Chapter Nine: Battle with the Great Demon (Part One)

When I arrived, wasn’t I wearing my little suit and black leather shoes? I hurriedly lifted my foot. Good heavens, seeing my own feet nearly scared me to death. The shoes on my feet were no longer the leather ones I had worn out; instead, I now wore a pair of loose black cloth shoes.

“Husband, you should rest now…”

Before I could speak, Su Ying, dressed in red, pressed me down onto that red embroidered bed. It was soft, comfortable even. Yet, at this moment, only two words remained in my mind: terror.

“Xiao Dong, don’t make a sound, not a single sound. If your fear wanes even a little, if your vital energy escapes, the four demonic foxes outside will burst in immediately. When that happens, I won’t be able to save you.”

Su Ying lay atop me. I could feel how light her body was, but her breath carried an acrid scent of blood.

“Why do you drain my vital energy, only to save me now?”

By now, I had fully accepted the fact that I’d encountered something supernatural.

“You’re mistaken. The one you met tonight wasn’t really me. I am merely the remnant soul they control. If I hadn’t received a talisman from a yin-yang master years ago, my soul would have long since dissipated. When I kissed your neck earlier, I transferred half of the talisman’s vital energy to you. And that cup you drank from—it was corpse blood, the kind from a demon corpse. Its sole purpose was to destroy the protective array within your body, so they could kill you.”

“Who are they? Why do they want me dead, I—”

Su Ying hurriedly covered my mouth, sensing my agitation.

“I don’t know who they are. I’ve been trapped here for years. They buried my body atop the Three Corpses Sha Pit in this mansion. If you survive tonight, please come back and take me away, will you?”

She didn’t wait for my answer, instead pressing her hand to my brow.

A buzzing sound rang out, and I felt a sharp pain at my brow, as if a fiery force surged into my body.

Suddenly, a violent gust blew the door open!

At that moment, my lips felt cold.

My eyes widened in shock as I watched Su Ying’s fair, smooth face begin to crack, resembling parched tree bark.

“Xiao Dong, they’re here. When you awaken, follow the flame before your brow, and whatever you do, don’t look back—never look back…”

Her words were cut short as her figure, clad in red, slowly rose from above me.

At the door appeared a massive black hand, which seized Su Ying, her face now withered.

“Knew you’d be disloyal to the Lord of Ghosts. Hmph!”

Ah…

My consciousness began to fade, the sounds around me growing distant.

Yet in that moment, my heart felt as if it had been slashed. Tears silently rolled down my cheeks.

…

I gasped for breath…

When I suddenly woke, I found myself once again inside the beauty’s coffin.

My body was drenched with sweat as I panted heavily.

“Ying’er…”

I immediately thought of the little fox. Only she could answer all my questions now.

I reached out and bit my finger hard, tears springing to my eyes.

Some of it was from fear, but more from pain.

I pressed my finger against the crystal ball in my embrace.

“Immortal Lady, Immortal Lady…”

“Stop calling. I’m here, aren’t I? Never expected you to escape…”

“Escaped?”

My thoughts instantly returned to Su Ying in red and what had happened. My heart twisted with fresh pain.

“Immortal Lady, the Su Ying I met at first—”

“Don’t speak. Let me examine your body.”

I fell silent. I felt a warmth in my chest, and it seemed a faint silver glow appeared within the coffin.

“I never expected someone would transform the talisman’s power into vital energy and embed it directly in your body. Who did it?”

I replied quickly, “Su Ying—it’s my ex-girlfriend.”

“The woman who invited you out and drained your energy?”

I nodded.

How strange…

I then recounted everything that had happened after entering the mansion’s main hall that night.

The little fox’s voice sounded in my mind.

“So that’s it.”

She then explained everything I’d encountered.

It turned out that when the little fox entered the mansion, she sensed a terrifying master lurking within. So she concealed her spiritual sense and fell into a dormant state. I walked straight into the main hall—perhaps due to a timing error—and awakened a Su Ying who was a benevolent ghost. This Su Ying, in fact, was a sacrificial pawn placed here by the yin-yang master who gave her the talisman, meant to assist me. The four demonic foxes were the mansion’s guardian spirits, while the guests seated in the hall were merely manifestations of ghostly energy.

The beauty’s coffin I occupied was a tool bridging the real world and the realm of ghosts. But unlike ordinary tools, the coffin itself had formidable power—because it was controlled by its master, I was able to swiftly escape from the beauty's chamber after entering.

As for the wedding scene earlier, the little fox explained that the coffin’s master was my ex-girlfriend, Su Ying. The ceremony’s oddities—no proper rituals, not even a veil—were because someone had already opened the path to the ghost realm and was on their way here.

Regarding the final appearance of the black hand, the little fox offered no explanation, for at that moment, the coffin began to tremble violently. I had nothing to grasp inside; I tumbled about, my whole body aching from striking the coffin’s walls.

“Hold onto me!”

A silver-white sphere appeared before me—it was the little fox. Without hesitation, I grabbed the crystal ball.

Boom!

A deafening sound erupted; I felt the coffin lid above me lifted by immense force.

My body was flung uncontrollably out of the coffin, hurtling into darkness.

“Immortal Lady, what’s happening?”

“Don’t speak!”

The little fox’s voice suddenly deepened, and I felt a warm current surge through me. In the next instant, my body, no longer under my own control, began moving back toward the beauty’s coffin.

“I wondered how a mortal could remain so calm—turns out you had assistance!”

As the little fox led me back toward the coffin, a voice sounded behind us.

My heart raced instantly, recognizing the voice—it belonged to the one who had snatched Su Ying from my side. Or rather, the ghost.