A Good-for-Nothing

74. A Perilous Construction Site (2)

 

Translator: Dragon Rider

 

At seven o’clock in the evening. In the People’s Garden.

All builders had left the construction site and returned home to rest shortly after sunset. The construction site, which was quite noisy during daytime, was now shrouded in a deathly hush.

The three of them were on the third floor of this uncompleted building. In the sky above them hung a bright moon and numerous shining stars. Each of them was holding a searchlight, the light of which made their faces seem somewhat pale.

“We’re standing right in the position where the first accident happened. Somehow the last labor contractor fell from here and died an instantaneous death. Zu Ming compensated his family, so they didn’t come here to make trouble, but for some unknown reason, seven days later, a builder fell from here and died as well.”

Belching, He Zheng strained his neck looking down, but it was pitch-black down there and he couldn’t make out anything.

The young man standing on the left side of He Zheng craned his neck, gave a downward glance and soon recoiled. “Wow, I’m a little scared.” He patted himself on the chest, as if he was really in fear.

He was the helper that Zu Zhichong had got from the Wuwei-shizi Counter-demon Committee, who was also the one that the committee had recommended to SMB for a place on the Special Talents Training Program (STTP). His name, Jin Qianlai, sounded pretty catchy. Pity the one who bore this name seemed to be a little cowardly.

“This is so horrifying. The black gas is about to reach this floor.”

‘Black gas?’

On hearing this, He Zheng looked down more carefully. Strangely enough, a moment ago, he had seen that down there it was pitch-dark believing that it was because of the lack of light, but after hearing Jin Qianlai’s remarks, when he looked down again, he discovered that the pitch-blackness had nothing to do with the lack of light whatsoever. It seemed as if there were clouds of black gas rising up along the walls, intertwining with each other.

“I’m seeing it as well. A giant cloud of black gas is climbing upwards.”

Zu Zhichong scouting in the front didn’t hear this, but Jin Qianlai did. With a somewhat amazed look in his eyes, he asked, “You can see it?”

He Zheng inclined his head.

Seeing Zu Zhichong bending from the waist with his big butt to them, He Zheng had a sudden whim to poke fun at him. He prodded Jin Qianlai in the back and said, “He can’t see it. Let’s play a trick on him.”

Jin Qianlai snickered and instantly understood what He Zheng had in mind. “Elder Sect-brother Zu! I see black gas rising up from down there!”

He Zheng immediately responded cooperatively, “Yeah. A giant cloud of black gas.”

“Black gas? Which floor has it reached?” Zu Zhichong was standing on the edge of the third floor, where the bamboo scaffolding was the only thing he could hold on to. Not having noticed the prankish look on their faces, he made a casual response.

He Zheng saw that the black gas, like a hand, was quickly rising up and approaching Zu Zhichong’s feet. Right as Zu Zhichong’s voice sounded, the black gas had successfully come into contact his feet. He Zheng and Jin Qianlai calmly took two steps backward and pointed at Zu Zhichong’s feet.

“It’s right under your feet. Oh, it’s on your insteps!” He Zheng yelled.

Before Zu Zhichong could react, some kind of force abruptly grabbed his ankles and dragged him off. He let out a cry in alarm but saw that He Zheng and Jin Qianlai were standing by with schadenfreude on their faces. It instantly came to his knowledge that he had been tricked. With that, he thundered, “Fuck! You heartless assholes! We are supposed to be a team!”

Though in fury, Zu Zhichong hurriedly fished a Fu out of his pocket and rapidly recited an incantation. “Enlightenment of the four realms. Eternity of heaven and earth. Souls from the purgatory. Ghosts and spirits, go back to the void whence you came!”

As the last word of the incantation died away, the yell Fu ignited spontaneously and with that the black gas abruptly subsided and was nowhere to be seen. Zu Zhichong, quick of eye and deft of hand, gripped the edge of the cement floor, climbed up in a rather undignified way and lay on the floor, panting heavily.

As the black gas subsided, He Zheng and Jin Qianlai looked down at the same time and saw that the black gas had thoroughly vanished, as if something had sucked all of it.

“This is impossible. We definitely positioned the Ghost-eliminating Circle correctly. How come this kind of thing dared to show up?” Zu Zhichong lying on the ground murmured to himself.

On hearing this, Jin Qianlai crouching beside Zu Zhichong said, “The Ghost-eliminating Circle? I may be a countryman, but you don’t fool me. There’s no circle of any kind whatsoever in this place.”

Jin Qianlai, who excelled at exorcism circles and geomancy, could tell with half an eye.

“This can’t be happening. He Zheng and I positioned the circle this afternoon.” Zu Zhichong had a somewhat grave countenance.

Right at this moment, a security guard who had been hiding in the shadows all along suddenly rushed out. Before any of the three of them could react, he abruptly pounced on He Zheng who was the closest target. Caught off guard, He Zheng had just let out a four-letter word “Fuck!” when he was knocked flying and then fell straight downwards.

This unforeseen change had happened so quick that He Zheng’s brain hadn’t even had the time to process the information received. Seeing the rapidly approaching ground was about to hit his handsome face, He Zheng subconsciously closed his eyes.

All of a sudden, an extremely glaring golden light burst out of the middle of his forehead and instantly enveloped him. He heard the shouts of Zu Zhichong and Jin Qianlai but fell into unconsciousness before he could make a response.

Zu Zhichong was just about to leap down when another couple of men walked out of the shadows. All of them were dressed in builder’s clothes and covered in blood, their movements stiff.

Their faces without exception were too horrible to look at. Anyone could tell with half an eye they had fallen from a high position and landed first on their faces.

They were those deceased builders!

Zu Zhichong and Jin Qianlai exchanged glances, both of their faces grave.

“I’ll handle them. Go and find He Zheng!!”

Having no intention of making any arguments, Jin Qianlai took a flying leap and steadily landed where He Zheng should have landed a moment ago, only to find that He Zheng was nowhere to be seen!