ACIFITFDB – Chapter 36

Chapter 36: The True Domain

After nearly ten minutes of combat, Qin Xian and the Student Council President had pinned all the cat-like Guǐyì to the ground.

They were in immense pain, yet unable to break free from the iron rods. They even forgot to use their flames and blades to attack their surroundings, only continuing to wail in agony.

Yuan Fengying frowned as she looked at them and asked, “They don’t seem to be dead. What should we do? Should we leave them pinned here and clean up later?”

“No, wait a moment.”

Qin Xian walked forward, crouched beside the Guǐyì that Brother Huang had transformed into, and felt its tattered clothes. He finally pulled out a piece of Talisman Paper from its pocket.

It had a strange pattern drawn on it with blood, and the texture of the paper was also peculiar.

Yuan Fengying leaned closer, “What is this? Are charms and talismans really a thing?”

Qin Xian replied, “It’s merely a vessel that stores the power of Guǐyì. In different places, it takes on different forms based on local legends and beliefs. We tend to believe in Talisman Paper, so we use it as a vessel… However, this isn’t real ‘paper’; it should be human skin.”

Gasps of shock rippled through the surroundings.

Yuan Fengying clenched her fists, “Human skin!? How many more people have they harmed? Damn it, we must capture them as soon as possible!”

Qin Xian rubbed the human skin paper, murmured “Sorry,” and then picked it up with both hands, tearing it forcefully in half.

As it was torn, the human skin paper turned to ash in his hands. The screaming cat monsters on the ground suddenly stopped their movements and collapsed simultaneously.

Wisps of black smoke floated out from their bodies, vaguely showing the shapes of cats. They let out two faint meows and quickly vanished into the air.

“Are they… released?” a police officer asked dazedly.

Qin Xian stood up and looked at where the cats had disappeared, “You could say that. This kind of Talisman Paper used in the Ghost Communication Dao should absorb surrounding malice. These individuals instigated the mistreatment and murder of cats. Their own malice, combined with the cats’ suffering, was stored within the Talisman Paper. Once released, it would instantly backfire on them, turning them into Guǐyì.”

Yuan Fengying added, “But they thought it was something good. The people of the Ghost Communication Dao have truly cunning methods. I fear others might also possess such things. Let’s go, should we continue upwards?”

Qin Xian had already taken the lead, adding an extra warning, “It’s highly likely someone has already turned into a Guǐyì upstairs. Be careful.”

The top floor of this building housed two conference rooms. As they ascended, the area was silent, with only scattered cigarette butts, wine bottles, and food wrappers on the ground.

The conference room doors were open, and the interior was pitch black.

Qin Xian stealthily moved to the back door first, using the cover of the rear seats to peek inside.

At the very front of the conference room was a stage, typically used for public lectures, competitions, and performances. At this moment, more than a dozen students lay motionless on the center of the stage, possibly unconscious.

Below the stage, two colossal monsters were pacing back and forth.

One was a giant toad wearing glasses and holding a teaching pointer, and the other was a stone statue with two heads, one male and one female, seemingly representing a typical parental image.

Qin Xian relayed this situation to the others.

Yuan Fengying asked, “Based on speculation, I think the toad’s weakness might be fire… But what about the stone statue? Bullets are definitely useless…”

Qin Xian said, “We also need to consider what they represent. The toad might represent teachers, and the stone statue represents parents. And the most extreme versions of them. So, following this logic, they might not attack people who are quiet and still.”

“Of course, this is just speculation,” Qin Xian added.

“But you understand Guǐyì better. I don’t think this logic is flawed,” Yuan Fengying mused. “Let’s split into two groups. Most of us will attract the attention of the two monsters, while the rest will rescue the students on the stage.”

Inside the conference room, the two monsters paced back and forth aimlessly, their heavy footsteps echoing.

Qin Xian hid behind the slowly moving fourth row of seats, peeking through the gaps to see two police officers stealthily moving to the side of the stage.

The monsters didn’t notice them, but Qin Xian felt an inexplicable worry.

While others were focused on the roaming Guǐyì, the students lying on the stage were equally abnormal.

Especially since the two monsters were constantly guarding these students, exhibiting no other behavior and not approaching them…

But at this point, they could only take it one step at a time; there was no opportunity or time to investigate thoroughly.

The police officers by the stage gestured to Yuan Fengying, who, along with three other officers, immediately pulled their triggers, firing bullets directly at the monsters’ eyes and hearts.

“Bang!”

The toad’s eyes exploded, and it immediately crouched low, gathering its strength before leaping violently.

Yuan Fengying and the others watched as the toad’s wart-covered belly descended from the sky.

“Run!”

They scrambled to escape as the conference room seats were crushed.

The stone statue’s eyes also shot out red light, roaring in fury, “Which disobedient little brat is it!”

Qin Xian directly swung his whip, hooking onto the curtain rods on either side of the stage.

The screws on the rods “kaka” broke loose from the ceiling, and the curtain, over three meters high, crashed down, enveloping the stone statue.

“Damn it! Don’t let me catch you!” The stone statue struggled clumsily, and one of its arms tore through the curtain.

Just as it was about to grab the fabric and tear it apart, Qin Xian’s whip directly ensnared its arm, rendering it immobile.

Qin Xian pulled the whip taut, engaging in a tug-of-war with the stone statue. However, the statue’s strength was terrifying, and Qin Xian’s feet scraped against the ground as he was forced backward.

But this provided an opportunity for the two rescuers, who had already reached the students.

An anomaly suddenly occurred…

Yuan Fengying exclaimed, “Mr. Qin! They’ve fainted! A circle has appeared and is constantly expanding!”

Qin Xian immediately turned his head and instantly understood what it was.

He pulled harder on the whip and said to Yuan Fengying, “You need to get out of here quickly. That circle is the true Domain! The school might just be trying to mislead us. The school itself isn’t the domain; anyone could enter the school as long as they killed the security guards at the entrance. Go call for help and save those students outside first!”

Yuan Fengying understood. Although she didn’t know how the enemy had disguised the school as a domain, the true domain was expanding, and they had to prevent the students outside from being caught.

She turned and ran, while the remaining team members and Qin Xian did their best to hold off the two Guǐyì.

However, the circle on the stage continued to expand outwards. Anyone who stepped into the circle would immediately close their eyes and lie down on the spot. Even the two Guǐyì vanished abruptly upon touching the circle.

Qin Xian glanced down at the black halo at his feet and, without hesitation, stepped into it. The Student Council President stood aside, pondered for a moment, and then also stepped in.

When his consciousness returned and he opened his eyes, Qin Xian found himself standing in front of a villa. The villa had five stories but was much larger than an average villa, possessing an unreal beauty.

Standing in front of the villa with him were five young people, appearing to be no older than 18, four males and one female, all looking bewildered.

Qin Xian looked down at his hands. The wounds and calluses were gone, his skin looked fair and smooth, with no signs of aging.

The young people beside him exclaimed in surprise.

“Xun Guangfan, is that you?”

“You’re Yu Jie?! Oh my god, man, how did you turn into a kid!?”

“You’re blaming me? You’re the same! Wait, are you Wu Piaopiao? You… you guys, oh no, we’ve all gotten younger!”

The police officers touched themselves in surprise, then turned to look at the boy beside them, who had a cold expression but a face that could definitely be a school heartthrob.

Xun Guangfan asked uncertainly, “Mr. Qin?”

The handsome boy raised his delicate chin and nodded.

Xun Guangfan immediately pressed, “Mr. Qin, what’s happening to us?”

Qin Xian replied, “We’ve entered a Domain. Domains generally have their own rules and will forcibly integrate those who enter.”

After speaking, he looked around but didn’t see the Student Council President. He didn’t know if that thing had entered.

“So, what do we do now? Do we go into this villa? Should we be careful?” Xun Guangfan looked cautiously inside, but through the glass door, nothing was visible.

Qin Xian walked straight towards the main door. Before he could even reach out to push it open, the glass door suddenly swung open.

Everyone instinctively took half a step back.

The one who opened the door was a fashionably dressed girl, appearing to be around eighteen years old, just like them.

But Qin Xian recognized her; she was one of the students who had collapsed on the stage.

The girl held a flashy mobile phone and looked at them, saying, “Yo, new arrivals! Come on in.”

Her voice was still youthful, but her behavior was somewhat discordant, imitating adults.

Xun Guangfan asked, “Are you a student from City No. 1 High School?”

The girl on the other side paused, her face contorted, and she began to curse loudly, “What the hell are you talking about!? I finally escaped from that place, and you’re making me remember it! You’ve hit a nerve, you idiot %#, die ￥(&)! ”

After speaking, she turned and walked into the villa without looking back.

Xun Guangfan, having been thoroughly berated, asked somewhat dazed, “Are these the current… problem students?”

Before his companion could reply, another voice chimed in, “I advise you not to mention the word ‘student.’ We are all free people now. We don’t need to study and no longer want to study. If you’ve come here, you must abide by the rules here.”

A boy stood inside the door, looking at them, taking a deep drag from a cigarette.

Qin Xian asked, “What rules?”

The boy blew a smoke ring and chuckled, “There’s only freedom here! You can wake up whenever you want, sleep whenever you want, play games, smoke, drink, do whatever you want! But, you’re not allowed to be a good boy, you’re not allowed to mention studying, and you’re not allowed to interfere with others. Come on, enjoy a truly free life!”