Chapter 64: The Thunderstorm Approaches

Inside the prison transport vehicle.

Wu Xian kept looking left and right.

It wasn't until he confirmed that the transport vehicle's route was the same as last time, and that a black 'Ghesla electric car' was trailing closely behind, that he finally let out a sigh of relief.

This meant Wu Xian's plan was executing smoothly, and everything was developing along the preset trajectory.

Inside the vehicle, Wu Xian kept chattering incessantly, annoying the guards to no end. This was a warm-up exercise to ensure that when Wu Xian eventually said what he needed to say, it wouldn't seem too abrupt.

When he judged the distance was about right, Wu Xian put on a veteran's air.

"You two are rookies, aren't you? I'm a veteran detective, do you want to learn a trick or two from me?"

The guards didn't speak.

Judging from their expressions, however, Wu Xian knew they were tempted.

Young men in this profession are usually unwilling to settle for mere logistics work; they eagerly anticipate more passionate tasks, such as participating in the arrest of criminals. Therefore, Wu Xian's identity as a detective held great appeal for them.

Seeing that they didn't stop him, Wu Xian continued.

"Since this is a lesson, let me teach you a couple of tricks you can use right now. Do you know how to determine if your vehicle is being followed?"

"It's very simple: vary your speed, first thirty, then ninety. If the suspected vehicle remains right behind you, it means you're being tailed."

A guard couldn't help but chuckle: "Who doesn't know that? Do we need you to teach us?"

Wu Xian looked back. "If you knew, you wouldn't have failed to notice that Ghesla electric car trailing right behind our transport."

The expressions of the two guards and the driver changed drastically in an instant.

……

Under Wu Xian's guidance, the three guards realized someone was attempting to hijack the vehicle, and the transport sped up just before a sharp bend.

Suddenly, Wu Xian felt a wave of icy chill.

A cold wind howled, trying to drill into his body, but a matching chill erupted from within him as well. The two cold currents collided, lowering Wu Xian's body temperature by several degrees.

"Heh, they're here."

Boom!

The transport vehicle overturned.

Wu Xian, who had prepared in advance, used the two guards as human shields to absorb the shock of the rollover. Before the two men could react, he kicked them each in the head, rendering them unconscious.

Fortunately, these two guards were ordinary people, not ferocious beasts like those in the Golden Ink Ancient Pavilion, otherwise Wu Xian really wouldn't have been able to handle them so easily.

Next, instead of acting rashly, Wu Xian began to think.

He had started with three Flying Blade Talismans, capable of casting nine flying blade spells in total. He had used one to kill the person surnamed Jia, four to wipe out Wei Hao's entire family, and one to kill the barber.

Now he had three Flying Blade Talismans remaining.

Following the previous method used by the person surnamed Jia, he would use a flying blade spell to open the handcuffs and the van doors, and then another to slice the detective's pistol, but doing that would be……

Too wasteful.

Thus, Wu Xian began searching the guards' bodies for the keys to the handcuffs and door locks.

The reason the person surnamed Jia hadn't searched them was twofold:
First, he was pressed for time and had no idea what Wu Xian outside might do.
Second, he hadn't killed the barber, so he still had spare flying blade spells.
Third, in reality, those two keys weren't that easy to acquire.

However, Wu Xian knew clearly what was going to happen outside; second, he had no extra flying blade spells to waste; and third, the relevant departments in Xianwei City were inherently unprofessional.

After rummaging for a short while, Wu Xian found the keys, unlocked the handcuffs and door latch, and cracked the door open just enough to see Wei Hao approaching cautiously with a pistol in hand.

So Wu Xian picked up a guard's rifle and thrust it out through the gap.

Bang!

Bang!

Two shots rang out; Wei Hao's gun was knocked from his hand, and his thigh was struck.

The first two rounds fired from a guard's weapon were rubber bullets, designed merely to impair Wei Hao's ability to pursue rather than inflict crippling trauma.

Seizing the opportunity, Wu Xian kicked the door open and sprinted wildly through the wilderness, running until he reached the spot where he had previously buried his props.

He quickly retrieved the Demon-Revealing Mirror and the Skinning Razor, slipped on the strange vest, and finally let out a long breath.

A short while later, a limping Wei Hao caught up. Wu Xian spread his arms to signal that he harbored no hostility.

"Don't be nervous, I just want to talk to you."

Wei Hao said furiously, "Talk about what? You slaughtered my entire family, we have nothing to talk about."

Wu Xian smiled. "Dr. Wei, don't you feel like this world is a bit strange..."

The familiar dialogue unfolded once more.

Accompanied by Wu Xian's words, Wei Hao's eyes gradually widened as he approached a breakthrough realization.

Right at that moment, however, an abnormal disturbance stirred within Wu Xian's body.

"They're here!"

Taking advantage of the last fleeting moment he could still move, Wu Xian leaped desperately into Wei Hao's visual blind spot, and then he heard the evil spirits' voices.

"Darling."

"We can't wait any longer."

"You might as well die right now, so we can be reunited in the world of death!"

Eight arms burst forth from within Wu Xian's body, instantly pinning him firmly and clamping over his mouth to stifle any sound.

Wu Xian didn't panic, because that was exactly how the person surnamed Jia had died.

How could he possibly have failed to guard against this?

One of the middle arms squeezed Wu Xian tightly, pressing directly against the special vest, which immediately squirted out a jet of blood.

This was black dog blood!

The previous night, Wu Xian had prepared two makeshift blood bags and sealed them inside his clothing. Whenever the clothes were subjected to violent external force, the blood bags would rupture, coating whatever applied the pressure in black dog blood.

The arms restraining Wu Xian's upper body began to steam with white smoke, the burning pain forcing them to retract their grip.

Wu Xian's hands momentarily gained freedom. The Skinning Razor slid from his sleeve, and gripping the blade, he slashed fiercely—five arms were instantly severed and sent flying!

Ya He and the other evil spirits shrieked in pain, suffering severe injuries, and had no choice but to pull back their remaining three arms. The deadly bind was broken by Wu Xian in less than three seconds!

Watching those arms vanish into thin air, Wu Xian wore a satisfied smile.

He had evaded his destined death; the fate of the person surnamed Jia would not repeat itself through him.

Meanwhile, Wei Hao was still writhing in agony on the spot as the evil spirit inside his body struggled to burst out.

Wu Xian looked at Wei Hao, a fierce glint flashing in his eyes.

Should he just kill this guy?

After hesitating for a moment, Wu Xian discarded the murderous impulse.

If he killed him now, wouldn't it be just like that day's scenario—two living, one dead?

So Wu Xian adopted a different demeanor.

"I know you're in great pain right now, but please endure it for two more seconds, I have one sentence to say and then I'll leave."

"All of this is a loop. Me, you, and the person surnamed Jia are all trapped within the cycle. Memories are the key, and breaking the loop is the only way to survive."

Having finished this sentence, Wu Xian took off at a run, terrified that Wei Hao might chase after him and kill him.

Hearing this, Wei Hao's eyes were filled with shock.

Wu Xian's words unlocked many of his doubts, and in an instant, numerous things clicked into place in his mind.

Before he could delve deeper into thought, however, his gaze grew hazy. Four distinct pupils squeezed densely within his eye sockets, and like a heavily intoxicated drunkard, he staggered back toward his vehicle.

Dark clouds pressed down heavily.

It seemed a thunderstorm was about to break!