Chapter 61: Xia Li Died, Then Came Back to Life

Shang Xiaoyu was already dead.
And she had died twice.
Even her corpse had been sealed by his own Ghost Gate Coffin.
How could she possibly appear in the Ruins Realm?
Ji Yun's first reaction was that he had fallen victim to some kind of mental illusion.
He fiercely bit the tip of his tongue, and the sharp pain instantly brought clarity back to his mind.
However, the leather-clad woman wearing a helmet was still standing at the doorway.
Glancing sideways at Lu Jiu, Ji Yun saw the changing expression on her face; clearly, he wasn't the only one who saw her.
It was no illusion.
Seeing the teenage girl in motorcycle leather walk into the room, Ji Yun's expression changed drastically.
The sudden, stiff reactions of the two teammates also stunned Zhao Kai for a split second.
The fat man suddenly realized something.
He turned his head back sharply.
He had thought it would be just another ghost nurse.
Yet, as his vision focused, he saw the motorcycle-riding girl wearing a helmet instead.
...
Upon seeing the newcomer, Zhao Kai's expression of facing a formidable enemy instantly turned into surprise and bewilderment.
Because Ji Yun and Shang Xiaoyu were boyfriend and girlfriend, the three of them had shared countless meals back in their university days.
Though puzzled, Zhao Kai recognized her immediately and let out a light gasp: "Shang Xiaoyu?"
He had no idea what the Ruins Realm was.
Therefore, he didn't find Shang Xiaoyu's appearance here particularly strange.
Instead, he looked at Ji Yun with even greater confusion, as if asking: What is going on? Your girlfriend is here?
There was no time to explain.
Without the slightest hesitation, Ji Yun took a violent step back while simultaneously shoving a black bead straight into his mouth.
It was precisely the [Yin Soul Bead] he had been carrying in his pocket all along!
At the same time, his hand was already raised horizontally, ready at a moment's notice to summon the special-grade evil artifact within his body, the [Ghost Gate Coffin].
The reason Ji Yun hadn't used this life-saving evil artifact earlier was twofold.
First, the pre-casting incantation process was too long; there simply wasn't time.
Second, he only had one chance.
Much like the single bullet in a pistol, once used wrongly, they would have no chance of survival whatsoever.
This trump card was originally reserved for the "source of resentment."
Byte now, he was afraid he had no choice but to use it.
Because Ji Yun knew very well that regardless of whether the person before them was truly "Shang Xiaoyu," the level of danger was absolutely incomparable to any ghost nurse.
...
Watching Ji Yun's battle-ready stance, Zhao Kai grew even more incomprehending.
Yet he guessed that the person before them might be a "ghost"?
However, before Ji Yun could chant the incantation, the helmet-wearing girl in leather took the initiative to speak: "Don't be so nervous. I'm not here for you."
Although her tone carried a strong sense of disdain.
Yet this voice was undeniably Shang Xiaoyu's!
The fat man's eyes widened as he looked back at Ji Yun.
He didn't know that Shang Xiaoyu was already dead.
Seeing the two of them poised to fight upon meeting, he simply assumed the young couple was having another lovers' spat.
Only Ji Yun knew the gravity of the situation, cold sweat beading on his forehead.
It was only after becoming an extraordinary being that one could truly sense the terrifying spiritual pressure radiating from the "Shang Xiaoyu" before them—it was absolute enough to determine life or death in a single encounter.
Yet how could this be possible!
Why would she appear here?
Before Ji Yun could figure it out, Shang Xiaoyu completely ignored him, walked into the room, and scoffed mockingly, "Put that hand down."
With that, she unceremoniously remarked, "You think far too highly of yourself. With those pathetic tricks of yours, if it weren't for that woman last time, did you really think you could do anything to me?"
"..."
Though taunted for being weak, Ji Yun didn't feel insulted.
Only those who had witnessed "Shang Xiaoyu's" methods would understand that her arrogance was well-founded.
Ji Yun naturally knew the vast disparity in their strength.
Judging from the extraordinary knowledge he had crammed on the forums over the past few days, being able to snatch food right out of the hands of Chen Changqing—who had comprehended the "Ruins"—meant "Shang Xiaoyu's" strength was terrifyingly absolute.
To put it in precise terms of combat capability, even when facing a Class-B "Urban Legend" grade malevolent ghost, she possessed the independent strength to slay it!
(International Monster Grade Classification: E Ordinary Phantom — D Resentful Spirit — C Fierce Ghost — B Urban Legend — A Yin God — S Heavenly Disaster, T Uncertain Grade)
The ghost nurse from earlier was Class D.
Ji Yun and the others had almost been wiped out by it, let alone anything else.
Yet he still didn't dare lower his hand.
Even if there was only a sliver of a chance, he had to fight for it.
...
"Shang Xiaoyu" watched Ji Yun's still-raised hand and chose to ignore it with a sneer.
Much like pointing a gun barrel at the sun without a shred of fear, she walked straight up to Xia Li's corpse.
Nor did Ji Yun think this contempt was a bluff.
Rather, the opponent genuinely seemed to have no interest in him whatsoever.
Chen Changqing had stated earlier that killing him now served no purpose.
Ji Yun had already successfully integrated the [Ghost Gate Coffin], and outsiders could not snatch it away.
Killing him would only cause this special-grade evil artifact to vanish within the Ruins Realm. Moreover, due to confidential record protocols, whoever killed him would bring massive trouble upon themselves.
There was completely no need.
If she wasn't here for him, what on earth was she here for?
And why had she pursued them all the way into the Ruins Realm?
While Ji Yun was still guessing "Shang Xiaoyu's" motives, he hadn't expected the woman to casually drop another heaven-shaking truth as if mocking herself.
Walking forward, Shang Xiaoyu said indifferently, "The original design of this setup was meant to lure 'Ji Huaichuan' into this Ruins Realm. I never expected that fellow wouldn't come, and instead, you dregs came here to court death."
Listening to that tone, it was like a trap set to catch a tiger, only to catch a quail instead.
It completely failed to arouse any interest.
...
What!
This Ruins Realm was originally a trap targeted at Third Uncle?
The moment these words fell, Ji Yun's mind went blank for a split second.
Immediately afterward, countless thoughts erupted like a fountain.
Others might not understand what Shang Xiaoyu was talking about, but to Ji Yun, it felt like being struck by lightning.
This sentence was like a flash of lightning tearing through the clouds on a rainy night, instantly illuminating the entire pitch-black sky.
"I understand!"
Everything suddenly became crystal clear in Ji Yun's heart.
No wonder he had been suspicious before: why was it such a coincidence that during the haunted house clearing mission at the "Jing'an Building," he happened to encounter a wandering spirit who refused to leave?
And why did that wandering spirit happen to leave behind an important file pointing toward the "Suspicious Case of Lin Kexin's Falling from a Building"?
Why did the clues in that detective file inevitably lead to this T4 dormitory building as long as one followed the vine to find the melon?
Anyone with even a little understanding of mystic arts would inevitably suspect that these serial falls were supernatural events.
And investigating further would most likely result in being dragged into this Ruins Realm.
Link after link.
Everything, no matter how one looked at it before, felt like a coincidence.
Ji Yun had wondered previously why he was the one to encounter it.
As it turned out,
There were no such things as mere coincidences!
Nor was it by chance that he encountered it.
Instead, someone had deliberately plotted it, aiming directly at Third Uncle Ji Huaichuan!
This was a massive conspiracy!
The only true coincidence was that Ji Yun happened to go to the firm that day.
Ji Huaichuan happened to have his driver's license revoked for drunk driving and was rushing to meet a client, so he took Ji Yun along.
Thus, Ji Yun happened to participate in a clearing mission that should have only involved Third Uncle.
And thus, together, they discovered that detective file and became implicated.
Thinking back now, even without himself, Third Uncle would have inevitably discovered that file for the sake of the final payment.
...
The fragmented clues in his mind pieced themselves together like a puzzle at this very moment.
The entire sequence of events was now crystal clear!
It was just that Third Uncle's lazy disposition made him lose interest in that case and he didn't meddle, which was why he never fell into the trap.
Whereas Ji Yun himself was studying at Jianghua University, right at the scene of the incident.
And driven by curiosity about the "Lin Kexin Case," he was gradually drawn into this Ruins Realm step by step.
What a brilliant layout...
Even as an enemy, recalling the ins and outs of the whole event, Ji Yun couldn't help but silently praise how airtight it truly was!
...
Witnessing this vicious yet exquisite layout, Ji Yun instantly confirmed that the person before him was indeed the very same "Shang Xiaoyu" he had encountered before!
This kind of interlocking scheming was identical to last time.
While a tumultuous storm churned in his heart, Ji Yun was also puzzled.
When Shang Xiaoyu mentioned Third Uncle just now, her phrasing was thoroughly unceremonious and clearly tinged with a hint of dread, as if harboring some deep-seated hatred.
This left Ji Yun unable to figure it out.
Third Uncle was nothing more than a decadent, debauched, sloppy middle-aged man; was he really worth designing such a massive trap just to lure him into the snare?
Besides, given Shang Xiaoyu's methods, couldn't she just seek him out directly?
Surely she wouldn't lose to him in a fight.
Or was she wary of something?
Why go through the trouble of luring him into the Ruins Realm?
Ji Yun couldn't make sense of it.
Yet a flash of thought crossed his mind, leading him to another even more shocking truth.
He looked at the leather-clad woman walking past him and blurted out: "You... you are that 'fan' behind Liao Feifei?!"
...
All sorts of clues indicated that from beginning to end, there was a "mysterious fan" guiding Liao Feifei behind the scenes.
Whether it was the [Yin-Yang Rope], the newspapers from [Hospital 426], or even tonight's livestream, all of it had been directed by that mysterious fan!
No, to put it accurately—manipulated.
Earlier, Ji Yun had been wondering.
Who on earth could it be?
Now, seeing "Shang Xiaoyu" appear within the Ruins Realm,
And slotting her persona into the equation, she fit the role of this "mysterious fan" to absolute perfection.
At the same time, Ji Yun recalled the scene where Liao Feifei transformed into the Slit-Mouthed Woman, and blurted out once more: "You are the one who spread the [Slit-Mouthed Woman]!"
She had even deliberately lured the two agents from the Extraordinary Investigation Bureau in.
Yet the moment the words left his mouth, Ji Yun hesitated for a split second.
What was her motive?
Third Uncle hadn't taken the bait, yet she had still come.
Ji Yun suddenly woke up to the reality.
She had come for the secret hidden within this Ruins Realm!
Hearing these words, "Shang Xiaoyu" stopped, turned her head, and glanced at Ji Yun.
Pondering for a moment, she finally spoke: "Heh, not entirely stupid. But not clever either."
She neither admitted nor denied it.
Her expression was obscured beneath the motorcycle helmet.
Yet the soft huff of breath through her nose conveyed a sense of utter nonchalance, as if being guessed correctly didn't matter to her in the slightest.
...
Standing to the side, Zhao Kai watched the exchange between the two of them, completely dumbfounded.
Clearly, he knew both people before him.
In fact, he was quite familiar with them.
Yet listening to this conversation, everything felt increasingly alien and surreal.
"Shang Xiaoyu" truly seemed to have zero interest in Ji Yun.
She completely ignored the three people in the room and walked straight up to Xia Li's corpse.
Then, she produced two yellow talismans, preparing to perform some kind of spell on the corpse.
Seeing this posture, a thought flashed through Ji Yun's mind: Soul-calling.
This "Shang Xiaoyu" really wasn't here for him.
Instead, she was after Xia Li's corpse.
She wanted to summon her soul to extract intelligence!
This action made Ji Yun even more perplexed. Since it had already been confirmed that the mastermind behind this livestream was her, what role did Xia Li play?
Judging by her stance, Xia Li also seemed to conceal extremely crucial clues.
However, before he could think further,
Just as Shang Xiaoyu was about to slap a talisman onto Xia Li's forehead, a sudden and drastic change occurred!
It was as if the roar of an ancient ferocious beast echoed from the netherworld.
Abruptly, an arm lashed out like lightning: "Beast God Seal: Jiachuo!"
A palm struck squarely against "Shang Xiaoyu's" collarbone.
Ji Yun and the others stared intently, only to see the already deceased Xia Li abruptly open her eyes—she was corpse-revived!
...
With a muffled thud,
Shang Xiaoyu was caught off guard and struck by the palm.
A visible shockwave exploded across her chest, and her entire body transformed into a black streak as she was sent flying backward at high speed.
She didn't stop until she slammed into the wall of the corridor outside, smashing out a large crater.
Beneath the motorcycle helmet, "Shang Xiaoyu" let out a muffled groan.
A fist-sized hole had blown open at the collarbone area of her leather attire.
On her snow-white skin, a scalding burn mark resembling a freshly pressed branding iron had appeared.
In the blink of an eye, the mark cooled, turning from red to black and solidifying into the shape of a seal.
"Damn it!"
Clearly not expecting to be ambushed by a corpse, Shang Xiaoyu spat out the words in exasperation.
Looking up at the revived Xia Li inside the room, she already had a talisman raised in her hand, seemingly preparing to retaliate.
Yet after hesitating for a fraction of a second, as if sensing a mysterious aura beginning to descend, she ultimately suppressed that impulse.
In a flash, the talisman dissolved into nothingness,
And her entire figure vanished on the spot.
Leaving behind only shattered bricks scattered all over the floor.
...
"Shang Xiaoyu" had fled without the slightest hesitation.
So decisively that before Ji Yun's expression could even register the scene, she was already entirely out of sight.
Such a powerful entity, and yet she fled at a single encounter?
What on earth was going on?
His brain felt incapable of processing the scene that had just unfolded.
Ji Yun never imagined that things would take such twists and turns.
Yet he had also caught a detail.
He recognized just now that the black runes on Shang Xiaoyu's collarbone wound were precisely the tadpole-like runes found on those masked monsters from earlier!
The fat man and Lu Jiu standing beside him had likewise been stunned into absolute stillness by the endlessly reversing events.
The three of them simply stared foolishly at the corpse in the pool of blood.
And then...
Watched as the dead "Xia Li" stood up once more.