Chapter Eight: The Capture of the Trio of Thieves

"Of course it's true. When my father gets angry, earthquakes and fires will break out across the human world. To save the mortals who are about to be devoured by his wrath, you must find those three treasures before he returns. I'm begging you—if there were any suitable detectives in the Underworld, I wouldn't have come to the human realm myself to find you. Please, Xiaochuan."

"But—?" Hearing just how severe the situation was, Qin Xiaochuan felt a chill in his heart. He was definitely afraid—he'd never actually seen a monster before. But more than that, he was excited. Saving the world, like a superhero... Could he, Qin Xiaochuan, really do something like that?

"But what?" Seeing Qin Xiaochuan still hesitate, the Little King of Hell pressed him anxiously. Right now, Qin Xiaochuan was his only hope, and just thinking of his father's fury made him uneasy.

"But how am I supposed to catch them? They must have spiritual powers, demonic powers—probably all sorts of tricks. I don't know any of that. How do you expect me to catch them?"

"You do have powers, you do!" The Little King of Hell hastened to explain. "Since you passed the Resurrection Trial in the Underworld, your body now contains spiritual energy. It's invisible and formless—ordinary people can't see it—but if you focus, you’ll be able to. Try concentrating on your right index finger, just try..."

Following the instructions, Qin Xiaochuan raised his right hand and focused his attention on his index finger. "Hey, it’s real! My finger is glowing and warm!"

"Now aim your finger at anything you want to attack. Think 'shoot' in your mind, and the spiritual energy will fire from your fingertip and hit your target."

"Really?" Watching the energy gather at his fingertip, Qin Xiaochuan made a gun shape with his hand and aimed around. Just then, he spotted Mr. Li, the disciplinarian, coming out of a building. That guy was always giving him trouble. Qin Xiaochuan locked onto the back of Mr. Li’s head, carefully took aim, and muttered in his heart, "Die!"

A flash of spiritual light shot from his finger straight at Mr. Li’s head. Mr. Li, holding a stack of books, was walking across the schoolyard, unaware, when the spiritual projectile hit him. He toppled forward, unconscious.

Seeing the power of his own spiritual bullet, Qin Xiaochuan was startled.

"See? That’s the power of spiritual energy. The force of your spiritual bullet is about twice as strong as your own punch. But don't use it recklessly. With your current reserves, you can only fire one spiritual bullet a day, so save it for the right moment."

"Heh, I had no idea it was so strong!" Qin Xiaochuan was elated—he’d struck down Mr. Li from such a distance, harmed him without even touching him. Who told that guy to always make trouble for him? "This feels great—time to catch those thieves..."

"Wait!" The Little King of Hell eyed him doubtfully as excitement took over. After sizing him up, he pulled a ring from his pocket and handed it over. "This is a Spirit-Gathering Ring. It can amplify and release all your spiritual and physical energy at once, making your spiritual attacks three times as powerful. But after you use it, your body will be completely drained and weak for a while. So think carefully before you use it."

Qin Xiaochuan's eyes lit up as he took the ring. "Really? I can fire an ultra-powerful spiritual bullet?" He slipped the ring on and admired it.

"Remember, you only have one week to retrieve those three treasures. Otherwise, my father's wrath will descend on this world..." Watching Qin Xiaochuan show off with the ring, the Little King of Hell sighed and slowly faded from view. "A lot of people will die. Don't let me down..."

As the Little King of Hell vanished, Qin Xiaochuan excitedly raised his right hand, thinking, ‘This is amazing! I, Qin Xiaochuan, actually have a special weapon now—how cool is that? But only one week? That's so short... But whatever, I didn't want to go to class anyway. I'll walk around the city. Maybe I'll find something.’

With that, he climbed over the school’s back fence and made his way to a street in the city center—the most bustling street in Yanjing.

‘So many people...’ Looking at the crowds, Qin Xiaochuan scratched his head, unsure where to start. ‘How am I supposed to find them? Wait—does that guy over there have horns on his head?’

Wandering aimlessly, he suddenly spotted three unusual figures in the crowd. One, wearing a short-sleeved shirt, was especially tall and built like a boxer. On his forehead, Qin Xiaochuan could make out several small protruding horns, shimmering faintly with a glow similar to his own spiritual energy.

The other two seemed more ordinary. One had long hair and a delicate, almost feminine appearance. The last had a bandage wrapped around his forehead, though for what reason, Qin Xiaochuan couldn’t tell.

Just then, a commotion erupted in the crowd. "Hey, what happened? Honey, wake up! Xiaohua, what's wrong?"

"He fainted! Everyone, make some space, let some air in."

"Is it anemia?"

"Call an ambulance!"

As the crowd gathered, the three unusual figures moved quickly, slipping away toward a park near the edge of the city center, a quieter, more secluded place. Qin Xiaochuan hurried after them—his instincts told him they were definitely suspicious. He had to catch up and see what they were up to.

The three quickly left the bustling street and headed into a small grove in the park. Qin Xiaochuan followed them in.

Once among the trees, seeing no one else around, the slender one with the bandaged head pulled a stone from his coat, its surface black and gleaming with an eerie light. He held it up, grinning with excitement. "Heh, we’ve done it! Stolen the Three Great Treasures from the Underworld’s vault. Let’s see what happens when we use them here in the human world!"

"Yeah, Feiyan, if it weren’t for you, I never would have gotten the Hungry Ghost Jade that can so easily snatch souls from humans! Hahaha!" The boxer-like man pulled out a sphere covered in tortoise-shell patterns, stuck out a long tongue, and slathered it with sticky saliva, which dripped revoltingly to the ground.

"Stone Ogre, Feiyan, now that we have the goods, I’m out," said the delicate youth.

"What? Baiying, you want to quit?"

"That's right."

"Coward. Looks like you’ve completely gone soft living in the human world."

"In that case, you don’t get a share. Hand over the Dark Mirror, Baiying!"

The burly Stone Ogre stepped forward, reaching for the quiet, handsome youth, clearly demanding the Dark Mirror.

"That’s not going to happen. It’s important to me—I’m sorry."

"I won’t let you make that decision on your own. If I have to, I’ll take it by force." Infuriated by Baiying’s refusal, Stone Ogre raised his right fist, ready to strike.

"My, infighting already? Gentlemen thieves, I’ll be taking those treasures now. You can fight all you want afterwards." Qin Xiaochuan strolled out from behind a tree, hands in his pockets, looking as cool as he could. "Didn’t expect to find you all so soon—maybe I really do have a talent for detective work."

Stone Ogre stopped, sizing him up. "Who are you?"

"Ha ha ha, don’t be shocked when you hear this," Qin Xiaochuan said, still riding the exhilaration of firing his spiritual bullet, "I am the Underworld Detective, Qin Xiaochuan! You’d better behave yourselves!"

"What? Underworld Detective? Did he say Underworld Detective?" Stone Ogre turned to Feiyan in disbelief.

"…He’s probably the Underworld’s chosen pursuer," Feiyan replied, frowning at Qin Xiaochuan. "Strange, I can’t sense any spiritual energy from him at all."

"Not only that—he’s full of openings. Looks like one punch would finish him."

‘What? They’re not even a little scared?’ Qin Xiaochuan’s heart sank. He’d expected to intimidate them—after all, he was the law, they were the criminals, and criminals always fear the law. But these guys didn’t seem afraid at all. Maybe all Underworld criminals had special powers. The realization left him uneasy.

‘Still, the Underworld chose this human for a reason. With that confidence, maybe he’s hiding something...’ Feiyan, wary, leaped away. "Better to avoid a fight for now." And with a tap of his foot on a branch, he vanished into the trees.

"Whoa, he flew!" Qin Xiaochuan gaped as Feiyan leapt nearly five meters into the air. He’d never seen anyone jump so high.

‘I can’t be caught now, either.’ Baiying, eyes distant, turned to leave.

"Hey, stop right there!" Qin Xiaochuan called, hurrying to intercept, but Stone Ogre blocked his path.

"Kid, you’re the one who should stop. You can’t catch all three of us at once. Unlike those cowards, I’ll face you head-on. If you want the treasures, come and take them."

"Heh, you’ve got guts. But I bet you’re scared stiff inside." Despite Stone Ogre’s imposing confidence, Qin Xiaochuan’s nerves frayed. ‘Damn, this guy looks so strong—this could get messy.’