She was likely at the location of that door. Long Yue, much like a judge, waved her hand, and a black gate appeared. However, Long Yue didn't enter. Instead, she turned back to look at me, her face expressionless, and extended her right hand. Only then did I notice her right hand and arm were covered in blood. It was still flowing down from her little finger, staining her entire hand. This indicated it was her own blood, not from a Yin Messenger. She was also injured.
"Do you need me to bandage it for you?" I asked.
Long Yue rolled her eyes at me. "Soul Reaping Token!"
"Oh." I yanked off the Soul Reaping Token and tossed it to her, feeling like a student whose forbidden toy had been confiscated by the teacher.
Long Yue used the Soul Reaping Token to wipe the blood from her palm, then tossed the token into the yellow mist. "Let's go."
It wasn't thrown far, but I dared not retrieve it. Her action clearly meant to tell me not to think about contacting the Underworld anymore. I entered the black gate with Long Yue and returned to the City God Temple area in the mortal realm. That little stray dog was standing not far away. Upon seeing me and Long Yue emerge, it immediately tucked its tail and fled.
The surrounding fallen cornfields were even more extensive than before. Especially around the City God Temple, there was a circular area of flattened corn stalks with a diameter of about thirty to forty meters. The stalks were pressed flat against the soil. Since the corn was ripe, I saw many cobs that had exploded into popcorn, scattered everywhere. I surmised that Long Yue might have used her "Buddha's Palm" technique. This palm technique contained immense energy, creating instant high temperature and pressure, which caused the corn to burst into popcorn.
It was a good business idea. Even if she didn't engage in such violent activities in the future, she could still make a living with her unique corn-popping skill.
I followed Long Yue out of the cornfield and back to the roadside.
Both cars were still waiting. The three Purple Qi experts hadn't even gotten out of their cars, content to play on their phones. Only when Long Yue returned did they get out to greet her, demonstrating how much they trusted their mistress's capabilities.
Getting into the business van, I dared not entertain any further selfish thoughts. Long Yue didn't say anything to me either. The car rejoined the highway and continued towards Siping.
Night soon fell. I had barely slept the previous night while treating Yaoyao. The business van also had the air conditioning on, and combined with the fragrance emanating from the women, I drifted from drowsiness into a deep sleep.
After an unknown period, a sudden brake jolted me awake. Opening my eyes, I saw the vehicle had stopped. The area outside the car window was as bright as day. A grayish-white building loomed before us, the very same small castle.
I rubbed my eyes and got out of the car. I saw a lean Caucasian man standing with his arms crossed in front of the castle entrance. I had seen him from a distance on the mountaintop the last time I was here. He was "Q of Hearts" from Shabia's wanted list, a polar bear demon named "Sheryosha." I wondered if he spoke Chinese.
Sheryosha looked at me with confusion and asked Long Yue something in Russian. Long Yue replied, and of course, I couldn't understand. Sheryosha then approached me and said in broken Chinese, "You little bastard, follow me!"
I followed Sheryosha into the castle and up to the second floor. He pushed me into a room and locked the door from the outside.
The room was lit. I looked around. Besides the door, there was only a small window on a curved wall, likely the outer wall of the castle. However, the window was elevated, over two meters high, and I couldn't see outside. I had to activate my Qi Perception technique to "see" that the three Purple Qi experts and the two van drivers had already left. Only Long Yue remained downstairs. Sheryosha's Blue Qi was also downstairs, not far from Long Yue's Grape Purple Qi. They seemed to be chatting. After about a minute, Sheryosha left the castle and went next door. Soon after, I heard the roar of a motorcycle engine from the window. Then, Sheryosha also left.
Inside the castle, only Long Yue, a so-called expert, remained. Downstairs, there were two other people, but they were both Red Qi and were busy in a small area, likely preparing food.
I deactivated my Qi Perception technique and began observing the room.
A bed, a cabinet, a table, and a chair—that was all. The floor and walls were solid stone. The door was wooden, but when it was opened, I saw the plank was at least ten centimeters thick, solid wood, difficult to break. The high window was too small; I estimated I couldn't even get my head through, and I don't know any bone-shrinking techniques. It seemed escape was out of the question.