Chapter One Hundred: Tang Xiaoyu Is Captured

"Really? Ha-ha." Li Changqing laughed as well, feeling rather pleased. Since Wang Dalong had brought up the matter of the quota, he would surely help fight for it when the time came.

It was unrealistic for Li Qingxue to get into a top-tier university on grades alone. If she could enter the music academy through such a channel, that would not be a bad thing at all.

After all, music had always been the direction the girl was interested in.

When the parents’ meeting ended, it was also time for school to let out. After leaving the campus, Li Qingxue waved cheerfully and said goodbye to Li Changqing and Tang Xiaoyu before heading home.

She was also a little impatient to go back and tell her sister how, at today’s parents’ meeting, she had been singled out for praise by Teacher Wang.

Watching Li Qingxue’s retreating figure, Li Changqing could not help but smile as well. Even though he had been flung into such a world, the feeling of having family like this was truly not bad.

Gradually, the sky darkened.

Back at the detective agency, Li Changqing took out his key and was about to open the door when he noticed a phone number left on the message board beside it.

"Did a client leave that?" Tang Xiaoyu blinked, looking at the string of numbers, then turned to Li Changqing. "Should we take the case?"

"Not for now," Li Changqing said, shaking his head. Next he still had to go through the demon screening by the Strange Investigation Bureau, and then that exam.

For the next few days, he planned to practice talismans more and accumulate a bit more spiritual energy.

Still, he memorized the number, took out an eraser, and was about to rub it away when he noticed something odd: the number had been written in great haste.

Looking down, he found several flecks of blood on the floor.

In the dim hallway, if one did not look carefully, they were almost impossible to notice.

Li Changqing frowned but said nothing. After wiping the blood away with the sole of his shoe, he unlocked the door and went inside.

Opening the refrigerator and seeing it empty, Tang Xiaoyu frowned slightly, shut it, and came into the living room.

"Li Changqing, we’re out of vegetables at home. I’m going downstairs to buy some. You go ahead and steam the rice."

"All right." Li Changqing took out his wallet and tossed it to her. "Buy more meat, and potatoes..."

"I know what you like to eat." Tang Xiaoyu took the wallet and left, humming the theme song of a drama she had recently been watching.

Sitting in the living room, Li Changqing finished steaming the rice, closed his eyes, and began studying the Supreme Three Caverns Divine Talismans in his mind.

Ever since he had successfully drawn the Evil-Seizing Talisman for the first time, he had discovered that three new talismans had appeared in the blank space that had originally followed it.

"Mount Tai Talisman, Divine Travel Talisman, Heaven Sword Talisman."

However, the difficulty of these three talismans was far greater than that of the Evil-Seizing Talisman.

Of the three, the one that interested him most was the Divine Travel Talisman. According to its description, it was an ancient Daoist talisman. Once used, it granted astonishing speed and, for a short time, made the body as light as a swallow.

In ancient times, it had been a travel talisman used for getting from place to place, but if employed properly, it could absolutely be used for escape.

The Heaven Sword Talisman could be transformed into a weapon for battle. As for the Mount Tai Talisman, the description on it was only four words: Mount Tai crashing down.

He thought about it for a long time, but still could not figure out what use this talisman might have.

...

Carrying half a catty of pork, a large bag of vegetables, as well as snacks, cola, and fruit, Tang Xiaoyu was also beginning to feel the strain.

She knew Li Changqing did not plan to go out for the next few days, so she simply bought more food.

"So many vegetables. That should be enough for Li Changqing to eat for several days, right?"

In the dim stairwell, Tang Xiaoyu dragged the large bag of groceries upstairs with her two slender hands. Just as she reached the turn on the second floor, she found a broad-shouldered middle-aged man standing on the stairs, wearing sunglasses.

The middle-aged man blocked the entire staircase.

"Excuse me, could you move aside a bit?"

Tang Xiaoyu looked up and smiled at him.

The man remained expressionless. Suddenly, he pressed two fingers of his right hand against Tang Xiaoyu’s brow. Then, with his left hand, he took out a blue-green gourd and opened its lid. His right-hand fingers slowly moved toward the mouth of the gourd.

Just like that, Tang Xiaoyu was taken into the gourd. The bag of groceries toppled and scattered across the floor.

After sealing the gourd, the middle-aged man walked unhurriedly down the stairs and took out his phone.

"I’ve already captured that ghost."

...

Unaware of any of this, Li Changqing was sitting on the sofa, staring at the completely darkened sky outside. He could not help feeling puzzled.

"The supermarket isn’t far. Why is that girl taking so long? Could something have happened?"

He hurriedly opened the door and went downstairs, intending to head toward the supermarket. But when he reached the second-floor hallway, he saw vegetables and fruit scattered all over the floor.

"Xiaoyu! Xiaoyu!"

Li Changqing shouted loudly, and the voice-activated lights for the entire building switched on one after another.

Yet no reply came from anywhere around him.

Li Changqing rushed downstairs at once and looked around the street, but there was no suspicious person in sight.

Clenching his fists tightly, he cursed himself inwardly for letting Xiaoyu go out alone. That timid little ghost was probably already terrified out of her wits.

He quickly took out his phone, intending to call Bai Chuan. But just as he lifted it, the screen lit up.

It was an unknown number.

"Hello?"

"Your female ghost was caught by me."

Hearing the slightly magnetic voice on the other end, Li Changqing’s expression darkened further. He tightened his fist and said, "What do you want?"

"Don’t worry. As long as you behave and do as I say, I’ll return her to you. Someone should have come looking for you today, shouldn’t they? A client. Contact him, and find a way to arrange a meeting at the place I designate."

"Once it’s done, I’ll give this female ghost back to you."

"By the way, a friendly reminder: it would be best not to notify the Thirty-Six Bureau. Otherwise, your ghost will be scattered to the winds."

The call ended there.

Li Changqing’s face was gloomy as he looked around. He could not tell whether someone was watching him from the shadows. He hurried back to the detective agency, drew the curtains, and called Bai Chuan.

The other party had taken Tang Xiaoyu. He was no harmless sort. Li Changqing would not obediently follow his instructions.

If he truly let things follow the other man’s pace, then whether Tang Xiaoyu could ultimately be returned would depend entirely on that person’s mood.

Li Changqing would never entrust Tang Xiaoyu’s safety to the mood of a man like that.

The call connected quickly, and Bai Chuan’s voice came through: "What is it?"

"Something’s happened. Xiaoyu’s been taken. Help me."

"When did it happen? Who took her?"

"Just now, when I came back, there was a client’s number left at the entrance of the detective agency..."

After telling Bai Chuan everything from beginning to end, Bai Chuan advised him as well: "It sounds like that person wants to use you to draw someone else out. He probably won’t hurt Tang Xiaoyu for the time being. Don’t panic. I’ll come over right away."

"For now, don’t come over yet. I can’t be sure whether he’s secretly keeping watch around the detective agency. If you show yourself, you’ll only alert the snake. Hide nearby and lie low."

"I’ll contact that client first. Maybe I can get some useful information from him."

After hanging up, Li Changqing lay on the sofa, trying to calm himself as much as possible.

Tang Xiaoyu’s capture had already left him somewhat panicked.