Chapter 83:
Sadako suddenly shivered and hurriedly spilled everything about exorcists and various ghosts in one go.
[There are a few particularly powerful ones, like monks who can chant sutras to transcend us, and a silver-haired man who always wears a trench coat — his shikigami are especially fierce. There's also a little girl in a small town… very cruel… and a group of witches, and a masked man who can never be killed…]
"Alright, stop. Our deal is over."
Yang Jian waved his hand casually. "You can leave now."
Sadako froze in place. Water droplets from her long hair dripped onto the floor.
[R-Really? I can really leave?]
Yang Jian raised an eyebrow: "Why? Do you want another slap?"
[No no! Goodbye, boss!]
Sadako instantly turned into a white shadow and whooshed back into the TV.
At the edge of the ancient well in the screen, she even poked half her body out and waved her pale arm at Yang Jian before plunging back into the well with a splash.
"Tsk, still quite the drama queen."
Yang Jian shook his head with a smile and looked around the room that had been smashed to pieces.
There was a huge hole in the floor, the wallpaper was blackened by dark energy, and the TV was emitting blue smoke.
"I don't know whose unlucky room this is! Hope you don't have a breakdown when you come home."
He pushed open the creaking door and strolled unhurriedly into the dim hallway.
The old apartment was filled with a musty smell. The corridor lights flickered on and off.
He walked down like an ordinary resident, occasionally commenting.
"The family on the third floor has a yappy Chihuahua. The instant noodle smell on the fifth floor… hmm, seafood flavor."
"Oh? The lock on the second floor has been pried? Interesting!"
When he reached the bottom of the apartment building, the night wind carried the distant sound of police sirens across his face.
Yang Jian stretched and looked up at the sparsely starred night sky.
"Since I'm here, I might as well enjoy this horror theme park!"
His figure gradually merged into the night. In every corner of the city, countless supernatural beings simultaneously shivered.
Tonight, the most terrifying human was strolling the streets.
On the night-shrouded streets
Yang Jian walked with his hands in his pockets, strolling leisurely.
His perfect proportions looked even more striking under the streetlights, drawing frequent glances from passing women.
A few bold girls even deliberately slowed their steps and threw flirtatious looks at him.
"The moonlight is nice tonight."
Yang Jian responded to a beauty's flying kiss with a polite smile and continued walking forward.
Suddenly—
Bang bang bang!
A series of gunshots broke the night's silence. At the far street corner, two groups were engaged in a fierce shootout.
Bullets traced bright trajectories in the darkness. Shattered glass and sparks flew everywhere.
Passersby screamed and scattered. Car alarms blared in a cacophony.
"Tsk, the classic American tradition."
Yang Jian shook his head, about to turn and leave, when he noticed the firefight spreading toward him.
The black gang was clearly losing and retreating messily in his direction.
The burly leader cursed loudly while roughly shoving aside trash cans and pedestrians.
His subordinates fired wildly backward. Stray bullets even shattered the shop window beside Yang Jian.
"Hey! Get out of the way, buddy."
A white gunman shouted from behind, aiming his AK-47 in Yang Jian's direction.
The black gang leader was fleeing. He violently shoved aside a couple and suddenly locked eyes with Yang Jian.
A vicious look flashed across his ferocious face: "Move, kid!"
Then, his bloodstained palm shoved straight toward Yang Jian's chest.
Crack!
The teeth-grinding sound of bones breaking echoed down the street.
The black gang leader stared blankly at his wrist twisted into a grotesque angle. Before he could scream—
Boom!
Yang Jian merely glanced at him. The two-hundred-plus-pound brute flew away like a rag doll, knocking over his companions before slamming heavily into a fire hydrant.
The entire street suddenly fell silent.
Both groups of gunmen stopped shooting at the same time and stared dumbfounded at the casually dressed Asian young man.
"You guys continue."
Yang Jian patted nonexistent dust off his sleeve and smiled faintly.
"Just pretend I'm not here."
The next second, even more intense gunfire erupted. They didn't know who Yang Jian was, but bullets rained toward him.
And Yang Jian simply strolled leisurely through the hail of bullets, as if attending a unique street light show.
All the bullets automatically hovered around him, as if hitting an invisible wall.
Yang Jian's figure disappeared around the street corner. The gang members who had been fiercely shooting suddenly collapsed one after another, as if struck by an invisible force.
Bullets still hung in mid-air. Guns clattered to the ground, making dull metallic sounds.
The few remaining passersby on the street let out terrified screams and fled in panic.
Inside a street-corner restaurant
The blonde woman, Elizabeth Carter, clutched her wine glass tightly, her knuckles white.
She had been hiding in a corner of the restaurant, watching the chaos outside through the floor-to-ceiling windows.
As a local resident, she was already used to occasional gang shootouts in this neighborhood, but tonight's events completely shattered her understanding.
"God!" she murmured.
Just moments ago, she had witnessed that Asian man casually wave his hand and send the black gang leader flying like a rag doll.
Even more bizarrely, after the man left, all the gunmen inexplicably collapsed.
Elizabeth's heart pounded. An unprecedented impulse surged through her — she felt like she had found her savior.
She quickly grabbed her Hermès bag from the chair and rushed out of the restaurant without paying.
"Miss! Your bill!" the waiter shouted behind her.
"Put it on my tab!"
She shouted without looking back. Her high heels clicked rapidly on the floor.
Her sports car was parked by the roadside.
Elizabeth practically dove into the driver's seat, quickly started the engine, and the engine roared like a beast.
The tires screeched against the ground. The sports car launched forward and sped toward the street where Yang Jian had disappeared.
Next street corner
Yang Jian was strolling leisurely with his hands in his pockets, as if nothing had happened.
The night wind ruffled his black hair. The streetlights stretched his shadow long.
Suddenly, a sharp braking sound rang out behind him.
Yang Jian tilted his head slightly. In his peripheral vision, he saw a red sports car stop a few meters behind him in an almost drifting posture.
The car door opened. A pair of long, slender legs stepped out.
A graceful blonde woman with blue eyes jogged up to him, her chest rising and falling from the rapid breathing.
"Sir, please… please wait a moment!" she panted as she blocked Yang Jian's path.
Elizabeth took a deep breath and tried to make her voice sound less shaky.
"Sorry, sir! Please wait!"
Yang Jian looked at the suddenly appearing blonde beauty with interest.
She appeared to be in her early thirties, wearing a well-tailored deep blue dress with a delicate brooch pinned at her chest.
Although her makeup was exquisite, the excited gleam in her eyes couldn't be hidden.
"Can I help you with something, miss?" Yang Jian asked gently.
Elizabeth bit her lower lip. She suddenly realized she had no idea what to say.
Should she just say she saw him fly a gang leader like a superhero?
"I… I'm Elizabeth Carter," she finally chose to extend her hand.
"I saw you earlier… uh, handling some trouble."
"You must be one of those… those exorcists, right? Like in the movies!"
Yang Jian raised an eyebrow: "Exorcist?"
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