Naming Technique of the Night

Chapter 881: 543, Fei Touman

On the cold and desolate snowfield, the team led by Qing Chen trudged forward. From a bird’s eye view, they looked like a long line of ants.

Everyone leaned slightly forward to resist the fierce wind blowing across the wilderness.

Qing Chen always led at the front, silent and reserved.

“Lao Chen!” someone cried from the rear.

Qing Chen turned his head, only to see “Lao Chen,” the old informant he had just met yesterday, collapsed in the snow outside the team, lifeless.

People gathered around Lao Chen, wept for a moment, then turned and rejoined the team, continuing to march forward.

They knew they had no more time for grief.

In the past few days, many in the thousand-strong team had succumbed to hunger and cold, sitting down on this endless escape route, becoming new milestones.

Qing Chen had tried to lead them to find food, but the northern winter wilderness was exceptionally barren. Even a survival expert might not find enough food for over a thousand people here.

“We have only one day left, and we are still far from our destination,” Qing Chen calmly said to Li Cheng and Qing Ling, “We can’t afford any more long breaks on the way. At most, a brief two-hour rest is allowed. Everyone must use their willpower to get through the final 24 hours.”

Li Cheng and Qing Ling frowned, “Understood.”

“Did you remember the route I told you?” Qing Chen asked.

Li Cheng froze for a moment, “We’ll follow you, boss. Wherever you go, we’ll go.”

Qing Chen shook his head, “Did you remember the route or not?”

Qing Ling said, “We remembered.”

Qing Chen nodded, “Remember, don’t stop, don’t look back, don’t be afraid of hardship. Only by arriving on time can you survive.”

Li Cheng and Qing Ling exchanged glances.

They were supposed to have died under the pursuit at Base A02. Now, their wretched lives were salvaged. Seeing a glimmer of hope, they were willing to endure any hardship to survive.

But the question was, why did Qing Chen, who could have personally led them to the destination, keep emphasizing that they remember the route themselves?

Was something about to happen?

At that moment, Qing Chen turned and saw a strange white lantern floating in the distance. In the middle of the lantern was a mouth, opening and closing as if to swallow the souls of the dead.

ATS-271 shikigami “Bulabulabula”!

The Hu’s Information Agency had records of this shikigami. Although it had no offensive abilities and lived by absorbing “dead energy,” it could fly in the sky for reconnaissance.

The Onmyoji had come.

And they had come openly and without concern.

The pursuers weren’t worried about being discovered, using Bulabulabula to tail and lock onto the team’s direction, confident that Qing Chen and his group couldn’t escape. They disregarded the thousand-plus people on the snowfield.

Qing Chen knew the one who wanted to seize his body was an Onmyoji nearing the end of his life.

If it was really that Onmyoji, then everyone present would likely die.

Moreover, it wasn’t just one Onmyoji who had come.

Li Cheng suddenly looked at Qing Chen, “Boss, you knew someone would come to hunt us down, didn’t you? That’s why you made us remember the route, you want to…”

The next moment, agonizing screams came from the rear of the team. Qing Chen looked back and saw twelve people being dragged into the thick snow by an unknown presence.

The originally pure white snow turned red.

Until now, they didn’t even know what was attacking the team.

The warriors tried to dig through the snow to save their comrades but only found twelve half-eaten corpses.

It must be some terrifying shikigami!

And it must be above A-Class!

Just over ten seconds later, the shikigami hidden in the snow launched a second attack, dragging twelve more warriors away.

But this time, the warriors didn’t wail. They shouted, “Don’t mind us, run!”

“Run!”

“Take care of my parents!”

Qing Chen knew that the inevitable had come.

Qing Ling took a deep breath and said to Qing Chen, “Boss, I know you’ve tried hard to lead us out, but it’s clear now it’s impossible. You are much stronger and faster than us. The best solution is for us to hold off the Onmyoji while you go ahead alone!”

Li Cheng, after a moment of silence, said, “I agree. Boss, go.”

But as soon as they spoke, Qing Chen only said one sentence, “Remember my words, we’ll meet at the end point,” and then turned to lead Jindai Yunzi and Takahashi Izumi, breaking away from the team, and sprinting wildly toward the southwest.

The biting wind lashed his cheeks painfully as Qing Chen ran desperately, determined to bring these people back to the living world after they escaped hell.

He wouldn’t let them die in this godforsaken place.

Qing Chen ran for his life.

Following closely were Bulabulabula in the sky and a continuously rolling snow line on the snowfield, as if some predator hidden in the snow was chasing Qing Chen.

Everyone understood that the Onmyoji had come for Qing Chen, and Qing Chen was leading them away to give the remaining warriors a chance for survival!

Someone asked, bewildered, “Lao Lee, what do we do? We can’t keep up with the boss’s pace.”

Lao Lee turned back and said solemnly, “Follow me. We must reach the location boss mentioned on time. Although I don’t know what’s there, or it might be nothing, everyone must die at that place if we have to!”

With that, the team set off again!

Over a thousand people marched resolutely back into the Great Snow.

…

…

Qing Chen ran furiously against the wind.

He headed into the snowy mountains.

“Are you two happy seeing reinforcements?” Qing Chen panted to Jindai Yunzi, “As far as I know, the shikigami controlled by Old Turtle doesn’t include Bulabulabula. So others are coming, and Old Turtle must still be hiding, right? I don’t understand why a demigod needs to be so cautious when killing a B-Class like me?”

Jindai Yunzi and Takahashi Izumi, running with Qing Chen, wanted to say something but couldn’t.

However, upon seeing Bulabulabula, Jindai Yunzi’s heart swelled with joy, knowing who was coming!

No matter if the ancestor came or not, with this master here, he and Takahashi Izumi were saved!

At that moment, Qing Chen said, “I promise you both, you’ll die before me. But if I survive, help me kowtow a thousand times to the Gods.”

Takahashi Izumi found it extremely surreal. At such a tense moment, why was this rogue continuing to talk trash?

At that moment, Qing Chen glanced back. The rolling snow line behind him was approaching rapidly, the snow waves growing larger. The shikigami moved faster in the snow than Qing Chen did at a full sprint.

Remember, Qing Chen’s body had already surpassed the B-Class peak, entering the A-Class.

A shikigami speeding faster than him had to be A-Class.

He couldn’t run anymore.

He couldn’t escape!

With Bulabulabula in the sky following him, escaping was impossible!

At the moment he was about to dash into the mountain pass, Qing Chen suddenly turned around. In this turn, a sniper rifle appeared in his hand, aimed at the sky.

Turn, draw, aim, pull the trigger.

Fluid and seamless!

Breathe!

In that instant, Qing Chen’s body shifted from extreme motion to extreme stillness. His breathing, governed by his mental command, calmed his chaotic body for this one shot!

A thunderous bang!

The palm-sized bullet spun out, piercing through the wind and snow, hitting the lantern!

The distant white paper lantern in the sky was shattered by the shot, transforming into a streak of light, flying northward.

Shikigami, when destroyed, do not truly die. They return to the Divine Bridge of the Onmyoji, recuperate for a week, and then re-emerge to plague the world.

At this moment, the snowline ahead boiled, advancing towards him relentlessly.

Qing Chen no longer looked at the light’s direction but kept firing at the creature beneath the snow.

His arms, firm as rocks, shifted muscles between tension and relaxation, perfectly compensating the recoil shot after shot.

Strangely, after each gunfire, the snow creature split into twelve!

In an instant, Qing Chen realized!

This was the ATS-038 shikigami “Fei Touman,” known to duplicate into twelve forms!

Fei Touman, born from the spirits of resentful women, originally a mass of vengeful spirits. Summoning it, an Onmyoji could let it parasitize a woman’s body. After 12 days, the spirit would decapitate the woman, transforming into Fei Touman.

Fei Touman wasn’t particularly powerful.

But an A-Class Onmyoji could, at the cost of twelve women’s lives, make Fei Touman continuously split into twelve!

Confirmed, the pursuer was indeed an A-Class Onmyoji!

Qing Chen frowned. Though his physique resembled an A-Class novice, facing a true A-Class, he wouldn’t stand a chance.

But he had to survive, to bring Li Cheng and others back to the living world!

The twelve rolling snowlines advanced in unison. Each time Qing Chen was about to pull the trigger, they maneuvered to evade the shot, making every bullet miss.

In mere breaths, the twelve monsters reached Qing Chen, their fanged mouths emerging from the snow!

Entwined with snow!