Chapter 40

Chapter 40

Chen Ji’s vision turned blood-red. Tears of blood gathered on his chin and slowly dripped. His ears felt submerged, muffling all sounds. Each step he took felt like being dragged naked into a snowfield and beaten.

Perhaps the spirits here were simply too numerous, overwhelming his body’s capacity. He could clearly sense it: even if no red-robed ghosts came for him, his body might collapse at any moment.

The fierce battle raged on. With an impassive face, Chen Ji watched as Chang Xu struggled in the thick of the fight.

A hand landed on Chen Ji’s shoulder, pulling him into a swirling mass of human-shaped black mist. The mist seemed to speak, but Chen Ji couldn’t make it out. A finger formed from the black mist pointed toward Chang Xu, and it spoke again, as if relishing the scene.

Chen Ji offered no resistance.

Chang Xu seemed to notice. His gaze locked onto Chen Ji—or perhaps the black mist behind him—and he charged toward Chen Ji through the throng of spirits!

Chen Ji wiped the blood from his chin.

His calm demeanor perhaps prevented interference from the black mist.

Chen Ji’s hand dropped, retreating into his sleeve.

In the next instant, a blue electric flash burst from his sleeve, abruptly illuminating the dim temple like a rift tearing through space and time, piercing into the black mist!

A scream seemed to erupt. The black mist twisted and churned like boiling water.

—It worked.

—So it really worked.

Chen Ji’s blood-red eyes revealed a detached calm. He turned the output dial of the taser to maximum and thrust it deep into the black mist!

His ears were filled with the sound of his own heartbeat. His sweaty palm gripped the high-voltage baton. On the top section of the baton, dark red runes gleamed faintly with the blue electric light.

The black mist said something more to him, then dissipated within three breaths. Chen Ji offered a polite smile, mask-like in its courtesy.

“Safe travels,” he said.

In the next moment, all the red-robed figures in the temple hall turned their heads in unison, directing eerie smiles at Chen Ji.

Chen Ji felt a grim resolution, as if he had finally landed. He knew that from this moment on, he was no longer an outsider—he had once again become a target!

Chen Ji rushed toward Chang Xu. Countless pale hands reached out from the soil, from the stone bricks, from the void itself. His arms were grabbed, his feet were trapped, his breathing grew labored…

But when pushed to the extreme, one sometimes gains an unprecedented clarity and courage. Without even looking, Chen Ji thrust the electrified baton forward. Where it touched, the skin of the hands instantly blackened and charred, accompanied by sharp shrieks before they vanished.

Chen Ji monitored the battery level. Maximum output had made the baton scalding hot. Sparks of blue light danced among the crimson-clad spirits. Suddenly, a beastly face loomed through the ghostly hands, appearing right before him, bared fangs aiming for his throat.

An arm shot up to block in front of Chen Ji. Chang Xu stood drenched in blood, appearing before him. His Tang blade followed like a shadow. With one hand bracing against the beast’s maw, Chang Xu drove the blade into the creature’s chest, veins bulging on his arm as he forced the monster backward.

“Why did you come back?” he asked without turning his head.

Chen Ji couldn’t hear him through the ringing but guessed he’d spoken. So he smiled and said, “I came back to help you.”

When slender shadows blocked the exit, the game had changed. Chang Xu wanted to save him; Chen Ji valued his life and saw himself as a burden, so he had turned and run without hesitation. But with a ghost blocking the exit, it was clear they were both meant to die here today.

If death was certain, then killing one foe wouldn’t be a loss; killing two would make it worthwhile.

The baton tip sizzled and charred. Chen Ji didn’t discard it but used it as a pry bar. The red-robed spirits seemed to notice—half surged toward Chen Ji, while the rest continued to besiege Chang Xu.

Chen Ji swung the baton mechanically. The ringing in his ears was like a deafening cicada chorus. His movements grew fiercer, each strike landing precisely on what would be lethal on a human.

But unfortunately, the vital spots of ghosts and humans were not the same.

Meanwhile, more and more red-robed figures seized Chen Ji. His shoulders, calves, and waist were bitten and gnawed at by the spirits, yet Chen Ji seemed utterly unaware. He chuckled softly. Suddenly, the tip of the baton exploded, forming a fireball!

Sparks of molten material flew, and flames spread rapidly. The scorching heat burned Chen Ji even as it engulfed the red-robed spirits around him.

The battery had overheated and ignited.

Chen Ji swung the baton, splattering flammable electrolyte and other chemicals around. Everything nearby caught fire with terrifying ease. Blazing flames filled Chen Ji’s vision, consuming his surroundings. The red-robed spirits shrieked and wailed in the fire, rolling and running in attempts to extinguish the flames.

Eventually, the fire reached Chen Ji. He seemed not to notice.

Watching the scene, blood once again trickled from his nose and mouth. He broke into wild, unrestrained laughter.

All the accumulated pain surged over him in that instant. Without a sound, he collapsed.

Luckily, there was honor among mystics—the Tongxuan Talisman drawn on the baton could also affect the flames from its combustion.

In his fading consciousness, he thought he saw something rushing toward him—but it no longer mattered.

……

Chen Ji jolted awake. Staring at the dark sky, he felt disoriented, unsure of where he was. Shouldn’t he… be dead?

***

Realizing this, he quickly pushed up his sleeve. His arm was pale and smooth, without any burns or bite wounds.

“Chen Ji, what’s wrong with your heart rate? Why is it so high?” System Cat’s voice came from his mind. The next moment, it realized something and said urgently, “Shit, why are you out here in the middle of the night? Trying to get yourself killed?!”

Chen Ji tried to speak but vomited a mouthful of blood instead. Wiping his mouth with his sleeve, he asked quickly, “Xiao Ba, is there anything happening at the temple? Give me a location.”

System Cat: “Nothing! Absolutely nothing! Why did you go to the back mountain? Damn it, are you trying to die faster?! Your physical stats are dropping so quickly! What are you doing?! Should I call the police for you?! The talismans! Did you bring the talismans?!”

“…I survived,” Chen Ji said abruptly.

That sentence silenced System Cat, followed by a stream of curses targeting eighteen generations of ancestors. The bedroom door was kicked open by System Cat, who dashed out of the temple with an egg yolk pie in its mouth, meowing loudly outside. Soon, two little weasels appeared. System Cat grabbed one and dragged it toward the back mountain.

Though the little weasels looked small, they were in fact spirits decades old. One followed System Cat, while the other cried out toward the sky, soon receiving a response.

Chen Ji clutched his chest, breathing heavily, his limbs weak as noodles. After a moment, he forced himself to stand. System Cat had said he was on the back mountain, but he didn’t know exactly where. By the moonlight, he finally realized he had passed the shaded path to the mountaintop. Just ahead was the territory of the old mulberry tree.

Chen Ji suddenly laughed, a heavy irony in the sound—whatever had lured him out with such power and staged such a deadly scene, he had still survived.

He wasn’t dead. He wondered if “they” were disappointed.

He trudged slowly back along the path.

“Chen Ji—! Chen Ji! Where are you?!” Second Master Huang’s voice came from afar. “Don’t move! I’m coming to get you—!”

Tasting blood in his mouth, Chen Ji sat down where he was.

A strange, acrid smell suddenly drifted on the wind. Chen Ji looked toward the direction it came from, then rose without hesitation and followed the scent.

After only a dozen steps, Chen Ji pushed aside the dense foliage by the path and peered inside. A strong, foul stench hit him. Focusing his eyes, he saw a huge beast lying in the grass, drenched in blood. Its body was mottled with deep red and charred black, gruesome wounds gaping open. Chen Ji coldly observed the giant creature—and suddenly recognized it.

It was the white tiger.

The white tiger was injured.

“Chen Ji!” With a gust of wind, the eight-foot-tall Second Master Huang appeared beside Chen Ji. It looked nervously at Chen Ji’s pale face, and only at the second glance did it notice the unconscious White Tiger nearby. Second Master Huang exclaimed in shock, “Chen Ji, what happened? Why is Grandpa White Tiger here?”

Chen Ji glanced sideways at it and reached out a hand to rest on Second Master Huang’s shoulder. Exhausted, he said, “Second Master, please take me and Grandpa White Tiger back…”

Second Master Huang fell silent for a moment, then replied, “Alright.”

“What’s wrong with me?” Chen Ji asked weakly, using the last of his strength.

“Your vital energy is severely depleted. Don’t push yourself—just sleep.”

As soon as Second Master Huang finished speaking, Chen Ji passed out. Second Master Huang looked at the unconscious Chen Ji beside it, then at the heavily injured White Tiger. Resigned, it stood up, hoisted the White Tiger onto its back, and then placed Chen Ji on top of the White Tiger—surely it wouldn’t hurt if Grandpa White Tiger got pressed a little?

Even though he was badly injured, he probably wouldn’t die from being pressed by a human… right?

There was no other choice.

Just then, the little weasels arrived, followed by System Cat. It looked up at the eight-foot-tall Second Master Huang, who gave it a fierce grin. Second Master Huang instinctively wanted to tear this damn cat apart, but after opening its mouth, it closed it again.

Forget it, forget it. This cat is pretty clever—when Chen Ji went missing, it knew to bribe the little ones with egg yolk pies to inform me. Better keep it around…

Second Master Huang muttered to himself, “Cat, do you think we should take Chen Ji to a doctor… Tch, forgot you can’t understand speech…”

System Cat gave Second Master Huang a look of disdain. If it weren’t for the fact that it came to rescue Chen Ji today, it would have sent it straight to the zoo!

Chen Ji was jostled awake along the way—probably from the smell, as White Tiger’s blood was smeared all over his face.

It must have been all over his face, because his skin now felt sticky and greasy.

He felt Second Master Huang’s wind-swift speed as the scenery on both sides blurred into horizontal lines. The System Cat chattered incessantly in his mind, asking what had happened, but Chen Ji paid no attention. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind… if only it were raining today.

A rainy night in the mountains, with a weasel super-car—that would be something to remember for a lifetime.