Xiao Feng lay on the sofa, her eyes fixated on Lu Xing’s maniacal laughter. Memories of her childhood nightmares flooded her mind, causing her to shut her eyes in agony. She whispered softly to herself, “Our destiny is predetermined. We cannot escape it.”

Unbeknownst to anyone in the warehouse, a centipede had crawled out of Xiao Feng’s pocket and vanished into the depths of the sofa.

It wasn’t until the afternoon when I found out that Xiao Feng was missing. The Gu master had rushed into the shop, saying that she had been taken away by a group of thugs.

At first, I didn’t believe it, but when I went to the market to investigate, I realized that the situation was much more serious than what the Gu master had described.

There were no signs of a struggle at the kidnapping scene, and the fact that the thugs were able to easily overpower the Gu master suggested that their identities were not simple.

“Why would they kidnap Xiao Feng? Money or something else?” I shook my head, ruling out those possibilities, and picked up the vegetable basket that had fallen to the ground. “The vegetables inside are still clean and not scattered, which means the basket wasn’t thrown during a struggle. Xiao Feng must have let go on her own.”

“Why would she let go? Did she see something terrifying? Like a ghost haunting in broad daylight?” I dismissed that thought, as Xiao Feng was already haunted by a ghost of her own, and wouldn’t be that much frightened by them.

I came to a realization: “Who is the person that Xiao Feng fears the most?”

The inn landlord couple had already been arrested, and besides them, there was only one person who could make Xiao Feng so terrified.

“Her brother, Lu Xing, who’s on the run.” My eyes lit up, and I called for the Gu master, asking him if he had seen a strange young man.

The Gu master’s was vague and unclear, only recalling a young man wearing a duckbill cap standing behind him when he fainted.

“It’s highly likely that the person behind this is a fugitive. We need to call the police immediately,” I said, confident in my assumption.

Half an hour later, the first thing that I said when I met Tie Ningxiang was, “Xiao Feng has been kidnapped, and it’s likely Lu Xing who did it.”

A city-wide search was launched in secret, and although I was worried about Xiao Feng’s safety, I knew there was little I could do to help.

Returning to Tingtang Road, the Gu master, who had been silent the whole time, finally spoke up: “I 

share half the blame for that girl’s disappearance. I’ll do my best to help you find her.”

“It was bound to happen,” I replied, lighting a cigarette and grabbing two cups of instant noodles to place on the table.

“There’s actually something I need to tell you. I lost one of my gu worms.”

“Lost one?” 

“It’s the thousand legged Gu, that half-foot long centipede. It has a preference for extremely cold and dark things. When I lost consciousness, it escaped from the Gu container,” the Gu Master hesitated for a moment before revealing what he had done the night before. 

“So, you’re saying that the lost Gu worm is likely with Xiao Feng now?” 

“Yes, I feed the Gu worm with my own blood, so as long as it appears within a hundred meters of me, I can sense it.” 

“Can you even search the entire Jiangchen with each of its corner? Just wait for the police to do their job, I’m more anxious than you are,” I knew the Gu Master meant well, but his suggested method was too inefficient. 

“Don’t worry, I’ll find her and give you an explanation,” the Gu Master said, then shook his black robe and walked out of the shop. 

Just a few hours ago, the small shop was bustling with activity, but now it had become cold and empty, as if time had turned back to a long time ago. 

“If only I had said those words by the river yesterday…” 

A whole day had passed, and there was still no news of Xiao Feng. During this time, I had asked Er Gouzi to look for her, and even begged Blind Liu to do a divination, but it had no effect. 

In Blind Liu’s words, this was a calamity that Xiao Feng was destined to face and couldn’t avoid. 

I had no intention of doing anything else until 8 p.m. the next day, when a sudden flash of cold light illuminated the darkened shop. Someone had dialed the underworld’s large screen phone. What was meant to come would always come. I took a deep breath and picked up the phone. 

“Hello?” 

“Ding dong! We have arrived at Miyun Mansion. Please take your personal belongings and exit through the back door. Thank you for riding with us.”

“The bus has arrived at the station. Pedestrians and vehicles, please be careful. Welcome to the No.14 autonomous ticketing bus. Please board through the front door and insert one yuan. No change will be given on the bus.”

“The bus is now departing. Please remain seated and hold on tight. Thank you for riding the No. 14 autonomous ticketing bus. If you are boarding, please have exact change ready, as the fare is one yuan. Passengers getting on should proceed to the back door. The next stop is station N.3 bridge crematorium. “

After what seemed like a bus announcement, a woman’s voice suddenly rang out: “Promise me, don’t let my daughter get on the bus! Promise me!” The phone suddenly hung up, leaving a busy signal echoing in the small shop.

Not long after, a text message arrived in the mailbox: “At the silent and deserted midnight, do not board the last bus that is likely to be a hearse full of dead bodies due to delay.” 

“Live streaming mission: Arrive at Miyun Mansion before dawn, take bus 14 and arrive at the final stop alive (Note: the task must be completed without the company of any living creature, otherwise it will be considered a failure).” 

“Optional mission: Protect the passengers on the bus. Each additional surviving passenger earns you one point as a reward.” Staring dumbfounded at the text message in the mailbox, every live streaming task gave me an unexpected feeling. 

“Forbidding the task to be carried out with any living creature? This rule is obviously targeting Bai Qi. How did the Underworld Show know about Bai Qi? Have they been around me all along?” 

Four hours before the start of the live broadcast, my only trump card, Bai Qi, couldn’t join me on the livestream. 

“The tasks on the Underworld Show are becoming more and more dangerous. Last time, it was only thanks to Xiao Feng’s intervention that I survived.” I couldn’t expect a miracle to happen every time I livestreamed. 

It’s too difficult to rely on last-minute solutions. After much deliberation, I decided to use the points I earned from the Underworld Show to exchange for protective talismans that could keep me alive. 

I asked Bai Qi to stay and guard while I called Blind Liu to come over, and then I took a taxi to the largest bank in Jiangcheng. Taking out my large-screen smartphone, I sent a message to the mailbox: “Points exchange. I want to exchange for six small random transportation talismans.” 

“Points deducted. Four points remaining. Your items have been deposited in your personal safe and can be collected at any time.” The Underworld Show replied almost immediately. When I arrived at the bank, which should have been closed, it was unexpectedly well-lit, and the graceful branch manager was standing at the entrance. 

“Mr. Gao, we have received the notification. Please follow me,” the person said. 

“The package has already arrived? Did you see who delivered it?” I asked. 

“Sorry, we only received a phone call saying that you would come to collect the package,” the person replied. I felt a bit incredulous. 

The Underworld Show really had incredible capabilities. But when I thought about it, they could communicate with ghosts and even produce things like the Plum Blossom Gu. Therefore, they could easily sneak something into a bank vault without anyone noticing. 

After arriving at the personal safe deposit box on the lower level and swiping my black card, I took out a black package. I didn’t open it hastily. Instead, I went back to Ting Tang Road, where Blind Liu, whom I had called, was already waiting for me.