"Xiao Ji, why don't you go take a look over there with them? We'll be right there."
Xiao Ji seemed like he wanted to follow but then turned to look at Feng Yuan, and firmly stayed by the wheelchair. Feng Yuan then said to Xiao Ji,
"Ji!"
Xiao Ji shook his head and stayed closely by the side of the wheelchair, occasionally surveying the surroundings.
"Teacher Yan!"
After Qi Chen pushed Feng Yuan over, he was surprised to see Teacher Yan being attacked by ghosts and directing his three Spirit Beasts in a coordinated assault against the attacking spirits, with Orlina swinging her scythe alongside the Snow Rabbit Warrior to join the fray.
"Why did you follow me! Weren't you supposed to stay there?"
While fighting off the ghosts, Teacher Yan chastised them discontentedly. Orlina finished off a swarm of ghosts with a spin of her sickle and said,
"The Ghost Domain went out of control, and that ward was not included in the hospital's defense system, so we had no choice but to come over."
After slaying another small group of ghosts, Orlina, protecting the two, reached the inside of the Black Rock Xuan Turtle's Rune Stone Barrier and said,
"Moreover, right after we left that ward, we found ourselves near this place."
"Really?"
Teacher Yan looked at the three of them in surprise and, realizing Orlina was not lying, said,
"Fine, you three wait here, Orlina, lend me your weapon."
"Not happening～ You're not used to wielding a scythe～ Better let me handle this～"
Orlina chuckled, gripping the scythe tightly, and turned to leave the Barrier. Teacher Yan sighed, commanding the Spirit Beasts to annihilate the ghosts while occasionally hurling a few Psychic Bullets to clear out any stray ones.
"Ji!"
After seeing that Feng Yuan was safe, Xiao Ji darted out to attack the ghosts with Spark and Whirlwind. Seeing Xiao Ji's actions, Feng Yuan shook his head with a smile, and Teacher Yan looked on in approval before continuing to clear out the ghosts.
"Xiao Ji, come back."
"Ji!"
"Alright, Xiao Ji, come back now."
After a while, noticing Xiao Ji was nearly exhausted, Feng Yuan beckoned Xiao Ji back with a chuckle. Xiao Ji turned to glance at Feng Yuan but continued to fight the ghosts. Feng Yuan, seeing Xiao Ji that way, turned to Qi Chen and said,
"Later on, have Ah Mu help me bring Xiao Ji back."
"Ah?"
"It'll be worn out soon if this keeps up."
"No way!"
"Please, just help out～"
"Alright."
"Doo～"
Sure enough, after a while, Xiao Ji collapsed from exhaustion on the ground. Qi Chen hurriedly asked Ah Mu to use the vines to bring Xiao Ji back. Seeing Xiao Ji lying limp on his legs, Feng Yuan smiled and tidied up its fur, saying,
"Honestly, I told you to come back sooner."
"...Ji..."
Looking at Xiao Ji drained and lying on his legs, Feng Yuan smiled and rubbed Xiao Ji's body, occasionally fiddling with its tuft of hair. Xiao Ji seemed dissatisfied but could only manage a weak chirp now and then.
After a while, no new ghosts came to join the battle. Once their numbers dwindled to a certain level, the ghosts suddenly scattered in all directions. Teacher Yan seemed to understand as he glanced at the scythe in Orlina's hand.
"Follow me, I'll take you to a safe spot."
After confirming that no more ghosts were appearing, Teacher Yan sternly spoke to the trio. Orlina, somewhat disdainful, waved her scythe but didn't object, and the group followed Teacher Yan. Just as they left the woods, they saw several people lying on the playground ahead. At the sight of the people in black robes on the ground, Teacher Yan's expression changed,
"Back off!"
The Thoughtful Child hurried over to inspect and then shook his head at Teacher Yan. Teacher Yan carefully approached, examining closely, feeling somewhat troubled about how to deal with the people in black robes lying on the ground,
As Captain Yan was wrestling with her dilemma, several men and women in special forces police uniforms ran by. The middle-aged man at the head took one look at Captain Yan and said, with some surprise,
"Hey! Captain Yan, did you deal with all these people?"
"No."
Captain Yan stood up, dusted off her hands, and looked at the man as she said,
"You've arrived just in time, they're all yours now."
"Hey, what do you mean by that, Captain Yan? Forget it, you guys handcuff these scoundrels."
"I told you, I didn't deal with them; they were already like this when we got here."
"Is that so? By the way, did you find the guy who activated the Ghost Domain?"
The man instructed the special forces team members behind him to handcuff the robed people sprawled across the sports field and casually asked Captain Yan, who paused mid-step and looked at the man with some astonishment,
"Hasn't your commander found the opposition yet?"
"You mean Captain Yan? He went to Cha Mu Town early in the morning to deal with the G Organization. He probably hasn't returned yet."
"Are you saying it's you guys handling this incident now?"
"Hey! What's with that look, Captain Yan? Even though we're not as strong as Captain Yan, don't look down on us like that!"
The middle-aged man looked at Captain Yan discontentedly, then glanced at the three people approaching and said,
"Those two are your students, right? Take them to the main gate, there are people who came to help guarding the students that were rescued."
"Ji!"
"Do you feel it too?"
Just as they entered the sports field, Xiao Ji began eagerly turning its head toward one of the school buildings. Feng Yuan gently stroked Xiao Ji's head and whispered. The middle-aged man talking to Captain Yan came over and said to the trio,
"Stay close to her, she will take you to a safe spot."
"Ji!"
"It's here."
Feng Yuan ignored the middle-aged man and, with a grave expression, muttered to herself while staring at one of the school buildings. Just as the middle-aged man was about to say something, an explosion suddenly erupted from the third floor of the building Feng Yuan was watching. A black shadow burst out from the explosion point, heading straight in their direction. Soon, several robed figures followed.
"Prepare for combat!"
The middle-aged man, without a second glance at the trio, quickly gave orders and also summoned all of his Spirit Beasts. Orlina, holding her sickle hesitantly, also rushed into the fray.
Ghastly black claws appeared out of thin air, reaching for the people below, who quickly commanded their Spirit Beasts to use various powerful moves to shatter those ghostly claws.
"Lu?"
Suddenly, a somewhat puzzled cry sounded. The ghostly claws that were attacking the crowd vanished, and a strange grey puppet slowly emerged from the Black Mist.
The puppet wore a brown, eerie jester's cap, each pointed tip adorned with a large, antique bell. Its face was stitched with a black cotton thread into a sinister grin, as if it were smiling broadly.
The puppet looked hesitantly at the crowd, and seeing the puppet, everyone hesitated to act. The puppet tilted its head, observing them intently for a while before hesitantly approaching Captain Yan as if to confirm something.
"Chirp～"
Captain Yan's Myriad Sound Parrot seemed to have noticed something. It flapped its wings and flew in front of the puppet, seemingly engaging in a conversation with it. Just then, a pitch-black arrow shot towards the puppet from behind, but with a swift turn, it revealed a ferocious gaze, and numerous dark ghostly claws appeared from thin air, viciously reaching toward the pursuing robed figures.
"Forget about that Nightmare Bell for now! Let's take down the G Organization maniacs first!"
Seeing this, the middle-aged man immediately gave the order. Everyone heeded the command and, steering clear of the puppet, directed their Spirit Beasts to attack the robed people in the distance. The robed figures, realizing they were in a bad position, tried to flee but were intercepted by the puppet using various bizarre means. After quite some time, all of the robed people were taken down by the combined efforts of the police.
"Lu."
After the police handcuffed all of the robed people, the puppet's body swayed. The darkness began to dissipate, and the clouds in the sky gradually cleared to reveal the Starry Sky.
The puppet suddenly turned and approached one of the robed people, summoned a ghostly claw to tear open the person's robe, and carefully pulled out a worn metal necklace from the pocket. Seeing the puppet carefully put on the necklace around its neck, Captain Yan shouted in surprise,
"Is it you? Lingling!"