I Went Crazy Killing in the World of Gods and Demons - Chapter 40

Chapter 40

These few skeletons were gathered by Xie Qingling based on the time periods when the City God Temple disappeared.

Some had died over a hundred years ago, some a century ago, and others eighty years ago. Each general time period had its corresponding skeleton.

The six skeletons stared blankly at Xie Qingling with their hollow eye sockets, seemingly trying hard to comprehend her instructions.

After a while, as if having discussed something, one skeleton stepped forward, circled around Xie Qingling a few times, and gestured for her to follow.

“Wait.” Xie Qingling quickly stopped the skeleton that was about to rush out of the alley.

Although she had grown quite accustomed to her abilities, if passersby were to see this…

She was certain tomorrow’s headlines would read something like “Skeletons Running Wild at Night: Moral Decay or Human Nature Distorted?”

When that happened, she’d undoubtedly face punishment again.

Come to think of it, she hadn’t even finished writing her self-criticism report yet.

Xie Qingling opened her case, took out the Killing Field, and spread it open.

Within the Killing Field, spaces from the real world remained independent and non-interfering, effectively blocking outside visibility.

After completing these preparations, Xie Qingling said to the skeleton, “Alright, let’s go.”

The little skeleton obediently led Xie Qingling out of the dark alley.

Following the skeleton’s guidance, Xie Qingling ventured into increasingly remote areas until they finally arrived at a small factory consisting of three low tiled-roof buildings.

The small factory had been abandoned. In this age of rapidly advancing machinery, the manual labor-based operation model could no longer meet society’s developmental needs.

However, judging by its scale, this small factory must have seen considerable foot traffic during its active period.

In front of the factory was an open flat area clearly marked with tire tracks, indicating that people occasionally came here to practice driving.

The City God Temple…

Where was it?

At this moment, the little skeleton continued forward, eventually stopping behind the small factory.

More precisely, it stopped before a massive old locust tree behind the factory.

[After enduring a century of dramatic changes, the City God Temple had long since vanished and decayed, no longer receiving offerings of incense. What remains visible today are merely a few tiles salvaged from its former site.]

[The locust tree planted before the City God Temple back then has similarly weathered centuries. All things possess Spirit. During the temple’s prosperous days when incense smoke filled the air, the tree too received protection, feeding on the temple’s spiritual energy. Now that the City God Temple has been destroyed, the locust tree having developed some spiritual awareness utilizes its innate ability to gather yin energy to shelter passing ghosts from wind and rain, partially assuming the temple’s former role.]

The tree’s enormous roots would require several people joining hands to encircle.

Its canopy blotted out the sky, appearing overwhelmingly oppressive against the dark night sky.

Though merely a silent plant, its upright posture seemed to carry a timeless, profound weight that could penetrate through the ages.

This old locust tree was much, much older than her.

Xie Qingling looked up at it for a long moment, her heart filled with reverence for this life rooted deep in the earth.

She hoped this century-old tree could help share some of Jin Jia Yin Suo’s burden, preventing those ghosts from going out to harass pedestrians.

The Killing Field didn’t manage to trap Jin Jia Yin Suo, likely because they evaded it.

Although she couldn’t see them, Xie Qingling estimated that they were still following her and hadn’t left.

With the location delivered, it was time for Xie Qingling to depart.

It was 8:30 PM.

Xie Qingling informed Ling Fang, “Minister, I’ve mostly figured things out. I’ll report to you in person tomorrow there are some matters that need follow-up.”

“Alright, you can head back and rest.”

On her way back, Xie Qingling deliberately passed by the spot where the uncle had fainted and found that he was already gone.

Ye Anran must have arrived and revived him.

Returning to the office, Xie Qingling took a moment to write a brief field report for the day before finally resting.

The next day, when Ling Fang came to work, Xie Qingling handed him the report.

“Minister, I’ve completed the work report. The details are all inside, and the situation is mostly resolved, but I think…” She hesitated for a moment before continuing, “I think if we leave it unchecked, over time, the chaos could grow worse.”

By then, Ling Fang had finished reading the report.

He placed it in a file folder, marked it with the date, location, handler, and other details, and stored it in the filing cabinet.

“The order of the other world is collapsing more thoroughly and chaotically than we imagined,” Ling Fang said, rubbing his temples. “I can sense their energy gradually weakening. Now, they barely have the strength to suppress the Demons and Monsters.”

The so-called “other world” referred, of course, to the realm of gods and ghosts.

“Your concern is valid. Although the old locust tree can temporarily share the burden, it’s not a true City God Temple and can only do so much. To truly restore order, we need a proper City God Temple.”

“After all, if we leave it unattended, someone with ill intentions might exploit it.”

Xie Qingling waited for his instructions.

“I’ll apply to the higher-ups to request the construction of a new City God Temple,” Ling Fang said, turning on his computer. “Alright, you can get back to work. Leave the rest to me.”

“Understood.”

From then on, Xie Qingling didn’t need to worry about the matter.

About two days later, all the follow-up procedures were completed.

When Xie Qingling returned to patrol the desolate street again, she saw a red circle painted on the dilapidated wall with a large “Demolish” character written inside.

This area was slated for demolition and urban redevelopment.

She returned to the noodle shop she had visited last time. As soon as she entered, she heard the old granny complaining. Spotting Xie Qingling, the old woman brightened and said, “Girl, you’re back! Granny remembers every returning customer’s face!”

Xie Qingling ordered another bowl of rice noodles and sat down to wait.

To be honest, the flavor at this noodle shop was quite good.

This time, the old granny gave Xie Qingling a complimentary marinated egg.

Chattering away, the old woman said, “But this shop will be closing soon. You might not get to taste my noodles again after this.”

“Why?” Xie Qingling asked.

“See that ‘Demolition’ character written outside?” The elderly woman pointed at a building that resembled a crumbling wall. “That’s my home. I’ve lived there for decades, and suddenly it’s going to be torn down. I don’t even know where I’ll live.”

Xie Qingling said, “There should be some relocation compensation.”

“But I’m old and can’t handle the upheaval. I just wanted to keep running this little shop peacefully. Who knew it would suddenly be marked for demolition?” The notice had arrived yesterday, and today the walls were already covered with the character. The old woman knew more than she let on. She waved her hand and said, “I heard they’re building some kind of folk culture street here. Who knows how long that will take? At my age, I can’t afford to wait.”

Xie Qingling thought to herself that Ling Fang worked surprisingly fast.

Building a folk culture street would not only reconstruct the City God Temple but also attract visitors to revitalize its incense offerings.

Not a bad plan at all.

Though the location was somewhat remote, holiday foot traffic would likely be decent certainly better than the current situation.

Xie Qingling smiled. “Grandma, you seem quite spry. This street project won’t take long. I’ll come back to eat here once it’s finished.”

“Ah, I hope so.”

The matter resolved with unusual smoothness.

After Xie Qingling helped Jin Jia Yin Suo locate the old locust tree and the street was slated for redevelopment, reports about strange occurrences there virtually ceased.

However, exceptions remained.

Another day passed.

An unfamiliar visitor arrived at the office.

Unfamiliar, at least, to Xie Qingling.

He was a neatly dressed, scholarly-looking man around forty years old.

Sitting on the sofa, he held a tablet while watching a video.

Ling Fang leaned over the back of the sofa, both men so engrossed they didn’t notice Xie Qingling’s entrance.

Seeing their concentration, she didn’t interrupt and quietly poured herself a coffee yes, she’d developed the habit too.

After about three minutes, their frowns deepened. Only when the video ended did they look up from the screen.

That’s when they noticed Xie Qingling.

The middle-aged man blinked in surprise. “Director Ling, is this the new recruit you mentioned?”

“Mm, that’s her.”

“Remarkable. Talent truly knows no age.” The man smiled in greeting. “Hello, I’m Chen Yinghui. I usually serve as your liaison… you could call me a police officer.”

“This is Captain Chen,” Ling Fang added.

“Hello, Captain Chen.” Xie Qingling politely returned the greeting before asking curiously, “Are you reviewing a case?”

Chen Yinghui paused, surprised by the young woman’s perceptiveness.

Ling Fang said, “Let her see it too. She handled the City God Temple incident last time.”

Hearing this, Chen Yinghui nodded and waved Xie Qingling over. “Come take a look at this video.”

“Last time, regarding the haunted street case that received reports for over a month – you should have reviewed the files, right?”

“I have,” Xie Qingling said.

“Originally, after you resolved that Special Event, the police station stopped receiving related reports. But today we received similar reports again – the matter isn’t resolved yet.”

Chen Yinghui gave a brief introduction to the video: “The person in this video is named Chai Yuhu, a programmer. He came to report about a week ago, claiming that his hair and eyebrows had disappeared for no reason.”

“Since he had visited that street before making the report, we initially categorized this as a Spirit’s prank. But three days ago, which was the first day after you resolved the previous case, he came to report again.”

“This time, the slight regrowth of his hair had all fallen out again.”

“To investigate the truth, we installed surveillance in his bedroom to see if someone was playing pranks. Unexpectedly, three days later – which is today – his entire scalp has become covered in bloodstains, in a truly gruesome condition.”

“That’s how we got this video.”

Chen Yinghui handed the tablet to Xie Qingling.