Chapter 56: Waylaying the Criminal

The attitudes of the four evil entities softened.

The stabbing pain in Wu Xian's chest also subsided.

He Ya rested her head on Wu Xian's shoulder, her rotting hand stroking the side of his face. "My dear, we were husband and wife after all. How could I ever force you to do something you don't wish to do?"

The two bloody old fogies in the back seat also adopted gentler tones.

"Son, if you truly don't want to kill him, we won't force you."

"However, the murderer must die!"

Xu Xiaoyan chimed in with wide eyes.

"Yes, the murderer must die! I want to eat everything inside his stomach!"

"You... really aren't picky about what you eat."

Seeing that all his family members agreed, Wu Xian breathed a sigh of relief. This way, he could proceed with his plan without worry.

As they spoke, the car had already left the city.

Seeing no other vehicles ahead or behind, Wu Xian began to ponder how to force the leading vehicle to a stop without leaving a trace.

Within the city, traffic was heavy.

Wu Xian could use the cover of other vehicles to trail the prison transport van inconspicuously.

Once outside the city, however,

not a single car could be seen for long stretches. The slightest alertness from the people inside the van would expose his tail.

Sure enough.

Scarcely had they cleared the city when the transport van ahead began testing him by varying its speed, signaling that they had realized they were being followed.

Wu Xian instantly realized he could not drag this out any longer.

Otherwise, once they called for backup, let alone killing the criminal, he himself would likely end up behind bars.

Suddenly.

The transport van accelerated sharply.

Wu Xian hurriedly thrust his fingers out of the car window, preparing to use the Flying Blade Curse to destroy the van's tires and force it to a halt.

Yet at that very moment,

his Guandi electric car suddenly felt lighter, gaining a burst of speed!

Glancing in the rearview mirror, Wu Xian saw that the back seat was now completely empty. Up ahead, through the rear window of the transport van, the old woman Ye Shuxia—her neck torn by a massive, gaping wound—was waving mechanically at him.

"It seems I won't need to waste a Flying Blade Curse to stop them."

...

Inside the transport van.

Aside from the criminal, there were two prison guards and a driver.

Right now, all of their expressions were tense.

Initially, they hadn't paid much attention to the electric car trailing behind them.

However, ever since leaving the city, the criminal had been constantly chattering away, making the vehicle behind them look more and more suspicious to their eyes. Following a few probing maneuvers, they had grown fully on guard against a potential jailbreak.

Prompted by the criminal, the driver pressed down on the accelerator, and the van gradually picked up speed.

Yet no sooner had they accelerated than the driver spotted a bend up ahead, prompting him to frantically brake for the turn.

Suddenly,

the driver felt a strange discomfort in his eyes and quickly rubbed them.

When he opened them again, he found a pale face with a torn, smiling mouth hanging upside down right in front of him.

With a bizarre, twisted posture, the woman was clinging to the ceiling of the van's front cabin, extending a blood-stained arm to point downward toward the brake pedal.

With a blank expression, the driver looked down.

He saw a petite female ghost with a massive hole in her abdomen squeezed into the cramped space below. Her ruptured torso faced the driver's face, while her tiny palm pointed straight at the brake.

"Ah... AAAAAH!"

The poor driver finally broke, letting out a shriek of absolute terror.

His expression twisted beyond description, his throat nearly tearing from his screams, his lips trembling uncontrollably. Sweat poured down his face like a waterfall as he squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his foot onto the brakes with every ounce of strength he possessed.

High speed, a sharp curve, and a sudden brake...

The transport van flipped onto its side, smashing a gaping hole through the guardrail by the roadside!

...

Wu Xian brought his car to a halt.

His gaze was pitch-black and gloomy.

The transport van had stopped, saving him a use of the Flying Blade Curse.

Yet this was hardly a cause for celebration.

Ever since the curse had been planted,

those four evil entities had initially only manifested occasionally—accompanying Wu Xian as he slept, asserting their presence in mirrors, simply trying to scare him.

Back then, their expressions had been utterly dull. They even mimicked brushing their teeth without using a toothbrush, driven entirely by instinct.

Later on, they had been able to toy with the four detectives inside the car. Xu Xiaoyan had even tried to absorb a handsome man's primordial yang, and they had successfully guided Wu Xian along his route, their movements growing far more agile with every passing moment.

But just now!

Those four evil entities had actually communicated rationally. Moreover, unlike before when they were unable to affect reality, they had managed to flip a moving transport van onto its side simply by terrifying the driver.

The speed of their evolution was terrifyingly rapid!

What would they become in two more days?

A sense of urgency gripped Wu Xian's eyes. He had to kill these four things as quickly as possible; otherwise, as they grew increasingly powerful, these four entities would inevitably devour him!

After pondering for a moment,

Wu Xian stepped out of the car, only to hear the sounds of a struggle echoing from the transport van.

As the scuffling died down,

*Pop!*

With a crisp sound, the door of the transport van swung open.

The criminal stretched his arms and strolled out of the van with a leisurely demeanor, while the two guards and the driver inside had all passed out cold.

Seeing Wu Xian standing outside the door, the criminal showed no surprise, greeting him with a relaxed expression.

"Hi, we meet again."

"Tell me, are you here to rescue me, to kill me, or simply to have a heart-to-heart chat?"

Wu Xian drew the chief inspector's service pistol, making his stance clear.

Yet just as he raised it to fire, a fierce gust of wind flashed past, and his handgun was sliced cleanly in half right down the middle!

Subconsciously hurling the broken firearm away, Wu Xian's pupils dilated sharply.

This criminal was no ordinary person!

And the technique he had just used...

"Don't be nervous."

The criminal relaxed, spreading his arms wide to signal that he possessed zero hostility.

"I won't hurt you. I just want to have a talk."

Wu Xian sneered, "Talk about what? Your reflections on murdering my entire family?"

The criminal smiled.

"Doctor Xu, don't you think there's something a little strange about this world?"

Wu Xian fell silent. Those words struck straight at the core of his own suspicions.

"Have you ever wondered why someone like me, a dignified chief inspector, ended up in this state?"

"The only reason I'm willing to talk to you is because earlier, when I brought the prisoner 'Wei Hao' to you for a psychological evaluation, you told me that Wei Hao wasn't lying."

"Now I'm telling you too: during my interrogation at the psychiatric hospital this morning, I wasn't lying either. The reason I killed your family was because, in my eyes, they genuinely were evil entities, which is why I..."

As Wu Xian listened,

a sudden chill washed over his entire body, and a bolt of lightning flashed through his mind.

Swallowing hard, Wu Xian asked, "You said... you previously brought Wei Hao to see me for a psychological assessment?"

The criminal froze as well, staring at Wu Xian with a bizarre expression.

"Well, obviously?"

Gritting his teeth, Wu Xian demanded, "Aren't you Wei Hao?"

The criminal seemed to have realized something as well, his voice growing unsteady.

"How could I possibly be Wei Hao? I am Inspector Jia with the surname Jia!"