Master of Kaidan
Chapter 447

Chapter 447: Chapter 447

"Although a more reliable guess was that being replaced by something in the dream world upon death, Feng Xue had already experienced memory loss at least twice. According to this theory, he should have been replaced long ago; therefore, he felt that even if he were replaced, it would be a gradual process."

"So the question arises, why wouldn’t he die in reality?"

"Considering the actions of the ghost hand lifting tiles to kill, it would strike at any opportunity, yet in reality, it remained inert; this undeniably implied that death simply wasn’t a factor in reality, at least not accidental death."

"But this seemed to contradict the logic of how a normal world should operate."

"Feng Xue, of course, had considered that this world might actually be the real one, but then the settings about dying and resurrection would also be problematic, not to mention the outrageous fact that he had become a ’real person’ in this world."

"Hiss—my head is so itchy, I must be growing a brain!"

"As thoughts rapidly flashed through Feng Xue’s mind, the other three were clearly startled by this sudden ’attack.’ Qing Jin even frowned and said:"

"Doctor, your Obsession Object..."

"Obsession Object? Is that what phantasmal entities are called in this world?" Feng Xue pondered to himself, but outwardly he responded with an air of nonchalance:

"I’m used to it—the more powerful the thing, the more side effects it has, right?"

"The side effect of causing accidental attacks on its owner..." The three slightly smirked, finding themselves at a loss for words. If it were up to them, they definitely wouldn’t want such a thing, no matter how powerful, fearing that they wouldn’t even be able to sleep peacefully."

"Feng Xue didn’t explain further but continued to ponder the connection between not dying in reality and dying in dreams. He could have directly asked these three investigators about Obsession Objects, demons, and the like, yet his current persona was that of a colleague, and asking such questions might not only fail to elicit answers but could also provoke unnecessary suspicion."

"Like some sort of corrupt entity or other."

"As each of the four harbored their own thoughts, time gradually passed. Suddenly, the detective jolted, clenched his temples hard, and only relaxed his grip when he had left a green mark, saying:"

"There’s a consciousness in the sewer, not highly contaminated, but very sharp."

"I’ll try to lure it out." She Tong nodded, blew a slightly low-pitched whistle, and the slender venomous snake immediately started slithering on the ground, eventually disappearing into a corner of the room."

"I’ll help you locate it." It seemed they had past dealings, as the detective promptly spoke, though Feng Xue lacked any supernatural power now, he could still clearly sense that both their temperaments seemed to have shifted slightly toward each other."

"Spirit synchronization or something? Is it a technique developed using phantasmal power, or a mental mutation caused by long-term use of phantasms?"

"Feng Xue speculated about this dream world’s power system internally while outwardly, like Qing Jin, he followed the other two, whose walking strides were identical. Yet just at that moment, She Tong’s expression drastically changed, emitting a rather tragic cry—"

"Qingqing!"

"The cry was so piercing, it was as if his own child had been struck."

Wait, child?

Feng Xue suddenly remembered the notes on the opponent’s phantom object and couldn’t help but gasp.

But not everyone was lost in wild thoughts like Feng Xue. As Qing Jin prepared for combat, the detective also clutched his forehead and shouted loudly,

"That thing is coming up, and it’s not a Heart-devouring Demon! It’s very fast and isn’t afraid of poison!"

By then, She Tong had also caught on, her face filled with intense anger as she spoke rapidly,

"Go outside, Qingqing will lure it out!"

With that, She Tong fished a small pistol out of her bag, flipped over, and jumped out of the narrow window in the men’s restroom. The detective and Qing Jin quickly followed, and Feng Xue immediately joined them.

The four traversed the long, narrow alley and, under She Tong’s lead, stopped at a shaded spot characterized only by a sewer manhole cover.

"It’s coming soon! About five seconds..." the detective already had his nose and glabella pinched blue and purple but still persisted in reporting the position.

"I got it!" Upon hearing this, Qing Jin immediately spread his palms, and a pale blue flame, devoid of warmth, slowly condensed in his hand. Shortly after, the sewer cover was violently knocked open, and a green snake, missing half of its tail, scurried out frantically. Given its small body, it was hard to imagine how it managed to dislodge such a heavy manhole cover.

But there seemed no point in pondering that just then, for Qing Jin didn’t even wait for that so-called "thing" to appear; he had already thrown the ball of flame into the hole from which the green snake had emerged.

There was no explosion or dazzling flame, just an unpleasant, sour, and putrid smell wafting out from under the cover.

"Be careful!"

Although no one had set up a "did it work?" flag, the detective’s call declared that the strike was not successful.

Feng Xue slightly bent his knees and lowered his body, and it was at that very moment that a shadow, faintly lit by fire, finally burst out from the dark sewer.

Only then could Feng Xue clearly see the monster. It was the size of a small dog, and perhaps due to Qing Jin’s corrosive flames, its outer skin appeared disgustingly rotten. If forced to describe it, it looked as though bloody internal organs mixed with red and green paint were thrown into a blender and ground for minutes, making it impossible to determine what the thing actually was.

In that instant, as if seizing an opportunity, the Ghost Hand struck forcefully. Feng Xue felt his unshakeable balance suddenly disrupted, and instead, he found himself lunging towards that nauseating thing, enough to put ordinary people off meat products for life.

However, Feng Xue obviously wasn’t going to die from such a minor issue—or perhaps the Ghost Hand’s inherent trait of being "destined not to successfully kill its owner" meant this surprise attack was bound to fail.

The foundation of martial arts is balance; as he stumbled, Feng Xue’s body already made corresponding adjustments. In the eyes of the three investigators, Feng Xue’s joints subtly twisted at that moment, enabling him to stabilize his footing in his next step. While their warnings of "be careful" hadn’t yet left their mouths, Feng Xue had already twisted his waist and swung a punch.

Though generally, it looked merely like a swinging punch, anyone familiar with fighting would find it unspeakably awkward.

That punch seemed utterly boneless, twisted and weird, and compared to the beastly monster that lunged at him, Feng Xue looked more like a demon flailing tentacles.

This was the Heavenly Demon’s Various Forms!