In Z city of G province at dusk, it was not completely dark yet, but there were very few people on the streets, and all the shops and entertainment venues along the street were closed.
Lin Qianqian had already learned about the situation here on her way here.
People are murdered every night between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., with couples being the most brutally murdered.
Based on the blurry footage captured by surveillance cameras and various investigations, it is clear that the incident could not have been caused by human intervention.
Although we don't know exactly what it is, we can be sure that it's a ghost or monster that's hurting people.
Several incidents have occurred in succession, mostly in public places, making it difficult to completely block the news.
In Z City now, let alone couples, even cats and dogs dare not go out on the street at night.
Moreover, as time went on, the scope of the tragedies gradually expanded, and the intervals between them became shorter and shorter.
Clearly, the monster's abilities are increasing as the number of people killed increases.
The government also sent military practitioners and superhumans to deal with it, but they not only failed to capture it, but also suffered heavy losses. They had no choice but to turn to Lin Qianqian.
Given Lin Qianqian's importance, she would never have been given this kind of mission, but this time many people died and the situation escalated too much.
The higher-ups have held many meetings and all agree that Lin Qianqian is stronger than that ghost and there is no danger in her coming over.
They also wanted to know just how powerful a Nascent Soul cultivator really was. That's why Lin Qianqian came along.
At 10 p.m., the streets should be lined with food stalls, and people strolling around eating late-night snacks.
But now it's deserted. Not only are there no street stalls, but even the 24-hour convenience stores are closed.
The street was as calm and still as a still lake the moment the sun went down.
But then, a light, cheerful humming sound broke the silence of the quiet street.
There was a young woman in her early twenties with her hair piled up on the side, adorned with a crescent-shaped hairpin, leaving only a wisp of hair in front.
She wore a light green long dress, with a light yellow silk shawl draped over her shoulders, and a purple and green belt around her waist, making her waist look slim and her legs look long. She also wore a pair of white low-heeled leather shoes.
She walked alone on the empty streets with only a few dim lights, humming an unknown song as she went.
They were not affected at all by the heavy and dark atmosphere on the road.
Just as she passed a clothing store, the previously closed door creaked open, and a dim yellow light shone inside.
A woman appeared to be standing in the shadow of the light.
"Young lady, we have received many new styles in our store. Come and take a look."
Lin Qianqian turned her head and looked over, feeling relieved. "Finally, they've delivered themselves to my doorstep."
Through the camera on Lin Qianqian's brooch, Chen Dinghai and officials from the special department also witnessed everything.
As soon as Lin Qianqian entered the store, the door behind her creaked shut.
The store's decor and furnishings are simple, no different from any other clothing store you can find on the street.
The clothes hanging on the rack had a somewhat retro style.
The color is a bit strange; it's all white, which looks quite out of place.
Under the dim light, the clothes looked strange, as if they were made of paper.
Yes, it's made of paper, and it looks very realistic.
An ordinary person wouldn't be able to tell, but Lin Qianqian is a cultivator; how could such a small trick possibly fool her?
Lin Qianqian looked around, deciding to hold back for now, and pretended to look at the clothes.
At this moment, the woman who had been standing in the shadows seemed unable to hold back any longer and slowly walked out.
She was wearing a red cheongsam, with bright red lipstick, a very pale face, her hair was styled in a bun, and a blood-red jade hairpin was inserted in her hair. All ten of her fingernails were painted blood-red, and her walking posture was a little stiff.
The "person" glanced at Lin Qianqian, picked up one of the white dresses and handed it to her, saying, "Miss, you are naturally beautiful. White will look great on you. You can try this one."
Lin Qianqian looked at the clothes it offered, but did not reach out to take them.
Instead, she gently stroked the clothes hanger and said, "This one isn't good. Once you put it on, you can't take it off. It's not suitable for me."
"You're joking, young lady. You'll look great in this dress when you meet your lover."
The "person" spoke in a very strange tone, somewhat wooden.
Lin Qianqian raised her head, gently stroking her belt with her right hand, and slowly walked towards "her".
"Yes, you should dress up nicely when you see your lover. When I have the chance to see him again, I will definitely style my hair like he did for me, wear the hairpin he gave me, and wear the clothes he praised as beautiful."
As Lin Qianqian spoke, the blood-red fingernails of the "person" placed beside her were slowly growing longer.
Red liquid seemed to seep out from the ceiling, behind the mirror, under the clothes rack, and in every nook and cranny of the store, making the whole store seem to tremble slightly.
Those who saw this through the camera turned pale.
But Lin Qianqian seemed to know nothing about all this, and her tone suddenly changed, becoming arrogant and domineering.
"You think you can fob me off with just a piece of tattered paper and a folded garment? You can't even use decent bait when you're fishing. Don't you know that what I usually wear are celestial robes and dresses woven from celestial silkworm silk?"
The "woman" paused for a moment upon hearing Lin Qianqian's words, then her blood-red mouth split open to her ears, revealing a mouthful of canine fangs, before she let out a shrill scream.
Lin Qianqian didn't think much of the shouting; it was just a bit noisy. But those who heard it through the monitor felt like their heads were about to explode.
After the eerie creature screamed, the clothes hanging around it instantly flew into the air, like invisible people dressed in paper clothes, rushing towards her.
But the monster turned and retreated; it wanted to escape!
It couldn't discern any special abilities in the person before it, but its intuition told it that danger was imminent.
Run! Run! Run!
Lin Qianqian drew a whip disguised as a belt from her waist, channeled her spiritual power, and lashed it at the flying paper clothes all around her.
When touched by the whip flashing with electricity, the paper clothes burst into blue-green flames and then turned to ashes.
The pure and yang power of lightning naturally has a restraining effect on yin and evil.
The whip lashed incessantly, stretching and shortening as it pulled back the red-clad ghost that had fled to the doorway, and flung it in front of him.
When the ghost raised its face, the once vibrant human faces had become blank.
Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a doll's face, with hands and feet also pieced together from sections of wood; it was a puppet ghost.
Lin Qianqian was very curious as to why it killed people.
Especially for couples, it's basically torture, so I only gave them a few minutes to explain why.
The story is quite melodramatic; this puppet was originally a gift from a man to a young lady.
The young lady was born into a moderately wealthy family. As an only child, she was pampered by her parents from a young age, who spared no effort in cultivating her talents in music, chess, calligraphy, and painting.
At the tender age of sixteen, while her parents were choosing a husband for her, the young lady encountered a sick and down-on-his-luck young man while offering incense.
The young man was well-mannered and erudite.
The two met several times afterward and developed feelings for each other.
The young lady took out all her savings, sold her jewelry, and used the money to help the man travel to the capital for the imperial examination.
The man also gave the young lady a wooden doll, promising to return and marry her after he achieved success.
But several years passed, and there was still no news of the man.
The young lady's parents advised her not to wait any longer and arranged a marriage for her.
She went on a hunger strike to escape her arranged marriage, which angered her parents to death.
After her parents passed away, the young lady sold her possessions and went to Beijing to find her lover.
But when the young lady finally found him after going through many hardships, he had already married a woman from a wealthy family and looked down on the young lady from the small town.
The young lady, filled with resentment, hugged the wooden doll and crashed into it, dying right in front of him.
The resentment seeped into the doll, turning it into a monster.
Because of that resentment, it hates all lovers in the world.
After hearing this, Lin Qianqian lashed out with her whip and scattered the wooden doll.
"A piece of wood that doesn't even know what love is, yet it tries to learn from humans how to hate lovers, just looking for trouble!"
After saying that, he put away the whip and patted non-existent dust off his hands.
"That's it. I thought it was something amazing, but it's just a piece of broken wood. What a waste of my time."
Lin Qianqian effortlessly resolved the bizarre situation involving the continuous massacre of dozens of people.
It was so simple that even the people in the monitoring room were amazed. Amazing!
Is this what a cultivator at the Nascent Soul stage is like?
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