Chapter 92: Shortest Path (7)
92 – Shortest Path (7)
At that very moment, the subway train slowed to a crawl before coming to an abrupt halt.
The front of the train stopped just five steps away from Chang Ji, and the doors remained closed. Through the glass, Lin Xun saw a packed carriage full of bewildered passengers. Before he could take a closer look, Butterfly Madam waved her delicate hand, and thousands of purple butterflies scattered a fine dust from their wings, enveloping the windows in a mist.
Behind them, the urgent, heavy thud of leather boots echoed. Lin Xun turned to see over twenty heavily equipped police officers in black uniforms charging toward them, the words “Riot Police” emblazoned across their chests.
Of the two leading officers, one was unfamiliar, while the other was unmistakably Officer Cao.
Lin Xun felt a wave of relief wash over him, only to be immediately replaced by renewed tension.
The subway had stopped, and Brother Chang Ji’s life was spared—clearly thanks to Officer Cao’s efforts. During their phone call earlier, Officer Cao had mentioned he would coordinate with the subway dispatch center.
But at the same time, how were they supposed to explain this scene to the police?
Lin Xun scanned his surroundings.
There were still about a hundred demonic creatures locked in a chaotic battle with several Dharma Protectors, who wielded an array of weapons accompanied by dazzling light and sound effects. The outcome remained uncertain, with neither side gaining the upper hand. Demonic creatures were strange beings—his master and others had once explained that they were formed from a kind of “demonic Qi,” much like how cultivators’ techniques were composed of “Spiritual Power.” Strictly speaking, neither demonic Qi nor Spiritual Power existed in the physical world. Thus, while humans could see them with their innate Qi and physically interact with them, and cameras infused with Spiritual Power could capture them, ordinary recording devices struggled to do so. As a result, the police monitoring the surveillance footage would see neither the demonic creatures nor the cultivators’ spell effects—only a group of oddly dressed individuals wildly swinging swords, staffs, chains, and other weapons, as if putting on an elaborate performance.
Meanwhile, the passengers originally in the subway station remained in a zombie-like state of unconsciousness, wandering aimlessly with blank expressions and vacant eyes, moving erratically like particles in Brownian motion.
Over by the formation, a group of eccentrically dressed seniors sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes tightly shut, each making strange hand gestures as they formed seals. Stranger still, a few among them wore normal modern attire, making the entire group appear even more incongruous.
Thus, what appeared on the surveillance footage looked less like a terrorist attack and more like the walls of a psychiatric hospital had collapsed.
But once the police actually entered the subway station, the scene would be enough to shatter their worldview.
Sure enough, as the two leading officers descended the stairs and turned a corner—they froze in unison.
Officer Cao picked up his police megaphone, and amid the chaotic sounds of battle, his voice rang out: “Comrade Lin Xun? Comrade Lin Xun? What’s going on here?”
Lin Xun raised his own loudspeaker and replied: “I’m over here! Deal with these black things first!”
Officer Cao: “I need to report to my superiors!”
Lin Xun: “Don’t report it!”
Officer Cao: “I have to report it!”
Lin Xun: “I’m about to die!”
Officer Cao: “How do we fight them?”
Lin Xun: “I don’t know either!”
“Is there a smoke grenade here?”
Lin Xun glanced at the black-purple mist lingering in the air—this was Butterfly Madam’s doing, capable of inducing mild hallucinations in people’s minds, slightly lowering their rationality and intelligence. However, as long as Butterfly Madam didn’t blow her flute to control their consciousness, it wasn’t a major issue.
He said, “It’s fine!”
Officer Cao replied, “Good!”
The SWAT and special police units truly lived up to their reputation as battle-hardened teams. Their mental fortitude was far beyond that of ordinary people. At Officer Cao’s command, the special police forces mobilized and joined the chaotic battlefield. The demons noticed them, and several lunged forward, biting and tearing. Through the chaos, Lin Xun saw Officer Cao, who had charged ahead, take a direct hit to his chest.
But Officer Cao remained unharmed.
Because he was wearing a bulletproof vest.
He even drew his handgun in a swift motion and fired a shot at the demon’s massive head!
The demon let out a sharp, piercing shriek upon being hit!
The other special police officers followed suit, immediately easing the pressure on the cultivation world’s side.
At the same time, a vast, clear light suddenly shone from the direction of the formation! Xiaoyaozi’s steady voice carried a hint of barely concealed excitement as he announced, “The formation is complete.”
With the formation complete, the rift to the demon realm had been sealed. No more demons would emerge, and their only remaining task was to deal with the ones already present.
The senior cultivators rose from their meditative states, each drawing their swords, blades, or magical artifacts, and threw themselves into the battle—though their movements stiffened slightly upon catching sight of the police officers.
Then, Old Man Huo’s voice rang out: “Let the disciple command!”
In this brief respite, Lin Xun managed to hop on one leg over to the waiting bench beside the subway. He unfolded the Starry Sky Grand Formation, raised the loudspeaker, and realized his voice was slightly hoarse. The change in posture intensified the excruciating pain in his leg, leaving him momentarily speechless from the agony. Just as he was about to force himself to begin directing, his phone screen suddenly lit up.
Lo’s clear, slightly youthful voice emanated from the phone, amplified by the loudspeaker and echoing throughout the subway station, set to the fastest speech rate.
“Dear user, hello. I am the intelligent system, Goddess of the Luo River. Please follow my instructions.”
“Yufeng Zhenren, please retreat.”
“Gushan Jun, to your left, three demons.”
“Officer 012, watch your back.”
“Officer 116, move thirty meters to your right front to support Officer 114.”
Lin Xun placed the loudspeaker’s opening near the phone’s speaker and aimed the camera at the Starry Sky Grand Formation, leaning against a pillar with a smile.
With their numbers and rational coordination, they quickly gained the upper hand, and it was only a matter of time before they secured victory.
Bihai Xianzi freed herself from the fray—she had never been the type of cultivator with strong combat prowess. The fairy landed beside him: “Xun’er, how are you?”
Faced with the doctor’s inquiry, Lin Xun recounted the situation in detail.
“Silly child,” Bihai Xianzi shook her head, gently taking his leg and examining it from knee to ankle. “Fortunately, it’s not broken—just dislocated.”
As long as it wasn’t broken, it was manageable.
With only about ten days left until the Technology Expo, Lin Xun didn’t want to hobble onstage to present his PowerPoint.
But then Bihai Xianzi asked softly, “What have you been up to lately? How have you been?”
Her question was abrupt, but Lin Xun didn’t overthink it. He reflected on his recent life: “Lately, I’ve been—”
His words abruptly cut off.
A searing, bone-deep pain shot from his knee to the crown of his head in an instant, arriving so swiftly that he didn’t even have time to utter a single word of complaint. He watched as Bihai Xianzi’s slender, delicate hands firmly twisted and pressed against his knee before calmly releasing him.
The bone had been set, but he was left gasping for breath, a cold sweat trickling down his forehead. Fortunately, the pain came and went quickly, subsiding after just five seconds and fading back to the intense yet bearable level it had been before.
His voice was weak. “…Thank you, Xianzi.”
Bihai Xianzi smiled, unscrewed a jade vial, and dissolved a pill over Lin Xun’s leg. A warm current flowed from his skin deep into the tissue.
Then, she handed the jade vial to Lin Xun. “This medicine is called Purple Sky Mending Pill. Use it once daily, and you should recover within three or four days. Still, a bone injury is no small matter—you should rest and recuperate these next few days.”
Lin Xun accepted it. “Thank you, Xianzi.”
Bihai Xianzi smiled again and went over to deliver medicine to Butterfly Madam.
The ensuing cleanup battle lasted about an hour. Once all the demonic creatures had either dissipated into thin air or been sealed away by the various cultivators’ magical artifacts, the subway station fell into an eerie silence.
Led by Officer Cao, a line of special police and armed police stood facing the cultivators on the other side, the two groups staring at each other in silence.
A deathly stillness persisted for a full minute. Finally, Xiaoyaozi spoke calmly, “Good afternoon, Officer.”
“Good afternoon.” Officer Cao’s expression held a hint of confusion, a touch of stiffness, and a great deal of blankness. “May I ask… which dynasty are you all from? Do you have a place to stay? Could you come with me?”
Lin Xun couldn’t help but laugh.
Officer Cao’s imagination was as formidable as his mental fortitude.
As Lin Xun waited to see how the senior cultivators would explain themselves, he watched as Xiaoyaozi produced an ID card from behind his back. “Officer, I’m not an undocumented resident. This is my ID. I am the 37th-generation sect leader of Mount Qingcheng, currently managing the Mount Qingcheng tourist attraction. Our ticket prices are set by the state, we never evade taxes, and we don’t force visitors to make incense offerings.”
“I’m not undocumented either. I’m the sect leader of Mount Longhu, and we don’t evade taxes either. Not only do we not force incense offerings, we also never pressure visitors into spending.”
“We don’t pressure spending either.”
“Ahem, I’m the sect leader of the Limitless Sect. Though we don’t have a tourist attraction, I’ve never missed paying property taxes.”
“I’m…”
Officer Cao looked at them seriously. “But I’m not here to investigate taxes.”
Butterfly Madam glided over and handed him a business card. “We were rehearsing here, Officer. My apologies for the disturbance.”
Officer Cao stared at her blankly. Even from a distance, Lin Xun could clearly see five words written in the officer’s eyes:
Do you think I believe that?
But then Officer Cao slowly turned his gaze toward Lin Xun’s location, his tone turning stern. “Come here!”
Relying on the 90-point favorability rating he had with Officer Cao, Lin Xun whined, “My leg is broken.”
Officer Cao snorted coldly and walked over. “What on earth are you all up to?”
Lin Xun replied weakly, “Reporting, Officer, there are chemical fumes in this area—look at those purple vapors. They have hallucinogenic effects.”
A question mark appeared in Officer Cao’s eyes. “Aren’t you a computer science major?”
Lin Xun: “All sciences are one family.”
Officer Cao: “Keep going.”
“We just discovered another suspected homicide in a basement in the western district. The basement was originally used for filming, with many props stored inside—quite terrifying for shooting ghost movies. There was also a cold storage room. We thought the body inside was also a prop, but it actually seemed to be a real corpse.” He said, “As you know, we are concerned citizens, very worried about the capital’s public safety. We searched everywhere for clues and ended up at the subway station, where we were confused by the smoke and started dancing. You were also affected, dancing and even firing your guns. Fortunately, you stopped the subway in time, or more people would have gotten off to dance.”
Officer Cao looked into his eyes, his expression grave. “Then you danced so hard you broke your own leg.”
“I’m just lively, as you know. I’ll never dare to be that lively again.”
The favorability effect had a certain degree of influence on Officer Cao, and combined with the mist from Butterfly Madam here, Officer Cao seemed to have been convinced. His gaze swept over the gradually recovering, bewildered crowd and the group of eccentrically dressed individuals from the cultivation world, each producing their identification. His scrutiny was cautious and stern.
He said, “Take us to that basement.”
Butterfly Madam led him there.
The others, aware that it would be unwise to flee under the police’s watchful eyes, were escorted by two special police officers and gradually followed along.
Lin Xun couldn’t walk upright. In the end, Chang Ji went out and found a shared wheelchair for him in the lobby of a nearby second-tier hospital, pushing him along as well.