American Comics: BOSS Invasion

About one hundred and twenty miles east of Linghuan Town lies a place of ill repute.

Not because it has produced any great figures, nor because it boasts famous historical sites.

Its notoriety stems from its exceptionally fierce local customs.

Whether residents, merchants, or government officials, all are exceedingly crude and ill-tempered; even kind-hearted individuals who happen to pass through quickly vanish without a trace.

Conversely, wicked people usually choose to stay and make their fortune.

Over time, this has shaped the present-day Guo Bei County, a small town that even Buddhist and Taoist practitioners mention with a shake of their heads.

Five miles outside the city, a dark forest exudes an eerie atmosphere even in broad daylight, forever shrouded in a thin layer of mist, its air chilling and elusive.

At the very center of the mist, a luxurious pavilion stands beside a spacious waterside terrace, its design grand, its decor opulent, with faint singing drifting out.

In the main hall, a dignified old woman sat in the place of honor, a benevolent smile on her face as she watched the numerous dancers below.

She glanced at the two women kneeling at the very front and said softly, "Xiao Qing, Xiao Hong, if my memory serves me correctly, yesterday was your shift. Yet, more than a dozen female ghosts died for no reason in my pavilion. What exactly happened?"

The woman in the red dress, kneeling on the left, quickly kowtowed and said respectfully, "Reporting to Granny, yesterday was truly an undeserved calamity.

We were peacefully practicing our dances, preparing to go out in the evening and lure some black-hearted men back to offer to Granny, when suddenly a group of men in black appeared.

These people were like madmen, hacking at anyone they saw, regardless of their looks, as if they had no concept of beauty or ugliness, their minds consumed only by the thought of killing.

The sisters were caught off guard and were killed on the spot, the rest scattered and fled.

If Little Green hadn't sensed the danger and joined forces with us to activate the formation Granny left behind, I'm afraid Granny wouldn't be seeing us sisters again!"

As she spoke, Xiao Hong began to sob.

Granny ignored her and smiled at the woman in the green dress beside her, saying, "Little Green, is what your sister saying true? Granny dotes on you the most, so think carefully before you speak!"

Little Green quickly kowtowed and said, "I wouldn't dare deceive Granny. What happened yesterday was indeed very strange.

However, the aura on these people was peculiar, neither human nor ghost. They clearly had some sense of being spiritual entities, yet they were able to exert physical effects.

Moreover, the blades in their hands were very strange, easily able to wound our souls. Many sisters were caught off guard and ambushed, and before they could react, their lives were extinguished!"

Granny tapped the table, the corners of her mouth curving up slightly. "Interesting, truly interesting. I just allied with the Black Mountain Demon and made a grand announcement, holding a banquet, and now someone dares to come knocking on my door.

It seems this time they're not just targeting us, but also the Black Mountain Demon behind us."

"Granny, please forgive us. These men in black have extraordinary combat power and have clearly received rigorous training. They wield weapons and occasionally release some spells. The sisters were unable to resist and could only use the formation Granny left behind to injure them."

The two women in red and green quickly begged for forgiveness.

They had to beg for forgiveness while Granny was in a good mood; if they waited until she became distressed, they could kiss their little lives goodbye.

"Alright, alright, no need to put on an act. This matter wasn't your fault to begin with. Being able to defend most of the accumulation counts as you being clever. This time, your merits and demerits will cancel each other out. Granny won't punish you, nor will I reward you. You're on your own!"

The two women in red and green were overjoyed and quickly prostrated themselves in thanks.

Granny chuckled softly, a sharp glint suddenly appearing in her eyes.

"I don't know where these insects crawled out from, daring to offend the powers that be. Order the wandering souls on the periphery to investigate and ask what changes have occurred around here."

But now it seems that this was also likely done by the men in black."

"Oh, is there such a thing?"

Granny was somewhat surprised. She wasn't surprised that they could kill all the wandering souls, but she couldn't understand why they would do so.

Wandering souls are like mushrooms in the ground, appearing messy and everywhere on weekdays. If you are determined to clean them up, it may be clean for two or three days, but as long as it rains again, they will sprout like bamboo shoots after a rain, maybe even more.

Therefore, cleaning is a thankless task. Letting them go will instead cause them to kill each other, automatically reducing their numbers.

The reason is that there is a problem with the underworld. Although the yang world is large, there are very few extremely yin places, and even fewer places that can accommodate wandering souls.

Therefore, a place of any size can only raise so many ghosts, and the number will not fluctuate too much.

Ordinary Buddhist and Taoist people understand this, so they will not do this thankless thing, but now, a group of men in black have suddenly appeared.

If they even kill wandering souls, then this matter may not be so simple!

————

The full moon hung in the sky, its light breaking through the dark clouds and shining on the winding path outside the wilderness. Qi Shan, dressed in a scholar's robe, held a delicate lantern in his hand, walking slowly on this desolate mountain ridge.

Looking at the dilapidated temple not far ahead, Qi Shan was also a little surprised.

When the bandits mentioned being attacked, he didn't care, thinking they just encountered a tough opponent, but he didn't expect to encounter the tree demon Granny of Lanruo Temple.

It seems that I am entering the plot of A Chinese Ghost Story.

Qi Shan was very interested in this plot. Not to mention others, the quality of the female ghosts under the command of the tree demon Granny was quite good.

Instead of being controlled by the old tree demon as bait, living a precarious life, it is better to rescue them all and add them to my team.

A Liang is still short of a lot of manpower.

Lanruo Temple is not actually remote, but few people come, and the old tree demon deliberately played tricks, planting a large number of branch trees around it, dividing the road leading to Guo Bei County into two.

Therefore, it seems much more dilapidated.

"I wonder if the bearded man will be here at this time!"

Looking at the dilapidated temple gate, Qi Shan felt a long-lost sense of anticipation.