The person standing on the mountain peak

  The atmosphere in the living room of Da Miao Temple suddenly became somewhat subtle.

  Bai Mu's eyes had been fixed on Zhang Haiyang since the beginning, and they hadn't moved away. His dull eyes were gradually becoming brighter, like two cold lights, or two precious swords being unsheathed, moving up and down on Zhang Haiyang's body. This made Zhang Haiyang feel uneasy all over, and also made Bai Mu feel embarrassed.

  "Zhang Shi-zhu, I see that there is no hint of evil aura on you, so why does it feel as if one has already fallen under a spell?"

  Bo Mu finally decided to get to the bottom of things, he grabbed the tea on the table and drank it all in one gulp, then sat down beside Bo Guang. Bo Guang frowned and moved away to one side, but Bo Mu was not polite, immediately drinking up all of Bo Guang's tea as well.

  "What is magic? I ask the master, what is magic?"

  "Devils are those whose six senses and eight consciousnesses all confirm evil, and who misuse their thoughts and efforts in the wrong place."

  "How did the master determine that I had become possessed by a demon?"

  "This..."

  Bai Mu was speechless for a moment, and he indeed couldn't prove it.

  Zhang Haiyang's eyes were clear and calm, in this Buddhist treasure land he was completely unflappable, unlike those who had evil intentions.

  The Buddha said, 'All phenomena are like dreams, illusions, bubbles, and shadows. They should be viewed as such.' As long as the heart is clear, no matter where or what you face, it won't disturb your mind. Just like Zhang Haiyang at this moment, under the seemingly piercing gaze that can see through one's soul in Bimu, he still maintains a faint smile.

  "Hmph, don't be so smug, I've seen through it anyway."

  Bai Mu turned his head away in a huff, looking like a sulky child, leaving Zhang Haiyang feeling helpless.

  "Master Pi Mu, the Thirteen Evil Spirits are going to reincarnate again."

  "What's the point of you saying that? Do you think I left early for no reason? I also know where that evil spirit is right now!"

  Bi Mu's face was full of pride, and he even lifted his sleeve to rub his armpits vigorously. Bi Guang quietly took another step back, this younger brother was lazy by nature, which made him also feel helpless.

  "What? Has it already appeared in this world? Where?"

  Zhang Haiyang excitedly jumped up, regardless of the dirt, and grabbed Pu Mu's arm.

  In the western suburbs' vacant villa, Wang Nianzheng put the black jade pendant back around his neck. The human figure in front of him suddenly appeared and disappeared.

  "I remember you, you're Wang Nian."

  "What else?"

  "And... oh, yes, and I want to kill you."

  Suddenly, without any warning, Gao Yun's shadowy figure became real, and one foot kicked out with incredible speed, hitting Wang Nian right in the chest. There was a loud cracking sound, as if something had been shattered.

  "Ahh! A ghost!"

  The elder brother Wang, who had just awakened, let out a strange cry and fainted again.

  "Ghost? Is he talking about me?"

  Gao Yan seemed somewhat perplexed, she lowered her head to look at her own body, furrowing her brow.

  "How did this happen?"

  Wang Nian stumbled backward several steps before regaining his footing, the black jade he had just put in his pocket was kicked to pieces, sharp shards piercing his chest, a stinging sensation spreading from his bones. Blood quickly seeped through his clothes and spread downward. But Wang Nian paid no attention to these, he only felt the ache in his heart, as if something deep within his soul had been shattered by Gao Yan's kick. Accompanying the heart-wrenching pain was shock, compressing him from all sides.

  "How can you hit me? I'm the one who summoned you, so I'm your master, I..."

  "You people are really strange, I am who I am, there is no master."

  Gao Yun interrupted Wang Nian's words, then lowered her head to observe her own body, seemingly filled with confusion about her current state. At this time, Gao Yun was wearing a red dress, like a newlywed woman. The red dress was densely covered with tadpole-like text, and if you looked closely, you would find that the text was alive, stuck to Gao Yun's body like insects. Even the necklace around her neck was red, with a black jade pendant at the end, which emitted a blood-red glow in the light. Gao Yun's feet were bare, standing on tiptoes with a pair of slender and delicate feet suspended in mid-air.

  "You're not a tooth fairy!"

  Wang Nian suddenly said that he would wipe away the jade fragments on his chest, and the black jade fragments symbolizing the Yin Fu Ling fell from his clothes.

  "I sensed the presence of a vengeful spirit, so I used the Black Jade Yin Talisman. Any evil spirits summoned by the Black Jade Yin Talisman will acknowledge their master, but you don't acknowledge me and even destroyed the talisman. Never has an evil spirit been able to harm its master and remain unscathed. So, Gao Qian, have you really come back to life?"

  "Alive? Yeah, I think I died once."

  A cold light suddenly flashed in Gao Xuan's eyes, and she seemed to remember everything.

  Wang Nian involuntarily took a step back, his back already against the wall. Was he going to start running again? Wang Nian suddenly felt like laughing, at this moment he was like when he was young and being chased everywhere, everything was unknown.

  Yang Ming woke up from his coma, having just had an extremely realistic nightmare. In the dream, a female ghost was cutting off pieces of his flesh with a knife and handing him the bloody meat. The pain was everywhere, from inside to outside and back again. When he opened his eyes, Yang Ming found that he was still intact, nothing missing, and lying on a clean bed.

  There is a nurse treating Yang Ming's wound.

  "Are you awake?"

  Gao Tian sat on another bed, leaning against the pillow. Yang Ming blinked in surprise, then realized that something was wrong - Gao Tian had unexpectedly not addressed him as "Director Yang", and his tone was completely lacking in respect. Yang Ming turned over and sat up, colliding with his wound, and suddenly became furious.

  "Are you blind?!"

  "Don't scold her, your wound is going to get infected if you don't put medicine on it soon."

  The nurse apparently knew the identities of these two people and looked at Yang Ming's face with trepidation.

  Yang Ming was puzzled by Gao Tian's change and didn't know where the problem lay. In the end, it was still Gao Tian who broke the silence first.

  "We're done."

  Gao Tian suddenly said, with a dejected expression.

  "The Fanggui is gone, it must have been summoned by Wang Nian, we're done for this time."

  Yang Ming was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed.

  "You're too pessimistic, some things should be thought of in a positive direction."

  "Oh? Do you have another way?"

  Gao Tian was infected by Yang Ming's calmness, and under questioning, Yang Ming still had an inscrutable smile.

  "By the way, what was the name of that writer you introduced me to last time?"

  "The attic is the writer of Hei Mao She."

  "Right, it's this attic. I don't believe in the two-life romance he wrote for me! His name is strange too. Hmph, turn back and shave off all his hair!"

  "What's the point of shaving his fur?"

  Yang Ming didn't answer, and a mysterious smile floated up again at the corner of his mouth.

  Wang Nian forgot how he escaped from the villa, he only remembered a few figures coming towards him, and it seemed like there was also a monk. Before that, everywhere was filled with Gao Juan's figure, and her jade-like feet, which kicked his body but felt like steel. The temper of this beautiful woman became worse after death, perhaps this is the inevitable result of becoming an evil spirit.

  It was just this moment that would take Wang Nian's life.

  Wang Nian fled down the mountain road, not knowing why Gao Qian hadn't chased after him, but he didn't stop running because there were still people chasing behind him, bringing a sky full of murderous intent. Wang Nian glanced back and saw that it was a man, seemingly someone he had seen somewhere before. Wang Nian had many enemies, only he didn't know who this person was.

  Killing intent is an intangible and formless thing, but people who have been through the rivers and lakes for a long time can more or less feel it. It's an instinctive reaction to danger.

  In front is a dense forest of needle-leaved pines, planted very densely, so none are robust, with no more than twenty years of tree age. Passing through this forest and moving forward is the peak of Dàmù Mountain, where there is no shelter at all.

  New wounds and old pains slowed down Wang Nian's speed, he couldn't hold on for much longer, unable to escape, had to fight quickly. As Wang Nian crossed over a thicker pine tree, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and hid behind the tree, peeking out to look back. The person chasing after him was a man in his thirties, with no gun in hand, only gripping a tactical combat knife. Wang Nian's heart was racing wildly, unsure if it was due to running or tension, he struggled to remain calm, preventing himself from trembling further, while thinking of how to respond.

  The man's footsteps drew near, and Wang Nian suddenly realized why he was trembling - because of fear. From that afternoon two days ago, everything had been out of his control, with people chasing him everywhere, which made the long-time comfortable king of fighting unable to bear it, and now was his most vulnerable moment.

  Even the most daring villain has moments of trepidation.

  The footsteps had already reached behind him, Wang Nian threw away all distractions and turned around to pounce out, throwing the sand in his hand towards that person.

  The idle villa is now exceptionally lively, with Bi Guang and Bi Mu standing guard on either side of the door, each holding a tin rod. The golden ring at the end of the rod shines brightly and makes a ringing sound as they chant mantras and display their Buddhist appearance, just like two gate-keeping Vajras. Inside the villa, a woman's voice can be heard screaming in pain, her voice drifting aimlessly, seeming to come from all directions, making one feel chilly and terrified by the eerie atmosphere.

  "Great Compassionate Heavenly Dragon, World-Honored Earth Treasury, Mahaprajna Mantra: Om Mani Padme Hum! Evil spirits manifest!"

  He kicked open the front door of the villa with one foot and rushed in.

  "Huh?"

  Bai Mu was taken aback, and in front of him was the meditation hall of Da Mu Temple. Several monks were chanting their morning prayers, and when they saw Bai Mu burst in, they all turned to look at him. Bai Mu turned his head to look back, and outside the door, golden light filled every direction, the morning sun dazzling and blinding, unlike an illusion.

  "Hum! You think you can deceive me with such tricks?"

  Bai Mu was about to recite the mantra to clear his mind when a person suddenly walked in from among the countless golden lights outside the door, slender and elegant, causing Bai Mu's heart to skip a beat.

  "Master, I'm back again."

  Bai Mu Mingzhi knew it was an illusion, but he still involuntarily stopped his spell and stared blankly at the person.

  "Xiao Lan, is it really you?"

  Xiao Lan had entered the hall and walked straight to Bi Mu's front. She was still like ten years ago, with a faint sense of resentment hidden between her eyebrows, even her clothes were the same as when she last appeared, a clean indigo blue cheongsam that perfectly outlined her curves, enticing yet making it difficult for anyone to harbor evil thoughts.

  "Master, after all these years, I suddenly understood my own heart. The one I truly love is you. Don't leave me again, okay?"

  Xiao Lan reached out her hand, Pi Mu's eyes were blurry with tears, the tin stick fell to one side, and the sound of the law ring was like the collision of dry wood.

  "Hmm, I'm still vulgar, let's move to Mount Hua."

  Bo Mu held onto Xiao Lan's hand, and that hand was still as soft and boneless as it had been ten years ago. A warm current seemed to flow up her arm and into her heart.

  "This is happiness!"

  Tears finally overflowed from Bo Mu's eyes, falling down and sparkling with countless lights, landing on the ground.

  Wake up!

  A sudden, loud shout pierced the air, and Bì Mù's heart skipped a beat, as if something had snapped. He instantly recalled everything and abruptly opened his eyes to find that he was not in the meditation hall of Dàmù Temple. The illusion of Xiǎo Lán had not disappeared, but her face had transformed into a ferocious and terrifying visage with evil intentions, wearing a red dress, and grasping Bì Mù's arm, biting it.

  "Ah!"

  Bai Mu's arm was in unbearable pain, and with great force, he flung away the small Lan that had already swallowed half of his arm. When he looked at his own arm again, he was suddenly terrified. Bai Mu's half-arm had only a dry bone left, with charred skin like a thin membrane tightly attached to the white bone, this scene was like the result of being struck by a high-voltage electric shock.

  Xiao Lan was thrown into mid-air by his Diamond Sutra's power, suddenly froze in place, and changed appearance.

  "What a fine monk of the Dharma form! You deserve to die!"

  "Is it Gao Yun?"

  The bright light outside the door suddenly asked, and Gao Yun, who was about to attack Pi Mu in mid-air, was taken aback.

  "How did you know my name?"

  "You're already dead, the dead shouldn't interfere with the affairs of the living."

  The wooden stick fell to the ground, and he didn't enter the villa. He sat down at the door, placed his tin cane in front of him, and began reciting the "Rebirth Sutra".

  Gao Yun's illusion shattered instantly, like being devoured by insects. She let out a sharp cry as she dodged and reassembled her form, but the sound of Pi Guang's curse was everywhere. Gao Yun became furious, her eyes turned bright red, as if they were about to bleed, and that blood emitted an ominous dark glow.

  "You're all deceiving me! I'm going to kill you! I hate you!"

  Gao Yun's phantom became real once again, like a bolt of lightning pouncing on Bi Guang.

  Zhang Haiyang's eyes never left Wang Nian from the moment he saw him, forgetting the most important rule of being an assassin: to hide oneself.

  Zhang Haiyang paid a heavy price for this.

  When the sand in Wang Nian's hand came flying towards him, Zhang Haiyang didn't have time to react and subconsciously raised his hand to block it. At the same time, he maintained his forward momentum, even applying more force with his feet, hoping to knock Wang Nian down. However, Zhang Haiyang had misjudged the situation. Wang Nian was known as the king of close combat, and his skills were honed from countless real battles. Moreover, he was a master of internal martial arts, which allowed him to borrow power from his opponent's attacks. The greater the force of the impact, the more power he could utilize. In a flash, Wang Nian seized Zhang Haiyang's wrist and pulled it towards his chest, while his body dodged behind a pine tree.

  "Ah!"

  Zhang Haiyang let out a miserable cry and crashed into a pine tree, with the protruding branches almost piercing his left shoulder.

  "Fall back!"

  Zhang Haiyang's first thought in the midst of the intense pain was to retreat, but Wang Nian didn't give him that opportunity. The wrist of his right hand, which held the knife, tightened, and he was grabbed. Immediately followed by a familiar twist of the wrist, pressuring the elbow, and lifting up, the tactical assault knife slipped out of his grasp amidst unbearable pain.

  Eyes full of sand, the sharp pain accompanied by tears kept flowing out. Zhang Haiyang knew that if he didn't escape from Wang Nian's control circle, the next second would be his death. However, with a severely bruised left shoulder and right wrist still in the opponent's grasp, his body was involuntarily pressed to the ground, with fists continuously falling towards his dodging occipital bone. The opponent was also badly injured, with weak fist strength that wasn't enough to knock Zhang Haiyang unconscious. Nevertheless, it wasn't easy to regain control either.

  Zhang Haiyang cursed himself in his heart, having been an assassin for over a year and considered a skilled Muay Thai fighter, yet he was being pinned down and beaten. If his master found out, he would definitely be expelled from the school. However, it wasn't time to give up yet. Zhang Haiyang closed his eyes tightly, squeezing out tears mixed with sand, mobilizing all his potential that could be triggered in a life-or-death moment. With a surge of pain, he used his left hand to support himself on the ground and charged forward with his head, while his right hand grasped the opponent's wrist, and his left hand left the ground to hook around the opponent's leg, twisting his body to form a lateral pull.

  These few actions were completed in an instant, turning the situation around.

  Wang Nian was standing at the top of the slope, so Zhang Haiyang's head was at his thigh, and his calf was held by Zhang Haiyang, unable to retreat. Wang Nian was already exhausted, and now being pushed and pulled by Zhang Haiyang, he fell to the ground instantly, and the two rolled into a ball.

  "I'll kill you!"

  Zhang Haiyang was still clearly unable to see anything, but that didn't stop him from taking the initiative. At this moment, he was pressing down on Wang Nian's body, heavily punching the approximate location of Wang Nian's head.

  If he hadn't been injured, Wang Nian wouldn't have put Zhang Haiyang's clumsy attack in his eyes, but now it was different. He had no place on his body that didn't hurt, and more importantly, he had no strength left. Facing Zhang Haiyang's heavy punches, he could only keep dodging, but his head was still hit several times, his eyebrow bone cracked, and blood seeped into his eyes like a burning fire.

  Zhang Haiyang's fists mostly hit the ground, with gravel stuck to his fists, hurting so much that he almost forgot about the wound on his shoulder. But Zhang Haiyang couldn't stop, Wang Nian was still alive, and all the hatred in his heart turned into strength, one punch after another.

  But just then, a sudden gust of wind was felt behind the ear, Zhang Haiyang instinctively ducked to avoid it, but it was too late. He only heard a loud bang in his ear, and then everything went black before his eyes, and his body went limp and fell to the ground.

  Tears mixed with sand and soil flowed from the corners of her eyes, as if they would never stop.

  "Big brother, are you okay?"

  Big Brother Wang was panting and carrying a wooden stick, he followed Zhang Haiyang all the way until now.

  Wang Nian pushed Zhang Haiyang, who was in a coma, with great force, picked up the tactical assault knife, and just as he was about to end Zhang's life, a gunshot rang out, and the tactical assault knife fell to the ground.

  In the vacant villa, Gao Xuan was about to pounce on Bi Guang when a gunshot suddenly rang out. A net appeared in mid-air, and Gao Xuan couldn't dodge it. He crashed into the net, and a massive electric shock ensued.

  After a mournful cry, Gao Xuan found that his body was cut into countless fragments by the net, and the pain was like his soul being torn apart.

  "Huh?"

  Bo Guang couldn't help but open his eyes and turn around to find it was an old acquaintance.

  "I say, monk, why are you still using these few moves?"

  Tang Hongming and several women in their 40s appeared in the courtyard of the villa, all wearing full-body anti-static suits.

  A burst of light stunned her mind, and she stopped reading "The Scripture of Rebirth". In the villa, Gao Yun recondensed into a physical body.

  "Flower and monk, continue reciting!"

  Tang Hongming shouted at Pi Guang, her several subordinates were busy assembling a device.

  Gao Yun saw that among the people present, Tang Hongming posed the greatest threat to her, so she abandoned Bi Guang and went straight for Tang Hongming. After firing a shot, Tang Hongming had already loaded another special electronic net bullet, and seeing Gao Yun's ferocious face flying towards him, he immediately raised his gun and fired.

  But this shot unexpectedly missed.

  Gao Qian saw Tang Hongming raise his gun and immediately changed direction, diving vertically down, pouncing on the ground to entangle Tang Hongming's body, opening his mouth full of red teeth to bite down.

  Tang Hongming felt as if she was being wrapped around by a giant python in the anti-electric suit, with an invisible pressure that almost crushed her bones. Although she was wearing the anti-electric suit, she still felt her hair standing on end, as if she were in an extremely strong electric field. Tang Hongming struggled desperately, and she could already feel Gao Yun gnawing at the anti-electric suit; if Gao Yun succeeded, she would undoubtedly die.

  "Damn it! Let me go!"

  Tang Hong's name was furious, and since entering the Six Departments, this was the second time to deal with evil spirits. The last time was a fiasco, and it was still Bi Mu who saved her and the team members. This time, she wore a new invention of anti-electric clothing, but was still suppressed, and the face of the Six Departments was completely lost.

  Gao Yun's body glowed with a dark blue light, tightly bound to Tang Hongming's body, constantly using his teeth to tear at the anti-electric suit on Tang Hongming's neck.

  At this time, Pi Guang had recovered from his astonishment and began to recite the "Jing Tu Jing" again. The iron stick also pointed at Gao Juan, but it seemed to have no effect.

  The wooden beam in the villa stopped, as if it had fainted.

  Tang Hongming's subordinates were not flustered at all, still assembling the instruments, completely ignoring the section chief's life or death. Perhaps they trusted the anti-electric suits too much and didn't notice Tang Hongming's reaction.

  But just as Gao Yun was about to bite through the insulated suit, a peach wood sword hacked at her, and she was struck like lightning. Gao Yun let out a miserable cry as she bounced off Tang Hongming's body, flailing in mid-air at the spot where the peach wood sword had hacked at her, where red flames were dancing and spreading.

  "Are you okay?"

  Professor Yu with long hair floating stood beside Tang Hong's body, seeing no major problem, then held his sword and gazed intently at Gao Qian in the air.

  "What an evil and malevolent spirit!"

  Tang Hongming's trembling finally stopped after a good half day, although Gao Xuan only wrapped around her for over ten seconds, but these few seconds seemed like an eternity, the kind of mortal fear that seeped into her heart made Tang Hongming put away her disdain. However, she did not feel grateful to Professor Yu for saving her.

  "Who asked you to come and save us! Didn't you say you wouldn't engage in this pseudo-science?"

  "Cough cough, I'm learning now."

  The professor said so with his mouth, but his feet were stepping on the brakes, as if facing a great enemy.

  Gao Yun finally came to her senses from her furious state, realizing that these people were not easy to deal with and if she didn't escape soon, something dangerous might happen. However, Gao Yun was too late, just as she was about to turn around and flee, she suddenly found herself unable to move, and the next moment everything went black, plunging the world into silence once again.

  "Yes! Success!"

  The anti-electric suits transmitted the joyful shouts of the women, but their team leader, Tang Hongming, suddenly went limp and fell into Professor Yu's arms.

  "Don't dodge, I'm out of strength."

  Professor Yu's face was shocked, and Pi Guang smiled slightly at the corner of his mouth, shaking his head and turning back to enter the villa to check on Pi Mu's situation.

  Wang Nian didn't have the energy to kill Zhang Haiyang again, and dragged his injured body along with his big brother Wang to escape towards the mountain top.

  Gunfire rang out from time to time, but Wang Nian and his elder brother Wang did not run in a straight line in the dense windbreak forest, so they were not hit again. They escaped from the windbreak forest and stopped on the bald mountain peak, with cliffs on the other side of the mountain peak, and there was no way out.

  "Big brother, what should we do?"

  Big Brother Wang's face turned pale, he was now completely at a loss.

  The wind on the mountain top is very strong, almost blowing people to the point of being unable to stand. A hawk soars in the sky, coldly gazing down at everything on earth, regardless of whether it's living or dead.

  Wang Nian turned his head and glanced at the windbreak forest, a hint of cold smile floating on the corner of his mouth.

  "Who cares? Let's jump together!"

  Big Brother Wang was still hesitating, but was pulled by Wang Nian to jump off the cliff.

  Li Kezhang was shocked to see the two people choose to jump off the cliff rather than be captured, but then he thought of the lake below the cliff and realized that these two were indeed desperate fugitives with a lot of guts.

  Li Ke put down his sniper rifle and leaned against a pine tree to rest, while calling Wu Xiuhui of the criminal police team to inform him that Wang Nian had appeared near Damushan. After finishing the call, Li Ke's breathing was still not stable, as he hadn't run and shot like this in a long time.

  "Hit by just one bullet, what a failure!"

  The shooting genius of those years shook his head and sighed, but when he came back, Zhang Haiyang was nowhere to be seen.

  "Nowadays young people don't even know how to say 'thank you', it's really frustrating."

  Li Ke blinked his eyes and muttered to himself.