Chapter 1557: Chapter 793: Nightmarish Dreams in the Dark (Part 2)

The young man suddenly lifted his head, revealing a face with scattered stubble, haggard yet filled with deep-seated hatred. He was none other than Captain Zhou of the former Yangzhou Captain Bureau, "punished and returned to his hometown."

At this moment, his eyes held nothing but a burning madness to destroy everything!

"You scoundrel! Return the lives of my wife and child!"

Zhou Dayong roared and exerted force, hurling the silver plate along with the hot soup violently at Mr. Xie, while his entire body charged recklessly like a moth to the flame towards the zone where the heads of Lu and Xie families were!

Though merely a Captain in the Captain Bureau, Zhou Dayong had reached Hidden Energy and was experienced in combat, but against the skilled guards of the two aristocratic families, it was clearly not enough.

Yet, Zhou Dayong’s face only showed manic pleasure.

His abdomen had unknowingly swelled up.

A dangerous red glow emanated from beneath his clothes, accompanied by muffled thunder sounds.

"Thunder Fire Mechanism! Retreat quickly!"

A guard shouted in alarm.

Li Yan’s pupils contracted, and he immediately backed away.

He had understood Zhou Dayong’s desperate plan.

Having long harbored a death wish, Zhou Dayong, whose wife and child had tragically died, had been consumed by curses and despair. He had somehow found someone to implant the Thunder Fire Mechanism into his abdomen, intending to perish together.

Boom——!

The deafening explosion tore through the luxurious and silent night atmosphere of the Prince Mansion.

Blinding flames and violent airwaves exploded fiercely centered around Zhou Dayong.

Splinters of wood, porcelain shards, and bits of flesh mixed with searing airflow were sent flying in all directions.

The area near the main table instantly turned into a chaotic scene.

Screams, cries of alarm, and the sound of shattering cups and plates blended into a cacophony.

Mr. Xie was the first to get caught in the explosion, along with the guards beside him, blown to smithereens on the spot.

Mr. Lu was thrown by the blast wave, slamming heavily into a pillar, spurting fresh blood, his fate uncertain. The nearby King Jinling was also affected by the explosion but was shielded by a personal guard, rendering him unconscious but not dead.

Thick smoke rolled, and the scent of sandalwood mixed with the smell of blood, forming a nauseating stench.

The banquet hall, once filled with fragrance and lively figures, lay in ruins, resonating with cries and shouts.

Li Yan brushed away flying debris, his gaze icy as he watched this human-world tragedy.

"Why...why didn’t you stop it?!"

The Prince Mansion Guard Commander, his face covered in ash and dust, glared at him angrily.

Li Yan cast a faint glance, "What, you failed your duty, and want to pin the blame on me?"

The Guard Commander shouted angrily, "Don’t presume I don’t know. With your Dao, the Prince Mansion’s setup could never suppress your Divine Skills. Why didn’t you alert us?!"

Li Yan grew impatient, "Get lost, instead of wasting time, why don’t you quickly rescue the Prince and think about who invited calamity to the Mansion?"

Despite being discreet, the Prince Mansion was the most important place in Jinling. Such a major event immediately drew numerous people, the quickest responders being the Captain Bureau.

Teams of black-clad Captain Bureau personnel poured into the Mansion.

Leading them were the Chief of Criminal Punishment of the Xuan Sacrificial Officer, Qiu Mingyuan, and Assistant Chu Zhenyue of the Northern Town Guard. Both wore stern expressions, their gazes like electricity scanning the scene.

Qiu Mingyuan’s voice was cold and firm, imbued with unquestionable authority: "Seal the Mansion! No one is allowed to leave! Thoroughly investigate the source of the assassin and verify casualties!"

His gaze finally settled on the pale-faced, shoulder-clutching King Jinling and the Lu and Xie family heads, whose lives were uncertain amidst the ruins. He then deeply observed Li Yan, who stood quietly amidst the scene with his robe gently undulating.

"Young Hero Li, what do you think of this..."

Leading Li Yan to a secluded spot, Qiu Mingyuan showed a face full of helplessness.

Li Yan naturally wouldn’t admit to letting things slip by, so he shook his head, "The incident was sudden, also using firearms, I had no time to prevent it."

Qiu Mingyuan wasn’t foolish, unwilling to linger on this issue, and spoke, "The Prince Mansion was attacked, involving the Imperial Family. It must not be taken lightly. An explanation must be given to the two aristocratic families, at least in posture."

"Until the matter is clarified, I regret that Young Hero Li has to stay within the Mansion."

"Naturally." Li Yan did not object.

Truthfully, he was quite curious about who helped Zhou Dayong with the transformation. Such a powerful mechanism being hidden within his abdomen without hindering motion.

It’s not a feat achievable by ordinary means...

...

The moon hung high, emitting a pale and cold light through dark clouds.

Due to the Mansion explosion, many personnel were diverted, making the Captain’s Office, typically solemn and majestic during the day, appear deserted at this hour.

Thump~thump~thump~

"Midnight, be cautious with the candles!"

The gate soldier began to doze off, and the Night Watchman’s shouts drifted further, as if his ears were clogged with cotton, muffling all sounds.

He barely opened his eyes, seeing that sometime during the night, the street outside the office had been silently enveloped in a sticky, sluggish gray mist, turning everything hazy.

"No, something’s wrong!"

He felt a jolt in his heart but then everything went black as he fainted.

As he was about to fall, a gust of wind sounded beside him, and someone grabbed his collar.

The newcomer was Lv San.

He frowned slightly, placing the unconscious soldier next to him, his mouth moved, emitting a series of whistle sounds.

However, the mice used for alarms didn’t respond at all.

"What’s happening?"

Sha Lifei and the others also rushed out.

Without Lv San’s reminder, they too noticed the anomaly.

The sentry Powerful Warriors along the way had vacant eyes, wandering aimlessly in the familiar courtyard, unable to be awakened. Even the patrolling teams had bizarrely fallen asleep.

"It’s a powerful illusion array."

Wang Daoxuan looked at the compass in his hand, and said gravely, "Eight Gates activated simultaneously, someone outside has set this up, targeting us."

Sha Lifei frowned, "Should we seize the chance and charge out?"

Wang Daoxuan hesitated slightly, then shook his head, "The situation is unclear, we must not act rashly..."

Clatter!

Before he finished speaking, countless palm-sized, serrated-edge pale human skin paper shadows flew out from the thick fog on the street, drifting with the wind, emitting eerie sounds.

"What foul monster is this!"

Wang Daoxuan’s eyes widened, throwing out a few Yellow Talismans.

But then something unexpected happened.

Poof poof poof!

The Yellow Talismans collided with the papermen, turning into fireballs.

Like a chain reaction, all the papermen turned into fireballs, flipping up and down, whistling towards them like a meteor shower.

"Phosphorus powder added, quickly retreat!"

Sha Lifei sniffed, his face changed dramatically.

This stuff cannot be resisted by flesh; once contaminated, it’s like maggots eating into bones.

Everyone quickly dragged the unconscious soldier back, shutting the door behind them.

Bang bang bang!

The fireballs hit the door, instantly igniting it.

Meanwhile, whispers seemed to be coming from the thick fog, followed by a fierce wind sweeping the fireballs up and towards the front courtyard.

But in the front courtyard, Wu Ba had already unfolded the foldable magic altar designed by Kuai Dayou, with Wang Daoxuan spitting water, stepping on Astral Step, swinging his Magic Sword with a forward point. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

The Five Directions Luo Feng Flag fluttered.

Whoosh~

An even stronger gust of wind roared up.

The fireballs were blown back, retreating again.

The crisis was temporarily lifted; at least they weren’t buried in a sea of flames.

But barely catching their breath, the strange sounds resumed.

"Ee—ya—"

A piercing, long opera note, as if rising from the depths of Nine Netherworld, pierced the fog with no warning, the sound coming not from one place, but simultaneously from all directions.

Then, strange drum beats and musical sounds started.

"Originally, the vibrant colors bloomed everywhere, but circumstances ruined it to abandoned wells and crumbling walls..."

Accompanied by plaintive opera singing, two silhouettes appeared on the wall.

This was the song "Peony Pavilion·Dream in the Garden," telling the story of Du Liniang, a high-born official’s daughter who falls in love with the scholar Liu Mengmei in her dream, dies in sadness, transforms into a spirit, seeking her real-life lover, a love affair between human and ghost, finally resurrecting, ultimately being with Liu Mengmei forever.

Those two silhouettes were also exactly a white-robed woman and a scholar.

But the white-robed woman had none of the elegance of an actress; instead, her thick theatrical makeup streamed with two lines of blood tears, skin shockingly pale, resembling a ghost.

As for the scholar, his face remained normal, but his hands were entirely blood-red.

The two were sweet-talking within the singing, completely ignoring everyone else.

"Hey, I wondered who it was, turns out it’s those Ghost Theater Troupe scum!"

Sha Lifei spat, immediately raising his gun and pulling the trigger.

Boom!

With a roar, the smoke dispersed.

But those two figures vanished like smoke and dust in the thick fog.

"Watch out!"

Fatty Lin seemed to recall something, his complexion drastically changing, "They are not ordinary demons, but core members of the Ghost Theater Troupe, Ghost-faced Rakshasa, and Blood-handed Scholar!"