliating death by bleeding out. Besides, there was surely a better way—such as killing the Shadow Ghost. Wu Zui was convinced the entity had been avoiding him because it feared the flames conjured from his blood.

"Don’t worry! We have every blood type in the army. Even if you’re rare, we’ll find a match for you. You can donate and receive at the same time—you won’t die," the officer assured him, patting Wu Zui's shoulder in a heartfelt manner.

Wu Zui could only sigh internally. With the officer insisting, what choice did he have? Though dissatisfied, he was helpless. He was about to negotiate to open the breach only for the first day, planning to spend the remaining time tracking the Shadow Ghost, when a voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

"If you don’t want to die, you’d better not agree to this!"

Wu Zui immediately looked around, searching for the source, but the area had already been secured while he spoke with the officer. He quickly considered other possibilities.

He Ping? Heart-Seeking Sword? Which one are you?

"I am the sword spirit of the Heart-Seeking Sword. If you infuse yourself with too much foreign blood, not only will the Crimson Karma Fire become ineffective, you might even be burned alive by it," the sword spirit explained.

With the sword’s explanation, Wu Zui finally understood why his own blood was so effective against ghosts and monsters. The Crimson Karma Fire was no divine gift; on the contrary, it was a constitution closely supervised by fate itself. In a previous life, those who committed great acts of slaughter yet remained righteous at heart had a minuscule chance of being reborn with this constitution.

This often occurred with reincarnations of infamous ancient warriors. According to the sword spirit, the most renowned was the God of Slaughter, Bai Qi. He slaughtered four hundred thousand Zhao soldiers, laying the foundation for Qin’s unification, yet never believed himself in the wrong.

The sins of those fallen Zhao soldiers, naturally, became his to bear. Even after reincarnation, he remained haunted by sudden surges of murderous intent. Should he indulge in further carnage, the Crimson Karma Fire within him would reduce his body to ashes. That was why monsters steeped in bloodshed feared this fire— even the scarred man, half-human and half-entity, was within its reach.

And because this fire resided within the blood, if Wu Zui replaced too much of it and the fire believed he was escaping its control, he too would be incinerated. Wu Zui swallowed nervously, realizing he carried a ticking time bomb within. He had always thought the unique nature of his blood was a perk from the Heart-Seeking Sword residing in him.

"Have you made a decision?" the military officer’s sudden question interrupted his thoughts.

Wu Zui’s earlier glance around had made the officer suspect he was contemplating escape, prompting this direct inquiry.

"I’ll open the breach for the first day only. Then I must pursue the ghost responsible for this sealed space. As for transfusions— that’s unnecessary. My blood is special, or else why would no one else’s work?" Wu Zui explained.

From the sword spirit, Wu Zui learned the Heart-Seeking Sword could leave his heart and, by absorbing the Crimson Karma Fire, stabilize the sealed space. However, without the sword’s suppression, the guilt from years of killing criminals would ignite the fire within him. Though the sword could keep it in check nearby, the experience would be agonizing.

He found it odd that a sword could absorb such fire, but asked no further questions and agreed to this plan.

"Very well. By this afternoon, residents from the northern district will begin arriving in large numbers. You’ll open the breach then," the officer nodded.

Wu Zui warned him of the Shadow Ghost’s ability to possess shadows, advising caution. He then went to rest, accompanied by other soldiers.

It wasn’t long before Xiao Anguo called. Though detectives and soldiers belonged to different systems, mutual respect was common. The original plan to detain Wu Zui for a day was dropped, and he was promised release afterward.

Meanwhile in Binhai, after Wu Zui sent Xiao Ke'ai away, under the supervision of spirit detectives and investigators, a mass of civilians began gathering in the northern district. Thanks to the internet’s reach, no one fled with heaps of cash as in days past—at most, some brought jewelry. Any thieves or looters caught were detained and would be the last to leave as punishment.

Orderly, the crowd boarded various vehicles northward. Any disturbances were swiftly quelled by nearby detectives.

At that moment, Wu Zui was meeting an old acquaintance—Wang Yichuan.

"So your commander just has you watch me? Afraid I’ll run? That’s a bit untrusting, isn’t it?" Wu Zui glanced at the two soldiers by his door, joking with Wang Yichuan. He understood the reasoning but still felt annoyed.

"You’re overthinking it. This is for your protection. Because of the Shadow Ghost, most spirit detectives in the army are at the gathering point, screening for possession. With fewer people here, defenses have been tightened," Wang Yichuan replied, adopting the tone of a leader acting in Wu Zui’s best interest.

"Forget it. How are things at Haishan? If the entity there escapes in the chaos, Binhai won’t hold for much longer," Wu Zui changed the subject, uninterested in further discussion.

"What can we do? We reinforced the magnetic energy field, but the experts who might handle it are all occupied with even more troublesome matters. For now, we can only stall," Wang Yichuan sighed.

"More troublesome? What could be worse than a five-star entity?" Wu Zui suspected laziness; before the whale entity’s advance, Haishan’s monster was the most dangerous in Binhai.

"You think Chang’an, an ancient capital with countless tombs, has avoided major incidents by luck? The experts and spirit detectives there sweep and investigate constantly, fearing the emergence of something truly dire," Wang Yichuan said solemnly.

Wu Zui hadn’t considered this. Reports from Chang’an only ever mentioned minor incidents, making him overlook the city’s labyrinth of tombs and the catastrophic consequences they could bring in an era of rampant spirits.

"It’s almost time—let’s eat. You’ll be busy this afternoon," Wang Yichuan said, sniffing as the aroma of food reached him.

...

Time slipped away and afternoon soon arrived. At the distant gathering point, crowds of citizens waited atop military trucks. Wang Yichuan came to find Wu Zui once more.

"Let’s go. Time to work," he said.

Wu Zui, still staring at his phone, put it away. Xiao Anguo’s men had already taken Ming Rourou and Xiao Ke'ai away, much to Wu Zui’s relief. He’d truly dreaded Xiao Ke'ai sneaking back—nothing would have been more troublesome.

Following Wang Yichuan, Wu Zui approached the wall of resentment that formed the boundary of the sealed space. He pressed his right hand to his left chest, and crimson flames erupted around him, turning him into a human torch.

With a low growl, sweat beaded from every pore, and from his heart, he pulled forth a long sword entirely blood-red.

With a thunderous roar, Wu Zui reversed his grip and plunged the Heart-Seeking Sword into the wall. Instantly, a crack scorched by fire split the black wall of resentment.

The crack rapidly widened into an irregular breach, over ten meters high and more than twenty meters long, carved by the searing flames.

Wu Zui stood at the center, the flames forming a crimson border at the breach, holding back the surging energies of resentment. His right hand remained on the hilt.

As the sword spirit had explained, the farther the Heart-Seeking Sword was from him, the more fiercely the Karma Fire burned him. If separated by more than ten meters, the fire would consume his body entirely, reducing him to ash.

"Quickly, begin evacuation!" the military officer ordered, seeing the breach open. Trucks rolled out, empty vehicles returning to gather more people.

Thus, on either side of Wu Zui, streams of vehicles ferried the populace to safety. Those on board cast grateful eyes toward the man wreathed in red flames, voice hoarse with exertion, his face obscured but his sacrifice unmistakable—leaving their hearts filled with gratitude as they departed.