Chapter 190 - 189: Baiting Her?

Chapter 190: Chapter 189: Baiting Her?

After gassing up, the group officially set off.

Miao Yan was full of energy and drove like a speed demon, blasting incredibly loud, high-energy music in the car.

Gu Qingyin was handling it well, even singing along for a line or two from time to time.

Liu Ergou couldn’t quite get into it, but he didn’t mind it either, so he just listened quietly.

The only one suffering was Elder Miao.

Being older, his body had its share of aches and pains. He felt his heart thumping in time with the music’s beat, pounding faster and faster.

Looking up at the father-and-son duo swaying to the rhythm on the car’s hood, Elder Miao felt it wouldn’t be long before he joined them.

Fortunately, the raucous music didn’t last long. Just as they got off the highway and turned onto a rural road, Gu Qingyin’s gaze sharpened and she suddenly said, "Stop the car!"

Miao Yan didn’t even consider whether parking was allowed there or if he’d get points on his license. He immediately pulled over, turned on the hazard lights with a surprising display of safety awareness, and even placed a warning triangle a short distance behind the car.

Gu Qingyin got out of the car and headed straight for an abandoned yellow shared bike on the side of the road.

The indicator light on the handlebars was red, meaning it had likely been abandoned after the battery died.

’It should have been a common enough sight, but this place was in the middle of nowhere. Who would be crazy enough to ride a shared bike onto the highway? Don’t they lose power once they’re outside the service area?’

In any case, Gu Qingyin found it highly suspicious.

"Yun Jing," Gu Qingyin called out to the ghost. "Come out and help me take a look."

’Better to be safe than sorry. It won’t take more than a few minutes anyway.’

The baby ghost’s eyes widened slightly as it burrowed fearfully into its father’s arms.

Kong Xu patted its head reassuringly.

Huo Yunjing materialized.

There was naturally no trace of energy left on the bike. The person who used it had been very cautious, clearing away all residual traces of their presence.

This suggested the rider wasn’t an ordinary person and had a guilty conscience, making it highly likely that it was Chen Ling.

Huo Yunjing took out a Ghost Talisman. When he lit it, it burned with a pale blue flame and released thick black smoke.

It was no exaggeration to say the smoke was so thick, it looked less like it came from a single thin slip of paper and more like an entire building was burning down.

The Heavenly Masters present said nothing, but their expressions were all grim.

The black smoke was so malevolent it caused them both physical and psychological discomfort.

Before long, the entire area was shrouded in black smoke, so dark it no longer felt like daytime.

At the same time, a RUSTLING sound came from the surrounding woods, as if something was slowly approaching.

The other Heavenly Masters instinctively grew vigilant. Only Gu Qingyin remained relaxed and curious. ’Huo Yunjing is here, after all. Getting nervous would be a show of distrust in my man.’

When the first ghost soul appeared, the Heavenly Masters let out a dismissive sigh of relief. But then a second appeared, then a third, a fourth... one after another, rogue ghosts emerged. In moments, they were surrounded!

Miao Yan and Elder Miao’s expressions grew solemn, each trying to pull the other behind them for protection.

Liu Ergou swallowed nervously, looking left and right before deciding to address the source of the problem. "Qing Yin, why did your husband summon so many ghosts?"

Gu Qingyin propped her chin on her hand and mused for a few seconds. "He probably wants to ask if there were any eyewitnesses... of the ghostly variety."

’The energy on the bike was cleared, but the one thing the wilderness isn’t short on is wandering spirits. It’s possible one of them saw something.’

It’s just that Heavenly Masters and ghost souls have never been on friendly terms. The culprits probably never expected their pursuers would have a ghost’s help—let alone the Ghost King’s.

A Heavenly Master’s soul is far more "delicious" to ghosts than a normal person’s. The surrounding spirits salivated at the people within the circle, but intimidated by Huo Yunjing’s power, not a single ghost dared to make a move.

Huo Yunjing pointed impassively at the yellow shared bike. "Did any of you see who rode this here?"

The surrounding ghost souls looked at each other, unable to answer.

After several seconds of silence, a timid voice piped up from the back. "I... I saw it..."

The ghosts in front immediately parted, revealing a very frail little ghost who looked to be in his teens. He must have starved to death; his soul body was unnaturally thin, like a beanpole.

Huo Yunjing beckoned, and the little ghost walked over apprehensively.

Gu Qingyin immediately pulled out her phone, found a photo of Chen Ling, and asked, "Was it this person?"

The little ghost glanced at it, first nodding, then shaking his head.

Gu Qingyin raised an eyebrow. "Well, which is it?"

The little ghost flinched. "The bike wasn’t hers, it belonged to the other person. This one ran out of battery, so they both left on the other bike."

’Another person?’

Gu Qingyin looked surprised and glanced at Elder Miao, but he also looked completely baffled. He clearly didn’t know about a second person.

The same went for Miao Yan and Liu Ergou, as the information they had received was identical to Gu Qingyin’s.

"Man or woman?" Huo Yunjing asked.

Kong Xu’s gaze also sharpened, clearly very interested in the answer.

The little ghost said, "A woman."

Kong Xu let out a sigh of relief, but then laughed self-deprecatingly. ’What does it matter if it was a man or a woman? Chen Ling never loved me. She was just using me.’

Gu Qingyin fell into thought again.

’Chen Ling is a wanted fugitive now,’ Gu Qingyin mused. ’There’s no place for her to hide in the country. Anyone associated with her would attract suspicion.’

’No respectable person would be so reckless. Only another fugitive wouldn’t care. After all, the enemy of my enemy is my friend.’

Another woman, a fugitive... Gu Qingyin could only think of one person. She looked down at her phone, found what she was looking for, and showed it to the little ghost.

The little ghost studied it carefully and nodded repeatedly. "That’s her!"

Gu Qingyin couldn’t believe it. Dongfang Ran, who hadn’t been seen in so long, was found just like that? ’This is too easy!’ she thought. ’So easy, it feels like a trap!’

’Could these two conniving women be teaming up to set a trap for me?’

Unsure, she turned to Huo Yunjing. "What do you think?"

Huo Yunjing was supremely confident. "We’ll know once we chase them down."

Gu Qingyin smiled. "Then let’s go."

’Trap or not, if they dare to bait me, they’d better be prepared for me to bite back. And if it isn’t a trap... well, I have to catch them anyway. After all, the rewards for both Dongfang Ran and Chen Ling are quite high.’

Dongfang Ran was also connected to Lin Wu and his master, as well as Xian Yu Fei and that fake monk.

It was like pulling one radish and getting all the mud with it. If they caught one, they wouldn’t have to worry about finding clues for the others.

Huo Yunjing waved his hand, dissipating the black smoke. The surrounding ghost souls all scattered.

The little ghost was also about to leave. He had just turned around when a dense and pure stream of ghost energy was injected into him, and his soul body’s presence instantly became much stronger.

The little ghost whipped his head around, both surprised and delighted.

Huo Yunjing said impassively, "Consider it payment."

The little ghost bowed gratefully to Huo Yunjing, then left, completely satisfied.

Everyone got back in the car. Just as they were about to resume the chase, the baby ghost started acting up again. It pointed its puffy finger at its slightly open mouth and babbled, "Ah, ah, ah."

Kong Xu translated, "It’s hungry. It wants to eat."

The Heavenly Masters paused, all turning to look at Huo Yunjing with a hint of accusation in their eyes.

’Of all the things you could have given that little ghost,’ they seemed to think, ’you just had to give it ghost energy. Now this little one has its mind set on it.’

Huo Yunjing’s expression darkened as he stared at the baby ghost. "You want to die?"

The baby ghost immediately fell silent and looked away indignantly. ’That’s the only trick you know!’ it seemed to think.