Chapter Thirty-Six: Undercover

Stepping out of the alley.

It wasn’t long before he suddenly saw several dazzling golden flashes in the distance.

Swish! Swish, swish, swish!

With the whir of flying cables and the hiss of pressurized canisters, several figures shot up onto the blue-brick buildings, landing one after another and sprinting swiftly across the rooftops.

Some pedestrians on the street paused to watch, while others whispered quietly to their companions.

But Du Huaishan quickened his pace even more, hurrying toward the Lichun Tower.

Though his body had grown stronger and he had mastered both the power of the demon ghosts and his transformed state, he still carried only an ordinary dagger and lacked a Red Marrow weapon.

Who knew what dangers lurked in Juntun City?

Bang—!

Suddenly, a deafening crash rang out. Something plummeted from above at great speed, smashing into the roof of a house ahead, sending shards of tile flying everywhere.

“Ah!”

The nearby crowd broke out in screams, shouts, and curses.

Du Huaishan squinted, decisively avoiding the trouble ahead by detouring through a side alley.

He kept to the wall, head down and feet moving briskly, but his peripheral vision remained alert for any sign of disturbance.

Creak.

Suddenly, a faint scraping came from the door hinges of a house on the right side of the alley, and out stepped a young man in a coarse long coat, a cloth bag of belongings in hand.

Their eyes met for an instant.

The young man closed the door behind him, swung his bag, and walked straight toward Du Huaishan.

Du Huaishan exhaled and kept moving.

When there were only about two meters left between them, he suddenly looked to the end of the alley and called out, “Instructor Chang?”

Step.

The man in the long coat stopped and turned.

Without hesitation, Du Huaishan—clang!—summoned the four-horned demon ghost to flash into his heart, instantly entering his transformed state!

His right arm swung up; a dagger flashed from his sleeve. With a powerful kick, he lunged like a tiger descending a mountain, pouring all his demon ghost power into a lethal strike aimed at the man’s neck!

Damn!

A cold chill seized the long-coated man as he realized he’d been had. He dodged frantically, hand reaching for his waist, but the whistling wind was already in his ears, and those black-and-red eyes, brimming with murderous intent, were upon him like a demon!

“Eternal Lig—”

Thud!

Du Huaishan’s blade plunged into the man’s neck, the force driving it through flesh and bone, sending a jet of crimson blood arcing into the air!

Thud! Thud!

He pulled out the dagger and stabbed twice more.

Most of the man's neck was laid open, blood splattering Du Huaishan’s face.

Saying nothing, Du Huaishan, his veined hand trembling, tore open the man’s coat, revealing a layer of military padding beneath—standard-issue for the Yingzhou Army.

Finding the cord, he tore it off and drove the blade into the man’s heart.

Only when the man lay utterly still did Du Huaishan gasp for breath.

He swiftly withdrew to the wall, dagger in hand.

Though the head in the spreading pool of blood was drenched, the thick, prominent eyebrows were unmistakable.

No doubt about it.

This young man was the very masked soldier from the demon ghost training ground—the one who had handed Du Huaishan the Red Marrow elixir and operated the electric chair!

Because the features were so distinctive.

From the instant he’d seen him face to face, Du Huaishan had recognized him.

The other had probably recognized him as well!

A soldier from the demon ghost training ground, with such a sensitive identity, disguised as a commoner and pretending not to know him—this was suspicious in itself!

Thinking of the alarms in Juntun City and the ensuing chaos, Du Huaishan swiftly formulated an emergency plan in his mind.

Invoke Chang Suian!

He hadn’t expected the man to panic so easily, giving him a perfect opening to strike.

Since the man also had heterochromatic eyes—who knew how much demon ghost power he’d fused—Du Huaishan had to go all out to ensure a quick victory.

He not only unleashed his transformed state to three percent but also used the lethal stance Chang Suian had taught him.

Yet, unexpectedly, the other man didn't even manage to summon his guardian spirit before Du Huaishan ended him in a single blow.

Human life was so fragile.

“His final words weren’t a plea for help, but ‘Eternal Lig—’, like the slogan of some fanatic. Most likely, he was an undercover agent planted by some organization in the military academy—a villain…” Du Huaishan muttered, as if searching for justification.

After all, this was his first time killing a man.

There was none of the queasiness or nausea described in novels and films.

Only a faint tremor.

This was nothing like killing a demon ghost—those were monsters, mindless and made for slaughter. Stabbing them brought no guilt; humans were different.

But Du Huaishan had no choice.

In a world so perilous, if he didn’t strike first, once the other regained his wits, it might have been him lying dead.

A faint red light spilled from the man’s pupils.

Chang Suian had said that a demon ghost’s soul, once bound by someone’s unique spirit, would belong to them forever, dissipating upon their death—divine protection from birth to death, which was why the Chiyu people called them guardian spirits.

Composing himself, Du Huaishan dialed his transformation down to one percent before searching the man’s clothing and bag. Since coming to this world, “searching the dead” had become a habit.

Seeing the trench knife at the man’s waist eased his guilt a little more.

“A trench knife forged from Red Marrow steel—a real prize…”

The trench knife was a weapon designed for close combat in the Great War, also known as a trench dagger or knuckle knife, featuring a seven-inch triple-edged spike and a brass knuckle handle.

The internet once joked it was the ultimate zombie-slaying weapon.

But when he opened the bag, any joy at finding the trench knife vanished at the sight within.

A black notebook.

And large quantities of Red Marrow elixir!

By rough count, there were at least several dozen bottles in the bag.

This would last me a year, wouldn’t it?

Du Huaishan swallowed hard.

Demon ghost training ground, notebook, Red Marrow elixir, escape.

Damn, I guessed right after all.

Honestly, if there had only been a few bottles, he would have taken them without a second thought. But faced with so many, and a notebook to boot, he didn’t dare take even one.

It was like finding a wallet on the street—one thing if it held a few bills, quite another if it contained thousands and a Centurion Black Card.

As Du Huaishan was putting the Red Marrow elixir back in the bag, the sound of military boots echoed from the alley entrance.

Several soldiers with Mauser rifles blocked the way.

A few armored soldiers carrying sabers advanced slowly toward Du Huaishan. “We are the City Patrol of the 1st Battalion, 73rd Regiment, 7th Brigade, Yingzhou Army! Disperse your demon ghost power and drop your weapon immediately!”

The burst of light from his transformation had given away his location.

Du Huaishan immediately disengaged his transformation, dropped the trench knife, raised his hands, and called out, “I am Du Huaishan, new recruit of the 173rd class at the Army Military Academy! I have a pass signed by Instructor Lai Yanlong in my jacket!”

The armored soldiers ignored his words.

Instead, they moved to the body, confirmed the dead man’s identity, then turned and pinned Du Huaishan against the wall.

“He tried to kill me! I acted in self-defense,” Du Huaishan explained.

But the armored soldiers remained silent.

Moments later—

Whiz! Swish, swish!

Cables shot up the wall, and two imposing figures descended—soldiers with shining armor, green cloaks, and the unmistakable aura of transformation.

“Leave this to us,” one of the transformed soldiers said, stepping forward.

The surrounding armored soldiers snapped to attention. “Yes, sir!”

“Reporting, sir! I am with the 173rd—” Du Huaishan began, eager to state his identity now that officers had arrived.

But before he could finish, the transformed soldier cut him off. “Save your breath. Speak in the interrogation room.”

In the blink of an eye, they bound Du Huaishan’s arms. The other soldier carefully searched the corpse.

When he found the black notebook, both men visibly relaxed.

The two transformed soldiers escorted Du Huaishan from the alley to the main thoroughfare, which was now swarming with soldiers.

At the site where something had crashed down, and by the mouth of the alley, a crowd of curious onlookers had gathered.

“Looks like someone’s being arrested?”

In the crowd, Yang Anfu craned his neck, muttering, with Tan Hai and Guo Tingyu beside him.

They had been listening to music at Lichun Tower when the alarm sounded outside, the streets filling with soldiers and transformed troops darting across rooftops on cables.

Worried about Du Huaishan, they went out to look for him.

But after waiting in vain, they saw someone being led away by a transformed soldier.

“It’s Huaishan!!”

Guo Tingyu’s blue eyes widened, and he was about to shout when Tan Hai clamped a hand over his mouth. “Mmff… what are you doing, Tan Hai? They’ve got Huaishan!”

“I’ve seen those uniforms before…” Tan Hai’s eyes bulged as he stared at the green cloaks emblazoned with the Chiyu Iron-Blooded Dragon and Tiger standard. “They’re from Special Operations! Back in Xintun, I saw them with my own eyes take a platoon leader out of Chun Yuan House. The regular soldiers didn’t dare make a sound!”

“Huaishan’s in real trouble! If we try anything, we’ll be useless. We have to get back to the academy and find Lai Pilong!”