Chapter 52

Chapter 52

◎Possessed◎

The school area was quiet during class, especially the tree-lined path with no shops, where few cars passed.

Gao Yiyang walked along the road, the ghost inside him trying to make a deal. Originally, he had planned to turn himself in at the police station today, but the ghost had a point—could the police tell if he or the ghost killed those people? If he hadn't experienced it himself, he probably wouldn't believe in ghosts either.

Now that the ghost was inside him, who would believe him? Would they just think he was crazy?

But Gao Yiyang couldn't let the ghost keep using him as a host to kill people.

The ghost inside him grew stronger. Though he didn't understand why the ghost needed a living host, Gao Yiyang could feel himself gradually being assimilated. He feared the ghost would take over his body, and his sister might die.

Gao Yiyang often regretted following that group to break into supposedly abandoned houses a month ago.

He had worked as a delivery rider and was part of a rider group. Later, he joined another group through them that posted part-time jobs—some real, some fake. Many in the group were desperate to make money due to poor finances.

They had bought information on abandoned houses.

Recently, many had speculated on real estate, buying multiple properties. If they couldn't rent them, they left them empty. Though there might not be much of value inside, something was better than nothing.

Breaking into empty houses was safer than occupied ones.

In one of those houses, Gao Yiyang was possessed by the ghost. Of the three, the other two were dead, their bodies still in the house. He survived but was possessed by the ghost.

For over a month, he had acted against his will. At first, the ghost said it needed to absorb life force and could avoid surveillance. Gao Yiyang refused—if he dared to rob, why would he break into empty houses?

But the ghost left him no choice. When he saw black energy entwining his sister, Gao Yiyang knew he was done for. He had no one to turn to; obeying was his only option.

At first, he thought absorbing a little life force wouldn't matter if no one died. That's how the first victim happened.

Watching the girl collapse, Gao Yiyang's hands trembled. He imagined that if he didn't obey, his sister might also collapse silently, or even die.

After the ghost absorbed the girl's life force, it lured him into taking her belongings.

Some paths are wrong from the start, and one misstep leads to eternal damnation.

He remembered the first girl he robbed—she had two thousand yuan in cash in her bag, a red five-flower bracelet on one wrist, and a beautiful gold bracelet on the other. He sold the gold bracelet at a second-hand gold shop for twelve thousand yuan, and the five-flower bracelet fetched twenty-five thousand.

Nearly forty thousand yuan—if he worked, it would take him half a year to earn that much.

The taste of sudden wealth is addictive. When the ghost, after a few days of quiet, urged him to find the next target, Gao Yiyang, driven by his hidden greed, compromised again.

It wasn't until the ghost possessing him killed someone that Gao Yiyang realized the ghost's greed and the terrifying path he had embarked on.

He didn't know why the ghost had chosen him. He even wished he had died in that empty house that day—dying early might have been a form of liberation.

Since the deaths, Gao Yiyang had been living in constant fear, terrified that one day someone would knock on his door and it would be the police coming to arrest him.

He knew he would die, and it wouldn't be long. He couldn't rid himself of the ghost possessing him, and he had no one to turn to. All he wanted was to save a little more money for his sister before he died—enough for her to support herself until she graduated from college.

The evil ghost continued to lure him: "All you need to do is find a way to make contact with him, and you'll be completely free. Isn't that good? I'll have a new, young body, and the wealth you've accumulated these days will be my gift to you. Those who died before have nothing to do with you. You can take your sister to a new place and start over. Isn't that good?"

A new life, taking his sister away—this made Gao Yiyang stop in his tracks.

Could he really escape all this? Could he really end the daily fear and anxiety?

The evil ghost tempted him: "Yes, go back, find a way to make contact with him. As soon as your hand touches his body, it will all be over. You can start anew, watch your sister grow up, graduate, get married, have children. Go, end all this."

Gao Yiyang didn't want to die, and he didn't dare to die. If he had the courage, he wouldn't have compromised under the threat of the evil spirit in the first place. He tried to convince himself that it was the ghost who did the bad things, and he had only stolen a little. He didn't kill anyone; it was the ghost who killed. At most, he was just a thief, stealing from unconscious people, from... corpses.

Gao Yiyang turned around. The path ahead led back to school. If he just kept moving forward and returned to school, he could end all of this.

Just as he was about to take that step, a voice echoed in his ear: "Where are you going?"

Gao Yiyang looked up, following the voice, and saw a handsome young man sitting on the wall beside him.

The young man wore the Yulan High School uniform, but even the uniform couldn't mask his refined aura. His expression was calm, as if he were merely curious, but when Gao Yiyang met his eyes, he inexplicably felt as if he had been seen through.

Gao Yiyang ignored the young man and stepped forward.

Then the young man spoke again: "Are you going to obey the ghost and go find him? Do you really believe this can end?"

Gao Yiyang's head snapped up, his eyes trembling with uncontrollable fear. He wanted to ask who the young man was, but his throat felt constricted, and no sound came out.

Ji Nanxing looked at the man below the wall. This was the same person he had met by the school's artificial lake before. He was shrouded in a dark aura, leading Ji Nanxing to mistake him for a ghost.

Now, with his spiritual sight activated, he could see that the man harbored two souls. A vengeful spirit was hiding within him, using the man's life force to mask its presence. And this man's time was running out.

With just one glance, Ji Nanxing had a good understanding of the man's situation.

The vengeful spirit inside him was a bound spirit. Bound spirits typically struggled to leave their place of death, but that was only under normal circumstances. In rare cases, a bound spirit could find a living person whose energy resonated with its own, allowing the spirit to use the living person's body to escape its place of death.

The bound spirit before him had exploited this method to break free from its binding. Though it had already consumed many living souls, its place of binding must have been unique, so before it could grow powerful enough to become a fierce ghost, it would have to rely on possessing a living person to move freely.

Once it lost the living host, it would lose its freedom and be dragged back to its place of binding. That was why it couldn't go directly to Xiao Ye and had to rely on the living person's touch to transition.

The man possessed by the vengeful spirit was cloaked in the spirit's deathly energy. His appearance of normalcy was merely an illusion. Once the vengeful spirit left his body, he wouldn't survive for more than three minutes.

Gao Yiyang wanted to find someone to exorcise the evil spirit within him, but when he actually met someone who could see the spirit, his first reaction was to run.

It was unclear whether this was his own instinct or the evil spirit's influence, but he instinctively did so. However, the next second, he was knocked to the ground by a powerful force.

Ji Nanxing tossed out a few talismans to block Gao Yiyang's escape. He had already notified Ye Junxing before coming, and they should arrive soon. So, he only needed to temporarily control the man before him.

Looking at the man who had fallen to the ground, Ji Nanxing folded a talisman and said indifferently, "Consorting with ghosts is like bargaining with a tiger for its skin. Fear of death is human nature, and I get that. But I still advise you not to waste your energy. You can't escape."

Gao Yiyang endured the pain of the fall, torn between giving up and resisting. But soon, he no longer had the luxury of hesitation. Strands of black aura began to coil around him, and the whites of his eyes started to turn black. The man was completely taken over by the vengeful spirit inside him.

'Gao Yiyang' stood up and twisted his neck. If he hadn't already found a replacement in his mind, he wouldn't have taken over this body so quickly. Once he took the last bit of life force from this man, the body wouldn't last long. Fortunately, he had found a new host.

Looking at the kid on the wall, the vengeful spirit chuckled, "I love kids like you—young, tender, and pure. Your souls are the tastiest."

Ji Nanxing smiled at him, "You want to eat me? Then come up here."

The vengeful spirit jumped up and lunged at Ji Nanxing.

Ji Nanxing moved swiftly, easily jumping down from the wall to avoid the spirit's attack. The black aura that scattered when the spirit lunged dissipated like smoke meeting water upon contact with Ji Nanxing.

Ji Nanxing swung his bracelet, striking the vengeful spirit, and used the momentum from jumping off the wall to kick the spirit.

The vengeful spirit knew this kid wasn't ordinary; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to see him. But he was too young, still wearing a high school uniform. Even if he had started cultivating in his mother's womb, how much could he have achieved? So, the spirit assumed his abilities were limited.

But he didn't expect that his own malevolent aura would have no effect on the kid. The vengeful spirit, who had initially planned to devour this Young Celestial Master, was severely injured by the kid's magical tool. Without hesitation, he chose the most advantageous option—run!

Ji Nanxing had already sealed the path. To escape, the spirit would have to break the barrier he had set up. The vengeful spirit wasn't some ancient ghost; he was just an ordinary person who had died a few years back. He had relied on instinct to devour living souls to grow stronger, but before his death, he had never even been in a fight.

When his malevolent aura failed to affect the Young Celestial Master, the vengeful spirit had effectively lost his weapon. He could only rely on his ghostly aura to try and reopen the barrier that sealed both ends of the road.

Having finally broken free from the restraints of being earthbound, he refused to perish here.

After a lifetime of frustration and being forcibly kept in the mortal world after death, he had only recently gained some freedom and was unwilling to let it go!

At that moment, someone entered from the other end of the road, and the vengeful spirit's eyes lit up instantly—it was that young man with an excess of yang energy.

Normally, lingering ghosts dare not approach living beings with strong yang energy because their own abilities cannot withstand such intense yang. But if one can harness it, both extreme yin and great yang can be nourishing.

Just as Taoists are naturally meant to suppress malevolent entities, if the malevolent entity is powerful enough, devouring a Taoist's soul can be more potent than consuming ten ordinary people. This is the principle of mutual generation and restraint in all things.

If it were before, the vengeful spirit wouldn't dare approach someone like Xiao Ye. But recently, he had devoured several living souls and was at the peak of his ghostly power. Thus, he was confident he could harness the yang energy from Xiao Ye and take over his body.

Xiao Ye showing up here wasn't a coincidence. Someone who had gone to the restroom suddenly sent a message saying they were skipping class. Xiao Ye didn't believe it—his Naonao was so obedient and didn't seem like the type to skip class. Worried that Ji Nanxing might be in trouble, he called, but the phone was off.

Unable to sit still, he climbed over the wall to search for him. He first went to Ji Nanxing's house, which was just across from the school and only a few minutes away. But after knocking for a while, no one answered.

With the phone unreachable, he didn't know where else to look, so he tried searching around the school and eventually ended up here.

As he turned onto this road, Xiao Ye felt like he had broken through some kind of barrier. Before he could think further, he saw a man lunging at him.

Xiao Ye instinctively kicked, sending the man flying, but at the same time, a black mist seeped out of the man's body and rushed straight toward him.

Xiao Ye shouted, "What the hell is that!"

Seeing the black mist, Xiao Ye instinctively raised his hand to block it. The shadow, almost entering his body, let out a sharp scream upon touching the bracelet on his hand and dissipated significantly.

In all his years, Xiao Ye had never encountered anything that shattered his worldview like this. Stunned, he hesitated for a moment before turning to run. But then he caught sight of Ji Nanxing not far away and was shocked again: "Ji Nanxing!"

His little classmate stood pitifully in the middle of the road. Seeing the terrifying ghostly thing, Xiao Ye didn't hesitate and immediately changed direction, running toward Ji Nanxing.

As he ran, the shadow pursued him. Xiao Ye realized the shadow was after him and instantly regretted his decision. He should have run away directly; now he had brought the danger to Ji Nanxing.

The shadow moved swiftly, darting toward them. Xiao Ye tightly held Ji Nanxing, shielding him behind him, and quickly put the bracelet on Ji Nanxing's wrist. It seemed to have protected him before. Staring at the black mist, Xiao Ye said, "Naonao, listen, I don't know what this is, but we need to split up and run. You run forward and don't look back, no matter what you hear."

Ji Nanxing looked at the person protecting him and said, "This is probably a ghost."

The shadow gradually took on a humanoid form, though it remained a blurry mass of black mist. Yet its voice was clear: "Stop struggling. Surrender, and I won't harm you."

If it were just the Young Celestial Master, the vengeful spirit might not have been so hard to deal with today. But once he entered the body of this boy brimming with yang energy, even the Young Celestial Master wouldn't be a match for him.

Xiao Ye ignored the ghost's words. He counted to three, told Ji Nanxing to get ready, and on three, he pushed Ji Nanxing hard: "Run!"

Ji Nanxing was pushed away by Xiao Ye, who then ran in the opposite direction. As he had guessed, the ghostly shadow chased after him.

Xiao Ye, both tense and relieved, thought it was good that the ghost was after him. As long as he ran far enough, the ghost wouldn't harm Ji Nanxing.

As he sprinted to escape the ghostly shadow, Xiao Ye pondered how to break the situation. It was said that schools were often built on land where many people had died, as the vibrant energy of students could suppress the spirits. Running back to the school might help.

Alternatively, running to the police station could work—he had heard that police badges and uniforms had a deterrent effect on ghosts. Going to the police station might save them.

Just as he was thinking about what to do, he saw Ji Nanxing not far ahead. Xiao Ye was shocked to realize they were trapped in a ghostly loop!

He hadn't run away at all; instead, he had brought the ghost chasing him back to Ji Nanxing!

He didn't know why the shadow was fixated on him or why he had encountered a ghost, but he knew this situation was bad.

Seeing the approaching ghost, Xiao Ye's face turned pale. If they couldn't escape, both he and Ji Nanxing might perish here today.

The ghost, shrouded in black mist, let out a sinister laugh. He loved watching others struggle in fear.

Since they couldn't escape, Xiao Ye decided not to separate from Ji Nanxing anymore. Two people were better than one. Holding Ji Nanxing's hand, Xiao Ye tried to think of a solution while comforting him, "Don't be afraid, Naonao, I'm here..."

Before he could finish, as he was about to pull Ji Nanxing away from the vengeful spirit, Ji Nanxing suddenly grabbed him and, as the vengeful spirit lunged forward, slapped it directly.

Xiao Ye was stunned.

The vengeful spirit was also stunned.

Xiao Ye was stunned because he hadn't expected his seemingly fragile classmate to be so fierce.

The vengeful spirit was stunned because it was merely a mass of malevolent energy. The Young Celestial Master could harm it with talismans, but it was a ghost! Even a Taoist might not be able to touch it, let alone deliver a physical slap. The earlier kick had only worked because it was still possessing Gao Yiyang, but now it was just a mass of ghostly energy!

Taking advantage of the vengeful spirit's confusion, Ji Nanxing tossed the bracelet to Xiao Ye and said, "Stand aside."

Then Xiao Ye watched as his classmate kicked the vengeful spirit and, with a flick of his wrist, threw the bracelet adorned with a small golden bell into the air. A spiritual light enveloped the bracelet, and talismans appeared out of nowhere, surrounding them.

Ji Nanxing formed a hand seal, and the yellow talismans in eight directions interacted, forming a Bagua array that trapped the vengeful spirit. The golden bell on the bracelet swayed gently, its clear, melodious sound making the vengeful spirit writhe in agony on the ground.

Tendrils of black energy dispersed from the vengeful spirit, and soon an ugly middle-aged man was revealed.

The male ghost, having never encountered a Taoist before, had recently controlled Gao Yiyang and killed several people, making him feel invincible. He had even dared to target a boy with such strong yang energy, showing just how bold he was.

Now, suppressed by the magical tool within the array, his ghostly energy was slowly being drained. The male ghost finally realized the terror of a Taoist—something his ghostly power could never contend with.

As he struggled, the male ghost noticed Gao Yiyang lying nearby. Gao Yiyang still had a faint breath of life, not yet completely dead. The male ghost, seeing a lifeline, tried to crawl over and re-enter his body.

Ji Nanxing noticed his movement and kicked the ghost back into the center of the array.

Xiao Ye swallowed hard. So intense.

Just as the vengeful spirit's ghostly energy was nearly drained by the golden bell, Ye Junxing finally arrived.

The vehicle broke through the array sealing the road and drove in. Expecting a tough opponent, Ye Junxing was surprised to find the creature trapped in Ji Nanxing's array, unable to move.

Zhang Xi jumped out of the car and rushed over, "It had to be you, Little Nanxing! Even such a tricky one was caught by you!"

Ji Nanxing glanced at the deformed ghost in the array and said honestly, "It wasn't that hard."

If Xiao Ye hadn't stumbled in, they wouldn't have wasted so much time earlier.

Ye Junxing glanced at the boy beside Ji Nanxing without saying a word. He stepped forward, opened a jar, and sealed the vengeful spirit within.

Ji Nanxing summoned his magical tool back and said, "He's an earthbound spirit. He probably resonated with the magnetic field of the person on the ground, which allowed him to escape the place of his death by possessing a living body and hiding using their life force."

Zhang Xi added, "That's why we couldn't find anything after days of investigation. Using a living person's life force to hide—this ghost is quite clever."

Liao Xinzheng, after examining Gao Yiyang, walked over and shook his head, "He's dead."

Considering the time, the earthbound spirit had possessed Gao Yiyang for over a month and killed several people. Even if there was still a faint breath, it was too late to save him.

Ye Junxing said, "Notify the Management Bureau to collect the body."

Special cases like this required the Management Bureau to handle the body before it could be handed over to the authorities to inform the family.

Zhang Xi nodded.

Ye Junxing turned to Ji Nanxing, his expression softening, "You've helped us solve another big problem. Thank you."

Ji Nanxing smiled, "Just happened to come across it."

This whole thing was just a coincidence. If this person hadn’t shown up in front of him, he wouldn’t have found him so quickly.

Ye Junxing glanced at the time and then at Xiao Ye: "You should still be in class, right? Did you skip class or get permission to leave? Do you want me to explain it to your teacher for you?"

Ji Nanxing knew he was actually asking about Xiao Ye. Since an innocent person was involved, even if it wasn’t about keeping things secret, he definitely needed to give some instructions and explanations.

Ji Nanxing shook his head: "No need. You probably have a lot to deal with. Go ahead with your work; I’ll talk to him."

Xiao Ye looked at Ji Nanxing, then at the cops, and obediently kept quiet without making a sound. He just watched Ji Nanxing smoothly handle the handover with them, and suddenly felt that his little deskmate seemed to be glowing—so bright that he was the only thing Xiao Ye could see on the whole street right then.