When the small paper crane, made of a paper talisman, appeared in the hallway glowing slightly, Su Kun and Geng Zimo widened their eyes in disbelief.

Although they had seen such a paper crane before, it was at Su Kun's old house, and they were in the kitchen while the masters were in the courtyard, so they couldn't see it clearly. This time, the paper crane flapped its wings right in front of their noses, looking as lively as a real bird.

Even though this was the first time Xiang Ge had seen such a thing, and he felt his eyes were dazzled, he maintained his composure as a boss.

The little paper crane clearly wasn't there for the three of them but flew directly towards the intensive care unit door. Whether its positioning ability was extraordinary or it was pure coincidence, as soon as it flew a few steps, the door opened, and the master came face to face with the paper crane.

"Oh, here comes one, quite fast!" The master closed the door behind him, stroked his beard, and walked towards Su Kun and the others, the small paper crane immediately turned around to follow him, flapping its wings and emitting Gu Yan's usual calm, deep voice—

"Head directly west from the hospital, pass by a twin-column high-rise, then head northwest to an old residential area, mostly uninhabited. The group of spirits is gathered there. Rough estimate, nearly twenty, all quite troublesome, but no abnormal human activity seen, nor any spirit resembling that emperor. Besides, there are four or five roaming nearby. I'll deal with the isolated ones first and then contact you."

"Twenty?!" The master nearly pulled out his whole beard in shock, his hand spasming mid-stroke.

Based on his experience, usually when a certain area had issues, it was mostly one or two spirits causing trouble, sometimes not even complete ones, just heavy resentment or feng shui issues causing it. After all, they didn't just clean up every few hundred years but had members occasionally checking and clearing things up. So Gu Yan's rounds in Li City often dealt with either new occurrences or insubstantial remnants.

For the master and his group, encountering three to five difficult spirits at once was already rare. If they were all quite old, it was even more exceptional.

Although the master had mentioned to the landlord earlier that there might be quite a few spirits, he had internally estimated at most nine or ten. With himself, Gu Yan, Granny Camphor Tree, and Mo Bao, four people covering four sides and enclosing the area, it wouldn't be too difficult. His only concern was if the spirits were scattered all over the city, making it tricky and easy to miss some.

However, the situation Gu Yan reported greatly exceeded his expectations!

Twenty difficult spirits gathering in one place was unprecedented. The master rarely dealt with more than five troublesome spirits in a year, mostly minor ones. This was an overwhelming situation.

The most troubling part was Gu Yan's implication—this was only the nest and nearby; there could be more wandering around the city.

Stiff for a few seconds, the master pulled out his phone and started dialing. He couldn't leave now, needing to ensure safety at the hospital. Gu Yan was busy with the nest and isolated spirits, unable to check other areas. Thus, he had to call in additional help.

"Hello?" Once connected, the master bluntly stated, "Stop waiting and come over. I underestimated the difficulty here. And bring some little demons."

Whether it was Granny Camphor or Mo Bao on the other end, they seemed to question why, to which the master responded, "H City is three times the size of Li City! Can you two handle it alone? The little demons won't fight; they'll just guard and notify if they see any spirits. Why ask so much? Hurry! I'll explain more when you arrive!" He then hung up decisively, pocketing his phone.

Evidently, the master was the main contact point, receiving messages and making calls in a frenzy.

After notifying Granny Camphor and Mo Bao, another paper crane appeared.

Su Kun and the others couldn't help but watch. They thought it was more news from Gu Yan, eagerly listening for updates.

But instead of Gu Yan's voice, a thunderous explosion sounded from the paper crane, like half a mountain was blown up.

The four near the crane, too close, were stunned, their ears ringing, heads buzzing, and even their scalps tingling.

"What the heck?!" Su Kun, startled like a cat, jumped to the corner, rubbing his ears and complaining, "No warning! Bad rating!"

The paper crane hadn't finished; after Su Kun spoke, another series of explosions followed, making everyone's hair stand on end.

Though this corridor was secluded, it wasn't isolated. Soon, a nurse hurried over, bewildered, asking, "What's that noise? Something fell?"

The master quickly covered the paper crane's "mouth," hiding it behind his back, awkwardly facing the nurse without knowing how to respond.

Xiang Ge promptly stood up, calmly lying, "Phone ringtone, forgot to set it to vibrate. Sorry."

Nurse: "..." Who uses such a ringtone?

The master, feeling wronged but having to go along, apologized, "Sorry, miss. As an old man, my hearing isn't great, so I set the volume high. I'll switch to vibrate."

The nurse, not wanting to argue with an elder, left after a few reminders.

Watching her leave, the master nervously released the paper crane, hesitant to let go, fearing more explosions but knowing he needed to hear its message.

"Let it go," Su Kun said, ears half-covered, resigned, "If she comes back, I'll say my ringtone is the same, family-shared resource."

The master rolled his eyes at Su Kun but reluctantly released the crane. This time, a man's voice came out.

The voice, clear and not too deep, was more resonant than Gu Yan's: "Lightning struck... Summon Granny Camphor Tree and the others first; I'll contact Bai Wuchang. I'm busy for now; you can hear for yourself, Shi An is transforming."

"Huh? Landlord?!" Su Kun, after processing the message, realized it was him. The landlord usually spoke slowly, lazily, with a low, distinct tone. This time, he spoke briskly, sounding different, making it hard to recognize.

Shi An's name, which Su Kun had heard once, belonged to the landlord's significant other. Transforming meant becoming a spirit... so those explosions were from the tribulation lightning during transformation?

Hearing a live transformation close by, Su Kun and Geng Zimo were intrigued.

But the master looked distressed: "Why now?"

As he muttered, the landlord continued, "If your junior brother took that emperor's spirit, you must watch Su Kun closely. That emperor could target him more easily—" Another explosion cut off his words.

"I'll stop now, too noisy, and Shi An is emerging. Wait—why are there three figures?!" The landlord's shocked voice ceased abruptly, and the crane turned to ash in the master's hand.

Su Kun twitched, "Did he fertilize too much and grow a group?"

Master: "..." Heavy taste, hard to handle.

Xiang Ge: "..." Grow... a group?

"Wait, missed the point!" Su Kun snapped out, asking the master, "What did the landlord mean? Why watch me? Why would that emperor target me? And why am I easier? I have the jade; I'm not scared!"

The master chuckled awkwardly, "I'm not sure either..."