“No, he’s not trying to run away out of fear. He has another purpose.”
Recalling her earlier inability to extract the soul of this monster, whose level was lower than her own, and now seeing the corpses that had crawled out of the graves—animated by the supernatural power emanating from the monster—surrounding them, Si Yexing felt a strong sense of foreboding.
Without giving Bai Yuling any time to react, Si Yexing grabbed her scythe and charged toward the monster at full speed, attempting to stop whatever it was planning.
Hearing Si Yexing’s words and seeing her charge toward the monster, Bai Yuling, though unsure of the reasoning behind her judgment, trusted that she wouldn’t act without cause. Bai Yuling also raised her spear and charged alongside her toward the distant monster.
Seeing the corpses drawing closer, the monster grew increasingly excited, its breathing becoming ragged.
But just as it was about to reach the corpses, a dark figure suddenly darted out from behind it, blocking its path.
“Although I don’t know what you’re planning, monster, I absolutely won’t let you succeed.”
After declaring this to the monster, Si Yexing, standing before it, swung her scythe in a powerful strike.
Seeing this and knowing it was no match for Si Yexing in its current state, the monster chose not to confront her directly. Instead, it deftly dodged, evading her initial fierce assault.
Watching the monster move more agilely than before, Si Yexing showed no sign of panic. While maintaining her relentless attacks, she secretly began to activate the Grim Reaper Girl’s second, less frequently used skill: “Judgment of Karmic Flames.” She intended to use it to completely finish off the monster.
“Miss Yexing, I’ll hold off the corpses from the graveyard!”
Arriving at the battlefield where Si Yexing and the monster clashed, Bai Yuling didn’t rush in to assist, fearing that her sudden involvement might disrupt Si Yexing’s rhythm.
Seeing the corpses advancing step by step toward the fray and knowing they would interfere with the fight, Bai Yuling shouted her intention. She then moved past the battle and positioned herself between the advancing corpses and the duelists.
Hearing Bai Yuling’s voice, Si Yexing, who had expected her to provide cover, didn’t respond. She kept her focus on the monster, which appeared to be retreating under her blows but was only superficially engaged. Otherwise, “Judgment of Karmic Flames” wouldn’t activate successfully.
About half a minute later, sensing her skill was ready, Si Yexing activated it without hesitation.
In the next instant, the monster—previously only bearing a few more wounds—was suddenly engulfed in black flames. It let out an agonized shriek, descending into a final, death-throes frenzy.
Seeing the monster driven mad by its impending death, Si Yexing naturally couldn’t let it continue unchecked. She swung her scythe once more, striking at the creature.
Consumed by the dark flames and feeling its very soul ignite, the monster had no chance to dodge Si Yexing’s attack.
This time, her scythe struck true.
After confirming the hit, and to test her earlier hypothesis, Si Yexing used her primary skill as the Grim Reaper Girl again, trying to see if she could now extract the monster’s soul.
As expected, after activating the skill, she didn’t see the monster’s soul appear. Instead, she only observed its movements freeze for three seconds.
“So, it’s true. While this monster’s strength is only equivalent to a peak two-star supernatural being, the true master of the supernatural power within it is at least my equal.”
Recalling the description of her Grim Reaper Girl skills, Si Yexing thought to herself.
She then continued hacking at the monster before her until it was completely dismembered, devoid of all life force, before finally stopping.
Looking at the monster slowly turning to ash in the karmic flames, then glancing at the still-standing corpses around them, Si Yexing sighed with a headache.
“This is going to be troublesome.”
With that, she didn’t linger by the dead monster. Instead, she hurried to Bai Yuling’s side to help her clear the surrounding corpses.
The battle continued for another half-hour until, with the final corpse collapsing back to the ground, returning to its eternal slumber, the sudden encounter at the Western Hill Cemetery finally came to an end.
“Whew, Director Bai, are you alright?”
Wiping non-existent sweat from her brow and glancing at the visibly exhausted Bai Yuling beside her, Si Yexing asked with a tone of concern, mindful of their relative positions.
Hearing this, Bai Yuling, leaning heavily on her spear to stay upright, quickly replied, “I’m fine, just a bit tired.”
“That’s good.”
“Director, Miss Yexing, are both of you unhurt?”
A young member of the Supernatural Affairs Bureau, supporting an older colleague whose arm had been broken during a corpse’s surprise attack, asked Si Yexing and Bai Yuling.
Hearing this, Si Yexing and Bai Yuling turned their attention to them. Bai Yuling answered, “We’re both fine. But Old Xu, you don’t look so good.”
Noticing the older bureau member, Old Xu, whose right arm was grotesquely twisted, Bai Yuling responded to the young agent’s question and then asked with concern, “How are you holding up?”
Old Xu, who didn’t think his situation was too severe, replied, “Don’t worry, Director. It’s not as bad as it looks. Once I get to the hospital to have the bone set, I’ll recover with some rest.”