Chapter Five: Peril

Ahhhh...

I tried to speak, but the only sound that escaped my lips was a strangled, wordless cry.

"Wind, fire, thunder, lightning—swift!"

At that moment, Zhang Keqing flashed forward. An eerie flame blazed in each of her hands. Honestly, if I weren’t being choked, I would have asked her right then how she managed to conjure such fire.

Crack!

The next scene left me utterly frozen. The face before me remained cold as ever, but now beads of fresh blood began to seep through the pale skin. The grotesquely swollen belly, only inches from me, writhed as seven infant heads stared at me with ravenous hunger. The sight made my skin crawl, sweat streaming down my temples.

Not far off, Zhang Keqing was instantly ensnared by the ghost woman’s swinging hair. Her conjured wind, fire, thunder, and lightning were completely tangled and snuffed out before they could take shape.

“Zhang, what do we do now?” I managed to croak out, clinging desperately to my own neck to fend off the choking grip.

“Bite your tongue!” Zhang Keqing commanded.

It took a moment for the meaning to sink in, but I obeyed. There was no other way—biting my tongue, letting blood flow, was the one thing all vengeful spirits dreaded.

I bit down hard, the pain so sharp I nearly lost my nerve.

“Boy, your blood seems to have a special allure for me. Looks like my path to an indestructible corpse will reach new heights tonight!” The towering ghost woman sneered, her tongue snaking toward my brow.

Terror flooded me, my body trembling uncontrollably.

“Spit at her!” Zhang Keqing’s voice emerged from within the cocoon of white hair that now encased her, wrapping her tighter and tighter.

Seeing the blood-red tongue closing in, I didn’t hesitate. I clenched my teeth and bit down with all my might.

Ah!

As my tongue broke, a mouthful of blood sprayed directly onto the ghost’s outstretched tongue.

Sizzle!

My tongue throbbed with a numb, twitching pain, but the agony was nothing compared to what I saw next. The ghost woman, watching her tongue burn and shrivel from my blood, showed not the slightest fear. Instead, she grinned—a chilling, ghastly smile.

She raised her other hand, slicing straight through her own tongue. The severed piece fell onto her belly, where the seven infant heads fought viciously to devour it, licking up every last drop of the foul, oozing blood.

“Zhang...” I called out weakly.

Zhang Keqing was now completely cocooned in the ghost’s white hair.

“Run...” she gasped.

I struggled desperately, my only thought to escape this nightmare.

“Still think you can run?” the ghost mocked.

My voice faded to nothing as her grip tightened on my throat. Darkness swam at the edges of my vision, my limbs growing limp. I was closer to death now than I’d ever been—even closer than when the great ghost seized me on the road to Ghost City.

“Slash!”

A deep, resonant voice rang out. Suddenly, a hand seized mine and wrenched me away.

“Hold this in your mouth!” a voice ordered.

I was only half-conscious, but the pungent taste of fresh ginger flooded my mouth, shocking me awake.

Standing before me was Zhao Fifteen, brandishing a sword made of ancient coins. The blade crackled with crimson light as he sliced through the ghost woman’s white hair in a single stroke. She shrieked and lunged at his back.

“Begone!” a familiar voice cried.

It was the Priestess. At once, I snapped alert. Had it not been for her on the Ghost Road, I would have died long ago. I hadn’t seen her since my return to the living world; neither Chen Chuyi nor anyone else had mentioned her, so I’d never asked.

Now, I felt a surge of joy—she must have fully recovered.

As the ghost’s clawed hand was about to strike Zhao’s back, a spinning crystal orb appeared, inside it a fox’s face. The ghost’s expression changed instantly; she withdrew her hand.

“You’re cunning. I’ll let you off this time!” she snarled.

With that, the window opposite the bathroom shattered, and a fierce, chilling wind swept out in her wake.

I rushed forward.

“Ke, don’t chase her—we must get back, quickly!” Zhao called.

I nodded, helping Zhang Keqing out of the building. Zhao hailed a cab for us.

Back on Wooden Cabinet Street, Zhang Keqing could barely stand. She collapsed into my arms.

“Carry her, quickly! If the evil energy invades her organs, it’ll be too late to save her!” Zhao urged.

With a grunt, I hoisted Zhang Keqing onto my back. To be honest, it was the first time I’d ever carried such a beautiful woman, and I was more than a little flustered.

“Grandpa Zhao, why was that ghost so powerful?”

Zhao gave a bitter smile. “She’s a vengeful spirit that’s devoured seven fiendish fetuses. Her goal is to become an indestructible corpse. If I’m right, she now has the beginnings of an infantile body, but to complete her transformation, she needs a few more things.”

“What things?” I asked.

“First, she must fully consume nine fiendish spirits. Even if we don’t intervene, whoever set up this ‘Nine Fiends, One Corpse’ formation will surely act. In fact, I came here with Chuyi last time—we saw that the Jewel Tower was built on a fiendish node. Now, seven fiends have already appeared, and she’s devoured them all. If I’m not mistaken, within the next month, the other two will die as well. Now that she’s been exposed, she faces not only our threat, but also the hidden hand that arranged the formation. As for who would set up such an ancient array in Chengdu, I cannot fathom.”

End of section.