Chapter 17, Section 2: Breaking the Cocoon and Becoming a Butterfly

Liu Fenghua's agility surprised me. If I had known, I would have brought my equipment with me. Even if I didn't have a gun or bullets, a baton would have been good.

I could already smell the foul odor emanating from Liu Fenghua behind me. His hands were almost touching my clothes. Just as we were on the verge of a critical moment, my foot instinctively took a step to the left. Liu Fenghua missed his grab, and I managed to slip past him. He turned and tried to grab me again, but I continued with my footwork, moving in circles within the Bagua pattern. There was less than a meter of space between us, but this possessed entity couldn't seem to get a hold of me. In the end, he reluctantly gave up on me and turned towards Sun Fatzi.

Huh? This is the result of three months of special training after being electrocuted! Not bad! I realized and shouted to Sun Fatzi, "Run according to the Bagua pattern!" Sun Fatzi's situation was similar to mine; Liu Fenghua was clearly near him, but he couldn't touch him either.

However, Liu Fenghua was no pushover; the evil spirit attached to him seemed intelligent. He managed to drive Sun Fatzi towards my direction. When Sun Fatzi was about five or six meters away from me, he suddenly abandoned Sun Fatzi and came charging at me again.

Variety is the spice of life. I continued with my footwork, and Liu Fenghua still couldn't get me. When I reached position forty-two, I realized that Sun Fatzi was now very close to me, standing at position forty-three.

What the hell? Why are you so close to me? It was too late to dodge, and I collided with Sun Fatzi. Liu Fenghua grabbed both of us by the neck, lifting us off the ground.

"What... does he... want... to... do?" These words were squeezed out of Sun Fatzi's mouth, and his face had turned purple. Although I couldn't see my own face, I felt it was about the same. "Why... don't you... ask... him?"

Haowen Ming and Ouyang Pianzuo still showed no intention of coming in. Did that mean I was going to end it here today? When I was younger, a master from my hometown had once told me that I could live to be eighty-six. Thinking of that so-called master, I suddenly recalled something he said during a casual conversation: the blood of a virgin boy was the bane of malevolent spirits.

I didn't have time to think; I bit my tongue, gathered a mouthful of blood, and sprayed it onto Liu Fenghua's face. The moment the fresh blood splattered on him, I clearly felt his grip weaken significantly, and I could sense him trembling slightly.

Virgin boy's blood works! Another mouthful! I sprayed a second mouthful of blood. Liu Fenghua let out a wail and released both of us. He covered his face with his hands, violently trembling all over. Although there was no visible change in his appearance, I could tell that within his body, the malevolent shadow was emitting white smoke, as if it had been splashed with sulfuric acid.

"Huh? Lazi, you're spitting blood. What's wrong with you?" Sun Fatzi was bewildered and hadn't understood what happened.

I replied irritably, "Just stay aside." My tongue throbbed with pain, making it hard to speak clearly. This half-baked idiot's presence made me resort to spitting blood. Thinking about it, my tongue started hurting even more.

"Not bad at all! I told you to endure for twenty minutes, but you managed to resolve it in less than ten. It's not my fault; you used the Virgin Boy's technique to exorcise it," Haowen Ming and Ouyang Pianzuo strolled in leisurely.

Ouyang Pianzuo approached Liu Fenghua, pried open his eyelids, and looked at them for a few moments. "He's fine. We'll send him to the Fourth Division for treatment, and he'll be fine in a few days."

I cursed their families in my heart but kept a straight face and said, "Directors, does this mean that Sun Fatzi and I have passed the evaluation?"

"Don't be so upset. All newcomers have to go through this test. Besides, you still have us, right? You won't lose out." Haowen Ming said with a straight face, as if nothing had happened. I thought I saw him and Ouyang Pianzuo eating melon seeds while I was struggling earlier.

Seeing that Sun Fatzi and I didn't look pleased, Haowen Ming finally got to the point. "Alright, from today onwards, Lazi and Sun Da Sheng, you're officially investigators of our Bureau of Paranormal Investigations. Starting tomorrow, you can participate in the work of the First Division."