Chapter 019: Vengeful Spirits

Then, Wang Bo made a plan, having the mechanical soldiers patrol in pairs along designated routes. The patrol routes densely covered the entire city of Yuzhou, leaving no blind spots.

Wang Bo believed that following this route, finding the vengeful spirits was only a matter of time.

But things slapped Wang Bo in the face once again.

After one shichen, or two hours, the mechanical soldiers had patrolled back and forth along the designated routes two or three times within Yuzhou City.

Yet not a single Soul-Seeking Bell rang. It was as if there were no vengeful spirits in all of Yuzhou City.

This was unscientific.

Just a few nights ago, young maidens had gone missing, so why was everything peaceful tonight? Wang Bo couldn't help but wonder: were the spirits hiding too deep, or were the Soul-Seeking Bells ineffective?

Or perhaps the spirits hadn't come out tonight; they had already captured enough people in previous days and didn't need to take more.

If that were the case, it would be troublesome. If the enemy was hiding and not coming out, finding these vengeful spirits would not be easy. At least Wang Bo had used his Yin-Yang Eyes to search Yuzhou City several times and indeed found no trace of the spirits.

But just then, a flash of inspiration struck Wang Bo's mind.

Maybe the vengeful spirits weren't inside Yuzhou City?

The speed of vengeful spirits shouldn't be too slow. In TV dramas, which vengeful spirit didn't come and go like the wind, ethereal and traceless? Perhaps they weren't in Yuzhou City at all, but hiding somewhere outside the city.

When they wanted to capture someone, they would rush into Yuzhou City like the wind, find their target, and then leave just as swiftly.

By the time people reacted, they would have already succeeded.

This was not impossible.

And it also explained why the mechanical soldiers under Wang Bo's command had circled Yuzhou City two or three times without finding any vengeful spirits—because they simply weren't in the city.

So Wang Bo immediately issued an order, dispatching a group of mechanical soldiers with Soul-Seeking Bells to stand on the city walls of Yuzhou, posting guards every few steps.

If these vengeful spirits were indeed hiding outside Yuzhou City, they would have to pass through the mechanical soldiers to enter the city, triggering the Soul-Seeking Bells.

As for the other mechanical soldiers, they continued patrolling along the original routes.

Wang Bo refused to believe he couldn't catch them.

Time passed little by little, and soon it was the early hours of the morning. Just as Wang Bo was engrossed in reading a Taoist scripture in his hand, a faint ringing sound reached his ears.

He started in surprise and turned to look.

On the city wall of Yuzhou in the eight o'clock direction, a Soul-Seeking Bell hanging from a mechanical soldier's waist was vibrating, emitting a crisp, pleasant sound.

This lifted Wang Bo's spirits. They had come, finally come.

Damn, these vengeful spirits really were hiding outside Yuzhou City.

Wang Bo immediately activated his Yin-Yang Eyes, a faint light emanating from his pupils. When he looked again toward the city wall, he saw a gloomy gray-clad man standing outside the city, staring in surprise at the Soul-Seeking Bell on the mechanical soldier's waist.

This gray-clad man had a red dot between his eyebrows, a burly figure, and in his hand he held a long sword that kept dripping blood.

What was even more interesting was that the blood dripping from the sword disappeared upon hitting the ground.

Strands of yin energy emanated from the gloomy-faced man, merging into the air.

A small part of it touched the Soul-Seeking Bell, which seemed to be violently struck, vibrating and emitting a continuous ringing sound.

Seeing this, Wang Bo had no more doubts. This guy was probably his target.

After the gloomy man saw the Soul-Seeking Bell, he seemed to realize something and turned to leave.

He sensed danger.

But Wang Bo had set up for so long; how could he let him leave? In an instant, he arrived outside the city, raised his hand, and a golden thread shot out from the void, like a living thing, chasing after the gloomy man.

The gloomy man's expression changed, and the blood-dripping long sword instantly turned crimson. The man slashed out more than a dozen blood-colored sword shadows, sending the golden thread flying away.

At the same time, he quickened his pace, retreating rapidly.

Wang Bo naturally wouldn't let this guy escape. He snapped his fingers, and golden threads shot out from the void in all directions, completely blocking the gloomy man's retreat.

The gloomy man refused to sit idly and wait for death. He frantically slashed out layers of blood-colored sword shadows, which surrounded him like a blooming lotus.

The blood-colored sword shadows and golden threads collided in the void, producing a clinking sound, with sparks flying faintly.

But Wang Bo was undaunted. Golden threads shot out from the void in overwhelming waves, one after another, seemingly endless, completely shattering the blood-colored sword shadows.

The next second, the gloomy man's face turned ashen, and he closed his eyes, waiting for death.

But the countless golden threads avoided the gloomy man's vital points, passing through the top of his head, under his ribs, and around his waist, forming a frame that trapped him.

Wang Bo stepped forward and asked, "Where are the maidens you captured?"

The gloomy man opened his eyes, glanced at Wang Bo, then closed them again, speaking stubbornly, "If you're going to kill me, do it. No need for idle talk."

A tough guy, huh.

Wang Bo sneered, summoned a demon from the Time Villa, pointed at the gloomy man, and said, "I want to know everything in his mind."

The demon looked at the gloomy-faced man and gave a hearty smile. "Your will, my master."

Then the demon took the gloomy man back into the Time Villa.

Wang Bo believed that this demon would not disappoint him. After all, in Wang Bo's view, demons were experts at toying with souls. Even vengeful spirits were souls; before the thousands of demons in the Time Villa, they couldn't cause any trouble.

And as it turned out, Wang Bo was right.

In less than an hour, even less than half an hour, the demon emerged from the Time Villa with the gloomy man, who was barely breathing, and appeared before Wang Bo.

The gloomy-faced man was pale, his body flickering in and out of visibility, as if about to disappear at any moment.

He looked at the demon with eyes full of fear.

The demon said respectfully, "My master, what do you wish to know?"

Wang Bo asked, "Where are the maidens he captured now?"

The demon replied without hesitation, "In a small village not far from Yuzhou City, called Rock Village."

"Lead the way," Wang Bo commanded.

The demon nodded, looked at the gloomy man, who shuddered, struggled to his feet, and staggered in a certain direction.

But this pace was too slow, so Wang Bo gave the demon a look. The demon understood, grabbed the gloomy man, and quickened his steps.

Wang Bo followed closely behind.