396-400

Chapter 396: The Curse  

"Master, what is a curse?"  

After all, having followed Lin Jiuying across many regions, even hunting zombies in London, Ah Hao had seen quite a bit.  

Inside the room, although Terra's corpse was horrifying, it wasn’t enough to make Ah Hao speechless with fear.  

He swallowed hard, shifted his gaze away from Terra’s lifeless face, and turned to Lin Jiuying to ask.  

"A curse is a type of Southeast Asian sorcery. It specializes in using deadly poisons, insects, and even human bones and blood in rituals. In my early years, I encountered practitioners of this art. Most of them, after prolonged exposure to such sorcery, developed evil thoughts and fell into darkness..."  

"Since curses often involve malevolent spirits, the victims usually die in an extremely gruesome manner. In some cases, their very flesh is devoured by the dark forces at work."  

Hearing Lin Jiuying’s explanation, Ah Hao forced himself to suppress the discomfort rising in his chest and glanced again at the wound on Terra's chest. As expected, there were signs of gnawing.  

Although their target had been killed by a curse, this only confirmed that Lin Jiuying and his team were on the right track.  

Otherwise, the culprit wouldn’t have rushed to use a curse to eliminate Terra before they could get to him.  

As for how the enemy became aware of their investigation, Lin Jiuying suspected it had something to do with him destroying the Concealing Buddha on the dark amulet. Curses were unpredictable, and even he couldn't fully understand all their intricacies.  

"Master, what should we do now?"  

Standing inside the room, staring at Terra’s corpse, Ah Hao couldn’t help but ask.  

Their goal had been to find the person who originally sold the dark amulet to Old Qian. Now, though they had found their lead, the man was clearly in no condition to tell them anything about the amulet’s origins.  

"There is still one way."  

Hearing his disciple's question, Lin Jiuying glanced down at Terra’s corpse, frowning.  

"Just because he's dead doesn’t mean he can’t still speak."  

As he spoke, Lin Jiuying pulled a talisman from his robes.  

"By the power of the divine, spirits shall be halted. If they resist, mountains shall crumble. Speak the sacred incantation—let the celestial forces manifest, let the warrior gods heed my call, let the spirits reveal themselves!"  

Chanting the summoning spell, Lin Jiuying stepped over the corpse and stood where its head was pointing. He flipped his palm, and the talisman ignited without fire, turning to ash that scattered onto Terra’s face.  

"Appear!"  

Having completed the ritual, Lin Jiuying pointed at the corpse and commanded firmly.  

“……”  

Normally, at this point, the corpse should have opened its mouth to reveal its final moments.  

However, the body remained motionless, completely unresponsive.  

After holding his stance for an awkward ten seconds, Lin Jiuying coughed lightly and withdrew his hand.  

"It seems the one who cast the curse was extremely cautious. Not only did they kill him, but they also made sure his spirit was destroyed."  

"Does that mean Old Qian is in danger next?"  

Realizing even his master was powerless in this case, Ah Hao blurted out his concern.  

"You can't just let him die, Jiuying!"  

Hearing Ah Hao's words, Old Qian's face immediately filled with panic.  

"You have to help me!"  

"Don't worry, things aren’t that bad yet."  

Calming the frightened Old Qian, Lin Jiuying glanced down at Terra’s body again.  

The caster was extremely careful, rendering his usual techniques useless. That left only one option—an unconventional approach.  

"Ah Hao."  

Lin Jiuying suddenly called out to his disciple.  

"Yes, Master?"  

For some reason, Ah Hao suddenly felt an ominous feeling creep up his spine.  

"Lie down!"  

And in the next second, his premonition was proven right.  

Lin Jiuying pointed to a spot beside the corpse and instructed.  

"Uh… Master, is that really necessary?"  

Ah Hao's eyes fell on Terra’s lifeless face, his complexion turning just as pale.  

"What do you think?"  

Lin Jiuying didn’t explain further. He simply gave him a look, and Ah Hao, who had been considering arguing, immediately wore a miserable expression and reluctantly lay down beside the corpse.  

Initially, he left a two-meter gap between himself and the body, but under Lin Jiuying’s silent gaze, he scooted closer, inch by inch.  

Lying next to a corpse—especially one cursed to death—was enough to make anyone uneasy. Who knew if the curse still lingered?  

Despite his growing dread, Ah Hao obeyed his master’s instructions.  

"Keep your legs together, cross your arms, and don’t move…"  

Once Ah Hao positioned himself correctly, Lin Jiuying turned his attention back to Terra’s corpse.  

He muttered a silent apology to the dead, then pulled out two talismans. One he placed on Ah Hao’s forehead, the other on the corpse’s.  

As he worked, he explained to Ah Hao,  

"Even though he's dead and his soul has been erased, a victim of murder often retains residual energy—either death energy or resentment. What I’m about to do is draw out that residual energy to see if we can get any useful clues."  

With that, Lin Jiuying dipped his fingers in Terra’s wound, using the blood to draw a symbol on the talisman on Ah Hao’s forehead. Then, he pricked Ah Hao’s finger, letting a few drops of blood fall onto the corpse’s talisman, marking a matching but mirrored symbol.  

Upon closer inspection, one symbol faced left, while the other faced right.  

Once everything was in place, Lin Jiuying sat cross-legged and began chanting another incantation.  

At the same time, he placed one hand on the talisman on Terra’s forehead and the other on Ah Hao’s.  

"The essence of the Eight Trigrams, summon the divine warriors! Sit in peace, hear my spell, appear without delay! All shall be revealed, no secrets shall remain!"  

As Lin Jiuying chanted, Ah Hao’s eyes suddenly glazed over.  

He blinked, trying to speak, but just as he opened his mouth, a strange thought invaded his mind.  

Before he could stop himself, he mumbled,  

"Challenge of the Haunted Night..."  

Chapter 397: Captured  

“Challenge: Night of Ghosts?”  

Spitting out the lingering resentment from Terra, Ah Hao’s previously dazed consciousness quickly cleared up.  

However, a single breath of resentment clearly wasn’t enough to contain too much information.  

Frowning, Lin Jiuying repeated Ah Hao’s words, his expression somewhat puzzled.  

Generally speaking, a person’s final breath before death often holds their deepest memories—most of them tied to strong obsessions.  

Yet, what remained in Terra’s resentment was something rather peculiar.  

Just from the phrase "Challenge: Night of Ghosts," Lin Jiuying couldn’t immediately determine its connection to Terra’s death.  

Inside the house, as Lin Jiuying pondered the hidden meaning behind those words, a sudden commotion erupted outside.  

“Master, it sounds like someone’s coming.”  

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Ah Hao stood up from the floor. Hearing the noise from outside, he immediately turned to Lin Jiuying with a warning.  

Hearing Ah Hao’s words, Old Qian, who had been covering his mouth in shock, didn’t react at first. But in the next moment, his expression drastically changed. He glanced at Terra’s horrific corpse on the floor and then at Lin Jiuying and his apprentice.  

“This is bad! We need to go, Jiuying! If we don’t leave now, it’ll be too late…”  

Inside the house stood three living men and one gruesome corpse. If someone unaware of the situation saw this scene, it would be a disaster.  

Even though Old Qian reacted quickly, it was still too late.  

Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the half-closed door was suddenly pushed open.  

“Police! Don’t move!”  

Several uniformed officers burst into the house. Their eyes landed on Terra’s corpse—his grotesque death scene shocking even for experienced officers. Drawing their guns, they pointed them at the three men, their expressions tense as they shouted warnings.  

Anyone capable of committing such a brutal murder clearly wasn’t an ordinary person.  

“Master…”  

Standing frozen in place, Ah Hao looked at the dark gun barrels aimed at them. Panic spread across his face as he turned toward Lin Jiuying.  

“Old Qian, explain to them. Tell these Thai officers that we didn’t kill anyone.”  

Although Lin Jiuying couldn’t understand the policemen’s frantic shouts, their aggressive postures made it clear what was happening.  

Standing still to avoid provoking them, he spoke calmly to Old Qian.  

“Officers, this is all a misunderstanding!”  

Hearing Lin Jiuying’s request, Old Qian hesitated for a moment before glancing at the gun barrels pointed at them. Swallowing hard, he slowly raised his hands to show cooperation and spoke in Thai.  

“We didn’t kill him! In fact, we just got here. When we entered, the body was already lying on the floor.”  

Old Qian’s cooperative attitude eased the officers’ wariness slightly.  

They narrowed their eyes, scanning Terra’s horrific corpse and then scrutinizing the three men.  

Indeed, as Old Qian said, if these men were the killers, it was strange that they had no blood on them at all.  

Moreover, from Lin Jiuying’s earlier words, they realized these men were Chinese.  

If this case involved foreigners, it would make an already troublesome situation even more complicated.  

The thought gave the officers a headache.  

Just as the lead officer hesitated over what to do next, one of his sharp-eyed subordinates seemed to notice something. Pressing his lips together, he leaned in and whispered in the officer’s ear.  

Hearing his subordinate’s report, the lead officer’s sun-darkened face revealed a look of surprise. He glanced back at Terra’s corpse, took a deep breath, and gave his command.  

“Handcuff them and take them in! Also, call forensics to secure the scene.”  

Outside the House 

Nearby, rubber plantation workers noticed the police surrounding the small house and whispered among themselves.  

“What’s going on?”  

“No idea, I just saw the police too.”  

“Haven’t you heard? Terra is dead.”  

“What?! Terra is dead? When did this happen? I just saw him yesterday hauling rubber barrels.”  

“I heard it happened today. Someone saw a few people rush into his house, and then he was dead…”  

“Was it those three who came this morning? I saw them when I was brushing my teeth.”  

Upon hearing the description, a worker’s face turned pale with fear.  

“I can’t believe it… In just a few hours, they actually killed Terra.”  

“Yeah… It’s terrifying.”  

“By the way, why would they kill Terra?”  

“Who knows? But I bet it’s because he lost a gamble, owed money, and they came to collect.”  

“I knew it… Terra was bound to die because of his gambling.”  

“No kidding.”  

“Damn, now that I think about it… Terra borrowed 300 baht from me and never paid it back.”  

“What’s the point of saying that now? He’s dead.”  

Amid the mix of truth and speculation, the workers watched as the police led the three men out of Terra’s house.  

“They’re coming out…”  

“It’s them, right? The ones who killed Terra?”  

“Are you sure? I see an old man among them.”  

“So what? Maybe he’s the mastermind. Haven’t you seen movies? The villain is always some old guy with white hair calling the shots.”  

“Good point. That must mean the other two are his enforcers.”  

“Obviously. Look at that guy with the thick eyebrows—his face is so fierce. He’s definitely a cold-blooded killer. Terra was probably murdered by him…”  

Inside the Police Vehicle 

With their wrists locked in silver handcuffs and police guns aimed at them, Lin Jiuying, Ah Hao, and Old Qian were escorted toward the police vehicle.  

If Lin Jiuying wanted to, he could easily break free from the cuffs—after all, simple handcuffs couldn’t restrain a true Maoshan Taoist.  

However, considering the situation, escaping would only make things worse. Besides, even if he fled successfully, Old Qian and his disciple wouldn’t be able to do the same.  

After thinking it through, Lin Jiuying decided to cooperate and let the Thai police take them in.  

“Master… What do we do now? Are we really just going to the police station like this?”  

As the police pushed them into the car, Ah Hao glanced around, then looked down at his handcuffs with a bitter expression.  

“Stay calm and observe.”  

Lin Jiuying sat in the vehicle, his face steady as he replied.  

Chapter 398: Catching a Turtle in a Jar  

At the same time that Lin Jiuying and the other two were being escorted into the police car, a figure dressed as a monk silently withdrew his gaze and retreated into the crowd.  

...  

"Name?"  

"..."  

"Age?"  

"..."  

Bangkok, police station.  

Inside the interrogation room, the police officer questioning the silent Taoist frowned and spoke coldly.  

"Don't think that staying silent will help you. Your attitude will only make things worse. You’d better cooperate and answer the questions, or else the next person handling this interrogation won’t be as patient as I am..."  

The officer was clearly experienced in dealing with uncooperative suspects, so he didn’t resort to any aggressive actions. Instead, he spoke in a calm but firm tone.  

"…Sorry, I don’t understand Thai."  

Sitting in the interrogation room, Lin Jiuying looked at the officer speaking to him in rapid Thai, his face showing helplessness as he shook his head and responded.  

Even though he didn’t understand the content of the officer’s words, he could sense the warning tone in his voice.  

"Don’t think that pretending not to understand Thai will let you get away with this."  

At first, the police officer didn’t fully believe Lin Jiuying’s response.  

On the contrary, he suspected it was just a stalling tactic.  

"Lin Jiuying, Chinese national, from Hong Kong."  

When an officer brought in the suspect’s file, the interrogating officer glanced at the passport details and finally realized that Lin Jiuying wasn’t lying—he really didn’t understand Thai.  

"Why didn’t you tell me this sooner?"  

The officer felt embarrassed as he recalled how he had just spent a good amount of time talking at length in Thai, even playing the "bad cop" role to intimidate the suspect—only to realize that Lin Jiuying hadn’t understood a word of it.  

He had essentially been performing a monologue the entire time.  

"We only just learned about it from another suspect."  

The suspect in question was, of course, Lao Qian.  

In fact, he was the only one among the three who understood Thai—after all, he had lived in Bangkok’s Chinatown for years.  

From Lao Qian’s testimony, it was confirmed that the three had little connection to Taira’s death.  

Two of them had only arrived in Thailand the day before, and Lao Qian himself had lived in Chinatown for decades. Their only link to the victim, Taira, was that Lao Qian had purchased a Buddha amulet from him a few days earlier.  

They had gone to see Taira because Lao Qian had discovered that the amulet he bought was a fake.  

Who would have thought that as soon as they found him, they would also find his corpse?  

The first half of Lao Qian’s testimony seemed reasonable.  

But the latter part—where he claimed that Taira was killed by black magic—made the interrogating officer raise an eyebrow.  

"Amulets? Black magic?"  

Did Lao Qian think this was a movie?  

Reading the part where Lao Qian insisted that black magic had killed Taira, the officer shook his head.  

"You actually recorded such an absurd statement?"  

"We had no choice. That guy was adamant that everything he said was true. No matter how we questioned him, he wouldn’t change his story."  

The officer who brought the file also shook his head.  

"So what’s the department’s decision?"  

The interrogating officer asked.  

Even though much of Lao Qian’s testimony sounded like nonsense, it at least suggested that the three were unlikely to be the murderers.  

"The police chief wants to wait for the autopsy report. If it confirms they had nothing to do with the death, we’ll release them. After all, two of them are Chinese nationals, and the other has immigrated. We need to handle this carefully to avoid an international incident."  

When dealing with a homicide case involving foreign nationals, the police had to tread cautiously—it could easily escalate into a diplomatic issue.  

"And until the results come out?"  

"They’ll remain in custody."  

...  

"Master!" 

Bangkok, police station holding cell.  

Several hours later, the three were finally reunited.  

As the officers brought him into the holding area, Lin Jiuying immediately heard his disciple, A-Hao, calling out to him from the adjacent cell. He then turned and noticed Lao Qian sitting on the other side.  

"How are you holding up, Lao Qian? Did they give you a hard time?"  

"Not really. They didn’t mistreat me or anything, but the officers don’t seem to believe my testimony."  

Lao Qian sighed and shook his head at Lin Jiuying’s question.  

He had been completely honest with the Thai police, but they clearly found his account difficult to believe.  

"As long as they didn’t rough you up, that’s what matters."  

Lin Jiuying’s eyes flickered slightly.  

He glanced around at the holding cell’s sparse furnishings. As a temporary detention space, it was extremely basic—just a single wooden cot.  

"It doesn’t matter if they believe us or not. They’ll soon realize that everything you said was true..."  

Leaning against the wall of his cell, Lao Qian’s expression shifted slightly.  

"Jiuying, what do you mean?"  

"Don’t you think this is all a bit too much of a coincidence, Lao Qian?"**  

Lin Jiuying furrowed his brows and spoke in a deep voice.  

"We had barely discovered the body when the police arrived. The place wasn’t even in downtown Bangkok—it was a remote rubber plantation. If no one had reported it, how could the police have arrived so quickly?"  

Hearing this analysis, Lao Qian’s expression changed in realization.  

It was true—the police response had been unusually fast, completely unlike their usual sluggish reputation. Having lived in Bangkok for so many years, he had never seen them act so swiftly before.  

"Master, are you saying that someone set us up?"  

In the adjacent cell, A-Hao pressed against the wall, unable to contain his impatience after hearing Lin Jiuying’s theory.  

"But why would they do this? We didn’t kill anyone. Even if we’re locked up for now, once the autopsy results are out, the truth will come to light soon enough."  

"Maybe their goal isn’t to frame us for the murder, but simply to keep us trapped here—like catching turtles in a jar."  

Looking down at the handcuffs on his wrists, Lin Jiuying’s frown deepened. His thick eyebrows furrowed into a straight line.  

Chapter 399: The Flying Head Curse  

Bangkok, Police Detention Room.  

Ah Hao leaned against the bars with a bitter expression, staring blankly at the iron door of the detention room, utterly bored.  

If someone had told him the day before that he’d be spending the second day of his Thailand trip in a Bangkok police station, he never would have believed it. He had been so excited about this trip, thinking he could finally enjoy himself. But as soon as he arrived in Thailand, he ended up playing a game of mahjong with a bunch of ghosts, only to be thrown into the police station’s holding cell right after.  

To say his travel experience was terrible would be an understatement.  

Inside the same cramped detention cell, his master, Lin Jiuying, sat on the bed with his eyes closed, meditating.  

Compared to his restless apprentice, the master was clearly far more patient.  

“Sigh…”  

From the far-left iron cage, Old Qian let out a deep sigh.  

He had lived in Chinatown for decades, but this was his first time in a police station. Without a doubt, this was the work of black magic.  

As night fell, a dim light flickered inside the detention room.  

“These cops don’t even bother bringing us food,” Ah Hao grumbled, clutching his empty stomach as he glanced up at the aging light bulb above.  

“Even prisoners have to eat, right?”  

“Besides, we’re not even real criminals. Why aren’t they giving us anything to eat?”  

His complaints echoed in the quiet room.  

Rubbing his stomach, he slumped against the bars, his eyes fixed expectantly on the iron door as if waiting for food to appear.  

Just then, a strange rustling sound broke the silence.  

Crunch, crunch—  

Crunch, crunch, crunch—  

The noise was unsettling, like the sound of someone gnawing on a stone with their teeth.  

“Is there a rat?”  

Hearing the sound, Ah Hao curiously glanced around, thinking a rat must be chewing on something nearby.  

“It’s here!”  

However, from the adjacent room, Lin Jiuying, who had been meditating with his eyes closed, suddenly snapped them open and spoke.  

The moment his voice fell—  

The tightly locked iron door of the detention room was violently torn open. In the next instant, a floating black shadow shot straight into the room.  

After entering, the shadow hovered midair, circling a few times as if searching for something. Then, it abruptly stopped and turned toward Lin Jiuying and the others, revealing a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth.  

“M-Master…”  

Ah Hao’s eyes were immediately drawn to the intruder.  

Under the dim yellow glow of the detention room’s light, he quickly saw the shadow’s true form.  

But instead of feeling reassured, his fear intensified.  

Floating in midair was a single, severed head, its bloody organs dangling from the exposed neck, making the sight even more horrifying.  

“W-What the hell is that…?”  

Ah Hao’s face twisted in terror as he stammered, turning toward his master for answers.  

“If I’m not mistaken, this is the legendary Flying Head Curse,” Lin Jiuying said grimly.  

From the moment he heard the eerie noise, he had already stood up, prepared for what was coming.  

Now, staring at the grotesque, disembodied head and its bloody, trailing organs, he furrowed his brows and explained.  

Back when they found the body in the rubber plantation, Lin Jiuying had already suspected the presence of Jiangtou sorcery. He had a hunch that a dark sorcerer (Jiangtou Master) was behind it.  

But he hadn’t expected the sorcerer to be this powerful—to have mastered one of the most sinister and deadly forms of black magic: the Flying Head Curse.  

The legend of the Flying Head Curse originated from ancient texts like Soushen Ji, which described a mythical people called the Luotou Clan. By day, they looked like ordinary humans, but at night, when everyone was asleep, their necks would stretch unnaturally long, allowing their heads to detach completely from their bodies. The head would then roam freely until dawn, when it would return and reattach to the body, leaving no trace of its nocturnal activities.  

While the Luotou Clan might just be an old folktale, dark sorcerers (Jiangtou Masters) had seemingly turned legend into reality through powerful spells.  

The practice of the Flying Head Curse was said to be extraordinarily gruesome and dangerous, often resulting in death if not performed correctly.  

First, the sorcerer would use incantations to sever their own head. Unlike the Luotou Clan from the legends, a true Flying Head Curse practitioner’s detached head would remain connected to their internal organs by long, trailing entrails.  

The head would then roam the night, consuming fresh blood—drinking from cats, dogs, or humans, depending on what it encountered. The more blood it consumed, the stronger the curse became. At dawn, the head would return to the body, reattaching seamlessly.  

And that was only the beginning.  

As the curse progressed, the sorcerer would gain increasing control over their flying head, eventually reaching a point where it could fully detach without relying on the body. By then, the head would have developed razor-sharp teeth, capable of biting through stone and metal.  

But what truly made the Flying Head Curse so sinister wasn’t just its gruesome nature.  

To maintain the power of the curse, the sorcerer had to feed on the unborn fetuses of pregnant women every forty-nine days. Failing to do so would not only weaken the curse but also lead to the sorcerer’s own death.  

Because of its horrifying requirements and extreme limitations, the Flying Head Curse remained rare and was never widely practiced.  

However, those who successfully mastered it were said to be nearly invincible—immune to conventional magic and even capable of achieving immortality. As long as their flying head remained intact, the sorcerer would never age or die.  

“Flying Head Curse…?”  

Ah Hao swallowed hard as he listened to Lin Jiuying’s explanation.  

He turned to look again at the grotesque, blood-drenched head floating in midair, its menacing grin sending chills down his spine.  

“Master… if this thing is as powerful as you say… then aren’t we doomed?”  

“The stories surrounding the Flying Head Curse are mostly legend,” Lin Jiuying replied. “There are very few dark sorcerers to begin with, and even fewer who have mastered this technique. Besides, Maoshan Taoist magic is not to be underestimated.”  

As he spoke, a click echoed through the room.  

The metal handcuffs that had been tightly locked around Lin Jiuying’s wrists suddenly snapped open and clattered to the floor.  

Rolling his wrists to loosen them, he fixed his gaze on the monstrous head.  

“And judging by the way this thing came straight for us… it’s clear that we were its target all along.”  

Chapter 400: Invulnerable to Blades and Bullets  

"What’s happening?"  

"There’s a monster! A monster has broken into the police station!"  

"A head—I just saw a head flying through the air!"  

"Damn it!"  

"I have an amulet blessed by a master at the Golden Buddha Temple. Ordinary ghosts wouldn’t even dare to come near me!"  

The flying head entered the police station without any attempt at concealment. More than half of the officers inside saw the head floating through the air. The blood dripping from the severed organs left a distinct trail on the floor, and many experienced officers immediately recognized that the blood was fresh.  

But that much was already obvious.  

After all, they had just seen the flying head with their own eyes.  

Amidst the screams and panic, several officers quickly pulled out their guns.  

"Could it be that everything in the testimonies was true? Is this a ‘Krasue’?"  

Some officers involved in the interrogation of Lin Jiuying and the others suddenly realized the truth. As locals of Thailand, they were more familiar with black magic and witchcraft than anyone else. These were things they had grown up hearing about, and many had even encountered sorcerers before.  

Thinking of this, they immediately gave chase in the direction the flying head had disappeared.  

Regardless of its reason for appearing, since it had come to the police station, they couldn’t just stand by and let it do as it pleased.  

Inside the Holding Cell 

"Kill... Kill... all of you..."  

The flying head hovered in place, glaring at Lin Jiuying and his two companions inside the cell. Its voice was raspy and broken, as if it struggled to form coherent thoughts.  

After transforming into a Krasue, the sorcerer’s consciousness seemed incomplete, filled only with fragmented and vague thoughts.  

Perhaps this was the price of mastering the art of the Krasue.  

Even so, despite its muddled mind, the Krasue still retained an intense hatred for Lin Jiuying and his companions.  

As soon as it finished speaking, it opened its mouth, revealing sharp, inhuman teeth, and lunged towards Ahao, who was closest to it.  

"Master! Save me!"  

Ahao’s face twisted in terror as he watched the Krasue rush toward him.  

He stumbled backward several steps before slamming into the wall of the holding cell. The stench of rot from the Krasue assaulted his nose as it closed in.  

The sorcerer’s head had long ceased to be something normal—it was neither alive nor dead, a being of pure horror.  

Crunch! Crack!  

The Krasue was just inches away from him.  

Fortunately, the iron bars of the holding cell blocked its path, stopping it in its tracks.  

Leaning against the wall, Ahao let out a shaky breath of relief, a flicker of gratitude flashing in his eyes.  

"Good thing these bars are here, or else..."  

Just as he was patting his chest in relief, his thoughts were cut short.  

The Krasue suddenly twisted its head to the side and, without hesitation, sank its razor-sharp teeth into the iron bars, gnawing viciously.  

If it had been an ordinary person, their teeth would have shattered instantly, leaving their mouth a bloody mess.  

But the Krasue was anything but ordinary.  

Crunch! Crunch!  

Under the horrified gaze of Ahao, the once-solid iron bars were being bitten apart piece by piece.  

Within moments, a gaping hole had been chewed through the bars.  

Floating backward slightly, the Krasue released the bars from its mouth, as if savoring the sensation.  

Ahao wasn’t sure if he was imagining things, but for a brief moment, he thought he saw a sneer on the Krasue’s grotesque face.  

"Master, if you don’t help me this time, I’m really going to die!"  

Locking eyes with the monstrous head, Ahao swallowed hard and once again called out for Lin Jiuying’s help.  

Gunfire in the Police Station 

Bang! Bang!  

Before Lin Jiuying could respond, gunshots rang out.  

The police officers had arrived.  

They had followed the trail of blood and quickly located the Krasue in the holding cell.  

Seeing it hovering outside Ahao’s cell, gnawing on the iron bars, the officers didn’t hesitate. They immediately pulled their triggers, opening fire on the floating head.  

The room filled with the deafening sound of gunfire.  

The bullets struck the Krasue’s head, causing it to shake slightly. The bloody, dangling organs beneath it quivered violently, sending droplets of blood splattering across the floor. Some partially digested food could even be seen within the exposed intestines.  

However, that was the extent of the damage.  

Despite being riddled with bullets, the Krasue’s head remained unscathed. There were no bullet holes, no visible injuries. It was as if the bullets were hitting a block of solid steel, bouncing off with muffled thuds.  

"It’s useless."  

Dodging the stray bullets, Lin Jiuying glanced at the Krasue and shouted at the officers, "Unless you find the sorcerer’s body, bullets alone won’t be enough to kill a fully-formed Krasue!"  

Among all black magic arts, the Krasue was one of the most gruesome and terrifying.  

Once the sorcerer’s head detached from their body, conventional attacks could no longer harm them—including bullets.  

The officers hesitated for a moment, but continued shooting.  

It wasn’t until Old Qian repeated Lin Jiuying’s words in Thai that they finally stopped, staring in horror at the unharmed Krasue.  

Fear crept into their eyes.  

For police officers, their guns were their source of confidence and courage. But when even their bullets proved useless, that courage quickly crumbled.  

After all, if bullets couldn’t hurt it, what could they possibly do? Fight it with their bare hands?  

Terror took hold.  

Instinctively, the officers took several steps back, their faces pale with fear.  

Meanwhile, as the gunfire ceased, the Krasue steadied itself in midair. It turned its head slowly to face the officers and grinned, exposing its menacing teeth.  

The next second, with a shrill screech—  

The Krasue transformed into a blur of darkness and lunged straight at them.  

Their attack had drawn its attention.  

(End of Chapter)