The moment the alarms blared, chaos erupted.
The great doors of the Pekking Ancient Museum burst open as a wave of terrified tourists flooded the streets. Some screamed, others stumbled, clutching bags and children, while a heavy plume of inky smoke spilled out from within the museum like a living shadow.
"Xiao Demons! It's the Xiao Demons!" someone shouted, and the words spread faster than fire in dry grass.
By the time the teachers and students who had been outside heard the commotion, panic had already reached them.
"Everyone! Back to the buses!" cried Ms. Ying as she struggled to maintain order.
"Don't look back, just go!" another teacher yelled.
The crowd of students obeyed instantly, running down the steps as the black smoke rolled toward the entrance like a creeping fog.
Inside the museum, three guards lay motionless and their bodies were seared with a strange, burnt sigil on their chests.
The sigil looked like a black spiral surrounded by claw-like lines. Their eyes were wide open, pupils dilated, as though they had died in sheer terror.
The tourists who had managed to escape told wild tales.
"They came out of the shadows!"
"No, no—they were the shadows!"
"Their eyes burned like coals!"
But by then, it seemed as though the Xiao Demons were long gone.
---
Down at the Pekking City Command Center, the call came through with such urgency that even the air seemed to tense.
Lieutenant Xiomei froze for only a second when she heard the words "Xiao Demons involved." Then, her expression hardened.
"All units, mobilize now!"
In the next moment, a dozen cultivators took to the air, mounting their spiritual weapons ranging from sword to spears.
Qi exploded forth as they shot through the clouds toward the museum.
"Contain the perimeter!" Xiomei ordered over the comms. "Do not—repeat, do not—let the Xiao Demons escape the museum."
---
Back at the museum gates, the teachers were hastily doing roll calls beside the buses.
"Everyone accounted for?"
"Yes!"
"No—wait—Huan Chen! Huan Chen!"
The name echoed through the chaos, but no one answered.
"Where the hell is that kid?"
---
Inside the shattered museum halls, the air was thick with residual demonic qi.
It was cold, heavy and suffocating.
Lieutenant Xiomei's team spread out swiftly with their weapons drawn and boots crunching over shards of glass and fragments of ancient pottery.
"Three casualties confirmed," one officer reported grimly. "No trace of the perpetrators."
Xiomei walked further in with her spiritual senses spreading across the surroundings. "The Xiao Demons don't just attack at random," she muttered. "They came for something."
All of a sudden, her eyes narrowed.
At the far end of the corridor, she saw a silhouette. A lone figure, tall and calm, walking deeper into the museum as if completely unaffected by the chaos.
"Stop right there!" she shouted.
The figure didn't react. It turned a corner.
Xiomei's instincts flared. She darted forward with qi bursting into her limbs as she gave chase.
When she rounded the corner, a surge of black smoke exploded in her face.
"Damn it—!"
She swung her blade, cutting through it in a silver arc which scattered the dark mist.
However, when it cleared, the corridor was empty.
What lay before her instead was a silent showroom with every relic intact except one.
A massive glass display had been shattered clean through.
The pedestal behind it was empty and only a faint residual of demonic qi emanated from it.
Xiomei's expression sank. "So this was the target…"
She scanned the air again with her spiritual sense but she found nothing. Whoever or whatever had done this was gone without a trace. Only the lingering whisper of cold laughter echoed faintly in the air before dissolving into silence.
"Damn it…" she hissed under her breath and she clenched her fists until the veins on her arms bulged. "They slipped through again."
Her team combed every corridor twice. Not a single trace of the Xiao Demons remained.
For the fourth time this year, they had struck and vanished like ghosts leaving behind corpses and humiliation.
An officer approached cautiously, holding a tablet with the report. "Lieutenant, we've confirmed the casualties. Three guards deceased, two in critical condition but stable. Security footage was… corrupted. All we got were flashes of black mist before the feeds died."
Xiomei's teeth ground audibly. Her qi pulsed uncontrollably for a moment before she slammed her fist against the nearby marble wall.
The entire section crumbled in on itself with a thunderous crack. Dust fell from the ceiling as the officers nearby jumped back in alarm.
"I'll pay for that," she muttered while exhaling through her nose as she withdrew her fist. The veins on her wrist faded as she pulled her qi back under control.
She turned on her heel. "We're done here. Sweep one last time, then cordon off the area. I want barrier wards up within the hour. No one gets in or out without my authorization."
Her subordinates saluted instantly. "Yes, ma'am!"
She started walking toward the exit, boots clicking sharply on the cracked floor. Two of her officers followed closely behind, giving low-voiced updates.
"The museum's structural integrity is mostly intact, though several displays are—"
"I don't care about the artifacts right now," she cut in coldly. "Find me anything that can trace their movement. Qi residue, footprints, shadows, distortions—I don't care what. Just find it."
"Yes, Lieutenant!"
They reached the massive entrance doors just as another officer sprinted in from outside with his face pale and breath uneven. "Lieutenant Xiomei! You need to see this—right now!"
Her eyes narrowed. "What is it?"
The man didn't answer; he simply gestured urgently.
Xiomei exchanged a glance with her adjutant and followed the officer outside.
The moment she stepped into the open air, the world felt even heavier. Police cars lined the perimeter of the museum with their red and blue lights painting the day in violent color.
Dozens of officers were corralling civilians away from the scene while aerial cultivators hovered above, maintaining barrier formations to keep the demonic residue from spreading.
At the far end of the barricade, where backup units had just arrived, a small crowd of officers had gathered. They were murmuring among themselves, forming a loose ring around something... or someone... lying on the pavement.
Xiomei's instincts immediately sharpened. She strode through the crowd and the officers stepped aside as she passed.
And there, in the middle of the circle, was a sight that made her stop dead in her tracks.
A young boy around the age of seventeen sat casually atop an unconscious body with one leg crossed over the other. His expression was utterly indifferent and his golden eyes half-lidded with boredom.
"Oh," a faint grin appeared on his face as he noticed her approach. "It's that beautiful woman from before."
Xiomei blinked once. "You…"