Several hours later...
The central part of the Black Water River once again revealed its bed.
"Shen Lingxue, attack that water pool," Fang Xiu commanded.
Shen Lingxue cast a skeptical glance at Fang Xiu before getting to work, her hands glowing with bright flames as she fired directly at the water pool.
Just as before, Hair Demon was once again blasted out.
However, this time, Fang Xiu's gaze was not on the hair demon but remained fixed on the Special Operations Squad.
As Shen Lingxue and the hair demon engaged in battle, the Special Operations Squad moved.
Their limbs moved in an uncoordinated manner, like puppets on strings. The stiffness lasted only two or three seconds before their movements became coordinated.
One by one, they charged toward Fang Xiu and the others like fierce cheetahs.
"Be careful! Our bodies are out of control."
The Special Operations Squad moved quickly, but Fang Xiu, who was already prepared, was faster.
Facing a group of Special Operations Squad members without guns, he handled them with ease.
The surgical knife, emanating a chilling aura, danced in Fang Xiu's hands like a butterfly.
His figure moved like a ghost, weaving through the Special Operations Team.
Swish, swish, swish!
Countless silver flashes appeared, and in just a moment, countless members of the Special Operations Team had a bloodline on their legs.
The cuts were initially very shallow, almost invisible, but within the next second, they grew deeper and redder, until blood gushed out.
Then those who had been cut fell to the ground.
However, strangely, even though they had lost the ability to move, they seemed to feel no pain, crawling toward Fang Xiu and his companions with their hands.
"Shen Lingxue, deal with the hair-possessed immediately. They're all under control. I'll restrain them."
Fang Xiu's calm voice rang out from the crowd. He moved through the crowd like a ghost, and every time he appeared, several members of the special operations team would fall.
Upon hearing this, Shen Lingxue looked into the Hair Demon's eyes, and anger surged within them. The temperature of the flames in her hands seemed to rise with her anger.
Her hands each formed a ball of intense, bright flame. She then raised both balls high above her head, and they instantly merged into a single, even larger ball of flame.
"Die!"
With Shen Lingxue's shriek, the massive fireball hurtled toward the eerie figure like a miniature sun.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed as the fireball engulfed the eerie figure, burning it fiercely until it was reduced to ashes.
"It's done."
A hint of joy flashed in Shen Lingxue's eyes.
However, Fang Xiu poured cold water on her excitement: "Their control hasn't been lifted. It seems the one controlling them isn't this strange creature, or else the creature isn't dead."
"What!"
Shen Lingxue looked on in shock, seeing that the members of the special operations squad were still attacking.
Fang Xiu was facing nearly everyone alone, while Zhao Hao and the Fat Man were each being chased by someone.
Although Zhao Hao and the Fat Man had activated their spiritual abilities, granting them strength beyond that of ordinary humans, they were both too merciful to harm their own people and lacked combat experience, making it difficult for them to gain the upper hand against fully armed soldiers.
Soon, Shen Lingxue joined the fight, choosing to knock everyone unconscious with her fists rather than using her flame abilities.
After a few minutes, all the members of the Special Operations Squad were subdued, most of them unconscious.
Fang Xiu looked at the unconscious crowd, deep in thought.
Were they not the Traveler's men and women, nor the hairy creatures?
Why had the Special Operations Squad been controlled?
Though he had resolved the anomaly, he found that the truth had not been uncovered—instead, more mysteries had emerged.
As Fang Xiu pondered, only Shen Lingxue was staring at him with a look of astonishment.
Because Shen Lingxue suddenly recalled Fang Xiu's earlier order for the special operations team to disarm.
Had he already foreseen this? That's why he ordered them to disarm?
What a terrifying ability to foresee the future. If he hadn't foreseen it in advance, facing a group of fully armed special operations team members at such close range, everyone would have been killed.
What Shen Lingxue didn't know was that she had already died once.
"Fang Xiu, what should we do next?" Shen Lingxue suddenly asked, clearly realizing who was truly capable of making the right decisions.
"Tie them all up first. We'll talk about it when they wake up."
Everyone followed his instructions.
Fortunately, the special operations team had ropes on them, so there was no need to worry about running out of rope.
After tying them up, another half hour passed before a few team members slowly woke up.
"What… what's going on?"
"Why are we tied up?"
"Do you remember what just happened?" Fang Xiu walked over and asked.
The team members shook their heads blankly.
They didn't remember? It seemed the control had been lifted.
Was it because the hair was cursed? Or could the true mastermind only control these people for a limited time?
There was too little information to make a judgment.
After waiting another half hour, most of the team members had woken up, and none of them remembered what had just happened.
Seeing this, Fang Xiu had them bandage their wounds themselves and then left.
These people couldn't be used for now; otherwise, who knew when they might "betray" again.
Shen Lingxue, on the other hand, made a call to report the incident to higher-ups and requested that they send specialists to conduct a comprehensive examination of the members of the special operations team who participated in the mission.
After settling everything, Fang Xiu said, "Let's go back to Heishui Village."
"What? Back there? Isn't the anomaly resolved?" the fat man exclaimed in surprise.
"It's not over yet," Fang Xiu replied calmly, then led everyone back to Heishui Village.
In Heishui Village.
Fang Xiu watched the villagers with their jet-black hair coming and going, lost in thought.
Shen Lingxue said solemnly, "According to common sense, if the villagers' hair was caused by the anomaly, now that the anomaly has been resolved, they should have returned to their original state."
"Don't say that. The more I look at these villagers, the more scared I get," Zhao Hao said fearfully, hiding behind the fat man.
"Hey, don't hide behind me! I'm scared too!"
Shen Lingxue gave the two a disdainful look. She couldn't understand why, as fellow new spirit masters, Fang Xiu was performing so well while these two were just holding everyone back.
"I think the two of you should form a duo and call yourselves the Cowardly Duo."
At that moment, Fang Xiu suddenly asked, "What methods does the Investigation Bureau usually use to handle such abnormal situations?"
Shen Lingxue thought for a moment and said, "We can first explore the entire Black Water Village, search for clues, and then contact the Investigation Bureau to have them send some professionals with specialized equipment to conduct a full-body examination on the villagers to determine the cause of the abnormality."
Fang Xiu shook his head. "That's too slow. Following that procedure would take at least several days, and strange phenomena might not be detectable with modern instruments. Let's use my method instead."
As he spoke, Fang Xiu walked toward an elderly villager from Heishui Village.
Shen Lingxue suddenly felt a bad feeling and hurriedly asked, "What's your method?"
Fang Xiu replied without turning his head, "The best way to deal with abnormalities is to eliminate all abnormalities until you deem the situation normal."
By then, Fang Xiu had approached an elderly villager who was lying on a homemade rocking chair basking in the sun, holding a worn-out pipe and taking occasional puffs.
Indeed, this was the same elderly villager Fang Xiu had inquired about earlier.
Fang Xiu stood directly in front of him, blocking the sun, casting a shadow that enveloped the old man.
The old man, who had been closing his eyes to rest, opened his cloudy eyes and looked at the young man before him with a dazed expression.
"Young man, what are you doing?"
"Old man, I have a question for you. Please don't lie to me."
"What question? I never lie."