According to Wu Lingxuan's plan, this shot should have blown a hole in the masked man's head.
However, to her utter surprise, after the gunshot, the masked man on the ground vanished! He disappeared into thin air, as if he were a ghost.
"How is this possible?"
Wu Lingxuan thought she was hallucinating. Perhaps the poisonous fog was too thick, and combined with her gas mask, she might have misjudged.
She squatted down to look closely.
Nothing, absolutely nothing! The masked man had indeed disappeared.
There was no one on the ground, no blood. The bullet had embedded itself into the floor tiles, creating a small crater.
Wu Lingxuan was utterly bewildered. This was completely beyond her comprehension.
Just then.
A man's voice came from behind her: "Are you looking for me?"
Hoo!!!
Even with Wu Lingxuan's strong composure, she nearly wet herself at that moment.
Now she understood why the women in horror movies were so timid, screaming at the slightest disturbance. It was truly terrifying.
The masked man had truly vanished like a specter, appearing behind Wu Lingxuan without anyone knowing how. Was this something a human could do?
Wu Lingxuan immediately spun around and raised her gun to shoot.
Bang bang!
Bang bang bang!
A series of shots, yet not a single one hit the masked man. His figure was ethereal and swift, almost a blur.
Soon, her bullets ran out.
Wu Lingxuan retreated, hitting the wall.
She asked in terror, "Are you… human or ghost?"
The masked man sneered, "I am neither human nor ghost. I am merely a hunter drawn by the demons of hell. Where there are demons, there I, Yan Luo, will be."
Wu Lingxuan felt as if she had fallen into an ice cellar, trembling all over.
She didn't understand.
Why was the poisonous fog, which could kill with a single breath, ineffective against the masked man? Why couldn't bullets hit him? Unless he was a ghost, there was no other explanation.
The masked man approached Wu Lingxuan step by step, saying coldly, "Have you used all your trump cards? If so, rest in peace."
"You!!!"
Wu Lingxuan refused to believe it; she didn't want to die.
Without thinking, she bolted towards the door, fumbling for her car keys as she ran. Retreating when outmatched was not shameful.
As long as she got into the car and drove away, she didn't believe he could catch up!
But how could the masked man let her escape?
"Wu Lingxuan."
"Living Bodhisattva."
"Your time has come. Now, I, Yan Luo, will strip away your hypocritical facade and reveal your true face."
"You are not a Bodhisattva, you are a wicked spirit."
"Perish!"
Just as Wu Lingxuan stepped out the door, a sharp dagger appeared in the masked man's hand. He flung it towards her neck.
Whoosh!
The dagger cut through the air with perfect force, speed, and accuracy, hitting its mark!
With a *plop*, the dagger pierced Wu Lingxuan's nape, exiting through the front of her neck, impaling it completely.
Wu Lingxuan could no longer speak.
She was defiant, unwilling.
Her plan had been so perfect, the Su family had been driven to desperation. She didn't want to die like this.
Little did she know, from the very beginning, the Wu family and the Su family were on unequal footing.
Why should the Wu family be allowed to use all sorts of dirty, despicable tactics? While the Su family had to adhere to open, fair, and just methods?
If the Su family had also resorted to wicked methods, the Wu family would have been powerless to resist.
The dagger piercing her neck was the best proof.
Thump.
Wu Lingxuan collapsed to the ground, her life completely extinguished. Her upper body lay outside the door, her lower body inside, just like her persona: half Bodhisattva, half demon.
Whether she was Buddha or devil was a matter of Wu Lingxuan's own choice.
Most people could only see one side of Wu Lingxuan, making it difficult to fully comprehend her true nature.
The rain, a torrential downpour, began to fall, lashing against Wu Lingxuan's body.
Inside the house.
The masked man reached up and removed his mask, revealing his true face.
It was Lu Ming, none other.
He looked at Wu Lingxuan's corpse and sighed deeply.
Just then, Lu Ming's phone rang.
"Hello," Lu Ming answered.
From the other end, the Dragon King's voice came through, "I've dealt with sixteen demons from hell, but I feel there are more hidden among the populace."
Lu Ming said, "Don't worry. Later, during the live broadcast, you'll play the video of us slaughtering those sixteen demons to intimidate them. Who says only they are allowed to kill, and we are not? If they are ruthless, we must be even more ruthless to make them fear and restrain themselves!"
The Dragon King nodded, "Understood."
He paused, then asked again, "Warlord, have you resolved your matter as well?"
Lu Ming glanced at Wu Lingxuan's corpse and said, "It's resolved. Wu Lingxuan has set off on her journey; she should be at the Bridge of Sighs by now."
The Dragon King laughed, "Congratulations, you've eliminated a major threat. We've won again."
Won?
Heh!
Lu Ming sighed and said, "Who says we've won? In fact, we've lost."
"Ah?" the Dragon King didn't understand.
Lu Ming explained, "We are not evil people. We cannot act like evil people. We must have our own standards of conduct, our own principles. However, Wu Lingxuan, through a series of tactics, forced me into a situation where I couldn't resolve her with 'righteous' means. She forced me to transform from Buddha to demon, to become like her, using the most cruel and despicable methods to deal with problems. Wu Lingxuan may not have won, but she didn't lose either."
A long silence followed on the other end of the line.
In this battle, Wu Lingxuan died, and Lu Ming 'fell.' Neither side gained anything.
It was a mutual destruction.
Wu Lingxuan was the first to push Lu Ming to this point.
After a while.
Lu Ming said, "Alright, it's almost twelve o'clock. You need to start the live broadcast immediately and confront the demons head-on!"
"Yes!"
The Dragon King hung up and, as planned, initiated the live broadcast.
And so.
At twelve o'clock, the entire nation anxiously awaited news about the demons, wondering which ten innocent souls would be killed.
The outcome was completely unexpected.
No innocent people died. Instead, sixteen demons were killed!
A man wearing a Yan Luo mask sat before the camera and broadcast to the entire nation, saying, "We are hunters from the Yan Luo Hall. Because too many demons have escaped from hell, we have also come to the human world, for no other reason than to slay these demons from hell! Today's harvest has been bountiful; we have slain sixteen demons from hell. I have a detailed list here. Starting tonight, we, the Yan Luo Hall, will continuously hunt down demons from hell, letting none escape! Demons, prepare your necks for death!"
The predators had, in an instant, become the prey.
The demons, who had been arrogant and wantonly slaughtering, now found themselves hunted and on the run, a significant shift in their status.
This was entirely beyond people's expectations.
Demons escaped from hell, and hunters pursued them. The human world had become chaotic.