hsntnovel Chapter 17 What is this?
Chapter 17 What is this?
The originally powerful impact was reduced in destructive power after being filtered by He Jingtong's light shield.
Jiang Xingni calmly stood at the location within the safe zone that the tracks had indicated for him.
Xiao Jiming's eerie aura was directly dissipated by the impact, and the shattered body almost hit Xiao Jiming and Song Juexiao—fortunately, it was intercepted by the transparent protective shield erected by Song Juexiao.
Looking at the fragments stuck to the protective shield, Song Juexiao's eyes widened, his green eyes filled with an emotion that was hard to tell whether it was disgust or relief.
Even the shockwave after being intercepted caused them some trouble. Pei Zhaoye, who was already in a sorry state, groaned and a little blood seeped from the corner of his lips.
Not to mention the group of children who received absolutely no protection—they were propelled into the air and then fell down in a sorry state.
Before the pain could rouse them from their coma, the subsequent injuries plunged them back into unconsciousness.
Amidst the chaos, Jiang Xingni stood out, with only his hair slightly disheveled. He was particularly noticeable among the group of people who had suffered varying degrees of internal and external injuries.
He Jingtong withdrew the long sword he had been using to support himself, his gaze landing probingly on Jiang Xingni's location: "What a coincidence?"
Jiang Xing didn't turn his head, but looked around at the scene before him. The entire ancestral hall looked like it had been plowed over. Some of the lights had gone out, and the whole room was covered with cobwebs.
Moonlight streamed through the window and fell onto the dilapidated cement floor, while the chirping of some unknown bird drifted in from outside.
The phone finally got a signal. Jiang Xing glanced at the screen and checked the time: 2:10 a.m.
Jiang Xingni's phone didn't have any new messages, but it was a different story for the main characters—ever since the signal was restored, they've been bombarded with calls and text messages.
She yawned; girls with very healthy routines rarely stay up until this time.
A group of children were lying haphazardly on the floor. Jiang Xingni walked over and touched the tip of their noses and checked their pulses one by one.
He Jingtong, who also had no one to contact, simply stood behind her with his sword, silently observing her.
"What did you find?" He only asked after Jiang Xingni stopped.
Jiang Xingni said with some regret, "They're all alive, not dead."
He Jingtong: ...
Even He Jingtong hadn't expected Jiang Xingni to give this answer.
"Are you quite disappointed?" He Jingtong raised an eyebrow and asked.
Jiang Xingni would definitely not admit it, so she downplayed the issue: "I just simply feel that those who do evil should suffer the consequences."
He Jingtong chuckled, as if mocking her naive idea, but ultimately said nothing more.
"Is it all over?" After getting the phone, Pei Zhaoye seemed to have taken a red pill, and suddenly no one was in pain anymore. His face was full of bright joy as he spoke.
Jiang Xingni was the one who answered, and the girl smiled with narrowed eyes, "No."
The golden thread belonging to the wordless book still lingered and coiled in the corner of Jiang Xingni's sight.
No one questioned Jiang Xingni's judgment. He Jingtong rolled his eyes silently, and Xiao Jiming sighed, "What a hassle."
Song Juexiao didn't speak, but nodded in strong agreement, expressing his attitude.
Only Pei Zhaoye, his purple eyes filled with inquiry and curiosity, tilted his head to look at Jiang Xingni: "We've fought side by side, haven't we? Miss, aren't you going to introduce yourself?"
Upon hearing this, the main characters all turned their gazes toward Jiang Xingni.
"After all, the human skin shadow puppetry problem hasn't been solved yet," Xiao Jiming said politely. "Perhaps we'll need to cooperate again in the future?"
Song Juexiao and He Jingtong did not speak, but silently stared intently at Jiang Xingni.
Jiang Xingni: ...
Jiang Xingni's eyebrows relaxed, and he smiled helplessly: "I didn't say I couldn't introduce myself, did I, Jiang Xingni?"
"Do we need to introduce ourselves?" He Jingtong countered. "I bet you've already investigated us thoroughly?"
Jiang Xingni quickly defended himself: "Don't talk nonsense. I didn't say anything before, but... you really don't need an introduction."
To be precise, Jiang Xingni only started investigating them this afternoon—or yesterday afternoon.
But there's no need to be so clear about these things. Anyway, it's only a matter of a few days, so it won't make much difference.
"While I wouldn't say I know him very well, at least I know his name and such," Jiang Xingni said with a light wink and a smile.
Could this be considered a way to lower their guard a little? Jiang Xingni thought. After all, people of unknown origin always arouse people's vigilance. Jiang Xingni didn't know if his words could make them relax—although the answer to that question was probably no, it didn't stop Jiang Xingni from saying it.
As soon as Jiang Xingni uttered those words, she subtly and carefully observed the reaction of the main characters opposite her—just as Jiang Xingni had imagined, her words received a very unanimous response of "Do you think I believe you?"
Although the main characters didn't say it outright out of a sense of superficial camaraderie, Jiang Xingni could still glean from their expressions what they wanted to say, what they hadn't finished saying.
She shrugged, not entirely surprised by the result.
For the time being, and only for now, Jiang Xingni genuinely doesn't know the detailed backstory of the main characters.
As the comic continues to be updated and the setting book is released, Jiang Xingni will probably know more—but by then, to be honest, Jiang Xingni feels that he will have already experienced quite a few instances with the main characters, and many settings may not need to be learned from the setting book at all.
Xiao Jiming and the others had no idea where Jiang Xingni's thoughts had wandered off to in such a short time.
He had already contacted the official in charge over the phone; since they entered the Ghost Realm, their communication with the outside world had been cut off.
—For those with superpowers, this is already a very common occurrence. Even with the Bureau of Paranormal Phenomena observing and judging, not every judgment on abnormal events is accurate.
Such as this time.
Originally classified as a Class C anomaly, it turned out to be a Class B anomaly after arriving at the village and being drawn into a strange realm.
"Claim compensation." Song Juexiao silently typed these two words on his phone, then enlarged the font size, made it bold, and placed the phone screen in front of Xiao Jiming.
Xiao Jiming: ...
"I will." He nodded, watching the car headlights pierce the darkness, knowing that those who came were definitely from the Bureau of Paranormal Phenomena.
Although they lost contact, according to regulations, they must wait near the location of the incident and provide logistical support.
In case of emergencies, they can be dealt with promptly.
The middle-aged man hurriedly stopped the car, then ran out, his worried gaze sweeping over the main characters before finally settling on Jiang Xingni.
"This is……?"