Lie Huo Jiao Chou Volume 1 Chapter 7

　　Director Xiao hadn't enough time to speak, a "click" sounded and the phone was cut off.

　　In the family lounge, Xuan Ji's cell phone suddenly blacked out - it's too cold, and the phone went on strike at low temperature.
　　
　　Xuan Ji: "..."

　　As soon as he looked up, he bumped into the curious daze of the devil. The devil was very interested in this hot and noisy "little box". The conversation inside was in a mess and the speech was fast, he could not understand most of it very much, but he still listened enthusiastically, strangely asking: "Not talking anymore? Did you talk about the rules?" 　　

　　The image of modern science and technology could not be thrown away. Xuan Ji calmly let the phone fly back into his chest inner pocket, trying to use his body temperature to let this thing work for a little longer.

　　The door of the family lounge had been blasted, the sound of the TV in the corridor could be faintly heard, and the ending of the news broadcast sounded - this meant it was already at least 7:30.
　
　　Xuan Ji blinked off the frost on his eyelashes, and he stared at the devil before his eyes which was deadlocked with him, his brain spinning quickly.
　　
　　"This... cough, elder."
　
　　Sheng Lingyuan's robes had been soaked in blood, and he leisurely leaned on the chain of fire. His posture was very relaxed. The corner of his mouth curled up, looking at the little demon whose face suddenly changed as if he was decoding a book.

　　This magical little demon was shouting with a sword to attack just a while ago, and this iron chain of fire had not been extinguished. He wiped his face like nothing ever happened, smiling to pretend they were familiar again.

　　"What kind of breed is this? How is he so thick-skinned?" He said in his mind, "A pangolin?**"
　　
　　"I think, in general, it is enough to find a mountain to slaughter sheeps for those low-level little demons. There's no need to make such a big move. But for someone like you to require a 'sacrifice of a thousand lives'…… uh, you must be noble and extraordinary, there must be a lot of history." Xuan Ji tried to imitate the accent and tone of the old ghost, but unfortunately he had struggled just to listen, and he didn't have the unnatural audio recording function of the old ghost. His imitation was very out of tune.

　　The smile on Sheng Lingyuan's face deepened a bit, he just watched his performance and did not speak.
　　
　　Xuan Ji's tone was all over the place, but he continued with sincerity: "In our era of market economy, there are usually many ways to solve problems. Those who engage in this type of sorcery at the first sign of disagreement are usually stupid cu-… ahem, foolish people. You had responded to this summoning of such a man so that you wouldn't lose your share... Isn't it being beneath your status?"
　　
　　"The gloomy sacrifice is the technique of linking up the heavens and the earth. Since I am awakened by this person, there must be a connection between him and me. Otherwise, his blood couldn't flow into my coffin." Sheng Lingyuan replied nonchalantly, "Besides, whether there is status or not, these are all pretext. I cannot remember either."
　　
　　Xuan Ji did not know whether he had done pyramid selling before or not for he praised without changing his expression: "Of course, if you're a common person, your status doesn't matter and it's not important whether you remember or not. But the way you talk and carry yourself suggest otherwise, right? I'm not blind."

　　Old Luo courageously ran over and delivered a mobile phone to Xuan Ji. He just heard this sentence at the door and quickly found a quick-acting heart reliever pill from his pocket and thought to himself, "I want to be blind."

　　"Is that so?", Sheng Lingyuan suddenly moved forward, his iron chain which was tied together with him unexpectedly stretched, making a pleasant sound of collision. The black writing of the gloomy sacrifice suddenly crawled out from his neckline, spreading all the way to his face. Black and white sharply contrasted. An eerie demonic atmosphere instantly rose up from his gentle and handsome face. Old Luo's legs turned soft and he fell by the doorway on his knees with a flop. Sheng Lingyuan did not look at him, only giving a light wave of his hand, "No need for courtesy, you may rise — the sacrificial rites can make me return to the world, naturally it will also have some restrictions on me. It was with great difficulty that I can see the light again, why should I risk death and disobey? It's just an ordinary person's one wish, doesn't take a lot of effort."
　　
　　The corners of Xuan Ji's eyes twitched.　

　　Sheng Lingyuan laughed: "It's more than halfway through."
　　
　　"Neck, neck, neck..." Old Luo was trembling, already unable to say a sentence completely, his mouth filled with bell rings*. He came in like a recess bell, bravely handing the phone to his hand, " Director Xiao!"

*领 [lǐng] for neck and 铃 [líng] for bells have almost the same sound. The onomatopoeia for bell rings are 铃铃铃, and Luo Cuiui was keeping on repeating 领领领

      Upon completing this task, his eyes rolled to back of his head and he passed out.
　　
　　"What's the situation? I thought you became a martyr just now! What... the phone froze to death...… I really... alright, if you come back, I will buy you a new one!" Xiao Zheng strode into the conference room.
　　
　　"Director Xiao, all leaders from various regions are already in the position."
　　
　　Xiao Zheng nodded and said to Xuan Ji: "Can you take the picture of the 'gloomy sacrifice' writing you saw? The more complete, the better. I'll have some people to look at the pictures and investigate them separately. There must be some clues!"

　　Xuan Ji woke up old Luo with a kick: "Take a picture of the writing on the wall and send it to Director Xiao, don't dawdle, there's no time — old Xiao, you listen to me, summoning out this devil is a one-time thing, not a long-term contract..."
　　
　　Sheng Lingyuan understood the words "one-time" and "not long-term", and slightly squinted — this little demon actually tried to make a fool out of him, what great courage.
　　
　　Xuan Ji: "The person who summoned a big demon can only do one thing for himself. According to my experience, the most likely thing to be asked for is revenge for murder. Say, if this man can kill a thousand people secretly within thirty days alone, then murdering a person is probably the same as cutting vegetables for him. Who is not so easy to kill that he needed to go around such a big circle? What is his goal?"
　　
　　Xiao Zheng suddenly paused.
　　
　　"Our..."
　　
　　"Deviant Control Office."
       
　　The two men said at almost the same time.
　　
　　"It won't be for no reason, this bastard must have been involved in something. Contact the Deviant Control Office and check all your case records." Xuan Ji said, "In addition, the gloomy sacrifice is not a common street magic trick. Your Ministry of Security's 'elite' field workers would have never heard of it. Will the caster of the sacrifice have complete certainty of success? Then that bull doesn't need to so roundabout — I think he must be near the Red Lake."
　　
　　Because the scenic area of the Red Lake was close to the great valley, the Deviant Control Office was very cautious and has communicated with the local public security office units. All the inbound tourists must buy the tickets with their ID cards, and the surrounding large and small hotels and chartered tours were all managed under a unified management.
　　
　　At half past eight, the Chiyuan Branch swiftly inspected all the hotels near the scenic spot and submitted all the tourist information registered within the first half of the year to the Head Office database, comparing with the case records one by one.
　　
　　Forty-five minutes later, at 9:15, Ping Qian Ru came running over instantly with her laptop.
　　
　　"Leader... cough ,cough, cough…" The dark and cool water vapor in the family lounge seemed to be creeping out. Inhaling a mouthful of it from a distance felt like having a cold knife scrape down from the throat to the lungs. Ping Qian Ru was at least ten meters away from the door and couldn't get closer. It was almost impossible to imagine what was it like for Xuan Ji who was inside.
　　
　　The fire on the iron chain tied with the demon was already quite weak. For several times, it was almost frozen out but would only shakily flicker back to life again.
　　
　　Xuan Ji heard Ping Qian Ru's voice filled with tears, saying incoherently: "Can you come out... sob... Director Xiao, they found a... a forum post, it was deleted as soon as it was posted... Director Xuan, can you say something? I am scared..."
　　
　　Sheng Lingyuan shook his head: "I don't think you are old enough to be an ordinary small demon. Though you haven't developed your skills yet, but you're completely transformed. The true form couldn't be seen. You probably must be innately skilled. Prior to the civil war of your demon clan, the innately skilled were already a few — I could even count them. It would be a pity to let you die here. Just go."
　　
　　Xuan Ji forced himself to move the numb corners of his mouth, putting on a fake smile and squeezed out a word: "Something."

　　Ping Qian Ru: "..."
　　
　　Xuan Ji took a deep breath and said one word at a time: "Don't howl, it's also annoying. What post? Read it."
　　
　　Ping Qian Ru: "Help: I ​​think my son is not my son."

The author has something to say:
**A pangolin is a scaly anteater.

Chapter end