The words of Xiao Yan'er stirred extreme unease among everyone. Could all these incidents truly have been caused by that pair of shoes? Seeing Zhou Huan currently unconscious by Xiao He’s sickbed, the disciples were at a loss, momentarily lacking their central pillar, feeling as if they had lost their support system for everything they tried to do.

“I think we should focus on saving Master first. Otherwise, I’ll go find those shoes and see what kind of thing it is, causing trouble all day long. I refuse to believe that I, Lin Dongzi, can’t handle a mere pair of shoes!” Dongzi grumbled from the side, unsure of what to do himself, anxious and impatient, so he took the initiative to break the brief deadlock.

Shi Bingyuan restrained Dongzi with one hand, saying calmly, “Brother Dongzi, don't be anxious. Master’s condition is just from extreme fatigue. In less than an hour, with his internal energy and physical build, he should be fine to get up. Here’s how we’ll handle this: you and Tianxiong go look for those shoes, and Hong Kun and I will stay here to look after Master and Xiao Yan’er. What do you think?”

“Fine, but Xiao Yan’er has to come with us. Otherwise, I’m afraid she won’t recognize those shoes when the time comes.” Li Tianxiong had spent a long time with Xiao Yan’er, and truthfully, he had grown fond of the child. When Xiao Yan’er heard Tianxiong was taking her to find the shoes, she was so delighted she couldn't help but bounce, tapping her feet back and forth as she ran toward Li Tianxiong.

Shi Bingyuan was the most senior and most skilled person present besides Zhou Huan, possessing the most complete abilities. The reason he stayed behind was precisely to look after Xiao He and Zhou Huan, along with Hong Kun. Hong Kun’s greatest asset was his ability to run errands and handle communications with ease.

Tianxiong led Dongzi and Xiao Yan’er out of the sickroom. The two individuals whose bodies had been temporarily occupied had also woken up, sitting on chairs in the hallway, slowly regulating their breathing. Tianxiong took out his compass, trying to locate any spiritual anomalies.

“Uncle, those shoes brought me back from right here,” Xiao Yan’er pointed to an emergency evacuation door. Such doors in a hospital are usually kept locked, reserved only for fire safety. The little girl tugged on Tianxiong’s hand and walked to the door, pushing it with all her might.

Seeing her struggling, Dongzi stepped forward to help, but strangely, when Dongzi pushed, he couldn't move it either.

“Hey, stop pushing, the door is locked!” Li Tianxiong peered through the crack and saw the main door’s lock engaged. He then asked Xiao Yan’er, “Little Yanzi, think carefully—did you really come back through this door?”

Xiao Yan’er bit her finger and nodded, “Xiao Yan’er doesn't lie. I really did come back through here just now. I remember there was a big matchstick sign outside the door.”

Li Tianxiong and Dongzi exchanged a look. Tianxiong then handed Xiao Yan’er over to Dongzi and went to the security office himself. “I wanted to ask if you have the key for the fire escape door at the end of the hallway here?”

The two security guards became a bit flustered seeing Li Tianxiong. They were still recovering from the shock of the Poison King’s attack and hadn't fully steadied themselves. “Uh, yes, yes, you are Master Zhou’s disciple, right? Here’s the key for you!”

“Heh heh, thanks, brother!” Tianxiong returned to the passage with the key, only to find that Dongzi and Xiao Yan’er had vanished. Tianxiong finally lost his composure, growing flustered, and couldn't help but shout out, “Dongzi! Xiao Yan’er!”

Tianxiong called out for a full five minutes, but neither person appeared. He rushed into the restrooms, checking both the men's and women's facilities. Turning back, he returned to the fire door and found it slightly ajar. It had definitely been locked moments ago, but now it was open. This… Tianxiong felt he had no choice; he had to muster his courage and go inside to check.

In the sickroom, Xiao He gradually began to wake, but Zhou Huan remained deeply asleep. Shi Bingyuan and Hong Kun were starting to feel exhausted, sitting on chairs against the wall, nodding uncontrollably from sleepiness.

“Water, water!” As soon as Xiao He opened her eyes, the first thing she called for was water. Shi Bingyuan, being a martial practitioner, had much stronger stamina than Hong Kun. He heard Xiao He’s faint cry with perfect clarity. Shi Bingyuan hurriedly poured a cup of hot water and brought it to Xiao He’s bedside. Xiao He took a sip, reached out to touch Zhou Huan lying beside her, and then fell back asleep.

That simple touch was all it took. Zhou Huan awoke from his stupor. As he moved his body, his entire skeletal structure emitted a series of sounds: "Kaka!"

“Hoo!” Zhou Huan let out a long breath, as if waking from a heavy intoxication, and surveyed the room.

“Master, you’re awake!” Shi Bingyuan rushed to Zhou Huan’s side.

Zhou Huan nodded, then looked at Xiao He, who was still sleeping soundly and safe. He stood up, taking Shi Bingyuan’s arm, and walked out of the sickroom.

“Bingyuan, just now, here…” Zhou Huan began to speak but felt an overwhelming weakness in his body. He paused to recover before continuing, “The Poison King and that bastard master of yours came again. They were the ones who knocked you out. Ah, I was almost tricked by them too.”

“What? That happened? I don’t remember anything about what just happened. All I knew was that after I managed to get up, I saw you lying on the floor unconscious,” Bingyuan said hesitantly, seemingly worried Zhou Huan might blame him.

But Zhou Huan gave a faint smile. “Heh heh, it’s nothing. I wasn’t trying to say anything about you guys; I just wanted to let you know what transpired.”

“Then where did those two guys go?”

“Sent back to the Underworld. They probably won’t dare to come again, so we won’t have to worry about them showing up everywhere anymore.” After speaking, Zhou Huan asked, “Hey? Where are Dongzi and Tianxiong?”

Shi Bingyuan recounted the earlier events to Zhou Huan. After listening, Zhou Huan’s brow tightened: “Ah, I’m afraid they aren’t a match for those shoes. Something might happen to them.”

“No way, Tianxiong is with Dongzi.”

“Those shoes are definitely not simple. But I feel like they don’t harbor true malice. However, we can’t explain the old lady’s death, so we really must find those shoes and see what’s going on, or find a way to wake up Old Zhao to ask them; we might understand much more afterward.” After speaking, Zhou Huan re-entered the sickroom and woke up Hong Kun.

Shi Bingyuan offered to go with him, but Zhou Huan refused: “I’ll take Hong Kun. You stay here and look after Xiao He, and help out if anything comes up.”

Shi Bingyuan remained in the sickroom. Zhou Huan led Hong Kun, strolling down the hallway. They reached the end without noticing anything unusual, but they did spot that the fire door was open, which immediately caught Zhou Huan’s attention.

“Master, the fire door is open. Shall we go in and have a look?” Hong Kun noticed the shift in Zhou Huan’s focus.

Zhou Huan first approached the fire door and gently pushed it open, stepping out first. Outside the door, the lighting was dim. This floor was the tenth floor of the hospital, so looking up revealed only pitch blackness, and looking down was also dark. Even with emergency lights on, visibility was poor.

“Master, should we go up or down?” Hong Kun asked Zhou Huan.

Zhou Huan took out his phone, activated the flashlight, and swept the beam back and forth inside the passageway. Honestly, the phone's light was much brighter than the hallway’s fixtures; at least he could see some fine details on the ground, such as footprints.

“Hong Kun, come look. These footprints look like they belong to Dongzi and the others. And there are small footprints here too—most likely Xiao Yan’er’s.” Zhou Huan followed the trail of prints, which led upstairs. Zhou Huan and Hong Kun ascended the staircase.

This building was an annex added onto the hospital, fifteen stories high in total. The upper floors primarily housed administrative staff or residences for medical personnel. The fire passage led all the way to the rooftop.

“Master, did they go to the roof?” Hong Kun guessed.

Zhou Huan nodded and whispered, “They probably went to the roof. It’s likely Xiao Yan’er led them along the path she took earlier. But I keep feeling like this child has a deep connection with those shoes.”

“Heh heh, she’s just a child, of course she’ll follow along if she sees something strange and new.”

“En, I suppose so. But let’s find them first. Since those walking shoes came to the hospital, I need to be careful. Regardless of whether they are benevolent or malevolent, we haven't grasped their pattern yet, so we must proceed with caution.” Saying this, Zhou Huan quickened his pace, climbing floor by floor.

Both men were panting, having sprinted to the rooftop. Upon reaching the top, there was absolutely no sound or movement. Zhou Huan shone his phone light around, finding no signs of anyone.

The wind on the rooftop was unusually cold. About ten meters away from the passage they had exited, there was another access point—a fire escape from the stairwell on the opposite side. Seeing they might have taken the wrong path, they were about to return to the sickroom to wait when, from the other stairwell entrance, a child’s cries rang out: “Don’t step on my mother, don’t step on him!”

“What is that thing? None of our stuff works against it.”

Hong Kun’s eyes lit up: “Master, that’s Dongzi’s voice!”

“Blast it! They might be struggling with those things. Hurry, let’s help!” Zhou Huan and Hong Kun sprinted toward the next stairwell opening. Opening the door, they rushed down. By the time they reached the thirteenth floor, they saw Tianxiong holding several talismans, facing a pair of large men’s leather shoes. The shoes were walking along the wall, stepping down onto the floor intermittently.

Dongzi was frantically waving the talismans in his hand at the stairwell leading to the twelfth floor: “Let’s see you climb up! I’ll write talismans, I’ll stick them, stick them, stick them, stick them!”

Xiao Yan’er was crouched on the floor, seemingly struggling with the pair of large leather shoes over something.

The compass in Zhou Huan’s bag began spinning wildly. Zhou Huan felt the surrounding chilling atmosphere intensifying. It wasn’t just about a pair of shoes; it seemed entire legions of ghosts from the Underworld had arrived. Zhou Huan pulled out a handful of talismans from his bag, picked up cinnabar, and quickly drew on them, creating Soul-Nailing Talismans. He lit them and threw the entire bundle onto the pair of large leather shoes. Immediately, the shoes stopped moving, frozen one slightly above the other.

But at that moment, Tianxiong also froze in place, the talismans in his hand completely soaked through.

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